I'm Not Her (Petscop AU)

Chapter 9

Pacing around the room; one of Care's many talents.
How long it had been since they lost the door didn't directly matter. Time was inconsistent, and so would her sanity be if she dwelled on the incomprehensible for too long.
During the span of whatever, Care had come to three conclusions:

1) The Newmaker Plane was manmade, judging by the greater-sources that were recently being brought up a lot,

2) There was a more morbid intention behind its existence,

And 3) The windmill was loud as hell.

Marvin was a good host, despite him not giving himself credit for it. He didn't seem to give himself credit for a lot of things, actually. He didn't like talking about himself for more than two minutes, he didn't like talking about the windmill, and he especially didn't like looking at Care for too long. She never questioned it, it seemed to make him upset.
Paul would visit occasionally. NLM was put in the Child Library, to Care's dismay; but Paul insisted that it was for the best. She didn't necessarily agree.
None of the phones she had found in the heaps of lost purses and bags were charged. It was only expected of the windmill to not have any outlets, so that option was completely scrapped. Most of the books she found weren't necessarily appealing, either. Care had no interest in reading dystopian novels or crime mysteries while being in her current state. Although she did appreciate David Parker's talent, she wasn't big on reading about a wife trying to unravel the murder case of her children. Not at a time like this. Occasionally she'd dig up a newspaper, but they mainly dated back to 2011. To think that 2011 had been eight years ago still took Care by surprise.
What made her truly happy were the notebooks she'd find. Some were used, some were untouched. What mattered was that she could take notes and jot down thoughts. It helped calm her nerves at times.

At some point, Care tried to talk more with Marvin than she had before.

"Why is it so uncommon for wanderers to fall?" Marvin frowns at the question, picking at his bottom lip. They were both sitting on the small platform above the windmill floor, Care clicking her pen thoughtfully. The monster shrugs.

"Only certain people are chosen, I guess," He was trying to pick his words carefully, "They all share certain characteristics: brown hair and eyes, observing mindsets, rather quiet..." His voice trails off and he swallows thickly, his hand twitching before he lets out a long sigh. Care pouts.

"So there's a preference."

"I guess one could say that... but they were all older than you. And they all only fell down once." Marvin furrows his eyebrows, "Unlike you..."

"I'm just as lost." Care admits in defeat.
"How'd it happen the first time..?"

"Got upset about my parents, ran away from the orphanage." She responds bluntly, as if it were nothing, "Next thing you know, I was in this shit-hole."

"Ah..." Marvin forces a chuckle in attempts to lighten the mood, hesitating before lightly elbowing her, "Some origin story, huh?" Care snorts.

"At least I wasn't born here."

"Yeah, that's some solid luck right there." She smiles warmly at him, but he seemed too surprised by this action to smile back.
Care didn't like how tense he was acting. Marvin had seemed so much more happy when she first met him, now he was only awkward and tight-lipped.
She wasn't getting any answers out of him soon.

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"I'm gonna have to skip a meal..." Care mutters to herself as she stares at the assortments of foods that were available. They couldn't even be considered meals, but they were the only substitutes that were provided.
Not that which meal she skipped necessarily mattered. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner meant nothing down here. There was when you ate, and when you didn't eat.
Poking at an old protein bar, she shifts her gaze back to the center of the windmill. Marvin had gone out for a while, so she had the place to herself. Not that it made much of a difference, she had explored every corner of the windmill thoroughly. The only things Marvin didn't want her touching were the cogs, which was self-explanatory.
Even her thoughts had become boring to journal about. She might've gotten used to the stuffy air and the lighting, but now that her headache had reduced she felt somewhat mindless.
After another hour of nothing, the door swings open and Marvin steps inside, gnawing at his bottom lip nervously.