Jake stumbled a little as his ears changed, causing him to lose balance. The world spun around him for a second, making him feel a little nauseous. He could here Natalie talking about something, but it was muffled. Eventually, his body caught up to his changes, returning his sense of hearing.
"U-urgh... So that's how reptiles hear..." He shook his head back and forth.
"About your parentssss...?" Natalie asked.
"It's okay, they aren't home right now. My brother was supposed to stop by sometime this afternoon though." He had to look up to Natalie to speak to her now, causing him to blush.
"Hehehe, perfect!" Natalie said with a glint in her eyes.
"I'm still not gonna climb, you know. Parents or not, it's gonna make a mess."
"Well, we have the Chronivac, right? We could probably fix any messss..." Natalie smirked. "How about thissss..."
She slithered around Jake, nearly sweeping him off his feet with the end of her tail. She picked up Jake's laptop and the Chronivac's emitter and set it on top of the mantle beside the TV.
"There. If you want the Chronivac, you can go get it!" Natalie put her hands on her hips.
"Wha— I'm not gonna climb... Hey! Hands off!" Jake protested as Natalie picked up his small body and slithered over to the wall. She held him tightly to her body, causing further embarrassment for him. She set him down in front of the wall, standing behind him.
"There, I won't let you leave." She said with an even more smug tone somehow.
"Ugh, fine, but you're cleaning it up if it leaves any marks!" Jake sighed and turned around to face the wall.
Nervously, Jake placed his left hand against the wall, feeling it stick as he applied a light force to it. He then followed with his right hand, and then his left foot. With one more kick off his right foot, Jake was now completely stuck to the wall. Natalie practically had stars in her eyes. He began to scale the wall, looking back. It felt quite large to Jake, but in reality, it was a pretty small distance. Sure enough, his hands left a bit of a green residue on the wall.
"See, I told you it would leave a mark... There's cleaning supplies in the closet by the kitchen." Jake was holding in his excitement. It was fun to climb, but he really didn't want to deal with the mess.
"I'll get them now so we don't have an issssue." Natalie yelled as she was already across the room. She awkwardly shuffled her way up the stairs and made it to the closet. As she was searching for a cloth, she heard the front door click open.
In walked Jake's brother, Alex. Alex was a few years older than Jake, and attended a local university. He lived on campus, but still visited home quite frequently. While he wasn't know for his academic prowess, he certainly was a talented football player. While they didn't get along well as children, Jake and Alex mostly tolerated each other now, especially that they weren't living under the same roof anymore. Alex stuffed his keys into his pocket and took off his jacket. He walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water, bumping into Natalie on her way out, carrying an armful of cleaning supplies.
"Oof! Hi and also ssssorry! I should really be lessss clumsy..." Natalie blushed.
Now it was time for the Chronivac's true test... Did the perception filter apply to just the former Nathan? Or did it rewrite reality itself...