Bain poked at the cage, and it rattled. A steady stream of annoyed hisses emanated from it.

He honestly wasn't sure how the cage had gotten to his room. He'd been sure he'd left it in the lobby, and yet here it was, with the camoqotz still inside.

There was a major problem involving the reptilian pet that he hadn't thought of when buying it - namely, that he had no idea how to actually take care of the creature. He had a feeling it didn't need fruit or anything, but he had a feeling he'd get some strange looks if he went and bought some meat. Although a rat sounded really good right now...

Shrugging, Bain flicked the cage door open. What was the worst that could-

A barely visible blur shot out of the cage and slid across the floor. Startled, Bain launched himself at the shape and crashed onto the floor, skidding as his arms stretched out in an attempt to grab it. Slamming his claws around it, he felt a curious slithering sensation as it squeezed to an impossibly thin size and slipped through his claws.

Lunging forward, he punched all four of the claws on one arm around it in an attempt to trap it, puncturing the floor, and it once again wriggled through them. Repeatedly trying to stop it from moving, he failed to keep it from jumping on top of the kitchen counter.

Crouching for a moment, he vaulted over the counter, his lower right arm snatching at the camoqotz. It neatly dipped under his grab and climbed onto his arm, crawling at incredible speed up his shoulder, and jumped off his head. He tried to grab it several times, snatching at air, but once again missed. How was this thing so fast? It kept wriggling through his grabs as though it was made of liquid instead of muscles!

Legs splayed, it landed on the floor and accelerated, feet skittering across the floor with a slight clicking sound as it shot under the couch. Bain backhanded the furniture and stomped down, pinning the camoqotz to the ground with his foot for all of half a second before it popped out from between his talons, heading for the television.

Digging into his reserves of speed with a growl, Bain felt the wind blast past his faceplate, intercepting the camoqotz before it made it to the screen. Clenching all three of his hands around it, he squeezed until there weren't any gaps left between his claws.

A moment later, with no movement or feeling of scales under his claws, a stab of worry cut through him. He hadn't killed it, right? He hadn't been trying to do that!

Panicking slightly, he leaned close to his claws and put one eye directly against them, before making a slight crack so he could see.

Instantly, a compact ball of scales and legs rammed into his eye, and he yelped, jumping backwards and clutching at his eye. Blinking several times, he tested it to make sure it was still working. To his satisfaction, it was.

...And the camoqotz was gone.

The door was practically blown off its hinges as Amber ran in. "Bain! I heard you fighting! What's going on? Is that bully back?" She stopped dead in her tracks, appraising the damage and the (mostly) unhurt Bain. "Wait, what?"

Bain started crawling on all five of his limbs, head close to the ground as he tried to pick up the lizard's smell. "I got a pet camoqotz, and now I can't find it."

Amber blinked. "Oh. That's pretty cool! Those things were used as info-gatherers when the eastern countries merged - turns out they were bred for escaping. There was this hero who could control animals, and he got hired by the UAC government to - well, that's not really important right now. How are you going to find him? They're super hard to find if they don't want to be caught."

Bain snorted. "I just found that out for myself, actually. I haven't even made a name for him and I already lost him."

Amber looked around, opening the cabinets and picking up bowls, checking underneath everything that might have been able to house the tricky lizard. "There used to be these people called 'escape artists' forever ago. Apparently, they could get out of any cage and trap, even if they were locked underwater! They didn't even have powers!"

Putting the couch back where it was supposed to be, Bain glanced back over at her. "Really? How does that work?"

Amber shrugged, moving to the living room and rummaging through the drawers. "I have no idea! They never told anyone. It was like a secret that they all kept." She yanked a drawer open with an intense grin, which melted into a frustrated frown. "Anyway, there was this really famous escape artist named Houdini - he was the best one that ever lived! I wish there were recordings of him, but it was way too long ago."

Bain paused from pulling various drawers and containers open, a thoughtful look on his face. "Houdini, huh? That sounds pretty cool. Do you think the camoqotz would like it?"

She shrugged. "Does it really matter? It's not like it can - THERE!" She jumped forward, crashing onto the floor as she tackled a rapidly moving shimmer. The camoqotz - Houdini - shrieked shrill, bouncing over her hands and off her head. Bain shot forward, grabbing at it, and successfully snatched it out of the air. A curious sensation filled his claws, like squeezing a rotting rat, and Houdini sprang out of his claws towards the ceiling.

It was at this point that Bain noticed the minuscule crack in his ceiling, likely from all the violent activity he'd been engaged in over the past few minutes. All of his eyes widened as Houdini impacted the ceiling, scrabbled for grip, and then squeezed into the crack. A slight wiggle of the tail later, he was gone.

Bain slumped, frustrated. Amber walked over, squinting at the infinitesimal crack. "How the heck did he fit into that? I bet he could have given the actual Houdini a run for his money."

Bain shrugged despondently. "I guess so. Do you think he'll be fine?"

Before he could progress any further, a small waver was forcibly ejected from the crack like a bullet out of a gun and hit Bain square in the forehead, bounced off his carapace, and landed in his surprised claws. Shimmering into its correct colors, Houdini flopped onto his claws, tiny chest heaving as he passed out.

Looking up, they both watched as the ceiling fractured, parts of it sliding down and reconfiguring to reveal a sizable gap in it. Masses of centipedes writhed above it, crawling around holes dug through solid concrete and avoiding the considerable amount of wiring with dextrous movements.

Nahma looked down at them with approximately a hundred and twenty eyes, not needing to use all of the sheddings. Really, he only ever needed to use one at a time, but he much preferred the distinct sensation of existing in a bigger form, and using multiple sheddings was only one way to imitate the feeling.

"That lizard has the potential to be quite frustrating. I will ensure it does not leave, Bain." He noticed Amber and nodded slightly. "Goodbye, firey human who is friends with Bain. Remember, I am always watching, and in places you do not look."

The pieces of ceiling slid back together, sheddings dragging the fragments back into place until it was impossible to discern that it had ever been anything except a solid piece. Quickly, Bain grabbed the cage and stuck Houdini back inside until he could find a better (more secure) alternative.

Amber was still staring at the ceiling, a strange expression on her face. "Welp," she stated bluntly. "That was freaky. I mean, I saw him do it in the tunnels with the walls and stuff, but it was lot weirder in the Tower, if you know what I mean."

Bain shrugged, trying to clean up the considerable mess caused by Houdini's antics. "Nahma has eyes everywhere, kind of literally. He's always trying to get ahead of anyone else, or at least that's what he always tells me. Don't think about it too much, he's been doing it for like forever."

Amber didn't seem reassured. "If you say so."

Bain put the cage down, and then put one corner of the couch on top of it, just in case. "Seriously, don't worry about it! Nahma's just protective."

Amber still looked skeptical, and slowly repeated, "If you say so..."