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It was stupid; so stupid. It hadn't even been that great a victory. Per se, Sue couldn't even call it a victory, what had happened at the bookstore the day before; more like escaped by the skin of his teeth. But after awakening Pythis, he felt that bit of a spring in his step, and couldn't help a happy slant to his lips.

Now good moods, for Sue, were about as rare as Irish ninjas. He was useful, was what he felt. He wasn't doing these frustrated little attempts at figuring out what he was doing, he'd actually done something that was near-heroic. There were too few of those moments, and when he did get one, well... he couldn't help but enjoy it, at least a little.

Even though it was lunchtime the next day, he was still smiling about it. Not just that anymore, though; everything was good, falling into place! He'd gotten a good grade on that history quiz. Nobody had bothered him all morning (possibly scared off by the sight of a happy Sue). The sun was shining as he walked about outside, cup of ramen in hand, backpack in tow. What the hell was there not to be cheery about? This was as good as life had been since Barren Pines, so he ought to enjoy it!

From the moment that ********* came calling, Sue seemed to have been reduced into a nasty, angry mood. Glowering down at the cat, he scowled, "Geez! Language, missy!" And then he smiled. It had been a joke, see - he'd been kidding!

God forbid if one of the Zodiacs should see him now. He'd never hold an ounce of authority over them again.

Even in such a spritely mood, though, Sue wasn't completely incapable of seriousness. Straightening out his features, he remarked; "Doesn't seem like that long since we met last, eh? Is everything all right?" For ********* to be taking him up on his offer so soon, after all, she must have run into a real pickle. Either that, or she was just a lot more social (and less prideful) than he was, and had simply grabbed for the first excuse to visit. Oddly, Sue didn't think that he minded if that were the case. It was so damned rare for him to see another Guardian, he'd take any chance that offered itself!

Food. Of course. All this talking and uncomfortable eye contact aside, there was at least one way that ********* was still very cat-like - or maybe just people-like, since pretty much everyone in the universe always enjoyed a chance at a good meal.

"Well, come on, then. I've got some friends to fix lunch for; you ought to come along so we can talk," Sue suggested. "It's not a far walk from here, anyway." It used to be a bit further, but after a run-in with a Negaverse agent, Sue tried to keep near the school if he was going to be heading out around lunchtime. Now, it was just a block or two off school property; enough that he didn't have to worry about kids coming over and harassing him (or his cats), but still close enough that there were at least three Zodiacs within hailing distance at any given moment.

The boy nodded off in the appropriate direction. They had to cross the school yard here, and then hop the back fence - it was easier than walking around - and from there, it was a straight shot to the meeting place of the Rat Pack. "Let's get going, then, and you can tell me what's going on."

"Junior, this year," Sue replied. "Probably a junior next year, too." The legacy of Barren Pines would follow him right to the end of high school, it seemed. His mother, distraught by learning of how far behind schedule he was for graduation, had enrolled him in a credit recovery program after school; basically, he got to sit in front of a computer and do exams, and try not to fall asleep on the keyboard. But there was an upper limit to the amount of credits you could earn that way, and so he was facing summer school. And wouldn't that be fun?

But ********* didn't need to hear about that, so he figured his answer was sufficient as was.

"Do any of your girls go here, you think?" he questioned. "There's a couple Zodiacs that go here, other than me, you know. Most of the girls go to Crystal, but the boys are pretty much all here now, I think."

Sue already had one foot on the chain link fence when ********* piped in with her request. "Oh? Uh, yeah. 'Course!" He dropped down from the fence to pick up the other Guardian. If it had been Astraea he was walking with, of course, Sue thought that he would have never gotten a request for help - but that was because he expected Astraea would be too haughty to ask for it. Truth to tell, he rather liked being in a position where ********* felt like she could ask him for assistance. Made him feel more useful, helped to keep that good mood going.

Rather than just chucking the cat over the fence (she'd probably land on her feet), Sue settled her onto his shoulders. "Got a good grip?" he asked as he approached the fence again. He didn't fully wait for her to answer, though, before beginning the short climb - he trusted her not to dig her claws in any more than she needed, after all.

"So, tell me more about the girl you need advice on, eh?"

Sue grimaced as he swung his legs over the fence, and it wasn't an expression of exertion. ********* story was familiar - incredibly familiar. And she wasn't going to like it when she heard why.

"Sounds like another Sagittarius." He climbed part of the way down the other side of the fence, then, with one hand supporting the cat on his shoulder, dropped a few feet to the ground. There was a thump of his feet, a sharp exhalation of air, and then Sue drew himself up and continued walking (allowing ********* to stick on his shoulder, of course - it wasn't like it was any trouble for him to carry her, and it was easier to converse.) "You heard about that, right? Sagittarius was a loner, and the Negaverse got him."

Definitely not what she'd want to hear. But it probably wasn't what her girl was going to want to hear, either, so maybe it was beneficial that they knew more about it - even if Sue's mouth went sour, just talking about it.

"You've got good reason to be worried. How's she act with the rest in your group, when they are together? Does she depend on others, does she let others lean on her?"

Not much of a team, if there were just two and the cat; not much of anything, if one of the members wanted no part of it. Sue could see ********* problem.

"Well... she is agreeing to help," Sue reasoned after a few moments of wrestling with the concepts. "She's agreeing to help, and she's in the fight, right? So she's got to want something. There's a reason she's there. If you find out what that is, then maybe you can figure out what makes a team good for her." Besides the obvious, of course.

The schoolyard was yet in sight now when Sue stopped, shrugging his backpack off carefully (it had to be careful, of course, so that it didn't snag on ********* paws and unbalance her). Even as he was opening up the zipper, there was a flurry of feline paws; three cats, the members of the Rat Pack, came pawing up to Sue. It was odd enough the way they mewled inquisitively at him, eyes flicking to the unexpected guest with worry and distrust - it was stranger back how he talked back to them, reassuring them with "Easy, guys, she's just visiting", and all three relaxed and settled into crying for food.

From the backpack was produced a large tupperware container; prying open the lid of this, an abundance of dry kibble. He hadn't even laid it fully on the ground and the cats were upon it, snarfing and scarfing with great delight.

"You're probably hungry too, right? I've got some cup'a noodles I can share," he offered to *********. It didn't even occur to him to suggest she share the kibble with the cats; his own cat food experiences had been less than positive, no matter the form he wore.

Sue's reaction was more embarrassed than anything at ********* praise. Speaking with cats was different than most people, sure enough, but not so much worth the excitement it consistently drew from onlookers. It was just knowing the way to talk with another type of people, getting a chance at a new set of friends; talking with Guardian Cats was probably just as unusual an experience.

"I've thought about it," Sue admitted, "but never done it. Tried shouting at some tigers at the zoo when I was littler, but they just looked at me funny and my mom got embarrassed." He sometimes thought that if he had gotten in the cage with them, he might have gotten a bit more attention, maybe gotten to figure out whether they could actually understand him... but the obvious risks, he thought, outweighed the benefits of talking with big cats. Sue could barely handle the littler ones some days!

Speaking of which; ********* wanted some of their food. Sue knew damned well what they thought about sharing with strange cats, and that was when they'd eaten on separate plates and Mackie hadn't been such a pill about being alpha cat. He wouldn't even think about asking them now - if he wanted something from them, he'd better be ready to take it. "Just a sec, wait here," Sue told her, moving forward to shove his way through the pile of cats. Mackie made a heavy grunting noise and looked at the boy with a particular disgust as Sue reached into the bowl, grabbing out a handful of the kibble - but he let the boy withdraw his hand unscratched. This time.

Sue returned to ********* with the food - and, lacking anywhere better to put it (in a pile on the ground? No way!), just offered to let her eat it from his hand. "No nipping," he warned her, a tiny, teasing smile on his face.

While ********* was able to investigate the food, Sue turned his attention back to the original conversation. "What were we talking about, now-- right, the direct or indirect question. Well, that depends, right? Because if she's a real direct person, she won't appreciate anything subtle. She'd think you were being underhanded, and get pissed." It made sense in his head, at least. "So if she's direct, be direct; if she's not, then you can afford to be a little more...." He shrugged his shoulders. Sue was rarely, if ever, indirect about something; he was too squeamish to come out and say, manipulate to your heart's content.