Sarah smiled as she looked at Ty. "Of course you can." Sarah smiled she really liked this boy. "I'd love to go for a walk outside with you." She smiled again. "I need some fresh air too."

Ok outside we go they walk down the corridor to the front doors.

Sniff.

Sniff.

Sniiiiiiiff.

Raiden peeked around the corner, his ears becoming visible first, then his yellowish-green eyes. Sneaking up on the mouse was probably the best plan of attack... if it was even possible. Surely Kazimeriz wouldn't have made it impossible to catch the thing, right?

...

He was doomed, wasn't he.

And tired. He was tired. His tail was swishing back and forth slooooowly, as if to show the world that this kneazle needed a nap. Rubbing the back of one of his paws against his eye, he trotted down the hallway, his bare feet making little sound against the floor. He'd left his shoes... somewhere. They were uncomfortable to wear anyway, even if he hated how his feet looked right now. His robes had been abandoned as well, and if he'd had the fingers to do it, his tie would be off too. It was WARM.

Halfway down the hallway, his eyes settled on a space between two statues. It looked like... a good place to snuggle up in.

So he did. Snuggled up right there on the floor. He was only going... to rest his eyes for a minute. Then he'd hunt the mouse again. Yes.

...or not.

Neptune had started out looking for the mouse, too, but....got bored along the way. She was just skip skip skipping along now, humming without a care in the world.


WHEN she came across her KITTY! Wittle Raaaaaiden the Kneazle!


Without any greeting, she folded her knees up under her and took a seat next to Raiden's twitching tail. Then, she took the bow out of her hair and tied it around the end of his tail. It was BLUE and PRETTY.


GIGGLE.

Someone was nearby.

Raiden's kneazle ears twitched slightly, turning a bit as he dozed with his head on his arm, against the statue's base. They were near him but... well weren't close enough to be threatening. At least that was what his kneazle senses were saying.

They said they did not care. Because they were tired. And he was to doze.

...until someone touched his tail.

One eye opening, Raiden twitched his tail away from whoever was touching it, and a flash of blue caught his eye.

MOUSE?!

His paw snatched out at his tail, grabbing at it. Except... well his fingers didn't work right anymore, so he couldn't grab it properly.

And unfortunately it wasn't the mouse. Someone had... tied a ribbon on his tail?

"Nand-" he started, grabbing at it again as it flicked out of reach. It was then that he realised that Neptune was sitting there. The ribbon culprit. His eyes set on her and he kinda pushed himself back into a proper sitting position. His bare feet put themselves flat on the floor, knees bent awkwardly so he would be able to run if the need arose. "I can't find the mouse."

His paw still grabbed at his tail, not able to get a proper hold on it to get the ribbon off.

"Well you won't find it while you're sleeping... Unless you put cheese in your pocket." Neptune folded her hands delicately in her lap and gave Raiden an inquisitive look. "Do you have cheese in your pocket?"

"I don't," he said flatly, his nose giving a little twitch as he gave another inquisitive sniff. The mouse was not here... but... well he could smell something that smelled like the mouse. It had been? Had it gone higher up? "It's... I got tired."

Kneazles were like cats. They... took naps. Between short periods of activity. Which was probably the reason for him falling asleep just now, he thought grumpily.

"...can you take that off my... tail?" Raiden asked hesitantly, batting at the thing again. His eyes flickered back and forth, from the ribbon on his tail to the girl who had tied it there. "It's a bit distracting, and I can't focus well as it is."

Neptune squinted across at Raiden unhappily. "It's a present for you. For taking such good care of me while I was .... well, like you." You know, Kneazlefied. She sighed as if his dejection of her present TOTALLY put her out then untied it.


"I'll just tie it somewhere else. Do be still, Kitty Kitty." GIGGLE.


Neptune untied the ribbon from his tail, sat up on her knees, then tied it around his head. Like a hairbow, with the tie right at his ear. "OOoOOOOO how PRETTY you are! I LOVE kneazle! You'll need a flea bath though, Raaaiden." MMHMMMm. NODNOD.

Neptune was making sad faces. Sad, sad SADFACES. Raiden chewed on his lip (carefully. CAREFULLY.) and didn't notice until it was too late.

She was touching his ears.

Automatically, his head tilted to brush against her hand again, before he could catch himself. He should've been more concerned with the fact that she was tying the ribbon around his head now, but... well. He was already walking around covered in fur, looking like a kneazle. Why not just let everyone in the world treat him like one and get it over with.

"I don't have fleas, Neptune," he mumbled, one paw reaching up to touch his ear. "I may look like a kneazle, but I'm still a person, you know."

For now.

"I think you're puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrfect," Neptune kidded with him. "Be still though. Don't paw at the bow. It's PRETTY." GIGGGGGLE.

She reached under his chin and scratched gently. "My Lucifur likes that." So, naturally Raaaaiden!Kitty would TOO.

Raiden's eyes widened when Neptune started scratching under his chin. What was she doing, he'd just clearly said that he was a hu-

...

That felt good, actually. Raiden leaned toward her hand, eyes closing automatically. If he could've purred, he would have.

... actually... he could purr. The rumbly feeling in his chest surprised him, and he opened his eyes and jerked back, away from her.

"Neptune stooooop," he whined, paw going to the spot where her hand had been, as if to protect it. "Why do I get the feeling that you really don't mind at all that I'm a giant walking furball." He touched his ear again. "This isn't normal."

Arya walked slowly down the corridor--which one she didn't know--with her hand on the wall to keep from falling. The hufflepuff was still extremly tired from the days events, so tired that she couldn't fall asleep. She had left potions class to go back to her bed for a small nap but found sleeping to be impossible, so instead she decided to roam the halls of Hogwarts not caring where they took her.

As she got further down the corridor she could hear some students talking, but choose to ignore them. Hopefully they would do the same to her. But as they neared her vision she noticed they were'nt average students. "Raiden?" And girl who's name she didn't know but recognized her from potions. She sighed deeply as she looked at the pair, she had left potions to get away from kneazlestudents and ended up runing into more kneazlestudents. She slid down the wall beside them, looking at girl scratch Raiden under his chin as if he was a kneazle...well...technically he was, but still..you get my point."Sooo....I can see ya'll are having fun."There was a tiny hint of laughter in her voice as she leaned her head against the wall, eyes closed.

"Because I don't!" Neptune answered happily in that carefree way only little blond girls could go. She had that carefree thing down to an art. But she DID stop with his chin because... well.. he had WHISKERS!


Neptune started near his nose, then pinched his whiskers. Gently, she ran her fingers down to the end of EACH one in turn. GIGGGGGGGGLE. A Raiden!kitty was SO MUCH FUN!

"But you might get fleas, so you should use precautionary measures." Her eyes slid to the younger girl.... hmmm.... "I'm having fun."

The sensation of Neptune touching his whiskers was weird. There was no other word for it. Raiden couldn't exactly jerk away from that though, seeing as... well that would pull them out, and that would HURT. So, instead, his ears gave a few twitches and his nose wrinkled.

"Neptuuuuuuune." Whining was not going to help her see how uncomfortable he was, was it. And his unhappy face was not exactly as noticeable with the fur covering. "Well I kinda do mind. I don't want to be a cat."

Which meant he had to find that mouse. Wherever it might be. Surely it couldn't be too fa-

Oh Arya was here.

"You look more happy now," he said pointedly, green eyes on her. "I thought you and Destiny were going to kill each other."

He cast a look at Neptune.

"I'm not going to get fleas. Merlin willing, I won't be like this long enough."

Well that was one for two, she didn't know if Raiden was having as much fun as the girl petting him but didn't bother to repeat her question.

Ugh, did he have to bring up that humiliating fight between her and Destiny?! She hoped to never run into the older girl again, she might have held her own as a kneazle, but as a human Destiny could probably kill her. "Happy's not the word I would use, but yea I'm better. Unlike yourself."

She opened her eyes to see his green eyes focused on her, while the older girl still fawned over him."And I wasn't gonna kill her...I think" Truth was she didn't know what wouldv'e happened had he not pulled them apart.

"Fighting is so barbaric. Animalistic. Do you suppose YOU have fleas now?" Neptune asked of the younger girl, who was suddenly reminding Neptune of her own younger sister. Not a good thing.


"You're not a cat though, Raaiden. You're still a boy. And a kneazle. You're fur is SO CUTE!" Neptune rubbed her knuckles softly over the fur at his face. GIGGLE. SO. CUTE.

Mrph. Of course he wasn't better. He wasn't allowed to be. He shouldn't have gone to that class at all. He hadn't needed to be there ANYWAY. He was a fifth year, and wasn't in need of remedial potions, so he could have LEFT.

But he hadn't. MRPH.

"Professor Kazimeriz won't fix me," he said grumpily, his head automatically leaning toward Neptune again as she started playing with his fur. "He said I have to catch the blue mouse before he'll get rid of my tail and fix my ears."

Unfortunately, the old man had done nothing to suspend the rest of the potions effects, hence Raiden's hands having turned into paws. And the fur that was slooooowly starting to cover his body in places it hadn't bothered with earlier.

He was doing it again. Choking back a groan of unhappiness at his own cat-like behaviour, Raiden sat up straight once more, determined to keep his head from tilting to Neptune's hand again.

"You're treating me like one... and it keeps making me act like one, I don't like it." He looked at the speckled fur on his arm. "It's not cute. It's... warm and should not be there."

He didn't bother to address the issue of Arya and Destiny killing each other. It very well could have happened, had they gotten worse. Arya had been poised to attack him, before he'd even gone kneazley.

The older girl--what was her name?--was not making her feel any better about the situation. She already felt bad enough for attacking Destiny, but now she felt even worse.

She pulled her knees into her chest, wraping her arms around them. "I didn't mean to attack her....I've never had fleas."She looked to the girl a little puzzled as to why she would think Arya had fleas.

"You have to find a mouse? Why?"She felt bad for Raiden having to be in such a animalistic state for so long. Maybe she could help him find the mouse, where ever it went.

She rested her head on her knees while looking at Raiden, the older girl was right, his fur was cute. But she wouldn't add to his humliation.

"Because he's a CAT!" Neptune answered the girl, in what she thought was a total DUHHHHHHHHH moment. "It's supposed to be humorous, you see? Mr. Valon Kazimeriz," yes, first name basis, "has a bit of humor in his old and decrepit body. The cat - kneazle," she corrected, "has to catch the mouse. I think it's hilarious."


And.... she thought Raaaaiden should lighten up TOO. HE WAS a kneazle so why couldn't she treat him like one? Honestly, who twisted his whiskers?


Oh. GIGGLE. Neptune had!


GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE.

"I am not a cat, Neptune," Raiden whined, tapping his paw against the ground as if to accentuate that point. Because yes, tapping his paw was going to get across the point that he was not a cat or a kneazle or an animal of any sort. "And it's not funny, either. It's kinda terrible."

He looked back to Arya.

"I have to find the blue mouse he made from the coffee cup on his desk. Because Destiny got away from me, and when I caught her, we got distracted going to the hospital wing and never made it there."

At least, that was the reason Kazimeriz would have everyone else believe. Raiden was sure it was because of what had happened last term, with Professor Truebridge. Kazimeriz and Truebridge hadn't gotten along, and when Raiden had showed loyalty to Truebridge... well it shouldn't be surprising that things would happen, especially after he'd hugged the old man in his third year for saving his cat.

His paw rose to his head again, and he touched the cat ears. He could feel his paw touching them. As if they were meant to be there, and were actually a PART of him. They were NOT. He did not want them. DID NOT WANT.

"Professor Kazimeriz... doesn't really like me very much, I think."

Arya stared at the girl, still puzzled as to how she could think anything about the whole situation could be thought of as humorous. Of course had she had not been a kneazle recently then she too would have found it funny. "I don't think so. Seems cruel to me."

Arya hated when she was a kneazle unable to control her thoughts or actions. Ah, Destiny. She seemed to be the source of all there troubles, if she never wouldv'e pulled Arya's tail then the girl wouldn't have attacked her. Now that she thought about it she never did see the three when they made it to the hospital wing. She looked from the giggling girl to Raiden who was messed with his ears. She began to wonder if her ears looked the way his did.

"You two are depressing. It's not that big of a deal. Honestly, at least I'm not grossed out? Not everyone will appreciate your cutesy tail and wittle ears and FUR." Just saying. Neptune gave them BOTH chiding looks, particularly the girl - who Neptune was sure had NO idea what she was talking about.

She gave Raiden more room to be grumpy. Lucifur, Neptune's kneazle, was grumpy A LOT, so it was probably just natural for him to be grumpy.


But Neptune STILL didn't have to LIKE it.


She got up and started away. "Tata, ye weary souls! And keep the bow."

Not everyone would appreciate his ears and tail and fur, huh. Neptune didn't seem to realise that Raiden was one of those people. He did NOT want to be furry and fuzzy and 'cute'. He wanted to be all human and stuff, please. And he wanted to see the colour red again. Apparently it was a very important colour, as everything looked markedly off in the world without it.

She was leaving? Huuuuuh? Raiden blinked at her as she stood and wandered away. He almost felt bad about it, but... well at least this meant she wouldn't be tying bows around his head anymore.

He couldn't exactly untie them to get them off, or anything. Sigh.

"If you see the mouse, catch it?" he called after her, voice sounding slightly saaaaaad. But then, who wouldn't be sad if they were going to be stuck as a kneazle!human for an extended period of time? Guh. He looked at Arya again, and pushed himself up off the floor. "I need to find it... you should go to your dorm, you look tired."

Take a cat nap! And... check under the beds for mice. Particularly, bright blue ones.

"No. I won't," Neptune turned around to INFORM Raiden Kururugi. "Because I happen to like you just as you are." Maturely, she stuck her tongue out at him, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and marched on (though more loudly than quickly). "I'll HIDE it if I see it! In my dorm where you can't go!"

!!!

With a quick (horrified) glance at Arya, Raiden hurried after Neptune. No no NO she could not do that!

"Neptune you wouldn't!" he exclaimed, one paw grabbing for her arm and failing spectacularly at getting ahold of it. Lack of... fingers. Why wasn't he at least developing claws to make up for it? Ugh. "You can't do thaaaaat it's mean. Would you want to be covered in fur for several months? I don't even have regular hands anymore, I can't hold my wand or open doors or anything. I cannot stay like this."

He couldn't FUNCTION. Did she not see that? How was he meant to go to classes, or even get in his dorm? How would he eat, or drink, or anything? He had PAWS. The ears and tail were bad, the fur worse, but the PAWS, NEPTUNE. He looked at her pleadingly.

"Please? Please don't do that to me."