Rooming with the Wicked

15 | oversized kitty

If my aim wasn't terrible, the vial should have landed where Syn had been crouched mere seconds ago and missed him entirely. Fortunately for me, he'd probably anticipated my intention and jumped in the opposite direction. Too bad he couldn't have foreseen what a terrible throwing arm I had.

The potion flew through the air, amber drops spilling as it spiraled and spiraled until it finally shattered on the ground right between Syn's two front paws. Within milliseconds, the liquid expanded and latched onto his pitch-black form. Eyes wide and feet scrambling backward, he tried to get away, but it was too late.

Forced to watch as it encased the majority of his body, he could do nothing but snarl and hiss in protest, large black paws swatting at the gooey substance. At least until it congealed into a thick orange gunk and he could barely move three of his limbs. Save for his head, neck, right shoulder, front right leg, and one of his back paws, he was imprisoned by my little science project.

After a moment, he stopped growling and just stared at me. Even in his panther form, he looked more surprised than I felt that I actually got him.

Maybe my luck was starting to turn around.

Syn closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his whiskers quivering softly. When the goo around him started to shake, I knew he was shifting again. If he thought his human body would be any less confined, he was in for a surprise. But maybe I didn't give him enough credit and he was ready to have a civil conversation now. Funny how it took scaring me half to death and a vial of Crescetra to get us here.

I turned around and slumped against a thick-barked tree.

"What the—what is this shit?" His deep voice was something between a snarl and a cough when he finally spoke.

Even now he couldn't bother to talk to me like a normal being. Well, no problem. Unlike him, I had all the time in the world. In less than five minutes, that goo would solidify into solid rock. Good luck getting out of that, Jerk.

"Ariel?" he prompted, no less friendly. When I didn't acknowledge him, he added in a much calmer voice, "You scared me, okay?"

"I scared you?" I huffed, still refusing to look at him. "Are you kidding me? You lunged at me."

"I didn't lunge at you. You threw this—whatever this is—at me, remember?"

"Well, sorry for not waiting for some oversized kitty that happens to hate my guts to make the first move," I muttered. "And you were the one who ran after me!"

"Only because you followed me here! I thought you were—never mind. I couldn't smell you, okay? That"—he lowered his voice—"that freaked me out."

Was that a teeny tiny bit of remorse in his voice?

Something about his reaction didn't sit right with me. Apart from that clear display of attack-first-ask-questions-later mentality, he hadn't just been surprised to see me, but rather anxious like he was the one in danger. It sort of made sense considering the whole illegal portal thing, though.

"Guess that makes us even then," I said, "'cause you sure scared the crap outta me. What're you doing here anyway?"

"None of your business."

And grouchy Syn was back.

I finally turned to look at him. Yup, just like I thought, he was glaring holes into the ground with an intensity that should have set all those fallen leaves scattered around him on fire. He wanted to keep being pissed? No problem.

Although it was a little hard to take him seriously in this position—hunched over in a half-crouch with his back slumped against a tree, almost entirely encased in orange goo... Wait a second—his exposed shoulder and arm, as well as a good portion of his torso, and one of his feet peeked out from inside the mass were entirely unclothed. That meant...