Fuzzy promptly stuck out a paw, tipped the food bowl over, and proceeded to lick the pasta and sauce off the floor.  He was gentler with the water bowl, lapping the water out without splashing too much.

Half an hour later, Helen emerged in a fresh uniform.  She sat on the sofa, only giving the torn cushion a brief glance.  “Thank you for coming down there for me.  I was in and out a lot the last few days.  If you hadn’t come, I would have probably just fallen asleep and not woken up.”

“Why didn’t you try and escape?” Allistor tried to keep his tone gentle.

“I thought about it.  Even went up the stairs a few times.  But Cliff took our last ammo with him, and I kept imagining being ripped apart by those things.  I just couldn’t do it.”

“Fair enough,” Allistor sympathized with her.  Just then Fuzzy emerged from the kitchen, using his long tongue to lick the last of the pasta sauce from his muzzle.  He walked right up to Helen and gave her another sniff.  Seeming to approve this time, he licked her hand once, then went to lay back down on the bear rug.”

“Was that some kind of taste test for later?” She smiled at the cub.  “He’s a young one.  Maybe six months.  Did you kill his mother?”

Allistor shook his head.  “Nope.” He sat down on the sofa as well and told her the whole story, starting with the octopoid fight and ending with their bonding.   Then, because she didn’t understand what he was saying about the system bonding them, he told her all about their new world and what they’d learned about the system.

She absorbed it all without much comment.  “I’ve played a few of those games.  When I was a kid.”  She was in her late thirties as best Allistor could guess.  “So, are you like a ranger or a hunter, taming pets to fight for you?”

He grinned.  “Ha!  No.  This was all sort of accidental.  I just didn’t want him to die alone in the woods, and then he sort of became my responsibility.”

They talked for a little while longer until Helen began to yawn.  “Hey, you’ve had a rough week.  Get some sleep.  I’ll sleep out here on the sofa and keep an ear on the door.”

She just nodded and returned to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.  He leaned down and patted Fuzzy’s side a couple times, then he settled in on the sofa and closed his eyes.

*****

Allistor woke in the morning to a cold wet nose jammed in his face.  Sputtering and pushing the fuzzy face away, he sat up.   Helen was sitting in a nearby chair, an amused look on her face.   “I think he wants to be let out.”