The Nefarious Coffee Pot

lalala~

Joker
Without looking at Harley, I took the coffee from her.
"Don't be rude, pumpkin" I jokingly chided with a short laugh. Harley was all too easy to manipulate, like a little puppet on strings. Just one kind word occasionally, and she'd put up with almost anything the rest of the time. Not even a challenge, really, it was disappointing. But she came in handy when something needed to be done, I'll give her that. "And hm, let me check my schedule..." I paused for half a second "Looks like I'm free for this afternoon"

Mr.Face:

I grinned, without regard for how creepy that would end up looking. "Excellent." This actually worked out brillantly for me, because by some faulty sorting algorithim or something, I actually had nothing productive to do for the next four hours. I had intended to look into OS's codes, to repair that...But this sounded like it would be more entertaining, and productive on a long term scale. "Where would you like to sit then?" I asked. I really had no protocol written for how to segue effectively from introductions to non-violent discussions. It wasn't normally something I had to do. This whole 'two-way conversation with neither group shackled to a wall' thing was...difficult.

Harley
I pout, skirting around the Joker and hanging off his shoulder. "But he's so..." I shrink a little, just peaking over wide eyed. "...grr... And I think he likes me.... He reminds me of the Creeper..." I make a little sound of apprehensive fear, shrinking down further. I didn't need another stalker, for God's sakes!

Mr.Face:

People don't seem to realise that I can hear them. Especially when they're within 10 feet of me. It's somewhat offensive....Correction. It's quite offensive. " I'm so what?" I asked, daring her to finish that sentence. "And I assure you- I don't do affection. Of any kind." I told her, taking care to line up my face to 'look' straight at her. I grinned.

Harley
Eep! I duck behind the Joker. This dude. Was FREAKY. Though Inque's just giggling to herself in the booth. I turn and glare at her, she simply smirks over. Creeper little child...

(Alright. So. Cricket is in CBR right now, in cat form because of FATF...for those of you who don't know. CHAT CROSSOVER. WOOT. For more information on what happened before this scene, click this. The actual scene starts a bit further down the page.)



Cricket

I just curled up tighter into the couch, pretending not to hear Ezra. Why would I want to talk about it? Peter . . . wasn't there anymore, and I wouldn't allow myself to go find him. Ever. Just . . . leave him alone, because that's what he wanted. Aye, forget about him.

I needed to distract myself.

Just . . . stop . . . thinking. No more reminders. He was out of the picture, and all I had to do was toss his memory onto the pile of 'ignore's. Friends were the hardest to toss into that pile. See, I wouldn't have a problem ignoring an enemy encounter, but mix a friend into that equation and the memory digs deep and clings like a stain. So, what to do?

Stop. Thinking.

I slipped off the couch and padded to the door without a word. Peter wasn't anywhere to be seen once I got into the hall . . . damnit, don't worry about him. Just walk aimlessly. Damn, I wish I could whistle when I was a cat. I hummed instead as I slunk through the halls, looking for something stupid to do. Waitpardon . . . there was a door cracked open.

I knew that door . . . there were a lot of people I didn't particularily like in there . . . and the door was cracked open.

That . . . that was a distraction.

I don't remember making the decision, just the numb recognition that for some odd reason, I saw that open door as a way out of my own thoughts. It could have death written all over it, but it was a way out. So, I slid inside, absolutely silent, and found a shadowed spot near a booth.

Aria

I detected a strange presence and glanced towards the door, but nothing was there. Curious, I rose to my feet and poked around a bit with my mind. Ah. There it was. I peeked behind a booth, spotting a kitten.

Awwwww!

"Hey there, little kitty!" I cooed. "You're a cute bitty kitty! Cute little kitty with bizarre energy properties! Yes you are!"

Mr.Face:

I was distracted from my buisiness conversation by the word 'kitty'.

I like animals. They do not repulse me and fill me with homicidal urges like people do. "I would like to see the cat." I stated, walking over to the source of the Cuteness Proximity Generator.

Cricket

Oh bother. I backed away, flicking my tail. What had I gotten myself into? Mr. Face was now seven feet taller than me, and on top of that, he . . . igh . . . had the expression resembling Cuteness Proximity. No. If he pet me, I would bite his hand off.

Igh . . . thinking about that made me gag. Maybe I would settle for bluffing.

Inque
Weird...cat? Weird... Almost as odd as the people who come here. I frown slightly, absent mindedly drawing on my sketchbook. The creeper without eyes left for a little while; Harley looked relieved, probably just because of the fact the Joker would /have/ to pay attention to her now. What. Is wrong. With that woman...
I focus on what i was penciling. A noose. Even more weird. Stupid, cryptic power of mine... I crumple the paper up and toss it on the table.

Aria

"Right here!" I said cheerily to the strange, faceless mortal. I picked up the cat gently. "He's a cute lil' thing! And he has some weird energy surrounding him, too!"

"Pud dahd cad daon," a female voice spoke from a nearby booth. A cloaked figure stood up, turning towards us. "Id has a soul. Animals shud nod have souls. Nod only dahd, bud ids soul is a human!"

"That's mean!" I scolded. "Saying that animals don't have souls!" They didn't have essences. That was the distinction.

"Bud dey don't!" the cloaked figure spoke. "Dahd is why dey are nod sendiend. Bud dis one has a soul bound do id. And de soul is daking de form of a human! Souls are supposed do dake de forms of animals!"

"Well, maybe that's why this little fella has a weird energy!"

Mr.Face:

I did not care about the technicalities. I wanted to pet the cat. "I am indifferent as to the technicalities, the things you are arguing do not alter the fact that this thing is acoustically a cat." I reached a hand out for the cat.
I really wanted to pet the cat.

Cricket

Put.

Me.

Down...!

As much as I hated being tortured, being cooed over was nearly as bad . . .

Waitpardonwhat. She just called me human.

Oh bother.

Mr. Face had a hand out to hold me.

OH DAMN.

Aria

"You wanna hold him?" I asked the faceless mortal, grinning. "He's so cute and fluffy!"

"I'm delling yu," the cloaked figure said warily, "dahd cad is nod du be drusded!"

"I'm an angel, lady," I replied. "I think I can handle a kitten."

Mr.Face:

"No. I am suspending my hand in the air so that I can look like an imbecile." I sarcasmed flatly. "Of course I want to hold it. Cats...Are wonderful things." I allowed my face to melt into a bit of a non-nefarious grin.

Cricket

It's the wierdest feeling . . . one moment, I had no claws. Then I wriggled in her arms, and suddenly, CLAWS. "Don't even think about it." The sentence came out as a low, threatening whine.

Aria

Sarcasm. That sentence had gained the faceless mortal a little respect in my imaginary book of mortals that hold my respect.

Which is very, veeeeeeery little because they're mortals, and mortals are dumb.

"They sure are!" I agreed with a grin, handing him the kitten. "Especially when they're young like this. Animals are always better when they're young. And exponentially cuter!"

Mr.Face:

And then I had the cat in my hand. My grin expanded exponentially, and I was aware that after a certain point, all my grins look creepy.
I pet the cat, cautious to not let it near my suit. Research I had done indicated that cat hair could get all over clothing and make it look...unprofessional.
It was warm. And fuzzy. I could have stayed like that all day, petting that cat. "I know nothing of cuteness...For...Obvious reasons. However...The fuzzyness...Is undeniable." I told the girl.

Cricket

Why.

Whywhywhy. His hands felt like ice running down my back, even with the fur, and I shuddered. This was so wrong. I was being held by Mr. Face. He was petting me. It was a nightmare, please, putmedownputmedown! "Put. Me. Down." Another warning whine. I writhed, clamping down on his hand the next time he made a move to pet me.

Mr.Face:

I was so content with petting this cat that it took me a moment to realise I had been bitten.
Ouch.
Those had been some pretty deep puncture wounds, And I could feel the blood rolling down the side of my fingers. That...Would require some kind of adhesive medical strip or something.
"You really ought to learn some manners." I told the cat as I brought the hand to my mouth, cautiously sucking on my bloody fingers. It would be terribly unfortunate to accidentally puncture them a second time with my own set of teeth.

Aria

"Oh! Somebody really doesn't want to be held," I said. "Maybe you should put the kitty down for now. Though...I really would like to see what's up with that weird aura of his! Maybe if you set him on the table, I could do some deeper magic detection!"

Mr.Face:

Still sucking on my fingers, I complied and placed the cat on what sounded like a table. I wanted to pet the cat again though...It was just so...delightfully fuzzy.
And soothing.
"Does anyone have an adhesive medical strip?" I asked after pulling my fingers from my mouth. Talking and keeping them there would have been hazardous to the point of insanity.

Inque
And right on the table I sit at. I stare at the cat. "You're not a cat, right?" I turn my sketchbook around, showing another noose. "What cat would fear a noose?" What cat would even know what a noose was? I give a small smile

Aria

I held my hand over the cat's head, palm down. Concentrating, I felt for the energies surrounding him. Some strange magic...? Was it even magic...?

"He's wearing a mask," I announced. "Like a biological glamour. I agree with this one; I don't think he's actually a cat." My mouth twitched into a grin. "Shall I remove the mask and see what his face really looks like?"