‘Why did he say that we will be working together? I thought I wasn’t allowed to leave this building.’

Octavius, the grumpy 30-something-who-looked-like-a-child swivelled his head in my direction after my comment. He puffed out a sigh of many emotions. Mostly negative ones.

In my attempt to break the silence, my outburst had come out a lot more obnoxiously than it had sounded in my head so I sank into the couch a little, feeling the embarrassment heat my cheeks.

Octavius was sitting on a barstool at the kitchen bench, swishing a wine glass filled with something that looked suspiciously like orange juice. Not exactly the picture of maturity and grace he probably had in his mind.

After rinsing off his soapy hair from the shower, Altonio got changed and took the box Octavius had found on the doorstep, and left with it on some kind of business - the details of which he wouldn’t divulge, leaving Octavius and I sitting awkwardly apart from each other “to get better acquainted” in Altonio’s words. It had been a few hours since then. Barely having said a word to each other, we were no closer to being friends than when we had first met.

Every once in a while I changed sitting positions on the couch to stay comfortable. Taking a glance at Octavius, still swishing his glass, I concluded that despite the age gap (which may have caused friction anyway) there was clearly something that had peeved him off about my presence. Perhaps baby-sitting a teen had not been in the job description.

I almost snorted at the idea of Octavius baby-sitting kids with that face of his. What a joy he must be at dinner parties…

Before I could imagine any more scenarios he would be ill-suited to handling, Octavius spoke up at last.

‘Master only said that because if you saw what’s outside then you might end up crying at the loss of the place you once called home. Plus there’s still plenty that needs to be done that doesn’t involve leaving this place.’

‘Geez, you really don’t have a high opinion of me,’ I said, unamused.

Octavius shrugged. ‘It’s nothing personal. Well, there hasn’t really been enough time for it to even be personal anyway. In these circumstances, I don’t have the luxury to be opinionated, but I make it a rule to not trust those who haven’t proved themselves trustworthy. Humans have an especially hard time proving their worth.’

‘So basically all humans to you are untrustworthy?’

‘Basically, yes.’

‘Who are you to judge though?’

He stopped swishing his glass. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Call me what you will, but I’m a staunch believer in humanity. I think it’s true what they say in all those action fantasy movies: Humans are an amazing race.’

Octavius stayed silent, so he continued.

‘We may have our flaws, but we’re amazing because of our flaws. Our inspiring attitudes towards our short lifespans make us who we are.’

‘You may see me as a quivering wreck of a being, and I may not know what’s been going on, but whatever it is, you’ll be sure that I’ll do my best to tackle it and try to find a solution.’

Octavius sighed. ‘You have a better way with words than I gave you credit for. Very well human, I’ll let you see the world, but you are not prepared for what has happened.’

‘Ah, so I see you’ve (gained some common ground?) found something in common after all! I’m glad!’

Octavius and I spun our heads around to see Altonio standing by his bedroom door.

‘Master!’ Octavius exclaimed. ‘When did you return?’

‘Oh don’t mind my interruption, please carry on,’ he said, and turned to go back into the bedroom.

‘You were spying on us!!’ I realised with horror, and Altonio flinched.

Octavius’ expression changed to one of dismay. ‘How long have you been here, Master?’

‘Actually,’ Altonio replied, looking sheepish when he turned back to them, ‘I never really left in the first place.’

‘Oh, that makes it so much worse!’ I groaned.

‘But you’re getting along better now! Isn’t that the main thing?’

‘I’m not even going to ask where you hid. Clearly you were never taught lessons in respecting boundaries.’

‘Don’t take it too hard, human. He’s always been a protector.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I scoffed.

‘Anyway!’ Altonio clapped his hands together, interrupting the argument. ‘I think it’s time we took a wander.’

‘Master,’ Octavius said, standing up. ‘So soon? He’s barely been here a day! He may not be as weak-willed as I thought, but he’s still not going to take the news lightly.’

‘Whatever he thinks, he’s got us to answer his questions. Provided they’re not too sensitive. It’s not like I’ve got much intel anyway, but in time I’ll get the info I need.’

‘Of course.’