Disclaimer: I don't own The Secret Saturdays.

Title: Scales

Summary: Zak has some... odd physical attributes due to not being fully human.

...

Wadi blinked, staring at the hunched form before her. She rubbed her eyes to clear them of any grit before blinking a few more times and staring once again, an eyebrow raised.

They were orange, darker than the neon of his eyes, but not too dark as to mistake it for another color. Trailing down his back from just above his hips down, the final row were half-hidden by the waistband of his jeans, the orange clashing against the blue. His shoulder bore the same colors, trailing just below his collar bone and ending halfway down his upper arm, the edges sharply gleaming in the lighting. Oval shaped and slightly upraised, each shape ended with a gleaming sharp edge.

He reached up to scratch his shoulder, face burning self-consciously. They shifted a bit under his hands, much like skin would, and it seemed almost like the sharp edges softened or shifted under his touch or melted against the others so they didn't cut him.

"Uh, Zak?" He jumped at her voice, but otherwise didn't move. "Did you know you have...?"

"Scales?" She swallowed and nodded. He didn't turn, so the gesture wasn't visibly seen, but she had no doubt he knew she'd done it. "How could I not? I told you I had something to show you, and here it is. Ta-da."

"H-How long?" She paused and shook her head. "Kur?"

"Yeah. There, uh, there was more of them... before. Back when.. you know." He swallowed, the admission bringing back memories he wasn't particularly fond of. "They fell off."

"Did it hurt?"

"Not really. Itched a lot, though." She imagined him sitting in a darkened room, frantically scratching at his shoulder and back. The frantic movements knocked him off balance and made him fall to his side, hovering on the edge of the bed. The image was almost humorous, and a small part of her wanted to laugh. She ignored it.

"Your parents?" He slouched further, the hand falling away from his shoulder and to his side as he sighed.

"They don't know." Feeling the tense silence radiating from the woman behind him, he added. "Yet."

"... I see." She slowly walked around the infirmary bed to sit down beside him. His hands twitched. "... Can I?" She hesitantly reached a hand out towards his shoulder.

"Go ahead."

"The points won't hurt me, will they?" She questioned, hesitantly tracing the smooth tip of a scale. The scale was smooth and mostly harmless as it shifted and moved under her fingers like skin.

"I don't think so..." He curiously glanced at the points before looking away. "They haven't hurt me yet. Just be careful not to press to hard."

The points were mostly smooth, much like the rest of the scales, only truly being sharp at the very tip. Carefully sliding her finger over the surface, she could easily feel the borderline cutting sharpness just beneath her finger and jerked her finger away on to the other scales. He watched her from under his bangs, carefully documenting her reactions.

"They are... interesting." She finally commented, eyes still locked on the odd patch of color. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Thanks, I guess..." He cleared his throat. "So, uh, you don't mind them?"

"Why would I?"

He raised an eyebrow. "They're scales, Wadi. That's not exactly normal."

She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Ulraj is covered in scales, remember?" She pointed out with a smile.

He raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Ulraj is a kyptid. I'm not. Well... mostly." He swung his feet.

She sighed. "Nothing you say surprises me anymore." A moment's pause. She leaned into his shoulder. "You're going to tell your parents soon." She said firmly. He jumped and grunted.

"I figured you'd say that." He paused. "Uh, you might want to be careful."

"I am being careful." She sat up and stretched. "Would you mind flexing a bit? I want to see the points better..."

He raised an eyebrow, but complied nonetheless. Clenching his fist and pulling his arm to the side, the spikes unfolded from the sides a bit, the shark ends looking sharper than they were in the light. She curiously looked them over for a few minutes before he finally let go. The scales fell back to their original spots with natural ease.

"Strange..." She murmured. "But cool." Standing up, she moved to the other side to safely lean into his other shoulder. He smiled.

"Thanks. I was kinda worried you'd be freaked out."

"I'm not." She paused, before reaffirming. "But you're still telling your parents."

"Yes, ma'm." He chuckled, leaning into her. "Still, thanks for accepting my... odder attributes."

"Always, Zak. Always."

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