FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Then came the next night. The shadow was at his door. Then the next night. The monster was at his door again. The next night. Nothing. The next, a scratching, but no appearance. It was never consistent. Missy would vary wildly from eager to uninterested. It didn't matter to Leo as long as this life was kept stable. That she was kept biologically satisified. The only drawback was that Leo could feel a stoking fire every time, one that he doused every night with a firm wash. A cleanse of the mind. Yet every time as he returned to bed, he wondered if this would be maintained, if Missy would be just OK with a touch. Favors only went so far, and his mind refused to budge, despite the urging of his nerves.

Aside from the nights, the days somewhat blurred into a generic haze that lessened as time went on. Leo was more moving through the motions of reality than living it. A mix of unease and attempts to ignore his situation kept this blindness going for a while. It all culminated until one day his mind kicked into gear and realized the occasion. Father's day. Something he was sure not to miss. He sat up from his bed and looked back at his phone, just in time for the alarm to go off. He grabbed it and shut it off. A wonder he still managed to get up on time. He flicked over to the phonebook and stared at that entry. 'Dad.' Maybe he should just pull off the bandage right off the bat, or maybe get his head screwed on first with some breakfast.

After a shower and getting properly dressed, he found Missy in the kitchen, waiting for him. "Breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah, been really hungry."

"I'm gonna make some eggs."

"Egg sandwich, pretty please?" she asked.

"Sure, alright." Almost surreal seeing her so relaxed. Leo set up his cooking station. It was hard to think of her as the same Missy that roused at night, becoming more animalistic and ferocious. There she was, idly waiting for her food, looking bored. Silly too, of course, but it fit her. He wouldn't have it any other way. Though he did wonder if there was something else he hadn't treaded on to bring out that bestial side. She could've been a ticking time bomb, as shown with that gutted grouse. Could be that those were the only two. Food and sex. Would make sense for animals. Territory too then, perhaps? That could've explained her apprehension toward the fog. Something treading on her territory as it were. He glanced out the window. Had something followed her, then?

"Oh, salt and pepper too, pretty please, with sprinkles on top. Not actually sprinkles though, that was just to make the please better," Missy said, dragging him back to food.

"I wouldn't add sprinkles to anything. Weren't you watching cooking shows? Nobody uses sprinkles."

"Have you seen the internet? I've seen people make ice cream in toilets."

Leo furrowed his brow. "Alright, none of that while I'm cooking, OK?"

"That's A-OK with me."

"What's something actually edible that you've seen on there?"

"Well, I was looking up how to make s-cones. You know, like the stuff we'd eat in the clock room."

"What?" Leo asked. He added a dab of salt and pepper to his egg whisking.

"S-cones?"

"Scones?"

"That's not how Ms. Swanson said it."

"Yeah, well..." Swanson had an accent, didn't she? Some sort of European dab to her tonation. It was a wonder that Missy didn't have an accent herself. "They're scones. Do you want to try and make some?"

"Baking seems too hard with pretty hands like mine. I'm just gonna stick to burning things and putting them together."

Leo placed the egg slurry in a pan, and that on the stove. "Well, fair enough." He flipped them over. "I guess we can't get you really long cooking mittens."

"I bet you could totally knit them though! Or sew. One of those."

"I don't actually know how to sew. I probably should learn, though."

Missy let out a playful groan. "I should really keep my mouth shut sometimes. I don't need you knitting me a sweater too."

"You don't trust my sense of style?" Leo asked. He placed the eggs on bread, making a simple sandwich. He served them on two plates and sat down.

"No, but I don't need to see you sitting on the couch knitting away. Looking old." Missy shrugged and picked up her breakfast. She took a large chunk out of it. "You gonna call your dad today?"

Leo looked at her. "What makes you ask that?"

"Father's day is all over everything, so I just thought, y'know."

Fair enough, Leo figured. It was a wonder the day hadn't fallen out of favor. "Yeah, I'll be doing that. So just keep it down when I do, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Missy nodded quickly, her eyes darting back to her food.

"Well, before that, I gotta eat so I don't fall asleep. Did it turn out well?"

"Oh yeah, real good," Missy said. "You could make an omelette too, right? Maybe we could have those in the morning." She hummed with delight.

"I don't really trust myself to mix the ingredients thoroughly."

"Well, somethin' else to learn, huh? At least it's not knitting."

Breakfast crawled by. Leo wasn't sure if it was the mindless conversation that made time feel all the slower, or maybe he was dreading speaking to his father. No, it must've been talking to Missy. He was looking forward to speaking again to his dad. Not something he got to do often, for several reasons. It was only a phone call too, so it would be relatively simple. Leo washed the dishes, washed his hands, and returned to his room to sit back down on his bed. Door closed? Missy, no doubt, would hear it either way. A closed door would at least give her the silent order not to eavesdrop. Door closed.

Leo rang up that number and waited, and waited, and waited. The line went silent and then he heard a loud screech from the other side. "Hey, Son!" a voice on the other side yelled. The screech came to a stop.

"Hey, Dad," Leo replied. He rolled his eyes with a smile. "You need to cut wood this early?"

"You know we don't know the meaning of early. What'cha callin' about? You're not in trouble, are ya?"

"No, not in trouble, just wanted to wish you a happy Father's Day and see how you're doing."

"Damn, look at that, it actually is Father's Day. Well, thanks a bunch. Think I'll have a beer in cheer."

"Not while on the buzzsaw, please."

"Alright, well, since you asked nicely," his father replied. "Hey, since I got you here, how about you tell me about your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" Leo held back a sigh.

"Well, your mom told me you had hitched up and couldn't make it. That true?"

"No, I was just tied up in work."

"C'mon now, you're how old? We don't lie anymore, do we?"

"No, no we don't."

"Well then? I know you've always made time from work before, so?"

"Alright, I've got a girl with me. Not a girlfriend. Just bunking over, alright? I don't trust her alone," Leo said.

"She a friend at least? There something happening there?"

Leo pursed his lips. "Yeah, we're friends."

His father chuckled. "And the other part?"

"I don't know about that."

"Just don't mention that nightmare either, she might think you're loony. Don't want that. Loonies can make for some crazy partners." He laughed. "So I've heard."

"Why would you bring that up?"

"Your Mom told me, she's worried about you. Now I know you're a strong fellow but home is always open, all right? I don't need you losing it in a forest, especially in front of a girl." There was another grind of wood cutting. "I care about you too. Don't you forget that," he said under the roar of machinery.

"I know, Dad. I didn't have any nightmares. I barely remember those anyways." Leo decided to test his luck. "Do you?"

There was a short silence. "All I remember is that you had this funny idea that there was a monster at your window. I offered to shoot it but you'd cry if I said that, so I dropped it." He chuckled softly. "Yep, that almost feels like last week."

"Definitely a little longer than that," Leo replied.

"You know, I don't think I say this often enough, but I'm proud of you, Leo."

Leo relaxed. "I know, thanks, Dad."

"Now, I'm not gonna blame you if you can't make it, but I'd still like to see you for Thanksgiving. Though if you get anywhere with your girl, I won't be mad, honest."

Leo laughed. "I know. I'll see how it goes." Probably the wrong way to say it. "Love you, Dad. Don't hurt yourself, OK?"

"No promises. Love you too, Son. Bye."

"Bye."

Leo placed his phone back in his pocket. He'd have to make preparations for Thanksgiving, even if it was only June. Missy probably couldn't stand three days alone. He could call her at least, though that might only make things worse with her neediness. Whatever, that would come later. Leo opened his bedroom door, just in time to see Missy walk out of the bathroom, clad only in a towel. A slight jump of his heart surprised and annoyed him. For a moment his thoughts stalled and he even forgot why he stepped out here. "Done with my call," he said. Why did he say that?

"Oh, nice," Missy replied. She tousled her hair. "Hope it went well n' all." She stretched. "What's for lunch?"

"We barely had breakfast. Go munch on some pretzels or something." He squeezed past her into his hobby room, not really sure what he was planning to do in there.

"Pretzels are good but what you make is better!" she said, tottering after him. "Can we at least talk about what's for lunch? I'm excited."

"Excited for lunch?" Well, of course she was. What was he thinking? "Aren't you cold? Put on some clothes."

"OK, OK, I'll go slip into something comfortable. But we gotta talk about lunch after."

"Right." Leo sighed as soon as she left. It felt like everyone was expecting him to get with Missy at this point, including his own libido. He couldn't even deny it to himself. Right off the bat he already told her she wasn't unnattractive. No, you just didn't like her because of the attitude. He mindlessly pawed at his fish hooks, running his fingers along the lures. What happened to him? It used to be so easy to ignore people and just enjoy his own hobbies. The problem was that someone he vaguely knew at the time needed a desperate favor turned blooming friendship. All because he decided to be nice that one little time. But it wasn't bad.

"OK!" A hand came down on Leo's shoulder. "What about lunch?" Leo snapped to her, causing her to rescind her hand with a flinch. There was a brief pause.

"I don't know, what do you want?" He turned back to his lures and casually went over them.

"You sure your talk went alright?"

"It went fine, don't worry about it."

"OK, cool, uh, was hoping for some pizza if you were up for it."

"Not really in the mood for absolute grease dribbling into my guts, thanks. Nor do I need that smell permanently coating my microwave."

"Aw, but reheating pizza is the best." She took a step closer, brushing her shoulder up against his. "Cold is fine too."

"No, Missy, we've been over this, you're lactose intolerant."

"Oh, huh, yeah. I kinda forget that. You sure I couldn't have even just a tiiiiny bit." She pinched her fingers together to emphasize her point.

"Not even a little. You know this."

"Hm, yeah, I do." So what, she wanted to hear him say it? "Probably gettin' too spooked about it though. I ate dairy my whoooole life and look, I'm still lookin' great." Missy tilted her head. "Hey, if I'm all lactose intolerant, how come we can chomp down loadsa buttery popcorn? That's dairy, right? Checkmate." She smiled and hummed.

Leo sighed. "Butter should be fine, it basically has no lactose left in it. Not that popcorn slime is real butter anyways." He shook his head. "Stupid example anyways since people with cancer are 'still alive', but you still don't want it. The idea is to get better, not worse." Not that a change in diet alone was the only improvement she needed.

"No way I'm getting worse! Check it." She took a few steps back to give him a good look as she twisted her spine while wrapping her arms around herself. As if to add a cherry on top of her absurd display, Missy dropped her head to the side and smiled. She couldn't have been more proud of her display. It might have been impressive to Leo were she not so unsettling in that moment.

"Being skinny and being in shape are two very different things." Leo poked at her deceptively soft belly, Missy suddenly jerked back into a normal position with a small yelp. Leo sized her up, wondering what she might look like if she were plopped in the wild. Would she be much different? It was still impressive that she was as lithe as she was with little exertion. Not too out of the ordinary. He knew a few fortunate souls that could cram food down their gullet without issue. Missy, however, wasn't human, and thus worked on very different rules.

"Hello? Is there a 5G tower around here making zone out?" Missy reached out and waved her hand around. Leo quickly swatted it away.

"I'm just thinking how you're still moving despite all the junk you've eaten. Other people could eat half of what you do and they'd still balloon up. You're really taking some amazing genetics for granted. Imagine where you'd be if you exercised."

"I'd be right here, with you," Missy replied.

"You know what I meant."

"Well maybe Wolficuses don't need to exercise." She smiled and nodded. Always quick to agree with herself. "Remember that bird? Zoom, instantly!" How could he forget?

"Yeah, I also remember you getting winded real quick. What was that, not even a few seconds and you were out of breath? That's what no cardio does to you. If you had to chase anything for longer than that there's a high chance you'd have a heart attack." Leo shrugged. "I just figured being cooped up in apartments smaller than my room you'd want to stretch your legs." And arms.

"You know what exercise I miss?"

"No, but I'd really like to know what exercise you've done in the past two decades," Leo replied.

Missy bapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "I miss swimming, you goofball. You know, moving through the water."

"I'm not letting you swim in a lake, Missy. For many reasons, and if you do, I'm going to hose you down and watch you pluck out the leeches yourself. Not to mention the snapping turtles."

"Not a lake, sheesh. You gotta stop assuming I'm gonna say the dumbest thing ever," Missy replied. Leo raised his eyebrows. "What I mean was in like a pool. You know, like normal people would do. How come you don't have a pool?"

Leo paused to think about it. "I've wanted to for a while, but digging out the space, setting out proper fencing, and actually maintaining it would be hellish. You think it would be easy to maintain a pool surrounded by forest?" Though he himself had also missed the free floating nature of water. When was the last time he went swimming? He certainly didn't remember Missy ever going for a swim, but it wasn't as though he was with her 24/7 as children. "Actually, better yet, can you swim at all? No joke, can you?"

"Sure, I don't float too well." She stretched her arms out. "But I do swim super well, like a shark. Hey, maybe I'm actually some kinda sea monster. I sure could go for a dip!"

Leo rubbed his forehead. "We don't live anywhere near the sea."

Missy snapped back to attention. "OK, uhhh, what's the word. Freshwater. I'm one'a those."

"I really doubt that. Look, you can still exercise in here."

"Hey, what about a big plastic pool. You know, the kinda they advertise on TV with happy people in 'em? You know what happy people look like, right?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "You want an above ground pool?"

"With those reclining chairs. Then we'll be having fun in the sun!"

"Yeah, all that sun around here. Right. Better put on sunblock."

Missy tilted her head. "You think that stuff work on fur?" she asked.

"Missy, I'm joking." He shook his head. "I thought about that too, but I like the forestry in my backyard, thought I'd put a garden out there. Plus it'd be even worse to clean out than an actual pool."

"I'm already maid of the house." Please don't say it like that. "I could clean it out too."

"Outside?"

"Yes, the scary outside."

"I guess that would be fine." Admittedly the idea of Missy being outside without him didn't sit right in his guts. She could most definitely take care of herself, but not being there should anything go wrong... "Something we can clean out together. If it happens."

"Sure!" Missy beamed. Even her toothy smile had been corrupted, no longer bearing the fearful effect it once had.

"But for now, we should exercise in here."

"Ugh, can we do that after lunch? We still haven't even decided what we're gonna eat."

_

After scarfing down some tuna fish sandwiches, Missy was all ready to go with the exercise. Not in the exercising area, of course, no, she had to watch TV while she did it. "Wouldn't you want to be more relaxed while you do this?" Leo asked.

"Huh? TV relaxes me," Missy replied. The man supposed he should've been happy she didn't jump on the opportunity to play her music too.

"Fine, alright, try some stretching first." Leo demonstrated with his arms first, slowly pushing and pulling, warming up his muscles. Missy stared. Then came the legs, shaking them into work, along with pulling the back of his heel up against his back. "Well? Aren't you going to try?" Leo asked, balancing on one leg.

"You sure you're a human and not some kind of horrible bug person?" Missy asked. Her face was torn between disgust and amusement.

"I guess your porportions don't really fit that," Leo replied. "Why not try your arms first, like I did?"

"I feel like all my bones are gonna shatter if I do that."

"Just one, c'mon, it's important to warm up before you exercise. You're going to cramp up otherwise and damage your muscles."

"Gee, I didn't know the TV also got the health channel. Thanks there, Dr. Phil."

"Wrong kind of doctor." He returned back to the arm stretching. "Just like this." Missy tried the motion, straining herself in the process. "Are you alright?" Leo asked.

"I think you're gonna have to help," Missy said with a grimace. Of course he did.

"Fine." Leo moved up to her side and took hold of her arm. It felt like the same musculature of a human, just horribly drawn out. "Let's relax your muscles at least a little bit. I don't know how you're tense. You'd think laying on a couch all day would make you jelly."

"I'm always ready to pounce," Missy replied. Leo gently massaged her arm, mostly just squeezing it until her body got the idea and loosened up. Despite the obvious comparison to a long skeleton, there was still some squish to Missy's body. What could be muscles, he silently joked. It made him briefly wonder if she was anywhere near her peak. Maybe it was for the best that she didn't take too much interest in exercise. She didn't need a powerful body to go with her touchiness and neediness, who knew how much she'd abuse that to get her way. A slightly grumbling broke Leo out of his thinking.

"This doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No, no," Missy said instantly. "Keep going, I think you're doing the exercise stuff right."

"Alright." His hand trailed up to hers, carefully squeezing it. She definitely needed this. Leo couldn't imagine how painful it'd be if she pulled a muscle in an arm or hand at their size. As he had realized some time before, the tips of her fingers were lacking in that fur, allowing for a more delicate touch. Unfortunate, then, that they were complimented with blades. Her palm seemed to carry the same feature. Missy continued her grumbling. "Other arm," Leo said. Missy quickly turned and presented her other arm for prodding. "You don't ever have muscle problems, do you?"

Missy blinked. "What? Oh, uh, no, not really. Except like, once a year one of my hands will just shut. Super weird. Or like when you walk and your knee stops working? You ever get that?"

"A long time ago. Good thing you don't have to hunt for food. I'd hate to see a grouse get away because your leg stops working."

"I swear I'm gonna catch another one of those and make you eat it," she said. "Raw." Her grumbling turned to a whimper, then she went silent. All the better for himself, Leo figured. It was always a funny sound or weird guttural noise with her. "You think you can do my legs after this? I mean, you know, I'd do it, but I'm a little too sharp."

"I don't see why not. Maybe we should get you a heat pad for this stuff."

"And catch on fire?"

"You could use it in winter. Instead of hibernating you could exercise, you know, get a head start on the rest of the woodland creatures."

"I don't hibernate, doofus. That's boring. I can already stay in bed all day, I don't need a season for that."

"Took the words right out of my mouth. Maybe you do the reverse." He moved down to her leg and began pressing on her. "Hibernation rest of the year, exercise in winter." Missy didn't reply, so maybe he hit the nail on the head. As he went over her leg, he couldn't help but find their proportions and positioning to be amusing and a little cute. She really was made to walk on all fours, yet she could also easily take on a bipedal gait. At the very least she was made to walk hunched over, hands hovering just above the ground. She could probably take on in a gallop if she wanted to. That was a mental image for the ages. Of course she had displayed her quadrupedal nature in the woods, but that was a reaction. "How fast do you think you can run?"

"Not as fast as I used to," Missy replied.

"Can't you, you know, run on all fours?"

"Well duh, but now that I gotta wash my hands all the time, I know you'd hate it."

"Yeah, I would." Funny how Missy could seamlessly switch between the two. She had been around humans her whole life so it was probably just second nature to her. It was only now that anyone called her out on it. Unlikely that she could really scamper about on all fours in those little apartments. "Maybe you should try it? At least a little, and wash your hands afterward too."

"My lion telling me to crawl on all fours. That's weird, dude."

"Alright, whatever, it was just a thought. I figure that's how you can exercise."

"I'm just gonna stick to stretching. You keep doing your thing."

Leo moved to her other leg. They definitely had a bit more plumpness than her arms. He had to wonder if standing upright gave her legs a bit more of a workout than the scampering she'd probably enjoy more. Then he supposed she was always slightly exercising. For the scarce time she was standing upright, anyways. "Alright, done." Leo pulled away and stood up. "Now you can do your stretching."

"What, that's it?" She pulled her arm to the side. "You sure I'm warmed up enough? Won't rip a muscle or anything?"

"From stretching, really?" Leo asked.

"Hey, you saw how stretchy I am. Wanna see again?"

Leo held up his hands. "No, thanks. Just do the regular stuff. You'll know if something starts to break if it hurts."

"Alright, you're the smart doctor here." Missy started bending her arms every which way to almost worrying degrees. At certain points Leo wasn't sure she actually had bones. At the same time, it was impressive how she managed to remain limber after all these years. She managed every stretch with little issue, no matter how taxing they might've seemed. Then she moved on from her arms to her chest, bending it every which way. Her clothing did a more than adequate job of clinging to her. Almost too well. That plain, stupid word 'Momster' warped around her bust as she moved. Leo managed to keep his eyes on her form rather than her body. For the most part. Unfortunately he couldn't really nitpick her movements to take his mind off things.

"You're bending more than I did. How come you thought it was weird when I did it?" Leo asked. He crossed his arms.

"It's different when you guys do it." Her torso bent left, pulling up some of her shirt to expose her midriff. "You guys are like walking pencils as far as I'm concerned." Real amusing coming out of her. "Snap real easy. Not like us Wolficuses, nope. We bend in allllll the right spots." She bent the opposite direction. "See, look, I can even do your funny bend." Missy wobbled on one leg and pulled the other up, shakily touching her back. "See?" she said.

Leo steadied her by holding onto her shoulder. "I think you're being outperformed by the pencil people."

"Nuh-uh. Let me try the other leg. That's my dominant one, I think." And so she did, switching to the other leg, still wobbling all the way. As Leo looked at her form, he realized that her underwear peeked out from underneath her shorts. Should he mention it? Then she'd be annoying about it, but if she noticed it later she might even be more annoying about it. "See I can even do it like this." Missy leaned forward, bringing her butt into view. "I think you might have to work your magic again, I'm usually not this bad." Her bent leg further accentuated her cute rear end. Leo silently lamented that she couldn't do a regular exercise instead of this. Whatever, this was all on him, he just had to ignore it.

"No, I think you're usually that bad." He made his grip more firm on her shoulder. "I'm worried if you fall you might break a few bones."

"We are very resi--!" Missy wobbled and she struggled to steady herself. "Very resilient!" She remained in the exaggerated position for a while longer before giving up and returning to a standing position. Leo rescinded his hand. "Maybe you need to work your magic a little more. Usually I'm not so wibble-wobble, you know?"

"I think you just need to practice."

"No way, check it." Missy's legs began sliding away from another and she began descending to the ground. She ended up in a split nearly effortlessly without so much as a peep or a yelp. After settling into the new position, she raised her arms with a, "Ta-da!"

"That doesn't have anything to do with balance." Though he was slightly impressed that she managed to do it so simply. She had displayed her flexibility earlier, but he had half expected her legs to have solidified into a solid mass with her sedentary lifestyle. There was a tinge of cuteness to her display as well. Her funny proportions created an amusing contrast between her shorter legs splayed out and her raised gangly arms. "Don't you have any other tricks?"

"I do!" Missy replied.

"Well?"

"I'll do them, just uh... You gotta help me up."

"Really?"

Missy looked about at the ground, as if working out how to get out of her predicament. "Yeah, really. Don't laugh."

"I would never. Honest," Leo replied, cracking a smile. "Alright." He placed his hands under her arms and hefted her up, setting her back down. Picking her up probably wasn't a bad exercise in itself.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Aren't you gonna warm me up a little more? So I can exercise for real?"

"If I do more I might hurt you."

“Hurt me? You already forgot how resilient we are?”

“Even if you’re supposedly resilient, I feel like I’m gonna snap you. Like a twig.”

“You sound like a pro wrestler, you know that?” Missy replied. “I guess not all pencil people are so fragile.”

“Then I definitely shouldn’t touch you. Those guys are built like trucks.”

“And you’re built like a, uh… Jeep!”

“Not sure how I should take that. Just try out exercising for a bit. If it hurts, we’ll stop. Why not try a lunge?”

Missy raised her hands and lowered herself. “Oh, I’m good at lunging. Just watch.”

“Not like that. You know, one of these.” Quickly he fell into the position and did a lunge.

“Pfft, are you serious? Is that really what they call a lunge? You look like you’re proposing.”

“I’m definitely not doing that,” Leo replied. Her whole hand would be immobilized he she wore a slightly heavy ring.

“OK, OK, I’ll do a proposal too.”

“Just easy with the legs. You have different proportions, remember?”

“Different,” she bent down and performed a lunge, “and better.” On her way back up she wobbled and had to balance on Leo.

“Easy, easy, nails, nails, nails.”

“Sorry!” Missy shifted her hands from his vulnerable arms to his shoulders. No blood on him, thank heavens. “This exercise stuff is harder than it looks.”

“I can tell.” He rubbed an arm. She was supposed to be the one feeling the burn, not him. “You don’t have to balance on me forever, you know.”

“Oh, right.” Her hands pulled away. “Maybe I should do pushups instead? Huh? Huh?”

“One, I don’t think you can do a pushup, and two, with your arms, they’d be so much harder.”

“How hard can it really be? I can do one at least. Just one. Watch me.”

“Missy.” Too late, she was already on the ground getting into position. With the way she was on the floor, her pointed elbows made her almost seem like a large bug from his angle. He thanked the disgusting image for tossing out the other thoughts. He crouched down next to her as she pointed her face forward with determination. “You’re really going to try it, aren’t you?”

“The gauntlet has been thrown, pencil man. Just you watch.” Her snout erupted into that toothy smile. Yeah, she was going to try it. Missy huffed and began pushing herself up. In unease, Leo’s hands hovered below her chest and behind her back, ready to catch her at a moment’s notice.

“Just be careful.”

Missy huffed again, arms wobbling. She was making better progress than he thought, but it remained incredibly slow. Surprisingly the rest of her body remained in a relatively proper pose.

“You can stop now if you want,” Leo said. “Really.”

“Mmm-mmm!” Missy shook her head and continued. Another huff. She went up, and up, and up.

“You’re already at a regular height. Good work, really.”

“Pencil…! Man…!” Missy continued her challenge. There was no stopping her now. Leo’s brow furrowed and he moved his hands a bit closer. Another few seconds and she was completely up, creating an incredibly awkward posture with her shorter legs. “Done!”

“You know you have to lower back down, right? That would be one.”

Missy shot him a death stare. Fair enough.

“I’ll help you down, just ease into it, OK?” His hand settled on his back while the other braced against her soft stomach. Missy obliged his command, easing herself downward with his assistance. Mostly his assistance, actually, but it was impressive nonetheless what she was able to achieve. Most of her upper body strength most likely came from her uncanny ability to scale anything.

The monstress eventually made it back to solid ground, huffing heavily. “OK, no, don’t put your face on the floor. C’mon,” Leo said, rolling his eyes. His hand shifted from back to holding up her jaw. “I told you, you didn’t have to go the whole way.“

“But, I did it!” She gasped. “And I never wanna do it again.”

“Getting up soon?”

Gasp. “No.” Missy shut her eyes and let out a long sigh. In this position he could only think of holding up some sort of prize hunt. Not the sort of prey he’d go after, though.

“No more pushing stuff. I think we’re going to stick to stretches and general movement, alright?”

“Yeah.” Huff. “Sure. I gotcha.” She let out a low noise that Leo could only really feel through his hand and shifted her head in his palm. “Can we have sandwiches after this?”

“I don’t see why not, but you’re just going to put on all you just burned, you know that, right?”

“Look, I could… Eat a whole bowl of… Something right now. A lot. I don’t really care.”

“As per usual. You ready to get up yet?”

Missy let out that rumble again. “In a bit. Don’t rush perfection.”

“You resting on the floor is perfection?” Leo asked.

“No, I’m perfection.”

“Oh, right. Pardon me.” Leo shook his head. “You really did good, though. Nice work.” He was about to say, ‘I’m proud of you’ but that sounded far too weird. As if he were some sort of father figure. What did friends say to each other for stuff like that. ‘Amazing job, man?’ Missy probably had her own slang for it.

“Thanks. Reward me with a cookie.”

“Now you’re definitely throwing away hard work.”

“Work shmurk. I’d strangle someone for a cookie right now.”

“Not getting one of out of me if you do that.”

“OK, fine, I’d beg instead.”

Leo had no doubts about that.