Heart strings

Stimulus

Axel got up and helped Wyatt.
Axel: "you alright, i was in a hurry didn't expect people to be at the entrance at this time"

Wyatt looked attentively at the jaguar. Pretty much similar features as him, a bit less though. The jaguar was wearing jeans one size above, a jean shirt that was tied around the waist and had a plain white shirt spotted with soot. The jaguar had some earrings as well.

Lauren: "Bitch He knocked you (*laughing*)"

The jaguar turned and waved hands apologetically.

Axel: "I'm really sorry, I was...wait you said He?"

Lauren: "huh yeah" (*confused*)

Axel chuckled.

Axel: "Do I look that masculine ?"

Lauren: "wait you're a girl?!"

Axel: "(*pulling tongue*) neither. I go by They/them but it's ok you couldn't know"

Lauren was completely hit by a truck of questions but she thought it would be rude to ask so she just smiled and said

Lauren: "wow huh sorry I didn't know"

Matthew: "Wyatt you okay?"

Wyatt was still holding his arm a bit. Something metallic struck his arm when the jaguar fell on him. He looked at the jaguar closely and noticed.

Wyatt: "I'm good Matt, what's that?"

Wyatt pointed at the jaguar's left arm. There was like a gauntlet made of brow  metal it almost blended with the jaguar's fur. Axel lifted their arm and smiled proudly.

Axel: "This is huh (*spotting the lecturer of the class that got out few seconds ago*) huhm we can talk about that later, I really am in a hurry. Take this"

Axel got a card from their pocket and gave it to Lauren. It was a professional card, there was their name, and numbers as long as the name of the company Orion Mechanics Corp. They were craft assistant. Without saying anything else Axel left the trio dumbfounded.

Lauren: "Huh that was the weirdest thing today"

Matthew chuckled as they got in the elevator. Wyatt was pondering on so many questions. During the whole conversation his attention was on his friends reaction to the jaguar being...well not gendered. He could see Lauren was a bit surprised but didn't seem to mind that much. Matthew on the other hand had a puzzled look and a slight frown. All of this made Wyatt thinking while the elevator's door closed.

Wyatt looked at the surrounding. This elevator cage was quite uncanny. It seemed to have the same features as those of C-Tech. Metallic walls, the same spiral design as on the exterior face of the building, a mirror that was giving illusion that the cage was way bigger than it was. The pad on the side of the door was buttonless which made the trio a bit more curious about the way they were supposed to go anywhere. Suddenly a voice echoed in the cage, it made Wyatt look up. It was a speaker blended in the ceiling.

The pad turned on and the voice said "Scanning process" a light grill started Scanning the elevator from the ceiling to the floor to the big surprise of the trio. Matthew gasped and almost stumbled while Lauren just said

Lauren: "What the hell? Are we in the matrix?"

Matthew: "we are gonna be sliced in pieces'

Wyatt: "huh wait, this is just a procedure I guess so no one else than students can access this building...a bit too much but okay"

Matthew: "comparing it to Art facility and its literally a take away in our facility. Anyone can come and just enter...seems a bit unfair"

Lauren: "I wonder what kind of fancy stuff we gonna find"