boxofmisfits | Open Post

Anders honestly thought he could beat the rain back to Darktown, but no such luck. He'd been out gathering elfroot and other ingredients, and the next thing he knows, it's a downpour. He has a safe house in Lowtown that he can take refuge in, and it hasn't been compromised yet, so he heads that way.

He's close to the house before he hears the pitiful noises. Of course he can't help but look. Upon seeing the source of the noise, he immediately kneels down, "You poor thing! Come here." He reaches into his pouch and pulls out a piece of fish jerky, hoping the lure the cat over.

Oh! Food! Even in the rain, they can appreciate the offering. Success again!

Shaking their fur out again, they lean in to inspect the food, sniffing while observing the human before them. Hmmm, seems to lack suspicion...

They take a nibble on the jerky and tug on it, trying to take the entire thing, vibrant mismatched eyes watching without blinking as their whiskers pull forward.

Jerky isn't too bad. A bit more chewy, but the flavor's just right. Would be easier to eat if they were in human form, but oh well.

Regardless of whether or not Anders wants to give up the entire piece, they make their appreciation known by rubbing against his boot and chirping, short tail swaying happily.

Edited 2021-03-23 19:59 (UTC)

"There's plenty more where that came from." Anders lets the cat have the entire bit of jerky, before he carefully picks the cat up and tucks them into his coat, so they can share his body heat.

He picks up the pace as he makes his way to the safe house. As he steps inside, he keeps the cat tucked into his coat as he puts down his pack and uses magic to light a fire. With the fireplace going, he finally takes the cat out and sets them down in front of the fire.

"You wait there." Anders retreats into the tiny wash room and returns with a towel, kneeling back down so he can dry the cat off.

They squeak a little as they're picked up, but don't use their claws at all. The body heat feels pretty damn nice even if their fur makes that difficult to reach the skin at first. Once they're in a safer and warm place, they shake their fur out a few times by the fire, contemplating the pros and cons of licking it flat while it's still wet.

It's a little surprising to be doted on further, but they chirp and purr into the attention, leaning into the towel as Anders helps dry them off.

So this person is a mage. Not bad company to keep, honestly. Raine decides that this person doesn't look like one fresh from leaving a Circle. Especially given the look of his robes.

With some wiggling, they poke their head out from under the towel and happily make rolling chirping noises. Good thing they're not that big, and their fur is only medium-length.

"Prrrt!"

The cat doesn't seem feral. Perhaps they're a stray, or they have an owner somewhere who is worried about them. Anders hasn't seen a tag on them or any indication that they're owned, but still. "There we go," Anders towels off their little face last, before going to hang the towel on the sink to clean later.

He then gets a saucer and pours a little bit of goat's milk into it, sliding it towards the cat. "You're welcome to stay until the rain stops."

Oh! That smells good. But they make sure to look up when Anders says "rain" and tilt their head. A good way as any to convey that they have that as a name.

"PrrRrrt?"

Ears forward, tail swishing thoughtfully, they wait for a moment for any sign of further inquiry, even though it probably won't come.

Even though the milk is very, very tempting. But names are important, and Raine has standards!

They reacted when he said 'rain'. Sir Pounce-a-lot would turn to look at him and swish his tail when Anders addressed him by name. "Rain? Is that your name?"

Then this cat probably belongs to someone. Or they're a frequent visitor to some place where the locals gave them that name. Either way, it wouldn't be fair to take the cat with him and keep them all to himself.

Edited 2021-03-24 03:36 (UTC)

They wiggle, bodily, pointedly when he says their name again, an ear flicking a few times to loose some stray droplets of water that were missed. After a moment, they stretch and look to the milk, taking a moment to drink.

It's good. A nice balm considering the rainy day.

They don't drink all of it yet, instead opting to continue to be in the space of their temporary caretaker. One good turn deserves something in kind, after all.

They paw at his boot, and then half-roll onto it, stretching out on their back and exposing their belly. Do they care if they get a bit of dirt on their fur? Nope. Not right now when being cute is something they can do!

Unlike the brown coloration of their back, their belly is mostly white and spotted with gray.

"Mmrrp?"

Is this cat really inviting him to rub their belly? Did he die and go to the Maker's side? Anders accepts the invitation, gently scratching the cat with his fingers and petting them. "Who's a pretty kitty? You are!" He can't help but slip into that baby talk voice. "You are so sweet. Yes you are."

Oh!! Oh yes, that's some knowledgeable petting! Raine purrs happily, going limp with their paws still stretched over their head, tail wiggling rapidly.

It's nice. It's really nice. Their thoughts go to mush before long, just reveling in every little pet and scratch. Baby talk aside. Not that it's a bad sound - it actually is easier to hear than a lower pitch in this form.

They'll just stay like this for however long the human wants to pet their belly. It's just that nice. Hmm, and here they thought that this would be repayment enough, but... they might have to do something more than this.

Humans don't view cats bringing prey to them the same way. Maybe... safeguarding this human while he sleeps will suffice? Yes. Tonight, they can set traps with their shadows to snag any aggressive-minded people.

For now? Pets.

Anders continues to give the cat scratches, and even uses his other hand to play with their little toes. "You're a good cat, aren't you?" Much as he would love to just keep petting this cat all night, Anders's is beginning to feel sleepy. He reluctantly takes his hands off the cat.

"Well, go ahead and enjoy the rest of your milk." Standing back up, he starts removing some of his clothes so he can get ready for bed. He's not planning to strip down completely, but rather down to his pants and the long shirt.

The toe play feels a little weird. Enough to make them spread their toes and contemplate if they like this ticklish feeling or not.

But eventually it all ends and Raine can't help but look imploringly at him.

...Milk's fine, though. And once the human sleeps, they can set the shadow traps. It's not quite magic so much as a physical extension of themself, so hopefully anyone untoward won't notice it.

But they start to tuck in to the milk, and pause to stare at the human undressing.

...Cute.

For now, though? Their stomach needs to be filled, their fur straightened, and...

...wait. Wait a minute.

Maybe they can swipe more of that fish jerky? Didn't he promise them some more???

Time to follow the human and start nosing around his stuff to find it!!

Anders has gotten his boots off by the time he notices the cat rooting around in his food sack. "If you wanted more of that jerky, all you had to do was ask." As if cats can talk.

He goes over and takes out a piece of jerky, presenting it to the cat. "This what you want?"

Raine looks up when they're addressed, body wiggling as soon as they see the offered food. They take it greedily, damn near drooling on the human's fingers in the process. While they drop the jerky on the floor in the process, they take a moment to clean his fingers before digging in, short tail swishing happily as they purr, and loudly.

On a second taste, the jerky is certainly more tender than some other meats, and courtesy of their body not being that of pure cat, they can taste any spices used, if any. It tastes good with the milk.

What a good human!

Definitely worth staying awake for some of the more problematic hours to keep watch.

They ignore him - in terms of only where they're looking - for now, indulging in the offered meal and grateful for it. To further express their appreciation, they knead on the ground while they purr between swallows.

Anders laughs and pets the cat as they eat the jerky, scratching them behind the ears. "I'll try to get you some fresh fish tomorrow."

In the meantime, he finishes getting ready for bed, stripping down to his long shirt and briefs, cleaning his teeth and then sliding into bed. "Good night, Raine."

Fish in the morning? Dear god they're about to be spoiled!

But it's good to be petted, and they leave him be for a moment while he settles into bed. Joining him on the foot of it, they curl up with their paws underneath their body, tail curled against their hock.

Once they're sure he's asleep, they begin to set their traps outside the perimeter, some of the shadows on the ground stretching and leeching away from their source to carefully congregate in the crevices of the ground outside. Once set, they close their eyes to drowse, but not fully sleep, ears perked for any danger that might need to be captured and dragged around by an ankle or two.

Because at least the chaos and noise of such a thing can give either of them the edge regarding time to react.

Not that Raine expects anyone to be suspicious enough for them to trigger their traps.

Come morning, Anders is slow to wake up, sitting up in bed and stretching, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He looks at the foot of his bed, smiling when he sees his new feline friend there. They came up to sleep with him, which means they must like him.

"Hello, little one," Anders reaches over to gently pet Raine.

Raine rouses fully when they hear movement, stretching and yawning as they're pet. Purring quietly, they bunt into his hand and carefully dissolve their traps. There's the very faintest ripple of magic in the air, soft as a faraway echo, and then it's gone.

They blink sleepily at him, yawning, eyes closing a little in pure enjoyment. Tail raised and wiggling, they're content to be pet as long as Anders wants.

He swears he feels something, but it could just be his imagination. Anders picks up Raine and puts them in his lap, happily petting them and scratching them behind the ears.

"I'll need to pack up everything in the safe house, and then we can get you back to where you belong. I would take you to Darktown with me, but I'd be worried that you'd be eaten by starving refugees."

Ooh, lap pets!! They prrt at him and curl up there, before promptly rolling over onto their back again, tail wiggling and an expectant expression (for a cat.) Belly pets, belly pets!!

...But, damn, should they break this disguise already? Hmm...

Their ears tilt a little as they think, tail moving rapidly to and fro, though their facial expression does not show any anger at all, and they don't bear their claws.

But hopefully it conveys that they're actually processing his words, not unlike the intelligence of a mabari.

After a moment, they make a decision.

The flare of magic is unmistakable now, as they gather the shadows beneath their bodies to form what's clearly an altered glyph of paralysis on the bed in front of Anders. It doesn't glow, so much as just softly shift, like a mirage in the depths of summer.

"Prrrt!"

Anders swears Raine can almost understand him, the way he acts like a mabari hearing their master speak. It's probably just him assigning characteristics to the cat.

And then the glyph appears. He most certainly didn't do that. He looks at the cat with wide eyes, "What sort of cat are you?"

The cat yawns and gets up, stretching a little, and dismisses the glyph with a swish of a paw.

"Not one to be eaten by humans, that's for sure."

Their mouth doesn't quite move. Not in the way a cat would if it spoke common tongue. But the voice, teetering between both male and female, unmistakably comes from the cat. And their mouth does part and move somewhat, as if still speaking in mewls.

"I appreciate your care and affection, however. Greatly. Not many people would take in a cat they know nothing about. Let alone feed it or touch it."

Their tail swishes, and they tilt their head to scratch behind an ear, whiskers pricking forward.

"I had wanted to keep up this appearance longer, but... well, I did not want you to waste your time looking for "my owner" when there is none to be had.

"In any case, I am a shapeshifter, of a sort."

They yawn again, and wiggle as they stretch their hips.

"Ah, pardon me. I was at least partially awake overnight. I felt the least I could do was make sure no intruders came close to this place. Pretty sure the weather kept people at bay, at least."

Ah, there's a little bit of fur out of place. They give their back a shake. Better.

Anders's eyes go wide and his jaw hits the floor. "You can talk?!"

Is this cat a spirit? Are they a normal cat that got possessed by a spirit? The Warden-Commander once told him about a demon that took over the body of a cat. But, Justice doesn't sense anything malevolent from Raine, and he would know if they were a demon.

"Okay, so how long were you going to let me keep baby talking you?"

"Hmmmm, so long as you didn't try to reunite me with someone who "owned" me in a vain but admiral attempt, probably for quite some time. Weeks or months, even. Maybe."

They tilt their head a little.

"Genuinely, I'm not mocking you for it. I like the attention. It's better than being catcalled at taverns or having incorrect racial slurs thrown my way because of my appearance as a person. I'm a cute cat, you see a cute cat, we both win by getting affection and cuddles that we crave. I get food, you get an additional set of eyes making sure you're safe at night."

They nod at his staff.

"Oh, and my name is indeed Raine. Just add a silent "e" on the end."

Their tail sways, and they slow-blink at him to show their contentment right now.

"I mean, you obviously weren't feral, and didn't give off the impression of being a stray. Hence my assumption that somebody owned you and probably missed you." Anders gently touches one of Raine's ears with the tip of a finger, then strokes down their back. "Are you a spirit? Or a shapeshifter?"

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