A Sophisticated Approach.

[Felis Verrutum]

[SIZE=14.6666666666667px]It had been weeks since Felis had seen Sha’do, he simply hadn't had time to seek her out. According to his back-of-the-napkin-math (He had long ago purged his room of clocks with sophisticated methods. A ‘Hammer’ being one of them) it was nearly seven hours before she would have even thought about waking up. It was the only time he had though, and there was no way he would let himself stay away from the only person who didn't treat him as someone who needed to be pitied. With a shaking hand he reached up, and hit the girls door. He waited for a few moments before hitting the door again, louder this time. Would she even open the door? If not, he'd just have to wait another few weeks before he could attempt to talk again.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6666666666667px][member="Sha'do"][/SIZE]

 

[Sha'so]

Sha'do stared at her door with a disgruntled growl. Who in their right mind was banging on her door at this hour?It must have been important because it merited a second knock. Sha'do yawned with a languid stretch, then grabbed one of her robes folded neatly on a table beside her bed. After being a slave for so many years, she had gotten used to wearing very little when she slept, a habit that continued after arriving at the Academy when she learned that pajamas had a tendency to ruffle her fur uncomfortably during sleep. But she at least had the sense to put drape the dark, voluminous robe around her shoulders as she padded over to the door to answer it. As the door swished open, Sha'do blinked up at her visitor. Felis? What was he doing here at this hour? She offered him a small smile and a wave, then stepped aside to let him in.

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

"Ah, hi Sha'do. I've had a bit of time troubles, this is the only bit of free space I had. Sorry if I woke you..." Felis said softly after stepping in. He cocked his head as he looked her up and down. Why exactly was she wearing a robe? I guess it was about ninety percent of what everyone was given when the entered the academy. The other ten being the actual room. He had been wearing a black jumpsuit, oddly enough it had the cowl and tail of a robe. Maybe he had asked for something besides a robe, that had to be it. That was a long time ago... Looking around the room, he saw the bed was a complete mess. So he had woken her...
Oops.

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Sha'do titled her head curiously. Time trouble? Free space? Well, he was an odd one, but that made her smile. Felis could only be Felis, and that was just fine to her. She found her datapad on the table and began to write. 'Why aren't you asleep? It's late!' She handed him the datapad with another yawn.

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

"I don't sleep often... An hour or two a night, tops. I just... Wanted to see you. I can go if you want to go back to bed." Felis said as he read the datapad. His eyes went alert, as if he were showing how awake he was. Now why was she grinning? Had he said something funny? Not intentionally. Was she still sleeping? She sure looked tired. Whatever. He didn't care that she was laughing at him, at least she was laughing.

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Poor kid, only an hour or two at night?! Poor kid? He was probably older than she was, but his eyes still looked so young... Old or young, he still needed more sleep than an hour or two. She reached up to remove the cowl and the jumpsuit so he could get more comfortable. When she let go of her own robe to tend to him, it slipped open to reveal only minimal undergarments, but she didn't seem to mind.

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

"You seem to have dropped something. Not that it ma-" His voice broke into a snicker. Under his more formal clothes he still had a t-shirt and long pants on, he could never sleep in anything less.. "You sleep like that?" He asked after regaining his composure. With a bit of fidgeting he managed to grab and drape the robe over her again. She didn't seem to care either way, but he did. Hey, why not. She was a friend, nothing more. If a friend needed help you would hive it to him right? Anyway. What exactly was Sha'do planning?

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Once he was down to his t-shirt and long pants and she'd folded his clothes, she urged him to sit on the bed, then grabbed her datapad and scribbled out a quick message, 'Yes, I sleep like this, and you will sleep too.' She handed him the message and then removed her robe, folding it neatly and putting it back in the pile of clothes, completely unashamed of standing nearly naked before him. She gestured for him to lay back on the bed, then to make room for her. He wasn't sleeping, yet he slept so well in the forest that day when they took a nap together. Maybe she could help him sleep again?

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

Felis laid back on the bed, resting for a brief second before moving as close the the wall as possible. If he was to take part of her bed, he would take the least amount of it he could. "Now don't expect me to cuddle you all night." He murmured with a slight chuckle. With a sudden jolt he sat up and reached to his folded clothes, he had forgotten to swap his respirator tank. With the fast movements of someone who has a lot of experience doing this he unscrewed his canister and placed it on his folded clothes before screwing in the new one. In the few seconds between canisters he had immediately started to breath faster than he should have. "Eh sorry about that... You know what happens when I don't have this stuff."

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Sha'do nodded and placed her hand on his chest, a faint glow growing where she touched him to help settle his lungs and slow his breathing back down. There, much better... She wanted to tell him he should do this the same time everyday, but she didn't feel like reaching for her datapad now that she was laying stretched out beside him. Also, he said he had trouble with time, so somehow she got the feeling he would have trouble with the concept of 'same time everyday'. So instead of telling him, she simply curled up against him and started purring, the deep, rumbling vibrations moving through both of them to help lull him to sleep.

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

Felis gave a thankful smile as she used her healing to help him once again. How many times had she done that so far? Probably only two or three. It was still more than he could have ever asked for. With a yawn he wrapped his arms around her. Hey, she didn't seem to care all that much, why not? Something in his subconscious told him to start petting the girl. She was just a big cat. The first friendly cat he'd ever seen. Most cats tried to maul him... Probably because he tried to pet them. Maybe this wasn't the best choice... She didn't have claws though, well she probably did. Was there any path of reasoning that this didn't end up with him getting mauled? Probably not. Too late now.

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Sha'do's fur ruffled as he started running his hand down her side. At first, her mind went the wrong direction and she very nearly turned to scratch him, but then she realized he was simply petting her and she relaxed again. Her fur was still a little damp from the bath she had taken before bed, so it felt a little weird, but not bad. After a moment longer, her purr resumed and intensified. Actually, that felt really good...

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

Felis only barely kept in a laugh. She was just a big cat. A soft cat at that. "Keep up that purr and the temple guars will be pounding on your door pretty soon, they'll think you're trying to saw your arm off or something." He stopped petting her as he moved into a more comfortable spot, before flopping her tail over himself. How long would she let him move around without scratching him? Not long if he kept moving her.

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Sha'do laughed softly. That would be a sight to see, the temple guards bursting her door down for a bold and daring rescue only to see a contently purring Cathar. Ooh, although Felis needed to stop moving around, she wanted to sleep! Eventually, she growled softly and nipped him on the arm to reprimand him, not all that hard but definitely enough to get his attention. As soon as he stopped moving, she nuzzled against the spot she'd bitten. Good puppy, now go to sleep!

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

Felis stopped moving, though he continued petting her side. "Stop biting. How can I sleep when you do that?" He wasn't about to start moving after she bit him. Actually bit him. Wha-How? Why? He decided to dish out his own punishment. He went completely still, even stopped betting her. Then with a swift movement he ruffled her fur. Without waiting for her to react he started cuddling her again Moving less this time. Crazy cat, why invite over the one who can't sleep, when you wanted to sleep?

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Sha'do stiffened up, growling as he ruffled her fur. She very nearly struck him for doing that, but then he started cuddling her. She didn't know what to do. The annoyed feline part wanted to scratch him and bolt away, but the friend part of her wanted to tough this out to help him sleep. She settled for turning away from him, sitting up on the edge of the bed so she would have to room to smooth out her fur again. Annoying pup! He was seriously lucky she hadn't hurt him because he was seriously asking for it! With her back turned to him, he could see an uneven texture of the fur on her back and small breaks in the patches of color and striping. Maybe it was difficult to see in the low lighting, but the evidence was there; while the scarring was minimal and hidden under the fur, the pattern of lash strikes across her back was still unmistakable.

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

"It must have been brutal. Being a slave. I would never have made it, hell I'm already a bit nuts. I'd last a day of whippings before I started to gnaw my own hand out of its shackles. You made it though. Tough girl you are." Felis huffed before curling up into a tight ball, tough as nails, and a friend to the bone. Thats what he had tried to be all those years ago. Yet he failed, Sha'do was still the best person he had met at the academy even after going through what she had, it wasn't much. Whippings, being poked and prodded. It was still more than anyone else he had met had ever experienced. He realized he might be making more enemies than he already had by annoying her. It was best to leave her alone, probably. "I think it's best If I just leave... You need sleep."

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

Sha'do looked back at him. Tough girl? No, not tough... She raised her fingers to her lips, tapping them. She had been a fighter, strong willing and assertive, but after her Master had removed her tongue, all that had changed. As she lay in her cell wondering if she would bleed to death or choke on her own blood, something had broken inside her, and the shell that had been left behind that day had not been surviving, but merely existing. It had only been since Valkren had brought her to Ossus that she had started to truly feel alive.

As Felis tried to leave, she placed a hand on his arm. For a moment she looked somber, almost sad, but then she smiled and pounced on him like she had in the forest. With a feline chirp, she nuzzled against his shoulder as she made herself comfortable against him in true kitty fashion.

[member="Felis Verrutum"]

 

[Felis Verrutum]

What the hell just happened? Okay one thing at a time, Sha'do was moving a bit too fast for Felis to keep track of her. She tapped her lips, probably meaning to say that losing her tongue had affected her more than it showed. Then she pounced on him, why? Who cares, he was glad she didn't want him to leave. He smiled and rested his own head on his shoulder, with a tired eye he looked at her. She was sweet, most people would have tossed him out the window. She just weathered the storm. He really was a massive pest. Without noticing he was doing it, he had nuzzled his head against hers. "Night." He murmured with a contented sigh.

[member="Sha'do"]

 

[Sha'so]

"Good night," She 'said', using that neat little telepathy trick Uri had taught. She didn't know if Felis would hear her. Hell, she didn't understand fully how it worked, she didn't know if he had to be receptive to that sort of thing or it just worked by connecting to his mind as Uri instructed, but she hoped Felis heard her. She snuggled deeper and began to purr again, letting her eyes droop as she drew closer to sleep.

[member="Felis Verrutum"]