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 Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:10 pm
Unlike a few of the students here, such as certain individuals who would, for the sake of not being yelled at, remain nameless... Nihls actually did like cats. Well, technically he also liked Dogs. Also birds. Also ferrets, fish, amphibians, reptiles.... there was even a special place in his heart for bats, and perhaps a touch of envy also, since Bats had a means to navigate in the dark that he himself did not.
He wasn't even terribly good with low light, which is why he was staying relatively close to the lights of the building, and STILL wielding a flashlight, which was currently pointed at the ground like a light-saber as he sat on a step and watched the pile of scraps he could just make out on the outer perimeter of it's beam.
He knew there were some strays getting into the grounds, and was reasonably sure that they were getting fed... but he still kind of wanted to see them. Hell he'd love to pet one. He liked cats.
It would really come down to how feral they were though, and if Sue decided his territory was being infringed on. Sue was, without question, considerably tougher than Nihls, and Nihls didn't particularly feel like being folded into origami and being fed to a stray.
Still, even if he didn't see them, something out here would probably appreciate some of the dinner scraps... and if nothing did... well it would cause some of the prissier girls to go into hysterics in the morning. That would actually be amusing.
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:37 pm
There was at least one cat living near-campus that was always desperate for attention, and that was Bartholomew. He spent most his days gazing longingly out from the woods, remembering back on days of warm laps and happy pettings. Those days were behind him now, though, and the world had changed. It was colder. Things tangled up in his fur, people ignored him. Food was hard to get.
Except for Sue. Because Sue was warm and Sue pulled the things out of his fur and Sue never ignored him, and Sue made sure he had food. And Sue promised him that he would find him a person again, someday. Bartholomew would get to be a lapcat and there would be happy times again.
"Someday" was a hard concept for a cat to grasp. But Bartholomew liked the things that Sue said and the things that Sue gave him, so he trusted Sue to know what he was saying. Even when Sue told Bartholomew, stay away from people. People can hurt you. Not unless I say so.
But Sue wasn't here right now, and there was a person. The person smelled of good things and warmth. The light caught the stray's eyes, lit them up, and Bartholomew shied away - but did not run. Instead he mewled, pitifully, as though he were starving and weak. The fact that all he wanted were pettings didn't mean he couldn't see if the stranger had food, after all!
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:46 pm
The heart breaking, Hollywood class acting from Bartholomew did not fail to play an fine tune on Nihls heartstrings, and he looked up from studying the grass to peer somewhat hopelessly around at what to his complete absence of night vision, was pretty much heavy darkness, except for a pair of reflective eyes, which he fixated on.
"...Aww... hey Kitty." He spoke softly, leaning forward and holding out one hand. The lean brought the flashlight closer to the ground, which diminished it's radius, but he left his hand out somewhat trustingly, relying on the flashlight and the building lights behind him to give him some warning, just in case the pathetic mew turned out to be... oh... who knew. An Wolverine with really impressive skills at mimicry. Given the other fascinating gifts at Barren Pines, he wasn't sure he'd be surprised if there WAS a wolverine that could do impressions somewhere around... and he'd be fine if there was as long as it preferred dinner scraps to fingers.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm definitely not going to chase you." He promised, though, since communicating with animals wasn't really on his skill list, he doubted it understood anything deeper than the tone of his voice. "...and they don't -actually- make instrument strings out of cat gut. I checked." He added, in an moment of wry humor, probably lost on his audience.
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:55 pm
Oh, I don't know. Purring is something like cat laughter, isn't it? And Bartholomew was doing plenty of that right now. It had taken maybe two seconds of sniffing to earn his trust, and suddenly the cat was all over his sympathetic visitor, smothering him with ankle-rubs and head-butts and desperate padded pawings for attention. Really, this was all that Bartholomew wanted - for people to appreciate him and love on him, just like he'd been brought up to expect, just like he'd become so dependent on during his tenure as a housecat....
"Bartholomew, here."
Cats weren't normally known for obeying orders. But when Sue said it - especially in that low, angry voice, especially when Bartholomew knew he was breaking rules anyway - things just tended to play out a little different than they usually did. The stray sprang suddenly away from Nihls and trotted over to where Sue stood glowering. Behind him, three sets of cat eyes stared, wide and unblinking in their silent judgment.
Bartholomew flopped belly-up as soon as he reached Sue, but the boy was less than interested in a display of subordination from the cat at just that moment. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded, unable to see clearly his fellow student in the darkness.
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:19 pm
Sue's chances of identifying Nihls based on sight probably weren't helped by the fact that the sound of his commanding, cold, and interrupting voice were responded to by a rapid swivel of the flashlight in the direction of the voice, which really probably didn't help the whole 'lightsabre' impression. It was a nice... bright flashlight.
Nihls gave a profound sigh at the sound of the voice, picking imaginary cat hair (and missing the real deal entirely) off his pant cuffs.
"It's Edmund Nihls." He offered. He recognized the voice... and the face in the spotlight of his flashlight, though after identifying the irritable voice, he dropped it's searing beam to point at Sue's chest instead. Politer that way, though it left an awful lot of dark around him. He thought about adding a irritable comment himself about not being some crazed transfer student with a taste for "Chinese"... but like most rude comments that one died somewhere in his brain without actually making it as far as his tongue, let alone slipping out into the open.
"...Sorry. I wasn't trying to bother anyone. I just wanted to see some of the strays." He explained, as politely as possible, blinking myopically and adjusting his glasses with his free hand.
He did -not- address the other boy by his first name. You didn't have to know rocket science to know that Sue did not like his name.
The trick with the cat was damned impressive... but again... it WAS Barren Pines.
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:15 pm
HISSSSSS OH GOD LIGHT OW EYES! One of the cats behind Sue panicked and fled at the direct flashlight - no no no, Nibs was not cool with this! Sue nearly followed himself, in that blind moment of pain. Even by the time that the flashlight was lowered, it was too late - his night sight was ruined. He just had to take Edmund's word for it that he was who he said he was, because God knew Sue wouldn't be seeing anything anytime soon!
Rubbing at his face with the back of his arm, Sue was thoroughly irritated. "Yeah? Well shove off!" He didn't feel any need to tell his story about how someone had been trying to feed the ferals poisoned meat in the past year. Edmund was officially on his s**t list - he didn't need to get an explanation, he just needed to beat it. Pronto.
Rolling back on his feet, however, Bartholomew didn't seem so certain of Sue's adamance. Rather, he wailed up at his guardian, and Sue's eyebrow visibly twitched. He liked the new person, who smelled of good things and talked in friendly tones. He wanted to be around people. Couldn't Sue let him, just this once?
It was... a difficult proposition. Because Sue knew that he wasn't giving Bartholomew enough attention just by himself. But he had to make sure that the cat was safe, damn it....
"Hold on," he growled, apparently changing his mind. "You got any pets at home?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:19 am
"Not here but..." Nihls let it hang with a vague shrug. He was a bit surprised by the change in demands, though he grimaced apologetically at what he could see of Sue's expression in the beam of light. Inflicting temporary night blindness on people usually didn't make their day... er... Night. "Sorry about the flashlight...." He didn't tack on an explanation of his own permanent night-blindness. Most people tended to have figured it out, or have heard about it one way or another. If Sue asked... then he'd explain, but until then... without refractive eyes it was the only thing telling him where the other boy was.
"...He's very friendly for a stray. Someone used to own him didn't they?" He asked, tilting his head slightly in Bartholomew's general direction.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:35 pm
Well, at least Sue could say that Nihls wasn't a total idiot, surprising though that was.
"Yeah," Sue muttered back. Right on cue, Bartholomew started rubbing up against the boy's legs, arching so high in the air that his front feet came off the ground, purring appealingly. "He got dropped around here...." How long ago? It was hard to imagine a day gone by without Bartholomew to brighten it up.... "a while ago. The shelters are all pretty damned full up, and older cats aren't getting homes like they used to, so I watch him like the others."
Sue didn't mention the deal he'd struck up with the feline. That would just be tipping his hand.
Not receiving the attention he'd expected, Bartholomew craned his head back and mewed whiningly. "Oh hush, you," Sue sighed, "I'm not gonna give you attention." There were implications in that sentence, something that could only really be picked up by a feline ear. The feline's cream-colored ears pricked up, and he was off - right back over to Nihls, where he began purring and pawing and rubbing with renewed ferocity.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:16 pm
"Well he certainly doesn't seem to mind the arrangement." Nihls flashed an huge grin as Bartholomew came running back over, dropping the beam of the flashlight as he rested it on the stairs beside him to give attention to the affectionate cat, somewhat cautiously but with barely bridled enthusiasm, just to make sure that if he did find out that if 'Bart' did have some spots he really didn't want touched, he'd found out preferably without being bitten or scratched. "Must be quite a lot of work." He offered, conversationally. "Poor fellow... who would have abandoned you?" He asked Bartholomew. "...People really don't make terribly much sense."
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:52 pm
The rest of the felines, who had so dramatically provided intimidation upon his arrival, seemed to be wondering if they were really need. One of them stopped staring in order to start grooming, and the other's attention was wavering quickly now.
"Yeah, well," Sue mumbled vaguely. He, too, seemed to be losing steam. Nihls was just... the right kind of practical for him. He said good stuff, things Sue thought and agree with. Some people in this world were worth trusting, after all - to an extent.
He gathered himself together, got his arms crossed in front of his chest, and dispassionately explained; "It's just a temporary fix, anyway. Bartholomew isn't a cat that ought to be outdoors like this; there's a sense that a cat's gotta have to stand a chance out here, the sort you get when you're been living it all your life. He hasn't got it, and damned if it's better that way."
The object of the conversation was renewing his purrs - Nihls might not have found a bad spot yet, but he'd sure happened on a good one, right above the tail base! His back legs stiffened, his butt rose high into the air, and the look on his face was - well. No other way to describe it but ridiculous. Sheer kitty bliss.
"Gotta find him a good home someday," Sue was musing, "someplace he can go and be inside and with people all day, before he gets himself into more trouble than he can bail himself out."
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:32 am
Nihls couldn't help grinning again at the 'happy-cat-dance', though his expression grew more serious again at Sue's discourse on Bartholomew's suitability for outdoor life.
"...I'm on first floor. He might be able to come crash in my room at night, as long as we don't get in trouble." He offered. "As long as he doesn't mind the violin. Actually he'd probably sound better than my violin playing."
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 3:26 pm
For the first time in the conversation - or really, in recent memory at all - Sue grinned. Just straight up, frowning-to-smiling in .03 seconds, grinned.
"It's a help," he admitted, still brusque even with a cheerier mood. "I'd do the same, but my neighbors would rat me out in a second if they caught wind." It wasn't like they didn't already b***h about the smell of cat and cat food from his room already, after all - he'd had more than one "surprise check" by the administration to make sure he wasn't hiding any animals. "Which room are you in? I'm GOT-26. I'm pretty much stocked for everything, in case there's something that comes up - food, flea meds, whatever. You can come by anytime, day or night, and I'll fix you up."
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:13 pm
"I'm in NIH-9" Nihls offered, pleased and relieved by Sue's reaction. "As long as I'm in, you'd be welcome to stop by and check on him. Otherwise I'm normally in one of the study rooms. "I am near the kitchens though, which has it's ups and downs." He shrugged, continuing to pet the ecstatic cat.
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:21 pm
Sue nodded curtly. There was more than one reassurance to knowing the room name for this boy - the lesser of them was that he could check on Bartholomew himself. The greater was that if anything happened to the cat, he'd know exactly where to go to force some answers.
"All right, then." He stood there, stiff and awkward, trying to find the right words to say. Some sort of thanks was typically in order, but well... it just didn't feel right, not coming from Sue. Besides, Bartholomew had been purring thanks for the last thirty seconds. "Yeah. You... you just do good by him, then."
And this fear he was feeling? That sense that he was putting Bartholomew's life at risk, that Nihls might not be such the great guy he seemed? Yeah, he'd just have to get over that on his own.
Sue took a few steps back, observing the happy cat with his new best friend. He was getting antsy now, and the longer he was around this (and the more he had to think about it), the worse it got. It was time for him to head off somewhere else.
He took a quick, shallow breath, and rapidly told Nihls, "So I'll see you around." Then it was time to turn and walk off, quickly and awkwardly, before his overprotectiveness drove him to something he might regret.
It would be fine, Bartholomew staying with Nihls. Better than Bartholomew trying to make it outdoors at night. Sue just had to keep trying to convince himself of it.
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