As Andrea hurried back home (she wasn’t quite sure why she was in such a hurry, but it seemed important that she get home quickly), she tried not to let her mind wander too much. Not that it was easy, given the events of the day, but she did manage to avoid bumping into anyone again. When she finally got back to her hab, she immediately added Rubea’s Overnet handle to her chat; after all, it would be rude to make her wait.

ThornyPlantAlien: Is this the little sheep who ran into me earlier?

FluffPuff: Yes, how did you know?

ThornyPlantAlien: ...it must have been a good guess, “FluffPuff”.

FluffPuff: ...oh.

FluffPuff: sorry again for bumping into you like that

ThornyPlantAlien: ah... the fault is mine, I should watch where I’m going, with fluffy little sophonts about

The reassurance didn’t make her feel much better, but she decided to drop the topic for Rubea’s sake.

Andrea decided to get herself some dinner. Ignoring the stacks of dishes and climbing over the heaps of clothes over her floor with exaggeratedly-cloppy motions, she thought to herself with amusement that she was getting some mountain-climbing usage out of her hooves as she made her way to the compiler.

Once she arrived, she found herself at a loss for what to select. She could have any food she could possibly think of; the issue was thinking of a food which she wanted to have. She did have an odd craving for synthetic cheese product, though, and was about to compile herself two slices of it, when she decided that she ought to have a proper meal, and added a helping of rice.

Satisfied that her meal was sufficient, she sat back down at her computer. The orange product melted somewhat unappealingly atop her rice, but she started to eat anyway, finding the taste to be the comfort she’d expected.

ThornyPlantAlien: Are you okay?

FluffPuff: yeah, just left to get dinner

ThornyPlantAlien: Ooh, what’s on?

FluffPuff: ...food

ThornyPlantAlien: Well, I’d assumed that much, dear; something you like?

FluffPuff: yeah! cheese stuff and rice!

ThornyPlantAlien: What, exactly, does “cheese stuff” comprise?

FluffPuff: welll... it’s not actually cheese... and I think it’s supposed to taste like cheese, but it doesn’t really do that either... let me send a pic

[ FluffPuff sent an image ]

ThornyPlantAlien: Well, that’s definitely an interesting snack

FluffPuff: ...it’s my dinner

ThornyPlantAlien: Wow, you must have had quite the lunch, then

FluffPuff is typing

FluffPuff is typing...

FluffPuff is no longer typing

ThornyPlantAlien: ...You did eat lunch, didn’t you, petal?

FluffPuff: ...I might’ve forgotten

ThornyPlantAlien: And breakfast?

FluffPuff: ...

ThornyPlantAlien: So when is the last time you did eat?

FluffPuff: I ate lunch yesterday!

ThornyPlantAlien: ...What’s your address?

FluffPuff: ?

ThornyPlantAlien: The one where you live. What is it?

FluffPuff: we just met! why would I tell you that?

ThornyPlantAlien: Because otherwise I’m going to find it myself

Obviously, Rubea was bluffing. She had to be! Andrea stopped chatting to focus on her questionably-cheese-based concoction, but a few minutes after she finished it, she heard the hab’s doorbell ring. “There’s someone here to see you, cutie!” She knew she could change the language option from English (floret) any time she wanted to, but there was something comforting about being called cute all the time.

When she arrived at the door, the hab’s cameras showed the impossible—well, improbable, anyway: Rubea was standing at her door, nervously fiddling with her vines.

“How did you get here?!” Andrea cried incredulously.

“I walked.”

“No like, how did you find where I lived?”

“I just looked it up; I told you I would. Now, would you be a dear and let me in?”

Andrea was conflicted. On the one hand, there really wasn’t much reason not to let Rubea in, and it would be sort of rude to leave her outside. On the other hand... uh...

She instructed her hab to open the door. As she did, she saw the large, thorned alien looming above her, and nervously gestured for her to come in. The door slid shut, and Rubea turned on her.

“Now, petal, that was hardly a supper. How about we get something else for you?”

“...I was quite happy with it.”

“You’re not eating enough! You look like you’re about to blow away with the wind!”

Andrea had to admit to herself that beneath her wool, she looked rather bony, and that perhaps she forgot meals more often than she ought to.

“Maybe I don’t want to.”

Rubea was a little stumped at this. She hadn’t run across a sophont who simply didn’t want to eat.

“I mean, I want to eat, but I don’t want to eat anything, you know?”

“Well, how about a bit of salad? Maybe with some pizza?”

“Oh, that sounds great, thanks!”

Feeling that it was all perhaps a bit easy, Rubea put the appropriate entries into Andrea’s compiler, and waited for Andrea to take the food.

“Now, do I need to feed you, or can you eat by yourself?” Rubea joked.

At this, Andrea’s face blushed bright red, and she responded “I- think I can eat just fine, thank you.”

Rubea faltered a little, surprised at Andrea’s response, and asked, “Well then, would you like my company for the rest of your meal?”

Andrea, not wanting to offend the Affini, responded, “Of course, that sounds lovely.”

The two of them made their way to the living room. Here, books, clothing, and sundry other items were strewn over the floor and every available piece of furniture. Rubea commented, “Petal, do you keep your things this way on purpose?”

Andrea, embarrassed at her untidiness, shook her head, “I wish I had the energy to clean up, but there’s so much!”

“How about we just clear off your couch, then, so we have somewhere to sit?”

Andrea found it was much easier when she had the help of Rubea, and they had soon cleared the couch of debris and settled in, on opposite sides.

After Andrea had finished her meal, Rubea idly wrapped a vine covered in soft leaves around her wrist. At this, she started, but then settled in, holding the vine with her free hand. She wondered if she ought to ask Rubea to leave, but decided it she was rather comfortable like this, as well as warm, and soft, and the tall lady next to her seemed to have a nice, shifting, creaking rhythm about her. She laid down on the couch to use her tablet and instead found herself drifting off to sleep.