Atlas followed the girl through many hallways before finally arriving at a large, rather fancy kitchen. "Wow!" He suddenly thought of something, and felt kinda embarrassed to ask, but he hadn't known his grandfather well, because his father didn't like to talk to or about him. "Hey Rosa? Um… what was my grandfather like?"
Rosa scooted over to a little corner, watching him from under her lashes. “I am not sure what you refer to, Master Atlas.”
Atlas said, "Come over here and sit down with me. You don't need to stand there in the corner." He gave her a hesitant smile. "What I mean is, what did my grandfather like to do? What was his personality like? I heard he was eccentric, but my father didn't like to talk about him for some reason."
Rosa hesitantly scooted across the kitchen, her tail wiggling nervously over the floor. She sat down slowly in the comfy dining chair.
“Master Lordson was a very kind man. He always held my hand and brushed my hair when I was a small girl, and father was away doing his chores.”
Atlas smiled widely. "He sounds nice." He looked off wistfully out the window. "Wish I could've met him. I wonder why he left me his fortune? He barely knew me…" He was sitting on a rather tall stool, swinging his big feet.
“Master Lordson said he didn’t want his fortune falling into the hands of his greedy son.” Her tail flicked nervously and she looked around. “But I wasn’t supposed to tell you that!” She covered her face with her hands, as if expecting some type of punishment.
Atlas looked a little startled when she covered her face with her hands. He slipped off his chair and came over to her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey. It's alright. Everyone slips up sometimes. It's not like there's a consequence at least." He smiled at her, crouching down so his eyes were level with her face. "I understand. My father is definitely a greedy prick. Will you look at me?"
Rosa peeked out from between her fingers, her tail still quivering at the tip.
“M-master Atlas understands?” She moved her hands away carefully.
Atlas smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I've made plenty of mistakes with my life." He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Not too proud of them. Compared to my mistakes your slip-up is nothing."
Rosa’s ears curled up tighter and she straightened her posture again. “Right you are, Master Atlas. I apologize nevertheless.” She bowed her head slightly.
Atlas laughed. "No problem. Though why do you keep calling me "master"? I'm not the "master" of anyone. Not even my dog." He froze. Then drooped. "Well. When he was alive anyway." He stood up and went rifling through the cupboards, looking for the tea, eyes sad.
Rosa tilted her head. “Master? I must call you that, it is a thing of respect to you.” She rose and scurried over to the cabinets. “Allow me to get the tea, Master Atlas.”
Atlas stepped back knowing she knew the kitchen better than he did, but he didn't want her to make it for him. He didn't like making other people do things for him. "Can you just grab the tea and a mug for me? I can make it myself in the microwave." He shifted the blanket still on his shoulders.
Rosa shook her head and started boiling some water. “Do sit down, Master Atlas. I’ll have the tea up in moments.” Her tail wiggled over the linen floor nervously.
Atlas didn't really like that she kept insisting on calling him "Master", but he sat down obediently, watching her tail flip, mesmerized by the movement.
She watched the boil come to a sustained boil and poured some into a cup, then dipped the bags of tea into the mug.
“How many lumps of sugar would you like, Master Atlas?”
Atlas held up five fingers. "Five please if that's ok?" He looked at her ears, noting their roundness. But he commented on something different about her. "You have pretty eyes."
Rosa nodded a little and took out the bag of lumps. “One, two, three, four, five!” She counted, her tail flicking happily. She loved counting. She turned to Atlas and handed him the cup. Her ears curled up a bit tighter and she covered her face with her hands.
“Thank you, Master Atlas. I like your eyes too.”
Atlas blushed and looked down at his tea. "Thank you." He took a sip of tea. His eyes lit up. "This is delicious! What kind of tea is it?"
Rosa’s tail twitched. “It is Master Lordson’s favorite mix of herbs from his garden. Father is tending to it right now, I believe. He should be back soon.” She directed her round eyes up to the back door.
Atlas looked up at her. "If I'm keeping you from something, don't stay for me. Just please tell your father that I'm waiting in the kitchen whenever he gets around to it. I don't want to be a burden." If he had a tail like Rosa's, it would be flipping anxiously.
Rosa shook her head and scooted over to her little corner. “Father and Master Lordson said I should neve leave a guest alone.” Her tail curled up around her legs and her ears curled up tighter somehow.
Atlas stood up. "Then I'll just help you with your work!" He smiled. " You won't be leaving me alone then! And it'll give me something to do too."
Rosa shook her head. “It is rude to allow a guest to do work with you. Master Atlas, please sit back down.” It was a request, not a demand.
Atlas stood firm. "I technically own this house now. I should be caring for it as well." His voice was determined, but friendly. His eyes sparkled. She was kinda cute, now that he looked at her. And if he had heard correctly, it was just her and her father. That was rather unfair to give them all the work. "I might as well learn now, so I can know what to do later."
Rosa shook her head wildly. “No no no Master Atlas! It is our job to do our chores. It is not your bother. Please sit down!”
Atlas looked at her for a moment then threw his head back and laughed. He sat and laughed until tears were streaming down his face.
Rosa uncomfortably stood in her corner, gazing at him in fear. Her tail flicked nervously at the tip and she brought her hands to her face.
Atlas noticed her fear, and started trying to choke his laughs down. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He said as he wiped tears from his face. "It's just that was so different from what I've been told since birth. I was the one who did all the cooking and cleaning when I lived with my parents. And you seemed so horrified by the thought of me working- I'm sorry." He noticed her hands were covering her face again. He came over slowly and gave her a gentle hug. "I'm really sorry for scaring you. I'll try not to do it again."
Atlas noticed her fear, and started trying to choke his laughs down. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He said as he wiped tears from his face. "It's just that was so different from what I've been told since birth. I was the one who did all the cooking and cleaning when I lived with my parents. And you seemed so horrified by the thought of me working- I'm sorry." He noticed her hands were covering her face again. He came over slowly and gave her a gentle hug. "I'm really sorry for scaring you. I'll try not to do it again."