Iris was sitting at the desk in her room, tapping away on her laptop, when Chip barged in loudly. His sudden appearance nearly startled her out of her chair. She took a deep breath, and let it out, trying to contain both her fright and irritation. She hadn’t been in the mansion long, yet for some reason the kid had attached himself to her like a little brother. And like a kid brother, he seemed to appear out of nowhere at the worst times.

“Rayne! Someone just delivered a bunch of packages for you! And one of ‘em is screamin’!”

“Screaming?” Iris eyed him suspiciously. She’d already been on the receiving end of a few his and his friends’ practical jokes, and while she was expecting some things from home, a ‘screaming package’ sounded like another setup.

“Yeah! Can’t you hear it?” He opened the door wider and grabbed her arm to pull her to her feet and into the hallway. “See??” She listened, but didn’t hear anything unusual. She gave Chip a disbelieving look. He rolled his eyes. “Come on! I promise I’m not lying! Ya gotta come see!” He pulled her down the hall toward the stairs.

As they neared the main floor, a weird sound did reach her ears, almost like nails on a chalkboard, but more grating. As they got closer to the foyer, Iris abruptly recognized it as a yowl. A very familiar yowl.

“Ebony??” Iris rounded the corner to find a stack of boxes sitting in the middle of the floor. On the floor besides the cardboard mound was an animal carrier. Iris got down on her hands and knees and peered in. Two slitted blue eyes stared back at her. “Oh, I’m sorry Eb! I know how much you hate the bad box.” The yowling paused for a split second, followed by a pathetic, “Mrreow.”, before it began again, even louder. Iris winced. She felt sorry for the courier who’d had to endure such torture. She sighed and straightened again, and turned to look at the boxes. As much as she wanted to let her pet out and stop the racket, it would be wise to get the boxes to her room first.

“Hey Chip, can you get some of your friend to come hel-Chip! NO!!” Iris turned just in time to see Chip bend over and stick a finger into the carrier. Ebony hissed and lashed out at him. He pulled back, accidently unlatching the carrier door as he did. All Iris could do was watch as the beige and brown blur bolted out of the box and across the foyer into the living room. “Make sure all the doors and windows are shut!” she yelled at Chip. Wide-eyed he nodded and ran off toward the kitchen and the back door.

Iris skidded into the living room, trying to keep her cat in sight. All she could think of was keeping her from bolting outside. If that happened she’d never see her again.

Iris rounded the corner just in time to see a brown tail disappear behind the entertainment center. She grabbed the wall to keep herself from slipping on the floor, then got on her hands and knees to crawl slowly toward the TV. She lay flat on the ground, eyeing the impossibly tight space her cat had managed to wedge herself into. A low, gutteral growl greeted her. Iris sighed, both relieved and frustrated. She reached slowly under the TV.

"Take it easy, Eb. It's just me. Calm down, sweetie." A hiss told Iris that Eb had no intention of calming down, and a swipe of the claws made her intentions crystal clear. Iris resisted the urge to yelp, instead hissing herself as she retracked her bleeding hand. "Smart move, Iris," she murmurred aloud, and sat upright. "Now what?" She clicked her tongue thoughtfully, considering how to extract her grumpy pet, without becoming a scratching post in the meantime.

Nika didn't need her acute hearing to know something was going on nearby. She headed down the hall a little further as her ears twitched this way and that trying to figure out what the commotion was about.

Looking into the living room she saw a girl by the T.V. and there was blood on her hand. "Hey are you ok?" Nika moved quickly to the girl to see if she needed help. "What happened?"

Iris ran her unscathed hand through her hair, wondering why she'd ever decided to adopt a siamese cat. Why not a calico? They're easy-going. Or even a tabby. But no. She had to get a siamese. And not just a siamese. A siamese-persian mix. Twice the fur, twice the attitude, and twice the yowl. <"Perfect.">

"Hey, are you okay?"

Iris nodded at the unfamiliar voice without looking up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just having a chat with a cat who thinks she's Cleopatra. She sighed and pressed her face to the floor again to match gazes with her pet. "I guess the new surroundings freaked her out a bit more than I expected. You know how finicky cats can be...." Her words trailed off as she straighted and looked at who she was talking to. Her eyes widened, and she flushed in embarassment. "Oh, um....That is to say....I mean....I didn't mean to...." Iris's attempt to salvage her statement failed pathetically. She smiled weakly, sincerely hoping she hadn't offended the girl.

She watched the girl look under the T.V. while talking about her pet cat. When the girl sat up after making her comment about finicky cats and noticing Nika's cat features; Nika couldn't help but smile and giggle a little. "You know, I wish I had a camera right now cause your expression is priceless." She squated down so that she was more eye level with Iris and offered her hand to greet her new aquaintance. "I'm Nika. Don't worry you didn't offend me."

She lowered her head to the floor and looked to see the cat. When she saw another pair of eyes gazing back at her Nika smiled. "Would you like some help?"

"Nice to meet you Nika. I'm Iris." She returned the handshake with a slightly less embarassed smile. Then she gestured toward the TV. "And this is Ebony. She just arrived, and got loose before I could get her to my room."

"Would you like some help?"

Iris nodded. "Sure. Just...watch out for her claws. I haven't had the chance to replace her Soft Paws yet. Obviously." She shook her injured hand, and added Soft Paws to her mental shopping list. She glanced around.

"Maybe, if I could find some water..." she thought aloud.

Kesuk was on his way back from the kitchen from eating his snack and brought a glass of water with him to look for Nika. He walked by several rooms and didnt find her. Finally he arrived at the living room and went inside. There nika was with her head lowered along with another girl he had not met, but then again he hasnt met alot of people.
" Um... what are you girls up to" he said smiling.

A familiar voice filled Nika's ears and she sat up to see Kesuk. "I thought you were going to bed cause you were tired?" She smiled at him and then filled him in on the situation. "This is Iris and her cat Ebony is behind the T.V. and is being difficult. I was just gonna help Iris get her cat."

Looking back under the T.V. at Ebony Nika moved closer slowly and spoke softly. "Hi Ebony. I'm Nika. You're going to be ok." She slowly reached out for Ebony who wasn't quite ready to come out yet and lashed out and clawed Nika's hand just like she did to Iris' hand. The sudden sharp pain made her adrenaline burst into action. She clenched her teeth and pulled back her hand quickly. At the same time the claws in her other hand dug into the wood floor. "Eeeee!"

Taking a few relaxing breaths calmed her down and she retracted her claws from the floor. A sight she was now feeling terrible about and hoped she wouldn't have to pay to get it fixed. "I don't think she's quite ready to come out yet."

Iris looked up as another new face entered the room. Even from her spot on the floor she could tell he was taller than she was, something she wasn't used to seeing. She waved hello as Nika introduced her, then turned her attention back to her pet. For a brief moment she thought that Nika was going to manage to coax her out.

Only for a moment. Iris jumped a bit as Eb hissed and Nika reacted. He eyes widened again as she saw Nika's claws.

"I don't think she's quite ready to come out yet."

Apparently that wasn't completely true. As Nika pulled back, Ebony bolted out of her hiding spot. For a heart stopping moment, Iris thought she was going to head for another room. Instead she zipped between the guy's legs and underneath one of the sofas. Iris scuttled to the far side, trying to avoid knocking the guy over as she attempted to cut off another escape route. "Sorry! Sorry." She only vaugely noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt; her mind was elsewhere at the moment.

"Come on, Eb. Behave! Don't make me use the water..." She let the threat hang in the air, knowing full well her grumpy pet had no intention of behaving.

Kesuk smiled as Nika intorduced him to Iris. He had seen what the cat did to Nika and after the cat ran in between his legs he rushed to Nika side to make sure she was all right. He then seen the claw marks and realized what Nika was really capable of. "do you need some help with your kitty?" he asked as he was helping Nika up
"Are you ok?" he said looking at her hands, and then into her eyes again.

"Yeah I'll be ok. I've had worse happen to me." She looked into kesuk's eyes and smiled. "Thanks for checking on me though." Then she turned her attention back to Ebony. Iris had already blocked the cat's escape so Nika crouched down on the opposite side of the sofa.

"Let's try this again." Nika looked under the sofa and once again spotted Ebony's eyes looking back at her. This time Nika started to purr softly. She continued that for a little bit before slowly reaching out for the cat once more. The effect was a bit different this time. Ebony smelled Nika's hand for a moment and gave her a quick lick. Smiling Nika carefully scooped up the cat and pulled her out from under the sofa. She continued to purr as she pet Ebony who was also purring now.

"Here you go Iris." Nika held out the cat for Iris to take. "See Ebony, it's not so bad here. We can be friends."

Iris sighed in relief as Nika extracted Ebony without a fuss this time. "Thank you! The last time this happened she managed to get herself stuck under the bathroom cabinet. I had to use water hands to get her out." Iris rolled her eyes. "She would talk to me for days. Not that I blame her." She gently took the feline from Nika, careful not to jostle her. Nika's purring seemed to keep her calm.

Chip came skidding around the corner. "All the doors are locked!" he exclaimed before he noticed what had happened. Ebony's ears flattened slightly, and she hissed at him. Iris was careful to keep a grip on her this time though. She gave the thirteen-year-old an older sister look, one that told him wasn't completely off the hook yet. "Do me a favor," she told him. "Get that wrecking crew of yours together and see if you can move those boxes into my room, without breaking anything. 'kay?"

"Sure thing." He grinned hugely, and Iris began to wonder if that had been a wise suggestion. He was a telekinetic, after all......

Shaking her head, she turned to Nika and the guy. "Sorry about your hand Nika. I think I have a first aid kit in my car if it really bad." She rubbed Ebony behind her ears as she continued to purr. She turned to the guy, having to look up slightly. "Sorry, I didn't get your name."

Kesuk walked and stood behind Nika hugging her from behind after she gave the cat to Iris. Kesuk wondered what she met by water hands. maybe it had to do with her mutation. And it amazed Kesuk how well Nika handeled that cat and how she purred.

Kesuk looked at the kid that came by, but didnt pay him much attention, becuase he was whispering in Nika's ear if she was alright and that she is very pretty amongnst other things. Then Iris asked for his name
" the name is Kesuk, and Nika told me yours is Iris right?" he asked as came from behind Nika and put his hand out to shake it

Nika kept purring but for a different reason now. She was purring because Kesuk was holding her. His toned arms and larger frame made her feel so tiny but safe. She gently rested the side of her head against his chest as he whispered to her. "Yeah I'm ok. I've had much worse than a scratch on the hand."

When Kesuk reached out to shake Iris' hand Nika showed her two big battle scars. First she lifted up her shirt to expose her right side and the two inch scar that went slant ways down her side. Then she took off her collar and tilted her head to sho the worst scar she has on the left side of her neck. "This one almost killed me, but I'm strong so I made it ok." After Kesuk and iris got a good look at her battle wounds she pulled her shirt back down and put her collar back on.

After Kesuk shook iris' hand he turned to look at Nika and her scars. The sight made him angry at who could do that to Nika. After he had seen them, he went over hugged her and told her
" you are strong but not just physically and mentally in here." as he pointed to her heart. Then he gave her peck on the lips and went to her side and held her waist, gently but still firmly.
" so Iris, i was wondering what did you mean by water hands earlier?" he asked