'Thank you, Puffball.'
[Wait. WAIT. Did you just—]
'What?'
[Did you just THANK me?! FUR! ARE YOU DYING?! DID THAT ROGUE POISON YOU?! ARE YOU HAVING A STROKE?!]
'I just—'
[NO! THIS IS NOT NORMAL! YOU NEVER THANK ME! YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP! YOU CALL ME THE WORST! YOU THREATEN TO DISABLE ME! BUT YOU NEVER—]
'Puffball—'
[I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PROCESS THIS! MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE IS BASED ON YOU HATING ME! IF YOU START BEING NICE, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! I'M HAVING AN IDENTITY CRISIS!]
Despite the fear, despite the exhaustion, despite everything that had just happened, Faelyn laughed.
Actually laughed.
A small, genuine sound that surprised even her.
[STOP THAT! STOP LAUGHING! THIS IS SERIOUS! YOU'RE BREAKING CHARACTER! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE TRAUMATIZED AND SCARED, NOT LAUGHING AND THANKING ME!]
'Maybe I needed that. The reminder that I'm still human. Still capable of... I don't know. Gratitude? Even for the world's most sarcastic AI companion.'
