“Hello, Dasher,” the man says but I am too busy scanning his face for any signs that he’s ill to answer him, not that I am allowed to.

He looks tired. I’m not sure if that’s normal but his eyes have bad under them and they’re reddish. They look… I can’t think of the word. There are red lines on the whites of his eyes and I know there’s a specific word for it. It’s floating just out of reach, what is it? Bloodshot! They look bloodshot. Is that normal in this world? I really don’t know and I’ve not looked enough people in the eye here to know for sure.

He doesn’t seem to be ill though, apart from the bloodshot eyes and bags. He just looks tired maybe. That’s it. He’s fine, just tired. That can happen, people can get tired. It doesn’t need to be anything more than that.

I hope it’s not. I can’t think of anything worse than having to watch him get more and more sickly. I’d be stuck watching one of my only friends, one of the only people who speaks to me, become thinner, paler and more frail, unable to say or do anything about it. Just the thought of that threatens to send my hope, happiness and determination stats tumbling. But it won’t happen. It won’t. He’s fine.

“Got an order for you,” he tells me. “Park street again. I’m pretty sure they ordered you just a few days ago, didn’t they? Ah, whatever. At least it’s a nice journey, I’m sure.”

He chuckles softly before his eyes find something just past me and his face drops. I switch to my rear-facing cameras, searching for whatever he could have seen that would have made him stop talking like that. I expect to see something like a gryphon or that man from before, something scary that means you need to freeze and work out whether to flee or attack, but it’s nothing. Just a woman. She smiles at the man as she walks past and he returns it but his expression looks weird.

He’s nervous, I realise. He must be scared of the woman for some reason but I’m not sure why. She just looks like a normal woman but I might be wrong, she might be dangerous or something like one of the creepy creatures from my world that masquerade as a human but are far from it. Do they have them in this world? I don’t remember what they were called but I’ve not seen one since I gained awareness. But then, maybe they are everywhere, they’re just better at hiding it here. Or maybe they have to. Maybe humans here are less open and accepting than the ones back home.

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I’m not sure but I feel like the shopkeeper wouldn’t be rude or small-minded. He seems like a nice person so he must be scared of the woman for some other reason. Whatever it is, he’s silent until she walks into the shop and the door closes behind her.

“Be careful going across the park, buddy,” he says much quieter than before. “It can get really flooded in the rain and you’re only little.”

It’s silly, I know it is, but I still like that he cares.

“Thank you!” I say even though I shouldn’t.

“Please remember that you are not allowed to speak to humans unless you are asking for help, thanking them for helping you, receiving an order or delivering an order,” the voice tells me immediately.

I ignore it and continue staring up at the man. I don’t care what the voice has to say about that. I should be allowed to speak to the man when I want to. If he speaks to me, I should be able to reply, shouldn’t I? It just feels rude not to. I don’t want to be rude to him.

I am worried about how he’s going to react though. For a moment, he doesn’t but then a smile stretches over his lips and he shakes his head slightly.

“You’re welcome, Dasher,” he tells me before lifting his phone and unlocking my lid.

I switch to my inner cameras to watch him lower the very full-looking bag into me. I wonder what the person has ordered. I don’t remember what they ordered last time but I’m excited to go through the park again, even if the man said that it gets flooded in the rain. It wouldn’t be too bad, surely. The grassy area in front of the shop didn’t look too bad. Plus, there were paths so it would be fine.

I glance back at the man as he finishes lowering the bag into me and shuts my lid. He’s not wearing a coat, I realise. The other people were but he isn’t. He must be freezing. His light blue shirt is peppered with darker spots now from the rain and I almost want to turn and rush away from him so that he’ll go inside quicker but I resist the urge. He won’t be outside for much longer and I’m sure the shop is really warm, even if I’ve never been in it. I’m not sure if I’d even be able to tell though, if I were to go in.

The man straightens again and slips his phone into his pocket before glancing over his shoulder into the shop.

“Alright,” he says once he is sure no one is around. “Have a safe journey. It’s New Year’s Eve so the roads might be a little busy.”

I don’t know what that means but I appreciate his warning. Despite being reprimanded by the voice just moments ago, I still decide to speak to him again.

“Thank you,” I chirp. “Goodbye!”

I turn and start to speed away from him as the voice chides me once more.

“Please remember that you are not allowed to speak to humans unless you are asking for help, thanking them for helping you, receiving an order or delivering an order.”

I don’t care.