Chương 276: Day Two Hundred And Seventy-Four

Dear Diary, Y'know, I think I may have some kind of complex, which normally is something I'd jokingly say as a form of denial or deflection, but I think recuperation makes me introspective and into Personal Growth and shit like that. Okay, when I try to be honest about it, I've probably got more than one complex. I've probably got a whole industrial park. I have enough issues to support multi-decade monthly subscriptions. You can fit so much trauma in this noggin, you wouldn't believe it.

You like my sense of humor? Thanks! It's a deflection and denial mechanism! Seriously, though, how do I malfunction me, let me count the ways. Standard issue superiority complex which is only a transparently thin veneer over a miles deep inferiority complex. Check. Abandonment issues from Dad leaving, abandonment issues from Mom dying, abandonment issues from my Sister leaving, abandonment issues from me dying.

Check, check, check, holy fuck I didn't realize that last one was true until I jokingly added it to the list. Fear of commitment, which would be fuckin' weird if I didn't have it given the abandonment thing. Some Oppositional Defiant Disorder, maybe genetic, maybe stemming from growing up in an environment where The Man usually is out to screw you, even if it's in the most industrial and negligent kind of way. Definitely Anger Issues, not to mention a long list of poor mechanisms for expressing anger.

Oh, shit, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms. I've got, like, a whole fucking Grainger Catalog of Mechanisms, and while all of them work to one degree or another, the catalog is obviously from an alternate universe where OSHA stands for 'Our Shit Hurts Anyone' or something like that. I mean, hell, my go-to universal Coping Mechanism, and possibly my healthiest one, which isn't saying it's 'healthy', just saying all the others are worse, is having sex until I can't remember my own name. Oh.

Completely untreated Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In case that wasn't blindingly obvious by this point. Although I veer wildly between 'standard' female and male presentation of that. I mean, I can totally fucking hyper-focus, usually on fucking, but I can also bounce around like a genetic hybrid of a Mexican Jumping Bean and a Squirrel that's been force fed cocaine mixed with powdered sugar.

So that's definitely probably hiding some other shit, but also suggests I might not be quite as cis as I've usually considered myself. Like, I don't have dysmorphia, which is really fuckin' weird if you think that I'm literally not in my original issue body, but the idea of having a cock instead of a vajayjay? Also completely unruffling of my jimmies.

If somebody asked me why I walk around being a woman twenty four seven when I'm not all that attached to it, I'd probably say something about habit and knowing how all the parts work. Unless they were being a dick about it, which I'd probably respond to with a swift kick in the crotch and demonstration that if you grab any presentation of nipple hard enough and twist, that shit hurts. I'm not going into anything about 'kinks' here, because much like 'identity' and 'orientation', 'kinks' are not 'disorders'.

People like what they fuckin' like when they're fuckin', and if the DSM wants to argue, I'll remind it that it is a man-made list, while I am a Primordial force of fucking nature, and it can Get Fucked. Y'know? I think I really am starting to feel better. Because sitting still for whatever length of time is no longer prompting 'oh, fuck, my everything hurts, please drug and or fuck me into unconsciousness'. Both if that's an option.'

Instead I'm just letting my brain run at its own pace in whatever direction it feels like going. Which, what with actually thinking with some amount of seriousness about all the ways I've been fucked without Consent by life in general, makes me think that whatever part of me takes over when I just vibe actively wants to engage in the whole 'growing up and becoming the best Adult Version Of Myself that I can manage, given the aforementioned fuckery and damage'.

Which, in and of itself, weirds me out just a little bit, but I think it's progress that I can honestly describe it that way, instead of that being a deflection. That whole thought process started at some point while I listened to Glass, Siobhan, and Saffron discussing the nature of the Soul.

I pretty much just sat in the back of the class and vibed and played Booster Seat for Isnomi, who decided to imitate the less active members of the class and sit upright with hands clasped in front of them listening to the Experts talk. Y'know, the way Adults do when important shit is going on and they've nothing non-performative to add.

By the time class was over, I'd realized I had a few bits of Adulting that desperately needed doing, and told myself that I would absolutely not complete my Kitten's Penance until I did them, because debauchery is absolutely the juiciest worm to put on my personal hook. As we all gathered together after dinner to head home, I caught Sister Siobhan before she left for the night.

"Hey, Sister?" She jumped a little bit, a kind of deer in headlights, small mammal realizing they were being watched by a hovering hawk, curious cat, and staring snake all at once thing.

"Y-y-yes, Tabitha?" she stuttered. I kept my hands down, my smile friendly, and made sure she had a clear path to exit safely when I asked, "We're heading down to the Infirmary to drop Isnomi off with Grandma. Did you want to come with us?" She smiled uncertainly and said, "sure?" I walked back to the family, took Saffron by the hand, waited until Saffron had Marie's hand, Menace sat on Marie's shoulders, and Marie had her other hand on her cart before holding my other hand out to Sister Siobhan.

She looked a little like she wanted to run away, but after arguing with herself for a second reached out and put her hand in mine. The moment our hands touched, I stepped us to the Infirmary, gave her hand the lightest of squeezes so she knew I wasn't, like, unwilling to come in physical contact with her or some shit like that, then let go of her. I turned to Saffron and quietly said, "I need to talk to the Sister for a second. Can I meet you guys back at home after?"

Saffron nodded, saying, "certainly, love," while simultaneously thinking, just remember your obligations should you once again make this a literal fucking infirmary. I know, love. Not intending anything of the sort though. As she and Marie headed over to Grandma to drop Isnomi off, I stepped over to the Sister's desk, grabbed one of the chairs nearby, spun it around and straddled the back of it, leaving her chair and desk for her.

A little hesitantly, she walked over and perched primly on her own chair, then quietly asked, "what did you want to speak to me about?" Matching her volume, which gave us the illusion of privacy along with maybe a little bit of the real thing, I said, "couple things. All of them personal in one way or another. All of them kinda too important to me to do my eternal fucking around hoping it'll go away thing." I smiled and said, "or maybe I'm growing up?

Like, doing things not because I absolutely can't put them off, or because somebody goaded me into it, but because I know they're important?" She laughed a little at that and replied, "well, as the woman nominally responsible for your health, that's good to hear."

"Yeah. Um... the first thing I wanted to talk about involves you. You and me. But I don't want to do it if it makes you uncomfortable." She took a deep breath, settled herself a little in her chair, and said, "as I've just noted, I'm responsible for your health. Which given your age means maturing normally, includes having adult discussions, so I'd be rather abrogating my Vows should I run from that discussion, uncomfortable or not."

"No, seriously, I don't want to force you to do anything. Really. Um..." I trailed off, trying to figure out how to express myself. Fortunately, she just raised an eyebrow and said, "if anything is forcing me to do anything, it is a Vow I willingly entered into, which would mean it's me forcing me to do this. Much like you are, if in your case it's to do what you think is the right, mature thing to do."

"Okay?" I waited a second, but she just sat there, waiting. I took a deep breath and realized she'd given me a perfect opening for one thing.

"About Vows. Have you taken a Vow of Chastity?" Both eyebrows shot up.

"That's a kind of personal question for something supposedly related to your own personal growth, but..." she sighed.

"I was rather less than subtle about my own interests earlier, wasn't I?" I think I might have actually blushed. My scars burned a little at any rate, including the ones on my face.

"Uh. Yeah. Just a little." She nodded.

"Yes. Well. You stir things in me, and I will not lie to you about it. Yes, I have taken a Vow of Chastity. It's required for Sisters of the Academy."

"Sisters of the Academy?" She nodded.

"Yes. We're a small Order dedicated entirely to maintenance and support of Phileo City Heroic Academy. As such most of our duties have to do with the building, those working here, and Cadets. In my case I'm responsible for the health of all those who identify as women, as well as any who request my aid. Within the Academy, that is, although as a High Priestess of Canta I would of course help anyone who asked, Academy related or not."

"Oh. Um. So the Order isn't religious?" She shook her head.

"Yes, but not dedicated to any particular religion. Sisters are required to have or take a Patron related to our duties."

"Oh. Huh. Cool beans. Anyhow, um, Vow of Chastity. You've got one?"

"I have taken one, yes." I looked around the room a little before looking back at her.

"Ah, do you want to break it?" She looked a little confused.

"No? Not really, I suppose. I'm as prone to temptation as any other mortal might be."

"Oh." I put on my goofiest smile.

"So I'm a temptation to break it then?" She shook her head, then laughed.

"For a High Priestess, you're not very knowledgeable about Vows, are you?" My turn to shrug.

"Not much. They're promises you make to someone important, right?"

"A bit more than that. They can be made to anyone, regardless of personal importance to the one taking the Vow, but they are something like... a Title, perhaps? They bind the one taking them to do whatever they've Vowed to. A Vow to oneself is particularly binding, as it creates a self-reinforcing loop, which gains power whenever it is tested and maintained, and uses that power to reinforce itself. Many dedicated people take Vows of Self-Improvement of some kind.

If I may be so bold, I suspect your wife has exactly such a Vow."

"Oh. So, who did you make your Vow of Chastity to?" She shrugged.

"To the Academy, of course. Which ties it into the collective Aura of everyone associated with the Academy, as well as the Academy itself, which has not only accrued a significant Aura of its own over the centuries, but is tied directly into the Ley Lines above it. So long as I maintain it, it empowers my Healing of those of the Academy."

"Oh. You. Ah. Um..." Shit, I was an adult woman. A married adult woman. A married adult woman with a murderfuck concubine. Which made me realize that Saffron and Marie had disappeared with Grandma and Isnomi a bit ago, and the former two were keeping the bed warm for me, so I couldn't exactly spend all night verbally fucking around with the Sister.

"Shit. I don't want you screwing up your Vow just because I gave you a mega-lady-boner."

"Why would I?"

"Oh. Shit, I'm sorry, I think I misread you when you did the lip synch thing. I thought you were saying, 'Summer'." She blushed a little, but said, "I did."

"Oh. Oh, yeah, well, I thought you were saying you were gonna throw yourself at me like a Tabitha seeking missile until we fucked like bunnies or something." She blushed a lot, but said, "I... might not put it exactly like that, but... something like that, yes."

"Okay, could you explain that to me in small words, like I'm as stupid as I apparently am?" She frowned.

"You are not stupid. Although in this it appears you're a touch ignorant. Chastity is not Celibacy. I have taken no such Vow about the latter."

"What's Chastity again? All jokes about chasing aside?" The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. She smiled again, hummed a little bit, holding up a hand slightly for patience.

"In short, it is avoiding unhealthy or unlawful sexual congress of any kind."

"Oh. Um. Some of the shit I'm into might not be entirely healthy." She smiled and shook her head.

"You wouldn't force me into those." I smiled back.

"Might tempt you though. Like, 'pretty please I love it and you'll love it too' tempt you." She shrugged.

"If I can't say no to that, either it's not as unhealthy as you think, or I'm nowhere near as devoted to my Vow as I think."

"Oh. Well. Shit. Um. Uh. Aren't I married? Yeah, that's breaking your Vow, right?" She frowned again.

"I don't remember you saying you'd forsake others in your Vows. Unless I miss my guess entirely, Marie would have been put out about that."

"Oh, shit, you know about that?"

"You three aren't exactly shy about it." I sighed with relief.

"Oh. No, I meant about... uh... something else." She tittered.

"Oh. Yes, I'm very much aware of what you and Marie did in here." She looked at me, her eyes more serious than her smile.

"Did it make you feel better?"

"No. Yes? Maybe. But not in a good way? Fuck, I dunno."

"Oh, you most certainly did. The windows don't open, I had to burn incense all day to get the smell gone. But if it helped you, I can't exactly complain." She stopped, then hesitantly continued, "of course, I've been assuming that my attentions are wanted. Are they?" That kinda knocked my mental train off the rails for a bit.

"Uh. Long answer?"

"I have as long as you need." I grinned and said, "you might regret saying that at the Solstice. Oh, shit, I didn't mean. Fuck. Okay, first of all, like ninety nine percent of my flirting is kind of on automatic, a thing I do when I'm not comfortable. Second, while you don't make my loins salivate like Saffron or Marie, I wouldn't throw you out of bed for eating crackers unless the floor looked better for fucking. Third, I think Saffron and maybe Marie are more interested than I am."

"Oh." She blushed again.

"I'm... I'm not sure... Are the three of you all or nothing then?" I shook my head.

"Not what I meant, no, and I have no idea if either of them want you for themselves or not. They're more interested in you and I fucking than I am. I cannot fucking believe I managed to say that out loud without making it into some kind of sex joke." She smiled, her blush receding.

"Mayhap you are growing up?"

"Who, me?" Before I could make my habitual denial, I interrupted myself with, "maybe?"

"Well then. I suppose I'll see this Summer." My heart started doing a panicked triphammer act at that.

"Oh. Oh, shit, that sounds way too much like commitment." Before she could reply, I held up a hand.

"Sorry. Not denying or confirming or assuming your intentions, just... Hell, this is the perfect intro to the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Way more patient to doctor." She sat up straight, which is when I realized she'd gradually leaned away from her desk toward me, then said, "Go on."

"I've realized that I've got, like, a shit pot of unhealthy things going on upstairs. In my head, I mean, not like literally upstairs. Although maybe some of those aren't entirely healthy? But I wanna deal with the rest before I even look at those." She just nodded serenely, Healer-mode in full effect.

"Okay, so some of the shit I need to talk about is really private."

"I assure you, anything that passes between us is bound by other Vows I have taken. Unless I need speak to others specifically to help you heal, I cannot." I shook my head.

"Not worried about that." She cut in, smiling just a tiny blushing bit, "as to anything else, I'm not one to kiss and tell. Though I've never gone beyond that, so I can't be certain."

"Oh. Yeah. Shit." I shook my head.

"Damn." She frowned.

"Apologies. I meant to help you open up."

"No, no, I get it. Thanks. No, there's shit I've told nobody but my family." When she just waited. I said, "There are a few things, things that I think are tied up in why I am why I am, in the unhealthy sense, that I've never told anyone but Saffron and Loki. I mean, Marie knows because Saffron told her. I think Grandma Aetos knows, because we talked about it in front of her. Isnomi... I mean, she's super bright, and she definitely knows some of it, but I don't think we've ever deliberately told her. Uh...

Sigyn knows, because sometimes I've talked to Loki in front of her. I think he might talk to her about me too. Stupid to think he doesn't. If I had a me I sure as shit would talk to Saffron about me." I paused, scouring my brain.

"Oh. Conrad knows all of it, because that..." I self edited to, "brilliant man knows everything, to the best of my knowledge." Sister Siobhan looked a little like the mental brakes on her train of thought had failed, but she hadn't quite derailed yet.

"Conrad?"

"Adopted son."

"Odd. He lives elsewhere?"

"In the Armoire. He built a place there. Well, no, he moved his place there."

"He lives in your Armoire?"

"Yes and no. It's complicated." I waited, and she took a deep breath, shook her head, and said, "this is intended entirely as a joke to put you at ease, but the complicated nature of your 'family' has convinced me that my own lustful longings must be deeply set, since they didn't shrivel up at all that." I shot her a wry grin.

"Hey, I opened the door and Saffron kinda put a wedge under it to hold it open, but nobody's gonna be heartbroken if you take a look inside and wander off. Or run screaming. Whichever." She smiled.

"Good. Now, you wanted to tell me something?"

"Well, more ask you something. I'm... uh... super not-comfortable with telling anyone the shit my family knows, but I need help with it. Do you think it's a better idea for me to force myself to open up to somebody like you or Doctor Glass, or should I ask Saffron or Loki for help?"

"In my professional opinion as your Healer?"

"Yeah."

"If you have an option you can do without forcing yourself, that's probably healthier. Especially considering your hesitation has nothing to do with asking me for help, but with telling me something they already know." She went silent while I chewed on that for a bit.

"You sure?" She smiled and reached out a hand to lay on mine where I clutched the back of the chair.

"Tomorrow is still your Devotional day, yes?" At my nod, she said, "well then. My recommendation is that you speak with Loki, Saffron, or possibly Marie about whatever you need help with tomorrow. If you find you cannot, not because you are interrupted by some outside force, but because you find it too difficult to ask your paramour, your wife, or your God Himself? Then come see me on the overmorrow and we will see if you are capable of entrusting me with whatever secrets you feel vital to your healing."

I grinned at her again.

"And if that doesn't work?" Without missing a beat she said, "then we will make arrangements for you to speak with Doctor Glass at his next convenience. Should he not be able to help you, we will seek another until we find one who can."

"Whoa. Obsessed with my mental health much?" She patted my hand and said, "Tabitha, all else aside? You are a Cadet of Phileo City Heroic Academy. Your health, mental as well as otherwise, is literally my calling. My Vocation. My Holy Duty. While I acknowledge that there may be a line between all that and 'obsession', I certainly am not capable of seeing that line. I trust that should I cross it, Canta will let me know."

"Whoa. Trust him, do you?" She smiled serenely.

"I trust him with the eventual disposition of my Soul. If I trust him with that, not trusting him with anything less is silly."

"Fair point." I slapped my thighs, pushed myself up out of the chair, and said, "thanks, Sister. I'll let you know how it goes." When she just nodded serenely, I stepped up to my bedroom. Saffron sat with the blankets pulled up to cover up to her bare shoulders, a book open in her hands. Marie sat on our chair doing some kind of one-needle knitty thing. Right. I took a deep breath, mentally telling myself that under no circumstances was I to forget to talk with Saffron and Loki about shit tomorrow...

I will remind you, chorused both of them, which oddly enough made me feel a lot better. Like right now I could focus entirely on right now. I blew out that deep breath and looked Saffron in the eye.

"You are entirely too covered and enbookified." I turned to Marie and said, "I'll be needing your help. Out of uniform if my preference makes a difference, but I'll be good either way." I looked back for Saffron, only to find the covers settling back to the bed. Movement in my peripheral vision drew my gaze down to where she knelt before me, hands clasped, head down to stare at my feet. Yes, My Goddess?

"Before we got interrupted by other shit, there was some Penance happening. You ready to continue?" I beg you, my Goddess, pour my Penance upon me until I have atoned in full for whatever sins I have committed against thee.

"What if you're fully Atoned and I'm still in the mood for laying down some Penance?" She finally turned her face up to me, "then I'll have to tell Mimic she's too much of a bitch to force me to Atone until she's not." Yeah. Didn't get much sleep. Like, I'd kinda lost track of shit when Grandma knocked on the door, prompting a goofy tired Saffron and I to break into laughter while Marie got up and let Grandma in long enough to deliver Isnomi. Hey Boss? Yes, Tabitha? I got some shit I need to talk about today.

With you, or Saffron, or probably better both of you, so one of you can hold me down while the other beats sense into me. But there wasn't any sleeping done last night, so she or I might need to nap a bit. Is that okay with you? Did you want me to come there? I looked around the room, and when I took a breath the not-exactly-sweat smell hit me and I laughed. Yeah, no, that's a negative, Ghost Rider, the atmosphere is full. Like, you'd be offended or Sigyn upset kinda full. You mind if we all visit today?

Would you prefer if Sigyn came there and you and Saffron came here? That kinda floored me. You'd do that? I felt his smile. Would you do so for Isnomi? A moment later I hugged him. Thanks, Boss. You're the best.

"I know. But you are, in fact, a bit less clothed than you might be?" I hopped up, smacked the back of my hand against the side of his thigh as I gave Sigyn a hug and said, "you love it, you old goat. Hi, mom. You okay with going to our place today?" By the time I let go of her, The Dress had popped onto me, courtesy of Loki. She glared at him for the briefest moment before breaking down laughing.

"Of course, dear. Will you need his complete attention?" I shrugged, "off and on? Gotta try and start clearing my head about shit."

"Start?"

"I got a lot of shit." I rapped a knuckle on my temple.

"This baby can hold so much trauma, you wouldn't believe it!" She laughed again.

"Then he shall accompany me as well. Perhaps we'll take the little one gliding."

"Sounds cool!" You coming, Kitten? A moment later she, Marie, and Isnomi appeared, Marie and Isnomi in uniforms, Saffron in Glowing Midnight. Menace leapt for Sigyn, who caught her and spun her about.

"Ready to go gliding, little Menace?"

"Yeth!" Sigyn held out her hand, and a moment later the two of them disappeared. Loki yanked his table over to him, nodded to the chairs, and said, "Marie, if you would please?" A few moments later we all sat around the table. Saffron to my right, Marie to my left, Loki right across from me. Marie had her knitting back out.

"You sure you want to spend the day doing this, Marie?" She shrugged, said, "Yes." and nodded to Saffron.

"She's as concerned about you as I am, love. Also, should you literally need to be held down, I suspect we'll need her to do so." That yanked a bark of laughter out of me.

"Yeah, probably. I sure as shit need somebody to hold me down and drag this shit out of me."

"Possibly, but I think not, daughter." At my side eye, he continued.

"Oh, we will if you need us to, but I suspect what you truly need is to share it with us willingly."

"Fuck, Dad, why you gotta be more mature than me all the time?" All three of them laughed at that, and Loki replied, "the alternative would be rather inconvenient, wouldn't it?" Everybody quieted down, and they all looked at me. Even Marie, whose fingers still clicked away at her crochet. After a while I said, "well?" Saffron giggled and said, "we're waiting for you, Goof." After the briefest of pauses, she reached out, took my hand, and said, "as long as you need."

Before I could even snark about that, Marie said, "Yes." Loki nodded. So, in dribs and drabs and fits and starts which finally started flowing into stories and questions and me telling jokes and tales of Tabitha, I unloaded all that mental shit I'd been holding onto. No. I talked to them about the trauma. My responses. How I wanted to get better, do better, be better. After a while we even talked about what 'better' even meant, because it turned out that each of us had a different idea about what 'better' was.

Fuck, they even had different ideas about what 'better' meant for each of us, too. Just like always, time was weird in Loki's cave. We talked for an eternity. We talked for multiple eternities. We talked for moments, for seconds. But eventually Saffron looked at me, wry grin on her face, and said, "as the only one in the room who cannot be worshipped to full wakefulness, I'm sorry, but I think I'll need to get some sleep before class tomorrow."

I grinned at her and said, "wait, wasn't there some Penance happening that got interrupted?" A complicated expression on her face, she fell off her chair, landing on her knees, thinking, only my Goddess could inspire such soul crushing terror and unquenchable burning lust with but a single statement. Sleepless to class I must go.

I laughed, pulled her up into my lap, and still kinda chuckling said, "nah, to be honest I think for at least an hour or so I'd been pulling shit out of my ass for you to atone for anyway, Kitten." She looked up at me, batting her lashes and saying, "so you're telling me to be a Bad Girl so you've got more to punish me for?" Loki laughed at that, saying, "I believe this is where I'm supposed to put my hands over my ears and say something like, 'la la la, I can't hear you!' is it not, daughter?"

I chuckled a little, snuggled Saffron to me, nodded at Marie until she put her hand on my shoulder, then flopped us all back into our bed. I gently kissed the bruising I hadn't noticed forming under Saffron's eyes.

"Not unless you think you can sleep restfully when tied up until you literally cannot move." I... I'm not certain, but I will try, my Goddess.

"Marie?"

"Yes?"

"Just because I don't think I've ever mentioned it before, I'm really kinda awestruck at how well you get ridiculously excessive amounts of personal lubrication out of our clothes. Kudos and thanks." I mentally did a fist pump when she blushed a little through her fur and said, "de nada". Then I turned back to Saffron and said, "no the fuck you will not try that tonight, my precious little Kitten. I am going to hold you still and pet you gently until you fall asleep, because we both know that works.

We'll hold off on our bargain basement attempts at sleeping shibari on a night when you don't have to be up and capable of learning in the morning." She grinned up at me and, after interrupting herself with a huge yawn, said, "giving me more things to look forward to during Summer break?" I laughed, picked her up and banished our dresses to the dirty clothes pile, and said, "I thought I was the insatiable one?"

as I lay her down in the middle of the bed, rolling her about and positioning her until she was comfortable.

"Oh no," she deadpanned, "we're wearing the same sexual appetite. Our Formal Coming Out Dance is ruined."

"Shh... no dancing. No sexing. No talking. Just sleeping, little Kitten." I ran my hand across her hair, down her side, over her hip, a gentle caress. There will be thinking. And purring. She started the latter when my hand returned to her head for the next stroke.

"And snoring, I know." I do... not... snore.

"Only if I'm doing it wrong." By the end of the next stroke, Kitten snores susurrated through the room.

"Marie? Could you get the light and blanket please?" Moments later the room went dark, and right after that Marie settled in behind Saffron, the blanket gently falling over all three of us. Her hand followed mine until I reached back toward Saffron's head, when Marie intercepted my hand with her forehead. I scooched up a little, pulled Marie's forehead to mine, and closed my eyes, my hand stroking down her back like I'd done to Saffron, feeling the play of her muscles as she did the same to my Kitten.

I'm pretty sure she started purring first. Not sure which of us fell asleep first, and I'm absolutely okay with that.