"Lead on, this is pretty much your show. I'm just along for the ride," Sleeper said.

They glanced at the other guy. "I can counteract what you've absorbed if you don't mind physical contact. Skin-to-skin, I mean."

This close it's obvious the cat only has a slight textured pattern of coloration that might be mistaken for fur, but it's all the same surface. A substance similar to the boy's tentacles.