[OPEN] he just couldn't stay away

[catmemes]

WHO: Kaijin (catmemes) & OPEN
WHAT: Catch-all for general catventures and TDM prompts
WHERE: All over
WHEN: August-ish
WARNINGS: will add as needed




[ Prompts below, feel free to throw me a random start or poke me through PM or talkincodes for something specific. ]

Comments

[catmemes]

[ Obviously it is, and Kai gives him an extremely flat look to make that clear. If it's a strangely human expression on a cat's face, well. He's already talking, how much weirder can things seem?

But he allows the head patting with equanimity, still holding Midnight's other hand in place with the threat of claw tips. ]

Pet me properly.

[ What does properly mean? Who can say. Possibly Kai himself doesn't even know, it's not like he allows this kind of contact regularly. ]

[unrequite]

I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea what you might mean.

[ But what can he do? He's been around enough cats to know that one can do everything right and still end up with congratulatory fangmarks. Not at all malicious, even, just because it's exciting for things to go well. He can't even pretend not to relate.

With the petting hand, then, he begins gingerly scratching behind the cat's ears. (By the way, Midnight considers the cat human. Cats are human in his world, generally, so long as they clear the intelligence threshold. Terra's a bit different.) ]

I'd suggest not drawing blood at least, sir. I have a blood condition that I wouldn't want you to catch.

[catmemes]

[ That does at least make him pause, pulling back from where he'd been aiming to gnaw lightly on a finger, ]

Blood condition?

[ That can mean a lot of things. Ordinarily Kai wouldn't much care, but ordinarily he doesn't need to eat or rest, either. Still, whatever is intended by it, he does at least take the warning at face value and sheathe his claws with a quiet little grumble.

He still butts his head into Midnight's hand, lest the man think he can get away with stopping the skritches now that any threat is gone. ]

[unrequite]

[ ... Pushy. Well, Midnight doesn't mind that so much. Which... is definitely why he gets catbullied so much, but at least he's rather self-aware about it. He continues to scratch at the cat's ears, trying not to think about when the other shoe drops. ]

Yes. To be fair, you'd have to consume more than a few mouthfuls of my blood for the Originium to start collecting in your system, but it's better to head you off now before you get carried away. And you're so small. I think the ratio would be slightly easier to hit for you.

[ He sounds a bit concerned for the cat's health, of course, but otherwise he's pretty conversational about the prospect. At least the cat appears to understand that there's some relative danger here. ]

[catmemes]

What's originium?

[ Not that he was intending to draw much blood in the first place, but it's probably good to know. Of course if size is a problem he could always shift to his much larger human form, but the likelihood of pets decreases pretty substantially.

For the moment, the lure of petting wins out and he resolves to keep any pointy bits to himself. ]

Has that happened before?

[unrequite]

Hmm. Mineral. Collects in the blood. It eats you up. Kills you in the end.

[ He's... he's not saying any of this to scare the cat. It's just the truth in the simplest way he can put it. He's not sure if words like "cancer" and "terminal illness" would communicate as well.

Midnight laughs a little. Talking about this is a bit easier with fur under one's fingers, even if that fur has little jabby bits attached. ]

Happened to me. It's how I got to be like this in the first place.

[ Drinking tainted blood costs you. Who knew? ]

[catmemes]

[ He makes a thoughtful kind of rumbling sound as he rubs his head into Midnight's hand, dragging his cheeks against helpful fingers. Doesn't sound like anything Kai knows, but it also doesn't sound particularly unbelievable. But how he got like this... Kai twists to run his back under Midnight's hand but also to face him enough to peer up at the man. ]

You're dead?

[ He asks it so matter of factly, just looking for confirmation rather than any kind of shock. But that's the world Kai is used to, where life and death have a lot less separating them than in the human world. ]

[unrequite]

Ah, no. Not yet.

[ Midnight shakes his head, pushing back against the cat's cheeks a little, scratching behind his whiskers. It may be wrong, but Midnight thinks that's a pretty reasonable conclusion to draw. ]

I was very lucky, though. Most people with my condition die within a few years. I was able to find people who could help me. Doctors who have been studying my disease for a long time. I'm alive, for now.

[ Not for a terribly long while longer, but his prognosis is much better than it used to be. And dying in around a decade instead of a year or so... Well, everyone dies eventually, right? ]

So for now, I'd like to make sure people around me are all right. Which means, of course, that if you must scratch me up a bit, I'd like for you to at least steer clear of the blood, mm?

[ ... Okay, Midnight's not actually looking forward to getting scratched up a bit, but he believes in fair warnings. ]

[catmemes]

[ That earns a bit of a narrow-eyed stare, but considering the pets are still happening, Kai is willing to let a lot of things go. He presses himself firmly into Midnight's fingers, somehow managing to resist the urge to nip. He can learn.

Of course in any other circumstances, something like that wouldn't bother him at all. There are benefits to technically being made of stone. But the reminder of what he's lost does make him grumble irritably. ]

Do you get scratched up a lot that you need to warn people?

[ Or is it just him? ...that would be fair enough, honestly. ]

[unrequite]

Mm? Well...

[ Midnight considers this for a moment. ]

It's more accurate to say that most who take opportunities to put hands upon my person don't actually do so out of spite. And I do confess that I left those sorts of people back home.

[ ... This is a complete non-answer. Midnight realizes this, laughs. ]

So let's say, as of late, no. Those who did already knew that they needed to stay mindful.

[ ... Midnight tilts his head. ]

Except for Miss Popukar, I suppose, but she can't help herself, dear thing.

[catmemes]

[ It's a lot of dancing around an actual answer, though Kai's not exactly sure what he was expecting. It does get Midnight a decidedly dry look, or as dry of a look as he can manage at the moment. ]

You're weird.

[ Says the talking cat. But Kai is well aware of his own weirdnesses. And he doesn't just mean the dodginess, though that's there too. He really doesn't usually get that kind of overwhelming urge to claw at people, but Midnight brings out enough of it that Kai has to wrestle with himself and Midnight's warnings. So that was nice enough of him at least. ]

...but thanks.

[unrequite]

You're welcome. Or rather, I should be thanking you. This is the best cat-petting experience of my life. I rather think I should try to repay you for your patience, somehow.

[ Both a very thoughtful and a very honest comment. Thanking a cat for his patience is very much like thanking a gust of wind for not blowing off one's hat, but Midnight's the type to count his blessings. ]