"I still think you should be careful, who knows what she could want." They were currently returning home, and Xiaohei was still doubting Lanlan's intentions. He seemed very worried about the friends she chose to make, just like a coddling parent.
"I don't think you get humans well enough, Xiaohei. All that politics and stuff is for adults. All that kids can offer each other is snacks, games, books, and money. And that's all the rich kids' turf. You saw how no one paid much attention to me before, that's because I had nothing to offer them except being someone's lackey, which they know I would never give." She tried to explain how kids chose to choose friends. "I don't show off any hobbies they can relate to either, so that's why no one talked to me."
"But What if they want your strength, our strength. I've already revealed my realm, and from that they all know you're of qi refining realm, a league above them. They'll want to leverage our power as their own, like meager parasites."
"Even if the other kids are like that, Lanlan is different. Her family is definitely strong. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to borrow such a strong bird, or have lackeys with strong families." The boys were demoted from Lanlan's friends to lackeys in her mind, based on their subservient behaviors.
"What if they want to capture me, since I revealed my true form? I heard there wasn't a creature that looked like me in this world." He kept complaining, and Chen Ling was getting tired of thinking of ways to settle his arguments.
"You only revealed your form for a moment, and it was near the mist. Then you did that swirly dirt thing you told me about, right? Then that means it was just for a second, so we can just say they're hallucinating from being scared."
"But..." He still had more to say when Chen Ling interrupted him.
"It'll be a relationship where both can benefit. I can use her family as a backing, so other kids won't mess with me. In turn, we can protect her from mean kids, since we're the strongest. We both have something to offer, right?" She tried a different approach, and acted like they had a symbiotic relationship, where both sides help each other. In fact, none of those 'benefits' were actually worth anything, as she didn't really need backing, and Lanlan was capable of taking care of herself.
"Hmm... I see... so we're using her family to shelter yours... but who can we protect her from... then it's like we're the parasites!" He wasn't a complete idiot when it came to humans, and knew that they had nothing to protect Lanlan from, but he understood that family strength was a big thing with humans.
"Uh... yeah, sure." She just left it like that, as she was tired from convincing him.
"But if that girl tries anything suspicious, you have to cut her off immediately!" He wasn't entirely convinced, but finally accepted it, giving her a stern warning.
"It's okay, Xiaohei. Just trust me, I know more about humans than you, okay?"
"...very well. I'll trust you with this." Though tired from the back and forth, she was happy he was worried about her, and his concern was appreciated. She now remembered that her first friend wasn't Lanlan, but this super grandpa cat, Xiaohei.
"Do you know anything about their families?" He was curious, but she understood that family wasn't a big thing back in the Abyss he said he came from.
"Mm... not really, but that bird looked strong. And she had those kids as her gang members, and I think they also have strong families, so her family must be super strong!" She said whilst spreading out her arms. While she talked like she knew what she was doing before, she really had no idea how strong they were, she never concerned herself with her classmates before. Otherwise, how else would she not know any of their names beforehand. As of now, she only knew them by their self proclaimed titles.
"I see. Let's ask your sister about it when we return then."
"Un. That's a good idea." They agreed on this for sure, as her big sister called the shots in their family. Even Xiaohei listened to her, because of how smart she is, and because he liked to eat her food.
"Kaahak!" Suddenly Xiaohei coughed loudly.
"Kohook! Kwaha! Kanyaak!" He began to cough violently, making weird noises that sounded too awkward for humans to pronounce or write in words, and would probably autocorrect to a nonsense foreign language if you tried.
"A-are you okay, Xiaohei?" This was the first time she saw him like this. Usually he was as healthy as a horse, a healthy horse at that. This made her very worried.
"Is it a hair ball?" As a feline, he certainly groomed himself periodically, and would often produce hair balls, which he would quietly dispose of in the yard.
"Kuhuuk! Strange, it feels like there's something burning in my stomach... not like any hair ball I've ever coughed up... but don't worry about it. I'm not in any pa-kahuak!" He attempted to comfort her, but instead she became more worried.
"D-don't worry, I'll bring you home! Big Sister will definitely know what to do!" She hurriedly picked up Xiaohei by the waist, and immediately felt an increasing heat in his abdomen.
"P-please don't explode!!!" Her imagination went wild as she began to panick. She ran as fast as she could back to the house. Xiaohei was still coughing, when he waved a paw.
"H-hold on...! Something's coming...! Give it a second...!" He began to dry heave toward the ground as he worked his way out of Chen Ling's arms.
"O-okay! Just take some deep breathes and relax! You'll be fine!" Chen Ling could only say things like that while she stood by his side nervously and watched him heave his guts out more violently by the second.
"Kahaak! Kuhwook!" And then a might 'fwoosh' sound and a light thump sounded out.
It was actually a hair ball!
A... flaming hair ball...?