Reviews :

Snake557 : She's the best :) Merry Christmas!

Burgie : Definitely! The next chapter definitely proves that to be true haha


Song Listened To :

Shinigami Eyes by Grimes


*Chapter 135*

Kepa held her breath and stood still, she bounced on the balls of her feet and casted her eyes across the lighthouse's common room in a flit of last-minute nervousness, though with a gentle spark of electric purpose, her coding enveloped her in a kiss of minty coding that flood her eyesight. With a pop, her pixels realigned back to the grid, though with having cleared the near-entirety of Turbotime, she scrunched her eyes shut in shock, flattened her ears and scrunched her shoulders. After a second of the differential, she perked her ears and bravely peaked her eyes open, and in the squint, she jolted in sheer surprise the second an unfamiliar batch of people began to excitedly whoop and holler excitable greetings in her direction, which was a few dozen feet across the arena's spacious, lovely common room. Kepa tucked her arms and hands to her chest in a show of dainty nervousness, her lovely tail hooked in a ravel about her legs as she stood on the flat of her feet, though she dared to let a small smile fly free the second she saw Gideon emerge from the group and begin to quickly and kindly approach her.

"I'm well aware this may have totally disrupted your evening..." Gideon prod shyly, his voice was low and gentle, he approached Kepa with such care, and with the sweet look of honest, nervous humility in his eyes, Kepa practically lit up and was almost certain this was euphoria, getting Gideon to crack open the door of information he had been skillfully reserving from Kepa, however temporary it all was.

"No! No, not at all," Kepa urged excitedly, and though she was reserved, she cutely sagged her much littler hand into Gideon's and allowed him to lead her to the lazy group among the cooking space of the common room, dead center.

"Kepa," Nox cheered cutely as he raised his drink, Kepa giggled and waved a little as her and Gideon sagged to a gentle stop, side by side.

"Guys, this is my girlfriend, Kepa," Gideon stated in humbled, sweet confidence, and though his voice shook, he was elated to hear everyone rouse into a collective, warm greeting; he shyly pressed on.

"K-Kepa, this is, uh... A small chunk of my family, as well as Lash's brothers," Gideon staggered, it was entirely obvious he was wrought with nerves, his shaking arms and hands was nearly visible even from the gap of the cooking area they stood in.

"Gideon, you're not nervous enough, you need to act WAY more scared," Turbo muttered cutely, and though Gideon's face had been sloped in a gentle sag of a look that very easily resembled a deer in headlights, he finally brightened with a wide, annoyed grin and looked down to his bare feet in defeat. Kepa erupted into an adorable sting of laughter, as did everyone else, she sagged her gentle hand to the center of Gideon's chest and shook her head.

"Worry wart," Kepa mused sweetly, she lovingly hooked her arm into the nook of Gideon's elbow, to which he held said hand and arm tight to his chest so to so a gentlemanly air about himself. Kepa casted the creepy slits of her pupils about the group in a flicker of equal nervousness, though she stood with a solid press of confidence. With gentle assuredness, she cutely caught with Lash and pointed a little, "Okay, well... I know you."

"Do you though?" Lash sharply narrowed his eyes in a playful, sarcastic side eye, though he loosened with a knowing smile and a nod, "Sup."

"And Mara," Kepa pointed cutely, though Mara firmly jostled a pointer finger in return.

"I need everyone here right now to understand that I have strictly become this girl's stylist, I'm the one that takes her shopping," Mara rattled, taking note that Kepa was wearing a cute outfit, something that seemingly fit the description to Kepa's culture.

Similar to a kurta, the fabric was a gentle cream with gorgeous, terracotta-colored tribal like markings down the sides, a covering that was open down the front to reveal a figure-hugging undershirt with straps. It was clear Kepa put on the first nicer thing she now recently owned, though potentially didn't want to overdress so she paired it all with a pair of black skinny jeans, torn at the cuff of her bigger ankles, of which spilled into the scary set of claws and paws she stood on.

"It's true, without you, I was, well..." Kepa rubbed the back of her head and shyly glanced up to Gideon, though he bravely leaned down a bit, as if his words were only for Kepa's ears, though since the group was silent, he was heard anyways.

"Still beautiful," His deep voice mused warmly, to which Kepa cutely peered into his eyes in a show of prickled flattery.

"Alright, you know Lash, Mara, Koko, Nox," Gideon went down the line until he got to Throttle, "This is Throttle, he's Lash's, Nox's and Turbo's oldest brother."

"That'd be me," Throttle cutely hummed as he flagged his hand a little, Kepa waved with a happy smile.

"You have Wren, Throttle's swap mate," Gideon carried on, "And, Turbo, Lash's older brother."

"Comma, Tastic," Turbo muttered cutely, the group roused with laughter, though Kepa looked on in mild, unbothered confusion.

"Then you have Bailey, Turbo's swap mate, one of my cousins," Gideon introduced, Berri excitedly waved, to which Kepa giggled in a show of her fangs.

"Last but not least, we have my other cousin Theo, and his swap mate Tatum," Gideon inhaled a shaky breath and allowed his brain to segue into revealing that Tatum and Kepa were from the same game, though Berri tenderly interrupted.

"Forgive me if this is really forward, but I adore the look of the fur on your shoulders," Berri confidently chimed, she then eagerly tossed her eyes to Tatum and sweetly pointed, "I have always loved that about Tatum, too, I'm so glad you started allowing your shoulder fur to loosen."

"Yeah, after years of flattening it out cause I was ashamed," Tatum mumbled cutely as she shook her head, though as her and Kepa caught eyes, Kepa perked her ears high in surprise and held her breath.

"Yeah, Kepa, you and Tatum have something in common," Gideon gently revealed, "She's from the version of Castle Run you're from."

"You don't say," Kepa hummed in a wonderstruck kind of way, and though Gideon knew he shouldn't have assumed Kepa's reaction, he was almost certain she'd be way more excited or emotional, "What part?"

"I was born and raised in the city," Tatum sweetly volleyed, both girls held eyes in tight, almost nervous discovery. Tatum eyed Kepa in a roll of rising confusion she almost couldn't stuff, "You spent time in the city, I'm assuming?"

"O-Oh, no, I was born at the castle," Kepa stated with confidence.

"Oh, forgive me... I-I spent way too much time around dragon gargoyles, I guess," Tatum flinched and looked down to her hands in prickled confusion, "My mother was a thoroughbred lion gargoyle, my father was a human. My mother escaped the castle life."

"Lucky cat," Kepa snipped with a nod of certainty, "Not many escape and live to tell the tale, let alone go on to live normal lives with a spouse and offspring."

"My father was fiercely protective over her," Tatum stated with a pinch of remembered worry, her eyes peered into Kepa's with a swathe of fear, "You know how ruthless hawk gargoyles were..."

Kepa stiffened and bobbed a nod, though not so much in the vein of agreeing with Tatum, and more so in the vein of hoping this conversation died immediately; something Gideon didn't catch on to.

"She's a three-ability gargoyle," Gideon chimed excitedly, it was here did the group now fully understand that Gideon had strictly been operating on his nerves and nerves alone, the way he now came alive once the hard part was entirely over with had everyone confirming that Gideon, indeed, was a man that lived solely inside his own head, dancing with his worries, married to the crippling idea that everyone was out to get him.

"No way," Tatum huffed cutely, she peaked a dainty little smile and narrowed her gorgeous, maroon-colored eyes, "ALL three?"

"All three," Kepa hummed sweetly, she opened her palms, looked down in shyness and now glossed her eyes about the group in a prickle of sassy cuteness that came back to her, "Please don't make me demonstrate in front of everyone..."

"No, I won't, I know how personal that can be, especially when it comes to wings," Tatum hurried, Theo nodded in understanding, having remembered how hard it was to get Tatum to open up about her ability to fly and even reveal her wings.

"Oh, you fly!" Kepa eagerly pressed, both girls lit up, "We should... Totally hang out sometime."

"I'd love that," Tatum slumped her shoulders in regret, "Too bad we'll be gone..."

"Where'you going?" Kepa sagged her hands to her sides in an equal droop of regret as she glanced up into Gideon's eyes in a sting of sorrow, though before anyone could stumble on words and worry about the continuity of not blowing their cover, Turbo skillfully came to the rescue.

"I have a good friend in Dead Zed who is taking us on a month-long excursion inside one of their nature preserves," Turbo's voice rolled like honey, everyone desperately tried not to act shocked, Turbo heaved a nonchalant sigh and gingerly sagged his hand to the dip of Berri's back as his golden eyes hooked to Kepa's in a string of continued warmth, "Poor Mr. Whiplash will be here, holding down the fort."

"You mean poor Mrs. Marathelke will be holding down the fort," Mara stated curtly, everyone erupted into laughter as she viciously pointed to herself.

"Well, I hope you guys have fun," Kepa eased sweetly, it was here did Gideon lovingly sag his bigger arm about her littler shoulder and squeeze her into a snuggly side-hug.

"We'll be back in one blink, always happens," Throttle grumbled as he grunted to a stand, "Well, welcome to the party, Kepa. You've joined us JUST enough drinks in to where we can still coherently talk to you."

"I'm on my fourth, count me out of that equation," Nox muttered cutely as Kepa pressed a little closer to the group, as did Gideon.

"You don't have to remind me of our last beach hang out," Kepa skillfully volleyed, to which Koko brightened.

"We had to cut him off," Koko giggled, to which Kepa cutely joined.

"What's this beach hang out you speak of?" Berri eagerly mused as she cutely sagged her elbows to the counter, her face into her hands and leaned in to their girly chatter, to which Gideon stood close by and allowed Mara to kindly make him and Kepa drinks, so to join the party.

"Your silence is deafening," Throttle mumbled in Tatum's direction, and though she was en route to jumping in to the louder conversation at hand, she was almost grateful to capture eyes with Throttle in the burn of gentle, glowing-white knowing.

"It's nothing," Tatum huffed quietly, they stood close to each other as the group began to stand, meander, make drinks and toy with the idea of making a second round of food now that Gideon and Kepa had joined the party.

"Certainly it's something," Throttle mused, the bass of his raspy voice coated the underlying of the groups incredibly boisterous and happy conversing, something Throttle, Tatum and now Turbo stood just outside of.

"That cat is not a thoroughbred," Tatum dared, just under her breath, only quiet enough for Throttle to catch, to which Turbo tried not to look to suspicious leaning in closer on the counter he now was seemingly lazily slouched on.

"How do you figure?" Throttle mumbled quietly as all three stood close and lazily tossed their gazes in the direction of Kepa and Gideon.

"Look at her feet," Tatum stated above whispering, they desperately did what they could to look inconspicuous with their long strings of curious glancing to Kepa's body. Tatum gestured briefly, "Those are the daggers and the kicks of a dragon gargoyle."

"But... She looks so feline everywhere else," Turbo mused tenderly, Tatum bobbed a nod, crossed her arms and shrugged.

"Yeah, she does, but... She's a bit bulkier, even though she's still an itty bitty creature, thoroughbred lion gargoyles are far more lithe, their features are incredibly dainty, they almost look untouchable, ethereal," Tatum whispered, "My mother was a thoroughbred. I know what I'm talking about... My mom's feet were in the same structure as Kepa's, but were far tinier with daintier, retractable claws."

"Yeah, Kepa looks like..." Throttle grit his teeth and was due to delivering Kepa a profound compliment.

"Like if Gideon says one wrong thing, he's fucked," Turbo muttered, "Can you imagine those kinds of dagger claws on Berri?"

"Yeah we'd all be screwed, if that were the case," Tatum mumbled with a giggle as all three friends tossed each other wary looks of brimming discovery, "I'd be willing to bet every single pixel to my name that Kepa is a cross breed... She has the upper body and tail of a lion gargoyle... Those legs are all dragon, babes."

"Gideon seems to believe she's thoroughbred," Turbo stated with a rouse of nervousness as he rubbed the back of his head, all three beings glanced to Gideon. He lazily stood with Kepa, a dorky grin on his face, him and Kepa cutely bantered back and forth without a single care in the world, "Hopefully she tells him soon..."

"What if SHE doesn't even know? What if she truly believes she's a thoroughbred?" Throttle countered, everyone sagged in a few seconds of stumped silence.

"... If she lived at the palace with all of those other thoroughbred lion gargoyles, SURELY she knows," Tatum painfully wondered, she wanted to launch from both boys and orbit into Kepa's gravity for more clues, though resisted, "Looking like another species of gargoyle while living at that prison of a castle? I'm almost positive she wasn't treated well, due to this... If only I could see her wings."

"Why her wings?" Turbo mused curiously, Tatum gestured her hand lazily.

"Lion gargoyles have very thin, lithe wings," Tatum then gestured to herself, "Dragon gargoyles have a wing structure very similar to Lickity and crew. I would reveal my wings for comparison, but I'm positive she wouldn't feel comfortable revealing her wings to the lot of us, especially with me present."

"She knows you know." Throttle huffed darkly.

"Either that, or she is entirely oblivious and even SHE doesn't know," Tatum muttered as she narrowed her eyes and sorrowfully peered to Kepa, as if to feel an ache of grief for Kepa's sake, "I wish we weren't leaving tomorrow... I wish I could genuinely get closer to her and figure it out. Then again... I think opening up to someone like me, so tight in her proxy without even knowing it, might not be something she could afford."

"Remind you of anyone?" Throttle mumbled into his hand as he rubbed his face in gentle agitation, everyone skillfully drew their eyes to Gideon's figure.

"Thick as thieves, these two," Turbo concluded as he cocked an eyebrow and narrowed his gaze to the pair, "Birds of a feather flock together..."