Catch-all for Maul; Love is not the opposite of hate.

[survivalthroughhate]

Who: survivalthroughhate and you!
What: open & closed threads
When: Catch-all for February and March
Where: All over Trench

Content Warnings: Event warning for March, graphic description of broken nails



All starters in the comments, threads are marked open and closed! Will be adding more as the months goes on!

Comments

Peanut Butter Chocolate (Early February) - OTA

[survivalthroughhate]

After eating some peanut butter chocolate given to him by a (hopefully) well-meaning Klee, Maul ends up with cat ears and a tail. Not the most troublesome thing in the world, though it does make it a lot easier to read his emotions given how the ears and tail both react whenever he's in a mood. If anyone approaches him during this time and mentions the change, he will just give them a withering glance and say in a clipped tone, "Yes, I know."

But the changes don't stop there and eventually he's turned into Darth Cat, who has very similar markings to his Zabrak self. (Plus, how many bright red cats with black markings does one come in contact with, even here in Trench?) Honestly, this form is so suited to Maul one might be tempted to make the suggestion he should make it permanent.

After the initial shock, he decides to wait it out. After all, rarely are the changes in Trench ever permanent, and if it lasts more than a few days he can always start communicating the desire to someone that he needs help changing back. So one can find Darth Kittycat sitting on a perch around eye level, sunning himself or eating something he probably shouldn't be. If he sees someone he likes, he might go up to them meowing and batting them gently for attention, maybe winding himself around their ankles with his tail held high in the air. If he sees someone he doesn't like, he won't approach them, and if they get near him, he'll hiss and swat at them with his claws as a warning for them to back off. However, he can definitely be won over by scritches behind the ears, an occasional belly rub, or giving him a bit of catnip. The last one will result in one spaced-out space cat, eyes glazed over and pupils round as saucers as he gazes off into the distance.

[wapples]

Billie has exactly two life goals in Trench.

1. Gather around him as much adopted family as he possibly can.

2. Pet all the cats. And dogs. And anything else that looks like it needs pets.

So of course when he sees the red and black cat, because wow, is that ever not a colour cats come in at home, his eyes light up and he beelines over to Maul. This. This is a good cat. He runs both tiny hands through the soft red and black fur, and starts rubbing behind both ears at the same time.

"You're so cute! Look at you!"

[survivalthroughhate]

Maul is sitting there happily sunning himself with his eyes closed and feeling quite warm despite the cold weather thanks to his new fur coat when he suddenly he feels someone petting him?! He opens up a baleful yellow eye and prepares to issue a warning growl. He even gets the first part of it out. "RAWWW...." But then Billie rubs behind his ears. Maul's slit pupils go wide and round with unexpected delight.

The growl turns into a much more pleasant sound. "....rrrrrrr....." Oh, that feels nice thanks to the cat instincts that are currently running his brain. He begins to melt a little under the attention. Alright, so he doesn't need to attack this small child or turn his hands into hamburger.

[wapples]

Billie grins broadly as the cat goes from bristling and ready for slashing to just practically melting under the attention. Is that... is that a purr?

"You really like that, don't you!" He keeps rubbing the cat's ears. "You're such a good kitty! Doesn't anyone look after you?"

DW, y u no give me this tag???

[survivalthroughhate]

Maul can already purr in his regular form (He can also snarl and roar. Zabrak anatomy is just plain weird sometimes.) so purring is a natural thing for him to do when he's feeling happy and content. The fact almost no one has heard him do it before in his humanoid form shows how unhappy his mindset tends to be much of the time.

But right now? He feels very content. Cat instincts say he should be the center of attention as emperor of the entire universe (or at least this city). He definitely feels that way with this boy paying him all the attention and pets he could ever want. He gives a bit of a shrug at the question of who looks after him. Really, being emperor over all of Trench, he should demand people bring him food. His back arches with pleasure and he presses his head up into Billie's small hands to show this is much appreciated.

Ugh, get it together, DW!

[wapples]

Billie grins as his new friend just laps up all the affection. He is fond of all animals, but has a particular soft spot for cats, and there's something a little extra special about this one even if he can't quite put his finger on it.

It doesn't seem like the cat has anyone to look after him, so he makes a decision. He scoops the poor animal up under the arms and begins to try to carry it back towards Michael's house. "Come on! I'll get you some food!"

[survivalthroughhate]

The idea of food is a good one to make Maul stick around. "Meowrowor?" He says in a questioning tone, but before he can really comprehend what's going on, he finds himself in Billie's arms before he can run off. Maul's a big cat, easily a muscular fifteen-pounder, which doesn't make him easy for a small child to carry. So he flops around a little like a sack of potatoes as he tries to make himself small as possible so Billie can hold him as best he can.

Still, he's enjoying Billie's company thus far and the promise of getting something to eat allows him to tolerate this behavior. He does hope that food is tasty though to make this all worth it.

[wapples]

Billie carries the poor cat under the arms all the way back to Michael's place. He has to stop a few times to rest his legs, but he does manage the whole trip with the large cat. At least his new friend seems to be trying to make things easier for him rather than harder!

He sets the cat down on the step so he can open the door for them, and gestures for Maul to follow him in. "Come on! There's always something good to eat here. Like gravy, or potatoes, or croissants."

[survivalthroughhate]

It's a good thing Maul is patient with most children in general cause he's not at all amused at being carried around in such a fashion. When he's finally set back down, he gives himself a brisk shake to work the kinks out that come from being carried around under the arms. Then he looks up at the boy.

He perks up at the mention of food. Right, that's why they're here. Really, he'll eat just about anything, so he eagerly follows Billie into the house, his tail now curled high in the air, swishing back and forth with the occasional curious flick as he examines his new surroundings.

[wapples]

Billie leads the way through the house into the living room, where a dome shaped tent is pitched. He leads the way inside, and as soon as they enter, it's clear that the tent is much, much larger inside than it is out, almost like it contains an entire house.

Billie heads straight for the kitchen where a pot of gravy is being kept warm on the stove. "Oh, hey! Lunch!" He climbs up on the counter, and digs around in the cupboards until he finds a couple bowls he can dish up for them. "Come on up!"

[survivalthroughhate]

Maul's ears twitch curiously when he goes into the tent. How very curious. He figures it must be magic of some sort. But his little cat brain doesn't let him focus on that for too long, not when there is food about to eat!

He immediately leaps up onto the counter next to Billie and waits to be served a bowl. It smells absolutely delicious and Maul immediately digs into the food.