waitingforplayer2

I can try. ... I want to.

[ She rubs at her eyes, a bit more sunken into her face than they usually are - before long they'll be hollow in the bark of her face, again. ]

I want you to enjoy that too. I'm so glad that-- that you got to use your skinchanger ability...

[ She squeezes Trish tight before unwrapping from her friend and scooching back over to where she left Trish's fur. Holds it up, marveling again at how soft and warm it is. ]

I think it'll help you... feel more like yourself... I know that's hard for you, sometimes...

[Trish can't deny a small part of her felt compelled to keep an eye on her coat. It's not like it could get up and walk away, and she feels safe with Nanami.

But this place is unfamiliar, with equally unfamiliar smells.

She's pulled out of that reverie when Nanami squeezes her, and Trish lets a hand trail from Nanami's back, and along her elbow, until the nymph is back in her spot on the other side of the couch.

As for what she says...it's true, but it's always more complicated than that. It does help to enjoy something closer to her proper body though, instead of the façade crafted for her by the fog. It's the closest to correct she can be when it comes to refusing to let Ryslig set a proper foot in her heart.]

Mm. Being able to stay out of the bear body for a little while, especially whenever I choose...it's nice.

[It's freeing, in more ways than she can express.

Trish settles comfortably against the couch.]

That being said...I think you have the capacity to be more comfortable with yourself than I do even with this ability.

I'm curious to see where you end up. I'm excited to meet the you that you've got the potential to be.

[ She's incredibly touched by that, so much that it causes a laugh to escape her.

Trish always knows what to say to lift her up. She's deeply thoughtful; one of the most supportive friends that Nanami has, which is saying something. ]

Me too... I don't really know who that is yet, but... I want to find out. [ Her eyes practically glow - not quite like they did in Felfri, but there's an excited light in them. ] I want to figure out which self to be... there's just so many more options than I thought there would be!

[ An echo to conversations she's had on the network under an anonymous handle - but it's Trish, so it's not really a big deal to say that sort of thing, right? ]

[In a stunning sense of total contradiction, Trish herself perceives discomfort and unhappiness with her station and form as motivation to hold tight to her humanity with her very jaws if she's got to, as if becoming the least bit content will drain whatever resistance she has to the fog's whims.

But her friends deserve to be happy. Seeing Nanami miserable and leaving her like that is unconscionable. Listening to her laugh and seeing her smile even with the very real concerns she's had...it makes her feel light. Maybe even lighter than she does when she first doffs her skin for the night.

As for what Nanami says, it's...weirdly familiar, but Trish doesn't dwell on it. She did open this avenue of conversation, and she'll shake her head lightly. Not in disagreement, but rather a fondly helpless gesture.]

It'll seem like that. But it's like I said – you'll find your decisions will carry you in a specific direction.

So who you are to yourself, it ought to become clearer and clearer with time. I believe that wholeheartedly.

[Trish reaches for her mug of tea again, settling back and looking every part the picture of laziness. Join her in being a slug, Nanami.]

But don't worry about any of that right now. What you should do now is rest.

[ Eventually she will join you in being a slug, Trish - more literally than either of them expect.

But for now, Nanami nods, leans back, sips her tea sleepily. It's been a long day (a long month); and this has been a long and emotionally draining conversation - but also a refreshing one, and Nanami needed to talk out a lot of this. ]

I can do that... I think. Thank you... [ She rubs her eyes. ] Maybe I'll finish changing tonight... do you wanna stay over? There's games and television... [ Just how nocturnal ARE you, miss pink werebear? ]

[Not only will she be a slug, she'll look like an ASMR slime!

Anyways, Trish feels lighter herself watching Nanami settle back comfortably. If she doesn't do anything to stop Trish, the skin-changed werebear will reach to toss her coat across Nanami's waist. Be cozy, friend.

That's partly an answer in and of itself, but Trish adds, mid-fling:]

Of course I want to. The whole reason I came was to spend time with you.

[Leaving after one conversation is silly! Although she wasn't going to presume she could stay, so the invitation is grabbed by two eager hands.

And Trish is in fact very nocturnal, and usually malingers around with Fugo or Abbacchio in the dead of night, when everyone else is asleep and the television selection is even worse than usual. But that hardly matters when she's not alone.

Nanami isn't alone here to begin with, but Trish knows different people do different things for one another. Whatever niche she fills for Nanami...she hopes it's just the one the nymph needed tonight.

With all that said and done, Trish will then reach to pull a blanket thrown over the back of the couch to and over herself, looking every bit the lazy bear somehow when she settles back, even when she's only got the barest facial fur, her tiny fangs poking out with her conspiratorial smile.]

As long as your housemates don't mind a surprise bear in the morning. I'll change back before the night is over, after all.

I don't think they'll mind. They're pretty friendly, and we're all monsters.

[ "Pretty friendly" is a bit of an understatement, really. To Nanami, this house is starting to feel like home; and its inhabitants are starting to feel like family.

Trish herself kind of does, too.

Nanami flips on the television, and then reaches for her console, discarded where she left it when Trish first arrived. Scooches over next to Trish so Trish can have a turn if she wants, or just look over her shoulder. ]

Did I show you Gala Omega before?... [ That day when Nanami first turned into a tree, they'd gone to the arcade - but Nanami's home collection isn't something she's had time to show her friend. ]

[Trish accepts Nanami's assessment, although she doesn't entirely believe it. There's no way anyone can anticipate just how fucking big a werebear is, and she's sure someone will be surprised. Maybe not everyone, but someone.

But if Nanami is resting comfortably with her...yeah, okay, no, all possible intimidation is gone. This is her reminder that she is – if not an ominous presence when puttering around as an unknown entity – an otherwise cuddly bear. Ptooie.

Trish glances down when the nymph is shoulder to shoulder with her, first at the top of Nanami's head, then to the console in her hands. She squints at the screen and the name, but neither of them conjure any strong memory. She did like the dancing game, so she remembers that, but "Gala Omega" sounds like a different genre entirely.]

No, I don't think you have. I'm going to assume the "gala" in the title isn't referring to a fancy party.

[No dresses or mingling, alas.

Almost certainly explosions though. Video games seem to love blowing stuff the fuck up if they aren't plastering numbers on the screen and shouting about how well or poorly you're doing.]

No no - Gala Omega is the name of the ship!

[ And she'll turn the console towards Trish, explaining how the game works and how she follows the patterns - getting a perfect score every round.

She explains, too, how she's played it thru hundreds of times, sometimes many times in a row, and it's the best game she knows - basically, Trish gets the entire hyperfocus infodump.

After all, it's Nanami's favorite game, enough that no matter what form she's in, she still wears the ship as a hairpin - her friend deserves to know every detail! ]

I see. I'll have to remember that.

[Gala Omega.

It's important to Nanami, and even if Trish will feel the explanation of the game's mechanics slip away – not unlike fine sand between her fingers – what remains is Nanami's pure, exuberant love for the game itself.

And that?

That's something she can understand.

It's nice to listen to her friend's excitement. It's nice to see Nanami's hand go through delighted, practiced motions. It's nice to sit here and share in Nanami's experience, and feel the nearly-nymph list and sway in her spot and confirm with every movement that she's here, and still the same as she always is.

If she weren't stubborn, and if it weren't Nanami...she could drift away to a comfortable sleep from the calm atmosphere, frankly. Lord knows she doesn't get enough sleep.

But for Nanami, she'll stay awake.

For Nanami, she'll listen the whole night to anything and everything the other girl wants to talk about.

If it makes her happy, it's worth it. If it helps her, it's worth it.]

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wraps this <33