Day 54: Sun Room

[tightsofmight]

[From here. All your top posts shall be mine.]

Peter entered the Sun Room with a dour expression. Goody, he was the first one here. Fancy that. Pick of the couches was his then. Eeeny meeny miney...moe. Peter stalked over to what he knew from experience was the fluffiest couch in the room and eased himself into its downy soft embrace. Ordinarily he would have just pounced on that sucker, but yeah. His arm was in a sling for a reason. He sighed and wormed his way into a full body sprawl. He didn't care if it was irresponsible of him. This shift's only mission was to remain as still as possible.

Of course, being the first one in here had some stipulations. With great opportunity came great responsibility. Which today, came in the form of a soft meow from below. Then the sound of puncturing fabric, advancing upwards towards him. More meows, independent of one another and even more tiny punctures.

Peter Parker was now officially the cat sitter.

"...Oh hi... lonely kittens," he said uneasily as the first scrambled over the edge of the cushion. It padded towards his face. "No no, kittens don't belong near faces." He gently picked it up and put it on his chest. Two more crawled over the edge.

He had never really had a pet growing up. And he didn't hang out with a lot of people with cats or dogs, either. So of course, he didn't have a good idea of how to properly handle most animals without ticking them off. It looked like he was going to have to make up for lost time now, as the cats' numbers swelled to four. Two were exploring his legs, another batted at a fraying string on his sling, and the first stumbled back towards his face and mewed plaintively. Peter frowned and gave it a ginger pat on the head. That seemed to to the trick. He put it back on his chest again and scratched behind its ears.

"You guys had better not start doing that claw thing on my leg. I can't reach right now, but revenge will be mine if you do."

"Meeeeew!"

"I'm still petting you! Geez."

[For Elle Bishop.]

Comments

sorry for my late

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

And now she was relaxing. Great! That was definitely a step in the right direction here. The woman looked a little like a deer caught in the dilemma of which side of the road she ought to jump before the car crashed into her and she was still a little teary, but she made a valiant effort to follow the introduction with her own.

Ilia smiled in encouragement and nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ritsu. Do you mind if I just call you 'Ritsu?'" She wanted to keep from sounding rude but at the same time she felt she could talk to her contemporary informally.

Giving the other woman's hand a squeeze (actually, Ritsu had pretty big hands for such a delicate-looking woman) Ilia continued on, keeping her voice soft but firm. "Now, as calmly as you can, could you please tell me why you were on the other side of the railing last night?"

OTL;;;; *fails so hard*

[gomenkudasai.livejournal.com]

“No! I-I mean yes! I mean, no, I don't mind at all!” Ritsu sputtered, leaning in and nodding insistently at the kind woman's request – that she already wished to be so familiar with one as lowly as himself was more than he had ever expected. Not that he would ever be so rude as to doubt her compassionate nature, or the sincerity of her gesture – he was simply touched that his utter uselessness and the danger his unremarkable self had put her through had not driven her to avoid him, as he was sure he deserved.

The young man gulped softly, wide eyes trained on Ilia as she spoke – that firm tone, and the hand that still gently grasped his, were enough to keep any of his usual meltdowns from breaking through the surface. Instead, those emotions were held back, showing as nothing but the occasional quiver in his voice and a shimmer of tears in his already wet eyes.

Ritsu looked away at Ilia's question, reasonable as it was – a very different sort of sadness overtook his delicate features, one that seemed to have no relation to the comically instinctive self-deprication he usually displayed. There was a distinct pang of loneliness in his averted gaze, and beneath that, the ache of guilt. Guilt that he always carried, for merely existing, but that stung even more as he remembered the thoughts that had driven him to the railing that night...the wish that his cousin was still here, suffering with him, so that he wouldn't be alone.

He took a careful breath before he answered, his tone soft, his eyes still turned away. “Someone...very dear to me here...my cousin, actually...she went home yesterday. She's gone.”

S'okay /pats <- has no room to talk/also fails orz

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

Well, as awkward as that had been, introductions had been taken care of. Now on to harder matters. At least Ritsu seemed to be gaining a grip on herself. Ilia was starting to think that perhaps the other woman did have some sort of nervous disorder. All the more reason to remain firm and logical but gentle.

Ilia ducked her head, still trying to remain in Ritsu's peripheral vision. She was no expert on consolation, but remaining a presence for Ritsu might help her feel less alone.

Her eyes turned compassionate at hearing about her lost loved one. "I know. It's hard, isn't it?" Ilia nodded, patting the top of Ritsu's large hand. "But that's no reason to give up hope, you know. You gotta stay strong, for her sake."