I lay on the floor of my plexiglass carrying case and looked up at Marissa in the car seat next to me. I was still in my underthings, and the lotion was caked on thick. We'd brought the bottle of it with us in case I needed more, but it wasn't helping as much as it had at first, and my skin was starting to burn under it anyway. I had drank glass after glass of water at the request of Marissa, but I still felt 'dry' somehow... I just hoped the doctor we were going to would have a way to help me.
It turned out that vets don't actually work on class Bs, at least not usually. Marissa had called our town vet, and he said that while he could help if it was life or death, we actually needed to go to a specialist. The closest one was over an hour and a half away, which frustrated Marissa, but she agreed to take me there instead. I was honestly glad that I wasn't going to a regular vet. I hadn't been around animals at all since I was compressed, and I'd heard stories about cats or even dogs killing class Bs they came across. I knew Marissa wouldn't have let me out of the case or put me in danger, but... I still didn't want to be around animals in general.
"How much longer, Drew?" Marissa asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"About an hour, ma'am." He responded automatically.
"Thank you, please raise the privacy curtain until we arrive." She said.
The black wall rose, blocking us from the front seat and blocking out most of the light. Marissa dug in her pocket and pulled something out. She popped open the front of the case, and slid it in. I recognized it as the cap to the bottle she usually kept me in. She pulled out the matching earbud, and put it in, pointing to the cap, and waving her hand. I sat up and flicked the cap on, the heater kicking in and the microphone turning on.
"Ok, Ra- ah, damnit, Amber. You wanted to talk, right? We have a while, so let's talk." She said, leaning to the side to be able to see me better.
I felt nervous and shy, and I didn't know what I could say without making her mad. That said, I was in my case, and I was already injured, so what would she really do to me?
"Well... I wanted to ask about... you know... Henri?" I said, testing the waters.
"Yeah, Henri." Marissa said, coldly. "She went way way too far. She ruined the game, and she made things just... so much less fun overall."
"Well... Be that as it may," I said "She really did mean what she said, I think."
"Yeah, I'm sure she did." Marissa replied. "The whole school has know she's had a crush on you since she got in the country, and they've been making bets on how long it'd be before she comes out."
"That's horrible... I know the girls at our school are cruel," I pointed to Marissa "...case in point, but like, making bets on someone's sexuality feels... I don't know, wrong-er."
"Yeah, them and their little betting pool is the whole reason I never came out." Marissa said causally, ignoring my comment about her.
I looked up at her, trying to see if she was joking or teasing, but she seemed to be as annoyed with them as I was.
"Wait, you're gay?" I asked "Like, for real?"
She nodded. "Yeah, or I guess bi, same thing."
"I think that's what I am, I don't know, I've never really thought about it..." I said.
"You're pan. It's a type of bi. You said you don't care about gender and shit, right? That's pan. I do care, so I'm just bi."
"Uhh, ok... I didn't know." I said. I hadn't expected to be taught about queer stuff by her of all people...
"Anyway, I really do think she loves you, and that makes her dangerous. It was one thing when she just wanted to be around you, to be your friend, but now that you know she's crushing on you, she'll want to take you for herself. I'm not sure it's safe for you to be around her, if I'm being honest."
"Oh..." I said. "I don't think she's really dangerous, she was just drunk, I've pretty much never seen her get that upset before, I think she'll calm down enough to be around me in a day or so..."
"Mmmmno. She's not getting to be around you for a lot longer than that. If for no other reason than to punish her for ruining the night. I was having a lot of fun until she started causing problems."br>
"Ok, well... what do we do about her confession?" I asked.
"I don't think we have to do a damn thing about it, Amber. It does not matter one ounce if she loves you, I said that last night, and I meant it."
"But..." I said "What if I wanted to... give it a chance?"
Marissa glared at me. "What, do you love her too?"
I shook my head. "No, I don't think so? I think I'm open to it though, I don't know... I've never had a relationship..."
"Parents were that strict, huh?" She said, smirking.
"No, I- I was in a girl's school since I was like 14, I didn't have a chance..."
"Didn't stop me, I've had..." She thought about it "...5? Boyfriends?"
"I thought you were bi, what about girlfriends?"
"Too risky, if I got outed, I'd have lost my place as the queen of the school, and my mom would... do unkind things, I'm sure."
"Oh... that's fair..." I said. "Well, was there any girls you were interested in then?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Uh... yeah, there definitely were, Amber."
I nodded, that was kind of sad to think about, but romantic too. A forbidden love...
"So..." I said "about me and Henri..."
"I'm not comfortable with her being around you, so while, like, I legally can't say you can't 'date' her or whatever, I can say she's not going to be around you, so there's no chance to date her."
I lay back down, hissing at the floor touching my skin. "Hhhh... She's my best friend, Marissa, can't we work something out? Please?"
"Hey, don't call me that, and I don't know. I don't want to think about it. Like I said last night, I don't really want to think about this topic, just... Let's leave it at 'we'll re-visit it later', ok?"
I wasn't happy with that, why had she brought it up just to shut it down? I couldn't imagine a situation where it'd be possible to date Henri, and... Seeing her last night, it was almost like she saw me as less of a person than Marissa did. Her touchy-ness, her comments, the way she treated me... Marissa did what she did because I was a person, and it made her excited or something to do that stuff to a living human being. Henri... She seemed to see me 'softer' than a human, and that made me wonder how she really thought of me now.
There was still one thing I needed to ask about though...
"So... In another topic, what was that kiss last night?" I asked
"Ugh..." She groaned "I was just trying to fuck with Henri. Yeah it wasn't technically ok to do it without asking, but whatever, it'd be a slap on the wrist at best, and only if you complain. It's fine."
"Oh, well... I know you were trying to make Henri mad, but... it felt more.. um, like, your hands were shaking, and you were really warm, and-"
She smacked the top of the case, making me jump.
"Gods, shut up already, ok?" She growled. "A kiss is a kiss, even if it's just to make someone mad, of course I'd be... worked up."
It didn't seem like that, but I shouldn't push it...
"Ok, yeah, sorry." I said. I went quiet, and looked at the ceiling of the car. I was starting to get a suspicion, but I didn't want to jump the gun. I lay there, quiet and thinking for a few minutes until Marissa spoke again.
"So... Did you like the party at least? The sleepover, I mean."
"Oh, uh, yeah, it was- it was kinda hard to enjoy at times, but I think I had fun overall, I was surprised."
"Surprised?" Marissa said "You didn't expect to have fun at a sleepover?"
"Well, I didn't want to be tortured all night, but really, other than the soup, and I guess that time you smushed me, I wasn't tortured that much at all, so yeah, surprised."
"I'm not- I don't- No, Amber, I don't want to like, torture you..." She said, sounding hurt.
I sat back up. "What? You've been torturing me since you got me, the water, the bottle, even you 'playing' with me the first day. My side is still bruised from that time you flicked me."
"...well, it's- it's not like that..." She muttered. "I play with you yeah, but I don't want to torture you, just play, have some fun I guess."
"Oh... It's not fun for me, I'd prefer you didn't..." I said quietly.
"Well... Ugh, damnit!" She barked, getting frustrated "I shouldn't have to care about what you think, I got you because I wanted to have fun with you, and I'm going to do what's fun for me."
I lay there, thinking about what she'd said. I couldn't do anything about it if she did dunk me in ice water again, or got too rough and hurt me. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything... I felt small, smaller than I'd felt since I was compressed, and I felt the grip I had on my situation start to slip. I really was just a fucking toy, wasn't I? Whether it was her or Henri, or anyone, really, I was just a toy for them to play with. I couldn't hold it back any more, between the pain and the stress and the feelings of hopelessness, I started to cry. I could never live a normal life again, and it was finally starting to sink in. I was like this, a second class citizen, forever. I'd never be able to date or live on my own, have human rights... She wasn't doing anything a million other people wouldn't do, hell, if I'd found her I would have been much meaner to her than she'd been to me, I'd have stepped on her and made her-... well, I didn't want to think about it now, I didn't want to manifest it happening to me. The tears ran down my face, and I sniffled, thinking about how it was lucky the vodka mostly missed my face, or this would hurt a lot right now.
I felt the case lift, and I looked over. I was eye level with Marissa now, and she had a strange, annoyed and concerned look on her face. I wiped my eyes and looked away from her. I wasn't asking for an apology, or trying to get attention, I just really wanted to feel human again. Seeing her face as large as it was, it just highlighted and reminded me that I wasn't human, not legally. I couldn't see her as a force of nature anymore, she was just a girl like me, just a human. I doubted there was any difference between us other than her having money, really.
"Hey... Amber..." She said gently.
"..."
I stayed quiet. It didn't matter anyway, I was just a fucking class B, it wasn't like anything I said could do anything.
"Amber, listen, stop crying, look..." She said. 'stop crying', wow, that was helpful.
"I'm going to get better at playing with you, I'm learning, I'm trying not to hurt you, ok?"
Then why 'play' with me like that in the first place, bitch? I still didn't answer, but it felt good to think it.
"Amber, really, I'm trying to talk to you..." She said, sounding sad. I looked back over, still crying. She looked hurt, for some reason.
"You don't understand," I said, breaking my silence. "I'm not even fucking human anymore, and the one person who's licensed to take care of me plays so rough I'm scared for my life."
I wasn't, exactly, but I was feeling bitter, and I knew it'd sound tough.
"No, hey, that's not fair, I would never endanger your life." She said, not responding to my main point. I guess I set the bar too high, time to dial it back.
"No, it's more than that, it's not about me being dead, it's about me not being alive." I said.
"I really don't understand, what the fuck are you talking about?" She asked, wrinkling her nose.
I sat up. "I'm just a toy, right? Not a human, closer to a pet than an object, sure, but still not really human. I'm not alive, 'Lady M'. And everything you do to me just reminds me of that."
"...Oh, yeah, ok." She said. She lowered me to her lap. "Well... I do want to keep playing with you, of course. I really like it, but... I guess we can work out a few ways for you to feel like a real person again. I know I haven't been helping with that."
"It was mostly Henri that made me feel the worst." I admitted. "I knew her, so it hurt more. You weren't a real person to me until last night."
"I- what?!" She said "What does that even mean?"
"Well, you were like the boogyman or something, not a person, just a figurehead of the bullies at school. You were a symbol, so it made sense for you to hurt me, I guess."
She was quiet for a moment. "...a symbol, huh? I almost like that, it makes me feel... like a dictator or something. But." She raised me up again. "I am a real person, Amber."
I nodded "Yeah, I know, that's why I started crying. Because you're real to me now, and that means what you did actually counts. It wasn't just an unstoppable force, it was you."
She took a deep breath. "I thought you were being weirdly accepting of me owning you. I guess the brain like, preserves itself or something. Look, you can drop the whole 'Lady M' thing if that helps, and... I'll try to remember to, I don't know, ask your opinions on stuff, would that help?"
"Yeah, I think so... And I really would prefer it if you didn't hurt me, too."
It was a small concession from her, but not having to treat her like a higher being would help me a lot. It'd help her see me as a person, too, especially now that she was calling me Amber.
"...Well, I think I can promise not to hurt you. I still hold the right to play with you as I see fit, but I won't hurt you."
That didn't give me a lot of confidence, but it was better than nothing.
"...Thank you, Marissa."
"No problem, Amber."
~~~
I sat on the large table and shivered. It was cold in here, colder than I'd though doctor's offices usually were. Didn't they know we were super susceptible to cold? One star review, endangered the patients. I looked around the room. It was big, and there were a lot of drawers on the walls, and a large, low chair, presumably for the doctor to sit in while they worked on me, and a large sitting chair for the guardian. Marissa was sitting in that one, on her phone. It'd been a day since her picture of me, if I had to guess, she was checking the comments and starting drama.
The door swung open and a middle aged man stepped in. I frowned, I'd have preferred a woman doctor, especially since I was already in my underthings, but if he was the only one within an hour and a half's drive...
"Hello, Miss Lund?" He said, addressing Marissa "What seems to be the issue?"
She looked up and pointed to me. "She's- uh, she's there, she had vodka spilled on her, she can tell you more than me."
He turned to me and looked me up and down, wincing at my red and pink skin and cracked joints.
"Ok, and what's your name?" he asked in a voice usually reserved for dogs and children under 5.
"My name is Amber, Amber Park." I said. "I got splashed with vodka by mistake, and we didn't know it was dangerous."
He glanced at the sheet he was holding. "Hmm... ok, and... did you ingest the vodka?"
"No, I'm too young, I didn't have any."
He frowned. "It's not a matter of age, alcohol is essentially poison, and to someone of your size it could be deadly."
Oh... Well, so much for drinking on my 21st after all. "We put lotion on me, but it still hurts really, really bad..."
"Well, that's to be expected... You're suffering what are basically chemical burns and extreme dehydration. Here."
He went to the sink, and came back with a paper cup, the size of a bucket to me.
"Drink this, as much as you can, please."
I did as he asked, my mouth was still dry, and I'd done a lot of talking earlier, so I was grateful for the drink.
"Hey, like, is there anything you can give her?" Marissa asked "I'd really like her to be better as soon as possible."
"Oh, well that's kind of you. There is, but it's not cheap. This lotion you've been using is safe for her, but it's not ideal for her." The doctor said, switching back to his normal voice. "I can get you a bottle of lotion that's medicated and has gone through compression so her body can actually absorb and process it."
"Great, cool, I'll get it, yeah." She said, nodding.
"I recommend getting some gauze too, I sell that as well in her size. I'd say to soak it in the lotion, then wrap her up, and then put a layer of dry gauze on top, that way it'll hold it in."
"I'll look like a mummy..." I complained.
"Yes! It's very cute!" The doctor said, patting my head. This motherfucker...
"Ok, so like, do you need to do a check on her vitals or anything? Or are we really spending three hours in the car and twenty minutes in the waiting room to buy a bottle of lotion?" Marissa said, shaking her head.
"Ah, yes, I need to give her a physical! But I do need to ask you to leave, for privacy reasons. It'll just be a bit, ok?" he said.
Marissa huffed, but stood and left, closing the door behind her. The doctor sat down in front of me and looked at me seriously.
"Now, as your doctor..." He said in that stupid childish tone. "I have to ask, has she been hurting you? Is she putting you in danger? It's not uncommon for new guardians to mistreat their little friends..."
I thought about my answer. I could rat her out, tell him everything she'd done, but... would it be enough to do anything? If a kiss was just a slap on the wrist, would anything come of the other stuff? I could end up just getting her in trouble, and then still have to stay with her, but then she'd know I'd told. I might get to go live with Henri if the consequences were serious, but I didn't know if I wanted that right now based on her actions last night.
That said, I'd also have to tell on Henri too if I was being honest. Her grabbing me, the kiss, her throwing me into the soup... I could stay quiet, but Marissa would say how unsafe she was either way, and that could invalidate my own testimony if they found out I'd withheld information. In the end, I'd absolutely not be allowed to be around Henri anymore no matter what.
I could live with my parents, my dad had his guardian license, but if Henri wasn't allowed around me, I'd just be with the two of them, and once they got older and couldn't pass recertification, I'd get shuffled off into the adoption process again. My mom already could hardly hear, and my dad's eyes were going, who's to say it'd be more than a couple years before I got removed from their care anyway? It'd decades sooner than I would if Marissa was watching me either way, if she ever even failed re-cert. Would never seeing my friend again and risking being put back on the market in a few years be worth getting away from Marissa?
"...No, she hasn't. She was drinking with her friend, and I tried to fix them drinks, that's how I got splashed."
"...I see," he said, not sounding convinced. "and the bruise?"
I looked down at the yellow blotch on my side, visible even through the lotion and red skin.
"...That was an accident. She was playing with me the day she got me, and didn't realize how fragile I was. She knows better now."
I felt gross saying that, making excuses for her, but... I didn't think she'd do it again. She'd promised to try at least...
"Ok, Amber, I just want you to know, if there's ever a problem, you need to tell us right away, ok?" He said sadly, patting my head with his finger. His hand smelled like hand sanitizer and old people.
"Yeah, ok. So, the check up... What do I need to do?..."
"Oh? No no, there's no check up, you just got one earlier this week when you were registered, you'll be ok. I just wanted to make sure you weren't being abused, and if you
"...Ok, yeah. Let's just... I want to get home, so thanks, but let's move it along..." I said.
I couldn't tell if I'd made a mistake just now, but he seemed to think I did. He dug in one of the drawers and pulled out a bottle full of grey cream, and bandages from another. He opened the door and called for Marissa to come back in.
"So... What, is she ok?" She asked, stepping in.
"She is! A bit banged up, but that's normal for new class Bs, still finding out how their new bodies work." He said. "Here's the lotion, and the bandages. Soak the bandages for at least ten minutes before putting them on her, then remember to put a dry layer on top, ok?"
"Yeah, ok, no problem." She said, putting my case next to me on the table. I stepped inside and sat down as she collected the items and closed the front of the case.
"You can pay at the front desk, I hope she heals well!" the doctor said, beaming.
Marissa paid at the desk, wincing at the $600 bill, and we headed out to where Drew was waiting for us in the parking lot.
She climbed in, and looked over the lotion. "This stuff had better work..." She said "I can't believe it's so fucking expensive."
"I think it was the doctor's time, too. If he's the only one in an eighty mile radius, he can name his price..." I offered.
She looked down at me and bit her lip. "Hey, while I was out of the room, what happened?"
Yeah, I though she'd ask that. "...He asked if you were abusive."
She looked at me, almost scared to ask, but trying to work up the courage.
"...I said you weren't." I told her, not giving her the chance to ask it herself. "You told me you wouldn't hurt me, and that you'd be better about 'playing' with me, I'm choosing to trust that."
I didn't trust her, not as far as I could throw her, but if she knew I didn't see tattling on her as a viable option right now... I hated to think of what she'd feel comfortable doing to me.
She looked down guiltily. "Yeah, ok. You didn't say... anything?"
I shook my head. "No, nothing. Like I said, I'm trusting you."
She swallowed and pursed her lips. "...That's... kinda a lot of pressure on me all of the sudden, you know?"
"Well... I don't know, it's like, now there's stakes to everything. I have your trust or whatever, and I know it shouldn't matter, you're a fucking pet, but for some reason, I don't want to lose that."
I lay back down. I felt guilty now too, but I couldn't let that get in the way. I finally had some kind of power, some bargaining tool. Why Marissa of all people cared that I "trusted" her, I couldn't guess, but I needed to use it while I had it. I could guess about why she gave a flying fuck, and... it tied back into my earlier suspicions, but I almost didn't want that to be the case, as helpful as it'd be. My life was already getting too complicated.
"Hey, once we get home, I'll show you something cool, ok?" She said, trying to sound chipper. "No playing with you, no tricks, just like, something fun and cool we can do together, ok?"
"...Yeah, ok. Just don't forget I need the bandages on me first."
"Oh, yeah, I won't." She said.
The rest of the ride home, we sat in awkward silence. I didn't want to talk and ruin the balance I had, and she stayed quiet, on her phone typing furiously, glancing up at me from time to time before going back to her phone.
~~~
I stood on Marissa's desk with my arms and legs out as she carefully wrapped me up in the sticky gauze. I'd refused to remove the rest of the clothing I had on, and she didn't push the issue past a comment that it'd work better if it touched my skin directly, most likely to her odd modesty hangup. I'd smeared the lotion under my underthings though, so that should help out some at least. Her fingers carefully weaved in and out as she wrapped. I had to brace myself as the tight wrappings rubbed against my skin, but the lotion felt so, so good... It numbed and soothed at the same time, a few minutes after it hit my skin, I couldn't feel anything.
"Thanks for helping me with this..." I said, bending so she could wrap better.
"Yeah... It's like, one of my jobs or whatever, I guess." She said. "Seriously though, I can't help but feel responsible, and... I need you to look good by tomorrow anyway."
"Tomorrow?" I asked "Is that when your mom gets home?"
"My mom? No, that's like, next weekend." She said, shaking her head "I have to go to my dad's house, and I was going to bring you so at least I'd have something interesting to talk about instead of who's cheating on their golf scores, or who's wearing the same dress twice."
I looked down at the still-exposed part of my body. "Well... I look pretty bad now, but I can't even feel my lower body, so that's a good sign."
She frowned. "Or it means I wrapped you too tight and your circulation got cut off. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah, it's not tight, it's just numb..."
"Ok, yeah. I'll re-do this before you go to bed, and I'll check it in the morning when we get up. Or, you can check it, I don't know. I'm responsible for you, maybe I should check it?"
"Ugh," I said "It doesn't matter, I'll check to see what it looks like and you can watch, geez."
She finished wrapping me up, stopping at my neck, and started on the dry top layer. It was thick and made me feel bigger, clumsier somehow, even though I was barely the size of Marissa's finger. My fingers were especially hard to move, but with how dry my hands were, they needed it most. Before long, I was wrapped up tight, looking like a mummy just like I'd thought I would.
"Ok, thanks again... Hey, before you show me the cool thing... Could I get some food? I didn't eat this morning, and I'm kinda hungry."
"Huh? Oh, hm, yeah, I guess I forgot too. I'll get you in your house and order myself a smoothie too... Good thinking." She said, carefully lifting me up.
She seemed to be pushing herself to be nice, the 'good thinking' had seemed like an afterthought, like she'd tacked it on after the fact, to try and make me feel like I had valuable thoughts. Maybe she did think it was a good idea, and just didn't know how to praise others? Either way, it felt awkward and fake.
I made a microwave meal, a bowl of mac and che'ze, and ate half of it quickly, standing at my counter. I had been wondering what the 'something cool' could be, it'd sounded like a project, maybe we'd do crafts? I tried to think of what crafts she'd need/want my help with; something that required a fine touch, and the only thing that came to mind was dioramas, but that was stupid, that's a boring person hobby.
I swallowed a mouthful of gooey, vaguely cheesy lumps, and shoved the bowl in the fridge. I guess I'd find out soon. I walked outside and sat on the front step to wait for Marissa to get her smoothie from the kitchen. The lotion was really helping, not only was I numb, but there was a slight cooling sensation under my skin. If it wasn't so expensive and didn't smell kind of funny, I'd use this all the time. Marissa's door opened and she stepped in, holding a large glass full of purple slush, and walked over to me.
"Ok, this is gonna be fun, I've never gotten to do this with someone in real life before, but like, you're smart, so it'll be cool."
I stepped into her hand and she brought me over to her desk. Smart? What did she mean by that?
"So... What are we going to do?" I asked.
She wiggled the mouse on her computer and the screen lit up. She clicked on an icon that looked like a globe, and almost instantly a loading screen popped up. It read "The Life and Times Of The Gods", and had a globe spinning with explosions and monuments popping up on the surface as it turned.
"We're gonna play this!" She said, pointing "It's my favorite game, you get to play as a god, and there's like, rival gods? And you have to make your kingdom strong enough to wipe them out. We can do two player and I can take your turn if you tell me what you want to do. We can team up and form an alliance!"
I stared at the screen. Of all the things for Marissa to do in her free time, playing RTS god simulators was the last thing I'd ever have guessed.
...Although, it did make a lot of sense, now that I thought about it.
"So... I'm betting the other girls weren't fans of this?" I asked.
"Oh, gods no, I never even brought it up. I think the only game they ever played was those candy match ones on their phones." She said, clicking through the menus. "You, though, you strike me as a gamer."
"Well," I said, thinking "I haven't had a modern game system in almost ten years, but I do have over fifteen hundred hours on Last Legend 28, the one that's an MMO? So, yeah, I guess you could say I'm a gamer."
Marissa's eyebrows raised and her eyes opened all the way for once "Holy shit... I have like six hundred in this, and it's my most played game, you seriously have me beat."
"I haven't played many RTS games to be honest." I said "I usually stick to like, games where I can run around and hit stuff, but I know a lot of them are super in depth!"
I should butter her up a bit...
"I would love for you to teach me this one!"
"Oh, yeah! I got into these kinds because my dad was into the simulator games from way back when, like the ones where you simulated bugs or a planet's evolution. He said it helped him see the business world in a new light, so he wanted me to have the same experience. I don't like the ones he liked, but... I like the ones where I get to be god."
Of course she did.
"So... Where do we start?"
She pointed to the screen. "We'll play on easy, because it's your first time, but we start way back 12,000 years go, when humans first really started doing anything interesting, and we go until... Well, usually it's like, modern day, but I have an expansion, so we can play until we have like, moon bases and stuff, as long as there's still other gods playing, of course."
She was... really into this, I had never seen her get this interested in anything before, and there was no hint of irony to her tone, she really, actually just wanted to show me her favorite game because none of her friends would be interested. Despite myself, I felt sorry for her. I thought about the times I'd gushed about the catboy NPCs I was flirting with in LL28, and the times Henri had excitedly shown me a rare monster she'd caught in one of her games. Even if you didn't have the same exact interests, just being able to talk about something you love to someone is... really important.
"I can't see the screen from here, and I'd like to sit, can I ride on your shoulder while we play?" I asked.
"Yeah, ok!" She picked me up and set me on her shoulder, and I lay against her neck "I'll walk you through the first few turns, they're super important. If we don't kill the atheist tribes before they level up, they end up being really strong, so I'll help you, but after that I'll just let you do your own thing."
"Ok, yeah, that sounds good to me."
"Ok, so first off, we need to pick a god or goddess for you... I personally like Artemis, but she's weak late game. Shiva is good the whole time, but complicated to build out her religion tree? Elmaem is the meta, but they are super hard to use right. I'd say just... pick the coolest one for now, and I'll pick someone else to support you."
I looked at the screen of dozens of gods and blinked. I'd never even heard of almost any of these, and I didn't really know about any of them.
"Uhh, how about Buddha?" I asked, pointing.
"Oooh. Hhh..." She hissed through her teeth. "Not that one, it's not a god, it's a religious system, you influence followers through a reincarnating holy person, it's tricky and hard to get used to."
Well, so much for picking something I had a cultural attachment to then, what about... "Oh, hey, that bunny man is pretty cute, how about him?"
"Oh, yeah, Tu'er Shen. He's a god of like, gay men. He's hard to use, but I can use my main, Artemis, and focus on her lesbian religion tree, and we can have a sort of 'men in one city, women in the other' thing going on."
"Oh, uhh ok, yeah that works for me." This game was... complicated, it seemed.
"Alright," she said "so here's my first turn, I have a tribe of about ten people right now..."
As she explained her moves and showed me the mechanics, I started to get an odd feeling inside me. Hearing her gush about her game, talking about the meta, showing off the things she knew, it felt like I was just spending the afternoon with a friend, not living life as her pet. Could this be sustainable? Would I be able to keep her like this, guard down, treating me like a friend? I still didn't really trust her, but if she could be like this all the time, I really wouldn't mind living with her.
I dictated my moves to her as the afternoon passed, and she stayed happy and engaged, showing me tricks and laughing as we smote non believers and conquered the other religions, converting everyone to our joint belief system. It was sort of fun, I wasn't used to this kind of game, but if this became a regular thing, I wouldn't mind. It's not like I could really play other games anyway now. As the afternoon turned to evening, we won through annihilating the last god's city with a holy rain of burning arrows. She cheered, pumping one fist in the air while plucking me off her shoulder with the other hand.
"We did it! That was on easy mode though, next time we'll play on normal, and eventually we'll work up to my preferred difficulty, online mode."
"Ok, yeah, I think I want to try a different god next time, one with more attacks instead of just culture, but I had fun!"
"Yeah, for sure!" She set me on the desk. "So... it's getting later, I was going to go out to dinner with my friend Darcy in an hour or so, did you want to come?"
She... was asking? "Uh, well..." I said. "I'm still feeling kinda rough, would it be ok if I rested up for tomorrow?"
She frowned, but nodded. "Yeah, that- ok, yeah. I can show you to her any time, but I need you to make a good impression on daddy."
She picked me up and moved me to my house. "So... I guess I'll get ready, and... I'll see you before bed to put more medicine on you?.."
"Yeah, ok, that's-"
I was cut off by a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Marissa called out
"A package, ma'am." Parker called through the door.
"Oh! It's- Ok!" She said, running to the door. She swung it open and Parker handed her a package the size of a shoebox, covered in brown paper. She slammed the door and tore into it, revealing a wooden box with two rows of doors on it. She turned a knob, and a platform slid out from between the two rows, and another knob exposed stairs on the other side. She walked it to the desk and set it next to my house.
"It's your clothes! I forgot they were coming today!"
I looked at the wardrobe in shock, there were a good ten closets there, full of clothes for me?
"I... whoah..." I said stupidly.
"Yeah, they're all designer stuff, or like, whatever designer for a subhuman is I guess." She bragged "You can look through them while I'm gone! I have a catalogue of what all is in there, I picked stuff that should go with my outfits, but like, you can look and see what you like, even if I'm going to be picking what you wear, you can still have an opinion."
There it was; 'subhuman', picking my clothes for me, based on what she was wearing... A designer doll wearing designer clothes, as soon as her new toy got a fun new accessory, I was back to being a doll. As human as I'd felt today, she just couldn't let it stick. She didn't even know she was doing it, she'd just fallen back into treating me like a pet as soon as we were done 'bonding'. She wasn't 'making' me feel like this, to her, it was just what it was. I looked down at my body, wrapped in bandages, and thought about how long it'd take for her to backslide fully, back to 'playing' with me too rough.
Still, I could try to keep her happy. I looked up and beamed at her.
"Thank you so much Marissa! I can't wait to look through them! I really appreciate this!"
~~~