Syri breathed in, gently running her paw over her friend's head, combing her hair back. Janette had closed her eyes, smiling with a face of contempt as she rested her head on the Nekomata's p. They had been alone for a short time, not exchanging any word. She just wanted her friend to be comfortable enough to rex and get some rest.

  A quick gnce under the leaf covering her wound revealed that the injury was no longer bleeding, though the skin still looked tender. Janette hissed quietly as Syri yanked her tail away in a panic.

  "Sorry." She muttered, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I got curious."

  "Like a cat." Janette grinned, opening her eyes. "How does it look?"

  She pursed her lips, choosing her words carefully. "Better, but not yet there."

  Janette closed her eyes again, wiggling to adjust herself in bed with minimal movement. "It doesn't hurt so bad."

  "That's the herbs numbing it for you." The Nekomata expined. "Mom says it helps not to move so much. Get some sleep, you'll need it."

  "Mmm, you were following me."

  "Huh?" Syri's eyes grew in a questioning manner, watching her friend partially open her dazed eyes with a cute smile again.

  "When you were a cute wittle kitty cat," She cooed with a pyful voice, "And then I brought you with me to my shop. You were so adorable, following me around, keeping me safe. I never knew I had a guardian kitty with me, were I so lucky."

  Syri didn't know what to say, choosing to stay quiet and ignore the tingling red hue growing across her face.

  "How long were you going to stay hidden on me, miss?" She asked, reaching up to pat Syri's leg. "Because part of me worries that I had a furry stalker."

  "I wanted to learn more... " She bit her lip, her cat ears standing upright in a tense manner. A creepy tingle lingered on her spine, keeping her fur standing on end as Janette waited for her to continue.

  "Yea?"

  "I-I wanted to learn more about you." She admitted, cupping her cheek to hide her blush.

  "Because I'm a human?" Janette asked sincerely.

  Syri shook her head no.

  "How long did were you guys watching us?"

  "That day before... before you found me. Mom and Na'Vi were worried that my sister was in danger, but she didn't look like she needed help. She looked calm, happy even."

  "Soooo... why attack us? Because you didn't just say hello, Na'Vi nearly tore me to shreds and made a mess of my kitchen and living room."

  Syri wagged her tails behind her frantically, waving her paws apologetically. "I'm sorry! Things got really screwy. Na'Vi can be a bit extra."

  "She and Reta should be friends."

  "The wolf, right? How did she come around?"

  Janette scooted up lightly to nuzzle against her p. "Felix and KuliKuli met her first. They said she attacked them as a hybrid wolf, trying to cim Felix as her own mate. They tied her up with chains until she calmed down."

  She waited but Syri didn't respond, prompting her to open her eyes. Syri was staring back with a shocked expression. "Okay, fair enough."

  "And you said we nearly tore you to shreds."

  She chuckled. "Maybe it wasn't so bad since I wasn't the one being attacked. Fine, you got me."

  Syri caressed her cheek with a warm smile. "Good thing you're pretty, or I wouldn't be so forgiving."

  "Pretty? Woman, I am drop dead gorgeous." Janette ughed with confidence. She winced as a surge of pain interrupted her joy. "Ow."

  "Careful, cutie. No ughing or sitting until that nasty sting heals."

  Janette scoffed. "Yes Mom."

  "Hey!" Syri huffed. "Don't go calling me that, that was rude."

  "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude."

  "Where did that come from? Is something on your mind?"

  Janette hesitated, but seeing Syri's concerned look made her soften up. "I'm not use to being this way. With the others, I'm the one taking care of them. But being the one taken care of, I don't know."

  She received a gentle pat on the head. "It's okay to know when you need help, you don't need to be in charge all the time."

  Janette looked to her side and nodded. Her fingers snuck under the leaf covering her wound and traced around her injury. Her eye twitched when she felt were the arrow struck her, and taking deep breathes felt like something stung her insides. Maybe the arrow dug in deeper than she thought, she did lose a lot of blood.

  "Guess I should thank my lucky stars that man was a terrible shot, right?" She joked.

  Syri snorted. "Hard to hit someone so thin, you need some more food in you skinny."

  "What?" She asked in a pyful pitched tone.

  "Yea, that's right." Syri teased, using her tails to poke at Janette's arms with gentle care. "You could use a sandwich."

  "Keep it up and you're getting treated to a knuckle sandwich." Janette sneered in retaliation.

  A knock on the door gave them both pause, followed by Emyri stepping in with two bowls of stew banced on her paws. "I brought dinner! Handmade by yours truly."

  She batted her eyes, gncing from one woman to the other. Her eyes switched from cheerful to analytical, noticing Syri's paw over Janette's hand and the way Janette was snuggled up on her p. "I hope I am not interrupting?"

  "M-Mom! What's for dinner?" Syri blurted out, swearing in her mind for raising her voice so suddenly.

  Emyri cleared her throat and passed the bowls to the pair. "Rabbit stew."

  "Oh, rabbit!" Syri beamed, dipping her tongue into the mix before snapping back with a yelp. "Owie!"

  "Food is hot, silly." Emyri huffed, being gentle when pcing Janette's bowl on the dresser beside the bed. "Help me scoot our friend up, she needs to sit to eat."

  "I-I am not really that hungry." Janette argued, feeling nervous as Syri climbed out of bed.

  "On three, dear. One, two,"

  "This isn't necess-"

  "Three!"

  "-saryyyyyyy!" Janette squealed, feeling a jolt shoot out from her stomach. Sitting up, she leaned against the bedrest while holding the leaf in pce over the pain.

  "Terribly sorry." Emyri winced, reaching for the herbal paste she had left for them. "Here, allow me."

  Syri reached in and plucked the leaf up, hovering over as her mother rubbed another coat of herbal relief over it.

  "Easy does it." She watched as Syri gently rubbed the leaf back in pce, patting Janette's arm to comfort her.

  Janette sighed, her shoulders sagging down as the cool paste added some much-needed relief in contrast to the burning sensation of her wound.

  Emyri smiled and leaned back, observing the two. She blinked and shook her head before patting her daughter in the back. "I'll be on my way now, you two call out if you need anything. I'll be on the floor below, okay? Be sure to finish your bowl, miss. I don't want to see a single spoonful left!"

  Janette sheepishly nodded, waving her goodbye as the door closed behind her exit. Immediately she reached for her bowl and stared at the soupy concoction. "Felix made this."

  "Hm?"

  "Felix, he makes this stuff for KuliKuli. She goes crazy for it, almost as much as she does for salmon."

  Syri hummed gleefully as she flicked her tongue along the surface of her soup, making Janette giggle. "What?"

  "You're so cute eating like that. But I remember trying to teach you how to use a spoon."

  "Spoon, shmoon. This dew is tasty!"

  "Stew."

  "That's what I said." She huffed, taking a big sip of her food. "So yummy!"

  Her eyes stared as Janette held her bowl up to her face, blowing air over it.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Stew is hot, trying to cool it down."

  "Huh." Syri watched closely as Janette proceeded to rais a spoon to her lips just to blow on it some more. She opened her mouth for a bite but chuckled. "What?"

  "I can't eat with you watching me like I'm a mouse."

  "Nah, mice are tiny and squeaky."

  This gave Janette pause. "Have you ever eaten a m... n-nevermind."

  Syri smirked, leaning in close and fshing her fangs. "They are chewy and tasty snacks."

  "Ugh." She looked away, lowering her bowl onto her p much to the cat girl's giggling amusement.

  "Gotcha! The answer is no, silly. We may be cat girls but that doesn't make us the same as cats. We eat other stuff too."

  "Like what?"

  "Like stew." She stuck her tongue out with a cheeky smile.

  Janette rolled her eyes but couldn't stop from smiling. "Little brat."

  She nudged her arm and scooped up her bowl. "Come on, eat! You haven't taken a bite."

  "Fine, fine. Gimme that." She reached in for a spoon and chewed on the soup softly. "There, see?"

  "Better." She scooted into bed, snuggling up to Janette's side.

  "Getting comfortable?"

  "I am." She nuzzled against her shoulder, her tails curling up around Janette's waist. "This isn't weird for you, is it?"

  "A cute Nekomata to cuddle with while I eat? Could be better if I didn't have this arrow in my gut." She joked, taking another bite.

  "I loved our little date."

  Janette smiled, pced her food on the dresser and turned to y on her side to face her. "Me too. Bummer about how it ended."

  "I thought Mom would be the one coming to get me. I guess it couldn't be worse than that Hunter again."

  "Yea, at least that means the second date would be better if it means no Hunter this time." Her smile dropped as something came across her mind. "Wait, again? That Hunter has been after you before, the same guy?"

  "Yea."

  "But I was under the impression that Perdilius was the one after you."

  "Yes, but that Hunter works for him. Is something wrong?"

  She shook her head. "No, I think I'm just tired."

  Syri brushed her cheek and smiled. "Sleep then, you need it. Just be careful, try not to move around so much so that it doesn't hurt."

  "I will. Thank you for doing this. It feels nice."

  "Good." Syri beamed.

  "We'll figure a way around this, all of this mess we're in. I don't know how, but we'll make it happen."

  Syri nodded.

  "I can call Nyitzcha for another favor, she's good with explosives. And Nihja and her group were a big help before, they have the numbers to make an impact. But first we need to get Reta back, tomorrow should be the third full moon so the day after is our chance to bring her back when she changes back."

  "Jay."

  "And-and she knows a lot about fighting, she does this weird little magic stuff with her hands. She makes a fist and they have this glow which super charges her punches. I'm sure it can really pack a punch against a bunch of smelly men with rusted old metal armor."

  "That's interesting."

  "And with her back here, we can set up a good defense position. I would prefer we not fight at my house, but it could be the best spot for us. They don't know we're here, they couldn't We left in the middle of the night after all. And that Hunter was left sore and beaten after what KuliKuli and Na'Vi did to him. Heck, that Perdilius just looks like a frail old man. I doubt he can lift anything heavier than that book he carries around."

  She grinned as another idea came to mind. "Speaking of books, Felix and I discovered something really interesting. That magic book of mine is named Vardare, he can take the knowledge of any user through physical contact with it. If we can get Vardare in contact with Perdilius, we would know everything he does!"

  She stopped when a furry paw covered her mouth.

  "Janette, you sound ridiculous right now, you know that?" Syri sneered, pulling her paw away. "I just want to enjoy this night, you and me. Can we have that?"

  Janette nodded back. "Sure, of course."

  "Just want to do one st thing before this night ends."

  "Hm?" Janette shifted as Syri leaned in, pressing her soft lips against hers. They held that kiss while she brushed her arm with her paw, breaking away for a moment when Janette moved in for another. It was met with a soft moan from Syri, who quickly reciprocated.

  Unbeknownst to them, the door was left ajar with just enough empty space for Emyri to peek inside. She shut the door, pressing her back against it with a troubled expression with her paw over her heart. She sighed, looking concerned as she headed down the stairs in a rush.