Room 322, Saturday Morning

[not_every_mage]

Anders started his Saturday morning in the usual way: Lying in bed, half-eaten muffin on the night stand, with a book laid carelessly aside and a cat on his chest. He broke off bits of muffin with one hand while he stroked the cat with the other, carrying on a lively conversation the whole time.

"... so the Templar said, 'that wasn't a ser, that was my sister,'" he concluded, and laughed at his own joke as the cat mrowled. "Oh, Lachlan, hush. You just don't appreciate humor, that's your problem. If you weren't such a fierce hunter you'd have no use at all. But you took down that beetle the other day like it was nothing, so I'm sure you'd be a great mouser if this place had mice. Or if the gremlins didn't eat them all. I've never been quite sure what they lived on."

Lachlan yawned, and Anders cooed over it.

"That was easily the most adorable yawn in the history of the world," he said, swallowing his muffin. "I'm almost certain you've been practicing to get them even cuter. Is that what you do when I'm in class, practice ways to be adorable so I don't lose interest and turn you into a hat?" The cat stared at him, impassively. "Our little chats are always so one-sided. I wish you could tell me what you're thinking."

Lachlan poked out a pink tongue and delicately licked his lips, then, in a surprisingly deep voice, said, "I think you should stop talking at me and clean my litterbox instead."

And that was where Anders knocked the book, the muffin, and very nearly the cat to the ground in surprise.

[OOC: Cracked door, open post. Gets NSFW in the comments.]

Comments

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

It was early but Nathan was already awake and had already had a nice run around the island, just getting some restless energy out. After showering, he walked his way to Anders' door and knocked quietly.

He didn't want to interrupt if Rapunzel was the only one in this morning.

[not_every_mage]

It was a rather flustered looking Anders who came to the door, clutching Lachlan across his chest with one arm. He wasn't sure if he actually had a talking cat now,or if he'd gone completely mad. "Hi. Wow, it's nice to see you."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan raised his eyebrows at the state of Anders but smiled anyway.

"Everything okay?"

[not_every_mage]

"Yes," Anders said, stepping to the side to let Nathan in. " -- or possibly no. Either my cat is talking or I've lost my mind."

Lachlan rolled his eyes and, confidingly, said, "I already told him he's not crazy but he won't believe me."

"Because you're a talking cat!" Anders exclaimed, then looked helplessly at Nathan. "Tell me you heard him."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan stopped short of coming in when that happened. He blinked a few times and stared at the cat.

"...this is a new development, isn't it?"

[not_every_mage]

"You can stop gaping. The only new development is that now you understand me," Lachlan claimed, squirming against Anders' grip. "Let me down. I'm hungry."

Anders ... let him down. It seemed the wisest course of action.

"I don't know what it is," he told Nathan. "I was talking to him this morning and he suddenly started answering back."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Huh." Nathan scratched his head. "I mean, there's a talking pony running around so this isn't too...weird. But still. Congratulations on talking now."

That was directed to the cat.

[not_every_mage]

"True," Anders said, with a feeble smile. "Now if he turned bright pink and learned to fly, I'd really have something worth being surprised by."

Lachlan mumbled something that might have been "thanks" around a mouthful of kibble.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Nothing weird's happened to me this morning so maybe it's an isolated thing?" Nathan suggested, finally stepping inside. "I haven't seen anything too strange around here either."

[not_every_mage]

"Don't ask me, I haven't been out since he started jabbering," Anders answered. "If it's isolated, at least it's rather nice and harmless. And even if it turns out all the pets are talking that wouldn't be too bad."

He looked for Pascal to test the theory,but the little chameleon was nowhere in sight.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"And I guess you haven't always wanted a talking cat, huh?" Nathan asked, amused.

[not_every_mage]

"If you'd asked me yesterday I would have said it sounded great," Anders laughed. "But it turns out I don't appreciate criticism from someone who chases his own tail on a regular basis."

Lachlan looked up from his bowl. "You're just jealous you don't have one."

"-- I am not!"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan rubbed the back of his neck. "Wow, I don't know why this is weird considering the talking pony teacher but this is weird. Has he always had these thoughts and is just now voicing them?"

[not_every_mage]

"I suppose?" Anders started to say, and was cut off by a louder feline voice.

"Yes. Hey, maybe I didn't figure out how to talk? Maybe you just suddenly figured out how to listen. Chew on that." Having said his piece, Lachlan sat back on his haunches and began washing his face with his paws.

Anders watched him for a moment. "You're right about it being weirder than it should be," he sighed, to Nathan.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"No offense, Anders, but your cat's kind of a..." He struggled to find a word. "...smart mouth."

It fit, he thought, and it didn't seem too unkind. "A very furry smart mouth."

[not_every_mage]

"Better than a furry dumb mouth," Lachlan said, laconic, and slinked over to wind around Nathan's ankles.

Anders wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or drop the cat out the window into the snow, and it came out in a kind of strangled sound. "I'm not offended."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Good," Nathan said, glancing down at Lachlan. "He's pretty sassy."

Best word he had for the cat.

[not_every_mage]

"Sassy," Anders repeated. "That's such a great word, isn't it? I want someone to call me sassy sometime."

Lachlan purred, his pleasure apparently beyond human words.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"You might want to be sassy," Nathan started, chewing on his thumb, "I just wish I was a little more bold."

And while nothing changed immediately, maybe that wish coming true would be a little more evident very soon.

[not_every_mage]

"I wouldn't mind that," Anders acknowledged, and went to sit on his bed before he thought to clarify. "Because I know it bothers you, I mean. I'm not criticizing."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"It does bother me," he sighed, sitting down and pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Makes me feel slow."

[not_every_mage]

"And I wish you were easier on yourself," Anders told him -- and if that was going to have any effect at all, it wasn't for him to know about yet. He tilted his head curiously. "What would you do if you were bolder, anyhow?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't know."

Yes, he did. And he was actually going to demonstrate what he'd do by closing the space between he and Anders and trying to catch a kiss from the other boy.

Sorry, Lachlan.

[not_every_mage]

That was a surprise, and it took Anders some rather inelegant flailing before he settled into the rhythm of the kiss.

"Bolder already," he noted in a rush, before turning back for another kiss. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it was more interesting than a talking cat.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Nathan breathed, bringing his hands up and sliding them through Anders' hair. He moved closer, taking more initiative than he'd ever taken before.