Bedroom - Devon Kavanagh

[KT]

Bedroom of the human maid, Devon.

[Chess]

William followed Devon along through the passages, finally stopping in a room he'd never been in before. Wow, Cain... you're really getting out of the 'obvious' category... oh, wait. No, you're not. If this is Devon's room, then it's extremely obvious that you'd never have been in here before. William blinked, the self-hostile thoughts melting away as he looked around. "I like your room..." He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's got the perfect lighting... for me, at least; not too dark, but it's not completely lit up, either..."

{I hope you feel better soon...}

[KT]

((Thanks! :3 I don't feel bad exactly, it was just that within the span of seconds I went from fine to "I am going to puke" and I am not going to risk that happening again in the middle of a class xD))

"It's just a room." Devon smiled slightly, tilting her head as she studied him. "You can sit, if you want." She offered, gesturing to the bed as she reluctantly released his hand, looking around the room. The problem was that there were quite a few small spaces for a cat to hide around here. She clicked her tongue as she moved around the room, searching for the cat. A pitiful, small little squeak sound from a tucked away spot behind the ladder drew her attention. So that's where she looked, frowning slightly. "Hey there, it's ok. He won't hurt you." She talked to the cat, drawing a hiss from within the shadows. The cat moved and a pair of yellow eyes flashed, staring at Devon. After a moment of coaxing and soft assurances from Devon she reached in and withdrew a dark, almost black gray cat. It stared at William anxiously, shrinking back against Devon as she petted him. "See? The undercoat is white. Like you." She told William with a grin, carefully moving closer with the scared cat. Eventually she sat on the bed, though Halen hissed and pressed against Devon, as far away from William as he could be and still be on her lap. "He just doesn't like people. It's not your fault." She promised.

[Chess]

William acquiesced, sitting on the edge of Devon's bed. He watched Devon call Halen, the girl finally managing to zero in on him after a few minutes, and eventually manage to retrieve a handsome cat from behind her ladder.
William gave Devon a weak smile as she compared him with Halen's fur, the teen sighing inaudibly as he watched yet another animal freak out at the sight of him. While William was a definite animal lover, animals rarely loved him back. Leo was one of the few exceptions, and even he would occasionally growl at William when the boy surprised him... though Leo generally groveled apologetically for a few minutes after he had realized that it was William.
He smiled crookedly, looking Halen over from across the bed. "It's alright..." William slipped off the side of the bed and sat a foot or so away on the floor, not wanting the upset cat to freak out badly enough that he would scratch Devon. "He's a handsome fellow..."

[KT]

Devon frowned as William moved away, looking after him. Was he uncomfortable being on the bed with her? She didn't mean to bother him or anything. She studied him as he sat on the floor, absently petting the cat with a finger. "Oh, he was as scruffy as I was when I found him." She grinned affectionately at the little cat, scratching behind his ears. "He was one of those mangy old street cats, messy fur, doing anything for food or shelter. All thin and scraggly and scratched up. All of the cats there were. So was I, I suppose. So I fed him and gave him water and stuff and he started coming around me more because he knew I'd feed him." She explained, looking down at Halen. She opened her arms slightly and he slid through them, jumping off the bed and darting under it. With a faint frown she moved down to sit next to William on the floor, leaning against the bed. One hand went under it and she found his soft fur, scratching him lightly.

[Chess]

{Sorry it took so long, and is so short}

"Smart kitty," William remarked, his smile growing slightly while still remaining crooked. "-and nice girl..."
He tilted his head, giving Devon a quizzical look. "How long have you had Halen?" William absently tugged out a twist in his shirt sleeve as he spoke, the fabric loosening as he pulled it loose. He shook out his arm to get the last snags, then began buttoning and unbuttoning his cuff.
William generally couldn't sit absolutely still for very long, the teen getting restless pretty quickly, so he tended to fidget.
"And have you ever heard Carl Orff's 'Gassenhauer'?" The abrupt change in subject back to music was mainly due to William's desire to have a proven comfortable talking field for both of them... but also because that thought just happened to have popped into his head at that moment. "It's a really good song..."

[KT]

((AAaaaHHhh same! Had a lot of stuff over the weekend.))


Devon laughed. "Well, he was very pathetic and shockingly hard to say no to. Chunk taken out of his ear by the other cats, missing fur, the whole deal." She grinned slightly, scratching behind the cat's ears under the bed. She stopped and thought, tilting her head and staring at the corner of the ceiling as she considered. "Well.... probably a few months? Ish? He was all scared at first but he's actually liked me and voluntarily spent time with me like this for maybe like a month? And a half, maybe?" She considered, biting her lip lightly. "I mean, it wasn't exactly an adoption thing at the ARL so there's no specific date." She chuckled.
After a moment of thought, she shook her head. "Nope. Not really in my area of musical expertise. I'm more of a classic rock to Fall Out Boy/Panic at the Disco type." She explained, grinning a bit. She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder.

[Chess]

William half-winced, easily able to imagine Halen's former state. Ouch...
He glanced under the bed at the dark huddle of fur that was currently glaring back. "Wow... I'm impressed; you must have a way with animals." William looked back briefly at Devon. "Wait... was Halen feral when you got him, or was he slightly tame already? Because that's really, really impressive if he was feral a few months ago."
He smiled crookedly, slightly disappointed. "Ah..." William absently patted the top of Devon's head, his mind mostly still on music and cats. "How about 'The Cat Came Back', or 'Cat in the Cradle'?" He chuckled softly, the hand that had patted Devon going up to run through the short hair on top of his own head. "I'm a classical to oldies and comedic country type, myself."
I love cheerful, upbeat songs... there aren't many out there. The ones that have good music have depressing or scary lyrics, and the ones that have good lyrics have iffy music... There are few that are able to balance out well.

[KT]

"Oh no." She laughed softly. "He had a collar on, so I'm sure he had an owner at one point. And it wasn't like super tight so it wasn't as though he'd just escaped as a kitten and worn it wild for a while. He was just scared and lonely, but not exactly feral. On his way, but not there." She explained with a grin, running her hand down the length of the cat, feeling his anxious, spiked up fur. "He just hadn't had anybody try to help him yet. I know that feeling, the scared and lonely with no one trying to help. I wasn't going to just ditch him." she said affectionately.
"I know Cat's in the Cradle. Harry Chaplin. 1974. Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011." She recited. "It's super sad I think." She frowned, looking over at him. "He doesn't realize how little time he's spent with his son until it's too late, and then when he tries his son has realized how little his dad was there for him and doesn't care about him anymore." Her frown deepened and she snuggled closer to him, shifting slightly.

[Chess]

I wonder if he has a microchip... William watched Devon's obvious care for the cat, and the reciprocated trust. Since she didn't mention anything about it, I doubt she checked... But I think that I shouldn't mention it. Even if he did have a chip, there wouldn't be any way to get Halen back to his original owners... and there aren't many ways to figure out if they even want him back in the first place, since he was out on the street when he and Devon found each other. He gave her a bright smile, eyes briefly closing in the expression. "Let me rephrase my earlier statement... Very nice girl..."
William chuckled softly as Devon rattled off song facts, amazed yet again at her knowledge. "Yeah... it's not actually one of the songs that I like, but... come on. Cat in the cradle..." He gestured in Halen's direction. "Cat... The connection was bound to happen eventually." William's smile faded slightly, the teen's memory pulling up the lyrics, and he put an arm around her shoulders in a half hug. "Mm... Actually, the father just finds out in the end that his son turned into a younger him; too busy with his life to be able to be with his family. It's not a particularly awful song, but it's not particularly fluffy and lovable either. It's more of a real-life song."

[KT]

Devon curled up beside him happily, ducking her head slightly to fit next to him perfectly. Of course, she lifted it almost immediately to kiss his cheek sweetly, and rested it there, against the front of his shoulder. She ran her fingers through her long hair, pulling out tangles and wrapping it around her fingers. "Who wouldn't help out a scared little kitty like this?" She frowned, reaching under the bed and carefully scratching behind his ears.
"I still think that the song is sad." She frowned, looking up at him and kissing his cheek once again. She carefully pulled the cat out from under the bed and set him in her lap, where he curled up, staring at William with big eyes. She shifted her position slightly which seemed to disturb the cat, who jumped and struck out instinctively, leaving neat scratches across William's arm before Halen darted back under the bed. Devon jumped, looking absolutely horrified as she looked from the scratches to William. "No, he's not, no I'm sorry are you alright?" She stressed, starting to yank painfully on her hair once again. "Are you alright? I'm sorry about Halen he's just scared. I'm sorry are you alright? I didn't think that he'd hurt you are you alright?"

[Chess]

William smiled at Devon's question, happy that she was starting to see the best in people. "Good question..."
He nodded, never having truly meant to contradict her about the song. "Mm... yeah." William was beginning to get used to Devon's sudden shows of affection, to his relief.
His eyes widened slightly as Halen didn't seem to object being so close to him when Devon pulled him out from under the bed, the teen's surprise fading slightly when said cat freaked and lashed out. William barely winced, having been through far worse pain before, only turning his arm around to look at the cuts with slight interest. He smiled ruefully and gently caught Devon's wrists again as she followed the cat's example; beginning to freak. "I'm fine, it's literally just a scratch. That tends to happen around upset cats..." William gave her a calm smile, the teen starting to get the hang of Devon's panics. "Don't worry about it."

[KT]

Devon froze the instant he grabbed her wrists, staring at him plaintively. "But I thought he'd be ok, and I moved him up, and I didn't mean to get you hurt and it's my fault even if it is minor you still got hurt because of me no no no I didn't mean to..." She whimpered, pulling her arms up closer to herself and curling up tightly against him. She kissed his cheek, shaking as she pressed up close to him.
"I'm sorry I got you hurt I didn't mean to and I don't want to hurt you I don't want to hurt anyone but mostly not you because you're nice to me but you got hurt because of me and I don't want you hurt." She whispered desperately, kissing his cheek once again before ducking her head.

((I'm sorry it takes me forever D:))

[Chess]

{Don't worry about it... {grins}}
William let Devon go when it was clear that she wasn't going to start pulling her hair again. He smiled and winked once, pushing his shirt sleeve up to reveal the slightly bloody cuts. The teen licked his thumb, rubbed the wet finger over the marks, and cheerfully looked up at his companion as the wounds all but vanished as the crimson stains were removed. "See? I'm fine...!"
William gave her a hug, not liking the fact that he seemed to be making his new friend sad quite often. "I promise."
He gave her a plaintive look, a thought making his lips twitch up. "But... if you really feel bad about it... there is something you could do..." Twinkling violet eyes stared down solemnly at Devon. "You could... give me a smile..." He demonstrated, teeth flashing in a soft smile. "You have a beautiful smile, and I love seeing it."

[KT]

"But you're not fine you're still hurt even with the blood gone there's still scratches there and sure maybe they heal but they might scar and even if they do heal you still got hurt because of me and it's my fault even if it's a small thing you still got hurt because of me no no no..." Devon whimpered, her hands digging into her palms hard. But she was still curled up next to him, shifting slightly to be practically in his lap. She kissed his cheek plaintively, trembling as she pressed against him.
She stared at him as he told her she could make up for it, her eyes wide and hopeful. Even without her saying it it was obvious she'd do anything for that to happen. "But you got hurt because of me?" She pleaded, still looking upset. "I can't be happy and smile when I hurt you. Thanks for the compliment though." She nodded slightly, kissing his cheek once again.

[Chess]

({pales} I sincerely apologize; I never got the notification...)

William's smile flickered momentarily as his earlier thought that he was making his new friend sad an unfortunate amount of times came true again. "I promise, I'm fine." His smile caught once again, a hint of amusement in his pale eyes. "If Halen had taken off one of my fingers, I would have been less fine, but he just gave me a scratch. It'll probably scab over in under an hour, and by this time next week it'll look like nothing ever happened. And those are both probably over estimations..."
William tilted his head, his hopes that his 'bargain' might cheer Devon up failing. He bit his lip, thinking, then brightened as he realized that she would know better than anyone how to cheer her up. "What would make you happy?"

[KT]

"No, no... No matter how minor it is you still got hurt because of me and I don't want to hurt people." Devon insisted, running her hands through her hair painfully with a frown. She kissed his cheek, trembling faintly. But still, he wanted her to be happy. So she swallowed hard, doing everything she could to stay calm and not freak out like she wanted to, like she felt was her only option. "I..." She shook her head, desperately trying to control her panicky breathing. "I don't know. I'm not usually happy I'm happy when people like me and are nice to me what makes you happy?" She chattered.

[Chess]

William frowned momentarily, concentrating on the question. "Well, I enjoy being around friends and animals..." he smiled again, glancing at Devon and Halen. "There's two things straight off. I also have fun when I'm dancing alone in a room to good music... or when I've just woken up from a really good dream. I think helping the scientists is usually fun, and playing with other experiments." He jutted his jaw out thoughtfully. "I love how I'm able to stand being out in the light more and more, and I love listening to thunderstorms... and smelling the outside after a good rain." William shrugged. "There's just a lot that can make you happy, I think, if you're in the right frame of mind." He tilted his head slightly, looking at her. "You know what I mean?"

[KT]

Devon closed her eyes and leaned against him, curling against him as she listened carefully. She desperately tried to calm down, taking a deep breath. "I like... I like the smell and the sound of the rain outside, I like animals especially cats and hearing them purr. I like ties, like official tie ties, the ones you wear with a suit. I like holding hands with people and I like being able to do what I want, and I like lots of pillows and eating mac and cheese...." She listed. "And I like music."

[Chess]

William grinned and nodded, listening carefully to each thing that Devon liked. He couldn't help but laugh at the last thing she said, having already guessed that. "No kidding..!"
The teen offered his hand to her, his violet eyes smiling as he tried to help her with at least one of the things she liked.

[KT]

Devon lit up as she took his hand in return, squeezing it tightly. "Can we make Mac and cheese?" She asked hopefully. "Or... Or cuddle with pillows or find a tie or play with the kitty..." She pleaded, tracing designs on the back of his hand with her thumb.

[Chess]

William laughed again, nodding again. "Sure! Whichever you'd like to do, Devon." He tilted his head, giving her a curious look as he wondered what she would want to do... or even just what she wanted to do first. "Though you'll have to wear the tie, if that's what you're wanting to do; I'm not really a tie guy," he chuckled, his free hand absently rubbing his neck.

[KT]

She frowned slightly, though without the absolute heartbroken expression she usually did. This time, for once, it was just in thought. "I don't know." She mused. "I chose what we're doing, you chose which one we can do first." She offered

[Chess]

William smiled, the expression slightly mischievous. "How about you bring a pillow or two along, and you can snuggle with it while I make some macaroni and cheese?" After all, she did say she liked eating it, not particularly making it. Two birds, one stone. He then grimaced slightly, never having liked that phrase. "What do you think?"

[KT]

Devon lit up, nodding cheerfully. "Yes! You're a genius." She kissed his cheek as she sat up, grinning. "And then sit with me and we can make Mac and cheese and it'll be great and delicious and fun." She enthused, rising to her feet and grabbing his hand to pull along after her.

[Chess]

William chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, slightly embarrassed at being called a 'genius'. Wow... she really likes macaroni and cheese...! His eyes widened as she went on the move suddenly, the teen hurrying to get to his feet and follow her. "Sounds good to me..."

[KT]

Looking over, Devon reluctantly released his hand to go over and check on Halen. She scratched his head and behind his ears and let the cat escape back to his hole behind the ladder. Then she came back to take William's hand again, opening the door. "Let's do it!"

[Chess]

"Alright..." William agreed easily, smiling as she came back from petting the reclusive cat. "Lead on, madam...!" He curled his fingers around Devon's when she took his hand again, squeezing her hand gently.

[KT]

"Yay!" Devon squealed enthusiastically, jumping up and down as she squeezed his hand back and closed the door after him, heading down the hallway. Then she gasped slightly and dropped his hand, running back into her room. She returned with a large pillow and a blanket in one arm, pushing the door behind her and grabbing his hand with her free one, nodding. Obviously now she was ready.

[Chess]

(Do we go somewhere else?)

[KT]

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