Meow

[Ixtlilton]

Four. Days.

That was how long it had been since the startling birth of five kittens at Ansembourg. Despite any attempts to keep it quiet by the faculty, everyone had known by the morning after. How? Well, Mika probably told her roommate, and Dragon had told Lilith, and while Dragon didn't know who Mika roomed with, Lilith had doubtlessly told Nic, who would have told his friends, like that bubbly Kari girl. Dragon suspected that once it hit Kari, it had been all over.

It was now Monday, and it felt to Dragon like she'd barely left Flash's room. She'd found out early Friday from Mika, who was nursing the kittens, that the mom wasn't allowing the firstborn runt to nurse enough, and since then the two of them had been essentially taking turns nursing it and watching the kittens in general. Both of them looked like hell.

Dragon slipped into Flash's room and popped tiredly out of the shadows, tagging out with Mika, who just sort of dazedly wandered out of the room, smacking into both the door and the wall on the other side of the hall. Neither of them had really gotten enough sleep.

Now that it'd had been four days, the kittens would slow down in the nursing, or so Mika said. Dragon, for one, was relieved. The past four days were a blur of rubbing and feeding and obscene attention to temperature. But the tired little kitten, who was finally starting to form some color other than white, was absolutely worth it.

It was even worth putting up with Flash, who, of course, was still using his room. Mika and Dragon had both sort of wanted to kick him out, but Miss Secretary was having absolutely none of it. They could tell that she really just wanted this to be as simple and quick as humanly possible.

Dragon sat down with the kittens, and the runt in particular, warm formula in hand. Both she and Mika were probably going to get in trouble for skipping roughly half of their classes, but they were getting homework for each other and stuff, so Dragon didn't see what the problem was.

[Kitten King]

Four. Days.

That was how long he'd been dealing with this. It wasn't even the kitten that were really the problem - though the trouble he'd gotten in for THAT hadn't exactly been minor. No, what had been grating on his nerves was those two. The last two people in the world he wanted in his room 24/7, and they didn't even respect that this was his space and his cat. True, he was grateful for the help in managing, but he still didn't understand why they couldn't just move the cats. Mika said it would disturb them too much, but he wasn't sure he bought that. He got the feeling it was more of her "trying to bond with him" shit, but he wasn't... falling for it... okay. Truth be told, she wasn't as bad as he thought. But... still. That nagging in the back of his head kept the distance alive.

It was the same with Dragon. It wasn't as if they hadn't had some good moments, but then she'd have to go and ruin them by snarking at him, or by being too... like her. She dug at memories he didn't want uncovered, sometimes. It wasn't even intentional, it was just things that happened. Things she did. Ugh. He guessed he shouldn't be mad at her for that, but still... he couldn't help it.

He was tired already, thanks to girls all hours of the night (and not in the good way), and he'd just had to go through with an exhausting repair job. The electricity in the K-3 had been shorting in and out, and it had taken him all morning in a room full of mutant-powered children to solve the issue. So, naturally, fate decided that the first thing he'd get to see when he got back to his room, just craving a nap, was Dragon.

Well, fuck.

"Hey," he said, a little more grumpily than usual as he hung up his tool belt and tossed his jacket to the bed. Man. There was just no break for him lately...

[Ixtlilton]

Anyone on the outside looking in would have found some irony in how quickly Dragon had taken to getting settled in Flash's room. Her hands were full of kitten and bottle at the moment, but in a corner near where Trinity had settled was a half-constructed mechanical guinea pig that served a regular reminder that she had been more or less living there for four days.

"Hey," Dragon said when Flash walked in, equally grumpy. So THAT was why Mika had been in such a damn hurry to switch... The only one who got along with Flash less than Dragon was Mika, it seemed. And that was just because Flash was more openly hostile. Flash just HATED Mika, which was honestly fine by Dragon because she rather liked Mika and enjoyed having a legitimate reason to give Flash a hard time.

She'd been working on her little 8 bit beat machine, but she'd hit a dead end and needed better parts. Too bad they weren't allowed to try and get jobs in town... Or, you know. Go to town without a teacher at all. So she'd taken to throwing together a guinea pig. The chemistry teacher had taken a bit of a liking to her and she had access to some nice things that would explode WHEN she wanted them to and not before, if she did it right.

Once the kitten had been satiated, she tucked it back into its normal spot on the warm towel in her hoodie... hood, and turned her attention on her half-finished guniea pig.

[Kitten King]

Well, at least she was getting somewhat more civil. Somewhat. He used that term lightly, mind. As much hope as he'd had for things becoming better between them, after their little musical "moment" 4 nights ago, it didn't seem to be progressing that way. At the very least it wasn't moving backwards, he mused.

He set off a krzap as he brushed by one the lamps, a sign that he'd been working with electricity too long already. He built up way too much static on days like this, and it had tendency of almost crackling about him. It was nothing like the day he and Dragon had met - nothing that would short out electronics or turn a ferret into a puffball. Just the type of static you'd build up on a dry day, only more constant. He bit back a sigh, and Trin, as if she knew, gave a loud mrrow, deep and rumbling. She blinked in his direction, amber eyes calling him over for snuggles.

"Yes, I see you, too," he said, his mood lightening slightly. Cats had a way of doing that, after all. He crouched down beside the cat, rubbing her behind the ears for a moment. "How's Fatty doing?" He asked, more to the cat than Dragon. Trin mrrowed again, leaning into his hand before he removed it to begin fussing with the kittens. Mika told him to leave them be, but he couldn't help it, particularly with the little orange one. He liked that one - he was thinking about keeping it, actually, though he knew it was unreasonable. Trin was an older cat, who didn't need much time or attention, but a kitten would be a hell of a chore. Sigh. He'd just have to make sure the little male went to someone... acceptable.

[Ixtlilton]

"They're all fine so far. I just got here right before you got in... And stay away from the corner while you're zapping like that, I've got chemicals and electronics that don't really need to explode next to kittens. On one hand, we could create a new species of super powered mutant cats, on the other hand, we could create five dead kittens."

She WANTED to use the shadows to get around like she always did, but she had a passenger (two, in fact) so she couldn't. She was forced to actually, groan, WALK around Flash and plop down in her corner, picking up her half-finished guinea pig. It had the rough SHAPE, but it needed something... more. Something guinea piggy. Thankfully, she had some loose rubber that could probably be used for little guinea pig ears and she had a few bolts that really could pass for a nose, plus some square nuts for teeth and some very classy eyes. She got to work on it, and got to work on attempting to forget Flash existed. Four days had done SOME good at clearing the air of awkwardness, just because they'd both been distracted by kittens the whole time.

[Kitten King]

"Rrright..." he said, in response to her explosion warnings, though sounding a little stronger than he probably meant with his accent. Yeah, that was really the ABSOLUTE last thing anyone needed right now. He stayed where he was for awhile, letting her move around him, and played with the little orange kitten. "..cutie.." he murmured to himself, scruffing the fur on the little kitten's back. It mewled at him, sleepily and lazily, then snuggled back into his mother's belly. He sat back a little, watching for a second, and rubbing Trin's head again.

"...electric rodents, again?" he asked after a few moments. He'd been noticing the little project build up, over the last few days, and he was finally starting to be able to tell what it was. Was she always building electronic animals? No wonder she and Mika got along.

[Ixtlilton]

Dragon let out a sigh that sounded geniunely depressed. "I have NO access to decent materials. Even if I COULD go into town, I have no money and I'd need a fa...cul...ty..." She turned her eyes towards him, squinting. "Hmm... Are you doing anything this weekend?"

The kitten began mewling, and she immediately pulled it out of her hoodie and began cooing at it and generally beginning the spoiling process at a startlingly young age.

[Kitten King]

No access to- just WHAT in his workshop had she used up?! He'd had PLENTY of- argh. Either that or she was just plain PICKY. His materials were just fine, thankyouverymuch. Sigh. Her question about the coming weekend caught him a little off-guard, and he peered at her for a second, wondering if she was actually serious. Didn't seem like something she'd joke about.

"...not sure," he answered honestly, moving to rummage through his bag for something. "I often don't know repair jobs until they happen." He found what he was looking for - the little schedule book he rarely filled in, and flipped open the pages. "No big projects planned.. and unless it's a fridge or the like, since there's no weekend classes, repairing things could wait." He snapped the flimsy little notebook closed again, looking at her. "But, you'll have to get a group together. They don't like just one student and faculty going out together." He wasn't sure if she'd manage to do that - the thought both disappointed and relieved him. She was a pain in the ass, sure, but it wasn't like he was intentionally trying to get her to hate him. It just.. kept happening.

It was also pretty clear at this point who that squish-faced, special little kitten would be going to, at this point. No one quite got spoiled as much as him, especially by her.

[Ixtlilton]

Dragon squinted, mouth moving as she counted in her head. "How MANY people make a group?" She could beg Lilith into it, and Lilith could probably get her squishy brother to go. Mika probably wouldn't want to go because Flash would be there, and Flash would be less likely to want to go if Mika was there, so she was out. Unfortunately, that was about the extent of people she knew. The only other person who bothered her was that winged boy, and they couldn't take him out anyway. "I can probably get... three... And Nic might know some people who want to go to town." He seemed shy to the point of silliness, but he had to have friends or a roommate or something, right? "Mika can watch the kittens for a few hours on the weekend."

[Kitten King]

Flash tucked the planning book back into his bag, thinking for a minute. Three wasn't bad... and if they needed someone else, he could probably drag Brett into it. He was always looking for new CD and record finds at the music place in town.

"Should be fine," he said. Part of him wasn't sure he should be agreeing to this - Dragon was not exactly predictable, and he'd heard... things... about her roommate. At least one of her friends was Nic, though. The kid might be a total nerd, but he was someone who wouldn't get into any trouble, and he could use that during his first actual outing with students. "I gotta replenish my supplies anyway, considering they continue to go missing." He looked to the side, eying her. He was pretty sure she'd never admit to it, and he'd never catch her in the act with her powers. Still...

While the two talked, one of the tiny little kittens - the one with the silver coat - had crawled a little ways away from the other kittens in the box. He flopped outside of it, looking both confused and determined with his little kitten face, eyes still closed. With all four paws underneath him, he pushed up, up, up... and stood! Of course, he wobbled immediately and fell back down after the first step, mewling again.

[Ixtlilton]

"You should keep better track of your things," Dragon deadpanned. She was distracted by the last born kitten, the silver one who was growing a bit more quickly than the others. "He's a brave one, isn't he?" she commented. Then she frowned.

"Do you know what Mr. Abelev and Miss Secretary are going to have us do with the kittens? They didn't seem particularly happy." She, having had nothing to do with the whole situation other than happening to be walking past (as far as the authorities knew), had gotten off relatively scott free, especially compared to the glares being leveled at Flash and Mika for NEITHER of them having neutered their cats. (Dragon, of course, had neutered her ferret like a responsible person, and there weren't any other ferrets in the castle anyway.) But she was worried for the kittens. She didn't care if Flash's and Mika's cats had to get neutered, they should have been ages ago, but she was nervous that the kittens would be given to a shelter or something. Surely they could just find people here at the school, or in the town, that would want them?

[Kitten King]

Yep, she was never going to admit to it. For all he knew, his electronics really were just sprouting legs and walking away. Wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen in this school, certainly.

Flash scooped up the little silver kitten after he tumbled back to the ground, rubbing him softly between the ears. The little guy was brave, indeed, and growing so fast. He was the last one out, but he was already bigger than the fuzzball that Dragon spoiled. He hadn't realized they were going to start walking so soon... he was the only one so far, but the others were crawling everywhere as well, and it wouldn't be more than a few days until eyes started opening and curious paws began dragging themselves everywhere. Man. He was not prepared for this.

"I'm not completely sure, yet," he admitted as he placed the kitten back with his mother. "But most likely, they'll have us find them homes. I wouldn't be surprised if they can stay with oth- err, the students in the castle." He still caught himself referring to himself as a student, now and again. It was a consequence of having been here so long, he supposed. "Pets are supposed to promote a healthy atmosphere and good attitude, yeah? That's why they let us have them in the first place." He'd heard that from Mika, just the other day - she'd been taking care of the kittens and blathering on about things as she always did. He'd mostly tuned her out, much to her annoyance (like he cared), but that he'd managed to catch, for some reason or another. "I bet there are a lot of students who've never had the chance to own one, too."