!serif

    AC: :33 < h33y.....
    AC: :33 < were kind of in the middle of nowhere but
    AC: :33 < can your powers telepurrt two at once? :33
    GG: oh umm
    GG: y...
    GG: yes i think so but
    GG: i havent yet!
    AC: :33 < oh? why not? :oo
    GG: im just
    GG: well
    GG: if anyone asked me id be a little afraid id um
    GG: you know
    GG: mess it up :b
    AC: :33 < oh!! i undpurrstand
    AC: :33 < here umm
    AC: :33 < i was going to ask if youd go to the mrowceries store with me...
    GG: ohh um
    GG: really? :'o
    AC: :33 < y33ah! :33

You've never been to a grocery store before. You're not entirely convinced Nepeta's been, either.

    GG: i
    GG: well um
    GG: id love to!!!
    GG: buuutt

You shift under your bed's blankets a little and catch Nepeta's attentive gaze. It's her instinct to shrink a little, but she doesn't turn away, just watches you, anticipatory.

    GG: its kinda laaate heheh
    AC: :33 < *nod* X33
    GG: we can go in the morning!!
    GG: but now were
    GG: um
    GG: i wouldnt-
    AC: :33 < i agr33!!
    AC: :33 < getting up now was a silly idea :33

Her humongous smile looks about as performative as yours sometimes feel. She hasn't turned her head in the slightest, but her eyes are presently boring as best they can into her pillow.

    GG: oh nono its just
    GG: its a perfectly lovely idea :)
    GG: it just took a little tweaking to make it even better!!
    AC: :33 < oh
    AC: :33 < oh yeah!
    AC: :33 < h33h33

Staring at you, again - her smile's looser, genuine now.

    AC: :33 < y33ah! :33
    GG: yeah! :)
    GG: oh hey um

You adjust yourself to lean on your elbow, and gesture toward some sciencey gear you've haphazardly piled on the other side of your room.

    GG: ive got some ollld alchemicalization equipment over there!
    GG: there are only like thirty things it can make
    GG: buut

You look at Nepeta, lying there, eternally curious. She's still keeping her gaze on your face.

...How long have you and your friend been sleepovering? How long has she been right here, beside you? With you? Thirty minutes, someone's kept her full attention toward you...? That doesn't happen to you. You can't fathom it. You,

    GG: ah! um
    GG: yknow :)
    AC: :33 < ummm what? X33
    GG: oh sorry! i can
    GG: here look see

You shake yourself, ever so slightly, and slip out of bed. Okay- she's there. Nepeta is here. You can stop staring like she's some sort of mirage - she's not going to disappear. Not at this second, anyway.

You tiptoe to the gear and lift your refrigerator from the top of the pile, plug it into an extension cord, and carry it to the bed, setting the humming gizmo down in front of Nepeta.

    AC: :33 < whoa........
    GG: here you go
    GG: pick something! :D
    AC: :33 < ok!!
    AC: :33 < ...
    AC: :33 < 33rrrr how do i do that X33
    GG: oh haha i guess you wouldnt know how to use a dial
    AC: :33 < nope :33
    GG: welll

Ooh, you love showing people the things you've worked on! Or, you would love to. You haven't exactly had anyone over before. Getting into the ol' nerd attitude should clear your mind a little, anyway.

    GG: i cant show you because then id be spoiling the fun
    GG: but its pretty simple!
    GG: youll have to tell me what you want first though :)
    AC: :33 < hmm!!

Nepeta gazes down at the rotary, perusing the options. <i>Purrusing</i> them, you think, while you sit yourself down beside her. It's dark, but the interface glows a little, and you think trolls might have night vision anyway? After a moment, she gingerly hovers a claw over the cheese wedge icon.

    AC: :33 < this looks tasty!
    GG: sure!! now youve just got to dial it
    GG: press down in that slot...
    GG: yeah!
    GG: and then spin the wheel allll the way to the metal piece here
    GG: (thats called the finger stop :D)
    AC: :33 < got it!!
    AC: :33 < whoa :OO

The light below the dial display flickers bright, and the food group icons all swap to a narrowed down selection - cheeses of all varieties: edges, squares, holey, moldy...

    GG: heheh
    GG: back when my grandpa gave me this stuff it could only pick from those foods you saw before...
    GG: but those were all pretty boring!! youd pick steak aaand youd get steak
    GG: and you could show it to anybody and theyd say
    GG: yeah thats steak!
    GG: but it sort of just tasted like nothing
    GG: anyway um not to ramble but
    GG: apropos of that there are so many unique flavors in the world and i wanted to capture them a little better here!
    GG: so i upgraded it
    GG: (i call it the rerefrigeratoror! B))
    GG: and now you can pick whatever cheese youd like :D
    AC: :33 < oooh i s33...

Nepeta flops flat onto the mattress again.

    AC: :33 < i never knew there were that many kinds of ch33se
    AC: :33 < how could i pawsibly pick? X33
    GG: pffhehe
    GG: yeah :D
    GG: theyre all good though so you cant pick wrong
    GG: just choose whichever looks most interesting!
    AC: :33 < nyalrighty then :33

She gazes at them, crosses her eyes, and taps the icon of a stack of string cheese.

    AC: :33 < umm how about this one?
    GG: oooh
    GG: hehe thats a good pick :D
    AC: :33 < ok!! i just spin this again right? :33
    GG: yep!

The display goes dark as a blue laser light is projected out of the rerefrigeratoror. Nepeta jerks her head away, startled by the beam, but watches it construct the life-scale image of the icon closely.

    GG: one side effect of the upgrade is that it takes longer to create the foods...
    GG: theyre much more complicated ideas than just the word cheese after all!
    AC: :33 < its already done!
    GG: ok... only a LITTLE longer :)

Sure enough, a braid of strands has popped into existence, resting neatly on the dial's surface. You press it down and tear off a short length, handing it to the troll beside you.

    GG: here, try it! :D
    AC: :33 < ok! :33
    AC: :33 <
    AC: :33 <
    AC: :33 <

Nepeta just chews it, slowly. The notion that trolls might not react well to dairy products hits you far later than it should, but she swallows before you can ask if she's alright, or maybe fetch an epinephrine injector, just in case.

    AC: :33 < oh my gosh
    AC: :33 < its so SALTY X33
    GG: hehehehehehhh
    GG: yeah :)
    AC: :33 < here you try it!!

She slices a claw across the braid and passes the chunk slightly longer than her own to you.

    GG: thanks :D
    GG:
    GG: oh wow this is even saltier than i remember
    AC: :33 < s33 i told you so!!! :33
    GG: yeah :)
    AC: :33 < nyaaawn

Nepeta stretches arms up and behind her, and then collapses back into bed, looking up at the ceiling. And smiling.

You're a little jealous of the machinery presently positioned between you and her.

    GG: okaaay ms rerefrigeratoror
    GG: youve been very useful thank you!
    GG: but youuuu need to sleep now

You lift it off the bed, set it to the side, and unplug its socket. The light fades away gradually.

    GG: goodnight :)
    AC: :33 < h33h33h33
    GG: what! :D
    AC: :33 < do you always wish your things goodnight? :33
    GG: hehe yeah

Your spot on the bed finally freed, you slip back in, settling down for the night now.

    GG: course i do!
    GG: i know its just imagination but most of the things i use are kinda like friends to me
    GG: ive had them since i was really young after all!
    GG: so i treat em like that and help them rest when theyre done their work :)
    AC: :33 < h33h33 aww.....

Nepeta scrunches into a little cat-ball lying on its side for a moment, her uncontrollably smiling, eyes-shut face just poking through the bundle. When she shuffles back to normal, she's staring into your eyes, gaze met.

    AC: :33 < thats so cute :33
    GG: pffffnffhehah

You can't help but laugh. You don't know why - you guess she's just...

funny?

You swivel your face into the pillow, utterly failing to smother the bashful grin spread across it.

    GG: fhehehnmmpff
    AC: :33 < whaaat! :33
    GG: heh

You turn to face Nepeta.

    GG: well surrre its cute
    GG: but

You nod your head forward, just a little.

    GG: you are too :)
    AC: :33 <
    AC: :33 <
    AC: :33 < h33h33h33h33h33 oh my gossshhhh

She slides herself down, just covering herself with the blankets.

    AC: :33 < nyah!!! :DD
    GG: hehe
    GG: heeey
    GG: can i get in there too :D
    AC: :33 < h33h33 please do :33

You squish yourself under the covers too. The bed's coverings <i>just</i> manage to fully cloak the both of you in shadow, night vision be darned.

    GG:
    AC: :33 <
    GG:
    GG: :)
    AC: :33 < :33

You sigh, totally relaxed - but for a single fleeting idea.

    GG: hey nepetaa....
    AC: :33 < h33
    AC: :33 < jade? :33
    GG: tell me if you dont like this
    GG: but

You shift in the bed,

just a little,

and hug her.

    AC:
    AC: :33 <
    AC: :33 <

For most trolls, Nepeta is small, but the hug she throws is so tight she all but squeezes the breath out of you.

    GG: oof! hehe
    AC: :33 < omg
    AC: :33 < sorry sorry!!
    GG: oh no dont worry!!

She releases you altogether, but when you only loosen your own grip, she relaxes, and settles into a less ferocious hold around you.

    GG: heh
    GG: thank you :)
    AC: :33 < X33
    AC: :33 < ...
    AC: :33 <
    AC: :33 < thank you :33

Language bypassing the both of you, comforted in truly sharing each other’s presence, you lie together into sleep.