//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Curiosity // Story: Warm Hearts // by Rhino //------------------------------// "Yeah... yeah, we should do that." With her help, he gets up while still in the water. "Ok, just give me a second to get this working, oh, and can you pull the curtain around us?" He points to where it is bunched up on the wall, hanging off the rail above them. She nods, maneuvering around him and grabbing the plastic sheet. With a little difficulty, she manages to pull it all the way across, sighing in relief once she does. Meanwhile, Rhino has the water running again and is making sure it is the right temperature. "There we go, umm... you may want to hide behind me or brace yourself before I do this..." She turns to him, brow furrowed in confusion. "Brace myself... for what?" "For when the water suddenly comes from there." He points up at the head. She realizes that it's pointed straight at her, gulping quietly and blindly grabbing for him. "Um... b-behind you sounds good..." He nods, standing up and backing against her, instantly getting grabbed for his action. As she hides behind him, he pops up the switch and suddenly the water starts shooting down onto them from the shower head. Her arms tense as the spray hits them, the girl gripping him even tighter. "C-cold! Cold water!" Feeling the warm water hitting his coat, the colt is a bit confused by her reaction. Even stranger to him is that, as opposed to her cool chitin, her skin seems to actually be hot. "The water isn't cold..." he corrects slowly, looking down at her. "Are you sick or something? Your skin is really hot..." "N-no, I feel fine..." She shivers slightly against his back. "J-just... t-trying to warm my hands back up... that's all..." Unsure how this relates to him, he decides to ask. "Ok... umm... do you want me to just wait here then?" "No, I-I'll be fine..." She carefully lets go of him, her heated hands running along his sides, steam forming as they pass. She turns away from the spray and closes her eyes, bracing herself for what might come. Rotating around so he is facing her, and rinsing at the same time, he looks at her curiously. "Why are you flinching so much? It's the same temperature the bath was... and you do still need to rinse first before we clean." She slowly nods, rolling her slightly-muddy shoulders. "I-I know... I just have to get used to it..." She looks back at him. "B-besides, I'm mostly dirty on my back..." "I know. Do you want me to move then so more hits you?" he offers. She gulps and shakily nods, reaching back to hold his hand. "D-don't go too far... okay?" "There's not really anywhere to go." He chuckles at his joke before asking again. "So... ready?" He squeezes her hand. She smiles softly, nodding. "I'm ready..." Still holding her hand and wondering why he felt a sense of suspense for such a simple action, the colt turns sideways and leans towards the wall, clearing the way for the spray. She tenses as the water hits her, gritting her teeth as the water rolls off her shoulders, dragging the dried-on soil with it. After a while, she slowly starts to relax, releasing the breath she didn't realize she was holding. She leans against the wall, trying to get her breathing back under control, glad the moment of fear had passed. Rhino reaches for her with his other hand, rubbing her back a bit hoping to both calm her down and help get dirt off. She coos softly as the smooth skin of his palm brushes along her chitin. Her tail almost acts on its own, wrapping around his hip to bring him closer. The colt stifles a sound as he finds himself being pulled toward her. Obeying her tail's wishes, he does so, getting the last bits of dirt off her back. "Looks good back here for the first rinse." She sighs in relief, leaning back against him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank goodness... so that's everything, right?" She smiles up at him, nervous. "Umm... no." He reaches upwards and grabs a bottle of body wash. "We still have to use soap then do our manes and tails." The sponge on a stick floats down a moment later. She groans quietly, her ears flattening against her head. "I guess it was a bit too much to hope for that..." "What's wrong?" He looks at her with a hopeful smile. "Getting clean feels good, and it feels even better afterwards." "True..." She shrugs, pressing herself back against his chest as she pecks his lips. "I was hoping we'd be able to cuddle soon... that's all..." "Don't worry, this shouldn't take too long." He squirts some of the gel onto the sponge and offers it to her. "Do you want to clean yourself first?" She stares at it like it was a sword pointed at her, eyes wide in panic. "Oh, n-no. I don't know how to clean myself... s-sorry..." She bows her head, ashamed. "Oh..." He looks to the sponge curiously. "Well, do you want to just watch me or something?" "Actually, I was kinda hoping..." She looks up at him, shyly blushing. "C-could you please clean my body, Rhino?" "Umm... well, I don't really know if changelings clean differently, but I can try my best." He brandishes the sponge again. "Ok, so... did you want me to start with front or back?" "Well... my back's already towards you..." She steps forward, bracing her palms against the wall in front of her. "Maybe that'd be a good place to start?" "Ok." He steps forward and sets the brush on her shoulders, immediately starting to draw it back and forth across her chitin in the typical scrubbing motion. He glides it back and forth across the upper part of her back, getting everything fairly quickly. She shivers at the sensation, unsure what to think. She decides to simply rest her cheek against the cool tile, closing her eyes. The colts start working on her lower back now, still at his same pace. He has a small smile as he works. "I wonder if this is why Mom always said she liked washing me when I was little..." She coos wistfully, pushing her hips back at him. "I don't know... but this is just wonderful..." Her tail slowly swishes back and forth every few seconds as the girl gets lost in the rhythmic motions. Systematically, the colts moves lower down, now washing the girl's flanks. She squeaks, jumping slightly at the touch. She looks back at him, nervously laughing. "B-be careful, Rhino... I'm a little sensitive, there..." "Oh, right, I'll be softer then." He does so, cleaning with less pressure as he does soapy circling motions. She almost melts against the wall, groaning in a strange mix of relief and tension. Inexplicably, her tail flicks up, rising in the air without her permission or knowledge. The colts doesn't pay this any mind at first, seeing as she had been flicking it not too long ago. However, as it just keeps getting higher, he looks at it quizzically. "Umm... Gel, why are you doing that with your tail?" He continues scrubbing as he asks that question. "Hmm... doing what, now?" She blinks from her daze, staring at her tail in confusion. "Um... I-I'm not doing it on purpose, Rhino..." She furrows her brow in concentration, her body tensing as she tries to get it to obey. "I-it's not going back down... t-that's never happened, before..." "Huh... weird." As he gets done washing her flanks, he plays with the tip of her tail and moment, flicking it back and forth. "Well, it'll be easier to clean when we get to it, I guess. Can you really not move it though?" He lightly presses a finger against the side of the base. "N-not an inch." She squirms slightly, her cheeks flushing with color. "T-that feels weird, Rhino... like, a tingly weird..." "I'll stop then." He regroups the scrubbing tool and moves lower. She sighs, muttering quietly to herself. "It's not like I didn't like it..." Not hearing this, the colt begins scrubbing up and down the back of one of her legs. "Just this one and the other one and we're halfway done." Gel hums, smiling softly as she feels his free hand rest on her thigh. "Feel free to take your time..." "Well... it's not like I'm rushing." He continues scrubbing all the way from her thigh to hoof. She squeaks as he rubs along the inside of her thigh, body tensing at the sensation. "T-there's that tingling, again..." "Huh, weird what seems to make you feel like that." He rubs over the spot again. "Is it like a good tingly or a bad tingly?" She groans softly, her eyes slowly drifting closed. "Good... definitely good..." "Good, I don't want more things that make you feel bad." He switches to the other leg. She immediately laughs, pulling away from his hand. "S-stop! I'm t-ticklish, there!" He stops, looking at the spot curiously. "You're not ticklish in the normal spots but you're ticklish in this random one? Strange..." He gently presses the sponge slightly below the spot. She pants quietly, trying to catch her breath. "S-sorry... I-I can't help it..." "It's alright, it's funny. I'll just have to remember that spot the next time you tickle me." He scrubs the rest of her legs, the suds slowly dripping down it. The girl slumps slightly, her ears now flat to her head. "Aw... I liked tickling you without worry..." She sighs, shaking her head. "I guess I'll have to find something else to make you act cute, then..." "I'm sure you'll find something." He stands back up fully. "Ok, I think that's everything back here, want to turn around?" She nods and slowly faces, him, her cheeks flushed with color. "L-like this?" "Yep!" He raises the sponge and starts working on her upper chest. "Gotta get you squeaky clean." She hums softly, relaxing under his hands as he cleans her chest. "I understand... m-maybe y-" She yelps as he brushes across the blue peaks, covering them protectively with her hands. "C-careful! T-those are sensitive!" He protests, having been careful. "But I barely touched them! How sensitive can they be?" "I-I don't know, but they're sensitive!" She bites her lip, turning away. "I-I can't explain it..." "Ok... I guess I'll just not touch them then..." He starts scrubbing again below her arms, rubbing the sponge on her belly. She sighs softly, cautiously pulling her arms away. "G-good enough, I guess... I hope we can cuddle a bit more, to make up for it..." He nods. "Of course we can." As he gets to her waist, he stands up, taking one of her hand in his own and starting to scrub her arm. "Plus you still have those two requests you asked me to do, so you should be happy. Unless you want another one anyway." She tilts her head at him, frowning softly. "I don't want to request anything else, Rhino... I feel like that'd be selfish..." She smiles, tilting his head up and tenderly kissing him. "What about you, though? Any requests... that don't contradict mine?" She winks, playfully sticking her tongue out at him. He shrugs noncommittally. "I dunno..." He switches to cleaning the other arm. Gel blinks, brow furrowing slightly. "You... don't know if you want anything?" He nods, explaining. "Yeah, I mean... I just can't think of anything I want right now. I'm happy like this." She pouts, her mood falling at his words. "Now I feel even more selfish..." "Wait, I thought of something I want!" He says quickly. She blinks, looking at him in confusion. "Really? Well... what is your request, Rhino?" As he finishes her arms, he looks to her seriously. "I want you to be happy." She stares at him blankly for a moment before smiling, gently hugging him. "Oh, Rhino... I'm always happy, when I'm with you..." That warm feeling returns as he reciprocates the hug. "Good... just let me know if there's anything else you want me to do to make you happy, and you're not selfish if you ask." "I'll be sure to remember that..." She nuzzles his cheek, her hands rubbing along his hips. "But I want you to feel free to do the same... okay?" "Okay..." He rubs her back a moment before crouching down. "Okay, let's get the rest of you." He starts scrubbing her waist and below. She gasps as he passes over the tiny line between her legs, her cheeks burning brightly at the strong tingling sensation. She does her best to keep this to herself, despite her legs trembling, as she doesn't want to worry her friend. The colt doesn't notice her reaction as he goes on, moving to the front of her legs now without much incident. "At least you don't seem to have any more tingly or tickly spots up here." "Y-yea, good thing..." She sighs, relaxing as his hands run over her thighs and shins. "That's really nice... maybe I should ask for a massage, later... you know, like from that one story?" "What, when that one guy hurt his back in the fall?" He asks as he stands up, setting the sponge stick to one side for now and levitating down another bottle. "Yea. I'm not gonna hurt myself for it, though." She giggles and looks at the bottle, tilting her head. "What's that, Rhino?" "Mane and tail shampoo." He answers simply. "Just lather it in and rinse it out. Which one did you want me to start with?" "I... I don't really have a preference..." She shrugs, rubbing the back of her neck. "You can choose..." "Well, if your tail is still up, let's start with that since it makes it easier to get to." He pours a bit of the gel into his hands. She nods and turns around, her tail flicking his leg as she does so. He chuckles, bending down slightly to be on level with the bundle of strands. He wraps his hands around the base, threading his fingers through the strands as he pulls them down all the way through her tail. She shivers and coos softly, pressing herself back against his hands. As he alternates hands repeating the motion, the colt tilts his head at her pushing against him. "Does that feel good or something?" "V-very good..." She smiles back at him, her whole face as blue as her tail. "Huh... I always thought my tail getting pulled felt uncomfortable..." He continues washing her tail, even pressing experimentally against the base again to see if it would move now. "You're not pulling on it, though..." She giggles, the soft strands gently wrapping around his hand. "You're actually being very gentle with it..." "I guess..." He looks down at the strands around his hand, smiling and holding them as if they were her hand. Gel sighs happily, letting her eyes drift closed as he works, enjoying every second of it. Soon enough, he stops and pats her flank. "Ok, it's time for me to work on your mane, think you can let me go?" She squeaks at his pat before she sighs, playfully squeezing a bit tighter before her strands slide off him. "I guess I can..." She turns and hugs him close, teasingly nipping his neck. Laughing, he hugs her back. "Hey, that's not letting me go..." Getting an idea, he playfully and gently nips one of her ears as she did to his neck. She gasps, pulling away with a small blush. "Fine... I guess we can continue, later, anyways..." "Heh, yeah, you did say you wanted to look and play with me more when we're clean." He puts a bit more gel in his hands before raising them and setting them in her mane, starting to run them back and forth through it much like he did her tail. She rests her head against his chest, her eyes closed once more as she focuses on the feeling of his fingers playing through her mane. Back and forth he washes. He even plays a little bit with her ears as he goes around them, wanting to see what her reaction is. She leans into his hands, a lazy little smile on her face. He smiles at this, finishing up quickly and letting her know with a nuzzle. "All done. Time to rinse off." She blinks blearily, looking up at him and slowly nodding. "O-okay, Rhino..." She steps forward into the spray, flinching at first before quickly getting used to it. She sighs in relief as she feels the tension in her body almost be washed away. Rhino watches as the suds are washed off her mane, tail, and body at once, leaving behind the changeling he knows, now grime free. "There we go, all clean." She smiles, turning to him and nodding, her shoulder-length mane sticking to her cheeks but not bothering her in the slightest. "Thank you, Rhino... I feel a whole lot better, now..." "Glad to hear it!" He reaches a hand forward and unsticks her mane, tucking it so it doesn't cover her face. "There we go, just need to get me clean now..." He grabs the sponge stick again. She takes a hold of it as he moves it, smiling shyly. "Um... m-may I try? I-I mean... it felt good for me, so..." Her voice trails off and she averts her gaze, embarrassed that she can't clearly speak what she wants to say. He tilts his head. "You want to... practice washing on me? I guess that's fine..." She gently pecks his cheek, smiling shyly. "T-thanks, Rhino..." She nuzzles him before carefully taking the brush, stepping around him and doing as he did, scrubbing his back with the brush. She may be using a bit too much pressure, however. The colt doesn't seem to mind too much though, as he leans into the sponge. "Heh, not quite as gentle as I was, but that does feel good... like a back rub sort of." She giggles, teasingly nipping his neck before brushing there, as well. "Glad I'm not doing that bad, my first time..." She trails down further, crouching then kneeling to get the best angle at which to clean his back. She pauses at his sides, momentarily considering tickling him before moving on, rubbing and squeezing his flanks. A small yelp escapes him as he looks back at her. "Hey, why are you squeezing back there?" "Because they're so firm... it's kind of hard to imagine since you're normally so... um, fluffy..." She sheepishly smiles, quickly moving on. "Ok..." His tail flicks once before he lets her get back to what she was doing. She scrubs along his legs, using her magic to manipulate the brush as she takes this opportunity to run her hands through his tail. She giggles at the almost-velvety texture, making sure not to tug. Unlike most males, Rhino's tail is not of the short style and is instead more of the length one might expect on a mare. Still, it is obvious that he takes care of it by how soft and untangled it is. She indulges herself in the feeling a moment longer before she grabs the brush, cleaning his calves as well as possible. Done with his back, she stands up, rubbing his shoulders once more. "Turn, please?" He obliges, smiling at her when he can see her. "You're doing good for your first time." "R-really?" She blushes softly, taking his hand as she moves up his arm. "I-I was just following your lead..." "You still learned well." He comments as she suds him up. She cheeks turn a brighter shade of blue and she smiles, leaning up for a peck. "I had a good teacher..." She works down his other arm and shifts to his chest, one hand feeling his muscles while the other scrubs with the sponge. Feeling her fingers spread throughout his fur, he smiles. "You really do like just feeling my coat, don't you?" "That, and I'm still trying to get a clear feeling for your build..." She pulls away, scratching her head in confusion. "You're... not that bulky... but I like this lean muscle..." She giggles, lowering herself to get at his legs, glancing at his pelvis for just a second before skipping it entirely. "It's like you have the potential to be a big, brave knight..." She starts scrubbing at his legs, running a hand along his inner thigh to keep him from moving. "I wonder how you'll look, then..." He stiffens as his muscles in his inner thighs twitch slightly from her touching. "I dunno... I mean, yeah being strong would be nice, but I don't want to be one of those huge guys who look weird because of how many muscles they have. I want a balance." "My mom's plenty strong, and she doesn't have huge muscles..." She puts the sponge stick to the side, picking up a small cloth and applying some body wash to it. "So you don't have to give up one for the other... right?" "I guess not..." He shrugs. "I'm not really sure how to get strong though..." "If my parents are right..." She carefully moves herself up, a hand on his thigh to keep herself steady. "You have to exercise... lift weights... jog... stuff like that..." She takes a soothing breath as she lays the wash cloth across her hand. She considers him for a moment, recalling how it felt when he ran the brush across the same area on her. She nods and reaches forward, gingerly touching the last dirty patch of fur on his body. The barest hint of tensing can be felt through her other hand as she touches him. A small blush also comes to his face as he feels her make contact. She slowly moves across him, gently cleaning from the thick fur to the surprisingly fine layer of hair in the middle of it. She looks up and, noticing the pink tint to his cheeks, smiles softly. "You really do look cute like that..." Feeling a small odd tingling sensation, he just smiles and nods, wondering what this is he's feeling since it's different from the warmth earlier. She turns her attention back to the soft flesh before her, tenderly stroking it as she steadily goes lower. She reaches the tiny pouch under it, carefully cupping and cleaning, brow furrowing slightly at the strange masses she feels inside it. Rhino winces as the tingling sensation he felt now intensifies and focuses so he can tell it's coming from around the region she's cleaning. As she starts rolling the pouch in her hand though, he can't help but squirm his hooves and flex his hands as his eyes widen while the feeling gets even stronger. It just feels really weird down there right now and he has no idea why. "Rhino..." She gently scrubs the backside of the sack, doing her best to not dwell on the area. "Did you know you ha-" She looks up and stops mid-sentence, blinking at the sight before her. "Well," she mutters to herself, scratching her head, "if cold makes it smaller... I guess it makes sense warmth would make it larger..." Shrugging slightly, she moves up and starts to rub the newly-exposed part, wanting to make sure he's completely clean. As that tingling he felt hits and all new high, now with warmth. The colt tries to focus on her words to take a small break from trying to find out what the heck his body is doing and why it only feels odd, not bad. "What... what was that? Did I know what?" He can feels the muscles in his inner thighs clenching and unclenching for some reason. Obviously not hearing him, she works a little faster. She frowns more and more as it gets bigger and bigger, increasing the force in her hands as he somehow gets more firm. Finally, she flings the cloth down, staring up at him in mild annoyance. "Why in the world is your body acting all weird, Rhino?" He throws his hands up. "I don't know! I have no idea why it's doing this and it feels weird while it's happening, but I can't stop it and... I don't know!" He looks down at his drastically different appearance. "It's never looked like that before..." "Really?" She stares at it, backing away slightly. "Um... if you're sure... m-maybe your parents might know?" She puts a finger on the tip, giggling at the way it bounces in response. "It looks kinda silly... not in a bad way, of course..." "Yeah... that's pretty much how it feels, weird, but not bad." He shakes his head. "I don't know... if it stays like that, I'll talk to them. Did you get done cleaning with the soap?" "Well... not really..." She sheepishly smiles at him, picking the cloth back up. "It kinda... grew a little fast for me to catch up..." She turns her attention back to it, slowly brushing the cloth along the side toward his belly. "So, um... try to hold still, okay?" "Ok..." He braces himself, feeling how sensitive it's become. She carefully scrubs the top of it, her hand bracing the underside so it wouldn't move and mess her circular pattern up. "Just... let me know if I'm too rough, okay? I don't want to hurt you... even the parts that are acting strangely..." Pulling a strange face as he feels the muscles around it, he responds. "It's fine... the way you're doing it actually feels good." She blinks, staring up at him in mild confusion. "Um... good, how?" She pauses at the ring in the middle, tilting her head as she traces and pushes on it with a finger. "Spongy... okay, then..." "I... don't know how to say it..." Recalling some of her earlier words, he tries them. "It's just... tingly and warm..." She nods, tenderly caressing the smooth surface as she cleans, moving to the sides of it. "So... like butterflies in your belly?" She slows down as she feels it twitch in her hands, startled by the movement. "You, uh... you feel that?" He nods. "I felt that twitch, yeah... as for the butterflies, yeah, in a way, though they're also lower..." She gulps quietly, wondering if this is a bit too much for her to handle. Shaking that thought off, she moves on, firmly yet lovingly scrubbing the underside of it, pressing it against his belly as she does so, determined to do her best for him. Slowly getting more used to the sensations, he doesn't react as much now, still feeling weird, but able to get his mind on other things as well now. "Thanks for cleaning me by the way, it's been nice." She blushes softly, smiling up at him. "It's the least I could do..." With a quick swipe along the tip she stands, sighing in relief. "Done... thank goodness..." "Yeah." He looks up to the other bottle. "Do you want me to rinse before you do my mane and tail?" Her smile falters slightly, and she scratches her cheek. "You, uh... you want me to clean your mane and tail?" "Well... I thought you were since you said you wanted to try, but if you don't want to, I can do it." He shrugs and goes to grab the bottle himself. She grabs his hand. "N-no, I just... your tail feels alright, to me..." She taps her fingers together, bowing her head slightly. "I-I'd like to try cleaning your mane... i-if you don't mind, of course..." "Oh, ok then." With his horn lighting up green, he floats the container down to her. "Here you go." She takes it, looking up at him for a moment. "Could you... kneel for me, please?" She taps his nose, giggling softly. "I'd like to see what I'm doing..." "Oh, right." The colt sinks to his knees, now looking up at the girl. "Better?" The navy girl cups his cheeks, kissing him gently before pressing her forehead to his. "Much. Thank you." She lets go of him and applies some of the gel to her hands, rubbing them together as she gets ready. His ears are pricked as he looks downward, waiting for her to start. Nodding to herself, she starts at the back of his neck, running her fingers through his crest as she lathers it. "Your hair's really smooth, Rhino..." She giggles, pecking the tip of his horn. "I guess you take great care of it, huh?" She slowly works her way up, pressing his head closer to her belly with each peak of the small circles she makes. "I like to keep it soft, it feels better that way." He is unable to say anymore before his face is in her stomach. Still though, it's not bad as he starts nuzzling the bleu skin in front of him. She giggles brightly, patting the top of his head as she reaches it. "I'm glad you're feeling so affectionate, Rhino..." She presses firmly into his scalp, wanting to keep the black and blue hair as comfortable as before. "I hope you're just as affectionate later..." "Don't see why I wouldn't be," he mutters as his whole body seems to relax as she works, a low humming coming from his chest. She works this for a bit longer before she stops, leaning down and tilting his chin up. She smiles sweetly at him, touching noses with him. "I'd also like to see how it'd feel with you starting the kiss." She moves out of the way, letting the spray hit him unimpeded. He snorts and shakes his head, the rush force of the water surprising him. Getting used to it after a moment, the colt's hands come up and run over his mane and coat, getting all the suds out. Once done, he looks to her as his wet mane hangs partially over his face. "Ready to turn off the water and get out then?" She brushes his mane away, tucking it so she can see his eyes clearly. "I'd like it, Rhino... but I thought you were going to get your tail?" She smirks as she traces tiny circles on his chest. "Or do you not need to do that?" He shakes his head. "Nah, you said my tail felt fine. I can skip it for now." He looks down and smiles at what she is doing to his chest, not sure why he likes when she does this, but he does. She shrugs, pulling her hands away just to hug him, tenderly nuzzling his cheek. "Then I think we're done... how do we stop the shower?" "Same way we started it." Hugging her back, his horn lights up, flicking the switch on the faucet so that the shower head cuts off and the water starts coming out the faucet again for a moment before he twists the knobs off as well, halting the flow. His horn stays lit up as he brings in the white towel and offers it to her. She grabs it and starts to dry off her body, letting him do his own. She pauses with the towel pressed to her mouth, gaze fixed on the once-more small area. "Still can't believe that happened..." She shakes her head, drying off her ear before giving him the towel and stepping out of the tub. "Yeah, still have no idea what that was about..." He takes the towel gratefully, starting to dry himself all over, making sure none of his fur is damp. The process takes a bit longer than drying chitin. "So... what do you want to do once we're dry?" "I'm not sure... one thing I do know, however," she flicks her hair back over her shoulder and scoops the clean clothes up, "is we don't need these, right now." She steps out into the hall, her tail waving to him as she leaves the room. The colt watches her go, still drying himself. "She's gonna hide them or something I bet..." Shrugging himself to his fate, the unicorn continues drying, eventually getting rid of all traces of dampness on himself. She soon returns, stepping in front of him and rocking on her hooves. "I thought of something we could do..." His eyes go up and down her, evaluating her stance. "I'm guessing it's something good?" "I hope so!" She giggles, playfully tapping his nose. "You suggested it, after all!" "Huh?" He blinks, looking down at his nose. "What did I say?" Her smile slowly fades, confusion taking its place. "You don't remember offering to show me around your house?" "Oh, that I remember." He smiles and nods at her, hoping to get her spirits back up. "I just wasn't sure what exactly you were talking about at first." She giggles, happily hugging him. "Yay! Thank you, Rhino!" She pulls away enough to nip his chin, a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. "So what are we going to see first, Rhino?"