They were not that much past Mongolia when he drifted for the first time. " Ulaanbaatar." He mumbled and stole a glance to the girl that he had some how ended up next to was he getting closer to him or was he getting closer to her, all he knew was that she was warm and that was nice. Was she falling asleep too? He pulled the covers up over their legs and started again. “Myanmar usssed to be known as Burma?”

His weight shifted as he spoke and the next thing he knew, or didn't know rather, he was asleep and next to her, His body was still conscious enough to seize and hang on to any source of heat it could. His arm pulled up the covers a bit further and then draped over her. He then snuggled in, much as if they were puppies and they found a wonderland of blankets and warmth.

The only honest difference is they weren’t puppies…Katrina could probably make them appear to be puppies.

>>>“Myanmar usssed to be known as Burma?”

Katrina mumbled something unintelligible that might have been, “Naypyidaw.”

She had every intention of moving to the floor once he fell asleep, she really did. She hadn't anticipated being almost asleep herself by the time that happened. She felt him pull the covers over them, but at that point it didn't matter any more. She was too far gone to care any more about everything being proper. The three inch thick blankets were nice, but snuggling next to another person was even nicer on such a cold night.

...

It was dark in the room when the red tailed dream god Morpheus entered. He opened his big book of dreams and paged through it thoughtfully. At one point he glanced at the pair in the bed and was startled to see that there were two rather than one. In that case, he muttered to himself while flipping to the very last section of the book. He ripped out a page and shook it out until it had regained its original size and shape. It was a doorway, old fashioned and carved out of dark wood. The carvings were of animals and half animals dancing around a tree of life. The carvings seemed to move, but only when no on was looking. There you go, small ones. Have fun, the dream bringer whispered.

The girl in the bed looked around, then slipped out from between the blankets. It was cold in the bedroom because it was snowing. There was already half an inch blowing back and forth, trying to lap it's way over her toes. Small white flakes landed in her hair as she made her way towards the door. She turned back toward the bed as she touched the handle, to see if the boy was coming too.

A parka emerged from the covers. and imediately It demanded to know the capital of China! It ran to her but not in a threatening way. the demand was urgent but once again not threatening.

Katrina’s fingers slipped off of the door knob. How could she not know China! Oh no!?! Her room shifted and they were both much smaller and at the edge of her bed, the landscape was discarded clothing most of which was underwear. And then a nose, a gigantic nosebegan to walk out from under the bed at the pair. The parka turned toward her.

“quickly, the capital of China.”The parka recomended.

Katrina bit her lip. “ Bejing?”

“quickly, the capital of China.” The parka replied.

“ Bejing!” Katrina shouted.

“of course” the Parka agreed.

A colorful hand shot out from underneath the Parka and pulled her in.

The nose quickend its pace.

“ Bejing!” the pair chuckled together. A small female left hand and a colorful right hand shot out from the all enveloping parka.

The nose Stood still. A rainbow beam shot out from the colorful hand just as a beam of invisibility shot from her own. They impacted on each other and into the nose. The nose exploded with a Hiss! A cat’s hiss.
------------------
Had they shared the same dream? Was it possible?

Koga’s head burrowed into a mess of blonde hair. And he pulled her closer. closer than he had ever been to a girl. awake or other wise. He was gloriously warm and going no where, but still not awake,

The cat's hiss trailed to a low end. On the bed, the intruder in the starry blanket pulled the innocent thirteen year old closer to his own unwelcome self.

He was short.

He was Asian.

He smelled like something that had been rolled in an uncouth trunk and carted around the state.

He was in the bed of Katrina Dumonde.

He was dead.

The door to the room was pushed open the slightest crack; the cat sat at the side of the bed, its deep blue eyes as condemning as the ocean's depths. It was large, ginger-stripped, and perfectly still.

Then it was leaping, in a light arc directly upwards that landed it heavily on the chest of the blemish in Katrina's sheets. It stretched out one paw and set it on the boy's adam's apple. Its claws stroked out from their sheathes, caressing the skin with all the gentle care of a Mafioso boss wishing Vinny the Snitch a pleasant night's sleep down by the river.

"You," he said lowly, the words hissing out cordially past the tabby's sharp teeth, "have some explaining to do."

Katrina was warm and comfortable. She had no desire to be awake yet. It was still too early to be awake, as indicated by the absence of sunlight streaming in through the windows. If the sun wasn't going to get up yet, than neither was she. If she hadn't had a geography final, she might very well have stayed in bed until noon. The least she could do was stay in bed until her alarm went off.

What woke her up was not the usual raucous song issuing forth from the cd player clock across the room. It was something much softer, but also much closer. A voice, hissing,
>>>"You" ... "have some explaining to do."

Mwah? Katrina opened her eyes and turned groggily toward the voice. What was it talking about? And... why was there an arm hugging her? It was much to early for such mysterious happenings. She was going back to sleep. She reached out her hand and tapped it on top of the thing making the fuss. Nine more minutes please.

Koga as stated previously was comfy, warm and asleep at the polar opposite of that was awake, aware, and ready to defend him self. He grumbled and swatted at something that had pricked at his throat as he came awake. Like a sleep pair of scissors the teen’s arms tried to snooze and shoo the annoyance, they had both had long nights and were recovering in only a way that adolescents could slumbernation. Teens had a long time ago perfect something in between slumber or a deep sleep and hibernation the ability to sleep through just about anything.
"You," "have some explaining to do."

Koga opened his eyes ever so slightly, his subconscious looking out for him even when his conscious was to wary. Katrina had a cat. A cat that was on him….Katrina! The bed. Her body! Her scent ! Her! So very close were all of three of those things that the young man sprung out of bed and the covers knocking any small animals and possibly the proper owner of the bed out of his way. Unless of course either of them hung on. It was interesting to go from asleep to awake within less than a second. His unconsciousness was still running the show so when he leapt, and he leapt on to the wall and ran up it, it seemed perfectly normal….to his recently awoken self.

What had they done? Did they do something? His cheeks immediately flared red and he began to apologize to Katrina. The antagonist went completely unnoticed as only a house pet.

“I am sssoooooooo sssorry Kat, I didn’t mean to fall asssleep I wasss going to move to the floor after we were done,… Ssstudying.”

Now whether the Cat heard cat or Kat was not his concern as he wasn’t used to explaining himself to cats. And certainly wasn’t at the moment though if the day went much like a Mafioso would have the day go then he might get used to it before the day was out.

Calley was head-pat. Head-pat like an errant alarm. If it was anyone but Kat, they would pay for--

--HOLY LIZARD BOY PROPELLED FLIGHT OFF THE BED!

The large tom landed on his feet, if by 'landing on his feet' you count clawing the edge of a comforter to take it down with you. They were his feet: they landed. Then the rest of him landed on his back, comforter puddling in heavy waves on top.

A sputtering, hissing, tail-poofing feline of fury emerged from the bed to yowl up at the boy on the wall. "That's right!" He hissed. "That's right, punk! You better run! You better stay up there! 'Cause guess what? An inch lower, and you're in my range." He illustrated this point with a leap, and a claw swipe that might not have been good for Kat's wall paint.

Then again, maybe wall paint appreciates being touched now and again. Wall paint has feelings too, you know. Feelings that like to be aired, and aerated.

>> “I am soooooooo sorry Kat, I didn’t mean to fall asleep I was going to move to the floor after we were done,… Studying.”

Heartbeat.

Pause.

Of.

Ear.

Laying.

Back.

Fury.

" 'Studying'?" The feline parroted, its head turning back over its shoulder in a fairly decent poltergeist imitation as its dark blue eyes--eclipsed now by fully dilated black pupils--demanded some explanation from the only one in this room it would believe. Some explanation that didn't carry a connotation that Katrina was clearly too young for.

Clearly.

Clearly, or so help him. It couldn't be that hard to drive all the single men from the Mansion.

Fuzzy alarm clocks, what a good idea. Everyone should get one. They felt just like kitten fur on the top.

Quite suddenly the lizard boy whom she had been cuddling shot straight out of the bed, sending covers, cats, and Kats flying. The blonde teen was propelled toward the head of the bed with the lizard boy, but became disentangled rather quickly due to the combined forces of gravity, friction, and the headboard of the bed. With a *thunk* and an “oww”, she rolled and fell off the opposite edge of the bed from the cat.

There was a lizard boy on her wall. And a talking cat trying to claw at him. The adrenaline that was quite suddenly pumping through her veins made her very awake, but no more able to comprehend what was going on. The last thing she remembered was Kuwait - Kuwait City.

>>>“I am soooooooo sorry Kat, I didn’t mean to fall asleep I was going to move to the floor after we were done,… Studying.”

Katrina's eyes widened. The test! What time was it? She hadn't missed it had she? Was there any time left to memorize the last half of the capitals? Katrina scrambled back over the bed to the floor on the other side and started frantically searching though the discombobulated bedclothes for the geography book.

>>>" 'Studying'?"

The cat, Calley, was giving her indignant look. His fuzzy alarm clock ears were laying flat against his head and he resembled somewhat a snake that was about to strike. His voice hissed in a way that did not entirely have to do with his pointed teeth and sandpaper tongue.

Katrina's mouth dropped open. She was not too young to understand those implications. Her cheeks quickly reddened.

“Nothing like that. He... he was helping me learn the countries and the capitals for the geography test. I was going to move to the floor after he fell asleep, but I guess I fell asleep too.”

The cat is talking.he thought as he watched this surreal proceding. Some part of his brain wishing that he could simply be back in bed warm.the rest of it still to shocked and in awe at what was playing out below him. “The Cat isss talking!” He was still babbling a bit as he had been awoken and cornered by a talking cat. How was he supposed to know that mutants could turn into cats? And said mutant cats were apparently protective of Katrina. Not that it shouldn’t be protective.“And going to hurt me, I think.”

'Studying'?"


“Nothing like that. He... he was helping me learn the countries and the capitals for the geography test. I was going to move to the floor after he fell asleep, but I guess I fell asleep too.”

If she was explaining herself to the cat maybe he should too, no telling who this was, this could have been Xavier for all he knew.

“I apologizsse for this missster? Missster cat, I know I ssshouldn’t have been in her room itsss just that it was cold outssside and Katrina was nice enough to let me ssstay, no one anssswered at the gate or door lassst night. I felt like I was going to die from the cold…wait, Nothing like what?”

“Oh! Oh. No, I sssir. No I wouldn’t take advantage of Katrina. No.” He just kind of got quiet after that and watched and felt bad for making anyone, even a cat, think that Katrina was impure. Scandalizing Katrina, was unacceptable. His stomach gurgled in discontent. He hopped down from his perch, on the wall, sliding toward headboard. The cat could have him. He deserved it.

>> “The Cat is talking! ...And going to hurt me, I think.”

"Now what would give you that idea?" The cat hissed, its tail lashing the ground as it watched the trailing edge of the boy's pants. Maybe, just maybe, that was in range... particularly if he launched himself from the top of the bed.

...If he launched himself from the top of the bed, quite a bit of the boy was in range.

>> “Nothing like that. He... he was helping me learn the countries and the capitals for the geography test. I was going to move to the floor after he fell asleep, but I guess I fell asleep too.”

The tom cat's eyes could not physically dilate further. His black gaze whipped back towards the girl, however, and the lids managed the trick of parting much further. Her face... was darkening. Darkening, like someone who did know what 'studying' was. Who had told her about 'studying'? He would find this person, and he would introduce his tiger form to them. Perhaps his manticore. Potentially his whales.

>> “I apologize for this mister? Mister cat, I know I shouldn’t have been in her room its just that it was cold outside and Katrina was nice enough to let me stay, no one answered at the gate or door last night. I felt like I was going to die from the cold…wait, Nothing like what? ...Oh! Oh. No, I sir. No I wouldn’t take advantage of Katrina. No.”

His stripped tail flicked over the carpeting at an alarmingly erratic rate; ginger hairs stuck between the carpet fibers, shed in fury. Here was another young teen who knew what 'studying' was. And this one had spent the night in Katrina's bed.

The boy was coming down the wall now. Coming down, and returning to the bed. Bad move.

Bad.

Move.

In a flash of furious fiery fur, the feline fluidly flew up the trailing bedspread and across the bed, leaping for an undefended leg. Legs: they were ever so good for wrapping ones claws around, and sinking ones teeth into. They provided the attackee with excellent incentive to repentantly flee out the doorway, as well.

This was assuming that certain thirteen year olds didn't intercept him, of course. He would never hurt certain thirteen year olds. Certain fourteen year olds, now... those were another matter.

>>>” ...Oh! Oh. Not I sir. No I wouldn’t take advantage of Katrina. No.”

Katrina's face blushed deeper with every utterance the lizard boy made. He was making it sound like they had done something bad! She really wished she could just sink into the floor and live between the floor boards for the rest of her life. She didn't feel like she could face the world ever again. She especially couldn't face either Koga or Calley again. Which was too bad, since they were both nice.

This was all Calley's fault. If it hadn't been for him thinking dirty thoughts, they never would have occurred to the pair of comfortably cuddling teens and Katrina wouldn't be blushing redder than Abyss. It had been perfectly innocent, and now cuddling was probably spoiled forever. Curse him and his jumping to conclusions and his jumping to claw the poor homeless lizard boy. Would now be an acceptable time to crawl back into the bed and hide under the covers? No. Ryoo-ichi was returning down the wall to the bed. She couldn't go there if he was there. She would just have to...

Calley was streaking up the bed covers towards the black eyed boy. He was going to... she wasn't sure what he'd do when he got there, but Katrina had to stop him. She flew toward the bed with much less speed and much less grace than Calley in his cat body. His claws were going to reach the poor unassuming youth before she was going to reach him.

At the last second, Katrina got tangled up in the comforter that had slithered its way off the bed in all the commotion. The using-it-as-a-ramp trick Calley had demonstrated did not work as well for her, and she went crashing forward with arms outstretched, toward laps or legs of lizard boys and spitting angry cat boys that were attacking them. There was no telling how she would land.

Slow motion was his current view as the cat bucked and ran from a pounce. Then Kat’s attempt to stop it.He acted as quickly as his mind could get his body too.

He was ready to take his lumps, or be cut into ribbons; the cat was right there was no expectable reason for him to be there. Terrifying death Cat and all, Koga was scared, it was a bout a second to impact but the second that the sweet girl began to trip and fall, He was diving across the room. He rolled his hip toward the teeth and claws, speed and anger. But that wasn’t his concern, It was her getting hurt over him. His arms went out and as he twisted, his arms wrapped her into awkward gentle tackle. He maneuvered under her and between the bed board. Hoping to prevent any even cursory damage to the girl. Never mind the fact that a cat claws and all was more than likely burying himself in his legs.

The moment happened in slow motion, every instant caught by hyper-dilated eyes, every sound caught by ears lay flat in anger, every other sentiment voiced in the line of horrified fur that lead to his half-poofed ginger stripped tail.

Katrina was falling.

The boy was moving to catch her, regardless of the tom cat's incoming claws.

Calley did not know which was worse.

Of one thing, he was certain: the unwelcome intruder could not be allowed to become the shiningly selfless knight of Katrina's bedroom. He could maul the wall climber later, when he had him alone. For now, he had to steal the boy's glory.

And that is why as the boy dove to catch Katrina, the cat dove to catch the boy. If physics had anything to say about it, then cat would hit bed board, boy would hit cat, Kat would hit boy. Of course, cat did not wish to get crushed in all this: there would be no one to proactively defend Katrina, then. Therefore, cat switched to tiger, and tiger became a big furry muscular cushion for all of this collision.

Tiger had to act quickly. Steal the boy's thunder, he must. "I may have overreacted," he benevolently began, moving to gently nudge the two apart with his large head in a hopefully non-conspicuous way. He then turned his attention to the boy. The boy who was quite a bit smaller than the orange-and-black maw that was very close to his face. "My name is Calley," a healthy set of large white teeth smiled, in that way that large cats can smile, with whiskers fanned. "How did you end up at the Mansion in the middle of the night, again, Mr...?" He prompted for the boy's name. Even gave him a respectful title, he did.

Yes, the tiger was on his best behavior. Only his eyes--still fully dilated, and quite a bit larger, now--hinted of dark forests he would like to drag this boy to, and play all through the night. His long, stripped tail moved to curl around Katrina, its errant tip twitching, as if in time to imagined footsteps. Running, running; run, little boy, run.

Tiger smile.

The moment may have happened in slow motion for everyone else, but for Katrina it seemed to be comically sped up with Yackety Sax playing in the background. Everyone raced to intercept falling people, and falling people fell. Somehow they all ended up in a fluffy pillowy pile. And Calley was a tiger, which may have added to the fluffyness of the pile.

Calley was a tiger. He hadn't been very friendly to Ryoo-ichy as a cat, and now he was a much larger cat with much larger teeth and claws. His face was coming to bite Ryoo-ichy! Kat put her hands out to stop him, but the stripey head only pushed her away from the lizard boy. What if he ate the poor boy right in her bedroom?

>>>"I may have overreacted,"
Calley the now tiger was saying. Katrina's heart was still racing, not quite caught up with what her ears were hearing.

>>>"My name is Calley,"
he continued with large teeth very largely flashing in Ryoo-ichy's face,
>>>"How did you end up at the Mansion in the middle of the night, again, Mr...?"

Okay, so no one was getting eaten. Her heart could slow down any minute now, and she would be perfectly fine with that. Maybe she was still nervous because she didn't think Calley would like the answer to that question and those teeth were rather close to the lizard boy's nose.

Katrina wriggled her way back in between the teeth and the lizard boy. Calley would never eat her.

“He... he came through the window. No one would let him in the door and he could have died in the cold.”

She prepared herself for the growl she was certain would follow. No matter what, she wouldn't let the new boy get eaten just for making a mistake. She'd stay right here, between him and the danger. Even if the danger was her friend.

Somehow the cat had batted him out of the way like a feather. He still managed to catch or be under Kat rather, she landed on him after she was safe; his hand withdrew with the quickness. His then already large black eyes widened at the “cat” that had batted him out of the way. If the tiger was being inconspicuous Koga hadn’t remained close enough to notice. He backed away with a clear look of shock on his now background colored face. His arms and any other flesh showing mimicked what was behind him perfectly.

The tiger was talking but whatever he was saying was lost as he only noted the giant white teeth that he could too easily imagine himself being picked from.
Koga opened his mouth only to leave it hanging open wordless. Kat had position in between them. It liked her so, he could stay where he was no need to launch an attack. It wasn’t making fast movements.

“He... he came through the window. No one would let him in the door and he could have died in the cold.”

Her words snapped him to attention. “It wasss the firssst window I came to, that was unlocked. I intended on ssspending the night under the bed. I was only concerned with warmth, I promissse. I knew the sssecond that I wasss under the bed it wasss a foolisssh decisssion but it wasss too late…Katrina already came in at that point.” His mouth was very dry. He steadily backed away. He could deal with a psychotic cat… but if this Tiger tried to kill him, that was the game. He thought if it made a move he could be out side and up the wall. Or maybe try for a dodge and let the tiger jump out the window.

“ I am sssorry for the trouble I caused, however I can not regret my actionsss. I have met Katrina now and I sssimply refuse to regret that.”