Bai You nestled in her arms, feeling incredibly comfortable from being touched.
The soft, fluffy cat ears slowly drooped down, like a real kitten being affectionate.
Time seemed to slow down at that moment.
After a long while, Bai You finally murmured from her embrace:
·... Varesa."
"Hmm?"
"You... now..." She paused, the tips of her ears secretly warming up.
"Want to give it a try?"
Varesa glanced down at her. "Try what?"
Bai You buried her face in the crook of her neck, her voice muffled:
"It's like... me."
"I never expected that I would recover after a good night's sleep."
Varesa looked at her bright red earlobes, a hint of a smile in her eyes, "Cat ears and a tail?"
Bai You nodded quickly, then, a little embarrassed, added:
"I can help you transform."
Bai You was a little shy and nervous.
It feels so strange to turn Varesa into this as well.
She's Water Nymph... no, I seem to be Water Nymph in a certain sense too.
If Varesa also had a pair of cat ears and a tail...
What will it look like?
Varesa looked into her bright, nervous yet expectant eyes and remained silent for two seconds.
Then, she smiled.
"Okay," she said.
Bai You was stunned; she hadn't expected Varesa to agree so readily.
After all, I thought Varesa was just joking about what she said last night.
"Really? Really?" She was a little incredulous, her eyes wide open.
"Hmm," Varesa said softly, "If you want to try, then give it a shot."
Bai You's heart was pounding.
The two of them remained huddled under the covers, leaning against the headboard.
She raised her hand, a little nervously, and reached out to Varesa's hand.
Seeing her actions, Varesa reached out and gently took her hand.
Bai You paused for a moment.
"Um, shall I begin?"
"Hmm."
Bai You closed her eyes.
In her heart, she quietly activated that talent.
She felt a warm, tingling sensation spreading from her fingertips.
Varesa could clearly feel it--
It felt like something was slowly growing inside my body.
Her scalp felt slightly warm.
Something is trying to pop out from inside the hair.
The next second--
Varesa was taken aback for a moment.
She could clearly feel something above her head and something behind her.
Although she had heard Bai You describe what it felt like before, it still felt very strange when it actually happened to her.
She looked down at the bushy, light blue tail behind her.
Then, she raised her hand and touched the top of her head.
Soft.
Furry.
The ear twitched slightly the instant the fingertip touched it.
Varesa's eyes widened slightly.
She really... grew cat ears and a tail.
She subconsciously twitched her ears, and then felt her tail sway slightly behind her.
Her breath hitched for a second.
So that's what it feels like.
The ears and tail felt like part of my body, so natural, yet... it was a completely new experience.
She looked up at Bai You.
Bai You was staring intently at the top of her head, her eyes wide open.
Her face was flushed, but the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed from turning upwards.
"It's so... beautiful..." she whispered.
Varesa looked at her amazed expression and couldn't help but smile.
She tilted her head slightly, and her pale blue cat ears twitched.
"Well..." She paused, her voice carrying a hint of lingering novelty from the experience.
"My Little Bai You, can I touch it now?"
A long time passed.
The two of them eventually sat up in bed and got dressed.
But no one retracted their ears and tails.
Bai You sat on the edge of the bed, her milky white cat ears drooping slightly, her fluffy tail sweeping across the blanket.
Varesa sat beside her, her pale blue cat ears still drooping slightly, and her fluffy tail coiled around Bai You's body, swaying gently.
Bai You turned her head to look at the pair of light blue cat ears on Varesa's head.
Then, she carefully reached out and gently touched the tip of her ear with her fingertips.
The ear twitched immediately and instinctively rubbed against her fingertips.
Bai You's lips curled up in an uncontrollable smile.
"So soft..." she whispered.
As she spoke, she leaned closer and gently rubbed the base of the ears with her small hands.
Varesa's body trembled slightly, her ears went limp involuntarily, and her tail swayed gently behind her.
"Don't... don't rub there..." Her voice sounded a little unnatural.
"Why?" Bai You blinked. "You rubbed me this morning too."
Varesa: "..."
It seems that's true.
Seeing her like that, Bai You became a little bolder.
The hand moved away from the ear and landed on the large, pale blue tail.
The fur on its tail is even fluffier and softer than the fur on its ears.
She gently stroked the fur on her tail.
The next second--
The tail suddenly curled up and wrapped around her waist.
With a thought, Bai You raised her milky-white tail and gently wrapped it around Varesa.
And then...
The two tails were intertwined, all fluffy.
The two sat on the edge of the bed, looking at each other, and finally couldn't help but laugh.
After fussing for a while, Bai You's stomach suddenly growled.
Varesa paused for a moment, then laughed even harder.
Bai You's face flushed red instantly. "What are you laughing at?!"
"It's nothing." Varesa suppressed a laugh and gently patted her head. "Hungry?"
Bai You nodded reluctantly.
"Let's go downstairs then," said Varesa.
"It's not too late yet, but I feel a little sorry for Odette; she's been doing all the cooking lately."
As she spoke, she prepared to retract her ears and tail.
"Hey, don't accept it!" Bai You immediately grabbed her.
Varesa paused for a moment. "You won't accept it?"
"Hmm." Bai You's ears turned slightly red, but she still mustered up her courage to say it.
"Anyway... they've seen me turn into a cat, so they know I have this ability."
Varesa paused for two seconds, then nodded.
"Okay."
So the two of them, ears sticking out and tails trailing behind them, got out of bed, quickly washed up, and headed for the door together.
As soon as Bai You opened the door, she heard the crackling of firewood burning downstairs, as well as the low voices of two people talking.
She and Varesa exchanged a glance, then tiptoed down the stairs.
In the living room, the fireplace was lit.
Two people were sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace.
Columbina wore a loose, light-colored dress, and her dark purple-red hair was loosely draped over her shoulders.
Clutching a cushion, she tilted her head, listening to the person next to her.
Odette sat beside her, holding a pair of fire tongs, slowly poking at the firewood in the fireplace.
The two people were standing with their backs to the stairs, seemingly unaware that anyone was coming down.
Bai You paused on the last step of the stairs.
Before she could say anything, Columbina suddenly seemed to sense something and turned her head slightly.
Then, her gaze fell on the top of Bai You's head.
Two creamy white cat ears, fluffy and sticking out from the hair.
Columbina's movements stopped.
Last night, Bai You turned into a cat—a soft, milky-white kitten.
But she had never seen... When Bai You was in human form, she had a pair of cat ears standing up on her head.
What's this?
A new look?
Her eyes widened little by little, her gaze moving downwards, and she saw Bai You's fluffy, milky-white tail behind her, which was swaying gently.
"... Huh?"
She let out a small, surprised sound.
Odette, who was standing next to her, noticed that something was wrong with her and slowly turned her head in the direction of her gaze.
She first saw Bai You, her gaze falling on the pair of milky white cat ears, and her hand, which was fiddling with the firewood, paused slightly.
This humanoid creature, with its erect ears and trailing tail... was something she had never seen before.
Then, her gaze shifted to Varesa beside her.
Pale blue cat ears.
A fluffy, bluish-green tail.
Odette was completely stunned.
Bai You had this ability; she knew it, and although she had never seen the half-cat's appearance before, she could at least understand it.
How did Varesa... become like this too?
She paused for three seconds, then slowly lowered the fire tongs from her hand.
Good morning.
She spoke first, her voice as calm as ever, but her gaze lingered between the two pairs of cat ears of different colors.
Bai You replied softly, "Good morning."
Varesa nodded slightly. "Good morning."
The four people were just a few steps apart, one at the top of the stairs and another in front of the fireplace.
No one went over.
In the end, it was Columbina who spoke first.
She sat on the sofa without moving, only tilting her head slightly, her gaze shifting between Bai You and Varesa, her face full of undisguised curiosity.