Kitties and Chaos (Darkling_Thrush and DontxBlinkk)

[Darkling_Thrush]

Felicia Marlowe cooed at the new arrivals. Anyone would think it was a baby she was leaning over, but the tall lithe woman was poking at three tabby kittens. They mewed back. The rest of the pet store she worked in was noisy and smelly, but the whole reason she was there was for the cats. Her green eyes sparkled merrily. She'd always had a connection with the sweet little loves.

She lifted the carrier and took the kittens to their new temporary home. As mu as she knew she already had enough cats, Felicia wanted to take one of those sweet little babies home.

The woman sighed and leaned against the counter. Twenty three and she was already a crazy cat lady. She tilted her head down, letting her dark brown hair fall in front of her eyes, blocking off her vision of the rest of the mall that the store was located in. Her long nails drummed against the countertop, making a light rapping sound.

Bored, bored. She wanted to lie down. Or at least sit. Some people thought she was lazy... perhaps it was true. She yawned, leaning her forearms on the counter and arching her back. Was it time to go home and catnap?

 

[DontxBlinkk]

The door to the pet store opened, causing the alert bell to ring. A sandy blonde haired, fair skinned man entered the workplace, his light blue eyes taking a look around the area. He was approached by the manager, a short red haired man by the name of Matthew, who greeted him with a firm handshake and a warm welcome. He took the man into the back of the store, stopping on their way when he spotted Felicia. "Felicia!" he called happily. "Lucas here has taken over the rodent department. He was the most eager after Chris decided to stomp off like that." The last manager of the small animal area didn't end his career well. He wasn't pleased with his job and after throwing a temper tantrum in front of several customers, Chris stormed out of the store never to be seen again. It wasn't much of a loss to the store, as the man never did much to help them and rarely did any work, but they were now short staffed.

Lucas nodded towards Felicia and cracked a calm smile at the woman. He stood just under six foot and looked to be no older then twenty five, with slight stubble on his chin, as if he was in the process of growing some sort of facial hair. His hair on the other hand, was combed back in what could be described as a wind swept look, with a few strands falling freely into his face. "Nice to meet you, Felicia," he said, holding out his hand.

 

[Darkling_Thrush]

Felicia looked the man over when he entered, blinking slowly. Why would anyone want the rodent section? Wriggly little things... they smelled... they were just prey. When he was introduced, she straightened and smiled, taking his hand with a nod. "Same to you," she said with a nod of her head.

The woman stretched, rolling her shoulders back and stretching out her fingers. She looked at the men in silence for a moment, another slow blink. Then she turned on her heel and and headed back to the kittens.

"Hello babies!" If she had seemed lazy and sleepy a moment before, now she was as awake as a child in a candy store. First Felicia made sure the cats all had food, then she kneeled and hand fed them a treat each. She spoiled them.

Her eyes lifted to the front counter again. She really should go back. With a small pout, the woman left her babies.

 

[DontxBlinkk]

Lucas watched as the woman left the front of the store and quickly followed the manager back to learn exactly what he would be doing in the store. That took just under an hour, as Lucas convinced him he was a fast learner and chose instead to approach Felicia again. She was still leaning on the counter, looking rather bored, which gave the man a perfect opening.

"Is this what you do every day?" he asked. "Just stand around bored and play with kittens?" He wasn't teasing her, but was asking an honest question, and Lucas was careful to not to make it sound as if he was mocking her in any way. The blonde leaned on the other side of the counter, watching Felicia with his bright blue eyes.

 

[Darkling_Thrush]

Felicia arched an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. "Yeah," she said after a moment. "Other than the felines, there is little that interests me here. The birds and rodents are amusing sometimes, running around and fluttering in their cages." She shrugged. "The cats make it worth it." She smiled and leaned on her hands. "And what brought you to the rats and mice?" She didn't try to hide the disdain from her voice. One hand lifted, raking long nails through her hair to get it out of her face.

 

[DontxBlinkk]

Lucas cracked another sweet smile. "I can relate to them," he told her with an odd purr in his voice. "Much like you and your cats, rodents just agree with me. Something about their... mischievous behaviour perhaps." It was easy for a god like Loki to relate to creatures so playful and easy going like they were. Just as he expected, Bast was close to cats and the woman even had the personality like them, not to mention her natural actions. "So how long have you been working here?" It was a few years since they lost contact with the goddess and nothing was the same without her. Loki didn't have his normal person to bother and it left an empty hole in his chest, which he believed needed fixing as soon as possible.

 

[Darkling_Thrush]

Felicia thought for a moment, rapping her nails on the counter. "A few months?" She mused. "Yeah, probably just a few months. They had an opening for someone to take care of the kitties, so I snatched it up like a lioness," her eyes took a somewhat savage gleam. She had fought three other applicants, literally. The man and two women had left with claw marks up and down their arms. She examined her nails with a smirk.

 

[DontxBlinkk]

"Hm..." Bast was much more aggressive now then Loki had remembered, although she always had that fighting streak in her. "Pretty good job, I take it?" Certainly worth it, he could tell from how he saw her act around the kittens in the back of the store. The god took a moment to himself, his eyes darting out the window at the front of the store. He paused, watching as a car pulled into the parking lot and a man and his young daughter left the car. He straightened his back, put on a charming, car salesman smile and greeted the new customers as they came into the door.

The girl bounced inside and tugged on her dad's jacket. "I want to look at the kitties," she told him with another tug and the man nudged her forward, giving her his silent permission. Lucas looked towards Felicia and smiled. "She's getting onto your territory," he teased.

 

[Darkling_Thrush]

"It's perfect," Felicia answered, putting emphasis on the first syllable.

Her eyes narrowed at Lucas' next comment. "Follow me," she smiled at the girl and sauntered away from the counter.

She didn't own the cats. She took care of them. It was only when she felt like people would disrespect or abuse them that she hesitated in sending her babies to new homes. This girl would love it. "Here they are," she said, leading the two past the glass and into the small room behind that the crates were kept in. "Her, I think," Felicia suggested, kneeling to a floor crate and retrieving an adolescent Ragdoll. She handed her to the child. "Her name is Charm," she said softly, watching the joy bloom in the girl's face. "I'll show you what things you'll need to care for her."

 

[DontxBlinkk]

Lucas remained where he was at the front counter and waited for the girl to return. He kept his eyes glued to Felicia for the longest time, taking small notes of how she acted around the two, trying to figure out if she actually remembered who she was or if she was just a wonderful actor. Either way, the woman would be a handful, just as all Egyptian gods were.

When the woman returned, Lucas smiled and gave a small wave to the girl holding the new kitten. "Adorable, isn't she?" he asked happily. The girl broke into a smile and nodded as her father went ahead and paid for all that she needed to raise the kitten.

 

[Darkling_Thrush]

Felicia watched the pair leave, a smug and proud smile upturning the corners of her lips. She leaned one arm on the counter and looked at Lucas. "Cats deserve the respect that that girl has for them," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the girl. "I could tell. She... reveres them. The way they used to be." Her eyes darkened, saddened, for a split moment, then she frowned. Where the Hell had that come from? Strange... Well, she did know that cats used to be worshiped, once upon a time. In a way, she still did. Well. More than just 'in a way', but she didn't have a shrine or anything.

She eyed Lucas up and down slowly for a moment, then turned away from the counter and slowly headed down to make sure all the cat toys were where they were supposed to be.