Posturing

As the boy screamed, he fell in shock and almost broke his cricket-ty couch.

When Daede saw this he was amused. His skills with mind tentacles were beyond spectacular at this point.

"Relax now, never heard a talking rock?" Daede continued while playing the role.

The boy's eyes grew wide as he went speechless and stared down at the rock.

"Good. You understand me?" Daede probed. After all, no matter how well he voice acted, if the other party couldn't understand then it was a wasted effort.

The boy still in shock started feeling fear at the talking rock.

Especially since it talked directly into his head. He swore someone was messing with him. Yet although he looked around briefly he just couldn't understand within a short time who was talking to him.

"Tsk nod if you understand me and yelp if you don't!" Daede briefly frowned since this wasn't going anywhere.

The boy finally catching up nodded immediately.

'Ha! Telepathy works as a translator! Guess the nerds were right.' Daede mused as he just fact-checked a pretty frequent plot scene.

Understandably, mental thought came in a different format and transmission and reception can't be compared to the usual nerve endings receiving input which then gets translated through previously learned information by the brain. This forms understanding but mental communication was a different ball game.

The newly motivated Daede continued:

"What's yer name boy!?" Totally like a certain son of Zeus.

The boy had shot up into a straight posture from the fear of the unknown answered:

"Loto senior!" He didn't know who this voice was but that last question sounded really war-like to him. Apprehension took over and so did a respectful attitude.

Loto was smart or at least he used to be told he was.

"Good! Let me introduce myself... later! Pick me up and give me a tour!" Daede decisively hid information.

After all, he was a rock from the sky. When he let the kid find and pick him up he was already brewing a plan.

The boy became shocked again as what he didn't expect turned back to smack him.

Looking down at the rock that seemed to shimmer more than before he nervously reached out.

Still keeping an eye out for whoever would come out and startle him while mocking his fearful belief that it's really the rock talking.

"Why do you keep looking around? It's just me and you, little Loto, trust me I checked it before talking to you." Daede stated while trying to sound mysterious.

Loto, the poor boy, gulped heavily as reality seemed to be setting in with the rock's final lines.

He and an unknown meteor are chatting or so the boy rationalized.

"Who are you?" Loto finally asked nervously right as he hesitated to pick up the rock.

"In due time, my identity is... very special, I can't easily reveal it. Now back to the tour! You brought me here let's see what I'm working with!" Daede evaded skillfully and just shouted the second part.

Effectively using mystery and fear to get a tour of the run-down house.

The boy couldn't help but obey as his head mildly shaken again when the so-called talking rock raised its voice.

Gently holding the rock as though his long-lost lover the boy started the tour of his once brilliant home while fidgeting and stuttering.

Daede of course wasn't going to be silent. He could talk to someone. After who knows how long. He would probably torture someone into confessing to any crime If he let his rambling go on.

A self-aware shiny rock is a wise shiny rock.

He asked the boy questions about what is this place, where it is, who lives here, how long ago was it built, whose the neighbours, what are the different rooms for, what's the weather like during the year, is it a rental? The list went on and considering the situation the poor boy just continued answering without hesitation as he was scared of the rock.

Yet slowly he was answering more steadily as the barrage of questions wore him down. The fidgeting and stuttering stopped and he almost felt like he was going to sell his house to this rock.

The boy's answers were heard by Daede in an odd tongue but the meaning was clear since he kept contact with the boy. As the questioning continued, nothing sappy came out of the boy considering this big lord prospective buyer was here?

"Wait! What are we doing!?" Loto finally couldn't hold it in as he caught himself in the moment.

"You're showing me around the house, no?" Daede asked back just as confused at the question as the boy was at his presence.

"I mean are you really a rock!? This isn't some sick prank? And why am I giving you a tour? You're a talking rock!?" The boy finally let it all out.

Daede paused for a moment there. At that moment he snickered but it was all mental so the boy had no idea.

"I'm shocked Loto! How rude of you to just come pick me up out of nowhere, bring me here and not expect me to find out where I am!?" Daede postured very dramatically while asking or at least he felt he got the voice and intent right.

Unsurprisingly so in fact.

"What? No.. I- I- I'm sorry! That's not.." Confusion was super effective on Loto.

"No buts! That is exactly what happened and now you have to provide a tour like a respectable host young man!" Daede just continued his nonsense not even knowing when to stop.

The boy was silenced into continuing the tour but Daede already knew the gist of it but still asked in order to proceed with his diabo- knowledge gathering.

"Why are you in this old broken house all alone?" The rock asked in a serious tone contrasting to the "Ouh" and "Ah's" he spouted during the earlier interrogation.

"Huh? Oh... Uhm..." The boy hesitated.

Daede waited patiently.

"H-How do I know it's really the rock and not someone pranking me?" The boy wanted assurance that he wasn't crazy.

Daede understands the hesitation and realized the boy's situation, bullying might be a thing for him and who knows if there is some sick little turd trying to get this boy to tell his story just to mock him with a "surprise the whole town is here watching"! Looking at the boy's living environment it was the last thing he needed.

"I see! Let me fix that for you." Daede said confidently before gently lifting himself off Loto's hand and condensing a mental palm that materialized in front of the shocked boy's eyes before a crisp sound echoed in the empty halls of the house.

"Slap!"

It was a light slap and effectively shocked the boy.

"Now grab me again!" Daede ordered as the boy looked at the rock with a small burst of indignation at being slapped.

However, Loto obeyed. He might have just gotten slapped by a rock but let's be honest, he just got slapped by a rock. Let's not trigger the rock that can slap people and make people's heads shake. Or Lotto considered as he grabbed the mighty slapping-talking rock.

"You could have just ended it by showing me the hand... didn't have to." The boy muttered but Daede couldn't care less.

"Now answer the question Little Loto." Cutting Loto off he just continued the questioning.