"Why don't you sit down and relax for a while?" Hope said, his eyes never leaving the monitors above his desk. "I've already told you that time doesn't pass when you're up here. You should rest."

Lightning sighed and reluctantly sat down on the sofa in the corner of the Ark. She'd been saving souls for six full days, and even though her body no longer needed sleep to function, her mind still got tired. She leaned back against the backrest, and then quickly jumped back up on her feet after accidentally putting her weight on her tail.

"I hate this damn outfit," she muttered, taking great care of keeping the twitching tail out of her way as she sat down again. The tail kept moving back and forth as if it had a life of its own, refusing to stay curled up in her lap. Lightning sighed in annoyance. According to Hope, the outfit had once belonged to a miqo'te, but in Lightning's eyes it could just as well have belonged to an oversized cat. She unconsciously started scratching herself behind her ear. The places where the white fur connected with her normal skin were constantly itching, and she still wasn't used to having a tail. The magic abilities the outfit gave her were powerful enough for her to keep wearing it, but not powerful enough for her not to hate it.

Lightning closed her eyes. The sofa was unexpectedly comfortable, and the repetitive sound of Hope typing on his computer was strangely relaxing. She decided that taking a few minutes of rest wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Lightning had almost drifted off completely when the tapping sound from Hope's keyboard suddenly stopped.

"What's that sound?" he asked.

"What sound?"

"A humming sound. It's not coming from my computer… Light, are you the one causing it?"

"I don't think so, no."

Lightning could hear Hope leave his chair and approach her, but couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. For the first time in ages, she actually felt relaxed.

"It's definitely coming from over here," he mumbled, stopping in front of her. "I don't understand what... no. No way." Hope's voice went from confusion to astonishment.

"What?" Lightning opened an eye to give Hope a skeptic glare. She could tell that Hope was trying his very best not to laugh, but he wasn't exactly succeeding.

"What?" she repeated, opening her other eye to intensify her glare.

"Light, you're purring. You're actually purring."

Lightning blinked, her tail twitching. She was just about to deny it when she realized that something inside her really was vibrating. She touched her throat, confirming that the buzzing sound really was coming from her larynx.

"Hope, how do I stop it?" She tried to swallow the sound, but her throat just wouldn't stop vibrating. "I don't know how to stop it!"

"This is priceless," Hope said, now laughing openly.

Lightning left the sofa, stomping towards the teleporter. "That's it, I'm never wearing this outfit again," she said, angry and embarrassed.

"Light, wait. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just so adorable," Hope said, taking a deep breath to calm down from the laughing fit. "Seriously, wait up. I have things I need to talk to you about before you leave."

Hope grabbed her arm to stop her. Lightning tried to tell him to let go, but all that came out of her mouth was a loud hiss. A very cat-like, loud hiss.

Hope stared at her for a moment before losing it again, tears of laughter escaping from his eyes. Lightning yanked her arm free from his grip and rushed to the teleporter.

"Never again," she growled, leaving the Ark and the still laughing Hope behind her. "Never, ever again.