Alice blinked awake, her consciousness stirring sluggishly in the oppressive gloom. It took a moment for her blurry vision to clear—and then another for her to make sense of things.

  The room was sparse, its stone walls bleak and bare. A single, barred window cast faint streaks of pale moonlight across the room, throwing the meager furnishings into a chiaroscuro of shadow and silvery-blue.

  Alice tried to sit up, her right hand feeling... something beneath the blanket. She blinked, but payed no mind and put pressure on it to sit up, but when she did...

  “MMRREOOOOWW!!??”

  Liana jumped up from beneath the blanket, her tail straight as a board as she flipped over and hissed at Alice.

  “Hey, that was my tail, nya!! Ya better watch it next time, you!”

  Alice jerked back, startled by the sudden outburst. "Sorry! Sorry," she quickly said, raising her hands in a pacifying gesture. "I had no idea you were, uhh...under there."

  Liana's tail slowly uncurled, her initial irritation subsiding once she realized that it's Alice. "Hmph," she said, crossing her arms. "Maybe you should check under the blankets before you start flinging limbs around, nya.”

  Alice gave an apologetic smile. "You're right! Lesson learned. No more accidental tail-squishing."

  Liana's annoyance melted into a smirk. "Maybe you're not so clueless after all," she teased, her tail flicking with amusement. "As long as you remember my tail is not your personal stress ball the next time."

  Alice let out a small grumble before settling back down in bed beside Liana.

  “Ugh…so uh...as an apology, can I give you some scratches, then?”

  Liana's cat ears perked up even further as she nodded, then rolled over towards Alice in her hands and knees. She stuck her butt up towards her, her tail swishing about.

  “Yup yup! Scritches for meeee! My tail is still seriously hurting right now, hehe…nyaaa~”

  Alice blinked, momentarily caught off guard by Liana’s enthusiastic request. "Uh... right. Scritches," she mumbled, awkwardly raising her hands.

  She leaned forward and started gently scratching at the base of Liana’s tail—careful not to press too hard.

  Liana immediately let out a long, rumbling purr that vibrated through the room like a tiny engine.

  “Mmmmm~ That’s it…right there… nyaaaah!” she purred, wiggling her hips slightly. “Don’t stop now! You’re actually good at this!”

  Alice chuckled nervously, unable to help but keep looking at Liana's...feline attributes that’s so close to her face during the scratching session.

  “Nyaaaa~? Whatcha lookin' at, Alice~?”

  Liana noticed Alice's staring, her eyes following Alice's, leading to her own gaze locking onto her rear end.

  Alice's cheeks flushed slightly as she suddenly realized she'd been caught staring, her hand freezing mid-scratch.

  "...N-nothing. Nothing at all," she mumbled, her eyes quickly darting away. "I was, uh...just checking the…the uh, softness of your tail. For… research purposes. Yup. Research."

  Liana let out a knowing chuckle, eyes glinting with amusement. "Uh huh, 'research'," she drawled sarcastically. "Is that what they call ogling these days, nya?"

  Alice tried to suppress a twisted grin to no avail, fumbling for an answer. "W-well you're the one wiggling it all in my face!”

  Liana smirked at Alice's flustered response. "Well, it's not my fault you can't keep your eyes to yourself, is it?" she teased, her tail lashing in Alice's direction again, deliberately teasing this time.

  Alice rolled her eyes, but couldn't shake off the embarrassed grin on her face. "You know full well you're doing it on purpose."

  "You can't prove anything," Liana giggled, her tail giving another playful swish.

  Alice chuckled, shaking her head. "You're impossible sometimes, Liana. If you don't get it out of my face though... I'm afraid I'll have to...spank it.”

  Liana's ears perked up, a mixture of surprise and playful anticipation in her expression.

  "Oh, oh?" she drawled, her tail twitching in the air. "You wouldn't dare."

  Alice raised an eyebrow, her grin widening. "Oh, wouldn't I?" she taunted, inching her hand towards Liana's taunting back end, clad in tight shorts beneath the white skirt.

  Liana smiled wider, her tail flicking as she heard Alice's response. She bent forward more, her tail brushing against Alice's chin.

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  ”You will…smack it, nya~? Don't keep me waiting then, do it~”

  Alice couldn't help but chuckle at Liana's bold and unexpected response. It was a mix of challenge and...invitation.

  Alice feigned bravado, her gaze locked with Liana's mischievously. A sly smile crept onto her face. "Well, since you asked so nicely," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  Her hand came down with a swift, sharp SMACK, landing on Liana's rear end, her body flinching a bit with the smack. The impact of the unexpected slap sent a jolt through Liana's body, her tail instantly straightening as a surprised gasp escaped her lips. Her ears flattened against her head, her cheeks flushing slightly.

  She turned to face Alice over her shoulder, her eyes wide and a mix of shock and...is that amusement?

  "H-hey nyow...! I said spank, nyot slap!" she protested, her voice holding a playful tone despite her initial surprise. "You've got some nyerve, nyaaa~”

  Little did they know, Jax, who was walking through the halls of the building, heard the resounding impact, piquing his interest as he went to the door the smacking sounds were coming from. There, he could clearly hear Liana let out soft meows and moans after every slap, and he had to push his disbelief aside for this moment.

  "What the fu—" he muttered under his breath as he opened the door to see Alice and Liana, the former's hand raised in the air and the latter bent over on all fours in front of her, the two freezing in position as if frozen in time. Neither showed any shame, just surprised at Jax's sudden appearance.

  Jax blinked, his eyes widening dramatically as he took in the scene before him. The image of Alice's hand raised in the air, Liana bent over and in a...comical position was definitely not what he had been expecting.

  Alice, her hand still hovering in the air, quickly withdrew it and scooted back, feeling her own cheeks warm.

  Liana, still bent over on all fours, her cat tail twitching, glanced over her shoulder at Jax, her expression one of playful defiance.

  "Ehehe...uh, h-hey Jax..." Alice stammered. "I can explain…”

  Jax's mouth had fallen agape at the sight before him. He blinked, the scene slowly registering in his head as he crossed his arms, his voice infused with laughter. "Ay, this is definitely not what I expected to find... But I gotta say, Alice, you sure know how to get whatcha want, eh?”

  Alice groaned, “Gah, y’see, she asked for it—literally! I was just...disciplining the brat!"

  Liana perked up instantly, turning to face Alice with mock offense. "Brat?!" she huffed, tail puffing slightly. "Nya, I’ll have you knyow I’m a highly advanced android battle unit—nyot some spoiled kitten who needs to be spanked!"

  She paused and flicked her tail toward Alice playfully. "...Even if I do kinda like it.”

  Alice's expression was replaced with a pout, a hint of blush still visible. She rolled her eyes at Liana's playful retort. "Highly advanced or not, you're definitely as bratty as they come, Liana," she retorted. "And as for 'liking it'...that's a whole other thing!"

  Jax chuckled, shaking his head. "You're the one who gave in and started spanking her, though," he pointed out, unable to hide his amusement.

  Liana shrugged nonchalantly, a mischievous grin playing on her lips. "Hey, I just asked for a little 'spanking', not a full on lesson. Alice is the one who got carried away."

  She shot a sly glance over her shoulder at Alice as if daring her to deny it.

  Alice rolled her eyes again, this time blushing even harder.

  "Oh please, you practically begged me to do it!" she protested. "You kept sticking out that rear end in my face! How was I supposed to ignore it?”

  Jax couldn't help but laugh fully at their back-and-forth banter. It was clear they had a bit of a playful dynamic going on.

  "Ah, just a friendly little 'spanking,' you say, eh?" he teased Liana, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  He then glanced at Alice, the amusement still in his gaze. "And yeah, I don't blame ya, Alice! That's a pretty tempting target she's got there, but I'm sure you heard of the infamous saying "Do not the cat"," he joked, nudging Alice's shoulder playfully.

  Alice grumbled, her blush deepening at Jax's teasing. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "And yes, I've heard the saying, thank you very much!"

  Liana grinned at Jax's comment, her cat ears perking up. "I am a pretty tempting target, aren't I?" she purred, sticking her rear out even further, tail wiggling in challenge.

  Alice groaned, rolling her eyes again, yet a small smirk tugged at her lips. "Hey, stop provoking me or I'll turn 'Do not the cat' into 'DO the cat'.”

  Jax burst into laughter again, his grin turning into a full-blown grin.

  "Oh, I am loving this whole scene," he chuckled, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "You two are priceless, you know that?"

  He glanced over at Alice, noticing the smirk on her face. "Oh, threats now, are we? Bold move, but Liana'll probably enjoy that, you know."

  He then glanced at Liana, shaking his head. "And you, you're really playing with fire here.”

  Liana simply responded with a playful wink, her tail swaying back and forth. "Oh? Is that so?" she purred, clearly enjoying the attention. "Maybe I want to play with fire...who knows what could happen?"

  Alice shook her head in disbelief at Liana's audacity, but couldn't help but smile. Despite herself, she was thoroughly entertained.

  "Okay, okay," Alice said as she stood up from the bed. "I think we're done here before this gets even more out of hand than it already is."

  She turned to Jax and gestured towards the door. "And you! Don't let me catch you peeking in on us again or else..." She smirked playfully.

  Jax raised his hands innocently as he backed away slowly toward the door. "Hey now, no need for threats!" he said with a laugh as he disappeared into the hallway. "This is so good that I almost hate to tell you both that Ciel needs ya both right now, 'cause Elara's about to interrogate Gabrielle, and she ain't playin' 'round, eh?”

  Liana pouted at Jax's departure, but perked up at the mention of Ciel and the interrogation.

  Alice, a hint of determination in her eyes, straightened up as well. "Right. Let's go then," she said, her playful demeanor shifting into a more serious one.

  They both left the room, following Jax to where Ciel likely was. While they walked, Alice glanced sideways at Liana. "I hope she doesn't go too rough on Gabrielle," she murmured.

  Liana nodded in agreement, her tail swaying slightly as they followed Jax. "Yeah, I dunno how Elara rolls, nya, but she's quite no nonsense 'bout getting info outta Gabrielle," she said quietly.

  Jax glanced over his shoulder, listening in on their conversation. "Yeah, Elara's quite a hothead 'bout all this," he agreed. "Can't wait to see how she'll handle it. Good thing Ciel's here, she's the perfect voice of reason.”

  Alice nodded, a slight frown of concern on her face. "Yeah, Ciel will at least prevent things from escalating too quickly, I hope," she said.

  Liana looked between the two, her cat ears perked up. "I wonder how Gabrielle's gonna handle the interrogation though, nya," she mused. "She seems kinda stubborn, eh?"

  Jax chuckled. "She does seem the type. I bet she ain't gonna break under Elara's interrogation that easily," he remarked as they continued making their way.