deercountry | yes I knew it was no moonshine, it is real

[she claps her paws together and nods - yes! he's battler and she's ...well, she can't say it. normally she'd point to the tattoo on her cheek, but that's nothing but an abstract marking now.

at least she knows his name now. still knows what a name is, can still ...oh, well, that's a little bit of anxiety, isn't it? no time for you, worry, let's just burn you off with a little loop de loop in the air before looking around for a way to communicate better.

she holds up her paw again, extends a claw as if to say wait before she zooms off in search of something that's not very hard to find this month, but that the trenchie she takes it from doesn't seem to want to give up. this very strange cat wins the ridiculous tug of war and returns with an apple, which she fumble with (she can't seem to hold it and carve in it at the same time) before holding it out for battler to take.

if he takes it she will attempt to carve her name - a merciful two easy letters and all straight lines - into the appleflesh.]

[ Beatrice laughs. It's almost coquettish in it's energy, though still a little bit of a cackle more than a giggle. She seems entirely pleased by the effect she has on Vi, no matter where it's coming from. ]

I'm so glad you approve, then. Your own is quite striking. Psspsspss.

[ She mimics the noise one makes when trying to attract a cat a little closer and laughs, her expression bright and cheerful. And her cheeks are a little red from the praise, because what kind of girl doesn't like being told she looks good? ]

It suits you.

[ Oh, wow.

This is much more interesting and different than he expected. She's... communicating? He watches with amazement, holding the apple as she really goes for it.

Huh. ]

V... I? Vee? Vi? Six?

[ There's a lot going through his head, give him a break. ]

Which one is it supposed to be?

[she's pleased at every guess - she's heard all of them before (especially six), but she will take what she can get if she can't talk or use an omni to assist her. how to make it clear - hmmm - well, she'll try with tapping her paw twice, very deliberately on top of the fruit. her tail's vibrating as she hovers.

this cat body sure does give away emotion a lot easier than a human one. that's the thing she hasn't learned to control yet. (she hopes there will not be a yet. don't let this be the month, please.) though, there are worse ways to spend it.]

Number two...? Vi! Got it!

[ He's talking to a little batcat.

Not the weirdest thing that's happened to him, honestly, and he's positively delighted to do it in any case. He takes a bite of the apple and considers her for a moment. ]

Nice to meet you, Vi. I'm Battler.

[ There's the giddy whispers of festivities, celebrations to look forward to despite the uglier side of Trench happenings this month. Robby hasn't really thought about the Black Parade too much; a lack of good sleep has made him irritable, and even when he sleeps -- it's not restful. So he hasn't given any of that much thought, focusing on figuring out other shit.

Some of which takes Robby to Vi's work place, a bag in tow. It's deja vu, where the first time that bag held an assortment of treats when he last came back: twinkies (you've gotta), hershey's kisses, reese's cups and goldfish crackers. Also a loaf of cut bread in sealed plastic, because if a woman says she likes bread, well, why not oblige?

(And see how different one ranks the kind made in Trench, and then the kind replicated through blood magic. Does the blood magic give it flavour? Bread tastes like bread, to Robby.)

He'd been in a good mood that time, a small smile free to widen, his mood relaxed. This time when he enters and catches Vi's attention, there's a dimple that forms in place of a smile, exhaustion in the weight of his eyes. He lifts the bag with its hidden contents. ]

Got time?

[ .. huh.

Something does seem a little off, doesn't it. But Chizuru is such a die hard believer in the best in other people that she just brushes it off - for now, anyway, in this moment. Something does feel a little off, sure, but that's probably just Chizuru's perception being off, right? Everything is clearly fine. Vi would never be nervous. She's too cool for that.

So she just smiles at the other, as if Vi isn't nervously chattering all over the place. ]

No, I can sit. [ She even moves to take a seat already! Score.

Chizuru figures this will be more comfortable than trying to stand, anyway. ]

Thank you so much for wanting to do this for me.. I honestly wouldn't even have had an idea on where to start if I had to do it all by myself.

Cool, cool.

Not a big deal at all. I do this all the time on paper. And lately: faces.

[seeing chizuru sit down is helpful, that's one less thing she has to worry about just now. now it's looking at the paint. no, wait ...she can't just start painting, there are questions.]

First things first. What am I painting you as?

[she's got time, and also: she's got two finger guns and a neck crack because she's just managed to beat that damn worry. her ink is fine, jinx is not going to starve because she's got an omen (and sansa) to check on her. it's all good.

her own face is painted and masked, an oilslick version of one of trench's own nightmare steeds, complete with a sharp little horn in the center of the mask, almost as if it's protruding from split, glittering flesh. (the blood's glittery, too.) she slips the mask off when she sees robby (the paint is enough, right?)]

Got presents?

[she makes a face, a handwave that says she's kidding, and she is, mostly. like ninety percent kidding, but her head tilts when she catches sight of ...yeah, that's exhaustion. that's ...not sleeping, or not sleeping well. or just having been through it. for a moment she wonders if he's here about one of the memory books.]

Yeah, nothing but. Take a load off, you look like you need to.

Edited (removed a subject) 2022-10-15 06:47 (UTC)

[batcat fistpump! (complete with a little rise as her wings flap cheerily) she is getting somewhere, and this is exciting. the name? not so hard. now. how to tell him she's a sleeper, too? a lot harder.

but. she's not completely hopeless - tries the only pantomime she can think of: pressing two paws together as if she means to pray, but tilting her head and lying her furry cheek atop them as if she's ...sleeping. but her eyes don't close, and after a moment she rights herself, pointing to her own chest, and back to him, and resumes the "sleep" charade.

it's a huge longshot.]

[ There would be the crack of a smile, a joke readying, but nothing about his face changes to the joke given first. His eyes only skim to where he could go with the offer to sit, and he takes it quietly, somewhere he can hold out the bag for her still; elbows leaning on knees, a breath exhaled through his nostrils. ]

It's blood shit, [ he gives in way of explanation. ] I got lucky last month.

[ Was lucky, for other people; and the luck for him had been not feeling increasingly like shit every new day. Even sitting like this is itching into the territory of annoying him - like he should be doing more, moving more, even if his muscles feel strained and worn at the same time.

At least, that's all he wishes it was. But he'll allow her to dig into the bag if she likes than speak more, since, you know - he's got presents. This visit is: cheetos, chips ahoy! cookies, a packet of oreos, and jolly rancher gummies. ]

[ Wait, what? Battler frowns as he tries to interpret this particular little charade. It's a little difficult, honestly. He squints. ]

...are you tired? Is that it? Do you need someplace safe to lie down?

[ Nope. ]

[Palamedes has never been to Ursula's before, but he supposes - first time for anything. His entire body hurts in a profound way he can do nothing about - thanks, darkblood! - and rather than sulk around at home or at the Sanctuary snapping at people about it (that's a paleblood's job, anyway), he's decided to go out. He remembers Vi telling him about her tattooing, and so it's more or less happenstance that brings him to wobble into Ursula's and loiter around until she's not too busy with whatever she's doing. He's just looking around... hmm, inks...

After a bit,] It's quite a place.

[Hi, Vi. How's it hanging. If he looks like shit it's because darkbloods never get it good, don't mind it at all.]

I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd come say hello. Can I sit down, before I fall over, please?

[laughing is good. laughing is---

---she slips a sidelong glance back. that seems like a good laugh.]

Thanks! Heh. It was real hard to make a decision. Too many cool ideas and only one body.

[she laughs - caught between self deprecation and swagger - the psspsspss gets her attention, and for a brief moment the anxiety falls away (maybe it's the cider? maybe it's the shared laughter and the whole of all of this) and she turns, wiggling her shoulders in an approximation of a pre-pounce position, pawing at the air with her free hand.]

Ya think? [the blush suits beatrice, too. the fact she's caused it, even indirectly, is an immediate mood lifter.]

[anxious and irritable are inevitable in trench - but this is some bullshit. vi hasn't yet learned all of the ways to manage her newfound anxiety. who knew that the music works almost as well as the meditation? not this lady, but...]

Party's not over yet. But yeah, this I can deal with.

[she's two ciders in, and about to chug this next one fairly happily. she'll need something stronger if she wants it to make a difference, so she's mostly just drinking to drink. a bit of a fidget, and the taste of the cider's pretty good.]

Good mask. Cats are where it's at.

[yes! you are scorpia! and she has tons of things to say, mostly questions: why? (why not) how? (she's pretty sure it was the mask. or the paint. or both. neither?) but the most important: how long? jinx has been too sleepy to pick up on her cues - though between she, mr. bananas and sansa, she has a reasonable assurance her sister won't starve.

vi, however, is hungry. and this little cat body does not want fish, jerky, certainly not noodles, and she does not think it'll tolerate a beer, either. (it won't) she's going to have to get sustenance somehow, and the idea of ingesting a bowl of random blood ...she's finally found something to turn her stomach worse than prison food. small bowls are left out fairly often, but she finds herself questioning their origins in a way she absolutely would not do were they bowl of noodles.

she lets out a sadhappy little noise - a confused greeting, and a bit of a sigh, which might or might not be odd coming from a batcat.

but the laughter's calming, and she raises both paws, curling them into as much of a fist as she can make, and shadowboxes playfully into the air]

[jinx likely won't see it, but the cat's face is stricken - and she lets out a sad little cry, an emphatic but you are my family! that's precisely why she's doing it to you, jinx.

so when jinx looks at her, she blinks those very blue eyes and crosses her paws over her chest (an oddly human gesture) and then pointing back at the sleepy girl. she's a very stubborn cat.

you are probably right, jinx, but you should not skip a day! but she will try liquids next, because she brought water and cider and a thermos of coffee.]

(...?)

You and me? You see us as family? But I haven't... done anythin' to consider us as that. Is it 'cuz I let you in? I think anyone would had done that.

(or maybe if a person has an allergic reaction to cats.)

[That is a bit of an unusual noise the batcat makes. But then, this is the first batcat Scorpia's actually met, so who's to say what's normal for them?

But the boxing definitely stands out more! Scorpia looks even enamored with the little paws boxing at the air.]

Whoa there! I get it, you're not just a cutie. We got ourselves a fighter here! [She chuckles. And as she watches, she can't help but feel that something about this boxing feels so familiar... Maybe she's just imagining it. Some weird deja vu she can't put her finger on.]

I don't want any trouble here now. Why can't we all just get along? You hungry? [It seems like a reasonable guess, as that feels like the main reason an animal would come to a bar.]

Um.. I'm not sure, actually.

[ Sorry, Vi. That answer might not be helping you much. But while Chizuru did hear about the entire painting faces tradition here, she didn't hear about much else, so it looks like she's thinking for a moment.. ]

Do you think there's something I should be painted as..? Um, I mean, I wouldn't stand out too much! [ Perhaps not too surprising to hear that from Chizuru, at least. ] And I would like for you to be able to paint something you're confident in too!

[okay, so as anxious as she in the moment, when jinx says you see us as family the batcat nods enthusiastically, though jinx might think she's nodding at any or all of it. her mouth is still occupied by a meatstick - and though she can meow around it, it's easier to use her paws as a means of expression.

again, longshot, but she tilts her head at her sister, hovering as she shadowboxes, directing little punches and jabs at the air - very careful not to hit jinx. until she moves in for a very light shoulder punch, and a wink.]

[it is quite a place, yes. and one she's comfortable in, at least for the moment, having had a bit of time to direct her mental energies into trying to be chill, a thing she isn't used to trying this hard at. she'd been trying to hard to focus on that she hadn't seen or heard him slip in. if she had she'd have been worried sooner.]

Well, well, look what the cat---

---oh. Wow, you look---

[like you were dragged in by a cat she almost says, but there's no cat to be found. just a very worn down palamedes. so she's up and on the move. no fingerguns for him, she is quickly dragging over another chair for his chair so that his feet can have their own chair. he looks like it's a two chair kind of day.]

Yes. Sit. Please sit. No falling over allowed.

[you fall over, you get carried to a reclining chair. for a moment she thinks it's coldblood related like jinx, until she remembers palamedes isn't a coldblood - they'd talked about trying to find one, and it had led to big things. so it must be something else. and now she's dragging her own chair around her work area and closer to the little setup she's arranging for him. hold on, she's getting a pillow.]

Did you take a lamp or walk all the way from the Outpost?

[because dude. you look like you walked thirty miles over a path of legos.]

[dammit. she does shake her head "no", though the prospect of a nap sounds nicer as a batcat than it does in her human body, but she's going to try again. she doesn't know that she has the coordination to write out the word sleeper, and what with, what on? they're not standing on sand (that would be a bit easier) nor can she claw into the side of a building or a street ...so allow her to think a moment.

and the moment passes without a solid idea. she might steal a whole bag of apples from a vendor, but could she manage to spell out sleeper at his feet before the trenchie followed and snatched them all up? would there even be enough apples to do so? she's strong enough to carry two bags, but ...sigh. a defeated mrrow slips out, and she tries the pantomine again, albeit half heartedly. partway through she's distracted by shadowshapes as the light shifts, and she can't stop herself from an enthusiastic zoom around his head, her tail vibrating again. whoops.]

(whoa, a batcat that can box? fucking watch out little mice! but as jinx observes, these...moves are very familiar. not only these are moves that she, herself, mimics but the person she got these jabs from is... )

— Vi?

[ Huh. He's watching her for a moment, trying to decipher what she's trying to convey - and then she goes looping around his head and he ducks a little with a laugh, reaching up to try and catch her. ]

Wow! What's got you so excited now?

[ He's still having a great time just playing around with her. Even if their communication methods leave a lot to be desire. ]

yes I knew it was no moonshine, it is real

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

b-ish

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

bonk

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

is bonked

no subject

no subject

no subject