"Hmmm..."Mina studied her paws while digesting the latest truth bomb from the monkey. Gazing up, Mina opened her mouth.
As her mouth opened wider, she noticed the monkey"s scrunched up face. Mina closed her mouth with reluctance and threw Kino a helpless look.
"When you possess another body, your soul needs to snap in place."
Afraid to get an earful, Mina was about to turn her ears away from Kino but the monkey"s statement made her change her mind.
"Acclimating to a new sh.e.l.l chips off part of you. Naturally, you"ll lose part of yourself to fit into a new body."
The monkey who had a glum expression closer and tapped her head thrice.
"You need to forgo some memories to connect function in a new sh.e.l.l."
Mina could barely understand Kino"s statement after the monkey"s finger connected with her head.
"My skull is not a gong!"
"I"m noticing some pattern here."
This time, Mina"s expression was not too pleased when she cut off the monkey"s explanation.
The regular meowing sound was softer than usual but there was an edge to it.
"That"s a miracle!"
Kino had two hands in the air and a wry smile on his thick lips.
"You"d spare me from all these long-winded lectures. As you know..."
"Explaining is hardly your favorite activity."
Mina hissed and glared at Kino.
"I know!"
Kino simply bobbed his head towards Mina"s direction.
"You"ve grown up my not-so-feline, not-so-human comrade!"
Kino was not fazed by Mina"s intense gaze. The monkey did not even straighten his hunched back.
"Don"t gloss over the important details."
Mina"s eye widened as she tried to catch the orangutan"s attention.
"If I overstay my welcome in this cat body, I will lose my memories?"
"Haven"t we already established that fact?"
The monkey"s sideways look made Mina uncomfortable, but this time she was not afraid to ask questions.
"I"m so thankful this orangutan lost that stick or ... I don"t want to think about it."
It"s not like you don"t deserve it.
Mina praised herself for getting better at ignoring the collar"s unsolicited comments and placed her full attention on Kino.
"Oh well is there anyone else in this pod who could help him scratch his itch. Hmm...it"s not much of an advantage, but it"s something."
Such lewd thoughts!
Shut up! Mina reprimanded the collar who suddenly intruded in her head.
Focusing solely on Kino, Mina emphasized each word as she ruminated aloud.
"You mean, I came here from my world and bham! I lost some memories."
"Great, I don"t remember losing any memories but this monkey says I did."
Mina shrugged at the thought and she could feel one side of her lip curl up. With her gaze fixed on Kino who was casually scratching the back of his head, Mina continued.
"Now, you say, if I overstay in this body, the same thing will happen."
"Poof!"
Mina opened one paw for emphasis and instinctively unsheathed her claws.
"I will lose my memories - again."
Kino"s eyes followed the movement of her sharp claws. With a bony hand, Kino wrote a large checkmark in the air.
"Full marks!"
While the monkey"s voice echoed in the pod, Mina"s inner thoughts were all jumbled up.
"What kind of world is this? Losing memories left and right like some soap opera."
Mina"s internal musings only stopped when she heard Kino speak once more.
"In the second case though, it"s more about losing the essence of your being."
"Really now?"
"Perhaps you"ve lost your memories too, and you remembered it wrong."
The remark came out faster than Mina expected it to. She eyed Kino warily, trying to gauge the monkey"s response.
Instead of replying quickly, Kino found a spot and crouched down.
He said nothing, but his gaze wandered outside the pod as his hands caressed his chin.
"Perhaps."
Kino had a somber expression when he replied absentmindedly.
Mina felt like she had to hold her breath and not make a sound so Kino will continue speaking.
It was unlike the usual Kino who either berated her for knowing absolutely nothing or praised her like she was a rare gem.
Mina was about to break the almost deafening silence when Kino jumped up.
"I"ve been in the Network for decades, walking these halls, pushing my cart...
"...hanging upside down from a tree would probably make me feel ridiculous now."
Kino pressed his lips together while staring at Mina whose face showed a wide range of emotions.
"As for you..."
The orangutan"s cheeks bulged and his lips tightened.
"What about me?"
Kino paused and rubbed the side of his head over and over.
"You...you are a cat!"
The orangutan surveyed a clueless Mina from top to toe before shaking his head.
"No...no... it wouldn"t be too bad."
"It"s not too bad to be a cat."
"Maybe something that ...crawls?"
Mina instinctively answered although she had no idea what Kino was thinking.
"A snake?"
"Hmmm... a snake... no, something else."
"Pffft....or a worm... "
"Kino!"
"This is ridiculous! What is this monkey up to now?"
"Wriggling on... pfffft... dirt... when you pfffft..."
The monkey couldn"t hold himself back this time and collapsed in laughter.
"Pfffft....eat pffft... dirt"
After uttering the unintelligible words, the orangutan rolled on the floor while holding his stomach.
As Kino"s laughter became louder, Mina"s tail swung faster.
Mina couldn"t hold back herself back.
Going back on all fours, she circled Kino, hissed, and rolled her eyes.
"Stop!" Mina had both paws on the air as she struggled to stand up on just two paws.
Kino tried to control his laughter as Mina hissed another warning.
Even under Mina"s strict surveillance, it took Kino several minutes to take control of his emotions.
When the occasional guffaw escaped, Mina bared her fangs which made the monkey try harder. Sounds of anger and mirth bounced inside the pod for some time.
The hissing only stopped when Kino regained his composure and started smoothing his face.
With her ears shooting up from her head and her tail curved up, Mina finally found the words to voice out her thoughts.
"Do I become a cat, a real one, if I stay here for a long time?"