"Identity-Usage Practice" (Private Roleplay with SonicSilva1)

Belle and O.B. Hoot found themselves suddenly vanishing from the world they knew into a different one. Their energy had caused a teleportation ability to manifest and they were now standing in the middle of a street. The temperature was hotter, but not uncomfortably. The city was large and circular, with spiralling buildings and white marble streets about. The population appeared to be completely Mobian.

They seemed to be close enough to the edge of this circle city to notice the vast desert surrounding it.

Belle looked around,a bit confused as where she was. "Hello? Hoot?" She called for him. No answer from him. She was beginning to get worried so she tried calling again. Still no response. She ran around the place, trying to figure out where he is.

"Hoot? Are you here? Or maybe over there?" She ran around, bustling through people. The more worried she got, the brighter she glowed. Eventually, she sat down near a building and glowed a soft blue. "Where is he? And where is Asonja too? I didn't see a black hedgehog or an Owl...am I alone here?" She asked herself, quietly.

The civilians about the area took note of her sudden glowing. Most walked past though one man pulled out a phone as he went. There was a particularly tall and large skyscraper in the distance that held a large "C" just below the title "Capital Towers".

She looked at it the tower, glaring at it for a bit. "Capital Towers?" She muttered to herself as she went back to looking around.

A minute later, a blue and black hovering car drove up. It slowed while getting some yards from Belle as an officer walked out. He did not have his weapons in his hand, but he did approach her. "Ma'am?"

She looked up, slightly confused. "Y-yes?" She stood.

"I'm with the NMPD Special Divisions," He introduced, pointing to his bade. "We respond to any calls concerning supernatural events and people that are seen without being filed before.  You aren't in any trouble at the moment, but I do need to ask you some questions concerning your person and being here."

"O-okay..." She started to glow a faint color, shaking a bit. "Uhh...w-what do you want to know?"

He pulled out an electronic pad and a pen. "Can you give me your name please?"

"Uhh...M-my name is Belle." She answered simply.

"Can you tell me why you are here?"

"I...I don't know! I was...somewhere else and then I just appeared here..." She says. The glow started to get brighter, almost noticeable."

The officer looked up from his pad for a moment. "Alright, Ma'am please try to stay calm.  You don't know how you arrived here?  Can you tell me where you were before?"

"I was in a smaller city than this. And it wasn't around a desert like this one." She said, taking some deep breaths. The glow was starting to fade.

"Can you explain to me anything that you would consider supernatural about yourself?"

She seemed more nervous this time. "Uhh...I don't know? I just kinda got here one day." She shrugged.

(This isn't too important but I just wanted to point out: We didn't roleplay Belle and Hoots figuring out the name of their species yet.  Is this something you'd rather they know already or learn from someone in this roleplay?)

(I suppose they can learn from someone else. Sorry bout that)

(Is all good, just thought you'd want to know.) (Well, now that I know, we can make this slightly more interesting. Go ahead, I fixed her line.) (Alrightiness.)

"Alright, now, I'm going to use a scanner to make sure there isn't anything radioactive or unstable in your structure.  Is that alright with you?"

"I guess...? As long as it doesn't hurt me, I'm alright." She said, feeling a bit more calm at this point, but still worried about what's going to happen.

The officer nodded and pulled out a phone-looking device. A small beam moved up and down her from it, a beeping going off. "Alright... well there seems to be a lot of energy inside of you, but your body is containing it well enough.  Do you have a blood-type?"

"Uhh...I do not know." She looked at her arms, confused.

"Alright..." He pulled out a small flexible wrist-band. "I just need you to put this on for a few seconds.  Is that okay?"

"Okay..." She held out her arm.

He placed the band on. It tightened for a moment, then loosened. A small scrape could be felt before he pulled it off.

She still stood there, a bit confused at what was happening. She was silent too.

"Alright, that's all I needed," He informed. He began walking back to his car. "Have a nice day."

"Okay...bye?" She waved nervously, rubbing her other wrist afterwards.

The car drove off soon after, and she found herself alone. In her hand was some kind of permit, reading "During any confrontation, this permit certifies that one 'Belle' is of no known danger to herself or others currently."

She sighed, looking up at the tall buildings. "If only I knew WHAT I was...then maybe that might shed some light on my originality." She sat back down near the entrance of a mall of sorts.

A small group of teenagers approached her, one calling "Are you waiting for someone?" (Question, do you want me to be in control of Hoot?)

(Sure, if you want. I could use him to study) She looked up at them. They saw her glow a dark blue. "No...not really."

(that's what I was thinking, though don't worry.  You'll be seeing a more experienced Identity in not too long. ;{)) "Whoa-" One called from behind.  They walked around to her front.  Some looked particularly surprised by her lack of mouth.  "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just so...confused and alone! I lost a friend of mine and I have no idea where I am..." She hugged herself, the dark blue glow getting brighter.

They all looked to each other. "Uh... what does your friend look like?"

"He's an Owl. I'm not sure where he is..." She replied.

"Where'd you see him?"

"We were in a smaller city and then...I showed up here."

"... Wait, were you kidnapped?"

"I don't know. I just appeared here. Maybe?" She shrugged, still glowing blue.

"Uh- why are you glowing?" One asked before being nudged by another.

She didn't answer the question. She just stayed silent.

"Well, we could help you look," One suggested before being pulled back by another. They began speaking among each other.

She tensed a bit and glowed a different color. "Stop!" She shouted. "Stop arguing!"

Most of the group jerked back defensively, silently looking over to her, most looking a bit afraid.

She calmed down, the glowing vanishing. "Sorry...I don't mean to hurt any of you it's just...I don't want to hear you guys fight."

"... Alright," One whispered to another. "You want to deal with this, you're on your own," The group walked off, save one bee-looking girl.

She slumped back down against the wall, back to glowing a dark blue.

"... Do you want help looking for your owl friend?" She asked.

"Yeah..." She nods. "What's your name?"

"Madis," She answered, walking over a bit. "If your friend came with you, he's probably still in this city and looking for you too."

"Maybe..." She stands up. "I'm Belle, by the way."

"Well, Belle, let's start looking," She held out her hand.

She nods and grabs it. She smiled and glowed a dim color.

The two started about the city in their search, but Hoot was nowhere to be seen at the moment. "Is he like you?" Madis asked.

"Kind of..." She answered. "He's like me, but an actual Owl Mobian. I can recognize him easily but I do not see him." She glows a dim dark blue now.

"Well, maybe you can... er, sense him or something?  Does he glow too?"

"No, he doesn't glow." She shook her head.

"...Okay... um... W-...we could check the Capital building?  It maps the whole city."

"That's a great idea, actually! I didn't think of that!" She glowed a lighter color of blue.

"Okay, great.  Let's go," She started jogging toward the building.

She followed at her exact pace.

It didn't take long to get to Capital Towers. It was quite the large and populated building, mostly a yellow and white shade. They went up some stairs until arriving at the city map, a giant hologram showing the outdoors of the entire area, and some indoors for public places. "Owl right?" Madis asked.

"Yes. He's an owl." She nodded.

"Alright," She typed in the race into the system. Various figures lit up about the city area, a population level of the owls appearing next to it.

"Whoa, that's pretty cool. Though none of them look like him..."

"Try looking a bit first," Madis moved aside from the controls. "Here, use those to zoom around to look."

"Oh..." She presses the zoom button on one Owl being. It wasn't Hoot. She kept looking around on the lit up people, but still nothing.

"... Is he a real owl?" Madis asked. "Maybe it's not picking up on his DNA.  I mean, are you a real fox?"

She showed Madis the permit, saying that there is no such thing as a person named Belle, which is herself. "I think this answers that question.."

"Okay then um... try... powers?  Alien?  Supernatural?"

She shrugged.

"... Well let's type it," The searches didn't work at first until she put in "Unknown". A figure appeared inside of a mall. It didn't look like Hoot but it seemed to be the only one.

She sighed and facepalmed. "Shoot...still not it. But thank you so much for trying to help me find who I'm looking for."

"Hold on, Don't you at least want to see who that is?" Madis asked hopefully.

"Alright. Maybe it is him but just different."

"Let's hurry," She ran out.

She ran out as well, keeping up with her pace pretty well. She didn't seem to get tired of running.

Madis tried to stay ahead as they went, but eventually tired out as she slowed to a walk. "How... are you running, so much?" She panted out.

She slowed down, not even panting. "I do not know. I guess I'm just full of energy. Anyway, we need to get going. Come on." She takes Madis' arm and began running again.

Madis tripped a bit, trying to keep up.

Soon, they got to the Mall and she walked right inside. "Here, take a breather. I'll get you some water if you need any."

"I just... yeah-" She sat down.

She walked to a stand, took some ice cold water and handed it to Madis. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," She sipped a bit before eventually standing up. "Alright, let's look."

She nods and looked around (Hold on, I might be getting an Optical Migraine in a second. I cannot tell) (Ouch... do you want me to wait?) (It's fine now, I'm good) (Alrightiness)

As the two walked about in their search, Madis looked over at a pretzel restaurant. "You hungry?"

"Not really. Are you?" She asked.

"Always.  You wanna try a-..." She stopped, remembering that Belle had no mouth.

She was silent, as if letting that thought sink in for her.

"Sorry," She winced a bit.

"It's fine. Maybe when I do get a mouth, you'd be more than welcome to go to any food you want to take me to. I do not mind" She replied. "Now let's continue looking. He should be close."

"Right," Madis pulled her eyes away from the food and stared about. They searched for a good while but no sign of the owl. That was until a familiar voice called out "Belle!"

"Hoot? Is that you?" She called back. She stopped where she was.

A male figure approached. He was wearing Hoot's attire, but his face was more blank. Soon after, he changed his face to that of the owl from before.

"It is you!" She hugged him, glowing a bright color. "I thought I was alone!"

He hugged back a bit as well. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied. "Are you okay?"

"I was definitely confused when I first got here.  I scared a few people at first though, so I tried to disguise myself and was able to change my appearance a bit."

"That's good to hear. An officer came up to me and did a few tests and then I have this." She shows him the permit.

Hoot looked over the paper. "This helps you not get into trou- who's this?" He looked over to Madis.

She looked at Madis. "Oh! This is Madis. She helped me find you."

"Ah.  Thank you, Madis," He reached to shake her hand. Madis slowly shook back. "So... you can change shape?"

"He can, Yes. But I cannot. At least, I do not think so." She stated.

"I don't see why you wouldn't be able to," Hoot protested. "We're the same kind.  Have you tried?"

"Well...no. I haven't actually tried yet." She replied.

"Well, give it a go."

"I don't know how.." She stated, glowing a dim color.

"Strange... it just felt like instinct to me..." He pondered. "Well that can wait I guess.  We need to figure out how to get back to Asonja's city.  I think we might actually be in a different world."

"I thought so too. We're in a Desert City from the looks of it." She answered.

"Yeah.  They call it 'New Mobotropolis'... Well the twenty-third New Mobotropolis actually."

"The Twenty third?! Did we move to the future or something?"

"I... maybe, but no one seems to have any memory of Jason's rampages."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that he can turn into a massive dragon and destroy everything...Ah well. I guess we're too far." She shrugs.

"Well maybe someone here can tell us about how to get back."

"Actually, you could check the Science Center," Madis suggested.

"Why the Science Center, Madis?" Belle asked.

"It has a lot of advanced technology.  The scientist in charge knows a lot about time-space stuff."

"Oh, well then lets go. Hoot, you're coming too right?" Belle looked at him.

"Definitely," He walked out.

She nodded and walked out with him and Madis.

"Alright, we're not running this time," Madis said as she typed into her phone.

"Yeah...because, clearly, I cannot run out of energy and then we'll have to wait for you, which would waste time, and...you get the idea." She said, as she noticed a black hedgehog-dragon mix in an apartment building doing some pushups. This stuck her as odd, but told no one about it.

"A traveller car will get us there in a few minutes," Madis hung up her phone.

"Alright...I guess that's okay." Belle said nervously. She was glowing a dim color as she looked around. She was anxious about something.

"Belle, what's wrong?" Hoot asked.

"I'm just a bit nervous...I've never been on a 'Traveller Car' before..." She replied (I just thought of something last night: How would Virus act if Asonja hasn't trained at all, and instead gotten worse? x3)

(That would be a situation.) "I think it's... a taxi," Hoot said.

(I'm gonna do that after this. That's exactly the next thing in Asonja's Core Training; Virus will go berserk and actually force him to train xD) "But...still. I've never set foot in one and I'm just a bit nervous." She replied.

"Well I haven't been in one either so you're not alone."

"It's not a big deal," The bee girl chuckled dismissively while walking to the front of the mall.. "It's just a car."

"We know, we've never been in a car. We usually like...fly or something. Remember Jason? That Dragon guy?" Belle asked Hoot.

"I was the first to mention him." Hoot reminded.

"Well um... deep breaths?" Madis shrugged as a hovering car approached.

"Maybe...?" Belle shrugged as well. "Well...here goes nothing."

Madis handed the driver her card. He swiped it, handed it back, and the doors opened. "I got... white, blue, and black.  Whatcha want?" He asked.

"Uhh..." Belle randomly picked. "Blue?"

"Alright," The driver began flipping a switch. Madis gave a winking eyebrow to them both as the inner area of the car turned to a blue with white lights. Some slow music began to play just as they drove off. "Cool huh?"

"Wow! This is so cool!" Belle squealed quietly in joy, as she too was glowing a color that somewhat matched the lights.

"Things are pretty good here in our grand city," Madis grinned.

"I can tell! From where we were, these vehicles had to stay on the ground! This is much better!" She giggled happily, but it soon faded and so did her glow. "But still, I really miss a few people though. I wish they were here experiencing this...well...only one of them; the other is motion sick."

"Once we find out how to get back, we can try bringing them here," Hoot noted. They soon arrived at the building.

"Thanks for the ride, sir." Belle smiled a bit and climbed out.

The driver smiled back, tipping his cap before driving off. "Come on!" Madis called excitedly as she ran inside the big yellow sphere of a building.

Belle whistled and followed Hoot and Madis inside (Glad I made it on time, I was cleaning the bathroom as I am expecting company.) (I see.  I may be slow with responses myself due to the internet being wonky today for some reason.)

Madis approached the front desk. "We need to see the Scientist."

"Professor S. isn't here right now," The employee informed. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Belle said, sighing.

"Well if you write your name and a way to contact you, as well as the reason for wanting to speak to him," She slid over a sheet. "We'll reach you as soon as we can."

"Right..." She nods and puts in her name, and everything else but the "way of contact"

"... Hm," Madis stepped back, motioning for them to follow.

Belle and Hoot followed her.

"What if we told her?" Madis suggested. "That might get us in quicker."

"... No," Hoot refused. "All he needs to know is that we're not from here and we need to get back home.  If they find out that we're some different species, we'll be put in a test tube."

"Exactly. We need to keep our secret...you know 'Secret'" Belle added.

"Well... alright one second," She walked back to the desk, writing something on the sheet before walking back. "Alright, well it's almost night now.  Are you guys going to keep looking?"

"Maybe." She said, before sneezing quietly. It sounded like a kitten sneezing.

"... Did you just sneeze?" Hoot raised an eyebrow.

"N-noooo?" Belle said, glowing a color as well as blushing massively.

"... How were you able to do that?" He asked in confusion.

"I do not even know." Belle now had a mouth. She apparently sneezed it right into existence, because logic.

"... Hey you've...got a mouth now," Madis congratulated. "... Um... anyway I really should get going now. It's going to get late."

"I agree. What the heck is this fleshy thing?" She asks, sticking out her tongue. "How do I use it?" It sounded a bit strange since it was out.

"That's a tongue," Hoot explained. "People use them to taste things... As far as I know, we can't actually taste things... just replicate the appearance of body parts."

She sticks it back in her mouth. "So I'll never actually get to try food until we get to taste them?"

"I don't think we need food but we'll see," He shrugged.

"... Okay, um... bye," Madis began to walk off.

Belle waved goodbye and then looked at Hoot. "Where should we stay for the night?"

"Well we don't have money... We could just keep walking around."

She nods, gets up and walks out. She kept the door open for Hoot before walking back out again. "Hmm...if this tongue lets them taste food, but we can only replicate their appearance...we must be missing something..." She was muttering to herself.

"Maybe this has something to do with it," Hoot lit up his hand with energy. "It sometimes has random effects on things."

"Oh yeah. I forgot." Belle smacked her head for a second. "I was overthinking it a bit."

"It's probably best not to test the energy here... hopefully we don't blow something... something..." He looked behind them as they walked down the street. "... I felt something... behind us."

Belle looked behind her too, but saw no one. "Huh...I didn't feel anything."

"Hm..." He stopped his hand from glowing and continued walking. "Have you explored much of this city?"

"Not really, no. Have you?"

"Not much, n-" He turned around again.

Belle did as well, "What're you..-"

"There was someone following us," He insisted. "It looked... pink or something."

"Pink? You might be imagining things or something. An eye malfunction?"

"I haven't had any issues so far," He protested. "Maybe someone knows what we are?"

"Maybe. Let's hope he is no harm to us..." Belle assured.

"If we go somewhere populated,we should be fine."

"Right. Lead the way" Belle nodded. (Gtg) (Likewise)(I'm back, but now I gtg again as I'm being forced to be social with my cousins, which means going outside and stuff which I despise because it's hotter than hell.) (I can relate)

"Um..." After some aimless searching, they made it to the mall area, which was still active. "It's too bad we can't buy things but we could look for now."

"Right." Belle nodded and looked around, following him.

"Are you new?" a feminine voice asked from a theater to the left.

"Uhh...we are, yes." Belle stopped Hoot for a second.

"Yeah, when you mentioned the whole lack of money thing, that seemed a bit odd," The voice walked over, revealing a pink blonde-haired feline approaching over. (This be her)

"Oh. So you were the one following us?" Belle asked. "Hoot did tell me someone was following us and that's you, I'm guessing. Why did you follow us?" (I gtg. Amusement park tomorrow.)

"Well I guess pretending I just came out of a theater is pointless," She non-answered. (G'night) (Hooba Dooba)

(Blech forgot this existed Nuuu sorry.) "Well, you're the only being here that's pink and Hoot said some pink creature was following us so...that's already out of the question..." Belle sighed.

(All of my offendedness. *dramatically falls on my side, hand on forehead*) "Yeah, you two are definitely new," She confirmed. "I think this is the first time someone chose to call me 'being' over 'person'."

"What do you want?" Hoot asked sternly.

"Maybe I'm just bored," She replied.

"Perhaps. I mean I am too so, welcome to the club." Belle replied, crossing her arms for a moment. (-; Rip)

"Are you two homeless?" The cat asked.

"Yes, we are."

"... Well do you want something to eat?"

"Uhh...we can't really eat or anything." Belle opens her mouth, showing the very smooth tongue, and lack of teeth.

The cat blinked a few times. "... Well... then... you're not... are you Non-Mobians?"

"I guess. We don't know exactly who we are."

The cat looked to Hoot. "You gonna concur with that statement?"

"We aren't normal, no."

"...Uh huh..." She walked back toward the theater, motioning for them to follow.

Belle followed, a bit nervous at first but stayed straight-faced.

They got into the restroom hall, out of sight. Before either could mutter out "Wait a minute" they found themselves all teleported to the middle of the outer-desert before a burst from the cat sent them a few feet away. "Why, are you here?" She asked, sounding far less friendly.

Belle was a bit shocked and stepped back a bit. "W-we don't know! We just appeared here today!"

"The last time any identity appeared here, they were trying to kill everyone," Her hand stretched out a bit as the ground stiffined. Hoot immediately increased the size of his own hand. "We aren't here to hurt anyone!"

"Y-Yeah!" Belle nervously said with Hoot. "We had no intention of hurting anyone."

"Then I'll be taking your better-be-convincing explanation now."

"Listen, we befriended several Mobians before we came into this different city, and some are trying to help one of them as they're not taking care of themselves well. We got separated as we were transported here unexplained, and we're trying to figure out our way out of here." Belle said sternly. (Gonna go, got a lot of work to plan on, sleeping, and other things)

"... So you don't know at all how teleporting works?  Do you know what you are?" (Alrighty)

"We don't know what we are, no." Belle shook her head.

"... And you're not here to destroy anything?"

She shook it again (Sorry if I'm going to be late, I'm severely depressed again. I'll try to be active as much as I can.) (No worries.) "... Alright... at least for now," They reappeared just outside of the restroom.

Belle sighed a bit in relief. "I thought you would never believe us." She said. "Is that all you needed to know?"

"For now.  This is my off-day so I'm spending it doing whatever I feel like," She answered.

"Hold on," Hoot spoke up. "How were you able to do all that?  You're one of us aren't you?"

"Dunno, am I?" She replied with a snarky tone

"Well, no need to get aggressive over it..." Belle muttered.

"Who said anything about aggressive?" She smirked. "... You're called 'Identities'."

"'Identities'?" Belle questionably clarified. "So like...we're not created biologically? If that's the case, that could explain why Hoot and I just appeared in a city one day, formed into actual walking beings, minus the part where we traveled here." (I think I just made Belle smart or something .-.)

(Congrations you done it!) "You're biological, just not organic... well not like flesh and blood.  Of course with training..."

"Yeah, I can see that." Belle agreed. (What do I win? .3.)

"... You really are completely lost... Hm..." She looked aside, hand half-covering her lower-jaw.

"We're j-"

"Alright, I've decided that I'm going to help you two," The girl interrupted.

"O-okay?" Belle shrugged. "I guess..but how?"

"Well I could just program it into you, but that's no fun so we'll deal with that tomorrow.  I'm heading home for the night."

"Where do we go?" Hoot asked.

"... Right," She paused mid step. "...You don't know how to snore yet, right?"

"... Well... Belle can sneeze," Hoot informed.

The cat looked to Belle.

Belle looked away, glowing a color, embarrassed a bit.

"How exactly did that happen?  You grew a nasal system?"

"I don't know. I just witnessed someone do it and then suddenly I sneezed." She shrugged. The glow dimmed a bit.

"Probably some Prime-Memory functions.  Well anyway, c'mon," she made way for the exit.

Belle nodded and the glow faded completely as she followed her. (Gtg. Be back on tomorrow at noon est maybe)

It took a good half hour for them to arrive at the location. Not too far from the more industrial area of the city was a neighborhood, and in the center was a stone and wood house. It was one story with a large left-side yard, with flowers around the edges and a stone hole-less fence. (G'night)

Belle stood confused. "Is this your house?"

"I sincerely hope so," She pulled out some keys from her pocket, unlocking the front door and walking inside.

Belle walked inside, looking around. "It's pretty dark in here."

"Yeah that's because it's night," The cat flipped a switch,  lighting up the living room. A kitchen was in the far hall with a large TV.

"Oh wow. Pretty nice place." Belle said, looking around curiously.

"You guys can sleep on one of the couches for now.  I- oh, we woke him up," A small blue figure was currently pawing at Belle's feet. At closer inspection, it was a blue and grey chao with cat paws.

"Awww! He's so cute!" Belle says and picked the chao up carefully.

He looked at her curiously, cocking his head to the side, but did not fight against her.

"Yeah that's Chai," The cat explained. "He's my little buddy."

"Awww...hey there little Chai!" She hugged him for a bit before setting him back down.

Chai smiled at her before walking into the kitchen. "So I'm goin' to bed now," The cat informed. "You guys don't know how to sleep yet, do you?"

"Most likely we don't know how to do that." She shrugged.

"Kay, well we'll do more stuff tomorrow... G'night," She walked down the hall.

"Night." She waved and slumped on the couch, crossing her legs in boredom. "Hmm...what to do for the time being?" She asked herself quietly.

Hoot walked over to the kitchen, examining anything and everything. Eventually he walked back to Belle. "... Do you trust her?"

"A bit..." Belle said. "I mean she seems nice."

"I guess... At least this city seems friendly enough... clean enough, safe in a way."

"Agreeable.." She said, and looks down to the floor. "I wonder what Jason and Asonja are up to..."

"Maybe they're looking for us... The girl, she could teleport.  Maybe if we tried hard enough, we could teleport too."

"Yeah, that might just work! But how can the girl teleport anyway?" She asked, thinking.

"Probably something to do with the energy we all have," Hoot theorised. "She'll probably tell us in the morning... but I'm a little anxious."

"Anxious? What for?" Belle asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Just to learn more about how we work... where we're from would help too."

"Yeah, you're right about that. But let's not overthink it too much." Belle suggested, as she laid down on the couch. "We should at least wait until morning."

"I suppose..."

Hours passed. Eventually the sun came out, but the cat didn't seem to come out from her room.

"Hmm...where is she? Is she dead?" Belle asked.

"That..." Hoot knocked on the door, with no answer following.

"Here, let me try." She slowly opens the door to take a peek

The room had some clothing lying about, and atop a flowery bed was the cat, facedown on a pillow under a pile of sheets.

She closed the door quietly. "She's still asleep...and the bed looks cute too."

"Cute?" Hoot seemed confused at the expression. "Is it small or something?"

"No it was just the design. To me it looked kind of cute since it had flowers everywhere."

"...Should we wake her up?"

"I'm up for it." Belle says as she walks in and lightly shook the girl.

Hoot approached slowly. The cat didn't move at first. "... Thief?" She called out from the muffling pillows. "... Oh wait... you guys... right..."

"We thought you died or something, since it's been like 6 hours or so." She can tell they never slept at all.

"I was sleeping," She explained. "You might learn that one eventually.  takes a while," The cat got up from her bed, blue silk pyjamas on. Alright, out. I have to change."

Belle nods and gets Hoot and herself out of the room.

"If she's one of us, why would she need to change?" Hoot asked as the door closed. "Does she just wear clothes?"

(Happeh July First btw .3.) "Yeah...but now that I think about it, should WE wear clothes? I mean...I feel kind of weird that wearing clothing is the norm around here and we're practically wearing no clothing."

(You just reminded me of something important with that comment.  Thank you muchly. X{D) "Well it looks like we are," Hoot noted. "Though I was actually given the clothes I have on right now."

(What would that be? Oh, and I gtg in like 15 minutes) "I'm guessing I'm the only one not wearing clothing...?" She said, glowing a dim color.

(Post something in a group.) "Well you look like you're wearing clothes so I wouldn't worry."

(Is it the Medic's July fest video? :3) "Okay. I was just having a moment." Belle added.

(A banner actually) Soon the cat opened the door, wearing her regular attire. "Alright, so how much do you guys know how to do already?  Aside from sneezing?"

"Uhh...sustain our life force?" Belle shrugged. "Aside from that and sneezing, that's all we can do."

"Well how's your constructing?" She asked.

"Constructing? Uhh...I dunno what that is." Belle informed.

"Turning your body into different shapes, tools and stuff," She answered while motioning for them to follow her to the backyard.

"Yeah, I dunno how that works for me. Hoot might know." Belle said and followed the cat.

"You can feel your energy throughout your body right?"

"Yeah, I can. But what does that have to do with changing body shape? I do not see how that makes sense.."

They entered the backyard. A large tree with a swing was seen with flower-beds surrounding them pressed against the tall brown fence. "You can control the energy.  It's called 'Chaos Energy' by the way.  You can destroy and create new cells, nanites in this case," Something cut off the tips of Belle's fingers. (Gotta sleep now.  Busy busy day was tiring.)

(Aye) She yelped at that a bit, looking at her hands. After thinking for a bit, they grew back. "Oh. Wow. That was faster than I thought..."

"Try growing them more."

"Like...bigger?"

"Yes."

"Alright..." She looked at her hands for a moment and concentrated. Her hands started to inflate bigger and when she opened her eyes, they stopped. "Whoa..." She looked at them, astounded but highly uncomfortable as she didn't want to wreck anything with the huge hands.

"You try that now," The cat said to Hoot. Hoot enlarged and shrunk his hands quickly.

"I figured that out already," He informed.

"Alright," The cat looked back to Belle. "Try shrinking them."

She did so. It was a bit slower than Hoot's, but they went back to regular size. "Cool. Does this work for every part of the body?"

"Yep, that's how it works," The cat nodded. "You can turn your body into basically anything granting you have strong enough nanites.  The heavier the construct, the more likely it is that they'll break."

"I see...is there a way to make the nanites stronger?" (Playin some smash on my 3ds. I'm still gonna edit once in a while)

"Your nanites are often breaking down and being replaced, so even if the ones you have now get stronger, they'll get replaced by weaker ones, meaning you have to be working them out often to get yourself used to them.  You can charge up energy through your body, lift things, practice constructs... I just... kind of let it happen gradually."

"Alright. So you're suggesting that I should train intensively once in a while? I mean, I can do that like once every afternoon."

"Yeah.  Think of it like a work out... On another note, you guys are gonna need a house."

"So we can blend in a bit more with everyone?" She asked for clarification.

"Well that too, yeah."

"Alright then, cool. I'll go ahead and get myself situated in a gym or something...not that there will be creeps or anything there..." (Foreshadowing OoooOoOOo x3)

"Yeah it's not that kind of exercise, but suit yourself."

"Is that all you really have to tell us?" Hoot asked.

"... For now, yeah.  What did you want?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well we need to know how to get back to our home for one," He replied.

"... You don' t know how to teleport?"

"Nope" Belle answered.

"You asked that already actually," Hoot informed.

"Alright, then what else do you WANT to know?"

Belle shrugged. "I actually don't have anything."

"... Teleporting," Hoot stated.

"... Right... yeah not sure how to teach you that," She explained.

"I mean, we can give you time to think if you need to." Belle suggested.

"Well there is another way I could transfer the knowledge, but you'll need a Psyche Archive."

"And how do I get one of those?"

"It's basically going into your own mind."

"And...how do I do that? I'm sorry if I'm sounding like an idiot right now but I had no idea any of this was possible for me." She replied

(I'm going to be afk soon, as I'll be shopping for fireworks. If I don't reply immediately, please be patient.)

(No!  I refuse!  I will be all the impatience!) "Yeah I'm never gonna be a teacher," The cat groaned. "Turn off your visuals."

(Hello again, mate) She was thinking how to do that and her eyes turned dim. "Whoop, okay, I can't see anything now."

"Focus on your conscience, imagining things in your head."

She tensed a bit, trying to do that. "I'm...seeing a few things."

"What are you seeing?"

"Some objects that I've seen, recently. Apparently even seeing someone sneeze."

"Your creating a mind-space.  Imagine reaching out to one of the items.  Picture a... block or something."

"Alright..." She does so with her eyes closed, so she didnt see what was going on. "Okay, I got the image."

A figure began to appear in the image.

"W-wait I'm getting a picture of someone..." Belle said suddenly as she started to focus more on her thoughts and the figure alone.

"Yeah that's because," The figure focused in, showing to be the cat. "This is your mind space.  This is where you can make an archive.  With focus you could even create a whole environment here."

"Oh! That's actually pretty cool. I might have to think about that later." She says as she exists the Archive and looked back around at the real world.

"That's also where you can store your constructs," The cat explained. "That way you don't forget how to do everything and have to go through the process over and over again."

"That's useful. Thanks for that." Belle nods.

"... Was I supposed to just know how that works by watching you two talk?" Hoot asked.

The cat sighed. "I'll show you later."

Belle sighed too, and then stretched. No bone popping was heard, though this would be the time that bones would be snapping. "Well, that was interesting. I might stop by at the gym today."

"Do you know where that is exactly?" The cat asked.

"..." She hunched over a bit, groaning. "No..."

"... Alright, c'mon," She walked back inside.

Belle followed the cat, seeming to update her Archive the more she looked around. She was able to take the designs and easily put them into the Archive, which she found pretty useful.

As she continued storing, it filled more of the space. In not too long it would be filled. They exited the house, the cat texting on her phone. "... Wait did I ask your names yet?"

"I don't think so. We don't know your name though."

"Right... Okay, I'm Kenfi.  Your turn."

"I'm Belle. And this is Hoot." She tried not to snicker at his name, since it was a pun in itself.

"Spot on," The cat known as Kenfi noted. "and you know some people from your world?"

"Yeah, we know Asonja and Jason. Asonja's a black hedgehog who thinks of himself as a minority of society and the weakest being alive, and Jason is a dragon who's just a friend of Asonja. He's chill."

"So he's like, emo or something?"

"Practically, yes. I'm hoping someone's getting him into control with it. He claims he has no special ability and always causes trouble in battles, as well as being very wimpy and scrawny. He barely eats and sleeps for tens of hours."

"Well that's unhealthy.  Do you live in some desolate world or something?"

"Not really, I don't think. We live in a world where humans and Mobians live separately, and Hoot and I crashed into a human city. That's where Jason and Asonja found us."

"Wait really?"

"Yup."

"Huh... that's actually exactly how it is here.  There's like... one human that lives in this country."

"I mean this city was FILLED with humans. We had to move to a location where the Mobians were a high popularity."

"Yeah you can find some of that on other parts of the planet here."

"Well...we weren't in a desert though. It's was full of lush green forests and such." Just as she said that, an image of the said-forest popped into her head.

"Well it's not like this whole planet's one big desert.  There's a big snowy forest to the... uh... some direction from this giant circle of a city."

"I don't think our planet HAS that. I don't even know what snow is, it's not in my Archive for all I know."

"And you, big guy?" She looked to Hoot.

"We... are all the same heigh basi-"

"Just answer the question."

"... I haven't seen snow, no."

"... Well I guess that'll be another thing on the list," A car drove up for them. "Here we go."

Belle nods and followed Kenfi to the car.

"Color?" The man asked as the group entered. "I got yellow, purple, blue, and pink."

"Ooo, I'll choose blue this time." Belle suggested.

"Alright," The lights lit up, electronic music playing with electricity waves circling the black room.

"Ooooh! I like this one!" Belle giggled tapped her finger to the music.

"... Where are we going?" The driver asked.

"The city gym," Kenfi instructed.

"A'right," They drove off.

"So you've been in a car before?" Kenfi asked.

"I already went in one before with someone else. That was my first time, this is my second time."

(Ohh, right. Fixed it.)

"Same for you huh?" She looked to Hoot.

"Yes."

"Whadd'ya think?"

"It was pretty cool! Normally from where we were, cars still relied on...some kind of material of some kind and had to stay on the ground."

"Gas, that's the word you're looking for.  Maybe you could buy one: bring it back to your world."

"But I don't have any thing to trade with for it."

"Well yeah, not yet."

"I'll take that into consideration though."

"Great," They arrived at a medium-sized building, white with multiple black revolving doors at the front.

"So, this is the Gym that supposedly strengthens me?"

"It's a regular gym," Kenfi stepped out.

"Oh, okay." She followed her out.

As the group stepped into the gym, a woman at the desk greeted them "Hello, are you here for a workout?"

"Yes, we are. I think probably for me though, I'm unsure about them." She looked at Hoot and Kenfi.

"... Yeah, why not," Hoot walked closer. Kenfi approached as well.

"Here," Kenfi swiped her card. Soon after they were presented with a form to fill out.

Belle filled out the form as best of her ability.

"Alright, we'll keep you two on for just today," Kenfi informed as they walked through the door to the rest of the gym. Various equipment was lined up on one end, with a large carpeted floor for the rest. A small track was there with various weights and an indoor pool through another door.

"You guys can probably already lift at least a few tons," Kenfi informed, "but might as well see how you deal with normal-folk stuff."

"And if it's too easy...?" Belle asked.

"I'll just make new ones for you."

"Let's find out." Belle said as she went to a benchpress. She put in as much weight in it as much as it can handle and then lifted it. It was like a feather to her. "Well, shoot."

"Yeah that's only a couple hundred pounds," Kenfi noted. "You're really not going to get your nanites exercised doin' this... hm..."

She put the weights back down on the bar, making it creek as it's not supposed to hold that much.

"I think I'll have something made up for you two," Kenfi said. "In the meantime, feel free to impress people."

"Alright. I'm good at doing that." Belle said, staying rather expressionless as she went to another machine, putting it to the maximum and just pressed forward with her pinkie finger.

Kenfi leaned down next to her ear. "Maybe not that impressive.  Don't want anyone actually thinking you're supernatural unless you want police after you."

"I think she got some kind of pass for that actually," Hoot informed.

"A pass?" Kenfi asked.

"Yeah." She showed Kenfi her hand, which showed text saying that she was "No danger to others"

"Huh... well it's up to you then I guess.  Just don't overdo it or you might blow my cover too, kay?"

"Hmm...sure." She nods and this time grips the machine with both hands and pretending to do it normally, but still at max weight.

"That's better," Kenfi nodded, looking over at Hoot. "What are you gonna do?"

"... Push-ups... I guess?" He shrugged before walking aside.

"It's a start. You should try one of those when you're done maybe." She pointed to a treadmill near Hoot. She stopped to simulate a break. Nobody was looking at her yet, which made her shrug.

"I'll let you get to it," Kenfi walked off. Eventually a man walked over to the bench press next to Belle, beginning his own session on a lower setting.

She only chuckled and watched him for a bit, pretending to take an interest in him.

Eventually the man began to glance over from the attention on occasion. When he eventually noticed the level she was lifting at, he stopped lifting, sitting up with a perplexed look. ".... Excuse me..."

Belle tilted her head at him. "Hm?" She wasn't even lifting them anymore, but just gripping the handles.

"Could I... maybe try that one for a second?" He asked.

"Of course." She moved out of the way for him to step in.

He sat down on the bench and began pressing against the weights, doing little more than making them jiggle a bit. He got off. "How... are you lifting that?"

She shrugged and gave it a try. She made it look like she was having trouble with it too. "I...don't really know. I guess I was lucky?"

"Lucky?" He raised an eyebrow. "How do you get lucky with weights?"

She shrugged again. "I dunno. How much can you lift on this thing anyway?"

"Me?  Uh..." He looked back to his own scale. "About 160."

"Impressive. I can only do about 90 or so. I'm trying to get up to at least that." She lied very well. Her actual goal is to lift exactly one ton.

"... Then..." He rubbed his eyes a bit. "Are you sure that's all you can lift?"

"Yeah. Do you want to see?" She asked.

"I... okay..."

She set it to about 95 and started doing her thing from there. "See? It's a bit hard for me..."

"... Then... what was that before?"

"The one lower than this."

"... I'll... um... how long have you been going here?"

"For about 5 minutes. I recently just walked in."

"Are you from New Mobotropolis?"

"I...think?" Belle said.

He chuckled slightly. "You think?"

"Kinda...?" She was blushing a bit, trying not to glow visibly.

"Well do you live in the city?"

"I don't really live anywhere currently. I don't have any place to live here."

"... Wait so you're a cross-country person?"

"Sure, we can put it that way." She shrugged and stopped using the machine.

"... I'm Ensin," He extended a hand out.

She took it. "Belle"

"Are you planning on coming here more often?"

"About once a week, yeah. Do you?"

"I do, yes," He nodded.

"Cool, cool." She nods. and leans back against the machine for a moment. She stretched too.

"... Would... you like to go do something sometime?"

"Sure." She shrugged. "I'm up for it." (Sorry if I'm not responding really quick, I'm doing something else.)

(Is all good) "Great," He smiled. "I've got somewhere to be after this, but if you're available, say tomorrow, at... six?"

"Sure thing." She nods. "Where do you want to meet?"

"Do you have an address?"

"Uhh....no.." Belle said, looking down a bit, sadly.

"Th-that's fine," He assured. "We could just meet up here."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll meet you here at six tomorrow." She nods.

"Great.  In the meantime," He got back on his bench press.

She watched him do so. She then got up and went to another machine, adjusting with that.

Kenfi walked over after a while holding a smoothie. "Sooooooo?"

"Apparently a guy likes me, and we're meeting back here tomorrow at six."

"That was quick."

"Yeah, I know. Didn't expect to get someone to like me, anyway." She shrugged and started to quietly push on the machine at its maximum weight. She made it look like she was testing her strength but wasn't doing well.

"You know what a date is, right?"

"Nope." She shrugged and leaned back on the machine, as it was one of those where you push with your legs.

"Do you know what 'romance' means?"

"Nope." She shrugged.

"... You know what a gym is bu- never mind.  Do you know what ATTRACTION is?  Love?  Hormones perhaps?"

She shook her head again.

"Oh you poor thing," She cupped Belle's cheeks. "We've got stuff to learn you.  Why do you think he wants to be around you?"

"Because...I'm interesting?" She asked.

"When you saw my chao, you thought it was..."

".........OHHHHH" Belle looked like she had a realisation. "That makes so much-ohhhhhhh...." She was faintly glowing pink

Kenfi smirked. "And you just agreed to a date."

"Ohhhhhhh........." Her glow brightened a bit the more she blushed

"You know he's only a few yards away."

"I know I know...Sorry." Her glow faded

"It's fine.  Looks cute, but now it's time to worry about how you're going to act on the date."

"Yeah...I mean I don't have an address or anything and I sometimes don't know how things work..."

"You can use my address for now.  You need to come up with what you'd do for hobbies, and what you do employment-wise."

"Okay...we should write them down?"

"Yeah sure," A paper grew out of her hand with a pencil.

"Oh wow, that was fancy. Hope no one saw that." She put that into her Archive.

"... You know I can feel you doing that?  You're basically just taking pictures of what I did."

"I know. I need to take in as much info as I can. I do not really know how to spawn objects like what you did."

"Well at least you'll know how it looks.  Actually doing it is a bit different but it's a start."

She shrugged. "Anyway, should I say that I'm good at Science or...History even?"

"Probably not science... you could learn some history but that might not get you far."

"True...what does a male like in a woman?" She asked.

"Well you could ask Hoot, but he seems a bit more stoic than... what's the guy's name?"

"Ensin" She said.

"Sounds wordy.  Alright, so he's in a gym, and he looks fit enough for a... grey... Mongoose," She turned back to Belle. "So maybe something sporty?  Anything like that already?"

"Uhhhm..." She looked at a TV, which was playing Golf. She put that into her Archive. "Maybe something like that sport? It looks easy enough."

"Uh... yeah that's actually an okay choice.  Anything come up when you talked with him?"

"Something about Cross-Country...whatever that is." She muttered so that Ensin wouldn't hear her.

"Cross-Country... Yeah that works.  It's uh, it's travelling across the country.  In your case probably best to say biking or jogging."

"Oh. I'll definitely go for jogging." She nods, seeming to remove golf from her Archive.

(Just noting here, the Psyche Archive holds construct memories for things to build.  It isn't the same as an Identity's memory.)

"Probably best to read up on some fitness stuff in the meantime."

(Okay, sorry. I got to confused there.)

"Sure. I'll go find some magazines on Cross-Country. Or maybe go on the treadmill."

(No worries.)

"We've got time... don't...we- when is the date?" (Also we're waiting for you on the Knights roleplay)

(I know, I'm sorry. I'm very sick today and I'm so tired. I'll try to get there as soon as I can)

"Tomorrow at 6. We got plenty of time to plan this out."

(Is all good.  Don't push yourself.) "Cool.  It's only like... eight o-clock right now."

"Mhm. So I'll be on the treadmill thinking about this to the best of my ability." She says as she gets off the machine. "Oh, and, where'd you get that?" She pointed to the smoothie.

"A store down the street," She informed.

"Oh okay. I was just wondering." She says as she went on the treadmill and put it to normal jogging speed and went from there.

"You want one?"

"I mean, I won't taste anything but sure. Knock yourself out." She shrugged as she stayed running. She wasn't even sweating or panting, she stayed entirely neutral.

"True... well... I guess I could maybe try programming that to you."

"Program what? The ability to Taste? How're you going to do that?"

"I add it to your archive."

"Alright. I'll be here, infinitely jogging on the treadmill."

"Yep, and... yep, Hoot's still doing push-ups," She walked out.

She continued to do her thing, noticing Hoot was, in fact, still at it. She was surprised by that but continued jogging at the same speed, not even breaking a sweat still.

Hoot eventually decided to walk over. "Are things going well?"

"Pretty well, yeah. I'm already getting a bit bored from doing this. Do people find this exhilarating?"

"Normal people I suppose," He shrugged. "The fleshy-people wear out quicker than we do."

"Dunno how that works but, alright." She continued to jog on the treadmill occasionally trying out different speeds, even at the maximum sprinting speed. She immediately conquered the treadmill before going back to Speed 2, normal walking speed.

"... Do you think Kenfi is trying to keep us here?" Hoot suddenly asked.

She turned off the treadmill. "What makes you say that, Hoot?"

"She can just teleport when she wants.  Couldn't she just take us back now?"

"That is true..." Belle said, thinking about it for a moment.

"Where is she now?"

"She just walked out."

"Where to?"

"Smoothie Shop" She turned off the machine. (Sorry, I'm a bit cranky and I miss some vital things. Also, a storm appears to be coming to my location and it may or may not hit. If I am afk suddenly, it may be the storm. Do not ask about my crankiness, if you want a long and vital story about it. .-.)

(I was just going to say "my condolences.) "Maybe we should go after her..."

"Sure." She shrugged. "I got nothing better to do." She gets off the treadmill, turning it off as well" (Sorry if Belle sounds "jerky" at this point. My mood transfers to the other character's moods)

They stepped out to the city. In regular circumstances, it would be difficult to locate where Kenfi went without knowledge of the city, but thankfully the fruit smoothie store was just across the street, mostly-likely put there for convnience toward exercising people.

(Well I'm also in a bad mood, so we can be angsty together.)

(I'm in an even worse mood, maybe feeling useless. Lets not dwell on it for too long...)

"Oh, well, that was easy." Belle said and walked into the store. "She should be around here somewhere..."

"Yeah short-attention spans run in the... species," Kenfi called from the line of customers.

"Oh, there you are." She walked to Kenfi. "Seems kind of busy here."

"Yeah, it wasn't this long when I went the first time.  No worries, I've got time.  Are you guys just here to pick a flavor or something?"

"Well, we were asking if we could go back home, since you can...you know." Belle replied.

"...Wait now?" She cocked her head to the side. "Thought you wanted to learn about identity stuff first... Then again, teleporting's part of that."

"I mean, I do but I think we should go home and talk about it so you wouldn't get in trouble yourself. You know?"

"... Why would I be getting in trouble?" She raised an eyebrow.

She sighs, rubbing her head. "Nothing...I'm just feeling a bit overprotective for whatever reason...I just figured that we should go home and rest for the day."

"Identities don't need rest... Look if you really want to go back right now, I can send you back."

"How?" Hoot remained skeptical.

"I trace back to where you're nanites have been and use that to find the zone," She explained.

"So you get into our heads?"

"... Yeah, that's how it works... I'm not a psycho, guys," She folded her arms. "If you want to leave, then the door's open.  I can just-"

"Alright, we get it," Hoot interrupted.

Belle sighed, and just looked around for a bit to calm her mind.

"... Do you want me to send you back now?" Kenfi asked definitively.

"Yes, please. I really need to think about this "Dating" thing..." She nods.

"Alright then," She poked a finger into Belle's head, a flash of light filling the area.

She was confused at what happened, her eyes shut for a moment. "Argh! Ow, that hurt..."

Flashes of their home world began appearing, her entire body tingling. (Also, Knights roleplay)

(I will get there once I figure out what happened) She looked down at herself for a moment and around her. "W-what is happening?"

"I'm tracking to where your zone is," Kenfi explained. "Try not to talk okay?  It makes it confusing."

She nods, and stops talking. She looked around, a bit surprised that it was pretty accurate.

Kenfi eventually pulled out, though they hadn't left to anywhere yet. "Alright got it... I can't really just make a portal in this store so can this wait till after I get the smoothies?"

Belle nodded. "That would be great, thank you very much."

"... So what kind did you want?"

"Hmm...the Cherry one sounds good"

"And Mr. Silenc- oh..."

Hoot was currently walking out the front door, having already gathered a few that were sticking out of his arm.

Belle was a bit confused how that happened. "Well...I guess it's just me."

"... No he's got the right idea I guess," Kenfi vanished and then reappeared, tossing a smoothie to Belle before walking out.

She catches it, not bothering the cold from it. She sipped it, tasting nothing.

"Yeah, I'll have to program taste for you guys," Kenfi chased after Hoot who was making his way back into the gym.

Belle just walked across the street, not caring.

Kenfi pulled Hoot back before he could walk in. "Alright here we go," She jabbed her arms into the two of them. Seconds later, she pulled them out. "Alright you can taste now.  Careful with that."

"Alright..." She was a bit confused by her methods of that, as she tasted the cherry smoothie. "Oh wow. This is awesome."

"Warning next time," Hoot replied, but he did eventually taste it as well. "Will this last?"

"It should," Kenfi answered. She tapped the floor a bit and a light appeared. "Alright, there's your portal."

"Alright. Thank you very much for helping. I hope we will see each other very soon."

"You've still got a date tomorrow so be sure to get back here soon," She chuckled.

"Oh yes, of course. I will keep track of time as much as possible." She glowed a dim color as she smiled, holding in her laughter.

"Thank you for your help," Hoot said before moving into the portal.

"Yes, thank you." She nods and followed Hoot into the portal.

They arrived on their world, at the city area they were at previously. "... Well it worked.  Maybe she's okay after all," Hoot thought aloud.

"Yeah. I'm so glad we're back. Should we check to see if Asonja and Jason are still around?" She sipped her smoothie again.

"Well yeah," He rushed forward in search.

She looked around and bumped into Asonja, making her squeal in joy and hug him, glowing a really bright color. "ASONJA! YOU'RE BACK!" She hugged him rather tightly, making him turn blue from not being able to breathe.

Hoot soon found Jason on top of a Skyscraper, looking around. He was at least 20ft tall, somewhat visible from the bottom.

"Jason!" Hoot called from below, waving.

He yelped and flew down to him, putting his head next to him happily. "Hoot! You're back! We were so worried!"

"That's appreciated.  We met another one of our kind."

"Really?" He pulled back and looked at Hoot. "Who was it?" Hoot took a glimpse of Belle happily swinging Asonja around in the nearest sidewalk.

"A girl named Kenfi," He explained. "She was... pink."

"Oooh. Interesting." Jason says, his tail flicking. Even though he was in his humanoid form, he looked very scary being 20ft tall. Amazingly enough, it wasn't even his full size. "Anyway, it's been about a week here since you guys have been gone. How long has it been for you and Belle?"

"... A day... How is Asonja?"

Jason looked at Asonja and Belle, who was still giggling happily. "Being happily strangled by Belle. He's been the same, but his condition is getting steadily worse; He's been more anti-Social, he refuses to eat and sleep, and he even refuses to get a girlfriend as it's "Too complicated"..."

"... Well..." He approached Asonja.

Belle noticed Hoot and stopped hugging Asonja, making him breathe. She then noticed Jason and went to chat with him instead. Belle was patting Jason's head as they explained what happened while Hoot and Asonja were left alone.

"S-so uh...what's up?" Asonja asked, not even looking at Hoot in the eyes. He can tell he's more pale, has shadows under his eyes and skinnier than before.

"... We didn't abandon you, Asonja," He explained.

"I know...I'm fine on my own anyway..." He said weakly, this time looking in a different direction.

"Look at me."

He blinked and looked at him for only a second, before he tensed and looked away again. "I-I can't..."

"Why?"

"I just...can't. I feel so scared when I looked at someone's eyes. They feel like they're piercing through me..." He was shivering a bit.

"When did this happen?"

"When....uh....I-it's a long story..."

"You weren't like this before we left.  What happened?" He seemed more stern now.

"L-like I said, it's a long story okay...?" He tried saying sternly but failed miserably. Suddenly, the background started to darken as Hoot found chains and a lock around Asonja. This meant that he was hiding something and was keeping it locked up. He had to show Asonja something that would make him talk.

"Asonja, tell me what happened," He folded his arms. He looked over to Jason, beginning to call out before noticing Belle again. He looked back to Asonja. "The first thing she did was hug you.  You know why?"

"N-no...? I'm not really that important to her and she should know that for herself. Isn't she dating someone or something?" He seemed a bit more serious now, but still didn't look at Hoot in the eyes.

"Does she need to feel romantic to care about you?  I don't.  What, happened?"

"..." He was tapping his fingers, thinking. The lock was starting to break, but it didn't shatter. He's attempting to cover it up for something entirely different as he's still stubborn about keeping it a secret. Then, Hoot noticed a blood red liquid coming out of Asonja's leg, dripping onto the floor; Blood.

Hoot held up an arm, blocking Asonja's arms as he patted down where the blood was coming from.

He noticed it was shaped like a very deep gash. Asonja winced a bit, almost screaming in pain. "W-what're you doing?"

"... What... Did... You... Do...?"

He was really quiet now, sweating. The lock was starting to break and crack even more as he kept trying to find a way to avoid the question. But then it shattered, as he stopped. The chains went away and then everything went back to normal. Belle and Jason were still talking to each other. Asonja was still quiet, but just still.

Hoot did his best to keep the red glow on his backside from showing. "Now, Asonja."

He gulped and nodded. "R-right...I...Committed self-harm the day after you guys vanished. I was beaten up by street jocks and they insulted me, leading to this gash that never healed and kept reopening...What they said were true about me..." He was trying not to burst into tears. "I have no powers...I can't be powerful to care for myself. I'm highly unmotivated because of this...constant hatred from people!" He tensed a bit more, seeming to want to hit something but resented against it and burst into tears, making no sound.

"...Hold still," He pushed him gently on to the ground, wrapping an arm around the wound and beginning to repair it.

"I just...don't understand..." He sniffled as he let Hoot care for his wound. "Why am I so...hated..? I'm just trying to...be like them so I can be...liked..." He choked back a sobbing noise. Jason was looking at him with an upset look before going back to Belle.

"How much did those people know about you?  Why did they attack you?"

"I was just...minding my own business and they...just came up to me and said they were noticing me by myself and wanted to know what's wrong and...I told them that I was worthless because I made you guys vanish and then they...beat me up and said that it was my fault because I cannot...speak up and fend for myself. I knew who they were; they were my college bullies."

"Where was Jason?"

"He was in..another town looking for you. He doesn't know about this yet..." He sniffled again.

"Alright," He put a band around Asonja's arm. "Wear that always and I'll always know where you are."

He looked at it, confused at what it was. "Uhh...o-okay?" Belle returned and saw what Hoot was doing. Jason came over, towering over them. He said, "Huh, what happened to his leg? I haven't noticed that yet..."

Belle was analysing and noticed what it was before Hoot said anything about it. "Are you hurting yourself again Asonja?! What the f-" Jason stopped Belle from finishing that sentence by lightly smacking her in the back of the head with his tail. "Oh...sorry."

"Next time, just stay with him, okay Jason?" Hoot calmly asked.

"S-sure. I was caught up on looking for you guys, I completely forgot. Sorry..." His wings folded and tail limped down as he sighed.

"...Anyway, you can't get yourself killed, Asonja," Hoot stood up. "Because you have to teach Belle how dating works."

(One last edit before I go XD) He jumped a bit. "W-what?! W-why me?!" He blushed. "I dunno how dating works either because I've chosen not to do it! Are you sure I should be the person for that...?" He seems to have completely ignored the 'Try not to kill yourself anymore' statement.

"You know better than she or I do."

"I know nothing, exactly like you and Belle know." He says, crossing his arms and looking away. "I really know nothing about dating because I...don't even WANT a girlfriend. Who'd want to have an Emo Boyfriend anyway?"

"... I could look into the likelihood of that if you'd like."

"Uhh...you don't have to but I guess if you want to I won't stop you. At least I'll somewhat try to help Belle as much as I can."

"... You know, you could see if she'd like to go on one of these 'dates' with you."

He sighs and scratches his head for a minute. "Fine, I'll help her out. Only because she cares." At that moment, Belle tackled him into a hug.

"ThankyouThankyouThankyou! I knew you'd help!" She happily says, squeezing him like before.

"That's entertaining," Hoot noted. "Alright, where do we start?"

"Well, we'd always start at a restaurant for dinner. Luckily, it's about dinner time and I know just the place to go." He said. Belle let go so Asonja can get up and walk her there. "Oh, and also, if you want to be more sophisticated, wrap your arm around mine." He says.

Belle looked a bit confused but wrapped her left arm under his right arm. "There ya go! Now just follow me and we'll have our practice dinner." He says. Belle giggles and nods.

"Should we follow you two?" Hoot asked.

"If you want to learn for yourself, that's fine. Or you can follow Jason back to my apartment 5 blocks from here." He shrugged and Belle nodded.

She adds, "Yeah, you might learn something yourself when you get a girlfriend." She giggled again.

"Right... I think you two should do fine then," Hoot clearly had no interest in the concept for the moment.

With them gone, Jason looked at Hoot. "Want to watch TV at my place?"

"What kind?"

"All kinds."

"... Okay."

"Right this way." He shrunk to his normal size, matching Hoot's and took his arm before teleporting inside of a room. It wasn't big, nor was it fancy. It was just a typical apartment room. "Go ahead, make yourself at home."

Hoot looked around for a couch.

There was one in fact, right behind him. Jason went to the fridge and pulled out some meat in a bag. He opened it. "Want something to eat?"

"I recently figured out how to taste so I guess so," He sat.

"Alright. That's great." He puts the bag of meat back in and went into a cupboard, grabbing a wooden box. He opened it, revealing some cookies. He takes one and hands it to Hoot. "Here, try this."

Hoot took the cookie, biting down.

It tasted like Chocolate, with a cherry mix in the middle. It was rather smooth in texture, smelled amazing, and tastes just as it smells.

"Very sweet."

"Thanks. I made them myself, actually. Very easy to make in my opinion." He says, his tail flicking a bit. "You're welcome to have as much as you want."

"How long have you been cooking?"

"For about 5 years. All by myself. I never really shared it with anyone since, you know, I lived alone for most of my life. So I basically lived how to cook better foods."

"Asonja never asked to learn?"

"Nope. He never asked because he doesn't know that I cook this well."

"Was... that for his benefit?"

"I dont know. He just thinks friends aren't that important. He's rather selfish. He wants to be by himself, and do what he wants in his comfort zone. Much less having to train nonstop by someone..."

"Because of his childhood."

"Well...yeah, that. Actually, that was spot on. He trusts no one any more, really." Jason shrugged as he put something on a heated stove. It smelled nicer than the cookie, but it smelled like meat.

"Sounds like he needs a reason to try."

"He hates trying because he believes that he'll fail. And he's afraid of failing, which makes his condition worse..."

"So we've seen.  Then we just make sure to keep pushing him till he's ready to push himself."

"To him that just sounds like torture, because that means forcing him out of his comfort zone...which is extremely hard."

"What is a comfort zone exactly?"