The Girl and Her Goat Chapter 9: Who liek minecraf

The sun's warm rays were streaming through the curtains, birds were singing outside, and it was very warm and cozy under the blankets. I sighed and burried my face further into the pillow, enjoying my last moments of sleep before I got up.

POP

A sound like a small explosion, followed by a shrill shriek pierced the serene morning air. I shot up from my blankets. Oh right...Toh. What has he done this time?

I got out of bed and rushed downstairs, only to stumble upon an interesting sight in the living room. Some kind of science show was playing on tv, with the monotonous voice of the narrator, raving on about black holes, serving as the only sound. The Goatman was perched on top of the couch, ears flat against his head, eyes wide and frantic. A heavy copper-y smell lingered about. I followed his gaze and found small bits of purple rubber scattered about the floor, along side a string. So much for his balloon...

His shaky and high-pitch voice snapped me back to attention. "It's gone!" I looked back to him. He wasn't as tense and his eyes looked wet. Gone...when had he said that before?..Oh...oh. I walked over to him and helped him down from his perch. A single crystaline tear steaked down the soft coat of fur on his cheek and his eyes reflected stress and guilt. "It...it's okay. It's not dead, it was never alive in the first place." He looked at me, and I felt hurt at the sight of his sorrow. At the same time, part of me found it funny. It's just a balloon, for crying out loud!

"You didn't kill it. It just popped. They never last very long. I can buy you a new one." He looked to have relaxed a bit, but he vigorously shook his head when I mentioned getting a new one. The pop must have scared him and I guessed that it would be a while before he wanted to try to have one again. I now noticed that he was clinging to my arm. Despite my discomfort, I didn't say anything. I suppose he needed to calm down a little first. So I just stood there, having a childish supernatural being holding on to me for dear life, learning about black holes for a good fifteen minutes.

He finally relaxed and let go, looking back down to the remains of the balloon. "...sorry." I smiled softly. "It's fine, really. Don't feel bad." He nodded and walked off, and I picked-up the pieces so I could throw them away. My stomach started rumbling and I decided I should go make breakfast now. As I placed toast in the toaster, I decided to go look for the guy. After all, I needed to know if he wanted regular butter, peanut butter or caramel. I found-out where he was when I heard the toilet up-stairs flush. Thank God he knows how to use them.

He didn't really know the flavors of the various spreads, so I made him three toasts so he could try all of them. Turns out caramel is his favorite. He also enjoys hot-chocolate. I had to show him how to be very careful so he wouldn't get burned. He understood very quickly. Once again, I just have to say it. This guy is smart, and I mean really smart. He is very disconnected from society and kind-of clueless about almost everything we do, but he understands things so quickly that it leaves me surprised quite often. I decided that maybe I should introduce him to a few more things from our society that require a good brain.

"Hey Toh, have you ever played video games?" He looked to me, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "I'll take that as a no. Come on." I got up from the table and walked over to the living room. I can take care of the dishes later.

I didn't play many video games, but there was one big one that had really captivated me, and that was Minecraft. My cousin had played it once when I was at his house and he had let me play as well, and I was instantly hooked. It was honestly one of the most relaxing activities in my life, and now I had someone I could share it with.

He looked at me with great interest as I switched from my tv to the Play Station 3. I grabbed my controller and loaded the game. "Sit down. I'll teach you how to play." He sat down slowly, looking to me with curiosity. I handed him the second controller. He studied the object's every detail intently and then looked back to me, waiting for my instructions.

The menu had loaded and I created a new world. Once that was done, I looked back to him. "Press this button and then that one. Okay, good, now use the stick there to choose the 'Guest' user. Good, now press this button." His character apeared on the bottom half of the screen. "Okay, now the bottom screen is you. You can press this button to jump, this one opens your menu and you move with this. You hold this to break things and you press this to place things." He listened to my every word and started testing things out. His head was tilted to the side, great interrest in his eyes, giving him a look of childish glee and shining intelligence. "If you have any questions, just ask me, and I can help you." He nodded and we began our game.

I was going to build a house, so I tasked him with cutting down as many trees as he could and bringing all the materials back to me. He was a bit put off by the fact that the rest of the tree just kind of floated in place when you removed part of the log, but he got used to it. "It's a game, Toh. It's not like real life."

Night fell in our fictional world and we now had shelter. "Toh, you have to get inside the house." "Why?" "Because it's going to be night." He looked at me and then gazed out the window. He turned back to me with a confused expression. I giggled. "Not for real! In the game." He turned away, looking embarassed, and resumed moving his character around in silence. The silence was broken only once he figured-out how to open the door and safely got into the house. "Why we need to stay inside?" "Because there are monsters outside at night." He blinked slowly. "But I'm scariest monster." I laughed again. "Yeah, but they don't know that."

Mining was, of course, the next step. That's the game, isn't it? 50% mining, 50% crafting. We stumbled upon a cavern, and I had to warn my friend that monsters appeared here as well. I fearlessly dashed through the dark tunnels while he nervously marched behind, trying to keep up. I was reminded of the days I had spent in the woods with him, only now the roles were reversed. He was my clumsy friend who had to learn everything and I was the agile and powerful leader.

Nothing scared me in the virtual world, not even the highest of hights. Toh got scared. He got scared quite a bit. And each time he got scared, I could enjoy the look of complete and utter embarassment that took over his beast-like face. His ears were so low I felt like they would fall off if he tried to tilt them any lower. Despite this, they shot-up in pride whenever he found or did something well and received my praise. He was so happy, and I felt really happy too. We played for hours. We played until we found our first diamonds, and he was the one who found them. God, he felt proud about that.

It was noon when we decided that we should put the controllers down and get some food. I could have made something healthy, but I felt the need to give him a taste of what the city had to offer. That and I really really wanted some pizza. I ordered it, and he looked to me in shock at the fact that we could just ask for food at any time.

"Toh, you should change back into a human. We don't want the pizza guy to see you." He complied, but after his change, he looked into my eyes. "I'm never human." His dead tone of voice, intense stare and the sentence it's self gave me chills. I knew he wasn't human. Regardless of how much I had fun with him and how friendly and sweet he could be, that would always be a fact. He is never human.

Our pizza arrived and I paid. I brought the box into the kitchen and placed it down on the table, turning around to get plates. I turned back only to find Toh'ma hugging the pizza box, his nose pressed to it, inhaling deeply, his facial expression one of pure happiness. I couldn't help but laugh. "What are you doing?" He opened his eyes and gently placed the box down. "Smell good." I set down the plates. "You haven't even tasted it yet."

I opened the box and cut the slices, giving him one. "Be careful, it's hot." He looked down to the slice, tentatively poking at the melted cheese. "Smell good, look bad." I smiled. I guess it would look bad to someone who wasn't used to it. I started eating a slice of my own, watching him. I wanted to see his face when he would try it. He took a bite and his eyes widened. He looked back to me, his fiery gaze meeting my patient one. "Smell good, look bad, taste good a lot." Once again, a smile graced my face and I couldn't help but laugh. Who doesn't like pepperoni and cheese pizza with extra bacon on it and a cheese-stuffed crust? Probably lactose intolerant people or people from religions who can't eat the meat of pigs, but other than that, really? Who doesn't like pizza?

I usually always have loads of left-overs whenever I get pizza. I didn't this time. He ate so much, and when he realised there was no more, his expression was one of pure heartbreak. I noticed that I still had a blob of cheese and sauce on my plate. I handed it over to him. He looked to the food, and then to me. "It's yours." I smiled. "Not anymore." He returned my smile and took it, making sure to chew as slowly as possible, enjoying the flavor for as long as he could. After he was done, he placed his head on the table and sighed happily. I guess I just found his new favorite food.

We went back to Minecraft. He was catching-on very fast and was already really good at the game. We played until sunset. The real sunset, in real life. Supper was a simple meal, ham and cheese omelettes. It was simple, but my guest enjoyed it, and that's what mattered the most. His curiosity and expression whenever he discovered something new added a lot of charm to him. The other thing that made him charming was his way of describing things of our every day life. It was at around nine at night that he demonstrated this quality again.

"Erin?" I turned to look at him. We had been watching television. He really liked the nature channel. "What is it?" "Is there...river near here?" I blinked in confusion. "What? No, why?" He scowled and gazed off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. "I want to...sh'luk..." He then looked back to me, rubbing his arms. "Oh, you want to wash yourself? You can use the shower." He blinked. "Shower." I stood up and gestured for him to follow me. We walked back up to the bathroom. I flicked on the lights and showed him the shower. "You can take off your clothes and put them out in the hall. You turn this to make the water warmer and this to make it colder. It comes out here. And this is shampoo, for washing your hair. The soap is here. Washcloths are in the cupboard there."

He listened to me, evaluating every inch of the tub and the tap. He then smiled and looked back up to me. "Big sink...for person." I giggled. "Yeah, I guess it's like a big sink." I walked out of the room so I could give him time to change. I waited a few minutes before going down the hallway again. I picked up the clothes he had left out the door and went to wash them. He needed new clothes. I was tempted to throw them away now, but then he would have nothing to wear. This would be a lot more simple if I was a guy too, because then I could just lend him my own clothes, but I wasn't. Then again, he was short and skinny, so I have no doubts my clothes would have fit him. It would just look ridiculous. Except for my sport shorts. They were a guy model, since those were the only ones at the store that weren't so short that your underpants became visible. Seriously, what is wrong with fashion nowadays?

Some time later, I was reminded of his presence by yet an other shrill shriek. Twice in one day. I walked up stairs and knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you alright in there?" It was quiet for a few moments before I got a stuttered answer. "C-cold." Oh. He ran out of hot water. "Hang on, I'll get you some shorts." I walked over to my room and found the previously mentioned shorts. I also picked up his bundle of belongings and went to leave them by the door. I told him his things were out the door and turned around.

A few moments later, he stepped out. He was dripping water all over the place and shivering. The water in the shower was still running. My mind told me to go turn it off, but my eyes were stuck, staring at his chest, which was nothing like I had expected. Seeing how skinny he was, I had expected him to be very scrawny looking, maybe with his ribs visible. This was far from the case, however. He was very well built, and I mean very well built. I'm talking abs. I blinked and shook my head, going past him to shut off the water. I turned back to him and tried to focus on his face. He was pale and still visibly cold.

I dragged him down to the kitchen where I began to make hot-chocolate. I got the heaviest blankets I could find and covered him in them. I also got a towel and got to work drying his hair. It was long and heavy and now it smelled like flowers. The curls were full of tangles and knots, but they got undone pretty easily and they were soon dry. His hair was silky and very soft to the touch and I have to admit that I found great enjoyment in running my fingers through the loose curls. I gave him his hot chocolate and sat across from him. He gazed into the drink and then looked back up to me. His eyes expressed gratitude. "Thank you." That sentence held emotion. He normally had such a neutral tone of voice that it was impossible to mistake him for a normal human being. Now, he had sounded like any other ordinary person. A childish and innocent person who is very happy.

"The hot water is stored in a tank in the basement. When you use it all, there's only cold water left. Then you have to wait a long time for there to be hot water again." He listened to me and then nodded. I stayed by his side until he stopped shivering and his skin tone returned to a normal color. I then got up. "I'll go to bed now. Try not to make a mess." Despite my clearly joking tone of voice, he huffed and looked away, having an irritated expression on his face.

I went up and got ready for bed, soon slipping beneath the covers and exhaling in happiness at the warmth and comfort. My sleep was interrupted by a distant sound. My eyes opened slowly and I looked at the clock. One in the morning. My ears focused and I could make-out what the sound was now. It was sirens. There must be a fire somewhere. I was about to shut my eyes again when I heard a new sound. Footsteps. Hoofsteps. There was a soft tap on my door, accompanied by the stale scent that radiated from him whenever he was afraid. I looked up to him, rubbing the rest of the sleep from my eyes.

"Toh?" He looked at me, ears flat against his skull, his eyes literally glowing in the darkness. It was like staring into two little flames. Two scared flames. The sirens sounded again and he twitched. "What is that?" I looked back to the window and saw, from the corner of my eye, that he had followed my gaze. "A siren. It means there's a fire somewhere where there's not supposed to be a fire." We stayed in silence, in the dark, for an other few minutes. Despite the low lighting, I could tell he was still rigid. "Does it scare you?" He nodded briefly, very softly, as if he was afraid of what I would think of him if I knew he was scared. "It's okay. You're safe here. The fire is far away." He didn't move. I suddenly felt like I needed to protect him. It must have been my maternal instinct. He was in a new place for the first time in his life and everything was unfamiliar and strange. He was scared. I didn't want him to be scared.

"You can spend the night with me if you want." As soon as I said that, I told myself that I would have a stern talking to my sense of judgement once I was awake enough for it to function properly. Two orange lights turned back towards me and he tentatively stepped towards my bed. He sat on it slowly before lying down even slower, almost like he was afraid any of his movements would bring about the end of the world. I scooted over to the far end of the bed, my back to him. Despite the large gap between us, the temperature underneath the blankets increased considerably.

I was drifting off to sleep again when a siren sounded closer than before, and suddenly my eyes snapped open, for I now had arms wrapped around me. "Toh?.." He whined softly and I stiffened even more when I felt his face press into my hair. I wanted to push him away, to ask for more personal space, but I was tired and it was very warm here. The soft coat of hair on his body felt like silk. His body radiated with heat. It was like an embrace from the sun. The stale scent of fear was gone and replaced with the fragarant aroma of the flower shampoo he had used earlier. I listened to his ragged and harsh breathing slowly go soft. The fear turned into the still calm of sleep. My mind was unable to understand this situation. Everything I had known before told me that I had to push him away, but then my body picked up on all these sensations. All of my senses were pleasantly soothed. I didn't want to move. I fell asleep. It was warm, soft and very comfortable. Who cares if there were sirens outside?

AN: It's been a while, but I'm not giving up on this story. So here's this chapter. I actually started writing it three days ago but had to stop because of a nasty headache and yesterday I had a really bad day. It's not a bad day because bad things happened, it's just that I get these days where I wake-up and all I can think of is the negative aspects of life. Nothing can cheer me up or make me smile for more than a few seconds and I tend to get mad. The best solution is to go to sleep and hope that I feel okay when I wake-up. Sleep seems to reset my emotional state. It's weird.