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Jove nodded as stubbornly as possible in his drowsy state. Feeling Ren breathe was pleasant, and he would appreciate it if the gryphon would not poke fun at him for seeing if he could return the favour. He had no idea how to imitate a heartbeat, so breathing was the only suitable option.

He paused, one fluffy ear falling to the side as he thought about the possibility of a lullaby... Naaah. He could sleep just fine without being sung to, even if it was nice sometimes. He briefly wondered if all these childish things Ren enjoyed just took a particular sort of person to admit to enjoying, and if Ren was one to fall for all that crazy ghoulfriend stuff, why not fall for cuddles and lullabies and what have you?

The pup's ears perked up again when Ren asked him about his past life, and his eyes opened, completely alert. That was an odd question, and an odd way to phrase it. He felt his "real" life was this current state of death, and whatever happened before that was like the dreams you forget after you've been awake too long.

He sighed gently in reply, and made a "whatever" face to say he was impartial to the question, and didn't remember what it had been like when he was alive. He didn't even remember much about the human world either, now it was just a vague sense of noise and clutter in his mind that he couldn't figure out. It didn't even really occur to him that his unusual fears and physical weaknesses were a direct result of his death, they just existed, as simply as he did.

Oh well, he gave that whole breathing thing a good try. At least being tucked under the covers next to Ren's warm body was warming himself up as well, and he was sure the gryphon appreciated that too.

He squirmed in a slightly ticklish manner as Ren's hand moved up his back, and then frowned. Ren shouldn't imagine what it was like to die. The pup had been led to believe such speculation on the part of the living was just morbid, although there were clearly some advantages to being a ghost. Like not needing to eat or drink, or make those oddly frequent trips to washrooms to do... whatever it was living things did there. And if he tried really hard he could go through things, but was more likely to just get a good solid bonk on the head for trying.

With another sigh he just watched his friend. So many weird questions tonight, first if he remembered his death, then if he liked being a ghost... Jove liked being in existence, as it was better than the alternative, but it wasn't something he spent much time thinking about.

Now cookies on the other hand... Was Ren saying he had cookies right at that moment?

Jove pushed himself up again and sat back on his feet, eyes wide and ears perked in question. Since food and sleep were merely a luxury for the pup, it wasn't as firmly drilled into his head that night times were for sleeping and day times were for snacking, this was as good as any time to eat cookies!

Oh... he really did have cookies! Briefly Jove wondered what else Ren had stashed away in that little bedside table drawer. Probably more fun things for bed, like books or candy or... something. But his wondering was cut short by the cookie, and the teasing remark which certainly warranted a grumpy scowl. Maybe tomorrow.

The little ghost flopped back down and took the cookie, wiggling around until he lay on his back in a comfortable position for eating. Thankfully the snack wasn't a choking hazard at any angle, he had no breath to obstruct, and he wasn't even sure there was a "wrong way" for food to go down as some had suggested after a food-related coughing fit. He knew he had all that stuff explained to him once, the heart and lungs being in your upper half, with your stomach lower down... but when eating, down was down, right?

When Ren began musing over his own cookie, Jove tilted his head back to look. And perhaps it was a strand of the gryphon's hair, or a dust mote that tickled the ghost's nose, but either way there was very little warning before he sneezed three times in quick succession, spraying cookie crumbs everywhere as he sat up again to rub his nose. That was weird, he thought, turning to look at Ren from behind his sleeve like "What was that?"

The puppy frowned, clearly Ren was laughing at him and that violent sneeze and the confusion that had followed. No fair.

His expression turned skeptical as he dropped his hands back into his lap, waiting for Ren's laughter to settle. Clean up the cookie crumbs? There were so many of them! And it's not like a little extra cookie in bed hurt anyone. Eating a cookie in bed was downright pleasant, even Ren could agree to that one.

He was about to huff in protest when he was grabbed around the middle. "Urrrrf," he woofed softly, both out of surprise and the indignity of being hugged and rocked like a little child. But the gryphon seemed delighted. In fact, his friend was looking better than he had all night, and he smelled less frightened too. It was hard for Jove to scowl at being called cute when Ren was so happy to say it.

One of Jove's ears swivelled in Ren's direction at the question. Another weird one. The pup had no idea if he was ticklish or not, although his earlier squirming with Ren's fingers on his back might have suggested he was it hadn't consciously crossed the ghost's mind. In the past he had never let anyone get close enough to find out. He had always just run and run, and had only just recently encountered the kindness that drove others to hold onto him instead of just letting him go.

With a suspicious glance at the hand touching his tail, Jove licked one of his fingers. Spotting a nearby crumb he poked at it to pick it up, and then stuck his finger in his mouth. There was absolutely nothing wrong with cookies in bed. But if Ren wanted the crumbs gone, Jove would have to oblige. He spotted another one, this time on his friend's chest, and gave it a poke to pick it up. It didn't pick up the first time, so he licked his finger again and jabbed a little harder before the crumb finally made it to his mouth.

Jove was completely helpless against the surprise poking, he had no idea what Ren's intentions were and made no attempt to defend himself. But the surprise sensation was enough to pull a soft squeal from the pup, he flinched and squirmed away in shock. So he was really quite ticklish! What was Ren thinking, taking advantage of his innocence like that!

He blushed brightly again, his awkward wiggling freeing his bare legs from the covers. Unfortunately that just made it easier for Ren to grab him. But the puppy didn't go without a fight, he whined and kicked his scrawny legs from the time he was scooped up to the time he was tossed back down in a disarrayed heap of fluffy tail, white nightshirt, and bony limbs. Then he just blinked in confusion.

But when Ren headbutted him, Jove couldn't help but wag his tail, and touch those long ears with his fingers. He idly pulled down on one of his own ears for a second, it wasn't the same as when Ren stroked it.

Jove's fluffy ears perked forward as the vibrating purr slipped from his friend, and then he startled backwards at Ren's sudden movement. He recognized the signs of displeasure immediately. With a hesitant whine he kept his hands to himself, holding them folded against his chest even after Ren settled back down. Did he not like his ears being touched? Did he not want to be touched like that at all? Jove had found the ear-touching a very pleasant sensation, was it different for the gryphon?

"Rrrrrrrr?" Jove questioned, both with his tone and alarmed eyes. His little growl was as close as he could get to the purring noise Ren had made just a moment earlier, but it was higher pitched and vibrated in his throat rather than in his body. Hopefully he hadn't hurt his friend... He had no idea that the purr was a happy noise, not with his general lack of experience in the areas of close interaction, and Ren's conflicting actions immediately afterwards.