The Rammykin that had decided to attach itself to Styx's life had improved it immeasurably. Styx had gone from quiet, receding, and lonely, living in a tiny little apartment with no roommates, pets, or children... to quiet, receding, and happy, living in a tiny little apartment with one little pet who was actually not all that terribly high-maintenance. She'd put stronger screens on the windows, and put in a few good fans to make the air circulation in the place more interesting and comfortable to the little floating sheep, and provided a handful of tucked-away little spots away from tugging breezes, with little beds and toys for her to enjoy a good nap without having to pay attention to where she was.A little work had had to happen in the kitchen– the utensils were now all covered by the containers they were in, and nothing breakable was left where it could easily be knocked off of its perch, but otherwise, after a short adjustment period, things had gone more or less back to normal. She took her pet for walks, of course. There was a lovely ravine and park not far from where Styx lived, and she often took patients for walks down there. But the pet had made it abundantly clear that she liked crowds about as much as the anxious Naiad, and that was fine by her. Other than occasional forays to the grocer's, pet store or vet, Styx's life had gone back to the exact same pattern it had been holding in before. Wake, work, home, nap, walk, home, supper, sleep. Fertility clinic on the weekends, to help bleed off extra energy, instead of work, and an extra-long, luxurious nap afterwards to reward herself for the stress of interaction.
One day, the environment at the clinic had gotten to her, very clearly. The posters, the same ones that she'd read so many times before, seemed to jump off the walls at her– seemed to be vying for the Naiad's attention. A simple form had all it had taken to apply for a stone to take home, and she'd received it all carefully-tucked, practically before she'd considered the ramifications of it all.
When she went home, she'd immediately sat on the couch, putting it between her legs, and simply stared. How would she go through with this, if she was going to at all? Why had this seemed like such an appealing idea before? Well, yes, she was lonely, and the same schedule she'd been doing for years hadn't magically suddenly become fulfilling– it had always been a stopgap that she'd struggled to break out of, but that her anxiety would keep her in.
Her therapist had told her that stepping outside of her comfort zone was instrumental to her personal growth, and she had always... when she was younger, before she'd learned that she was a battery, and what it meant to have almost painful static lancing across her skin at all hours of the day... she'd wanted a family of her own. Now, faced with the notion of starting one herself, she found herself hesitating. But even with that uncertainty, she found herself wanting it more than ever.
"What do you think, huh?" she asked the little fluff, leaning in to gently massage at the scalp beneath her voluminous floss. "It'd be nice to have someone else around."
Besides, the Naiad thought. Her family would approve.
