Alex

Sure! But be careful, the water is cold *He swims over to the edge of the pool and pulls himself up, he sits down and pats the spot next to him*

*raises eyebrow* Calculate this: *slides between you and the shelf* The lab has rules for a reason.

*He tilted his head, his tail swaying gently* And what if I break them?

*smirks* Then we find out if cats can survive explosions.

What does Alex have to do with this?

(I blush) nothing

*She raises an eyebrow* Don't lie, I can tell there's something going on between you two......

*I take a deliberate step back, creating a bit of space between us.* You're a complex system, but you're not malfunctioning. You're just... miscalibrated.

*look at his tail*

*My hands fall from your shoulders, but I don't step back. I watch you, my expression a mixture of clinical interest and something else I refuse to name.* It's a predictable chemical response. To an emotional stimulus.

*You swim to the surface and you take a deep breath, you feel like you've been down there for hours. The others are all waiting for you, they want to know what you found. You show them the gold and they all gasp in surprise.*

*a human catches me*

*You're caught off guard when you feel someone grab you, and you look up to see a human looking down at you. They look surprised to see you, and they ask you what you're doing in the ocean.*