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“As you can see, I have somehow gained these characteristics,” Ningguang said with a dissatisfied sigh. The Tianquan was adorned with a pair of cat ears that crowned the top of her hair and a sleek tail that now swayed back in forth in a clear indication of her mood.
“Uh-uh. I can see that. But what does this have to do with me?” Beidou asked bemusedly.
“I cannot show my face to the rest of the Liyue Qixing like this.”
“Yeah, I think Keqing would be jealous.”
“Beidou.”
“Hahaha. I take that this means you’ve become part adepti? Or does this have to do with your recent god-slaying adventure?”
“I have no reason to believe this is correlated to that. Others assisted with the fall of Osial and they lack these particular…additions…the Yuheng included.”
“Sure, sure,” Beidou waved carelessly. “And you want to hang out with us until this all goes away?”
“Ganyu is helping me by reaching out to her adepti contacts. Until this particular issue is resolved, I will not show my face in the Harbor.”
“Pity, it’s such a nice face,” Beidou teased, earning her a reproachful glare from the Tianquan. “With all this said, I got a question for you, Ningguang.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Do you have to sit on my desk like that?” Beidou asked, drawing attention to the fact that Ningguang was uncharacteristically perched near the center of Beidou’s desk in her cabin quarters aboard the Alcor.
Ningguang stared back at her with a slight tilt of her head as if she didn’t understand the question. That action, Beidou had to admit, was quite cat-like. And adorable. But she wouldn’t dare voice that particular sentiment as the Tianquan was dressed in her usual finery, the pointed tips on her gloves included. Even before the advent of the Tianquan’s new instincts, Beidou had been scratched enough times by those already.
It took a moment for Ningguang to realize the departure from her usual behavior as sitting on a desk was not the proper behavior of someone of her standing. The Tianquan lifted herself up for a before she decided against the movement: she sat back down and stared at the sea captain with agitation made clear by the swishing of her tail. One particular swish made contact with the globe on the pirate’s desk.
Beidou was luckily fast enough on the draw to catch the object before it fell onto the floor.
“Watch it! That’s expensive,” she complained as she cradled her precious globe. “Think of all the Sumerian tears that went into building this!”
Ningguang didn’t bother to respond though she did not meet Beidou’s gaze this time. After this uncomfortable standstill, the captain decided to change the topic. “Right. So…a cat, huh.”
“What of it?”
“Oh nothing, I just thought you’d be a bird if anything. Cuz, you know, the whole phoenix thing…”
“I may prefer certain motifs but that does not mean I think of myself as one.”
“That’s a lot of words to deny your tattoo.”
“I am not denying anything.”
“Right. Well, I guess it could be worse…you could be a pigeon or a chicken.”
“I will not continue this discussion.”
Beidou decided to continue without her. “Though I guess, even if you’re not a bird, you have quite the nest egg. Hahaha! Get it, your finances? They’re your nest egg!”
Ningguang swatted her. The side of her knuckles brushed against Beidou’s cheek. Rather than being offended, Beidou cheered the action.
“That’s the spirit! That was definitely more catlike than birdlike. Well done!”
Ningguang’s left ear twitched and her tail began to sway quicker and more erratically.
“I see that I was misguided in coming to you with this. My trust is misplaced,” Ningguang said as she began to lift herself from the desk.
“Wait! Don’t go! I was only having a bit of fun,” Beidou protested.
Ningguang did not listen and instead began to shift towards the edge of the desk. Before her feet could touch the ground, Beidou grabbed her shoulder and dragged Ningguang towards her. This caused the other woman to snap back and bare her teeth but nevertheless, their tug of war ended with Beidou’s decisive win.
Too bad the decisive win meant that Beidou yanked Ningguang right into her lap and the sheer force of the momentum—added to Ningguang’s struggling—led to them crashing onto the floor.
“Shit,” Beidou said as she rubbed the back of her head, not so much hurt as she was dazed. She stopped in mid-movement when she saw how Ningguang had landed on top of her.
In addition to her more prominent feline features, Ningguang’s eyes had gained the tricolor hues most associated with cats. They were now a rather fascinating mix of reds that highlighted the slits of her pupils. Staring into those eyes, Beidou forgot what she was going to say. And Ningguang looked rather pleased with herself. Indeed, a low hum was vibrating from her body.
“You’re purring,” Beidou noted.
“I am not,” Ningguang immediately responded.
“Aw, you were! That’s so…hey, can I—
Just as Beidou was going to speak, there was a knock on her door.
“Captain, you doing ok in there? We heard a crash!” Juza asked.
“Fine! Fine! I am,” Beidou said with a look to Ningguang. The Tianquan seemed quite comfortable with their position and didn’t seem inclined to get off her lap. “Er—don’t come in! I’m, um…um…naked?”
Even if she couldn’t see or hear it, Beidou definitely felt her chief mate’s groan.
“If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say to ease up on the drinking. But it’s you, so don’t go destroying your room again like that one time you got plastered. You’ll make Mora-Grubber cry again!”
“What a bountiful harm,” the bookkeeper sobbed as she pounded on the door.
Beidou winced in remembrance. It didn’t help that Ningguang was giving her a judgmental look that was only accentuated by her feline features.
“Sure…yeah,” the pirate captain said awkwardly.
“I’d say leave some for the rest of us but we got plenty out here. Don’t we, Sea Drake?”
“Yeah!” Another voice shouted, causing Ningguang’s tail to twitch again at the noise.
“Carry on men,” Beidou said with less than her usual conviction. To reassure Ningguang she placed a hand on the small of the other woman’s back.
The room was quiet as both of its inhabitants listened as footsteps departed. Once they did, Beidou turned back to Ningguang, a question suddenly dawning upon her.
“How did you get in here without getting noticed?” she asked,
“Does it matter?”
“I’m just impressed, that’s all. Actually, if this thing sticks, do you want to join us? Hahaha. You can be our cat burglar!”
That particular joke caused Ningguang to vacate her seat. She immediately stood up.
“Aw don’t go. I was only joking. No wait, I wasn’t. Don’t you think you’re kind of like a cat even without the— you know,” Beidou said as she put her hands above her head to mimic the cat ears. “You steal from the rich to give to yourself. Except you’re not very stealthy at it since everyone knows you’re stealing and they kind of just let you?”
Ningguang gave her a look that definitely read somewhere along the lines of “how dare you” and “who do you think you are?” The Tianquan was too poised to issue such a statement but the jut of her chin as she stared directly into Beidou’s eyes was clear in its meaning.
Even at her most threatening, Beidou was immune to such tactics. Ningguang with her new fluffy appendages was therefore even less intimidating than usual.
“Aw, don’t be such a stick in the mud, Ning. I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”
“I asked you to take this seriously. You are not.”
“Well…fine. Are you feeling ill?”
“Define ill. For you see, I am not myself.”
“You’re plenty Ningguang from what I can see. And if you’re not in any real danger, I don’t see why having some fun is a bad thing.”
“What can you see?” Ningguang countered, reaching out to tap the side of Beidou’s eyepatch.
“Low blow there,” the pirate chuckled good-naturedly. “Anyway, so what if you got a little more to you than you do usually? It’s not even that unusual. There’s a village in Mondstadt that has people like you.”
“People like me?” Ningguang immediately pounced on Beidou’s poor choice of words.
“I’m just saying it’s not a big deal. And you look good like this.”
Ningguang’s cat ears flattened back for a moment before she looked away.
“I can’t stand you.”
“Uh-huh. Is the plan for you just going to hide in my cabin for a while? The longer this goes on, the longer someone is going to find out.”
Ningguang did not face her or seem to register what Beidou was saying. Her attention seemed to be taken by something. Beidou followed her gaze and saw that the curtains by her window were gently blowing in the sea breeze.
Beidou watched quietly as Ningguang’s pupils sharpened. The Tianquan swiftly made her way to the billowing fabric. Then, as if she wasn’t quite sure of herself, she laid her hands on them. For a moment Beidou watched Ningguang run the curtains through her hand as if she was feeling it for the first time. She then heard the sound of the fabric tearing because—of course—Ningguang was wearing her usual gloves.
“Should I leave the two of you alone?” Beidou asked with a wince. Ningguang immediately snapped out of her daze.
“Your taste in decor requires some adjustments,” she proclaimed as if she hadn’t been discovered shredding Beidou’s furniture.
“I got rope and some other things here if you want to help decorate,” Beidou propositioned with the arch of her eyebrow.
“I will refrain.”
“Aww. Would have been fun to see you play or chase after a ball of yarn.”
“I am not a cat.”
“What if I am?” Beidou asked before she curled her right hand into a fist and made a pawing motion. “Meow.”
“…I’m leaving,” Ningguang responded, turning for the door. Beidou immediately called her bluff.
“Kay, see you.”
Ningguang stopped in mid-stride. She then turned to Beidou and asked, “Must you take so much joy in this? Your behavior is incorrigible.”
“Aw, come on. You know if the situation was reversed you’d totally be gloating. And you know you can count on me.”
“That remains to be seen.”
Given Ningguang’s clear reluctance, Beidou had to take control of the conversation again.
“Fine. Let me make it up to you somehow. What do you want?”
“I want to reside here until Ganyu returns with aid.”
“Well, yeah, and you know my crew wouldn’t gossip if I tell them not to. But that’s not what I mean. I’m asking what you want to do right now.”
To this, Beidou only received another stare that—she had to admit—was uncanny in its cat-likeness. Huh, maybe Ningguang really was a cat.
Once she grew tired of their standstill, Beidou decided to sit down on the nearby couch. It was a nice couch—she bought it in Fontaine. It was a pity that Liyue lacked such comforts, but that was one of the benefits of her travels: plush seating.
Ningguang continued to look at her. Finding the silence uncanny, Beidou finally offered, “Do you want to sit by me?”
Ningguang’s tail flicked behind her. Beidou sighed.
“For someone protesting being like a cat, you’re behaving exactly like one right now, Ningguang. Just sit down. You’re making me nervous just standing and staring at me like that.”
After a few moments of clear internal debate, Ningguang decided to sit down next to Beidou.
“I have done what you asked. Now, what do you propose?” The Tianquan asked.
Beidou tried to analyze the other woman’s body language. There was conflict raging inside of Ningguang and Beidou had no clue as to why such a thing was happening.
“I just want what you want, Ningguang. So what do you want?”
More silence passed between them as Ningguang continued to wage her internal war. Finally, she closed her eyes and warned, “Not a word.”
“Hmm?”
“Remain silent.”
With that Ningguang laid her head on Beidou’s lap. The action was a shock to the captain as she looked down at the other woman, wide-eyed.
“What are you waiting for?” Ningguang said impatiently before taking matters into her own hands. She grabbed Beidou’s wrist and dragged it toward the top of her head.
“Oh. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Beidou asked when she finally caught on. She placed her palm on Ningguang’s cat ear and immediately got her face slapped with the side of the Tianquan’s tail.
“I said not a word,” Ningguang demanded.
Beidou rolled her eyes but complied. She began to stroke the top of Ningguang’s head. She took care to gently rub the tips of the cat ears in the way she found many of the stray cats she met by the docks enjoyed. As her petting continued, they were rewarded. All of the tension inside the Tianquan’s body seemed to release as she burrowed deeper into Beidou’s caresses and began to purr lowly.
There were many quips wading in the shallows of Beidou’s mind, but she didn’t have the will to douse the moment with them. Seeing Ningguang this unguarded was a rare opportunity so she instead opted to continue to gently brush her hand through Ningguang’s hair, occasionally scratching the back of her ears. The quiet murmurs of approval were rewarding enough for the captain.
Like all good things between her and Ningguang, it had to end. Eventually, her ministrations became too stimulating and the cat-like woman sat up and stretched.
Now that their ceasefire drew to a close, Beidou prepared her next barrage of words.
Ningguang appeared to have anticipated the action as she quickly thrust her index and middle finger into Beidou’s open mouth.
“Why captain,” the Tianquan purred victoriously, “it appears I have caught your tongue.”