Thivoll lets out a grunt as his whiskers drop. "I don't wear pants, but if I did, that would be a terrible place for my claws."
I turn to the only other sane person in this group. "What is wrong with the rest of the universe, Ree? Are they all so fucking literal?"
Ree makes a humming noise and pats me. "I see you, Kira."
"Of course you see her," Drasuk breaks in. "She is right in front of you."
Ree lets out a snorting laugh. "Wow, Kira. I thought it was bad for me talking in circles with Thiv, but Drasuk is next level."
"Oh, sis. The validation warms my heart," I tell her with a chuckle.
"As I just said," I drawl out with emphasis. "You've got command presence, Ree."
Drasuk lets out a rumbly scoff. "There is no way your talk of fornication meant that, Kira."
"Shut up, Drasuk. Oh, deity, that feels so damn good when it translates correctly. Anyway... command presence. Natural and strong. It's really rare, and I would know."
Ree's face has turned a deep shade of red. "Thanks? I don't like being in charge."
"That makes you a great choice, then. But, for more pressing matters, we're being hunted."
"Yes, we figured that out, too," Ree tells me.
"No, I don't mean just by usual riff raff. By drakonid traitors."
Thivoll is back on alert, pulling whistling breaths through the roof of his mouth. Ree does the same with a grimace on her face.
She got a super nose or something? Huh.
I look closer and notice her changes. Orange hair, black scales, then I do a double take when I realize she has claws extended.
"Wow, girl. Look at those beauties."
She looks sheepish as she retracts them.
"I want," I tell her, my tone downright lustful.
It makes me remember my questions about our changes. "Are these changes Ree and I are going through something your people came up with, Thivoll?"
He shakes his head, and I dart a look over to Ree. She's done a far better job training her dragon than I did. I should have watched that damn movie.
Not to mention cats are notoriously hard to train, so she really is next level.
"What about us not having scars?"
His whiskers drop to his chest. "You don't have scars?"
"So it's not your nanite healing upgrade in us either, I take it."
Ree makes her suit recede from one of her arms, then grunts. "We've been too busy to pay attention, but she's right. I don't have a scar where I was shot."
My eyes narrow at the news of someone shooting her. We really do need to exterminate all the bugs from this place.
"Maybe it's something your government made in secret?" Ree asks.
"No."
"How can you be so certain?" I ask.
