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Xyln saw the chance and decided to take it.

Habiel wasn't probably going to come back to the living room in a few minutes, and that left him plenty of time to fulfill his purpose. Glancing at the kitchen, where the voice of the dracolynx could be heard singing a song he didn't know, the blue tiger picked up his friend's mobile phone and pushed the unlock button. He was greeted with the usual password screen that his phone also had - the nine dots that had to be connected in a specific way. He took a deep breath in.

Maybe this is a bad idea, he thought. Someone must know if he wants something for his birthday. Maybe I could ask Airis. There must be some other way to find out what to give him. But it was difficult to get Habiel to share his secrets and Xyln had that stupid need to do everything by himself, so the only solution that he'd been able to come up with had been stealing his phone and searching through his browsing history. He was ready to see lots of weird porn, but that didn't trouble him in the slightest. If he managed to find just one thing he could give the dracolynx as a present, everything would be worth the while.

Of course, first he needed to figure out his friend's password. Otherwise, he'd be stuck in that screen forever.

His eyes turned to the mobile phone again. He'd seen Habiel do that hundreds of times, but he always had trouble trying to remember specific details. Xyln's memory wasn't the best there was, let alone when it implied recalling trivialities like those. He racked his brains trying to think of a specific letter, character or shape that he thought Habiel might have used. All his efforts were in vain.

He sighed and leaned back on the couch. Maybe the universe was sending him a message to do things some other way. Unfortunately, Habiel's birthday was in just a week and he had no idea what he could buy or make or write for him. Of course, he could always check his Steam wishlist, but that was his last resource. Maybe...

Wait, he told himself. He had the weirdest recollection that he'd once seen the dracolynx drawing a spiral on his lock screen and they'd joked about it being able to hypnotize him. Of course! That had to be the shape he was looking for.

From the living room, Xyln could hear the hot oil hissing and sizzling. It smelled like Habiel had just thrown some onion in the pan - that meant he still had some time to find answers. He smirked playfully, put his claw on the black screen and drew the white spiral starting from the top right corner. When he reached the central point, the screen pulsed once and then-

Xyln yawned and took another sip from his cup of coffee.

He'd been spending some time with Habiel lately, ever since the dracolynx had come to his place to stay for a few weeks. The blue tiger usually felt really energetic when he had his friends around, but during the past few days he'd been feeling oddly exhausted, as if he'd been working out or something. That's silly, he thought, whenever he felt his sore muscles. We've been mostly watching films and playing videogames. It's not like that's big exercise. Maybe it was the inactivity that was making him feel that way. He should definitely ask Habiel to take a walk with him at some point.

Their friends still hadn't arrived. They would be there on Friday, the day after Habiel's actual birthday, because most of them had to work or study. Xyln hoped to feel more active when they were all together. He'd planned to bake cookies and maybe make his own pizza if he felt in the mood, but doing that when his body was constantly complaining didn't seem like an option. Besides, the blue tiger still needed to find a gift for his friend. His birthday was in two days and he still didn't know what to get him.

"Hey, have any plans for today?" Habiel asked, coming out of his room. Even though his wings were neatly folded at his back, Xyln was always afraid that he'd get stuck when walking through his apartment's small doors. The lynx was way taller than him, probably because of his dragon genes, and also way thicker - although the blue tiger wasn't completely sure his genes were to blame for that.

"Not really. You know how it is. Most places, shops and restaurants are closed." The blue tiger shrugged. "I guess we could take a walk, maybe? We haven't left the apartment for a while and I've been feeling a bit sluggish lately."

"Are you? Maybe you don't remember all that's been going on." There was a strange gleam in Habiel's deep orange eyes. Xyln was about to scoff - his friend loved teasing him about that kind of stuff. "But yeah, taking a walk sounds like a good plan. Bet you'd like to stretch your legs for a change."

"Cool! Maybe we should have lunch first, though. Let me cook and then I'll..."

"But first you need to help me with something," Habiel interrupted him. He stared right into Xyln's eyes while he said those words, and the tiger looked back, feeling a bit surprised. "It's... a bit embarrassing, actually."

"What is it?"

"Well, I seem to have forgotten the combination to unlock my phone," the dracolynx said. Was he smirking? Xyln thought he was for an instant, but he wasn't paying enough attention to tell for sure. "Do you know any ways to unlock it?"

"Hey, you know I'm not a hacker," the tiger answered, shaking his head. "And how bad I am at everything computer-related. But, uh... you sure you've tried every possible shape? Maybe it's an 'H', or something?"

"You can't draw an 'H' in this screen, silly cat. It's programmed so you can only connect the dots once. Here, try it."

And, saying that, Habiel handed him the phone. Xyln took it and frowned, looking at the black screen with the nine white dots. He had the weirdest feeling of déjà vu, but that happened constantly, so he gave it no importance. Instead, he placed his paw on the coffee table and drummed his fingers on the wooden surface. His thoughts came and went between how Habiel could have forgotten his own password and what he was going to give him for his birthday.

He shook his head. Something was bugging him, but he didn't know what it was.

"Didn't you forget this, like... a few days ago?" the tiger asked, suddenly.

"No way," Habiel answered, chuckling. "I would remember."

"Yeah, I guess you would." Xyln wasn't sure at all, but he decided to give the dracolynx the benefit of the doubt.

He had the weirdest hunch that he was supposed to draw a spiral, starting from the top right corner. His claw came closer to the screen, then it froze and he shuddered. He wasn't supposed to know any of that. Then how...?

"Do you have any ideas?" Habiel asked then, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"I think I do," the blue tiger answered. There was something weird going on, but he could always find out what it was later.

His finger tapped on the top right dot and began to draw the spiral. But the screen isn't going to unlock when you do that, a little voice said at the back of his mind. Something else is. He froze midmotion and frowned. Where were those thoughts coming from? That was stupid. It was just a simple unlock screen, there was no way it...

"Here, let me help you," Habiel offered.

He grabbed Xyln's wrist with his bigger paw and guided it along the path it was supposed to walk on screen. The blue tiger turned to look at his friend before the movement was complete, so he never got to see what happened when his claw rested in the central dot. Habiel, on the other hand, was grinning widely.

"What's going on?" Xyln asked, a bit confused. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Habiel promised. He looked as if he was about to laugh. "But look! You did it. You unlocked my phone."

Xyln wasn't too sure he had, but he let out a long sigh and turned his head to the screen, where it-

The day had come and Xyln hadn't bought anything.

He'd woken up that day to the realization that he was probably going to win an award in the Worst Friend of the Year category, and had been feeling bad ever since. Of course, his noisy perfectionist vein couldn't let that happen, and he'd jumped out of bed and headed right into the kitchen. A quick search on his mobile phone had shown him hundreds of recipes for different kinds of cakes, and even though he wasn't completely sure which of those was Habiel's favorite, he'd decided to pick one and bake it as quickly as possible before the dracolynx woke up. Maybe he couldn't give him a good present, but he'd make sure his birthday cake was delicious.

Besides, if he made a big enough cake, maybe they could save some for the next day, when their friends were supposed to visit. Oh man, he thought. I hope their presents aren't too good or I'll really look like a jerk.

"Hey, up early?" a voice said at his back. The sudden sound was enough to startle him and he turned around with his fur standing on end and his paws deep in a bowl of cake dough.

"Huh... uh, I... Yeah!" he answered, glancing nervously at Habiel, then at the bowl, then back at the dracolynx. He gave him an apologetic smile. "Heh, sorry. You weren't supposed to see this! It was going to be a surprise."

"A surprise?" Habiel asked. Then he seemed to understand. "Oh, are you baking a cake for me?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah! That was my plan," Xyln admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed all of a sudden.

"You didn't have to! We could have always bought one. It's way easier - and I don't want you to wake up early for that."

Yeah, but then I wouldn't have anything to give you as a present, the tiger thought, biting his lower lip. He shook his head.

"Look, there's something I need to tell you," he began. Being honest was probably the best thing he could do in a situation like this. "I didn't know what to get you, so I decided I could try to bake a cake. I'm sorry! It's just that, well, I wasn't sure what you wanted and I..."

Habiel raised an eyebrow and a smirk began to show on his face.

"What do you mean you didn't know what to get me?" he asked. "You already gave me your present, remember?"

Xyln pulled his paws out of the cake dough, resisting the powerful impulse to lick his paws clean. Instead, he focused on the conversation and gave the dracolynx a perplexed look.

"What... what do you mean?" he asked, puzzled.

"Exactly what I said. Come on, wash those paws and then I'll show you."

Xyln kept staring at the dracolynx in disbelief even when his thick, long tail drew a long arc in the air and disappeared round the corner. He did as told and washed his paws, getting rid of most of the flour and dough that had stuck in his fur. Then, he walked to the living room and sat on the couch, near Habiel, who was looking at him expectantly.

"Is this something you planned?" the tiger asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I have a feeling that there's something weird going on."

"Oh, you've had that feeling all week," the dracolynx assured him, waving a paw as if trying to downplay the importance of those words. "But that's okay. You just need to know that there's no reason for you to feel bad. Wanna know why?"

Xyln held his orange gaze, slightly concerned of what the answer to that question might be.

"Why?" he asked in the end, knowing that the dracolynx wouldn't explain it to him unless he played his game.

"To know the answer to that question, you just need to unlock my phone," Habiel said, with a wide grin. "Here. Just do it and you will understand everything."

The blue tiger sighed and was about to refuse, but he'd always been too curious for his own good. In the end, he nodded and the huge dracolynx handed him his mobile phone. Xyln held it in and looked at him from every angle, frowning. He had the weirdest sensation that he'd been holding that same phone a lot recently.

"You know how to unlock it, right?" Habiel asked.

"Of course. I just need to draw a spiral."

How do I know that? Xyln asked himself. It was weird that he knew his friend's password, but it was even weirder that he couldn't recall why exactly he was familiar with it. He placed his claw on the top right corner again. Again? How many times had he done that?

"You've done something to me," he guessed. "Have you hypnotized me?"

Habiel chuckled. That was the only answer Xyln got from him.

"This is very suspicious, you know?" he insisted.

"Come on, don't worry. Even if I did, it's nothing you wouldn't enjoy, right?" Habiel argued, winking an eye at the blue tiger. "And if I have... well, I can't do it to you tomorrow, since our friends will be coming. Today might be your last chance to find out."

Xyln hesitated. The dracolynx was trying to play him into doing exactly what he wanted him to do, but a part of him liked the idea of being manipulated in such a way. And he's right, he thought. I'm not going to say 'no' to a good ol' zonk.

Trying not to overthink what he was doing, he drew the spiral quickly and glanced at the dracolynx sitting by his side before turning his gaze to the mobile phone. His claw reached the central point just as he did so and suddenly the screen pulsed and it...

It changed. Not into the usual screen, but into a completely different thing. There were... white and black circles pulsing, similar to spirals, but overwhelmingly insistent and fast. Xyln's eyes didn't move from the center of the screen, in which his claw still rested. It was difficult to look away. Impossible, even. He knew that feeling, and he knew that there was no point in trying to fight it. His theory that the dracolynx had been playing with him for a while seemed to be real after all, but he didn't feel angry or bothered.

In fact, now that his eyes were mirroring the black and white circles that had suddenly become the only thing he could focus on, he felt oddly relaxed.

"See, I told you you'd like it," Habiel's voice came near his ear. One of the dracolynx's big arms was placed around his shoulders and brought him closer to his body. "Be a good kitty and just focus on the screen, Xyln. That's it. Good boy."

The blue tiger shivered, like every time his friend used those words to tease him. In the meantime, his mind was falling into the same space in which it'd been during the last weeks. Xyln had been hypnotized before, but whatever that screen was had been designed to plunge him into that state way faster than usual. He could already feel himself failing to resist, even though he wasn't trying too hard. His thoughts were fading as his overwhelmed brain tried to make sense of what was going on. He could barely understand how he was feeling, but there were a few things he knew, probably because they'd been conditioned into him, said the last remnants of his conscious mind.

Extremely focused. Highly suggestible. Remarkably deep. A single word came to his lips when he tried to think about it, and he felt it climbing up his throat until he found himself saying it involuntarily:

"Unlocked."

"See? So easy."

Xyln didn't answer. He kept staring at the screen with an open mouth and a blank expression.

"Now, you're probably wondering what this has to do with my present," Habiel explained. "But we'll get there soon. How has your body been feeling recently, Xyln?"

"Tired," he heard himself whisper. "Sluggish... like after workout..."

"But you haven't been working out, have you?"

Under any other circumstances, Xyln could have identified the mocking tone in Habiel's words, but his mind was too focused on doing absolutely nothing but stare.

"No," he answered.

"What have you been doing?"

It only took him a second to find the answer. The good thing about being unlocked and having his mind focus on a single spot was that he could access his memories much easier.

"Furniture," he murmured.

"Hmmm? What do you mean exactly?"

"I am your... furniture," the tiger repeated. Each word felt like a terrible effort. His tongue was hanging out of his open mouth now, and a few drops of drool had begun to fall from it and onto his chest.

Habiel chuckled and his huge paw moved to the tiger's head. He petted his hair and scratched between the blue round ears.

"Eeeexactly. And yesterday I told you just what kind of present you were going to get me for my birthday, right?"

Xyln nodded slowly. His eyes never left the screen.

"What was it? Can you remember?"

"Foot... stool?" the tiger moaned. It was getting increasingly difficult to move his mouth to give an answer. His whole body was beginning to feel heavy and limp and the effort to keep it in motion was so, so tiring.

"Veeeery good. A beautiful foot stool for me. Your always manage to make the best presents, don't you? There's no need to be worried about anything, silly kitty. So why don't you do just that, hmmm?"

Xyln nodded. At that point, he wasn't even sure if being a foot stool for the dracolynx had been his own idea or the dracolynx's, but it sounded absolutely natural whenever he thought about it. His body was feeling so exhausted that he simply wanted to remain motionless for a while, and making his friend happy was a very strong impulse to fight.

Habiel chuckled again, near him. Xyln could feel the warm breath in his ear.

"You can stop staring at the screen now and be my foot stool, kitty."

The blue tiger nodded and slid to the ground, adopting his position easily. It felt as if he'd been practicing those last days, even though it didn't really make any sense. That was Habiel's present for his birthday, right? He was a good friend. He made the best presents. He was going to be an amazing foot stool because he wanted to be an amazing gift for him.

When the blue tiger got on all fours, Habiel picked up his phone and turned the screen off. Then, he got slightly closer to his friend, who was ready to become his furniture, just like he'd said.

"You can feel your body getting rigid. Firm. That's it, just like a wooden plank. Your arms and legs becoming the perfect stool legs. Strong. Stiff. Unmoving. You'll remain like this until I snap you out of it. But in the meantime, you'll be the perfect foot stool for me. And you'll make me really happy."

Xyln nodded. A part of his mind knew that was going to be about the last movement he'd make in a long while.

"You can feel your mind becoming rigid too. Blank. There will be no thoughts in it for a while. Foot stools don't think. Furniture just remains like that, unthinking and unmoving. And you're furniture. Remember that."

I'm furniture, was Xyln's last thought, before he felt the weight of Habiel's words taking effect on his body and mind. His body felt so strong and stiff. So tense. There was no way it'd move. And there was no way his mind would think any thoughts ei-

Habiel stared at the motionless blue tiger at his feet with a playful grin. In order to check how deep his friend was, he pushed the side of his body with one of his bare, huge footpaws. The motion knocked the tiger over, but the position of his body remained the same. His arms were completely frozen as they stretched out, muscles rigid and paws unmoving. His expression was blank and emotionless. Just like furniture should be.

The dracolynx growled with pride and grabbed his foot stool easily, placing it in the right position again. Then, he rested his footpaws on its soft, blue surface and grabbed the controller of Xyln's console.

"Let's see if the kitty has any good games," he said out loud, even though there was no one listening.

The thought to make some popcorn and get something to drink crossed his mind way too late - after all, he planned to be playing videogames for a long, long time.