TINY CAT PEOPLE: THE MAZE TRIALS

[skinstealer]

 

SEE: Do they make clothes like ours, but in like, doll sizes?
MONTY: I’ve seen some outfits in my books, and I want to dress Mint up at some point for sure...but it’s really hard to figure out which rewards I want the most.
MONTY: While I’ve definitely figured out a good system for getting them, it still feels like they make it harder over time...things that would have definitely got an impression before don’t now, and I have to really find something interesting to work with if I want my multiple reward strategy to work.
MONTY: Oh, there are actually a few things I’ve picked up along those lines, though, sort of…
 

They gesture for you to scoot over, using the extra space when you do to slip their backpack off and rifle through it. After a bit of sifting, they pull out another doll, holding it out to you.

 
SEE: What’s this?
MONTY: I got a few extra, because...I figured that people who are actually nice here could use some stress relief too.
MONTY: Even if it’s just a little toy to play with…
 

They look down at the ground, hesitating for a moment.

 
MONTY: Is that silly?
MONTY: Like, that doesn’t sound stupid or anything? Or naive?
SEE: Nah, like...that’s really cool of you, Monty.
 

You pick up the doll, the toy much bigger proportionally to you than your large companion. 

 
SEE: I’ll take good care of it.
 

Monty looks better immediately, their head gently swaying from side to side contentedly. 

 
MONTY: You have to come up with a name for it, to make it yours. 
MONTY: That’s something I read in one of my books.
SEE: I have to think on that...but I will. 
 

 
SEE: Is there anything else you read or learned that you really liked?
SEE: I’m really curious.
 

Monty thinks it over, tapping their hand on their bag. 

 
MONTY: I mean...I’ve read a lot of things.
MONTY: I learned a lot about combat and protecting myself, but I really don’t like that kind of thing. It’s just...necessary.
MONTY: I may be really big, but there are some other TCPs here that are even bigger than I am, and even ones that aren’t can still pack a punch if they’re determined enough.
MONTY: ...or if they have weapons.
MONTY: But when it comes to things I really like, I guess I like learning about the comforts of the outside world?
MONTY: It sounds like a really weird place...you have things like the sky and the sea and all kinds of scary things I don’t like reading about for too long, and you get to choose whether you’re stuck within walls or not.
MONTY: The sky just goes on and on forever.
MONTY: ...just like the pit over there, but in a nice way. A way that makes you feel free.
MONTY: What I like most about the outside world though, is stuff like food, and toys, and all of these weird little things that are just there to make your life nicer…
MONTY: We TCPs don’t need to eat in the same way that other people do, so any kind of regularly scheduled eating is recreational. It’s for fun.
MONTY: It’s for the taste.
MONTY: It’s a weird thing...food, toys, they’re not technically necessary for us in a biological sense from what I can tell, but they make us happy. They make us feel safe, they make us feel fulfilled.
MONTY: You could argue that reading as many books as I do is the same way. I may pick up a lot of them for survival reasons, and learn what I can to make sure I stay alive in the Trials…
MONTY: But so many of them, I take because I want to learn things for fun, or hear a new story.
MONTY: In a sense, those kinds of things drive me more to survive than things like learning combat or violence or weapon use…
MONTY: So I guess they are necessary after all, just in a weird way you wouldn’t expect.
MONTY: ...I guess that’s part of why I carry around toys to give to people.
MONTY: I want people to feel better and less stressed, of course, but I think...it’s nice if I can get people to realize that there’s more to our lives than just the impressions and the fighting.
MONTY: Even if we’re trapped in here, we can still find value to the lives we lead.
MONTY: That’s what I think.
 

Huh.

This is a lot to take in.