The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

The everyday life of the inhabitants of the Grey Tower. This board is for general daily roleplay around the Tower, in the corridors, rooms and halls that make up most of the building.
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Owen
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The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Owen » January 19th, 2019, 9:07 am

Spoiler: show
Open to anyone, and for multiple people. I'm happy to start new threads, PM me here or Discord. Don't really care if your character even wants a kitten, or if they want to keep the kitten or give it away or to use the poor thing for any nefarious purposes. Just want to talk with and meet more people. Enjoy!
:whip
The Cat in the Crate Jun’s favorite place was in the kitchens.

Most people hated being assigned chores in the kitchens, because it was hot and stuffy and full of strong, raw smells from the freshly baked bread, simmering soups, platters of cheese, dishwashing soap, overripe fruit, composting scraps, and a persistent underlying waft of smoke from the fires that clung to hair and clothing. They also hated it, because the work was hard and unforgiving, full of sharp objects and fires and repetitive motions and plain manual labor.

But Jun loved it. He didn’t mind scrubbing pots and pans, hands raw and shoulders sore, if it meant that he could sneak bites of sweets or taste-test the cook’s newest concoction. He didn't mind peeling a thousand and one potatoes while listening to the gossip that traveled throughout the kitchens faster than lightning. And he loved seeing the process of transforming raw ingredients into delicious, hearty meals that would feed the entire Tower.

If the head of the Tower were the Triumvirate, Jun thought that the heart would be in the kitchens.

And Jun loved the people in the kitchens. The easy camaraderie, the controlled chaos as people performed their individual tasks yet worked together as a whole, a part of something greater than themselves. From the quietest maid to the boisterous prep cooks, Jun loved them all, even the squat, intimidating woman who held the title of the Mistress of Kitchens. She wielded her spoon like a warhammer and wasn’t shy about smacking idle students, but she was also warm and funny and kind.

Sometimes Jun felt that the Tower could use a few more warm, funny, and kind people. Everyone walked around looking so serious all the time, the Warders gliding cat-like through the halls, their hands never straying far from their weapons, the Aes Sedai and Asha’man gathered in clumps, always seemingly embroiled in some plot. And as a student, Light forbid you caught the attention of any higher-ranks. One wrong move, one wrong word, and you were sent packing to whoever directed your learning for a firm scolding if you were lucky and a close acquaintance with the paddle if you weren’t.

And so, because Jun loved working in the kitchens, he often traded with other learning ranks for their shifts. He didn’t understand why people would rather pull weeds in the gardens - solitary and boring, in his opinion - or re-arrange books in the library with stodgy Browns, but hey, he wasn’t going to complain.

The kitchens was a welcome escape from everything else. Being a learning rank required so much studying. Not that Jun disliked books, but there was just so much to learn that Jun’s head sometimes felt like a clay pot overstuffed with fermented vegetables. The pot would seem able to hold everything in the beginning, but after it was packed tight and closed and a little bit of time passed, the fermentation would cause bubbles to fizz and the air would expand. If there was not enough room at the top then the clay pot would explode. Jun wasn’t about to explode - not yet - but he could feel the pressure.

Altogether, for many, many reasons, Jun spent a lot of time in the kitchens.



Each morning, the Tower kitchens received shipments of fresh produce and meats. Jun was helping carry in the last of the crates when behind him, he heard the cart driver curse.

“Ya! Bloody stupid cat!”

Jun looked back and saw a cat jump off the cart wagon. It landed gracefully on all fours, and then turned to hiss at the cart driver. It was large, with patches of white, orange and black. Jun set down his crate and squatted to offer a hand to the cat. It simply sat and watched him with pale, green-gold eyes.

“Hello there,” he murmured.

The cart driver sighed. “You want her, kid?”

A few seconds passed until Jun realized that the man was speaking to him. “Um,” he said eloquently, and blinked.

“She’s a stray. Been tryin’ to get rid of her. She keeps coming back ‘cause the wife feeds her,” the man explained. “But I don’t want my property swarming with kittens. She’s pregnant, see. So I gotta find someone to keep her. What do you think?”

Jun realized that’s why the cat looked so large. Her belly was swollen and hanging low.

“I-I don’t know,” he stammered. “Don’t know if I’m allowed t-to, should p-probably ask the Mistress of Kitchens -”

Then he felt something soft and warm tickle his fingers and looked down to see that the cat had approached him and was licking tentatively at his hand. It was probably because he had helped throw out some fish guts for the cooks that morning, but it was so cute that Jun’s heart clenched and he knew that he couldn’t say no.

He ended up sneaking her into an empty crate in the kitchens and feeding her scraps, and when the Mistress of Kitchens demanded to know why he was skulking around, he told her everything. As he spoke, he widened his eyes and pouted his lips and gave her the most innocent, puppy-like look that he could muster. And though the cook knocked him on the head with her spoon and complained - (“Don’t be pulling those eyes on me, boy!”) - he heard the warmth and forgiveness in her tone and knew that the cat could stay.

And so Jun found another reason for his list of why he loved the Tower kitchens.



But a few weeks later, Jun also found out something else. Taking care of a single pregnant cat was very, very different from taking care of a cat and her eight squirming kittens. What under the Light was he supposed to do with them? When he approached the Mistress of Kitchens, she only laughed.

“Now you realize the problems of responsibility,” she said. “You can’t feed ‘em, or keep ‘em, or leave ‘em. Well, I ain’t got an answer for you. Quit dawdling and get those pots washed, we don’t got all day!”

As he scrubbed away, elbow-deep in soapy water, he thought: There are hundreds of people in the Grey Tower. There’s got to be somebody who’ll know what to do with these kittens!

So he put a paper on the bulletin.

“Sweet kittens looking for a home,” it read. “Please find me if interested. Jun Valdera, soldier.”

And then Jun waited.

Alianora
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Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Alianora » January 20th, 2019, 1:36 am

Amaranie Tice, Accepted
"You, Accepted." The demanding voice stopped Amaranie in her place as she walked through one of the Tower's hallways. Her light eyes scanned the hallway around her, but there were no other Accepted nearby, only a few servants, and the Aes Sedai who was apparently talking to her. She turned towards the woman, curtsying low, and rose to see a pair of cold grey eyes glaring up at her. "I want a tray brought up to my rooms. Now." Any of the servants could have done that, but Amaranie knew better than to protest, even though she needed to study. The Accepted lowered her head and dropped her shoulders, the best effort she could make at appearing shorter than her actual height. With a quiet, "Yes, Nelia Sedai," she hurried away, as fast as she could manage without breaking into a run.

Amaranie didn't slow down even once she'd escaped from the Aes Sedai's sight. Nelia Sedai had been a notoriously impatient teacher when she'd been a novice, and it did not appear that her temperament had improved any over the years since she'd earned the ring. The height that annoyed the Aes Sedai served Amaranie well in her haste, long legs allowing to rush quickly through the halls until she reached the door to the kitchens.

There never seemed to be a time when the kitchens were not busy, and as she entered, she found herself forced to weave through groups of novices and soldiers doing their chores and multiple cooks working on dinner preparations. The scent of baking bread hung in the air, and Amaranie followed her nose to the shelf where the freshly baked loaves were kept. With one tucked under her arm, she quickly found a tray, a plate, and a knife, and squeezed into a place at the counter to cut a few slices.

Bread. Apples. Turnips. Chicken. Cheese. Stew. ....With no instruction on exactly what Nelia Sedai wanted, Amaranie reasoned that it would be safest just to provide a little of almost everything the kitchen had to offer. The tray of food was filling up as rapidly as Amaranie could work, and she could only hope it would be fast enough to please the Aes Sedai. As she hurried back towards the tray with a dish of fish that had just been cooked, Amaranie was moving too fast to notice that the fish had attracted the attention of another being, one who was most definitely not Nelia Sedai.

She pushed a plate of beans aside carefully to make room, and something soft rubbed against her ankle. Amaranie flinched, surprised, and the fish on the plate slid to the side. The Accepted thanked the Light that it had stayed on the plate as she set it down. Then she looked down at her banded skirt to the rushes beneath it. She saw nothing, but even as she looked, something brushed against her ankle again, and Amaranie could feel it moving. She forced down a squeak and raised the edge of her skirt. Light, please don't be a rat....

A huge pair of yellow eyes blinked up at her from a fuzzy, red face. A cat? Amaranie had never seen a cat in the Tower's kitchen before. There had been a few around in her parents' inn, keeping the mice out, but the Wards the Tower had eliminated that need. So what is a cat doing here? The cat butted its head against her leg, and Amaranie couldn't help smiling at the creature. It was kind of cute.

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Owen
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Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Owen » January 20th, 2019, 7:17 am

Jun was bussing a basket of dirty plates when he noticed the tall Accepted arranging dishes on a tray. He knew better than to express an interest in any woman or man in the Tower - the Master of Soldiers had made the rule against relationships exceedingly clear - but still. Jun was a young man and he was not blind. He stopped for a moment, appreciating the way her banded dress flowed about her ankles.

Then he saw the cat. Bloody ashes, he thought. The stupid kittens were at it again. They were old enough to walk now and tended to wander out of their mother’s crate… and then get lost in the bustle of the kitchen, where Jun feared they would be stepped on. He sighed and quickly shoved his basket at the learning rank who was in charge of dishwashing that day.

“Hey, sorry, excuse me,” he said as he approached the Accepted, and bowed his head in deference. He knelt to scoop up the red-orange kitten with one hand.

“You’re a cuddly little troublemaker aren’t you,” he cooed. And then he glanced up at the Accepted and felt a blush travel up his neck. She had pretty eyes. When he stood up, he liked how they were near the same height so that he could stare into them. “Um. H-hello. I’m Jun Valdera. So, um, do y-you like cats?”

Alianora
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PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
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Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Alianora » January 20th, 2019, 9:49 pm

Amaranie
Amaranie tried to stay still while the cat wove in and out of her legs. It was a tiny little thing, and she worried that she'd hurt it if she moved. This was a bit of a problem, since she'd finally finished arranging the tray in front of her and needed to take it to Nelia Sedai. She sighed as she continued to watch the animal, wondering if she should try to pick it up. Small or not, she wasn't sure it wouldn't bite her if she tried it.

While she debated what to do, a Soldier she didn't know rushed towards her, offering excuses as he bent down and grabbed the cat with no hesitation. The Accepted blinked, not sure that was a good idea, but the cat settled into the man's arms as if it was perfectly content to be held. This surprised Amaranie, who had not expected the cat to be quite so tame. With the cat still in his arms, the Soldier stammered out his name and a question.

She hoped he wasn't afraid of her, as a good half or more of the novices seemed to be. It seemed as if the stripes at her hem and the ring she wore made her into more of a thing to be feared than a person, and Amaranie hated it. The Accepted forced herself to look up from the counter and meet his eyes for a second before letting them drift back to watch the cat.

Do I like cats? Amaranie didn't really know. She'd never actually seen someone hold a cat like Jun was doing. The cats she'd known at her parents' inn had lived outside, coming and going through the kitchens as they pleased, and the only interaction she'd ever had with them was to chase them away from her cooking. Other than that, Amaranie had never taken any more notice of them than she had of the wildlife that lived outside.

She shrugged, looking nervously at the tray, knowing the slipper awaited her if she didn't get it sent on its way soon. She picked it up, and was about to excuse herself when she saw one of the novices walk by with nothing in her hands, apparently not in any hurry. She reached out, touching the girl's shoulder lightly, but the girl still whirled to face her, blue eyes huge in a face nearly as pale as Amaranie's own.

"Could you take this to Nelia Sedai, please?" the Accepted asked politely, never comfortable with issuing orders. The poor novice hadn't even blinked, and bobbed her head quickly before taking the tray and scurrying off. With that taken care of, she was free to turn her attention back to the Soldier and the cat.

"I'm Amaranie Tice," she said. "I..haven't been this close to a cat before. Is it yours?" And why is it in the kitchens? The little cat made a rumbling noise, louder than she thought something that small could produce. It looked so calm that she found herself raising a hand, wondering if it would be as soft to touch as it had felt winding around her ankles. She stopped herself before her hand got near the cat, however, and quickly replaced it at her side, still not quite sure it wouldn't bite her if she dared touch it.

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Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Owen » January 24th, 2019, 7:38 pm

Oops, had he interrupted the Accepted in the middle of an errand? Of course he had - it wouldn’t make sense for her to be fetching a tray otherwise. He watched with a hint of envy as Amaranie pawned the task off to someone else. If only he could shrug off his own chores as easily...

Then Jun noticed the Accepted’s half-raised hand and smiled encouragingly.

“Go on,” he said, shyness forgotten as he held out the kitten. “It’s fine. He likes being petted, ‘specially around the ears. I wouldn't say that he's mine, 'cause honestly I don't think I own him. But I guess that I'm the one who takes care of him... and his mother... and his seven siblings...”

The kitten purred and curled into itself with a happy sigh, and Jun felt his heart melt into a puddle of goo.

Alianora
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Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Alianora » January 26th, 2019, 1:59 am

Amaranie
The kitten was still making that rumbling sound when Jun held it out. Amaranie wasn't quite convinced it would like her touching it, despite how content it appeared. Her eyes flickered towards the pointy little teeth she could barely make out. It didn't seem inclined to use them, so she slowly extended her hand towards the creature, fingertips just brushing its back. It was just as soft as she'd thought it would be, and Amaranie couldn't resist laying her whole hand on it instead of just her fingers. She stroked it a few more times before the cat raised its head. Quickly, the Accepted pulled her hand away, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the gentle nudge of the cat's head against her palm.

It really does like this, Encouraged, Amaranie moved her hand to the top of the cat's head, rubbing behind its ears as Jun had suggested. The rumbling noise it was making grew louder, and she could feel the little body vibrating. She bent her head, smiling down at the cat, and her ponytail fell over her shoulder, the tail of her white hair ribbon dangling from it. The animal's head jerked up, yellow eyes darting back and forth as it watched the ribbon sway. Amaranie drew her hand back, and the cat stretched out a paw, lunging forward to slap at the ribbon. She couldn't help laughing quietly as the cat toyed with it, and it brought a rare, true smile to her face, an expression that had not been seen there in quite some time.

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Owen
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Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Owen » January 26th, 2019, 7:57 am

Jun’s heart had already puddled, but when Amaranie smiled, he swore that it re-formed just beat erratically, and then melt again. He already thought that she was attractive, and plus the way she touched the kitten, so gentle and tender, was just so, so adorable. And her laugh brought a bright sparkle to her eyes that he couldn’t possibly ignore, and he grinned back at her as his mind raced to think of a silly joke so that, perhaps if he was lucky, he could make her laugh again.

Wait. What was he thinking? Inwardly, he shook himself. You can’t do this, he told himself, firmly. None of Jun’s previous partners had really been good for him, and he reminded himself that relationships were against the rules. Jun didn’t want to end up being dragged out to the faraway farms for punishment. Besides that, he really couldn’t afford any distractions from his studies or his attempts at breaking his block.

And with these thoughts, his anxiety returned. He became keenly aware that they were standing in the middle of the very crowded kitchens, and imagined that he felt eyes watching them, judging the fact that a mere soldier had the audacity to approach an Accepted, and he stuttered, “Um, I think h-he likes you. Here, m-maybe you can hold him?”

He shoved the kitten into the Amaranie’s arms, careful not to accidentally touch her, and then took an awkward step back. Then he began to talk nervously. He couldn’t seem to stop the words from pouring out of his mouth.

“W-would you like to keep him? He’s really loving and sweet, really easy to care for. I could teach you what to feed him, and he’s already been trained to take care of his own necessities outside. Maybe I’m wrong, b-but it seems that y-you like him, too, a-and there could be a little more happiness to go around, don’t you think? I know that you are busy, but he sleeps almost all day, and it really would be very little work... ”

Alianora
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Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
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TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Alianora » January 27th, 2019, 8:04 pm

Amaranie
Amaranie knew that she ought to tug her ribbon away from the cat, but it was so cute that the Accepted let it play. Even the way it chewed on the ends was adorable. She had just reached out to pet it again when the Soldier mumbled something about it liking her and thrust the cat towards her. The Accepted blinked once, surprised, then smiled as it settled into her arms. It was so small that she really only needed one arm to hold it securely against her chest, stroking its head with the other hand. It looked at her, the bright yellow eyes connecting with her own, and Amaranie realized she didn't really want to hand it back to its owner.

That's awfully selfish of you, she thought, annoyed with herself for thinking such a thing. What would you do with it, anyways? She couldn't help imagining the little creature running around the workroom in the Vaults where the majority of her lessons took place. She shook her head, an amused smile on her face. It was ridiculous to even think of it....but surely she could hold it for just a little longer.

Amaranie kept petting it, and the cat continued to smack at the ribbon, eventually catching it with its claws and pulling it free. Her dark brown hair tumbled down over her shoulders, and the Accepted was forced to stop petting the cat for a moment to push it back behind her shoulders and out of the way. Distracted by this and the cat in her arms, it took her a few minutes to realize Jun was talking to her.

"W-would you like to keep him?"

Keep him? Amaranie wished that she could, but the Accepted couldn't see how. It was still an animal, it would need to be cared for, and as funny as the thought had been earlier, there was simply no way she could take a cat with her to the Vaults. She gave the cat's head one more good stroke, then shifted it carefully into her hands, trying to force herself to hand it back. "I wish I could," she said sadly, "but as you said, I'm busy. He'd have to stay in my room a lot, and I don't think he'd like that very much." She knew she should just give the cat back and hurry away with her emotions threatening to take over, but Amaranie couldn't stand to do either.

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Owen
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Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Owen » February 3rd, 2019, 6:53 pm

Jun was disappointed, but he didn’t let it show. His heart was beating a little too fast.

“O-oh, alright,” he stuttered. “Well, um, if you ever have any free time and just want to relax, I’ve got him and all of his siblings in a crate in a storeroom. I-I spend a lot of time down here, just find m-me and y-you could have a little bit of cat time whenever you like.”

Light, what was he saying? A little cat time? He really hoped that none of the other soldiers heard anything about this, or he’d be teased for ages. His face felt hot and he felt a sudden urge to grab the kitten and go hide in closet somewhere and never come out. He hoped that he didn’t look half as embarrassed as he felt. Then from over his shoulder a sharp voice rang out. “What’s going on here? Jun, when you asked to keep those cats in the kitchens, didn’t I tell you that they weren’t to interfere with your work?”

The Mistress of Kitchens was standing behind him, hands on her hips, looking stern. Jun smiled sheepishly. “Y-yeah,” he said. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ll get right back to it.”

He glanced back at Amaranie to see what she wanted to do the kitten.

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: The Cat in the Crate [OPEN]

Post by Alianora » February 4th, 2019, 10:46 pm

Amaranie
In Amaranie's arms, the kitten chewed happily on the end of the ribbon, looking quite peaceful until the Mistress of the Kitchens approached, snapping at the Soldier about not doing his work. Amaranie winced, knowing she was responsible for keeping Jun from his chores. Pink rose to her cheeks as she forced herself to look at him, blue-grey eyes wide in her otherwise pale face. "I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "I didn't mean to distract you from your work. I should go." The Accepted looked down at the furry little being in her arms, idly stroking its head as she wondered if there was any way she could possibly keep it.

While she thought about it, the kitten stirred, and for a moment, Amaranie was sure it was looking into her eyes. Then, it wiggled free from her grasp, sunk its claws into her sleeve, and climbed the fabric of the dress to perch awkwardly on the back of her neck. She smiled before moving a hand to its back to dislodge it. The kitten mewed its complaint, but Amaranie rather preferred its slight weight in her arms instead of on her neck. When she'd gotten him settled there again, she said, "Maybe I could just take him with me for a few days and bring him back if he seems unhappy?" She had no idea how she'd be able to tell if the cat was unhappy or not, but it still worried her. "I.....just don't want him to get lonely, all by himself in my room without his family." She wasn't sure if cats could feel that emotion, but Amaranie knew it well, and wouldn't wish it on any living creature.

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