Petal:
"Yes, please. If that's alright?" Petal would stand up from the table, holding the blanket Poly had provided close to her body for warmth. She'd start to head for the upstairs, peeking back at Connie behind her. "Would you mind following me? I know someplace we can talk alone for a little while." And she'd continue up the stairs before waiting for an answer, Connie's complicit nature told Petal that the girl would probably be already up and following even before she'd been asked to do so.

Connie:
Petal's clever assertation of Connie's nature proved to be correct, as always. The lil 'Chee-dummy was following right behind her, a smile on her face and absolutely no thoughts in her head besides: "Follow Petal!"

She was slightly curious as to what Petal wanted to say to her, but she was happy to wait and find out! Whatever it was, it was probably good - Petal and Connie were best friends after all, and Connie knew Petal would never do something horrible to her.

Mhm. Nothing at all!

Petal:
Petal seemed somewhat somber, which could have perhaps evaded the Chee if her previous dispositions were any indication. Petal led the girl up to the second floor and down the hall, passing the inn's 3 bedrooms and washroom until they faced a solid wall. Petal looked up at the ceiling - a long string dangled just above the Chee's head that connected to a section of ceiling that looked almost carved in. The wolf took a step back, then leapt up to the string, her childish stature just barely able to grab on the string and pull it. And down came the hidden staircase that led up to the inn's attic.

Inside, it seemed to be used as somewhat of a storage room - boxes with non-perishables like food seasoning, glass mugs (Who knew how many of these would be broken on a daily basis as the inn's patrons grew rowdy between adventures?), bedding and washroom supplies, etc. Most food and drink stocks would likely have been kept down in the kitchen, but this seemed to effectively keep the dry goods and other supplies out of the way of the chef's space.

Petal continued on, passing shelves with boxes until she approached a window which looked out onto the 2nd floor roof. The girl finagled with the lock a little too efficiently - she had certainly come here before. And before they knew it, the inn's stuffy attic was flooded with the cooler air from outside as it rushed in.

Making sure she hadn't lost Connie yet - anybody else might have grown suspect of where, exactly Petal was leading them - Petal then crawled belly-down through the window, Poly's blanket not quite covering her down-below as Connie might have gotten a very clear glimpse of the cub's nether regions from behind as she made her way outside onto the roof. "Here, do you need help getting out?"

Connie:
Connie very much indeed was not exactly tuned-in to Petal's proper mood. Connie lives in a world of sunshine and rainbows - mostly. She doesn't bring any questions up to Petal as to where they're specifically going, however she clasps her paws together and emits a: "Woo! Well done Petal~!" as she leaps up to grasp the string, following by a: "Woooaahh..." as the hidden staircase is... revealed~!

Connie looks around a little bit as she continues to follow, but keeps most of her attention on Petal. After all, she's the most important person here! More important than Connie herself, even - if some horrible fat-cocked lustful rapist were to jump out at them, Connie would instantly sacrifice herself to let Petal get away! She's just heroic, like that~... or just, cock-addicted. That too.

No suspicion - no doubt. Just a happy lil' too-innocent 'Chee following behind. Connie very much got a biiiig eyeful of Petal-parts, but instead of being bashful, ashamed, embarrassed, or even playful - Connie treated the exposure as... something natural. Which it was after  all... right? Nakedness is just a thing that happens, nothing special about it...~

"I don't think so! Let me try-"

And she does, indeed, try. She wriggles through the window in the same way Petal did - and, actually, somehow, successfully makes it through...~! Aaaanndd then she plomps face-down on the roof outside. Oops. But she's through!

"Wow Petal, you're just... so cool~! This is amazing! It reminds me of a videogame where you can run around on rooftops and such... you're so amazing, thank you so so so much for being my bestest friend! I wouldn't want anybody else..."

Fuck why is she so endearing?!

Petal:
The Chee couldn't have known how much her words bit into Petal's psyche. 'If I'm your friend then why didn't you help me escape?', she thought to herself. 'No.. let's give her a chance first. I have to make her realize this is real.'

Petal would continue on to where the roof was the most flat, then unfurled the blanket - uncaring that she was, once again, fully exposed - and laid it out flat for the two to sit on. She would beckon Connie to sit, placing her behind on the side furthest from the roof's edge, leaving the space beside her for Connie.

"Have you ever been stargazing before? I used to love to come out here and just watch.. even though it's a game, the VR fidelity they put into the night sky is just.. breathtaking. Look -" *she'd point at nothing in particular, seeming to just gesture upwards at the scene as a whole.

Flowerfall:
Of course there were cameras watching. But, none of them revealed themselves, and even if they had, none had come in very close. The most mean-spirited, most perverse viewers were far too occupied with the antics of the other cubs below to have noticed Petal and Connie sneak away; they weren't about to be magically notified of such things.

Instead the ones that had followed the two girls up to the roof almost seemed to have formed a little pact not to tell anyone; they'd actually managed to realize they were witnessing something a bit special and were all more than happy to remain at a comfortable, and at least less intrusive viewing distance. And certainly not to spoil it by showing themselves any.

Connie:
The Chee herself also held absolutely no qualms about Petals nudity - in fact, the Chee was technically MORE lewd, wearing her ultra micro bikini that had been gifted to her. Standing by naked Petal just further accentuated how... lustful she looked. And the poor thing doesnt even know~

Connie plants her plump butt where indicated, keeping her eyes peeled on Petal - eyes full of happiness, wonderment, curiosity..  and just joy. She was spending time with her friend! This was awesome!

"Ooh, stars-" She murmured gently, not wanting to interrupt Petal as she spoke. Connie's head swiveled upwards as Petal pointed - her pupils dilating slightly as she took in the beautiful view.

"Its so pretty.. like you, Petal! You're one of the most special stars... both on this world, and in the universe itself!"

She giggles very gently, for no particular reason. She's just happy. Happy to be with Petal!

Petal:
Petal would sit quietly for, perhaps, an uncomfortable amount of time to anybody besides Connie. She couldn't quite find the words she wanted to say. What she had before seen as a blessing to numb the pain this experience would otherwise have on the girl, had now come to possibly ruin the group's last chance at escape, further endangering all of them. Petal wanted the girl to understand the very real threat they all faced, even if it hurt Connie as she came to such a realization.

"Connie.." Petal would start, her throat tight as she spoke. "Tell me what this game is to you. Say I'm a new player who's just joined, what would you say this game is about? Not Chains of Serenity, but this. This new.. update that began when you and I met. What is going on, in your opinion?"

There. Let's establish a baseline, so Petal would at least know where to begin.

Connie:
Connie was more than happy to stargaze, her mind an enigma... to everybody, including herself. Whatever went on in there was contained in there, though. Although, Connie's paw was slowly inching forward - getting closer to Petals. Any of those watching cameras must surely see what was about to happen - the lewdest act of all..

Gasp-

PAWHOLDING!

However, the momentum was stunted as Petal suddenly adressed her, and Connie moved her attention away from the stars and back to Petal. This also caused her to move around a little, and her paw returned closer to her own body. Her head tilted a little and an ear  flickered - and Connie... thought.

"Uhm... hmmm.... that's a really good question Petal~!" She giggles again, but does seem to take the question seriously.

"Soo.. you're a new player... erm... okay, so... I guess I'd start by saying this is like, a collaborative event or challenge thing? Or, actually - a contest! There's a prize at the end, and we can work together to get it! I'd say it's important to make new friends here too, because they're most likely just the most lovely people you'll ever meet... like you, Petal~!"

Okay... simple enough, and she's still enraptured by Petal... which is cute.

"I would also probably repeat what *Minerva said, if you hadn't heard or had forgotten - we're like, testing this new gamemode or challenge or contest. I can't really speak toooo much about this part, because I haven't played Chains of Serenity properly... I only got a little taste when the guys in the van put the headset on me, and then I got invited to this beta!"

"Uhm.. I think that's all, really. So this is like, a beta contest! That works, right?"

Petal:
"And... What happens to those who don't win the contest, Connie? Say we're all working to win, but what happens to the losers?"

Connie:
Connie seems a little confused as to why Petal is even asking this... isn't it obvious?

"Well, then they... lose? If you don't win, you lose. Sorry, I don't wanna sound condescending at all-"

She pauses for a moment, trying to rethink on how to speak without sounding like she's making fun of Petal... but, unfortunately, can't figure it out.

"So, uh, yeah. They lose."

Petal:
"And so, they just go back to the normal game? Like they just lose access to this update? Or does something else happen to them?"

Petal wanted to know for sure that Connie truly believed nothing happens to the players who would perish in this challenge. That was already her belief, but she wanted Connie to spell it out for her.

Connie:
"Well, I guess they either return to the actual game, or their headset is taken off. I've never played a test  for Chains of Serenity before... so, I can't really answer that properly, I'm sorry Petal.."

Aw, she really sounds upset that she doesn't know enough to properly satisfy Petal's question! Poor lil 'Chee! It's okay~! Petal already knows the answer... not that Connie knows that…

Petal:
"Connie.... I want you to think back to that campfire story. The first one, after the maze. They -" she bit her tongue, finding it harder than anticipated to put what she knew into words. "They killed that poor girl, Connie.. We all saw it. We even saw her real body suffer and die. It was all there, all on screen and every one of us saw it happen.." her fists clenched up into tight balls.
"They're killing us, Connie.... don't you realize that?" Of course she didn't, but Petal desperately wished that she would. 

Connie:
Connie nod-nods as her mind casts back... mentally doing a little cartoon swirl as she accesses her memories... ooh yeah, the cute looking girl she hadn't been able to talk to! Uhm... Cinnamon! Yeah! That's it! And she-...

"Oh the one that the uhh.. hyena men took a liking too? Gnolls I think? I'm still learning all the races in here... yeah I remember her! She was crying and screaming a lot for some reason, I guess their animation or movie team don't actually know what it's like to play with boys. I've done that plenty of times and I never cry or scream!"

Well, that's certainly a fun fact for the viewers at home.

"But yeah, I saw the same movie too, don't worry! It was kinda gruesome how they cut off her head at the end... I wasn't really prepared for that, but I guess players who play this game a lot might be. I kinda hope we don't get more cutscenes like that, but... well, I'll just have to close my eyes if I think something like that will happen again."

Cutscene. She called it a cutscene.

Well... she was kinda right, wasn't she? It was all in-game and stuff... does that count? But then there was the real life part-

Connie giggles for a moment at Petal.

"Peeetaaallll! Do you really think that was Cinnamons real body? You silly goose!"

Connie giggles again - not out of malice, but genuine humour!

"They're not killing us Petal, why would we be testing a new gamemode only to die? How could we even die? That's so silly~"

Oh Connie...

Petal:
Idiot. The only word in Petal's mind as her emotions overcame her. Before either girl even had time to process it - SLAP - the wolf's paw came hard across Connie's face, and Petal growled.

"There's warnings ALL OVER the game's equipment boxes, AND on the main menu! The equipment locks into your neural interface. It taps into your body, Connie! They warn us all over the damn place to only use the equipment properly - it has to be because they know it has the potential to harm us!”
By now, she was standing upright, screaming at the girl. "Who's to say they couldn't rig the game to execute a kill command on your body if you die in the game?! That's why they showed us two Cinnamons during that oh-so creative 'Cutscene' as you call it - we saw her in-game character and her body in real life! The equipment killed her, damn it!"
Connie:
SLAP.

It echoes through the air.

Connie had no time to predict it, no time to move or anything - she couldn't possibly have thought that would happen to her.

It's like her whole world just stopped. Her ears ring. Her body goes cold. She feels heavy. Her face begins to sting, growing more and more and more...

"I-.."

Her mouth opens but no proper words come out, just a noise.

Connie's eyes begin to grow damp, and tears start trailing down her face as her own paw comes up and gently touches at the impact zone..

"P-.. Pe-..."

A loud sob erupts from her mouth as she clasps both paws onto her face, tears streaming out and drooling off of her paws, splattering onto the roof below. She falls to her side, curling up in a ball as she cries. Soft wails leak around her paws, mixing with the sobs...

"P-pet... W-w.. whh... hh-yyyy..?"

A long strangled cry erupts from her as fresh sobs wrack her body. She's struggling to breathe right now, her whole mind crushed under the sadness of what just occured. Her BEST friend, Petal. Petal... who SLAPPED her?! W-why...? Why would she do that...?

"I-it-... it's... snno-.. n-... oooottt... noot... rrr-r-r..eaaa..lll! It-.. I-..t-t... aa-a-a.. gga-m..e!"

Well, hopefully that's understood - getting words out apparently is very, very hard right now...

"W-w..weee... d-d-do..oon-.. nn-t... d-dd-ddiiiieee...."

Petal:
"Damn it, Connie! That's what I'm trying to make you understand. That pain you feel? It's real! You feel it RIGHT NOW! The same way Cinnamon felt those gnolls torture and kill her. It goes through the game and back into your real body! I'm trying to make you understand that! In fact, that's what *Minerva told us right after we saw it - that each of us would die except the winner!!!"

By now, she was fuming. Her voice had undoubtedly grown loud - if not for the fact there were multiple walls and floors between them and most of the other cubs, they may have even overheard her screams. Her voice even echoed and bounced off walls of the otherwise empty city, lingering and haunting in the air as Connie lie weeping.

"And you know what? Cyber? Dead. He's probably dead right now, and we're going to see exactly HOW he died tomorrow when *Minerva comes back to announce the NEXT victim. How many more, Connie? How many more deaths do you need to watch before you believe it?!"
 
Connie:
Connie continues to cry through Petal's verbal onslaught, curling herself into a tighter ball, trying to protect herself from her anger - and remains that way for a minute after Petal finishes, her tears becoming exhausted. Her fur is matted and clumped with damp, her eyes all red... she still struggles to speak, although it's slightly more clear...

"But... Cinnamon didn't feel any of that, because... that wasn't real. It was a cutscene to scare us! And the equipment wouldn't have the capacity of dealing any damage to us... that doesn't make any sense. I only had the headset put on me, so I don't know anything about any warnings... but... just-.. think about it! Why would that even be a thing...? It wouldn't be able to be sold!"

She cries a little more, trying to gather enough strength to speak...

"And... Cyber is fine, he's not dead, I know he's not! We're gonna hang out when the game finishes... what would be the point of running a beta test, just to kill your playtesters? It doesn't make any sense, Petal... please... please stop shouting. We can't even  die.. because... Pity tried."

A fresh load of sobs erupt from her as the horrible memory resurfaces...

"Pity tried... Pity tried... I don't know why, but she tried! Of course nothing happened... because we can't. die! This is a video game!!"

Petal:
Petal stopped in her tracks at the mention of Pity's name. Then she scowled, the fury in her face growing more as Pity was one of the cubs Petal had wanted to save from such a fate the most. "Pity didn't die because it wasn't the right time! Whoever's doing this to us wants us picked off one-at-a-time, by some 'lucky baddie' who gets to do whatever they want! Pity was going to deny somebody their chance to do that to her.. so they brought her back!! UGH"

She was losing it now, and she took advantage of the girl's curled posture by bending over and shoving her towards the roof's edge, only a few inches away from falling. Petal got on her knees to hold the girl in place. "*Minerva said that the gnolls are infesting this city. What do you think would happen if I threw you out there, huh?! Pity couldn't kill herself but the gnolls killed Cinnamon. Is that what you want, Connie?!"

She shook Connie once as she said her name; Clearly this went beyond just her frustration towards one Cheetah girl and moreso was all her stress and fear and anxiety bubbling over as she lie helplessly.

"We had a chance! We had one chance to break ourselves out of this shitty simulation! Daniel's idea - it almost worked! It would have worked if YOU were there! We just needed one more! Now everyone's going to die and it's all your fault!!!" her screams started to devolve into frightened sobs as the reality of their helpless situation once again weighed down on the child.

"It's all your fault.... sniffle it's-- it's your..." she quickly joined the girl in speechless sobs as her tears ran heavily down her face. 

Connie:
Connie let out a squeal of fright as Petal shoved her like that!! It was sudden, a little painful - and terrifying. Poor Connie's heart was utterly crushed like broken glass - ground into billions of tiny particles. Her beautiful, lovely friend Petal... she... oh goodness, poor Connie couldn't even properly conceptualize the hurt she felt. She just knew that it hurt so very much.

All she could do was blubber as Petal shouted at her and shook her - she tried weakly to push Petal away, but there wasn't even enough force behind it to move a cup. Even in her terrified upset state, Connie didn't want to hurt Petal - she was delicate, way too much so to be honest... Connie, it'd be a really good idea to stand up for yourself now! C'mon girl! You can do it... actually, no, sorry. You can't. Oops.

"It-..."

"It wasn't my fault..."

"Daniel wanted to break the game, you all believed him because he's a stupid little boy."

"You all left me, because you hate me. You hate me..."

Connie uncurls a little as Petal sobs, rapidly trying to scramble away - shaking in fear any time she glances at Petal. She's terrified. She's terrified of Petal.

Connie safely makes it away from the edge of the roof - her whole body shaking. She's not a fighter, nor a flighter - she's just one that sits there and takes it. She doesn't have the energy or strength to run away, or try and attack Petal like she attacked her... but at least she can get a few words out...

"Why are you such a cruel person?"

Petal:
Petal remained flat on her knees, both hands now grasping at her head as she broke down, childish sobs as she cried out. "We were so close.... I don't want to die!!" thump as her fist pounded down onto the roof. thump thump. "It isn't FAIR!!" she wailed, absolutely pounding into the shingles, pain shooting up through her arm as a result. She might have even jumped off the roof herself if it wasn't for Pity's previous attempt - she knew that she was powerless even to take her own life.

She looked over at Connie with saddened eyes, seeing what her actions had done to the poor Cheetah - and she hated it. What was this game turning her into? "Con...sniff Connie I-..."

The cries started up again - she couldn't deal with herself anymore but there wasn't a single thing she could do about it. Those words hurt worse than her now-injured paw. "We didn't leave you, Connie... we were stuck out there as punishment... you could have helped us.. you should have...." the girl shook violently, her emotions on full display as her body wept.
She slowly crawled towards the edge of the roof and looked down, contemplating. Did she deserve to throw herself to the gnolls over what she was becoming? The longer she went on in this game, the worse she was becoming. Would it be better for everyone else if she just accepted her fate and got it over with? She was, after all, such a cruel person.

Connie:
Connie flinches away from Petal as she begins to beat the roof, terrified of what she might aim at if she dared to approach... and, the dust that is her heart broke once more. Even though Petal hates her... she simply cannot hate Petal. Its not in her nature. She's scared of her... but..

Petal is still a friend.

"You're..  not gonna... die. Nobody would wanna hurt you..."

And she really does believe that. Anybody can hear it in her voice. And maybe, just maybe she's right. She at least thinks so.

As Petal tries to talk to her again, saying about what they tried... for the first time, a tiny modicum of frustration enters her voice. Its fleeting, barely even there...

"None of you should have tried to break the game. It's not right. Of course it wouldn't have worked, even if I followed that stupid boy you all wanted to trust instead."

... is there maybe a bit of resentment there? Everyone just rallied around that little boy who thought he knew better?

"Why would you try and hurt *Minerva by breaking her game? All shes done is been there for us, cared for us, tried to comfort us. I trust her more than anybody right now.. at least she won't hurt me.."

She pauses for a moment and some of the heaviest, most upsetting grief now is drooling off of her words.

"And what... what if you all... had been kicked out of the game? Because you broke it? You would have all abandoned me and.. I wouldn't have anyone..."

"... and I wouldn't have you by my side anymore."

Petal:
"We were trying to save you, too!!"

She was distraught, her words now louder than when she had been screaming. But she wasn't screaming; she was in pain. And now, the frustration - at least some of it - made sense. To her, anyway - who knew whether Connie would (or could) make the connection.  But now Petal understood that her frustration was not only because Connie had possibly condemned her to her fate, nor the others, but also Connie herself.

"*Minerva is one of them, Connie! She's on their side. She's organizing this whole thing for them. And - and what if they take you next? None of us are safe... All of us got together and... and we were punished and... and without food for days and it was all to save you and you didn't even help us... I'm scared, Connie. I'm so scared, I don't want to lose anybody else... none of us deserve it, especially not you..."

The ledge grew ever more tempting. She stood up on weak, shaky knees and tiptoed to the very edge, her exposed body illuminated in moonlight as she looked up to the night sky once again. "I don't want to see anybody else die, Connie.... I'm sorry for being so cruel to you.. It won't happen again.. I'll make sure of it.."

Connie:
Connie cradled her head in her body as Petal's voice rose so loudly, her ears flattening to try and protect themselves. She just wanted to shut down, to close her eyes and wake up somewhere else. Kinda like how she'd gone from the real-world in the back of the van, to this wonderful new virtual world with all her new friends...

Something... changed.

It was Petal. The way she was speaking, it... it felt weird. It made her eyelids open, and her head raise up ever so slightly - looking at her. At Petal. Connie's eyes were all watery, but she could still see her - bathed in that luminous light, like... like... an angel. Petal really looked like an angel here, but...

"Petal...?"

This is taking a LOT of courage. It's drowning her inside, threatening to break everything inside of her body - stifling, captivating, crushing... the fright is unending, but she persists.

"Could.. I.. h-have... a h-h... hug...?"

One request.
Something that may prevent, or accelerate, a disaster.

Everyone at home, watching through their cameras, are on the edges of their seats.

Petal:
Petal slowly turned her head to face Connie, tears streaming down her cheeks. She stared at the chee, trying to make sense of what she'd just said. Petal was horrible, felt horrible. Why would Connie want to hug her? She couldn't formulate a response, but Connie had her attention for the moment.

Connie:
Petal's attention gave Connie a lil' boost inside her - a boost of... confidence? Bravery? It's hard to tell, and she certainly can't figure out what she's feeling in there. But it is there. And it matters. She gently gets to her feet, looking like an absolute wreck. But she does it. She does it for Petal. With a big sniff, she opens up her arms, ready for her.

"P-puh..please... I  j-just want my b-bb-bbest f-riend.."

Petal:
The situation tore her stomach into knots.. she didn't want to continue, nor did she want to be alone; She didn't want to lose anybody, but she also didn't want any ties that she knew would hurt in the long run. She was helpless - suffocating, even. But in that moment, something about Connie beckoned her.

Her knees buckled, and she practically collapsed into Connie's arms - a familiar scene for the pair - sobbing pathetically into the cheetah's chest. "I'm so sorry.. I'm sorry I'm so awful. Please, just throw me to the gnolls. It's what I deserve.." she could barely breathe in between each sentence as she whimpered and wailed. "Punish me, Connie, please. You deserve it. It should be you.." 

Connie:
Connie sobs slightly as Petal collapses into her grasp - but she holds on tight, gently swaying back and forth as she cradles her friend, squeeeezing her and just... not wanting to let go, ever. Never ever ever. Never again, ever. She's not letting go. Connie squeezes her a lil' extra - nope, she's staying in her arms. Connie buries her muzzle into Petals neck, unable to stop squeezing her and cuddling her.

"No... I'd never, ever hurt you. I promise."

Petal:
She couldn't even respond. She hated herself, she hated Connie's forgiveness, she wanted nothing more than to just disappear altogether. By now Connie would be the only reason she's upright, her legs all but giving out underneath her as she sobbed. She couldn't do or say anything else except for a weak "I'm sorry.." after another moment or two of crying from the pair.

Connie:
Connie kept a safe, loving, warm hold of her. She still felt sad of course, and some tears still dripped from her eyes... but she was no longer sobbing, no longer wailing. Maybe things will be okay. As long as she has Petal, she'll be okay. She loves her. In fact...

"I love you Petal, you mean the world to me..."

She squeezies her as she says that, paws gently stroking her back~

Eventually, the two girls retreat back into the attic, paw-in-paw. They lay out the blanket that was brought and decide to rest for a little bit before rejoining the main group. It's hard to keep them apart, even for a moment, and Connie most certainly does not want to let go of Petal. Eventually, the pair start to settle down - before Connie gently pulls her closer, and the two cubs' lips touch. At that, Connie presses forward in the moment - and fully, properly, kisses Petal. Petal doesn't back away, and simply allows it to happen - too scared to kiss her back, but still enjoying the kiss either way.

Eventually the pair fall asleep in each others arms~