Step by step, Lin made his way through the narrow tunnel. The ventilation ducts were just about big enough for him to fit, and just about bright enough for him to spot the white latex puddles on the ground. Stepping onto them would be an instant death sentence, so the little light he got was nothing short of a blessing.
He rounded a turn and made his way further ahead. This couldn't go on for much longer, could it? He had to reach the end of these vents at some po—
He slipped over something in the darkness. He reflexively stretched out his arms to prevent himself from faceplanting, and accidentally pushed over some boxes. He was able to catch himself with his other foot.
He froze for a moment.
A silence fell.
Finally he straightened his back. That was—
Rapid footsteps were heading his way.
Lin gasped and took off running. He rounded the stack of boxes he'd pushed over—to run straight into another, taller box. He desperately shoved it out of the way and resumed running.
He didn't look back, but he knew the creature was gaining on him.
He shoved another box to the side and scrambled forward. He saw light ahead. A grille. He could get out of the ducts through there!
A silhouette flashed just ahead, and Lin ran into a metal barrier. Dazed, he stepped back. A solid steel box—the kind that was too heavy for him to lift. That wasn't there moments ago. Where had that come from?!
He heard sounds above him and a quiet chuckling slowly fading away. Lin felt cold as realization set in. That box had been placed there mere seconds ago, by one of the latexes that lurked in the vents.
He spun around to face the latex that had been chasing him—to see it standing mere inches away from him. Lin pressed his back against the metal box. He recognized this latex; it was the female snow leopard who'd ambushed him in the library.
Green eyes observed him curiously.
Then it stepped forward. Right into Lin. Its body turned into liquid.
Lin gasped as the latex draped itself over him. He struggled, trying to get it off, but it only spread more. He fell to the ground, squirming, making more futile attempts to escape.
The latex spread over him. Clawed furry paws formed over his hands, yet he still felt the ground underneath it as he tried to push himself up. He felt what the latex felt, as if it were an extension of his body.
Lin cried out. He closed his eyes as the latex covered his face.
And then silence fell.
He hesitantly reopened his eyes. He felt…unchanged. His hands were still paws, and he clearly wore the body of the leopardess, but…his mind was the same. Wasn't he supposed to be…different?
He started when his body turned to the metal box ahead. He didn't control that; it did. The latex…!
No. No! What's happening?! He wanted to cry out, but couldn't produce any sounds.
The latex squatted down a little. Then it jumped up and climbed onto the metal box, like a cat jumping onto a table. It dropped down on the other side and continued further into the vent.
Suddenly, Lin felt a calming sensation wash over him. Like a comforting embrace. He felt himself relax a little bit. Maybe he didn't need to worry. Maybe…
No! No, I can't just lose myself like this! Not like this…
If he could've, he would've started crying. Was this really how it ended? With his sense of self slowly fading away, coaxed into oblivion by the promise of comfort?
The calming presence backed off a bit. As if it were a separate entity inside his own head, trying to calm him down…
Wait… Through his emotional anguish, he stopped for a moment. The snow leopardess…? Are you…?
A sense of affirmation hit. The latex could actually communicate with him? But that meant that they were still separate!
Please let me out, Lin found himself pleading. Please, please, please…
The leopardess reached up and gently scratched its own ear. Lin felt it too, as if it were his ear—which, he supposed, it kind of was now.
The leopardess led them both to the grille ahead. From there, it entered a hallway that led to a small room. They passed wall-mounted tool racks and stacks of tall boxes, heading straight for…
A coffee machine.
Lin looked on dumbly as the latex creature pressed a few buttons. Soon enough, the machine whirred to life as it proceeded to prepare a cup of coffee. The leopardess took out the paper cup, added a lid, and ordered a second one. Once that was done, it placed both cups onto a nearby desk.
Then it stood up straight.
Lin felt a strange sensation in his abdomen, as if it was opening up. It wasn't painful, but—
Wait. His abdomen? No—that had to be the latex's.
He felt the cool air outside hitting his skin—not his fur, his human skin.
He instinctively lunged forward and out of the latex mass. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping. His hand was back to normal. His chest, his face…
He was human again.
And there was an exit just ahead.
Not even bothering to turn around, Lin got to his feet and sprinted towards the double doors. He threw his full body weight into them.
Locked.
He spun around to see a code mechanism on the wall. Behind the leopardess. There was no way he'd be able to get past it.
Then he noticed the leopardess was holding the coffee cups from before. It extended one to him. The beast was smiling, but its eyes looked…oddly gentle. Almost pleading.
Lin hesitated. The thing had let him go, and now it got him cornered again. It could've easily hurt him, but he got out of the transfurmation fine…
After what felt like a full minute of staring, Lin finally brought himself to step forward. His step was slow. Reluctant.
Finally he reached the leopardess and accepted the coffee cup. He remained tense, expecting a sudden attack—as if it hadn't already assimilated him moments earlier. Though, 'assimilate' wasn't really the right word when he was allowed to keep his humanity.
He flinched when the leopardess stepped forward and placed its free hand on his cheek. Strangely, Lin felt a sense of…apology? Even with just minor physical contact, it could communicate with him…?
Lin hesitated. The past few minutes weren't an experience he was dying to repeat, but he was beginning to understand that Puro's claims about the latexes being harmless were pretty much confirmed, now. The leopardess hadn't realized just how scared he was until after she bonded to him…and now she wanted to apologize?
Lin hesitated. The code mechanism on the wall… If he could open the exit door, he—
… He wasn't in a hurry, actually.
For the first time in a while, he relaxed. Truly relaxed.
"It… It's okay," he finally said to the leopardess. "You didn't know, did you? Just…don't do that again, please."
The leopard responded by placing its free arm around his shoulders in a half-hug. Lin held back a surprised yelp. The leopardess affectionately rubbed its furry ear against his head, letting out a purring noise.
Lin suddenly felt a little warm. He just realized that he was literally having coffee with a girl—or, well, a female latex.
… It was kind of starting to look like he was on a date. Somehow, he felt like that was intentional on her part.
He glanced back at the leopardess. It… She was still purring. She seemed so content all of a sudden. But why had she been so determined to chase him down in the first place? Better yet, why were all of these latexes so determined to do that?
… Maybe assimilating him was like giving him a hug?
It didn't really matter. If the leopardess's behavior was any indication, they meant him no harm. They didn't even seem to realize how terrified he was of them.
As Lin and the leopardess sat down on the ground, still huddled together, he felt himself leaning into her embrace as well. This was…oddly nice.
Nah, he wasn't in a hurry. He could stay here a while.
Fun fact: I had three ideas on how to go about this.
In the first version, the leopardess cornered Lin in that small room after the vents; she'd make it inside before Lin could escape. She never transfurred him, but they still had coffee.
In the third version, she'd still corner Lin in the vents, but instead of transfurring him she'd lead him back to a point before the vents.
What you see here is the second idea. I almost went with the first because I wasn't sure if the second was the best pick (what with Lin getting transfurred and having a bit of a crisis), but I figured it was the most interesting of the three, so…