>>20872767>>20872768The sound of movement and a strange raspy voice in the near darkness above catches Coco’s ears. She turns toward the source, spotting Cactus half crawling half stumbling over crates stacked high above. Coco leans her head to one side, showing neither aggression nor fear as the creature and its wheezing laugh draw closer, until she suddenly falls, landing flat in front of Coco.
“Ha ha hahaha,” Coco starts to laugh, “you’re funny! Do that again! Do it again!” she shouts. But Cactus starts to crawl around her, sniffing deeply. Coco wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Did people sometimes greet each other in this way? She’d never observed Nikki being sniffed by another person before, or attempt to do so to others. Should she reciprocate?
When Cactus starts to examine her fingers, she decides to do exactly that and leans forward, inhaling deeply and… “Bleh!”
Coco recoils sharply, and watches Cactus mutters to herself. This woman’s smell was… intense. And then she starts speaking, somewhat more clearly than when she was muttering to herself, repeating the name of Nikki’s sister. Coco’s heart rate begins to increase as memories of Nikki being beaten by Cassie for talking to her begin to surface. Beatings that persisted until Nikki repressed Coco’s presence for years, leaving her in complete solitude. Cactus’ words barely register.
“Fuck Cassie!” she screeches.
Coco’s voice scares a rat out of hiding, and it skitters across the floor in front of her. Snapped back to reality by the sudden movement, she responds by instinctively diving forward, grabbing the creature with both hands. She laughs, and the creature squeals in pain as she squeezes it in her grip. “You’re Cassie now!” she yells at the rat.
She looks at Cactus Jane. “Play?” She laughs. “Yes, play! Catch the Cassie!” She then kicks the rat, sending it flying toward Cactus.
