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tabbycatplushy · 6 months

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Big Questions: Chapter One

Featuring: Joule, Mocha, Paprika, Natalia, Lizzie

3.9k words. Full story: 18k words

Joule has just moved to the city, and now she finds herself living with two friendly, pretty, gay, attractive... roommates. When she suddenly shrinks down to five inches tall, will she be able to deal with the consequences while navigating her budding poly relationship?

[disability, shrinking, lesbian romance, anxiety, polyamory, furries]

>> PROLOGUE >> CHAPTER ONE (YOU ARE HERE) >> CHAPTER TWO >> CHAPTER THREE

APRIL

Joule staggered into the elevator, jabbed the button for her floor, and slowly settled her back against the elevator wall, sliding down a little once the doors were closed. She rested her eyes for just a moment.

Work had been awful today. It had been awful all week and, truth be told, for the entire five weeks she had been an employee of TekRite. Everything hurt, from her feet to the tips of her pointed ears. It hurt just to think.

She had chosen a job at the computer store because of her skill with tech. She thought she was good at it; so had her boss, too, and now they were both disappointed in her. Kurt hadn’t said anything, but she knew it by the way he talked to her.

When the elevator ding! announced its arrival at her floor, Joule groaned and rubbed at her forehead. Then she pushed back onto her feet again and shuffled into the hall.

Her work uniform was tight in the arms, and the cuff buttons dug into her wrists. Each step sent a little dart of pain up her legs. She hated how long this hall was. Look on the brightside; at least you don’t have to climb the stairs.

When Mocha and Paprika had first taken her to see the apartment last month, Joule had been ecstatic that such an amazing opportunity had practically fallen into her lap. In less than two hours she had gone from being unhoused and stressed about getting off her cousin’s couch; now, the last piece of her new life in San Orchidia was falling into place.

That ecstasy gave way to confusion when they exited the bus right in the center of downtown, passing beneath the tallest skyscrapers in the city. Even more so when they stopped at a familiar building: the tower where the Shape Shoppe—run by Joule’s own enigmatic alchemist, Lizzie—was located.

‘Do you two need to grab some potions before we check out the apartment, then?’ But they passed right by the familiar windowless storefront.

‘Ah!’ Mocha said, ‘it is quite convenient, having our alchemist right downstairs. Does Lizzie do your potions, too?’

Joule had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping. “But… downstairs? You mean the apartment is here?”

“Sure is,” said Paprika, “sorry we didn’t mention. I hope it’s not too far from your work?”

Joule could only stare upwards at the clean, fancy, expensive tower. She suddenly felt nauseous. “I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you underst…” said Paprika. “Hey are you okay?”

Joule had sat down on a bench outside the entrance, head in hands. “I should’ve known. Goddamnit.”

Mocha sat down beside her. “What should you have known?” She placed a paw on Joule’s shoulder.

“That this was too good to be true. Of course, there’s no way anything in my life would work out so perfectly.”

“Why won’t this work out? Is it the building?”

Joule looked at her incredulously, ears flattening. Her fur was standing on end now, her aura spiking. “Of course it’s the building! I can’t afford a fucking bench at this place, let alone one-third of an apartment!”

“Hey, I’m sorry we’ve upset you,” said Paprika. “But please don’t get mad at Mocha, she’s just trying to help.”

Joule looked between them, and sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I just—I was so excited, and now… I’m sorry, there’s no way I can live here.”

“It’s okay. I understand,” said Mocha. “I’m sorry it’s not what you expected, but… could you just trust us? Please, come upstairs. See the apartment. We’ll explain everything there.”

Paprika chimed in too. “Seriously, it’s not like you think. We like you Joule, and we want you to move in with us.”

Joule didn’t answer right away, but spent a moment grounding herself. When her fur began to fall flat again, she said, “alright. This might as well happen.”

“Yes!” Paprika cheered.

Mocha took Joule’s paws in hers. “You won’t regret it,” she said. “I promise.”

That had been a month ago, now. Joule placed herself in their hands that day, and so far, she had to admit, they hadn’t disappointed. She had never felt safer than when she was with them.

At last, she came to their door. She pulled out her key and pushed it in the lock. That’s odd… the knob seems higher than usual.

She brushed it off, turning the key.

***

Mocha opened the cabinet where she kept her mother’s china.

The plates were old, but they weren’t fragile; Mocha preferred to use them whenever she could. That was her rule: if she didn’t have a use for a thing, she didn’t need it.

No two plates were the same; but each was beautifully hand-painted. She ran her thumb across the rim of one plate, remembering. Painted with a delicate pink flower, this one was her mother’s favorite, now it was Mocha’s.

She returned to the present, and turned to face the grand window overlooking the dining room. The orange light over the bay was beginning to fade to purple. Sunset. Joule will be home any minute.

She returned to her preparations, carefully grabbing three plates from the cabinet and setting them at the dining table. For herself, the pink flower; a fiery orange-and-blue pattern for her girlfriend Paprika; and for their roommate, Joule, a splendid one painted with the image of a dancing woman. The woman’s eyes were downcast, aloof and unsure, but her pose displayed unknown grace and vibrancy. It was perfect.

Today marked one month since Joule began living with them, so a celebratory meal was in order. While Mocha set up in the dining room, Paprika was busy in the kitchen, crafting some delicious-smelling culinary treat. An ambience of sizzling meat and her girlfriend’s sporadic, tuneless humming accompanied Mocha’s work. She breathed in the scents. Ah, salmon. A meal any cat would die for; Mocha, being half-cat on her father’s side, was not immune to its allure. Her fluffy tail swayed behind her. I can wait… just till Joule gets home. Not long now… I hope.

Mocha placed the last of the silverware just so upon the tablecloth. She surveyed her work, seeing that it was done. All that’s left now is the food.

She left the dining room, crossing the main hall into the kitchen, and leaned against the entryway. Paprika was intently focused on her own work as she added the final ingredients to the sizzling fish. She hadn’t noticed Mocha.

The cow couldn’t help but smile as she watched. Pap always scrunched up her eyebrows when she was concentrating, which made her look angry to others. The first few times I saw her in class, I thought she was pissed. It turned out she was only focused on note-taking, though.

Another memory surfaced, conjuring an entirely different feeling in the cowgirl. Paprika, eyes closed, that same look of concentration on her face, brows furrowed as she sucked—

A noise from behind stood the hairs on Mocha’s neck; it caught Paprika’s attention too, and the tabby finally noticed Mocha standing there. For half a second, they shared an affectionate look before turning towards the sound.

The front door swung weakly open, and Joule shuffled miserably through it.

***

“Hey, guys,” she croaked out.

“Hi, Joule!” said Mocha as she came in for a hug. Mocha gives the best hugs, she thought. When the cow let her go, she tried not to wince as her feet touched the floor again.

Paprika, who was cooking up something appetizing, flashed a predatory grin. “Hey, dinner’s making my mouth water just looking at it… and the fish looks pretty good, too.”

Despite her exhausted state, Joule managed an eye-roll in response. Still, a warm feeling stirred in her core. Over the past month she had mostly learned to ignore the orange catgirl’s flirtations. Mostly.

“Your dinner smells good, I hope you enjoy it.” She started towards her bedroom.

“Actually, Joule, it’s for you too!” Mocha chirped.

She stopped. “For me?”

“You moved in exactly one month ago today,” said Paprika. “We thought it’d be cool to celebrate.”

“Oh!” Several emotions peaked within Joule at once. Excitement, because the food genuinely smelled delicious. Dread, because the pain would make it harder to enjoy and she wanted very much to lay in bed. Shame, because she wasn’t appreciating the kindness her roommates were showing her. And finally, something else… an emotion she couldn’t identify, but that filled her up with a light, floaty feeling.

“That’s so nice of you guys,” she smiled. “Thank you!”

She entered the kitchen, and gave Paprika a loose hug from behind while the short tabby worked. Funny, how close we’ve gotten after just one month. I’ve never had friends I could just casually hug like that.

The floaty feeling was still with her as she walked with Mocha to the dining room.

“So Joule, how was work?”

Horrific. “Ah, you know. Work is work.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound good exactly. I hope they’re treating you alright.”

“It’s fine, nothing I can’t handle. How was your day?”

When they reached the table, Mocha pulled out a chair for her. Joule sat, blushing as the cow pushed in her chair. The plate before her was beautiful. Joule had to draw her eyes away from it as Mocha answered her question.

“My day was great! I slept in a bit with Pap, tried out that new coffee shop around the corner… at the store I found this gorgeous pink blazer…”

Joule knew that by ‘the store,’ she meant one of the many high-end fashion boutiques Mocha frequented. The cow had expensive tastes.

“That does sound great,” said Joule when Mocha had finished. “No work today, then?”

Mocha shot Joule with one of her indecipherable smiles. “Nope! The office was closed today. Some holiday or other.”

She always has some way of making me blush, thought Joule. She stuffed the thought down, absentmindedly trying to clasp her paws together; they were somehow engulfed in her sleeves.

“Bone apple teat!” shouted Paprika as she burst into the dining room. In her arms she carried a huge platter of glistening pink salmon. The smell was intoxicating.

Mouth watering, Joule grabbed her fork as Paprika lay the dish in the center of the table. “To Joule! Our new friend, roommate, and free eye-candy!”

Joule snorted, getting ready to dig in. “Ah, you guys brought out the big forks? I guess we’re going to need ‘em for a meal like this!”

Mocha and her girlfriend had confused looks on their faces. “These are regular forks.”

“I guess you must have small paws,” said Paprika.

“Huh, I guess so.”

Just then, her glasses slipped off of her snout, clattering on the table.

“Shit, lem’me get that…”

“Joule, do you feel alright?”

“Hang on, is she..? Joule, did you take a potion or something?”

Her head was spinning. The table rose up to meet her—no, she was falling to meet it! Instead of her head smashing into the top, it continued to rise right up to eye level and higher still, until she was looking at it from the bottom.

It’s so huge… it must be the size of the whole apartment…

Voices were shouting around her, but she couldn’t make out the words. She felt… sleepy.

***

Thundering, god-like voices reverberated above her, shaking her skull. Only half-awake, she tried to pull the blankets over her sensitive ears. Where’s the blanket..?

She lay beneath something heavy and scratchy, made of thick, cord-like threads. The voices sounded again, but less explosive this time. Hushed, like whispers, but so loud still as to shake her almost awake.

“...do we do? We can’t just leave her like this.”

“You heard Lizzie. We don’t know what happened. We can’t do anything until she’s awake to tell us.”

“But what if she doesn’t wake up? We didn’t see her drink a potion, Lizzie didn’t sell her one, what if this is some kind of disease, or, or—”

“Love, I’m worried for her too. But for her sake we need to—”

“I think she’s awake.”

Joule cracked open her eyes. It was night, and the ceiling light colored everything warmly. She was in her room. Towering over her were the colossal figures of her roommates.

Vibrations shook her resting spot as they approached her, monstrously huge in her vision. She looked around, panicking. It took a second for her to realize exactly what she was seeing, but…

She was naked. And small.

Very, very small.

The thick cords of fabric she lay under were, in fact, the threads of her blanket. She lay near the top of her bead, head resting against the base of a hill-like pillow. Though she was naked, only her head peeked out from under the blanket. She tried not to think about how she might have gotten here, and what it implied.

Paprika was standing over her now, with a worried expression. Mocha’s arms were crossed, obscuring her upper half from Joule’s perspective, but she saw the cowgirl’s brow was knit in concern. She was used to looking up at the cowgirl, but the sheer magnitude of their height difference now was dizzying.

Paprika spoke first. “Hi—” Joule startled at her booming voice, eliciting a wince from the gigantic tabby. With a shout of alarm that came out as more of a squeak, Joule sprang up on all fours, landing on top of the pillow. Her tail stuck straight outward, fur on end.

Eyes wide, she looked around. Both Mocha and Paprika were blushing, and pointedly looking elsewhere. Realizing she was exposed, she squeaked once more and dove underneath the covers.

Paprika tried again, whispering this time. “Hi, Joule… how are you feeling?”

It was still loud, but at least it didn’t hurt her ears. She poked her head out. “I’m… what happened? Why am I so small!?”

“We don’t know… we were hoping you could tell us. When I was serving dinner, you just… shrank.”

“What the fuck? That doesn’t just happen, does it? Was it something in the food?”

“Believe me, nothing I put in that fish could’ve done this! I’m sorry Joule, I don’t know what happened…”

“We called Lizzie,” Mocha said, “but ze won’t know anything until ze can come and see you in person. That won’t be until the morning.”

Joule looked at her hands. “I don’t even know what to say…” Hot tears welled in her eyes. She screwed them shut, grabbing at handfuls of her hair.

“Hey,” Paprika whispered. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ve got you.”

A shadow passed over Joule, and something huge and warm brushed gingerly against her. The tiny cat opened her eyes to look, and saw that Paprika had cupped a paw around her back. The paw was huge; as long from wrist to claw as Joule’s entire body.

Joule stiffened. If she wanted, she could close her paw, crush me just like that.

That was all Joule could picture, though she knew the tabby was trying to comfort her. She hugged her knees tighter and sobbed.

Paprika seemed to get the idea, and pulled her paw away.

Mocha said, “We’ll leave you alone for a while. Your phone is on the bed, please call us if you need anything.”

The two of them left the room, and Joule was alone.

***

“Hey, it’s okay. You did your best.”

Tears streamed down Paprika’s cheeks. She had held them back in front of Joule, but the floodgates had opened the moment they were out of her sight. Mocha immediately led the crying tabby to their shared bedroom.

When they got there, Mocha closed the door behind them and lay on the bed with Paprika, who began sobbing into her shoulder. “She… she looked so scared. I was li-ike a m-monster to her. I’m sorry, I, I—”

Mocha thought about saying many things, but instead she let Paprika get it out. The tabby began to purr, gently vibrating to comfort herself. Mocha held her tight.

After a few minutes, Paprika sat up and blew her nose into a tissue. Her voice was still raw when she spoke again.

“Thanks, Mo. If I ever—” she pawed at her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just, when I started dating Nat, I was so afraid, of… I couldn’t bear the idea that I might hurt her. I’m so big, compared to her, I kept thinking if I wasn’t careful then—” she shuddered, and fought back another wave of sobs.

Mocha began tracing circles on Paprika’s shoulder. “Did you ever talk about these fears with Nat?”

Paprika nodded, and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “She told me I was being condescending. She didn’t want me to see her as some fragile thing.”

“That sounds—”

“She was right. I was being ridiculous, treating her more like a precious object than a person.”

“Still… it’s clear this fear has been eating at you for a long time.”

Paprika said nothing for a moment, then she nodded.

“It’s okay that you still feel that way. It’s understandable. No one wants to hurt the people they love.”

“Still, I needed to get over myself in order to treat her right.” She sniffled. “I’m just so mad at myself. I thought I had unlearned all of that shit. But when I saw her, it all came rushing back.”

“When you saw Joule?”

She nodded. “I was trying to comfort her; it’s how I hug Nat, when we’re… I just did it without thinking.” Paprika shook her head. “But when I touched her, she… I always imagined, back then, that I would go too far, and Nat would look at me like Joule just did. It kept me up at night. I thought I’d gotten over it. I should’ve gotten over it by now, but…”

When it was clear Paprika was done, Mocha said, “have you ever hurt Nat?”

Paprika met her eyes. “Never.”

“That’s right,” Mocha nodded, “and you won’t hurt Joule either. You’re not a monster, my love. She’s just going through a lot. This is all new to her.”

Paprika nodded, still sniffling. “I’m going to call Nat. See if she has any ideas to help Joule.”

Mocha stood up, kissing Paprika on the forehead. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to go check in on Joule.”

***

Why me? Joule thought. Why did this happen to me?

She had run out of tears by now. In between dry sobs, all she had to do was stew on this strange turn of events. It’s not fair. It’s not fair.

It was almost eleven thirty at night. She had gotten home just after six, slept for five hours, and woken up the size of a smartphone.

The same images kept flashing through her mind. Images of herself crushed, buried, eaten, or injured in any number of ways. She felt so small, so vulnerable.

So why do I feel so… normal? I know what it’s like to not feel at home in my body, I’m fucking trans for saintsake. But this feels normal. I don’t feel too small, I’m not in pain… it actually feels pleasant.

What am I saying? I’m not a fucking shrimp! I’m a five-foot-seven cat! I like my height!

It’s almost funny, she thought bitterly. After putting in so much work to love that part of myself, only now has it been taken away.

So what if it feels good? How could I possibly live like this? I’m too small to leave this bed, let alone open a—

Someone knocked at the door. “Come in!” she shouted. After a moment with no response, she shouted again.

Mocha’s voice came through the door. “Joule? Can I come in?”

She can’t even hear me. Her eyes finally found more tears to shed, and now they were threatening to well up again. With a frustrated cry, she stood up and walked to where her phone lay on the bed. She slapped the numbers of her passcode, opened messages, and slowly typed out ‘comein.’ By the time she hit send, minutes had passed.

She heard a ding! From the hall, and the door opened. Mocha stepped inside.

“How are you?” asked the cow.

“Great. Everything’s copacetic.”

“Fair enough.” She gestured to the foot of the bed. “Is it okay if I sit down?”

Joule nodded, then held nervously onto the blanket as Mocha lowered herself onto the bed, lifting Joule’s side by nearly an inch.

Mocha winced. “I’m sorry about that. Here, take this as an apology.”

She held out a plate, the kind that went under a teacup. On it was a thimble of water, and roughly half a square inch of the salmon from dinner, topped with a single, tiny pinch of seasoning.

Joule suddenly realized just how hungry she was.

“I hope it’s okay. This was about the smallest amount of spices I could put on it, so I’m sorry if it’s too much.”

“It looks delicious. Thanks, Mo.”

The cow smiled, and gently placed it on the bed in front of her. Joule dug in right away. It was way over-seasoned, but she didn’t care.

“Is there anything else I can get you?” Mocha whispered.

Joule shook her head. She didn’t want to be a burden.

“Nothing at all?”

“Well, if it’s not too much trouble… the blanket feels kind of scratchy. The threads are much bigger to me now.”

Mocha leaned closer, inspecting the fabric. “I see. I have some high thread-count clothing in my closet. That might help. I'll go get some.”

“Wait, no!” Joule shouted.

“What’s wrong?”

“Aren’t clothes like that, like, really expensive? Don’t waste them on me!”

“What a silly thing to worry about. Yes, they’re a bit expensive. But so what?”

“I just… I don’t want to ruin your things.” She lowered her eyes. “Like I ruined dinner.”

Mocha lay down on her side, propping herself up on an elbow. Her gaze was intense; Joule felt… studied. It would have made her squirm even if she was at normal size.

“I have a rule,” Mocha said after a long moment. “If I don’t use a thing, I don’t need it. I give it away. I don’t buy expensive things just for them to sit on a shelf collecting dust. That means everything I have, I love.” She clutched one paw over her chest. “As I see it, using a thing doesn’t ruin it. Using it is how I love it.”

Joule didn’t know how to respond to that. Her heart beat like a drum, and she didn’t know why. She realized she had been staring for too long. She relented. “Okay… thank you. I’ll take them.”

Mocha, smiling, stood up slowly from the bed, giving Joule time to steady herself. “Good—”

Joule thought Mocha was going to say ‘goodnight,’ but the cow stopped herself halfway through. Then Mocha cleared her throat, and said, “there’s one more thing before I leave you be. A bit of advice.”

“...yeah?”

Mocha smiled, halfway out the door. “Sometimes our bodies just do weird things.” She folded her arms, which had the side effect of emphasizing her chest. “And sometimes it hurts. It’s not what you wanted, not how you planned to live your life. But you’ve got to learn to live with it.”

“You’re saying I should just accept this?”

The cow shrugged. “Something to think on. We won’t know more until Lizzie gets here, anyway. I’ll be right back with those clothes.”

With that, she left, gently closing the door behind her.

When the door was closed, her words echoed in Joule’s head.

Learn to live with this? How could I?

>> NEXT CHAPTER

#writeblr #g/t fluff #furry #sizetumblr #disability #fursona #mocha #joule #paprika #gay #trans #poly #lit #my lit #tiny

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catgirlpuppy · 11 months

Text

YOU MEET IN A TAVERN

Paprika runs a tabletop game for her favorite people.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” With a round of nods from the table, Paprika begins:

“'In a dusty tavern on the edge of civilization, four unlikely heroes are about to meet. One day they will topple empires, but for now they are but simple adventurers slaying monsters for gold.'” Her eyes jump from player to player. “Now let’s go around clockwise and all describe our characters. Bru, you start.”

Bruma is sitting backwards in his chair, thick arms folded atop the backrest. The butch wolfgirl has been Paprika’s best friend since they were kids, growing up in their small hometown. I honestly don't think I would've survived that place if not for him. His eyes scan his character sheet. “My guy’s an orc druid named Bo. She’s got big tusks and big muscles.”

“Great! What’s she doing in the tavern?”

“Hmm… I have this power where I can make little plants grow. Can I make little flowers sprout from the table?”

Paprika smiles; Bruma is nothing if not a dedicated plant-mom. “That’s adorable. What kind of flowers?”

“Daisies.” Bruma nods. “They’re growing from the center of the table, like a bouquet.”

“I love it. The innkeeper seems to appreciate it, too. He comes over to talk to you, and as he does you catch the eye of Joule’s character.” The orange tabby nods to her gray-coated girlfriend. Joule is the latest addition to Paprika's life; the nerdy catgirl started as Paprika and Mocha’s cute roommate before she graduated to being their cute girlfriend. It's only been six months since that morning at the coffee shop, and it's hard to remember life without her.

Of all the people here, only Joule has played before. “Oh! So my character is a little goblin chick wearing all black. Her name is Stabitha Greenedge! She’s an assassin, and she’s got all sorts of knives strapped to her. Oh, and she’s hot as fuck—like, eyes-popping-out-of-head AWOOGA-hot. She’s seductive and dangerous, and she’s got a heart of gold, but she hides it beneath a mask of coldness and brutal efficiency. Ever since the death of her parents, she’s been searching for their killer in a mad quest for vengeance!”

“I love her already. What’s she doing when Bo makes eye contact?”

“Uhm, she’s probably sitting in the back corner, where she has a good view of the whole room. When she sees Bo, she thinks like, 'Oh, she seems interesting,' and she’ll get up and start walking over.”

“Alrighty, now we’ll put that conversation on the backburner for a second while we meet the other two.”

The seat to Joule’s left is empty; on the table in front of it is a little mobile chair, its six articulating legs folded into its sides. In the seat is a busty, six-inch tall woman in a fashionable top. Two red antennae part her black bangs. From the waist down, her tanned skin gives way to a segmented shrimp tail curled up beneath her.

Natalia has a side-gig as an online influencer, and Paprika has been a fan of hers since her follower count was only in the dozens. When the two of them learned they both lived in San Orchidia, they started hanging out in person, too. Now she's Paprika's girlfriend, and her followers are in the hundreds of thousands. Even though Joule and Mocha are only friends with the shrimpgirl, the three have bonded over their shared love of Paprika.

“Your turn, Nat!”

The shrimpgirl looks at her character sheet. I hope it’s the right size, thinks Paprika. That specialty print shop is supposed to be the best in town…

“Right! So her name is Camilla, and she’s a demon-blooded bard! She plays the guitar…”

“Nice,” nods Bruma.

“...and she’s wearing these poofy medieval-style shorts with red queen of hearts patterns, tucked into these black thigh-high leather boots that lace up the front. Her top has the same print with a low neckline and a leather cropped jacket with padded shoulders and silver spikes. She’s got huge tits, by the way…”

“Nice,” nods Joule.

“…and she likes to wear outfits that show them off. On her head she’s got this pale white beret that sits behind her red horns.” She turns to Paprika. “GM, is there a stage in the tavern? I think if there was, Camilla would be playing guitar for the crowd.”

“There is! What kind of song are you playing?”

“Ehh… a fun one? Like, a drinking song.”

“Nice, the whole taproom is stamping their feet to the tune, and a few patrons are even singing along.”

Paprika turns to the final player, Mocha. She and the half-cat, half-cowgirl met while skipping class in college, and they hit it off immediately. Now, the two of them have been together for almost a year. They hadn't expected to add Joule to the relationship, but it became obvious they all had feelings for each other. Now, the three of them are building a life together in their shared apartment. “And last but not least, Mocha’s up. Tell us about your character, Mo.”

The cowgirl straightens her character sheet, then adjusts her posture. How does she make herself look so flawless at all times?

“Well… I think I may be a bit unprepared. Everyone’s got so much to say about their characters! I didn’t think to go into that level of detail.”

“You don’t really need all of that fluff,” Natalia assures. “Joule and I are just extra like that.” Joule nods.

“Exactly,” Paprika agrees. “Whatever you have is enough. What’s their name?”

“Ah! I think I’m going to go with Madoka, like that show Joule was watching! It sounds similar to Mocha, too.”

“Cute! What class did you go with?”

“She’s a healer. But her goal is to…” she pauses, considering. “To open a cafe!”

“And what ancestry is she?”

“Minotaur.” replies the cowgirl.

Paprika smiles. This character’s starting to sound familiar. “Perfect. So, Madoka the healer minotaur, what are you doing here in the tavern?”

Mocha puts a finger to her lips, thoughtful. “She’s… ordering a coffee. Actually, she’s ordering four coffees, one for each of us.”

“Aww thanks Madoka.” “Yeah thanks!” “‘Preciate it.”

“In that case, the innkeeper isn’t just coming over to check out Bo’s flowers. He’s also got four mugs in his hand.”

“Stabitha sits at the table, grabs a drink, and toasts to Madoka.”

“Camilla grabs one too! She waves at Madoka and says, ‘Thanks for the drink, friend. Come over here and let’s all get down to business!'”

“Madoka goes to the table, and compliments Camilla’s style!”

The players engross themselves with their in-character conversation. Paprika watches them, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Whoa, hey babe, are you okay?”

“Love, what’s wrong? Am I not doing it right?”

“Why are you crying, Ricky?”

Her friends are surrounding her now. Joule holds her tight, purring next to Bruma. The wolf is hugging her with the ease of over a decade of familiarity; Mocha stands behind the chair and pats her head. Natalia has moved her chair up to Paprika’s paw where it rests on the table, and is hugging a finger.

How have I been so lucky? How did I get to be with so many amazing people?

She speaks through sobs. “I love you all so much.”

“We love you too,” coos Mocha with a kiss. “Now let’s help you calm down—your chair is starting to smoke.”

Burning cloth and leather waft into her nose. The orange tabby chokes out a laugh, and begins her breathing exercises. “Alright. Let’s get back to the game.”

***

I had a hard time getting started with this one. I knew I wanted to write a story with the framing device of a D&D game, but I didn’t know where to go with it. Once I’d written everyone’s character intros, I thought I could tie that into Paprika remembering how she met all her girlfriends (and Bruma!).

Also, setting name drop! I'm still workshopping the details of San Orchidia, so that's all the details im gonna share for now. Thanks for reading!