Cynthia/ AL.I.C.E-2968442

I slowly opened my eyes. Where was I? I was lying on a dirty couch staring at a ceiling I did not know. There was a stain on it, probably from some point in the past. I sat up and started to remember last night. After we had finished dinner, I talked with Ren and his parents for a while. They had asked me all kinds of questions, and Ren and I had tried our best to spin a realistic and consistent story about where I had come from and what I was doing here. When it came time for us to go to sleep, his parents had asked me if I would sleep in Ren's room. He furiously refused, and I was left to sleep on the couch. I suppose I could not blame him for being uncomfortable around me. At the end of the day, he was still likely to see me as a non-human. He probably did not want me to be so close when he was unconscious of fear I might harm him.

I leaned back on the couch. It was dirty but reasonably comfortable. Better than our couch at home, at least. Perhaps I could convince my guardians to get a new one once I got back. If we could even get a new couch, that is. It was already there before we moved in, so it might not be replaceable.

I stared at the ceiling. It had a light blue paint applied to it. The faint smell of the dinner we had eaten last night still hung in the air. Everyone seemed to look at it questionably, but it was good. It was really good. I had never tasted anything like it. Though, it was not as good as that chocolate cupcake thing I had eaten earlier that day. Just thinking about it made my mouth water slightly. I swallowed. Was that even chocolate? It tasted nothing like the chocolate I had before. I wonder what other flavors tasted like here. Chicken, broccoli, apples, or anything else. Honestly, they all seemed to have similar flavors that were similar when compared. Was it like that here? What else was different here anyway? I do not know how long I had before I should head back. Indeed, I could spend a little more time looking around today as well. I would have to see everything I could get Ren to show me today.

A pair of hands wrapped around me from behind and covered my mouth. I hadn't even heard them approach. Was I too lost in thought? I felt myself tense up. If it was one of the beings from down here, I should be able to overpower it, despite not being designed for combat.

"Don't scream." It was Ren's voice. I loosened back up. If he did not want me to scream, he should not be sneaking up behind me and grabbing me. He let go and walked around the couch so that he was in front of me. He was carrying the makeup he had used yesterday. I guess it must have rubbed off in my sleep. That seemed likely enough. He opened the makeup and began to brush it on my face. Still, he did not have to sneak up behind me like that. I am not sure what goes on in his head sometimes.

"Stop making that face. It makes it hard to apply the makeup."

I relaxed my expression. I am not sure what face I was making, but I imagine I was conveying my frustration with him. He continued to brush onto my face carefully. He stepped back a few times and walked around the room to look at my face from different angles, then came back to apply more makeup until he seemed satisfied with the results. The whole exchange seemed to take about 10 minutes.

He walked back behind me and came back around with a bag on his back. He gestured for me to follow.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"I'm going to show you the way back up to your home."

"Wha- I don't have to go back yet, do I?" He seemed to ponder my words for a moment before replying.

"Definitely. I don't expect you can be missing for so long before your... people begin to worry about you." He paused before saying 'people,' I guess we were still in disagreement on the matter.

"I am sure it will be okay. I haven't been gone too long." I did not want to go yet. Now that I could blend in better, I wanted to explore everything about this world before I left. There was so much more to see, and I am sure I would not get another opportunity like this, after all.

"More than that, I need to get you back before we start to rub off on you any further." I am not sure what excuse he was making. He seemed to be suggesting I was being affected by my experience here. I could not let him take me back just yet, though.

"Please, can we take a long way at least?" I am not sure what my expression looked like as I pleaded to him, but he began to rub the back of his head and looked away. Ren sighed.

"I guess we can take a longer route."

"Yay, thanks, Ren." I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around him. I had noticed people doing this on the streets as we walked through town yesterday, and both Nanana and 47628475 had done it to me, so I figured it was an effective way to communicate feelings. He was stiff for a moment. Then he gently pushed me back. He turned around and walked to his front door.

"Well, let's get going. It will take all day at this rate," he said with his back to me. With a turn of the handle, he opened the door and stepped outside. I followed him. It was dark, and the air was cool. I could see the sun coming up in the distance. The sky was a mix of orange and red. In the distance, I could see the storm he had talked about yesterday. It seemed to swirl and hit along an invisible barrier from all sides of the town, climbing up in a dome shape before giving way to the morning sky.

We walked silently for a moment. I followed behind Ren, who charged ahead to our destination. At this point, there was not much to see. I guess I understood why he was willing to take a long way. It did not matter now with anything to distract me. Come to think of it, with Ren leading the way, could I be sure this was a long way? He could be taking me the fastest route and claim that there was a shorter way. I turned and saw an alleyway.

"Hey, Ren." I stopped.

"What?" Ren stopped after a few steps when he realized I was no longer following him.

"Let's go down that alleyway." I pointed to it. He looked at it, then shook his head.

"No, we should keep going." I frowned. He wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible. I turned and ran to the alleyway. "Hey... What are you doing?" Ren yelled as he chased after me.

"If you want to stop me, you will just have to catch me," I yelled back to him. There was no way he could catch up to me. Even though I was not made for running, I should be faster than him. I laughed as I ran into the alleyway, with Ren chasing after me. Maybe I was acting a bit childish, but I wanted to spend some more time here, even if it meant acting like this.

Ren chased after me as we weaved around the alleys. I could tell I was faster than him, so I made sure to manage my pace, so he was always about 2 meters behind. I kept laughing as we ran. Was this really so much fun? I could hardly control my laughter at this point.

"You will have to try harder if you want to catch me!" I gleefully shouted. We rounded another turn. Then another. Ren was shouting something, but he could not get the words to come out correctly while running.

I rounded another corner, it made a U shape with the buildings, but Ren did not immediately come around as I would expect him to. As I was getting ready to turn the second corner in the U, I slowed down slightly and turned my head to look back more easily. Before I realized it, I had crashed into someone who wrapped their arms around me. It was Ren. Where had he come from? He was breathing heavily.

"I caught you. Are you done now?" he said between heavy breaths.

"Yes," I whimpered a reply. His body was shaky, but he held me in place firmly. He seemed angry. I do not think I have seen him this way before. He released me, and he fell into a sitting position. He did not seem to fall back but rather straight down. All while still breathing heavily. "Where did you come from?" I had to know how he got in front of me. He pointed to the building beside us.

"The walls were short enough to climb over." I looked at the building. Some offshoot from another larger building without any windows caused the U shape in the alleys. There was a ledge of sorts around the middle of the building. It seemed to form a kind of pyramid, made out of three sections that someone of Ren's height could climb over by jumping to reach each section, but to do so would be rather impressive for someone from down here. It seemed like Ren was a climbing expert, for some odd reason.

Ren was now lying on his back. His breath had slowed slightly, and he was covered in sweat. It seemed like I may have overestimated how much he could chase me earlier. That was not the best idea. Come to think of it, why had I made him chase me around like that? I sat down next to him. He saw me do that and began to push himself off the ground. He shakily stood up and started to stagger in a direction.

"Come on, we'll be in here a while," he said to me. I had no idea what he meant, but I stood up and started to follow him. We turned a few corners, and I began to understand what he had meant. Every turn looked similar, and I had not paid attention to which way we had come from.

"Ren?" As we rounded another corner, I was beginning to become worried.

"Yes, Cynthia," his tone sounded off. Was he annoyed, maybe?

"Where are we?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." We weaved around another corner, which split into two paths. I was not paying much attention when I ran in here. I wish I had. It seemed we were trapped.

"Is there a way out?" I was beginning to worry. What if we would be trapped in here? How long would it be? It would be all my fault. I got Ren stuck like this. What have I done?

"We got in, didn't we? We just need to find where that is," he said in a calm voice. Ren's breathing had returned to a normal pace, and he walked as he usually did. He seemed to have somewhat recovered from the chase.

"Aren't you worried about being stuck here?" He seemed so calm. It made me feel silly for worrying like I was. How could I ask if there was a way out? Was I stupid?

"We should only be stuck in here for a few hours at most. We will find a way out." He remained calm. I guess there was no reason to worry. I sat down and pressed my back against a wall.

"If that is the case, why don't we rest for a little bit." He stopped and turned around. He made a defiant face but did not argue and sat down to lean against the wall opposite to me. I did not need to rest at all, but I imagine that he would like to stop for a moment despite seeming normal. The fact that he did not argue seemed to suggest I was right. He took a deep breath.

"Why did you run down this way anyway?" he asked me.

"I- uh, I... I could not come up with an answer. I remember wanting to prolong my time here, but I forgot all that and enjoyed running around during the chase. I did not know how to explain myself.

"Forget it." Ren could see that I was struggling with a response. He gave me a pass to answer. I would not let this chance slip by to change the subject.

"What do you think of me, Ren?" What was I asking? I should have asked something different. Something like 'how is the weather today.' I felt like that would be a legitimate conversation in a town where water falls from the sky.

"A freak being that thinks she's human and constantly gives me trouble," Ren answered casually. He did not even pause to give his answer a second thought.

"Wha- Wait, Ren..."He did not even try to soften his response. He just said it. I stuttered to come up with a reply. My mouth just hung open, with no words coming out. He turned his head to look away from me. Should I be this surprised? My opinion of him may have become more favorable, but I still knew he was not human.

"But someone that's not so bad when you get to know her," he said softly, without looking at me. He stood up and began to walk away. I did not get a chance to reply before he spoke again. "Come on; we need to find our way out of here." I got up and followed behind him. We rounded a corner. I picked up my pace until I was walking next to him. I could charge ahead and leave him behind, make him follow me. I decided that would not be the best idea. It may be his town, but we were equally lost here.

I slowed my pace to match his. We were walking side by side. He was not so bad either, once you got to know him.