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She groggily opened her eyes, waiting for her vision to stop spinning and focus in. As the ringing in her ears slowly faded, Riri managed to get her bearings in her own bedroom. The lack of light in the room clearly meant she hadn’t slept for long, but that wasn’t unexpected, she hadn’t had a good night of sleep since she started weaning off of the toxic medication. A quiet shuffling grabbed her attention, as she noticed a silhouette smoothly moving through her home. Her heart rate spiked as she realized it wasn’t her partner, Bean wasn’t here tonight. The intruder turned to face her, but as they stepped closer, she recognized the cat and her strange headpiece as Lucy, the secret agent she thought she had hallucinated a handful of days earlier.
Riri laid still and watched as the feline moved through her bedroom, seemingly not noticing that its inhabitant was no longer asleep. She glided through the dark with the trained grace of an assassin, pausing at the bedside table, placing something on it, then turning again to walk away. The sound of the objects being placed on the table was instantly recognizable - it was a plate from her own cupboard. After a couple moments, she recognized the smell. She turned her head to the side, seeing a plate of rice and beans. Lucy froze as she was walking away, apparently having noticed Riri stirring. As she stood still, her silhouette quickly faded to blend into the dark backdrop, and Riri started to think she was hallucinating again.
When she reached over to turn on the lamp at her bedside though, the figure reappeared. In the same instant the light flooded the room, Lucy bolted around the corner to the kitchen, Riri barely noticing as her eyes adjusted to the light.
“What are you doing? Why are you hiding?” Her question was met with silence, again making her question if she hallucinated it all. “I’m not going to hurt you or anything, if anything I’m the one who should be scared.”
After three seconds, Lucy withdrew herself from the corner she had tucked herself in, but instead of turning to Riri, she walked back into the kitchen as if ignoring Riri’s presence in her own home. Listening carefully, Riri heard the kitchen sink turn on, then back off after a few seconds. Lucy emerged from the kitchen holding a glass of water, and walked over to place it next to the food on the nightstand.
“Why are you doing this?” Riri repeated, and as Lucy turned around she reached out to grab her arm. She was relieved when she actually felt her and she was real, but at the same time, Lucy recoiled, jerking her arm back and jumping back into a defensive crouch. Her pupils constricted momentarily, before shaking her head and relaxing her posture again.
Riri outstretched her arm again, beckoning Lucy closer. “Why are you doing this?” Lucy silently stepped forward, and as Riri managed to make out more detail of her face, she noticed three things: Firstly, the device on her head seemed to be some sort of goggles or recording device, and that she wasn’t just wearing it, it looked like it was bolted to her head. Secondly, she looked flustered, her eyes slightly dilating and her gaze averting. Thirdly, a section of her fur near her face appeared to be matted with blood, seemingly relatively fresh blood at that.
“You’re hurt, what happened to you?” Riri inquired, and Lucy dropped her head and didn’t otherwise respond. “Come here, let me take a look. You need to take care of that.”
Seeming to warm up to her a little, Lucy moved to sit on the bed next to Riri. As she got a closer look, it was clear that the wound was relatively fresh, no more than a couple hours old. Riri leaned down to her bedside table, where she had a first aid kit and a box of nitrile gloves.
Lucy’s face warmed as Riri began tending to her wound, using some of the water from the cup on the bedside table to clean the wound and surrounding fur. If she hadn’t cleaned it, the wound likely would have been infected badly based on how unhealthy it looked. “I am not to discuss the prerogatives of my mission or handler with the target.” Her voice was soft and slightly shaky, as if she was unsure if she should be talking to begin with.
Riri continued tending to her wound, drying it and applying a clean bandage. “That should be better. Okay, if you can’t talk about that, can you tell me why you’re taking care-”
Before she could finish her sentence, Lucy put a finger, shushing her silently. Riri blushed slightly, but complied with the command. The feline then reached to the bedside table, picking up the now half empty glass. Gently she moved it towards Riri’s face, prompting her to drink.
The rabbit froze for a moment, her face turning red from the gesture. After she gathered herself, she leaned forward and parted her lips, allowing Lucy to tip the cup and pour the water into her mouth. After a couple moments, she tipped the cup back down, placing it back on the bedside table. She then scooped a spoonful of rice and beans from the plate, and gestured it towards Riri. She opened her mouth, her lip quivering slightly as her blushing worsened. She closed her lips around it, looking up into Lucy’s eyes as she took a bite. It wasn’t made the greatest, but being made one of her comfort foods unprompted was a gesture that wouldn’t go unnoticed.
Riri reached to the plate and grabbed another piece, this time gesturing it towards Lucy. She momentarily seemed repulsed by the concept of eating, and refused to be fed. “Are you sure you don’t want any?” Riri prodded, to which Lucy gave a confident nod. “That’s alright, I just wanted to share.”
Lucy turned her head away, as if hiding her face from Riri. She got up from the edge of the bed and turned her back, pausing for a moment to collect herself. “You are recovering well. Do not overexert yourself.” She began to walk towards the window, preparing herself to slink back into the shadows.
“Thank you, Lucy.”
She sharply inhaled, hesitating as if to calculate what to do next to make sure she didn’t misplay her hand. After a deep exhale and a slightly shaky breath in, she gave her dry, scripted response. “The prerogatives of my mission are not to be discussed with the target,” she mumbled before climbing out the window, pulling it shut behind her, and melding back into the night.