Rainy Days (OPEN)

[shizoo]

Pumpkin watched the byplay between the adults with interest. I was fascinating the see the differing attitudes. Maybe being different wasn't so bad. . Miss Riven & Mr Scrapper had been very nice, but she didn't really click with either of them. Pumpkin gave a soft sigh. Her Momma had always said, she was too serious for her own good, but someone had to take care of the things her flighty Momma hadn't. [/i]
She had to admit, she admired each of the adults for a different reason, Miss CJ because she didn't take any guff from anyone, Mr Shawn for his caring nature & Mr Alonzo. . well Mr Alonzo appealed to the serious side of her nature. He had manners-even when provoked & she liked that.
"Can't you all teach me something?" she asked, wondering if they could put their personal issues with each other aside to help her.[/color]

[morgisback]

CJ groaned and motioned with her hands, "Jesus f**king Christ."

Shawn glares at CJ, then kneeled to be eye level with Pumpkin, "Well, remember I'm going to be finding your father..."

CJ snorted and looked at Alonzo. "What will you be doing? Walking around doing nothing some more?"

[eliaza]

Alonzo flattened his ears. What was this queen's issue... "Doing my best to keep you all safe," he said in his low, dangerous voice that meant he was about to seriously lose his tenper if he didn't get out of here soon. "And you? Will you be teaching Miss Pumpkin or not? If so, I'll leave you two to it, provided you don't try anything foolish."

This had been fun as long as they were all standing around shouting at each other. Now things seemed to have calmed down somewhat, and it was getting boring. Deciding she had seen and heard enough, Oswin toppled out from behind the pile of rubbish that had been hiding her as she eavesdropped. "Keep us all safe," she giggled, landing right in the middle of them all, "that's funny. Didn't your mummy ever teach you you can't be everywhere, Mister Lonzikins?" She looked at CJ. "Don't do anything foolish, he says, but you're going to teach Pumpkin by taking her down some deep, dark alley and telling her to go fight some pollicles, right?" She grabbed one of Pumpkin's paws. "Why do you wanna learn to fight anyhow? You should come with me and learn how to spy. It's much safer and sneakier, and you can have fun at the same time without getting all gross and wounded!"

[morgisback]

".......what the shit is a 'pollicle'?"

Shawn sighed, "Its a dog."

"Oh..." CJ shrugged and glanced at the new girl, "Weren't you listening? She wants to protect people, not a glorified eavesdropper."

Shawn looked the new girl over. He could have sworn he had seen her somewhere before. He turned to CJ, as she spoke again. "And isn't the purpose of a spy to not be caught? Instead of sliding into a conversation where she didn't belong and announce, 'Look at me I'm a super cool awesome spy!'" She glared at Alonzo and Oswien. "What is it with you assholes and eavesdropping and butting into conversations?"

[shizoo]

This was getting a bit ridiculous. Miss CJ was taking her hostility to a whole new level. She looked at Mr Shawn & nodded, a small note of wistfullness in her voice. "I would like to know who my father is. ."
The tiny princess was about to answer Miss CJ, resigned to the idea that she was going to be annoying her yet again. She opened her mouth & started to speak when she heard a crash & saw a new cat come tumbling out of the junk.
Startled she looked & saw a young queen-older than herself, but far from an adult. She gave a small smile when the little queen grasped her paw & entreated her to come be a spy.
Then her attention jerked away again when Miss CJ weighed in again with her rather loud opinion. Really that was enough. Feeling a bit protective of the other young female, Pumpkin unconciously put herself between CJ & Oswin-not taking an aggressive stance, but a firm one.
Softly, she addressed the elder queen. "Miss CJ, I have no wish to be rude, but that is enough. She didn't mean any harm, & it was hardly a private conversation. While I would appreciate it if you would like to teach me, you certainly don't have to."
She gave the larger queen a long solemn look. "Not to mention Mr Shawn & Mr Alonzo have both been very polite & helpful. My Momma always said it was important to be polite."

[eliaza]

Alonzo couldn't help smiling towards Pumpkin. But it was almost a sad smile. The little queen acted so much like an adult, and he hated to think what had happened in her life to make her grow up so quickly.

"Yeah," Oswin said to CJ, standing next to Pumpkin, "didn't your mum ever teach you to be polite? I don't even remember my mum, but you don't see me shouting at everyone."

Alonzo sighed. This kit, on the other hand, he wished would grow up quickly. "Oswin, is the way you're speaking polite?"

Oswin shrugged. "I was raised by henches, how should I know?" She grinned cheekily up at CJ.

[morgisback]

Shawn looked at them, then groaned. No, she didn't bring up mothers. Parents were a big no no....

CJ turned and looked at the new queen. "No. She didn't. She was too busy stoned off her rocker to even notice me. Hell, she even let a bookshelf lay on me for an hpur because she was so stoned she couldn't even move. Or notice that for 9 years my father was using me like a dick mitten. So sorry, manners weren't on my childhood curriculum."

[morgisback]

(Please realize she said the....actual word.)

[shizoo]

Despite mr Shawn's groan, Pumpkin wasn't afraid of standing up for her Momma. Her Momma may have been considered slow, but she was beautiful, wise & loving.
Despite being careful to not let it show on her face, she did feel sympathy for poor Miss CJ though. Momma had explained that sort of bad thing to her as soon as she was old enough to understand. Momma had also tried to help any female or male for that matter who'd been hurt that way.
She had also explained that some didn't want to be helped, they were too angry & the anger helped them deal with things. Miss CJ certainly had anger!
She could tell, however, that Miss CJ had a softer side she didn't let show often, & felt confident the queen may bluster & swear, but wouldn't actually hurt her or this new young queen.
Turning her solemn gaze to Oswin, she realized what she'd said-the young queen had been a hench? Maybe she'd known Momma?
"Did you know a queen named, Purreeta?" she asked excited. "My Momma was a hench till she escaped with the help of a big brave tom!"
The little princess had always loved that story, despite the sad look in her mother's eye when she told it. She never knew what had seperated Momma from her savior, & she'd hesitated to ask, because she didn't want to hurt her worse.

[eliaza]

Most of CJ's brief telling of her "family life" went over Oswin's head. She still didn't feel any sympathy for this queen who seemed to hate everything. But before she could think of something even uglier to say, Pumpkin asked her about living with the henches. Oswin frowned in concentration. "Purreeta...Purreeta..." she muttered to herself. "Do you remember a Purreeta, Daisy?...Yeah, me neither." She shrugged, giving Pumpkin an apologetic look. "I don't remember her. We must've not been there at the same time. Or maybe I did see her and didn't know her name. I bet she's nice, though," she added, brightening. "Where is she now? Does she live here too? Nah, she can't, I'd have noticed, I spy on everyone..." Suddenly a thought occurred to her, and she looked at Alonzo. "Hey! You were with the henches awhile, right?"

Alonzo forgot everything else that was going on as Pumpkin mentioned her mother's name. Standing there, stunned, he barely heard anything more the two queen-kits were saying. It couldn't be the same Purreeta, there was no way, that would mean he was a... That Pumpkin was... He didn't dare complete the thought. Struggling to stifle the myriad emotions threatening to take over him, he tried to pay attention when Oswin spoke to him. "What? I... Yes, I did use to be with the henches..." He broke off, not knowing how to even begin to say anything further.

[morgisback]

Shawn had been a cop cat for a long time. He had been trained to pick up on littke things like lies and people trying to gloss over subjects. He eyed Alonzo, crossing his arms. "Did you meet anyone by that name, Alonzo?"

[eliaza]

Oswin gave Alonzo an odd look. "Say, whassamatter with you? We're just askin' simple questions! Pumpkin wants to know about her mummy."

Alonzo stared at Shawn uncomprehendingly for a few moments, before finally pulling himself together enough to answer. "I... Knew a Purreeta," he managed, in something between a croak and a whisper.

[Deleted]

The sound of a can tipping over, along with the sound of someone trying to nose the can back into place might draw an eye over at the entranceway. There, one would see a young (not exactly a kitten, but young) black cat trying to move quietly. She has a slight limp, has a slightly grubby nose pinned to the ground, and a small smear of something grey adorns the edge of her left ear, where someone had clipped it flat. A belly that had been shaved roughly a month ago bears traces of a similar grey something, and one paw leaves behind prints of what might be tomato paste. Evidently, she had spent some time near a Thai trash bin recently, as she is accompanied by the scent of spicy peanut sauce. She pauses to glance around and groom some of the accumulated "stuff" out of her short, sleek fur. She doesn't appear to have seen anyone, although her nose sniffs the air alertly.

[morgisback]

Shawn and CJ watched Alonzo for a moment. Shawn had been around these situations enough to know what that croaking sound coming from the black and white Tom. Shawn was about to say something when the can fell.

Both, he and CJ, turnes quickly towards the cause of the sound. CJ made a face, and called out. "Hey, kid!"

[Deleted]

Making a hideous face at the taste, Yin digs in between her toes to clear it of that nasty red goo. At the sound of someone calling (maybe her?) she looks up, tongue still hanging out, head ducked down just a little (as if to evade a swipe). Seeing the two cats looking at her... well, or at least in her direction, she pulls in her tongue and begins to smile. Then, she quickly turns to look behind her - just in case there was some other "kid" back there. (presumably) seeing no one, she turns back to the cats looking at her and smiles even a little more brightly, putting a mostly-cleaned paw back down on the ground. Her tail slide up into a graceful curl as she responds "Hello?" in a friendly American accent. She looks, possibly, as though she were ready to make a new friend. Disconcertingly, she doesn't look ready to either flee or fight.