Superhell: Zelgadis

[polyglotti]

Comments

[polyglotti]

I don't think I am either. We barely knew each other.

[She'll sit down by the bonfire though.]

[hardrocklife]

Maybe it's better that way...

We're all rivals here. Best not to get too attached to one another.

[polyglotti]

I think I'll have to disagree there.

[Yeah no shit, Tuuri tries to make friends with everyone.]

[hardrocklife]

[He looks over at her, and sighs. It's probably not worth arguing...

...]

Well, since you're here anyway... There's something I might as well ask you about.

[polyglotti]

Yeah?

[She's curious now, so she looks in his direction.]

What is it?

[hardrocklife]

[he looks away.]

... You have a cat here?

[polyglotti]

Yeah, I have Kitty. Why?

[hardrocklife]

What do you, uh... feed it?

[polyglotti]

I usually get meat from one of the restaurants for her. She likes donuts too, but those probably aren't good for her.

[hardrocklife]

I see... I suppose that works.

Do you know a lot about cats?

[polyglotti]

About as much as anyone, I guess. I'm not an expert or anything.

[hardrocklife]

[He nods.]

I've been trying to figure out what to do about this.

[He reaches back and gives his hood a tug.

Something squirms inside it. Then stops... then repositions itself and squirms again, scrambling upwards until it climbs up onto his shoulder. A small, black creature with blue eyes.]

[polyglotti]

[Oh noooooo she is going to squee in delight when she sees the kitten.]

It's so little! When did you get it?

[hardrocklife]

[The kitten stretches its whole body, then looks over at her with big, curious eyes.]

Wednesday. Found it in a hollowed-out pumpkin by the corn maze.

[polyglotti]

Amazing...I didn't know we had animals on the islands here...but if you need help taking care of her, I can help! I can bring over Kitty too, so she gets socialized to other cats.

[hardrocklife]

I didn't expect it, either.

... I'd appreciate it.

[polyglotti]

Here, I'll be right back.

[She is going to be running around a bit! First to go get Kitty, and then to stop by one of the burger places for a plain hamburger. Then she comes back.

Kitty is riding on her shoulder and is attempted to get to the burger as she arrives.]

Here! Just take the bread and toppings off, and this should be fine for your cat. Did you think of a name already?

[hardrocklife]

[When she returns, the kitten has started exploring around the seating area, with Zelgadis watching to make sure it doesn't venture too close to the fire. He takes the offered burger -- an action that prompts the kitten to begin a series of demanding mew! mew! mew!s while he separates the meat from the rest of it.]

... No. Not actually sure if it's a boy or a girl.

[polyglotti]

It's hard to tell when they're this small, we only knew for Kitty because she's a calico. You'll probably have to wait until it's a few months old. But there's names that work for both boys and girls.

[hardrocklife]

[At last, Zelgadis sets the meat down. The kitten pounces on it, as if it needed to be subdued, and begins to gnaw on the edge of the patty.]

I see. I've never really thought about it...

I always lived on the road. I could never take care of an animal like this.

[And there's the ever-present question of, well, can he? If he returns to life, goes back to his old lifestyle...]

[polyglotti]

A cat is a perfect companion for the road though! You have to do a bit of recall training to make sure they don't run off if they get spooked, but they get attached to their people really quickly and will stay right with you. Cats are really lazy too, so if you train one to ride on your shoulder then they'll stay right there while you travel.

[hardrocklife]

They are?

[He studies the kitten thoughtfully.]

You ever take yours traveling?

[polyglotti]

We actually found her out in the wild during our travels. It wasn't too hard to teach her to stay close to the team, she was very little when we found her.

[hardrocklife]

[He now gives Kitty an appraising look. So it's possible...]

You're a traveler yourself?

[polyglotti]

Only recently. It's my first expedition, actually.

[And she died on it.]

But our team leader has done it before, and I've been learning a lot from her!