Chapter Text
I settled into my new fortress in the living room while Mal changed into her pajamas. It was a super cool fortress, and it was very satisfying to climb on. I stretched out in the most comfortable section, ready to go to sleep for the night.
It didn’t feel right, though.
I tossed and turned for about 20 minutes, trying out the different platforms, but I couldn’t sleep. It was like there was an emptiness inside me, keeping me awake. Something was missing.
Mal appeared in the living room doorway, hair mussed like she’d been tossing and turning, just like me. "Are you feeling it too?" she asked.
…Oh. Right. Soulbond.
"I hope you don’t mind a little cat hair on your blankets," I said, hopping down to follow her back down the hallway to her room.
"I think I can handle it," she said.
She climbed back into bed, and I curled up at her feet. "I guess our link doesn't like us being apart for too long, huh?" I said, a little sleepily.
"I hope you don't get sick of me too quickly," she whispered in reply.
"So are we Salem and Sabrina, or are we Pantalaimon and Lyra?"
"If the second pair is a reference to our…to…" she yawned. "...To our apparent need to be in close physical proximity, it's an imperfect example, since Lyra and Pan separate from one another a lot in book five."
"I didn't know there was a fifth book," I confessed. "I only read the three."
"That’s okay, I’m just being pedantic anyway. I have the other books…you could catch up sometime, if you like. It's one of my favorite series."
"Explains why you were excited to conjure a familiar, huh? That and Pokémon…" I said.
She smiled at that. "Okay. True. You got me there."
We spent a minute lost in our own thoughts.
I broke the silence. "Are you really scared that I'll get sick of you?" I asked, as gently as I could manage.
She took a moment before answering.
When she spoke, her voice was even quieter than before. "Yeah. I’m always scared that people will get sick of me."
"Oh." I wondered who it was that had hurt her, to make her think that. But I didn't ask. Instead, I crawled up closer to her, and said, "In that case, I understand it's my duty as your emotional support animal to be available for soothing cuddles."
"Thank you," she whispered, and we snuggled together, feeling the electric tingle of our bond as we drifted into shared dreams.