fandomhighdorms | First Floor Parlor, Saturday Afternoon

All right, Eleanor hadn't had as much sleep as she might have liked. Those stolp bugs had been singing Fri-ee-day, Fri-ee-day continuously, and the cat had been nervous about her new surroundings, insisting on sniffing every last corner and climbing up to the highest possible perches. And then she would settle down and nuzzle against Eleanor and nap.

Eleanor could have watched the kitty for hours. And had, to be honest. In the wee hours of the night, she had wrapped herself around the warm fuzziness and stolen a few hours' sleep herself.

Soleil -- that was the cat's name, you see, Soleil -- had been a bit upset by the ferry crossing, but seemed to be settling in to their new temporary home just fine. The house was full of interesting smells, and shadows to chase.

It was weird, how Eleanor felt like she could hear someone tsking at her. Probably just the wind. But Eleanor herself was in a lovely mood, and the parlor was so very, very open.

(Is there a tag for the first floor parlor? I couldn't find one. ANYWAY OPEN!!!)

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Joker chuckled. "Nah, probably not. I'm a new person. I'm only interesting if I'm ignoring her. It's all right." He gave Eleanor a shrug. "I don't stand up much, and I'm not really a cat person. I give it ten minutes before she's on my lap."

If he needed help ignoring the cat, perhaps Eleanor ought to get off the floor and join him on the couch. (Kissing him on the cheek was just saying hello.)

"I didn't know cats were drawn to those who resisted them," she laughed. "Why aren't you a cat person? I've just discovered I am one, which means this might be a fundamental incompatibility for us."

Soleil, emboldened by the humans not looking at her, was going to inch closer and sniff at Joker's pant leg.

"I didn't say I minded having them around," Joker answered, stretching out his arm on the back of the couch behind her. "There's no compatibility problem here, I promise. I'm just... I dunno. They're nice to have around, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get one of my own, you know?"

"Why not?" Eleanor asked. "She's clean, she's fuzzy, she purrs, and she can kill any rodents that might come by. I feel I must understand your cat vendetta before I can decide if our relationship will be negatively affected."

Soleil was now rubbing her face on the edge of Joker's pant leg, and moving on to sniff at the bare skin below. People smelled interesting.

"Vendetta? Oh, yes, I've got SUCH a dislike for them you don't even know. No cats for me, no sir!"

Which didn't stop him from leaning over and reaching a hand down for Soleil to sniff.

"I dunno. They're no good for conversation, and they can't feed or clean up after themselves. That's all."

Soleil froze when the human moved, but after she waited several seconds, seemed to decide that all was safe. Ish. Joker's hand was getting the sniffing of his life.

"So ... they're not as ideal as, say, pyjaks," Eleanor teased.

"Oh, you did not!" Joker sighed. "Look, just because head-trauma-me had a space monkey doesn't mean that any sane, rational person would keep one as a pet. They belong in zoos or something. Cat's aren't smelly, aren't needy, don't steal things you like... I didn't say I didn't like them, just... I dunno."

He slowly reached up a little, to see if Soleil would let him scritch her head.

Hey, now! She might be sniffing his hand, but that wasn't an invitation to pet her. She was now going to pull back and sniff his hand even harder.

"It's a shame," Eleanor sighed, trying to look serious. "I had thought our relationship was going rather well, too."

Yeah, that was what he thought. If she didn't want to jump straight into being petted, Joker wasn't going to force her. She'd come around. He lifted his hand back and sat normally again.

"It was, too," Joker sighed back, shaking his head. He looked down at Soleil. "Do you hear that, Baby? She's breaking up with you."

Eleanor leaned a bit over Joker's lap so she could see Soleil's eyes.

"Don't mind him," she said airily. "He's grumpy because he just got dumped. Yes, he is. Who's a pretty kitty?"

Well, will Eleanor leaning over Joker's lap, he could lean in and get close to her face. He looked at her with very big, very sad eyes.

"Meowwwwww?"

He was getting a kiss for that. And after the kiss, she was going to tug his ball cap off and try scritching behind his ear.

"Are you offering to be my kitty, now?" she laughed. "That position's been filled. I can't think of where I can fit you in."

Joker grinned and leaned into the scritches. "Anywhere you want me, Baby. Anywhere you want me."

Joker earned himself a dirty look for that one. She ought to have known he could make that dirty. Wasn't that part of his expertise?

Just as she began a rather cutting remark, Soleil saw fit to leap up onto the couch, next to Joker's lap. She glanced between his eyes and his face repeatedly before deciding to hesitantly walk onto it.

"She is contesting your right to oust her," Eleanor grinned.

"Told you it would happen," Joker pointed out. He gave Eleanor a smug smirk and reached out slowly to pet Soleil. "She knows we're gonna get along just fine."

Eleanor leaned over to rest her head on Joker's shoulder. It was rather cozy, sitting like this, wasn't it?

"She, like all females, has fallen prey to your charms," she said softly.

It was. It really was.

"Well, I'm just irresistible like that," Joker answered. "Also, she's a very friendly cat."

"She needs time to warm up to people," Eleanor explained. "She's a little hesitant. I feel like she's affection-starved but scared to trust."

Yes, she was aware of the parallels.

First Floor Parlor, Saturday Afternoon

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