Round 8

The kitten's eyes lock onto Abby's, its gaze burning with an unsettling intensity. She hesitates, her hand hovering near Jeane's outstretched palm as the air grows thick with tension. Silra remains frozen, but a faint sheen of sweat has appeared on her forehead as the creature inches closer to her feet.

Jeane watches Abby's internal struggle play out across her features—fear warring with curiosity, a desire for escape battling against some inexplicable need to see this through. Good girl, she thinks to herself, you're learning. "Come closer, Abby," she says softly, her voice almost hypnotic in its calmness. "You're going to want to see this part too." She keeps her hand extended, palm up—a gesture of invitation rather than command.

Silra watches Jeane's performance with clinical interest, noting how Abby responds to her soft manipulation. Predictable. The kitten's behavior is still concerning—too deliberate for a normal animal—but she's reserving judgment until they have more information. When the creature mewls again, a sound that definitely carries human inflection, she feels her eyebrows rise slightly. Well, that's new. Jeane seems convinced this thing holds answers about their predicament. Maybe she's right—her instinct...

Halie watches Silra move towards the bed with a resignation she finds deeply unsettling. This whole situation is spiraling into territory that makes her skin crawl—Jeane's desperate hope mixed with Abby's obvious terror creates an atmosphere of barely-contained hysteria. And now they're back in this room, and she's already feeling the familiar pull of something dark and insidious coiling around them all. But it's Silra who worries her most right now. The way she sits on that bed, her face a carefully controlled mask, tells Halie more than words ever could about what's really going on inside her head.

Hera watches in growing unease as Silra examines the kitten, her movements careful but purposeful. Jeane's excitement is palpable, but it does little to quell the dread rising in her throat. The creature's behavior is unnatural, even unsettling—how can she be so sure it holds answers they need? When Halie suggests a purification ritual, she feels a flicker of relief. At least someone else sees the danger here.

Abby watches Silra crouch down by the kitten, her face an expressionless mask of concentration. The sight sends a jolt through her—her posture is so unnaturally still, almost robotic. Jeane's excitement feels like it’s building to a dangerous level, a manic energy that chills her to the bone. When Hera calls out, her voice trembling with fear that mirrors her own, she feels a small surge of gratitude. At least she sees how crazy all this is too. But then Jeane looks at her, and the world seems to...

The air in the room grows heavy with unspoken tension as everyone waits for what happens next. The kitten's eyes remain fixed on Abby, its gaze unwavering and unsettlingly human-like.