Chapter 6:

[IMPORTANT A/N! This chapter uses a poem that does NOT belong to me in any way, shape, or form. If the author of the poem doesn't want it to be used in this story, I will remove it immediately. You can find it in a tale on the SCP wiki called "Narcissus".]

Tiberius and you had grown closer over the time you had been around him. By now, it'd been at least a couple weeks of him and you exploring the ins and outs of his little "pocket universe", as you called it. You woke up in unfamiliar places, sometimes. as though you had hopped through dimensions, but in a hasty manner. At first, You depended on Tiberius to hunt for food, and explore.. but it wasn't what you wanted. Independence was key to you. You hoped you and Tiberius could balance each other out.. and you figured that was what Tiberius wanted too.. as much as he implied to care about you.

You lazily drifted your eyes open, your body laying peacefully against Tiberius'. You tucked your arms closer to your chest, turning to your left and curling up into a ball-like shape. You let out a soft yawn, pushing your braided hair out of your face.

"Tiberius..?" You asked, yawning.

He angled his head to you curiously. You had to fight the force your sleepy eyes open, nevertheless.

"What do you say we go exploring today?" You proposed with a tired smile.

Through your baggy eyes, Tiberius could still see the excitement in them. You shifted your head to him, stretching out your arms.

He lightly nodded, looking back at you. You pressed your hand against the dry soil in the now familiar cavern, pushing yourself upwards. Sleep sang its soft lullaby to you, but you pushed it way, persisting to stay awake.

Tiberius stood up from his siting position, becoming much taller than you. Regardless, you were happy to still have him by your side.

"Come on, Tibe." You said, not thinking. "We've still got a great deal more to explore here, and I'm curious as hell!" You exclaimed sleepily.

You bent lower near the exit of the cave, placing your hand right on the edge. You felt adrenaline pumping through your veins as you inches closer to the drop. Tiberius looked at you anxiously.

"Don't worry, bud. I'll be fine.." you reassured him. You glanced downwards at the slide, swallowing nervously.

"Hopefully..."

Digging your (longer than average) fingernails into the soil, you thrusted yourself off of the ledge, plunging safely into soft snow underneath the cave.
You let out a squeal, scared at first but then happily, enjoying the fall.

You pushed yourself off the ground, feeling much more awake than earlier. You took a deep breath through your nose, smelling the pine in the trees nearby.

Tiberius followed, walking down the side of the mountain.. again, defying gravity. You smiled, wondering how the hell he was even able to do that. You turned to him, giggling faintly.

"How do you even do that?" You asked in a goofy tone. "Gravity would never allow that. Do you, like, follow a different law of gravity or something?"

Tiberius cocked his head to the side, staring at you in a confused manner. You sighed, looking to your right.

"Beautiful. Making a fool of myself again.. in front of Tiberius." You thought, cursing at yourself.

You looked back up at him.

"I'll ask you about it later. Let's get going for now.." you smiled. Tiberius seemed happy, walking alongside you.

The sun was shimmering brightly in the sky, highlighting the shine in your hair, and on your skin. You felt it's warm rays hit your body, warming you through your orange garments.

You shifted your body closer to Tiberius, thinking of the connection between you two. An "unspoken thing", if you will. You didn't want to admit to yourself that you were falling in love with an inhuman creature.. but you were. You just hoped that he could understand it, most of all.

Maybe asking would give you the answers that you wanted after all.

"Hey.. Tiberius." You said, already fretting nervously about your decision.

Tiberius cocked his head in your direction, listening in on what you had to say.

"How well can you understand human emotion?" You asked. "I know you're unable to communicate in English, so.."

You stretched out your arms as if to say "large". You looked back up at him.

"If you can understand human emotion, do this." You told him. "Please.." you added, not wanting to sound rude.

Tiberius glanced at his tendrils for a moment, before lifting two of them up and stretching them out. You smiled and walked closer to him, holding the two tendrils in your hands.

"Then there's something I need to tell you, Tibe." You uttered nervously.

"I-" you were interrupted, as wind abruptly howled in your ear. You squinted your eyes, looking upwards. To your confusion and surprise, you saw a small slip of paper gliding along with the wind.

The moment you saw it, you wanted to catch it. Hold it in your now barren hands. New information soothing the brain was a pleasure you could never describe, but it was an irresistible one. If it was here, it meant it had something to do with Tiberius..

Tiberius saw the slip gliding through the air, and the temptation in your eyes to hold it. As you ran in it's direction, you felt an uncomfortable stir in your stomach. A nervousness you couldn't quite understand.. but you ignored it, chasing after the note.

It was descending as the wind died down. It turned over, lightly gliding downwards towards the wet, melting snow. You reached out, and nabbed it.

You took a small moment to catch your breath, placing your unoccupied hand on your left knee. You sighed in relief.

"I.." You panted, out of breath. "I couldn't resist.." you finished, smiling.

Finally catching some of your breath, you un-folded the piece of looseleaf paper.
You furrowed your brows, reciting a poem written on the paper.

Twice as lucky
Five times strong
Here two seconds
The next one, gone

Twice as helpful
Five times high
Twice as loving
Once as shy

Twice as hopeful
Five times glad
Twice as wand'ring
Once as sad

Twice forgotten
Five times left
Twice as lonely
Once bereft

Echo loved Narcissus
But he left her all alone
She vanished as the river bed
Became Narcissus' home

Twice as joyful
Five times dear
Gone two long
Then once more here.

Your eyes widened, glancing back over at Tiberius.

"Narcissus.." you repeated, thinking to yourself. "As in, narcissistic?" You asked him.

Tiberius cocked his head curiously.

"Maybe not.." you responded. " Did you... have more than one name?" You asked, your grip on the paper loosening.

Tiberius nodded, glancing over at a riverbank a few meters away.

"That explains it.." you added. "But who wrote that poem? What happened to them?" You questioned, a worried expression appearing on your face.

You gripped the paper tightly, as if it meant something more to you. You gently folded it back up, and stuffed it into your back pocket.

"We'll figure out at some point.", you told Tiberius. "But for now, there's something I need to tell you.."