❦ 11th Record

[iattractmushi]

Is anyone missing a cat? This one won't leave me alone.

[Slight pause.]

Castor, you around?

Comments

Hell yeah.

[unevoked]

S'cool, I'm just getting off a shift anyway. I'll head out there.

-----

[It didn't take long for Castor to get down to the second floor, though he took his time walking to the aquarium-- it hadn't seemed especially urgent, Cloud had a cat to distract him, and Castor felt like he needed a nice smoke break, especially with how Lin had done the schedule to make up for her 'injury'.

Or just to take away his freetime. Whichever.

Still, he arrived at the Aquarium shortly, glancing around as he stepped inside.] Cloud, you in here?

\o/

[iattractmushi]

[Cloud did indeed have a cat to distract him, though he didn't at first really know what to do about it. He had just brought it--him, he corrected himself, the cat was a male--in here to keep the creature from wandering off while he found out if he had an owner. Though there seemed little danger of that--the cat was currently enthusiastically attacking one of his shoelaces, and showed no signs of wanting to run off.

The cat ears currently (and hopefully temporarily) attached to Cloud's head perked at Castor's hail and he glanced up.] Hey.

[unevoked]

[The voice got an ear-perk in return as they responded to the noise, and for a moment Castor gave an annoyed growl and reached up to tug on one.] Stupid thing...

[Still he stepped over to Cloud, glancing down at the cat and tilting his head slightly.] You pick it up in the park, or what?

[iattractmushi]

Yeah. [He reached up to rub the back of his head, brushing the tip of one of the ears as he did. It flicked back out of the way without any conscious thought on his part.

...this was probably one of the weirdest things that had ever happened to him, with or without his memories. The tip of his tail, dangling down from where he was sitting on his box, twitched.]

He just started following me. [He nudged the cat gently in the ribs with his shoe. The cat retaliated by batting at the shoe, claws extended.] Frisky little guy.

[unevoked]

[His lips curled up for a moment at the kitten's antics, the dark, scruffy tail behind him lightly moving from side to side on its own in vague amusement.] 'Least he's not sickly. He's either good enough to live on his own or someone lost him not long ago.

[A shoulder rolled as he glanced back to Cloud.] Did you need something, or is it 'bout the cat?

[iattractmushi]

Mmm. [He continued to look at the cat for a few moments longer, but his thoughts had already jumped to why he asked Castor to come here. His white tail started a slow, even back-and-forth movement as he glanced up, his face carefully blank... and ignoring the fact that the cat ears were twitching a little.]

No. It's something I've been curious about for a while now--little more than a month, actually. [There was a very small chance he might have asked about it the night after they got away from Arthur; but if he had, he didn't remember.]

[unevoked]

[His brow raised, ears moving back for a moment. With the way Cloud was carefully bringing up whatever subject it was, he was sure they'd be there for a bit. He shrugged, moving to get comfortable sitting on the floor and distract his attention to the kitten-- it was easier to converse when he wasn't making eye contact.]

[His tone was a bit more cautious when he spoke- being asked about something like this, in a place like this away from people, it was either something important or something personal- potentially both. And Castor didn't do so well with personal questions.] Might help if you tell me what it is.

[iattractmushi]

[The kitten trotted over to sniff at the new person, sneezing delicately at the scent of dog. He didn't seem too off-put by it, starting to stalk Castor's tail playfully.]

[Cloud really wasn't sure how Castor was going to take this question--hell, even with the proof of the smashed firing range, he wasn't entirely sure the thing he had seen had been real and not some hallucination born of shock, pain, and blood loss. But he was fairly certain it had been real, though he had put off asking about it until now.] ...when Arthur shot you. Shot us. That one-legged horse-monster came out of nowhere, smashed things up, and vanished again. I've been wondering what it was ever since.

[He leaned his head in one hand, single green eye watching Castor intently. His tail moved back and forth deceptively lazily, like a cat's does when it is stalking its dinner--he was very, very interested in whatever Castor had to say.]

[unevoked]

[His nose wrinkled at the kitten's attentions, reaching out to pick it up and set it down between himself and Cloud every time it would start to pounce at his tail, small claws looking like miniature daggers that Castor didn't feel like dealing with-- the few times Boy had caught the tip when snapping at him was bad enough.

The question drew him back to the conversation, though. His only reaction was to tense faintly, shoulders moving back as he lifted his head-- though the way the fur on his ears and tail bristled, ears moving to lie flat was probably more telling than anything else.]

...It ain't important, is what it is. [He didn't snap the words as much as he wanted to- Cloud was a friend, right? He deserved at least some sort of explanation. But the fact was that losing control of his Persona like that was both embarrassing and frightening. Why couldn't he control it? And how many people could have been hurt if it happened again? He forced himself to relax after a moment, ducking out of eye contact again.]

[After a pause, he

[iattractmushi]

[Cloud noticed Castor's involuntary reaction--hard not to, really, especially with the way he'd been staring. His tail stilled until only the tip was moving, his ears flicking back and forth a few times. Castor was... a friend? Yes, he counted as one by now. And he was clearly uncomfortable with what Cloud was asking him.]

[Cloud's eye followed the kitten as he trotted back to him, losing interest in Castor's tail. He butted his head against Cloud's leg, and Cloud held out one hand to the little animal, welcoming the excuse not to look at Castor. His ears flattened halfway down on his head--drat the things. Casually, as if he hadn't seen Castor's reaction and ignoring his own, he continued.]

Maybe not. But what was it? Where did it come from? [Cloud wasn't really sure where he was going with this line of questioning, aside from a vague feeling that if he knew more about the thing, maybe he would be able to help.]

[unevoked]

[He frowned. Always, his answer was "I don't know." "I don't remember." "I haven't found out yet." Anything to avoid issues like this, brush them aside, and make sure they didn't come up-- but he did have the answers to these. Maybe not the context, or the specifics, but he had the basest answers, and he trusted Cloud enough to share them-- another fact that he was mentally cursing himself for. When had he started to drop that instinct of distancing himself? Or was it that Cloud was just that sort of person- unassuming, asking for himself and no one else, with no reason to share the conversation with others.]

...My head, [He answered the question after an extended pause, brows furrowing as if he felt stupid for saying it.] I mean... I can call him. Usually we can't do it on our own, though. It's... called a Persona, best as I can tell. In my dream I called myself a Persona User. [Instinctively, the tail moved to wrap about himself, remaining on the ground and looping securely close to him as he drew his legs in, hands resting

[iattractmushi]

[His head? He had something, that creature, living in there? Somehow the idea didn't sound that far-fetched to Cloud, even if this particular creature had looked way too big to fit in Castor's head. It even matched with the idea that he had something living in his eye socket, if Ca-- no, if Krile was right.] A Persona...?

[Now Cloud glanced up at Castor, and his ears flattened all the way at what he saw. The guy looked oddly... small like that. Almost child-like. For maybe the first time, Cloud found himself wondering just how old Castor was.]

You named yourself after him? [Not that odd an idea, really... something that much a part of Castor, no wonder he had picked that name. Cloud fingered the bangs over his left eye for a moment, wondering if he should ask Castor if he knew his real name, before deciding he had pushed the guy enough. So he settled for a silent nod instead.]

[unevoked]

[He really wasn't sure why it bothered him so much to talk about it- to have it acknowledged. It was a part of him, right? It spoke in his dreams, it had played a large part in his dream, and he had always been well aware that whatever his "Persona" was, the people in his dream told him he couldn't control it. But it still felt like something to keep close to himself, that others didn't need to know-- or at least something that didn't need reiteration.]

...It was the only name in my dream, so I went with it. It felt close enough. [He jerked a shoulder uncomfortably, the shrug too forced to feel natural. He hated this-- Castor always remained collected, fairly composed, and able to distance himself-- except for when it was all about him. At least Cloud remained casual about it-- it made the words easier, just as Lin's lack of caring made it easy to admit to her his death and prior drug addiction.]

I figured everyone named themselves like that. Picked somethin' important and went with it.

[iattractmushi]

[Cloud grinned a little, the gesture looking natural despite the fact that his ears were still lying flat against his head and the tip of his tail was twitching regularly.]

Well, maybe not everyone. [His name was hardly something he would really hold as important... except maybe it was. After all, he had told (or at least had heavily implied this idea to) several people that he might have been a drifter in his past. Careful not to show his frustration on his face, he realized yet again his thoughts had circled back to the same idea that had plagued him for months now--wanting to leave.]

[His tail started to twitch more agitatedly. Damn, he wished he had more control over the thing... he scooped up the kitten when he started getting interested in Cloud's tail and put him in his lap. Maybe he'd stay there for a bit.]

[unevoked]

[He glanced up to Cloud, watching him take up the kitten and thankful that he hadn't pressed the issue. It was enough to give Castor the moment he needed to relax and compose himself back straightening slightly-- though his posture was still pretty damn terrible.]

Gonna give the little runt a name? [It was easier to talk about the cat than anything else after all, right?] or you gonna hand it off to someone else?

[iattractmushi]

...I don't know. [He wasn't exactly a pet person; he didn't even have a house. The cat pawed at his leg a little before curing up in his lap. Cloud winced slightly as the kitten started kneading his leg, the sharp claws going right through the fabric of his pants. He caught one of the paws in his hand, trying to stop it, and the cat instantly latched on, playfully gnawing his hand without breaking the skin.

...if nothing else, the kitten certainly seemed to like him. A name, huh... he tilted his head slightly to one side, still regarding the cat in his lap, ears up and pointing forward now in interest.] Maybe... Adashino...?

[...where had that name come from?]