The cat's paws rubbed together vigorously, and following the lines of the clothes, it arched and crawled all the way up to Varesa's shoulder.
She crouched firmly in the narrow hollow of Varesa's shoulder, her tail swaying with each movement, brushing against Varesa's neck.
His nose was almost touching Varesa's cheek, and that familiar scent enveloped him.
Before Bai You could even process what was happening, her neck naturally drooped forward.
A tiny pink tongue "smacked" and licked Varesa's cheek.
The rough, tiny barbs gently scraped against my skin, leaving it feeling wet and tingly.
Varesa froze.
"... Bai You?"
Before she could even lower her head, the kitten on her shoulder had already straightened up defiantly and stuck out its tongue, making a soft, smacking sound.
He licked her a second and third time very carefully, not even missing the corner of her eye.
The way it acted was exactly the same as when it was licking its paws earlier.
Bai You was already internally furious.
What am I doing?!
Why would I lick her?!
Shouldn't I be shy?!
Just how many more self-willed quirks does this body have?!
She tried desperately to stop, but her tongue felt like it belonged to someone else, licking that cheek until it was damp and warm.
Only then did it retreat contentedly, nuzzling its head against Varesa's chin and meowing.
Meow~
"You..." Varesa was speechless for a long time, initially not quite understanding.
He then chuckled softly, the laughter growing more and more uncontrollable until his shoulders trembled. "What are you... doing?"
"Meow--!" Bai You wished she could disappear into a crack in the wall, so she quickly turned her head away and pretended to be very interested in the photo on the wall.
"Oh dear, she's getting shy." Varesa's heart softened at her series of actions.
She turned her face away, pointing with her fingertip to the spot where she had been licked. "They've already licked me, and now they won't even say anything."
In the end, he couldn't bear to push her; he just raised his hand to protect her from falling on his shoulder.
Bai You perched on my shoulder, and the scene before me was different again.
Bai You helped Varesa stand up straight, finally able to look at the three seated people at roughly the same level.
She looked down and saw the sofa, coffee table, and fireplace laid out at her feet. A strange sense of satisfaction, unique to felines after climbing to a high place, welled up within her.
Just as she was feeling smug, the tail started to wriggle again, swaying from Varesa's neck all the way to her face and lightly brushing against her—
It brushed right onto the tip of Varesa's nose.
"Hiss--" Varesa's nose itched from being brushed by that fluffy thing.
He smiled and gently caught her restless tail.
"They just got my face all covered in drool, and now their tail's causing trouble."
Bai You tried to pull her tail back, but she held it and struggled twice without being able to budge.
He stopped struggling, squatted on her shoulder, and turned to look at the living room.
Bai You perched on her shoulder and turned to look at the table.
Upon looking at it, her gaze suddenly froze.
A small shadow was vaguely reflected on the gleaming silver tray on the table.
Bai You squinted, and the shadow squinted too; she tilted her head, and the shadow tilted its head too; she puffed up her fur, and the fur on the shadow's back also puffed up.
--What is that?!
Her mind went blank for a moment, and before she could react, the fur on her back stood on end.
She had never seen herself like this before in the reflection, and suddenly she saw a kitten with its fur standing on end and its eyes wide open.
Hahahaha--
All three of them burst into laughter.
"That was herself." Odette laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight; "She didn't recognize herself anymore."
"How silly!" Varesa laughed, her shoulders shaking, as she carefully lifted the ruffled kitten off her shoulder.
Turning to that tray, "Look, this is yourself, Bai You, it's your shadow."
Bai You leaned closer, puffing out her cheeks, and stared at the cat on the tray.
She reached out her paw to touch it, the paw pad hitting the cool, smooth metal, and the cat also reached out its paw to pat her.
After touching it several times, she belatedly realized—it really was herself.
I was perfectly fine just a few days ago, and suddenly I've turned into a petite the Damselette... a loli.
It suddenly turned into Water Nymph, and now it's a straight little cat. It's like it's living a transformation story.
Bai You looked like she was about to cry, and the puffed-up fuzz gradually flattened.
She buried her face in Varesa's palm, feigning death in embarrassment.
"Alright, alright, I won't laugh at you anymore." Varesa scooped her back into her arms and stroked her for a while.
After all that commotion, Odette got up and went to the kitchen, returning shortly with a small shallow dish.
There was a small dish of warmed milk inside, placed on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
"She's changed so much, don't let her go hungry." She clapped her hands. "The cat wants some milk. Come on, let's put her down and see."
Varesa placed the Bai You on the table and pushed it to the side of the small dish.
Bai You looked down and saw that the dish contained warm milk with a very faint milky aroma.
She wasn't thirsty, but the cat's nose was too sensitive; that faint fragrance kept getting into her nostrils.
It lured her involuntarily to lean closer, stick out her little pink tongue, and tentatively lick it.
Once you start licking, you can't stop.
A cat's tongue is completely different from a human's; its surface is covered with tiny barbs, and with a lick and a roll, milk is drawn into its mouth.
She kept her head down, her little tongue moving rapidly, drinking until her nose was almost buried in the dish.
The ears pressed back slightly with the licking motion, and a satisfied, soft gurgling sound came from its throat.
Three people stood around, watching intently.
"I'm really enjoying my drink." Columbina rested her chin on her hand, her light purple eyes filled with curiosity and tenderness.
"Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you." Seeing that she was drinking too fast and had milk stains around her chin, Varesa couldn't help but reach out to wipe them away for her.
After finishing its drink, Bai You raised its paw and meticulously licked its face and the fur stained with milk clean, not even missing a single drop that had splashed onto the edge of the dish.
After finishing her milk, Bai You instinctively raised her tail high.
Varesa rolled her eyes, pulled out a thin, red rope from the side, and slowly dangled it in front of Bai You.
"Come on, Little Bai You, look here."
The red string swayed back and forth between her fingertips.
Bai You's mind went blank for a moment.
Calm down! She desperately told herself, it's just a rope! Varesa is just kidding!
You're a human being, you can't pounce on something like that!
She stared intently at the red figure, crouched low, and subtly braced her hind legs on the table, her tail twitching slightly.
Reason screamed "no" in her mind, but her pupils had already shrunk to two vertical lines.
Her entire body entered a state of intense focus that was unfamiliar even to herself—the whole world seemed to fade into a blurry background, leaving only that swaying red rope.
Varesa flicked her wrist, and the red rope suddenly darted to the side.
·Whoosh--"
The Bai You was launched.
She grabbed the red rope, using all four paws, her hind paws slipping on the smooth coffee table, and then gently bit it with her gums.
It even shook its little head and pulled back, making a cute but fierce "woof woof" sound, as if it were subduing some formidable prey.
"Ouch, I've got her!" Varesa deliberately challenged her, gently pulling back her hand. "You're quite strong, little hunter."
"Meow!" Bai You clutched her prize tightly, but the rope suddenly moved and slipped out of her arms.
She immediately abandoned her composure, crawled forward, and pounced on empty air again—the red rope was easily lifted up by Varesa, hanging in mid-air beyond her reach.
Bai You looked up at the red rope that was so close yet out of reach, and in her anxiety stood up straight, futilely pawing at the air with her two front paws.
"You want it?" Varesa teased her, lowering the rope a little.
Just as she was about to pounce, he suddenly raised his arm, as if to say, "If you want to, just jump."
After several attempts, Bai You's feline instincts were aroused, and finally she took two steps back, arched her back, gathered her strength, and with a "whoosh," leaped high into the air.
It drew a milky white arc in the air, and its two front paws precisely patted the red rope.
It caught me in its arms, rope and all, and let out a proud "meow" as it landed.
"Okay, okay, you win, here you go." Varesa was startled by her jump.
I quickly reached out to protect her, afraid she would fall, while laughing heartily, "Our Little Bai You is the strongest!"
Columbina watched from the sidelines; she had probably never seen such a lively and interesting scene before.
Her light purple eyes followed the little ball of fur that was jumping around, never blinking, and the smile on her lips never faded.
Bai You finally pressed the red rope she had "hunted" under her claws, panting contentedly.
Odette suddenly reached out her hands, gently supporting her two front paws under her armpits, and slowly lifted the cat up.
In an instant, Bai You was lifted off the ground.
"Meow?!"
Her small body hung in mid-air, her four paws instinctively curling up slightly and then hanging down naturally.
Its tail was held straight down for balance, and its light blue eyes were wide open.
He stared blankly at the table that was getting further and further away from him, his bewildered and silly look melting the hearts of the three people.
"Look at her, she's quiet now that she's suspended in mid-air." Odette held her up as if examining a delicate object.
His eyes were full of barely concealed laughter, and he still had to offer his comments.
"Cats are like that; they stay still when you lift them by the armpit. That's how mother cats carry their kittens when they're young."
"Meow, meow--" Bai You's four little short legs kicked futilely in mid-air, unable to break free and without any strength.
She could only droop limply, looking pitifully at Varesa with her wet eyes, pleading for help.
That look in your eyes, who could resist?
"Give her to me quickly, look how wronged she looks." Varesa smiled and took her back, pulling her into her arms again.
As soon as she landed in her arms, Bai You immediately burrowed deep into her embrace, nuzzling her chin with her head and meowing accusingly incessantly.
"Okay, okay, I'll talk to her about it later." Varesa hugged her and soothed her, coaxing her seriously, but her eyes were full of smiles as she looked at Odette.
Odette shrugged, unusually not being stubborn, and simply reached out and gently scratched Bai You's chin as an apology.
With that scratch, Bai You's accusing meow immediately took a turn, turning into a comfortable, sticky "meow--".
After snuggling in Varesa's arms for a while, Bai You couldn't stay still any longer.
She started moving back and forth between the three of them, climbing out of Varesa's arms.
I walked along the sofa to Columbina's side, climbed onto her lap, snuggled for a little while, and had my fur stroked by her gentle hands.
After waiting enough, he got up, walked over to Odette's lap, and squatted down to watch the portrait on the wall with her.
A little while later, she took small, quick steps back to Varesa, tilting her head back for a hug.
She experienced three different embraces, each with its own unique feeling.
"She's running back and forth between the three of us," Columbina chuckled softly as she watched the kitten once again leap from her lap and head towards Odette.
Varesa rested her chin on her hand, wondering whose arms were the most comfortable.
"Of course, it's mine," Odette stubbornly.
As soon as she finished speaking, Bai You got up from her lap and went back into Varesa's arms.
Odette:...
Varesa couldn't stop laughing, catching the kitten that had willingly returned to its cage, and nuzzling its little head.
"Oh, you're still closest to me, aren't you?"
Bai You didn't care how they teased her. She found a comfortable spot in Varesa's arms and lay down.
Varesa looked down at the little ball of fur in her arms and suddenly thought, "If only Bai You could stay a kitten forever."
She reached out and gently rubbed behind Bai You's ear, eliciting a sticky "meow" in return, and the white tail that actively wrapped around her wrist.
Bai You lay on Varesa's hand, its tail tip swaying back and forth.
Just then, the chill that had long since dissipated in my stomach returned without warning.
Bai You was taken aback at first, but the next second, that familiar, fine, tingling sensation resurfaced from the very depths of her bones.
It's exactly the same as when I transformed, except this time, the direction is reversed.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Is it going to... go back to normal?
"Meow?!" She suddenly raised her head, wanting to call out to alert them.
The sound that came out was still a baby's cry, but the last syllable was ethereal and carried a hint of panic.
A tingling, itchy sensation has crept up my spine.
She lay there, watching helplessly as the milky white fur on her body softened and clung back to her skin, like the receding tide, starting from the tips of her paws and pulling away.
Her four paws were numb and swollen; the tingling numbness from lying down for so long traveled up her bones, leaving half of her body unable to exert any strength. She collapsed limply into Varesa's arms with a "thud."
"What's wrong?" Varesa was the first to notice something was wrong, reaching out to support her. " Bai You?"
"Meow, meow--" Bai You meowed anxiously, nudging her palm with her head, then turning her head to look at her changing paws.
The three of them gathered around.
The changes are out of control.
The first thing to disappear was the tail. That white tail retracted inward segment by segment, and the coccyx felt numb and swollen, as if someone had gently pulled the newly grown bones back in.
Bai You watched helplessly as it shrank shorter and shorter, the last bit of green at the tip of its tail flashing before her eyes before disappearing.
Only a trace of soreness remained at her tailbone, a reminder that it had once been there.
Her sense of balance crumbled. She tried to regain her footing on all fours, but a force was pulling and pushing her upwards, and the world seemed to shrink inch by inch before her eyes.
The sofa's texture became fine again, and the fireplace and the three faces looking down at her all seemed to shrink back to their original size.
My scalp itches.
The two fluffy cat ears quietly disappeared, and the Water Nymph's ears reappeared.
Bai You felt a momentary unease.
Then, the face began to retract. The small cat face was gradually smoothed out and restored, and the pair of tiny, sharp teeth in its mouth retracted.
A very slight stinging sensation came over her eyes. She blinked twice, and her vertical pupils dilated again.
Finally, there are the bones.
That series of fine, creaking sounds echoed within my body once more, as if playing back in reverse.
The shrunken skeleton was stretched and lengthened again, the joints of the limbs returned to their original positions one by one, and the pink paw pads and curved little claw tips on the two front paws retracted.
My fingers grew back, five in number, slightly curled, and trembling a little uncontrollably.
At the same moment, the hind paws also transformed back into feet.
Throughout the process, Bai You curled up on the pile of clothes that had long since become loose, her body gradually growing taller and larger, half-covered and half-hidden by the fabric.
Once the last bit of tingling and itching had subsided from her fingertips, she finally transformed back into that the Damselette, huddled naked in her pile of clothes.
"I..." She opened her mouth.
This time, he spoke in human language, but his throat was tight, and his voice was soft and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
"I've changed back..."
Before he could finish speaking, a thick blanket, still warm from his body, was draped over his head.
It's Varesa.
Almost the instant Bai You regained her human form, she grabbed the largest blanket on the sofa and quickly wrapped it around her head and body, covering her completely.
With only her small, flushed face showing, she knelt on the sofa, her arms reaching under the blanket to gently pull the still-limp body into her embrace.
With his back to the other two people, he casually tucked a corner of the blanket into Bai You's chest, making it completely airtight.
Her voice was rapid, but her hands moved with incredible gentleness, "Hold on tight, Little Bai You."
"I know, I know..." Bai You buried her face in the crook of her neck, her voice muffled like a mosquito's hum.
Columbina turned her face slightly, her light purple eyes glancing briefly at the ball of blankets, a hint of regret barely concealed in her voice:
"... It changed back so quickly!"
"..." Bai You heard everything clearly from under the blanket, and her face burned even hotter.
Varesa looked down at her.
The person in my arms was wrapped in a blanket, their hair was messy, and the exposed part of their neck and shoulders was red, their eyelashes were wet and trembling.
She couldn't resist reaching out to tuck Bai You's messy hair behind her ear, her fingers brushing against her burning earlobe.
"Welcome back," she said in a low voice, with a smile, "My Little Bai You."
Bai You froze for a moment after hearing what she said.
Then, memories of my cat life, like sparks exploding in a fireplace, "crackled" and flooded my mind—
She recalled how she had meticulously licked her paws and fur in front of the three people.
I remember leaning over and smacking Varesa cheeks, making them all wet.
I remember burying my whole face in the milk dish, sticking out and curling my tongue as I drank, making loud slurping noises.
"Don't look at me!" Bai You suddenly raised her hand to cover her face, shrinking into the blanket as if she wanted to disappear on the spot.
"Forget it all! You three, right now, immediately, forget everything that just happened!"
"What's wrong?" Varesa teased her deliberately, resting her chin on the top of her head.
Is it the one that licks the face, or the one that gets milk on its nose while drinking milk?
" Varesa!"
"Oh, and there's that guy who kept slipping while jumping off the rope, and jumped really high."
"Don't say anymore--" Bai You writhed in her arms, too embarrassed to move freely because she was wrapped in a blanket. She looked like a little fish that had been tied up, and could only bump her forehead against her shoulder.
"My body was moving on its own! I couldn't control it! The cat's body wanted to lick its fur, lick you, and jump on the leash on its own, what could I do!"
"Mmm, I can't help it." Varesa followed her lead, gently patting her back with one hand outside the blanket, just like when petting a cat.
Bai You:"..."
She stopped struggling and simply curled up in the blanket, pretending to be dead.
A warm, very light touch suddenly landed on my forehead.
Varesa bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
"Just kidding." She hugged the person and the blanket tighter, her voice softening.
"So cute. Our Little Bai You is cute no matter what. Cute as a cat, cute as a back-to-back..."
She paused, her breath brushing against Bai You earlobes, "Even cuter."
Bai You buried her face in the crook of her neck, remaining silent for a long time. After a while, she finally said in a muffled, low voice, "Really?"
"Really."
"Then you're not allowed to dislike me."
"What do you dislike about me?"
"You think I'll lick my paws, lick my fur, lick my face?"
Bai You's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, "While still stomping on your shoulder and brushing your nose with her tail..."
Varesa finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, the vibrations of her chest pressing against Bai You's cheek, one after another.
She snuggled closer to Varesa, this time without being stubborn.
"It can speak, recognize people, and knows how to be shy; it seems the whole world has returned."
After Odette finished speaking, she got up and walked towards the kitchen:
"Wait a minute, I'll pour you a cup of hot water, and while I'm at it, I'll remove that dish of kitten milk—so that one of the little kittens doesn't see it and try to bury its face in it again."
"Odeta!"
A soft laugh came from behind Columbina.
She moved closer, knelt down beside the sofa, looked at Bai You wrapped in a blanket with only her face showing, and reached out her hand.
But he paused in mid-air, and finally just touched Bai You's hair very lightly with his hand—like he was still petting that kitten.
"It was all fluffy, gone." She withdrew her hand with a hint of regret, then her eyes crinkled into a smile, "But it's alright this way."
"Where's the best place?" Bai You asked.
Columbina looked at her, her pale purple eyes quiet and still.
"That way, you'll be able to speak by yourself." She paused, her voice very soft.
"You kept meowing, but I couldn't understand a word you said."
Odette returned with hot water and placed it in Bai You's hands.
Bai Yun lowered her head and took a sip, Bai You held the cup and nestled in Varesa's arms.
Wrapped in a blanket, the familiar warm scent of Varesa lingered in the air.
After a night of transformation and activity, my energy suddenly dissipated, and an overwhelming sense of drowsiness washed over me.
She gave a small yawn.
"Are you sleepy?" Varesa asked, looking down.
'... Hmm.'
"Then go to sleep." Varesa took the empty cup from her hand and handed it to Odette.
He picked the person up horizontally, blanket and all.