THE MOMENT
"You don't look human," Lucy giggled with the question. There wasn't anything humorous, she was just in a good mood and the magical novelty of a talking cat only added to that.
"I'm aware," the white cat nodded. The motion drew Lucy's attention to the red skull-shaped fur pattern atop its head. If the cat wasn't so pretty, and didn't have such a gentle voice, she might've been tempted to think it was evil. Its fluffy white fur almost made it look like the kitty was glowing and it was brilliantly clean, not like the rest of the world Lucy had grown up in so far. "I am searching for someone though, and you're the first person I've seen."
"There's no one down here," Lucy shook her head. The underground forest was deemed safe enough for her to wander alone. It was below the town with the only entrance heavily guarded.
"I don't know if I'm in the right place at all. do you know -,"
"Lucy? Who's that?" Wonder, Lucy's best friend, appeared next to her and took an extra step to put her mechanical body between the cat and Lucy. She'd gone down to check on the girl and was surprised to find someone else talking to her.
"That's a talking cat," Lucy giggled.
"No, once again, I assure you, I'm just a cat-shaped human. there is a huge difference," she said.
"Her name's Janet," Lucy added for the cat.
"What's the difference?" Wonder asked. She didn't feel comfortable lowering her guard yet. Wonder was a nano swarm that chose her mechanical shape; but, she was still only A.I. She didn't understand her feelings clearly; but, she knew she felt uncomfortable around Janet.
"Magic," Janet replied. "I prefer this form, and that is all that need be said. I was just explaining to Lucy that I'm looking for someone. Do you know anyone named Monday Sharp?"
"No," Wonder answered instantly even as she signaled Lucy not to offer any information. Wonder's own face took shape on her back and mimed a finger to her lips for Lucy behind her.
"Hah, you're not human enough to lie," the cat shook her head, then stood on all fours to walk past them. "It doesn't matter, I got an answer."
"Wait," Wonder dashed ahead and stood in front of the cat. "What do you want?"
"To help," Janet continued forward between the android's legs.
"Wait!" Lucy took a turn at stopping the cat and knelt down to gently hold its soft fur. "Can we trust you?" she looked into the cat's eyes and realized they were more orange than the amber she'd seen on other cats. It looked up at her and Lucy was surprised to see a cat smile for the first time. Then, she blinked. When she opened her eyes again, she and Wonder were deep in the center of the forest instead of the outskirts; but, fortunately, Janet was there with them too.
"You CAN, trust me," she giggled and shook her head. "I wouldn't recommend that you do. And, it doesn't matter either way. I'll complete my mission when I find Monday regardless."
"That's not an answer," Lucy stared down into Janet's eyes completely ignoring the change in location. She was aware of it, but even at only 10, she'd seen her share of strange and unusual. The underground forest around them was one such thing, and Monday trusted her to be responsible and stay focused. She looked up to the Mayor and tried to live up to her lofty expectations.
"You're adorable," Janet smiled again and showed Lucy a new expression. Until that moment, she didn't think cats could wink at her either. "How's this for an answer?" Then, Lucy blinked again. She and Wonder were still deep in the forest, but along with Janet, they were joined by someone else. Mayor Monday herself.
The teenager with rainbow hair stood some distance away as if in conversation with Janet. Monday was part vampire, but somehow she looked even more pale to Lucy as the girl got to her feet and dashed over to join them with Wonder keeping close at every step.
"Thank you, Lucy," Janet said. "I'll see you around," Lucy blinked a third time. This time, she found herself near the entrance again with Wonder and Monday next to her.
"What happened?!?" Lucy asked.
"She offered to help us beat Coronado.....," Monday sighed.
"That's good, right!?" Lucy asked.
"Not if we can't afford it...," Monday shook her head.
"..but..," Lucy titled her head. She didn't quite have a head for numbers, however she got the impression the town was flourishing under Monday's leadership. ".. after we found the underground lake a lot of things got easier to produce, the town has money now, right? Or trade? We have plenty of wood and water and ore...," the girl was asking for her own knowledge. She was sure Monday had already considered all those options.
"She wants a different resource... one that we don't have access to."
"I'll find it!" Lucy said. "I'll send out a bunch of dolls to scout for it! What am I looking for?" Monday gave Lucy a somber smile and shook her head.
"It's easy to find," Monday said. "But... I don't know how to access the human soul, and I don't think I'd use it as a resource if I did."