Done Via Discord.

Kapoodles —
It hardly took any time at all for Fettelite to rush back to his office in the Castle. He dodged a few Lieutenants that were rushing about under an order or two, and apologized to a general he bumped into, but the elation he felt while carrying his newly 'awakened' youma could hardly be contained!

His office was one of the few, small places where he felt absolutely safe in, yet was surprisingly sparse. Even now, he did not have much money, most of it going to the tiny apartment he had in the Civilian world. What could he decorate this place with? Fettelite very much wasn't one to take "battle souvenirs" after all. And printed out pictures of Shoal on his tablet wouldn't be too approved.

But none of that matter! Especially when he flopped down on the couch in the corner with his beloved youma in his lap.

"Goodness you can speak now... What are you thinking now? Are you excited? Happy? Do... Do you like me? Are we friends?"

Tolin —
Shoal was fairly used to getting picked up by Fettel, so didn't really object to being carried through the halls, although he did look around in a way that felt somewhat different. More...thoughtful? Less 'threat or not threat?' and more 'what is this?'

Once situated in the barren little office (which didn't seem strange to Shoal), he tilted his head to the side and considered Fettel. "Tooo many questions," he replied with something that approximated a grimace. "I dunno what's happening, but, yes, I like you," he affirmed, with a little nod.

Kapoodles —
"Too many? Oh! That was alot wasn't it? Oh, and those were two more! Sorry, sorry, I'll try to slow down." Excitement seemed to spread from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes, to the point that he could feel them wiggling in his boots. And yet he still seemed to treat Shoal like a giant puppy in his arms, nuzzling him, pressing his face against those scales he had become so familiar with, and lightly smoothing a hand down the curve of his head.

"Okay, so then... Slowly, less questions... Okay, wait, one question. Do you have questions?"

Tolin —
Shoal played into the puppy analogy...by giving Fettelite a glowing lick on the cheek. He then considered a moment. "So so many...too many to pick one. I know you, I know me, and I am so confused. But that's okay, I think."

The words were all there in his mind, and, amazingly, actually were coming to him when he tried to focus on them. Which, of course, created more questions...But he felt secure enough, and was pretty content to just wait out his confusion. (edited)

Kapoodles —
How could he not give a pleased sound and squeeze Shoal tighter to him when his cheek was licked?! Fettelite had always felt close to his bonded youma, but knowing that he could speak back and express outright that he cared brought a happiness to him that he honestly hadn’t felt in… Well, nearly a year.

“I can imagine! What does it feel like now? I think…. Chip said this clarity will last only a short time. I shouldn’t spend it all talking, should I? No, you should talk. Talk as much as you want. And I’ll listen!”


Tolin —
"Feel?" Shoal echoed. "Like normal, except I think about it now, which is...not? This is weird. The fluffy child has done something...very odd. I...I think I like this. Things. Memories. They're... ...Pretty?" He looked around, as if confused by that conclusion. "This place isn't, though."

Kapoodles —
Fettelite listened closely once more, his smile softening moment by moment. And maybe, his grasp around Shoal tightened just enough to be noticed.

"I just... They are, Shoal. They are. And I want to make more memories with you too... ...Wait, you think my office isn't pretty? Now that's rude!"

Tolin —
Shoal lolled his tongue out briefly in reply, then pulled it back in to say, "You don't put anything here. Nothing glows. No crystals. Good that nothing spins like the fluffy child's room, though."

Kapoodles —
"Did... You just stick your tongue out at me?" Fettelite could not fathom that his precious little youma here could be sassy! That was not how he raised him! ... Then again, was Milo sassy before? All he remembered was him being kind to poor Ol' December. And even then, part of it was clouded by that desperation not to be alone anymore.

Regardless, Shoal was right, it was kinda, sorta, maybe... Super empty in this place. It wasn't his intention to have somewhere so bare, but maybe it was due to the habit of just never seeing anything as his own anymore... Or ever, really.

"Well... If you want to go out to find something to decorate this place, we can. This room is just as much yours as it is mine, you know."

Tolin —
Shoal lolled his tongue out again at the question. It wasn't exactly sticking his tongue out, but it also was hard to call it anything else.

"Is it? Kay, I'll try to find some stuff...maybe something fun." He considered the idea of 'fun' for a little while, and squinted. It seemed both familiar and not. Which was odd, given he'd said it. But then he moved on.

"I only just learned to talk, ya know, I dunno what to do...so I think I should just do what I always do, but try to remember better."

Kapoodles —
“… You normally go around biting things or growling at people because they’re weird. Did you, uh… Want to do that?” From his office he could feel the presence of several random people going about their business nearby. It wouldn’t take much at all to pull one of them over and see if they wanted to be bitten.

… They probably didn’t. Especially if Shoal was aware of the fact he was biting people.

“Or I could give you kisses. I think I give you a lot of kisses on your head, and head scratches.”

Tolin —
"How else would I know how stuff tasted if I didn't bite them?" Shoal asked reasonably. "Growling is just so they know I'll eat them if they try to hurt you." He nodded his head once.

Kapoodles —
Okay, alright, Fettelite had to admit he blushed juuust a little bit at the admittance of Shoal saying he’d protect him. Yeah, he knew that the bond between an officer and a their youma was strong, but it hit different hearing it come straight from the Youma’s mouth.

“You uh… You know you can lick them, right?” He muttered, shaking his head to banish away the silly flustered feeling he had. “You don’t taste with your teeth… Wait, do you?”

Tolin —
"Do I?" Shoal replied, looking surprised. "Teeth aren't for tasting?" He stuck his tongue out again, and then placed it against Fettelite thoughtfully. "Hmmmmmmm" He intoned, before pulling back. "Maybe."

Kapoodles —
Fettelite felt a very vivid shiver go up his spine at the sudden tongue on his face, one that made him go ewwwwww rather than flustered like before. “What do you mean maybe? I… Wait, wait, never mind. I just… Whatever! I’m happy you’re able to talk to me now. But we can take it slow, and just… See what happens next. But I know I have someone who would want to meet you. … You gotta make sure don’t bite her, okay?”

Tolin —
"Don't...bite." He echoed, and nodded thoughtfully. "I can probably do that, if you want me to."

Shoal felt like it was pretty normal to be expected to not bite people. But it always felt a little off, he was sure. People that weren't Fettelite (or some of the generals) were meant for biting...weren't they?

Kapoodles —
“Good, good. She’ll have questions for you I’m sure. … And it has to be a secret between us, okay? You can’t tell anyone we’re gonna go see her.” As if for emphasis, he held a finger up to his lips, giving a soft ‘shuuuush’ing’ sound.

“And remember this. You gotta lick things now. Not bite. Lick. It hurts a lot less. But you can bite sometimes, like if we’re in danger, or I give you something that can actually be eaten.”

Tolin —
"I can keep secrets," Shoal replied. "Nobody knows I can talk but you and the fluffy kid. That makes it easy! No biting might be hard, but I'll do it if that's what you really want."

Kapoodles —
“It’ll take a bit of practice, but I’m positive that after a bit of time you’ll be able to do it. And that’s because you’re super smart and my best friend! There’s no way you can’t accomplish anything you wanted to do!” He gave Shoal’s head a little pat, before finally setting him down on the couch before him.

“You said you wanted to think now right? Then… You’re free to think as much as you want. And if you wanna ask me anything, you can. Just take your time, I’m right here.”

Tolin —
"I think...I wanna think about other places," Shoal decided. "Not just sit here...not much to see or think about here."

Kapoodles —
“Well then, where do you want to go? We can go into the Human world area, or into the Rift… Oh, maybe… There’s this place you used to love…. Maybe we can go there?”

Tolin —
"That last one," Shoal replied, intrigued. "I dunno what you mean, exactly, but if I did love it...maybe I would still?"

Kapoodles —
“Sure, we can go there. I have something maybe you’d like too.” From his little space pocked, he pulled out rather large sketch book, good for water colors, and a paint set. Maybe it was a little odd to hold with claws or paws, but surely they could finagle something!

“Maybe we’ll even meet that friend of mine I was talking about… That’d be nice. Ah, but we should hurry, before your Time runs out!”

Tolin —
"Is it food?" Shoal asked, sniffing at the paints curiously. "Doesn't smell like it..." His mouth opened as if he was going to chomp the set, then remembered the no biting directive, and slowly closed his mouth again.

Kapoodles —
“No… I mean, I think Water colors are nontoxic cuz kids use them and it’s salty…” He racked his brain a little, considering it, and maybe keeping to himself the fact that he licked it once or twice back when he was a kid.

“But it’s paint! I’ll show you once we get there, okay?”

Tolin —
"Uhhh, sure," Shoal replied, giving a big nod. He may have sounded a bit doubtful... "Let's go, then!"