Y'know, moving to a new place, meeting new people, that can be pretty harrowing. Difficult, too. (or, at least, I thought it was. Used to be, anyways. But, since I came to this world, I've already made, like, 2 friends and some acquaintances in just a couple days. Okay, 2 isn't very many, but that's like, half a friend a day. That's pretty good, I think. Maybe death and rebirth triggered my popular phase? That'd be cool.) I mean, it's hard to start conversations and build relationships with random people, y'know. I mean, I know there are some people who can do stuff like that on a dime, but, for the most of us, it's pretty hard, I think. 

Yet, here I am, going to a near perfect strangers home after minimal interaction and vague reasoning. 

Okay, I know that sounds ill advised, but they seem trustworthy enough. Plus, S is gonna be there, too. And, if all else fails, I just warp us out and we can torch the place. 

Well, maybe that's a bit extreme. I mean, it'd really depend on how bad the scenario is, honestly. Like, if they're sawing up kittens or making oatmeal raisin cookies or something, then a scorched earth policy would probably be the moral choice. 

I actually don't mind oatmeal raisin. I mean, it's not a favorite of mine, but it gets a bad rap, y'know? But when they're used to trick people under the pretext that it's chocolate chip, that's vile. Pure hate. Terrible sin.

Anyways, we're heading to the girl's place. Here's why. 

"Not particularly." S said, after the girl had asked if we were doing anything. "I was thinkin' training, but..." He glanced over at my bandages, just for a moment. "I'm free, anyways." 

"Oh, uh, me also." I said. Man, 'me too' would've been better in that case, wouldn't it? Darn. 

"I'm also free!" Michaus asked. "What do you need us for, though?" 

"Great! I, just made something really cool, and I really want to show it off! Y'know, for feedback and all that." The girl said, hastily adding that last part. "Oh, and I guess you might have an outside perspective or something, since you're newcomers. C'mon, it's back at my place!"

Somehow, I get the feeling she just wants to show it off. Eh, sounds like fun, I'm game. 

"Inviting near perfect strangers into your house? That's either really bold, or really stupid." S said, bluntly. 

"Eh, Michaus seems to trust you, I figure you're both alright. Though, I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn your names." The girl reasoned. 

"Right, I go by S these days." S said.

"Uh, Beyes." I said. 

"Pleasure to meet the both of you. I'm Charollete." The girl said. Huh. What a surprisingly normal name. "You guys already know Michaus, and this," She gestured over to 'Zram' "is his brother, Zramazos." 

"Oh, uh, hi, that's me." Zramazos said. This guys Michaus's brother? Huh. Looking at them, it's a little hard to believe they're related. 

"OOH!" Michaus shouted, seemingly randomly. "Speaking of names, where's the pretty lady? She was with you guys yesterday, right?" What's that gotta do with names? Oh, whatever.

"Right, assuming you're talking about Catface, she ran off soon after we checked out the place. Who knows where." S said.

"Catface?" Charolette said, seeming to be thinking about something.

"No clue if it's her real name, but that's what she told us. You'd get it if you saw her." S said.

"Huh. That name feels familiar, for some reason. Gee, where have I heard that before..?" Charolette said, seeming deep in thought.  

"Oh, I hope she didn't get lost. It'd hate it if she were in danger and nobody was there to help her." Michaus said, without his usual enthusiasm. Huh, is it me, or is that last bit- no, that's a totally normal thing to think in this case, it was just worded a little funny. Totally.

"Believe me, they're doing fine." I said, kind of without thinking. Probably not wrong, though. 

"Hope so." Michaus said. He looked incredibly concerned. A result of his hero instincts, surely. 

"Anyways!" Charolette said. "With introductions over with, let's head to my place, check out the thing! C'mon!" 

"Right, yeah." S said.

"Yeah!" Michaus said.

I gave a thumbs up. 

"Uh, I'll uh, h-head back..." Zramazos said. 

"You're coming too." Charolette, practically dragging him to the place.

"Yep, okay." Zramazos said.

Man, this guy's weak to pressure. Guess he's not the type to say 'no.' I don't mean to judge, but at his age, he really oughta have more spine, you can't just do what other people tell you to do forever.

Ahk... I just got this weird feeling in my chest for some reason as I thought that. 

Eh, best not to think about that.

Thus, the 5 of us began walking through town. Well, I say 'through town', but that basically amounts to us crossing the street, 'cus this place isn't all that big, so it's not really that long of a walk. 

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, is this place actually big enough to be called a town? I think I read somewhere that there has to be X amount of people before it can be considered a town. This would be... A, uh... Ham something. It's not hamstring... 

Oh, we've arrived. Man, I barely had time for 1 short, mildly related anecdote. 

Wait, is this the place?

The house was huge, and a good bit fancier than any other building in town. I mean, it was no mansion or anything, more like a really fancy cabin, I guess? Like, how I'd imagine a rich celebrities cabin would look. Like, still kinda smallish, for the vibe, but big and fancy enough that they can, I dunno, be in a big place, because they like that, or something. Y'know, I never understood that, why did celebrities and all those rich types feel the need to buy houses big enough to house at least a dozen people for their family of, like, 4? Wait, no, not important right now. Point is, it was a big place. (But not that big.) Actually, thinking about it, it wasn't all that different from our place. 

The girl was wearing pretty normal clothes, just a simple shirt, simple pants, and even overalls, for some reason. I didn't expect that she'd live in a place like this. Wonder what her parents do?

"So, what is it this time?" Michaus asked enthusiastically, as Charolette fiddled with her keys. Wonder why she has that many keys. I mean, it's not like she has a car, or anything. 

"Well, it's kinda like a fishing pole, but, uh, well, you'll see." They said, getting the door open. "C'mon in, fellas! I've got the house to myself today, so make yourselves at home!"

The place was just as nice inside as it was outside. The use of space was incredibly efficient, too. There weren't many walls or many closed off rooms, the place seemed to be entirely held up by pillars, (some of which seemed to be placed rather oddly.), we walked into a large living space, filled with very nice furniture and the like, with lots of storage space on the walls, too, lots of knick knacks and whatnot, all organized neatly upon them. This was connected, in an 'open concept'-y way to a decently large kitchen and dining area with all the works. It actually looked jarringly modern. I often forget that this world has running water and refrigeration down. 

Additionally, there were stairs on the north end of the place, probably leading up to a second floor, or maybe just an avant-grade decoration? 

"Oh, but, uh, you gotta take your shoes off." Charolette said. 

Ooh, how civilized.

"Right."

"Oh, yeah."

"I always forget this." 

We all took our shoes off. Y'know, I think this is the first time I took my shoes off since I came to this world. It's a good thing I've been using those shower in a can thingies, or my feet'd be indistinguishable from cheese by now.

"The thing's in my room, upstairs, c'mon." Charolette said, heading upstairs. The rest of us followed, naturally. 

I'm getting kind of excited. Wonder what the thing'll be?

"Right, wonder what it'll be?" S said. Yeah, same.

"It'll either be the most revolutionary thing you've ever seen or something completely usele- uh, I-I mean, er, quirky." Zramazos said.

"Sounds cool either way." I said. 

"Yeah. It always is." Zramazos said, smiling warmly. 

Oh?

The upstairs area was pretty nice as well, if incredibly simple. It was basically a large hallway with a bunch of rooms. What is this, a hotel?

"Aannd we're here!" Charolette said, stopping in front of the door that presumably lead to her room. "Behold! Gaze upon my newest creation:... This... Thing!"

She opened the door, and what was on the other side, I could have never expected. Never in a million years. 

Also, I'm not quite sure if 'Gaze upon' was redundant after 'Behold!' but I've elected not to think about it, because who really cares, y'know?