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 Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 11:11 pm
"Oh, okay." They nodded... that meaning seemed really long for one word, clearly it must be a big one they should use later to confuse the others.
"Really?? How many flitterats did you have before? Sounds like a lot..." They trailed off, watching Charo nibble her treat. Cute. "That sounds like it would be painful. I don't like strong smells. Hurts my nose." They made a face, rubbing their nose with a free hand at the thought of it. They watched the small display of affection, slightly confused by it until Charo reacted with a little kiss.
"Yes...!" They nodded excitedly, marking flashing a little in response to it.
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 11:22 pm
 Vaden was fairly certain that with Gany's interest in complicated word that someone somewhere was going to be "flattered" very soon. He just hoped the kid didn't get in trouble.
"I always had anywhere from one to three at any given time. Rats are very social and like to be in groups. When they're by themselves they tend to need a lot more attention and affection because they get lonely. Charo was the only rat I have at the moment before you ask if I still have anyone at home." he let Charoite finish her treat and let her scramble back onto his shoulder. "I don't do things like that very often, and if I do it's just barely enough for our noses to detect it. Mostly it's just to see how capable she is of doing deduction, like is she paying attention to me subtly move the treat between my hands if they're behind my back. How much attention is she paying if they're in front. The answer is a lot when she can see what you're doing."
Vaden chuckled at Gany's reaction and knelt down again so that Charo would be on their level. "You'll have to put your face close to hers and click like I was. That's the signal that you want a kiss. She may do it or she may not. Sometimes she doesn't like to be affectionate with other people, because she's stubborn."
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:52 am
"If they like company how come you only have her then?" They quirked a brow. Surely his classes must keep him away from the dorm, which would cut down on the attention time he said flitterat's supposedly needed. "Wellll anyone could guess right if they're seeing what you're doin'." They nodded, then scooted a little closer to put themself within reach for Charo.
"Okay.I get that. I don't like to either." They nodded again, then attempted to click like Vaden had... only after a few moments of effort did they finally manage to do it.
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:39 pm
"Well I am looking for a mate for her, but I just haven't found the right fella yet. Sometimes they don't get along with another rat just because they like company, and she's special, so he's got to be just right." maybe he was being too picky, but Charo's line of rats was special to him and he'd been breeding them for intelligence for a couple of generations, a stupid mate might ruin all the work he'd done up to this point. "True, but animals like small children often get board when tasks are too repetitive. You can't tell me that you've never missed anything that someone doing right in front of you because you were bored and weren't pay attention anymore." he gave Gany a knowing look and smiled just a bit.
He held perfectly still and waited, a small smile lighting up his eyes just a bit as Ganymede finally managed to produce the clicking sound. Charo seemed uninterested in the signal though and Vaden was just about to give up when she finally looked over at the freshling and gently put her nose against his.
"Seems she really likes you, Ganymede."
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:54 pm
"Ohhh... and yeah I guess so." They shrugged just slightly, and turned their attention back to Charo for now. When she didn't immediately come over they thought maybe she wasn't going to give them a kiss, but stayed in place anyway until Vaden said otherwise. When she did eventually press her nose on their cheek, they beamed, markings and tendrils flaring with a bit of light. "Good...! I really like her. Maybe my caretakers will let me have one too."
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 6:25 pm
"Well let me know if you ever go looking for a flitterat for yourself and I'll go with you and help you pick out a good one okay?" he stood up again and carefully plucked Charoite from his shoulder. "Back into your house little girl. You can play on the desk later." he carefully deposited Charo back inside of her cage and made sure to lock it back with a tiny padlock. He'd used the standard slider bolt to start off with, but it had only taken two weeks for her to figure out how to let herself out. While at home it hadn't been a huge deal, he didn't trust some of the vespercats on the hall and would prefer not to get his little lady eaten.
"Now we should get down to the cafeteria and get some dinner, hmm?" he said turning back to Gany and slipping past him and opening the door to his room. "If we hurry you won't have to fight with the big kids too much to get your plate."
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:43 pm
They nodded, watching as he put Charo away. "I'd like that. How come you gotta use that kind of lock?" They pointed to the padlock in question. "Oh...! I almost forgot about that..." They made a face and rolled their eyes a little. "They think just 'cause they're bigger it means they get to have the best spots. Lame."
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:30 pm
"Because it only took her two weeks to figure out to use the slide bolt that the cage came with. Normally I wouldn't worry about it, but some of the other students have vespercats on this hall and I don't want anything happening to Charoite."
Vaden ushered him out of the room. "Well that is why Freshlings are supposed to get to the cafeteria before the older students so that doesn't happen." he said closing the door once Gany was in the hallway.
The pair went back down the stairs and back outside. The sun was sinking slowly towards the horizon, and students were starting to wander out from their dorms and drift towards the cafeteria. "So what do you hope is for dinner tonight?" he asked.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 12:51 pm
"Ohh... that's not very long at all." They nodded, stealing one last look at Charo before heading out after Vaden. "Do you think they'd try to get her??" They hadn't thought about that possibility... did any of the other freshlings in their quad have cats...?
"I dunno, I like fish though! But it probably won't be fish." They threaded their fingers together behind their head as they walked, not exactly in a big rush despite the threat of not getting a good spot... they were enjoying this conversation, that was pretty rare of them. "What about you?
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 1:18 pm
Vaden nodded. "It's really not. Like I said, she's very smart, but she's been bred to be that way. I wanted to see how smart a flitterat can get before it plateaus." he frowned and then nodded. "Probably. Even if a cat is well fed, it won't stop them from playing with or trying to catch flitterats. It's like a living breathing squeak toy after all. That's why it's important to keep a good lock on your cage and make sure your dorm room door is closed so cats don't try to harass them through the bars."
Vaden chuckled. "You never know, maybe it'll be fish stick night." he paused and considered. What foods didn't he like? Several of them actually. "Of everything that could be on the menu? I hope it's not meatloaf. I hate meatloaf." That had been something that had never been on the menu at home and while Vaden was willing to try just about anything he found the ground meat "cake," for lack of a better word, to be disgusting.
He pushed open the door to the cafeteria for Gany and followed after the freshling. "Where's your group?" he asked looking around. There weren't a lot of older students inside yet, and it seemed the line was predominately younger students and what must be their "mentors" as they helped load up their respective kid's tray.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 1:58 pm
"I guess it could be." They nodded, then made a face at the mention of meatloaf. "Gross, I hate meatloaf too. I really hope it's not that." The huffed a little as they looked around for their group, then pointed.
"Over there." The group up ahead was just getting into the hall, though it seemed the caretaker in charge was desperately trying to do a head count, and kept coming up short...
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 2:57 pm
Vaden nodded and headed towards the group. The caretaker in charge turned as they heard someone approaching and their face was a strange mix of anger, relief and something one could only describe as put upon.
"Ganymede! Where have you been? Haven't you been told not to wander off alone?" they looked over at Vaden and sighed. "I'm sorry if they were causing you trouble, they'll be getting a firm talking too tonight before bed." the caretaker gave Gany a look that could freeze the hearts of most normal freshlings, but Vaden had a feeling that Gany was immune.
"No, it's okay-- Actually--" Vaden started but was then interrupted.
"Have you at least apologized to him?" the caretaker asked butting in over Vaden and crossed their arms, lips pursed at Ganymede. "For whatever you did this time?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 4:02 pm
Ah, that look. Ganymede was familiar with that look. As soon as they started talking, Ganymede's expression went from neutral to something that might only be described as offended disgust. Honestly, they did have a track record for bad behavior but this time they'd been outside on time-out, alone and could they really be blamed for wandering off?
"Vaden was going to say something but you interrupted him so that's not very great, you're always going on about how I shouldn't interrupt people yet there you are. Doing it. Also I was alone anyway, or did you forget that I was in time-out outside? Maybe if you spent less time babying that kid," they paused to point out a fallen in the crowd, "you'dve noticed that I wasn't there anymore. Also, I didn't do anything, but I don't really do anything anyways the others are just too sensitive. I didn't even make him cry or anything- well, that wasn't my fault, he said it wasn't me." Through his tirade their markings flashed for emphasis along with slight changes in tone, and they waved their hands a bit, almost dismissing the adult.
"So no, I didn't apologize." They rolled their eyes and folded their arms across their chest, one foot tapping in irritation. They knew that would earn them a reprimanding but they didn't particularly care about that.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 5:15 pm
A slight glow started to show through Vaden's uniform shirt. It seemed his patches of glow were situated around the base of his neck and around his shoulders. "Gany, it's okay." He muttered feeling a little sheepish.
The caretaker on the other hand looked somewhere between furious and cowed. It was a strange combination. "We--"
Vaden cleared his throat. It seemed everyone had forgotten he was involved. "It was my fault!" he said loud enough to catch everyone's attention. "I asked if Gany wanted to go with me to my dorm room to see my flitterat. I didn't know it was against the rules for him to go with me. My apologies. It seems I've misunderstood the whole..." he waved a hand towards an Imp senior helping a Baphomet Freshling put a plate of pudding on her tray. "The mentor process. I assume there's a process now that would allow Gany to follow me without punishment?" he straightened his shoulders, hands behind his back, chin slightly up, eyes fixed at the caretakers with remarkable calm.
The caretaker's fury seemed to immediately crumble at this calm assault from Vaden. "The Big Sibling Program? Well...yes...you have to register, and the child has to accept you, and once that's settled you're allowed to sign them out for periods of time for visiting, sleepovers and the like..." they trailed off.
Vaden nodded. "Very good, I understand now." he looked down at Ganymede and knelt down in front of him. "So, what do you say? Would you like to be my little sibling?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 5:31 pm
Gany blinked, admittedly a little startled at the raised tone Vaden used. They glanced up at him, listening to him talk, occasionally nodding to confirm what he was telling the caretaker. Once he finished, they turned their attention to the adult, expression almost saying 'I told you so' in the brattiest way possible...
They couldn't help a small grin at the way the caretaker fumbled, caught off-guard by Vaden's question about being their mentor. Truthfully they were a little surprised by it after their own little outburst, but they weren't exactly going to say anything about it nor complain.
"Yes, I'd like that a lot." Gany looked back up to Vaden, giving a brief small smile, then looked back to the caretaker. "Seeeee I can get along with people."
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