Games.

"So, do you guys play any other silly games?" You ask to change the subject.

"Sure. But you might be more interested in the serious game we're playing." Ian says. "Are any of you into tabletop?"

"Like board games?" Tibby asks.

"Not exactly. Come take a look."

Ian stands up and shows you to a spare room. It looks like it could have been a bedroom, but instead of a bed the room is centered around a large round table. A smaller table littered with snacks (mostly junk food, but also a bowl of assorted fruits) is pushed against the wall, with a mini fridge on one side and a large chest of drawers on the other. Other than that it really is just the big table and some chairs. The table itself is covered by a large sheet of graphing paper, on which various structures and symbols have been sketched. There's also some painted miniatures and other game pieces arranged all over it. Stacks of papers, cards, and tokens are arranged in front of each chair, along with a set of D20s.

"What is this, D&D?"

"It's actually a version of Pathfinder, but we're playing a custom game. Think high elves in space..."

You listen with interest as Ian explains the game and the others chime in with anecdotes about their fictional adventures. It actually sounds like a lot of fun, but it's not something you just sit down and get right into. When Ashley expresses interest in playing, Eric opens a drawer and hands her a small box. "Think of this like a starter set. It has a guide book, instructions, and a pre-written campaign with relatively simple gameplay. I should warn you though, these games are made to last. Don't expect to finish it in a single session."

"You must play a lot if you have a whole room dedicated to it," says Tibby.

Deedee replies, "Nah. We had the room and didn't want another couple to move in. Could you just imagine what the fridge would look like then!?" She wrinkles her nose and shudders. "It's not like we do this all the time. We have other interests which means someone is often somewhere else. Now that school's started the boys have homework too. Do you know how mad they get when you try to distract them? If not, just wait. But the fact that this game sits here, ready for us, means that we can start playing any time of night and not worry about putting all the pieces away."

"Homework?" Tibby asks. "How much time with John and Ashley am I going to lose to that?"

"Huh? Why would you lose time with Ashley?"

Tibby shoots Ashley an apologetic look, but the bunny shrugs like it doesn't matter before speaking up. "Well, I'm actually going to college too. I'm a biology student."

"Is that a joke? Because I don't get it." Melanie says. She sounds confused, but not mean-spirited.

"No joke. I got a student ID to prove it and everything." Ashley says and pulls it out with a grin.

"Wow!" The dog girls marvel at the little square of plastic. There's Ashley's name, her major, a long number, and a photo of the bunny herself. She doesn't have her ears on in it but she is wearing that biopunk labcoat and aiming finger guns at the camera, because apparently the registration office just prints whatever you give them on these things. Having fun with it was Ashley's way of celebrating that she'd pulled one over on the stiff administrators, who had no idea that they'd just welcomed a pet girl to college.

"How's that possible?" Eric asks after eyeing the card over Deedee's shoulder.

"There's no rule against pets going to college. It's never come up because they're normally done with school after graduating high school," you start before Ashley takes over.

"But when I graduated I didn't even know I was a pet yet. I've had my life planned out since middle school, and when I found out I have what the doctors are calling Delayed Pet Puberty I decided I wasn't going to let that be the end of my dreams. John was as confused as you are when I told him, but he's been a very supportive owner," she says fondly.

"Well I think it's pretty cool," Ian says. "I mean why not? It's not like pets are less intelligent than other people, they just tend to have a different view on life. We wouldn't let Melanie be our dungeon master if she was a dummy."

"Dungeon master? I thought you didn't do group sex," Tibby giggles.

"Ack!" Ian exclaims. "I should have said game master, not-"

"Too late Ian," you say with a grin. "You said dungeon master and that's what we're rolling with."

"Ugh, can I call for a second change of topic?"