Fifth Floor Common Room [evening]

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

Rilla was knitting a scarf (which she'd tell you if you enquired. Which you might. It wasn't a terribly successful scarf) and mulling over a poster she'd seen about the student council elections she'd seen oh so handwavily in the halls.

She wondered how politics worked in America and if she'd finally have to figure out the difference between a Democrat and a Republican. But for now, there was knitting.

Really bad knitting.

Comments

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

Lion-o poked his head into the common room, as if he was looking for someone specific. "Oh, hi," he said, spotting Rilla. "I don't suppose you've seen a girl named Momoko?"

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

Rilla shrieked. "Oh dear heavens!"

Well, that was certainly an inauspicious beginning.

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

Uh oh.

"Don't be afraid!" said Lion-o, holding his hands up to show that they were empty. "I'm just another student who happens to not be human. I've never harmed anyone. You can ask around."

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"Are you an alien?" Rilla quavered. "From a...giant cat...planet?"

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

Lion-o considered his words carefully. "Yes, I am an alien, though I don't really think of myself as one," he said. "And the people from my planet are all cats, except for the snarfs, of course. Though they might resemble Earth cats in a way..."

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"Snarfs?" Rilla repeated. "Is that really a word?"

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"It is, at least where I come from," said Lion-o. "They used to share the same planet with us. They're a different type of alien that are a lot closer to your planet's cats, but they can speak and walk upright. They tend to work as caretakers. I have one that used to be my nanny when I was little."

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"If I told Susan that someone else's nanny was a talking cat, she'd have me committed to an asylum," Rilla said, eyes wide.

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"Maybe you shouldn't tell her, then," said Lion-o, looking rather amused. "Who's Susan?"

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"My nanny before I was far too old to need one," Rilla replied. "She's now our cook and housekeeper."

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that sounds just like Snarf!" said Lion-o. "He came to Fandom with me initially, but then he went back home to help out, and they keep finding more reason for him to stay. Besides, I've been here for two years now. I really don't need anyone taking care of me."

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"Does he cook?" Rilla asked. "Susan sends baskets from home because she thinks Yankees can't bake a cookie."

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"He does! But he doesn't try to send me food, since I work at the diner in town. I get all the burgers and milkshakes I want," said Lion-o.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

It was really not polite of George to stare. She should be used to weirdness by now, what with having a friend with green skin, and a roommate whose face was apparently on fire. So it was less of a stare and more of an extended double take.

And then she was clearing her throat and doing her best to seem totally like she hadn't been staring. "No?" she said. "I ... don't think I've ... met her."

She refrained from asking if Momoko was a cat-person, too.

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"Hmm, maybe I should just call her cell phone. I know she's living on this floor," said Lion-o. The staring didn't bother him that much. He was quite used to it.

"My name is Lion-o, and I live two floors down from here," he said, trying to be polite. "Are you a new student? I don't believe I've seen you around."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"I'm George," she said, finally managing to not stare at him, hi, a little tact please. "I'm on the fourth floor. With Jono?"

In case he knew Jono. Hey, maybe he did. Small school and all.

"Yeah, I'm new," she added. "Still ... trying to adjust to everything."

Like cat-people and a roommate whose face was on fire. Shit like that.

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"It can be a little difficult," said Lion-o. "I wasn't prepared when I arrived to find that everyone else was human. It took some getting used to."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"I can see where that would be ... a shock," George said. "I was ... the other way? Not expecting the ... non-human side of things."

Which he had probably already grasped, from the staring.

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"They should put a warning or something in the brochure," said Lion-o with a slight smirk. "Of course, if my father had seen that, I'm not sure that he would have sent me away."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"Your dad sent you here?" George asked. "I just ... got a letter saying I'd been accepted. I didn't apply. I don't know who applied for me."

When she found out, they were going to be punched.

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"He thought I needed to grow up and learn some responsibility," said Lion-o. "Guess he got more than he bargained for, since I've doubled in height and was holding two jobs in town for a while."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"Parents always say that," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Two jobs? Where did you work? I seem to be taking care of Bob-chan, the squishie machine."

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"I work over at Luke's Diner on Wednesdays, and I used to work at Café Fina for a while, until I picked up some extra classes and had to drop one of my jobs so I had enough time to study," said Lion-o.

It was a shame that Lion-o's father wasn't around any longer to see just how responsible he'd become.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"You did?" George asked. "Do you miss the extra money?"

Because she'd probably fail before she gave up money. But then, she had already graduated, so she wasn't sure why the fuck it mattered if she passed her classes now.

Plus, well, she was dead. Not like she needed that diploma anyway.

[lordofthecats.livejournal.com]

"Not really. I didn't have much use for it, besides sending it to help out people at home," said Lion-o. "Besides, the classes just keep on getting harder."