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 Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:28 pm
Instead of the Leo kitchens, Fritz was, in fact, in the Virgo kitchens.
They were not nearly as large, nor as ornate as the ones in the outpost of the zodiac of radiance (if what he remembered from what Virgo had told him was right), but they still held a decent amount of beauty and size. However, that beauty was marred by the thick cracks in the walls, the dust, rock, and splintered wood that littered the marble floor, the general feeling that no one had been in here for a very long time - and that whatever had been in here last had not exactly been pleasant.
He was doing guard duty again; Hug-bell had asked him to watch out for their strange assortment of food again, and Fritz did not really mind. It gave him something to do, and while he sat he was able to sit and draw, sketching various aspects of the dilapidated kitchen. This time there was a weird combination of peanut butter crackers, three bags of Fritos, a can of tuna, two loaves of wheat bread, a banana (Fritz did not want to know why there was only one), several boxes of what looked like raisins, and a bottle of canola oil.
Fritz had no idea why that last one was even there.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:45 pm
Hug-bell had flapped her gums a little too much. Not that ********* could blame her. All of the senshi, knights, and a few scant amount of guardians had come to the surrounding to help out the civilians. The silvery haired girl with the top hat had come with all of the best intents. Though now her tummy was rumbling and begging for some sort of food.
The small food stash they had gathered was looking more and more tempting every hour that passed by. Several of the visitors had scattered away from Virgo's outpost to go to Leo's outpost. Which meant ********* should have been able to get a snack now, right?
No, apparently ********* was not getting any snacks at the moment. There was a boy who was guarding the food thanks to Hug-bell's early warnings. There was no way she'd be able to sneak off with anything. The guardian's clothing was not meant for silent ninja-ing. Jingly bells were noisy.
Seeing no other way about it, the cat-earred girl then stepped out, plain as day, approaching the boy from the front. With a friendly smile, she offered a half curtsey and removed her hat for the slight bow. "Helloooooooo!" She had a large friendly smile.
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:17 pm
Sitting cross-legged on the cracked countertop, the pile of food on the counter beside him, Fritz was in the middle of doodling out a particularly savage banana attacking one of the cans of tuna when he heard it - footsteps, coming in his direction. He made no move to look up, however, and continued with his silly little drawing until he heard the door open, the tinkling of bells meeting his ears. And it was only after he heard the brightly offered greeting that Fritz's eyes rose.
"Hello, *********," he said cheerfully. He had not been officially introduced to the guardian cat, of course, but Hug-bell had informed him quite enough of what this particular young woman looked like - and what she acted like. ********* was a little smaller than he expected, however, with a bowed top hat and large, friendly eyes.
"Please, have a seat," Fritz said sunnily, gesturing to one of the paint-peeled chairs at the small kitchen table. It was not a table meant for eating, since there were dining halls, but rather for preparation instead.
"I'm Fritz," he said, offering his hand to the cat. "A pleasure to meet you."
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:44 pm
Indeed, the child had explained to him about the guardian, so his knowledge of her name was not a surprise to the manx-girl. If anything, she was quite glad that the chibi senshi seemed to have manners enough to call her by her name rather than crude nicknames such as 'cat.'
Rather than take a seat at the table and chair that were offered, the cat-earred girl did not seem to find any problems with relocating herself onto the counter top, as if to match her current companion. Her legs were tucked up like she was pretending to be a frog. From her current (and obviously much closer) location, she looked the boy in the eyes. "The pleasure is all mine, Fritz!" Never being the shy one, she asked "So, is Fritz a nickname, or is that your birth name?"
Of course, she was sitting on the opposite side of the counter from where the foods were placed, but now she had a reasonable view of it. The gears in her head were already turning as she began to silently scheme about how she was going to get into the food stash.
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:59 pm
Hug-bell had indeed given Fritz quite a bit of information regarding her guardian cat, though none of it had mentioned how bright and cheerful ********* actually was. He supposed he should have expected it, however; the top hat itself was a dead giveaway of someone with a distinctly unusual personality as it was.
Fritz approved wholeheartedly of unusual personalities. They were so much more interesting than boring normal ones.
"Delighted to make the acquaintance of someone so lovely," he said grandly to the cat eared girl, setting down his drawing so that he could respond to her properly. "Fritz is a nickname. My real name is Frederick, though hardly anyone refers to me as that except Tolliver when he's being particularly uptight. Usually I go by Fritz, but I've also been known to be called Fred. Or FredBob," he added. "If you're the little orange haired senshi."
"And what of you?" he asked, giving ********* a wide smile. "Where exactly does your name come from?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:06 am
With all of the options, the silvery haired girl seemed eager to make up her own rendition of the boy's name.
"Hmmmm... anyone ever call you... 'FredBoberick of the Fritz?' That would be a fun one to run around with, even if it is much longer than your birth name!" He obviously had never been called that one, though it would have been quite amusing if someone had called him such before. It would have made for an interesting story.
"Did Hygiea tell you the reason for her nickname? Hygiea being the senshi you spoke of. She's one of my girls and all. I, being a cat, am quite curious to hear how her brain came up with FredBob." Though her statements and questions were all genuine, by this point she had started to lean back. While keeping a majority of herself viewable for Fritz, she allow one arm to attempt to snake about behind the lad. She could probably reach something from the stash, as long as he was invested in the conversation, right?
"Let's see... I believe my name comes from space... though I did do some research as well... ********* was also a Greek goddess of youth. Her main claim to fame was being the cupbearer for the gods' Ambrosia. Fun facts, right?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:29 pm
Dark red eyebrows rose in obvious amusement. Fritz tilted his head towards the ceiling, lifting his eyes and tapping his chin thoughtfully as if thinking over the cat's words.
"You know, I do believe I've never actually been called FredBoberick of the Fritz before," he answered, after several seconds of intense, melodramatic pondering. He slid his gaze towards *********, smiling brightly at her.
"Why she calls me FredBob? Oh, well," said Fritz, casually leaning backwards and resting on his hands so that the food to his side would disappear from one's view if they sat on his other side. "That's an easy answer. I told her she could call me anything from Fritz to Fred to Hey You to Bob, and she rather liked the Bob, so she decided to call me both."
He beamed happily at *********, crossing one leg over the other and shifting ever so subtly backwards, though now his gaze was back to the ceiling, swinging his leg absently.
"So does that mean you're a goddess, then?" Fritz asked, a little cheekily, a playful smile on his face.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:12 pm
These were the best laid plans of Mice and Men (and Cats). Fritz moved so not only was she unable to see what she was reaching for, but then scooted back. For now, she was able to adjust her own reaching hand so it wouldn't be sat on, avoiding detection for now. Her own expression seemed to match his, the pair seeming to have a smile war.
"Ah, I can appreciate Hygiea's ability to think outside of the proverbial box. Sometimes it takes a different perspective to come up with something truly genius. Though, FredBob is not necessarily genius... but it is unique!" She laughed in her usual airy manner, but her mind was still on the task of getting food. The food had to be within reach by now, right?
"I'd like to think I am not a goddess. I work too hard to be one of those. Oh no, Fritz. I am just a cat, simple as that!"
Deciding to go in for the "kill," ********* hand reached out in a vain attempt to grab something to eat.
Unfortunately, she completely missed her mark. In fact, her hand instead found something else in its path. Her hand was now upon the boy's rump.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:43 am
Both he and ********* were playing a game now - one of both wits and speed as they simultaneously attempted to gauge one another without being too obvious that they were. Fritz was careful to slide just far enough back to block the pile of food from ********* vision, doing so in such a casual manner that it merely looked as if he were just stretching out his legs.
"She is quite the entertaining one, Miss Smarts," he agreed with a smile. "Anyone who can come up with an entertaining nickname to refer to someone else is, in my opinion, someone worth talking to. And seeing as how Hygeia is quite the intelligent one, I'm impressed."
He tilted his head, looking at the cat eared girl with a deliberately calm expression of interest. "It's a shame, then," Fritz said, waving his hands in an overly dramatic way as he pressed one against his chest in mock sorrow. "And to think, I could have been conversing with a goddess all this time."
There was a shuffle - ********* lunged, Fritz leaned, and then -
A long pause. Fritz turned his head, looking at ********* with a remarkably deadpan expression.
"I'm sorry, darling, but I'm afraid you're not quite my type."
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:58 am
There had not been a ham amongst the pile of food. So her hand couldn't be on a ham right now.
It had to be all FredBob of the Fritz.
Where as many girls would have been blushing after such a blunder, it seemed as if the cat girl had no intention of acting like it had been an accident. Instead she gave a small playful squeeze before letting her hand drift up to touching his back instead.
She wasn't about to confess her real motivation.
"Sorry, you must have buns of steel or something... it had a magnetic pull on my hand!" She winked at him before leaning in closer. "...I can't blame you for not wanting trouble with a cat." In classic feline fashion, she rubbed her face against his shoulder. Had she been a cat, it might have been a bit less awkward, but she was going to play this off as no big fuss, one way or another.
That food would be hers. Eventually.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:58 pm
For a few moments, they were, for lack of a better word, in a stalemate.
Fritz looked at ********* was looking at Fritz.
And then there was that hand.
The situation, if anything, had grown extraordinarily comical. Fritz was desperately fighting back a smile and the mad urge to burst out laughing, especially after ********* pulled away, winked, and removed her hand.
But not before her fingers had given a small squeeze.
This time Fritz did laugh, the sound escaping him without preamble. He felt tears of mirth in his eyes as he said, attempting to keep a straight face and failing miserably, "And you, my darling, are the most interesting creature I have met in a long time."
Wiping his eyes, he let out a long sigh, not at all bothered when she pushed her face against his shoulder, though he did give her an amused glance, craning his neck to look down at her.
"Is this how all of you guardian cats act, then? Or are you just special?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:14 pm
At least Fritz had a sense of humor. A cat could appreciate such a thing. Though, the laughter was not exactly filling her tummy with delicious food. Her hand which had been on his back carefully pulled away and attempted to swipe for food at the other side, but once again she was left empty handed. Her hand found its place against his back again by the time he had asked about her antics.
"Assuming that all guardian cats are the same would be like me assuming all humans are the same. And trust me... I am very aware they are very different. Out of my girls alone, there are quite a few different personalities! A few adore me, a few tolerate me, and one outwardly dislikes me." Ah Sailor Iris, an outlier amongst the group.
She lifted her face from leaning a cheek upon his shoulder to simply planting her chin against his shoulder. It made it so her chin moved up and down against his shoulder as she then proceeded to talk again. "So no... this is just me being me, Fritz!" She grinned before then glancing to what he had been fussing with prior to her arrival.
"So I see paper and I see something to use to write on the paper... dare I ask what you have been doing?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:56 pm
As ********* made yet a second attempt to snatch at the food on Fritz's other side, he made no move to stop her; he knew she would not be successful, mostly because his arm was blocking her hand. After a second he felt her fingers press against his back again, her face against his shoulder. Even in human form, she really was very catlike; so unlike the other one whom Fritz had met so briefly. Where Zirconia was calm and collected, even disdainful at times, ********* was cheerful and quite open with her affections.
"An excellent point," said Fritz with a decisive nod. "And if all humans were the same, I think we would all eventually go mad. It's not a particularly desirable thing."
Dark red brows rose with amusement. "Dislike you, eh?" he repeated, almost thoughtfully. "Well, rest assured, little miss cat, that I don't reside in that category."
He winked at her, then craned his neck around to try and peer down towards her, ********* chin on her shoulder. It tickled a little when she spoke, but he suppressed the urge to laugh in favor of answering her question.
"You may ask, yes," he replied, holding up the paper. At the current moment it depicted a half finished drawing of the pile of food and the dilapidated kitchen, hastily and messily sketched. "I have to keep myself occupied, you know. Unfortunately," Fritz added, with a mildly woeful look down at the paper. "My supplies are somewhat limited."
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:27 pm
If there had been any sorts of sketches to cause this sort of reaction, Fritz had found the perfect subjects. She had to lick her lips slightly, because doodles of oodles of food were easily just amplifying her hunger.
"...there are many ways to keep oneself entertained without a pencil and paper. Though, I take it you are more of an artistic individual than a sporty..."
And that was when this relatively little lady let out a monstrous sound from her stomach. The sound of something that should have come from a large trucker man.
"...individual. I suppose doing basic stretches and activities wouldn't necessarily appeal to you."
********* completely ignored the sound, as if it hadn't happened at all.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:25 pm
Fritz was perfectly aware of the real reason ********* had come into the kitchen. He had half been expecting her, especially after all of the warnings he had been given about the manx cat from Hug-bell. So when a pale face had peered around the doorway, a girl who seemed (at least in physical appearance) to be several years younger than he was, Fritz had had the sneaking suspicion that she would be an...interesting case.
So far, he'd been right.
"Sporty, not so much," answered Fritz, adding a darker line beside a thin one, outlining the edge of a banana. "Artistic, perhaps, though the definition is slightly skewed and highly subjective, if you ask my opinion."
There was a sudden loud noise. Fritz's pencil made an unintentional jagged line on the paper, and it took every ounce of self control for him not to simply burst out laughing as hard as he could.
Who would have thought that such a sound could have come from such a girl?
"Basic stretches might not be too bad," said Fritz, fighting the mad urge to grin in his amusement. "My brother used to make me do those, so I've gotten pretty fit with just some of the basics. Now that I've grown older, however...well, let's just say I've neglected some of my sporty duties.
"And what of you, little Manx?" came the lilting voice, Fritz now shading around an apple. "What's your story?"
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