and puppy dog tails.

[Anonymous]

OOC
For Shiny!

IC
The fair â€" and to a greater extent, the hideous â€" inhabitants of La'marri, it seemed, were not brought up to appreciate dogs unless they were firmly attached to a responsible, poop-scooping, leash-grappling owner. On his second day in the village, Kareem had the misfortune of experiencing this distrust first-hand paw.

It was early evening, and the sky had combined gold and blue in a way that made it appear as though things could go either way â€" someone without a concept of time might be fooled into emerging from one of the dungeon-like pubs trilling a high-pitched 'morning has broken, like the true morning!' and Kareem, staring up at the sky form his perch on the butcher's doorstep, wouldn't have blamed them. To blend in without risking humanoid interaction, he had taken the shape of a lanky retriever of the please-love-me variety â€" irresistible were it not for his lack of collar or attached owner, and for the most part left well alone.

Until, that is, the owner of the meat-distributing establishment whose doorway he was obstructing decided it was time to hit the streets. On seeing Kareem, the gruff, apron-clad barrel of a man not only chose to open the door (unfortunately for Kareem, it swung outwards), but to smash it into the golden canine's backside with the force of a thousand canons.

'OFFA MAH PRAWPERTEH, FILTHY MUTT' was almost drowned out by a long, high-pitched wail as Kareem was sent careening into the doorway opposite â€" unable, despite flailing all available limbs quicker than a humming bird beats it wings, to achieve flight before his face collided with the wall on the other side of the alley.

[Anonymous]

La'marri was interesting. The humans in it seemed a lot more content than those of the other places the twins had visited; for one thing, a great many of them could do magic, which surprised and interested the Haithians. But more than that, there was a pleasant sense that anything could happen, anything at all, and no one would blink - or so Narayan thought as he hurtled through the streets, his mind stretching in every direction with the feelings of others. A wearisome Nyx was pulled along behind him, blatantly humouring her excitable twin, wanting nothing more than a good book and a snuggly bed. Narayn was speaking to her in a fluent stream of telepathy, trying to explain all the feelings of the humans around him, thinking how awful it must be that Nyx's diminished empathetic capabilities prevented her from feeling the deep sense of peace.

Nyx didn't mind a bit. For one thing, her diminished capabilities prevented her from crying at any given opportunity. Even as she thought about this (privately, lest Nara burst into tears at her differing opinion - which he would probably see as her being brave) he paused, ragged clothes settling around him in the dusk, eyes widening.

What's wrong, Nara?

Someone's feeling-

Of course, it had to be someone feeling something. That was the empath's reason for everything. Never before had Nyx realized how lucky she was not to be crippled by someone else's feelings second after second, for the duration of her life. No, Nara was the one to be pitied. He could still be such a crybaby, though - even as he broke off his thought, he was whimpering and, inexplicably, he let go of her hand and clutched at his rear end.

Nyx stared.

"Nara? Why are you-"

"OW! OUCH, OH, OW! THAT HURTS!"

Nara clapped his hands to his face, pain blossoming in it inexplicably. He felt his sister's hand gently touching his forehead, even as her mind tentatively sought his, trying to determine what had happened. It didn't matter - someone had been hurt! He had felt it and that was why his face felt so awful. With a muffled whimper, tears already glistening in his already-too-shining eyes, he lurched forward, taking ahold of Nyx again. He didn't need to tell her he was going to find the person who had been hurt, and close enough for him to feel the pain so vividly. She knew.

They'd been through it often enough before, after all.

Taking off down the streets at an insane pace, one hand still holding his face gingerly, Narayan tried - and surprisingly, succeeded - to find the source of the pain. Turning another corner and coming out into a street with a familiar butcher's shop in it (Nara had gone queasy at the very sight), he pointed madly at the figure by the wall. Nyx nodded, glancing at it, eyes dark with suspicion. Nara whimpered again, releasing her and darting toward the dog while his twin stayed put.

Nara, wait!

"Poor doggy!" The boy gushed, all but throwing himself on the injured animal. He nuzzled his face into the dog's neck, then rested cheek to muzzle, feeling the bruised areas of his skin relaxing.

Nara!

He chose not to reply. Nyx would probably tell him the dog had fleas or something. She could be too reserved at times; she needed to cling to big doggies like this and relax a little.

"Nara," Nyx said, resorting to verbal speech and edging closer, warily, "since when do you feel what dogs feel?"

Oh. Actually... good point.

[Anonymous]

"Nara, since when do you feel what dogs feel?�

Combined, surprise and a strong, throbbing ache became the the hurting shifter's antidote â€" sooner than he could say 'Hello, how do you do, might I offer you some tea?', his canine body erupted in a hazy light much like the one he came to expect whenever he made the â€" voluntary â€" choice to change shape. This, however, was unplanned â€" evident by the flagrant display of glorious nudity when the light dissipated to reveal Kareem's bi-pedal form (still encircled by the arms of a total â€" not nude and certainly not expecting to be clinging to anyone else in the nude â€" stranger).

�Uh...ow, like.�

The tall, platinum blonde nomad raised a hand to touch his forehead, where an unsightly swelling had already ballooned. His eyes fell on Nyx, whom he greeted with a tentative wag of a tail that was no longer there and a confused 'wtf' sort of gaze before letting his head dip to survey her affectionate sibling and the unclothed body he was nuzzling. �Hey... How am I naked? I mean. It's awesome. But...well, it's naked, too.�

[Anonymous]

He'd barely had a chance to dwell on the consequences of Nyx's point, barely had a second to think about what, exactly, that meant, when suddenly he was blinded by a flash of light, and there seemed to be mist, and the cuddlesome doggy was apparently rearing backwards...

Oh, gods, Nara, what have you done? Let go of him, come here!

Narayan completely missed his sister's silent, terrified call, too bemused by what was going on. He couldn't even release the dog, now, shock had practically glued them together, everything was so damned bright-

�Uh...ow, like.�

The light had gone. Nyx was feeling stupefied. A male voice had just originated from somewhere that felt very high above him. With an ominous feeling of dread, Narayan raised his head.

Nyx, the dog is speaking.

It's not a dog, Nara.

Nyx, the dog isn't a dog and it's speaking.

That's true. It's also naked, have you noticed?

He hadn't. Completely forgetting about the necessity of breathing, he tried to glance down. He couldn't. He tried again. He still couldn't. All he could do was stare at the expanse of skin just centimetres from his face and continue clinging. He wished he had the faintest idea of what he was clinging to; it didn't help that he was feeling the confusion of the 'it' as well.

�Hey... How am I naked? I mean. It's awesome. But...well, it's naked, too.�

"Being naked is awesome?" Nyx enquired, still a few feet away and practically emanating a halo of paranoia. Nara, you should probably let go of him now.

"I can't! If I let go you'll see his- his- you'll- he's naked, Nyx!" Wailed the Haithian boy, eyes impossibly wide and staring at the upper chest of the definitely-not-a-dog.

[Anonymous]

�I can't! If I let go you'll see his- his- you'll- he's naked, Nyx!�

â€?Peeeeenis?â€? Kareem offered helpfully, peering at the boy-sized parasite that was denying the world a peek at his privates with both hands on his hips â€" like a mother about to coax a child into doing something he really would rather not do â€" like let go, or look down, or â€" heaven forbid â€" both and then some. â€?Hey - I betcha she's seen one,â€? he continued in an exaggerated whisper, cocking his head and smiling in a way that was anything but wry â€" rather, he hoped this might alleviate the lad's fears of what sister/penis interaction by proxy might mean for the world. She's seen one, at least imagined one (oh, come on - don't start with me), so how much harm could one more do? To hurry things along, he wiggled his hips and scolded. â€?Come on, come on â€" share the goods, mister, share the goods.â€?

[Anonymous]

�Peeeeenis?�

"Gah! Hush!" Yelped Nara, mortified at the word - the word - that had just been said in front of his little sister (little by twenty minutes, but they counted too!). Strangely, amidst the suspicion he could feel from aforementioned little sister, he could sense amusement. Nyx, this is NOT FUNNY!

�Hey - I betcha she's seen one.�

"No! No way! She's only fifteen! She's my little sister! Aw, please, please don't say stuff like that in front of her!" He was begging, pleading, and apparently directing all of it to the stranger's chest. Perhaps it would be better to get a second look at the person who had, until so recently, been a dog. Unaware that Nyx was digging through their belongings in a remarkably calm solution-providing manner, he tilted his head back, almost afraid of what he might see. A boy, much taller than him, but perhaps only a few years older? Eighteen or so. He'd heard that boys could get pretty dirty-minded at that age, but he didn't think they wanted fifteen year old girls to see them naked in a public street!

Abruptly, with his poor mind still trying to catch up on recent events, he felt the boy's body move. Or, rather, a particular area of the body, move. And given their close proximity, he whimpered, something torn between shock and abject horror creeping into his defenseless gaze.

â€?Come on, come on â€" share the goods, mister, share the goods.â€?

"No! Nonono! No goods sharing!"

With that, he jerked his head back down, firmly closing his eyes, resolute in his protective will to shield Nyx's innocent eyes from the hideous truth of what men had underneath their trousers. Nyx, on the other hand, was stepping forward with the only item of clothing she gauged to have a snowball's chance in hell of fitting the stranger whom her brother was attached to like a limpet to a rock.

"Why don't you put this on, mister," she said, her quiet tone sharp with caution. It was asking a lot for Nyx to speak to someone, but her brother wasn't being very helpful. Sure, it was a dress (that had never fitted her to her liking) but the guy liked being naked, he probably wasn't too picky.

[Anonymous]

Kareem brushed Nara's vocalized concerns for the psychological well-being of his sibling aside with a condescendingly cooed â€?D'awww,â€? punctuated by a second, far less wiggle-ish wiggle of the so-called Abomination of the Physical Being that is Man. The innocence witnessed upon his face but a split second earlier had drained away like the colour from Nara's face, giving way for  a toothy, semi-sultry grin that he divided equally between the two twins. â€?S'alright pet, she seems alright. Maybe,â€? strong, seasoned (Multiple Meaning alert â€" open for interpretation of the very worst sort) hands moved to grasp the youth's shoulders and, like a wary child trying to unsuccessfully minimize the pain of removing a plaster by entering slow-motion, began to pry him away. At last, the Forbidden Land would be free to witness the (failing) light of day! "Maybe YOU just ain't seen on-"
 
Why don't you put this on, mister.

It was a dress. Kareem froze, and felt his eyes begin to push against their sockets in an attempt to at least reach Slightly Bigger Than Usual size. His grip on Nara relaxed somewhat as the dim shadow of realization began to flood his mind. It suddenly occurred to him that he was naked, in public, partially covered by a quaking boy and being offered a dress by his so-far-eerily-quiet sister. Seen as a whole, the situation was a lot more entertaining than its constituent parts, although nudity never failed to amuse him - not even his own.

â€?Far ooooout, man!â€? His face shone like an OHP bulb. â€?Dude, I'm naked. That has like, not happened since I was shiftin' into MONKEYS way back way back.â€? His attention turned briefly to the dress, which he grasped in one hand and examined briefly. â€? Tch'yeah, sure, lady -  I'll wear it,â€? he answered almost immediately, at the same time bucking his hips against Nara's embrace. â€?Oi, lemme get dressed. Dressed. Dress-ed?â€? Guffaw, snort, chortle â€" one of the three. Kareem's didn't really seem to mind whether or not Nara chose to grant his request, and could soon be heard talking to himself again whilst trying to establish front, back, top and bottom of his new garment. â€?Man, naked. Rookie error!â€?

[Anonymous]

Why did he keep wiggling? Why did he keep wiggling and talking about That Thing Narayan Didn't Want To Talk About, Let Alone In Front Of His Twin Sister? The stranger didn't seem too unpleasant, in that he wasn't feeling malicious or intent on causing harm, but he was certainly acting unpleasantly. Nara thought that perhaps the stranger didn't have a twin (often, he forgot that most people didn't have twins) or even a little sister, so he didn't understand how terribly, terribly vital it was that he act as a human blanket, albeit an absolutely terrified one. Therefore, he resisted as much as he could as he was very carefully, if gradually, pushed away from the Body That Wasn't Terribly Clothed.

"Maybe YOU just ain't seen on-"

Nyx! Don't look down! Narayan thought, desperately, closing his own eyes and praying to whatever deity may or may not have existed for some sort of decency from the stranger. When Nyx coolly ignored him, in favour of offering the dress - mostly to shut Narayan up, as she'd prefer to just leave - he had to be careful not to burst into tears. This was just horrible. The stranger started talking as he grabbed the dress from Nyx's hand, but Nara paid no attention. The colour was returning to his face and then some, surpassing his natural shade as his cheeks lit up.

Nyx, he thought, miserably, when the guy once again, once a-goshdarn-gain, did something with his hips that the Haithian didn't want to think about. Hands grasped his arms as gently but firmly, Nyx drew him away, failing to hide that whisper of amusement. Pressing his hands firmly to his closed eyelids, Nara moaned, a feeble protest that the nice, wounded doggy should have turned into this.

Slipping an arm around her brother's waist, Nyx watched the stranger examining her dress, without comment. She was thinking; he'd called her lady, so he couldn't be much older than she was (for no adult would call her lady, surely?) and, yes, he was naked. He could shapeshift, she'd gleaned that much while her brother quietly died a little inside. An odd creature, but he wasn't evil. Nara could sniff out the ones with nasty intentions almost immediately. He was just a little... what? Sick? Stupid? Insane? Twisted? All of the above?

�Man, naked. Rookie error!�

Nyx opened her mouth to ask a question or two, enough to sate Nara's curiosity and let them get out of here, but before she'd framed the first syllable, she exploded. Figuratively speaking. She'd picked up a cold a few days back, and since then, the most almighty loud sneezes had taken to bursting out of her at any given time. This one was particularly mucus-y, and left Nara with a silence in which to speak.

"Who are you? What are you? Do you live here? Are you a dog or a human or both? Are you feeling better now? Does your head still hurt? Nyx can help it feel better!"

Nyx will do no such thing, Narayan Esau!

Guilty eyes opened to look at his sister reproachfully, but Nyx held firm. The stranger was lucky she'd helped him at all; she wasn't going to waste her energy to get rid of his headache when she might end up trying to get rid of Nara's. It was at times like these she wanted to (gently) hit her brother over the head.

[Anonymous]

In order to preserve what little of her brother's sanity still remained, tucked away amongst the charred ruins of a shell-shocked mind, Nyx took her brothers arm and put a stop to any physical contact between the two. For a split second, Kareem was shamelessly naked before the world and the twins in his company, before the hem of the dress (which, after much struggling and several attempts, he was now finally able to control) fell over the famed 'It' like curtains on a stage. It fell mid-thigh, and made him look ridiculous, but Kareem wasn't the sort to take any notice.

â€?Kareem,â€? he replied cooly to the babbling brook which burst forth post-sister-sneeze, and reached down to pluck a stray thread from his new attire. His head throbbed when it was mentioned, but he chose to ignore that â€" and Nara's offer on Nyx's behalf to repair the damage. Relaxing onto  one leg, he slug a hand onto the hip of the other and stared down at the jittery teenager. â€?And...I'm a dude. But you know that.â€? Insert comical guffaw. â€?I groped this witch, so I like, don't remember much past last year â€" she put a spell on me so be damned if I remember anything other than my first name. I wander around, mostly. I was someone's pet last week, but it didn't work out. She was like â€" nine (if you catch my drift). Noble, but nine.â€? He leaned forward, one eye narrowing into a pink slit. â€?What about you, eh? What're you two pretty lil' things called?â€?

[Anonymous]

As the stranger dressed, Nara recovered himself enough to clap a hand across his sister's eyes. She chose not to remove it, letting him think he was doing a wonderful job of shielding her from the grim truth of nature, suffering the slight indignity of being treated like a toddler without the slightest twinge of anger for her twin to feel. Of course, the trouble was, Narayan would rather chew off his own arm than have a peek to see if the stranger was clothed yet.

This wasn't the smartest of arrangements. As the boy began talking, Nyx gently moved her brother's hand with her free one, looking as impassive and observant as always.

Nara, he's dressed now.

Wh- NYX! YOU LOOKED!

Oh, calm down, will you?

Both sets of eyes returned to watching the stranger; Nyx with caution and ever-growing suspicion, Narayan with fascination and a certain degree of fear. As he answered the questions fired at him, a frown slowly blossomed on Nyx's dewy face, not least because her nose was itching threateningly. Nara, on the other hand, was - well - still fascinated. However, when the stranger leaned forward, he shied away, trying to lean out of his sister's half-embrace.

�What about you, eh? What're you two pretty lil' things called?�

"My sister's not pretty!" Nara protested, immediately. He didn't notice his sister's weary sigh. "I mean- well, she's pretty, but- you can't see she's pretty, you're a boy- and I'm not pretty, I'm a boy-"

"I'm Nyx, this is Nara," came a level voice, cutting through the high-pitched fumbling like a sharp wind. The girl was now looking extremely wary. "We're sorry to have bothered you. Nara was trying to help."

"Rayan! My name is Rayan!" Nyx, don't tell him I'm called Nara, he'll think I'm a sissy!

Nara, love. Hush now.

Miraculously, he did, looking tentatively at his sister as she took an almost unprecedented position of authority.

"We'll be on our way."

We're leaving? Nyx! Why?!

He groped a witch, Nara. Groped. You know what that means? I can see you do. Oh, do stop whimpering. I don't trust him.

Nyx, of course, never trusted anybody. But Nara was willing to give the stranger - Kareem - the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he'd changed. Maybe he was a nice person now. He didn't seem so bad, after all. And he was so interesting with his tallness, and his blondeness, and pinky-eye-ness... As Nyx tugged on his waist to pull him away, Narayan dug his heels in. He'd have to prove to his twin that Kareem wasn't so bad.

"But, I mean, but, you wouldn't, you know, you would never do that to Nyx, right?" Surely when the stranger said no, everything would be all right and Nyx would forgive him, and maybe they could talk together, or Kareem could come with them and find their new home together!

...Or maybe Nyx was giving him the glare to end all glares. Nara whimpered.

[Anonymous]

�Nah,� Kareem answered, quite genuinely, and shooed the worry aside with his hand. �I'll leave your sister well alone. You, on the other hand, Nara...� A long, bare leg moved forward, followed by the bulk it supported and a second leg. Nara's face disappeared out of sight, and Kareem was forced to hunker down as if speaking to a child far younger than himself (where some things were concerned, this was by far too young an age to be subjected to...well, I'm sure you know). Ghostly pale eyes and a grin to match the devil's appeared in front of Nara, 200% larger than it had been but a moment ago. �I'll have you as compensation for keeping my hands to myself.�

[Anonymous]

When Kareem answered, affirming that Nyx was safe from wandering hands, Nara felt his heart lift with happiness. Nyx tried again to tug him, but he tugged back.

See? He means it, I can tell!

Oh, Nara, he-

�I'll leave your sister well alone. You, on the other hand, Nara...�

Despite the unlikelihood, already-huge eyes somehow managed to push the boundaries of his typical biology and get even wider. Nyx stopped trying to pull away, apparently deeply shocked, though not quite as much as her brother. She prodded Nara with her mind - very hard to describe, as human language never had the words for it - and got no response. That... probably wasn't good.

�I'll have you as compensation for keeping my hands to myself.�

Nyx's mouth formed an almost perfect circle, understanding him perfectly, but suddenly she felt a wave of confusion and intrigue sweep over her. She distinguished it easily enough as what her twin was feeling, but it made it incredibly hard for her to think. Thankfully, it only happened rarely, but she still wanted to bang her head off the wall until it went away. Her mind, struggling past Nara's confliction, managed to follow events enough to release her brother, giving him an escape route from the far-too-close-for-comfort Kareem, but Nara didn't move. He did, however, speak.

"Rayan! Nara's girly! I'm not girly!"

Oh, gods, Nyx thought as privately as possible. Kareem just broke my brother.

"I- don't know what... but- but you'll leave Nyx alone, yay! You should come with us, we're going to find somewhere to live, we're going all around the world-"

"Narayan!"

He blinked, turning towards his sister, and she felt the wash of confusion again. Take him with us? He won't come, he has his own path to follow. But even so, you shouldn't have invited him. You should have asked me.

Why, Nyx? You'd have said no. And he's going to be good!

Again, Nyx had the overwhelming urge to bang her head off something comfortingly solid.

[Anonymous]

Had either twin been able to read Kareem's mind word for word, they would've heard the full version of what was to the ear but a distant rumble of monstrous laughter. He gave Nyx a devious You-Know-What-I'm-Doing-But-He-Doesn't-And-You'll-Never-Convince-Him-Of-My-True-Intentions look, but before Nara's â€" pardon, Rayan's â€" mind could compute what lay behind his glassy, cotton-candy-pink irises, his face was blossoming with the bright, cheerful expression of a child who'd just been offered friendship on his first day at school.

â€?Sure, Rayan!â€? he trilled, beaming exaggeratedly. â€?I'll come see the world with you and use you to fulfill my own evil ends, haHA!â€? One would have to be very lacking in most departments concerned with intuition not to see past this feeble attempt at reverse psychology â€" luckily for Kareem, Rayan seemed like the type that might be.

[Anonymous]

Kareem was laughing, which was odd, because Nara wasn't sure what had been so funny. But what did it matter? Nyx was being very, very quiet now, so he didn't have to worry about her disapproval. Not that he worried about it a lot, he just didn't like her to be uncomfortable. The fact that Kareem, whom Nara found to be delightfully odd, was making her a hell of a lot more uncomfortable than he could imagine... just an unhappy thought that he had yet to think of.
�Sure, Rayan!�

Nara grinned wholeheartedly at Kareem's obvious happiness. He did feel happy, after all, and once Nara had pushed his uncertainty aside, everything was just a bright, whirling tornado of happiness. Indeed, he was living in Happy Town, just outside Happy City in Happyland. The only slight worry was that Nyx didn't feel so happy, but Nara couldn't - thankfully - feel everything at once, now, could he?

�I'll come see the world with you and use you to fulfill my own evil ends, haHA!�

After a slight hesitation, Nara laughed along. Kareem had an odd sense of humour, but a sense of humour was a sense of humour, or something.

Nara.

What, Nyx? Isn't this great?!

Nara...

Whaaaat? I'm hungry! Can we go get food? Where can we take Kareem? He's in a dress... but some of the magic-humans wear dresses, so maybe it's okay.

Mages. They're mages and they wear robes.

Nyx looked back at Kareem, dark brown eyes narrowed. She'd understood his expression perfectly, and knew that convincing Nara of the boy's ill-intent was going to be nigh impossible. Abruptly, she pulled on Nara again, standing between the two. She was going to have to take care of Narayan - as usual.

"We're going to get dinner. If you want, you can stay here-"

"Nawww, Nyyyxxx, let him come with us! It'll be fun!"

[Anonymous]

â€?...Awwwww!â€? Kareem squealed (more so in delight, but he manage to twist the sound into something far more pitiful and hurt), resolving then and there to use Nyx's plainly obvious dislike for him to drive a wedge between the twins and (hopefully) gain Nara's favour. All in the name of fun and an eventual shag (ohpleaseohplease), of course â€" and company at meal times. On plates. On actual plates. He felt his eyes begin to glitter at the very thought, and hoped it looked like brimming tears to the twins â€" Nara especially.

â€?I'll be gooo-oooood,â€? he crooned, pushing his lower lip out and looking as cute as Kareem-ly possible â€" which, surprisingly, was not as pathetic as one might think. A tall, pouting, platinum-blonde man with pink eyes in a dress does score some points on the Adorability Meter. A halo of hazy light began to gather around him, growing brighter and more opaque as he spoke. â€?I'll be a kitty?â€? Snifflepoutsquintlovelove. â€?A cuuuute kitty? You can feed me under the table and EVERYTHING.â€?

[Anonymous]

�...Awwwww!�

Nyx's eyes flashed between Narayan and Kareem, a glimmer of bitter anger surfacing. She felt her twin's hand creep down to hers, his deliriously happy mind pushing to ask why she was so unhappy, but she ignored both in favour of giving the damnable stranger a long, measured look of dislike. It was unusual, despite her anti-social behaviour, for her to be so unreserved, obliterating her gentle, serene expression and suddenly looking a lot older than her fifteen years. It scared Nara a little, or she assumed (correctly) that it did, but she doubted Kareem would realize how vitally important it was.

�I'll be gooo-oooood.�

She suspected he would. He'd be absolutely wonderful to her beloved twin brother, act as sweetly as he could, and not for a good cause. For a moment, Nyx felt pure hatred. It shocked her, not least because she'd never hated anyone in her life, but it passed. There was no way she'd let harm of any kind come to Nara.

Nyx? What... was that? You really don't like him? Why?

Again, with her patience still trying to compose itself, she ignored Nara's questing thoughts. The stranger (and Nyx had a faint sense of foreboding that Kareem, to her, would always be 'the stranger') was doing something. Light coalesced around him, and she could feel Nara's awe surging up like a tide. Somehow, it made her feel miserable.

�I'll be a kitty?�

Excellant. Straight for Nara's weakpoint of anything cute and furry. He was good, she'd give him that much.

�A cuuuute kitty? You can feed me under the table and EVERYTHING.�

"Yes! YAY! That's great! You can sit in my lap! I'll order what you want and we can share it!"

That was, of course, the frenzied happy joy-joy life-is-just-so-goshdarned-awesome voice of Narayan, who had moved toward Kareem as he spoke. He was therefore quite puzzled when Nyx put her hand against his chest and pushed him back, but she spoke quickly enough to stop him enquiring again.

"Fine. We'll go to the inn on the next street. I've already booked a room for us there."

After speaking, she narrowed her eyes at the stranger again, and took a measured breath.

"I mean, a room for Nara and I."

[Anonymous]

"Fine. We'll go to the inn on the next street. I've already booked a room for us there."

Kareem chose to ignore her sentence detailing the exclusivity of this particular room, and instead drowned Nyx out with an ear-drum-bursting squeal/squawk of delight. No sooner than this exclamation of joy had subsided, his dress-wearing form was engulfed by a foggy light that appeared to be shrinking into itself. A loud, comical POP! announced the end of the shifting process, and when the mist had cleared, the blonde nudist was nowhere in sight. In his place sat a cat.

Or rather â€" a small, chubby kitten with downy, honey-blonde fur, bat-sized ears and whiskers as long as its stumpy legs. Wide, glossy eyes were trained on the twins, and its muzzle twitched expectantly. â€?Mrrrreow,â€? it announced, and sat back on its hind legs, forepaws batting the air in a plea for even more attention that it was already getting â€" one would assume, from Nara in particular. â€?Feeeeewd eatin' kitteh dewww?â€? it cooed, head cocked to one side. Baby Talk V3.0 ENGAGED.

[Anonymous]

Nara was thrilled at Kareem's evident happiness, pleased he was as excited as Nara was. Thrusting aside Nyx's feelings of distrust (he'd gotten quite good at that, over the years) he clapped his hands together, eyes shining as the - the - whatever Kareem was - shapeshifted again.

This was so exciting! It was a pity it had taken them so long to find someone as interesting as this, Nara felt. Still, better late than never. Kareem was going to be so much fun!

�Mrrrreow.�

For a moment, Nara just stared. Then, with an energy that surprised even his sister, he threw Nyx's hand from his and rushed forward, crashing onto all fours and bringing his head down to the kitten's, inspecting it closely with obvious awe. It was clear from the look on the boy's face that this was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen (in the past three minutes).

�Feeeeewd eatin' kitteh dewww?�

A tiny murmur, carried on the sudden breeze, that sounded remarkably like "ye gods, give me a break..." went unheard by the absolutely gobsmacked Haithian. He opened his mouth, realized he had nothing to say that could convey his joy, and instead resorted to the most un-manly sounds he would probably ever make (in the next three minutes).

"KYAAA! AWWW!"

Practically sparkling with oh-my-gosh-how-cute-is-that, Nara grabbed the kitten as gently as he could given his utter ecstasy, standing up and cuddling it to his chest, trying to pet it and walk at the same time. Nyx had already taken off, clearly in high dudgeon about the situation, but Nara couldn't quite bring himself to mind too much. He followed, scratching Kareem-the-kitten's ears and nearly purring himself, had the chance parentage not made him utterly the wrong species.

"Whosa a cute kitty-witty, den?" Nara burbled, having apparently forgotten that the kitty-witty had almost traumatized him just minutes beforehand. "Yoooou, that's who! You're a cute kitty-witty!"

Narayan, I can hear you from here. Shut up, said the irritable mental voice of his twin. Nara glanced up ahead, looking uncertain, then smug. He could keep talking. Nyx just didn't have to hear it, right?

You're the sweetest cutest tiniest fluffiest wuffiest kitten ever, yes you are!

He sent the thought toward Kareem's mind with little effort, something Nyx would have quietly brooded about, being incapable of doing it. He didn't often communicate telepathically with humans, however, given their apparent inability to tolerate his mental voice. There was nothing terribly different about a mental voice - it just seemed to carry the very essence of the speaker in it. In this case, puppy dogs, kittens, rainforest-saving, sunshine-and-daisies were all inherent. Lovely.