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Elliot sets the unconscious body he's holding down on the couch in front of him.
“They're… s-still breathing,” he explains. He sounds like he's on the verge of tears. “I-I-I couldn't just let them go…”
Builderman peers over the other Robloxian’s shoulder, furrowing his brow. “Strange… it's been a while since we've had a new face around here. Let alone someone so… small… let me get a closer look.”
He pushes himself to the front of the small crowd, prodding as gently as he can at the little thing, pulling some of their hair out of their… eyes…
“They're injured,” he blurts out near-instantly. “B-bandages over their eyes. They don't look new, either.”
Elliot flinches at the mention of the injury and turns his head to look at the ground when Builderman mentions the eyes. “Oh. Um— How… h—how bad does it look?” he asks, bracing for bad news.
“Not great,” Builderman answers dryly. “I… don't think I'll be able to stay for much longer, though. I've got projects to work on, and…”
He stops mid-sentence– assuming Elliot can fill in the blanks.
“Are you alright with staying here n’ looking after em’?”
Elliot looks over his shoulder and gives Builderman an awkward nod. “...Yeah. I'll see if I can find a better spot for them, too.”
He carefully lifts them back into his arms, getting a brief glimpse at their face. Builderman was right— their blindfold is splattered with blood, and it seems a bit tattered at the edges.
Builderman responds with a gruff sigh and one last, sort of monotone response— “Good luck, kid. Hope everything goes well.”
He trots off with a wrench in hand while Elliot makes his way up the stairs, then to his room near the end of the hall.
Elliot sets the little stranger down on his bed– “Here, lay down for a bit,” he coos. “It's nice and cozy, right?” He doubts they can hear him, but still hopes they're comfortable. “I'll check on you in a couple—”
Suddenly, they move a little. At first, it's barely enough to be noticeable— just some twitching here and there— but then they stretch out their arms and legs and roll onto their side. They seem… saying they're confused is an understatement. Elliot can hear their breath getting quicker by the second. He steels himself with a deep breath, reapproaching the bed and crouching to their level. “G-good morning,” he chirps. “Are you holding up alright?”
“..mm…”
They shudder a little at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, tilting their head towards Elliot. “I'm… o-okay…”
“You're… you're sure you're alright?”
Elliot's tone shifts as his eyes catch the bloodstains. He's still not used to seeing things like this, and he's not sure how long it'll take for him to get desensitized to it all; it's hard for him to believe that this sort of thing happens like clockwork here. “You… um… you look like you got hurt pretty bad—”
“That's what everyone says.”
The… child— this is someone's kid— replies to him in a tone that makes him think they've been asked all these things before and know just how to answer them. “People worry about me a lot… but I'm okay!”
Elliot fidgets with the cuff of his sleeve, glancing to the side. “Um… alright. Do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?”
“Go ahead. I don't think I have anything else to do.”
“Y-you have a point,” Elliot responds. “You don't look like anyone I've seen around before… what's your name?”
“Lilith.” She folds her hands in her lap and straightens her posture a little, quickly realizing that… she's safe. No one's trying to hurt her.
“W-who— um… i–it's nice to meet you..!”
Not yet.
“It's nice to meet you..! I-I'm Elliot.”
He seems a little chirpier, too, but isn't showing it as much. Outstretching an arm in Lilith’s direction, his eyes widen when a tiny wing hits his palm instead of the hand he was expecting. There are beady red eyes staring at him in the corner of his vision— and they belong to a little… thing that he definitely hasn't seen before. “...Oh.”
The creature climbs into Lilith's lap and wiggles its way under her arm, firmly placing its head underneath her hand. It looks a little bit like her, in a way Elliot can't describe— he assumes it must be his mind playing tricks on him and sighs.
“You okay?” Lilith asks, having caught onto Elliot's shift in tone.
Elliot's expression goes completely blank for a few seconds. “ Oh. Um… Y-yeah, I'm okay.” He puts a hand on the back of his neck, gesturing with his other hand. “It's just that… your little buddy there c-caught me off guard…”
Lilith tilts her head. “Are you talking about Inky?”
The creature perks up when she mentions its name and lets out a little squeak, quickly making its way out of the cranny it made for itself to go back to staring at Elliot.
“Inky’s friendly. B-be careful, though. I don't think it likes strangers.”
“Well, it hasn't tried to bite my hand off yet,” Elliot jests— “That has to be worth something, right?”
The two exchange laughs, although they're interrupted by Inky pawing for Elliot's attention. “—Huh?”
Inky clambers to the foot of the bed, staring at him intently, crouching like a cat about to pounce. It makes no sound and its expression does not change. Elliot has no clue what it's doing or thinking— “AHH!” —until it springs into the air and lands on his shoulder, kneading on the fabric of his shirt like nothing happened.
“E-easy now, little guy.” He uses a free hand to keep it distracted while he turns his attention back to Lilith. “You're sure they don't like strangers? Seems like it's warming up to me pretty fast…”
Lilith chuckles a little. “Maybe there's just something special about you,” she replies in a joking manner.
“Maybe,” Elliot repeats, although he doesn't really think he's all that special. After all, he's just someone that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He wonders, for only a moment, if Lilith was ever in a situation like his. He shuts it down when all his scattered thoughts all start to lead to the eyes— why does she have that blindfold? Why is it covered in blood? What happened to her eyes?
He doesn't want to know, but it keeps repeating in the back of his mind. Something horrible happened to Lilith.
A deep breath in, then out.Elliot tries to clear his thoughts and think of another question.
“Uhm…” It's difficult, but he manages. “A-are you hungry? I can… make something for you if you'd like. Yeah.”
Lilith doesn't seem to catch onto Elliot's spiral. “That'd be nice. I don't think I've eaten anything since I got here…”
“A-Alright. I'll see what we have around. You can wander around a little if you want, but try not to bother anyone else too much, okay?” Elliot's tone of voice is soft, but strict. “I'll be downstairs if you need me for anything.”
“T-thank you, mister.” Lilith's voice is shaky, but she still sounds… happy. Happier than she was when she woke up, that's for sure, but it also kinda sounds like she's crying… or at least trying to cry.
Tears of joy , Elliot infers. If just a little kindness was enough to make her this emotional, then… it puts things into perspective.
This isn't gonna be a good place for someone like her. This isn't a good place for anyone… but maybe he can still help her feel a little more comfortable.
Before he goes downstairs, he gently runs a hand through Lilith's hair with a weary smile on his face.
“You're welcome.”