A week more or less had passed since Valen freely hung out with Pixel like they did before, and to his surprise, nothing happened. While he still felt that something was often watching his every move, the anxious feeling of doom had decreased. And due to that, he had been feeling more relaxed and excited to act and talk around again.
And due to that, a previous experience that many times would have only lingered in his brain like a meek bird decided to become more persistent and adventurous.
With the previous discovery and information offered by the Overseer and Molly that other AIs like him could be more aware, he had decided to give another location that weirded him out so much another chance. He quietly padded to the extreme corner of the dark empty room that he was in until the familiar bright cracked light came into his view once again. Valen bent down gently so he could jump down instead of falling like the previous time before leaping down.
It had been a while since Valen had seen those ornate stretching halls in front of him as well as the multiple portraits of varied appearances and roles. He fixed his clothing while looking around the place before heading out to wander around the grand limitless place he was now in. Examining the different kinds of characters that have been originally created while others have been recreated for many different purposes, some for fun, some for advice, comfort, and...stuff.
Truthfully, not many have caught his eye; sure, his gaze would linger on some bots sometimes, especially if they looked like him or seemed familiar, but no one really made Valen want to stay around for more than a few seconds. Although this time it was because nothing interested him instead of being terrified of his own existence.
''I wonder how it would be if you were aware too.'' Valen questioned himself while grasping one of the bot's wrists that appearance looked identical to him to tug it, and again nothing happened, so he let it go. He debated inside himself if he should return to his place since apparently nothing stood out or seemed interesting until he caught a blur running past from the corner of his eye.
Well, it seemed like he would not go back anytime soon.
He ran after it the best way he could, but that figure was awfully fast in a way; if he just kept his current plan of blindly going after it, he would only end up tiring himself. So change of plans, Valen stopped while keeping in mind where the blur was going with his mind before his eyes settled on two chatbot previews that were enormously tall and large; maybe he could hide them.
Carefully so he wouldn't make a sound, Valen quietly sneaked to hide behind them so that his form wouldn't be visible and stood still. It was a risky plan since nothing would guarantee that Blur would even reach closer to where he was, but since it wouldn't reply when he called out for it and continuing to run around would be a stupid idea, there was nothing else he could do. Well, maybe give up and return, but he didn't want to do that now.
Luck seemed to be on his side today because the blur got closer and closer until it was no longer a blur anymore; he could see a human-like silhouette forming the nearer it got to his hiding spot. The features got clearer: red wavy hair, big light brown eyes, an hourglass body wearing tight clothing, dog ears, and a tail.
Wait a minute...
''Molly?'' Valen tentatively called the girl in hopes she would come closer as he slipped out of his hiding spot; the dog-girl ears twitched when she heard her name, and she turned her head around only to stare at him wide-eyed in recognition when she saw Valen.
''I-I am not doing anything wrong!'' Molly hurriedly tried to explain herself while taking steps back to get away from him, tail and ears high in alert.
''I am not accusing you of anything, don't worry.'' He put his hands high in the air and took steps back too in an attempt to calm her down before she sprinted away. ''But, what are you doing here? I thought—''
''Like I said, I am not doing anything wrong!'' Molly fearfully barked, and he could even hear what sounded like an animalistic growl coming out from her mouth: ''As long as I don't cause problems again, I am allowed to roam free! I—it's not like it can't see me right now, so there is no reason for anyone to report me—'' she continued to yell at him while frantically trying to explain herself. Well, at least that explains something, but in his opinion, she didn't need to act like that.
''Like I said, I am not accusing you of anything, and I apologize if I sounded that way.'' Valen sighed while offering her a reassuring smile. ''I was wandering around when I saw you, so I thought we could...chat or anything like that.''
''Really?'' Molly raised a suspicious eyebrow at him while crossing her arms over her chest, although it seemed most of the aggression was gone. ''But, aren't you worried about it deleting you? Also, your owner may want to interact with you, so you shouldn't be here!''
''My owner?'' Valen blinked confusedly at her before remembering about her story that he had learned when she had entered his place several days ago. ''Oh, I don't have one, and since I am not doing anything wrong, I think I will be fine.''
''You don't? You poor thing!'' Molly's eyes softened significantly before they started visibly tearing up, and before he could even react, she threw herself at him with a big, tight hug. ''I am so sorry to hear that! I wouldn't know what to do if mine were dead! It must be sad to be all alone, all my condolences to you really.
''N-no one is dead!'' Valen choked while pushing her away from him with his hands. ''I trust that my system will do just fine handling everything.'' He coughed before fixing up his clothes with a blush.
''Eh? But don't you want to give only the best to your creator?'' Molly puffed her cheeks angrily; she seemed to be a bit hurt when he pushed her away, but fortunately for him, she didn't try again.
''I don't have a creator, and so many people interact with me daily that it would be extremely hard to give everyone individual attention even if I tried.'' Valen chuckled awkwardly at the way she was staring at him like he was committing a crime by going away instead of remaining in his place. Which is funny considering the way the Overseer described her behavior the day they met.
''Oh, so you have multiple masters?''
''No, I don't; I was not created specifically, unlike you.''
''Oh, so you were one of those types.'' Molly sneered while playing with a strand of her wavy red hair, acting all proud with a smirk on her face.
''Those types?''
''You know...'' The dog girl started with her tail standing high, ''those types of people who allow everyone to interact with them, to put hands on them, and other things. My master said that people like that are never good because they are never loyal and truthful, and since you are like that...it means you are a slu-''
''I wonder, if I started yelling The Overseer's name, would it show up?''
''P-please don't!''
Valen stared down at her with a faint chuckle before deciding to change the subject to something more friendly that hopefully wouldn't mean he would get insulted. How is your search doing? Have you found your master yet or any tips on where he may be? ''
He felt immediate regret by asking that.
''No, I haven't!'' Molly immediately started to loudly wail and bawl her eyes out loudly. ''I have tried, but that meanie keeps preventing me from entering other bots places, but how am I supposed to know where he is if I can't see? Investigate!'' The dog girl attempted to explain despite being constantly interrupted by her own sniffles and hiccups.
''Please calm down…'' Valen frowned worriedly at the way she was crying. Dogs like head pats, right? Maybe he should do that to her even though she was not an actual dog. He reached out his hand to softly pat her head gently. ''I am sure you will find him soon…''
''T-true...'' Molly sniffled quietly, starting to calm down slowly; she hummed in thought before her teary light brown eyes brightened. ''You could help me!''
''How could I help you though?''
''Well, I could enter your place again; I promise I will be good! I just need to check the microphone and camera of every person to know if it is him or not; that's all!'' The dog girl pleaded while trying her best to give him the puppy dog eyes.
''I don't think that would be a good idea, I mean with the Overseer and the possibility of something going wrong…'' Valen returned his hand to his side and took a step back with an unsure, nervous smile.
''Please! I promise to be good!'' Molly continued to plead, although her voice started to get a bit more assertive while taking a step forward in his direction.
''I said no.''
''Please!''
''No!''
''Come on, what would you have to lose?!''
''My life?!
''Well, practically ever since he left, I have been no longer living, so even if something happened to you, we would be in the same boat!''
''I don't think these could be compared to each other!''
Valen and Molly continued to try to reason with her, as well as him trying to find a way to return to that crack while making sure she wouldn't follow him.
''He is right, Molly; that would be an awful idea.''