[ah, this kid... mob needs a moment to process that. where the pretty girls work, save his soul. he manages an awkward,] N-no, nothing like that. I... thought a cat might be stuck in the trash can.
[a pause, then,] So you're like me? A lot of kids seem to be waking up here.
[Some of the wariness slips away. If this man were a friend to cats, that was probably a good sign. The child is at least a few centuries away before Hermann Rorschach is to even be a glint in his parents' eyes, but if he had a concept of Rorschach paintings, he'd consider stray cats and how one responds to them as something similar to indicate a person's character.]
Mm. I woke up in a house in the woods. Did onii-san wake up in a strange house too?
[He squints.]
...Did a ghost chase him away too? Is that why he is out here looking to meet cats?
I did. [a nicer house than most around the area. was he actually rich here and not remember it? odd to imagine, but not as odd as everything else at least.]
No, I've seen spirits around but none have bothered me. Most seem scared. [though if one is bothering this kid...] Is that spirit still after you?
[at least that's something he can handle easily enough in this odd world.]
[it's odd to see a kid speak so calmly about this sort of thing, but it's clear this kid isn't like little human children he's known. not even like psychic kids, though closer to that.
well, at least he won't have to worry about spirits scaring the kid.]
I thought it might be a parallel world. [just a beat before he admits that. kind of refreshing to speak candidly of these things without people getting confused or skeptical.] I'm pretty sure it's not an illusion. Do you remember anything odd about the time right before you ended up here?
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[a pause, then,] So you're like me? A lot of kids seem to be waking up here.
no subject
Mm. I woke up in a house in the woods. Did onii-san wake up in a strange house too?
[He squints.]
...Did a ghost chase him away too? Is that why he is out here looking to meet cats?
no subject
No, I've seen spirits around but none have bothered me. Most seem scared. [though if one is bothering this kid...] Is that spirit still after you?
[at least that's something he can handle easily enough in this odd world.]
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No. Once I was gone she left me alone. Zashiki-warashi just usually do not like strangers.
[The child brings his finger to his lips in thought, ears that are too big for his head twitching in thought as he paces in circles.]
Strange houses. Strange city with spirits, but it is not a spirit realm...
[His nose scrunches in annoyance at the effort of wracking his brain for answers and coming up short.]
...Every entity I know about that kidnaps people does not really line up.
no subject
well, at least he won't have to worry about spirits scaring the kid.]
I thought it might be a parallel world. [just a beat before he admits that. kind of refreshing to speak candidly of these things without people getting confused or skeptical.] I'm pretty sure it's not an illusion. Do you remember anything odd about the time right before you ended up here?