Forever Lost [Goblin]

[Alegretto]

The marionette listened to Benjamin's response. It was satisfied by his answer and saw no need to pursue that line of inquiry.

Benjamin's next sentence caused 3 to look up at it's new companion. It was good that the red-headed man wouldn't hurt 3, the meant the it didn't  have to hurt him.

That was nice

Why was that nice?

Benjamin finished his sentence, and the puppet realized he had used a word it didn't recognize. The puppet made sure to always ask the meanings of new words. It posed to Benjamin a question, though probably not the one the man was expecting. "What is nervous?" it asked, completely innocent and inquisitive.

[GoblinFae]

He groaned at the question. Of course the child was not going to understand something conceptional and difficult to explain. "It's an emotion," he attempted to explain. "Like being scared. I'm telling you that you don't need to worry. Does that make more sense?"

[Alegretto]

"No." The puppet replied simply. Benjamin's explanation hadn't really helped it all that much. "What are emotions?" it asked, again with complete innocence and curiosity.

3 had no concept of emotions. No one had explained them to it before and it had never knowingly experienced them itself.

[GoblinFae]

The nobleman looked at her incredulously even as saw the gates of his home coming up quickly. "Feelings? You know, happy? Sad? Angry? Those are emotions. Listen 3, if you just give me a minute we'll arrive at my home and you can harass my mother to your heart's desire about these things called emotions. Sound good?"

He prayed with all his might that she would accept even as he opened the iron-wrought gates, already seeing his mother peeking out of a window at him, curiously.

[Alegretto]

3 replied to Benjamin's first question even as he was asking his second. "I don't know" it said, though its voice was probably lost in the nobleman's follow-up query. It answered the second question without breaking stride. "Sounds good."

The pair walked across the courtyard, nearing the front door.

[GoblinFae]

Lady Hase popped her head out the door the moment her son began to walk up the pathway to their front door. The look on her face was of agitation and worry. She never did like Benjamin wandering off into the city for long periods of time. What if something happened to him? What if someone tried to attack her darling boy? There was no telling what the devils would do to such a sweet and forgetful child as her Benjamin.

"Good day mother!" he called, already preparing himself for the onslaught of questions he was sure were headed his way. "I hope you don't mind but I brought a guest." The nobleman raised the hand holding 3's to show it to her as he finally stopped before his matriarch.

"A child Benjamin? What is the meaning of this?" the woman worriedly asked before looking down at the girl and screaming in fright. "Benjamin Hase!" the noblewoman screeched. "What have you done?" Her eyes rolled back into her head as she began to fall backwards. Startled, Benjamin dropped 3's hand and raced up the steps to catch her before she fell.

"Well that went well."

[Alegretto]

3 watched the proceedings with intense disinterest. It dropped Benjamin's hand with no hesitation as he ran to assist his mother. The marionette considered answering the questions that the woman had asked, but careful review of her language indicated to 3 that the woman had been talking to her son.

Left with nothing to do, 3 stood there. The puppet couldn't leave until it had fulfilled Benjamin's request to talk to his mother, and it couldn't do that until she woke up. Wait, maybe it should help him.

Unfortunately 3 didn't know how. It considered, and decided that the best method of finding a way to help would be to ask someone. Since the only one here was Benjamin, the marionette posed it's query to him. "Can I help?" it called out, still not making a move.

[GoblinFae]

"Yes, yes," Benjamin muttered while scooping up his mother. "Come inside and shut the door behind you. I'll take care of you in a minute." The nobleman was too distracted to pay any more attention to 3 as he rushed to get his mother comfortable.

Across from the front hall was her favorite receiving parlor. He laid her gently on one of the couches and knelt at her side, brushing stray hairs away from her face in an attempted soothing gesture. There was concern in his wide purple eyes. It was far from the first time Lady Hase had fainted but that did not stop her son from worrying every time it happened.

[Alegretto]

3 followed Benjamin's instructions. It did wonder why the man hadn't accepted it's help in carrying his mother, for that had been it's intention, but upon review of the conversation, 3 realized that it hadn't specified what it wanted to help Benjamin with. It decided that it was therefore not unreasonable for the man to ask it to close the door, for that in a way was helping.

Satisfied that it had solved the mystery, and resolving to be less vague in it's wording in the futures, 3 followed the man into his home, and closed the door behind it. The marionette followed Benjamin to the parlor, and watched the man as he tried to revive his mother. It hoped she woke up soon, it wanted to get on with it's search and it wasn't making much progress in here.

"Benjamin," the puppet piped up. "can I help you awaken your mother some how?" This time, 3 was sure that it had adequately stated it's intentions in a way that the man wouldn't misunderstand. It even used his name, even though he was the only other conscious living being in the room, to avoid any confusion.

[GoblinFae]

He huffed, running a hand through his carrot-colored hair out of frustration. "3 there really isn't anything for you to do. She'll be alright, don't you worry. This happens sometimes." Under his breath he muttered additionally, "far more than it should."

"She should wake up soon. Why don't I get you something to snack on in the meantime. Does that sound good to you?" Benjamin had stood back up and now offered his hand out to the child for the taking. "I believe there are some shortbread cookies still left from the other day," he cajoled hopefully. Dealing with the child made him anxious and wish his mother would wake quickly. The sooner she could handle the situation the better his life would be.

[Alegretto]

The fact that Benjamin's mother had fainting spells concerned 3. If this kept happening, it would never get out of this house!

Still, the marionette remained silent for now, since Benjamin said there was nothing it could do, it wouldn't bother to try. It only spoke up again when the man made an offer of food. 3 responded with complete matter-of-factness, "That doesn't sound good." The puppet didn't want a snack. It didn't eat. Why would it want something it couldn't it use?

It was befuddled by Benjamin's useless offer, but it decided against voicing it's confusion. Better to remain silent until otherwise asked. In 3's experience, the more it talked, the more often it was told to leave, and then it couldn't ask it's question.

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin froze, hand still left hanging in offer as his mouth opened and closed for several moments. Eventually he was able to regain his composure, his hand dropping along with his shoulders.

"Oh," came his soft response before he began running a hand through his hair again. "Well uh...what does sound good then? I could find you something else, I suppose." Muttering to himself he added under his breath, "what kind of kid doesn't think cookies sound good? What is the world coming to these days?"

[Alegretto]

"What does sound good?"

The question saw 3 even more confused than before. How was it supposed to answer that? It pored over it's memories. Had it ever heard anything that sounded good?

It took some time, by 3's standards anyway, to think of something. For anyone else, the elapsed time would be seconds, but that was a lot of thinking for the marionette. The answer it came up with went back to 3's most basic desire.

"Laughter." it said. The puppet was going to stop there, it's answer complete, but then it remembered how poorly Benjamin responded to vague responses. Really the man was painfully uncomprehending. "Children's laughter." it elaborated. "Especially if I caused it. Children's laughter that I caused sounds good."

3 was satisfied with the clarity of it's answer, and deaf to the awkwardness of it's wording. There was no way for Benjamin to misunderstand, it believed, totally ignorant of the problems with it's speech.

The volume of it's own voice prevented 3 from hearing what Benjamin muttered under his breath, so it gave no response to his second or third question.

[GoblinFae]

"You've got to be kidding me," Benjamin sighed in frustration. "Well I'm glad you find children's laughter pleasing to your hears 3 but I meant food. Do you want something to eat? Mother should be along in just a moment. She does not stay in one of her spells for long. No need to worry about her and let that unsettle your appetite."

He tried to smile reassuringly, not realizing it came out as more of a grimace than anything else. Benjamin still could believe that was the answer the child had come up with. 'Children's laughter, now that's got to be a first. So strange. Mother needs to hurry up and wake up already!'

[Alegretto]

Why was it kidding him? 3 had said it's words with complete seriousness. Why would he think that it was kidding him?

It understood more what he was trying to say after it asked him if it wanted something to eat? Had that been what it meant when it asked "What does sound good?"

Why was Benjamin always so unspecific? He was startlingly imprecise and it was starting to get to 3. Not that it showed any level of that feeling.

"I do not want anything to eat." it responded simply to his question. "I would rather just wait for your mother to awaken."

[GoblinFae]

He sighed and shook his head. "You and me both kid." Benjamin opened his mouth to speak further when a moaned call of his name sent him racing back to the parlor where his mother lay, no thought for whether 3 would follow him or not.

"Benny dear I had the most terrible dream," she cried out to him as he helped her sit up. "I believed I saw you come up the path as you always do and with a-a-a" She shuddered, unable to voice what she had seen even as her son shook his head, not realizing how wrong he was about 3.

"Well mother you did see me come up the path but with a child. Not mine, mind you but one all the same. She calls herself 3 Mother and I was rather hoping you could be of some assistance. 3 come here please!"

[Alegretto]

When Benjamin left the room, 3 simply stood there, bereft of anything to do. It remained perfectly immobile, wondering what the odd sound had been that had so attracted Benjamin.

Soon however, it heard a voice in the other room, and it's memory linked the sound with Mrs. Hase. 3 quickly became mobile and went into the other room almost excitably. It was standing behind the young nobleman before he'd even asked for it to come.

It looked around Benjamin at his mother. "Hello Mrs. Hase," it said simply. "Have you seen my father? His name is Thertain Gerris." It hoped she didn't faint again. It wanted to move on.

[GoblinFae]

The older woman blinked in shock at the obviously inhuman creature masquerading as child before her. "Thertain Gerris?" came her slow reply, startling Benjamin with not only her calmness but her lack of speed. Briefly he wondered if she had bumped her head yet as he reached for her, she brushed his hands away.

"I think you're lying to me 3. It's wrong to lie, you know that right?"

[Alegretto]

Benjamin's statement bewildered 3. It looked at him quizzically. "No, I don't know that. What is lying?"

The question was spoken in earnest curiosity, and if it wasn't for the fact that 3 wanted to know the answer, the puppet would have left the building already. Well, and the fact that Mrs. Hase hadn't really answered it's question, but 3 didn't have high hopes on that count anyway.

[GoblinFae]

"Lying," the woman said as she stared pointedly into 3's eyes, "is when someone doesn't tell the truth and it is a very naughty thing. Now tell the truth, what are you doing here and who are you. Don't lie, I'll know if you are!"