It feels safe and a good place for a nap

Home

Baron was a good boy. He was a big brown dog that slept on a red rug. A red collar was around his neck, a shiny gold tag that spelled out his name attached to it.

He had woken up because of a noise.

His human and best friend was named Lore. Lore was still asleep on his bed. He was shivering. The blankets on him were thin.

It was night. Moonlight spilled through the bedroom window.

Baron's claws had some mud stuck between from their latest romp outside. Bits fell off onto the floor as he stood up.

He went over and pulled a blanket out from the bottom drawer of the dresser. His paws couldn't open cans, but he could open drawers still.

Baron dragged that old blanket, a thick quilt that was musty, over to the bed. He jumped onto the bed and then leaned over to tug the quilt onto the bed, trying not to tear it with his teeth.

Lore was crying again, but that was okay. Baron would be there for him.

—

Library

Lore has decided to take a nap. His face smashed against a book and half of his body on the table

Binder put a blanket over him and shifted him to a more comfortable position, letting Lore keep the book in his hands. The blanket was an old quilt with many colors. It probably smelled of old people smell in the way that the rest of the room did.

He took away the axe next, slipping it carefully from the boy's grasp. There was no blood on it.

Binder went back to studying his sticks as he waited for the child to come back to this plane of existence.

He knew well that there was a heavy journey ahead for Lore. Patience and curiosity were needed. The child clearly had them—Lore poked around everywhere before laying down—and Binder needed those traits as well.

—

Tower

Lore kept running into the bird machine in the hallways. They didn't like new hires.

Their camera eyes were red and bright.

Lore had a headache. He tried to sleep in his cubicle but OScar kept running alarms to wake him up. He passed out off to the side, with his hand on a book by a flower pot. It was a very deep sleep. He had been running around doing work all...day? Week? There was not an objective measure of time in the Tower.

It was the Whistler who found Lore. He was on a break from the cafe. More accurately, he had slipped away to take an unofficial, completely illegal break from company work.

He had little idea of what to do with a child, so he picked up Lore and went to the Pool. There were always two employees at the pool: Joe Regular and That Guy.

"What's up with the Newhire?"Joe Regular said. "Hey, you get into some sort of trouble with Whistler?"

"He's asleep."

"What?" The grin on Joe Regular's face waned.

That Guy looked over to his right. That tongue of his was sticking out. He always smelled vulnerabilities in his coworkers. Juicy rumors were for the tasting.

Whistler put the Newhire down on an empty pool chair. He looked at That Guy and That Guy looked away.

Joe Regular sat down back on his regular chair. He was in between the Newhire and That Guy. He put his shades on, a good way to hide his concerned look.

Whistler came back with sodas and coffees. He wasn't sure what was good for a Newhire that was this young.

Either way, Whistler and Joe Regular would sit on pool chairs and drink coffee, waiting for the Newhire to wake up.

They wouldn't trust the boy to be alone, not here. Not in the Tower. Not while he's asleep.

Whistler pretended not to see how that extra pool towel was draped over the Newhire haphazardly. As long as Joe Regular didn't mention how Whistler tucked it in around the Newhire.

—

Animus

The people of Animus found Ramul's Greenfriend lying in the grass, with a purple book held to his chest. It was a nice day and the grass was soft.

Emelio, an armadillo with great skills in smithing, found him first. He told Ramul the rabbit post-person, who was passing by in the forest path.

Soon, a few of them gathered. They didn't know how Greenfriends who were not-monsters worked. If they moved Lore, would he wake up?

"He is young. We will let him sleep," Shelly said. She was an old turtle with a rounded shell. Her husband Sheldon grumbled in agreement. She sent Ramul to grab her quilt blanket.

It was a sturdy thing, made of many squares and stained by dirt. Lore seemed more comfortable with a blanket over him.

Fern and Rhode—a deer and cougar—came by with hard boiled eggs. They still referred to this food as stone food pods. They split their harvest with the others and saved a few for Lore.

Carli and Cirsi Thistle, the possum sisters, came back and saw what the fuss was about. Followed after them was the mole Avocado, carrying a new fishing rod since she had apparently lost the last one. It was Cirsi who advised to put a pillow of grass under Lore's head.

In the kind breeze and gentle sunlight filtered by the leaves, a few of them stayed to sleep. It was a huddle of Animus and their Greenfriend.

—

Home

Lore was awake. He was underneath a quilt blanket that was stained with some dirt and smelled old. He had forgotten he had this blanket.

There were tears on his face, drying slowly.

He got up out of bed.

He reached for the black phone on the table, but then decided not to.

He did not touch the light switch.

The door to his parents' room was closed. He knew his dad wasn't home tonight. He wasn't sure if his mother was home and whether he wanted to see her.

Lore went downstairs. The TV was off. He ate some food from the kitchen, some leftovers close to being spoiled. The couch was comfortable enough to eat on.

He felt that he should be doing more. He wasn't sure what. He sat and ate the rest of the leftovers, then got a glass of water. He barely sipped at it.

Lore went outside. He did a big circle of the house, looking at the forest. Some of the trees had been felled. There was no axe for him to take.

He came inside and took his glass of water upstairs with him. The cup was plastic and chipped in the way that made bits keep coming off. He put it down next to the phone, balanced precariously on the edge.

Lore crawled back into bed. He pulled the quilt up. It was a comforting weight.

He needed to go back to sleep to find Baron.