Kitten mode. Something that had continued even with the curses broken all those years ago. Sowon figured it was just a side effect to the curse, along with the girls painful lost memories that the witch had thankfully removed. It was a normal occurrence but that didn't mean it wasn't a lot to deal with. Especially when it came to the former black kitten, SinB. The girl wasn't as afraid of water as she had been several years ago but getting SinB to let her wash her hair was still a long and difficult process. 

  So here she was, Yuju holding the fully clothed former black kitten down while the blonde massaged shampoo into SinB's long dark hair. The former kitten was grumbling loudly, a towel around her shoulders as Sowon had her head positioned over the large bathtub. It was still a tough process to get SinB in water still but at least she could manage to take a quick five minute shower without needing to be monitored. Washing her hair was another story. But Sowon loved the girl dearly. If she had to continue doing this for many more years to come, she didn't mind. 

  Yuju adjusted her position so that Sowon could take the removable shower head to rinse out the shampoo suds, still keeping SinB pinned down. The former black kitten only grumbled louder, squirming around frantically. But she didn't look scared this time. In fact, Sowon noticed that SinB's eyes were starting to get wide as she finished up, as if she was a hungry cat spotting a bird chirping outside. The pair helped SinB to a sitting up position, Sowon preparing to dry the former kitten's hair with a towel and then her hair dryer that was tucked away in one of the cabinet doors. SinB's sudden kitten like behavior, however, had other plans.

  In a blink of an eye, SinB was on her feet and running out the open bathroom door, her hair still soaking wet. 

"SinB?" Sowon called out, shocked by how fast the girl had moved. Yuju had hanging open, clearly just as surprised. The sound of someone yelling somewhere in the two story house was the only thing that replied to either of their confused minds. 

".....Have you ever seen her run that fast?" Sowon asked as she got up to her feet, picking up the discarded towel that had fallen off of the former black kitten when she had made her escape.

"Not in a long time." Yuju replied, following behind Sowon as they exited the bathroom to find out where their escaped 'kitten' had gone. The sight waiting for them in the living room was truly something else.

SinB had tackled down the unsuspecting Eunha to the ground, chewing on the former white kitten's cheek while growling playfully. Eunha wasn't in pain but she was trying to get away from SinB's teeth, pushing against the girl's face. 

"SinB! SinB! That tickles!" Eunha exclaimed, starting to laugh as SinB moved from chewing on her cheek to chomping down on her shoulder. Bathwater was dripping onto the floor and onto the other girl from SinB's hair, wetting the former white kitten's pink sweatshirt. 

"What's gotten into you?" Sowon let out a exasperated sigh, smiling slightly as she reached down to grab SinB's arm. SinB sensed it. Just as fast as she had before, the former black kitten let go of Eunha, getting up to her feet again and dashing off to another area in the house. Sowon's hand was still extended, the blonde blinking a few times before lowering it. 

"I haven't seen her get like this in forever." Eunha laughed, shaking her head as she sat up. "It's even funnier seeing her like this now that shes human."

"She must have been a funny kitten even before I met her." Sowon ran a hand through her hair. The sound of Umji squealing and laughing in the background could be heard within moments. Sowon wanted to go help free Umji from the playful SinB but Eunha and Yuju's conversation distracted the taller immediately.

"That's for sure." Eunha said. "Remember that one time, Yuju? When we couldn't get her to calm down?"

"Barely." Yuju let out a small laugh. "It was so long ago."

"Okay, now I'm curious." Sowon said, placing her hands on her hips. "Tell me."

"Tell you?" Eunha asked, tilting her head. "Are you sure? Shouldn't we be stopping SinB right now instead?"

"Its not like I can break her out of her kitten mode anytime soon." Sowon replied, a gentle smile appearing on her features. "It'll be fine."

"Alright. I don't mind telling it." Eunha grinned, gesturing for Sowon and Yuju to sit down next to her on the carpeted floor. Yuju and Sowon obeyed, listening intently to Eunha's voice as she began to recall the memory

_______________________________

"No!"

The white kitten mewed in frustration, hissing at the playful kitten that was biting at her tail. 

"I don't wanna play." The white kitten's voice echoed in the black kitten's head. But even so, the black kitten didn't stop, only releasing her grip with her teeth to roll on her back, batting at the white kitten's tail with her paws instead.

"C'mon. Play with me." The black kitten's voice echoed out, the baby cat meowing loudly as the white kitten shifted away from her. 

"I don't wanna play." The white kitten hissed again, swatting at the black kitten with her paw a couple times. The black kitten only took that as an invitation, getting up to her paws to pounce on the fluffy white kitten. With in moments, irritated and playful meowing mixed as the pair of kittens tussled around on the ground. Nearby, a gray kitten and a brown striped kitten only watched their companions play silently. The brown striped kitten let out a small mew as the gray kitten at her fuzzy face lovingly, a small purr vibrating through her body. 

From down the alleyway, a ginger kitten trotted down towards the group. Once the approaching kitten noticed the situation, its speed of walking increased. 

"Hey. Knock it off. You know she doesn't like that." The ginger kitten's voice echoed in the group's heads, the ginger kitten clamping her teeth around the scruff of the black kitten's neck and pulling her away like a mother cat.

"No fair." The black kitten growled softly, unhappy that the fight had been stopped. The white kitten looked relieved, quickly taking to smoothing down her ruffled fur with her tongue. The ginger kitten was doing the same, only not to herself. She took to cleaning the black kitten with her own rough tongue, purring the entire time. The black kitten put up a paw against the other kitten in a silent protest, trying to push away. The feeling of another tongue running against the black kitten's back made the baby cat jump slightly. It was the gray kitten, mirroring the ginger kitten and helping with cleaning the frazzled kitten up. The brown striped kitten only continued to sit in the corner, watching everything play out. 

"I wanna play." The black kitten's voice was whiny, her ears lowering against her head as if she were pouting. 

"We can play later." The ginger kitten's voice responded, still grooming the kitten. "But after bath time. You're all dirty."

"I like the dirt." The black kitten's voice grumbled. But the baby cat allowed the grooming to continue, shifting back and forth on her paws while the gray and ginger kitten continued to at her fur. The white kitten had moved to the brown striped kitten's side, slowly at the other kitten's fur. The brown striped kitten started to purr quietly, her eyes closing as the white kitten gently groomed her as well. The white kitten moved in closer, keeping the brown striped kitten close as she worked diligently to clean up her fur. 

__________________________

"Yeah, that sounds like her alright." Sowon laughed, the memory of a past playful black kitten biting down on her hand before running away entering her mind.

"At least she doesn't roll around in the dirt anymore." Yuju shook her head with a small smile. "She would get so dirty that it was hard to tell her and Umji apart."

"That's hilarious." Sowon continued to laugh. "I wish I could have seen that for myself."

"Trust me, you don't." Eunha giggled. 

"What's all this noise about?" Yerin had appeared at the top of the stairs leading to the bedroom, a confused look on her features while she made her way down to the first floor where the trio was sitting.

"SinB is in kitten mode." Eunha explained. 

"Why?" Yerin asked, a smile tugging at her lips. "Did she see a bird in the backyard again?" 

"I was washing her hair and her eyes got all wide." Sowon said. "I was going to dry her hair but she zoomed off."

"Uh....Sowon?" Umji's sweet voice interrupted the explanation and the rest of the girls turned to look at the girl standing in the lower hallway. There was SinB, her arms and legs wrapped around Umji's right leg. The former brown striped kitten looked baffled, barely able to move forward with the girl attached to her leg. 

"Oh my god." Sowon exhaled. 

"Such a naughty girl." Yerin teased, her voice taking on a higher tone. SinB's head turned to focus on Yerin, her eyes still wide and full of playfulness. 

"Here she goes again." Yuju whispered to Eunha, both girls laughing silently. SinB had let go of Umji, standing up with her body tense as if she was going to bolt at any second. Yerin only mirrored the posture, her own eyes glittering with energy. If SinB wanted to play then Yerin would make her play. There was no way SinB could wear her out. 

"Good luck catching me, kitten." Yerin called out before running to the sliding glass door behind her, leading out into the large, fenced off backyard with the playset and several swings. SinB was off again, running after Yerin as fast as her feet could take her. Sowon and the others could only watch, laughing as Yerin had SinB chasing her in circles around the tree house themed play structure. 

"If anyone can wear SinB out, its Yerin." Umji chuckled, watching SinB frantically trying to catch up to the smiling and laughing brown haired girl. "It's just like old times."

"You guys cant say stuff like that and expect me to not be curious." Sowon said, wrapping her arms around Umji from behind. The former brown striped kitten giggled happily, turning around to nuzzle into Sowon's chest.

"You want us to tell more stories?" Yuju asked. Sowon only nodded eagerly, placing a small kiss on Umji's head. Umji returned the gesture, leaning up and kissing Sowon's cheek.

"Well, Yerin has the most stories but we have some too I'm sure." Eunha nodded, pressing her lips together as she thought. 

"Oh! I have one!" Yuju exclaimed.

"Lets hear it then." Sowon grinned, leading everyone into the living room so they all could sit down on the couch, Umji securely in her lap.

______________________________

"How come you still don't talk or meow?" The black kitten's voice asked inside the gray kitten's head. The gray kitten didn't respond, only nuzzling against the black kitten affectionately. The black kitten chewed gently on the gray kitten's ear, trying to get a sound or something to come out of her companion. Nothing. The only sound being the faint purring coming off of the gray kitten's body.

"Do you wanna do something fun while the others are out trying to find food?" The black kitten's voice asked. The gray kitten's head tilted curiously, the baby cat's tail swaying back and forth in the air.

"We wont go far." The black kitten let out a meow, wanting the other to follow her. The gray kitten seemed nervous but hesitantly followed the black kitten out of the middle of the large bush the group of five had taken shelter in for the past few months. The black kitten trotted off quickly, but not s