Pepper has an Adventure
an excerpt

"If you don't like the house, you shouldn't be sleeping in it."

"No, I like the house, that isn't the issue. The issue is that it apparently already belongs to someone."

"Why is that a problem? Can't you just go back to your house?"

Pepper wasn't sure how much he trusted this female (who, he'd determined based on observation and context clues, was probably human), but so far she had given him no reason to fear her, so he chose to reveal his secret life to her. "I can't do that, you see, I'm a hermit."

"A hermit?" She asked. "What is that?"

"Someone who lives entirely alone."

The girl considered this for a few moments. She dragged her fingers through her curly blonde pigtails, as if trying to straighten them out entirely, but the task seemed futile as there were simply too many curls. After a time, she said, "I think I would like to be a hermit, too."

Pepper balked at the idea. A girl hermit? "You can't," he said.

"Why not? I've already got a house, it seems like I'm all set."

"Well, first of all, we haven't officially determined the ownership of this house. And secondly, you're a girl. Girls can't be hermits."

"That makes no sense," she said. "I think I'd like to be a hermit with you."

Pepper balked again. "You can't be a hermit WITH someone!" He hollered. Hermits live alone, that's the whole point!"

"But wouldn't it make sense, if you were going to live alone, to have someone around to keep you company?"

Pepper considered this idea. It did make a bit of sense, though he didn't want to admit it.

It didn't matter, though, the girl seemed to see the agreement on his face, and declared, "It's settled then. You and me will be hermits together."