One thing that Akira had learned from his encounters with his grandfather was how to tell apart aggressive sarcasm from well-meaning one. Actually he had learned to classify sarcasm in at least five different groups from the most harmless to the one intended to make the others lose their tempers and say something stupid (this last one being the favored of old Kenzo Hibarashi). That's why he simply smiled to Maleena's response. "I can give it a try... although it will be difficult for me." he mused "I have lawyer's blood and lawyers tend to talk<em>instead</em>of breathing..."<br/><br/>He was about to add something else, probably another jest, when the world suddenly became very calico and Skuld-like. Since his attention was on Maleena, Akira hadn't noticed the other catgirl moving and so he found himself nose-to-nose with her all of a sudden and almost yelped in surprise. Fortunately for him, he had the tendence to freeze when he was surprised rather than to jump... and that turned out to his advantage in that particular case, since it allowed him to realize what Skuld was doing. He maintained his composure while the calico sniffed on him... Akira wasn't a stranger to normal cats and he knew that for them the sense of smell was extremely important, much more than sight in fact... it was smells that mainly told cats about people and it was with smell that they told apart friends from enemies.<br/><br/>It stood to reason that catgirls would follow that behavioural pattern too... and so Akira stood still, allowing Skuld to memorize his smell. He tried to remain calm and composed, with fairly acceptable results although it would have been a bit easier if it was a 'true' cat smelling him rather than a definitely beautiful catgirl with eyes that were twin seas of sparkling blue and golden. At least she eventually closed them... which helped a bit and Akira managed to remain still enough, despite the shivers that her close sniffings were sending trickling down his spine. Finally, when she turned and gracefully leaped back near her friend, the boy remembered how to breathe.<br/><br/><em>Wow...</em>he thought to himself.<br/><br/>His attention went back to Skuld as she asked something and he took that occasion to steer his train of thoughts back to the there and then. "Uhm... you should be due to come to your new home in a couple days. Hasn't Jean already told you that?" he said to them with a smile "One of the reasons for which I am here is because I am doing preparations for your arrival and I would like you to help me..."<br/><br/>He took up his bag and opened it with a swift movement. Inside it there seemed to be something like... magazines? There was also something else, since the bag seemed full, but it was not actually visible from the outside anyway. From the inside of it, he produced a bunch of photos and what seemed a big ring-binder full of sheets. Then, he closed the bag and put it carefully on one side, where he could keep an eye on it. There was a little table near the armchair and so Akira spreaded the photos upon it before pushing it gently towards the girl. "I know that this is not the same as being there but if you are interested these are some pictures of the house, the garden and your rooms.. you may pick the room you like most."<br/><br/>Akira flashed open the binder, revealing it to be... a tissue catalogue. It was filled with sheets upon which were attached many rectangles of tissue of all color and textures. "I would also have you choose the tissue you like most for your sheets and curtains. Since I am about to buy some extra ones for you, I figured out that I could as well follow<em>your</em>tastes rather than mine and also... " he closed the catalogue keeping it firmly on his lap "...I would know if there is anything you would like me to find for you. Which is your favorite food also.. and your preferred playthings. I could have asked all this to Jean but I prefer to talk directly to you... after all it is you who are coming to live with me, not Jean..."<br/><br/>Now... Akira HAD read their profiles actually. Especially - in this case - Skuld's one. And he was not exactly being suicidal in showing to them a binder full of sheets with multi-colored and different pieces of tissue. The catalogue was - in fact - expendable since the shopkeeper's son was a close friend of him. What he wanted to do there was... to explore their reactions and see how much human and how much cat-like they were. Was one of them dominant on the other? How much restraint Skuld would be able to exert on herself (admitting that she would be enthralled by the catalogue... although Akira suspected that this would definitely be the case)?<br/><br/>Akira's objective was to have both girl tell him something of themselves and possibly have Maleena choose from the catalogue before Skuld could get her hands on it. Maybe that would be easy and maybe it would be utterly impossible. Either way, Akira would gain insights on the both of them.<br/><br/>Also, this was a way for him to... try and give them the feel that he cared for their opinions. He was not going to do things 'behind their backs'. He figured out that involving them in things would make them feel more... an active part of their own future so to say.<br/><br/>He smiled, still firmly holding the catalogue on his lap, and waited for their reactions.