It was a beautiful, cool night out, so Ri, Two, and Red decided to spend it visiting Pallet Town. It was rather late in the fall, too, so that meant that the sun was going down sooner, and they could enjoy it longer. They’d had an early dinner at a restaurant they liked (ordering pokemon food since they didn’t want to chance anything on the human food), and managed to get out just as the sun was setting. Pallet Town wasn’t like Vermillion City; things closed early, so they were happy to be able to get out soon enough to do something and have it already be dark.

After eating, they decided to roam the town, and looked around for anything that they had missed exploring it other times. They were doing this partly because they had visited once with a Mewtwo from another world and realized that they had missed a lot more than they’d originally thought. They also liked this place because the humans here had learned to accept them being around first. It made them feel more comfortable here than they did other places.

Ri enjoyed walking with Two; they explored Viridian Forest sometimes when they wanted to get away from people and technology, but they were feeling pretty good, so they wanted to do something fun together this time. Ri was excited, because they rarely went out like this, but also kind of scared for the same reason.

It’s great to be out with you like this, he said, to Two. 

Yeah, Two agreed.

“It’s a pity everything closes so early,” Red said. “It would be great to do stuff really late.”

Ri thought so too, but part of the nice thing about it being really late was that there generally weren’t too many other people around doing stuff, too. When it was really late, they could be alone to enjoy each other. If stores and places stayed open late, Ri figured it would kill the point of being out late. He understood that Red was nocturnal, too, so it made sense that he’d appreciate things being open later.

Unfortunately, others aren’t so nocturnal as you are, Two said.

It would be nice to be out late, though, Ri said. 

“I’m sure there’s enough nighttime sleepers like you who enjoy the dark,” Red said.

In the cities, there are, Ri said. Out here… not really. At least, the day larks who run the shops and things don’t think people exist who would want to come out really late like that.

Ri made Two smile, at least, but Red was just kind of irritated. It irritated them, too, but they related more than Red did.

Walking down one street, Red stopped suddenly under one sign, causing Ri and Two to stop ahead of him and turn around to see what he was doing.

“Bowling?” Red asked, looking up at the sign he’d stopped under. Ri knew what it was instantly; he was surprised Red didn’t know.

You don’t know what bowling is? he asked.

“No,” Red said. “When I was younger, there was never anything like this.”

They had to remember, Red was old. He had been 28 or so when they turned him into a Zoroark, and that had been 12 years ago. He was 40 now.

We forget, you’re pretty old, Ri said.

“... I don’t feel old,” Red said. “I’ve only been a Zoroark for 12 years.”

We don’t know how your biological clock changed when you transformed, Two said. It could’ve reset, or you could be 40 Zoroark years.

“... How old do pokemon live compared to humans?” Red asked, unsettled by this idea.

Most pokemon, especially anthropomorphic ones like us, live human-like spans, Two said. You’ll live comparable to a human; you might even beat most of them out.

“That’s a relief, but I’d thought that I was younger as a Zoroark.”

You could make the case, Ri said. You had to learn a lot about being a pokemon, and pokemon still age differently than humans. 

“Alright. I thought I was starting to go crazy.”

But – Two said. Bowling?

“It wasn’t around when I was human.”

It probably just hadn’t come out to a place like this, Two said. The town has been growing and becoming more urban.

Ri remembered how Two was around, too, before Ri came. Neither of them knew how old they were. Ri had arrived at his old world as a young Riolu, he knew, but he didn’t know how old he was, and he didn’t know the day anymore. Two had existed for 5 years when he met and mated Ri, but he didn’t know how much they had accelerated his growth in the tube before he broke out. They didn’t want to celebrate that day, anyway, as his birthday. Instead, the date that mattered to them was the day they mated, so that was the day they celebrated and referred to. They had been mated 20 years already, but they figured that they were each somewhere between 21 and 25. Given that Two was ‘born’ fully functioning, ignoring his accelerated growth, that was 25 (at most) years of being able to watch Pallet Town grow. 

We’re pretty old too, Ri said, thinking through it all.

I hope not, Two said. I’d like to spend a long time with you.

Me too.

They didn’t really like thinking about their age, partly because they didn’t know for sure how old they were, but mostly because they didn’t know how old they’d get to be. There weren’t other Mewtwo to be old to let them know. 

“Can we try it?” Red asked.

Sure, Ri said, glancing at Two. But you don’t really know what it is, yet.

“... It looks fun!”

Ri wondered how old Red really was, if he was acting like that. Maybe it was unfair to call him middle-aged; he really didn’t act like a middle-aged human, and he did have only 12 years in that Zoroark body. Pokemon aged differently than humans, and evolution made things difficult by tending to rejuvenate a pokemon, so there was no clear way to relate Red’s actual age to his body’s age, at least without doing careful, scientific study.

Red went into the bowling alley, and Ri and Two followed in after him, interested and somewhat amused. Bowling sounded good, they thought; it was something they had never tried before, and it was a fairly laid-back sport. It was more social than competitive, and that really worked for them at the moment.

“Pokemon aren’t –”

One of the workers started rushing out at them to scare them away, seeing Red walk in first, but when he noticed Ri and Two, too, and no human, it left them rather confused until they recognized who Ri and Two were.

“We… don’t usually let pokemon play,” they said, rather awkwardly.

Red went out anyway, just to watch what everyone else was doing, leaving them to deal with it.

We have powers; we can hold the ball pretty well, Ri said.

“What about him?” the worker asked, nodding to Red exploring the place rather preemptively.

One thing they noticed, the people of Pallet Town had learned to use the right pronouns when referring to them. The worker even extended it to Red. They appreciated it; everywhere else, it was always “it.”

He might be able to hold a ball? Ri asked, kind of asking Two what he thought.

“Can’t you at least get him back here to try it out?”

Red? Can you come back here? They want you to prove you can hold the ball, Ri called out.

“It looks like a lot of fun!” he said, coming back to them.

We wouldn’t know, but we’re excited to find out, Ri said.

The worker turned around to find a ball which would be suitable for them. He ended up turning back around; Ri guessed he had a little difficulty.

“Can you show me your–” he asked Red. Red held up his paw. It actually looked a lot like a hand; more so than Ri’s or Two’s paws did. The opposable thumb-claw helped, and Ri figured it would let him hold the ball naturally. The human picked up a ball he thought they might be able to use, then handed it to Red.

“I don’t know how strong you are; this is a 10 pound ball. Pretty standard weight.”

Red hefted it. He didn’t seem to have too much of a problem with it.

“Try putting your… fingers? in it,” the worker said. Red looked for the holes, and he put his fingers in. He managed to hold it properly, but Ri had to admit he looked a little funny with his entire paw inside the ball.

“It seems like it’ll work,” the worker said. “Who knows how well you’ll be able to throw it. Now, you said you had powers?” he asked, turning to Ri and Two.

Yeah, Ri said. 

“Be careful with the ball, don’t throw it too hard, or you could hurt the ball or the lane.”

We’ll try our best, Ri said. 

Then, the worker looked down at their paws. It was weird at first, until Ri realized what he was thinking about.

“Bowling shoes?” the worker asked. It was kind of strange; it seemed like it should be obvious they couldn’t wear them.

… We’ll make sure our paws are clean, Ri said, looking down at his hind paws. It wasn’t like they were usually dirty, but Ri guessed the alley needed to stay clean for others using it, so they could make sure.

“But Zoroark, your claws –”

“I barely dig into the ground,” Red said. “I was over there already, and it seems like I’d need to try hard to scratch it.”

“Alright, then. It’ll be 13,500 for this game and the ball, then 9,000 per game after. If you get food or anything, that’ll go on at the end.”

Thanks, Ri said.

“I’ll set you up on aisle 27. Go right up, and it should be ready for you.”

OK, Ri said.

Ri sighed as they went up to their aisle; dealing with humans was still rather hard for him. He’d been a little tense, even here, among people who generally treated them like humans.

That went pretty well, Two said, noticing. He didn’t question us wanting to play.

Yeah, Ri said. That was nice, he thought. He remembered going other places, and getting stopped every time they tried doing something pokemon generally didn’t do. Here, the people stopped doing that to them. That’s part of why they liked coming to Pallet Town.

Once at their aisle, they needed to figure out how to start their game. There were several seats around it, so it was fairly obvious which space was theirs. At the center of it, there was a little pad which they assumed they used to interact with the bowling computers. A screen above it would show them their scores, once they figured it out.

Two sat down at it to start figuring it out. It just looked like it was asking for names, so Two started typing things in with his mind.

Red can go first, Ri said.

Sounds good, Two said.

It made sense, since he was the most excited to try this.

You can go next, Ri said, as Two prepared to type in the second name.

Thank you, Two said, as he typed in his then Ri’s name. Their names were all short; they all fit on the screen, but Ri guessed others had to shorten their names.

“Is it time to go?” Red asked, ready to go up already.

First, Ri said, I promised we’d clean our paws off.

“Right,” Red said, remembering. Two summoned them towels, and then found some water to use with them. They wetted halves of their towels, then sat down and scrubbed at their paws. It was kind of strange, Ri thought, how pokemon always walked everywhere barefoot, but people put shoes on to go out. It didn’t hurt to walk, so Ri wondered why humans didn’t just walk barefoot.

Make sure they’re dry, Ri said, as he started patting his paws dry with the other side of his towel. The point is that the lanes need to be as clean and dry as possible.

“OK,” Red said. Once they were dry, or at least as much as they would be, they teleported the towels back, and now Red went up to try bowling out. 

“It doesn’t seem too hard,” Red said. “You just roll the ball at the things and avoid the trenches on the sides.”

Yeah, Ri said. The things are called pins, and the trenches on the side are gutters.

“Alright,” Red said, lining up for his shot. They watched as he tried standing as straight as possible; it was kind of humorous because his body just wasn’t designed for it. His legs bowed out naturally as his neutral position was crouching, but he pulled them in as straight as he could, causing him to gain quite some height as he stood straighter, too. He’d watched others just enough to get the idea of it, though, so he took the leading steps, and rolled the ball toward the pins while planting his right hind paw behind the other so he could roll it straight. It rolled fairly true, but he wasn’t lucky enough to get a strike on his first throw. He got a split across a few pins in the back, which seemed to Ri like they’d be hard to spare.

“Now what?” he asked, standing awkwardly, waiting for the ball to return.

You have another chance, Two said. The point is to knock down all 10 pins. If you don’t get it the first time, you can try again with the remaining pins.

“I see,” Red said, as the ball came through the shute and rolled back to him. He picked it up again, and tried again, this time aiming for one of the sides of the split, but he over shot and the ball quickly guttered.

“It’s hard,” Red said, realizing now that it took some skill to throw the ball accurately.

It’s not really natural for us, Ri said. That doesn’t help.

“I figure it’ll be easier for you with powers.”

We’ll see, Two said, getting up for his turn while they waited for the ball to return and for the pins to be reset. Within a minute or so, everything was ready, so Two picked up the ball, then held it with his powers, but also in his paw so he could conceivably be holding it with his paw. It was like he’d psychically attached the ball to his paw so he could go through the motions even though his paw couldn’t hold the ball like a human could. He set up for his shot, and threw the ball like Red had, but Ri had to admit he looked much more natural doing it. He didn’t get a strike either, but he didn’t get a split like Red had. The couple pins that remained in the back corner seemed much easier to hit.

He turned around; Ri sensed he was happy to share it with him.

If I wanted, Two said, I could use my powers to guide the ball exactly where I wanted.

That’d be cheating, Ri said, vaguely accusatory, but not seriously so.

I know, Two said, smiling. 

He waited for the ball again, then threw it the same way, but managed to get the spare this time.

It seems like using your powers is cheating anyway, Ri said, as he came back to sit with him. It must be easier to direct the ball when you’re already using your mind to throw it.

It probably is, Two admitted, about it being easier, not cheating. My mind can interact with the ball directly, while everyone else has to interact with it through their arms and hands.

I guess we’ll see if it’s that easy for me, Ri said.

Ri got up himself for his turn and picked up the ball, then waited for the pins to be reset. He held it in his paws; he had no idea how he was going to hold it to throw it. It was easy for Two to hold it psychically, but Ri’s aura wasn’t nearly that direct. He managed to support its weight with his aura, but while the ball seemed weightless for Two, he felt it stress on him as his aura drained to support it. He didn’t have to worry too much because he had a lot of aura, but he did need to be careful, too. He felt the burning within him which let him know he was producing aura. As long as he had that, he didn’t have to worry about using aura.

He lined up once the pins were set, and prepared himself. He wasn’t exactly sure how to ‘throw’ the ball, now that he’d attached it to his paw. It didn’t help that he had to use his aura to hold it; it was awkward and he wasn’t exactly sure how to let go. He watched the others playing; they seemed to simply roll it, but there was a form to it and he was less sure than Two and even Red that he could do it well. His paws were more directly under him, so while Two could throw more naturally, Ri imagined the person beside him bowling on her tiptoes, and that was what it was like for him, even though his body was designed for it. He sighed, and focused himself; he could battle better than any human could, so he felt a little silly worrying about this. He was here to enjoy himself; he didn’t want to worry like that.

He stepped forward like Two and Red had, and swung like they did, and made sure to move his right leg out of the way by planting his paw behind his left paw like Two and Red had, then he let go as he swung back forward. It seemed like everything happened right; it felt like he was throwing a very awkward, heavy Aura Sphere, especially with all the aura he’d poured into the ball to hold it. But he watched in horror as the ball flew, then crashed into the lane two thirds of the way down losing most of its momentum, barely rolling into the pins to knock any of them down.

Ri panicked, and looked back to Two as his ears flew back, embarrassed and guilty.

It’s OK, Two said, worrying as he sensed his mate’s state. Everyone else was watching them now, and Ri sensed the worker they’d talked to before coming up to see what happened.

“What!?” the worker asked, coming up to see what had happened. There was a dent in the lane, and he was exasperated to see it.

“When they say throw, they don’t mean it literally!”

I’m sorry, Ri said, buckling under what felt like verbal abuse. He was ashamed and embarrassed. I treated it a little too much like Aura Sphere, he said weakly, looking back and realizing.

“This is why we don’t let pokemon on the lanes,” the human said rather quietly to himself, turning around to figure out how to deal with this, but Ri could easily hear and sense it.

We’ll pay for the damage, Two said, jumping up to help Ri. Ri sensed Two thought it was rather cute, but sensing how Ri felt, it wasn’t worth being so much to Ri’s detriment. At least Two was there for it to be OK, at least Two was there to think it was cute while others were just bothered by it.

“... I’ll set you up again, on another lane,” the human said. “This time, you roll the ball. If you break that one, too, you’d better be able to pay for that one, too,” he said, frustrated but going off to deal with this issue.

Thanks, Two called out. He turned back to Ri now, and went up and hugged him. It felt nice after making such a fool of himself.

It’s OK, Two said. We can help them fix it. 

Ri spent a moment hugging Two, deciding to let it be OK that it happened, recognizing afterward that it wasn’t really as bad as it had felt that moment. The human wasn’t as upset with them as it first felt, especially as he was willing to set them up on another lane to try again, and everyone around them went back to bowling, so nobody took it further than it needed to go.

I didn’t think that would be so powerful, Ri said, even intimidated by the force of what he’d just done.

It seems that when people throw it, they let the ball do most of the heavy work. They just use enough force to make sure it falls at the right time and place.

As others went back to their own games, Ri turned his head to watch. Two seemed to be right; they were generally letting the ball roll with the force of its own weight. Ri didn’t nearly have to push it so hard.

Also, the ball is supposed to roll down the lane, not fly down it, Two said, smiling just a bit, but also concerned not to hurt Ri.

I know, Ri said; he understood Two was teasing him. Two was the only pokemon he trusted to not feel hurt by it.

He overreacted; I wish he hadn’t said that because you were clearly distraught over doing it.

Thanks, Ri said.

Also, consider: he’s not throwing us out. If he were really upset, he wouldn’t be setting us up to keep playing.

The human came back to them. “Alright, you’re set up on aisle 28 beside you. It’s your turn again, Ri, just – this time, roll the ball.”

The human just sounded rather exasperated than anything else… Ri guessed it was OK. He went back to whatever he did, leaving them to manage themselves again.

Would you like to try again? Two asked, letting him go.

I guess, Ri said, feeling the moment fade. I’ll just have to be much more careful.

Yeah, Two said.

Ri, Two, and Red switched over to aisle 28. It was on the same ball retriever as their old aisle, so they didn’t bother moving anything. Somehow, the worker had managed to copy over their scores and everything, so they didn’t need to do anything, but Ri noticed that his frame had been cleared out, so he had to do this maybe two more times before it was Red’s turn again. Ri picked up their ball, and checked it over to make sure it wasn’t hurt, and was rather surprised to see that it seemed OK. He sighed, then, and prepared to do this again, but he couldn’t trust himself as he again poured aura out to hold the ball.

… Two? Ri asked, pleading for help. Two jumped up to help him figure this out, and stood beside him on his left, facing him.

The problem, he said, calmly and kindly, but also in his ‘engineer mode,’ which Ri found cute, is that you got a little carried away thinking of Aura Sphere. I think it’s helpful, but you also have to make sure that you don’t put more aura into it than you need to to hold the ball.

I know, Ri said, But I need to pour a lot of aura into it just to hold it.

You’re thinking of it like a projectile, Two said, authoritatively since he could sense Ri. Imagine a 10 pound Aura Sphere that big?

Ri smiled; no, he couldn’t, and it was rather humorous to try.

Two did, too, thankful that Ri seemed OK.

I would’ve done the same if I thought of it as a psychic sphere, Two said. I’d thought of that first, too, but I thought that might happen.

Two always had a better understanding of his power like this than Ri did. It was always hard for Ri to get his head around using his power this way. He thought because it was much more indirect than Two’s power was.

You’re better at that than I am, Ri admitted.

… Yeah, Two said, not wanting to admit it. Ri was OK with it.

It’s… more like an aura wall. You release it, and when you do that, it dissipates, it doesn’t form a projectile.

Ri tried thinking of it a little like that. He remembered when Two had first taught him to make walls, he’d tried pouring as much of his aura into a barrier as possible, but Two could always shatter them easily. Then, Two had shown him a different way of thinking about it: he didn’t need much aura at all to build a barrier; he needed it to reinforce the barrier. It was much the same concept. Ri had poured his aura into the ball, causing it to fly like a projectile, when he only needed enough to keep it from falling until he wanted it to fall. He picked the ball up, then let it fall into his other paw to let go of the aura he’d accumulated by holding it. He tried holding it again, this time expending only enough aura to keep the ball attached to his paw so it wouldn’t fall when he swung it backward. Two nodded, then backed off to let Ri try to ‘throw’ it again. It meant a lot to Ri that Two trusted him not to do it wrong again; it helped him feel like he could do it. This time, he didn’t try to hype himself up, though, he calmed himself down, and focused to repeat the motions, but trying to be a little more aware of what he was doing with his aura. He went through them again, but this time he made sure to release the aura he was using like a wall rather than throwing it like an Aura Sphere, and the ball fell nicely onto the lane and rolled… directly into the gutter, but Ri didn’t care. He turned to Two, happy that he’d done it and thankful for Two’s help. Two smiled back at him; it felt great to do it with him.

Now, he waited as the ball returned, and Two went back to sit in the same (relative) spot he had before at lane 27. Encouraged, Ri tried it again, and managed to knock some pins down without shattering the ball or denting the lane. He went back to Two, his turn over, relieved that the embarrassment was over, but also that he could continue to enjoy this with his mate.

I’m OK, Ri said, as he was sitting with Two. That was scary, but it seems OK.

Yeah, Two said. I’m still upset with him for making it harder on you.

It’s OK for now, Ri said. He’s leaving us alone, so we don’t have to deal with it, now.

Yeah, Two said again. 

“I didn’t think it would be so hard for you,” Red said.

It wasn’t denting the lane that was the problem, Ri said, a little bothered.

“Oh… of course,” Red said, getting up for his next turn. “Sorry.”

Red tended to forget, especially as Ri and Two were doing better, that they’d had trauma. Ri could almost understand, especially since they generally did well at home (except, sometimes, for feeling depressed due to staying inside too long), but something simple like the situation before could bring it out, especially if someone was around to disrupt the coping mechanisms that they developed. Alone, it didn’t seem that that would’ve been so distressing, but in public, with others to see and workers to be upset with him, it was a little too much to handle. 

Red bowled a similar split to his first one, but this time he managed to hit one of the pins.

Two went up, and this time, he managed a strike. Ri was happy for him; it seemed like he was the best bowler among them. Ri went up next, and a little more sure, he tried to be a little more accurate, but he made sure he didn’t forget to manage his aura. He struck some pins, which felt great, but like Red, he had a split which he couldn’t hope to spare. He tried anyway, and guttered the ball, but it didn’t gutter till toward the end, and he’d hoped that he’d actually hit one of the pins up until it missed. He looked back to Two and smiled; this was fun.

About halfway into their first game, they were tempted to try the food that they saw others eating, even so soon after dinner. There was a bar Ri and Two went up to during Red’s turn, and they realized that they even sold alcohol. Ri was vaguely interested, but he knew he was immune to it because of his steel typing, and he knew that Two wasn’t interested at all in drinking. They thought Red might be interested in trying it, though, so Ri called out while Two went back to take his turn bowling.

They sell alcohol, Ri said, as Red came up after his turn.

“Would they sell it to us?” Red asked.

I don’t know, Ri said. Two’s not interested, and there isn’t really any reason for me to be interested in alcohol, but we thought you might be interested in trying it.

“... How does it affect pokemon?”

… We don’t know, Ri said, trying to think of a time they saw other pokemon drinking.

Consider how other foods can make you sick, Two said. Generally, we aren’t quite as able to handle foods as humans are.

“... Would it be alright to try?”

Two and I never tried it because we aren’t interested, but we’ve never been against it. We don’t really mind what you do, as long as you can be responsible for yourself.
“Maybe I’ll see if I can convince them to give me something.”

If you do… if it’s alright I might try a sip.

“Not interested?” Red said, trying to tease him.

I’m interested as far as what it’s like experiencing it as a steel type, Ri said, taking it rather neutrally.

Ri took a moment to look at the menu so Two could know what he wanted as he went down and took his turn. He passed by Two as Two came up to order for himself. He sensed Two knew what he wanted, so he just smiled as he walked by Two and took his turn at bowling. At this point, Ri was starting to feel more consistent in being able to control his aura, so he’d spent a little more time trying to be more consistent in how he threw the ball otherwise, and it meant that he could avoid getting gutterballs, and even spare sometimes. Two and Red were back by the time he finished his turn, so they’d managed to keep the game completely uninterrupted.

Was it your idea to suggest to Red he get some alcohol? Two asked, as Ri sat by him. He seemed rather amused by it. You should’ve seen him trying to convince the bartender to give him something. Red’s not too happy, but I managed to convince her that we can be responsible for him.

That sounded like fun; Ri wished he hadn’t missed it.

Well… Ri said. We’re doing such a novel thing, it seemed like a good idea to try some other things, too.

I sense you plan on trying it too, Two said, teasing him. If you’d just gone up, they wouldn’t’ve questioned you.

Yeah, but what if they saw Red drinking it instead? Ri said. He knew Two wasn’t being serious.

They waited for Red’s turn to finish, then also for their food to arrive. Ri wanted to cuddle Two, but while they were openly mated around Pallet Town, they didn’t want to push it too far, either. They were gym leaders; they felt like they had to have some public image. It was unspoken, but it seemed like the town sort of agreed to keep it to themselves as long as Ri and Two weren’t too open about being mated. They were enjoying themselves now, anyway, and they could easily cuddle at home or outside when there weren’t nearly so many people around.

Anyway, they were standing up and sitting down a lot; it would’ve been extra work to have to cuddle together and then break it apart every time one of them had to bowl.

Two got up for his turn, and Red came back, sat down, and picked up the beer they’d been able to convince the bartender to let him have. He tried it, and nearly spat it out.

“It’s bitter!”

Yeah, Ri said. Does it burn?

“Yeah!”

Ri would’ve liked to try something else. He wasn’t too fond of bitter, and beer had such a low alcoholic content that Ri doubted it would burn much for a non-steel type anyway. He would’ve liked to try something with kick but flavor to it, like whiskey or rum just to see what they tasted like without worrying about the alcohol. Red tried his beer again, now that he could know what to expect, and this time, he managed to keep it down a little better.

“It’s better, now that I know what to expect.”

Ri looked to see his mate score a split; Two hadn’t been as lucky with the strikes as it seemed like he was going to be. Ri didn’t know what a ‘good’ game of bowling was like, but they were all pretty even around 40 or so with Two poking out ahead because he’d never guttered, and Ri felt that that was pretty good, especially for a first time doing this.

… Do you mind if I try? Ri asked, while Two was waiting for his ball.

Ri sensed Two glance back as he was taking a sip, just before he started his throw.

Blech! Ri said, nearly spitting it out like Red had.

Bitter? Two asked, and Ri nodded, trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

It’s funny that it’s the bitter, not the alcohol that turns you off it, Two said, turning around now to throw the ball.

Ri didn’t want to judge the taste of alcohol off of that. He waited for Two to finish, knocking down one of the pins of his split, and he bowled his turn, realizing he wasn’t worrying too much anymore about being careful, then he went back to Two.

I’m going to go back and ask for something else, he said.

I’d like to see that, Two said, getting up to go with him.

That’s kind of why I asked, Ri said, while they went back to the bartender.

“Can I help you again?” she asked.

Um… do you have something that isn’t beer?

“What… were you thinking?” the bartender asked, put in an awkward position.

Ri wasn’t too familiar with alcohol to be able to say. 

Isn’t whiskey something you can sip at?

“It depends on the whiskey,” she said, “but why are you interested in it? I’m really not comfortable serving drinks to pokemon.”

I’m a steel type – I’m immune to it, Ri said. I’m kind of interested in how it tastes.

“Still – even if it’s alright you’re here, we can get in trouble for serving drinks to pokemon. A beer is… whatever, but something hard?”

OK, Ri said. He wasn’t going to push it, especially since they’d already given in for Red. They turned around to go back. Ri was a little disappointed, but if they really wanted to, they could find other ways of getting it.

“Whiskey is a good choice,” she said. “If you really want to try something.” 

I’ll keep it in mind, Ri said, not bothering to turn around.

That turned out… pretty uneventful, Two said, as they were returning to their seats.

Yeah, Ri said.

They played a couple more frames, and realized that they were already almost finished with their first game. They decided to play another game after it, especially since their food hadn’t arrived yet. It was just as Ri was finishing his ninth frame, so he got to have a moment to look through it and see what they got. There were mozzarella sticks and sauce – the thing Ri wanted, but also a pretzel, which Ri had been interested in and looked big enough for them to share. There was something for Red, too, and of course Ri was going to share his mozzarella sticks with Two, but he also noticed a cup which they didn’t remember ordering. Ri tried sniffing at it covertly, but he realized he couldn’t tell if it was alcoholic or not. There wasn’t much of it in the cup, so he thought maybe it could be.

Two, do you mind? He asked, handing it to Two, trusting that he could let him know without making it obvious.

Yeah, it’s pretty alcoholic, Two said. I guess it did turn out eventful.

I guess so, Ri said. He took a sip, and found that it quite pleasantly tasted like oak, vanilla, even caramel.

“Is that –”

Shh, Ri said, cutting him off before he could say anything.

Yes, he continued, letting him know.

“... How is it?”

Quite good, Ri said. He wondered what to do with the cup; he’d just tasted it, so there was still quite a bit of it in there, especially if others were going to be around and he wasn’t supposed to have it. He quickly gulped the rest down, eliminating all evidence whatsoever that there had been alcohol in it.

Ri, that’s – Two said, quite concerned about the amount of alcohol in the cup and how quickly Ri drank it. 

I know, Ri said. I guess we’re going to see if I’m really immune to it or not.

I hope so, Two said.

Ri remembered how Red had said the beer burned; the alcohol he had – whiskey, he presumed – didn’t burn at all, even though he sensed from Two that it was quite strong. It was actually pretty dull tasting even with the interesting, natural notes, so Ri guessed that most of the flavor was the alcohol.

They had stopped playing for a bit to figure out what the cup was and also watch Ri try it, but now Red went up and bowled while Ri fetched himself a mozzarella stick and dipped it in some sauce, while Two broke off some of the pretzel to try.

I suppose it’s a party trick, Two said, his mind still on Ri downing the whiskey. If we ever end up going to that sort of party.

I guess, Ri said. I just wanted to see what it tasted like. It was alright, but I feel I probably lost something.

Makes sense, Two said. People try to cover up that burn, but they never get rid of it entirely. The burn is part of it.

Yeah, Ri said.

It’s quite funny to hear you say alcohol tastes ‘alright’ like it’s no big deal.

I guess it is, Ri said, smiling and huffing a laugh.

They watched as Red bowled down 7 pins.

It’s… nice, to do this, Two said.

Yeah, Ri said, glancing over to see Two. They were both leaning on the table behind their lane because they’d been eating from it, and Ri thought Two looked kind of cute. He was happy, which was great, because sometimes it got clouded over with things that bothered him. His pink fur shone with depth, and of course his purple eyes did, too. His tail flicked about with the purple fur which covered it and his belly; Ri thought Two looked good.

“Two – it’s your turn.”

Oh, Two said, looking up, a little embarrassed. They’d been looking at each other, Ri noticed, and they got distracted. He sensed it was a little awkward for Red.

With Ri’s last frame, that game was over, but they still had food and were having fun, so Red began bowling the second game.

Their second game was fun, too, but they didn’t want to spend their entire night there, so they made sure not to order any more food. Red continued his beer responsibly, Ri was happy to see, and he realized in the middle of the second game that he felt absolutely no different after the alcohol. It was an interesting little experiment, but Ri didn’t know how much he’d continue it, especially since the whiskey had had an interesting taste, but it also tasted fairly dull to him at the same time. Ri enjoyed the pretzel, though, and his mozzarella sticks; there were tons of things he could enjoy which weren’t alcoholic, so it didn’t seem worth it to keep trying to enjoy alcohol.

Once their second game was over, Ri noticed that their scores improved a little, averaging around 100 this second time whereas it was a little lower the first time. They picked up after themselves, then went to the cashier to pay, realizing it was the same person who’d yelled at Ri earlier for denting the lane. It dulled his mood a bit; it brought back the shame he’d felt in the moment.

“Don’t worry about the lane,” the worker said. “I realized how upset you were, and I watched Two help you after. It’s not a big deal; tons of people do stupid stuff and hurt themselves or the alley.”

Ri felt like he’d overreacted too, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. A bit of that ashamed feeling stuck around, along with embarrassment.

We’ll still help with it, Two said, realizing Ri was having difficulty. You know where we live, so send us a bill.

“If you’re sure…”

Ri sensed Two was somewhat frustrated. Yes, he was sure, he’d said twice already that they’d pay for it.

He rang them up, and Ri noticed the beer and the whiskey on the tab. They figured nobody would know it was them who bought it, so Ri guessed it was OK. He preferred paying for it anyway; he didn’t want to take advantage of them.

As they were leaving, the bartender happened to catch them.

“The way you downed that, you almost made me wonder what I put in the cup,” she said. It felt oddly humiliating in the moment; Ri responded fairly poorly, especially after facing the other guy, but it was just a passing moment, so they were gone, outside in the cool air, and done with it.

“That was a lot of fun,” Red said.

Yeah – mostly, Ri said.

It could’ve been a lot worse, Two said. I really enjoyed it.

Ri was happy to hear Two say that, and he was happy to have enjoyed it with Two. They felt pretty satisfied with just that, but it wasn’t too late for things to be open, so they decided to explore some more. At the next intersection, they came across a street of stores they hadn’t seen yet, so they decided to explore it. There were a few standardly quaint stores fitting for a town like Pallet Town, like a small art supplies shop, or a little hardware store, but what caught their attention was an antique video game store which sold old games, merchandise, and, excitingly, consoles. Ri and Two dragged Red in with them to look around, because it really interested them. They looked around at all the stuff the humans had created. Even on pokemon worlds, there was an extensive Pokemon franchise. It wasn’t like the franchise on non-pokemon worlds, but Ri found many vintage plushes, mostly of Kanto pokemon. None of Two, he noticed; unlike it was on other worlds, Two wasn’t too well-known on their world even despite being a gym leader.

“Hey, we’re closing soon,” the cashier called out to them. “Don’t take too long.”

Already? Ri asked, not to anybody in particular. He checked the time; it was only 7:15 or so; it seemed too early for things to close. Maybe these smaller specialty stores didn’t stay open as long because they didn’t attract as many customers.

Ri looked through the arrays of video game cartridges and disks for various consoles, but he was interested mostly in consoles. He looked around for them, passing by and noticing other things which vaguely interested him, too.

Two, we should’ve known this place was here. I could get probably any console I want here.

It’s good we found it, Two said. I know you’ve wanted to get something for a while.

Yeah, Ri said.

Two was interested in the history of the technology; how the early consoles processed, encoded, stuff like that. Ri could see how that was interesting, but he was really interested in the sounds these consoles made. Just under the cashier’s counter in glass were several consoles Ri recognized for their sound. Once he finally found them, Ri spent a little while looking through them, fascinated by the array that was available to him.

“It’s not too often pokemon are interested in video games, is there something you’re looking for?”

Ri kind of wished that people would just leave them alone in stores. Like – if they needed help, they’d ask for help. They didn’t need to be bombarded by people pushing them to get help. They could manage themselves.

Not really, Ri said. I’m just looking. A couple of them look interesting, though.

He also didn’t want to let the cashier know about his interest in music. He loved composing, but he didn’t release his music as himself. He would’ve loved for the world to know that a Lucario composed and produced the music he did, but he also didn’t want to deal with the stuff that brought. It sickened him, but when he rarely shared his music publicly, he did so pretending to be a human, so he could manage how much he interacted openly like that.

“Are there certain games you like playing?”

I’m actually… interested in that one, there, Ri said, trying to point to one of the earlier handheld consoles, also to control the discussion before things got too out of hand.

“That looks… a little small for your paws,” the cashier said.

Powers, Ri said, a little frustrated that it was the second time they’d been questioned.

“I see…” the human said, picking it out from under the glass.

I guess we’re buying something, Ri said, just so Two was aware.

It’s not like we can’t afford it, Two said. It’ll be interesting to explore.

Well, it’s going to be for my music.

Of course, Two said. But I’d figured you’d want to modify it.

Yeah, Ri said, conceding the point.

Modifying these old consoles was a popular thing to do, much like how Ri knew it was popular to modify Game Boys on other worlds. A couple things which Ri figured would be easy for him and especially Two to do would really improve the quality of the experience, especially for Ri’s music, so they were going to take a look and see what they could do, especially with the technology that was available to them.

“Take a look through the games, behind you about eye-level. Anything on that shelf or anything that looks like that will work.”

Thanks.

The oldest games were rather… boring, Ri realized, since the consoles they ran on weren’t very powerful at all. Ri imagined Red trying to play one of the first person shooter games he liked on a Game Boy; he couldn’t. As he looked through, though, a couple things interested him, so he pulled them out and added them to the purchase so they could test the console or have something they could pry apart to build a new one from scratch to hold other games or programs on it. Ri figured Two might appreciate that, too.

“Good choices, I guess pokemon like pokemon games, too.”

The human had no idea how interested Ri was in pokemon games. He played games from other worlds where pokemon didn’t exist. He went out of his way to prefer them.

The cashier rang up Ri’s new (old) console and the games he was interested in.

“125,000,” she said.

Ri pulled out a card, and paid. Bag in paw, leaving the store, Ri was excited to take a look at his new toy/production tool, but there was still time before other things closed, and they still wanted to spend a little time just being out at night, so he just teleported the bag back home so he didn’t have to worry about it or think about it.

That was quite a find, Two said. It’s fascinating seeing how humans developed all that technology just for their entertainment.

Yeah, Ri said. Pokemon even on pokemon worlds aren’t really so driven.

They continued exploring, but as it approached 8, it was getting pretty clear that things were closing. They turned toward the center of town, since that’s where things were most likely to stay open, but the stores there were less interesting. Red got back at them for dragging him into the old video game store by dragging them into a modern video game store as he looked at games Ri and Two weren’t particularly interested in. He didn’t leave with anything, though, even though he had free access to their funds. Ri had to admit; sometimes it was interesting just walking into a place like that to see what was around, what the other consoles were like and stuff like that. Ri just generally preferred the consoles of other worlds, and he preferred adventure games over the action games Red liked. Rarely, he could play a non-violent FPS, but often, they reminded him too much of being like that in real life.

After that, everything that was interesting was closed. Crowds had largely died down, so most times, it was just them on the street. They decided to walk out to the outskirts of the town, then pushed further into the hills around Pallet Town, so they could have a bit of a change in location. Ri looked up; Pallet Town at night wasn’t too bright to drown out the many stars they could see. There were a bunch of them, and Ri even recognized a couple constellations, often named after different pokemon.

They spread out a little bit, enjoying the open area. Ri looked to see Two looking around; his fur reflected the moonlight so he was fairly easy to see. Two looked back and smiled, sensing that Ri was looking at him.

This is a peaceful place, Two said, but I could never imagine living here. He turned away again, looking out into the distance.

Ri could see what Two meant. It was peaceful, but he felt exposed, and he could sense Two, but he couldn’t imagine how exposed Two felt flying over it for the first time when he escaped Cinnabar. Ri guessed that’s part of why they ended up at Cinnabar; they felt safe underground where nobody could get to them. Ri went over to Two to see what he was seeing; in the distance, they saw Viridian City and Viridian Forest behind it, and, way out, Mt. Moon towered in the darkness, covering the stars.

It’s nice to experience, at least, Ri said. It’s nice that we get to be safe here.

Yeah, Two said. A lot has changed.

Ri hadn’t known the Two who broke out of the lab. Already, by the time Ri met him, he’d had help from others and learned quite a bit about being a pokemon. Red had caught him in a master ball, Ri remembered; Ri was thankful that Red didn’t try to keep him. And Blaine, who had created him, but then let him go when he managed to purify their DNA.

Rarely, Two said, I wonder what happened to whoever survived of Blaine’s team.

Ri realized; they hadn’t heard anything about Blaine. He’d abandoned the lab once he was purified of Two’s DNA, long enough for Two to feel comfortable taking it over when he mated Ri.

Ri hugged Two; he hadn’t realized that it was going to be this sort of trip.

It’s alright, Two said, but Ri sensed it helped him feel better, so he continued. Those people… I hated what they did to me, but they didn’t deserve to die because of it.

They’d both killed; they both regretted it; that’s why they couldn’t bring themselves to play the FPS games Red liked.

Even if you hated them, Ri said, I don’t think you meant to kill them.

I was angry, upset that they were keeping the world they got to enjoy from me. Now that I can enjoy this world, too…

Two… Ri said; he felt quite seriously about Two regretting enjoying good things like he didn’t deserve it.

I remember, Ri. I try to be more aware. You’re in a similar situation, Two said, softly. He hugged Ri back; it helped Ri to feel better, too. They looked out together, trying not to get too caught up in the past like this. They’d just had a lot of fun together; it seemed cruel that they’d have to go through this, too.

In the way that Two had accidentally killed, Ri had killed several people and pokemon while brainwashed by Cipher. He remembered doing it, but he was thankful that he hadn’t been aware of his aura to sense while he was doing it. Their tendency both was to feel like they didn’t deserve the things they were enjoying. Often, they could work themselves out of it or it wasn’t even an issue, but sometimes, like now, they guessed, it hit them.

They watched Red come back; unlike Two, Red seemed to melt into the darkness. His blue eyes and the blue bead in his hair were the only things that let them know he was coming, except for being able to sense him. Ri looked down at himself; his purple fur was pretty dark like that, too, but the deep orange of his torso stood out a little more, and the bases of his spikes gleamed in the moonlight.

Seeing Red reminded them that others were OK with them. They weren’t totally alone, and others weren’t worried by the things they’d done. It reassured them that they were caring pokemon, that it could be OK for them to be OK.

“I grew up here,” Red said. “You’re right, it was a long time ago.”

Red also helped distract them, too; it was a little jarring as they were thinking about it, but they could think about it too much, too, so Ri thought maybe it was good to have something else happen.

Has it changed much?

“No, but it feels different.”

You’re older, Two said.

“I guess. When I was young, the world seemed so mysterious and exciting. Now, when I see Viridian Forest, I remember being there, or Mt. Moon, or Fuschia City way in the distance. This seemed like the world, and now the world is much bigger.”

You still like to go out and explore, Ri said.

“Yeah…” Red said. “I guess maybe much hasn’t changed at all.”

Red sat down, since it seemed like Ri and Two weren’t doing anything for a bit. He laid on his side but also upright, leaning up and bending his top leg and leaning against it.

If we stay, Two said to Ri, We should find a way to distract ourselves.

Yeah, Ri said. But, it’s nice to be out to enjoy this.

Two smiled. Yeah… it would be nice if we didn’t pay for it.

Ri nodded to agree with him. They sat down, too, since it seemed like a good place just to sit and enjoy for a while. They cuddled, now that there was nobody around to witness them. It was only 8:30, or so, so they could spend quite a while, if they wanted.

As the night deepened, it closed in on them, but instead of being stifling, it was comforting.   They talked a little, about the League, Rota, and a bit about Red’s journeys as a human, since they’d brought him to think about it more than he usually did. When Red talked, he broke the silence around them, but it was alright. It reminded them that they were alone, even with all the pokemon sleeping, or others living in the wild.

When the conversation died down, Ri and Two teleported themselves e-readers so they could read something, while Red basked in the moonlight. He interrupted them for a little while to talk about how it felt natural to him to be out like this, how he liked being up at night. Ri and Two did, too, but to be able to live in this world with people, they all had to try to get up and go to sleep at times that the humans considered reasonable.

Around 10, Ri was starting to feel rather hungry. Due to their strange schedules, they usually ate fairly late, so even after their early meal and a snack during bowling, his body was telling him he was hungry. They had a light snack, and then kept reading.

An hour later, they started feeling like they’d spent long enough sitting. They weren’t ready to go home yet, though, so they got up to train for a while. When Ri got up, he realized it made him quite lightheaded, and it worried him until Two pointed out that alcohol tended to make others dehydrated. Ri wasn’t sure, but Two insisted, and once Ri had something to drink and a little while to digest it, he found that he was better.

They trained after that. Ri used sensed Red’s aura to see him in the dark, but he noticed that Two was having a little trouble. That was a relative term; Two needed to rely on his senses a little more than usual, but he managed to hold his own, bothering Red just a little.

“Guys, I thought that I’d have an advantage at night against you,” he said, as it seemed to him like they weren’t having any problems.

You do, Ri said, through a Psycho Cut from Two. It sliced through him (or at least it felt like it did), but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as it could’ve.

We’ve just been compensating, Two said.

Ri blocked Red’s Night Slash with a bone, and retaliated with a light Force Palm. While Red was down for a moment, Ri tried to pay Two back for the Psycho Cut with an Aura Sphere, but Two managed to deflect it. As the projectile flew off and disturbed some sleeping pokemon, Ri guessed that they needed to be more careful. Two stopped, too, watching and seeing what they did.

We’ll disturb more pokemon if we keep training, he said.

Yeah, Ri admitted.

Red was just getting up. He hadn’t realized they’d stopped so his mind was still on battling and he was confused to see Ri and Two doing nothing.

“Wait – what happened?” he asked, letting his guard down.

I threw an Aura Sphere at Two. He deflected it, and it bothered some pokemon in the distance.

When we battle, we don’t usually worry about our environment. Here, we have to make sure we don’t bother or hurt any pokemon.

“Is that it, then?”

Ri glanced at Two. He felt pretty good after that, and now it was starting to feel like it was time to go home. He also didn’t want to bother any more pokemon.

It might be good to go home now, Two said.

“It still feels pretty early,” Red said, even though it was 11:30.

Yeah, Two said. We can fly back, then shower, then maybe do something else to wind down.

That sounds good, Ri said.

“Yeah, I suppose it does.”

Ri sensed Red missed getting to stay out longer, but they had also come out early to make sure they got to enjoy it as it got dark. Their schedules were a compromise for all of them, but it worked out because Ri and Two liked the night, too.

They sensed Red was OK with it, though, so Two flew them back home. The ocean at night was different, Ri thought; he could almost enjoy it, but it didn’t beat the forest or the hills they’d just visited. Their gym lied in the distance on Cinnabar Island, anyway, and Ri preferred looking at that. It was rather plain on the outside. It was a medium, slightly cooler-than-neutral grey color and it was flush all around, except the top half of the building hung over the entrance a little bit. That bit of protruding wall held the electronics for the pokemon gym insignia, which glowed a deep purple into the night, flush in the wall almost as if Ri’s aura or Two’s power were running through it. It had originally been blue and purple, when Ri’s aura was still blue, but they switched it after Cipher since they were both purple now. It was cool, Ri thought, and they used the same style inside, too. It seemed maybe a bit out of place, like it belonged in Opelucid City in Unova, but it was their gym, and Ri thought that it was the proper place for a Mewtwo to be a gym leader. 

The doors opened automatically for them as they touched down and entered. Inside, their gym was set in the same modern/futuristic style. Their battlefield glowed when they had challengers, but it was off now. Windows which weren’t so apparent from the outside let light in when they wanted, but it was dark, so of course it was dark inside, too. Ri liked the whole place; it seemed like a ‘final challenge’ on the way to the League, and it was enigmatic, like how they rarely handed out gym badges with seemingly no explanation. There was a holographic display projector hidden away which would display scores and things while a battle was happening. Ri sometimes wondered if that was going a little too far, but he had to remember that holograms existed on their world, while they didn’t (technically) exist on the human worlds they knew.

The entrance to their home was in the back, set in the wall as the secret entrance to what used to be the lab underneath. It was their home now, and it had a similar aesthetic, but it was brightly lit full-spectrum to combat the darker grey of the walls, and they lived there, so they didn’t leave it as stark as the gym above. They’d let go of the stark colors and shapes for something that felt somewhat homier, but they let it influence the decisions they made, too. Purple ran through the walls, but that was about it, and they used other colors and pallets to facilitate what they were doing. They didn’t want to feel like a futuristic military base while they were cooking, for example, so their kitchen was brighter and more standard, and the living room was less stark, while that philosophy influenced the design of their electronics and the display they sat in or on. The dark walls were nice when watching a movie or playing games late at night, which they guessed they were doing, but first Ri and Two went to shower, so they could feel clean afterward.

In the bathroom, the first thing they did was piss together because they were too modest to do it in nature and used to having bathrooms and privacy. Ri noted as his urine streamed through his penis that it burned a little, but it was also yellow and potent as it streamed into the toilet to mix with Two’s. He was thankful that even though his sheath pointed up, he could redirect himself and aim. He imagined what it would be like if he couldn’t; the idea of standing on all fours to pee was humiliating.

I guess you do have to be a little careful, Two said, as he released the last of the urine he’d held since dinner. Even if you’re heavy, except for your steel typing, it seems like your body is lightweight when it comes to alcohol.

Yeah, Ri said. He finished a couple moments later, and he flushed as Two turned on the shower. They liked to shower together; they made sure to have a big enough shower for it. They got in, and got themselves wet, and started soaping themselves down with the shampoo they liked, a natural one with natural scents that didn’t hurt their noses or give them headaches. Ri soaped himself all over with his paws, being careful with his eyes, ears, and mouth as much as he could. They had fur all over them, so shampoo was the only soap they ever used, but they needed to use it all over, so they went through a bottle fairly quickly. They even used it inside their sensitive sheaths and their asses, since the shampoo was mild enough and they couldn’t be bothered to use regular soap for just those places. Ri made sure to clean his tail well; he caught it and brought it around him to work the shampoo into it. It seemed, generally, that his tail was the dirtiest part of him, because he was less aware of it and less able to control it than he could any other part of him. While they were sitting on the ground outside Pallet Town, he was sure it was dragging in the ground behind him, but he hadn’t been thinking about it in the moment.

It’s cute that you have to catch your tail, Two said, while he flicked his in front of him to wash it, too. 

Well, at least I can do it fairly easily, Ri said.  

It would be humiliating to have a hard time of it.

Ri nodded, agreeing. Two was lucky to be able to control his, but he had a tail, too; he understood.

Once they were all shampooed up, they washed it out. This always took a little while because there was a lot of it in their fur. They ended up taking turns doing it, and they switched who got to do it first each time so it was fair. Ri waited this time while Two rinsed himself off; it was cute watching Two rub himself down to make sure he got everything. After that, Ri rinsed himself off, but that wasn’t the end, yet.

Next, they used conditioner all over themselves, since they learned that shampoo could dry their skin and fur out. Ri was careful to avoid the few bare bits of skin on his body with it, but it was tough since the fur was everywhere else. They ended up waiting for a few minutes, leaning against the back of the shower to keep out of the water so the conditioner could do its job.

Today went well, Two said, looking to make conversation a little while they were stuck doing nothing.
Yeah, Ri said, thinking back over it. A couple scary things almost happened, but we got through it.

Bowling was fun, Two said. I don’t know why we didn’t think of that earlier.

We didn’t know it was there, I guess. Maybe it’s a new place.

Then it’s kind of unfortunate we broke their lane.

Now, looking back at it, Ri could laugh. It was embarrassing, but Two was right: it wasn’t the biggest deal. Two smiled with him; it was good it was a good thing they could share.

We can help fix it, at least, Ri said.

Yeah.

And your console, Two said. That will be fun to play with.

Ri agreed. He’d almost forgotten about it, actually; that was the point of teleporting it back home. It was waiting for them on their desk when they went into their office, likely in the morning, or probably the afternoon. Not only could they explore how it worked, Ri would get to try to use it to make music afterward. He was excited for all of that.

Two rinsed off first again, since it optimized the time they used and how long they each had the conditioner in their fur. Then Ri rinsed himself off again, too, and turned off the water. The pleasant part of the shower was over; now they were just standing together dripping wet, their fur waterlogged and heavy. Opening the shower door, Two went out and reached for his towel, and handed Ri his while Ri got out. They toweled themselves off as much as they could, but they were still damp. It was important, though, at this point, to brush themselves, so they spent a little while doing that, and checking each other to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. Otherwise, they learned quite quickly that they tended to become poofy after showering like that. Finally, they went out to find Red sitting on the couch.

After a shower, and once his fur dried, Ri felt soft and really cuddly. The shower itself was OK – Ri didn’t particularly enjoy being wet – but he loved feeling clean like this. He remembered not caring about being clean like this, and he was thankful to care for it again. He sat and cuddled with Two, who was soft, too, as they watched a movie with Red, making sure to choose something that wouldn’t excite them this time. Two did a little guessing of how the plot was going to go in his head; he tried keeping it from Ri, but Ri sensed it anyway. He didn’t mind, even though he preferred just watching it. He participated, even if just passively by liking or disliking the things Two came up with, or just feeling that something Two came up with had to be how the movie would go. He equated it to how he liked to listen to music. When something really interesting came up to him, he sensed himself analyzing it in realtime to try to predict how it would go. Sometimes he predicted correctly, sometimes the composer found something new to do and he was wrong, and that’s what made it so interesting. Two wasn’t explicitly doing the same thing with the movie, he let Ri enjoy it the way Ri liked so Ri could enjoy participating in how Two liked to enjoy it while being able to get involved in his own way, too.

After the movie, it finally seemed like time to settle down. Ri and Two were satisfied with their day, so they cuddled in bed happily, and let themselves drift off comfortably.