Chapter 62: Zero Affection
[Luka = 30%]
[Karl = 0%]
[Eris = 30%]
[Zayn = 5%]
[Azure = 60%]
Sunnie sighed at the system. She couldn’t help but notice how that damn Karl’s percentage hadn’t increased at all.
He really was going to be an issue.
But at least everyone had a significant increment at the moment. She smiled at that progress too.
"Aren’t you going to eat?" Sunnie asked Karl.
"No need. I’m not even hungry," Karl insisted, but his grumbling stomach gave him away. Everyone paused and stared at him.
Sunnie smiled. "Or are you scared of what?"
"Scared of what?" He rolled his eyes as he took a stick, picked up the meat, and ate it, then drank the soup.
Immediately, he felt it. A thousand mini versions of him dancing in his mouth, all wearing tutus! He felt elevated but struggled not to show it.
Sunnie smiled. "So? What do you think?"
"Nothing. It’s just edible, I guess," he said as he continued eating.
Sunnie scoffed. "So stingy. Can’t even get a bonus coin from him," she muttered.
The atmosphere was filled with warmth as they ate. Sunnie stared at the quiet woman from time to time, watching her eat quietly while feeding her little one in her arms. Sunnie simply smiled as she continued eating.
They were soon done with the meal for tonight, and Sunnie shared with them. The mice would sleep in the inner room while Sunnie and the rest would sleep in the outer room, which was more spacious.
The place was partially still a mess, and Sunnie guessed it was too late to clean this night. They’d start tomorrow.
"Thanks a lot for taking us in. We appreciate it," they appreciated as they all retired.
Sunnie and the rest later made their way into the cave room after clearing up the plates they had dined with.
Sunnie did the sharing. There were some leaves to lay on, so she had Zukka, Zuna, and Little Black sleep in the most comfortable space.
"I also want to sleep comfortably," Karl insisted, folding his arms.
Sunnie stared at him. "The last time I checked, you’re not a kid."
"Does it matter?"
"Yes," Sunnie nodded as she turned to them. "Go to bed now."
The three of them lay there with Little Black in between. Atan was okay sitting down beside them on a rock to keep a close eye on them.
Zayn sat down and leaned close to the wall, closing his eyes to sleep, while Eris, Luka, and Azure lay down on the floor. Karl flew to the ceiling and sat down on a rock there to sleep.
There were some little leaves around, so Sunnie used those as a pillow to sleep.
"Are you comfortable sleeping like that?" Azure inquired as they planned to sleep.
Sunnie nodded. "Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine," she said as Azure nodded and laid back to sleep.
They left the fire on to keep the warm from the cold that would potentially creep in from the entrance early that morning. They were yet to cover up their entrance with something.
And while everyone slowly drifted to sleep, Sunnie took her time thinking of how to expand for a more comfortable place to sleep. Fitting themselves in here wouldn’t do, so she had to think of a way to make everyone comfortable.
She was thinking about all that before she slowly drifted into sleep.
---
It was early morning. Around 1 am. The fire was still in the cave, keeping them all warm.
Everyone was asleep as there was pin-drop silence in the room. But Sunnie couldn’t bring herself to sleep.
She was feeling uneasy even in her sleep. She was feeling a bit uncomfortable as she finally opened her eyes and stared into the ceiling.
Sunnie looked around; everyone was already asleep. But she couldn’t, so she decided to step outside for a while.
Sunnie walked out and sat down on a rock there, hugging her feet as she stared into the sky.
It was chilly that morning. But she didn’t really mind. She kept staring into the sky while thinking about her real world. Sometimes she was curious and wondered what was happening there. But most times, she didn’t bother. It was better to escape into such a world.
"What are you doing out here this late?"
She heard someone ask as she turned to see Little Black walking out.
Little Black was rubbing his hands against his eyes as he walked out.
"Why are you awake?" Sunnie asked, watching as he came to sit down with her on the rock.
"I got tired of sleeping. And I saw you coming out, so I decided to join you," he said as he stared into the sky as well.
Sunnie smiled as she stared into the sky. "Is that so?"
There was silence between them as they stared into the sky. Little Black asked, "Why aren’t you sleeping, though?"
Sunnie sighed. "I also don’t feel like sleeping. So I came to look around."
Little Black nodded. After a while, he said, "Hey, thank you."
Sunnie was surprised as she stared at him. "First, my name is Sunnie. So call me Sister Sunnie. And secondly, why the sudden appreciation?"
Little Black hesitated as he said, "Thank you for accepting those people here and giving them somewhere to sleep and eat."
Sunnie was surprised. "Oh.. I see." Staring at Little Black, she couldn’t help but feel like he was speaking from a personal angle. "They were abandoned to die and had nowhere to go. So it’s all I could do for them."
She smiled as she stared at him. "Why are you so grateful? I didn’t expect this from you."
Little Black bit his lower lip with a sigh. "Nothing. I’m just saying. It’s good to not abandon them so they don’t have a hard time. It’s good to make things easier for them..."
Sunnie could see through him. He was clearly speaking from a place of personal experience, and Sunnie couldn’t help but grow curious to know more about Little Black.