Part 28: Things I Do

3Yr. 5Mo. 4Wk.



So in my last post, I left off after Rio punched Dill. I thought it was a pretty good spot to leave off. There was some other stuff that happened while we were in town, though, and it's become more relevant than I hoped it would, so I'm gonna share it.



See, we stopped by the local inn to grab a bite. I'm glad Rio isn't one of those 'no you're not my boyfriend but if you even look at another girl I'll punch you' crazy people, by the way.



Chiho wound up raising an awkward question, though.



She couldn't know, of course. She was just trying to be helpful. And it is kind of weird that Mocchi, and only Mocchi, have been suddenly wandering off into the night.



But when I told them I didn't have to worry, something in my tone of voice must have given away more than I meant to.



Speak of the devil, we get back to the ranch, and Philia's waiting for us with, guess what?



And she wanted me to... pet the thing.



Rio noticed I was acting weird and came out and asked me about it. I suppose I could have said it was nothing, like she has, or even turned it around on her, tried to dig out a secret for a secret...



...but in the end, I guess I'm not that good at keeping secrets. I wound up telling them about the very first monster I ever had, way before I was any sort of official breeder. I treated it more like a stuffed toy than an animal, never thinking about its feelings or needs...



...until we were attacked. But, in the end...



...it still saved my life.

I... I can't raise a Mocchi again. Not after that.



Thankfully, we got distracted by another arrival: Teetee, wearing that crazy getup again. (Crazy for her, anyway.) Unfortunately, I made the mistake of mentioning it...



...and I got way too much information.



Christ, Wit, I know she's got a good rack, but you can't be that desperate.

I think I need to wash my mind out with bleach now.