An Untimely Reunion

[shivvymetimbers]

Characters: Bastien & Trahearne
Date: Backdated to the 14th of October.
Location: The Dreaming Bridge, Trahearne's lodgings.
Situation: A reunion between two star-crossed lovers and the possible harassment of one little bat-kitten.
Warnings/Rating: PG-13


It took no time for Bastien to fetch the wine and the snacks but what took time was for the pirate to calm his nerves. He's back. He's back in this odd little world again after closing his eyes and being lulled into slumber. The last time was here, Bastien had felt oddly tired, almost as if someone sapped all the life out of him. He stretched out on the sand after a good swim and never awoke. His world went blank and everything just faded away into nothingness. Bastien was gone. Erased from this world with a mere thought. Now that he been returned here, Bastien can't help but feel grateful.

While there's still several things he would like to inquire about the Dreaming and Aifaran itself, Bastien settles on seeing his 'pretty fern' first. He raps his knuckles at the door with a merry hum, his amber eyes alight with joy. The pirate looks very much the same with that signature turquoise bandana wrapped around his forehead. However, he went through the painstaking task of combing his absurdly long hair and actually picking up some fresh clothing.

"Trahearne~?" He sweetly calls for him while shifting the basket of goodies he brought upon his arm. That bottle of red is a little heavy. "Open up, luv! I got us food and drink." Bastien is feeling mighty proud of himself.

Comments

[necrocabbage]

Trahearne can't help but smile back at him, still quite charmed despite the topic. When the squeaking begins and interrupts their conversation, he chuckles and shakes his head. "Something like a mouse. I did say I'd introduce you to her."

He keeps talking as he steps away from Bastien and moves over to his bed, getting down on hands and knees to reach under it. "I just don't like seeing you get hurt. Not only could that have ended up being worse, what about your job with the Sentry? If you intend to keep working with them, it doesn't look very good to be trying to rob people."

That's as far as Trahearne bothers to lecture Bastien on the subject, distracted by the small creature that he pulls out from under the bed. It's a batcat that looks like it must've been weaned only a few weeks ago, with fluffy black fur and wide golden eyes, her ears bigger than normal and her claws longer, all the better for her to hang off of Trahearne's fingers by her back feet. She yawns widely, stretching out the wings on her back before folding them in close again, making more little meeps of contentment.

"Duibhe likes to sleep hanging from under my bed. I'll have to find her a better spot once she grows a bit bigger."

[shivvymetimbers]

"Ah, the Sentry." Bastien mutters under his breath. "A bunch of no-names blokes with a stick so far up their arse, that they taste shit." The pirate huffs as he sulks. He's flexible enough to sit in the chair all Indian-style with one leg crossed upon the other. "I can't say I like their lot but the pay is decent." He sighs. "I better get used to being a stiff, I suppose. It's better than bein' poor, I say." Bastien lingers within his thoughts briefly before suddenly peeking at the little critter Trahearne fished out.

"Cat." He blurts out suddenly with a slight twitch. "Cat with wings? Oh no...!" Bastien stares at the little bat at warily as he hops off the chair. He cautiously makes his way around Trahearne while glaring daggers at the little kitten. "Look at the claws on this fiend!" He peeks up at Trahearne with a look of disapproval. "She's gonna be a big one, mark my words. Little kittens always grow into big cats."

His amber gaze lingers upon Duibhe again. "...She doesn't like fish, does she?"

[necrocabbage]

Trahearne was tempted to interject into his grumbling about the Sentry, but decided to leave it be. He didn't interact with them often enough to know if Bastien's complaints had any truth to them; they just seemed like many other town guards that he had encountered around Tyria. Organizations like that never seemed to change all that much.

On the other hand, Bastien's reaction to Duibhe was surprising. After that momentary surprise, tough, Trahearne's smile started to grow, his gaze taking on a mischievous glint. "Why Bastien, did I never get a chance to tell you how much I love cats?" Trahearne moved Duibhe up to his shoulder, where the little batcat perched, gazing over at Bastien inquisitively. "I haven't tried to feed her fish just yet, but she eats fruit and meat in equal measure. She'd probably enjoy a little bit of the food you brought over for breakfast."

[shivvymetimbers]

There's legit shock in those bright amber eyes once Trahearne let's that pesky feline climb onto his shoulder. He gawks at his leafy beau with a look of true horror on his face. "You can't be serious!" He nearly shouts as he inches away from the fiendish feline and her proud owner.

"Much like women, cats are bad luck!" Bastien stares at the bat-kitten like its Davy Jones in the flesh. He refuses to go near it for good reason.

"She's gonna nibble on me in my sleep! I just know it."

[necrocabbage]

Trahearne's amusement was starting to fade, seeing how surprised Bastien was. Did he have some past bad experience with a cat? What else would explain behavior like this? While Trahearne didn't know how big Duibhe might get, for now she was awfully small and helpless. But how small the teeth and claws were had little effect on someone's fears.

"I thought sailors liked having cats on their ships, to keep rats out of their supplies." He offered Bastien a small smile, extending a hand to him. "If she does pick up that bad habit, I'll train her to make sure she doesn't keep doing it. I'm not going to let her fly around and be destructive. I'm not well-versed with bats, but I spent enough time around cats that I'm sure that I won't have many problems with teaching her to behave nicely."

For her part, Duibhe started grooming her face there on her perch, seemingly unconcerned with the shouting.

[shivvymetimbers]

Bastien gets a little flustered when Trahearne becomes all concerned. It's touching but embarrassing at the same time. "To me, cats are bad luck because they always attack me. Normal blokes have no problem with 'em." It's because he's half fish, ferny. Your boyfriend has scales and gills. "I guess they can sense what I am pretty quick. Though, I wonder if this lil bugger even notices." He mumbles as he leans over to poke it gingerly with his finger. Little Miss Thing there doesn't seem to mind the poke but Bastien did get a look. Duihbe is an oddly cute little fuzzy with wings. Bastien admits that mentally.

"She's a baby, so maybe she'll behave." He says with a sigh as he peeks up at Trahearne. "I trust you with her. You seem like the type to like kittens and fluff." Bastien says with a slight smile.

"But now this means I have competition for your affections." That smile of his turns silly.

[necrocabbage]

Duibhe does seem rather interested in sniffing Bastien's finger, almost leaning over too far up until Trahearne reaches up to steady her. "I'm sure I have enough affection for the both of you," he says with a smile, leaning in to kiss his temple. Duibhe meeps in protest at her perch moving around so much, digging her claws in hard enough that Trahearne winces, opting to move her to the table. She immediately toddles over to the basket of food to inspect it, leaving her preoccupied for the moment.

"It's not just that she's fluffy, though that helps. One of the forts the Pact took over in the fight against Zhaitan had a trio of mousers that often kept me company. I greatly valued how well they could cheer everyone up. You're quite good at cheering me up too, Bastien. I'll make sure your trust in my animal training skills isn't misplaced."

That he hadn't done it before was a little bit of an issue... but how hard could it be? Trahearne felt that he wasn't so weak to cat-like animals that he couldn't be firm with Duibhe. Or at least, he thought he wasn't.

[shivvymetimbers]

While Bastien hesitates to admit it, he does fine Duibhe to be rather cute. The little bat-kitten has the cutest little fuzzy face he ever seen. She's cute, very cute. He can see why Trahearne fell in love with those big round eyes and that little button of a nose. Still, she's a blasted cat! Bastien hates cats. They're mangy little fur balls who pretend to be all cuddly one second and then get all crazy when you pet them.

"You ought to gimmie more kisses to prove it." Bastien teases with such a jolly smile upon his lips. Getting a kiss from his ferny-luv is like getting a bag filled with gold. They're a rarity, a delightful rarity that he cherishes dearly. "I'm certain that you'll be able to train your new little buddy---Hey!"

Bastien whirls around once he sees Duibhe sniffing the basket he brought over. He inches over towards the table with a grin since the bat-kitten is pawing at a banana. "Does she like fruits" He questions as he leans on the table.

"If so, I think she wants a snack."

[necrocabbage]

Trahearne was already starting to lean back into him, placing a hand on his hip, when the exclamation made him pause. Sure enough, Duibhe was using her claws to climb up the side of the basket, where she could go after the fruits inside at her leisure. He should've realized that she would go straight for the closest food source, but with Bastien here he'd gotten rather preoccupied.

"Oh yes, she loves fruit. Just a moment." Traherne stepped away from the table to fetch the two small food bowls on the floor, filling one up with water before returning to set those on the table. "Now, what do we have in here?" He scooped Duibhe up with one hand while using the other to pick up the fruit she'd been intent on, one with a banana-like consistency on the inside. Trahearne set her down as he peeled the skin off, as Duibhe makes high-pitched squeaking noises, begging for her breakfast. She zoomed right for her bowl as soon as Trahearne filled it with fruit pieces.

"There we are. I'm sorry, Bastien. She's growing like a weed and is practically ravenous when she wakes up."

[shivvymetimbers]

If nothing else, Bastien is good at being a distraction. Little Duibhe must have sensed this and made a mad dash for the goods. Despite his dislike for felines, Bastien has a new found respect for Duibhe. She'll be a crafty little devil once she reaches of age, the perfect pet for a swashbuckling privateer like Bastien. It also helps that she's cute. He can't stop grinning as he watches Duihbe eat her breakfast. The poor
silly little thing is trying to eat her weight in fruit.

"No need for apologies, Trae-luv." Bastien says with a hint of awe as he keeps his gaze on the little bat-kitten. "I think she's loads of fun." His previous trepidation is gone. "A real cutie even when she's stuffing her face with goodies." He reaches over to the bat cat, his fingers gently brushing over her leathery wing.

"Duihbe is definitely a keeper."