Players:
Summary: Where did those cats come from?
Date: September 5, 2011
Log Title: A Tale of Three Kittens (Or is it Tail? Hahahaha! bad pun!)
Rating: PG
NYC - Four Arms Apartments (Connor, Rashmi and Robyn's Apartment)
Just past the dinner hour, the door to the apartment opens, and Connor makes his way inside, moving to hang his keys up by the door before closing it up, and setting the lock bar and chain behind him. Once done, he takes off the black and grey leather riding jacket he had on… one that looks rather new. It gets settled on another hanger as he walks into the kitchen, directly for the sink to wash his hands, "Home! Sorry I didn't call."
Tomorrow starts the first day of school for Robyn but instead of getting his books ready he's sitting on the futon in the living room, lap top in front of him watching My Little Pony. He's curled up with his Vampire Teddy bear and is snacking on a bag of oatmeal raisin cookies. He looks rather upset as his eyes are a bit red and there's a box of tissues next to him. "Hey Connor, don't worry about it. I…uh…I broke up with Jordan today."
The key turns in the lock with a click, followed by the thump of a door failing to open, and the person on the other side not noticing until quite too late. "Ow, what the… … ….oh. Right." The bar unlatches, and the door opens… only to be impeded by the chain. "Connor," Rashmi calls, peeking in through the crack, a patient smile on her face. "May I come in?"
Connor looks up… as he was about to drink orange juice out of the container… since Robyn was not paying attention, and then winces, "Oh… I thought everyone was home." And he goes over to get the chain undone, and open the door for Rashmi, "Sorry sorry." But with that out of the way, he turns to look at Robyn, and says, "You broke up with him? As in not the speaking of, but the act of? As in you finally told him he can… okay wow…" His eyes going wide, "And I thought my news was important… this trumps anything I have."
Robyn nods. "Yeah I told him it was over. That I couldn't be in a relationship like that anymore." He says before giving Rashmi a wave. "Welcome home Rashmi. So, I was just telling Connor I broke up with Jordan today." He says pressing pause on the video of his laptop. "Well your news is still important Connor. I also have good news on top of the suck news as well. But sorry I'm just a bit bummed right now."
"It's okay," Rashmi says as the door is opened, "just my dignity a little, that's all." Moving into the main room, she begins to unsling her bookbag, but freezes on hearing of Robyn's breakup. "Oh, Robyn," she says quietly, setting her bag on the table and dropping onto the futon next to the young artist. "I'm so sorry you had to do that…" One arm drapes around Robyn's shoulders and squeezes, her free hand plucking away the bag of cookies and rolling it up, more or less. "Here… I'll make dinner, okay? Maybe we can cheer you up enough to hear the good news everyone has?"
"I'm happy for him… Jordan was a chain… I'm sure he was nice and all once… but every time I met him, he was like… Johnny from the Karate Kid." Connor replies as he gets a glass, pours three glasses of orange juice, and then brings them over to Rashmi, then Robyn, then sits down next to his friend, "Flip side? Sucks. That kind of stuff sucks… I mean… well, I don't want to get into it." Looking away for a moment, and then sips at his orange juice, "So… what do you guys think of the neat new espresso machine?"
"Connor I know you didn't like him and I know it's for the better but…it still sucks okay." Robyn takes a deep breath and pushes his hair out of his face. "Even though I did the breaking up it still sucks. I guess it felt the same when you ended your relationship with Lucas except, I don't know if Jordan and I could be friends." He says frowning. "He changed too much." He then takes another cookie and smiles at Rashmi. "Thanks, dinner would be great Rashmi. And we got an espresso machine?"
Rashmi pats Robyn's shoulder, levering herself off the couch and heading for the kitchen. "It's…. *really* neat," she calls, "I remember seeing it, but thought one of you might've picked it up… I guess not? Who's it from, then?" Doors begin to open and close, pots and pans clatter, and the fridge is rummaged about in. "If it helps, Robyn, I *did* feel like crap for kind of awhile… but mostly because I was kind of a jerk about it. Still, it's never not going to suck, no matter what end you're on."
Connor looks at the machine, and then back at Robyn, "That… is a welcome present from Magneto. He found out we were in the neighborhood… and decided to be nice." Grinning a bit as he then reaches around and snugs Robyn close, "I don't know relationships… all I know is… I never heard you say nice things about him, but I heard you saying you hoped he would be the guy he used to be. Maybe this will be the shock he needs to get himself back to who he used to be." The orange juice is sipped at again, and then he adds, "Just don't forget… you cared about him. More than I think he cared for himself."
"Thanks for the orange juice." Robyn says as he drinks from the glass. "Wait what, Magneto, like the Magneto got us a house warming gift? I think I've only really met him once a long time ago and it scared the hell outta me." He says looking down at the ground. "Not cared for Connor, care. I still care. Anyway, let's just drop it okay? I think I've cried enough. But my good news is that I got a job."
Rashmi pokes her head out of the kitchen, eyebrows rising sharply. "He did? Well *that* was nice of him! Huh… I'll have to get a thank you card to him when I go in next…" Back into the kitchen she disappears, the sounds of water filling a pot all that can be heard for a short time. "You got a job, Robyn? That's *wonderful!* Where?"
Connor tilts his head, "Soooooo…?" And then he turns fully to face Robyn, and says, "Are you going to te-…" And then stops, looking down into Robyn's lap, and staring, "When did you get a cat, and how long as it been there?"
"Pearl Paints by Chinatown. It's an art store. I'll be working a few weeknights and one weekend day, it pays about eight dollars and hour and I'll get discounts on all my art supplies." Which is a bonus for Robyn. "Huh, cat?" He says looking down as he realizes the Vampire Teddy Bear is no longer in his arms and he's been petting a kitten. "Wait….I…I don't know!" He says with confusion.
"Oh, *that's* good!" Rashmi calls from the kitchen, as the sounds and smells of cooking sausage drift to fill the room. "Let me know if you need help studying though, it's not easy to juggle class and work like that…" There's a pause, and the sound of a spatula being knocked against the side of a pan, before her head pops out again, a puzzled frown on her face. "…Wait, cat? You mean the blue one with the red tag, right? He was always squatting here, the manager cut our rent because he wouldn't leave. ….Didn't I tell you?"
Connor leans in closer to said kitten, pointing a finger at it, "No… this one is blue, but sort of spotty, and it's ears are… wait…" Looking back up at Rashmi, "I was told there was no cat. Now I am being told there is in fact… a cat." Looking left, looking right, the young man says with an anguished voice, "When did this become Schroedinger's Apartment?!"
"Yes Rashmi, it's the blue one. But…how is a cat blue..never mind this is mutant town." Robyn says looking down at the cat on his lap and scritching his, or her, head affectionately. "So wait, the cat came with the apartment? Does he have a name?" He stares at the cat and smiles down at it. "We can keep it?"
"That's what the manager told *me,* anyway," Rashmi says, popping back into the kitchen to finish browning the sausage. "It says Dex-Starr on the tag there, but no address or owner or number or anything. I was under the impression that they'd *tried* to get him out… but, y'know… didn't work. So they just cut the rent, that's why we got such a good price. *I* don't mind, personally, I think he's a sweetheart. I don't know how he goes in and out, but, there weren't any messes to clean up, so… up to you, Connor!"
Connor pokes this cat on the nose, which causes his finger to be licked, and then his eyes go wide as the fur shifts until the blue kitten becomes a patchy white Scottish Fold, "There are two flaws in your statement Rashmi… not that I don't want a cat… but one… previously this cat was a teddy bear… and two… there is no collar or tag. So… where is the cat that you are talking about?"
It's about at that moment Rashmi finds a rather poofy-looking little tabby kitten reaching a paw out for the sausage!
Looking around Robyn realizes that his bear is gone. "Where…that's not something that's easy to find, it's the vampire teddy from Nightmare Before Christmas…" He says but yet he won't let go of the cat. "What happened to the other cat? He was just blue now….now he's not."
"Hey!" Rashmi says, hooking a hand under the kitten and dropping it on the floor. "No sausage fo— ……… ….. Wait *where did this cat come from?!* Connor, Robyn, there is a tabby begging food off me, did someone leave a window open?"
Connor stands up to try and see the aforementioned cat number three, but only sees a puff of smoke as there's a small *BAMF* from where Rashmi is, and a smell of brimstone, "I think we're discerned why no one has seen fit to rent this place in a while…" And then sitting back down with Robyn, there's a sudden mewlsqueal from the couch, and he fishes down to find… to his concern… the same kitten… staring up and purring, "Do we even HAVE a litter box? Where have they been going… to do what cats do?"
The blue kitten is still on Robyn's lap and he hasn't once stopped petting it. "I..I don't know. Maybe tomorrow we can go to the pet store." He says looking at the cat Connor sat on. "I can't believe there are three cats here. I've always wanted a pet." He mutters. "So, what do we do? Do you think we can manage and afford three cats here? What have they been eating?"
The BAMF startles a squeak out of Rashmi, and then silence aside from the cooking food. "….Well…. one of them just *teleported out of the kitchen,* so that answers how they've been eating…. Probably the other question too." Shaking her head, she sets out a saucepan and begins to heat up a few containers of alfredo sauce. "Well *I* don't mind, like I said, even if it *is* three cats. It's weird… but like you said, Robyn, this is Mutant Town."
"So where's cat number three, and what normality-breaking thing does he… she… or it do?" Though Connor's little torrent of questions is stopped by a kitten paw on the nose, and then suddenly another small *BAMF* followed by the scent of brimstone in the air, making his cough and tear up. Looking back at Robyn, he clears his eyes, and then says, "We've fought mutant hunters from the future, a freakish demon in it's own realm, Heather's parents… not to mention that stuff in Africa. Three cats are easy." *BAMF* Kitten on head… with CLAWS! "Ow."
"Oh man that stinks." Robyn says of the brimstone. "Let's just hope Nightcrawler didn't turn into a cat." He says making a face at the smell. "So we have the blue cat, the teleporting cat and one that changes shape?" He says sounding a bit confused. "Figures I finally get my first pet and there's nothing normal about it." He says chuckling. It seems like the cat he's petting has brightened his mood though.
"Hey, if you wanted normal," Rashmi calls from the kitchen, "you should have made me look harder outside of Mutant Town, right? Anyway, um…. I'm *pretty* sure we can get the critical stuff tomorrow pretty simply…. I just don't know what to feed *them* while I'm feeding *us.* Speaking of. Someone want to set up the table stuff? Also Connor never told us *his* news, outside of the coffee machine?"
Connor extricates himself from Kittenhat, and then puts the second cat into Robyn's lap with the first one, saying to Robyn, "You know… a cat that can be any cat? That's just the cat for you." And he ruffles his friend's hair before moving off towards the kitchen to get the settings stuff, "Dexter though? I don't know… it… there's a show on called Dexter, about a serial killer. I don't know if I can look at a cat named that and not think about the show. Maybe we can catch him and take off the tag." That being said, he starts to lay out placemats, "I got a steady job… instead of what I was going to do. It comes with a sweet bike too. A new Ducati Diavel Carbon. Anyways… I'm… doing courier work. Deliveries and stuff around the city." Suddenly becoming quite vague.
"Huh? Why does it fit me?" Robyn says as he finds he has two small bundles of fur on his lap, one attacking one hand and the other purring rubbing on his other hand to demand pettings. "That's great Connor but what's a Ducati Diavel Carbon?" He is clueless when it comes to bikes. "Is that like a ten speed?" After all most deliver folk in New York City ride bikes. "Since Connor is helping set up, and you cooked, I'll do dishes later."
"They *gave you* a bike?" Rashmi says, brow furrowed as she lugs the pot to the sink, pausing to dig a plastic strainer out of a nearby cupboard. "That's weird… most courier places expect you to bring your *own* bike, don't they? Who with?" Steam billows into the redhead's face as the pasta is emptied out, shaken a bit, then dumped back in. The saucepan, full of simmered alfredo and sausage, covered and taken off the burner… which is about when the microwave dings. Pulling out a microwaveable container, she gingerly picks off the lid, grabs a fork and begins stirring the baby carrots, butter, and dill inside. "…Okay, dinner's ready. Grab your plates and load up!"
Connor comes over, looks at all the food, and then tilts it from one side to the other before beginning to serve himself a huge helping, still needing that massive calorie count it seems, "Oh… ummm… I work for the Genoshan Embassy. The motorbike belongs to the embassy, so it stays there at the end of my shift… too bad too, because it's a sweet little thing, can go pretty much any place in New York. Anyways… I asked if it might be a conflict of interest, and Magneto said I should ask SHIELD next time I'm out their way dropping off anything." Talking as if it's nothing in the world, and then moves over to sit down, followed by that ball of fur rocketting off Robyn's lap, and crawling up into Connor's pawing for a piece of sausage and mewing in a soft, squeaky little tone that sounds like a chirp.
"That's awesome Connor and conflict in interest with what? Did you decide to see if you can get into Barnes?" Robyn says as he gets up, putting the kitten up on his shoulder as he goes over to make himself a plate of dinner. He goes back and sits down next to Connor and can't help but let the kitten eat a piece of the sausage as he digs into his dinner. "This is really good Rashmi. Kinda makes me feel bad that I'm a one trick pony of Hamburger Helper in the kitchen."
Rashmi heaps her own plate, trying to be annoyed at the sight of the boys feeding the kittens, but finding herself unable to pull it off properly. "Wait, working at the Embassy? Conflicting with Barnes? …Y'know, if there *was,* I'm pretty sure I'd've heard about it by now. As far as I can tell, it saves them the trouble of putting extra watchdogs on the inside just in case there's stuff they *need* to know. THat's the impression that *I* get when I make reports, anyway…" Spearing a carrot, she grins at Robyn. "Oh don't worry… you don't *have* to be a one-trick pony, if you don't *want* to be. I'm *more* than happy to teach both of you how to cook, so I don't have to. Frankly the only thing cheaper than making your own food is ramen and coffee, which just no."
Connor sighs as Bamfkitten gets some sausage, and he tries to keep the little one down, but with the bribery in place, it doesn't seem to count. Levelling Robyn a look, "Please don't spoil him… lovely… I cat I can't keep out of my room. And he's going to get big and fuzzy, I just know it. A monster of a cat." Which the discussion turn causes the mysterious cat with the red collar and single red ring in his fur to come in and twine between Rashmi's legs, "Anyways… I haven't decided on Barnes, allright? I just… I don't know if it's right for me now. Not without…" And he motions with his hands, "Anyways… I'm gonna be busy. I have to start mapping the city, finding side-streets, watching the traffic flows… figure out how to move in the city."
"Well we don't have any cat food for them. Unless we have a can of tuna or something." Robyn says as he can't resist slipping the kitten a little bit more sausage, after all he seems hungry. "We'll have to get one of those roombas for you then Connor, that way we can keep the apartment as cat hair free as possible?" There's a quick frown at Connor but no words are said on Robyn's opinion, instead he looks at Rashmi. "Ramen is okay but it's not everyday food. I don't mind learning how to cook. I guess that's a good thing about being adopted, I don't have to worry about inheriting my Mom's cooking skills."
Rashmi waves a hand. "Well, you take the time you need to decide," Rashmi says, though the look on her face makes it rather clear Connor's powers have as much to do with his selection as his hair color. "I'm just saying, if you *do,* conflict of interest would be news to m—oh *hi,* you," she says leaning over to knuckle the blue kitten's head. "We were just talking about you a bit ago… So, I guess we can expect to put cat food on the communall groceries list, then… hm." At Robyn's willingness to learn cooking, Rashmi beams brightly at the artist. "*Won*derful! Well, it can wait a little bit until we're all settled in, and Mami's still loading me down with food every other day or so. …To be honest, the only reason there wasn't *more* this weekend was because I ran into the Hooligan on the way back, and, well… Did you know it's starting to get around that the Kitchen is the *last* place you want to go to set up business in the drug trade?"
