I looked at the two cats. The draugr was a male with blue-grey fur. The vampiric cat was a female with orange-red fur. Both looked a lot like normal cats. The fur covering the skin helped a lot, especially for the draugr.

  “Should they have normal cat names? Or something more sinister?” I wondered.

  “Why not a cute name?” Skadi suggested.

  “The fluffy darkness of doom!” Cassie suggested.

  I groaned.

  “That is too long.” Helena objected.

  “I don’t think the length is the problem…” I said.

  “The cats are definitely fluffy. It’s interesting that undead hair does not seem too different from normal hair. Sure, the draugr is a bit rough and feels colder but that is because of the ice magic, right?”

  “I like the feel of the vampiric fur.” Cassie mused.

  “I have no idea how undeath changes hair. I mean, is hair alive? There is no blood in it.” I looked at the vampiric fur. “Well, normally there is no blood in there.”

  “How is your hair, Hatsumi?” Helena asked.

  “My hair? It feels normal, I think.” Hatsumi said with a frown, then she touched her hair.

  “Well, we have two foxkin to compare.” Helena said with a mischievous grin.

  She was sitting next to me and my eyes widened as her hands approached. Especially since they were going towards my back…

  “Let’s compare their tails!” Helena suggested and grabbed my tail.

  What surprised me the most was my own reaction. Someone grabbing my tail unexpectedly should have felt wrong. But it did not. Helena was not very forceful, she was surprisingly gentle as she held my tail and petted it.

  Meanwhile Hatsumi grabbed her own tail and placed it in her lap. “I am curious…” She admitted.

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  “Is that alright?” Cassie asked.

  “Huh? Uh, sure…” I said, still pondering my own reaction. I trusted my friends, completely. It was not a new realisation, I suppose. But seeing how gently Helena handled my tail made me feel warm inside. Somehow her touch felt a bit different than Skadi’s or Cassie’s. I wondered why…

  While I was still trying to contemplate my feelings Nyx got involved. Everyone was touching my tail now. Nyx started with Hatsumi and rubbed herself against the vampire’s fur. Then she jumped to me and did the same.

  I chuckled.

  “Pretty similar.” Helena mused after she touched Hatsumi’s tail. “Koyuki’s might be a touch softer.”

  “I think I might be able to coat mine in blood, in the future. It feels like there is a magic in there I can not quite grasp.” Hatsumi said.

  “Really?” That statement brought me back to reality. “Is that a vampire thing? Or do you think there is something magical about foxkin tails?”

  Hatsumi shook her head. “I do not know.”

  I touched her tail as well, then my own. They did feel similar.

  “Ok, we have learned that tier three undead, or at least vampires, have rather normal hair.” Skadi stated.

  Nyx nodded, then she jumped into Hatsumi’s lap and began to knead her tail.

  “It was a noble experiment.” Helena said.

  “A true victory for science.” Cassie added.

  Then we all laughed.

  “Ok, we still need names for the cats.” I said, after I stopped laughing.

  “True. How about fluffy?” Skadi suggested.

  “Sounds more like a dog name.” Cassie mused.

  “Really? Who names their dog fluffy?” Helena asked.

  “A friend of my mother. She has this small furball, really cute, no idea what kind of dog it is.” Cassie explained.

  “We need something dark. Devourer of souls!” Helena suggested.

  “Hatsumi looked at me. Were there similar suggestions for naming me?” She asked.

  “Uh… we actually agreed on something normal rather quickly.” I said.

  Hatsumi looked relieved. “Maybe the cats should have a normal name as well? Something to help them pretend to be normal cats?”

  “Ohhhh, like a long name that we can shorten into something?” Helena wondered.

  “Um, no. Just a normal name…” Hatsumi proposed.

  “I still vote for cute.” Skadi said.

  “How about Ivy for the vampiric cat? Poison ivy is a plant that causes your skin to itch if you touch it. With blood powers she is certainly dangerous to anyone who touches her.” Cassie suggested.

  “Ivy… I like it!” I said. It was short and cute.

  “I suppose.” Helena said.

  “Ivy is a cute name.” Skadi approved.

  “That means we still need to name the draugr. Maybe something darker this time? Like… Reaper!” Helena suggested.

  “If he is like Nyx, we could name him glutton.” I proposed.

  “Meow!” Nyx complained. Hatsumi started petting her.

  “What about Stout? Like a dark beer.” Skadi suggested.

  “You think we should name him after a drink?” I asked.

  “You did name your horse Coffee.” Skadi pointed out.

  “True.” I admitted. Then I looked at the draugr cat. “I have never quite seen a blue-grey stout though.”

  Skadi shrugged. “Close enough. His fur is still on the darker side and he was black before he became a draugr.”

  “That was not what I meant with a dark name…” Helena mumbled.

  “How about Yoru?” Hatsumi suggested.

  “Hm. Sounds like it comes from Kitara. What does it mean?” I wondered.

  “I do not know. I think I heard it somewhere. Or maybe it was in a book?” Hatsumi said.

  “Sure. Let’s call him Yoru.” I agreed. Helena pouted.