Private Try to Get Along, You Two

'Well, yeah! I'm a dog. I like being pet."

She paused, then made an exaggerated gasp.This must have been why Leo looked tense. Unsure. "Sorry! I shouldn't assume like that... I know some animals don't like being pet or touched at all. I enjoy it. It's relaxing and a great way to go to sleep. But... I'm getting used to living without it. A lot of people don't like petting me, especially when they learn I'm a KEM0."

"We can pet each other! I've been able to pet a few NEK0, and their purrs are so cute. All I can do is wag my tail." Charlotte stood up to go over to Leo, already raising her hand to lay it on his head. Then she stopped, thinking over what she just said.

"That must be why cat people were made first and are more popular pets. You guys can make cute sounds. Dogs are just known as noisy and dumb." After laughing at herself, she resumed her approach towards her new roommate, tail swinging frantically all the while.

Almost immediately, Charlotte stopped, nearly tripping over her paws to keep her hand from laying on Leo's head. Leo's guilt was unneeded. Charlotte looked disappointed, and she was, but the expression didn't stay for long. The conversation was moving forward, and with her hands firmly by her side, she strolled along with it.

"Oooh. Wellll. I think it's kind of different with dog people and dog animals. I've been allowed to use the internet lately, and I don't see a lot of art of dog girls. Most of them are cat girls. And boys. I've heard big dogs can be difficult to take care of. Imagine having to take care of a loud, barking, hyperactive dog person. I bet without modification, dog KEM0s are large too." Somewhere in the middle, Charlotte had stopped speaking to Leo and started wondering aloud to herself. The psychology of humans and the people making KEM0s was an enigma fun to decode, though she knew she would never figure out the puzzle.

That was something to unpack. Charlotte understood why NEK0s and KEM0s didn't like the company, but that particular train of logic threw her for a loop.

"Really? Buuuut they made us. My therapist said I shouldn't let them tell me who I am, buuuuut I thought the custom—oh, well, they weren't really customers, just workers. I thought the workers had a good idea of who I am. Isn't that worthwhile?"

"Oh." Charlotte's brows furrowed, then shot up. Waving her hands in front of her, she cringed a little. "Oh. Wait! I'm not trying to justify them or say they're okay or anything like that! It's... I don't know. I feel like it's okay for some parts of me to be defined by them."

She tried to look Leo in the eye. "Sorry."