!title What's it like?
!serif

<h1>What's it like?</h1>

You sigh the laughter off. You watch the fireplace flicker, getting lost for a
moment as the flames dance around. When you were really young, back when your
grandpa was alive, you used to spend hours in front of the fireplace, just
watching the patterns—colorful and random, but repetitive and sort of
predictable, eventually.

You suppose this isn't a bad time to bring up something you've been pondering
for a while. Without lifting your gaze from the fire, you ask:

    JADE: hey davesprite...
    JADE: whats it like being part crow?
    DAVESPRITE: huh
    DAVESPRITE: well its basically what youd expect
    DAVESPRITE: ive got these fuckin huge wings that let me swoop around all
    dramatic and shit

Davesprite stretches out one of his wings, spreading it across the room.
It can't quite reach its full span before running into the wall. His other wing
stretches a little too. A few silky ethereal feathers brush up against your
arm; he instinctively folds it back slightly, just breaking contact.

    DAVESPRITE: theyre great and all but they dont really fit space nicely
    DAVESPRITE: and sprites can fly around without wings anyway so theyre
    really just decor
    DAVESPRITE: but i guess i like them
    JADE: yeah theyre nice!
    JADE: hmmmm...
    JADE: i guess i mean...
    JADE: does being a crow feel
    JADE: right to you?

Davesprite faces away from you, back towards the campfire, and slumps the
slightest bit down the couch. Darn it, you think. Was asking that a good idea?
It's not exactly a very normal question, now that you think about it.

    DAVESPRITE: well first off im not "a crow"
    DAVESPRITE: im only part crow
    DAVESPRITE: lets not discount the significance of the shitty anime sword
    that impaled it or anything here
    DAVESPRITE: swords are probably my spirit animal tbh
    DAVESPRITE: but like
    DAVESPRITE: i dunno
    DAVESPRITE: i dont really think of myself as a bird or anything
    DAVESPRITE: im just dave plus wings
    DAVESPRITE: and also a spooky fucking ghost guide
    DAVESPRITE: or whatever
    JADE: huh ok i see
    DAVESPRITE: anyway uh
    DAVESPRITE: what about you
    DAVESPRITE: youre basically a literal furry now right

You... suppose? You actually haven't thought of it like that before, even
though it's really kind of obvious. In thirty second retrospect.

    JADE: ummmm
    JADE: heh, yeah! i guess so!
    DAVESPRITE: nice
    DAVESPRITE: so like is that cool or what

Davesprite has no idea just how cool it is. You have no idea how to tell him.
Wait, is it even reasonable for you to feel so strongly about any of this?
Being part animal doesn't seem to be all that big of a deal to him.

    JADE: yeah its pretty cool!
    JADE: i really like my tail

You prod him in the side with it playfully; by sheer coincidence—or maybe
he's just ridiculously ticklish—you poke the exact right spot, and he laughs
a little. You curl the giant floofball around, resting it on your lap. You
haven't quite gotten over the sensations of having a tail and moving it all
over. You think it'd be okay if you never do.

    DAVESPRITE: god
    DAVESPRITE: no kidding
    DAVESPRITE: how likely is it youll go flinging that thing in literally
    everyones faces when we meet up
    JADE: hmm
    JADE: about 100% :)
    DAVESPRITE: yeah no surprise

There's a moment of silence, save for the fireplace's crackle, apparently
catching the attention of you both. A wild image pops into your mind. You
consider: Is this a good idea? Would it make him uncomfortable? But there's no
way to know for certain. If you think it does, you'll stop, you figure. It just
seems to you the right thing to do, presently. You blink, and lean your
shoulder on his.

    DAVESPRITE: ...
    JADE: ...

He's tense. Not _crazy_ tense, but you feel him straighten up, neither of you
saying anything. It's nice, but... wasn't it just a couple minutes ago he shied
away, after just nudging you accidentally? He wasn't comfortable with that. Are
you pushing on his boundaries more than you should be? _Aren't_ you? You
thought maybe this kind of thing is what he truly wanted, and he was just
getting away from you in case you didn't—so now you're just showing you do
reciprocate that. But what if he doesn't? What if you were wrong?

    DAVESPRITE: hey

Davesprite shifts his weight. He's leaning on you now.

    DAVESPRITE: uh
    DAVESPRITE: thanks

He unfolds his near wing slightly, sets it gently against your back. You can't
tell if you're just imagining his feathers subtly tingling. He leaves his wing
there.

    DAVESPRITE: so like
    DAVESPRITE: ...
    DAVESPRITE: damn
    DAVESPRITE: just look at that fireplace
    DAVESPRITE: top quality mantel if i do think so myself
    JADE: oh my god??
    JADE: come ON

You nudge him—well, you mean to, but really you shove your elbow into his
side a fair bit more forcefully than you intend. (You make a mental note to
try to get your dogtiered strength under better control.) He gasps, startled,
and scoots a little away from you, pulling back his wing.

    JADE: ack sorry
    JADE: but

You abruptly drown his face in your gigantic pillow tail, flinging it back
just as quickly. He spits a fleck of white fur off his scrunched face.
You can't help but think he's exaggerating, at least a little.

    JADE: seriously!!
    JADE: you are..
    JADE: ridiculous!
    DAVESPRITE: what
    DAVESPRITE: bullshit
    JADE: hehe