RP: ZHS [OVA 2] Night Chills

[Navian]

Zenjinkaze Fighting School, South Bird Dormitory

Night time in the south dorm was usually quiet. Given it's low population, it didn't have as much hustle and bustle as other dorms. The room of the lizard and Nepleslian was usually quite warm, with a soft red light, but tonight, that light had gone out.

Zoia, being her cold-blooded self, groaned a little, and looked around the room to try and find something... Anything that was warm. The faint heat lines she could pick up in the dark drew her over to her roommates' bed. She pushed her muzzle under the blanket, and slowly crawled up onto the other mattress, laying against the unconscious form of her roommate.

For a few precious moments, Sarena remained oblivious, but she gradually began to stir. At first, she tried to shuffle away from the intruder, but found it difficult to move. Besides, the bed didn't have room for two. Next, she developed a frown as the temperature on one side of her became uncomfortably cool. When she tried to turn to that side, and pull the blankets around her to rectify the matter, she found herself face-to-face with her roommate, at uncomfortably close quarters. From that point on, it took her about two seconds to go from troubled sleep to full alertness, at which point she began to scream. "Aaaaaaaaaah!"

Zoia freaked out, just as equally, not with noise, but with a quick thrash, clutching at her head. She started chittering and squealing as her senses were overloaded by the high pitched assault on her inner ear. "Would you stop!" She curled up a little more. "It's night time. To your kind that means sleep... Which means I must also sleep... Because I am here to get used to your customs. So sleeeeeeeep," she whined, clutching the girl and burying her face into her warm body.

Sarena was not assuaged. "Get out! Get off me! You promised to stay on your side!" She could hardly struggle much with Zoia's claws on her, but she made a good, if futile effort to push at the Vekimen with her knees, elbows, and forehead.

"That was before my lamp broke... I would rather not freeze tonight... You're warm, so sleeeep." She groaned again, her voice muffled by the girl as she fought to stay latched on. "I'll get it fixed tomorrow..."

"Stop it! I'm not... I'm not an appliance!" Sarena was starting to get desperate. Unfortunately, she didn't keep much within arm's reach. A katana wouldn't be very useful here, and she had yet to learn the technique of disabling the Vekimen with a pineapple. "Find someone else! Find... a radiator, or something!"

"Radiators would burn me, and yes... I'm going to slink around the dorm and find people I have never even met to crawl into bed with. Look, I know you, we are roommates, and this is going to happen sometimes, if I need it. Otherwise I might die," she said, lying just a little. She wouldn't die, but people will think she was dead until she warmed up enough, and boy would she be stiff! "It's like if you were in a snowy arctic but needed a heat source. You would probably do the same," she grumbled.

"I mean the staff!" Sarena was almost at her limit. Maybe the katana wasn't such a bad idea, it had a blunt end, after all. "I think humans invented fire just to stop this from happening." In a moment of dubious clarity, Sarena lunged for her pineapple and wedged it against the Vekimen's throat, between her jaw and collarbone. She then grabbed her sword and, keeping it in its sheath, made an effort to pry herself free for a quick escape.

Zoia's tail lashed out quickly, wrapping its length around Sarena as she struggled. "Would you stop? Seriously, what is your problem? You act as if--" Sarena's screams drowned out Zoia's remaining words. With any reasonable hope of escape extinguished by extra limbs, claws, and alien super-strength, Sarena was back to Plan A: Make as much noise as possible, and hope to get the attention of some rescuer.

The noise made Zoia truly angry, as she flipped over the girl and pinned her, ramming her forearm into the girls mouth to shut her up. The look in her eye was of pure anger. "Look, I don't care what kind of uptight, prissy, bitchy society you come from, but where I am from if someone needs help you help them," she growled, her voice losing it's normality and taking on the natural tone of a Vekimen. "You don't moan and whine about it, especially with something so pathetically simple as going to sleep. Fuck, I offered to help you with school despite I honestly think you are a moron. Take time out of my studies to help you with yours and I ask you to lay down, and just let me be warm cause my light is broken," she snarled, pushing herself off the girl. "You selfish, stupid girl," she growled, slamming the door on her way out of the room.

Sarena's fear turned to anger as she listened to the Vekimen's speech, not that she could act on her emotion in either case. She was only prepared to defend herself by the time the door slammed, and it was no longer a pressing concern. Instead, she had to clean up, try to restore some of her dignity, and get dressed (and armed) to go look for someone in authority.

"Sarena-chan?" the Nepleslian heard behind her. Sarena turned around very slowly, having not heard the door open. Standing a few feet away was her teacher, Hashimoto Nenna, and though she stood at her usual parade rest, the Neko was wearing a well worn set of light blue pajamas. "What's going on?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and nodding at the now open door.

When she saw who it was, Sarena tossed her katana back down on her bed. "Zoia climbed into my bed and grabbed a hold of me. She wouldn't let go until she'd lectured me about how it was her right, or something." A quick and undetailed summary, but Sarena didn't seem to be at her best at the moment.

Recognition flashed across the teacher's eyes. "Sarena-chan," she said, taking a few steps toward her student. "Did you know that Vekimen are cold-blooded?"

Sarena hugs herself and shivers. "I noticed. She was complaining about her broken lamp... she said she would die if I didn't let her stay in my bed. She's not dead, is she?" Her tone was a bit more sarcastic than concerned, not to understate it.

Neena smiled slightly. "No, she was exaggerating a little bit. She would have had some issues but should have been fine after some warming up during the day. However," she continued, her smile vanishing, "It would probably put her out for half the day though."

"I don't think I can sleep with her in my bed... and she promised to stay on her own side." As weak as it sounded, this seemed very important to Sarena. "That was the first thing she did when she met me, she made me promise to stay on my side of the room... after joking about eating me, anyway."

The Neko smiled again. "You shouldn't have to. We'll just make sure she has an extra heat lamp in the room. If she somehow breaks two in a night..." She shrugged. "Come get me. As for the Vekimen in question," she continued, turning to the door, "want to come with me and talk to her, or do you want to go back to sleep?"

Sarena didn't manage to get any words out, but shook her head, and seemed prepared to follow. Though she was starting to feel tired again, it felt like things should be more settled before she went back to bed. She waited for Nenna to lead her outside.

Walking out of the room, Nenna walked down the hallway she had seen Zoia pass through before she had reached the student's room. "Question for you," she said to Sarena. "Have you looked up any of the information about Vekimen?"

Sarena shakes her head. "Zoia talks about it a lot."

"Did she tell you about the living conditions there were on the station?" the teacher asked.

Sarena takes a deep breath. "They live indoors, they're on strict rations, they kill each other in training and make trophies out of their classmates' skulls. She never really talked about heat lamps, though." She knew there was more, but it seemed difficult to articulate.

The Nito Juni chuckled and shook her head at that. "Well, that wasn't in the brief," she said, then said under her breath, "I can't wait." Sarena followed a few feet behind, feeling safer with a teacher (and a Neko at that) between her and Zoia, than she would with a sword in hand.

She didn't feel so safe crawling into the person-sized hole they found in the school gardens, a few minutes later. The lizard had dug it a little way away from the entrance to the dormitory, and had hidden herself in the darkness within. Sarena wondered for a moment if she was still dreaming.

"She in there, Sarena-chan?" Nenna asked, kneeling in the moist turf.

"I think so," Sarena replied. It seemed polite not to say anything about trying to judge from the smell. "What else would make a hole this big?"

"Well," she replied. "Tell her that I got a radiator running in my room if she wants to get warm again."

Sarena cupped her hands around her mouth to rely the message into the abyss, in her typical hushed tone. "Hashimoto-sensei says you can use the radiator in her room to get warm. It won't burn if you don't touch it."

Zoia hissed from in the hole at the radiator comment. Given their previous conversation, now she thought they just weren't listening to her. Despite being told not to touch it, still.

Nenna looked at her student in confusion, "What do you mean not burn her?"

Sarena explained simply, "I told her to find one, but she said she'd get burnt."

The Neko snorted in amusement. "Sounds like someone has a curiosity problem." She then said in the hole, "Okay, you win Zoia-chan. You can sleep with me for the night. We'll get your heat lamp fixed tomorrow and make sure you get an extra." After waiting a moment, putting a few strands of hair behind an ear, she continued, "How does that sound?"

Zoia slithered out of the hole a little, an angry look on her face. "That... Isn't... The point" She grumbled, glaring. "This is getting to be too much for me. I'm done changing..." She mumbled, slipping back into the hole a little.

Sighing, she replied, "I know, but let's not make decisions until we've all gotten some good nights sleep, ok? We'll all talk tomorrow about how to... deal with each other."

"I'm not even supposed to be asleep right now. I only sleep now because you all do... My kind sleeps during the 'day', or when it is brightest," she huffed. "She can go to sleep, you can go, but I'm not you. I am a Vekimen," she grumbled.

Leaning back from the hole, Nenna pinched the bridge of her nose as a headache started coming on. "Ok, I'll talk to the Principal tomorrow about this. I'll get you permission to skip tomorrow so you can sleep." Coming back to the hole, she said, "Can we just go back inside?"

Zoia slowly poked her head out of the hole to look at the teacher with an impressively flat and aggravated glare. "You... are incompetent at the whole being a teacher thing," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. She went back into the hole, speaking in her own language before going silent.

Sarena stared slack-jawed at the gate to the underworld.

Slowly backing away from the hole a few feet, said teacher looked at Sarena. "Unless you have anything to add, Sarena, go back to bed."

"I... I'm... that's fine. Just so long as she doesn't wake me up, again." Sarena started backing away, and once she received permission, ran back to her bed and locked the room.

Once the Nepleslian was gone, the Neko sat near the hole. "Zoia," she said, "You're right. I'm an incompetent teacher. I've dealt with a dozen other species during my service, so I assumed that I could just come in as your teacher by just reading a couple of briefings." She shook her head and continued, "Obviously I was wrong. But I can't fix problems that I don't know about. I'm not psychic, I'm not your species, and my usual instinct of yelling at you would only make things worse.

"So," she said, getting to her feet, "I'm going to leave and go to my room. If you feel like talking about it, I'll leave the door open for you. If you would rather stay here...well, I don't really understand but I'll make sure the groundskeeper doesn't bury you." Turning on her feet, the Nito Juni walked back into the dormitory, thinking about how to word that particular message.

 

[Acewing13]

Zenjinkaze Fighting School, South Bird Dormitory

Nenna leaned back in her chair, raising her arms in the air as she went over the carefully worded message to the groundskeeper. 'blah blah blah, don't bury my student, blah, blah, blah.' She shook her head in annoyance, glancing over at the hologram of a blazing fire that decorated the radiator as it heated the room to temperatures more fitting to a hot summer day instead of the cooling winds of a Yamataian autumn that was outside.

I do rather enjoy the memories that come with this thing, although I'm glad I don't have to worry about wearing too much, she thought, her pajamas lying on the floor, just leaving her in a light brown sports bra and panties. Sighing, she clicked to another file, getting to the never ending paperwork that dominated both civilian and military life. I just hope she''s alright.

The warmth of the room naturally attracted the one and only cold blooded being in the school, her head poking up over the windowsill. She was silent, looking at the teach who sat with her back to it. Ever so slowly, she pushed the window up, slipping her body into the room and slipping under the bed to hide in the relative shadows created by it. She was curious and it was warm... What was going on? Hopefully the wind didn't draw attention to her...

Feeling the sudden drop in temperature, the Neko looked back at the window. Smiling slightly, she got out of her chair and walked to the open window. "Come on, Zoia-chan," she said, taking a quick look out the window. "If you want the heat, just come in and close the window."

Zoia blinked, slipping out from under the bed. "Well... I appreciate the invite, but I am already here..." She said, looking around. "So now I don't need to hide" She added.

Son of a... the Nito Juni thought, keeping herself from showing her surprise. So, don't go after her when she's trying to hide. Got it.

"Ok, then," she said aloud, closing the window and looking at the dirt-covered Vekimen. "Points for sneaking up on me."

"You were preoccupied... I merely slipped in while you were distracted. It would have been a feat if I had done it while you were looking for me" She explained. "Telling the weird groundskeeper to not fill in my hole?" She asked.

"Essentially," Nenna replied. "Though I was hoping I wouldn't have to send it." Shrugging, she continued, "If you're going to stay, I'll just use the version that says it was an exercise in how to quickly dig foxholes."

Zoia blinked. "I guess... I'll just find a better, more out of the way area to do my next one I suppose. The I may be able to keep it" She said, bending over to look at the computer with unbridled and unapologetic curiosity. "So... What do you do with this other than work?" She asked, standing up straight. "I hear students do quite a bit with them" She added.

"Some more than others," the teacher said, bringing up the desktop and looking over the programs. "I don't have too much on here except a word processor, a slide show presenter, and access to the net."

Zoia nodded. "I haven't been given access to that... I'm curious as to why" She said, crossing her arms and cocking her hip. "What's so bad about the net?" She asked.

"It depends where you go on it," the Neko replied. "Some people spend too much time on it looking up...stuff, that isn't that productive." Bringing up a window, she pointed at the page of messages. "For instance, I can send messages to the troops that I've served with, see what they're up to, etc. I could literally spend hours doing nothing but talking over them for hours if I felt like it."

Zoia nodded. "Like... Instant Emails?" She asked.

Looking at her student, she nodded, "There's some lag when dealing with interstellar distances, but its a lot faster than sending them an envelope or package."

Zoia was already staring, her eyes looking to be showing off an incredible amount intelligence. "Hmm... Interesting. Anything for group communication?

Smiling, Nenna said, "You can send messages to multiple people, but you deal with the same lag if one of the participants are out of system. And the messages are usually private, so you have to be invited in to look at them. Secure, but inconvenient at times."

Zoia nodded. "Gives me something to think about on my free time. Enough of that though. I take it you are not like Sarena with her constant need for clothing yes?" She asked.

Grinning now, her teacher shook her head and said, "Well, I usually have these on," gesturing at her undergarments, "for modesty's sake. But other than that, I'm more comfortable like this, yes."

Zoia seemed to relax a little. "Finally, someone who see's sense. Clothes are stupid, ad I really don't understad why I would need to wear them... I can make a school identification that would do exactly what the uniform does that is better suited for my kind. Clothes just get in the way.

"Ah, let that day come soon," the Neko said, almost prayerfully. "Unfortunately, the powers that be deem clothes as necessary, most of the time at any rate. Comes from some prudish tendencies, so us nudists have to suffer to function in society." Tilting her head to one side she continued, "Though clothes are nice during the winter."

"Things are rarely nice in "winter". I have simply read about it an I am already terrified. Ice falling from the sky? Below freezing? I won't be able to leave the dorm... I'll freeze like a popsicle" the alien grumbled, moving to stand closer to the heater. "Also, isn't sleeping in the warm bad for your kind?" She asked. "Given you are warm blooded"

"I wouldn't say bad," Nenna replied, putting a hand over the holographic flames. "On average, we sleep better at cooler temperatures, but I got created for campaigns on snowball planets, but we always had a fire going at our base camp." Glancing over at her student, she continued, "It's always good to have something reminding you of home."

"My species would be froze in the snow if we went there" She said, seeming to focus on the flames. When homes was mentioned, Zoia's tail seemed to suddenly, but only slightly change the pattern in how it idley swayed behind her. "That would be nice wouldn't it?" She mentioned, her voice remaining it's usual to the point tone.

"You didn't bring anything with you?" her teacher replied, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I didn't have anything of any particular value to bring with me. My kind doesn't value physical objects the way your kind does, because we haven't been able to be materialistic for centuries. All items of material worth were owned by the VDTF and given out, then taken back once the item had served it's purpose to the individual. The only reason I got to keep the skull I have was because I managed to convince the logistics officer who took it that I wanted it as a flag" She sighed. "And I can't talk to a skull"

"Sure you can," the Neko replied. Raising an imaginary skull in her hand, she recited, "Alas, poor Keiko ! I knew her well. She talked too much, so I took off her head," she finished, timing the last line with a slicing cut with the other hand. She then snorted. "Stupid theatre class."

Zoia stared at the teacher as if the Neko had gone insane, slowly tilting her head to the side. "I think you need to see a Doctor if you think you can talk to skulls... With all due respect" She said flatly, blinking whiole her head turned jerkily to the side.

Nenna laughed, waving away the Vekimen's concern. "Don't worry. I don't make a habit of it." Sobering slightly she said, "I got...other things to talk to a doctor about..." Suddenly, she yawned, bringing a hand over her mouth. "Goodness, what is it, three in the morning?"

Zoia shrugged. "No idea. Time is a weird consept to us. We usually do things when they need to be done, but all out time is based on 'How many units of time passed from point A to point B on a time line'. Time of day makes no sense to us, but the concept of 'One hour from now' does" She explained. "At least to me. I really don't care about other Vekimen or how other families do things"

"Ahh," her so-called teacher replied, shaking her head. "Well, this planet-born Neko will accede to being completely inept at explaining how time is experienced, and go to bed." Focusing on Zoia, she said, "You're welcome to stay up and be on the net if you want. Try and get some homework done though, okay?

"Or..." she said, scratching her head. "You could go to sleep with me in my bed. Though, I would have to ask you to wash the dirt off. Mostly to keep the sheets clean. Well," she continued, looking at the tangled mess that was her bed, "cleaner."

Zoia blinked, looking at the computer, then at the bed, and finally at herself. "Wash... Off... The dirt. You mean go for a swim? That would involve going to the school bathes and filling one up. That would take forever" She said, frowning a little.

"Nah," her teacher said, pointing at a slightly open door. "The teacher's quarters come with showers. Erm..." she said, trying to think about how to explain it. "Think about water coming out a faucet, then sprayed at higher pressures so the whole bathing thing takes less time."

Zoia blinked. "It rains inside?" She asked, clearly not getting it.

Keeping herself from rolling her eyes, the Neko said, "Something like that. Come on," she continued opening the bathroom door and turning on the lights. Pointing at the various knobs, she said, "Press this button," as she opened the shower stall/bathtub to demonstrate, water starting to stream from the shower head, "to start the water. Turning this knob towards red means more hot water, blue means colder." Looking at the slightly soiled lizard, she asked, "Questions?"

Zoia steped into the shower without a question, and turned the hot dial up further. Then she just stood there.

Smiling, Nenna pointed at a bottle. "That's body wash as well, if you want to use it. Mint-scented, too."

The lizard took the bottle and sniffed it, then lifted it and poured it on her head. "Like this?" She asked, the body wash seeping into her quills.

"Yep," the teacher replied, closing the door slightly. "Just rub it in, rinse it off, and..."

The lizard shreiked as some of the wash dripped in her eyes, imediately clutching at her face, falling over in the tub.

"Don't get it in your eyes," the Neko said, too late. "Zoia," she said, stepping into the scalding shower, holding onto the Vekimen's arms lightly. "Put your face in the water to get the wash out. I know it hurts, but it won't get better until you wash it out."

Zoia tried to open her eyes, the hot water aggrivating her eyes even further. She growled, waiting for the pain to subside, but as it turned out she didn't need the wash. Dirt was just flowing off her now that she was in the water long enough to break it all up and have it loose itself from her body. She now also smelt like mint... Which was a bonus in a way.

Belatedly realizing that the water's temperature wasn't helping, Nenna released her student's arms and turned the temperature down slightly, shaking her head in self-annoyance. "Sorry about that, Zoia-chan," she said, bending over slightly to get a better look at the lizard's eyes. "How's the pain?"

"Better now that the accursed wash is gone..." She mumbled, shaking herself violently, and uselessly to dry off. She knew a towel would make more sense, but she didn't exactly think about the action.

"Yeah," her teacher said, turning off the water and offering a hand. "Let's get you dried off."

Zoia took the hand, still having a hard time seeing and stepped out of the shower. "Next time... None of that Wash..." She grumbled.

"Lessons learned," the Neko said in agreement, picking a towel from a hamper and putting it in the Vekimen's hands. "Put this around you for a little bit, and the heat will take care of the rest."

"Thanks..." She muttered, wrapping the towel around herself. She was pretty quick to figure out how to tie it. She then stood there, wrapped in a towel, looking at the mirror with a frown. "Never thought I could get worse" She muttered, examining her now bloodshot eyes.

"I don't know," Nenna said, putting an arm around the Vekimen's shoulders after she got her own towel. "I think we both know what worse looks like." Looking at her student, she continued, "Sorry that your first shower had to end like that."

Zoia shrugged. "Wasn't my first, first to end in disaster. Don't make the same mistakes twice I guess" She said, her tone being a little too mature about the idea.

Raising an eyebrow, her teacher opened her mouth, shut it, shrugged herself, and said, "Well, let's try and learn about not making mistakes in the first place." Looking away now, she continued, "That goes for both of us."

"You can't learn without mistakes. It is proven to be the best method of learning for most sentient creatures. I thought you would have known about that" She commented, malice void from her voice completely. More like a casual comment.

"True," the Nito Juni replied. "But if you can prepare yourself with enough knowledge of the situation, like how I should have told you about the hazards of body wash, then you can sometimes avoid mistakes entirely. That's kind of what school is for in the first place, though there are plenty of mistakes to learn from as well, in a relatively safe place to experiment and try new things."

Zoia arched an eyebrow. "Yes... This is a fighting school after all. I really don't know how safe it is for me to fight the other students" She stated, walking towards the main room still wearing the towel.

Nenna smiled slightly. "No, as long as you don't tear them limb from limb or decapitate them, the Principal should be able to put them back together." At least I know she isn't kidding...

"So you are aware that unlike your kind, everything about me physically at least is designed to kill my opponent?" She asked, sitting down on the bed.

"Yep," the Neko replied, sittting next to Zoia. "Sharp teeth, long claws, bacteria laden saliva, et cetera, et cetera." She shrugged. "As long as you can control yourself and don't outright kill anyone, I'll make sure you don't get in trouble." Raising her right hand with her index finger extended, she intoned, "But Principal McBelle, she only lost a few fingers. She'll have to put up with a lot more if she wants to be in the Star Army!"

Zoia stared at the teacher for a moment. "You have no idea about our 'Martial Arts,' Do you?" She asked, air quoting martial arts. "They are very rarely meant to do anything but kill an opponent. As fast and as effectively as possible. The most I could offer is I don't just finish someone off, else I am handicapping myself" She explained.

"No," her teacher said, looking back at her student, "I don't really have much detail about your fighting style. All I have are the Heartbreaker's reports, which suggested that underestimating you was a bad idea. What I said still stands though. Don't 'finish'," she continued, using her own air quotes, "your opponents and I'll make sure there will be no reprisal. A lot of the people here could use that kind of slap in the face."

Zoia nodded. "Alright. You've already experinced part of my kinds abilities. How I snuck into your room. That's what those who are good at stealth use. Then one for who are good at being what you call acrobatic. Lots of jumping and moving around. Those who use Venom a lot, those who like to use their tail. Talons, Teeth and Claws, and finally just a beat 'em up kinda thing. Then there is me," She said, laying down as she removed the towel finally.

"Yes?" Nenna asked, laying down beside her, resting her chin on her hands.

"I was sent here because I was the best of the best. The most capable melee fighter in the VDTF school. I... I haven't been defeated before, at least not yet. Not against my own kind who haven't seen actual combat. I'm unsure about the older Vekimen" She explained.

"Uh, huh," the Neko replied, her eyelids drooping slightly. "What makes you the best? You incorporate all of the different skills?"

"I'm the youngest Vekimen on the station who could be considered a 'Master' despite those titles and ideals being new. Someone on the Heartbreaker insulted the Zukan who was aboard, calling us nothing but mindless feral animals, and the VDTF took offense to that. So, they started to catagorize everything and make them 'Martial Arts' which is why I am here" She sighed, noticing the droopy eyes. "Are you tired?"

"Kind of," her teacher replied, shaking her head. "Keep going. I promise I won't fall asleep until you're done."

"Well... What else do you want to know?" She asked, blinking.

"Why are you here, Zoia-chan?" Nenna asked. "Were you just forced to or do you actually want to use this opportunity to learn and grow? Or is it something else?"

"I was forced to be here." She stated flatly. "Removed from pretty well any chance I had to join a family, and sent here where I am literally caustic to other peoples comfort levels. Great plan right? But, it's for the good of the VDTF! I should be honoured to do it!" She exclaimed sarcastically.

"I don't know," the Neko said, putting an arm around the lizard's waist and pulling her into an embrace. "I think you've just got to look at it from a different perspective." Yawning, she continued, "Just try to see what you can learn here, even if its in spite of us teachers, okay?"

"What would be the point of brooding?" She asked, her stomach flexing a little as she was pulled. It only took a moment for the lizard girl to relax. "So, the scales don't bother you?" She asked.

"Ehh," Nenna replied, eyes closed as she slowly moved her hands down the sides of the lizard's tines. "They're better than a Separa'Shan's, I'll tell you that much. Course," she said, rambling a little, "that might be cause their's are more for locomotion instead of being a skin replacement, but I just dabble in xenobiology, so who knows."

"They are for protection. The white scales let us breathe so to speak. That is what causes us to get so cold, so fast. It's thin and delicate. Then you have our black scales. Those are to protect us from scraps, cuts, claws, and bites. Our grey scales are more or less bone plates" She said knocking her knuckles on them to produce a very hard response. "I think these could stop small rounds, but I would rather not try it" She sighed, laying down fully.

"Yeah," the Neko replied, her hands slowing to a stop. "Let's not get in more trouble than we're already going to get in eventually." Snorting slightly, she continued, "You don't mind me using you as a teddy bear?"

"I am neither a bear, or whatever teddy is... So I have no idea" Zoia commented, closing her eyes. "However you are warm, so if it ivolves me staying warm, I am content" She added.

"I'll explain the details later," Neena said, nuzzling the Vekimen's shoulder. "But yes, you get the basic idea."