TINY CAT PEOPLE: THE MAZE TRIALS

[skinstealer]

 
You have to raise your voice to make sure the TCP downstairs can hear you, but you do your best to yell across the room. 
 

SEE: Uh...hi!
????: Are you new? I haven’t seen you yet...
SEE: Yeah, I’m new...I don’t really know what I’m doing at all, or what I should be doing…
????: Well, do you have a name?
SEE: I’m See.
????: See...that’s a nice name.
????: I’m Suzanne!
SUZANNE: It’s nice to see someone new here, though I guess that means you’re going to have to learn how to make impressions and all that. It’s a lot to get used to…
SUZANNE: What type are you, anyway?
SEE: A molded chocolate type, I think? That’s what my head tells me, anyway.

 
Suzanne nods, clearly understanding. 
 

SUZANNE: I’m a chimera fish type. 
SUZANNE: Sometimes you just...know things like that. I get it.
SUZANNE: Do you know your ability yet?
SEE: Yeah, it was one of the first things I knew upon- spawning, I guess, that’s the word they keep using for it.
SUZANNE: Yes! We spawned here, all of us. I haven’t met a single person who wasn’t yet.
SUZANNE: My ability is strange, but I like it- I can release electrical charges and use it to sense my surroundings, which sure came in handy for a room or two.
SUZANNE: It works better underwater, though! Makes sense, considering the fish thing.
SEE: What’s electrical mean?
SUZANNE: Well, it’s- you might be best off reading a book on that, actually. I don’t know if I could do the explanation justice.
SUZANNE: All you really need to know is that I can sense things around me better than most people. 
SUZANNE: How about you?
SEE: Uh...I can...break pieces off of myself? 
SEE: And people can eat them???

  


She perks up immediately, clasping her fins together. 
 

SUZANNE: You’re a food type?!
SUZANNE: That’s perfect!
SUZANNE: Does your ability heal? Are there any extra effects?
SEE: Yeah, it can- something about an energy boost, too. 
SUZANNE: Oh, that’s wonderful...this could really help Max!
SUZANNE: But we can talk about that later- how are you holding up with everything?

 
Max...is that another TCP? You’ll have to ask her about that later.
  

SEE: It’s all a bit confusing…
SEE: What is this place, anyway? 
SEE: And what’s the deal with the weird intercom in my room?
SUZANNE: I’m not sure, really. I spawned here just like you.
SUZANNE: They call it the Maze Trials, which makes sense with how it’s laid out and what they’re expecting of us, I suppose.
SUZANNE: The rooms outside- like this one- change position and what’s in them between whenever you enter and leave your room, and the trials aspect comes into play with the whole impression system.
SUZANNE: From what I can tell, they want us to do things that interest them, so they can study us.
SUZANNE: The problem is, with every impression you make, the more they want to see something more and more stand out. 
SUZANNE: So...the trials are finding ways to do that, and using rewards to help enhance your impressions.
SUZANNE: The rooms out here can have all kinds of different stuff, but this one seems pretty straightforward. I was wondering if anyone would show up at the top of those stairs, it seemed way too convenient for just a platform. 
SEE: This is a lot to take in…
SUZANNE: You get used to it! Though there are some things I wish I didn’t have to get used to…
SUZANNE: As for the intercom, that’s how they speak to us. I don’t know who or what they are, but like I said, they’re studying us for some reason.
SUZANNE: And when it comes to that, anything goes, as long as it “makes an impression”.

  

 
She looks hesitant, her gaze falling.
 

SUZANNE: I...don’t like it very much. 
SUZANNE: But I’m getting good at it, and I’ve picked up quite a few rewards so far.
SEE: Is a writing skill one of them? We got a journal, but we don’t know how to actually write in it.

 
She lifts her head up to meet your eyes again. 
 

SUZANNE: Yes, actually! That’s an important one. 
SUZANNE: Come down here, and I can teach it to you!