An Unwanted Housemate (Solo)

[Tao]

24th Spring, 510 Dawn was not something he saw much of these days. Lhavit was not a city that lent itself overly to the worship of the morning, with most of its people coming alive with the dusk and already in bed by the time the first rays of Syna's influence came creeping over the mountains. Normally, he would be among them, as nocturnal as though he had lived that way all his life. Of course, there was always a day when he couldn't help but fancy a walk through the city, exploring the nooks and crannys that he hadn't yet come upon, giving his mind little chance to wander and contemplate, and marvelling the sights. And as the dawn came and bathed light down on the city, he had found himself a wonderful viewpoint of all of Zintia Peak. The cliff face was not far from Surya Plaza, and would have been quite a climb were there not a little path cut into the rock, making the walk steep, but not unmanageable. Quite out of breath, he sat away from the edge, looking out over the city and the mountains beyond. He could go for days feeling like he belonged to the city, and then one breathtaking view struck him and it became something out of a dream. With a long sigh, he flopped back onto his back, chest heaving with heavy breaths and his forehead damp with sweat. His eyes were heavy and his skin flushed and warm, making his shirt stick uncomfortably to his back. The thought of making his way back down to his apartment was not a pleasant one; he was no athlete or fighter and it showed in the way his legs were already starting to ache. Despite his want for rest, the sun's rays quickly reached the cliff on which he lay, the glare striking his face with no remorse. With a groan, he squinted and sat up again, shielding his eyes with one hand. The skies were clear, signalling that the day would be warm. He knew that he didn't want to be walking home as the streets grew hot. Oh, Syna, why do you have to be so bright? He thought, more complaint than any kind of malice, and got to his feet slowly, stretching his way through the exhaustion.

[Tao]

He decided to take an alternative route back home rather than chancing the steep cliff path once more, moving onto an unfamiliar street. The large, arching buildings protecting him with their shade, giving him some relief as he set off, shuffling down the street. The buildings were a mix of residences and some small, local shops, most likely selling home made wares or baking. The scent of baking bread hung in the morning air, turning his stomach with a rousing growl as it remembered it was hungry. True to his predictions, there was a bakery further down the road, built into the front of a normal house, but with a large glass window for wares to be displayed. Unusually, however, was the angry voice coming from within the store, and the clatter of what sounded like a kitchen being overthrown. Not one to get involved in other people's troubles, Tao skirted around the bakery's window despite his hunger. Interrupting an angry cook was never a good idea, in his experience. Moments later, the choice was taken entirely from his hands as the door burst open, and an fierce looking elderly woman with a frying pan emerged, chasing a small black and white blur in front of her. He yelped in surprise as the blur leapt at him, attaching itself to his front with sharp claws, meowing fiercely. He grabbed a hold of it and attempting to dislodge it from his shirt, but to no avail; the small cat was firmly attached, hissing and spitting at the dangerous looking woman glaring at him, like the only reason she hadn't taken his head off with her pan was because there was probably a Shinya around the corner. “Is that yours?” She growled in Lhavtian, clearly not in a mood for niceties. He vigorously shook his head, struggling with the small animal, which he hadn't had a chance to get a good look at yet. It still refused to let go of him, burrowing its way into his shoulder, like it expected him to take the fall for whatever it had done. The old woman clearly thought the same, tapping her foot, a clear look of disbelief on her face. “That pet of yours ruined a fresh loaf! You'd better be paying for it, or...” She trailed off, but it was clear what she meant. Tao swallowed, hard; he didn't want the Shinya called down on his head for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily, he had a handful of kina in his pocket; he pulled out one and offered it over mutely, while the blasted cat snuggled it's way up to sit on his shoulder, meowing loudly. Stupid thing! I'm throwing you in the river when I get away from her! He thought very hard at the creature, hoping that it would pick up on his malicious intent if nothing else. Luckily, the baker seemed placated by the offering, snatching the coin from his hand and storming back inside, muttering darkly. The cat on his shoulder started to purr, as if it was pleased that its trick to use him as a scapegoat had gone well. “Get off me, you.” He growled back at it, giving it a shove. With the threat of the frying pan out of sight, it leapt off him and onto the ground gracefully, still purring. He glowered at it for a moment before realising that he was attempting to have a battle of wits with a cat, and the cat had won a round already. Instead, he huffed under his breath and stormed off. He didn't realise that the cat was following him until well after he had returned home. Receipt1 kina – Given to the scary old lady (Substituted for the price of a cat from the store )

[Tao]

The rest of his walk was uneventful; the streets were deserted but for the occasional patrolling Shinya. Despite the incident with the cat, he had enjoyed the walk. Grateful that his apartment was one of the ones on the ground level, he pulled out his key and unlocked the door, slipping inside quietly so as not to disturb his neighbours. His apartment was a bit of a mess, as usual, his futon unmade and some clothing draped over the chest at the foot. The desk by the window was covered in carefully conserved paper, with notes on the Lhavitian language and Symenestran history organised into neat piles. Thick curtains protected the apartment from the morning sun, keeping it dark and cool inside. I'll clean up tonight. He decided, much like he did every night; living alone gave him little incentive to keep the room orderly. Pulling his boots off by the door, he washed his face in the basin opposite the desk and clambered into bed. A contented sigh passed his lips as his body finally got the rest it had demanded for the last half of the walk home, the aching pain beginning to ease as he curled up on top of the blankets. It was likely that he would be stiff and sore when he went to work that evening, but that was a small price to pay for some blessed rest. He was just beginning to doze off when he heard a scratching sound. Opening an eye, he glanced around to make sure that it wasn't a spider or something else nasty scuttling towards him. After a moment, he assumed it was just a sound coming from the outside and lay back down again. It was likely one of the other apartment dwellers returning home, or something out on the street. A few minutes later, he noticed that the sound was continuing, and sounded much closer than before. There was even a pattern to the sounds: scratch, scratch, scratch. A pause, for a moment or two, and the faint creak of the loose floorboard outside his window. Scratch, scratch, scratch. Something was pacing outside his door, for whatever reason. It wasn't loud enough to be a person, and a person would surely knock if they wanted to reach him. Groggily, he pulled himself up, balancing on one arm, to eye the door. A rat, perhaps? It seemed unlikely, given how clean the streets were kept. Then, he heard the last sound that he was expecting: a slightly impatient, and very loud meow. No. No way. He pulled himself out of bed, getting to his feet and crossing over to the door, rubbing his eyes. The door creaked as he opened it, revealing, as he had feared, the black and white cat from earlier. Said cat looked up at him, tail swishing back and forth, and meowed again, as if asking what had taken him so long. “Oh, no. You can't be here.” He whispered, eyeing the creature in disbelief as she (at least, he thought 'she' was indeed a 'she') padded over to press her warm body against his leg, a purr beginning to rumble in her throat. “...Did you follow me?” Using his foot, he attempted to nudge her back out the door, but to no avail as she nimbly dodged, then playfully swiped at the offending limb with sharp claws, causing him to yelp and withdraw. There was nothing vicious in the attack, as she quickly showed by butting her head against his leg once more, and ever rumbling purr increasing in volume. Dumbfounded by the cat's forwardness, Tao could think of nothing to do but close the door, as it was letting a bit of a draft in. He shuffled over to sit down on one of the chairs by his desk, watching as she began to make herself at home like she had lived in his apartment all her life. She was a small build, mostly likely young, though he had no idea how much difference the age would make. Black but for her underbelly and paws and the very tip of her tail, she was undoubtedly the cat that had swindled him out of a whole kina earlier that morning, using him as an accomplice to her thievery. And now she was in his house and he had no idea how to make her leave without being clawed. By the gods, he couldn't deal with woman of his own species! It's too early for this nonsense. He thought to himself, rubbing his face. Meanwhile, the cat seemed to have found his bed, curling up in the warmth that he had left behind. “Hey...” He protested, getting to his feet and making his way back to the low set bed. “That's my spot.” Predictably, the cat did not move, leaving him out a kinda and a bed for the day. He grumbled under his breath, pushing her over a little with the flat of his hand, and lay back down, surrendering one side to his unwanted companion until he could figure out how to get rid of her. A moment later, he felt a small bundle of warmth press into the small of his back, purring loudly. “Don't get used to it.” He warned, staving off a yawn as he spoke. “You can't stay.”

[Tao]

Though his shift at the Fleeting Comet did not start until late evening, Tao awoke in the early afternoon, thanks to a certain feline deciding that he had rested quite enough. As he shifted under the blankets, sharp, nimble claws latched onto his foot, and a loud, declaring meow informed him that his unwanted roommate was unfortunately still around. He jerked his foot away from the cat, to no avail; she took his movements to be a game and gave chase, leaping onto the back of his legs and snapping playfully at her apparent prey. With a groan, he rolled over onto his back, lifting his head up to look at the creature sitting in his lap. She wasn't looking back at him, too focused on mauling his foot it seemed. “Get off.” He complained, lifting his leg in the hopes of shaking off the playful cat. With a startled mew, she backed up from the suddenly 'uneven' ground, so that she was sitting on his chest instead, her tail brushing under his nose. Giving up on the thought of getting back to sleep, he sat up slowly, hoping that she would get the hint and slide off, instead of attaching herself to his front like she had done that morning. Luckily, his movements startled her enough that she leapt off the bed altogether, gracefully seating herself and beginning to wash a paw with her tongue like she hadn't done a single thing. Free of his cat burden for now, Tao took the chance to detangle himself from the covers and get up, wincing with the stiffness in his back and legs. The walk had certainly been a long one, and it was coming back to bite him in more ways than one. The cat remembered his existence as he made his way to the wash basin to clear the sleep from his eyes, darting over to wind her way around his ankles, meowing loudly. He look down at her, butting at his ankle, and she looked up, grey eyes bright even in the dark apartment. “What do you want?” He asked, to which he only received another resounding meow. I guess I should 'cat' down as my next language after Lhavitian. He thought, wiping his face dry on a towel near the basin. The end of it was snagged in a second; it seemed that the cat was very insistent on getting his attention. He lifted up the towel, now with the addition of a small bundle of fur, and eyed the animal critically. Tao had never owned any kind of animal before, and didn't really have the first clue how to go about looking after one. What do animals need? Food? The cat released the towel and plopped back onto the floor, meowing once more. “Are you hungry?” He asked, before realising that she wouldn't understand him. Oh, by the gods, what do cats eat? Milk? I seem to remember milk. He knew he still had a half bottle of milk stored in his chest, which he used to thicken up broth for his dinner. It was almost due to spoil either way, so it couldn't hurt to see if the cat would eat it. Stepping over the fuzzball, he opened the chest at the end of his bed; on one side, he stored clothing, books, and on the other, foods that couldn't be left out, wrapped in a bag of ice (a fine trick his father had taught him, it kept perishables fresher for a day or two), now a bag of water and slush. The glass bottle of milk was easy to locate, the top sticking out of the makeshift food storage. With it in hand, he grabbed a bowl that seemed high enough for the cat to reach over, filling it up on his desk so that she wouldn't stick her nose in straight away. All the while, she clambered under his feet, as if she knew that he was preparing something for her, or if he wasn't, she hoped would soon become hers. He put the bowl down on the ground in front of her, crouching down to see if he had gotten it right. She approached the bowl, sniffing at it curiously, then dipping her little pink tongue in. After the taste test, she sat down on her haunches, lapping up the milk with gutso. Tao sighed with relief and got back up, putting away the bottle for reuse later. “So, you like milk?” He asked, again getting no answer. It seemed that when food was involved, he was merely second best. Well, if I can get to sleep, then so be it. He thought decidedly, making a beeline back to his nice, warm blankets. A few minutes later, he felt the bed shift as the cat returned to his side, and heard her deafening purr before he saw her curl up by his chest, content now that her belly was full. He lifted his head to glance at the bowl; it appeared to be all but empty. “I guess you do like milk.” He muttered sleepily. “Milk in Lhavitian is Miruku, you know. Maybe I should call you that.” There was no response from his unwanted housemate other than a continued, resounding purr. Well, guess that's settled. I have a cat. He thought, a little resigned to the fact; if Miruku could so easily charm her way in through the door, it was clear that he wouldn't be getting rid of her any time soon. And if Miruku had any thoughts on how easily she had duped him, she had nothing else to say but a loud, rumbling, purr. OOC:A Picture of Miruku

[Ophelia]

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Thread Award. ‎‎<3 ‎ ‎EXPERIENCE.‎ ‎-- ‎LORES.‎ Breathtaking views of Lhavit Being a scapegoat Having a cat follow you home Speaking to cats Miruku ‎ADDITIONAL NOTES.‎ Tao and a kitty cat are the cutest things ever. Loved the thread, sorry I couldn't give you any xp - but hey! you got a kitty cat! Minus 1kina from your ledger, and I reckon you should put a pic of Miruku, the cute charming kitty, on your CS ‎Don't hesitate to pm me with questions, queries, or anything else!‎ Love,‎ Ophelia <3

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