"I'll… I'll be fine." Laura insisted, after a moment of hesitation. Slowly she started pushing herself off the table, using him to help get down. When she was flat on her feet, she glanced up and gave him a little smile.
"What's next, sir?"
Ash helped Laura as much as she needed to get down from the table, slowly giving her a smile in return.
"Well," Ash said after a moment, "I think the living room would be best now. There shouldn't be anyone in there right now. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes sir, that's fine." Laura hummed a bit, holding onto his hand. She seemed to be gradually relaxing from her freak-out moments before.
"I'll be alright with wherever we go." She insisted a bit, glancing up at him.
"Let me know if that changes, then." Ash smiled gently. He led Laura out of the room, and were met by the sight of two others in the hall. The closest one was just lightly shorter than Ash, with dark hair. Of course, the most noticable thing about him was the fact he was completely covered in scars. Slashes, bites, small burnt circles from cigarettes, they covered him almost completely. The other was a shorter man with short silvery hair, currently holding the first man's hand.
Laura seemed to recoil at the sight of the two, her smile dropping almost immediately. She kept quiet, flicking her gaze down to the floor. It was kind of pathetic how shy she got around other people.
Pulling back a little, she hid behind Ash best she could, all while still holding his hand.
Ash gave Laura's hand a gentle squeeze, reaching his other hand back to lightly rest on her head. The two men looked up when they saw Ash. The shorter one have a bright smile, but the scarred one didn't really react. If anything, he too slipped behind the man he was holding the hand of. The one in front glanced at Laura, but Ash shook his head. With that, the man pulled the other away a bit, giving Ash and Laura room as they continued down the hall.
Laura glanced back after they had passed the men, trying to get one last glance before they disappeared.
“Who… who was that?” She asked softly, flicking her gaze back up to him. She was slowly starting to relax once they were alone again, but her hold on his hand was still pretty tight.
“Do… do they live here too?”
"The man with the silver hair is Alex. He's a robot too." Ash kept close to Laura, running her hand a little with his thumb. "And the other man… That's Fun. He… He doesn't talk much, and he's always by Alex's side. The lady who owns this place, she got him out of a really bad place about a year ago. Kind of like you. And they both live here."
Laura watched him as he spoke, seeming quite invested with what he had to say. Especially about the second man. But she didn’t say anything about it, letting the information sink in.
“Mr. Alex seemed friendly…” Laura stated in a soft tone, glancing back to where they had passed them. “Did the lady that lives here build him, too? Or did someone else?”
"The lady did, yes.The lady who owns this place made all of us robots. She… Well, she was lonely." Ash smiled. "And Alex is really friendly. Once you're okay with it, you'll find that he's always willing to give hugs and play." Ash continued to lead Laura down the hall, and thankfully there wasn't anyone else up and about yet.
Laura glanced back up at him, giving him a little smile in return as they walked.
"That makes sense…" She hummed, trailing off as Mr. Ash continued talking. "Mr. Alex sounds super nice… do you think he would like me?" Laura asked softly, picking up her pace a bit to stay besides him.
Ash, in turn, slowed down a bit so it would be easier for Laura to keep up.
"I think he would absolutely love you, Ms. Laura. I'm sure he would love to officially meet you when you're ready for it." Ash brought Laura to the next room on the tour, the living room. There was… A lot of sitting room. Enough for forty people, easily.
"Mm, well I'd like to meet him, too… maybe not now, though." Laura hummed, before glancing around the room. Carefully she started pulling him along, heading to the center of the room. She had a curious expression, mentally counting how many places there were to sit.
"Can everyone fit in here?" She asked softly, loosing track.
"Most everyone, yes. We usually don't all end up in here, though. It's usually no more than a few at a time." Ash smiled gently as Laura's looked around.
"Even I'm not entirely sure how many people live here."
Laura smiled in return, before flicking her gaze back around the room.
"There must be a lot, at least… do you have a guess at how many?" Laura asked softly, turning to face him to get an answer.
Ash nodded, thinking a moment.
"Hm…" He started counting on his fingers, the number just going up and up.
"I'd say around… Thirty? Thirty two? It changes depending on who is here. Some people are in and out."
"That really is a lot…" Laura stated softly, surprised at the number.
After a couple of seconds, a look of confusion spread across her face. "Why do some people move out? Don't they like it here?" She asked softly, looking up to him with a furrowed brow.
"They do," Ash said. He sat down in one of the chairs to explain.
"But sometimes, they just need a change in scenery. They come back, though, eventually." Ash smiled gently. "Do you think you'd want to leave this place some day?"
"I don't know… I don't have anywhere else to go…" Laura replied softly, studying his face as she stood there.
"I mean- I will if I'm not allowed to be here. I don't want to stay where I'm not welcomed." She offered a little shrug. "If the lady that lives here wants me to leave, I will."
"She won't, I promise. We have an open door policy here- if someone needs a home, we'll give them one. That includes you, Ms. Laura." Ash gave Laura a gentle smile. "And I've already guaranteed you a home here. That means you can stay."
Laura smiled softly, glancing over to the chair next to him. Deciding she wanted to sit, she climbed up and sat with her legs crossed. She quickly glanced over to him, making sure it was alright.
"But still," Laura insisted, brushing her hair back out of her face. "If she can't let me stay, for any reason, I can leave. I don't want to be a burden."
Ash gave Laura a smile when she sat down, perfectly fine with it.
"We're more than able to let you stay, Laura. We have more than enough money to provide for everyone here, and she would never kick you out just because she wanted to. I promise." Ash turned a bit so he was facing Laura, giving her another smile.
"We can ask her, later, if you feel so strongly about it."
Laura nodded a little, leaning up against the back of the chair before curling up.
"If you're sure, I trust you. I really don't want to bother anyone, though." She mumbled with a shrug. The way she was responding to all of this with such a calm and mature tone, might be worrisome if you didn't know where she had come from.
"I just wanted to make sure."
"Alright." Ash gave a soft smile, leaning back against his chair. He relaxed a moment, letting the moment so.
"So, how are you doing? I know we've come across several people this morning already, and it's going to get busier from here."
Laura only shrugged once again, giving him a smile.
"Alright, I guess. As good as I can be." She hummed softly, picking at the fabric of her jeans. "I- I guess, better than I had been, is a better way to say it."