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I keep forgetting that I am unable to physically rest, sure my mind might end up getting a little tired, but if I space out for a moment and day-dream about swimming in a pool filled with those green noodles I'm able to cure said fatigue from my mind within a few hours. Or at least I think it would amount to a few hours...
...Now I really want to get a pool full of green noodles...
I wished that I had a clock I could look at somewhere--
2:04am
Oh, would you look at that...The Voice is deciding to be helpful for once!
I didn't realize that there was a clock feature for the system...that was actually pretty cool! And I'm now realizing that it probably did that just to boast of it's 'amazingness'...
...Nothing to say about that?
Yeah that tells me more than a few things you irritating nuisance. I wondered if other beings had to deal with a voice like I did, and the annoying shit it pulled when it felt like it, or whether it was just me...and how long was that anyways? Surely you'd be able to tell me--
2:00am - 2:04am
Four minutes?! I was only day-dreaming for four minutes and that cleared my mind of all that stress?!
I wanted to bash my head against a few hard objects at the moment, but that would disturb Redline, and thus probably incur Pops' wrath upon myself...I didn't want that.
But what was I going to do until morning?! Was it going to be like this every morning until I inevitably went insane...
2:05am
Alright. I've changed my mind.
I don't want the stupid clock anymore...
2:05am...
You know what! Fine! I'll show you that I can make use of my time in a meaningful and dutiful manner until the day I die!!
...Stupid Voice.
I looked around the room deciding what I was going to do for the next five to seven hours till Redline woke up again. First things first, I for sure wanted out of this room. If I was going to be locked in a room for five plus hours with the minutes literally ticking away in my mind I was actually going to go insane...
...It didn't help that I had practically no end to my energy levels either... I snuck to the door out of the room and tested the drop handle with a talon. It opened quite easily, thankfully not severing in half and dropping to the floor broken. I quickly slipped out into the halls and shut the door behind myself.
Alright, I was out...now what? I looked around at the empty dark halls and decided that the only logical option would be to find somewhere that I wouldn't destroy and go absolutely bonkers there in hopes of tiring myself out fruitlessly, but with as big as this place was I very much doubted that I would be able to just ignore all of the closed doors I came across.
Probably fifty room in I stopped just walking into random rooms and opted to just go outside and stare at the stars for a while...Thankfully, it was surprisingly easy to just ignore the clock in the corner of my mind, just ticking away slower than a snail crawled along a table in the cold...
...Dammit I was focusing on it again. Focus on seeing the stars. Focus on seeing the stars...I continued to chant that mantra in my mind until I got to what looked like an over-hang balcony specifically suited to just looking up at the sky for a while, or enjoying time spent in the sun. I moved to the middle and just sat there looking at the sky for a while: tracing stars in the sky, forming my own versions of various constellations from those that were visible, and even giving a few of them names: Draco was a winged drake (a dragon) consisting of almost two-hundred stars, Sunaga was a trace of a snake lady with more than a hundred-fifty stars to it, Leosa was a two-headed female lion with probably almost three-hundred stars...
I didn't know how long I sat there...The only thing on my mind was memorizing these constellations and making sure that they were so imprinted into my mind that I would be able to recognize them no matter how much of the constellation was showing and no matter where I was in this new world...
I realized something. I never actually thought much about being in a new world as a whole...I was mostly just focused on keeping myself safe, and trying to make a friend in Redline...I looked back, no one was there...well at least I had that going for me, I looked at the time:
6:47
How long were hours and minutes in this world? I sat there going between watching the fading stars and the clock as it went through to the next hour, minute by minute of just sitting there counting seconds to make sure that I wasn't screwing something up.
It seemed that the seconds to minute was the same, sixty seconds, and an hour was a hundred minutes...It was quite strange seeing the clock go past 60 without the hour changing after staring at it for a few--at least ten-- more minutes I let it go and decided to do my best to accept that being different.
...It did make me wonder how physical clocked here looked though--
I caught the sound of something moving around inside and looked back to see Redline walking down the halls still combing through crazy-hair with her claws. She looked over at the balcony for a moment before taking a turn down another hall and disappearing. It was barely seven thirty! How was she up after only getting five hours of sleep?! This story is hosted at novelping . com.
...Then again, I couldn't really say anything about it as I seemed to no longer need sleep; I stepped away from the balcony as light started to floor the area in a magical display of colors that almost made me stop to watch the sunrise, but I was determined to see what Redline was doing up so early and what she was going to do.
I followed her down a flight of stairs to the main level of the building, noting that there was a lower level--or two--as well and deciding to check those out at a later date. She seemed to be heading in a predetermined direction, probably having memorized the path after having traveled it so many times. It was then that I noticed the smell of cooking food, and I took my chance to rush by her and towards the smell coming from up ahead. She yelped and jumped a few feet in the air as the wind from my passing surprised her but I didn't stay long enough to witness her shock.
Once getting to what I imagined was the kitchen, though it would be fit enough to call it a restaurant with how much space there was, and the fact that there seemed to be two of almost everything: sinks, ovens, what looked like strange magical versions of a fridge, and in the midst of all of that was an island table surrounded by chairs. I hopped onto the table and watched as the man cooking did so skillfully and with purpose.
Who knew such a dangerous man would also be the cook for the place?
I didn't realize that I'd been drooling until Pops scolded me, "Stop drooling all over the counter and take a seat Sc'the." The table was then magically cleaned by a shine of light and I quickly scrambled my way into one of the chairs lining the island. "I swear if I have another animal in this kitchen..." I turned as Red came up to take a seat a ways from my own and looked at my visible claws in disbelief.
"So everything from yesterday wasn't just some elaborate dream--?"
Pops shook his head and started to put whatever he was cooking to the side, opting to take out whatever it was that was in the oven and putting that on the top of the stove instead; That was the amazing smell I caught scent of earlier...I couldn't imagine what kind of creature it had been but I really, really wanted it.
He cut the meat into three sections and separated two of them onto plates--deciding to just leave the last one where it was on the pan he used to bake it on--and then he grabbed whatever it was he was making earlier and put a bit of that on top of each section of meat. After that was done he put a plate in front of Red, one on the counter before the both of us, and then he grabbed the pan, bare handed despite the fact the meat was still steaming, and put the entire thing in front of the spot I sat.
I didn't question how he seemed to know where it was that I had sat but that didn't matter as I stared at the meat hungrily: Just because I had an endless amount of stamina didn't mean that I couldn't also enjoy something to eat. Though it was quite strange how that worked: keeping me energized and unable to physically rest, recovering from almost any fatigue almost instantly, and yet I was still able to grow hungry...just without feeling the effects of it in the long term.
I looked at the two of them for a moment, confused as they opted to bow their heads for a few moments uttering what seemed to be a silent prayer before beginning. I looked down at my food and wondered whether I should do the same thing? I didn't really have any concrete evidence that there were real gods in this world, and there was the fact that there were multiple Suns and Moons the planet orbited, but were those worthy of being prayed to...
I decided to dedicate my meal to the only thing that really mattered to me at the moment; I dedicated my first civil meal to the God of all Noodles--if such a god existed here--and then I dug in. Whatever it was that Pops had made to go on the meat did wonders to bring out it's flavor, and within a few minutes both me and Redline had eaten our platters bare and licked them clean of flavor.
Our actions seemed to amuse Pops and I found myself looking at him as he chuckled lightly at out actions, "It seems I have brought two Ravenous Beasts into my home..." He chuckled a bit more as Redline's ears flattened against her head, her attention elsewhere as she looked away embarrassed. "I'm glad to see you liked my cooking Sc'the, and I hope to test a few more of my famous dishes with your fresh taste-buds in future settings..."
"Pops, please go away..." Redline whispered and the man gave her a sly grin, taking off the apron he wore and walking out of the kitchen area with a mood-lightening laughter. She took her dish and the one the man had left behind and put them both in the sink before walking off elsewhere. I followed suit, amazed to see the dishes cleaning themselves magically, before snapping out of it and quickly following after her.
What were we going to be doing today--?
Spoiler
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