OOM: Christmas dinner with Pyrrha and Egil

[ostro_goth]

[[Ctd. from here.]]

Teja opens the door, laden as he is.

His usually comfortable, creatively untidy room is still that -- there is even Ferdinand the cat, sprawling all over Teja's bed, fast asleep. There are simply two new doors, one of them leading to a kitchen that provides all the modern comforts and appliances as well as a space to comfortably sit and eat, the other leading to Egil's room in Loki's apartment on the 12th floor.

One better should not think about how that works.

Comments

[ostro_goth]

"A pirate?" Teja says. "I thought you said vampire?"

[scarred_grin]

"He's both," she says. "Used to be a navy sailor, then got turned, then was a privateer I guess, and now he lives in a floating pirate city that's like a thousand ships and boats and things, all tied together with bridges between them, and it's like any other city except it's on the ocean and it moves. He's in charge of one of the districts there, and his ship glows. He said he'd take me to see it sometime, that and his art collection."

[ostro_goth]

Teja takes off his collar with one hand, still holding on to Pyrrha with the other, and shifts back to his usual form, not letting go.

"It sounds like a good place to go, adventuresome and colourful," he says. "And he is one of Ganymede's lovers?"

[scarred_grin]

"Yeah, and..."

She taps her forehead. "Apparently they're really close too, he gave him tongue lessons--really? Not a euphemism. He's got a snake-tongue, and if you can shapeshift, you can give yourself one and walk around licking things and looking cool. So weird."

She's mostly just amused.

[ostro_goth]

"As with the Nobodies," Teja says, "I should not be astonished at anything whatsoever, with him and those that are his friends and allies."

Pause.

"Is Egil supposed to be asleep in his chair, with a cat on the table," he then says, looking around her, "or is he merely drowsily fascinated by Ferdinand licking his paws?"

[scarred_grin]

"He's getting his pudding for breakfast, I guess," she says, grinning as she gets up. "Or he'll end up face-first in it. Presents tomorrow too--it's been kind of a long day for him. C'mere, puppy. Maybe the cats will sleep next to you--would you like that?"

[ostro_goth]

The cats would like it, to judge from how they instantly mill around Pyrrha's feet.

Teja gets up as well, to clear things off the table that they no longer need.

[scarred_grin]

"I'll leave the door open for them," she says, and carries Egil off to his room.

She changes him into his skeleton-patterned pajamas, and puts him in his bed. He settles in contentedly, already mostly-asleep; she tucks him in, kisses him on the forehead and then returns to the kitchen, leaving the door slightly open on her way out.

[ostro_goth]

The cats follow her straight away, and casually stay with Egil. Pudding isn't interesting for them, anyway.

[scarred_grin]

It's very tasty pudding, though. And skull-shaped, which just makes it better--but cats don't much care about the shape of their food.

"I hope they don't try to pester him to feed them, in the morning," she grins as she returns. "He kinda can't. Unless he changes shape to get out of his crib, and then back again to--well, he's got opposable thumbs but he doesn't know how to use them well yet. We're still safe."

[ostro_goth]

Teja is putting things in the sink, and turns back to her as she speaks.

"We are safe a little bit longer," he says. "Before he starts pulling things off tables, and hitting his head on corners."

[scarred_grin]

"Or he starts doing the cat thing where they get up on tables and just push everything off because they can," she says. "Do you know why they do that? I've always wondered. I mean, sometimes it's to play with whatever they knock down, but sometimes they just do it and leave it there."

[ostro_goth]

"They like things on the floor," Teja says. "Left to their own devices, they will cover floors in things, small shredded things, mostly. Bare floors seem unnatural to them. Imagine what we would feel if everything was hanging from the rafters on strings: - that would feel unnatural to us, as well."

[scarred_grin]

"I'd actually like that, I think," she says. "Pyrrha's Adventures in Stringworld! That's gonna be the least cat-friendly, most cat-baiting clothing line ever. I'll keep it in my room."

[ostro_goth]

"It is interesting to imagine," Teja says.

[scarred_grin]

"We're doing a men's line too," she says. "And kids--they're getting a goth-friendly line that isn't fussy or hard to move around in or wash, because kids do things and get messy. But a men's line also, and they'll need jewelry too. I got just the model."

[ostro_goth]

"Ganymede, or that vampire?" Teja guesses.

[scarred_grin]

"Ganymede might do it, but I don't want to make him feel weird. The vampire would absolutely do it, long as we only needed him at night. He makes really good faces. You should see the sketches I did."

[ostro_goth]

"You can show me," Teja says. "Tomorrow. For now, let us clear the dishes away and then go to bed?"

[scarred_grin]

"Pudding for breakfast for everybody," she grins. "We should find somewhere safe to put those collars, so nobody ends up getting into them by accident."

[ostro_goth]

"Indeed; we might put them into the chest where I keep my harps," Teja says. "They must be safe from the cats."

He has learned that.

[scarred_grin]

"They can stay in the wooden box, but I don't want anybody getting into the box. Like, somebody with opposable thumbs who will soon be getting into everything once he's able to walk."

[ostro_goth]

"How about the box inside the chest?" Teja suggests.

[scarred_grin]

"That works," she nods. "Does the chest have a lock or at least a latch that babies can't open? Uh, and hinges that... they have those hinges that can't close quickly, that way kids can't get hit by lids slamming shut. But if it locks and he can't get into it by himself, we should be okay there."

[ostro_goth]

"It locks," Teja says. "Of course it does -- it keeps my musical instruments safe from all kinds of trouble or interference."