Evee froze and blinked slowly, peering at the creature warily. “Did you--wha--Are you--Did you just say something?” the battered teen asked. In the light of the moon the beast looked much more mechanical than before. She was starting to think maybe it was a robot. The rain began to fall, making soft plinking noises off the maybe-a-robot, maybe-a-nightmare-monster’s armored skin. Sitting up straighter and a leaning in a little closer, Evee asked, “Can you understand me?”

The creature continued to peer at her, breaths still coming out in ragged puffs, and did not answer. He, Evee decided, wasn’t near as threatening when he wasn’t advancing on her or looming menacingly. He sort of reminded her of a puppy. A giant, eyeless, long toothed, mechanical puppy that could eat her alive in under ten seconds.
They sat together in silence for a long while, with the temperature slowly dropping around them. The blonde couldn’t be certain, but she thought maybe the creature was shivering. “Urm, are you alright?” Evee asked, blinking through a wave of dizziness. “If you swear not to kill me, you can come up on the porch out of the rain,” she offered, feeling a little sorry for the other. The beast did not respond right away, so the blonde patted the hardwood next to her. “Come on, the porch is covered. It’s not good for you to be out in the rain.”