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 Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 2:51 am
The heart of the city was where it was at. It was warm, there was lots of food, and people and generally was just a more entertaining place to be. Finding hidey holes and places to stay warm was easy too. After all, who could resist the charms of a large grey feline? No one, that’s who! But, for a change of pace, the whispers of food carts, and a festival of sort had lured the mauvian from his usual habitat and out into the burbs.
Magnus, happy as a clam with a half-eaten corn-dog clutched in in his tiny feline teeth practically trotted down the sidewalk away from the festival. He’d managed to coerce a child into tossing him the snack. A few big eyes, some playful meows, and carefully crafted feline antics were more than enough to melt that childs’ heart and earn him the meal. Sure, he probably could have snatched it away from the vendor himself, but it was more enjoyable to play some games with the child. They got a show out of it and Magnus got to enjoy some good scritches too. He always liked scritches. They were the best.
Far enough away from the festival now that he wouldn’t be bothered, Magnus found himself a nice little bench to hop up on and he went to work quick on the corn dog. Honestly, it didn’t stand a chance. While certainly not the largest of cats, Magnus still was fair sized. Though, at the moment, his longer coat did a good job at obscuring his actual size. “Could use some ketchup.” He muttered to himself as he paused to clean some hot dog residue from a paw.
It was then that he sensed an aura. Ears fell flat against his head at the darkness of it. Blue eyes gazed around himself in search of the source. Whoever it was wasn’t too far off. Perhaps they were intending to take advantage of the festival and droves of people gathering for it. He huffed at the thought, but why else would their kind be here?
But, there was the chance it could be a senshi. That thought fluffed up his interest. Corrupt or not, he had a fondness for any senshi he came across. Now, if it was an agent. Eh, he’d find himself another child to con out of food.
Reaching down he pulled at the remaining bits of corndog from the stick. It had grown cold fairly quickly. Not surprising considering the temperatures. Even his little furry butt was going to feel it sooner than later winter coat or no.
With his last bit gulped down, Magnus grabbed the stick and found a trash nearby he was able to jump up onto and deposit his stick into before he set off in search of the signature. And when he found the person he was in for a visual treat of pink and black and feathers. Or well, what looked like feathers. Whatever, he was thrilled to find himself a senshi. “Hey there.” He called out with an audible purr.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2023 9:00 am
Niter wanted holiday good. He loved holiday food — there was something about the limited supply of it that made it taste five times better than it should have, so in years past, he always sprung for as much delicious junk as he could afford from each of the vendors. Sometimes they sold cotton candy, or cookies and cakes, or sugary drops, or hard candies, or weird drinks that no one could adequately describe (and mint drinks were very popular around now, though Niter couldn't figure out why, because it was already cold out and mint made it feel colder, but he bought them anyway because they were limited and sugary enough that anyone could enjoy them).
But with recent developments at home, Niter had to sit out on the holiday fare. He had been sulking on the edge of a parapet because of it, perched on a bank building that overlooked the town square-type space that held many of the vendors. He wanted the food, but he didn't have any money for the food, and his scruples weren't letting him just walk around stealing.
It occurred to him that he could follow someone out and drain them when they got to a place of relative seclusion and then steal their money — at least that way he wouldn't necessarily be seen. He wouldn't be making a name for himself if no one knew what he looked like. Still, Niter wasn't sure he was ready to commit to that; wanting seasonal food was a pretty flimsy reason to drain someone to unconsciousness and steal whatever they had in their wallets. What if they were struggling to get by, too?
Besides, the usual answer in his situation was get another job, even though Niter —
Niter jumped at the sound of another voice. Stiffening up, he whipped his head around, expecting to see some senshi or knight looking down on him —
But he was just staring at empty space —
Until he realized that there was someone there, and he wasn't hallucinating from stress. His gaze dropped down to a whole Mauvian that was looking at him like he was a snack. Niter felt his cheeks pink as he realized, once again, how half-naked he looked in that outfit. "Um. Can I… Help you?" He asked, slipping into his awkward Customer Service Mentality that he wore at the tattoo shop.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:26 pm
Magnus sat his rear-end downs o lake looking up at the pinky senshi more comfortable. A bottle-brush tail wrapped around his feet, protecting the sensitive beans from the cold air. "Sure can! How about you come down here so we can properly meet and talk!" He called out to the senshi. Corrupt or not, he was thrilled to have found some company! "I bite or scratch. I swear!" He teased playfully.
The tip of his tail slowly and gently pattted the ground as he awaited the senshi's descent. Cause, as agile as Magnus believed himself to be, scaling the side of a building was not on the agenda for the evening. Especially with a corn dog weighing down his belly. "I am by myself, too." He added as an extra encouragement. Who knew how flighty this senshi was at the prospect of someone else being nearby. The lack of an aura should help back up Magnus's claim.
when and if the corrupt joined him Magnus's appearance would make it pretty clear he was a feline of the streets. His longer fur was matted in some places, dirty,and a few burrsclung like glue in places that, thankfully, didn't cause him pain but were tricky to pull out himself. Typically he would just shimmie himself up to some passerby to get some of the problems taken care of but it was more difficult in the winter when fewer people walked the streets. On top of, people were more likely to cart him off to some shelter or something because 'it was too cold for him to be outside'. So, for the time being he just dealt with it.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 5:01 am
Oh, Niter didn't like it when people told him to do things. He found it excessively difficult to tell them no, and then they got insistent, and then Niter ended up doing what they asked for anyway, because it was easier and ended their interaction sooner than asserting himself or putting his foot down about it. And, he supposed, it was in the way he was raised: if someone asked him to do something, it was telling him to do something, and he better do the something, because the social shame hurts worse than any handprint ever would.
Sighing dejectedly, Niter got up from his spot on the parapet. Getting down wasn't so much a challenge when he had an awning to ruin, and a closed dumpster to land on afterward. Then he was down in the dingy-looking alley where the cat was, and for some reason, Niter had expected that the Mauvians were as perfect-looking as the senshi they helped.
It didn't seem like that was the truth, though. Niter's eyebrows peaked in the middle when he saw how… mangy-looking this Mauvian was. Like he just did normal cat things and ate garbage and got tangled up in the city. His coat looked really full, too, apart from the mats. And it was cold out; Niter knew it wasn't great for anyone to be exposed to that, even Mauvians, he figured.
"Um…" Niter approached the feline on the sidewalk, then crouched before him. "No offense, but, do you need a home?" He looked from the dirt-collecting, bushy tail to the mats around the cat's chest to the cat's face, where a couple splotches of some unidentifiable fluid had clung to what could've been super soft fur, if he hadn't been hanging out in the elements. Maybe he could like… Find a White Moon senshi that lost a cat, or whatever. Jet was always telling him to be choosy about bringing anyone into the Negaverse, so he probably wouldn't want Niter to take the cat home himself.
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Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:17 pm
Magnus was beyond delighted when the senshi came down. He hadn't been sure if the corrupt would considering the circumstances of them being on opposite sides of the war. It wouldn't have been any slight either if the corrupt had opted for the safer route and fled, or ignored him. Instead, Magnus was presented with the full pink and black view and was thrilled.
"Who? Me?!" He said with a bit of faked hurt dignity. "I am quite street savy and have my own places to crash, thank you." His tail whipped around behind him. "I have, in fact, the nicest of hidey-hole homes in an old church in the city. It's still taken care of but they neglect to keep the window in their basement locked. It's warm and comfortable and I get to listen to music whenever the organist practices." He was clearly quite content with his current lot in life, even if it wasn't the most glamourous.
"I am Magnus, by the way." He said with pride as he stood from his sitting position to twine between legs before hopping up onto a closed metal trash can that sat near the dumpster utilized for the senshi's descent. At least this way, Magnus was at a more comfortable conversation level and he was happy to perch there. The tip of his tail slowly tipped back and forth as he watched his new corrupt friend.
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Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:35 pm
"Magnus?" Niter echoed. "Isn't that latin?" It lined up with the church story, if one of the churchgoers named him. Maybe the organist did. Niter might be able to make a better guess if he knew what the name meant. Maybe, like, great or something. Or big? He looked like a big cat.
The cat seemed happier to be up high, where Niter was content to stay crouched. He wasn't going to say anything about living out of a church basement, especially since Niter was soon to be out of a place himself if he didn't come up with a better idea for work. Or like, pick up one of those under-the-table jobs. But Niter didn't think he'd make it as a stripper, he'd die of embarrassment on his first day, so he figured he might be sharing that church basement with Magnus soon.
"Oh, um, nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Niter." He didn't think there was anything wrong with giving up his name. They'd probably learn it eventually.
"Is this, like, where you usually go for food?" He looked around, though he hadn't seen much more than garbage and trash and rubbish and more garbage. Maybe some questionable puddles of oil-grease in the potholes, too. It wasn't what he thought would be a balanced diet for a cat, even if Mauvians weren't quite cats.
"Do you ever want something else?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 5:41 pm
"Sure is." He said with a feline grin as he puffed out his chest. He very much enjoyed his name. It made him feel opulent and big, though he was definitely not the latter. The only thing opulent about him was the small purple crystal tied around his neck which he practically showed off when he puffed himself up. "You know your stuff, Niter." One of those mineral names that the negaverse was so set upon. He wondered if the senshi even knew his real name? Magnus would have to think of that one, but certainly wasn't going to ask. That was too personal a question for two who just met. Maybe once they shared some snacks.
Speaking of snacks.
"Oh no. But I heard about the festival and knew there would be good eats here so came out. Nothing beats some good ol' fried food." A little pink tongue licked as his maw to illustrate his love for the most unhealthy of food around.
He tipped his head to the side at the question. "Something else? Like what? Are you offering up something tasty?" Cause Magnus wasn't going to turn down any possible offer of food. If there was something the street cat had learned was to take food when it was offered. Being persnickety about things wasn't in his best interest.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:07 am
Niter shrunk a little at the compliment. He was sure that the cat was just being nice — he seemed like a cat who had a lot of confidence in his name, at least — but Niter didn't really feel like he knew his stuff. This wasn't a video game, where he could spend hours on Wikia pages looking up boss stats or running build calculators for whatever harebrained idea popped into his head. He couldn't restart if he died. There was no speedrunning the Negaverse. There didn't even seem to be an end to the war in sight.
So, did Niter know his stuff? He didn't think so.
But he was glad for the subject change. He smiled shyly, then nodded. "It's good sometimes." Sometimes, when they went on trips back to his mom and dad's home, he and his little sister would hit the street vendors for snacks. Niter couldn't speak Chinese half as well as his sister could — he could barely write it — but she would always suss out the mutton jiaozi for him. His sister liked xiaolongbao a bit better, but the deep-fried pancakes with the scallions on them, whatever they were called? They'd both splurge for those whenever they'd find some good ones.
He liked thinking about those times. He guessed he and the cat at least had food in common, there. There wasn't really any food Niter particularly disliked. So? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go find some food to share with this cat. Maybe they could even be friends.
"Um, yes? I think?" Niter said as he perked up a little. "I don't, um, have anything in particular, but if you want? I can carry you around the street food stalls and we can find something together. People will probably look at us weird if you talk, so you can just paw my arm twice if you see something that looks good. Oh, and I keep a hoodie with me —" Niter paused to summon it out of subspace and pull it over his outfit. "So um, I might blend in a little better."
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:04 pm
Magnus practically purred at the idea of getting more food. He'd fill himself up to capacity and then some, especially because it wasn't too often he got to feel that glorious 'I am gonna burst' feeling being a cat of the street. Sure, he had his homes he visited. Even some apartments where plates of cat food would be left for him, and he did indulge, but cat food just...it wasn't it. It was more of a survival food in his honest opinion. He ate it out of necessity and not so much want. So gorging wasn't a common thing.
"I like you." Magnus said abruptly as he hopped down from his perch. "You know how to treat a cat right." Magnus weaved himself between the teens legs before stopping and launching himself up onto Niter's shoulders completely unannounced. "Your arms might get tired carrying me and you need those hands for the food." He said in the senshi's ear in explanation.
Narrow shoulders weren't the most comfortable to balance himself on. And while Magnus was a slim cat, he was still on the larger, taller side. So he utilized the hood on that hoodie to get himself situated just right. Completely oblivious to the fact he may be choking the poor corrupt in the process.
Eventually, he got where he needed to be and practically draped himself over Niter's shoulders like a shawl. "I'll eat anything so you choose what we eat. Promise, I'll keep my mouth shut. Can't have you get any extra funny looks with a talking cat hanging around your neck." Bad enough those feathers were still popping out from under the hoodie. Maybe that was in fashion? Feathers were rather majestic things, after all.
"You can talk to me though as we go! Tell me what some of your favorite food is?" Surely it wasn't odd for a human to talk to his pet cat, right?
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 5:14 pm
Everything Magnus said would've made perfect sense if the cat hadn't jumped onto his shoulder and scared him so fiercely that his skeleton shot straight out of his meaty skinbag. Once He remembered how to breathe and began the recovery process for a myocardial infarction, Niter felt like he had started to calm down. Like maybe he could support a random Mauvian on his shoulder and maybe no one would look at him funny for giving a cat a shoulder ride.
Maybe. It was a distinct maybe. He still had a feeling that he would be standing out more than he wanted to be.
Once the cat crawled into the basin made by his hood, Niter went right back to being unable to breathe. He decided that was fine, he didn't need braincells anyway, they just caused him nothing but trouble, so he started off for the food trucks and stalls. There were a number of them that he could see, and he hoped Magnus could see, too, since Niter was, well, taller than he liked. He saw over some people's heads and usually had a good view of the signs. He knew what he was interested in — he always liked fried things on a stick and made a habit of trying every fried thing on a stick that was ever impaled before, but that didn't mean Magnus was into those same things.
But apparently he ate anything, so… maybe it came down to what was healthy for a Mauvian? Which, he hadn't any clue. They weren't really cats, but they weren't people either, so what did he feed a Mauvian?
Whatever he found, he guessed.
So Niter made a small circuit through the stalls, picking up what he could as he went: fried wontons, crab rangoon, empanadas, takoyaki, fried chicken, lollipops, funnel cake, and more got piled onto a single plate, then a second plate. Niter tried to grab enough for the both of them, but without knowing what a Mauvian considered enough to eat, he just picked based on feeding a second human. His sister, He, had a bottomless stomach, though, so he might've gotten too much.
Once he'd paid out enough to make his bank account feel quite sad, Niter wandered back out to where he and the Mauvian had met. It was easy enough to sit on the floor and set the plates down, since he thought that would give the cat appropriate access to the goods.
Letting his shoulder down, Niter offered Magnus an easy route to the floor. "Um, is this enough?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 9:05 pm
Magnus was quite content to ride as a passenger on Niter's shoulders. It was a perfect place to get a really good look at all of the food at the food stands and he made sure to let Niter know what he was interested in. All it took was some meows and batting of paws at hair or face and BAM niter knew what he wanted. It was a perfect situation in Magnus's case.
When the poor kid looked almost weighed down by the food he had and Magnus was nearly salivating at the thought of the feast ahead they headed back. The scent and sounds of the festival fell behind them.
"This is the best!" Magnus said happily once they were back and very safely away from any prying ears. "It's more than enough! It's a feast!" Magnus hopped down from Niter's shoulder at the invitation to dismount. He hit the ground and turned, tail held high.
In the distance, the sound of a bell chiming managed to break through the hustle and bustle of the festival.
Magnus stopped and looked around them suddenly as the last chimes from the church bells hung i the air. "Weird." He said as he glanced around. "It got really quiet didn't it?" Even though they weren't in the HEART of the festival the sounds could certainly reach them.
In fact, the tiny bit of flurries that had been coming down all night had also stopped, and not stopped in the normal way. They were still in the air but not actively falling down. "That's not normal." He said looking up at them.
"Hey, Niter, do you know anything about this?" He questioned as he looked back at the hoodied corrupt. There wasn't any other aura's near them, so it wasn't likely any senshi magic. Not unless it was Niter's magic and even that seemed extremely unlikely cause the amount of space affected was....well, looking back over in the direction they had come and the lack of any movement or sound...it was a very large area. much too large for a senshi.
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Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 3:19 pm
Magnus had just dropped off his shoulders when some bells chimed, and Niter had thought it was like a signal for everyone to pack it in and go home. That was the only reason there'd be bells sounding in the festival, right? But Magnus seemed perturbed by it, so Niter followed the feline's gaze back to the festival stands.
No one was moving. Niter chewed his lips in thought. That was, well.
That sure was. That. Sure. Was.
"Nope," he answered succinctly, still staring at the people who weren't moving, past the flakes that weren't moving. "But…" He took a moment to decide if he should say what he wanted to say, or if he should do the right thing and not say it. But doing the right thing got him to this point, hadn't it? Where money was getting tight and his parents were cutting him out of the picture and he had senshi chasing him down whenever he was just trying to gather his quota.
He may as well say what was on his mind. It wasn't like they were the ones stopped in time.
"If they're not moving, and we're moving, that means the festival is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for free, right? So if we're going to have this opportunity, why waste it, right? If our food stays hot, then we can just… Get more food while this lasts, then come back to the stuff we just got." It seemed like a sound plan to him.
It seemed like a good plan. "Fastest one there gets all the pancakes on a stick~" He challenged the cat, then started sprinting off for the still and silent festival.
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