damned_institute | Day 48: Sun Room [Second Shift]

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Day 48: Sun Room [Second Shift]

Hmph. While this Rude was the proverbial "man of few words," von Karma found more potential use from him than a number of the other patients he had met put together. He would still ask Franziska about the man... as well as the other people he had learned that she had been spending time around. Many of them were utter fools, especially that Kibitoshin.

He ignored the nurse as she insisted that he stay indoors, lest he "catch his death of pneumonia." Already having planned to meet his daughter in the Sun Room, the prosecutor had no intention of spending the cold, gloomy morning in the Courtyard anyway.

It appeared that he was the first to arrive in the spacious room. Gray light from the overcast sky filtered in through the glass windows high above, making it somewhat more difficult for von Karma to peruse the notes on the bulletin board as he awaited Franziska's arrival.

The lines in his forehead furrowed as he saw Kibitoshin's note to her, asking her whether she was "feeling better." What made that blasted oaf think that it was any of his business how she was doing or to worry about her?! She had been raised to take care of herself, damn it! ...Did Franziska say or do something that would lead the clumsy idiot to think otherwise? This, among other things, von Karma would ask her.

After removing his daughter's response to his original note from the board -- and noting that Ms. Taura had yet to reply to his other note -- he sat down at a table in a remote corner of the room, claiming this space that would afford him and his daughter the most privacy.

Mew?

What was that noise? And what was that tugging sensation at the leg of his pants? He peered down in the direction from which the irritating sound had come and was greeted by a tiny orange kitten that had the mistaken notion that his leg was a climbing post. Infernal creature! One glance at his face, and the furry little nuisance was suddenly at the other end of the room, having cleared it within several skittish bounds. Good riddance!

[Waiting for his Dear Daughter]

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Brainiac 5 would have been happier about the interference of the kitten if he hadn't been trying to work on something reasonably important at the same time. As it was, his sketch was almost ruined and he was sighing in annoyance by the time the stranger interfered and pulled the little creature away.

"Oh, thank you." He smiled slightly in thanks, but his brow furrowed at the mewl from the kitten and its subsequent limpness. "You haven't hurt it, have you?"

While it had been annoying while he was trying to work, it wasn't as though he blamed the animal for that and he certainly didn't want to see it hurt for any reason.

Hurt it? Mori shook his head and considered putting the kitten down again, but decided against it. No doubt, the little thing would immediately leap upon the boy's work again and make it all for naught. Instead, he lifted it up and placed it in the crook of his arm where it began purring for some reason. "How mother cats hold them."

That should explain what he was doing. Now to see if the boy's work was completely ruined or if he was going to stop and allow the kitten down again. Because it definitely wanted down by the way it was beginning to squirm and try to roll out of Mori's arms. Pointing to the kitten, Mori pointed back to the ground and then raised an eyebrow at the boy to ask permission.

How mother cats hold them? "Really?" he asked in surprise. Animals weren't common on Colu, and in the Legion he'd never really had the chance to spend much time around them. Not to mention his knowledge of the biological and related sciences tended to be limited to things that would benefit either Colu or the Legion. Animal behaviour wasn't really a topic he had much data on.

The newcomer was also interesting in a different way, at least judging from the way he seemed to favour silence over verbalisation. Most of the people Brainiac 5 knew tended to be the exact opposite, sometimes frustratingly so.

The meaning was clear enough, however. He glanced at the remains of his sketch and sighed, hiding it away under the clean sheets of paper and carefully stashing the entire stack in his notebook. "I'll have to start over later," he said. "So I guess you can put it back down."

Mori nodded, then paused, and shook his head. Cats didn't have hands so saying that what he did was a completely accurate representation wasn't really true. Instead, he pointed at his mouth and then back down to the kitten's scruff. He figured the kid could understand that much, seeing how it wasn't like cats were unfamiliar to him. Not many knew as much about animals as he did and Mori wouldn't even confess to know that much. It wasn't as if he studied them. He just kind of...knew. Like with the horse and the tanuki and Piyo-chan and a lot of other things. It came with being raised around nature, he guessed.

But since it seemed like he was going to put the papers away for now, Mori leaned over and set the cat down on the floor again. The furball immediately took off for the boy, struggling to figure out how to climb up into his lap. Apparently, something about him was very interesting.

Before he continued the conversation though, Mori glanced over to where Mitsukuni was to note his demeanor and finally relaxed. He was still smiling and the girl was apparently being kind to him, if the introduction of Usa-chan was any indication. Turning back to the boy in front of him, Mori pointed to himself again and said, "Mori. You?"

Mori might actually manage to be less talkative than Dag Wentim, which was something of a feat in Brainiac 5's experiences. At least when Stone Boy did speak, he could articulate more than one or two words.

Also curious was the kitten's apparent interest in him, despite how much it had been purring at Mori a moment ago. Maybe it was something to do with the fact he was seated on the floor, while Mori wasn't? It was about the only reason he could think of. Not that he minded the attention in the slightest, now that his notes were away anyway.

"I'm Brainiac 5," he said, tentatively patting the little creature as it successfully climbed into his lap. "But you can call me Brainy, if you prefer." Especially if the older boy preferred single syllable words.

Mori smiled a bit when he noticed the boy taking interest in the cat. Animals were noted for being very therapeutic, and it was just good to see that he wasn't angry at the kitten for messing up all his hard work. Which made Mori wonder just what he had been doing and how he'd managed it. He was no expert, but Mori was pretty sure the lines the kid had been drawing were perfectly straight. It was nearly impossible to draw a perfectly straight line without at least some form of assistance. Or so he'd thought. Maybe he was wrong?

When Brainiac 5 introduced himself, the name clicked somewhere in Mori's head and his eyes searched the boy for any severe injuries. At the moment, he seemed to be alright. Brainy was much easier to say and so Mori nodded in agreement to that nickname. He had, after all, given his own nickname, too, since most people here would be hard pressed to pronounce his full name.

Moving over, Mori sat on the ground, crossing his legs as he watched Brainy interact with the kitten. "You like animals?"

Brainiac 5 cocked his head to the side, frowning slightly as Mori looked at him oddly. It was almost like he recognised the name, though the Coluan was certain they hadn't met. But it was equally possible that the other boy recognised it from the information board, since he'd had little reason to keep it to himself. Either way, whatever reason Mori had for studying him so intently he didn't feel the need to verbalise, so Brainiac 5 chose not to comment.

Instead he continued patting the kitten carefully, stilling the movement when it suddenly rolled over to cling to his hand with pin-prick claws. His eyes flicked back up to Mori at the question.

"Do I like animals?" he repeated. He looked back down at the kitten, frowning in thought for a long moment. "I never really thought about it. I haven't exactly had much exposure to them." His eyes lost some of their focus and his fingers moved, rubbing the soft fur absently. "...I had a pet a long time ago."

He seemed to be accustomed to petting animals, even if he didn't like them. Mori didn't mind people who didn't like animals. He didn't exactly understand them, but he didn't mind them at all. Not everyone appreciated having tanuki follow you through school or having chickens roosting in your hair. Then again, most normal people didn't have that sort of thing happening to them.

Mori reached out and ran his finger under the kitten's chin, smiling faintly as it purred before he pulled his hand back. Best to let Brainy enjoy his kitten. Besides, he could see two more of them coming out of the corner of his eye and he knew they were probably going to claw their way up his back soon enough. In preparation, Mori leaned forward just enough that the cats wouldn't have to dig their claws in very much. "What kind?"

"A monkey, actually," Brainiac 5 answered. "He was--" A lab animal. "It's complicated." He shook his head, smiling slightly as two more kittens wandered over and started attempting to climb the larger boy.

"Besides," he said, "it was a very long time ago. It's probably for the best not to think about it anymore." It wasn't a memory he particularly wanted to revisit in a hurry either. Instead he indicated the new arrivals with his free hand. "You seem to have something of a knack with them. Do you have a lot of experience working with animals?"

A monkey? That was a bit unexpected. Not many people kept monkeys for pets unless they were for show, and Mori didn't think Brainy was the organ grinder on the sidewalk type. He was going to ask for clarification, but the way Brainy seemed to withdraw shut that down immediately. He didn't want to make the boy sad; not on their first meeting.

Thankfully, the arrival of the cats - both sensed by smell and then by the feeling of claws digging into his clothes - gave them a welcome distraction. Mori leaned forward a bit more and one of the cats, a little tiger tabby, made it onto his shoulder. The other eventually gave up and flopped over, crying by his knee. Mori picked it up and placed it in his lap, petting the tabby on his shoulder absently. "Wild type," he said in response to Brainy's question. The cats were purring and he almost felt like closing his eyes, but didn't. He needed to explain what he'd just said. "I like animals. They like me." He shrugged slightly. "Don't know why."

The distraction was definitely appreciated, especially considering the previous topic. Brainiac 5 nodded, watching the two new arrivals to their group and smiling faintly as his own kitten suddenly scrabbled upright and propelled itself in a series of energetic jumps to go and playfully attack the one in Mori's lap.

"That's interesting," he said, watching the scuffle just as much as the other patient. "An innate ability with animals like that. I know several others in my home dimension with strange gifts of their own as well." Though they were generally geared more towards property damage than a perchance to get along well with animals.

He frowned a little in thought. "I don't suppose it has any affect on the nocturnal animals?"

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Day 48: Sun Room [Second Shift]

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