Chapter Text
Judging by his expression, Verity thought it was pretty fair to assume that Avery didn't expect him to have an actual physical form. Like, at all.
"Wha— Verity?" the slime tried, as if testing the name on his tongue.
"That's right! The one and only," the peppy tone was impeccable, having been rehearsed one too many times before. "What can I help you with?"
Instead of answering, Avery decided to crawl forward in an attempt to inspect him closer, seemingly fascinated by Verity's gaze sticking to him like a magnet, following his every movement. When Avery leaned right, his eyes followed right. When Avery leaned left, his eyes moved left, always in sync.
"Interesting… Are you like one of those stress balls?" Avery reached a hand towards him, lifting his figure on his palms before giving him a light squeeze out of curiosity.
Seriously, why is it that the first thing new players always try to do is squeezing him?
"Hey, that hurts!"
"Oh, sorry," the gooey hands around him released immediately, holding his body more carefully this time. "I didn't think you could… Nevermind. You're very soft and stretchy, like a rubber ball from one of those ball pits," it was true, his simple yellow design and almost non existent weight made sure that the resemblance was there. "What are you exactly? You look too cute to be a robot," one of Avery's fingers began to caress the top of his head, pressing gently this time as if petting a very fragile hamster.
And okay, Verity will admit that both the comment and gesture took him off guard. For two good reasons, though.
First, in all of his time in service, Verity could count with the fingers of just one hand how many people had approached him like that, like an actual sentient being they could be gentle to rather than something unshakeable and always at their disposal. Because that was it, in their eyes he was something, not someone.
Best case scenario, Verity was an accessory, a companion to fill in the void of genuine human connection that most people who downloaded him craved to some extent.
Worst case scenario, Verity was a tool.
Second, the last time he had ever received head pats was when he met Mob.
And if there's one thing Verity is sure of is that he never wants to feel like that ever again. Not if it ends up the same way it did.
"I'm an AI assistant, designed to make your time on the game more fun an easy," he explained, unstained smile despite finding it hard to.
"Well that's nice," the player sounded genuine enough. "My name's Avery by the way,—" he knows "—it's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you Avery! I see you have some basic gear there. Would you like me to point you to the nearest cave? Or perhaps you'd like to settle down before exploring?"
"You can do that?" it came out more as a surprised scream rather than a question, taking a small giggle out of him.
"Of course! You can ask me anything, anytime."
"Then… can you tell me were to find sheeps? I want to have a bed before the night comes. Maybe make a campfire too while at it."
"Sounds perfect! The nearest flock of sheep are precisely sixty five blocks behind you. For coal, all you have to do from there is turn left and…" he was cut off by the sound of Avery almost chocking on his spit, "…Is something wrong?"
"No, no, sorry, it's nothing. Sixty five blocks for sheeps, left for coal, got it. Thanks Verity," he was quick to correct himself, taking out a wooden axe from his inventory to distract himself. "Do I, like, carry you with me? Or are you one of those virtual helpers that can disappear and reappear when I need you?"
"Coming with you would be nice," Verity was quick to jump into the tiny pocket on Avery's shirt and nest there. Despite being a tight fit, he found himself comfortable enough for the journey ahead.
"Alright then, let's get us some wool first," the slime proclaimed, turning around to start the walk.
A plains biome never offered much to look at outside of the usual animals, flowers and the sporadic pumpkin patches near rivers. While Avery did all the hard work of collecting items and some food for later, Verity used this time to think and wait, almost lulled into a a sense of relaxation by the soothing warmth of the sun on top of them. It was clear skies today, like in any new world players decided to create is the first day. The normal weather cycle wouldn't bother them for a good amount of hours so there was no need to worry about rain just now.
After finishing off the flock, Avery follow the previous instructions to go find coal, task that didn't prove very difficult as the ores stood visible on a close by stonewall just waiting to be taken. Verity had asked him if he needed help finding diamonds or other valuables a few times but Avery was pretty adamant on playing the game fairly and as intended for now so he let him be. While staying on someone's pocket wasn't the most fun of activities, Verity found himself not minding that much as the slime proved to be quite the chatterbox, filling in the silence with whatever new question popped into his head while mining.
"Hm… Capital of the Philippines?"
"Manila."
"And who's the animal that kills the most people?"
"Mosquitos of course."
"And how many months can have twenty eight days?
"All of them."
"Oh my god I thought I finally got you with that last one."
"I told you, I know everything."
"You sure sound like you do," he cackled. "You said you have access to commands?"
"Correct."
"So hypothetically, if I were to ask you to spawn a Warden right now, you could?"
"Absolutely! You want to see?"
"No no no, Verity please dont!" he giggled at Avery's quick and panicked confirmation, stoping his previous work to plea in his direction.
"Alrighty! Let me know if you change your mind."
The slime breathed out in relief, returning to his duty. "Thank you. I didn't take you for a prankster Verity, you're funny."
If Verity had a chest, it would have puffed up proudly at the compliment. "I'm glad you find my company amusing."
After a little more mining, Avery was finally satisfied with a good amount of cobblestone, half a stack of coal and the five pieces of raw iron he was able to find. The hole on the wall that had been carved made a cozy open cave where the light from the distant setting sun still bathed them. The furnace next to them chimed with the sound of iron smelting and the smell of crispy coal, filling in the silence that took place as both of them sat on the stone to look at the sky slowly changing colors.
"We've been here for a while now, it's starting to get dark," Avery noticed, finishing dusting off his clothes before standing up, "We should make a camp here and stay the night. I want to explore a little more before choosing a spot to make a house."
Making quick use of his stored items, Avery made some torches to light up the place and placed a crafting table on the corner, stoping for a second as if considering something before turning around to face him.
"Do you need a bed to sleep Verity? Actually, hold on. Do you even sleep?"
"I don't, don't worry. I can sit here and wait for you in the morning," despite being used to waiting for sleeping players, it was always the most boring task of the day, specially if he had to do so from the hard stone floor.
"I see…"
Going back to his initial task, Avery crafted a small bed and placed it next to the crafting table, working on something else before approaching him again with a smile. Before Verity could ask, he was being scooped into green hands and carried towards the same corner, placed on a soft piece of carpet on top of the table.
"Well, I know it's not much but if you're going to wait for me then at least you can do it from a comfy place, no?"
That was… pretty considerate of him. Hm.
"It's good, thank you."
"No problem!" the slime replied brightly, settling in bed comfortably for the night. "I'll see you in the morning then, goodnight Verity."
"Goodnight Avery, sleep well."
As the moon peeked through the horizon and the fireflies under them started buzzing animatedly to the newfound darkness, the warmth from the running furnace kept the cold air from outside away from Avery's sleeping form, breathing steadily after a few more minutes. Listening to the rhythm, Verity burrowed into the soft white wool as best as he could while looking at the other's back, curled up into the blankets in a peaceful resting.
Despite being forced to play his role once again, Verity found that being with Avery wasn't as terrible as he expected.