Meulin waited in the usual spot that she did, searching for Kurloz. They had planned to meet at the bench beside the river, where they always did, but for some reason, Kurloz was unusually late. It made Meulin worry.

"Oh Purrloz," she said to herself. "Where are you?"

"Heya kitten," she heard soon after, turning to see Cronus, an acquaintance of hers. He had his usual unlit cigarette in his mouth, which annoyed her a little more than it should have. She wished he would just light that thing up already.

"Oh, hey Cronus," she said, putting her hand on her chin and tilting her head slightly. "What are mew doing here?"

"I was just walkin' around when I saw you," he said. "I kept walking and now that I'm back, you're still here. What's the big deal? You've been sulkin' around for about an hour at least."

Meulin felt embarrassed. Was she really here that long? "Oh, heh, you saw that, huh? Well I'm just waiting for Purrloz to get here just like he said he would! But he doesn't usually take this long…"

"The clown?" asked Cronus. "Last I saw he was chattin' it up with Meenah."

"Meenah?" asked Meulin, with a voice that showed more disbelief than she wanted it to. "What… were they talking about?" Cronus shrugged.

"Dunno. I didn't stick around," said Cronus. "What's it matter, anyways? Didn't you and the clown break up?"

"His name is KURLOZ," she said defensively. "And… yes, we did end our matespritship."

"So then it don't matter if he's just plain old TALKING to Meenah. I'm sure it ain't nothin' to worry about." Meulin sighed.

"Fine… do you wanna sit down?"

Cronus smiled and nodded, walking closer and sitting on the bench next to Meulin. "Why were you walking around?" asked Meulin.

"It's relaxing," he said simply. "Clears my head." Meulin laughed.

"Oh yeah? I know what will clear your head even more!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Leo stamped lighter, flicking it open and watching as the fire lit up.

"Oh no," said Cronus, taking the unlit cigarette from his mouth. "There ain't no way I'm letting you get me high. That shit is for you and the clown only."

"Oh come on!" she said. "What's the harm? You put the cigarette in your mouth anyway!"

"Yeah but that's so I can look cool as fuck," he said. "And it works! But that's not the same as actually smoking. Isn't that shit bad for you?"

"Not at all," said Meenah. "Kurloz and I do this stuff all the time! Well, not cigarettes. We do some Nip, and-"

"What the fuck is Nip?" asked Cronus.

"Catnip."

"You smoke… catnip?"

"Yeah! That is a thing that people can do."

"Ya just straight-up smoke the herb?"

"Yes."

"Oh yeah, you and the clown are totally normal," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Put that thing away," he said, pointing to the lighter.

"No way," said Meulin. "I'm sick of seeing that unlit cigarette in your mouth. It pisses me off how much more CHILL you can be with it. Don't you wanna be chill, Cronus?"

He scoffed. "You know I do!" Meulin shook the lighter.

"Then let me help you with that!" Cronus grabbed the lighter before Meulin could bring it closer, and closed it, snuffing out the flame. He held it away from her and smiled.

"Not a chance, Kitty. I ain't gonna let you be a bad influence on me."

"Give that back!" she said, reaching up towards the lighter in Cronus' hands. "And don't call me Kitty!"

"First of all, no," said Cronus, holding it up even higher. "'n second of all, I just did. Whatcha gonna do about it, Kitty?"

Meulin growled, slapping at Cronus' arms and chest. "You're the worst! Give it back!" Meulin suddenly jumped up and snatched the lighter from his hand, sitting back down with an annoyed look on her face.

"Sheesh, relax, will ya?" said Cronus, rubbing his arm.

"Maybe I will," replied Meulin, taking the cigarette from Cronus and sticking it between her lips, lighting it up with her lighter. Cronus watched curiously as Meulin inhaled the smoke, and blew it out into the air, sighing a little.

"This is a great fucking brand…" muttered Meulin. "I can't believe you've never actually smoked these."

"Like I said, I ain't fixin' to let you make me a bad influence," said Cronus, crossing his arms, keeping his eyes on her. Meulin snickered.

"Yeah yeah, fine," she said. "No smoking for you. You're a good boy, aren't you?" She sucked smoke into her mouth, feeling her throat tingle a little, and she blew the smoke out into Cronus' face. Cronus coughed hard, his face turning purple with embarrassment and suffocation.

"What the fuck!" he exclaimed. "Alright, you can wait for the clown by yourself, I'm outta here." Cronus stood up to leave, but Meulin frowned.

"Wait, Cronus!" she said. "Alright, I'm sorry! That was really rude of me and I shouldn't have done that. Purrlease don't leave me alone?"

Cronus looked annoyed now, turning away to cough a couple more times from the smoke. "I'd rather just go home now, Kitten."

"Ugh, let me make it up to you?" she offered, standing up as well, the cigarette still in her mouth. "We can go to my hive and have some tea. You like tea, right? No smoking, just tea, I promise."

Cronus sighed. That wasn't a terrible idea at all. He scratched the back of his neck, looking at Meulin again. "Tea?" he asked. "Alright, fine, I guess that… sounds good."

Meulin found herself smiling with an idea. "Good! I promise I won't push smoking on you anymore."

"About time," he said, uncrossing his arms.

"My hive is this way," she said. "Follow me." She started walking, and Cronus followed after her.

"Alright, Kitty," he said, moving to walk next to her so her smoking wouldn't suffocate him.

"Go back to calling me Kitten instead," she said. "I like that better…"

"Kitten, then," Cronus said. "Works for me too."

"Also," said Meulin, smirking. "You're fun to talk to, Cronus. You're kinda cute when you get all upset like you did before." Cronus bit his lip and looked at Meulin, who in turn stared at Cronus. She winked playfully, the cigarette having never left her mouth. Cronus thought it was a real shame that Meulin looked sexy even while smoking that poison.

"You're a liar," he said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Meulin shook her head defensively.

"You're blushing right now, Cronus," she said, smiling wider.

"...Am I?" he asked, feeling embarrassed. He couldn't tell if he was purple from the embarrassment or from the smoke earlier. Most likely, the answer was still both.

"Yup!" she said. "Don't worry, I still think it's cute, hehehehe…." She took a big hit from her cigarette, blowing it away from Cronus, not wanting to set him off again. She appeared more relaxed. "This is a really, really good brand…"

"Heh, you're lucky you're so cute, Kitten," he said. "Otherwise I woulda went back to my place. Without you," he added.

"Here we are!" said Meulin, after finally arriving at her hive with Cronus. She spat out the nearly useless cigarette, moving to her front door to open it for the two of them.

"Nice place," said Cronus.

"Wait 'till you see the inside!" she said, opening the door and walking in. She did a little twirl and flicked on the light switch. "Welcome to Casa Del Leijon~"

Cronus walked in and glanced around, appearing to be in the living room. It was a modest space, nothing at all like Cronus' hive. She appeared to have nothing more than a couple of couches, a television and a large, glass table. A couple of large cabinets covered the corner of the room, and some stairs led to a second floor.

"Looks cozy," said Cronus, smiling. Meulin went over to the door and closed it, happy to be in her own space.

"Trust me, it'll get cozier," and with that, she walked into the kitchen. "I'll make you some tea now. Feel free to get comfy in the living room!"

Cronus sat on the couch and fished his phone from his pocket. "Sure, thanks Kitten!" He turned his phone on and began messaging a couple of his friends. After quite some time, Meulin returned from the kitchen, smiling.

"Sorry it's taking so long," she said. "You can turn on the TV if you want."

"I'm good," said Cronus. "Although I should ask, why is this living room so… uh, empty?"

"I only use it for like, two things," said Meulin.

"Is one of them smoking?" asked Cronus, deadpanning. Meulin smiled and nodded, walking over to one of the large cabinets and opening them, pulling out a big, purple bong.

"Oh for fuck's sake," said Cronus. "You are the unhealthiest troll I have ever met, Kitten. Tied with the clown, now."

"Hey, this isn't bad at all!" she said. "You take walks to relax, and I… you know…!" Cronus rolled his eyes.

"Don't judge me, Fishy," she spat. Cronus glanced over at Meulin.

"Don't call me Fishy, Kitty!"

"Don't call me Kitty, Fishy!"

Cronus crossed his arms again. "Maybe I just got an issue with trolls who decide to kill themselves slowly with this smoking crap."

"It isn't bad!" yelled Meulin. "This stuff is all-natural, Cronus. Straight from the leaves and herbs! Nothing is healthier than nature."

Cronus was about to say something else, but the tea kettle in the kitchen began to whistle loudly, and that caught Meulin's attention.

"Oh, our tea," said Meulin. "Stay there and do your best to quit complaining," she said as she walked off into the kitchen. Cronus sighed. For the sake of his health, he should give up on denouncing smoking. Meulin walked in and held the tea kettle on a platter, along with two cups for the both of them. She set the platter down on the glass table, and then filled the two cups with the sweet-smelling liquid.

Cronus smiled. "Thanks for the tea, Kitten. I'll quit talkin' about smoking, alright?" Meulin smiled back.

"Don't thank me just yet. Wait until you taste it~"