FSE

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Complicated love

Hey yall. You remember when I said I hadn't planned this story out? Well, I just changed my mind about the vague outline I had. Also, since there was someone who was very adamant about a certain tag, I decided that if I ever add adult rated content, I'm going to do it in an adult version of the story. So I'm adding a few new tags to this chapter. Anyway, hope you like it : D. Oh ya, I'm also going to change the title soon. I never did like this one, but now that I've changed the future of the story, it barely even fits anymore.

Chapter 4: A new friend for me.

I woke hours later in the hospital. It was dark; the lights were off, the shutters on the window closed. I turned my head to the side and saw an alarm clock which said 4:46 AM. "Damn, I sure didn't sleep long." I said to no one in particular. Next thing I knew, there was a crushing weight pinning me to the bed. 'MACKY! Are you okay? You blacked out at home, and they brought you here. I thought you were going to die!' She wailed in my head. Her face, which was right over mine, was so streaked with tears that her fur had darkened. She continued to sob as she tried to lick my whole face, relived that I had woken. "Ouch, Karma, you're heavy." I wheezed. She either didn't hear me or didn't care. We stayed like this for the better part of half an hour, her crying out of relief, me trying to catch my breath between her licks. Finally, once she had calmed down somewhat, I managed to convoy the message, and she shifted so that I wasn't being squished. 'How do you feel?' She asked "Like a tiger just decided to lie down on top of me. I've also got a headache, and my throat is as dry as the Sahara." 'Do you need some food? Water? Anything? I can go get the doctor too.' She thought. "Water would be nice, and maybe something small to eat." I responded. She jumped up and ran across the room, where she managed to grab a tray of food with her maw, and she walked back slowly, trying to make sure nothing fell. "Thanks." I took the tray from her and placed it on my lap. It had a glass of water, some crackers, a small lump of cheese and some sort of meat thing. I drank half the water first, since my throat still felt like sand paper, and then I proceeded to eat the cheese and crackers, but I didn't touch the meat. It was okay, but tasted a little stale. "What time was it when we got back home?" 'Just past 1. You were at the hospital 10 minutes later, and you've slept since you got here. I should probably tell the doc that you're awake. Don't fall asleep till I get back.' With that, she bounded across the room and opened the door, only to see a man in a white coat reaching for the door handle. "Oh, you're up, good." He said as he saw me sitting up. "You gave us quite a scare. Thank god you arrived when you did; a few more hours and you may never have woken up. That was a powerful drug they hit you with. Could you explain how you managed to get such a powerful tranquiliser shot into your chest?" I would rather have returned to sleep, but that would be rude, so I told him about the two men in the forest and how they had attacked both me and Karma. "How insolent! Don't you worry young man; I'll alert the police to the event. Rest assured that they will be searched for, although I can't promise that they will be found, especially since we don't have a very good description. Rest now; your life is no longer in danger, and you can probably return to your home before tonight." "Oh, my school. Is it possible for me to attend today?" "I think it would better if you stayed here for the moment. The drug may have some side effects, so we can't be too careful. I hope that's not too big of a problem?" "Okay..." "Also, I was wondering I you wanted us to do something about those..." I made a quick and very violent motion across my neck, telling him to shut up. I turned my gaze to Karma, who was looking at the doctor. "Um, yes. Goodnight Mr. Mailhot. Also, your parents wanted to stay, but unfortunately it was impossible. Your tiger shouldn't have stayed either, but we couldn't manage to get the message across, so we gave up and just left her here. I hope that's not a problem?" "No, it's fine." He smiled and closed the door. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realised that Karma hadn't attacked him in the middle of he hospital. "Couldn't get the message across eh? I highly doubt that." I said to Karma, giving her a firm glare. 'What?' She responded, trying to look innocent. "You know you have to follow the law like the rest of us. You are well aware of what they wanted, you've know humans long enough to get the idea! I know you were worried about me, but that doesn't change the law." Her whole expression turned to a look of regret: her tail fell, her ears folded to her head, which she lowered a little. 'I'm sorry, Macky.' I had to smile. She may have grown a lot bigger during the last two years, but she was still just a child inside. "Thank you, for staying." She looked back up at me and smiled. Then she got up onto the bed and lied down next to me, sharing her warmth with me. 'I'll always be with you. No matter what the law says, if you want me, I'll be with you.' She nuzzled in close. 'Go to sleep, you need to recover so we can leave before tomorrow, or we won't meet the PM's daughter.' 'Okay...' I thought as I started to drift off. 'Goodnight, Karma.' 'Goodnight Macky.'

I could tell I was dreaming, since everything was pink. I looked around to see what appeared to be my family's cottage. I couldn't see anyone there, but I felt like something important was about to happen. I turned around, but still I saw no one. I tried to call out, but I couldn't speak. As I continued to search, my head suddenly snapped forward to stare at the cottage again, and no matter what I did, my gaze was locked in place. As I tried to figure out my predicament, a voice spoke to me. 'Observe. This will be a sanctuary to those in need. Seek it out when you fall prey to your enemies and your friends' enemies. It hides many great secrets.' Just as it came, the voice left, and my dream faded to black...

I slept soundly through the rest of the night, dreams coming and going as they pleased. Many of them focused around memories of me and Karma, reviving old feeling of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. One in particular was oddly vivid. It was a re-enactment of the first time Karma had pinned me upon my return from school. It had been a warmer day of spring. I was on the way home from the bus stop when I was hailed by Chet. He had asked me to come over to his house for a few minutes so he could show me his new bicycle. Since I wasn't otherwise in engaged, I decided to go. It was a wonderful piece of machinery, with 36 different gear possibilities, a duo hue fire finish and interchangeable wheel spokes. I watched him ride around on it and then took the turn he offered me, enjoying the feel of the wind on my face and the high speeds. After half an hour I decided it was time to go, so I thanked Chet and returned home. Upon my arrival, I was surprised to find that the house was still locked, despite the fact that my brother should have been home by then, until I remembered that he had a doctor's appointment today. Relieved, I took out my key and proceeded to unlock the door. I stepped inside with no problems, but as I was bending over to untie my shoes, I was pushed to the ground and I ended up face to face with a very angry tiger. 'Why are you so late?!' She exclaimed. "I-I-I-I went to Ch-Chet's house to s-see his new bike. What's wrong, did something happen?" 'I was worried! You're always home around 3 o'clock, its 3:30 and you're still not home. You didn't inform me of any special activities today, so I thought you might have gotten hurt!' She wailed, tears of sadness and rage in her eyes. "Sorry, but you can't expect me to know that I'm going to visit a friend's house before they even ask me. I didn't mean to scare you." I responded. She just gazed into my eyes her tears gradually slowing until they were all gone. 'Please don't scare me like that again.' "You need to realise that I may not always be able to tell you in advance if I won't be home." 'But why didn't you send me a mind message? Surely you were in range when you left the bus stop?' "Alright, from now on I'll try and tell you if I won't be home, but don't freak out if every once in a while I decide to go to a friend's house." She agreed to try and keep her calm, and shortly after she was back to her usual, playful self.

I woke at 11:00 AM. Karma, who had fallen asleep next to me, was the first thing I saw. The second was the nurse who was trying her best to get to me so she could do... something. However, she had no room, since Karma was lying in the way of whatever she needed to do. 'Karma, you need to move, the nurse needs room.' I told her. She woke slowly and, after a few moments, got up and moved out of the way. The nurse thanked her and proceeded to ask me few questions about how I felt. I told her that I was fine, which was half true, since I still had a small headache, but I wanted to get out as fast as I could. After she checked some statistics from the equipment, she asked if I had woken up around 6, since my heartbeat had suddenly spiked at that time. I told her no, but I had experienced a vivid and frightening dream. She accepted the explanation without suspicion and told me I was free to go, making sure I understood to take it easy for the next couple of hours. I smiled and thanked her, and then I asked if I had to sign any paper or such. She said no and left. 'Looks like I'm free.' I told Karma. She smiled. 'So we can go home now?' She asked. 'Indeed.' I got up slowly, wary, but I felt fine, so we made our way to the exit. Once we were outside, I hopped on her back and we went home. Upon our arrival, at 11:30, no one was present, so I got myself something to eat and told Karma to do the same, seeing as she hadn't eaten for well over a day. "I'm sorry that I can't come with you this time." I apologised. 'Its fine, I'll be quick. If you need anything, thoughtshout and I'll come running.' "Same to you." I responded as she opened the back door and left. I suppose I never told you, but Karma managed to learn how to open doors. She uses her paws to turn the nob; although how she manages it is a total mystery to me. Still, she prefers to have doors opened for her if possible. I made myself a sandwich and ate it in silence, pondering the dreams and the thugs that had tranquilised me. Once I was halfway done, my thoughts shifted back to school. I could still make it back in time for the second part of the day, but I decided not to. Instead, I considered what I would do when Karma returned. I was very troubled by the whole event. If I hadn't been present and Karma had gotten shot, I would never have seen her again. The thought brought tears to my eyes, and the more I thought about what had happened, the more I cried. I hadn't been strong enough to protect my friend. I needed to change that, I needed to get stronger, or maybe I needed to get a weapon so that in the future, should this happen again, I would be able to save her, and not always have her rush to my rescue. 'Macky! What's wrong, why are you crying?' She thought. Startled, I looked up from my plate to see her standing outside the back door. 'I-Its nothing. Why are you back so soon?' As I thought it, I glanced at the clock. An hour had passed. 'Macky, are you sure you're okay?' I could tell that she wanted me to tell her my problem. 'Yesterday... I couldn't save you. I couldn't do anything. The only reason we're still here is that I'm lucky. If I hadn't said anything about the PM, I may never have seen you again. I don't want that to happen! Karma, what should I do? Next time, we may not get lucky...' My tears fell heavily now, and I made no attempt to stop them. 'Macky...' She thought. I felt her put her tail around my shoulders. 'It's not your fault. It's my fault. I didn't smell them because I wasn't paying attention. Had I been, none of this would have happened. Don't worry yourself about it; I'll never let my guard down again, not if it makes you sad like this. So please, stop crying.' I nodded, trying unsuccessfully to supress my tears. I put my head on her shoulders, and she guided me down from my chair so I was lying next to her. Then she curled herself around me and gave me soft, soothing licks across my forehead. 'We seem to be ending up in this position a lot lately.' I thought, trying to inject some humour. She purred in response. 'I like this.' She tightened her hold. We stayed like that for the better part of the next 2 hours, listening to each other's thoughts and learning about one other in the deepest, most intimate way possible. However, when I decided to look into what the tone she constantly used against me was, I found that she pushed me away from that part of her mind. 'No, Macky, you don't get to know about that yet.' She turned to look at me, so I pouted, trying to get her to relent. 'No.' She pulled my mind into some happier memories, forcing me to follow her train of thought. After a few moments of resistance, I gave up. I knew I should respect her privacy about that issue, but I was so curious. 'Curiosity killed the cat.' She thought. 'Well, I don't want you to die, so I'll go willingly, this time.' I thought back. I had regained my composure over the course of our exchange, and I felt much better. I knew she would never blame me for what happened, so I refused to dwell on it. 'I could still use a weapon, though.' I told her. 'Whatever makes you happy.' She responded. As we started to enter the third hour of our silent exchange, I tapped her side so she would let me up. I was starting to cramp up; I needed to move. She uncurled slowly, unwilling to let me leave her embrace. Finally, I managed to wriggle out of her restraining paws. I thought for a moment as I stretched my legs, deliberating on my next action. 'What do you want to do?' I asked her. It was rare that she chose the activity since she preferred to let me choose, but I was out of new ideas. 'I was fine with what we were doing.' She thought, a slight pout playing around her face and mind. 'Can't we just keep thinking? How bout we go upstairs, to your bed?' There it was again; the tone. 'What, you're not bored of that yet?' I asked. 'You have so many more memories then I do. I still have a lot to sift through. You're only bored because you already know all my memories... You've been with me since they day I was born.' 'Fine, let's go. I suppose I'll try to learn about your traditions.' We walked upstairs and went to my room. She got in bed first and I curled up against her warm underside. I realised, then, just how well I fit with her. It's like she was made to cuddle with me. My back was pressed up against her chest and belly; my head fit perfectly in the hollow of her neck; her butt wrapped around mine. I turned red at that last thought and moved on before she could realise what I was thinking of. 'It wouldn't work if your butt wasn't so round and squishy.' She thought, alerting me to the fact that she had indeed heard. 'Hey, don't...' I tried to protest before realising that it was my own fault anyway, and that my butt was indeed quite round and squishy. 'Shut up brain.' I thought to myself. I heard her thoughtgiggle. 'I'm just poking fun. Common, relax and let me in already.' To integrate our minds, it requires both participants to willingly open their minds to the other, except for the thoughts that are currently being thought, sort of like Edward from twilight. Anyway, I unlocked my thoughts for her, and she did the same for me, and we re-entered our trance-like state of mind. As she searched my past, hungrily devouring all she could, I tried to make heads and tails of her traditions. Since her mother had only had a few minutes to transfer all of her information, it was all very jumbled and difficult to decipher, with the exception being the memories she had already recalled, such as how to hunt. I would catch glimpses of certain events, such as something that looked like a dance; one in which they would paint the back of their paws; in another, I saw two tigers circling, clearly about to fight each other. However, before I could make sense of what I saw, I was forced into another memory. It was like trying to watch a movie that had been separated into 3 second clips and then rearranged in random order. After half an hour I gave up trying to understand her memories and instead I watched Karma watching my memories. Most of the one's she found were hazy since I didn't remember them too well, but every now and then one would stick out like a beacon in the dark. I saw her review my graduation of elementary school, my friends at the first few days of high school, the day I got my job, the first time I drove... She was jumping from one to the other so fast, I wondered if she was actually watching them. I got closer to her and watched her thoughts as she reviewed mine. I was surprised to find that she was analysing each, trying to understand my actions and the reason behind my choices. It was fun, watching her watch me. We lay there for hours, until I was forced back to reality by my mother as she called out to us. "MAVERICK! We're going out to dinner. Do you want to come?" I exited Karma's mind for a moment to glance at the clock. It was almost 6 o'clock. "Where are you going?" "André's Steakhouse." 'Karma, want to go to a steakhouse? I'm not sure if you would like it, since you don't like human food as much as wild prey, but if you want to go, we'll go. If not, we can stay here.' 'No, let's go. We've been lying here for hours, some food would do you good, and I need to get up and stretch. Tell your mother we'll meet her there.' "Okay, we'll meet you there, mom. Get a table outside, okay?" "Sure thing, see you soon honey." She said. After a brief pause, I heard the door slam closed. Karma uncurled herself and I got up, stiff from sitting still for so long. 'I hope you know how to get there.' She thought. "Of course. Common, let's get your collar. Even if we take the scenic route, we'll still beat them there, but we have to hurry." I told her. I changed, since I was still in the same clothes as yesterday, and I grabbed her collar, fastening it around her neck as quick as I could. We flew down the stairs and outside. I hopped on her back and we took off, me giving her quick directions to the restaurant, making sure to pick a longer path so we would have time to enjoy the run. As she picked up the pace so that we could run in traffic without having to worry about slowing down the pace, I thought again about how odd most people would find the sight of us. I glanced through the window of a car and saw the face of a woman gaping at us. She turned her head back to the road for a moment, and then looked back at us. She kept doing that for the next minute, until we turned down a side street and she lost sight of us. 'Good god, she's going to create an accident.' I thought to Karma. 'Indeed, maybe we should avoid roads in the future. After all, the only road we would ever need to use is beyond my sustainable speed limit. For everything else, we should just use the sidewalks.' 'But we might hit people.' 'Could be worse. Plus, I'll just run around them.' 'If you say so... Ah, here it is.' I thought as I saw André's. 'Hoho, they beat us, that's surprising.' The car was already there, and I just saw my family walking into the restaurant. Karma followed them, entering the building just before the door closed. "Hello. How large is your party?" The waitress asked. "Five, and we would like a table outside, if possible." "Certainly, come with me pl-" She cut out mid word as she saw Karma. For a few moments she remained frozen in place. "Um..." She said as she regained her composure. "W-we don't allow pets at this restaurant." She was clearly very scared at having to give us the news. "Don't worry, I have special permission." I said as I pulled out my wallet to show her my permit. Karma stepped forward so I could present it to her, which almost caused her to faint. She slowly reached forward to grab the card, glanced at it for a few quick moments, then returned it to me and said: "Very well, please come with me." The waitress guided us through the store to the back, directing us to a table just outside the door. "Will this be okay?" She asked. I could see she was still quite uncomfortable. "Yes, this will do nicely." My father answered. As we took our seats, she smiled and wished us a good meal, and then she began to move away, but before she could go more than a few steps, my father moved after her. I saw him whisper a few words to her, after which she nodded and left. "What did you tell her?" I asked him. "I told her she may want to warn the waiter who will be serving us about Karma, else it could take a while for us to get our food." He smiled, but it was quickly replaced by a look of concern. "Are you okay? The doctor called me and said you would be fine, but still..." I smiled back to him. "Yes, I'm great. There were no side effects, so I got off pretty lucky. I'll be sure to more cautious in the future, dad." "Well, that's good. So, care to explain your adventure to us? I am most interested..." Since we had time to burn, I brought my family up to date on the men who had attacked Karma and I. I was about halfway through when the waiter came by for the first time. "Hello, my name is Tomas and I will be your waiter today. Can I get you some drinks to start?" "I'll have a lemonade, please." Said my father. "Water, please." My mother. "Milk, skim if you have it, please." Said my brother. "I'm afraid we don't." The waiter said apologetically. "Regular then." "Alright. And for you sir?" "I'll have some root beer please... as well as a pitcher of water for her and a bowl." I said, pointing to Karma. "Certainly. I'll be back momentarily." He said as he left. "Hm, certainly more composed than that other woman." My brother remarked. "Indeed, very professional." My mother added, a smile playing around the edge of her lips. "Quite. I must remember to tip him more than normal." My father added also. "I'm disappointed he went so easily. It would have been more fun if he asked a few questions." I said, looking at Karma. 'Do you want anything asides the water? Steak, ribs, fries, human appendages?' 'I'll try some of whatever you get and, if I like it, I'll order some myself.' "Sounds good." I said as the waiter reappeared. "Here you are." He said as he deposited each of our drinks in front of us. "Where would you like the water and bowl?" I looked at him, wondering if he would actually place it where I told him. "The bowl on the end of the table, the pitcher next to it, please." If he was going to place in there, he would have to stand right next to Karma. I watched him closely as he moved around the table. Once he was next to Karma, he said: "Excuse me Miss." He then set it down right in front of her. "Are you ready to order?" My family nodded to each other, then glanced at me. "I'm ready." I said. "I'll have the Canadian Steak, no mushrooms please." My brother said. "I will as well, but with mushrooms, please." My mother. "I believe I'll have a half rack of ribs, barbecue sauce please." My father. "I'll have a sirloin burger with only ketchup and mayonnaise on it, please." I said. He marked each down with a quick word of acknowledgment between each, and then turned to Karma. "And for you, Miss?" "She doesn't want anything, yet." I said. "Alright, I'll be back soon." With that he left. "Now that was impressive. No flinch, no hesitation, he even spoke to her, albeit she can't understand what he said." I said, beaming at Karma. "You did good too." She tilted he head and smiled. I reached over and poured some of the water for her, which he lapped up gratefully, not spilling a drop. We, my family and I that is, began to talk like we always do at restaurants. We spoke of new things that were on the news, of our grades in school, recent events at work; we went on and on, for so long that the first time we wondered about the time left till our food got here, it was just coming out the door. As I took the first bite of my burger, I saw the waiter, Tomas, glance at Karma. It was the first sign of curiosity he had exuded so far. "I must admit." I told him. "You're the first person in a while that hasn't gawked like an idiot at the sight of her." He looked over to me. "I was well trained..." "I'll say. You want to ask something?" "What's her name?" "It's Karma." "Can she understand me?" "No, only me." "I see. Well, enjoy your meal." He said as he walked away. I took another bite and then I set down my burger and cut out a moderately large square. 'Here sweety, try this.' I told her as I held out the piece. She leaned forward and lapped it into her mouth using her tongue so that she didn't have to worry about biting me. I saw her chew it for a few moments, and then she puckered her lips, as well as her eyes, and made a strange sounding growl. 'No? Ah well, can't say I'm surprised. You hate everything I give you.' I said as she swallowed the burger. Once she had, she quickly gulped down her whole bowl of water, so I poured her some more, which she drank almost as quickly. 'Wow, you really didn't like that, did you?' 'No, that was awful, how can you stomach it? I feel like I can still taste the chemicals and preservatives that helped it get here.' She said as she took another drink. 'Oh well, maybe one day we'll find something you like.' I took a big bite of my burger. 'Mmm, preservatives, my favourite.' I heard her giggle. The rest of the meal past in a quick, calm, mostly silent atmosphere. The waiter appeared two more times to ask us how it was and to check if we needed anything. Both times he glanced at Karma for a few moments, but he didn't say anything. Finally, we were all finished. My father paid the bill and we left; my family in the car, me with Karma. "Don't wait up for us." I told them. "We're going to take our time getting back." "Okay, be careful." My mother answered. Once they had gone, I got onto her back and lay down, closing my eyes. 'Take me wherever, just make it slow; I'm in no hurry.' I told her, wanting to enjoy every second I got alone with her. 'Yes, captain.' She set off at a leisurely walk. As she went along, we discussed some of the finer differences between human and tiger cuisine. 'NO! Raw meat does NOT taste good!' I thought at one point. 'Well, cooked meat taste completely charred!' She responded. Yeah... that's what happened on the ride home. In the end, we agreed to disagree on our taste in meats. It took us over an hour to get home, but it was time well spent. Once we finally got there, I went to check and see if my friends were online, but unfortunately I found only one of them. "Hey, why weren't you at school today?" Asked Trisha. "I'll explain tomorrow, when we're all together. Did I miss anything important?" "Nothing you won't pick up in a flash. I can't stay, my mom need help with my brother. I'll see you tomorrow." "See ya." I responded. Since no one was here, I decided to just go to bed early. Even though it was only 9 o'clock, I knew I could count on Karma to help me pass the time. She was already in bed when I got there. 'You're early.' She observed. 'No one was online, so I decided to hit the sack early.' I brushed my teeth and was about to change when I realise she hadn't looked away yet. 'Some privacy, please?' 'Hun? Oh, sorry Macky.' She turned her head as I changed. 'I sort of zoned out there.' For some reason, I thought I heard a slight taint of disappointment, but it was so small that I discarded it as my imagination. 'Budge up; you're sprawled all over the bed.' I told her. She moved over, and this time I thought I saw the shadow of disappointment in her eyes. However, once again, it disappeared before I could tell for sure. 'Something wrong, sweety?' I asked as I curled up next to her. She curled herself around me, sighing a little as she did. 'No, everything's as it should be. Goodnight Macky.' I was worried now. 'Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything.' 'It's nothing you can help with, please just let it go.' She thought. '...Okay. Goodnight Karma.'

I woke the next morning to find Karma still asleep next to me. Instead of trying to get up, I decided to lay there till she woke up on her own. I turned on my side and looked at the clock. It was only 6AM. I turned back over and pressed my body into her fur, savoring the warmth. Suddenly, I had an idea. I peered into her mind, trying to read what she was thinking right now like she had done to me yesterday. At first I saw nothing, but after a few moments, colours started to bloom in my mind. I saw blurred images, vivid oranges and blacks with all the other colors being slightly dulled down and faded. I saw what I assumed was a young Karma running through a large field of flowers. I saw her pounce on random objects, laughing. I saw an older tiger watching from the side, smiling. 'This must be what her life would have been had she lived in her tribe.' I thought. Suddenly, the images faded. I heard her squeak in surprise. Next I knew, she was in my house. I saw her look around and relax as she understood where she was. I saw her pad upstairs and push my door open. I saw me lying in bed, sleeping. I saw that she relaxed further upon seeing me. I tried to look into her eyes, but they were hidden from me. As she got closer and closer to me, the dream faded. I realised that she was waking up, so I withdrew from her mind, not wanting her to realise what I had done. 'Good morning sweety.' I thought as she open her eyes. Her lips parted in a gaping yawn. 'Morning.' She thought. 'What time is it?' I flipped over to check the clock. It was 6:30. 'Early enough for us to cuddle a while longer.' I thought as I pulled her closer and passed my hand around her neck, scratching her between the ears. She started purring, rubbing my back with her tail in exchange. We stayed like that until it was time to go, both of us parting quite unwillingly. In 10 minutes we were out the door and on the way to school. 'So, today's the day, eh?' Karma inquired. 'Indeed. Today we meet the PM's daughter, our new housemate as well as our new friend. Try to keep an open mind.' 'I'll do my best.' She responded. For some reason, I felt apprehensive. We arrived at school with time to spare. A few students had been mulling around outside, but their heads snapped up the moment we got there. 'Still popular I see.' I thought. Karma took me inside, ignoring the looks people gave her, and brought me to my locker. "Hey Maverick! So THIS is your new special pet. She's so cute! Can I pet her?" This is Akuol. She's a friend I just made recently, since our lockers are almost right next to each other. She's, um, well, a bit hyperactive, quirky, outgoing, weird... She's unique; let's just leave it at that. She reacts to everything in the oddest and most unpredictable manner. She's a really strong, rather tall black girl with many little braids in her almost shoulder length hair. She's also quite intelligent. Oh, and NOTHING makes her feel awkward. She once sat on the window sill in class and let me rest against her legs just because she was in the mood. As she bounded over to pet Karma, I saw her friend, who had become my friend as well, approach. "Hi Maverick. You missed yesterday. Did something happen? It's not like you to miss school." This is Christine. She's, um, pretty much the polar opposite of Akuol. Where Akuol is hyperactive, she's calm. Where Akuol is outgoing, she's shy, and I don't mean a little. We were once discussing how neither of really wanted to go to prom because we doubted we could find a date, amongst other reasons, when I told her that, unlike me, she was attractive. Instantly, she turned beet red and looked away. The discussion ended there. Her family is way too overprotective. As for looks, she's shorter then Akuol by about half a head. She's Lebanese with one large braid that falls to the small of her back. She's also VERY intelligent. A 90 for her is bad. Maybe she gets good grades because she can't leave her house alone, or maybe it's because she goes to bed at 8, so she gets a lot of sleep. As Akuol started to pet Karma, I sensed a slight annoyance in her, but it faded quickly. "Oh, she's SOOOOO cute. You're so lucky, Maverick. I wish I had a pet tiger." I smiled. "Don't we all. As for why I wasn't here, I was sick yesterday. Felt like I was dying." It was true enough. Akuol didn't react, but I saw a look of sympathy in Christine's eyes. She was accustomed to pain, since she often had pains from some deformity in her back. We spoke for a little about many subjects as students flocked the hallways to get their things for first period. Me and Christine had three classes together, everything but programming, so we usually walk there together. We bid adieu to Akuol and proceeded to French, still conversing about trivial matters. Once we got there, we split up. I went to my circle, she to hers. From the moment we got there, I hadn't disembarked from Karma's back. I was getting used to my new mount, and it was becoming quite enjoyable. We stood for the national anthem, and then I lay back down on Karma and directed my attention to the teacher. The day passed in bursts. At one moment it would drag on, the next it passed like a flash. In the end, once it was finally time to go, my stomach was in knots. As we exited Math, my friends came to give me some encouragement. "Good luck." Said Trisha. "Hope she's not a total *****." Tom added. "You'll do fine. If anything, you're more special then she is. After all, how many people can boast about having a pet tiger?" Sarah questioned. Chet didn't say anything, but the look he gave me told me more than words would ever manage. "Thanks guys. I'll do my best." I went back to my locker to store my things and saw Christine and Akuol, as well as one of Akuol's other friends. I think her name was Naomi. "So I was shopping the other day..." They were already deep in conversation, so I didn't bother interrupting. I stored my things and was about to leave when Christine suddenly leaned towards me. "See you Monday." She said with a shy smile. "Yeah, I will, bye!" We headed outside, but as we got near the door, I saw a very large group of students standing outside, much more than usual. "What's going on?" I said to no one in particular. Some random kid in front of me was pushed aside, and I saw it. I knew I was going to have somebody waiting for me. The PM said so. He said I would have a ride to his place. He didn't tell me what though, so I just guessed. My assumption was that a man in a black suit would lead me to a car, and we would go I DIDN'T assume that a long black limo with a whole security team would be waiting just outside the door. My surprise was short lived. Once I had gotten over it, I told Karma to go. She tried to advance, but unfortunately, the road was too crowded with people for us to get through. She tried to push a little, but because of her height, she got booped on the nose. That really pissed her off, and she gave a small roar, loud enough to attract everyone's attention. As they turned, she took a step forward, growling with a quite clear intention; Move. A path cleared itself quite quickly after that, and we proceeded to the vehicle. "Ah, Mr. Mailhot. We've been expecting you." A tall man said. He was dressed casually compared to the security team, which were all in impeccable black suits. "Please, step inside. There's plenty of room for both of you and a few of my men." I got off Karma and stooped to get in. She followed me, glancing around at the interior of the limo as I did. It was magnificent. A beautiful, vibrant blue which was lighted by dim lights with a slight blue tint, giving the whole room a watery feeling. In the corner, I saw a large cooler. The benches all faced each other, leaving the impression of a conference room. As I sat down across from the man in the casual clothes, also blue, Karma hopped op on the bench next to me and lay down with her head in my lap, staring at our host. Two of the security guards got in as well, leaving the rest to a different car. "So, may I offer you some refreshments? We have any soft drink you may like, as well as water, some juices, even some lightly alcoholic beverages that I'm sure you would be okay drinking." That last one was more of a question then anything. "Some water, please." I asked. One of the guards turned to the cooler and removed a bottle of water, handing it to me without a word. He turned back to the man, who asked for an apple juice, quite to my surprise, and then closed the cooler after handing him his drink. "Now that we're all settled in, I must inform you of the situation. Nothing bad, it's just procedure. We'll be arriving in about 15 minute's time. We will park in the underground garage and you will be brought upstairs where you will get a quick glimpse of the lady in question. After this, you will be brought to a briefing room and speak briefly with the PM, and then you shall meet his daughter, if all goes according to plan. Any questions?" "...No, no that was pretty well explained, thank you." I said, a little daunted by how complicated he had made it sound. "Oh wait, yes. Is there anything I should be prepared for, with the daughter that is? Quirks, deformities, other?" "Nothing out of the ordinary for an average teenage girl whose father is the PM, but I suppose you haven't met many of those. She's quite shy, very easily frightened. Your appearance-" "Is there anything else? Anything at all?" I cut him off quick and made a shushing motion, pointing at her and shaking my head. Even though Karma couldn't understand his words, she always seemed to know when someone began speaking of That. I glanced down and saw that her eyes were shut, which is unusual for her; she doesn't like it when she can't keep her eyes on someone she doesn't know when they're around me. It could only mean she was trying to control her emotions. "Um, yes." He began, disgruntled and annoyed at being silenced. "She is fragile, cautious. You need move slowly and carefully in the relationship you're going to be developing with her. Also, remember that if she appears uncomfortable, it's probably because of the topic of discussion, so try to change it if you can. There is so much I could tell you about her, we could be here for hours. Just do your best to read the mood and adapt to the situation; I'm told you're good at this." He sat back with a note of finality in his voice, making it clear he had no more to say on the matter. The rest of the ride passed in silence. I drank my water calmly. 'Karma.' I began after I filled her in on what had transpired between me and the man, leaving out the part about my looks. 'I don't want you starting off this new relationship on the wrong paw, so please keep any wild urges you may have bottled up.' She knew exactly what I meant. I wish I could've gotten someone to warn the girl, but it would only make things worse, I knew from experience. We arrived at the mansion on time, everything proceeded just as planned. I saw the girl from above as I walked by an archway that overhung a large gym. She was in a full body fencing suit, but her helmet was off as she listened to her teacher explain something. I could only see hair, but it was a very pretty shade of blond. We entered the room with the PM. He re-informed me of the deal we made, and then asked if I was still willing. I said yes. He told me we could discuss the terms in more detail later, as well as the cover story and anything else that may need to be addressed. "Paul, could you go get her please?" He said, turning to one of the few men in the room that weren't in impeccable black suits. He left immediately. "I must warn you, my daughter is very... impulsive. Please don't mind her mouth, she doesn't think before she speaks. Also, she has this tendency to, how should I say, disregard the situation. She hasn't had many friends, since it's such a risk, so she hasn't learnt much about interacting with people of her own age." He looked at me apologetically, but I was thinking that surely she couldn't be all that bad? At this specific moment, she came in. I could hear her, but I hadn't turned yet. I knew what would happen when I turned; everyone had the same first reaction, but this time Karma would be with me, and if she got pissed... 'Karma, don't hurt her, no matter what.' I thought to her. She didn't respond. I reached in the pocked and grabbed the remote. I had a really bad feeling. "H-hello." I heard. Her voice was sweet, but sounded quite young. I could hear exactly where she was, behind me, but a little to my left. Too bad it wasn't the right; I may have gotten away with it. I turned around slowly. "Hey, my name is Maverick." "It's nice to meet you, Maverick, my na-" She cut off. Karma's head snapped up. 'Don't hurt her!' I thought desperately, moving myself between the two and holding the remote tighter, my finger already hovering over the 6th button. "Oh my. What happened to your face?" I could almost feel Karma's hurricane of emotions rip her insides apart: self-hatred, agony, fear... But she stayed put. The girl was, by all means, very pretty. She had shiny blond hair, flawless beige skin, and beautiful purple eyes. 'Whoa, wait, what? Purple eyes?' I looked again, but it was true, her irises were a bright purple. She also looked... younger. She definitely didn't appear 17. "It's nothing. What did you say your name was again?" I smiled by reflex, but I always forget; smiling only makes it worse. I could see the look on her face, I could see the security guards tighten in, as if they knew something was going to happen. I waited, hopping she would be able to carry on without having to have an intervention. "I-it-it-it's R-R-Ra-Rainbow, but e-everyone calls me R-Rey." She was doing okay, but if she didn't recover fast, Karma would snap, I could feel it. "WELL! That was pleasant. How about we retire to my sitting room and get a light snack?" Stephen jumped in, clearly trying to offer us both a way out. "Yes, that sounds good. May I have a quick moment with Karma?" I asked, turning towards him. "By all means. Come Rey, let's go get things ready." I saw that she, just now, saw Karma, and the look on her face was even more incredulous. Her father moved swiftly around the table and led her out into the hallway, most of the other people following him. I was left with Karma, the man in blue and about half a dozen men in black. "Well, I'll take my leave as well. Good luck Maverick." He said before he departed with his men, leaving me alone with Karma. She was kneeling on the floor now, her stance submissive, ready to take whatever I saw fit to punish her with. I could still feel her powerful emotions coursing through her mind, so I kneeled down next to her and placed my hand on her flank. She shied away. 'Sweety, it wasn't your fault. You need to come to terms with that.' I told her. 'Please stop blaming yourself.' She didn't answer. She kept edging away from me. I sensed a powerful wave of regret pass through her. I sighed and leap forward, catching her between my arms and forcing her close to me. I could tell she wanted to apologise, could tell she wanted to make it right, that she wanted me to be mean to her, to hit her, anything to even the scale. 'No, Karma, stop it. I won't let you go till you've calmed down and we've talked about this.' 'Macky, don't. I don't deserve your compassion. I hurt you so bad, I almost killed you. I've mangled your body forever. WHY WON'T YOU GET MAD?' 'It wasn't you're fault!' 'Yes it was.' She wailed. 'I knew what was coming, I knew I was going to become dangerous, but I was scared of being alone, so you stayed, and you got hurt. I deserve to d-' I forced my mind into hers, to supress the word before she could think it. 'Never, ever try to do that, or I swear I'll follow you through the void.' She whimpered and sobbed next to me. I held her tighter, trying to prove to her that I still loved her. She was unreasonable whenever this subject came to light. A year after I found Karma, she ended up wounding me for the first and only time, but she's never lived it down since it scared me for life...

*****FLAAAASH BAAAACK*****

It was late autumn. The temperature was dropping, the leaves were changing colours, and Karma was starting to act weird. It wasn't very obvious in the beginning. At first, all I noticed was that she was a little more short tempered, that her emotional changes were a little more erratic. Then she began to spend more and more time hunting, and she when she came back, she was walking with a slight limp in her back legs. After that, she started smelling a little different. Her emotions got more extreme, and eventually she refused to sleep with me, instead staying in the forest at night. I was worried, of course, but every time I asked about it, she would just deny everything, brush it off so to say. I think she was trying to hide it from me, but she was doing a lousy job. As the days past, I could feel her emotions culminating into one big ending spectacular; fear. She was so distraught that she could hardly think straight. I was being affected by her fear, and I wanted, more than anything in the world, to help her through it. So I did. A week after it had started, I followed her into the forest. She would have been able to tell, easily, had she been in normal spirits, but fortunately for me, her fear blocked out even that. I followed her deep into the forest, deeper then I had ever even imagined of going in. She walked slowly, her breathing labored. Eventually she reached a clearing. She stopped here, sighing in relief. Now, I'm no expert, but even I, a human, could smell her scent all over the clearing. It smelt like she had lived here her whole life; every leaf, every blade of grass was covered in it. It wasn't her normal scent either. It was the weird, different one she had gotten recently. It smelt very sweet, and it aroused and odd feeling in me; something I wasn't accustomed to. As I watched with morbid curiosity, she approached a tree at the far end of the clearing and placed her rump against it. I watched, dumbfounded, as she rubbed herself against it, hard. Realisation hit me like a sack of bricks. 'She's in heat.' Once I thought it, I knew I couldn't be wrong: The scent, the mood swings, the separation. She didn't want me involved. I was willing to bet she didn't even know what was happening. I smiled inside. I could help her through this. Hell, I could explain the whole thing to her. I had read up on tigers a lot since I had got her, I knew my around them. As I stepped forward, her head snapped up. For a split second, her eyes were clouded with pain and something else; pleasure would have been my guess. Then they cleared, and I saw the fear return, stronger than ever. 'What are you doing here?!' She thoughtshouted. 'Don't worry, sweety, I know what you're going through. I can tell you all ab-' 'NO, Macky, it's different for my species. When we go into our first heat, we become wild, savage beasts. No male should come within our line of sight. And as soon as one does...' She looked at me, the fear in her eyes clouding over. 'Macky, get out of here, NOW!' I stepped back once. As soon as I did, I saw her body lurch forward a step. Her mind was gone, all a haze of need as she stared me down. She took a step towards me, then another, seeking only to quench the fire that burned within her. I was terrified, as you can imagine. What had started out as a desire to help had turned into a very bad situation; I was about to be raped. So I did exactly what she told me. I turned to run. It was probably the worst thing to do. I couldn't have taken more than 5 steps before she was in front of me. She leaped into me and pushed me back. I stumbled and fell on my back. She pounced on me, leaving me no room to move. She sniffed around my crotch, searching for what should be there, but was hidden from her by my clothes. She knew it was there, and she wanted it, bad. She brought her paw up and tried, in vain, to pull my pants down. She became frustrated quickly, biting and clawing at them, but to no avail. By now I had recovered from the shock. I tried to push her away. I crossed my legs to make her task harder. I did everything I could to get away, but she wouldn't budge. "KARMA!" I shouted. That got her attention. For a moment, just a fleeting second, she paused. I ripped myself out from under her with the pure strength of my arms and legs, and the adrenalin that was surely thick in my blood. I jumped to my feet and made a mad dash for the trees. She wouldn't have it. In an instant, she was ahead of me again. She roared at me, full force, and reared up, one paw sailing backwards. Too late, I realised her intent. Her paw shot forwards towards me. I managed to turn, just a little, so that I wouldn't lose my eye, but her claws sailed through the air and ripped out four long gashes on the left side of my face. I screamed. I saw her eyes snap back into focus. She realised what she had done. She ran away, blindly, leaving me to fall to the ground, hands clutching at my torn skin. I would wake, later, in the hospital. I would be told that I was saved by some hunter who, miraculously, heard my cry and came running. I would be visited by my parents. Comforting word would be shared, condolences as well. But at that specific moment, the only thing I could think of was how scared I was for Karma. "She'll be fine, Maverick. She's a tiger for god's sake." My mother was hysteric. She had promised me that she would personally flay Karma as soon as she was found. I told her that if she laid so much as a finger on her, I would do to myself 10 times the damage she did to Karma. She couldn't understand my desire to protect her, but she was not happy with it. My father was more understanding. We only spoke briefly while my mother was in the restroom, but he told me that he would make sure nothing happened to Karma, if it was within his power. On the fifth day after I woke, the PM came by. He reminded me of our deal; Karma couldn't be considered dangerous. I told him it wouldn't happen again, that I had it under control, which I hoped was true. On the sixth day, they told me that I was very lucky; my mouth would suffer no permanent damage, but it would forever be distorted by the mark she had left on it. It extended from the corner of my lips to the base of my jaw. The other three were just above, with about an inch between each. They told me that the scars were permanent, unless I wanted plastic surgery done, which I declined. They told me that they would probably ruin most of my social life, that I would be judged because of them, and that keeping Karma a secret would be that much more difficult. They knew about her now, my doctor as well as one of the nurses, but they promised to keep it secret. I didn't really care, so long as I could see her again. I was released the next day, a week after I had entered. My parents drove me home and tried to take care of me. They offered to get whatever I wanted, but as soon as I was home, I left for the forest. They tried to stop me, and when that failed, they tried to follow me, but I soon left them turning in confused circles. I walked back to the clearing where I had been maimed. Nothing could distract me from my goal. It took much longer this time, since I wasn't sure where I was going, but eventually I made it. She wasn't there, as I expected, but she would be soon. I sat down in the middle of the clearing and opened my mind, pushing it out as far as I could in all directions. I couldn't feel her yet, but that mattered little. I gathered a big breath and shouted, with my mind and my body, as hard as I could. "KARMA!" I got no answer, so I kept at it. Every few moments, I would shout again. In my voice it was clear what I was conveying; I wouldn't leave until she came and atoned for her actions. I would sit there until I died if that's what it took. After an hour, I increased the interval between my yells to a minute, since I was getting tired, but I didn't stop. It took another two and a half hours before she finally showed up. She appeared at the edge of the clearing, a shadow amongst the trees. I turned my face and stared her in the eyes. I refused to break eye contact, and she was forced to look away. She padded forward, head and tail drooping submissively. She moved slowly, fearfully towards me. I waited patiently as she settled down in front of me, bowing her whole body and waiting for whatever I had planned for her. "So, a whole week without seeing you, and I get no greeting?" I asked mildly. She didn't answer, just continued to stare at the ground, waiting. I smiled. She was so innocent, so pure, that I couldn't keep up my charade any longer. I stood up and stepped towards her, causing her to flinch slightly in fear. I kneeled down in front of her. "Raise your head." I said. She complied. I leaned in and hugged her, much to her surprise. "I'm not mad, sweety. It wasn't your fault." Was all I said. I felt all the tension leave her body as she started crying. We sat there for well over another hour as she wept. She tried, more than once, to speak to me, but every time she did try, she failed and only wept harder. I just caressed her head the whole time, waiting patiently as she cried for what was probably only the second or third time in her whole life. Finally, she started to stop. Once she was down to small snivels, she thought: 'I'm sorry Macky, I'm so sorry.' "It's nothing. Common, let's go home."

***** Flash back over *****

We avoided that subject like the plague. It had only risen once before with her and other humans around, and when it did, she almost killed the other person. I told her not to worry about it; that I didn't bother me; that it wasn't her fault, but she never listened. And now, once again, she was in tears because of the whole ordeal. I held her in my arms, refusing to let her move as she struggled to get away without hurting me. 'Karma, I won't let you go till we get this out of the way. You did nothing wrong. You can't stop your instincts. You can't be perfect. You tried your best to keep me uninvolved. It was MY choice to come help you, mine and no one else's. It's my fault I got hurt, and I wouldn't change any of my actions. You mean too much to me. So please, stop beating yourself up over it.' Her tears slowed gradually over the next 5 minutes. Her fur was slick with them, turning it a dull orange instead of its usual lustre. 'I'm so sorry Macky. I'm so, so sorry.' 'It's nothing. You've saved my life more than once now, and for some reason you still freak out about this. Let it go.' She tried, I could tell, but the sense of responsibility would never leave her. 'Common, we're being waited on. Please, at least don't get mad when other people speak of it.' I asked as I stood. 'I'll try.' I smiled to her and waited as she stood next to me. I then mounted her and we exited the room. I realised, quite quickly, that I didn't know where to go. He had said something about his sitting room, whatever that was. I stopped the first person I saw and asked for directions. They pointed to a door that was, quite literally, a few feet from our position. "Convenient." I said as we stepped inside. First I saw the PM sipping at a cup of what I assumed was either coffee or tea. I hoped he had other options; I hated both of them. Next I saw his daughter. She seemed to have calmed down, and was drinking just like her father. The third thing I saw were the security guards, only 4 now. "Ah, Maverick. Good to see you again. Are things all settled?" He asked. His tone was kind but guarded. He was trying to get a grip on the situation without re-inflaming the hostility. "Everything should be fine now, Mr. Harper." "Please, call me Stephen. Now then, I believe we had just finished introductions?" "Almost. Rey, this is Karma. She's a tiger. Karma, this is Rey. She's a human." A light laughter filled the room. After a second I realised it was Rey. 'When did she get so relaxed?' I thought to myself. "Please to make your acquaintance. I apologise for my actions earlier, but I don't fare well with unexpected turns. Please, come join us." She said as she indicated the cushion next to hers on the loveseat. I was a little... unnerved when she pointed at it, but I sat down anyway, as far from her as I could manage in the limited space. Karma came and law down next to the loveseat. "May I offer you some refreshments? We have almost anything you could possibly want." She smiled, trying to be a good host I assumed. "Some water for both of us, please." I asked. I couldn't help but notice that she was just a little closer on the loveseat then she had been when I had sat down. Didn't they say that she was cautious, fragile? Where did this sudden confidence come from? As the guards mobilised to fill my order, Stephen began to outline the whole situation. "So, in a quick resume; you'll sleep here for tonight and get acquainted with my daughter, and then tomorrow you'll return to your house so she can get used to life over there. The story is simple; she's your cousin whose mother just died and who never knew her father, and she's coming to your school and living at your house since she has nowhere else to go. Sound good?" The whole shpeal had taken over an hour, and the resume, which said the same if not more, took less than one minute... "Yeah, sounds good..." Also, while we had been talking, Rey had scooted a little closer on the couch, and although there was still more than a half a foot between us, I felt super uncomfortable. "Great. I'll give you two until diner to learn about each other, and all of the rest of the night as well, I guess. Have fun!" He proceeded to leave, bringing his four guards with him. "Well, seems we're all alone now." She said, turning to look at me. "Sooo, ask me something, I'm in the mood to talk." "Your father, he seems very... relaxed about your security. Leaving you alone with a boy he doesn't even know?" She laughed again. "It was my idea, not his. I don't think you would do anything to me; you have the feel of a good person." As she said this, she got up, making me feel much better, and went to get something from the fridge in the room. "You want something?" "No, I'm okay." "K." She came back and sat down in the chair her father had occupied with some juice. "I bet you're wondering how old I am, aren't you?" ... Was it that obvious? "Yeah, I am. You don't look 17." "That's because I'm not, I'm 14. I've had a personal tutor for my whole life, so I'm on a 12th grade level. It would have been more convenient if you were a little younger, but oh well." She smiled wide at me. "Ask me something else." 'That was hardly a question.' I thought. "You're eyes..." "Are beautiful, aren't they? I've got my mother's eyes. She says her whole family's eyes were purple, but none of her family is still alive." Her face fell a little for a moment, but it didn't last long. "Keep um coming." I asked her a few more: Have you ever met a child around your age(no), what's your best subject in school(Art), do you ever feel lonely(yes, plus a hella long explanation of why)... "Let me talk for a change, I can't think of any questions anyway." I said after what must have been the 20th question I asked her. "Alright, let's see. Why do you have a tiger?" I told her the whole story, minus the usual parts. "I see. Sounds like you two have gone through a lot together." "Yes, yes we have." "Was it her who gave you those?" She said as she pointed at my face. Karma, who had dosed off, jump to her feet and growled at her. 'Karma, let it be. It doesn't matter.' I thought. "Yes, but it wasn't her fault, and she doesn't like it when people talk about them." "I thought she couldn't understand me." "She knows; she always knows when someone is talking about them." "I see..." We talked about a lot during the next hour, of what I won't summarise, suffice to say we covered a lot of topics. Finally, it was dinner time. We ate hamburgers, which tasted heavenly, and then afterwards she insisted upon something I would never have expected... "YOU like video game?" I asked, incredulous. "Indeed." We were in her room and I was staring at an X-box 360, a Wii and a PS3 and a couple computers, amongst others. "I find them an entertaining way to challenge my reflexes, strategic skills, whatever the game might entail. So, pick one." She threw open a door to what I had assumed was a walk-in closet. I was right; expect that it had walls piled high with video games. They were divided by console and then by genre. If I would have counted, I would probably have gone over 2000. As it were, I just stared, open mouthed. "IF" She said, bringing me back to earth. "I might make a suggestion." She pointed to a shelf apart from the others. "Those are my favorites or the ones I'm playing currently." Safe to say I was in heaven. The rack she pointed at contained some good stuff. Games based on manga, shooters, RTS's, stealth and assassination, strategy. She seemed to prefer games with supernatural abilities, if I wasn't mistaken. I picked a Naruto game that I knew well and sat down. She was GOOD. I don't think I've ever seen such a good opponent in this game. I didn't win one round, and we played for a long time. At first it was just for fun, but I quickly got frustrated that I could barely even touch her. After a few rounds, I could tell she was playing to win too. I picked my best people, I used my longest combos, I even tried to mix it up, but nothing I did could get at her. "My god, how?" I said after my twentieth loss in a row. "How are you so good?" She smiled in a sad way. "When you don't have any friends, you have to find a different way to kill time. I've played these games for over 100 hours each. My favourites, that is." I must have seemed shocked, because she said: "It's not that bad. They're good games, and I never run out of new ones to play. But... I think I had more fun in those 20 rounds with you then I've ever had playing alone." She looked over at me, a weird combination of happiness and sadness in her purple eyes. I realised, now, just what they had meant by her being fragile; it wasn't that she was scared of people; it was because she was scared of the fact that she was inexperienced with people. I smiled back to her mischievously, causing her to flinch just a little. "Well, we have ALLLLLL night. Let's get a strategy game, I find those are more challenging." We were up past midnight when someone finally came by to tell us that we would leave at noon the next day, so we could schedule the rest of time here accordingly. "Let's go to bed at 2. Then we can get up whenever and still be ready on time." She said. "Are you already packed?" I asked, rather surprised. "Mh-hm. No friends, remember? I've been packed since yesterday." We kept playing until 2, as she said, and then we got ready for bed. I was just finishing up when I realised something. "Where am I sleeping?" I asked. "Where's the guest bedroom?" She looked at me, surprised. "Actually, I thought you could sleep in my room." ........."UMMMMMM, and your fathers cool with this?" "Sure, what's the problem? I've read that girls always sleep in the same room during a sleep over, sometimes even in the same bed." "GIRLS do. Just encase you haven't noticed, I'm not a girl." "So? What are you scared of, it's not like I'm going to rape you in the middle of the night. Common, I have two beds in my room. I had one brought in when I heard you were sleeping over." 'So innocent.' I thought. 'She really is carefree...' I looked over to Karma, who I had pretty much ignored all night long. 'Did you get the chance to hunt, sweety?' 'Yep. So, this new girl. She seems okay, despite her... rather open curiosity.' She looked over at Rey, who was currently brushing her hair in front of a large mirror. 'She seems so lonely, like I would have been if I hadn't met you.' 'So, you're okay with her? She will be living with us, after all.' 'It could have been much worse.' Was all she said. 'Common, I'm tired.' She hopped up onto the bad and curled up, waiting for me. I got in beside her and turned so I was facing Rey. She had finished with her hair and climbed into her own bed, and now she was looking at us with a mingled look of surprise and excitement. "You sleep in the same bed as her, yet you're scared of sleeping in the same room as a girl?" I just sighed. "I've known her since she was born, so I've never really thought about it that way." She laughed. "Sure, sure. Goodnight Maverick. Goodnight Karma." "Goodnight Rainbow." 'Goodnight Karma, from both of us.' 'Goodnight Macky. Tell Rainbow goodnight for me.' "Karma say's goodnight too." She laughed again, and was silent.