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 Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:09 pm
 Night had fallen. A light drizzle was falling over Jellicle London, making the air full and heavy. All the streetlamps and headlamps were hazy in the rain. In dark corners, cats - who, unlike Pollicles, have good sense - sheltered from the weather and waited for clearer nights.
Another lorry blared past Ratterclack's hiding place, sending a wave of muddy water surging across the pavement. The black tom didn't flinch. He was well out of the way, and he'd seen the thing coming. Nothing to get upset about, even if it did make a horrible racket. It was better than the mewling of demanding newborns, the fussing of his parents, the cooing of his enchanted siblings.
Perhaps it was best that he was out of the way. The last thing the new babies needed to have around in their first days of life was a bad influence like him.
Turning as best he could in a small space, Ratterclack headed into the shelter of a pile of crates. The ground was drier here than behind the dustbin, and the air less foul with rotting. He was surprised that nobody else had beaten him to this spot - often, on nights like this spent far from the family home, he'd had to face off against grizzled alley cats for the best place to shelter from the rain. Sometimes he thought he won purely on the merit of his markings. Some of these outsiders knew Eskeleta's blood when they saw it.
With his mother far away, Ratterclack felt it was safe to be glad about that. For now.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:09 pm
 Reveretha had roamed farther than was typical for her, and now... now, it was raining. What luck she had on her side tonight! Should have stayed home, should have stayed put, should have stayed on the familiar streets. And now it was dark, now it was raining. She wasn't lost, at least. She was fairly certain she wasn't lost. She just needed to get out of the weather, Reveretha decided. She would wait it out, possibly until morning if necessary, and go home. And everything would, she reassured herself, be fine. She slunk through the narrow alley, looking for some sort of shelter, anything that would get her through the worst of it all. Ah, there. Those were some likely-enough looking crates. It would probably be decent enough there. Stepping gingerly, because her paws were wet, Reveretha stretched her head to look inside.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:23 am
Ratterclack sniffed the air. That was definitely a female - probably one who had the same thoughts about this nice dry hiding place as he did. Hopefully she didn't want to start a fight over it. ...Not that he wouldn't win said fight, of course, but he didn't want to have to hit anyone tonight. It was a miserable enough night already without having to claw some interloper's ears to bits.
"Steady, luv," he said quietly, squinting at the newcomer as soon as he could see her and looking politely to one side. No staring. He didn't want to cause conflict. "Just don't tread on me tail an' there's no reason why we can't share. Blaahdy rotten night, ain't it?"
Through squinted eyes, he could vaguely make her out in the gloom: black, with white tuxedo markings, a white muzzle and white circles around her eyes. A fine combination. All the more reason not to fight with her - Mister Mackreach had warned him that he might want to start keeping attractive females on his side.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:34 am
Although she'd withdrawn automatically as soon as she'd seen him, ready for any action he might take, when he spoke, she relaxed somewhat. She was in no rush to start a fight, not this night or any other night. Reveretha flicked the water from her ears, giving him a moment's scrutiny; she couldn't see much of him, from where she stood. Only the mask of his face and his red eyes were clear to her, and she was not bothered by red eyes, not with her family. If he was willing to share, that was good enough for her.
She slunk in beside him and crouched down in the relative dryness, repressing a shiver. "'s horrible," she said. "Not a decent night to do much of anything."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:51 pm
"'Cept 'ide from the rain," Ratterclack agreed with a sigh, flopping down on his side. "Not ter mention avoid goin' 'ome... Me muvver's just 'ad four more, y'see, so it's all kittens this an' kittens that - egh." He turned his ears back and grimaced. "Can't stand blaahdy Fam'ly Time. Oh, yeah, let's all pretend we luv each ovver ter bits no matter wot we look like. Let's pretend everyfing's sunshine an' fishy-wish pie. Eugh." He mimed throwing up and then grinned at the unknown female. "You ever get that wiv your fam'ly?"
It would be nice to have someone to sympathise with, but then again he wouldn't wish this on anyone - and he'd still appreciate her company even if she didn't fully understand.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:55 pm
"Not kittens," Revertha said, after a moment's consideration, while she stared morosely out at the rain. There were any number of things which she found aggravating, or tiring, or puzzling, when it came to her family, but that, so far, hadn't been one of them. "Haven't been kittens. Haven't had that problem. Yet," she amended, after a brief pause.
She flicked her tail. "But... other than that... I think I know what you mean."
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