Just A Normal Day, Yup [Seiji]

[Midna]

Seiji kept an eye on the cat while he went to do some "chores". Koda would have called it chores, but it was just housework. He cleaned up a little in case he had to leave, making it look like nobody had been in the house. This way, if the owners returned and he escaped without being seen, he could maybe come back later once they left again. It was always a good idea to have a place you could go for shelter...

He also washed his clothes in the sink. They were tiny clothes, looking like they could be for childrens' dolls. Actually, they were Skrit-made, enchanted to change size with the wearer and adapt for if his wings were present or not. They had been a lucky find for Koda long ago, and by studying them, she'd learned how to make more. Eventually, she'd taught Seiji. Now if only most Skrit wore shoes.

Red padded into the room and dropped something on the ground. His meow made Seiji turn, and he couldn't believe his eyes. The cat had brought him a mouse? It was barely alive, squirming on the ground but unable to get up. He wondered if he should heal it or kill it to put it out of its misery.

Eventually he sighed and scooped up the somewhat bloody mouse with one hand. "Thanks, Red, but I don't eat mice. Not still-living ones anyway." He'd had mouse a few times in his life, but only when he was extremely desperate for food. A quick pulse of magic healed the mouse, and he set it on the ground just outside. It scampered away quickly. Rolling his eyes, he went back inside. "Someone's feeling hyper," he said dryly, watching the cat.

[Snow]

Ryuu meowed loudly in protest as the mouse scampered away. He didn't move to go outside again, though- as it was, this high wouldn't leave for a little while longer. In true cat fashion, Ryuu stretched out first his forelegs (extending his claws as he did so) and then his back legs. Trotting to Ice Human, he reared up and placed his paws on his pants. Pulling lightly at the fabric with his claws, he meowed again.

The Forestkin hoped that the human knew that meowing was something he only did for humanoid creatures. He didn't meow for others of his kind, nor did he meow for any other sort of creature. Meowing was a privilege given only to the humans. Even though humans were hardly magical at all, Forestkin (in their animal forms) didn't like the other races.

The other races didn't like the Forestkin. They were abominations, hybrids without a true purpose in the world. But the humans thought the Forestkin were a cute sort of race. The humans viewed the Forestkin as pets, almost. Not that the Forestkin minded. That just meant that the Forestkin had a race to hide behind. The human race was resilient, and hadn't faltered in the slightest even though the other races had fought against them at first.

Ryuu purred as loudly as he could, still lightly tugging at the fabric. Not too hard, of course. And he didn't dig his claws in, he kept them just on the surface. Hopefully, this human was one of the many who found the Forestkin to be cute pets. Not that this human would find out. No, he would keep it a secret. He didn't want to be thrown out.

It had happened once, a long time ago. A kind human who had been happily keeping him had discovered that he was not just an animal when he had shifted back into a humanoid form to protect the human. The human... hadn't taken it well. He'd been quite literally thrown out and chased off with giant dogs.

His back itched just remembering the dogs' teeth. He forced the thoughts away as he pressed against Ice Human, content to just be a cat for now.

[Midna]

Seiji snickered at the indignant meow. "If you want it, eat it." Then he sat in one of the house's comfier chairs, watching the cat again. Red stretched out like any cat, then wandered over to him. Okay. Seiji watched him curiously as the cat tugged on his pants legs with his claws. Was he going to climb onto Seiji's lap? He didn't, but Seiji watched anyway.

The cat was meowing and purring. And still pawing at his legs. Seiji could tell he was using his claws but not actually tearing the fabric. It was interesting. Red was intelligent, for a cat, yet he was still very much a cat at heart. Usually Seiji didn't like contact with other people or animals, but this was different. Red was different. He didn't mind this.

Sighing, he reached down to pick up the cat and set him on his lap. If successful, he'd pet the cat for a while.

[Snow]

Surprised at being picked up, he meowed loudly. That was new. Most humans, upon noticing his blindness, were more than happy to keep his paws on the ground. Plopped into a lap, Ryuu stood still for a moment before deciding this couldn't be that bad. He purred and twirled in a circle three times, laying down once his ritual was done. He tilted his head up, revealing his soft, white-furred throat (which was a show of trust) as he purred.

He was lucky that, as a cat, his body completely mimicked a cat's. His voicebox was low enough to continue to purr while also breathing, for which he was grateful. He kneaded the human's lap carefully, never digging his claws in enough to draw blood. Just a light pricking sensation that could get annoying.

[Midna]

Red meowed when Seiji picked him up, but it didn't seem angry or upset to him. Just surprised. He wondered how much the cat had been picked up ever. He let Red get his bearings, and eventually the cat lay down on his lap. Cautious, he started to pet him, running his fingers over and through the soft red fur. A small smile appeared on his face when Red started purring.

Maybe he could keep the cat? It'd be just for a little while, unless he took Red with him when he went somewhere else. Then again, that meant two mouths to feed instead of one when he could sometimes barely feed himself.

He almost chuckled at a thought that ran through his head. He'd better not assume his true Skrit form around Red. The cat might think he was a bird and eat him.

The cat was kneading his lap now, and Seiji could feel the pricks of his claws on his legs. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't truly comfortable either. He let Red keep going though.

[Snow]

Ryuu had actually never been interested in Skrit. The few times he'd found them in their smaller forms, he'd been terrified. He was a rather small cat, after all. He was about the size of a horse to a Skrit in their smaller forms. He'd had one or two bed down in his fur before, when they were tired from travelling and needed a safe spot to drop. They were actually a little heavy for the small, underfed Forestkin to carry in his cat form, but he managed it rather well.

Tiring of his position, he shifted again to snuggle down somewhere near Ice Human's chest. As time went on, he kept shifting ever so slightly until he was laying almost vertically, his front paws resting on the bigger being's shoulder. Purring lightly, he drifted into a cat-sleep. He was still aware, but he was resting. Just a light sleep.

[Midna]

Seiji continued to pet the small cat. His mind wandered off to other things as he wondered about how Koda was doing or what it would be like to ride a cat in his Skrit form. Usually he didn't drop his guard around creatures so easily, but this cat was different. For some reason, his mind told him it wouldn't hurt him, so he let it be. He didn't notice time pass, nor did he notice when his eyes slipped shut just a little while after the cat's did.

He woke up a few hours later to a setting sun and a growling stomach. Looking around, his eyes widened. He'd spent hours asleep in a chair and it wasn't even nighttime yet. He shouldn't have wasted daylight hours! He could have gone out for more food since he was still running low. He could have practiced his magic or his swordfighting! Plus, he'd let his guard down. Anyone could have sneaked up on him while he was asleep. Frowning, he thought over what he absolutely had to do that day. He had enough food for himself and the cat for possibly today and tomorrow, but tomorrow or the next day he'd have to go find more.

"Hungry?" he asked the possibly still sleeping cat.

[Snow]

Ryuu rested well, and at the human's voice he meowed softly. He wasn't really hungry- he'd eaten just that morning, after all. He wouldn't be "hungry" for another day or two. By "hungry", he meant that the hunger wouldn't be too bad for another day or two. He shifted off of the human's lap but laid down on the chair's arm, perfectly content to wait for Ice Human to eat again.

He could probably manage more food today, but he didn't want to take more from this human than he already had. Ryuu decided that he would really only eat if the human insisted. "Not really, but I'll eat if you insist," he meowed, though he was sure that the human couldn't understand him. He licked his paw a few times, but he wasn't really cleaning.

[Midna]

Seiji took the meow as a yes because he couldn't picture a cat not wanting food. Once Red moved, he stood up and stretched, then made his way to the kitchen. He ended up defrosting a little bit of their remaining meat for the cat and eating a couple of slices of bread himself. After drinking a glass of water, he filled up a bowl for Red.

The water and the meat were taken back to the chair where Red was, and Seiji set them on the floor by the chair legs. "Here, Red," he said, "For you." The cat looked thin, and he assumed Red hadn't been eating enough. Maybe this would help get some weight on him. "You're so thin, even for your size," he murmured to himself, a note of worry creeping into his voice by accident.

[Snow]

Ryuu blinked in surprise at the human's worry. Well, of course he was thin. He was a stray, for crying out loud, as well as blind. He hopped down from the chair (stumbling a bit as he hit the ground) and meowed in thanks, performing the Maneuver of Appreciation yet again before tucking into the meal. Partway into the meal, Ryuu flicked one ear towards the sound of people outside.

Looking up uselessly for a moment at a window, Ryuu quickly finished his meal and twirled in a circle. Tail flicking, the cat tipped his head towards the wall. He meowed, and he made it sound like he had attempted to say "people" in Common. It was similar enough to the word that Ryuu was certain Ice Human would get it.

[Midna]

Seiji watched Red eat, not hungry anymore himself. At least Red was eating. That was good. He hoped the cat wasn't sick, being so thin and spending so much time outside. He was so busy watching Red that he almost missed the mew that sounded so much like the word "people". Luckily, he did hear it. He jerked his head around to look out the window, and caught a glimpse of someone moving up the walkway to the house. Shoot.

They were pretty far away, but he moved fast anyway, hurrying to the kitchen to stuff the food into his pack and then into the living room to shove in his clothes and his dagger. He didn't have a sword of his own, not a real one, but his ice blades would work. Then he remembered Red. "Okay, Red," he said hurriedly, "I don't have much time. I'm not supposed to be here, so I need to go. Are you coming with me or not?" He hoped the cat would, even though it might be inconvenient.

Not waiting for an answer, Seiji headed for the back door. It was a good thing that he always kept his pack mostly full.

[Snow]

Ryuu followed, not even needing an invite. He figured he might as well follow. Though that scent... Ice Human wasn't exactly human, was he? Ryuu tread lightly, silent and aware. Every so often, he would nudge the bigger being and head a different way, always making sure that Ice-brain (as was his new nickname for the tall one) was following him.

The detours were, of course, avoiding the patrol that circuited those areas every 15 minutes.

Finally pretty far away from the house, Ryuu stopped in an alleyway, panting lightly. He hadn't done that much walking around since he'd had to navigate the city to get herbs to Rack. Once he'd mostly caught his breath, Ryuu looked directly at the other being and spoke in Common, though it was somewhat spattered with a cat's speech patterns.

"You're nyat a human, are nya?"

[Midna]

Despite the danger, he actually smiled when Red went with him. He knew the area sort of well, but he let Red guide him since the cat seemed to know where to go. Which was odd because he was blind. Seiji tried not to think about it. Instead he followed and kept an eye out for danger.

They walked for a long time before they stopped in an alleyway. Seiji could tell the cat was tired. He was used to running around a lot for food, but his feet were a bit tired. They both caught their breath for a minute.

Then the cat actually spoke, and Seiji's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened.

He couldn't say anything for a few seconds. Red could talk in Common. Red was a cat and could talk in Common. Seiji hadn't ever heard an animal talk. But he still sounded like a cat. The nyat and nya words instead of not and you were kind of adorable, actually...

He pulled his mind away and spoke without thinking much about it. "Umm... No. Skrit. You're talking. How can you talk?"

[Snow]

The cat smirked triumphantly. "Thyought so." Then he adopted almost a pouty expression, still having a little fun with the Skrit. "Nyat what nya were expecting, huh? Cats aren'yat as styupid as we can'yact." The words 'can' and 'act' sort of meshed together, but he hoped it was still understandable. Getting up, Ryuu rubbed somewhat against the Skrit's legs.

"Sorry nyif I scared nya," he meowed softly, looking up at the Skrit. Stretching a little, Ryuu spun somewhat in a circle and jumped onto an empty trash can, sitting down all prim and proper like cats tended to do. And he waited for further questions, which he felt were sure to come.

[Midna]

"Sorry," Seiji said automatically, still staring at the cat. Wow. He'd had no idea cats could talk, but apparently they could. At least, this one could. He wondered what other animals could talk and how much they did talk. That was assuming that Red was a normal cat. What if he wasn't? Part of his mind said that Red was definitely a real cat. But his subconscious whispered to him that Red likely wasn't.

At the soft words, Seiji chuckled, still in a little bit of shock. "It's fine," he said. Then he asked quietly, "So... are you a boy? Do you have a name you want me to call you?" Best get that out of the way first. He wondered what kind of a name a cat would have. "Are you a magic cat?" His subconscious snorted.