Now that he'd found Kelima, Terry's first instinct was to get moving again. However, the idea of fighting again after all that pain actually made something inside of him cringe. There was also the problem of being tired. It wasn't physical tiredness. His body actually felt better than ever. It was that creeping exhaustion that pain always brings on. While he was worried about them running out of food and water, Terry decided that getting a few hours of actual rest would probably be more beneficial. The only problem with that plan was that his pack, his blankets, and apparently his cat were still in the boss room. He stood in the doorway and gave a halfhearted glower at the haze that seemed unwilling to clear. If push came to shove, he'd just have to get Kelima to talk at him while he went looking for his stuff.

"Why are you staring into there like that?"

"Dusk is still in there, along with the rest of my stuff."

"She is?" asked Kelima.

She came and stood next to him, mimicking his stare. Or, she almost mimicked it. The noble girl wore an expression of concern. Terry suspected his face was expressing irritation more than concern, although he did worry that breathing that haze might be bad for the kitten's lungs. Then, an idea occurred to him. The fact that he'd legitimately seen it in a comic book gave him pause at first, but he'd had enough physics in college to understand that it would probably work. Well, it would if he were strong and fast enough. As a bonus, it would make things easier when they were ready to leave. Even if it didn't work, there was no harm in trying beyond a bit of social embarrassment. He was a little surprised to discover that the introvert in him still gave a crap. Maybe that stuff really was hardwired at some genetic level.

"I'm going to go try something. You wait out here for a minute," said Terry, stepping through the door.

"Try something?" asked Kelima. "Is this going to be one of those massively destructive ideas?"

Terry looked over his shoulder at her and said, "Probably not."

He took another step, paused, and looked back over his shoulder at her.

"You may want to cover your ears, though," he suggested.

Kelima's eyes went wide, and she immediately slapped her hands over her ears. She might have done it a little too fast, based on the way she winced. It had never occurred to him that someone could box their own ears. Now that he'd thought about it, Terry was having some trouble resisting the urge to do it. Even knowing that it could do permanent damage wasn't proving sufficient.

Do not box your own ears, you fool! shouted other-Terry.

That was enough to break whatever spell the idea had cast over Terry. He shook his head and took a couple more steps. At this point, he wondered again if he was about to make himself look stupid. Then again, even if he did, it still couldn't be as stupid-looking as boxing his own ears. Man, he thought, I really do need to get some sleep. All that pain has clearly impaired my thinking. Rolling his neck, Terry extended his arms out to either side.

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Smiling a little, he said, "Here comes the boom."

Terry brought his hands together as hard as he could. There really was a boom. All the haze was driven away from him and pressed up hard against the walls and ceiling. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated how much force the sound of two hands clapping could generate. He watched in horror as his pack was lifted off the ground and started spinning toward the back wall. Terry knew he was fast now. Way faster than any normal human being, but he had no idea if he was fast enough to catch that pack and, more importantly, the tiny kitten inside of it. Terry planted his foot. A burst of strength from his leg launched him in the direction of the pack. When his face slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the room a fraction of a second later, he thought, Yeah, I'm fast enough.

As much as his face hurt, he kept his eye on the prize. He spun around, took two steps, and grabbed the pack with both hands. He didn't try to stop the pack immediately. Instead, he tried to slow it before letting it hit his chest. It wasn't ideal, but he thought that was probably better than just letting it crash into the wall. He hesitated for a second before making himself open the pack. He looked down into it, only to find a kitten with all four of its ears laid flat. Dusk took one look at him before she crawled up to the top of the pack. Then, she batted his nose with her claws out.

Terry let out a startled yelp as yet more pain lanced through his face from the end of his nose. He reached up to touch the end of his nose. It came as a shock when his fingers came away bloody. Terry gave the kitten, who was still glaring at him, a questioning look. He was supposed to be basically bulletproof now, so just how sharp and durable were her claws? That made him wonder if she would have been fine even if the pack had hit the wall. Not that he was eager to test that idea, but it was getting increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that his kitten was strange.

"You caught it?" exclaimed Kelima from the doorway. "How?"

"Good reflexes," he said.

He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it was true. It just wasn't the helpful sort of true that provides clarity. What was that phrase he heard that professor use? Trivially true? Yeah, that was it. It was probably the hundredth trivially true answer he'd given her since they met. Given the sour expression she wore, he suspected that she was thinking about that exact thing. Kelima seemed to shake off her moment of displeasure to ask a more pressing question.

"Is Dusk okay?"

The kitten seemed to understand the question. She let out a little mewl. Then, as if to make sure that Terry knew she was holding a grudge, she jumped out of the pack. He watched as the kitten marched across the boss room to Kelima. The girl gave him a smug look as she scooped up the traitorous feline and stroked her fur.

"Man, that's some gratitude for you," complained Terry as he gingerly touched his injured nose.

Putting the pack over one shoulder, he went back to the corridor. The haze that his clap had sent to the walls was already starting to drift back out into the room. He wasn't sure what was going on with that. It seemed to him that the haze should have drifted out into the corridor or the stairs that led to the next floor.

I don't suppose you know why the haze is lingering in that room? Terry mentally asked other-Terry.

Not really, answered the construct. There's a bunch of possible answers, but I don't know which one of them applies here. For all I know, it's none of them, and there's something else entirely at work.

The next time there's an opportunity to explore a dungeon, remind me to take a pass. This world is bizarre enough without adding in the extra-crispy recipe weirdness of a place like this.

Heh, laughed other-Terry. Extra-crispy recipe. That's funny.

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