I'll put my hand over your eyes, but you'll peek through

“You don’t have to do this for me,” Kim grumbled. She still hadn’t picked out an outfit yet; at least, not an official one.

Little Miss had wrapped her up in a comfy silk robe, which felt like being wrapped up in a giant cloud’s hug.

“Nonsense!” Little Miss chirped as she handed a mug of hot cocoa to the tomboy alongside the bowl of chicken soup. “Anything to help you get more comfortable!”

“I don’t want to be pampered,” Kim grumbled, irritated that the cocoa tasted so good, even though that was a ridiculous thing to complain about. “I know this is my day off, but can’t I just get a day off? Please?”

For Kim, a day off meant lounging around and doing nothing. This… this was different. She was being spoiled, and she had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to handle that.

“Mm-mm!” Little Miss shook her head and crossed her arms adamantly over her chest. “Dakota was very clear! You are to be utterly pampered and spoiled, like a princess! It’s the only way to get you to accept that relaxing and being spoiled is good!”

Kim couldn’t even begin to unravel that logic, she just stared in disbelief at the pink-haired woman. “Seriously?” She grumbled, sighing.

Little Miss nodded. “Yes,” she said firmly. “Seriously.”

Kim let out another sigh. “Well… the hot cocoa is good… I guess.”

“Try the chicken soup!” Little Miss chirped. She was quite proud of how well she was taking care of the other woman. “Kim, I know you’re not the kind of person who can just relax and be spoiled, but that’s the whole reason you’re here!”

“I know, you keep telling me,” Kim grumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Yup!” Little Miss nodded. “Because it’s true. You’re a workaholic! And while that’s not a bad thing, you need some balance in your life! Imagine, wanting to enjoy a nice, lazy day in bed with your master and the rest of the harem… but you can’t, because you feel like you need to get to work! First thing in the morning! Don’t you know? You can work in the afternoons, too!”

Kim bit the inside of her cheek. Little Miss wasn’t wrong; due to her contract renegotiation with Sylvia, she didn’t have to work a full day. She could set her four hour block of daily work whenever she wanted in the day.

“…I go to work early so I can get it out of the way,” she replied, looking up at the store manager. “I think that’s the best way to do things.”

“Is it? Or is that just you rationalizing? Maybe you should try going to work in the afternoon, and taking a slow morning every now and then! It might help! You never know…”

“…I’ll consider it,” Kim conceded. “But still, that has nothing to do with me being spoiled, does it?”

Little Miss blinked. “…No, I guess not,” she conceded with a shrug. “Still! Sometimes, you don’t need to go out for a hunt! You can just lounge around and get spoiled, and there’s nothing wrong with that! Like a lazy housecat!”

The only housecat Kim had experience with was Dawn, and she was far from lazy. “Or like a lion on the Savannah,” she joked, feeling herself relaxing a little already.

Sneaking into a lion pit was a heart-pounding idea. Like pulling off a casino heist or a bank robbery, it was a tense, high-stress activity that required a lot of bravery and focus; even when considering that Dakota wouldn’t actually let the lions maul either of them.

But it never hurt to be careful. As Nick and Ella slowly crept into the silent, arid grassy enclosure, they were very on edge; like any misstep could lead to an accident.

Nola wasn’t helping.

“Did you know that lions are the original harem animals?” She obnoxiously chirped as they approached the beasts, not even bothering to lower her voice into a whisper. Nick and Ella jumped. “There’s a reason they’re one of our favorites here at the show! The male relaxes in the sun all day, while the females do all the tasks like hunting for the food! Isn’t that just so cool? It’s exactly the kind of thing we want to cultivate here on the show!”

“Oh really?” Nick hissed at her, narrowing his eyes. “This is the kind of system you want? One where I don’t do anything and the women around me just wait on me hand and foot?”

Ella looked uncomfortably at the leprechaun while Nola just stared blankly at him.

“Yes?” She said, nodding in confusion. “What’s wrong with that?”

Nick just sighed and rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to be dealing with the talkative girl right now. He was trying to have a good time with Ella. Even though the other girl was looking a lot more nervous than she’d been when she was up safe looking down at the lions.

“Ella?” Nick approached her. “You sure you’re up for this?”

“I-I am!” Ella nodded shakily. She chewed on her lip. “I’m not afraid. It’s like you said… the lions can’t hurt me, right? They’re not dangerous, so… there’s nothing to be scared of!”

And yet her heartbeat wouldn’t slow down. Even if Ella rationally knew that there was nothing to be scared of, she wasn’t a rational human being. The lions were still lions, and the side of her that responded to primal emotion was telling itself to sprint in the other direction.

It wasn’t just Ella’s instincts, either, that was the worst part. She had Cinder in the back of her head, all but screaming at her to get out of there. Ella clasped her rubber-band with all her might and snapped it hard, until Cinder would quiet down.

“Thwap! Thwap! THWAP!”

…Unfortunately, no luck. Cinder just wouldn’t shut up no matter what she did. Ella turned and looked at Nick, and bit her lip.

“Nick…” she said weakly, earning her a response from him. Nick turned to look at her, alarmed.

“Ella? Is everything okay?” He asked. “If you’re having second thoughts…”

“No.” She shook her head firmly. “It’s not me. It… well, it’s kind of me, but, um…”

Nick saw the way she clutched at her wrist, and he had heard the rubber-bands for himself. Of course Ella would be anxious and nervous like this, it was only natural. Cinder was just trying to protect her, even if she wasn’t in danger…

“Hey, it’ll be fine,” he said, stepping closer to her and placing a comforting hand on the side of her arm, caressing her gently. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m right here…”

Ella nodded slowly. “Yeah… yeah.” She wished she could say that had made Cinder retreat, but it didn’t. She was still anxious, even though she didn’t want to be.

I’m really scared. I shouldn’t be, but I am. Even if I am though… I have to do this. If I don’t face my fears, then Cinder will just control me forever. Ella knew that dealing with her alternate personality wasn’t as easy as flipping a light switch. She might never be completely free of Cinder’s influence. But whatever she could do to minimize her alter’s impact on her life, she had to try it.

Otherwise she would never be able to live the kind of life she wanted to live.

Ella waited until her heart slowed down, and then she took a deep breath and exhaled. “…It’s okay,” she said finally, turning to Nick. “I’m fine now.”

Nick was surprised at how composed she was. She didn’t even need to snap her rubber-band that time.

“Okay,” he said with a smile. “Let’s do this. Don’t worry, I’ll go first.”

Nick wasn’t thrilled about approaching the lions himself, but if he went first and Ella saw that there was nothing to be worried about, it would make things a lot easier for her.

He hoped.

Nick slowly advanced towards the pride of lions gathered in the grass, noting how real they looked. He’d only seen lions a couple times before, as a kid (ironically in another zoo) but he was still amazed by the pride and strength he saw in their noble (but lazy) figures.

Dakota really pulled out all the stops with this one. Seeing them up close is completely different from looking down at them from above!

Nick felt his heart racing in his chest as he approached. He was getting closer now, and in spite of his effort to not rustle the grass, he couldn’t be as silent as he wanted.

Heads perked up. Ears twitched. And before he knew it, dozens of eyes turned towards him, like alert sentries ready to strike.

In a millisecond his heart went from racing to stopped cold.

Well… either this is going to work, or the audience is about to see something really funny.

Now that the lions were looking directly at him, Nick only had two options. Well, three. He could keep going forward, or he could run the other direction, or, the third option, he could keep standing there and pretend he was a mannequin.

Then he felt a warm hand wrap around his. It was strange; the delicate touch seemed to draw the tension out of his body, helping him breathe again and restarting his heart. He relaxed and felt the irrational fear flowing through him just drain away.

Nick turned and saw… nothing.

“Ella?” He asked. He could feel her hand around his, but the girl was nowhere to be found.

“…Sorry,” she squeaked out, her voice far closer than he realized. He could feel her breath against him, and felt the warmth of her body close to his. She was using her mask to hide herself!

“It’s alright,” he said gently. “You don’t need to apologize.”

“I thought I could do it… but I got too scared. It’s so cool… being this close to the lions… but it’s scary, too… I’m such a coward…” Ella was glad that her mask was hiding the embarrassment and fear she was feeling right now. It was awful, just awful; even though she knew there was no danger, her body just wouldn’t accept it.

Nick wished he could ease her fears. But it wasn’t that simple, was it?

“Don’t worry.” He gave her hand a slight squeeze to reassure her. “Just being down here is brave enough. Come on, let’s go.”

He turned back towards the pride of lions, who were still watching him carefully, like they were waiting for him to make a move. Maybe they were. Regardless, all Nick could do was step forward, and hope that at some point his body would catch up with his mind.

…Unless he was completely wrong about this. In that case, it was a good thing Ella was invisible right now.

The lions didn’t move at all, even as Nick walked right into their midst. They seemed comfortable with him being there, almost accepting of his presence, which was a serious relief. They were conjured from Dakota, after all; seeing the lack of response helped remind him that these were just more of her constructs, and that there was nothing to be afraid of.

He felt Ella squeeze his hand tightly. Not being able to see her made Nick so much more aware of her presence than before. He could feel her pulse through their contact; he could hear the tiny breaths and pants in his ear; and he could feel her nuzzle up close to him, her small shoulder pressing against his.

“It’s okay… it’ll be fine.” Nick wasn’t sure if he was saying that for Ella’s sake or his own. All he knew was that his legs kept moving forward.

They could stop here; they’d gotten close enough to the lions now to make some really good memories; did they really have to go all the way and touch the things? No, of course they didn’t.

But this was about more than an exciting date at this point. This was about satisfying Ella’s concerns and helping her be brave, and that was something Nick was invested in doing.

Before he realized it, he was standing in front of the largest of the lions, the male. The ruler of this pride, or in other words, the “master” of this harem, and Nick’s counterpart.

This close to a mighty beast such as this was more than Nick ever could have imagined. He could feel the raw power radiating off of the giant cat, even if the male of the species was prone to just lazing around and not doing anything with his day, letting the women pick up the slack in his stead. (Something Nick was sadly guilty of himself.)

Even with that, the power was unquestionable. A single swipe of his claw would shred Nick to ribbons. He just had to trust that wouldn’t happen.

Nick reached out with his free hand, and heard Ella’s sharp intake of breath. Giving her hand a squeeze he stepped forward, and kept his eyes locked on the piercing eyes of the king of the beasts in front of him.

Before he knew it, his hand made contact with the lion’s furry mane, and heat and power blossomed through his body as he felt the beast’s body.

Nick gasped in surprise. He wanted to say it felt like petting a cat, but it definitely wasn’t. At least, not entirely. To his relief, he quickly found there was nothing to be worried about. The lion had permitted his touch (again, because it was a creation of Dakota’s) so he could keep touching; and that was precisely what he did.

“Wow…”

Nick jumped, not expecting Ella’s voice so suddenly. The lion bristled as well, but didn’t attack.

“It’s really strong,” Nick said, more for Ella’s sake than his own. “And it’s so cool. You should touch it yourself, Ella.”

He kept petting the beast, stepping aside and giving Ella some room to do the same, when she was ready. Nick could still feel her heartbeat, and understood the **** that she must be feeling right now, but he hoped that his own actions would be enough to take the burden off of her.

Then he felt Ella’s hand slip away from his.

She didn’t remove her mask; maybe that was the only way she could bring herself to do it. But a second later he saw the fur of the lion’s mane shift and distort, as if the wind was running through it. Or the tentative fingers of an invisible woman.

“It’s so… fluffy!” Ella’s tiny voice squeaked. “And soft! Wow… I had no idea it would be so soft! Hehehehe…”

The lion craned his neck and looked around, his ears twitching in confusion. He sought out the source of the strange voice, but saw nothing.

Nick decided he’d had enough time touching the lion and took a step back, watching it carefully. If the king of beasts was bothered by the touch of an invisible human, he didn’t show it, and his body soon relaxed. Then he began rumbling.

“Oh! I… I think he’s purring!” Ella marveled. “Maybe he likes it!”

Nick wasn’t sure big cats like this were capable of purring or not; but Ella was right, the beast was definitely purring.

Maybe Dakota just decided to make them purr when she created them, he considered. Or maybe I don’t know shit about giant cats.

Both were valid.

“Fluffy… floofy fluff… hm hm…” Nick couldn’t see Ella or the expression she was making, but he was hoping she was smiling. She really did love animals. At least, ones that were big enough that they weren’t in danger from Cinder.

“Had your fill yet?” He joked. Surrounded by a pride of lions, Nick actually found himself relaxing and enjoying the date again; they’d just needed to get over the hump. And now that they’d actually gotten their hands on the beast and their bodies understood there was nothing to be scared of, they could put their anxiety behind them and just take in how cool this all was.

“They’re cool…” Ella murmured. Her voice was closer now, and judging by the way the lion was relaxing, she wasn’t touching him anymore. “And cuter than I thought. Oh, it was so amazing getting to see them in person…”

There was a wistfulness in her voice that Nick found himself surprised by. It almost sounded melancholy, in an odd way.

She was still wearing the mask, though, so he couldn’t see what sort of face she was wearing.

“…Actually, I want to try… one more time,” Ella said suddenly. There was a strange decisiveness in her voice, like she’d just made a major decision. For a moment Nick thought she was going to take off her mask and go touch the lion again without its protection, but Ella never reappeared.

Judging by the way the lion moved, she was touching him again, though.

“…Huh. Not so bad… I guess…”

Nick heard an oddness in her tone that he wasn’t expecting. It sounded like she was surprised all over again.

The grass rustled beside him, and he felt Ella’s presence next to his again. She was still wearing the mask.

“Okay, let’s go. I touched it.” Her voice had an almost pleading tone to it, like suddenly she wanted to be somewhere else.

“Is everything alright?” Nick asked worriedly.

“Yes, it’s fine!” She snapped at him. Then she calmed down, and her voice came out quieter and more conciliatory. “…Let’s just go.”

Her hand wrapped tightly around his and he felt her tug him away from the lions with a surprising amount of ****. Nick stumbled after her, confused, and wondered what was responsible for the sudden change in her-

“Ah…” Realization struck him like a lightning bolt. “Cinder?”

The **** that had been tugging on him froze. The fingers tightly wrapped around his hand squeezed down even tighter somehow, and he felt the cold from the body in front of him.

Then, slowly, the girl returned to being visible again as the mask slowly slid off of her face. She turned to look at him, and the snarl on her lips confirmed his suspicions.

“Yeah… so what?” She grumbled, her amber eyes piercing through her bangs.

Nick’s heart sank. Ella had been trying so hard all morning not to let Cinder take control, but now here she was, standing right in front of him.

And she almost looked… nervous. It was unusual to see that from Cinder.

“Is everything alright?” Nick asked, resolving to make the best of this. The last thing he wanted was to upset Cinder or act like the day had been ruined just with her presence.

Cinder didn’t answer him. She chewed on her lip, silently fuming.

“Let’s just go,” she grumbled, and turned her back on him.

Nick really hoped that this wouldn’t mark the end of their fun date.