milliways_bar | (no subject)

A large black cat eyes the soggy hound before jumping up onto the top of Námo's chair.

'Why is your dog wet friendofGorlimwhoissometimescat?'

He turns his head to the black cat with a smile.

"Lírë was out in the slush. She likes the cold and wet. Are you well?"

'Strange creature. I am well thank you. I would rather be at home so I could be with T-Rex, but Mummy needs to stay here for a while, and I will have to manage. How are you?'

He reaches up, offering his hand to the cat before just scritching him.

"I am well; it is kind of you to ask. I have heard that your Mummy has grown more ill from Gorlim. I do hope he is doing somewhat better since I last spoke to Gorlim."

Pause.

"Who is 'T-Rex'?"

Scampi rubs against the hand.

'He has good days and bad days. Today is a bad day. He keeps going into the forest but I don't know why. When he comes back he is quiet and pale and shaky and sits staring for ages.'

He purrs. 'T-Rex is my girlfriend whose owners think she is a tom. But she says no owners can know she's a she or one of us will be 'new turd'. I don't want to be a turd so I'm keeping my mouth shut.'

He scritches him, liking the sound of the purring -- as he always does when a cat purrs.

"Gorlim has similar days, only now he cannot hide from me in the woods any longer."

Námo chuckles at the explanation of who T-Rex was.

"It sounds like a good idea to keep that to yourselves."

'I don't think he hides. I think he searches. If he was hiding, why would he go out in the middle of the night with a torch? I don't see any reason to hide from me anyway.'

He flops down on Námo's shoulder and purrs in his ear.

'She says she's going to teach me about birds and bees because she asked me and I said birds are tasty and bees are crunchy but that's not what she meant.'

Námo chooses to not dwell on Gorlim's hiding -- it still causes him pain. He continues to pet and scritch the cat, closing his eyes to better enjoy the sound.

"Does he speak to anyone about these nightly journeys?" he asks softly. "And I am not familiar with the expression 'the birds and the bees'. Should she explain it to you, I would be most appreciative if you would come and explain the expression to me as well."

'I don't know. I don't speak human. But ladywhofeedshim smells worried.'

He finds these terms for the people around Guppy very amusing.

"It is good, though, that there are those around your Mummy who worry for him. It is always good that there are people who care and love others."

Scampi has never managed to get through the mass of human babble to find out names of people easily. He only knows Gorlim's through Asar-Suti.

'Mummy looks after me, I look after her. But he can't tell me things that are wrong, so there is only so much I can do.'

There is a whimper from the sleeping Guppy nearby. Scampi jumps off Námo's shoulder and goes over to him, gently licking the young man's hand. He watches until his mummy relaxes from his tensed state, then goes back to Námo.

'He wakes up scared and scrubs at his hands, but there's nothing there. I've been trying licking them clean as he wakes. Sometimes it seems to help. Did Gorlim say what happened last week? He's much worse than he was before.'

Námo glances at the man, his eyes intent on him.

"Only that Guppy lost someone close to him," he says quietly, though not sadly. Námo does not quite get death in the way humans can. He is a death god, after all, and so it does not mean the same to him.

'Is that who he's looking for? If he gives me the scent, I could help him find a lost person.'

The young man appears restless. His forehead is sweaty and his eyes tightly closed. He looks pale, tired, and not particularly well.