Nessy crawled into the nest first, arranging herself and then patting the space beside her. I hesitated only briefly before joining her.

  "See?" she said smugly. "Told you. Expert nest-builder."

  "It is comfortable," I admitted.

  I waved a hand at the tablet standing on the bedside table now. "So… according to the net only predators evolved into human-like forms? That seems oddly specific."

  Nessy snorted, propping herself up on one elbow. "Prad evolution is just what the scientific establishment wants you to believe," she said with a dismissive wave of her paw. "The real story is much cooler."

  "The real story?" I echoed.

  "The Slayer did it," she said. "When he killed the Leviathan, he used its blood power to grant sentience and form to all strong wild beasts that would aid in keeping the world safe! That's why predators got the upgrade package—we were designed to be protectors. See? I protek!" She puffed out her curvy chest slightly, looking proud.

  "That wasn’t mentioned in any of these scientific articles I managed to browse," I said cautiously.

  "Well, of course not," she rolled her eyes. "Current science can't explain everything. Some things are beyond fossils and whatnot." Her expression softened. "But you're free to believe whatever version makes sense to you. I'm cool like that—not one of those pushy Nazarites who gets all barky about the scriptures."

  The ‘barky’ comment and the sincerity with which she offered this alternative creation myth was oddly endearing. Whatever the truth was—evolution or divine intervention by a monster-slaying deity—it was clear that Nessy had a worldview that gave her comfort and purpose.

  "Very generous of you," I replied.

  "Am an extremely generous doggo," she agreed, tail wagging against the blankets. She shifted closer, her warmth radiating through the thin fabric of my borrowed shirt. "Also, the best companion a guy could ask for. Just putting that out there."

  “Uh-huh.”

  A particularly loud clap of thunder made the windows rattle. Almost instinctively, Nessy moved closer, her body pressing against mine as if to shield me from the elements—or perhaps from the world itself.

  "See, it's a good thing we're in Fort Bed," she declared, voice slightly muffled due to her snout being smooshed into my side. "Optimal storm protection!"

  "Of course," I agreed, fighting a smile.

  Another crack of thunder, this one close enough to momentarily illuminate the room in stark relief. Nessy's arm draped across my chest.

  "Sorry," she murmured, making no move to withdraw. "Instinct."

  "It's fine," I said.

  We fell silent for a few minutes listening to the rain.

  "Say, is Kristi going to be a problem?" I asked into the comfortable silence that had settled between us.

  Nessy's ears twitched at the question.

  "Probably," she admitted with a sigh. "She's a raptor with a broken heart who just watched her boyfriend die and come back as something she's sworn to destroy. Plus, she's got badge authority and a gun." She shrugged, fur brushing against my arm. "So yeah, I'd say there's a strong possibility of her being a problem."

  "Great," I muttered, staring up at the ceiling where shadows played across the surface, cast by the dim light and swaying trees outside.

  “It is what it is,” she sighed. “I honestly didn’t expect for her to be this big of a problem.”

  "How do you two know each other anyway?" I asked.

  Nessy shifted in her nest.

  "We've known her since grade eight," she said, a nostalgic tone creeping into her voice. "Her parents moved to Ferguson when we were fourteen. She was this gangly, nerdly, slightly awkward raptor girl… until she hit puberty and became tall, extra bossy and all sorts of… intense.”

  She paused.

  "She was wicked smart in school—always got the highest grades. She quickly became focused on beating everyone, especially me. You—well, the other you—you two bonded over some science project about reptilian metabolism or something, I dunno. Just basic friends at first."

  "What changed?" I prompted when she fell silent once again.

  "The formal. Senior year."

  Something in her tone made me turn to look at her directly. Her expression was neutral, but her ears and tail—those canine appendages that betrayed her every emotion—told a different story.

  "Did you really not know that Alec was falling for her?" I asked.

  Nessy's gaze dropped, focusing on her paw still tracing invisible patterns. "I... urm… sorta suspected the possibility of it happening," she finally admitted, the words sounding almost painfully extracted. "But I ignored it. Refused to see the signs. Didn't want to believe it.”

  She shifted again, restless energy vibrating through her despite her outwardly calm demeanor.

  "What exactly happened at the formal?" I asked.

  A deep sigh escaped her. "I fucked up," she said bluntly. "Is what happened."

  She rolled onto her back, letting go of me and staring up at the ceiling.

  "I was so excited about the formal," she began. "I'd been planning for months. Got this blue dress that matched my eyes. Practiced dancing in my bedroom until my paws were sore." A bitter smile curved her muzzle. "I thought... I was so sure that night would be perfect. I… obsessed over making it amazing, the best."

  I remained silent, giving her the space to continue.

  "You picked me up in your grandfather's old truck, wearing a navy suit that was slightly too big in the shoulders. You had this look on your face when you saw me—like you were seeing me for the first time." Her voice caught slightly. "You said I looked beautiful, and for that moment, I believed it… thought that maybe you wanted to… uhrm...”

  She blinked, pausing her narration and swallowing her words.

  "At the dance, everything was... going great. We laughed at Principal Hartford's terrible dancing. You stepped on my toes during the slow songs. I didn't care… Then Kristi showed up."

  Thunder rumbled outside, echoing the tension in her voice.

  "She was wearing this fancy-ass, ‘xpensive, custom-made emerald dress with fiber optics woven through it. Every movement made her scales shimmer like she was covered in stars. Everyone was staring—especially you."

  Nessy's ears flattened further, her paws restlessly plucking at the blanket.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "When she asked you to dance, I... I panicked. Grabbed your arm, probably too hard. You looked confused. Said it was just one dance." She swallowed audibly. "I should have let it go. Should have been cool about it. But I… wasn't."

  Rain pattered against the windows, filling the brief silence.

  "Kristi started it with her snarky jokes," Nessy growled softly. "She asked if you perhaps needed a written permission from me to let you dance with someone else. Asked if I owned you."

  Her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. "I lost it. Told her that you were mine because we were packmates. That I saved your life at the quarry, that no 'stupid feathery, rich lizard' could understand the… the debt of that day."

  The words hung in the air between us, heavier than the storm clouds outside.

  "The moment I said it—the moment I mentioned debt—I saw your face change. Like I'd slapped you." Her voice had gone very quiet now. "You pulled away from both of us and said you didn't belong to anyone. That friendship wasn't about debt."

  “I tried to apologize, tried to explain that my mouth made a stupid, but you didn’t want to listen. I tried to smooth things over by saying that you can dance with her, and you did and you seemed to enjoy it. I saw you two whispering stuff to each other, glancing at me. Then… the formal ended and we drove home in awkward silence.”

  A memory flashed through my mind—gripping a steering wheel, knuckles white with tension. The soft vinyl beneath my palms worn in familiar places, the truck's engine humming with that slight tick on the left side that Grandpa always said would fix itself eventually.

  The silence suffocating, heavy with words unsaid and things that can't be taken back. Beside me, Nessy in her blue dress. Her scent—pine and something uniquely her—filled the small space. Her presence... suddenly claustrophobic as she pawed at me, talking on and on. But I knew how she really felt now… Knew that…

  What?

  I pushed the memory that didn’t belong to me aside, wondering if it was being somehow incepted into my head via the System’s ‘Companion’ connection bullshit or whether some part of me belonged to the local Alec. It was impossible to tell.

  “So,” I said. “Did you really stay quiet in the car?”

  "Noppers," Nessy said. "I started talking. Wouldn't stop talking. Nervous chattery-talking. Every attempt at explaining made things worse—like watching myself dig a hole deeper and deeper while being unable to drop the shovel. I tried to apologize in a hundred different ways, circling for acceptance like a shark.”

  “Sounds like you alright,” I said.

  “I tried to explain that of course I didn't own you, that's not what I meant. But then I kept talking about how we were meant to be together, how we'd promised each other forever when we were kids.” She laughed bitterly. "I actually said, 'We're a package deal—that's how packs work.' Like I was stating some universal law he had to abide by. I talked and talked and you didn’t say anything…”

  I nodded.

  "The next day, you… apologized for being harsh," she continued. "We tried to pretend everything was normal. But something had shifted. Like a fault line had opened between us. Or perhaps a door had closed or maybe you’ve never seen me as more than just a friend. Then you… left for uni… and told me to stay home, to do my own thing like singing and work as a mechanic. To accomplish something that didn’t revolve around you… err, him.”

  She sniffed.

  “I did all that. I did everything you… he asked. I became focused on fixing cars and composing music,” she waved a hand at a guitar hanging on a wall. “Sorry… I’m sorry. You’re definitely not him. You threw yourself off a cliff for me today. That's... not something that the Alec from my world would have ever done."

  “He was an ordinary human struggling with ordinary life,” I shrugged. “While I’m some sort of Systemfall person-shaped bloom that’s currently displaced from my dimension and being extra-smothered by an extraordinary talking dog.”

  "You know what the really messed up part is?" Her voice cracked slightly. "I told myself I was giving him space, but I was actually just waiting. Like if I followed his instructions perfectly—become independent, focus on my career, develop my own interests—he'd eventually come back and reward my good behavior with... himself. Talk about self-deception.” She sniffed again and then froze. “Hang on… did you just call me extraordinary? You think I'm extraordinary?”

  “You’re a talking dog,” I deadpanned.

  “Just that?” She poked my side.

  “You’re extraordinarily sweet,” I added. “And extraordinarily cute. And extraordinarily clingy.”

  She let out a whine.

  “And this is fine. Because unlike the Alec you grew up with, I don’t consider you a mundane girl or a mundane friend in the slightest. You’re… more like an alien from Star Trek, a girl from another planet. Heart-stoppingly beautiful, bossy, quirky, terrifying and strange in so many ways.”

  Nessy's eyes widened, her ears perking straight up as she stared at me. For once, she seemed completely speechless, her usual torrent of words dammed by surprise.

  “It’s like you were made to care for me,” I said.

  "You... you think I'm beautiful?" she finally managed, her voice uncertain. "And bossy?" Her tail began to wag slowly against the nest. "And made for you?"

  I nodded.

  She wiggled closer, gradually draping herself across me, her blue eyes bright with a mix of emotions I couldn't quite decipher. "So you're saying that being from different worlds is actually a good thing? That not having the baggage of the past Alec and Nessy is... better?"

  "Maybe," I conceded. "We have a clean slate. No history of promises broken or expectations unmet.”

  "Just new promises to make," she suggested, her tail now wagging with undisguised enthusiasm.

  "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I cautioned, though I couldn't help but smile at her eagerness.

  "You know," she continued, voice quieter now, "I spent so long trying to be the perfect packmate. The perfect friend. Loyal. Devoted. Reliable." She traced an invisible pattern on the blanket with one clawed finger. "I think maybe I tried too hard.”

  “Maybe,” I shrugged. “Or maybe that’s just who you are. Someone who tries hard. Your expressiveness isn’t wrong or bad. Just... intense.”

  She picked at a loose thread on the blanket, not meeting my eyes. "What Kristi said earlier—about me suffocating Alec, about him needing space from me—I've been stress-thinking about it for a while now. Was I really that bad? Am I being that way with you now?"

  "Honestly?" I said, propping myself up slightly. "I wasn’t here, so I can’t speak for the Pred-world Alec’s behavior.”

  "But what about you?" she pressed, blue eyes searching my face. "Am I... too much for you? Are you... uncomfortable with my intensity? Comfy being with me?"

  I considered this, weighing my response.

  "I'm getting used to it," I finally said, honesty seeming the only fair approach. "I can't dispute your invasive beastly ways. You are definitely the most physically affectionate person I've ever met… With the constant licking and hugging and bathing offers and you currently half-sprawled across me in a nest-bed. But..." I paused, "I don't dislike it."

  Her tail gave a tentative wag beneath the blankets. "Really?"

  "Yeah," I admitted. "It's actually kind of nice to have someone care that much. To not be... horribly alone."

  She nodded.

  "I did date people, but never achieved any kind of closeness with anyone," I added. "So Kristi's opinion about what I—or rather, her Alec—needed? It doesn't matter. That was a different me with different life experiences.”

  "Really?"

  "Really," I confirmed. "Look, I died alone. No one came looking for me. No one missed me. No one cared enough to notice I was gone." The admission hurt, but it was true. "And then suddenly there's you—running across realities to find me, fighting monsters for me, willing to take a bullet from a velociraptor ranger for me."

  Her smile blossomed.

  "So yes, you're clingy and invasive and pretty overwhelming. But after a lifetime of being overlooked? Of having people walk away without a second thought? Your... enthusiasm... is actually kind of nice.”

  "Even the face-licking?"

  “The face licking is pretty weird, I gotta admit,” I said.

  "I'll try to dial it back a bit," she promised. "Maybe lick you… slightly less often."

  "Such restraint," I teased.

  "I know, right? The sacrifice I make for you!" She clutched dramatically at her chest, then sobered. "Seriously though... I want to get this right. Us. Whatever 'us' means now."

  I found myself reaching out to squeeze her hand, feeling her pads. "We'll figure it out," I said.

  "One day at a time?" she yawned.

  "One day at a time," I agreed.

  Her breathing began to slow, her body relaxing against mine.

  The events of the day—our escape through Calvin's door, our plunge into the quarry, my temporary death and resurrection, the confrontation with Krysanthea—seemed to have finally caught up with her.

  "Nessy?" I murmured.

  "Hmm?" She voiced.

  "You know, that companion wish I made... I'm glad it gave me you."

  Her body stiffened momentarily, a small intake of breath catching in her throat. In the dim light, I could see her eyes half-open, searching my face with an intensity that belied her sleepy state.

  "You mean that?" she whispered.

  "I do," I replied simply. "I asked for someone I could trust. Someone loyal. I got exactly what I needed."

  “Me too.”

  Within minutes, her breathing had deepened fully, soft snores escaping her muzzle. I watched her sleep for a moment, admiring this strange, devoted canine-human.

  The world outside was alien and potentially hostile, but here in this nest of blankets, with Nessy's holding onto me, I felt something I hadn't expected to find in this or any reality really—a sense of pure, liquid belonging. I felt myself drowning in its inescapable embrace as I drifted to sleep.

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