open } hiding wolves in wicked skins their darkest sides preserved

[krmvgivv]

Who: YOU
Where: Wonderland
When: 11/11 - 11/13
Rating: Will vary a lot depending on the thread
Summary: Catch-all log for anyone who wants to do stuff post-challenges but still during the event.
The Story:

[Congratulations, you solved all three challenges! Now you get to hang out and wait for your friends to also finish. Plus, you still get to turn into neat animals. Have fun!]

Comments

gently pets the kitty

[mandrakes]

[Generally, animals don't like him. The scent of the herbs he carries in a pouch attached to the leather strap across his chest is usually enough to calm a reasonably stupid horse, but cats and dogs aren't so easily fooled. They know he isn't human and they hiss or bark at him while their masters apologise to the man who, to them, looks to be little more than a perfectly ordinary man.

So, when a small black cat hops up onto the chair beside him as he sits in the library, and curls up with an apparent intention to fall asleep, he is.. surprised.

Surprised enough to reach over and give the creature a gentle little scratch on the head with the tips of his fingernails before he returns to his book. He assumes magic, but doesn't think much more of it.

The downside of animals not liking him is that they certainly won't get close enough for that. A shame, really, because he has nothing against animals in the slightest.]

PET ME

[theothermrgray]

[The brief moment when his head was scratched was infinitely pleasurable. The very sensation was wonderful, almost like being massaged by small, gentle nubs. He wished this would go on forever... When it stopped.]

[Dorian looked up to see an elderly gentleman reading next to him, dressed in such a way that could imply he was from an older era. Not that it really mattered at the moment; The important thing was this man was willing to pet a cat.]

[So he jumps onto the man's lap and glances up expectantly.]

[mandrakes]

Ah-- hm.

[Stranger and stranger. Cats don't like him. They don't get this close and they certainly don't jump on his lap. Regis reaches carefully for a bookmark, marks his place and sets his book down, observing the cat for a few moments.]

What an odd little creature. [He muses aloud, rubbing the top of the animal's head, down its neck to the dip between the fragile shoulder blades.] Though I certainly know enough about cats to know I'm going to get no more reading done.

[A cat gets in your lap, you pay attention to it. That's the rule, right?]

But, hmm.. where did you come from?

[theothermrgray]

[That sounds like a fair rule to him.]

[Dorian purrs as he's being rubbed, ignoring the blatant scent of death for now.]

[As a cat, Dorian cannot answer the old man's question. He can only mew.]

[mandrakes]

[Ah, but of course, cats can't talk. Regis can content himself with petting the little thing for now - conversation has never been something he needs to engage in, though he enjoys it.]

I might have owned cats if they liked me at all. [He muses to himself. Ravens liked him, but ravens were.. different.] Most of them are rather too clever to not know what I am. Hmm... [Scratching lightly behind the cat's ear, he chuckles.]

Perhaps you are smarter still, hm?

[theothermrgray]

[Of course, Dorian is smarter than the average cat, but he doesn't want to think too hard right now. The worst thing that could happen would be him suddenly changing back into a human on a stranger's lap.]

[So, no. The cat will not care what you are, Regis. He will simply be petted and scratched and adored.]

[mandrakes]

[Regis takes the time to muse on a few things now that a cat has command of his lap and has rendered him unable to do anything else. For someone as old as he is, too much thinking can be troublesome, but spending a lot of time in ones' own company leaves time for little else.]

I do doubt that you're a cat at all. [He thinks aloud, though he doesn't sound as if he's particularly disturbed by the idea.] But I don't suppose that you can tell me.

[theothermrgray]

[No, he's not. And he won't tell you because he just wants to enjoy being a cat right now. Besides, an animal form offers some anonymity. It's not like Dorian has raven hair as a human.]

[The cat rolls over on the man's lap and purrs loudly. It is relaxed, and you should probably relax too, Mr. Smells-Like-Death.]

[mandrakes]

[Probably, but now the idea that this is not exactly a cat is occupying his thoughts. Though it doesn't keep him from gently rubbing the offered tummy fluff with the cat - or whatever it is - rolls over.

If it looks like a cat and acts like a cat, he can treat it like a cat, until one of those first things is no longer true.]

And I suppose it doesn't matter. [This could be a worse situation, after all.] You seem harmless enough, whatever you are.

[theothermrgray]

[If we were talking about physical battles, Regis would be right.]

[But that had nothing to do with being a cat. Being a cat involves purring when being patted, wordlessly demand more pats, and falling asleep when pats are acquired. So that will be exactly what he does.]

[He starts to fall asleep.]

[mandrakes]

[Ah, alright then. Regis huffs out a quiet sigh through his nose and glances around as if he might find someone to help him with this.. ah.. problem.

A few moments later, he decides that he will not consider it a problem.

He reaches for his book and props it up on the table, leafing through the pages while the cat dozes on his lap.]

[theothermrgray]

[You shouldn't consider it a problem, Regis. You should consider it a gift. It's not every day you get the company of a purring, content cat.]

[Likewise, it's not every day Dorian gets to enjoy being a cat, so he is making the most of this moment.]

/slams through to AC

[mandrakes]

[He doesn't sleep, but he certainly feels like this is one situation where it would be entirely appropriate.

Had he realised at any point that the cat was, in fact, a person... Well, he likely wouldn't have cared at all.]