I wonder if this was going to be a nightly occurrence from now on.

We weren’t on the couch, but instead on our bed. But that wasn’t because we were sleeping. Renn and I were sitting back to back. She was happily humming a tune that had no rhythm to it, and reading the second installment of the Queen’s Lament.

It was a little late in the night. We had a couple lamps lit, burning softly on either side of the bed. Although they had little reflective panels, as to more evenly enhance the light they gave off, it still wasn’t much. A human would likely be struggling to read, or at least not doing so comfortably, but for Renn it was more than enough.

I too was reading, but not the smutty drivel that the Society enjoyed. Instead I was reading Ash’s report of Rollo’s deeds and his summary sentencing. It was the report that was to be sent to the Cathedral, to join the other records of such deaths. Renn had a similar letter in her pouch, about Tim, written by Abel.

Unlike that letter by Abel, however, this was no letter. It was almost a book in itself. Ash like always was a stickler for the rules and methodologically followed the process to the letter. She had taken testimonies, reviewed evidence, compared it all and then deduced her own conclusion based off what little evidence she herself could scrounge up. Then she even wrote a several page diction, as if she was telling her findings to a crowd. There was a single, solitary, blank page at the end. It was saved for the day of Rollo’s execution. She, Thrain, and I would all sign it as proof the deed had been carried out rightfully and honorably.

A pain, really. Few locations were so structured anymore… but I’d never complain or argue. If they wanted to be a people of law and order, I’d oblige. Just as I’d oblige those who carried out mob justice, as they did in the smaller villages.

Still…

Any doubt I had over Rollo’s guilt had been swept away in the first few pages, let alone the dozens of others.

Turning a page, I did my best to not read too quickly. I didn’t actually need to read this, and sometimes I didn’t at all, but I was using it as a distraction.

It was one thing to sit so close on a couch, or to have her lay upon me while we slept. But this was something else entirely. Why was it having our backs together felt so comforting? Especially since most of my back was cold, since she wasn’t big enough to touch most of it. In fact, with us back-to-back like this…

“Isn’t it funny, Vim?” Renn asked, speaking up for the first time in about an hour.

“What is?” I asked. I stopped focusing on how small her frame was and tried to remember all I could about that book she was reading. It was when the main character truly became queen. The central plot, other than the romance, was centered around the troubles of a freshly crowned monarch and all the political strife that followed. It was honestly a boring tale, since it tried to be dramatic yet never seemed so to me since I could recount actual living proof that had been several times over more interesting. Real monarchies were far more entertaining than fiction.

“I’m small. Compared to you. I should know this, you’re taller than me… of course, and I lay against you all the time, lately. Plus I’ve been hugging you more often, too… Yet I don’t think I’ve ever realized just how much bigger you actually are,” she said.

I frowned and wondered if she had suddenly gained the ability to read minds or something. I was half tempted to lean back and check her eyes, to make sure they weren’t suddenly glowing. “Well… I’m not much taller than you, really,” I said.

“Only if you include my ears, Vim,” she said.

Although that was true, it wasn’t like her ears were huge. Maybe the size of her outstretched hands at best?

I blinked as I realized I didn’t really know how big her ears, or tail, were. I’d never actually tried to touch them, so…

Her tail, as if to remind me it was there, thumped against my lap. She had coiled it around my waist, which was partly the reason I was so uncomfortable. I wanted to touch it. “Would you prefer me to be smaller?” I asked as I stared at the wiggling thing.

I felt her back arch up a tad, and I smiled as she sat up a little straight and turned, as to look at me. “Could you…?” she asked wearily.

Chuckling softly I shook my head. “No. I can’t change what I am, I’m sorry. I can’t even get fatter or build muscle, either… for that matter,” I said.

“Huh… Now that I think about it, I really never change either. I’ve actually wondered why I’ve not gotten a little plumper since joining the Society. I’ve not eaten this well, or this constantly, in my whole life,” Renn wondered.

She did eat a lot. “Perks of being what we are, I suppose,” I said.

“Hm… can monarchs change their shapes? Or grow in size?” Renn asked suddenly.

I frowned as I watched her tail slowly rise upward, then back down. The tip was basically waving at me. “No. They can have strange abilities but nothing like that,” I said.

“Right…” Renn mumbled, and then relaxed again. This time she even rested her head against my back, which told me she had likely put the book down on her lap. Maybe she had finished it…? “Vim…” she said my name, but didn’t continue.

“Yeah?”

“I met his wife today. The man you’re to execute,” she said.

“Oh…?” I lowered my failing attempt at a distraction, and placed it next to me. Her tail swayed too much for me to put Ash’s report on my lap.

She nodded. “Her name is Sillti. She’s… pretty. A little taller than me, and a dainty thing. She… was just sad. She’s depressed. She wanted to talk to me but wasn’t really sure what she wanted to say or ask,” Renn said.

“She sought you out?” I asked. That was surprising. This village, these guinea pigs, were very timid people. Some were strong, or could be, but they were no warriors. They had no confidence. No bravado.

“She had wanted to meet the wife of the man who would widow her,” she then said.

“Oh.”

Renn giggled at me. “Surprising huh? I hadn’t expected it either,” she said.

That was concerning… “I’m assuming all was well…?” I asked. Neither she nor Oplar had mentioned it when they returned earlier. Hadn’t said a word about it as we ate dinner, at all. So…

“Yeah. It was fine. She even asked me for a hug at the end,” Renn said.

Of course she did.

Renn’s tail tapped my thigh, and my eyes lingered on it as it swayed as if absentmindedly.

“He abused her. She just thought she could… teach him. She thought he was young, and he’d grow to be normal. And the man he killed, this Ivan, was someone she had been friends with since birth… and she basically said she had loved him too, and…” Renn began to prattle on about the woman, the victim, and the murderer.

I did my best to focus on her as she spoke, but her damned tail was just so alluring. It was right in my lap. She likely wasn’t even registering where it was, but…

Closing my eyes, I did my best to not sigh. Women usually liked to lay their hands, or run them, along my thighs when flirting. And that was exactly what her damned tail felt like it was doing, even though I knew it was not at all what she was attempting. Odds were Renn wasn’t even currently aware where her tail was, let alone what it was doing.

“Does it bother you, Vim?” Renn asked as she finished some question I had barely heard.

Yes. It does. But seeing your sad face after telling you not to touch me with you tail would bother me even more.

It regrettably was something I couldn’t tease her about. As much as I’d like to make her blush and stutter, I knew she’d take it too deeply. She’d then from now onwards do her best to not allow her tail to rest upon me if I even hinted that I didn’t like it.

Which was not what I wanted at all… since that was the very problem. I did like it.

Her tail twitched, a little more strongly than usual.

Oh. Right. I was ignoring her. What had she asked about…?

Opening my eyes as I quickly remembered, I nodded. “Killing him doesn’t bother me, Renn. As I’ve said, I have no doubt he was the murderer. He has been banished, and they have decreed him guilty. If I don’t do it someone else simply will,” I said.

She huffed. “I really don’t like that though, Vim.”

“Why not…? You had not been bothered I had killed Tim,” I said. Or well, she had been… but only by the suddenness of it. It wasn’t the deed I had done, but how noisily and startling the act had been instead.

“Because they could just as easily take his life. They’re making you do it so they don’t have to. And yes, I know, we’ve talked about it already… and I get your viewpoint, and I know I’m being hypocritical. I thought about it earlier… even if today, again, I needed to end a family member’s life… I’d still ask you. Even though I’d snivel and complain when others ask you to do it too,” Renn said honestly.

I smiled at her and was half tempted to reach around and pat her head. “Well done Renn. I’m glad you’re able to confidently say such things,” I said.

“Don’t tease me, Vim. I know it’s bad… I know I should be better, but…” Renn grumbled, not realizing I had been completely serious in my praise.

Hm… “Remember Celine’s book, Renn? There’s an agreement in there concerning this,” I reminded her.

She nodded. “Yes… I asked Oplar about such rules and she was rather vague about it so I thought of her book. The closest I can think of though is the one about how you are to do what they cannot out of mercy,” Renn said.

Of course she remembered… “That’s the one,” I said.

She sighed rather heavily. “That’s so vague, Vim. If that’s the case it encompasses many things. It could even be stretched to say you should feed and house and…” Renn slowly went quiet, and I smiled as her tail thumped even harder as she pondered her own words.

Patiently waiting for her to realize how true her words really were, I glanced at the nearby window. It was closed this time, which told me that Renn had not enjoyed waking up as cold as she had. It was a good thing; really, it meant she’d not so desperately cling to me tonight. Maybe she’ll just hold onto an arm or something…

She eventually sighed as she reached her own conclusion. “Please tell me it wasn’t vague on purpose, and you actually negotiated it with Celine at the time,” she said.

“If I hadn’t?” I asked her, amused.

“Then I’ll likely join Rapti and the rest, and force the Society and you to sit down and write a proper contract I think,” Renn stated simply.

I flinched, and did my best to not wonder if she could accomplish such a thing or not. It was a terrifying aspect. “Please don’t…” I begged.

She giggled, but I didn’t let her happy banter trick me. I knew better than to think she was just trying to tease me.

“I know the rule is… well… a broad-stroke of one. But its original intent was basically what’s happening here. To kill. To dirty my hands for those who simply couldn’t bring themselves to do so, no matter how horrible their torment was. Back then it had been more attributed to other non-humans than humans, or ourselves, but the idea remains the same,” I said, hoping to steer away from that vote as a conversation piece.

“Hm… You phrase it kind of as if Celine is the one who formed it that way,” Renn noted.

“I had not wanted to join the Society, Renn. Not really. She had wanted more than I was willing to give, and then some. So our agreements on what I would and wouldn’t do are the way they are because of her attempts to encompass many ideals and rules in each one, yes. But it’s fine… she agreed to many of my own terms as well, so I have to play along,” I said.

“Wait…” Renn turned around, and her tail finally left my lap. It didn’t go far though. “Are you saying if you had a choice, Vim… you’d leave the Society?” she asked worriedly.

I blinked at her question, and frowned as I pondered it.

Leave…?

“Don’t actually debate it!” she shouted, shocked.

Changing my frown’s focus from my thoughts to her, I spent a small moment to listen above us. To a room on the other side of the house, on the second floor.

Oplar was still snoring away. Renn’s outburst hadn’t woken her.

“She’s still sleeping,” Renn noted, her ears fluttering a little.

“You could tell what I was doing?” I asked. Maybe she had suddenly gained the ability to read minds.

“It was obvious? You tilted your head a bit and unfocused your eyes. You do that when you hear and notice something in the distance. There was no reason for you to do that right now, so Oplar was the most likely thing,” she told me how she came to the conclusion.

Hmph. “You’re lucky she’s a heavy sleeper. And no. I’d not leave it Renn… I’ve told you. I made a mistake. My allegiance and service to the Society is my attempt at paying my dues,” I said.

“I’m not asking about you righting your scales, Vim… I’m asking for your personal opinion on the matter,” she said gently.

Staring at the woman next to me, who had a strangely sad look on her face… I wondered where that happy humming song had gone. Why’d I always seem to make her sad? How’d we go from happy silence to this?

“Of my place in the Society, or this execution…?” I asked wearily.

Her eyes narrowed at me, and a bit of her lip curled… as if to snarl at me. “I want to say both, but if you’re going to only answer one… well…” she was about to ask the more serious question, but hesitated.

Realizing she had just forcefully quelled her own curiosity and worries… because she didn’t want to annoy me, or make me go silent on her, I couldn’t help but feel horrible.

I really was an ass, sometimes.

“The Society annoys me, Renn,” I told her.

Renn’s scrunched up face of worry instantly disappeared as she looked up in shock. Her ears went straight upward, and her tail went still.

Taking a small breath I turned a bit, to properly face her. So that we weren’t both half turned around. Renn quickly did the same, and even crossed her legs under her, as to properly sit in front of me. I couldn’t help but smile a little at her, or rather at us. I went ahead and mimicked her, crossing my own legs as well. By doing so though, our knees bumped into each other. She didn’t seem to mind, however.

“They do. Greatly so. This vote for instance… I would never stop it. I would never complain about it, and I would obey any conclusion they come to. Even the worst one. But… I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m a little insulted because of it,” I told her the truth.

Renn took a sharp breath and nodded, and leaned forward. She put her hands on my knees, as support and to grab me. “Mhm! I agree!” she said; glad to hear I thought so.

“That being said… I also understand where they’re coming from. The Society at its height had tens of thousands of members, Renn. We had entire nations under our banner. Whole continents were under our rule and domain. We’re a shadow of ourselves. Even if we take into account the many that left… there is no denying I’ve not been a very good protector. I’ve allowed many to perish, and be lost, under my watchful eye. And there are many who have suffered, as well. Even those who have not died have lost everything. Abel is a good example… and so is your dear friend Merit. She had a whole kingdom, Renn. She had been a queen, surrounded by friends and family. Now she is alone, and the few friends she has like Nasba and you are distant… though admittedly not on purpose,” I told her.

Renn’s brow furrowed at me. “Vim… you’re not a god. You can’t be everywhere at once and,” she started to defend me, and I quickly raised a hand to stop her.

“I’m not willing to argue that point right now, Renn. I’m simply saying you cannot deny the truth, and the results,” I said.

“But… who is to say without you it wouldn’t be much worse? What if without you there’d be none of us left at all? Which honestly, isn’t that the case? You and many others have made it very clear there aren’t many non-humans left anymore. That I’m the last predator to join in over a hundred years!” she said.

“That is another argument, Renn. I’m willing to debate that with you, but not right now,” I said, reminding her.

She made an odd whine of a noise, and leaned back a bit. She sat back down, but her hands remained on my knees. She looked hurt, and likely was. I wasn’t allowing her to defend me, and she didn’t seem to like that at all.

Renn really was adorable. Her ears were twitching, and her face was a mess of worry. Yet she was still willing to face me, and stare me straight in the eye. As if ready to argue and debate with me the moment I gave her permission to do so.

“Per my belief in free-will… I have to entertain and oblige other’s opinions. No matter their stance, and even if they’re wrong, too. One cannot be truly free without the right to their own thoughts,” I told her. Renn sighed softly, but nodded. “That being said… it’s not that I don’t agree with you, Renn…” I softly added.

She perked up at that, and gave me a beautiful smile. “Do you?”

“Somewhat. We can debate that later, you and I… maybe after we hear the thing they’re actually wanting to vote on. Until then though, just know if given an option to stay or leave the Society… I’d stay. But if they truly vote to relieve me, then I will oblige without a fuss or a fight, as well,” I answered her original question.

She slowly nodded. “Okay. Later. Promise,” she agreed.

I nodded back… and reached over to grab one of her hands. I tried not to notice the way she went wide-eyed and sat up straighter, suddenly alert.

Holding her hand gently, I smiled at her. “So you met his wife,” I brought up her earlier statement.

She nodded a little briskly, and stared a little sheepishly at our hands. “Yes… she was pretty. She’s depressed… I feel bad; I really didn’t say anything good. The few times I tried to relieve her, or say something wise, she simply giggled and told me she had already been told such things by someone else. An Ollie,” Renn said with her focus on our hands.

Ollie…? Oh. Right. Ollie had mentioned she was involved with the man’s execution. She had likely also taken on the burden of helping this soon to be widow through the troubling experience. Ollie was an odd one, but she was a gentle type of odd.

Renn then sighed. “I think she came to me hoping to have someone to hate. She thinks, like most of the ones here, that you’re some kind of god… so she can’t hate you. At least in her perspective. Yet as we talked she came to the conclusion she couldn’t hate me either… maybe I should have been mean to her? On purpose? Would that have been better, you think?” she asked me.

“I’ve played the bad-guy many times. It works… but it’s a form of a lie, so it always leaves a bad taste in the mouth,” I said.

“Mhm…” Renn nodded, and her hand moved around in my own. She squirmed her fingers between my own, and once our hands grasped tightly a smile wormed its way onto her face. She looked pleased with herself.

“I’d rather you didn’t do such things, by the way. Let me play that part… if it’s necessary,” I said.

She sighed softly and nodded, still focused on our hands.

“Not to change the subject much… but how’s your book?” I asked. It had fallen off her lap next to her when she had turned around, and shut closed, so I hadn’t been able to tell if she had finished it or not.

“Oh? I’ll allow it… but only because I’m in a good mood,” she said with a smile at me.

I nodded and squeezed her hand ever so softly, as thanks.

Renn coughed and nodded. “Well… I’m about half way through. It’s not bad. I don’t like this other man the queen is trying to force herself to like. I get it, I mean… she’s a queen. Royalty. She has a duty to her kingdom, and responsibilities… and this man would help her fulfill many of them. It would help her have peace and stuff… but… well…” Renn squirmed a tad, and her tail thumped the book next to her. If she had done it on purpose or not I couldn’t tell. “He’s portrayed as a good man, but I don’t like him,” she finished.

“You hadn’t liked the other one though, had you? The man from the first book?” I asked. She had complained over the main character’s attractions to him. How they had not been things she would have noticed, or liked, about a man.

“Oh shush. I know. I had been so happy he had been abandoned, yet here I am wanting him back. Between this and my selfishness about this execution I may as well just admit I’m a bad person,” Renn complained.

I chuckled at her. “So terrible,” I teased her.

She smirked at me as her ear fluttered. “Plus uh… well… the book is getting… well…” she then blushed a tad, which I was glad to see… but also a little disappointed. I had been wanting to make her blush like that myself.

I had lost to a book.

“Spicy. As they call it. Yes,” I said as I enjoyed her squirming smile.

“Yeah… I’m surprised Merit likes this so much. Everyone else enjoying it makes sense. Like Sharp. She was very open about how she enjoyed romance and love. But Merit…? It makes me wonder if she’s more like Sharp than I thought… maybe I hadn’t gotten as close to her as I assumed,” Renn said with a small sigh.

Smirking at her, I shrugged. “They do say those with the hardest shells have the softest insides,” I said.

Renn paused a moment, then her tail thumped near my leg. “Explains Sharp and you, I guess,” she said happily.

“Oh…? Me?” I asked, really?

She nodded with a frown, as if shocked I’d disagree.

Hmph. “I think I’m rather soft all over. Aren’t you always saying I need to stand up for myself more? Can’t be very callous and hard then, I think,” I said.

She huffed at me. “You should. But that’s not you being soft, Vim. You’re not timid and letting them walk all over you because you’re afraid of confrontation or something. You’re not letting others dictate your life… you instead simply allow it, out of mercy if anything else. You willingly place shackles upon you, which at any moment you could break if you wished to… so I’d not say you’re soft at all. Unless you mean your heart. You allow it to swell quite mightily for our weaker, softer, members… but I don’t view that as something soft. I view that as the proper thing a man should do,” Renn said.

A little surprised to hear such a serious answer to my light teasing, I softly nodded and accepted it.

Renn shifted a tad, and her tail found its way to my lap again. I did my best to ignore it as it slithered up over my leg and onto my lap.

If not for her happy smile and her still complete focus on our clasped hands, I’d think she was doing it on purpose.

“By the way, Renn…” I brought up another topic, as to best distract myself from her tail as it continued to squirm and tap my thigh.

“Hm…?” she tilted her head, but kept her eyes on our hands.

“The people here… they’re an odd group. They have rules, and such,” I started.

Her eyes finally left our hands and she frowned as she nodded.

“I… don’t need to. Thanks to this report. And their seriousness of the matter,” I said as I gestured at Ash’s report with a nod. “But they… would prefer it if I spoke to the man. This Rollo.”

Her frown deepened and her tail paused in its movement. It went still on my lap. “What for…?” she asked.

I sighed. “Oh many things. To hear his side of the story. To hear his last words. Stuff like that,” I said.

“Hm… you don’t want to?” she asked, noticing my opinion on it.

“Rather… I wanted to know if you wished to do it instead,” I asked.

Her ears shifted a little. “Talk to Rollo…?” she asked back, and to herself.

I nodded. “If you want to. You could go with Oplar, and Ollie, and talk to him. He’s likely in their cells. They have a small prison… a remnant of their old ways. You don’t have to. There’s likely no point to it. I’ve heard he’s not taking it well, which means he’s likely a bubbling mess. So…”

Renn hummed and her thumb began to softly caress my hand. “You mean by myself… not with you,” she said as she realized my meaning.

I nodded.

“Do you want me to?” she asked.

“Do I want you to bother with a depraved man unable to control his own emotions…? Of course not. But…” I hesitated a tad.

“But…?” she asked and leaned forward a bit.

“But you want me to teach you. You want to learn. And… there may come a day where you have to be the one to judge someone. What if I wasn’t here, but on my way, and it was you who needed to discern if this man was guilty or not? I’m not saying you should do that, Renn, he’s already been declared guilty. He’s already been tried and judged. But… there are things to learn by talking to a man who knows he’s about to die,” I said.

Renn’s tail moved with a tiny twitch. “Do… you want me to be sad, Vim? Or angry? Because I think talking to the man who killed another, and subsequently ruined other lives in the process, would only do such things I think,” she asked me.

I smiled at her. “No. I don’t want you to be sad or angry. I just… wanted to give you the option.”

“Hm… You let me choose Elisabell’s fate. Landi’s. Roslyn and her people… are you saying I can choose his fate too?” Renn asked.

Pausing a moment I shook my head. I should have not said it the way I had. I should have explained it better. “No. As I said, he’s already doomed. I’ll be taking his life no matter what.”

“Right… you didn’t let me decide anything about Tim, either,” she said as she thought about it.

Well… no. I hadn’t. “That is my job, Renn. I know you kind of want to be like me, but…”

She nodded. “I know. Plus you’re the type of man to not want me to take another’s life, or cause such stress, if you could avoid it…” Renn then nodded again, a little firmer. “Ok. I’ll talk to him. If anything to see what a man like him looks like.”

“Looks like…?” I asked.

“Well… I can’t say I’m not interested. Sillti was beautiful… and from what I gathered from Oplar, she could have had her pick of men here. Yet she chose this one? A man who abused her on top of it? Known for violence…? Violence in a town of people who are passive and timid, supposedly…? I’m interested in seeing why,” she said.

Ah. “Already being stained by those books are you?” I teased her.

Renn startled, her hand tightly gripping my own as she sat up straight. “W-what? No!” she said, shocked.

Smirking at her, I enjoyed the vibrant red face that had quickly taken over. Yes. That was what I had wanted to see all this time. “What do you mean no…? Isn’t that what you wanted to see? If he was sexy or not?” I asked.

“Wha…! Vim!” Renn grinned as she tried to wave at me with the hand I held. I let her violently shake my hand all around as he tail thumped my lap rather strongly.

Glancing down at the thing, I had to go completely still as I realized my free hand had been about to grab it. I quickly pulled my arm away and grabbed the bedding instead. It seemed grabbing my knee hadn’t been enough of a deterrent.

Luckily Renn hadn’t noticed, since she was still hastily trying to defend herself with a stutter.

“R-really! Jeez! I didn’t mean that! I just meant… like… well… like Frett! Why’d she choose Tim? There had been other men there. Abel, Gary, or even one of the humans! Not only was Tim a bastard, and rude, he wasn’t really someone I’d… well…” Renn’s face got redder as she realized she was basically saying she couldn’t believe Frett had chosen a man she had found ugly.

“Found Tim ugly did you?” I teased her even more, which only made her groan and lower her head, to cover her blushed face with her longer hair. She even lowered her ears at an angle, as if to hide her face even more from me.

“Well…” she mumbled as she squirmed.

So she had. Interesting. As far as I had been able to tell, Tim had been the most attractive of all the men at the Crypt. There was a reason he had been the target of even the married human women there.

I’d be humbled and honored to think she found me more attractive than Tim and other men, but the reality was I knew the truth. There was a reason I was able to easily blend in no matter where I went. I wasn’t necessarily ugly, but I wasn’t handsome either.

“Gosh…” Renn groaned as I studied her, and wondered if I had hit the nail on the head with my teasing. Maybe she really had wondered if this Rollo had been chosen because of his looks, and had been interested in seeing him because of it. Or maybe Renn was just very vulnerable to such teasing during moments like this, between us…

Glancing around the room, I had no choice but to admit we had a really good atmosphere at the moment. The dark room, lit by the candles… alone… Holding hands, even.

Yes. Maybe it was mostly just the moment. The teasing was effective because of the moment.

Her tail thumped me again, and I glanced down at it… and found my hand once again near it. My eye twitched rather strongly as I made a fist, and pushed it back down to the bed.

What the hell. I needed to be careful. If I grabbed it absentmindedly like that, I might accidentally hurt her.

“So…” I was about to tease her again, in a different way. One that would hopefully make her show me her flushed face again. Why was she hiding it?

Yet before I could say anything more, a loud thump shook the whole house.

Renn’s squirming came to an abrupt stop as she looked up to the ceiling, her ears perked and her tail gone stiff… and I sighed as I watched her flushed face quickly dissipate into one of worry.

Then her worry wiggled into a grin.

“Did… did she just fall?” Renn asked, staring up at the ceiling.

“Very likely. As I said, she’s a heavy sleeper when truly relaxed. It not only makes her hard to wake, it takes her time to fully wake up sometimes too… so sometimes she does indeed fall out of bed, or walk into walls while half asleep,” I said.

As if to prove my words true, we both heard another thump. This time it was accompanied by what could only be the sound of a dresser or box skidding across the wooden floor.

“See?” I said with a smile.

Renn’s grin broadened. “How neat. They do say bear’s hibernate, huh? I wonder if that’s why,” she wondered.

“Likely,” I said with a shrug.

Renn hummed as she mulled for a moment… and then nodded. “I want to see her when she’s half asleep,” she said excitedly.

Without any hesitation she released my hand and crawled off the bed. She did it so quickly, I felt almost abandoned as she hurried to the door of the room and opened it.

Before running out of the room… Renn paused and turned to look at me. Her tail twitched a little wildly as she studied me, and I smiled at her while wondering what was wrong.

“Next time just grab it, Vim.”

A little shocked at being called out; Renn gave me a happy grin and nodded… then ran out.

Sighing as I listened to Renn hurry down the hall and then up the stairs, to see the loudly stumbling bear… I shook my head at myself.

She was no tiger, but I’d say catching her tail would be far more dangerous.

Especially for me.

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