It started with a single finger.  A single finger tapping.  Tap, tap, tap.  Then it was two fingers. Taptap, taptap taptap.  In less than twenty seconds it was all five.  Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap. She put the mask down, and began to wriggle her fingers all around.

Gladialis looked at Kitten with some concern.  "Kitten?  Are you ok?", she asked.  She wasn't sure why Kitten hadn't fallen asleep, Class-Z's were literally designed to do just that.  But instead it seemed like Kitten was NOT feeling sleepy.  No, now she was pacing the room, shaking her hands back and forth.  "Do you want something to drink?  Tell me how you're feeling, little one."

"No no, I'm good, I'm a-ok good", Kitten said.  She was feeling…antsy.  Like she needed to run, to jump, to move.  But she also felt amazing.  She paced, and then after one or two times had an idea.  Walking out to the living room, she ran and jumped up onto the couch, scrambling up.  Once up there, she turned, jumping once or twice, and then down onto the ground as she laughed.  That felt good, so she did it again.  And then again, with Gladialis watching with some amusement.

After the fourth time, Gladialis started getting a bit nervous.  Kitten showed no signs of stopping, and her heartrate was slowly but steadily increasing.  "Kitten??  How are you feeling?", as Kitten did a few touchdowns.  No..pushups.  Pushups, they were called.  She pulled out her tablet as Kitten panted and said that she was feeling 'antsy.'

“Maybe I just need to move around a bit more for it to work?”, she asked Gladialis, who was busy typing on her tablet.

<Bookwyrm>  Dr. Manku, It's Gladialis Dulcisa.  I need your help.

She looked over as Kitten stood up, hands flapping.  

"I…umm..I needarun", she said, hopping back and forth.  "Gotta run."

"Ok, Kitten.  We can do that, just….oh Kitten!!!  Wait!!", she called out as Kitten didn't wait but dashed to the front door, yanked it open, and was gone.  "Dirt!!", she swore, and chased Kitten out, a trailing vine grabbing the Terrans water bottle from the counter.  Closing the door she looked down the hallway to see a bare foot vanishing down the stairwell.  'Clods!!! She's faster than I remember', Gladialis thought as she ran after Kitten, gaining ground with each step.  Bursting out of the stairwell, she followed Kitten out the door, yelling back, "Cant talk, explain later!!!", to the Affini and sophonts who just watched Kitten run across the lobby as if horses were chasing her and were asking her if everything was ok.  Even before Gladialis had cleared the room, they all agreed that they'd never seen an un-modded Terran move that fast.

Kitten had no idea where she was going.  She just knew she needed to move, to be active.  Running onto the grass, she began to run long looping circles around a tree that she was fairly certain was just a tree, panting from the activity but unable to stop.  Dimly heard shouts from Gladialis behind her, she looped around and saw Gladialis looking at her helplessly.  "Gotta move circles be ok run", she panted as she circled again.

<I'mtheDoctor>  Is everything ok?  It's Doctor Manku, just in case you didn't know.

<Bookwyrm>  Kitten agreed to a Class-Z to help with her nightmares and now this is happening!!!

She switched to video chat and showed the Doctor the sight of  Kitten, who just did five pushups and then began running in weaving circles around three trees.  Sending him the data about Kittens vitals, she gnawed on her own vine in worry. 

<Bookwyrm>  What should I do?  Should I try an A or an A-E blend??  I don't have any M's in me, I didn't think this would happen.

<I'mtheDoctor>  Roots, no.  Everbloom only knows what the addition of other xenodrugs might do.  It looks like your ward is having an idiosyncratic paradoxical reaction to the Class-Z's she got.  It's rare. But it does happen.  A Class-Z, you said.  Well, just keep her safe and let it run its course.  I'll program some parameters into her cuffs so that you know when to panic.  Make sure she stays hydrated.  She's going to be exhausted tomorrow, but bring her to my office and I can examine her.  And we can see what it is that caused this reaction and then prevent it from happening again.

<Bookwyrm>  That's it?  Just…just wait and see?  That's it??

<I'mtheDoctor>  Yup.

<Bookwyrm>  That's…

<I'mtheDoctor>  Like everything else with this sophont, it's going to take time.  Relax.  Correct her form on those pushups, if you feel the need to get involved.  She’ll hurt her wrists that way.

Huffing, Gladialis followed Kitten, putting her useless tablet away.  The running Terran was still running circles around the trees, now and then stopping to do some other form of calisthenic. Jumping stars, pushups, even situps  "Kitten…here…you need to drink", she said and handed the running Terran the water bottle.  

Kitten stopped running for a moment, and drank half the bottle in one sitting as she danced from side to side.  "Sorry!!  Sorry, I just…I just gotta move, you know?"

"Don't be sorry, Kitten.  Be excellent, as they say", Gladialis said with a grin.  Trying to hide how nervous she was.  What if something really happened to her?  She stayed with Kitten as she ran, the night air cool against her vines.  'It must feel even better to Kitten', she thought.  After another twenty minutes and a few more pushups, Kitten began to flag. Her heart rate began to drop slightly, and Gladialis sat down on the grass, watching carefully.  Kitten still ran in circles, but she was a bit slower, as if whatever was driving and pushing her was starting to fade.  After another few minutes, Kitten came over, and dropped to her knees, panting.  

“I don’t…think I’ve…ever felt…like that…ever”, she panted.  “Not…a..fun experience after…a…few..minutes.  But…it…was…fun….until….it…wasn't.  Can I have…more water…please?”, and took the water bottle.  More of it spilled on her chin than in her mouth, but that was ok.  “I…wow….I’m…”, and her eyes rolled up and she fell directly into Gladialis’s lap, passing out with a soft sigh.  The Affini was too stunned to do anything other than make sure that she landed softly.

Panicking, she checked the girl's pulse with a vine.  Strong.  Fast, but strong.  Her breathing seemed ok as well.  The cuffs sent her telemetry data on Kittens vitals, showing a high blood pressure and an elevated breathing rate.  But that was ok, according to Dr. Manku.  She lifted Kitten up and tried to make her a bit more comfortable, positioning her.  But that all went to hell in a suitcase, as Terrans said, when Kitten turned, grabbed a handful of her vines, and pulled herself in closer.  ‘Oh DIRT DIRT DIRT NOW WHAT?!?!?!’

Gulping, she sat there for a few minutes, hoping Kitten would wake up.  She didn't, holding onto Gladialis's vines with a Vulcan mind-meld grip.  Vines pulled her tablet out and typed a message to Dr. Manku.

<Bookwyrm>  Help!!  She just passed out on me!!

<I'mtheDoctor>  Oh, I was expecting that to happen.  Even better, you broke her fall.  Right?

<Bookwyrm> You were expecting this!?!?!  And you didn't tell me!?!?

<I'mtheDoctor>  Well, she could only keep going like that for so long.  And I've been watching her telemetry feed.  And what would telling you have accomplished?  Now just relax.  Let her sleep, try to wake her up every hour and a half or so to give her some more water or a sports electrolyte drink.  The grape one, not the lemon-lime one.

<Bookwyrm>  What could happen with the lemon-lime one?

<I'mtheDoctor>  Nothing. It just tastes bad.

<Bookwyrm> Oh.

<I'mtheDoctor>  Yea.  Every hour or two make her drink, and then come see me tomorrow.  And make sure you get some sleep yourself.  And DON'T BLAME YOURSELF.  This is a situation nobody could have foreseen.  You acted in good faith.  So stop beating yourself up.

 Gladialis put her tablet away and held Kitten.  "I’m so, so sorry”, she whispered as she rocked the little Terran.  Kitten kept sleeping, her breaths evening out and slowing.  The little tracker that watched Kittens vitals reported that they were all normal, and she watched as Kitten slept.  After a few minutes, she gently wiped the sweat from Kittens forehead, and then stood, cradling her so gently it was as if she'd held a three thousand year old urn.  But far more delicately, since this sophont was special and irreplaceable, and she’d shatter a thousand millenia old urns rather than make Kitten frown once.  Walking softly so she didn't disturb the kitten's sleep, she walked back into the building. 

She was immediately bombarded with questions by everyone who had seen Kittens dash.  A few had misunderstood and wondered where she was thinking to escape to.  More than one wondered what had happened, and if she was a secret Feralist.  But Laria shook her head, even as she "shhhhh"ed everyone.  .

"Kitten is no more a Feralist than…than…than you’re a horse!!  Why don't you let Gladialis ex…oh, is that Kitten??  Oh stars, she's probably so cute!!!!", she softly exclaimed and then raised her hands to her Master, Glasha.  "Pick me up, Master, please, I wanna see!!!", she begged, her wings fluttering.  Vines wrapped around her legs, slithered over her chest and lifted her up.  She peered over and saw Kitten, who for some reason picked that time to nuzzle Gladialis's vines.  Larias eyes went wide as her mouth opened.  "Oh….oh my stars and garters…oh….she's so precious….she's such a kitten", she said in the tones they used for something so cute they wanted to cry.

Laria looked up at Gladialis, noting how gently she held the sleeping Terran.  Smiling, Laria wondered how long it would take, and then noticed something else.  Frowning slightly, she blinked, unsure why it bothered her so.  Then Kitten moved and she was back to cooing, forgetting why she'd been perturbed.  "Miss Dulcisa, what happened to Kitten?", she asked.  "I've never seen anyone run so fast, it was like wild horses were chasing her for her bones!!'

"Oh.  Well, little one, Kitten agreed to try a xenodrug for the first time tonight.  A Class-Z, to be specific.  And she had a bad reaction, as you all saw."  Gladialis was quiet after that, blaming herself.  She should have…maybe if she had talked to the doctor sooner… or maybe if she had a different Class-Z agent, or…. A thousand thoughts went through her head and then a soft hand on her vines had her looking down.  “Yes, little one?”, she asked softly as she looked down at Laria.

“Is Kitten allergic to xenodruggies?”, she asked, wings flapping.

“I don’t think so.  Except…umm…She had a bit of an issue with the Class A-E blend that her cuffs were initially loaded with.  Oh, and the gas we used to disable the feralist ship she was on…maybe..umm…I probably should have said no and thought of something else.  I’ll remember that for next time”, she said, flowers drooping slightly.

"If you didn’t know it would happen, then you can't blame yourself.  It's not like you knew this would happen and did it anyways, right?", Laria asked and watched as Gladialis shook her head.  The flower-studded vines that made up her half skirt shook with the motion, filling the air with perfume.  "So l…one thing I very much didn't learn in the Navy was that I couldn't be responsible for something that wasn't my fault.  Even if I thought I should be responsible because….because.  But I eventually learned that lesson."  She smiled.  “So why should you be any different?”

Glasha smiled at Laria and ruffled her hair.  “You’re…not wrong.  I just need to do some more research”, she said with a smile.

Thephra grinned.  “Of course!! Research is always Gladialis’s first, second, and third answer”, he said with a chuckle.  

Gladialis smiled, even as Kitten slept on.  “Go ahead and tell me I’m wrong, friend”, she said, and Thephra raised his hands and a few vines as well.  “Exactly.”  She stayed downstairs for a while as Kitten slept on, and only went upstairs after Kitten began to move a bit more.  Remembering what the Doctor had told her, she got into her hab and went straight to the compiler.  A few moments later, she was holding the drink that Dr. Manku had recommended and then compiled a straw so the sleeping Terran could drink easier.   Then realized her next problem.  She had no idea how to get Kitten to drink it.