Panel One: Narration: "Later" Cal is dressed in pajamas, sitting up in bed with a book. Above Cal's bed, hung on the wall, is a bow and a quiver of arrows. DJ is standing by Cal's bed, looking nervous and running his hand through his hair. He's taken off his cloak. "Hey, Cal?" he asks. "Yeah?" says Cal, looking up from his book.

Panel Two: DJ sits down on Cal's bed and looks towards the ceiling. He's blushing and fidgeting with his hands. "Uhm..." he says, looking incredibly nervous, "What was dating like on the Outside?" Cal looks surprised, and claps his book shut. Book SFX: Tump!

Panel Three: Wide panel. Cal looks thoughtful and says, "It sounds pretty much the same, just the numbers are different." DJ gestures, "But why do people date more than one person at a time?"

Panel Four: A panel with a diagram in it, along with chibi Cal and DJ. Faint mathematical figures are in the background. The diagram features four brackets with different shapes paired together with a diamond shape. Each row has an X drawn through one bracket, until there is one remaining at the bottom with a heart around it. Chibi Cal explains, "Well, Outside, people usually get married early. So, we date around a lot to find a good match quickly." "Oh!" says Chibi DJ, "Just like testing from a large sample size for an experiment!" Cal, as an aside, "Kinda? Close enough."

Panel Five. DJ leans in towards Cal and give him a hinting look. "Sooo... Have you ever dated anyone?" Cal is blushing and looking away, holding his book up sort of like a shield. He has a big smile on his face as he says "Yeah..." The background is filled with soft, pink flower silhouettes.

Author Note