Catgroove [CLOSED]

Today was going to be one day of experimental, slightly questionable fun. It was her day to monitor the recreation room, and she planned to make the best of it. She would be stuck in the room all day, except during her break, when she'd be replaced by one of her peers. It was the hospital's way, she assumed, of reminding staff that watching people was just... really boring. All it did was make her want to tease the system, a tiny bit of her natural rebellion subsequently boiling over.

If anyone had bothered to notice she was hurried to check in and make it through the day with a strange bag in tow, they hadn't said anything. Hurried steps carried her to the room, a mischievous grin formed. She nearly fell into a giddy laughter, imagining her face matching the bag's contents. When she entered, she surveyed both directions out the doorway, slinking back inside to unzip the top of the strange bag. Two paws slithered their way almost lazily from the bag, flexing and extending claws before they retracted and found the floor, followed by the male tuxedo cat.

"Que pensez-vous?" What do you think? Her trusty companion merely looked at her as he usually did, slightly bored. She imagined if he could speak, he'd simply reply with, "It's alright, I suppose." Instead, he replied with a simple mew, which she assumed was the same thing. Laughing at herself, she offered him her arm, which he gladly climbed to reach her shoulders. She reached up to scratch his ears, taking the bag and shucking it to the corner where she would spend the majority of her day. "Maybe I do spend too much time with you, Pierre." Not that it would ever change.

I had been in the mood for television, and so I'd headed to the rec room for a probably boring, mostly uneventful bout in front of the screen. Knowing my luck nothing would really come in clear, but it would at least it would be good background noise. Sketchbook in tow, I slipped inside, though my plans immediately derailed when I saw Caroline and, quite surprisingly, Pierre. I grinned.

"Rulebreaker," I sang, mimicking the first time I'd called her that, shaking my head and walking in. "You brought a stowaway today? How the hell did you manage to get him in here without getting thrown out?" I reached up to pat his head softly, smiling when the cat started to purr. Eventually I pulled my gaze from the cat and looked to Caroline instead, head cocked.

"Oh! I finished," I said, handing the sketchbook to Caroline, open to the now colored piece that I'd been working on. It was a soft gradient of colors and I loved how it had come out.

"Is it good?" I asked, brow raised in curiosity.

"Pretty much just ran here. Had him tucked in his vet bag, no one really seemed to care. Then again, technically, he's not against the rules, just highly discouraged. Honestly, the hardest part was getting him in the bag." At least the knowledge that Pierre really loved company helped. He craved attention, and didn't really care who the attention came from. He just preferred to be able to walk around and do as he pleased. Accepting the sketchbook from Jiho, her fingertips traced the delicate colors. Her features softened and she switched the weight on her feet.

"Please tell me you're going to let me hug you as a thank you." She was still wary about touching Jiho without his permission, not that he'd given her any reason to believe he would harm her. In fact, she realized it seemed quite the opposite. He was one of the few patients that just really liked having her around, and she knew that, and it made her heart fill with joy.

"It's perfect. Now, about actually getting it put on my body... you've done it before, right? I mean, actually put a tattoo on somebody? Not that I could let you do it in here, but I don't even know how to find a good tattoo artist. I've never exactly had one done before, you know." Even then, the idea that something on her would be as permanent as the scars she carried with her made her almost uneasy. She curled her finger around Pierre's tail, loosely enjoying his softness as she pulled her finger loose.

I could understand that. Taking animals anywhere in bags or any type of container was always tricky - the same could be said of my dog, and probably any pet. Ever. I kept petting the cat, though I kept a close eye on the woman's reactions as she took the sketchbook from me and looked it over.

I couldn't help but smile.

"Mm... Well I know a guy..." I mumbled, humming to myself and pulling away after giving Pierre one last scratch behind his ear. I plopped down lazily on the couch, patting my lap to see if the cat would come and curl up there. "But... I was thinking about going into the art when I can go home. I've done some, but I'm nowhere near perfect." I nodded to myself, gaze falling to rest on the floor as I felt my smile falter.

When I could go home was a loose term at this point. The longer I stayed stuck in here, the less confident I was that I was going to be out any time soon. I sighed. After a long bit of silence I looked back up, giving Caroline a little smile.

"Yeah... Yeah, you can give me a hug, that's cool," I said softly, looking back down.

Why not? Just a little hug, that was fine. I was getting better at this 'physical contact' thing...

"Maybe hone your skill, and then we'll talk. I'd rather have someone I know do it, anyway." Besides, it didn't hurt that he knew bits and pieces of her past. Having to explain scars to a complete stranger was usually fun to do. I got bit by a shark, I used to be a sword juggler... eventually it was more fun to lie about it and feel ridiculous than to tell the truth and feel weak. But she'd just started liking not having to lie to another living person. Plucking Pierre from her shoulder and tossing him on the couch, she leaned down to hug Jiho.

As soon as she left the short hug, Pierre replaced her spot near him. She knelt in front of him, petting her cat's tummy. He playfully swatted at her, and she laughed. Oh, she remembered how much he loved to play when he was a kitten. Then he grew older, and started to be a little more serious. But there were always times when she could manage to bring his kitten side out again. Her eyes flicked to Jiho.

"You will get out of here, you know. Maybe not incredibly soon, like tomorrow, but you will. I have no reason to believe otherwise. As long as you don't get in any trouble. How have you been at that, anyway?" She hadn't missed his momentary lapse of sadness, not for a second.

I smiled, watching the cat and not even flinching in the least with the hug, even managing to move a bit into it and give her shoulder a little squeeze. It was nice, actually not getting mad at people that tried to touch me. But still, I shrugged.

"I have plenty of people that will let me practice with them," I said, watching as Pierre batted at Caroline. I narrowed my eyes, scratching the fabric of the couch to get his attention and grinning when he jumped for my hand. He bit at me but it didn't bother me at all. It was just something cats did, I understood that. "I'll do it for free, too. It's all good."

When Caroline spoke again, though, my grin fell somewhat and I nodded. Getting into trouble... I mean, I wasn't doing horribly. "I... I'm trying my best," I said softly, pushing my hair back off of my face with my free hand. It seemed that Pierre had decided to not let go of my hand, so I let him play, watching him out of the corner of my eye.

"I just... want to go home," I said softly, a quiet sadness edging into my tone before I shook my head at myself, looking back up with a tiny smile and shrugging. "So I can get back to my life and stuff."

Yeah. Life. And stuff.

"Practice on them and then I will pay you like everyone else. I mean. I think I will. I don't really know how much tattoos cost, either, so. We'll see." She nudged him playfully, grabbing one of her cat's paws and squeezing gently, which she knew he wouldn't mind, but still distracted him. The thought that Jiho wanted out of this place didn't surprise her, but she wasn't really prepared to hear it from him.

"It's all temporary, Duckling." Glancing up at him, she gave him a soft smile. "You just have to go with the paces, whatever happens. And quit making waves in the pond, you little scrapper." She giggled, pulling up one of Pierre's paws to gently smack Jiho's cheek. Some part of her wanted to distract him, too, the way she could distract her feline friend. If only it were so easy as grabbing one of his hands.

"'Sides, when you're gone, I'm back to boring old patients who want little to nothing to do with me. Then what am I supposed to do?" It was possible that Caroline was simply referring to the fact that she didn't often do check-ups on previous patients, let alone kept in contact with them. Then again, some part of her really would miss Jiho when he would leave, not that she could do anything about it.

"They can get pretty pricey," I said, shrugging. "I'll at least give you a discount." I winked, chuckling softly and wincing playfully when my cheek was hit. Pierre looked utterly disinterested but that added to the fun and I laughed softly, giving him a little scratch under his chin.

I was starting to get used to the nickname, too.

"I'm not making waves. I'm just... reacting to stuff." I laughed, cocking my head as Caroline continued. In a way, I felt bad for the woman. And in a way, I would miss her company.

"I'll just have to come visit. Introduce you to Chanel," I said, then narrowed my eyes at myself. "My dog... Is named Chanel. I'll introduce you to my puppy," I elaborated with a smile. Maybe I would come back with someone else, too. Who knew? But the fact that I was considering coming back to this place after I left - whenever that was - meant a lot.

Or Caroline could visit me, which would probably be a bit more relaxed.

After hearing the name of Jiho's dog, she bit her lip and narrowed her eyes, trying not to laugh. It was to no avail, however, as a few giggles managed to escape her anyway. The name was girly, and she couldn't imagine any person using that as a name for a pet seriously. Pierre had been a bit of a joke name, the most overly used name that came to mind when someone thought of France.

"Chanel, I can't believe you named a living creature that. What did it do when it met you, bite you? What kind of dog is Chanel?" Shaking her head, she patted Pierre's tummy. Maybe he was getting a little chubby from all the treats, but he usually deserved them anyway. "Either way, I'll probably use up some vacation time and come visit you. Arizona's not exactly the best place for a trip, especially since it's not had a lot of good memories for you. You're from Los Angeles, right? Sounds like a fun place to go."

Not that Caroline would know that. She'd rarely left her routine of work and home, let alone the state. Then again, she'd never exactly had a reason to leave. The one time she went to France to see her grandmother was pretty much it, and only because she'd always wanted to see the sights she was always told about.

I pursed my lips when I heard Caroline giggle, letting out a little sigh and chuckling a bit. "Hey, it was a weird day when I named her. Let's just take some comfort in the fact that I named a female dog Chanel and not a male, thank the lord." I smiled, looking down at Pierre as I tried to remember just what kind of dog Chanel was.

It had been so long that I'd forgotten, how embarrassing.

"She's a mutt. A little thing. Very fluffy." I leaned back against the couch, arms resting behind my back. "Very lovable." I grinned, thinking.

I missed that dog. I missed my house. And it was going to be my first priority when I got home to just lay in my bed for a long, long time. That sounded absolutely lovely.

"Mm, Los Angeles is gorgeous. Great city, great weather... Great everything." I sighed softly. "... I miss it." I felt my smile falter as I got lost in thought so instead I looked down, scratching Pierre behind the ears.

"Alright, yeah, I guess you get some points back for Chanel being a girl. I just didn't picture you owning a little purse-dog, is all." She laughed a bit louder, now, picturing Jiho walking down the LA streets with Chanel tucked away in a tote while he wore sunglasses and chewed gum. Maybe he'd be texting non-stop, too. Then again, that would probably be more Hollywood than LA. Her laughs subsided as the image faded.

"Sounds like fun, anyway. Doubt I'll tan any more than I already have, but, oh well." She'd spent enough time picking on poor Jiho, so she decided it would be a little nice of her to take a stab at herself, too. Arizona had done little to her naturally fair complexion, but that was probably due to her hatred of sunburns. Jiho was good company, after all, and she didn't want to waste that. Pushing emotional boundaries was something she didn't really like doing to people she liked.

"What else do you think you'll get up to, out there? Oh, we could swing by Disneyland, too, while I'm visiting. I'll even buy you one of those little hats with the ears on them." She played with Pierre's back paws, switching from paw to paw, flexing his legs and letting them droop back to his lazy posture. She'd have to spend a bit of time looking for just the right person to care for him on the planned-much-in-advance journey.

I had a feeling I knew what Caroline was thinking and I narrowed my eyes at her, lips pursed but trying not to laugh in all honesty. It was a pretty entertaining thought to say the least. After all, I didn't carry myself like someone who would have a little yappy lapdog. I didn't look the type, considering my normal choice of clothes made me look like a delinquent. It was either that or a nice suit, I really had no style in between. So a little dog like Chanel was just didn't fit into the persona.

But I loved her anyway.

"You could tan if you wanted to. It's hard not to if you're walking around all day. Unless you just wear mountains of sunscreen." I scrunched my nose in distaste, shaking my head. "It's bad for me, but I hate sunscreen. Makes me feel oily. Ugh." I chuckled at the mention of Disney, looking over at the woman next to me and raising my brow.

"You wanna buy me a mouse hat?" I asked, chuckling a bit. "Fine, I don't have one yet. I never got taken there as a kid, and when I finally went I never got around to buying one for myself." I sighed softly, rolling my eyes at the thought of my parents and shaking my head as I looked down.

I hadn't done a lot of things I was 'supposed to have done' as a kid. Instead I was one of the ones who was always out partying and getting in trouble for it.

Well, maybe me dressing like a delinquent wasn't too far off.

As far as things went with how a childhood should have gone, Caroline supposed her path wouldn't have been too far off the path of delinquency. It was the path that made more sense, in a way, that she would have gotten into the vices her parents fell into so easily. Easy, however, was never the way she chose if it caused more problems than it solved. In a way, Jiho solidified the fact that her choices were probably in her favor. It was scary how often she realized how close she came to being on the other side of the institution's doors.

"I've lived in Arizona the majority of my life and the only mention of a tan that I have ever gotten was in high school. It was a strange time, I was a whole shade of white darker. But that was back when I was on the swim team, so, whatever." Shrugging, she remembered how strange it was for her to explain to the coach why she felt more comfortable showering away from the other girls.

"Does she know any tricks? Chanel, I mean. Pierre doesn't really know any, but he doesn't really care what people do to him, and that's kind of rare for cats. I've had him since he was a kitten, though. Picked him up at a pound one day, just took him home and have been feeding him ever since." Fingers flitted through the soft fur of his chest, though Pierre, of course, paid no mind.

"You were on the swim team?" I asked, cocking my head. I glanced up at the ceiling for a moment, thinking for a second as I hummed slightly. "I was on the basketball team. For a year. Before I got kicked for breaking one too many rules." I laughed, shrugging to myself before looking back down and switching my focus back to the woman in front of me.

When Chanel was mentioned again I narrowed my eyes in thought, lips pursed a bit.

"She knows sit and stay pretty well. And shake. But other than that she's too hyper to grasp anything else. I tried teaching her play dead but she didn't get it." I shrugged.

"I tried. I guess. It's harder to train cats than dogs."