Freeloading is a bonding activity

[runs]

Ryoji's place has become busy lately, since both Casper and Kitty drop by regularly. Usually they aren't around at the same time at least, and thus Kitty doesn't expect anyone to be around when she wakes up from a nap and raises her head, a ruffled mop of hair surfacing from under a pile of blankets and pillows that looked nothing like a child was sleeping under it.

For the moment, "surfacing" is saying a bit too much. Right now, there is only a pair of (as far as Casper can see) dark eyes peering out from the pile of blankets, observing the activity in Ryoji's bedroom.

Comments

[helborn]

"I don't kn - okay, Kitty, can you... stop that, please?" He's starting to get kind of uncomfortable.

[runs]

"Why?"

She drops her hand, though, because she's not dumb. People getting uncomfortable has a high chance of them lashing out soon, in her experience.

"They're cool, though. You could try to pass them off as bodymods."

[helborn]

"Bodymods like that aren't really a thing, though." He pulls his shirt down a little bit, and sighs. "... Sorry. I just... I'm not used to people touching me outside of a fight, and fights don't feel like that."

[runs]

"They are. Maybe not where you're from, though.

...You don't cuddle with people?" She has to think of Malicia, and frowns at him. Dude, do you have issues?

[helborn]

Um.

"No?" Is that a problem? That's normal, right? ... Isn't it?

[runs]

No, it's definitely not.

"Why not?"

Because the only person whom she knows who doesn't do cuddles at all is a person who actively tries to be as little of a person as she can because of issues that Kitty doesn't really understand.

[helborn]

"... Because I didn't grow up in a family that cuddled so it's weird to start now? And..." Oh gods, does he really have to explain this to a child?

"And because someone tried to touch me in a way I didn't like even when I said no. So touching is weird."

[runs]

She doesn't remember her birth family and she's not sure if her and Chantalle count, so she can't really speak on the topic of the relation of cuddling in the family and later cuddling habits.

But she thinks she gets the second one. "Did they do it to make fun of you or to show you that they were stronger?" Whenever she's seen metahumans do that to one another, it seemed to be some form of that. There's of course the form that she has experienced herself - people picking her up and not caring that she didn't want them to - but she's not sure why they do that. It seems to be more like they don't understand that a cat has a legit will, too, and that's just metahumans being dumb.

[helborn]

"... The second one, I think. Sort of." He sighs and crouches a little so he's closer to Kitty's height. "I don't really want to get into it, but just... I'm not really a touchy person."

[runs]

"Did you get to hurt them in return?" There's a great satisfaction in scratching people as she gets away, even though it doesn't make up for having been picked up like that. But it makes it a bit better.

[helborn]

"No." He did get to run away, though. He has that at the very least. "And I... I don't know. I don't think he'd have learned anything from me hurting him, anyway."

[runs]

"I don't think people like that can learn. But it feels better if you scratch them up real bad in return." At least she's never seen evidence of someone like that learning, but on the other hand she also doesn't really have the life experience under her belt to judge more than short-term responses.

[helborn]

"Maybe. But I don't know that it would have gotten any points with royalty." Much as he would have liked to. "I didn't want to screw up anything for anyone else."

[runs]

"...would the others have died?"

She gets needing to do something that sucks for the success of a run, so if this is something remotely similar she'll grant him that it might have been necessary not to retaliate.

[helborn]

"I don't know." Maybe. But he finally sits down rather than crouching, pulling his knees up to his chest as he feels his mind drift back, even as he tries to pull it away. "It... wasn't a good situation at all."

[runs]

"Sometimes runs can be stupid like that." She sits down opposite of him, considering. By what he said he probably wouldn't appreciate a hug. "But then they're over and you can't always get back at people for the stuff they did.

...Do you want a hug?" Because she has no idea how to deal with this otherwise and Casper... he's not a friend, not strictly, but he is in the same situation as her and that has to count for something.

[helborn]

"... Sure." He opens up his arms for Kitty. Come here. Hugs seem... nice. Even if he doesn't have much experience with them.

[runs]

She'll move in to kneel next to him (because size difference is a thing, so sitting isn't really the best way to do this), ducking in so that one of his arms is around her, and wraps her smaller arms around him.

She'll figure out to get comfortable in a moment, but first she needs to see if he's really okay with this.

[helborn]

He tugs her in close, leaning his head on her shoulder. It's... strange, but not bad. He tries to stop it, but tears start to drip down his face. His shoulders shake, and he sniffs. "Y... you're... one of the first people who actually... cares..."

[runs]

And now she is absolutely lost. She has no idea how to respond to this. This is not what she expected when offering a hug (though, to be fair, she didn't expect anything at all - it just seemed like the right thing to do).

She definitely doesn't know what to say, so she'll just... stay???? and keep her arms around him, leaning back against his greater weight to get somewhat comfortable. She's never comforted someone as a human, so she'll just do what she would have done as a cat and simply offer cuddles and her presence.

[helborn]

"... Sorry. It's... it's not your problem, it's mine... I've been... it's just... people here actually care, and... and I'm not used to that, it's... it's weird and I don't... it's nice but I don't know what to..." And now he's just babbling, so he squeezes his eyes shut, falling silent and rocking her. He doesn't dare tighten his hug, for fear of hurting her, even as much as he wants to.

[runs]

"Sometimes you just need to cry." She would shrug, but she doesn't want him to think that she's shrugging him off, so she shifts instead to make rocking her easier. "It means that you still have enough of a soul to do so. Even if it's not in your head anymore." She's not sure if Malicia can still cry. She's not even sure if Simon can. Street samurai tend to not be very good in the soul department. So it is something that Casper has going for him.

[helborn]

"... yeah. Thanks." He lifts up his sleeve and wipes his face on it. "... You're. You're a really good person, Kitty."

[runs]

"Of course I am." She's a cat, and cats are great, everyone except some people who prefer dogs (and people who prefer dogs clearly have no sense) says so. "But you aren't half bad either."

She's still hugging him and will continue to do so until he pulls away.

[helborn]

He pulls away after a little bit, even though it feels like it's been a while. He rubs his face, trying to pull himself together, but it's hard. "I don't... I don't know. What to do. About how I feel."