"For this round we will all need to get out our pens!" Mary said it as if she was playing the game with the dolls. Ruby did so. Yes, her guess had been correct. Were there any powers that allowed you to see the future? That must be a very useful skill to have. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby noticed Ivy and Mia talking. Mia seemed to have regained a tiny bit of her spark. Her eyes didn't look as dead now. That was good. Ruby prayed that she would never have to see Mia look so miserable ever again. "Thank you!" Mary went on. "Now, please look up!"
The whole crowd of dolls seemed to move as one as every single doll looked up at the sky. It took Ruby a few minutes to understand what she was looking at. For a split second she thought it was snowing. Little clumps of something white were lightly and gracefully drifting down from the sky. If nothing else, it was a breathtaking sight. Ruby couldn't help but smile as she watched the little flurry through the air. But as the specks drifted closer and closer, they appeared larger and larger. Now Ruby could see their shapes clearly. Oh, paper. Well, that did make more sense.
"Why couldn't she have just given us a notebook with the pen? I feel like that would have made things much simpler. Not to mention, this probably cost a lot of money," Ruby whispered to Blossom. Blossom shrugged and laughed softly.
"It looks cool this way. If I were to guess, that's the main reason. She's giving the crowd something cool to look at," answered Blossom. That did make some sense. Right, not everyone thought like Robert. Ruby needed to remind herself of that. Many humans saw the city as something of an amusement park. The aesthetic was just as important as the game.
"Everyone please take one piece of paper!" Mary called out. This game had a very different feel to it. There had been no mention of killing each other so that was a good sign. Robert had told Ruby that the games didn't always revolve around death. He had said that some rounds were more relaxed than others. Did Ruby dare to hope that this would be a more chill round?
"Thank you! Now, each of you will write down a random number, a random color, a random name, a random letter and a random word," Mary called out. Well, this was very different from yesterday's immediate danger and chaos. Should Ruby feel uneasy or comforted? She glared down at her paper. Overthinking this probably wasn't very wise.
Number 243
Color Teal
Name Robert
Letter X
Word Home
There, all done. Ruby glanced around, waiting for the others to finish up. Was it okay to look at other people's lists? Mary hadn't said anything about that. But it was probably better to play things safe. Quite a lot of time passed before Mary spoke again. Apparently, Ruby hadn't been the only one to overthink her list.
"Splendid! Now I will call out my own answers as we check yours! If any answers perfectly match mine, you'll get a reward!" called Mary. That was it. That was the whole game. This seemed too good to be true.
"It seems as if she is being unusually kind to us today," said Blossom. "What did we do? Perhaps we have all just been well behaved." Ruby wouldn't go so far as to call this kindness, but she was grateful for the change. At worst, nothing bad would happen to her or her friends. At best, she would be rewarded. How did rewards work exactly? Did they have something to do with the stats, or not? She might end up finding out today.
"Alright! If your answers match mine perfectly, your pen will light up!" So, this was really it. They were just going to be doing this all day long. Ruby felt her whole body relax.
"Interesting," muttered Blossom. "They've never had us do anything remotely like this. This is the first time that, I think, we've ever played a game where the threat of death wasn't an important element. I might be wrong about that though."
"Alright!" Mary called out. Ruby glanced around with everyone else. Whispers rose up from the dolls. Someone let out a cry of joy. But Ruby didn't see any glowing pens around her. "The rewards will now be passed out!" Mary announced. A smile crossed Ruby's face. This was much better than yesterday's game. Even Mia looked a little bit more hopeful now.
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"Why is she doing this?" Blossom whispered. "I don't like this." She was frowning down at her paper with concern written all over her face.
"Isn't it better this way? Everyone will make it to the third round. I feel like that's great! We're all going to survive," Ruby pointed out. Blossom nodded but she didn't look the least bit convinced.
"Mary is really taking a risk with this game. I wonder what the crowd will think of this. That's what I don't like. That is what I'm worried about," she said. Ruby swallowed. Blossom probably knew what she was talking about. But that didn't change the fact that for now, they were all safe.
"Alright! Now again!" Mary called. Ruby turned back to her paper.
Number 1345678909876543212345678909876543212345678987654321234675
Color Brown
Name Alice
Letter R
Word Sky
Ruby added more digits to her number as she waited for the others to finish up. Then they all waited together.
"Mark my words, Ruby, the crowd is going to be mad with boredom by the time this round is over," Blossom whispered. A shiver ran down Ruby's spine. There was something in Blossom's tone that made her feel a deep sense of unease.
Level
3
XP
8
Strength
15/100
Health
150/150
Stamina
150/150
Powers/Skills
Fixing-Spell