I wonder why I never wondered why the easiest things are so hard...

[gotbottle]

Ah, Chicago. Such a huge city, with so many people, that the same dramas can't help but be played out time and time again. Sometimes, even within the same day. Today's flavor seems to be "when worlds collide."

Case in point: Ananya Chinnamalai is walking up to the entrance to the Main Gauche. She's never been the sort to avail herself of free

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[prince_stupid]

Ragar would offer to help Dylan, but he has a problem of his own at the moment. Another kitten. He trots into the Conrad with the tiny animal curled up and dangling by its neckfur from the big cat's mouth.

Daine has proved herself invaluable as regards caring for the little ones he can't--which isn't to say he doesn't heal them and clean them up before handing them over, but he's less capable of being a mother than he would like to be.

[weepnot_thepast]

And just like that, Dylan goes a bit weak in the knees. He catches himself, keeping them from buckling. He raises a hand to his forehead to steady himself. He feels this... odd... sort of pulling, longing sensation, deep in his chest.

Is this it?

He starts scanning the lobby, trying to figure out who might be drawing him in. To the left. Definitely to the left.

He sidesteps a cat trotting along past, trying to figure out which of the many people in here he needs to see. But he finds himself circling back, twice.

He doesn't get this. What's going on?

Murmuring under his breath, he unconsciously goes drifting off in the same direction as the cat, watching the people milling about.

[prince_stupid]

Ragnar stops by the elevator to wait--for someone to open it, for someone to come out of it. He's a patient cat, though somewhat less so when he has a kitten to take care of. He sets the tiny animal down.

"I beg your pardon," he says to Dylan. The man seems to be headed his direction anyway. "Might you open this for me?"

[weepnot_thepast]

Dylan stops and stares down at the cat. And gapes. Not just because the cat is talking to him, no, though that's remarkable in and of itself.

No... the feeling's he's had for the last minute or so intensify, coalescing into a rush that makes him light-headed even as a cool determination and comprehension settle deep in his bones.

He blinks down at Ragnar.

And then mutters, "Aw, shit. No. No way..."

[prince_stupid]

"...If it is such an inconvenience, might you direct me to someone who will? This kitten needs some place warm and quiet to rest."

No, he doesn't get it, and he's about as psychically perceptive as a brick, so that bond that just clicked into place goes completely over his head. He just thinks Dylan is rude. Poor Dylan.

[weepnot_thepast]

"No, no, no, it's not that."

Dylan lowers himself to the ground, slinging off his bag, folding his legs under his body and fixing the cat with a very direct gaze. "I don't understand why, but... it's you. I've been waiting to find you."

He sighs. "It looks like I'm your guardian angel, cat."

[prince_stupid]

Ragnar gazes very directly back, his own expression... well. Sark my be able to recognize the bemusement there, but to anyone else, it probably just looks like a Ragnarface. "I believe you must be mistaken. I, as you say... am a cat."

As though this is an answer of any kind.

[weepnot_thepast]

"I can see that." Dylan sighs. "Nobody ever told me cats got guardian angels. But there's no changing things now."

He rises to his feet, and summons the elevator. "I'm Dylan Hayes. What's your name?"

[prince_stupid]

Ragnar heaves a sigh. "I am Ragnar Gustaffson Coeur de Lion."

He bends to pick up the kitten as the elevator doors open and trots inside, not setting his little burden down again until they're in the basement and he can hail the person at the desk to tend to the tiny animal until Daine can take it. That settled, he hops into one of the basement lobby's chairs and turns his level gaze on Dylan again. "I must tell you this: I do not find myself needing the services of a guardian. I am quite capable of tending to my own affairs."

[weepnot_thepast]

Dylan lowers himself to the floor in front of the chair, crossing his long legs and resting his elbows on his knees. He's about eye level with Ragnar.

"I guess that's the way it goes, with guardian angels," he says. "Nobody ever thinks they need one or nothing. But I got no choice in the matter. It's not what I was expecting... but you're my ward. I can't just ignore that. I'm sorry if that inconveniences you but it is what it is."

[prince_stupid]

"I beg your pardon." Ragnar does not like this. In the least. "But I believe you misunderstand me."

That's it, right? Right.

[weepnot_thepast]

"Look, now I don't mean no disrespect," Dylan replies, shaking his head. "But I think maybe it's you misunderstanding me. I ain't got a choice in this, sir. You're my ward. I can't just up and walk off on that."

He sighs, and scrubs his face with a hand. There are some things you just can't ever be prepared for. This is obviously one of those things.

[prince_stupid]

Ragnar makes a sound that is something like 'hrrm.' Certainly, he understands duty. And he can't in good conscience insist that Dylan forsake his for the simple consideration of convenience.

The cat sighs. "What does it mean, then, that you are my guardian? What responsibilities does this entail?"

[weepnot_thepast]

"It means I gotta look out for your well-being," Dylan explains. "Keep you safe, best I can. Keep you out of trouble. All that."

Dylan studies charge for a few long moments, the serious look on his face belying the fact that he doesn't have the first clue how to go about that with a cat.

"So, uh. You live here?"

[prince_stupid]

"I do not. I live with Julian Sark, in what he calls an apartment complex." Ragnar has no idea what to do about all this. He did not have these problems at home. The best thing he can think of is to answer Dylan's questions until something else occurs to him. "There is someone who lives here that has a good hand with animals, injured and otherwise. I sometimes have occasion to come and see her."

[weepnot_thepast]

"All right." Dylan considers this, and files the information away. "At some point you're gonna have to show me where that is. Not right now. We both need some time to get used to this and I sure need some time to even get myself settled in and on my feet. Reckon I'll take a room here."