Who: Lyra and Kyo Where: The Streets When: Sunday Afternoon What: Cat?! - Match up Status: Low
Kyo was having a miserable day. He didn’t have a lot of good days to begin with, but today it felt like it was going to snow and he already didn’t do so well with the cold weather. It was taking everything he had not to turn into a cat in the middle of the street. He just wanted to get back to his apartment and pretend the world did not exist. The only reason he ventured out at all was to get food from the store which he currently had in one plastic bag at his side.
While he usually had his head up and was aware of his surroundings, today he was watching his boots in the slight snow. He hated snow. He hated water. Why couldn’t it be a dry summer day? He kicked a rock and let it skip out in front of him a little.
--
Lyra was bored and cold. She was bundled up in a jacket and a pair of jeans, along with a beanie. Pan, her daemon, had taken on the form of a mouse and was nestled into the hood of her jacket.
She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, she was too lost in her thoughts. So it wasn't too surprising that she ran directly into a young man coming from the other direction.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" she said.
--
It only registered to him too late that the purpose who ran into him was a girl. There was no reaction time. There was a faint ‘POP’ sound and smoke billowed up from no where. When it cleared there was a pile of clothes where there had once been a teenager and an orange cat that looked entirely surprised and sheepish was staring at the girl with wide eyes.
Great. Now Kyo had to worry about his secret coming out too.
--
Lyra's eyes widened when smoke started billowing up and the teenager just sort of...disappeared. She had no idea what had happened, except for the fact that there was now a cat where the teenager once stood. "Woah…" was all she could think to say.
She knelt down, and peered at the cat. "Hi," she said. "Are you that boy?" She wasn't sure the cat would (or could) respond.
"I don't know how to change you back…"
--
Cats shouldn’t be able to pout, but somehow this one did. The orange cat also rolled its eyes. “You can’t turn me back. It just takes time.” Maybe he looked a little embarrassed, too. In fact, his cheeks despite having fur seemed to redden a little. He realized he was talking to a child and he suddenly felt bad.
“Are… you okay?” His voice had an accent to it. English was not his first language and sometimes the words were spoken more slowly than a native English speaker would say it, but his English wasn’t terrible.
--
Her head tilted slightly as he spoke. “So you can speak as a cat. That’s cool. My daemon can speak, too. But you’re not a daemon…” She shrugged a bit at this, and offered the boy-cat a small smile. “Does this happen often? Whenever someone runs into you?” She’d never encountered someone who had the ability to turn into a cat. Or any animal for that matter.
She knew of animals who could speak. Like the panserbjørn, or the armored bears. And the daemons could speak as well, but they weren’t truly animals.
“I am fine,” she told him. “How are you? You’re okay?” she asked. “How do you turn into a cat?”
--
He pawed at his clothes on the ground sheepishly. They were getting damp now from the snow which annoyed him immensely. He picked up his shirt a little with his paw - something that should not be possible being a cat - and moved it onto his pants with a small sigh before looking up to her. “I turned into a cat because of you… because you’re…. A girl.” He semi mumbled the last part as he sat down on his hind legs with a huff. “What’s a daemon?” He didn’t like the way it sounded. It sounded like demon.
--
Lyra peered at the pile of clothing on the ground, getting wet because of the snow. She bent down and picked up the shirt and pants, brushing off the snow so they wouldn’t get even wetter. She hoped that Kyo wouldn’t mind too terribly much. She figured he’d prefer that over his clothes getting wet because of her. After all, he said he had turned into a cat because she was a girl.
“You turn into a cat when you get touched by a girl?” she asked, her eyebrow arching slightly. “Well, that’s unfortunate.” She peered at Pan for a moment, when Kyo asked about him. “He’s sort of… an extension of myself. He and I can’t be separated by more than a few yards. He’s always with me. He’s supposed to settle down into a set form once I get older, but I don’t want him to.” She shrugged a bit at this.
“How long do you stay a cat?” she asked.
--
Kyo looked over at Pan as if for the first time. Unlike Pan, Kyo couldn’t change his form. He had thought about how much he wished he could as a kid, but that was never going to be in the cards. His attention went from Pan back to the girl at the question. “I don’t know… it’s different every time. But when I do…” Well, she held his clothes now. The orange cat looked a little sheepish - he didn’t exactly want to return to his form naked in front of this particular girl. “I should go home… before more people see me.”
--
Lyra nodded at Kyo’s words, “Yes, I suppose you should. Do you want me to come with you? I can bring your clothes. Or I can keep your clothes and give them to you later…” She had a feeling he would choose the latter, but she figured she would give him multiple options. It was only fair, right?
“Maybe we can talk another time,” she suggested. “When you’re a person instead of an adorable cat.” She offered Kyo a small smile as she spoke. “We can have burgers or something, later.”
--
He blinked. He wasn’t used to people being nice to him. She reminded him a little bit of Tohru, though she was younger and not as beautiful. Still, he found it hard to deny her outright and instead he was nodding despite himself. “Burgers or something… yeah, sure. Okay.” He paused. “I’ll come get my clothes. I…” He really didn’t want her to see him naked. He took a step backward. “I’m going to go now.” Awkwardly he turned to go, then paused. “Name’s Kyo. I’ll see you later.” Then he ran off, not even knowing what the girl’s name was.
--
Lyra understood that he was likely feeling awkward about the whole situation. She didn’t blame him in the slightest. She likely would have felt awkward as well. But how could she know? She’d never turned into a cat before. But still. It had to be a bit awkward, right? She nodded slightly when he said he was going to go, and decided to head home for the rest of the day. She could pester Nick Fury or something. Not that he ever seemed to mind it when she pestered him.
Then later she’d pester Kyo on the network. When he was himself again.