Goblin Girlfriend: Blair (special preview)

The accident, as everyone around me had called it, kept getting talked about like it was some monster in the shadows. ‘The accident took your hand,’ they said. ‘The accident is to blame for this, don’t blame yourself.’ They aren’t the ones missing a hand though, are they? Yes, the accident did take my hand, but that isn’t what concerns me. I don’t blame the entity known as ‘accident’, because accidents happen. Actually, I don’t know who or what to blame for this.

The hospital offered to grow me a new hand in their lab, but that felt too gruesome for my taste, it also would have taken too long and cost far too much. Instead I was given a list where I could find someone to build me a new hand. It would still be expensive, but it would still be cheaper than anything the hospital offered.

Most of the people listed were located in the ‘circuit district’, a section of town where most of the robot repairers, mechanics, and their like had set up shop over the years. After I was able to leave my house without being mildly panicked, that was where I headed.

The list was quite long and I wasn’t sure where to start, the circuit distract was quite a maze, with shops being down narrow alleyways or shacks built on rooftops. There was an electric hum to everything, sparks and sizzles were part of the music as well. As I navigated myself into the blue glow of the place, suddenly there is a cat in my path.

“Oh, hello kitty.” I was quite surprised to see a cat in such a place. I then see that the cat’s left paw is mechanical, a shiny chrome sort of color.

The cat scratches itself then looks up at me with sweet, wide eyes. It meows and trots over, weaving in and out between my legs. I kneel down to pet it and rub behind its ears.

“Nice to meet you uh-” Taking the collar I see a small tag with the cat’s name. “Hello Georgie.”

The cat suddenly sits up and with a wiggle Georgie leaps up. With some slight panic I manage to hold them in my right arm. “Easy there! I only have one hand now.”

Georgie purrs.

I sigh and double check the address on their tag. To my surprise, the very same address is on the list I was given.

“Well then, perhaps you helped me make up my mind, Georgie.” I adjust my arm so Georgie is happily nestled in my arm and against the crook of my neck. I walk with him that way until we reach their home.

The building is on the corner, so two of the walls are just massive garage doors, one red, one silver. The red one is open so I just walk inside. The ceiling is way up, and there are hydraulic lifts above, one has a car on it, the other has some sort of mech suit. To one side of the shop there are three other mech suits in a line, yellow, pink, and blue. Beside them is a wall of tiny drawers. The next wall is covered in monitors, each showing a different wall of text or image.

“Who goes there?” A voice booms.

I jump from the surprise, but Georgie bolts down from my arms and runs towards the back just as someone slides down from a pole above. The person is quite short and wearing a large head peace with goggles. They’re wearing grease muttered coveralls and heavy black boots.

“Georgie!” They stoop over to pick them up. “You bolted this morning. What the hell was so damn important? You got a lover out there?” They then turn in my direction. “This them?” They point at me as they judge their smug cat.

“No. Uhm, hello there.” I go to wave my left hand but quickly stop myself and use my right. “I found Georgie, or well, technically, Georgie found me.”

“He does that.” They set Georgie on the desktop under the monitors and take off their helmet.They hair fluffs out and then run a mech hand through it. They look at me with big green eyes and smirk. “Thanks for bringing the asshole back.”

“Actually.” I hold up the list. “It could be a moment of kismet. Are you uhm-” I try to read their name on the page.

They turn to the monitors and start clicking on a keyboard. “Call me Bleh, that’s the best most people can pronounce it by, some are nice and say Blair, but I really don’t give a shit. What are you here for?” They take off the coveralls and I see a petite, slender figure as she’s only wearing a tank and bra underneath. Her arm and hand are mech as well.

“My hand,” I say quietly. “Uhm, it’s-”

Blair turns and sees the arm I’m holding at my side. “Prosthetic, eh? Didn't like what they could grow at the hospital?” She laughs.

I grimace. “It was too creepy. It felt...wrong.”