I can has fluff? (Narrative)
Characters: Harry Dresden, Mister the cat
Location: By the woods
Time: After combat class, later in the week after his second talk with Elaine.
Content: Harry's feeling horrible again, then he finds a kitten.
Format: Narrative
Class had gone about as well as could be expected, which was to say that Harry had a new black eye. Grumbling he held the ice to his face as he walked by the edge of the forest, really not in the mood to talk to anyone. Sighing, he hoped that the swelling would be minimal, the last thing he needed was to go to his date looking like he’d walked into someone’s fist. Besides, he’d walked into a rock.
Harry debated kicking a stone on the ground to make himself feel better, but then decided punishing a rock for the sins of its kin might go against the school’s purpose. Of course, he promptly remembered rocks aren’t sentient (except for Santo) and gave it a good boot. The rock sailed through the air and hit a bush, causing it to rustle. About a second later, a different part of the bush rustled.
Freezing, Harry turned back to contemplate the movement. It was possible it was just a chipmunk, but a lifetime of combat training and too many horror movies taught him assumptions didn’t just make an ass out of you, they got you killed.
Though if the bush burst into flame and started talking, he was out of there.
Reaching out with his senses, Harry used the most basic manifestation of his tracking abilities, which allowed him to distinguish roughly whether there were any living things moving around him. He couldn’t get an exact location, nor even know what it was he was sensing, but it at least let him know there was something there. Of course, given he was near a forest he sensed quite a few something’s, but the strongest pings were all too small to be human.
Of course, while he was using his mutant powers, Harry was also using the ears all humans had been granted, and those were what solved the mystery when he heard a faint mewl come from the bush. Moving closer, Harry knelt and peered through the leaves. Two golden eyes peered back out at him, and a moment later a kitten face emerged from the darkness in a manner that would do a Cheshire proud. However, this cat wasn’t grinning, if anything it just looked hungry. The little animal was tiny with scraggly gray fur that did nothing to hide the fact that its ribs were showing. Despite its small size, though, it was clear the kitten had been through some rough times. Its tail appeared to have been ripped off at some point, and it had other smaller scratches.
Boy and cat stared at each other for a minute, before slowly the kitten seemed to relax, settling back on its haunches and casually grooming itself as if it didn’t have a care in the world. Harry had to grin slightly at the sheer audacity of this tiny starved kitten acting like he wasn’t even there. That took guts, and Harry suddenly suspected whatever had taken the cat’s tail hadn’t gotten away unscratched.
The smart thing to do was to just get up and walk away, or call a teacher to take the animal to a shelter. Harry was pretty sure that they weren’t allowed this kind of pet on campus, and he knew he couldn’t afford a kitten. Logically, he should hand the animal off and wash his hands of it.
Yet…a little animal like this wouldn’t survive long in the wild, no matter how plucky it was, and the chances of a mangy cat like this one being adopted at a shelter was next to zero. Most people didn’t adopt pets for personality; they did it for the cute factor. They couldn’t appreciate this cat’s true character.
What settled it for Harry, though, was the one thing he’d been trying to forget, the last image he had of Elaine leaving him again, just as he’d gotten her back. The old hurt rose up and he looked at the ground in self-loathing. “I guess you’re all alone to huh? Yeah, that’s kind of a stupid question isn’t it? Well, at least yours probably wasn’t your own fault, you probably didn’t do anything wrong. Me? I just drove away the last of my family because I’m a moron. Not that you care, you’re probably more worried about living to tomorrow, not some stupid human’s relationship problems.”
Yet, when Harry looked up, the cat had stopped grooming and was now watching him silently, its head cocked to one side. Its yellow eyes never left Harry, giving the strange impression it understood everything he was saying.
Harry had already failed his first love so many times, failed to tell Rikku about his past, and been an all around screw up lately. Maybe, just maybe, he could at least do something decent for someone, even if it was just a little cat.
Reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled out the sandwich he’d been planning on having for lunch. Opening the ziplock bag, he pulled out the meat and held it out to the kitten. Eyes staring at the offered food in rapt attention, Harry could see hunger and caution warring in the tiny animal’s eyes, and he was careful not to move an inch. Gradually, inch-by-inch the kitten crept closer, belly low to the ground and ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
That moment, however, never came, and after a very long time the cat took a tentative nip of the offered condiment. This nip was promptly followed by faster bites, and then frantic scarfing. “Hey, slow down there, you look like me after I haven’t had pizza for a while. You’re gonna make yourself sick.”
The cat, being a cat, ignored him.
In minutes the meat was gone, and the kitten looked up at Harry like a tiny Oliver Twist, asking if it might have some more. “Sorry buddy, that was all I’ve got, but if you want, I can get you some more back at the mansion.”
The cat almost seemed to be considering Harry’s offer, then promptly backed up, and charged Harry’s leg, delivering a tiny kitty shoulder check, before bouncing off onto its backside. Laughing despite himself, Harry reached down and scratched the kitten behind the ears. “Should I take that for a yes?”
The cat did not respond, except to nuzzle Harry’s hand with a little purr. “Aw hell, I’ve gotten in trouble for stupider reasons. Hey, if we have to be alone, we might as well be alone together right?”
The cat gave him a look.
“Yes, I know that doesn’t make sense, but I’m talking to a cat, what do I care about making sense?”
Moments later he had a tiny purring kitten in his arms, and began heading back toward the mansion. Now he just needed to find a vet, and make sure Joshua wouldn’t rat him out.
And maybe, just maybe, he could forgive himself a little.
Location: By the woods
Time: After combat class, later in the week after his second talk with Elaine.
Content: Harry's feeling horrible again, then he finds a kitten.
Format: Narrative
Class had gone about as well as could be expected, which was to say that Harry had a new black eye. Grumbling he held the ice to his face as he walked by the edge of the forest, really not in the mood to talk to anyone. Sighing, he hoped that the swelling would be minimal, the last thing he needed was to go to his date looking like he’d walked into someone’s fist. Besides, he’d walked into a rock.
Harry debated kicking a stone on the ground to make himself feel better, but then decided punishing a rock for the sins of its kin might go against the school’s purpose. Of course, he promptly remembered rocks aren’t sentient (except for Santo) and gave it a good boot. The rock sailed through the air and hit a bush, causing it to rustle. About a second later, a different part of the bush rustled.
Freezing, Harry turned back to contemplate the movement. It was possible it was just a chipmunk, but a lifetime of combat training and too many horror movies taught him assumptions didn’t just make an ass out of you, they got you killed.
Though if the bush burst into flame and started talking, he was out of there.
Reaching out with his senses, Harry used the most basic manifestation of his tracking abilities, which allowed him to distinguish roughly whether there were any living things moving around him. He couldn’t get an exact location, nor even know what it was he was sensing, but it at least let him know there was something there. Of course, given he was near a forest he sensed quite a few something’s, but the strongest pings were all too small to be human.
Of course, while he was using his mutant powers, Harry was also using the ears all humans had been granted, and those were what solved the mystery when he heard a faint mewl come from the bush. Moving closer, Harry knelt and peered through the leaves. Two golden eyes peered back out at him, and a moment later a kitten face emerged from the darkness in a manner that would do a Cheshire proud. However, this cat wasn’t grinning, if anything it just looked hungry. The little animal was tiny with scraggly gray fur that did nothing to hide the fact that its ribs were showing. Despite its small size, though, it was clear the kitten had been through some rough times. Its tail appeared to have been ripped off at some point, and it had other smaller scratches.
Boy and cat stared at each other for a minute, before slowly the kitten seemed to relax, settling back on its haunches and casually grooming itself as if it didn’t have a care in the world. Harry had to grin slightly at the sheer audacity of this tiny starved kitten acting like he wasn’t even there. That took guts, and Harry suddenly suspected whatever had taken the cat’s tail hadn’t gotten away unscratched.
The smart thing to do was to just get up and walk away, or call a teacher to take the animal to a shelter. Harry was pretty sure that they weren’t allowed this kind of pet on campus, and he knew he couldn’t afford a kitten. Logically, he should hand the animal off and wash his hands of it.
Yet…a little animal like this wouldn’t survive long in the wild, no matter how plucky it was, and the chances of a mangy cat like this one being adopted at a shelter was next to zero. Most people didn’t adopt pets for personality; they did it for the cute factor. They couldn’t appreciate this cat’s true character.
What settled it for Harry, though, was the one thing he’d been trying to forget, the last image he had of Elaine leaving him again, just as he’d gotten her back. The old hurt rose up and he looked at the ground in self-loathing. “I guess you’re all alone to huh? Yeah, that’s kind of a stupid question isn’t it? Well, at least yours probably wasn’t your own fault, you probably didn’t do anything wrong. Me? I just drove away the last of my family because I’m a moron. Not that you care, you’re probably more worried about living to tomorrow, not some stupid human’s relationship problems.”
Yet, when Harry looked up, the cat had stopped grooming and was now watching him silently, its head cocked to one side. Its yellow eyes never left Harry, giving the strange impression it understood everything he was saying.
Harry had already failed his first love so many times, failed to tell Rikku about his past, and been an all around screw up lately. Maybe, just maybe, he could at least do something decent for someone, even if it was just a little cat.
Reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled out the sandwich he’d been planning on having for lunch. Opening the ziplock bag, he pulled out the meat and held it out to the kitten. Eyes staring at the offered food in rapt attention, Harry could see hunger and caution warring in the tiny animal’s eyes, and he was careful not to move an inch. Gradually, inch-by-inch the kitten crept closer, belly low to the ground and ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
That moment, however, never came, and after a very long time the cat took a tentative nip of the offered condiment. This nip was promptly followed by faster bites, and then frantic scarfing. “Hey, slow down there, you look like me after I haven’t had pizza for a while. You’re gonna make yourself sick.”
The cat, being a cat, ignored him.
In minutes the meat was gone, and the kitten looked up at Harry like a tiny Oliver Twist, asking if it might have some more. “Sorry buddy, that was all I’ve got, but if you want, I can get you some more back at the mansion.”
The cat almost seemed to be considering Harry’s offer, then promptly backed up, and charged Harry’s leg, delivering a tiny kitty shoulder check, before bouncing off onto its backside. Laughing despite himself, Harry reached down and scratched the kitten behind the ears. “Should I take that for a yes?”
The cat did not respond, except to nuzzle Harry’s hand with a little purr. “Aw hell, I’ve gotten in trouble for stupider reasons. Hey, if we have to be alone, we might as well be alone together right?”
The cat gave him a look.
“Yes, I know that doesn’t make sense, but I’m talking to a cat, what do I care about making sense?”
Moments later he had a tiny purring kitten in his arms, and began heading back toward the mansion. Now he just needed to find a vet, and make sure Joshua wouldn’t rat him out.
And maybe, just maybe, he could forgive himself a little.