I don't remember all of my dreams—only that they were quite pleasant. After days of having nightmares about Mom or Dad or Thorn discovering I have a thing for a human, just this once, my mind is quiet on the matter, and I wake up a bit disappointed to be back in the real world rather than relieved.

  Although, my disappointment quickly turns to confusion as I wake up. There's something weirdly warm in the bed beside me. It reminds me of the time a mountain lion snuck into my den and decided to commandeer my bed while I was still in it.

  But there's no fur. I press my claw against the warmth, then slowly open my eyes.

  Confusion turns to horror as I realize my forehead has been leaning against Jade's bare chest for nature knows how long.

  My entire body freezes, suddenly alert of him in his entirety. The blanket he was in has completely fallen off, though thank nature he's still wearing underwear. Somehow, during the night, we managed to become entangled. While my right claw is resting against his chest, my left arm is at his side. One of his hands lightly brushes the back of my head, his fingers threatening to tangle in my grass-like hair, while his other hand presses on my back and pulls me close to him.

  For a long minute, my traitorous body wills me to stay like this. I can feel flowers blooming up and down my hair, my tail, even a couple on my arms. But I can't help it. This is...nice.

  WHAT THE HOLLYHOCK AM I THINKING?

  I shove Jade away in sudden clarity. With a delirious noise, he blinks awake. Red blooms on his face. "Ohhh, this isn't a dream?"

  "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AWAKE?" I jump up from the bed and start raking flowers out of my hair by the dozens. I don't dare look at him, or else I'll see his un-clothed body and even more flowers will bloom in their place.

  "I don't know...a few minutes?"

  "I'm going to splash around in the cold morning mud," I declare, still not looking at him. "You'd better be dressed when I get back." I pace toward the door, blocking the view of him with my hand as I do.

  "Okay." He sounds almost faint, like he's been smoking a strange plant or he made tea out of the wrong kind of flower.

  True to my word, I take a long mud bath in a thick puddle just outside my house. It's not something I do often, since it takes a while for the mud to dry and flake off, but right now I just need something to cool me down and make me feel all good and pure again instead of like the dandelion desperate for pollen that I actually am.

  Once I am adequately cooled off and free of all flowers, I walk back into the den. Jade has donned his clothes again, and the morning sun highlights them in all their damp and wrinkled glory. He lays down on my bed and stares up at the ceiling with a blank expression.

  I pluck the flowers already starting to grow from his vicinity and travel to my kitchen, where I retrieve some fruits I gathered before the storm. "You are still alive, right?"

  "Yeah," he croaks.

  I peel an orange with my claw and chew on the bits of peeling as they come free. "Are you sick? Have you contracted some weird human blight?" Obnoxious concern leaks into my voice despite my attempts to remain aloof.

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  "No..." He pauses. Then, he says, "I've just never cuddled with a girl before."

  I eat the last of the orange peeling. Then, I climb my steps and toss the fruit at him. "Catch." He sits up and fumbles it in his hands. "First of all, that was not cuddling. Cuddling implies intention. Second of all, I am not 'a girl,' I am a ferocious forest nymph woman. Get it right." Or, wait...did I call myself a girl last night? Agh, so stupid.

  He eats the orange, still spacing out. "Have you ever cuddled with intention before?"

  I scrunch my face and return to my kitchen for more fruit. "No. I mean, not yet. I probably will one day, though."

  "Would you ever wanna cuddle with intention together?"

  Sweet dahlias, does he not know every word he's saying sounds like some kind of euphemism? I shake my head and lash my tail before grabbing and biting into a whole lemon. But to my horror, instead of responding with, "No way," the words that escape my mouth are, "I'll consider it."

  "Awesome," he drones.

  I think I've broken him. Mother did say you could manipulate a boy with the right flutter of the eyes, shoulder touches, and "accidental" flowers. I guess whatever mind-melding power I apparently have works on human boys, too.

  That's not a surprise, since his strange human powers clearly work on me.

  Before I can tell Jade to get out of my den, a strange noise makes my head jolt up. Whispering from the plants outside—something is approaching.

  Then, footsteps, pattering on the mud and sticks strewn from the storm. And finally, a voice. "Helloooooo? Thiiiiiiiiiistle? THIIIIIIISTLEEEEEEEEE!!!"

  A million different things I should do all dash through my mind at once, crashing into one another and causing me to freeze. Jade, half-eaten orange in his hand, looks at me with shock.

  Thorn pokes his head into my den. "Gah, it reeks of wet animal in here. Did that big cat come back—HUMAN!" My brother leaps straight into the air, then points a claw at Jade. "THISTLE! THISTLE THERE'S A HUMAN IN YOUR DEN!"

  I finally snap out of my daze and run towards Thorn. I clamp my claw over his mouth and hiss, "Shut up!"

  "Mmm-mph—mm!!"

  "Is Mom or Dad with you?"

  He shakes his head, his eyes darting between me and Jade.

  I take my hand off his mouth. "Now listen to me very carefully—"

  "THISTLE, ARE YOU CROSS POLLINATING WITH A HUMAN?!"

  "I SAID SHUT UP!"

  His face scrunches in disgust. "Ewwww!"

  I grab Thorn and put him in a headlock, the two of us tumbling to the floor. "First of all, I'm not! Second of all, what's so wrong with interspecies relationships, huh? I never took you for such a bigot!"

  He chokes and thrashes under my hold. "I don't like the idea of you pollinating with anyone, human or not!" He wiggles free, but I tackle him again. "Not to sound judgmental, but you do know how animals reproduce, right?!"

  Ugh, leave it to Thorn to bring up that. "Why do you have such a dirty mind?!" We snarl and slash at one another. "GET OUT OF HERE, JADE!" I shout. "I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!"

  "WHAT ARE YOU TWO?!" After his question, Thorn bites my arm.

  I punch his face. "We are friends and research partners!"

  "'ikley thstory!" He unlocks his jaw from my arm as I punch him one last time. "Okay! Uncle!"

  I grip his shoulders with my claws. "If you tell Mom or Dad about this, I will chop you up and use your severed body parts for a salad. Do you understand?"

  Shaking and hopefully terrified, Thorn nods. "I-I don't wanna know what depraved things you have going on, anyways." He climbs to his feet and dusts himself off. "I just came to ask if you had any extra yams. Mom needs some."

  "Check my back garden. Then SCRAM!"

  "Okay, okay!" He hobbles out of my den.

  Despite having won the fight, I'm still seething inside. Stupid Thorn, always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Barging into my den, into my territory, without permission. Making me think about embarrassing things like reproduction. Ugh!

  Threats will only work for so long. I'll need a more permanent solution to keep him quiet. My mind is halfway between bribery and murder when I look to my bedroom and see that Jade is still standing there, dumbfounded.

  "What? I thought I told you to run!" I bark.

  He straightens. "S-sorry. Who was that?"

  "My stupid brother," I grumble. "Now come on, I'll escort you out of the woods since he's roaming nature knows where." I exit the den. He follows me like a lost chick.

  Ugh. Boys.