Cross’ pixel character blinks, stunned.

You take a long breath after all of that spills, out- terrified that you said too much.

Cross makes a soft, low beep, then another-

You get up from your station and walk over to Cross’, wrapping your wings around her and making your best attempt at a comforting squeak.

She slowly quiets down her crying, leaning onto your shoulder and giving you a soft nuzzle.

You lean in to give her a little kiss, which Cross happily returns.

The two of you soak in the glow of the moment, before the sound of a throat clearing snaps you out of it.

The stork doesn’t sound upset at all, more…amused.

Your face paints with blush at the idea of after hours with Cross, and from the look of it, so does hers. You detach from your now-girlfriend and head back to your station, startled as the tailor sits by your table.

Blush spreads across Cross’ face, the virtual pet shrinking shyly. Featherweight nods, listening carefully.

You can’t help but smirk, thoroughly enjoying this.

Cross can’t help but giggle at that, making the tiniest warm and fuzzy feeling build in your chest.

Every time she thinks I’m funny…

Both of you turn to face Cross, surprised by her outburst.

A little smile forms on her screen’s character.

Featherweight nods, clearly pleased with that answer.

He rests his face on a wing, neck craning over.

The stork chuckles to himself, closing his eyes for a moment.

The room settles into a comfortable silence despite the heavy topic, no one feeling a need to say anything.

It’s peaceful.

It’s dark by the time you and Willow are walking back, a tote bag slung over your arm carrying Roulette’s new outfit. You had managed to finish its scarf and then some in time, with Devo’s outfit all done and Tim’s most of the way there.

You think about it, watching some snowflakes gather on Cross’ head and shoulders.

What would be nice…

What would I like?

What would she like?

Your face heats up with blush-paint, getting a little giggle out of you.

Leaning over to plant a kiss on Cross’ forehead is tricky while walking through snow, but you manage it anyway, and get a happy little beep in return.

There’s the slightest bit of implication in her voice- just enough to get you thinking about that phrase from earlier.

After hours.

Her next words are loaded with suggestion- of what, you’re not entirely sure…

But you know you’re into it.

It’s barely after you walk through the door to Cross’ apartment before the two of you are kissing, no one sure who started it first. It had been simultaneous, the need building up through every step home. Getting each others’ coats off is a fumbling affair, a mess of limbs and fabric and plastic and rubber. But as it turns out, coats aren’t enough, your wings slipping under Cross’ shirt to literally press at her buttons, sneaking in a little treat command with a few presses you’ve come to memorize.

Cross’ pixel character gulps it down, the virtual pet sounding winded in a way that gets you going even more.

She blushes as much as a low resolution ghost on a screen can.

Her character makes a little grabby gesture, waving its hands around- and you reward it with another treat, your girlfriend gobbling it down with enthusiasm.

She leans in, whispering close to you.

You’re struck with the potential of what she’s saying, almost taken off guard at first.

She still looks like she always has…
Is she offering, like, a roleplay?
I could do some rolepl-

Your thoughts stop mid-sentence as you see her tilt her head in a way you’ve come to understand as her inviting you in for neck kisses, right along the ridged edges.

Your favorite.

You dive in beak-first, dotting little kisses up and down her neck, cheek and shoulders, getting a delighted beep out of her.

You hear a familiar sizzling noise as you pull back to look at her screen, starting to glitch out and project her true form. You love this little moment in between-

It’s only for a split second that you realize the character on her screen seems to be…flickering in between the ghost form you know, and something more… wolf-y.

The projected form that follows is large as details fade in, pixels slowly clustering into solid shapes.

Sharp teeth, with hair hanging down in long strands- still made of flame. Her skull face is still there, but with an elongated muzzle now, and her claw hands feel even more dangerous with the new size.

She peers down at you with another signature head tilt, her eyes just barely visible through her hair.

She grins, looking happy as can be- if not a little menacing.

Cross blushes, embarrassed- only for you to stand on your tiptoes and bonk your beak against her snout.

She blushes more, getting a grin out of you this time.

Cross tries to cover her face, the fire peeking between her claws.

You reach over to start scratching at her belly, finding it marked with a familiar crossbone symbol and made of the same ghostly material as her last form.

She can’t help but lean into it, moving her hands just enough to peek through her claws at you.

You see a little smile.

She blushes at that, and you grin- you know you’ve got her before you’ve even said anything.

Cross is quiet for a moment, staring at you with wide eyes-

Shit, did I go too far?

-and then she wipes the corner of her eye, a goofy smile growing on her face.

Before you can react, she’s swooped you up into her arms, clutching you close to her body and getting a little flustered squeak out of you.

You’ll never get over how much you like pressure like this- but this is an all new experience, with her so huge.

Your smile comes right back, pulling your head back just enough to see her face better.

You don’t protest one bit as she brings you to the wall, pushing you up against it and giving you more of that pressure that you can’t get enough of.

She leans in, mouth parted just slightly.

Hehehe…

You can’t help yourself.

Once she gets close enough to touch your beak, you gently- but firmly- stick your head in deeper.

She opens her mouth wider to accommodate, but keeps it properly around your head, not pulling back.

It’s…

I…

You feel the warm feelings from earlier building up again, for reasons you can’t quite place.

It’s warm…

Not super wet, but not quite dry, just…comfortable…

And I’m surrounded by teeth, but she’s not biting….

Her tongue- oh god, she has a tongue? -brushes against the bottom of your chin and neck, and you make a little involuntary sound.

You nod before thinking, shivering as her tongue rubs up against you again.

You’re pulled out of her mouth carefully, still a bit dazed from the experience.

You’ve got a dazed smile on your face, trying to come up with an answer and only managing a blissed out expression.

It lasts until she gently shakes you, clearly concerned.

That gets a flood of blush on her skull face, your girlfriend making an embarrassed noise.

You lean in to give her a kiss, your girlfriend gladly returning it.

You lean in for a nuzzle, giving her an affectionate squeak-quack to make her laugh.

Cross hauls you under her arm like a suitcase, getting a loud laugh out of you this time.

The two of you settle in after a bit more teasing, watching movie after movie- but it’s not really watching, more just…back noise for your commentary. It’s something you’ve done a couple times before, but it feels nice and new every time, and you always learn a bit more about each other.

Her favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio.

Her least favorite color is yellow.

Her favorite songs feature indiscernible screaming.

Sometimes, she leans in to whisper secrets just for you to hear, almost drowned out by the movie- but just loud enough.

She does want to eat you, a little bit, now that you brought it up. But you have to promise that if the two of you figure out a way, it has to be safe, and that you can come right back. She never wants to lose you.

Not ever.







Sleep comes without you even realizing, consciousness fading as a schlocky romance-horror plays.

You dream in her arms.

What do you see?

It’s warm.

You love when your dreams grant you this- not any flashbacks or horrible omens, just…

The feeling of your best friend’s- no, girlfriend’s arms. It’s not unlike the dream you just had recently, but something about this one is even more tender. It’s not the feeling of plastic against you (as much as you do like that), but ectoplasm that radiates warmth, filling you with the sensation of being surrounded and held. Her whole torso is soft and inviting, the curve of her chest and belly cushioned enough for you to sink in, just a little.

You would never have expected to be so into a ghost, but here you are.  

You realize just how lucid the dream is when Cross speaks, it feeling just as real and cohesive as the waking world.

Her voice comes off as a soft whisper, almost conspiratorial.

She smiles, planting a quick nuzzling kiss on the top your head.

Before the words can come out of your mouth, a puff of smoke blasts in your face and surrounds you- and when you open your eyes and finish coughing, you know that you are different.

You pat the top of your head, finding two horns and a large frill along the back of your head. Your back is also spiny now, all still soft molded rubber- and your tail is much longer, something you can tell Cross is staring at.

That gets a huge laugh out of her, her shoulders shaking.

The words escape before you can stop them, a ton of blush spreading across your face.

Just like your last dream, she leans in…

And this time, you get to feel it.

A week passes, time flying by in the blink of an eye. You work and work and work, and eventually Cross makes plans for your party to do some weapons training- or at least, to start. Nerves set in the closer the day gets, but you manage to hold it together and keep going with work…

It’s absolutely torturous when so much pressure is on you to get this upcoming adventure right.  You know that Devo, Roulette and Tim are probably already there and training by now…but Cross will be waiting for you as soon as you’re done.

…not that that makes the wait any easier….

Only three more hours to go…

Devo approaches the training facility carefully- almost hesitant. His new leg braces helped make the walk over with Roulette easier, but there'd still be a lot more physical activity in his immediate future...

Roulette turns its head just enough to see Devo.

He manages a soft look.

It's quiet.

Roulette speaks, deadpan. The flat tone belies that it'd make a joke at all.

The robot crouches down in the hall.

Voice as flat as ever.

Devo can't help but burst out laughing as he clambers on.

DEVO: Ready to rock and roll.

The robot holds the bear's legs as it stands back up.
Its movements are slower than before, but it manages to keep a smooth gait as it walks down the hall.

The pair steps through the door of the training facility; Roulette making sure to crouch slightly so its passenger wouldn't bump his head.



It takes a cursory glance around.

Its lens glances up at the bear.

Roulette points at a nearby doorway, setting Devo down gently.

He dismounts with a stretch, giving the robot a grateful look.

He gives the bot a nod before heading into the rest area, giving a little wave.

It waves back.

The robot leans sideways, peeking through the doorway.
It watches Devo find one of the trainers, starting a conversation.

Alone in the room now, it briefly takes in the quiet before making its way through a nearby door, down a set of stairs.
The facility is quiet today, not seeing much foot traffic on the Sunday evening; a time Roulette had purposefully picked out for the group.

As such, the locker room it makes its way to sits mostly unoccupied. The only person inside being a familiar scottie dog...holding a plastic pistol in his lap, his paw still on the grip.

He's shaking.

Roulette steps near the doorway, about to enter,
then stops.

Seeing Timothy, it keeps itself still,
turning to slink away.





Only to spot his hands.




It steps into the doorway.

He jolts up, nearly dropping the gun.

He manages to smile with his eyes, but...

There's something not quite in it, his usual enthusiasm missing.

He just looks back down at his lap, withdrawing a bit.

Roulette wordlessly takes a seat as far away from him as it can on the bench,
giving the dog room to breathe.

Roulette cocks its head, merely a centimeter or less.

It reaches out towards the gun in his lap. He hesitates before holding it out.

Roulette very slowly takes the gun, and walks over to the range, facing towards a target in front of it.

It focuses, demonstrating each action as it narrates its own movement.

The gun goes off,
the target pierced right through center mass.

Roulette lowers the gun.

With the safety off,
Roulette very carefully hands it back to him handle-first,
the gun turned sideways,
making sure that the barrel is pointed towards the floor.

With that, Roulette sits back down.

He takes the information in, nodding his head...and taking the gun back.

Roulette is silent for a few moments.

It moves its head to gesture towards his pistol.

He looks back down at the ground, looking more than a little embarrassed.

He's silent at that, withdrawing his limbs a little bit more.

His head jolts up, shaking his head.

He doesn't confirm or deny the Devo comment.

Roulette replies with absolutely zero change in tone, volume, or posture.

He fishes out his phone, quickly punching in something on the keyboard.

You squint, pointing out the building with a goofy boxing glove painted onto the side.

There's a familiar voice that piques your attention before you can reply, coming from behind you.

Tim and Roulette walk up next to the both of you, the robot's sentence cutting off in the process.

It looks...awkward, as if it hadn't planned on speaking.