Issue 1 Downtime

Elise was sleeping soundly in the room, her leg still wrapped from the henna tattoo, albeit a bit ruffled due to her tossing and turning. It was about three in the morning when there was some movement on her leg. The wrap began to move a bit, but Elise was too far into sleep to wake from it.

Mmfmfmpphh!

Finally, something burst out of the wrap and went tumbling loudly across the floor. Considering it was dark, it may not have been able to be seen clearly. Elise jolted up. "AHH!"

"What? What's happening?" Murphy asks, jolted awake by the sudden screaming.

Whatever it was had apparently crawled under Jean's bed. Elise points. "It's under your bed! Oh em gee what if it's a monster?!"

"A monster? It's probably, like, just a mouse or something. There are no monsters--well, I mean, there are, but they aren't here," Murphy says.

However, she is clearly staying on her bed. With her knees drawn up.

"But what if it is?" Elise sits the same way, her blanket now over her head and she talks in a whisper. "What are we gonna do?" A bit of shuffling under the bed can be heard now. Frankie sat on the nightstand and just watched, amused. Elise looked over and saw him, then looked back at Jean. "It's not Frankie. Omigosh it's gonna eat us."

"Calm down. We just need something to catch it," Murphy says.

"Okay okay. Um..." She looks around. "What do you think will work?" Her eyes trail to a laundry basket, then over to Jean. "Do you think that'll work?"

"Probably? I mean, it can't be that big," Murphy says.

"Did you hear the boom though? It was loud! It's probably massive!" Elise was clearly freaked out about all of this. Apparently someone is afraid of the dark.

"I'm...sure you're exaggerating," Murphy says, laughing nervously.

"Here. You get it to come out and I'll drop the basket on it."

"How am I going to get it to come out?" She asks nervously. "I mean...am I bait?"

"No, I mean, lure it out with some food or something," Murphy says.

"But...but what if we *are* food to it?" She shudders at the thought. "Um..." Luckily, there was a candybar on her nightstand. Three Musketeers, mmm...

Elise snatches it up and unwraps it, whispering. "Okay...just uh...let me know when you're ready."

Hey El?
SHH! THIS IS SERIOUS!
...

Murphy holds up the laundry basket, "Ready when you are."

Elise carefully gets to the edge of her bed and holds the candy bar towards the ground. She keeps her eyes squeezed shut and head turned to the side, ready to jump back at a moment's notice. There's a slight shuffling from under the bed again, closer to coming out.

"Murphy it's gonna eat meeeee..." She whispers, scared like the little wimp she was.

You're such a baby.

"Don't worry, I'll avenge your death," Murphy says.

She looks at Murphy for a few moments before getting a cheeky smile. "Promise?"

"Well, I'll try," Murphy says. "I get distracted easily."

"That's okay, so do I. I'll forgive you in the afterlife if you can't-" Whatever was under the bed bursts out and tackles Elise. It may appear that it's attacking maliciously, but the truth is far from it. Elise goes toppling onto the floor, flailing and freaking out while what appears to be a fox hops onto her, around her, much like an excited dog sees it's owner after ages.

YOU'REMYFAVORITEOHMYGOSHIAMSOHAPPYTOBEHEREYOUARETHEBEST!!!!!!!
I'm going to be sick...

Murphy slams the basket over Elise.

"I think we got it!"

Elise begins freaking out. Between the new voice in her head and being held in a container with some...thing, she panics.

"AHMAHGOSH ITS EATING ME!"

ILOVEYOUSOMUCHICANTBELIEVEIMFINALLYHERE!

Frankie is highly, highly amused.

A startled Murphy pulls the basket off her roommate, "What? Really?"

The little fox was definitely not eating her. It was just giving her excessive amounts of love. It stopped it's 'attack' once the basket was lifted, then ran around Jean excitedly, kind of like this.

Who is this? Is this your friend? Is she fun? She seems fun.

Elise looked from the fox to her leg which was now without the henna tattoo and unwrapped where it used to be. "....Ohhhhh! AH! ITS WIGGLES!"

"Awwww....it's adorable!"

Elise looks absolutely ecstatic. "This is so great! Like...this is everything I hoped for." Wiggles nuzzles against Jean's leg for a moment before hopping back over to Elise, rolling on it's back for some belly rubs. Of course, she obliged.

I couldn't stand it. I had to come out. I'm sorry I scared you guys. Sooooo sorry. Please don't be mad. Insert adorable eyes here.

"Aww...Wiggles says he's...she's...? I dunno. ANYWAY! Wiggles says they're sorry for scaring us. Awww....I wish you could hear it."

"It's okay," Murphy says. "I wasn't that scared."

"So, is he, like, your powers or...."

"I guess that's how it works, yeah. Not sure exactly what goes on with it or where he and Frankie come from. Someone said maybe it had to do with subconscious, but I dunno." She gives a shrug. "Wiggles isn't going to bother you, is he? Some people are weird about animals."

Noooooo I'm a girl!

"Oh...Wiggles is a girl I guess." Elise gives a shrug.

Murphy snorts, "Please. I'm, like, beyond used to animals."

"YAY!" Elise cheers excitedly, and Wiggles runs back over to Jean, jumping excitedly and adorably.

I like her! She's nice! Can we be friends? We should be friends.

Elise giggles. "Wiggles likes you!"