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Chapter 28: Games

The moment they entered the hotel room, Elena surprised them all by dashing out of Prompto's arms, jumping up on the bed and then down again out of sight. There were a few scratching noises, a clunk and excited meows beside the bed, before she jumped back up on the bed, licking her paw as if nothing happened. Noctis watched Elena carefully feeling something was off. He knew from the scuffle before Elena was not making those noises herself. His hunch was confirmed when another cat jumped up on the bed, stalking casually over to Elena and licking the side of her head.

"No. Freaking. Way..." One of these days your jaw is going to forever be hanging open buddy. Everyone's eyes were wide as they watched the two identical cats play fight on the bed.

"Oh, this game brings me back," Fior laughed.

"Game?" Gladio asked.

"These two, being the only girls in the group, often swapped with each other during training," Fior explained.

"Wouldn't you be able to tell who is who from their scent though?" Ignis never failed in seeing loopholes.

"Yeah. Unfortunately for us, these two used their intellect for cheeky antics rather than strategizing in combat. They used to dunk themselves into the water to hide their scent. Or they would play in the fields so they'd smell strongly like the Sampaguita flowers," Fior explained.

Noctis watched as both cats toyed with each other a little more before turning their attention to the rest. They looked at each other and then walked to the edge of the bed, sitting up properly and twitching their tails as they looked at the group.

"This is usually the time you make your guesses fellas," Fior announced, leaning against the wall grinning.

"Us?" Prompto asked pointing towards himself.

"Guessing that's the only reason why they haven't transformed back," Matias replied with a shrug.

Noctis looked at the two identical cats sitting on the bed carefully, seeing neither one really moved to give themselves away. It didn't help that both the color of their eyes also changed when transforming into beasts. The scuffle earlier must have been to remove Elena's necklace as neither cat was wearing it.

"You wanna pick buddy?" Prompto asked.

"Sure..." Noctis replied. He could feel Hale's eyes burning into him from the side as he walked over to the bed and crouched down to their level. He stared into each cat's eyes thinking back to when he first saw your cat form at the haven. An idea then popped into his head. Noctis reached out and began scratching both cats under their chins gently. It was a small hunch but if he had anything to go by, he had a feeling the girls had different preferences in being petted. Soon enough, the cat on the left shuddered and coincidentally the exact same way you had back at the haven, during your first camp. Noctis chuckled making the same cat stop and look at him blinking a few times. The other cat meowed, the sound almost seeming like it was amused before it was surrounded by a white light. Elena giggled as Noctis got up from his crouch, still scratching underneath his chosen cat's chin. A white glow surrounded it revealing the very person Noctis had been missing for the past few days.

Noctis moved his hand from under your chin to cradle the side of your face, leaning down and pressing his lips to yours. His entire being feeling warm from the smile on your face as he drew back. That was when he noticed your appearance was different from the usual jeans and tank top. Your hair was out instead of the usual high ponytail or bun, with the right side tucked behind your ear. You were wearing the same strapless white dress you wore when you activated the Dalisayin runes, with your necklace hanging from your neck. He could tell you had gotten over the slits of the dress that stopped mid-thigh as you sat perfectly still looking up at him.