Danika gazed at MatchlessMinion's supportive denial for a bit, before logging out to eavesdrop on what the traveling merchant had to say.

Shrubbery, SaltySiamese, and ShinZing had reached the traveling merchant more quickly than Danika had expected. By the time she disconnected and leaned over the edge of the VR-medi pod to see what he was going to say about the hair, they were already done. Shinichi grinned at her and stole a kiss before letting her retreat again.

He probably delayed their return a little, because she was waiting in her garden like she'd always been there by the time they got back to report. He flashed her a grin as he appeared, and flew over to land on the seat beside her.

SaltySiamese appeared in the garden in mid complaint. "…is not relevant! She never asked me that!"

"Never asked you what?" Danika asked as Shrubbery rolled her eyes like MatchlessMinion might. For the briefest moment Danika wondered if Shrubbery might not have lent him her account, but her wry smile dispelled the thought.

"She thinks the fact that the kitten is trying to bribe her with the skill to control her ears isn't relevant. I think it means that maybe the kitten isn't actually a kitten, since it has such advanced skills," Shrubbery explained.

ShinZing nodded in agreement. "I hadn't thought of it that way before she brought it up, but I think it's a good point."

"Whatever," SaltySiamese grumbled.

"The skill to control your ears?" Danika asked with interest. "So that you can boost your hearing even more as a cat?"

SaltySiamese rolled her eyes. "No! Just the appearance of them! So that I could call up my cat ears when I'm not in cat shape!" Her voice grew more enthusiastic as she spoke, and Danika grinned at her.

"That sounds like a perfect skill for you," she agreed.

"I know right!?" SaltySiamese replied instantly.

Danika continued, "And also like the kind of disguise skill that someone could use at high levels to make themselves look like a kitten?"

Shrubbery snickered and ShinZing flashed a grin, as SaltySiamese threw up her hands and snapped, "Fine! It's all an evil plot by some catty mastermind!" She put her hands on her hips and declared, "But the traveling merchant was surprisingly helpful! He told us how to get the hair without allowing it to be used for harmful things!"

"He did," Shrubbery agreed quickly, though her cheeks still curved in amusement, and her eyes sparkled.

Danika practically bounced as she demanded, "How? What did he say?"

"Well, it might make it a lot more difficult to get," SaltySiamese conceded before explaining. "It has to be given willingly. That apparently increases its power for some things, but makes it so that it will just crumble if it's used for something that the Empress wouldn't approve."

Danika gazed at the elf and avoided looking at Shrubbery's sparkling eyes. "I can see how that might make it more difficult," she agreed while trying not to show her own amusement. "What do you think we should offer as a bribe or tribute, or whatever you offer to an Empress?"

She felt a little guilty when SaltySiamese took the question seriously. "Um, well, I guess if you go by most tales, I should give up the most valuable thing I have. I'm not sure what that would be though."

--

Danika felt even more guilty when SaltySiamese had logged off, and Shrubbery said laughingly, "Match will be so proud of you!"

"I should have just told her," Danika muttered.

"It's not your secret to tell," ShinZing told her affectionately. "You're just respecting Kit's struggle to learn to hide her Empress flag."

"I agree!" Shrubbery insisted quickly. "We should just be leaving it up to Kit whether she wants to tell Salty or not."

They did the latest guild quest together, and Shrubbery asked ShinZing, "Why didn't you just play a pixie or something before if you didn't want people to recognize you? Even though you still look almost the same, I'd never have recognized your avatar this way."

ShinZing flashed another grin and replied, "I guess at first I wondered if anyone would ever suspect that I was actually myself? And it was kind of fun being able to kill people and say whatever I wanted without hiding my face. But after the avatars became a little more popular, people started assuming that if you used one of them you had plenty of money, and that got a little annoying."

He asked in return, "Why are you avoiding MatchlessMinion?"

Danika blinked in surprise and looked at them both questioningly as Shrubbery blushed and looked away.

"Wait, what?" Danika asked.

"She's probably the person who knows the most about the play schedule those two are restricted to right now, and she hasn't been playing when he has," ShinZing explained calmly.

"I just… um…" Shrubbery mumbled.

"Did he confess before they left?" ShinZing asked shrewdly.

"Kind of," Shrubbery admitted while staring fixedly at ZipZing's little apple tree.

"But you two get along great!" Danika blurted.

Shrubbery covered her eyes and groaned. ShinZing held up his hands and shook his head when Danika opened her mouth again.

After a minute, Shrubbery complained, "You're going to think I'm an awful person." She heaved a sigh and added, "I think I'm an awful person."

"I think you shouldn't feel pressured just because you're friends," ShinZing replied calmly.

Danika nodded quickly when Shrubbery glanced at her, but she really wanted to ask why it wouldn't be a good thing, and she wondered if it was because MatchlessMinion was younger.

Shrubbery explained anyway, "He's too short."

"Short?" Danika replied blankly. "But he's still growing right?"

Shrubbery laughed bitterly. "Sure, I mean, he's already taller than his dad. He might even come up to my chin someday."

Danika gazed at her with what was probably a very shocked expression, since ShinZing zipped closer and poked her, before saying quietly, "Don't be so hard on yourself. You can't control what you find appealing, it's no different than having a favorite color."

"It's not the same," Shrubbery protested. "He's actually smart and cute, surprisingly reliable and everything, he's just… short."

"I don't know, maybe it is the same," Danika admitted reluctantly. It felt like a horrible thing to say though. She felt like she was betraying MatchlessMinion by even admitting to the possibility.

She glanced at ShinZing who still had Shinichi's familiar face. There were a lot of things she loved about him, but she couldn't deny that he was also really attractive. She would like to think that if he'd turned out to be short or balding that she'd like him just as much, but she couldn't prove anything. Her previous relationships had been with people she'd found attractive too.

"Stop that," ShinZing complained. "Don't look at me with blue sparkles without telling me what's wrong?"

Danika shrugged and told Shrubbery, "I feel a little shocked, but I really might react the same way."

Shrubbery shook her head and insisted, "You wouldn't."

Danika shrugged and pointed at ShinZing, "Can you really say that about someone who's dating someone like that? He even sparkles now."

"Hey!" ShinZing protested.

Shrubbery finally giggled.