Room 507, Monday afternoon

[nadiathesaint]

". . . and lastly, you're not to bring up the dancing around to Kelly Clarkson in my underwear. Got it?"

Furrball blinked up at Nadia. "Mew."

"Right." Nadia straightened her crown and sighed. "I think that's everything." She peered at Furrball. "If I find out you've mentioned any of that, especially the thing about the Greetings Kitten toy in the bottom drawer under my spare jeans, I will . . . ." Nadia hesitated. How did one threaten a cat without seeming like a horrible person?

"I'll give you a bath."

"Mrew!" Furrball bolted under the bed and peered out at her.

"That's right, so you'll be a good kitty then, right?"

Furrball conscientiously cleaned his right front paw.

"Good." Nadia sat back and tapped her sceptre on her knee. "Glad we got that straightened out."

[ooc: "Greetings Kitten" toy, NWS!]

Comments

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

A polite rap on the door preceded the now-standard announcement, "It's Walter."

And he came bearing cut up bits of fish. Woo.

[nadiathesaint]

"It's open," Nadia called, giving Furrball a meaningful look and mouthing 'bath' at him.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter came in and closed the door. He didn't feel like chasing after Furrball if he said the wrong thing.

"Hi. Thanks for the help, your Majesty." He was looking at Nadia, so that was likely whom he was addressing, even though it was Furrball he was going to need to thank for helping him with his final project. Not that he was prone to calling cats, "your Majesty."

//Hello// he said to Furrball, kneeling to show him the box of sashimi he'd brought along.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia smiled at Walter, then looked down at Furrball, who was creeping out from under the bed, sniffing at the air.

//Fish!// cried Furrball, who then scurried very quickly out and over to the box. //Hi, human-my-human-likes,//

Nadia watched all this with a raised eyebrow. "Should I leave you guys alone?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter only blinked a little at Furrball's name for him. It wasn't as though it was a secret. Although, Furrball might know things no one else did...

//Enjoy the fish. I would like to talk to you when you are done.//

"You don't have to leave unless you want to. Did you have any questions you wanted to ask him?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia watched as Furrball dug into the box of sashimi with vigor and visible relish. "I don't know. I always sort of assumed I could figure out what he was thinking."

She should probably stick around, to make sure Furrball made good on their deal.

Furrball popped his head up in record time, licking his chops cheerfully. //Right, then, human! What do you want to know? I can tell you eeeeeeeverything!// Furrball almost seemed to smile evilly at Nadia.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Visible relish. Not the proverbial kind Walter and Pippi usually used. The evil cat smile made Walter consider that perhaps Nadia should have given Furrball some sashimi before this.

//My teacher has some questions I must ask. May I ask about your mother?//

[nadiathesaint]

//Yes.// Furrball began grooming his front paw. //You may.//

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

//Thank you. How important are mothers for cats? Did you know your father?// That would be terribly rude to ask a human, but cats were different. He just needed first hand info.

[nadiathesaint]

If cats could shrug. . . .

//I never knew either parent, really.// Furrball turned to groom his hindquarters. //They were street cats, like me, and we were separated when I was just barely old enough to eat real food.//

There is no hint of regret or shame or anything in Furrball's tone, he might as well be reciting the Dow Jones index.

Nadia was watching the conversation with a careful eye. She had . . . absolutely no idea what was going on.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter caught the cat shrug, which had a lot to do with whiskers.

//Do cats make...// No word in his vocabulary list for "art." //...pretty things to look at? And if they do, which one do you like the most?//

Walter looked up at Nadia and shrugged. "I'm asking him about his parents and now about art."

[nadiathesaint]

Furrball blinked at Walter slowly. //What, we ourselves are not pretty enough to look at?//

Nadia nodded, her eyes flicking between Furrball and Walter. "Okay, tell me what he says later?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

//Yes, you are very pretty to look at.// Feline ego was practically built into the language. //Cats don't make anything to show how pretty they are when they aren't there?//

"Sure. Lots of stuff about how pretty cats are." Was she anxious? He was getting curious about what other things Furrball might tell him.

[nadiathesaint]

//We leave . . . tokens of our affection. Fur. Smells. These things.// Furrball stretched out a hindleg and twisted himself up a bit to clean his hip. //And we remember how pretty we are when we smell them.//

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

//Thank you. I will remember that.// Hm... two more questions. He'd save the question about Furrball's person for last. //I must ask about your enemies. Do you have any enemies? How do you feel about them?//

[nadiathesaint]

Furrball bristled. //Big brown stupid dog, little pink food bird, crazy human with red hair and a skull on her bow! I hate them!//

Nadia blinked. "Woah, what did you ask him?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter made a face. "I was supposed to ask him about his enemies and how he felt about them. I think you don't need to speak Cat to know his opinion."

Cautiously, he reached out to smooth down Furrball's bristly fur. //I am sorry. But they are not here, are they?//

[nadiathesaint]

Furrball relaxed, then arched his back up against Walter's hand, letting out a very soft purr. //No, you're right, they're not. My human now is much nicer.// Furrball butted his head against Nadia's leg, peering over his shoulder at Walter. //You are smart, for a human. I approve.// He looked up at Nadia. //You may keep him.//

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter coughed and covered his mouth with his hand to hide his grin.

//Thank you. Last question. What do you think of your person? Do you like living with a human?//

[nadiathesaint]

Furrball jumped up into Nadia's lap, startling her slightly, then started sticking his nose under her hand in a clear indication of 'pet me now, damn you!'

//This one is good. Some of them aren't. I liked living outside and getting to run around and do what I pleased . . . .// Furrball paused to purr loudly as Nadia scratched under his chin. //But being waited on hand and food is very nice, too.//

Furrball blinked innocently up at Walter from a very cozy position on Nadia's lap. //Are you sure that's the last question you want to ask?//

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

//That is the last question I have to ask for my teacher.// Walter tried to keep his expression appropriately serious. //Is there anything else you want to tell me? About cats or about your person?//

[nadiathesaint]

Furrball glanced at Nadia sideways. //There is one thing, but it can wait if you have questions. I promised my human I would not tell you certain things. I didn't promise I wouldn't completely answer any of your questions.//

Nadia, completely oblivious to the devious turn of the conversation, continued to scratch Furrball gently behind the ears.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Given that Walter was unfamiliar with both Kelly Clarkson and "Greetings Kitten" toys, Walter couldn't ask about those particular topics even if he were so inclined.

//I think she should keep her...// Fumbling through his vocabulary sheets didn't help, "privacy" wasn't on there. //...stories unless she wants to tell me. What was the one thing you wanted to tell me?//

[nadiathesaint]

Furrball tilted his head, then licked his chops again, seemingly very pleased. //Good human. Smarter than I thought.// He leaned his head on his paws, then began to lightly sharpen his claws on Nadia's jeans.

Then he grinned. Cats have a lot of sharp teeth.

//Hurt her and I'll claw off your knee caps and make you eat them.// He purred as Nadia began scratching him behind one ear, closing his eyes. //It was nice talking to you, human-my-human-likes.//

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter had been on the receiving end of those claws, so he didn't snicker... much.

//I'll try not to. You have my word.// Which meant what?

//Thank you for talking to me.//

He looked up to smile at Nadia. "He likes you."

[nadiathesaint]

The whole conversation had come down to that? Nadia blinked and continued to pet Furrball. "Well, good. I'm pretty fond of him, too."

Furrball purred like a motorboat and snuggled down further into her lap, flicking one eye open to give Walter a look.

"Now, seriously, what else did he say?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter interpreted the look as something along the lines of tell her about what I said about your kneecaps and we'll get an early start on it.

"We talked about Cat art, his parents, his enemies, and that he likes you." And served Walter his notice about hurting Nadia. Quite a productive conversation.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia nodded, not believing that that was it for a moment, but deciding not to press the issue. "Okay. This is for Creature Languages, right? Maybe I should ask Professor Dream tomorrow if he wants Furrball to come in to class."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I think that's a very good idea. I'm sure some of my classmates don't want to find a spider, shark, or lobster to talk to."

Adding the detail, "Pippi and I are going to go looking for a shark to talk to, too. I need the extra credit, and Pippi thinks it's cheating to talk to Mr. Neilson."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia shrugged. "You should find and talk to a lobster." She made a curious lobster noise. "Lobsters are fun."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter snickered at the lobster noise. "Lobsters are interesting, although learning the language does make ordering a lobster meal somewhat problematic. I'm hesitant to take Creature Languages again - what if he teaches us Cow? I like steak."

[nadiathesaint]

"Ooo, good point. Not being able to eat beef any more would be horrible!"

Nadia was grinning by now, as Furrball continued to purr in his lap.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Tragic." Walter grinned back and collected the empty sashimi box off the floor before standing up.

"I think he's not mad at me about our first meeting, by the way. Fresh fish doesn't hurt."

[nadiathesaint]

//Fresh fish never hurts,// Furrball murmured.

"I didn't think he was. Otherwise, he might have attacked you in your sleep one of the times you stayed over."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Maybe. But as I said, he likes you." And she liked Walter. "He probably knew you'd get mad about cleaning up the blood."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia smiled down at her cat. "He totally threatened you, didn't he."

Hey, she wasn't a future spy for nothing. She was observant.

"Good kitty!"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

//I didn't tell her that.//

"Just my kneecaps." Too bad Furrball's ears were too good for Walter to quietly mention that he knew scarier things than the cat by quite a lot. "And having to eat them would suck."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia snickered. "Really? Well, I guess you'd better be good, then."

Furrball gave Walter a lazy look. //Yes, he'd better. And I know you didn't tell her, I was listening. You don't spend this much time around humans without picking up a thing or two.//

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I'm always good." It just depended upon how you looked at it.

//You don't need to claw my kneecaps. She'll hurt me places I like even more than my knees.//

[nadiathesaint]

Furrball seemed to smirk up at Nadia. //True.// He butted his head against her chest, purring. //That's one of the things I like about her.//

Nadia raised an eyebrow. "Sure, always good. I'll just have to ask Alfred about that."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Alfred gives me explicit orders to go do things that are reckless and foolish. And I haven't had a bad encounter with his ruler in months."

He smirked and stuck out his tongue at Furrball. "Feel free to ask him if I'm good or not." Not dirty!

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia grinned again. "I think I will." She poked Furrball in the head. "Say thank you for the fish, Furrball."

Furrball opened one eye. //I shouldn't have to thank people for fish. Fish are what cats are due. It's part of nature. You humans just haven't figured that out, yet.// He glanced at Walter. //Most of you humans, anyway.//

Nadia smirked. "That probably wasn't a thank you, was it."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"No, it was a comment on the proper order of things from a cat's point of view."

Walter brushed cat hair off his trousers and smiled. "Thank you both for helping me with my project."

This having kissed her, not his girlfriend, knows she likes him, just broke up with his boyfriend, had too much fun at the prom with her/him thing was getting kind of odd.

"So... I'll see you soon?"

[nadiathesaint]

"Sure." Nadia shrugged. She knew this had to be pretty weird for him. She sure as hell wasn't going to push anything when he'd just broken up with someone else.

Much as she wanted to. "Have a good evening."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"You, too. Both of you."

He glanced at the sheetless bed on his way out. She really needed some sheets for that. Maybe a pillow.