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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 10:22 pm
All of the running around, the fighting and finding and fretting, certainly took one's energy away, Misha thought as she strode back into camp from her most recent walk in the surrounding woods. Her steps were long and unhurried, graceful and lazy. She was not tired, exactly, but she felt worn a bit thin. Restlessness continued to drive her out of camp to pace the perimeter. She had stopped hunting for other Chosen or even trying to face down the smaller, more rabid-looking creatures. Not since that bobcat. Just in case. Misha shook her head, swallowing hard. She did not want to think about that gain. She couldn't. It did no good, anyway. What was done was done and she could not change it. For all she knew, too, it could have been just a regular bobcat. Something out the corner of her eye caught her attention then and Misha turned her head. What she spotted would have made her smile if she had been her proper form. If nothing else, it lifted her spirits and temporarily banished the doubt. Brian lay stretched out beneath the shade of a tree. His bag was balled up beneath his head and he had his hands folded over his stomach. She watched for a moment as his chest rose and fell rhythmically. Either he was asleep or else on his way there. Both were kind of a relief, knowing how hard he had been pushing himself. Nonetheless, she could not quite resist the urge that drew her to his side. On quiet cat-feet, Misha padded across the dirt and grass until she hovered over him. She studied his expression for a few moments. Then, ever so carefully, she moved to sit beside him, balancing until she could drape both front legs over his chest and put her muzzle a mere hands-breadth from his face. Now to see how long it took for him to wake up and notice. WC: 325
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:12 am
Brian had emerged from the trees almost entirely drained. After making sure that Beth was set up in a safe place he had gone out yet again in the hopes of finding some poor turned folk to take back to camp. His gait had been slower, though, and he found himself really hoping that it wasn't going to be a friend withing the Chosen. All of these hesitant battles were wearing him out. His body was fine. His body could keep going for hours yet. It was his mind that was fried. His eyes felt droopy and his head felt heavy.
He'd returned to the campsite with intent to rest a while. He felt somewhat guilty not being out there at every waking moment to help, but he wasn't at his best. If he started battling fried he could easily fire an arrow too hard or make some other mistake that could cost someone dearly. It wasn't good to just keep going. Even soldiers needed sleep.
Rather than kip in the abandoned inn, he had decided to move to the fringes of the camp. The inn itself was still in disarray and he felt about it like one might about a crime scene; don't go in, preserve what exists. The supplies had been looted and food used (unfortunately) but everything else remained. The torn backpack still confounded him. So, with that in mind, he found a quiet spot not too near the animals nor the other campers to be a disturbance. He made sure the grass was relatively dry, put his pack on the ground, and rested his head there. It had only taken a little bit of shifting to get comfortable, and then he'd closed his eyes and laced his fingers together and laid them at his belly.
His eyes thanked him. They stung in that pleasant way they did after being awake for far too long, and his breathing became soft and even. He didn't hear Misha approach, but the sudden appearance of paws on his chest did stir him. He hadn't been sleeping, exactly, just resting. Had the paws been any larger, he might have been worried. Instead he took a deep breath, let it out, and opened his eyes. He smiled when he saw who it was.
"Misha?" There could be another Big Spotty Cat around, after all. Still he recognized the cat like one would the family pet. It was funny, but he would swear he still saw a bit of the human Misha in her face. "Taking a break?" He removed one hand and put it behind his head for support while he craned his neck down to look at Misha the Cat. (455)
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:30 am
She nodded immediately in response, grateful he could understand her even without words. Shifting a bit, she better arranged her positioning, the drape of her legs and part of her upper body over his chest. Then she lowered her head to rest her chin on her forelegs. She looked up at him and it was small wonder that he still felt he could see Misha despite the fur and fangs and strangely intelligent golden eyes. For a feline, her face remained surprisingly evocative and expressive. Misha only hoped he would still miss the concern and worry behind the exhaustion. Being tired was one thing; being a downer was another entirely. Even if he did notice it, though, she did not feel like she was in any mood to protect secrets and move away from him. Brian was warm and safe and, she snuffled experimentally, smelled surprisingly good, all things considered. WC: 475
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:05 pm
Brian's smile broadened and he reached up instinctively to stroke Misha's head and neck.
"You know, you're very cute as a cat." Now that he knew there were working cures he was pretty sure she wouldn't be one forever. Still, eternal cat-friend wasn't something he really wanted to think about. He imagined that this had been the furthest thing from Misha's mind when she'd been recruited. He certainly hadn't considered it.
Lucky for Misha, Brian wasn't particularly apt at reading the undertones of feline expression. His family had been more dog people, not that you could ask a dog what it was feeling any better than a cat.
"Oh! You know what, I have some cures, if you ever want to turn back," he said. "I have three. I'll keep one on-hand for you when ever you want it." Hopefully Misha didn't actively want to remain as a cat. (615)
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:04 pm
Turning back? Being human again? The thought brought to mind the cut song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Misha dipped her head to bury a muffled kitty-giggle in Brian's chest. When the notion left her, though, she sobered and adjusted enough to look back up at Brian. She met his eyes, considering. As his hand moved to scratch behind her ears, however, she relaxed again. That felt so good. So very good. A low rumble of a purr started in the back of her throat. Turning her head a bit, she tried to encourage him. It was pretty shameless of her, she had to admit, but it seemed to relax him somewhat. Besides, again, it felt really good. WC: 595
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:44 pm
Misha seemed to like the idea, but didn't give any sort of affirmative. Maybe she wasn't in the mood to turn back yet. There were very few times in a person's life when they had the chance to actually be turned into an animal, and she was small and agile and clawed. It was probably just a little bit fun now that the initial panic had worn off. Now people had cures, so it was all going to turn out alright.
Brian grinned when Misha egged him on and scratched her behind the ears and continued to pet her. Even people liked being pet. It was only weird in this moment because he wasn't petting a cat or Misha, he was petting both.
"You like that?" He laughed then at something that had occured inside his head. "If you're encouraging some beach rendezvous, I'm not into cats." (76 cool
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:34 pm
That suggestion drew a mixed reaction from Misha and she lifted her head abruptly. On one hand, it was very nice to know he still thought of those sunset beach kisses; she knew they had stayed in her mind, after all, and definitely ranked as a high point in the past few weeks. On the other hand, she hoped he was only turning it down and laughing because of her current state of fur and that, in another situation, he would be an enthusiastic partner. If so, it was enough to tempt a girl to swallow a cure immediately. Not one instant of hesitation. People were still being changed, though. Tara, Beth, and others. Misha had decided to hold off on her cure until she was 100% certain she would not be turned by Circe's magic again. Who knew if she would become such a pretty, capable cat next time? So she shook her head a bit before turning to press her nose against the inside of Brian's wrist. No cure. Not yet. But, if he kept bringing up the beach, she was going to consider that a promise and a half. WC: 787
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 3:29 pm
Brian's eyes widened for a moment, but he was still smiling. What, had he startled her? Would she rather it had never happened? The panic only stayed for a moment while Misha looked at him, though. Surely she'd have smacked him by now if she didn't like it, and nobody could really hear them from here anyway. It wasn't like he'd shouted it. He certainly hadn't told anyone.
His smile broadened when she touched her nose to the inside of his wrist. It wasn't a people-nose, that was for sure. He laughed and used the proximity to scratch Misha's neck. "Alright. Is it any fun, being a cat?" (880)
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 6:42 pm
Misha thought about his question for a moment and then nodded but she also quickly followed the motion with a little, narrow-shouldered shrug. It was fun to be so agile and loose-limbed. She could not help but appreciate the grace of this new body. The heightened hearing was both useful and interesting and it amused her to smell so many different things. She still missed thumbs and vocal chords, though, in the worst way. If Circe had left them their voices, it would have been even very easy to be stuck as a cat for a while longer. As it stood, she planned on taking Brian up on that cure the moment she felt it would be safe and she wouldn't be risking another change later. Giving a little wiggle, Misha draped herself even more over Brian's chest and again lowered her head to rest against his raised arm. She blinked slowly at him. WC: 941
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 2:07 pm
So it was at least a little fun to be a cat. It was interesting, but he was still personally glad that he hadn't been turned into anything this go-around. He was going to be sure to keep at least one cure on him, disgusting or not, just in case not everybody got the chance to turn back. He hoped they would, of course. He'd rather they did. He also felt a little guilty picking favorites, but he'd have made a thousand cures if he'd had enough flowers!
"You're cute," he said at Misha's sudden draping. He continued to pet her, and might have kissed her nose or head if she had been close enough. My, she really was a big cat, wasn't she? He was tempted to take a picture to try and figure out what she was in particular when they got back to the Prytaneum. Then again, the mission wasn't over yet. He may not want to remember the whole ordeal.
Her little kitty-blinks were just as charming, but rather than return the gesture (she could still understand English, after all) he winked in return.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:08 pm
Misha gave a little trill of appreciation at both the compliment and the silly wink. She knew she should probably have let Brian sleep; heaven knew he had been going almost non-stop and being so responsible and capable had to be draining. But he seemed to be relaxing under her attention so that relieved her of any guilt. She could not detect much tension in his body or at least not in the portions she was occupying. Plus he was teasing and that was a good sign. She wondered how he would react if she just curled up entirely atop him and went to sleep. Would he be able to sleep as well? Would he feel as warm and safe?
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:16 pm
The sounds she made were cute too, if a little weird for a cat. He continued to pet her, and removed his arm from behind his head. He was still tired. His eyes were still heavy. He let his neck relax and his head thumped against the pack beneath it. It wasn't especially comfy, but he'd slept on worse.
"This is crazy. All of this is just crazy." Brian's voice was unusually airy as he stared up into the leaves of the tree.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:35 pm
I can't agree more. At least it's not birds, right? Misha watched his face, missing her voice again when she was unable to answer his rather unguarded comment. He was still tired, then, still worn down. He needed to sleep but she could not tell him it was okay to sleep. She couldn't tell him anything. But she could maybe show him it was okay? Misha shifted again atop Brian until she was well and truly cuddled up against him, half-on and half-off, and dropped her head to rest her chin against his shoulder. Her body heat plus his might otherwise have been too much in the muggy Louisiana weather but, at that moment, she felt they needed the comfort. Half-closing her eyes, she watched his expression and willed him to relax further.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:43 pm
Misha's weight was soft and warm. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't a little comforting too, but luckily he didn't have to say anything at all. Brian scratched his kitty companion behind the ears and craned his neck to kiss her on the head. She was finally close enough.
Once again she was squinting, but he smiled in return. She seemed okay with the idea to rest some. He'd just take a power nap and wake up to go find some more people. It'd be fine.
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