Labs: Shelter (Pt. 3)

Legend Fountain? Willow could only ponder over the place the winged deer had named as he laid down. His own name, Tim, seemed an awfully simple name for a creature so large and magnificent, but she was not one to judge on appearances. Perhaps, where he came from, he was small. Perhaps, he just liked a name that was easy to remember and say, or a beloved parent had given it to him.

The Sylveon cautiously stepped a little closer, her ears perking just a little bit more upright. She sat down a short distance away, her ribbons winding themselves around her forelegs. For a moment, the two sat in silence, accompanied only by the sound of the water as it crackled and babbled over the stones in the stream, or the birds that sang in the trees. A frog croaked.

"I have... nowhere to be..." Willow replied honestly, finally answering his question. She turned her head away from him, looking down at the water with her pale, dull eyes. "I never do."

Silence, again, for a long moment.

"What is this... Fountain?" It was her turn for a question, again speaking in a whisper. She couldn't deny her curiosity.

"It's a place where only those of legendary blood live," Tim replied simply, turning his head to gaze back at her with calm yellow eyes. "I noticed how you seemed alarmed by the sight of me... but I'm just as curious about a little thing like you. I don't get to see mons like you very often."

"You... you aren't afraid of me? Of what I am?" She glanced up at him as well, her ears flattening as her tail cramped against her legs. Was it just morbid curiosity that made him stay? Wanting to watch the monster, the zombie, the undead thing?

Tim, however, simply blinked, as though not expecting that question. "You are a Sylveon...?" He didn't seem to understand what she was getting at, his stoic tone of voice softening into a youthful one of confusion.

"B-but, I... I'm not..." Willow stammered, gawking at him like he was blind. Her jaw hung open for a moment, and then she looked away, utterly bewildered. For a moment, she stared intensely down at the water, wondering if this elegant deer really was just naive, or if he actually didn't care. She was always so afraid of being shunned that she was rarely around even those who were kind... she had forgotten that strangers weren't always afraid or aggressive.

He was staring at her, perhaps waiting for her to finish her sentence. She could feel his eyes on the back of her head, and her face flushed with embarrassment as her fur stood up.

Clearing her throat, Willow awkwardly straightened up, stammering, "Nevermind..." She lifted one paw and ran her tongue over it, then started washing her face like a cat, a nervous gesture of hers.

Tim chuckled softly, but relaxed. "I swear, I am not here to cause trouble... and my invitation to see the Fountain is open. I really wouldn't mind showing you sometime."

"That... that would be nice," Willow agreed a bit shyly, but she shifted to sit a little closer to him. She spoke a little louder, and with the faintest of smiles, as she started to ask him more about his home. "What is it like there, aside from all the mons being legendaries? How do you like to spend your time? Is there really a fountain? I-I have never seen such a place... I have only been out here in the forest, when I'm not in my master's lab... I-I usually like to... to keep to myself... Most other mons are not as... not as kind as you are."