“Well, we’re stuck here again,” I said as I heard whatever weighted thing they were using to keep us inside was scooted bato position.

  “Yeah,” Oka said. “I know we spend a lot of time in here, but not having the option to go anywhere else makes me want to go anywhere else. Also, we’re gonna have to like hide those meals because I want all of them now.”

  "There's little text engraved ohat says they're Feral Flu proof," I said. "They feel pretty tough. The timer's got a few hours left for the one."

  "Don't uimate what I do when I'm hungry." Oka said.

  “Yeah, good point,” I said. “Maybe we should put them in the closet now while we’re kinda full.”

  “You do it,” Oka said. “Please? I’m very fy here.”

  I had to resist the temptation to try and tear into the meals when I got close to them. I felt like I had uhed some kind of artifact with ultimate power, and its dark magic was calling to me, temptio give in. That, but with a meat filled meal. It felt like the dark whispers of the unsee were silenced as soon as I shut the meals behind the closet door.

  My ph.

  “Crap, it’s Stel,” I said. “Dr. Diast must have told her about this.”

  “Maybe hang up?” Oka suggested.

  “She’ll kill me,” I said.

  “Let me answer!” Oka said. “She wouldn’t punish me like she would to you.”

  “Hmmm,” I said. The call went away. “Oh, she hung up, phew. Wait, crap, she’s calling again.”

  Oka held her hands out a saying “gimme” over and over. I caved and gave her the phone. I sat back down on my bed and readied one of my pillows to hide under if Stel started yelling.

  “Oka speaking,” she said when she answered. “Uh huh, that Oka. What other Okas would it…ah, you were kidding…”

  Stel’s tone didn’t sound incredibly angry, but she had her “Zeta did something wrong voice” that I could hear even without the phone close to me.

  “Yeah, we’re fine…yeah, Feral Flu…” Oka said. “Yeah, Zeta was scared you’d be mad…aw, should I tell her that?”

  “Wait, is she not mad?” I said.

  Oka held up a finger.

  “Yeah, they got something in front of the door,” Oka said. “No…we’re both just hungry…alright, here, one sed…”Oka handed my phone bae.

  “H-hi, Stel,” I said.

  “Hi Zeta, just cheg in,” Stel said. “How are you feeling?”

  “Hungry,” I said.

  “Yeah, well take it easy!” Stel said. “Call if you need anything. Alright, there’s a show I want to wating on, bye Zates.”

  Stel hung up.

  “Huh,” I said. “I really thought she’d yell at us. Diast too, holy.”

  “It’s almost worse when they’re not mad,” Oka said. “Like they knew we did something dumb, but they want us to e to that clusion on our own."

  “That is a textbook Stel tactic.” I said.

  A weird sensation struck me right after saying that; like a simultaneous chill down my spine as well as a burning feeling all around my body. As soon as it hit me though, it was over, and I felt instantly itchy.

  “That’s…weird,” I said, scratg my face. “Ack!”

  “Whoa, Zeta…” Oka said.

  I looked down at my hands, which were now bestial, with caw pads. I had fur all over now, and feeling my face, my jaw felt like it was jutting out a bit. My nose felt different too.

  I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be a Kanibari, but I hadn’t felt any strong desire to find out. My initial impression: I think I’d have preferred not knowing. I was growing itchier by the sed, and somehow huhan before.

  Oka started giggling.

  “Shut up,” I said.

  “No, it’s cute!” Oka said.

  “What even am I?” I said. “I’m too zy to get to a mirror.”

  “You look…kind of cat like?” Oka said. “It’s not as direct a parallel to a specifiimal as a regur Kanibari.”

  “Ah,” I said. “But like, not ugly?”

  “No, I said cute!” Oka said. “When’s it gonna hit me already?”

  “Why do you want it to hit you?” I asked. “This is gonna ruin my PJs.”

  “How so?” Oka asked.

  “I’m like shedding already, this is so stupid!” I said.

  “But is it less stupid than having to do a speech we didn’t prepare for?” Oka asked.

  I scratched at my face a bit more.

  “OK, fair,” I said. “I’ll take this over that.”

  “You know, for how long I’ve been a i, I’m surprised I’ve never gotten this before.” Oka said.

  “Your school retty isoted though.” I said.

  “Yeah, true,” Oka said. “I got to miss out on so much fun stuff.”

  “I don’t know that I’d call this fun,” I said, wing as I scratched my arm and saw how much fur I was shedding onto my bed. “I am so itchy already! This is gonna suck to up.”

  I looked over to Oka, who was still giggling at me. She too now had fur all over.

  “I think it hit you,” I said.

  “Ack!” Oka said, feeling her face to firm it. “I didn’t eve!”

  “Did you finally get a tail?” I asked.

  “Ah! I did!” Oka said, giggling untrolbly. “Finally, this is my destiny. I have been waiting for you, poofy tail. You will obey my ands.”

  Oka paused.

  “How do you…move your tail?” Oka asked.

  “You’re asking the wrong person,” I said. “Mine seems to have a brain of its own.”

  “Dang it, I thought I’d have instant trol.” Oka said. “You still ’t trol yours?”

  “Not really,” I said. “I kinda make it move, but it feels like it’s more tied to my emotions or even just my stress levels. Like a stress ring but stupider.”

  “Or like a stress ring but amazing-er.” Oka said. “Are you going to be an amaziress tail? I’m so rexed right now I don’t know what I'm saying. Isn't that right, tail?"

  Once Oka was doalking to her tail, she focused bae.

  “Well? How do I look?” Oka asked.

  Her description of me not being like a specifiimal, different to a Kanibari, fit her as well. She had fur matg her hair color, her fangs seemed a bit longer, she had a poofier tail than me, and most important of all to me looked incredibly cute.

  “Zeta, you’re not saying anything, am I super ugly or something?”

  “No, you’re like in a state beyond cute.” I said.

  “What, really?” Oka asked. She buried her head in her hands, then recoiled after she actally scratched her face. “You ’t just drop that on me like that!”

  “It’s true!” I said.

  “Well, thanks,” Oka said.

  Oka was energized by her new form. She started pag around the room.

  “Did the sedative thing wear off on you?” I asked.

  “I dunno,” Oka said. “But you know what I do know?”

  “What?”

  “That I’m bored,” Oka said. “I say we should figure out what fun things we only do as a feral i here!”

  “But we’re stu here,” I said. “There isn’t much to really do here.”

  “That does limit our options,” Oka said. “By a lot.”

  Oka tapped her foot. She seemed to still have normal feet, all things sidered. A joy of being a i was having thoughts that would be pletely infeasible to me even after having a i sister and reading up on i stuff my whole life.

  “Wait, I have an idea!” Oka said. “Don’t move.”

  Oka shuffled over to me and grabbed her tail. She gently smacked it against mine.

  “…what are you doing?” I asked.

  “I want to try like, a handshake but with tails.” Oka said.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Like you said, we’re stu here, I’m trying to think of something fun to do!”

  “OK wait, hold on,” I sighed. “I think I try it.”

  It took some straining aal fortitude, but I got my tail to curl up around hers.

  “Thank you for indulging me.” Oka said.

  “This is all getting a bit too weird for me,” I said. “And I’m starting to feel that ‘I got sid am missing css’ guilt.”

  “No, don’t feel that,” Oka said. “I mean, this one retty mu us. But you take heart that we showed excellent problem-solving skills today?”

  I got up to stretch. I figured the sedative was wearing off on me as well, because my energy was starting to e bae.