boxofmisfits | Open Post

At the fish market, Anders gets a few looks his way, thanks to the cat on his shoulder. They're the cutest accessory ever. It's like when he had Ser Pounce-a-lot.

Anders buys a couple of nice-looking cods and the starts the walk back to Darktown. Once he's back at his home clinic, which is deserted at the moment, he goes into the back room, speaks the fish on a pair of sticks and then uses his fire magic to cook them.

"Hope you're hungry."

Cod...!! Oh oh oh it smells good. They purr outright, nearly drooling at the aroma that wafts their way.

In their excitement after hopping off of his shoulder, there's a ripple of magic as their body grows larger, more human. Their purring doesn't cease even as they take on their true appearance, mismatched eyes wide in excitement as they put their slender hands on their legs. The short tail that's left behind wiggles and sways. Their clothing is simple enough - a blue-gray tunic that hangs past their wide hips, and darker trousers. Their hair is long and tied up in a messy ponytail, with a gradient from dark at the roots to lighter, as if the dark strands were sun-kissed at one point.

"Cod..! It smells so gooooood....! Ahhh, I want ittttt....!"

A beat.

"....Uh."

Looking up (and up! Thanks, being short!) at Anders, their pale face turns bright pink.

"It-- it seems I've--- oh. Oh dear."

Their ears twitch - no longer fluffy, feline things, but somewhat long and elf-like. Their canine teeth are definitely still cat-like, though.

"...Well. This embarrassing. To get this excited for fish...."

They turn their head away and rub behind their neck.

Anders's eyebrows go up when Raine transforms before his eyes. Even if he knows the cat's a shapeshifter, it's still rather jarring to see him go from cat to man all of a sudden. Seeing him in elf form makes Anders feel all the more awkward for how he treated Raine like a pet, even if he did so thinking he was just a cat.

"Uh, here you go," He holds out one of the cod to Raine.

"Sorry-- sorry..."

They can feel the awkwardness already. They accept the fish with thin fingers, shoulders a bit hunched and cheeks burning bright pink. Too flustered to return to cat form, they daintily begin to eat. One cod won't be enough for them like this, but it would be rude of them to accept more when they can find other means to get more food.

Even the bones are not safe from their teeth. It's not like swallowing fish bone shards will hurt them.

Anders eats his own fish carefully, trying to eat around the bones, though he still has to pull them out of his mouth a few times, or even spit them onto the ground.

"So, are you planning to stick around, or do you have places to be?"

"I don't have anything pressing to do today. Why?"

Raine only doesn't mess with the tail. That gets ripped off, along with some of the spine. Anything else on the way is devoured without hesitation.

"I mean, I do have a home along the outskirts of the Planasene Forest, but it's just easier to muddle around here and exchange things for others' good will. Gives me some incentive to move around.

"And if I need money, the Blooming Rose is good for that and my limited skillset."

They stretch a little, twisting their waist here and there to get a few more kinks out.

"I was just thinking that if you wanted to keep hanging out, you could always help me out at the clinic. Though I haven't really had any patients in a while, and in that case, you can go home or you can stick around just to hang out with me."

Anders picks the last few bites of meat off of his fish before tossing the remaining bones aside. Really, Anders just likes having a cat around, even if this cat is actually an elf who just turns into a cat.

"...Huh?"

Mismatched, wide eyes stare at Anders, eyebrows raised.

"You... want me to stick around?"

Food forgotten for the moment, Raine struggles with such a simple statement.

"Helping you out... I mean. I don't have a lot of stamina.... Wouldn't that cause problems?"

Furthermore, going home would be such a long trek after doing so much. Might just be easier to stay--

...Nnnnno no no, out of the question. It's too tempting.

They grumble and fidget with their hair a little, cheeks pink.

"I'm a pretty boring cat..."

"There's no such thing as a boring cat. Ser Pounce-a-lot had days where he did nothing but sleep and he was never boring. But, when I say help out, I mean doing things like cleaning up, or even assuming cat form and being comforting." Assuming none of his patients have allergies, of course.

Raine tilts their head, if anything, looking even more owlish than a moment ago.

"Oh... that. That I can do."

Flustered, they finish off the last of the fish and just discard what's left of the tail, and some of the thicker parts of the skull that they couldn't comfortably bite through.

"I... hope I'm good at comforting whoever you point me to. Hm. I also don't mind if you borrow me as an example that certain spells won't hurt. Things like that. Just..."

They frown.

"Don't.. let me come into contact with any silver. I'm allergic. I get blisters on contact."

"Alright, I can keep you away from silver," Not that one might find much silver here in Darktown. "And if nobody shows up, I can close up for the day and we can get you some more fish at the docks. Or, I know someone who grows catnip, if you're into that."

With the mentioning of catnip, Raine's face turns beet red, jaw dropping. It takes them a moment to compose their words into an order that makes sense.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd ask if you were indirectly asking to sleep with me."

They clear their throat.

"Catnip is fine as tea or put into food, but smelling it dry is... embarrassing. It doesn't affect all cats the same way, but for me, smelling it... induces an estrus response, if only for a few minutes."

"Oh. Oh dear," Anders turns quite red. "I mean, when I gave Pounce catnip, he just got stoned. It was actually kind of funny."

"Yeah, um, it varies between us. Cats, I mean."

They clear their throat.

"I can eat it and get stoned, or drink it and get a bit more relaxed, but smelling it, is uh. Yeah. Embarrassing.

"...I mean, I won't say no, because it's... an innocent gesture? From you, I think it would be. Just.. I'll drink it if it's tea, but anything else is my personal business."

Raine fidgets a little with their hair, biting lightly on their lip as they try to control their blushing to some extent.

"Ahhh, I don't want to seem ungrateful...."

"I've never even considered the idea of making catnip into tea, or mixing it in with food." Since normal cats usually just take it as-is. "I can still get you some if you want, and you can do what you want with it. Or I can just see about getting you more fish, or whatever you want."

"Catnip tea can work as an anti-anxiety for humans, actually. That is, if they can push through the chance of having an upset stomach. Again, people react differently, so some side effect are equally varied."

They let out a nervous little breath.

"Fish is always welcomed. Just use discretion with catnip. I mean, the lazy high after... getting excited, feels pretty damn nice."

"I could always get you some nip for your personal use in the privacy of your own home, I suppose." Anders offers. "I mean, it's no different than buying mushrooms to consume once you're safe at home."

"Hmm, I'll let you know if I happen to feel like heading home. So just fish in the meantime. It'll be... less complicated that way."

Though some part of them feels regret for turning it down, it's for the best. The temptation might be too great for them to indulge before it's entirely safe to do so.

And it would be pretty embarrassing to do so and risk being seen by-- by this person.

They grimace, face red.

"...Sorry, I know this is entirely out of the blue, but... what's your name, anyway?"

"Alright. Maybe we can even catch our own fish. I mean, I'm terrible at fishing, since I only ever did it once, but I can hold a bag while you grab some fish." Since cats tend to be natural predators and he's seen cats catch fish before, with their bare paws and teeth.

"Oh, oh dear, I did forget to introduce myself, didn't I?" He turns red again. "My name's Anders." He must have been so shocked at finding out his new cat friend is a shapeshifter he just plain forgot his own name.

He hears someone enter the clinic, but they aren't moaning in pain or begging to see the healer. Hopefully that means they aren't on death's door. "It sounds like I've got a patient. Or someone coming to warn me about the Templars."

"...I know how to fish. Both in cat form, and in human form with a line and with a spear."

Something flickers in their expression, somber and lonely. All the same, they nod and gesture politely for him to attend them. With a shiver of magic, the person standing there returns to a cat shape. Better to hide like this just in case; a Templar, if that's what's about to go down, won't suspect a cat as a proper foe.

Thankfully, it turns out to be an elf with a twisted ankle. Anders sits her down and heals her up in a few seconds. The elf thanks him, but then notices the cat, and makes "awww" noises.

Anders picks up Raine, "Aren't they cute?" The elf reaches out to pet Raine behind the ears.

Raine makes happy prrrt noises to be pet, leaning into it wholeheartedly and purring loudly. They even gently bunt her hand, paws openly making biscuits even if there's nothing to knead against. It's not an act or even done in exaggeration.

Gently, their tail sways as they look at her.

The elf coos at Raine as she pets them some more, scratching them under the chin while she's at it. "Are you going to keep them?"

"That's up to them," Anders replies. "They come and go when they like, and belong to nobody."

"Well, I hope they show up more," The elf gives Raine one more pet, before she gets up and leaves the clinic, saying that she would love to stay but has places to be.

Well be still their heart! Those are some really good pets, that they nearly fall asleep. Blinking further awake again, they wiggle in Anders's arms when she leaves, claws carefully digging into his clothes for stability.

It's only once they can't hear anyone else nearby that they speak up.

"Oh dear... I could fall asleep like this..."

"That good, huh?" Anders gently scratches Raine under the chin with a finger, and kisses the top of their head. "I'll stay open for another couple of hours, and if nobody shows up, we'll go explore the city. How does that sound?"

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