OCTale: Pacifist [Editing]

2) A Welcoming Smile [Edited]

The girl walks forwards slightly, fully revealing herself to me. Then, she starts to smile warmly. Strangly, I feel a bit on edge.

Something about her doesn't seem right.

"Hello, human! I am Guidea, caretaker of the Ruins! I felt a presence in the air, you see, so I just had to inspect it. It has been a long time since a human has fell down here. Come with me! I will GUIDE you through the catacombs!" She giggles, as I stop for a moment to register the pun.

Then, I laugh for a few seconds. Guidea beckons for me to follow her, and I gladly follow. The disparity in the air seems to have subsided.

Meekly following her into the depths of this ruined place, Luke appears by my side.

"So...Purple Hood. Isn't Guidea the best?" He smiles, as I gasp in curiousity.

"You know her?" I whisper, noticing Guidea waiting, and looking weirdly at me. Smiling, I interact with her.

"Ahem. The Ruins are full of ancient puzzles, originally intended to ward off intruders. Although they are more of a hassle than an entertainment, in my opinion." She sighs, as she grabs my hand to lead me through the room.
Several switches line the wall, however the puzzle seems to be already solved.

Guidea suddenly stops, as we enter a long hallway. She seems to be lost in thought, before she starts speaking again.

"You have done well thus far. However, you must now...walk to the end of the room by yourself." She suddenly snaps, immediately running off.

"Well...what are you waiting for? We haven't got all day." Luke groans, disappearing again.

A brisk walk down the corridor, I notice a suspiciously placed pillar, with...a fluffy white tail poking out from behind.

"Guidea? I'm at the end of the room?" I call, exhausted from trying to humour the poor girl. I hear her giggle, before she steps out from behind the pillar to greet me.

"Do not worry, human. I was behind this pillar the whole time!" She smiles warmly, making me on edge again.

There's DEFINITELY something strange about her...

"I was merely testing your...
independence! I might need to go on some errands, and you would have to be alone for a while. I would hate for you to not know how to fend for yourself." Oddly, I feel like she's repeating herself. She sounded kind of...monotone whilst saying that, like she was....

"On the talk of splitting up, I should give you my phone number! That way, if we ARE ever separated, all you need to do is ring, okay? Here, I actually brought a spare phone with me." She comments, passing me an ancient flip phone from her pocket. I notice Guidea's number is already written in the contacts.

But...how did she know to bring a spare phone for me?

"Let us continue." She resumes, taking my hand once more. Guidea begins to explain something to me as we continue walking through the Ruins. For some reason, it's oddly quiet.

Where is everyone?

"Human, many monsters in the underground may wish to harm you, or block your way. But, if you merely talk to them, you will find there is no conflict you cannot escape!" She grins, as we stop in front of a bed of roses.

A pink ghost is lying down, listening to music through headphones. Again, it feels like Guidea is repeating her dialogue. Why does looking at her for too long give me a headache? My ears are ringing, too...

She gasps, as she notices the ghost, oblivious to my sceptical expression.
"Hey, I have an idea! Try it out on this ghost!" She offers, clearing my line of sight so I can walk towards the ghost.

I assume the ghost is female, from her pink coloured body and from her short, shoddily-cut black hair.

"...?" The ghost shifts slightly, seeing me look down at her.

"Hello! What's your name?" I chirp, waiting for a reply. She shifts a bit more, taking off her headphones and smiling awkwardly. Then, she starts to do some hand gestures. I raise an eyebrow, then realise.

"Oh! Sorry, are you not able to speak? I'm afraid I don't know sign language." I console, feeling like I should be able to talk to the ghost.

I feel Luke appear behind me. Guidea anxiously watches from the sidelines, Luke not visible to her.

"Hang on, Tyler. I've got it." He announces, standing beside me and waving at the ghost for attention. Then...Luke begins to translate for me.

"[Hello! I am Luke, and this is my friend, Tyler! What is your name?]" He signs, the monster smiling back gleefully, as she starts a conversation.

"[My name is Ambstablook. It's nice to meet you, Tyler and Luke.]" I smile, and join in the conversation.

"What's your favourite type of music, Ambie? Uh, can I call you that?" I chirp, really curious about the ghost's, uh, afterlife.

"[I mostly enjoy Rock. But I like listening to Classical sometimes too. And yeah, you can call me that.]" She signs, evidently passionate. Guidea claps her hands together, interrupting our, to her perspective, one-sided conversation.

"Well done, human! Ambstablook hasn't spoken to anybody in years, I'm glad that you were able to break her out of her shell!" Guidea smiles, apparently unaware of the ghost being mute. She tries to go and talk to the ghost herself, but Ambstablook seems to have already fled. Laughing to herself, Guidea beckons for you to follow her again.

This time, I mutter to myself - or rather, Luke.

"I didn't know you knew sign, Luke." I comment, as I see him blush slightly.

"Aha...Thanks. My dad was deaf, so we had to learn." He giggles, before realising what he just said, and frowning.

"Wait actually, forget what I just said. It doesn't matter." He demands, shaking his head vigorously. I shrug.

Still...what did he mean by 'we'?
What was his family like? Were they the reason why Luke's spirit is trapped down here?

So many questions that I can tell that he wants to keep a secret, for whatever reason. I won't pester him about it.

Eventually, Guidea leads us towards a quaint little house, with a bare black tree growing in front, its red leaves scattered across the ground.

"Well, what do you think? It's your new home!" She smiles, and I get that odd feeling again.

Why does it feel like she was expecting me?

As we walk inside, I immediately am hit by the smell something delicious, that reminds me of home. It makes me feel bittersweet, almost.

"You smell that? That's my special butterscotch cookies! I thought we might celebrate your arrival." She smiles warmly, as alarm bells start ringing in my head.

When did she get the time to bake them? She was with me the whole time. Unless she knew that I would fall. But that's crazy...right?

"Luke, is she usually like this? It feels like she's been expecting me." I whisper awkwardly, as Guidea takes me on a tour of the house.

"Yeah, she's like this all the time to somebody new. Even when I fell down, she treated me like I was an old friend that she hadn't spoken to in a long time." Luke admits, also a bit on edge from her wording of things.

"There's also a room of your own! I hope you like it!" She briskly introduces, before raising her head up, looking up and sniffing.

"Is that smoke I smell? Oh no! I'll be right back!" She panics, running out of the room and towards the kitchen.

There's more than meets the eye to that girl... but I appreciate her concern for me.