Flora: Rhymes and Bets

Story by ReynartWrites on SoFurry

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A night of video games is the perfect way to get two people who normally don't get along, get along. It seems like such a wild bet but perhaps there can be some mutual understanding so long as each can lower their guard and maybe, maybe good things will happen.


A particular friend had a plan to bring two mutual's who disliked one another together. A game night could provide the perfect environment for them to get together and find common ground while a mediator sat by just in case anything went wrong. It was worth a try, at the very least. Toyle figured he might as well play along despite the fact that he was sure Charthur wanted nothing to do with him. He was supposed to be helping set up the room right now for the main event but all the grey-furred turf tiger hybrid was doing was standing there. One of his golden eyes was peering up at the ceiling while the masked portion of his face matched that thoughtful expression in a rare moment of unity as Toyle lost himself in thoughts. At the moment, he was wearing a loose long sleeve shirt and skirt that hugged around his waist with his golden snake tail twisting and twitching side to side from underneath it Maybe it was the fact that his personality on the screen was too much or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was so devilishly handsome that she couldn't stand his radiance, either way, it was no skin off of his mask if Charthur disliked him. Still, it never hurt to have more friends and doing this would make Neon happy too. Being able to let the figurative mask down around three would be better than just pissing Charthur off every time they met, although, he might still do that even if they became good friends.

Toyle was broken out of his thoughts by a bag of chips plopping onto his face. He blinked and was suddenly fully aware of where he was standing. With two golden clawed digits, he plucked the bag of chips off of his nose and looked around to see that he was standing in the middle of Neon's room that had been adjusted for the evening of fun. There were pillows and cushions that could easily serve as chairs. There was a mini fridge that was stocked so they didn't need to really get up and head out to the kitchen unless something truly pressing was desired. Neon had even moved her computer to a lone corner of the room and normally she was glued to that either looking at what he assumed was porn or a work that he couldn't begin to comprehend.

Neon herself was standing next to a television with a game console hooked up to it with paws at her hips. She was a stripe goat with bright pink and blue hair hanging down in a mop. A frown dotted the white-furred feline's features and he could almost see the steam spouting out of her black ears while those goggled eyes stared holes in him. His friend was standing there in only a long shirt, a shirt that only came down to the thighs making it hard to think about anything else when looking at her except maybe squeezing between those legs and seeing how long he lasted. Neon huffed and before she complained he put his hands up while holding the bag of chips in an admission of defeat and moved to help with adjusting the room. Perversion could wait until later. It didn't take long for things to get ready and soon enough, the controllers were set, snacks were ready on one of the cushions and drinks were placed on a small coffee table near the TV. All they needed was their guest of honor to show up.

"So, are you going to actually get along with Charthur or are you going to attempt to pester her until this little meeting falls apart?" Said Neon as she adjusted some pillows.

Toyle rose feeling something like insult and genuine hurt touching the fringes of his heart but he kept it down nicely and smiled, mask struggling to mimic the motion while he answered, "Really? You think I'd make this night fall apart? I'd like to think that I'm so charismatic that Charthur will apologize to me for not talking to me earlier." His smile slowly shifted to a frown while his mask still beamed and he muttered, "I'll try not to futz it up too hard your majesty."

Neon raised a brow and looked over before sighing, "Sorry...I'm just a little nervous. I want you two to get along more than anything so I don't have to see her waltzing away when we're walking together or when you approach me. I know its hard but you can be genuine around Charthur, you know? Or at least, you can tone it down a bit. Both of you love games so you should at least be able to quiet down enough for that and well, Charthur is at least willing to give it a shot."

Toyle chuckled, "Give me a shot huh? Didn't know we were all drinking or maybe you mean she's gonna punch me."

"Hah! We can take shots if you'd like but only to celebrate you two actually getting along. I've got a bottle in the mini fridge and glasses too." She then walked over and gave his cheek a pinch, "Besides, even she knows you'd probably like to get punched."

Toyle snorted, "Very funny..."

Just as he was about to get into a good bit of banter, the doorbell rang. Neon gave his face a little push before she walked away. He grumbled and rubbed his cheek before sitting himself down in front of the TV. Well, he supposed he should at least brace himself for a possible disaster. Toyle closed his eyes at that point when Neon wasn't in the room and breathed in before breathing out. All he had to do, was tone it down. There were no cameras here. There would be nothing to gain by showing off or being a dick. Being genuine and maybe even being a bit polite might go a long way during this, or maybe keeping his mouth shut. All he had to do, was not see Charthur as just another camera watching his every move.

When he opened his eyes, Charthur was standing at the doorway wearing a checkered hoodie and a cap with similar design. She squinted at him before moving to set the bag she had over her shoulder down on Neon's bed along with her hat. The black and white-striped turf tiger took her time before settling down on a pillow near his with her legs crossed together and her eyes closed. There were no words exchanged, no polite pleasantries even. He couldn't read what was on her mind but she was probably annoyed with his general presence. Toyle barely noticed that Neon came around to sit next to Charthur. He was too busy thinking of something to say, something that appealed to Charthur. What was something he could say, something he could do to appeal to Charthur? Suddenly he saw her as a viewer, a member in the audience waiting to be pleased and maybe that was a mistake. He stopped himself before he hit too deeply in that mindset and instead just went with his gut feeling.

Slowly, he picked up the controller and cleared his throat, "I can kick anyone's ass in this fighting game. You can either sit back and watch me beat up Neon, or you can challenge me yourself."

Shit. Was that wrong? Charthur looked over at him with a piercing blue gaze before she scoffed, "If strength in gaming is what you seek, then I'm here at the peak but go ahead and play with our friend Neon, for as the challenger you must go through the peon."

Neon huffed, "What? Hey! I've beaten you in this more than once."

Charthur grinned and leaned back on the makeshift seat, "True...But how is our record where the sky is blue?"

The stripe goat only answered by moving to slap the button down on the console to start it up and turn on the TV with cheeks blazing beneath the fur. At the very least, the first words out of his mouth hadn't ended in disaster. Settling down on a pillow, he took his gamepad and watched the screen light up. Fighting games were fun, they were just like war with all of the violence and less property damage unless someone got mad, but then again, that could just translate into a real war if anything happened. They were also prime for making challenges and bets but right now he figured it was better to just settle on it. For some reason, Charthur was watching him rather than the screen even as the game started. When he looked, she shifted her gaze toward the TV and leaned back with her legs coming out all the way to stretch onto the cushion she chose. With a shrug, he turned his attention back to the game and selected his character.

Things went well for him. Toyle had a lot of practice against Neon in this particular game and he loved nothing more than beating her with a bit of zoning. She couldn't get anywhere near him and though some rounds were close, he always came out on top. At the third win, he began to chuckle now and then until Neon suddenly bleated, "Something funny?"

Be polite, don't make an ass of yourself. Those were the things he was trying to remind himself but he just couldn't help having a little fun, "Your gameplay for one. I know Charthur called you a peon but come on. You're better than this right?"

Neon huffed and took a seat closer to him to jab an elbow into his side, "Shut up!"

Toyle winced but grinned as the matches continued. Neon did win a few but overall the record was in his favor. Eventually, he felt a touch at his shoulder and both himself and Neon looked to see Charthur pushing between them to get a closer look, "Surely you jest, you can't really be trying your best?"

The stripe goat blinked before offering the controller up with narrowed eyes, "Why don't you try and see just how much I was holding back."

Charthur took hold of the controller and took a seat next to Toyle with a huff, "I've seen you play and I just can't think of you as doing anything else than holding back today."

Toyle grinned, "Oh? Think that Neon's holding back huh? Bet you think that I'm a pushover too. Big talk for a girl too shy to handle the camera."

Both Neon and Charthur looked at him, Neon with a crooked frown with a paw at her mouth and Charthur with eyes narrowed and staring at him like those icy sickles she summons during a fight. That stare ended with a heated remark betraying the ice in her eyes, "If a beating is what you desire, then a pretend game of war between us will transpire. In other words, you're on camera boy."

Camera boy? That was irritating. He was a star, a diva, someone who belonged on camera rather than someone who handled the camera. With a smirk that teetered on falling down to a grimace he grunted, "The come on, make me eat my words."

"With pleasure," Charthur said without any of the rap or rhyme.

Toyle expected a battle with someone hardened by years of gaming, expected to be floored within a few seconds only to return in the next few rounds but what happened was more than shocking. Charthur was horrible at this game compared to Neon. Every round ended quickly with a few ending in a game over. Charthur got close once or twice but never won. His chuckling from before turned into a bubbling giggle between rounds and he couldn't help but fall back laughing after the fourth loss.

"What?!" Squeaked Charthur.

Toyle spoke from where he was sitting, "I thought you were going to beat me so badly I was going to have to kneel in reverence or something. You're so skilled in real life when it comes to war that I figured you would have half as much of that when in game and just...I didn't actually think I'd win or at least win so handily."

Charthur leaned over to jab him in the chest, "If you think that was my best then you'll realize just how wrong you are."

He couldn't help but continue to chuckle, one hand over his mouth as he tried to resist the urge to burst out with pure laughter. If he had his camera he would love nothing more than to take a candid picture of this Charthur who slipped in and out of rhyme. This Charthur who was sitting there hunched over with eyes narrowed and...A small smile on her mouth?

Sitting up, he looked at Charthur closely before he shrugged, "If you think you can win then sure. We can go a few more rounds but maybe you'd like to practice on a weaker opponent. At this point, you're the challenger right?"

Charthur blinked and sniffed, "I guess."

Toyle lounged back and held up his controller, "Oh dear peon, come and rid me of this dirty controller so you can be the one to handle this wild beast."

He winced as Neon flicked his forehead and took the controller. Surprisingly, things were going well. The games continued with closer wins and losses and Charthur even started winning a few from Toyle when his turn was up again. Snacks were shared and drinks as well. Sometime during their little game. Shot glasses had been passed out and Toyle didn't even notice. He was too busy bothering and teasing Charthur but it was different. Normally she just hissed and narrowed her eyes at him before walking off, but instead, she was punching his arm and returning his banter sometimes with rhyme and sometimes without. It felt nice.

At this point, each loss was a shot of something sharp and sweet and the bets began. Toyle could handle his alcohol easily enough and Neon's body practically made it difficult to get drunk. He wasn't really sure how Charthur handled her alcohol but she agreed to it despite the fact that she had been losing so often, at the same time, he couldn't help but notice the fact that as soon as the alcohol started to break out, Charthur stopped making as many assertions.

After his third shot, Toyle sighed and rolled the glass while leaning back, "This is easy stuff, doesn't even burn, doesn't even feel warm. Can we really call it a punishment if it is so weak?"

Neon rolled her eyes, "To be honest, I didn't expect to use it for that. I figured that something nice, sweet and light might be nice between some friends."

Charthur grunted, "I agree with Toyle." Such a simple statement and a statement of agreement with Toyle of all people drew all eyes on Charthur before the turf tiger cleared her throat, "What I mean to say, is that there is no price so great to pay, how can there be bets with nothing to fret?"

Toyle grinned, "See. I'm right Neon so how about you and I start it off huh?"

The stripe goat rolled her eyes before settling next to him, taking her controller to tap the buttons to get them ready before she said with a big sigh, "Fine! Guess we can bet for the usual huh...Winner gets a boon and I'd cherish getting to sit on your dumb face to shut your mouth."

A wash of warmth hit him out of nowhere like a sudden slap across the cheek. He turned his head and saw that Charthur was staring with wide eyes, obviously not expecting that response either but he answered with a chuckle, "Okay...But don't complain when you're choking on my dick."

He turned his head to see how Charthur would react to that but she said nothing. All she did was hug a pillow to her chest and plant her chin atop of it to watch the screen and nothing else. Was she fine with all of that? Did she expect this? If she had any complaints she could voice them at any point and he'd be fine with stopping. Well, he shouldn't really have to worry. Charthur was good at asserting herself so he imagined if he overstepped any boundaries he'd be ending up with a hot cheek. On the other side of things, Charthur could be actually interested in seeing where this little game went and that was more than interesting.

The game played out as Toyle expected, and yet, he felt as if Neon had been holding back for some reason. When he raised a brow at Neon, she simply shrugged a shoulder and let the controller fall from her paw onto the pillow, "Guess I lost. I shouldn't be surprised since you've been no-lifeing this game. Next time we should play a strategy game or something with a bit more thought into it. Figures a mindless celebrity wannabe would be good at this kind of thing."

Toyle recognized the playful nature of the jabs and leaned back while grinning, "No need to be such a sore loser. You'll be choking on this celebrity cock soon enough. Anyway, we can play any type of game you want and I'm sure I'd end up winning."

Neon narrowed her eyes and grabbed his thigh firmly, paw pushing up his skirt while she hissed, "We'll see about that next time. Now, are you going to help with this or are you just going to sit back and relax while I do all the work?"

The hybrid rolled his eyes and yawned, "Yup. Feeling a little winded after beating your ass so thoroughly. Now, why don't you hurry up? Our guest of honor is bored."

Clear red shone through the white fur of her cheeks as Neon pushed his skirt up further and tugged down the panties he had been sporting, his barbed cock was already hard and already twitching up into the air fully thanks to their little play and the fact that someone was watching them. The uncertainty of whether or not Charthur would enjoy what she saw put a steady beat to his heart that was growing rapidly. Neon's digits coiled around his shaft and she leaned down to plant a soft kiss on the tip, other paw coming around to cup his balls and give them a gentle massage.

"And here I thought you'd hate it." He muttered with a smirk mirrored on his face and mask.

Neon looked up at him with narrowed eyes, "Toyle, I swear, if you don't shut up I'll--"

Toyle took the back of her head by the hair firmly and he slammed her down so her nose kissed his crotch. The stripe goat gagged and sputtered, huffing hot air out of her nose on to his crotch as she tried to pull her head back. Three taps and he would let her up but instead, her struggles were tempered by little shows of enjoyment. She pushed her head down on her own occasionally when he loosened his grip and he swore he could even hear her purring. At this point, he started to tug her head up and down slowly, never letting her come up fully. That tight warmth would get him off in no time if he wasn't careful but Toyle was certain to hold back just to rob Neon of all that precious air and make sure this was a proper punishment. A constant glare was given even as she gagged and even as she occasionally attempted to pull her head away, at the same time, he could feel her tongue moving to get him off, feel the gentle squeeze of her digits around his balls as if she were trying to milk him. The temptation to bad mouth her was great but he wasn't sure how the audience would handle that and again he found himself mistaking Charthur for a viewer. Sure she was actually watching what was happening right now but technically she was part of the act.

Just when he turned his head to see what Charthur was up to, he noticed that her chin was on his shoulder and her cool eyes were peering down at Neon, "Hm...Jasmaby told me you were who enjoyed being on the bottom tier, and by your weak actions I see I would have nothing to fear." Toyle blinked. Was that a challenge? With a frown he started to drag Neon's head down harder and harder, the gagging becoming a thing that happened with every other push. Meanwhile, Charthur's eyes were glued to what was happening and her mouth was kept shut until finally, she muttered, "Bet you couldn't even get me to gag."

Toyle slammed Neon's head down, rubbing her nose against his crotch as he growled, "Well, how about I yank our friend's mouth off of my cock and replace it with yours? I'm sure Jasmaby would love to kiss your mouth after it's been on my dick."

Charthur shrugged, "If I won you'd have to let me at your rear but if somehow you won I suppose you'd get me raw I fear."

He paused at that, slowly letting Neon up. The stripe goat gasped and sputtered when she was finally free, "What? Charthur...?"

The icy-eyed turf tiger said nothing as she brought her head down until her lips were over the tip of Toyle's already spittle covered cock. He reached down to touch the back of her head and he muttered, "Three taps and I'll let you go...Until then I'll use your mouth until I'm done, got it?"

Charthur remained quiet and simply dipped her head down until half of her mouth was on his cock. She looked up at him with a quirked brow and he answered by planting a paw at the back of her head and dragging her all the way down. Her nose pressed against his thigh but she did not gag, instead, she simply closed her eyes and braced. Slowly, he began to drag her up and down, taking his time in enjoying the warmth of her mouth before starting to pick up speed with every push and pull. Even with the new speed and his cock throbbing at the back of her throat, Charthur did not gag. Neon had lost on purpose in their little fighting game but Charthur continued to go through the motions normally. There was no sign of frustration on her face, no misting at her eyes and he swore he saw her smiling while all of this was happening. That lack of frustration soon began to manifest as his own irritation as he grabbed her head and began to really slam it down. He heard a few noises, both sticky and wet but nothing that served as a gag, her strength beating his out for now.

Near them Neon had taken to lounging on one of the pillows, eyes watching carefully while her paws dipped beneath the shirt that had been brought up just enough that her digits could be seen toying inside and around her pussy. Toyle noticed but said nothing as he continued. Right now he had to focus on pushing Charthur to the limit. His claws at the back of her head tightened and his hips started to move now with every drag of her maw on his cock. Frustration and anger moved and urged his body to continue adding to the strength of his thrusting until he could see that her one smiling features were now tightening with signs of some sort of struggle. All he had to do was last just a bit more and he could absolutely make her gag, he could absolutely force this haughty tiger to submit, this proud and powerful turf tiger who cared to see who he really was beyond the mask. Adding to that frustration was the fact that he knew that lack of desire to understand him was all his own fault and so he gnashed his fangs and pushed in as hard as he could manage.

Even before he started inside of Chathur's mouth he had been getting close to letting one loose in Neon's maw. Now he struggled to keep the pressure from breaking the dam, gnashed his fangs as he closed his eyes tight and kept on thrusting with the intent in forcing the haughty turf tiger to capitulate. It was harder than he imagined. Even with his wild thrusting and his pushing the sound of her gagging or choking never once came. Her eyes were tearing up now visibly and he swore he saw bright washes of red beneath the fur of her cheeks. Even with all of that, he knew he was failing. Toyle cursed quietly and kept on pushing, his own hips shaking now while he kept his eyes shut tight and his stomach clenched. Eventually, he couldn't hold himself back and he thrust one last time, load pouring into her throat directly and overflowing into her maw as he tried his best to give her something hard to swallow. When he was done, he let go of her head to admit defeat and Charthur got up with a fat grin on her face.

With a fist pumped in the air proudly, the icy-eyed turf tiger threw her head back to swallow what was in her maw and then suddenly choked and sputtered. Toyle blinked and watched her try to catch her breath with a bit of drool and cum dripping at one corner of her mouth. A smile stretched from his mask to his face before he finally slapped his claws together and beamed, "Looks like I win."

"You." Coughed Charthur, "You surely jest." She then cleared her throat and took a deep breath before hissing, "And if you think you won then I'd have to say a cheater I detest."

Toyle smiled, "Ohoh? A cheater? I'm not the one who gagged on my cum. I'd called it a technical win if anything else but we'd need a mediator wouldn't we, a third to decide who wins."

Neon who was sitting there red-faced with digits retreating from her cunt blinked as she saw both Toyle and Charthur staring at her, "Huh? What? Well...I can't say that I was paying attention but I did hear Charthur choke and well, I'd say that counts."

The icy-eyed turf tiger opened her mouth before closing it again, doing so a few times before she huffed and stamped her foot and growled, "If that...If it is...Fine! A draw!"

Toyle raised a brow, "A draw?"

Charthur huffed, "You can enjoy your spoils of victory but I'll be on top and if you make a move you'll be history."

Maybe he would have stepped down at this point but he felt something in his heart telling him to push forward and push forward hard. Charthur's words were coming out harsher than usual with or without the rhyme and he was feeling his own frustrations and anger starting to pour through as he stepped forward and poked her chest, "Sure you can be on top all you want but if I push you down then don't complain when you're under me mewling like a bitchy kitten."

Charthur's paws shook and he swore he was going to get a swat but instead she hissed, "Is that a challenge? You think you can handle me? With luck and bluster?"

Toyle's head whipped back for just a bit before he narrowed his eyes, "I think I can handle you and it isn't luck or bluster. So how about you get out of that hoodie of yours and let's get this started."

There was a moment of silence between the two before Charthur huffed and stepped back to start stripping. Toyle mimicked the action with just as much puffing, both of them practically fuming once they got down to nothing. Charthur planted a paw flat on his chest and pushed hard sending him on his rear. Before he could react, she was on his lap and her sex was pushed up against his cock. He hissed but reached to grab his cock to adjust it and get the tip to where it needed to be. Once it was there, rather than wait for her movement, he grabbed hold of her hips and slammed her down roughly. Every inch of his cock pushed and ground against those warm inner walls and suddenly, Charthur let out a noise akin to a squeak. It was brief and turned into a snarl soon enough but it encouraged him to push and thrust, pressing his body against hers to try and get her back while her claws dug into his back and her fangs pressed down on his shoulder.

Charthur was clinging to dear life on his body, blossoms of pain sprouting wherever her claws or mouth touched but it only urged him to keep going and amplified his lust and anger, "What?" He spat, "Can't handle a little competition? Think just because you're clinging so tight you'll win? Move your hips then come on. I'm weak right? I can't possibly budge the great Charthur right?"

The turf tiger tore her mouth away from his shoulder to hiss words into his ear quietly without rhyme or structure, "Don't mistake it. This is nothing and you're nothing. You're nothing more than a spec and your constant forced instructions on my life with your personality and your cameras are just small irritations."

Toyle found his hips moving faster just as Charthur's began to move both tigers growling at one another like wild monsters about to fight, and yet, they did not pull away and they did not and the words spilled freely from his own mouth, "A spec huh? Is that why you're always hissing at me? Why my words are always making you react in some way shape or form? Face it, you're obsessed just like I'm obsessed with fame." His words came out raw and they came out with anger, fury, and frustration at himself most of all, "Every single time you pop up you're just another person in the audience waiting to be please waiting to be entertained but all you do is run away. You never even stop to talk once the act is over."

Charthur's voice was growing ragged but she still growled out, "Why would I when you're so rude and so insistent on disrespecting me and more."

Without pause Toyle muttered quietly, his thrusting maintaining the same speed despite the lowered voice, "That's my mistake."

"What?" Asked the turf tiger, her hips suddenly stopping.

Toyle took that as his opportunity. He pushed forward and brought Charthur onto her back where he continued to pound into her while holding one of her legs up with one arm looped around it and one hand planted flat on her chest while he leaned down to press his nose against hers and speak, "You heard me. My mistake. My fault. All of those interactions, my bad. All of them." He then gnashed his fangs and pounded harder into her as he forced the words out, "I'm sorry I'm such a shithead."

Charthur blinked, dumbfounded and for a moment, no words were exchanged between them. Their lips were so close, breaths away as their mouths occasionally opened to grunt, groan and growl. The sound of moans joined their noises and for a moment Toyle caught Neon stuffing a fat toy inside of herself, lowering her body until it was all inside. He only caught a glimpse but he felt a momentary pang of relief as he saw his friend enjoying herself while all of this was happening, at the same time, he could not stifle the flame that had grown inside of him from admitting such a thing during this little play. With all of the anger boiling at once he could barely feel that he was so close to climax and yet, his body knew that throbbing excitement and knew what it meant. At the same time, the turf tiger beneath him dug her claws in harder and her legs curled around him tightly while she bit down hard on his neck. He winced at that and found her insides suddenly tightening, gushing around his member as he pushed in one last time and let his own orgasm pour out into Charthur's pussy. The barbs of his cock flared as it throbbed and twitched inside of the feline beneath him, both of his arms around Charthur as he continued to grind himself inside of her.

Once they were both done, Charthur's legs fell to the ground, her body shaking as her chest rose and fell. She brought her mouth from his neck and leaned back on the pillows beneath them, eyes looking up past him at something he couldn't understand. When he pulled out he did so slowly despite the fact that their rutting had been so intense. He wondered what she was looking at and found himself about to ask a question before his lips were met with her own. It was a quick peck before he got a good kick in the stomach and was rolled off onto his back staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly, Neon was there with a small kit with a red cross on it.

Toyle sat up and touched his neck feeling the warmth and reason for that kit, "Oh...huh, guess we did go a bit wild..."

Even saying those words had been tough but Neon replied with a grunt, "Yeah, the show was fun to watch, more than fun but uh, Charthur might've gone a bit overboard with the fangs and claws."

Charthur's ears perked and she peeked over Neon's shoulder, "Did I...Do too much?"

Toyle ignored the blood on his claws and the warmth he felt on his back along with the dull pain echoing throughout and he shrugged, "If you did too much I'd tell you besides, I'm more durable than you could ever pretend to understand. Besides, this is nothing a bit of bandage can't handle right?"

Bandages did help but the part that he forgot was the disinfectant. It always stung worse than anything that happened during the sex but it was a feeling he was used to since he enjoyed being on the receiving end of such things. Weirding him out though, was the fact that Charthur was watching him so intensely during the entire thing. Every time he winced or made some sort of movement mimicking discomfort she would ask Neon if she could help before Neon brushed her off. Neon already knew what to do and it was better to just have one person dealing with it rather than two people bumping into one another during sensitive bits. Only his neck and shoulders really needed bandages while any claw marks were simply swabbed and covered. It wasn't so bad and nowhere near the worst thing that had happened to him.

When everything was done, he put his shirt on and watched as the other two did the same. Underwear was left off at least and the TV was turned off before the lights were as well. No one said a word about going to sleep but they crawled into bed either way after that little bit of intensity, that, and it actually was extremely late as well. The bed was large enough that they had space to lie down and no one bothered with goodnights except for a hug or two he felt from Neon and perhaps even one from Charthur. When all were settled, their eyes closed and they let sleep start to fall on them, except, there were still things on his mind.

That little session with Charthur had been raw. He had admitted his own faults during his passion and anger and he wasn't sure if she had caught on how serious he was. Making a fool of himself in public for the entertainment and admiration of others was exactly what he wanted to be doing but it wasn't as if he didn't understand what that did to relationships. Letting down that guise of being a celebrity could be difficult when that was all he ever wanted and dreamed about. Maybe he could let his ambitions drop just a bit, maybe he could slow down, and maybe he could also be forgotten.

"Hey."

Weird. It sounded like his mind was calling out to him in the darkness as if, his worries were manifesting in the real world as a voice that sounded oddly like Charthur's. Wow, that is incredibly annoying. He hoped that if he willed it away it would just go away even if he knew that such things were pipe dreams.

"Hey..." The voice said again, "Are you still awake?"

He opened a single eye to darkness as he realized that the hushed voice was coming from near him. Toyle could feel someone's arm pressed against his own and that voice came again, "I think...I'd like to talk."

Toyle raised a brow before blowing out air, "Okay...Shoot." He said quietly.

"First and foremost...Did I hurt you?" She said, her voice almost small.

Toyle smiled at that and shook his head even if she couldn't see, "Nah...I like that kind of stuff. I've taken worse and dealt worse. Anything else on your mind?"

A sigh of what he assumed was relief came from the darkness before Charthur responded, "...It was fun but I'm also a bit embarrassed. I lashed out at you. It was all part of the game but, you really do infuriate me even if I see some things that I didn't before. So, why act one way or another?"

Toyle frowned and thought about coming up with something witty but...There were no eyes watching, no cameras or ears to hear, just the darkness between them and so he muttered, "I want to be a star. I'll do anything to get to that goal and more than that, I've been doing this for so long I just can't imagine doing anything else. People are like active cameras rolling and watching me and maybe that's wrong but the act never stops. I can let it down a bit for a few people but even with those, I'm most comfortable with I like to toy around a bit and practice acts. Taking pictures of you, insisting that you lower your camera shy nature, I doubt I'll stop that even after tonight because I'm just uh, just that way but I hope you get that I don't actually want you angry and I don't hate you."

Buzzing silence touched the air before Charthur sniffed, "I see...You were an enigma and that was the most annoying thing. I couldn't tell what you were thinking or feeling even after a conversation and that bothered me, along with other things. I see there is no mystery and nothing to fear now. Maybe from now on, I'll accept your challenges more often in public but if you come at me with a camera I will break it and you."

Toyle chuckled, "Fair..." He then reached out to give what he thought was her leg a tap, "Your turn though...Why the rhyme? You say I'm a mystery but to me, it sounds like you're trying to get something around me rather than to me when you use all those different ways of speaking."

It took much longer than he thought to answer. He almost thought to say that she didn't have to answer but Charthur's voice came out quietly and without any edge, "It is easier to think about structure than it is to think about what other people might be saying in their heads or feeling. I can focus on that and not feel nervous."

With those words said, Toyle shut his eyes and hummed, "I'll keep that in mind. Anyway...We should sleep but really, brush up on your fighting games a bit. Tonight was embarrassing."

He felt a fist connect with his ribs but it stopped instead of following through and he swore he heard a chuckle before everything went to silence. This time, sleep found him much easier with only one new thought pressing through his mind that still allowed him to slumber. Damn, that punch still hurt.