Suzanne
Crickets rang in the space of Nikita's head, who listened tiredly to their song at the edge of the overgrown fields of Newton's Cradle. Dark eyebags formed on Nikita's face, and his excitement for the cradle had dwindled somewhat. 
He'd officially been a "Student" For two weeks, and he felt wrong for that. He felt wrong that something so stable was tethering him down. He felt like a dog, left tied to a tree in the middle of nowhere. Abandoned. He found himself missing his Grandparents, the dogs, the sheep, even the farmhands. They were a structure his lonely heart craved. He was never built for people, and he was realizing that. His parents cursed him, one half angry and one half sad, blended together to form a hopeless boy with nobody to love him except two old fools looking for something to cling to for the rest of their days. 
That was his life, that's where he belonged. But instead he sits at the edge of the field that gives way to forest. He did that often, rather than begging his grandmother to get him out over the phone he just sits there and reminisces- too scared to move forward into the woods, too stubborn to go back to the cradle. 

The sun painted his figure in orange light, making him look warm in his dark green hoodie and brown slacks. His hands were in the shape of claws, a tail lay hidden in the tallgrass, and his eyes were wide and pupils rectangular. He enjoyed sitting like that, monster half exposed to the world. It made him feel real, as if his existence wasn't real, like he wasn't just a monster in the fog. The sun felt nice on his skin, but it was going down quickly. 
Nikita let a sigh escape him as his gaze fell to his closer surroundings. The yellowish tallgrass surrounded him, to about the chest height sitting down, and snow was nestled on top of the ground. He was grateful for the small patches of still surviving grass in the coldness of late February. Nikita was happy to hide.

His eyes fell shut. It was just one of those days for him. From the moment he put his clothes on he'd been away from the main campus. He found his way to where he sat and hadn't moved since. He couldn't. Every little action made him more lethargic. Drawing wasn't helping, games weren't helping, even his music made him worse off. He felt sickeningly lonely for some reason. He'd never cared before, but interacting with so many people in such a short time instilled an emotion in him he never wanted to have. He was really, truly *Lonely*. Sure, he'd been alone his whole life, but he thrived in the isolation, basked in the glory of his apathy. Now he found himself hating it, wishing he could manage to reach out somehow to feel better. 
Nothing made him feel better, nothing he could control. 

After about three more minutes of shut-eye sulking, Nikita reached for his headphones and phone. He needed to silence the crickets before he started to rage and do something stupid. 

His clawed fingers swayed over his screen, searching for somewhere to go in the expanse of his phone. 
He found himself going to his messages. He knew why. A white haired boy that crossed his mind about every 30 minutes. A stray thought that habitually wandered into his mind. 

He clicked Pythia's username. "Oracle of Delphox." Nikita found it childishly cute that Pythia liked a pokemon so much he themed his internet profile on it. 
Niktia came to the chat often, but his timidness led to him just rereading dumb old messages that weren't really that interesting. But he still read them like they were the secret of life every time. 
Nikita didn't reread an old conversation, his eyes felt too slow. His thumb hovered over the call button. What if it was a bad time? What if Pythia didn't want to see him again after seeing Zima? It was a thought that crossed his mind.

Before he could overthink and come to a conscious decision not to call Pythia, he clicked the button- half because his finger was shaking and half because he wanted to know that things were okay between him and his only official friend. 

He doesn't know if the phone clicked, the crickets are loud and his mind is even louder. 
"Pythia?" Nikita called into the emptiness of his phone that felt hollow in his grasp. His voice was rasp and shot, barely audible, but it was there.
Todd
*Pythia was stable... He wasnt good, he wasnt bad... He was stable. It was a familiar lull that he found himself in, comfortable enough in his bed, not determined or uncomfortable enough to move... So he just stayed still. Isolation was a slow killer, and it didnt push him to act... For good or for bad. He guessed that he was glad for that... He wasnt sad, atleast he didnt think he was, so he wasnt depressed... He just wasnt really excited about anything. Most days he would lay in bed, he slept way too much... But it was comfortable. On days when things were due he would pull himself out, doing just enough to scrape by... And every once and awhile he would practice with his reflex bag... But with such large gaps between practices that small layers of dust collected on the surface.*

*Today was another boring day. He was blazing his way through audiobooks, they were by far his favorite form of entertainment. He had finished almost two books in this short time period, and was ready for the next... The stories were nice, the one real thing he did... Well he did two things regularly... But he wasnt in the mood for the second right now. His hair was a mess, falling infront of his face as he kept his eyes closed. It had already grown a bit since making it to the cradle... Normally when it was this long his mom would cut it, but that wasnt exactly possible right now so he supposed he would let it grow...*
_ _

*Then his phone rang and he almost had a panic attack. He tensed his body, tossing the blanket he was hugging into the air... Where it then got caught on the fan and was thrown against the wall with a loud thump. He jumped at his phone, his heart already racing. For the first time in days he really felt something... A mix of excitement and fear... With a dash of hope and longing. He grabbed his phone and had to push his hands into the bed to keep them from shaking, as that made the image of his phone distort. He knew who was calling... But he still wanted to see his name.*

*Nikita was calling him... He panicked so much he almost let the call go to voice mail, but after a frantic second he pressed accept and silence filled the line. Pythia thought he could hear something like... Crickets?*

*He hadnt texted the other boy alot... He never knew what to say or what to feel. Every time he was about to... Well certain feelings would get in the way, and afterwards he wanted to bury those feelings so much he forgot to text the other boy. But now the line was open... And he just waited for Nikita to speak.*
_ _

*His voice sounded raspy, and was more of a whisper... But it was there, and Pythia could help but grab another pillow and squeeze it tightly, kicking his legs as he let out a soft squeal of joy. He had been wanting to talk to Nikita ever since they had parted... He just had never had the confidence to call. In Pythia's eyes Nikita was epic, a boy with a beastly secret, stalking the school grounds. It was silly, but Pythia loved the image of the other boy moving through nature. He hadnt seen much... But what he had was enough. He was like a panther, stalking through the underbrush silently. Pythia could hardly take it anymore, and bolted up out of the bed, grabbing his phone and rushing over to the window. He stared out the frosted glass, looking for any signs of shadows... Normally it would be absolutely impossible for him to spot Nikita, given how adept the boy was at sneaking, but with his vision he would see a cloud of darkness that would easily give the other boy away.*

"H-hey" *He stuttered softly, half out of breath from the sudden movement, half still paralyzed from fear.* "... .... H... How are you d... Doing?" *He asked quietly. It should be painfully obvious from his voice how much he had wanted to speak to the other boy... But both of them were so socially inept that there was a good chance neither would pick it up.*
Suzanne
Pythia's voice, though laced with mild panic, made Nikita's muscles relax. He visibly melted, slumping down into himself. He lifted a knee to place his head against as he held the phone up. He could stare at the screen and talk with his trusty headphones. 
Pythia was there. He wasn't angry or upset, he was just Pythia, and that fact somehow calmed Nikita's constantly tense mind. 
Part of him didn't want to speak, just sit on call in the distant company of Pythia. He knew that by just being on call his thoughts wouldn't be so violent, they wouldn't trust him into the inferno of anxiety and anger and depression when Pythia was there. 
But there was a guilt that etched at him the longer the silence drew on. Pythia sounded excited to talk, but maybe that was because of his loneliness. Nikita knew the feeling, so he thought nothing of it. 

"Hi." He responded quietly. He was too tired to sound happy, so he let his voice hang in a sort of half asleep state. It held a sort of growl to it again, and this time it sounded slightly deeper due to his fatigue. "I'm... In a field." He shrugged, lazily letting his eyes trail up from his phone to glance around before looking back. Part of him wants to type a message, but he thought it would be strange since they were on a call, so he didn't. His wrist went limp as he let his phone hang and he closed his eyes. He just wanted to hear Pythia's voice again. Even if he stuttered a lot, he had a nice voice. 

"How's your day going?" He asked, waiting a little excitedly for Pythia to respond. He only hoped Pythia was doing well.
Todd
*After a minute spent scouring the tree line, Pythia eventually gives up on spotting Nikita and walks back over to their bed, flopping down on it. They took the blanket that Nikita had used in the garden and when he had come over, and wrapped it around himself... Every night he had slept with the blanket wrapped around him, and though it was quietly fading... It still smelled like Nikita. Now even that thought sent his brain in two directions, half thought it was way to creepy, the other half just wanted that other side to shut up and enjoy the moment.*

*Hearing the other boy's voice was like music... Though Nikita's voice was perhaps the least melodic thing he had heard, listening to it was comforting. He could tell how tired the other boy was... And Pythia was tired to. Somehow, he was still tired after sleeping most of the day away. The soft growl to Nikita's voice, the obvious fatigue... It just made him want to hug the other boy.*

"Im... ... ... B... Better. M... My day has improved a... A lot since y... You called" *He said with a small smile and a blush, it took him a second to realize how corny that sounded... But it was true. He didnt push Nikita to speak, knowing that the other boy valued silence... And he feared that if he pushed him to talk too much then Nikita would grow uncomfortable with the conversation... But he also just wasnt able to shut up sometimes...*

"What f... Field? I... Is it... Um... A good field? Hows your day going?" *He asked quietly, squeezing his body with the blanket as he hugged his body pillow, putting the phone near his head. He had it on speakers, since he didnt feel like holding his phone to his ear and headphones werent comfortable when he was laying on his side*
Suzanne
Nikita found himself smiling at Pythia's words. "It's been about two minutes." He said at the other's initial comment, voice lifting into a short laugh. 
He hadn't smiled all day, but Pythia's existence is enough to clear the fog in his mind and allow him to feel some semblance of happy. 

Nikita enjoyed Pythia's questions, enjoyed answering them. It was one of the small pleasures he found in conversation. Maybe he liked it because of how easy it made talking, but he also just liked being able to hear someone find any kind of interest in him. 


"I'd say it's a good field." He pats the ground beside him, snow sticking to his hand as he does so. "Some tall grass, right by the forest, lots of snow, setting sun. I'd say it's a solid eight out of ten field." Nikita's voice slowly loses its lowness and drowsiness, fading more into his tired but resonant constant. It still held a growl, in his current half-beast sort of state. "And my day has improved a lot since you answered." He says, returning Pythia's words back to him. 

He lets the silence take over for him as he contemplates his next request. 
He wants Pythia to join him, or at least he thinks he does. But there's a worry. It's cold, and Nikita was beginning to feel guilty everytime he asked Pythia to join him outside. His presence made Pythia's world dark, not just blindness but something arguably worse. Nikita can't imagine how the constant shadows must look. 
But Nikita wants Pythia to join him, and Nikita follows even his smallest whims. 

"Do you want to see it? The field." His words are short, to the point. The question should sound sturdy, uncaring of Pythia's answer, but even a short phrase sounds shaky when Nikita is asking for Pythia's presence.

A part of him is scared of Pythia. Scared that the boy will grow tired of him, or see the monster that everyone else sees, or whatever horrible fate that would lead to Pythia walking out of Nikita's life on short notice. He's scared to be alone again, and Pythia is the one thing between him and loneliness. Pythia could hurt him so easily, and that fact scares him. 
Fear is not something that comes to Nikita often. He's never found himself so afraid of another person, not even his Grandparents- because he knew that at the end of the day they'd still be there. There isn't that guarantee with Pythia, he hasn't been around long enough. 

His tail had begun to drag across the ground from side to side, making the tallgrass move with it and snow clinging to its fur. This was his excitement, the part of him that was genuinely happy to have a friend to talk to. Zima was doggish in that sense. His tail served mostly for balance, but it showed what he was thinking and how he felt. As Zima, it could be a helpful way to communicate feelings. As his normal self, it was an obvious indicator to the things he was trying to keep secret. He was aloof, but his tail gave away his oh-so emotional mind.
Todd
*As he heard Nikita laugh, Pythia couldnt help but add his voice to their small chorus. It was nice to hear the other boy laugh... It didnt happen nearly enough for either of them. He smiled brightly, squeezing his pillow and gently kicking his legs to try to relieve the excitement he felt.*

*As Nikita responded, he couldnt help but grin.* "O... Oh! That sounds l... Like a wonderful field... But if thats an eight o... Out of ten w... What makes a ten out of ten?" *He asked quietly. But that last little comment sent a bright red blush onto the other boy's face. Surely... Surely he didnt mean it tha-*

*The next question caught Pythia off guard. He wasnt expecting Nikita to want to meet up... It had been awhile... Too long actually... But... But part of his mine still was convincing him not to crowd Nikita... But that part of his mind was silenced when Nikita spoke*

"Yes!" *He responded, almost shouting. The answer came immediately after Nikita spoke, the response was instinctual. It took Pythia a second to realize that their answer may have come too quickly, with a bit too much enthusiasm. Their face fell victim to a deep blush as they stuttered.* "I... I... ...I... I mean i... If you w... Will have me of course..." *He added sheepishly, feeling a spike of embarrassment. He wasnt thinking of the fact it was almost night, he wasnt thinking of the fact that it was freezing cold, he only thought about seeing the other boy.*

_ _
*He had similar fears to Nikita, fears of his friends drifting away, of being lost again... He was already taking a step down that path. He would only leave his room when he absolutely needed to, and he felt the old terror take hold again. He thought he had been able to work through that, get past that... He had been working with his therapist... But he wasnt over the fear, the fear of even going outside of his room... So he only did so when he absolutely needed to: when his stomach was crying for food, when his bladder screamed for release, ect... He knew it wasnt good... But he had a hard time handling the fear...*

*Nikita helped... It helped make him want to be productive, to go out... To make himself better. Both of the boys were a mess, just different kinds.*
Suzanne
Nikita responded as the questions came, first with the one about the field. His immediate answer would have been "Home," But he quickly stopped that train of thought before it could consume him. He was talking to Pythia, he shouldn't think of home. 
Instead, the word he settled on was, "Company." His voice sounded a little strained, like there was more but he couldn't bring himself to speak up the words. Company wasn't what he had on the farm, not really, but he missed the dogs and sheep and the smell in the air- foul as livestock could smell. Maybe that's why the field was only an eight out of ten. It wasn't home, and no field could equate to something so precious to Nikita. 

The ginger almost ripped his headphones out when Pythia suddenly raised in volume with his quick answer. His ears were sensitive even without changing. But after his initial wince he felt no pain, so he made no comment. The next thing Pythia said made him smile a bit. They were very similar in the aspect of anxiety too, just it showed differently. Instead of laughing about it, Nikita gave what little reassurance he could- he was good at that much, at least. "Of course I want you to join me." He wanted to say more, add something at the end like Pythia's name or some kind of nickname. But he thought too much about it, and before he could say anything more his sentence had drifted much too far away. 

He didn't want to leave their conversation on that note that felt all too awkward to Nikita, so he continued.

"The temperature is going to drop soon. Bring blankets, wear warm clothes, the ground has snow so maybe bring a towel or something to lay on if you don't want dirty blankets. Uhm, if you haven't eaten be sure to do that- or at least grab something to bring here. I don't know if I missed anything. Be careful and don't push yourself too much, okay?" He rambled on, words blending together at the ends to sometimes form one really long word. At least he wasn't stuttering or mixing up his words, so it sounded coherent on some level. 
Nikita was protective of anything he felt like he needed to protect. Pythia was one of those things. Not because Nikita thought he was weak, but because Pythia was too precious a person to ever be hurt. He often felt protective over the sheep as well, that's part of the reason he was such a good shepherd- he kept them all safe. In some aspects, Pythia was like the sheep. He was a soft person, white haired, gentle. Lamb was the first thing that came to mind, and Nikita quickly solved his nickname problem. 
He wasn't sure how to bring the nickname into existence, but it felt right- and a good way to mess with Pythia a little. They were friends, after all, and Nikita had heard how many times two friends would call each other names and laugh about it. He wanted a part of that.
Todd
*The word company made Pythia's heart ache, and a dumb smile spread wide across his face. He covered his mouth quietly after his little outburst, his face flushed another shade deeper. But the little affirmation that Nikita wanted him there... It felt nice...*

*At the small checklist he made mental notes. He sprung back out of bed, starting to make a pile of the things he would need. First was the blanket he always brought, large enough for two people and incredibly soft. He raised his arm to sniff at his underarm, and recoiled softly. He hadnt washed his clothes in too long, and had been wearing this shirt for awhile... He pulled it off before grabbing some thicker clothes from his drawers. He tossed them onto the bed, grabbing his towel too before looking over the items*

"A... Alright! I think I have everything I'll need.. A... And I wont push my powers t... This time" *He added with a soft chuckle, starting to pull his clothes on. This time he was dressed in similar clothes, thick pants with some long underwear aswell as a thin sweater with a jacket on top. He hoped he didnt smell bad... Hopefully a change of clothes and the cold air would help. He wasnt thinking of a nickname for Nikita, but lamb would be remarkably fitting for Pythia. He rolled up the towel... Well it was actually a picnic blanket. His mom had gotten it as a way to try to help him make friends, but he hadnt used it yet. He then wrapped his blanket around himself twice, grabbed his phone and prepared himself.* 

"A... Alright, im heading out... I... Ill try to grab something to eat from the cafe... Its late so hopefully people a... Arent about in force." *He said softly, holding the big blanket under his arm as he held his phone in his left and his cane in his right. He breathed in before stepping outside.*

_ _
*He walked slowly, sticking to the wall and moving down to the cafeteria. There were enough people that moving was hard... But thankfully Pythia had been around long enough that word of his blindness wasnt unknown... So people knew to make way for him. He walked up to the serving woman and asked for something portable... So she gave him a small burrito and he made his way outside.*

"A... Alright... Im walking out t... To the gardens now. Ive got some food" *He said softly, having clipped his phone to his blanket and holding the burrito in his left hand. He made his way out to the gardens before walking towards the treeline.*
Suzanne
Nikita listened to the hum of society as Pythia passed through it, trying to hear the things others were saying around him but unable to focus on one particular voice. 

"Could you come out to the overgrown fields? You can probably see me out of the tall grass, my head is just above it all." He suggested, straightening up instead of slumping against himself. His head popped out of the tallgrass like a meerkat, looking around. He could see slightly further with his vision, but not enough to see all the way back to the gardens. "I don't really want to move from here, but I can if you can't get out here alone." Nikita said, willing to sacrifice his comfort for the sake of seeing Pythia. He didn't want to have to rid himself of his tail, however. It was a sort of comfort to him, despite its expressiveness. He would do so, if Pythia needed the extra help. 
There was a safe mix of anxiety and excitement building up in the pit of Nikita's chest. He wanted to see Pythia, of course, but not at the cost of harming the other boy. That's what had happened last time, and Nikita wasn't willing to do that to Pythia again. 

His eyes rested on the school, unable to make out any kind of human from his current distance. It wasn't impossibly far, he could see if someone was walking toward him, but with the time of day there were still enough people outside that Nikita couldn't tell if any of them were Pythia. 
But the sun was going down quickly, and in another 30 minutes it would be too dark to see much of anyone. That darkness would also allow for him to show more of his secondary form, if he felt like doing so.
Todd
"I... Its alright... ... I think i... I know where you are talking about. A... And ill see your shadows really e... Easily" *Pythia added quietly. He collapsed his walking stick as he entered the gardens, the absence of people making it easy to see. He clipped it to his belt loop and began eating the burrito as he walked, the heat of the food feeling even better with the frigid cold... Only after a minute did he realize he should have packed a scarf too... But it was too late to go back now, so he just shrugged and continued walking.*

*Nikita would see him easily, Pythia walked with... Well inexperienced steps would be putting it mildly. Every step he took with a bit of caution, since there was a bit of snow and he had to crunch it down before he could put his full weight on the next foot. It was exceedingly obvious that he wasnt used to walking on uneven earth, but he still made the effort. Pythia looked up, and finally spotted a cloud of blackness in the grass he began to move towards Nikita.*

"I... I see you.. Or well... Um.. You know what I mean. Ill hang up now" *He said softly into his phone, ending the call as he walked towards the other boy. He put his phone in his pocket and continued eating his little snack... It was the first thing he had eaten that day, and it was nice... Though he knew not eating wasnt healthy. He waved his other hand towards Nikita, and tried to engage his powers...*

*But they failed him... Oh well, he didnt need to see Nikita, he knew the other boy would guide him... ... But he did want to see him, he did really want to see him. Maybe he should get some pictures of Nikita... If he did he would want to get pictures of all of his forms.. ... But he didnt know if Nikita would like that... Maybe he could ask him about it...*
Suzanne
"Oh, yeah. See you." This time he heard the phone click. He lingered in the silence of the now finished phone call, the sound of nothing somehow louder than the crickets around him. 

It wasn't long before he spotted Pythia peeling away from campus and onto the field. His head was peering just over the tops of the tallest grass, the red standing out against the snowy landscape in sunset. 
He didn't wave back, it wasn't a gesture he truly understood. He found the distant greeting awkward, so he simply watched Pythia walking steadily toward him. 
His tail began to sway, just above the ground. Zima was a predator, and though he didn't engage in hunting beyond chasing bugs and rodents, he still felt the instinct. Another animal in the wild meant danger or food, it just happened that Zima was the strongest thing in the woods and didn't need to worry about danger. Still, he found himself wary of Pythia for a moment, ready to bolt or bite if the other got too close. 
It didn't take long for Nikita to snap out of his trance, realizing the strangeness of his urges as Pythia grew closer. 

Pythia was his friend, he needed to remember that. Not everyone his age was as ruthless as the boys on the farm. 

As the other boy got close enough, Nikita made space for him in the area he had cleared of grass. It was a small bed of flattened grass and snow. The grass was broken and flattened many times over, showing that Nikita had been to that spot frequently. 
He held his own tail over his lap, keeping it still and running his fingers through his sleek fur to keep himself grounded. "Care to join me?" He offered, as if Pythia hadn't already agreed to do so a few minutes prior. 

Despite the boy's presence, Nikita felt impossibly lonely. He gripped the fur on his tail tightly, tugging at the roots. Pythia was his friend, he wasn't alone, yet he still felt like he was drowning without a lifeguard.

But he gave no hint of his inner turmoil, just allowed Pythia to sit beside him and brighten the abyss of his mind.
Todd
*Pythia stepped into the tall grass, giggling softly as it tickled his skin. As he stepped closer and closer to Nikita, he saw a bit of the flattened grass that Nikita had made though most of it was in shadows... By the shape of the cloud Pythia guessed that Nikita was sitting down... Though he couldnt be certain. He reached under his blanket and pulled out the picnic blanket, letting it unfurl and flop against the ground.*

"I... Id love t... To join! Um... ... Can you help me with t... The blanket? My m... Mom got it for me in hopes I... I could use it on the cradle's lawn.. ... B... But that hasnt happened yet... B... But i think this is much b-better than just laying on the lawn." *He added with a soft smile, before trying to concentrate once again on his powers... If they cooperated it would make unfolding the blanket a much easier task.*

*And Nikita would see as Pythia's eyes suddenly snap into focus, immedietly finding the other boy's face. Even if he wanted to he couldnt hide the smile that overcame him, not just at seeing Nikita, but also seeing him in this form, which Pythia assumed may feel more natural... The face that he was already atleast this comfortable.. And Pythia didnt have to ask to see it... It was nice, and so a wide and bright smile spread itself across Pythia's face. If anyone was watching the two, just from the way Pythia looked at Nikita it would be obvious that somewhere deep within Pythia's mind he was actively falling for the goat boy. His shoulders relaxed and a great deal of tension looked like it was lifted from him. His eyes were wide, and though it would be hard to see in the light of dusk, his pupils would dilate.*

*With Nikita's aid, the two of them would easily be able to unfurl the blanket and lay it out flat across the grass. At that point Pythia would sit down near the middle of the blanket, unwrapping his actual blanket and waving it out. He sat down and let his legs spread out, laying the blanket over his waist as he leaned back on his hands. The picnic blanket also came with a few small pillows, which he kept in a small pile.*

"S... So! Um... W... Whats the plan?" *He asked quietly with a soft smile. His eyes only left Nikita when absolutely necessary, and it was obvious that he wanted to look at the other boy while his powers still cooperated.*
Suzanne
Nikita caught the end of the blanket that nearly flopped on top of him with a swift hand, shifting his weight to his knees as he sat up. He made sure to stay well enough below the grass that his tail wouldn't be seen from campus had anyone chosen to take a glance toward them. 
The sun was setting quickly enough though, and soon Nikita would be able to take whatever form he chose so far from the main building. To anyone who looked, Zima would be another shadow in the dark- a trick of the light that people question for a moment before returning to their night. 

Nikita laid his end of the blanket out over where he was sitting, and when he looked back up Pythia was looking at him. Their eyes locked for just a moment before Nikita's tail thrashed against the ground in the form of a wag. His tail, though unable to pick anything up, was strong. It made a loud thud when it came into contact with the snow and grass below it. 

He couldn't manage to say anything in his defense. He couldn't describe why Pythia's gaze made him feel special, all he knew was that the fuzzy feeling in his head made him happy. With just a look, Nikita's thoughts have been replaced with ones of Pythia. 

His face flushed a soft pink knowing his tail made a spectacle of him. He quickly fixed the blanket's corners and sat on top of it, curling his tail back into his lap and holding it in place. 
Even though he wasn't looking at Pythia, he could feel the eyes on him. It felt like lightning had struck him with the electricity that sparked his heart. He felt lucky to have a friend like Pythia. 
Nikita's blush faded as his thoughts subsided, and he was able to look at Pythia again. "I didn't really think that through." He admitted.

He initially called Pythia out of impulse, expecting only a short conversation to arise from it. He had been far more lucky. 

"How about you sit with me? We don't need to know what to do for now." Nikita said. His offer bordered between childish and sincere. His heart was secretly golden, bright and pure. He shared his secret with Pythia happily. 

Nikita's gaze was far more careful than Pythia's. He only dared to steal a glance when he thought Pythia wasn't looking, but there were multiple occasions where Nikita ended up looking right at Pythia's silvery eyes. In those fleeting moments, Nikita's heart skipped a beat. Of course he liked seeing Pythia, but knowing that Pythia was looking back felt different. 
He wished he wasn't so awkward.
Todd
*Pythia smiled brightly at the soft thumping of Nikita's tail. He had no clue what it meant, but it was adorable nevertheless. He knew Nikita's tail probably gave secrets about his emotions... But he had never really interacted with animals or people... So he couldnt gain much insight.*

*Even still, the way Nikita blushed made Pythia smile grow a little bit wider. That was a feeling he understood better, and he hoped that it was a good blush instead of a bad one.*

*Already sitting down he nodded, looking down at the blanket and pushing one of the ends towards Nikita. The blanket was king sized, so there would be enough room for both of them without them crowding eachother. Pythia knew Nikita wasnt cold... But he also knew he wasnt warm.*

"I... Id love to" *He said genuinely, his voice soft and mixing with the sounds of crickets. But as the other boy sat down and occasionally looked at him... He felt his powers pulling on his mind.. He wanted to look more, to see Nikita's hazel colored eyes...*

*And for now his powers remained, he sighed softly as his body started to slide a bit, until he was laying down on the blanket. He reached up and tossed a few pillows at Nikita, grabbing a few for himself to prop his head up. The grass made the blanket more comfortable, but Pythia still prefered his bed. He laid down on his side, pulling the blaket until it covered his entire body besides his head. Even with only being exposed for a little bit of time, his hands were cold and shaking, and he pushed them under his shirt to try to help warm them.*

*Meanwhile, he was laying on his side so he could keep his eyes on the other boy. His silvery gaze was attentive, and he was basically staring... Nikita would have expected a gaze like that to feel predatory, like a panther stalking its prey.. But it didnt. Pythia's eyes were filled with enough amazement and awe that it was more than obvious that he just enjoyed looking at Nikita.*

"I... ... ... Uhm... Are... A... Are.. You okay with pictures?" *Pythia asked, slightly out of the blue... Though the question had been nagging at him* "I just... Have a... A hard time remembering faces sometimes, given i see t... Them alot less, and pictures r... Really help me" *He added slowly... Before realizing how pressuring that phrase could come across as* "B... But if you arent okay with t... Them you don't have to! I.. Im just c... Curious."
Suzanne
Nikita stopped trying to look back at Pythia, the anxiety tugging at his mind commanded it so. Rather, he adjusted to face Pythia's direction. He placed an arm on a raised knee and tilted his head to lean on it. His eyes naturally drifted away from Pythia, his gaze placed lazily over the darkening field. 
The other boy's metallic eyes felt hot on his skin, as if he could feel where Pythia was staring. He chose not to comment on Pythia's gawking, mainly because it didn't feel like how others would look at Nikita. 

Nikita received two types of looks. One being that of fear, timid and searching- waiting for something bad to happen. He got this look mostly from people at the farm. The second was empty, like he wasn't even there. Their dull eyes would gloss easily over him, never a hesitant second glance or pupils avoiding his own, and it made him feel invisible. This was the look he received at the cradle. He was a nobody. 
He hopes to never become somebody. 
But when Pythia looks at him, he feels like somebody. It's a third kind of look, as if Pythia is utterly engrossed with him- not Zima- Nikita. He is human in Pythia's eyes.

So he doesn't comment on Pythia's watching, just sits and accepts it gratefully. 

Pythia's question catches him off guard, his face shows that much. His eyebrows furrowed as he looks to the other boy, slightly bewildered. 
But as Pythia explained, his face returned to its neutral state as he nodded along. "No, that makes sense. You can't see all the time, so it's okay. Take as many as you want." He shrugged, leaning his head back against his arm. 

"I don't take selfies though." He added, his voice gaining a grump quality as he spoke. 

Nikita never liked posing or making faces for a camera. The idea of photographs was nice to him- it was a way to capture a moment and keep it for as long as you had the picture- but the theatrics of selfies and group photos felt forced in comparison.
Todd
*Pythia smiled brightly at Nikita's willingness to be photographed. It would be nice if he could get some pictures... Though photography wasnt something he was that good at. He pulled out his phone, and pulled up the camera app and pointed it towards Nikita... It was the same reason why he couldnt really watch a video even when concentrating on his powers... He would see the future image of what was on screen, creating a fair bit of distortion to his eyes. The frustrating thing was that sometimes he could see... Kinda... It wasnt completely impossible depending on what was on screen...*

*In this case Nikita was mostly sitting still, so his image was stable enough. Pythia took about 20 pictures, is photography strategy was 100% quantity over quality, hoping atleast some of the pics looked nice. He would place his phone down as he felt his powers starting to strain his mind. He would need to drop his powers soon... And he could tell Nikita wasnt used to his gaze... But he couldnt look away for some reason. He didnt want to look away, so he wouldn't until his powers forced him back into blindness.*

*And he pushed through, his vision remaining in tact. He knew Nikita wasnt used to being looked at, and that made him want to look away... But he wanted so much more to remember this. Nikita sitting on the blanket, his tail flicking behind him as he looked around at nature. He knew he now had photos... But he wanted to imprint this into his mind.*

"I... Its alright! I dont t-take selfies either." *He said with a soft smile. He looked down at the blanket between them. It was more than large enough for them to be a respectable distance away while both being under it... And he didnt want Nikita to be cold. Even if the boy was immune to its effects, he was still cold. He may not need it for survival like Pythia, but surely the warmth was more comfortable. He aired the blanked out again and put himself at one of the corners, trying to give Nikita space. The edge of the blanket was almost touching Nikita. He couldnt tell why, but he really wanted Nikita to get under the blanket. Part of it was a primal part of his mind that thought of the cold as dangerous. He wanted nikita to be safe, and even though his rational mind knew that he was... He still wasnt fully comfortable with Nikita just... Being out in the cold. Part of it was something else though... Something he couldnt exactly place... So he tried to prompt it.*

"I... ... Um... ... Y... You're not cold, a... Are you?" *He asked quietly. It was a really, really stupid question in this situation, and his face flushed as soon as the words left his mouth. He tried to say something else, but the words caught in his throat and he resigned himself to silence until Nikita responded, not wanting to say anything else stupid. He felt... Weird. The sky was already turning dark, dusk was ending and night was beginning. The darkness had to be doing something him... Surely that was the only thing.*
Suzanne
His jaw tightened as he felt the lens over his body. It was a sense he'd always had, whenever something was watching him it was like he could feel the eyes burning his skin. He drew in a breath and didn't let it go until he was freed of the camera's grasp. 

Despite his tension, Nikita appeared rather calm over photograph. Orange light danced in his yellow eyes as he stared off over the field. His gaze looked haunting, cold and distant, yet so full of warmth. The way his eyelids hung, and his shoulders slumped, and how lazily he held himself, together it all made him appear softer than he would have wished. 

The camera wavered and fell, and he let out a heavy breath. 

Crickets filled the space of conversation when he would not do so. Their constant humming and chirping felt isolating in the moments of silence. Their noise was the only thing that kept the redhead from running his incessant mouth. But when Pythia asked his question, Nikita had to stifle a laugh. 
He looked over to the white-haired boy, the minimal light now shrouding a thin veil of darkness over the two. "I'm freezing." He said as a half joke, pulling the end of the blanket over his knees. His tail crowded around his feet, encircling Nikita like a cat. 
The boy wasn't exactly warm, so he decided to enjoy the comfort of the blanket. The cold that pricked at his skin wasn't always desirable, even if he felt no discomfort from it. 

Nikita felt a small obligation to speak more, not wanting to let the air between them to become stale. "Thank you." Were the words he found. He wasn't sure if they were right, but he said it anyway. "For coming out here." Nikita couldn't look at Pythia while he felt so vulnerable. His eyes trailed away, and his head followed. His gaze ended up on the woods in front of them, watching the treeline carefully. 
Sometimes he wondered if the Cradle had other creatures like him, other beasts.

He shook his head and found his train of thought. "I think I needed a friend like you." He mustered up. But it still felt inadequate. 

"I need a friend like you." He corrected. That was enough, he thought. He hoped Pythia understood the significance of his words. Nikita needed Pythia, and that was his way of admitting it. They had only known each other a couple weeks, but Nikita felt almost too attached. 
Before the cradle, he never needed anyone. Even if his grandparents were to leave, or worse, he always thought he would be okay without them. Nikita can't bring himself to think of Pythia's existence as such. He couldn't imagine Newton's Cradle without Pythia, he couldn't imagine going on living there without Pythia. He'd make a run for it before being alone in humanity again. 
Nikita needed Pythia to have a chance at being human.
Todd
*Pythia smiled happily as Nikita relented and pulled the blanket over his knees. He knew the other boy wasnt cold... But he could still feel a chill. He giggled softly at the little joke, still blushing at his own comment. The quiet is nice, and the crickets make a gentle song. He wasnt used to their chorus, so instead of feeling isolating they felt... New? It was hard to describe. He had listened to crickets before, but infrequently.*

*At the second comment he blushed a bit further, his smile remaining on his face as he muttered a soft* "Y... You're welcome" *The words sounded... Pure, they sounded like they came straight from Nikita's mind. But the second comments.. Well they made his face bright red. He thought it was the biggest compliment he had ever recieved from the other boy... Though he didnt understand the full meaning behind it. Even still... In his mind it was one of the biggest compliments he had ever gotten.*

"I.. ... Uhm.. .. T-thank you... I... Uhm" *He stuttered softly, his brain short-circuiting.* "I... ... I... I need you too" *He said quietly, and it took him a second to realize how fucking gay that was. His eyes had been on Nikita the entire time, but now he looked away, feeling too embarrassed at the sudden proclamation. He hadnt meant to say that... But it had been exactly what he had been thinking. At that moment he felt his powers straining again.*

*They finally failed him, plunging him into darkness. On one hand he was glad. He wouldnt have to see if Nikita was weirded out by his comment... If he was silently disgusted or revolted... But on the other hand that confirmation would be nice atleast... Worrying was hell... And he felt safer when he was looking at Nikita, when he could see him. Part of him wanted to ask if he could hold Nikita's tail again as his brain started coming up with cruel thoughts. He imagined Nikita leaving silently, and him being left there alone for ages before realizing his friend had left. He shrunk down into himself, curling into an almost fetal position with his legs hugged to his chest as he shut his eyes and tried to banish the thoughts that overwhelmed his mind.*
Suzanne
Nikita sat in the silence, feeling too much raw emotion to speak; mostly in fear of saying too much. 
He watched as the final glimpses of light faded just beyond the trees and listened as birds began to sleep and frogs began to wake, filling the woods with a constant and eerie croaking. 

A chill settled over Nikita's skin, and he knew it had probably dropped a good five degrees in the past hour. He wanted more, he wanted to feel cold. He wanted to shiver and chatter as he spoke. He grit his teeth quietly, resenting his powers all over again. He didn't know why he craved to suffer as his fellow peers did, maybe it was a sense of comradery he had been missing, maybe he wanted an excuse to join Pythia under layers of blankets without looking weird. 

After a while, he heard Pythia's near-silent shifting against the blankets. Nikita looked curiously over, wondering if Pythia had decided to stare somewhere else. He was sitting in the same way Nikita met him, knees held up to his chest and holding himself closer than he'd hold anyone else. Except, this time, his eyes were shut tight. Nikita felt a twinge of understanding, a pain that rose calmly from the center of his chest. He remembered being small and hiding in the same way, eyelids fighting to stay shut in hopes the rest of the world might disappear. 

He was sure Pythia sat like that for his own reasons, and he was sure he didn't know how to help no matter how many times he wished he could. Instead of offering a hand, or his shitty reassurances, his tail slid over the top of the blanket and placed itself just beside Pythia.

His jaw relaxed as he spoke, losing that longing for human suffering. "I'm glad you're here, Pythia." Was all that came to his mind. He wanted to offer his tail up verbally, or say something that might make Pythia feel better, but in his own selfish nature he said the only thing that made him feel safe. He wanted to groan at his own words, crumple them up and throw them out like a shitty English assignment. 

He looked away now, and found sky instead of forest in his sights. It started as a glimpse, a shine in the corner of his eye, but his head craned up as he stared at the stars flickering in the sky. He quickly began to point out constellations in his head- Hercules, Cygnus, Cepheus. His eyes trailed down slightly. Draco, then Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, and finally Canes Venatici. Hound dogs. 
He wondered if the gods were real, any of them, he wondered that maybe he was a hound meant for their use. Maybe he fell as they were making him, and he landed deformed and mortal. 
He doubted that, of course. He wouldn't believe that tale even if an actual god came from the sky to tell him so. 
Nikita gave up on that train of thought and returned to earth, looking down at the blanket over his knees. Pythia's blanket. He felt a spark of satisfaction, happy that at least he had the cradle. He was almost *Happy* For his fathers shitty ideas- though to him Nikita is at some shitty reformant school. Either way, he was a small bit grateful for his dad. It meant he could sit peacefully beside Pythia, wishing on stars.
Todd
*Pythia kept his eyes closed against the bad thoughts, not wanting to consider them. He liked Nikita... He wanted Nikita to like him, was it too much to ask that his brain stop crafting scenes of the other boy leaving in the shadow of Pythia's blindness. But... As he was thinking these horrible thoughts, he heard something gently slap against the blanket right infront of him. Almost instinctually he reached our and gently grabbed hold of Nikita's tail, squeezing it as the other boy spoke.*

*It wasn't exactly a resounding sign of favor... But it was still a lot coming from Nikita. It... Made him feel better, and pushed back the dark tendrils of isolating thoughts. He smiled, holding onto Nikita's fluffy tail, gently squeezing it like it was a pillow or a stuffed animal. He kept his eyes closed for the moment, wanting to stay in this calmer darkness for a time as his racing heart slowly stilled and his mind fell back under his own control. As he lay on his side in a fetal position, his long white hair fell infront of his eyes, tickling his nose.*

*The way he held Nikita's tail was almost too familiar, too close, especially with what the other boy would be used to. He would be able to feel Pythia's fingers gently petting the fur of his tail, slowly wrapping it around one of his fingers before releasing, brushing the area back to normal, and starting again. He felt his powers rebelling against being used again, so he let them rest for awhile, knowing he would want to see for as long as possible as soon as he reigned them in again. For now he simply floated in a sea of constantly shifting shadows. He couldn't see the stars above them... But somehow he felt like he could feel them. They were far enough from the city that the light pollution here was much lesser than before. He had seen the stars at the Cradle, but the building produced enough light that it polluted the sky... But since we had left the Cradle's grounds and traveled a bit away, it was lessened a fair bit. Maybe if we went out even further one day there would be next to no light pollution.*

*He didnt say anything, not knowing what words would be best. So instead Pythia tried to let his actions speak for themselves. The way he curled up around the bit of your tail the other boy had given him, the gentle pets and carresses... It is more intimate than Pythia expected it to be, and far more intimate than most things Nikita had experienced.*