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"Alright...I'm about ready to just...set the rest of this on fire and start over from scratch. You gotta tell me babies - spell it out for daddy - how in the everloving <********> does all this stuff keep getting tossed back around! Are you playing in it? Is it the Firebrand!? The cat!" Albite huffed, seemingly to himself as he pulled his lengths of hefty dreads up into the cowry shell sash, knotted it all atop his head and off the floor - because he was tired of trailing glittery ashen patterns everywhere he went.

Like a snake had crawled through the place - many snakes - ropes and ropes of snakes...Firesoot and glass shards that had shattered into fine misty powder, that clung along his hair wherever it swished across cobbled stones. He'd finally realized it after the upmteenth time of sweeping the same spot and turning to sweep another - finding swirls of ashen patterns that were rather artistic - if completely counter productive to what he was attempting to do.

Which was clean.

Except he'd come back so many times now - at least four! Found drawers pulled open and the desk up-righted, re-righted, and repositioned. Then seemingly kicked into various positions after the fact, that scrapped it across the floor and through more of the mess. Albite could only look askance with loathing at the various piles he'd collected and binned, and bemoan the fact that a majority of them had ended up re-scattered an innumerable amount of ******** all. I'm taking a break. You wanna take a break orbies? Yes you do! Who do? You do my little glowbugs!" ******** it all off and re-swept a space clean enough that he could yank some things out of subspace. Tossed down a large rounded mat to sit on - chose it over the chairs and floor directly, because he'd already learned the hard way that it would be a literal pain in the a** to do so; at least until everything got cleaned more thoroughly. Maybe even hosed out into the hall?

The orbs swarmed in - seemingly from the emptied bookcases - ashen paper litter scraps that lined the shelves - gloamed in from the corners of the lofted ceiling above. Lit the place up as they came to life and dove in for attention.

Albite cooed over watching them co-mingle. His own - the firebrands - nuzzled up with the lot of them as he pulled out a box of treats. He'd started rewarding himself for his own progress, self-motivation in its finest form, a box of heaped brownies from a favored bakery, still warm enough that the scent of them covered the burnt char and sulfur that clung to the room.

There were claws in his dreads and fur in his face and ----

The deliciously warm gooey brownie Albite had been distractedly salivating over - that he had turned his attention inwards for. Sole focus on managing that one single task - food to face - how it was absolutely thwarted.

Sweet treat that tumbled from his carelessly thick fingers and hit the floor in a crumble. While albite clutched the cat to his face and just---------

Took a moment to breath in warm clogging fur, endless soft fluff and an overcoat of cloth. The smell that was distinctly cat, and S C R E A M E D into Haymitch's stomach, fluffy, yielding stomach.

A forlorn warcry muffled into thick buffering fur.

Because holy - ******** - OW - just, wow - the unexpected startle 'n sheer shock of being accosted mid brownie bite. It was far better to burry that all, along with every last shred of his dignity n pride, straight into a noise wrenched from his soul. Best to bury it into a cat until he had no air left with which to make the noises...

If anyone came by, if they knocked, if they so much as peeped through a door and asked. Albite was going to commit a murder. Then finish his brownie and then feed his whatever he couldn't bear to finish into the snarling - fanged maw of the absolute beast that continued to maul his very existence.

Cat o' ******** retractable nines - how Albite wanted to weep for how much power Haymitch wielded over him without lifting a single paw.

"NO!" - bursque snarl of letters, gutteral sound that escaped without thought, before he slapped his thick hands over his mouth and cut the sound. Tried against startling either of them even more then they already were. Espescially with Haymitch clearly caught. Trapped up in his endless lengths.

Albite hissed through his fingers against every errant tug and pull, and scrubbed his face. Cupped it in his hands and just---

Albite went down, flopped onto his left side and let his shoulder hit dirt and cobble and glassdust --- and just....

"Haymitch, honey, <********>" muffled muttering before he realised he needed to be clear, about this one thing at least. "Please don't eat my babies? I --- uh...Their not fireflies, and like, I'd be sad beyond words if they died, kay? Like -- " the words groaned and grit as he reached up into his hair, felt cat butt and soff-bristly puff tail -- and reaching back to try and unhook claws sunk and tangled like hooks in yarn was a damned challenge.

"Its -- I don't know if the orbies can die forever or not - but I know they can get hurt, yeah? N their, like, sentient..." and he didn't want to find out, desperately wanted to avoid the possibility that one day they could be gone. Especially after he'd gotten them back from the merchant, and all the time and effort he'd put into them.

Curious little glorbs that flowed forth - that seemed to hover in and buffet and buffer about - bobbed into each other and bonked up against flanks and sides of either companion in the room. Fizzed with curiosity, the whole damn lot of them.

"Ooh-oohheyyy--heykitten--howsabout? I get-owch-you-owtch-of-my-hair. N then - uhhh - introductions? Yeah, n snacks!!!" tried to overcome the wince even as he blew a wisp out of his face - nosy little sweetbabybastards....

So ******** weird to resonate with a cat -- and haymitch wasn't an animal per-say. Was still a kitten though, his kitten? Black star baby and he had to try harder. Had promised Nembus he would do his best to make it better for them both --- what with the bond n' all -- warm sorta thing that held sour notes whenever Haymitch was anything other then 100%.

How Albite didn't want to ever be the reason that he wasn't....

"It's not your fault. I wasn't paying attention, yanno? I uh - somehow you still sneak up on me, but that's like, everyone? You'd think a guy would get used to paying attention to auras in periphery -- but -- " shrugged the one shoulder as Haymtich rolled free.

Slung himself over onto his stomach and propped himself up enough to watch. A few cat scratches were more than worth getting to see the way the orbies played out around Haymitch.

Bounced into his paws and got buffeted back - mischievous little shits - "Here, if you're hungry; and it's fine so long as you promise to play nice" threw emphasis on the words as he felt around haphazardly for the plate of 'em --only got said plate a little gritty as he patted through the mess around them. Still hot enough.

Subspace and tinfoil such magical things in combination.

"So, there's Sarah, TheTwin Beas, The Triplement triplets. Portia - who's a b***h, obviously. Saving and Grace - and Benji. Benji is the Og wispy boy. Sweet little nightmares the lot of 'em." picked fur off his nails as he picked a brownie out of the pile and slid the plate ever closer -- "I don't know what the firebrand named his. I never asked? He was so good at keeping 'em in line though. Would you believe I won them in a bet - and then like - this succu-d**k offering up blood oaths dressed in purple took them away, but they came back to me." hummed and nearly went cross-eyed for how a few of the glow bugs sat between his brow before bunching up in the long locks Haymitch had vacated.

Realized he shouldn't have been giving Almondemon such a bad rap. He'd liked the sash after all. Liked it a lot, but he knew trouble when he spotted it, and if anything? That dragon -- no - that devil disguised like a dragon? Definitely trouble.

For all that he wanted to spew ten-thousand answers - in a rare moment of perfectly clear 'oh s**t'ness' - he took pause. Wide bemused expression full of mirth, as his gaze flicked from the floating bundles of glow to Haymitch himself.

Kept calling him 'kitten' and forgot..well...'K i t t e n' with a capital 'baby'. Hayby? Haybaby? Nembus was going to kill him for teaching their team cat curse words, for sure. Ohgod - Lillith was going to kill him!

Bad influence bonded, and he had to rectify that immediately before Haymitch ended up in trouble because of how Albite spoke. "So--uhhh...hmm..One is a female dog, and like, rude. The other is - also rude, and - - - yanno Haymithch? Hearing it all kinda, spoken back to me like that. It's got me thinking I maybe swear too much sometimes" and he never thought about how ridiculous it was. Until it was in his face and staring back at him like that. Hearing it all from a kittens mouth, how silly it must've seemed.

"I also...I don't know why he wanted a blood oath. Maybe the guy's a vampire and I'm guessing all the way out in left field when I should be guessing center...uh...hmmm..." and his chin found the center of his palm, booted feet that kicked air while the orbs swarmed in and out and in and out and - wondered if he would get dizzy watching them all.

"I'm probably just being stupid about all of this. I never get people to talk to, yanno. I mean, not who listen quite like you do. You're a surprisingly good cat Hayhay." soft spoken as he blew another orb that direction, and wondered if - and did Haymitch like being his cat, and did he like listening, and was he happy with the team?

"Remind me to get you a better setup in here - I'll add it to my list of things to fix. Right up there with the youma leggy needing remounted and the floor needing mopped."

Haymitch made him smile, made him want to tell the kitten how lucky he was for ending up with him as a Senshi, because he did nothing but talk. Could've been his own long standing tela novela - with every word that poured out unfiltered from his head. Could've even told ten thousand tales like a proverbial Shahrazad, with nothing but his wisps and a blank wall to soundboard off of.

"You're the best cat a Senshi could've asked for Haymitch...I honestly prefer you as like, a kitten sized creature? Nona the restuf that stuff matters to me, I mean, what's more special then a talking kitten in a vest! N' you can't tell anyone - but, uh - I might be a bit freaked out by cats? Especially the big bad magical kind. Not you tho, you're just...you're a good boy." how he gently blew on the soft playing paws, before reaching out to plop a heavy hand over the bevested kitten; he'd never spent time petting a cat. Wasn't sure if Haymitch wanted scritches, would play with his fingers -- would....

"Hey, haymutch? How old are you..also...like..." and the way he was talking, like all of his experiences were second hand, through windows, and roof panels, and -- Wiggled his fingers over Haymitch's behatted ears, played with the soft tip of one ever so gently.

"You don't still live in a ceiling, right?" how haymitch had use the past tense, but then that left him wondering where his kitten stayed now? He didn't like the idea of his little Guardian existing on the outskirts of life. His kitten deserved to have cat towers, mint-n** balls, people to cuddle with, the whole ******** nine!

No one that fell under the umbrella of his - of officially ******** his - should've ever wanted for basic comforts.

*Ohholynight—-I was swearing at a baby?!* Albite was going to hell, the rift? Some approximation of ‘places they send people who swear at kitten-children’ knew it as soon as the thought entered his brain. Might by as well let Metallia have him, it was what he deserved!!

The dead-drop pain of knowledge being imparted on him only twisting harder into new hurts. The way it was hard to swallow at the thought of haymitch living in a ceiling *alone*. For *y e a r s*. Either he was going to cry, or he was going to commit a postal sort of genocide upon…who or whatever it was that’d let their very important magical cats roam round like strays.

“I’m your Senshi, yeah? Always. ******** we’re your team. Should be like a family. Which means…You can always stay with me, or Dee, or Hina, ooorrr…Whoever else we take in? However big we grow…you deserve to have all sorts of homes, Hayby.” Deep sighs and smiles wrapped around winces for the squeals.

It all had to be said though. Haymitch had to know — who the hell kept a cat in a ceiling — in a — squished Haymitch a little more. Suddenly cared not at all about e gentle tips of claws as he smoothed over soft fur. Poked prying toe beans playfully enough that haymitch could use him for swatting practice like a boxers mit.

“Momma Io sounds like a good momma then. She’s got sense. So do we though. Faustites drawers are all sorts of fun. I should know…b u t!! Good boys like you deserve cat houses…or trees..Ooh, maybe a cardboard box as a bed? Is that..is that a thing? We’ll figure it out. Get you some Haymitch approved things.” He would make up for it, lost time, missed instances, was determined to be the sort of Senshi Haymitch deserved.

It was only fair that he tried, not just for Nembus, but for him. Sent a little swell of pride sideways — teased it over the bond as he settled in where he lay and just — soaked up all the haytime he could.

"Sure Hayby, you go on n' sleep. I'm sure the orbies can keep watch"

Albite didn't mind it, the way the kitten curled up on him. Flopped down and lights out, so suddenly. How amazing, how -- scary. He prodded the floppy body only once. Felt the reverberation of the purr tingle across their bond -- sighed -- smiled, because honestly? Haymitch had the right idea. He would've been lying if he said he weren't tired too. N there was no safer place to be then right where they were. No office more protected -- than that owned by a bonfire -- surrounded by wisps.

By--- All of Haymitches purring lulled him into a yawn. Into splaying himself out and pooling his head in his arms. He was sure the rats would wake him later --- or the wisps -- or - someone needing the office for something?

Right then though. It was all his n' Haymitches and he was damn well gonna enjoy the easy quiet of it all.