A Real Ladies' Man

[miss_sanguine]

Her response both flustered and amused him and he had to look away to hide his lopsided grin. She was reminding him more and more of a cat, its fur bristling and body poised to strike if not left alone. Much like Maneki when irritated.

When he composed himself, he put his hands behind him on the ground and leaned back on them, looking up to the sky in pretend thought. He knew better than to approach an agitated cat, and instead chose to not prod her. "I would know very little about it," he admitted. "Considering I only met you a few hours ago."

Her actions earlier still came off as fake to him, at least until toward the end. It didn't seem a good time to bring that up, though. Not unless he wanted to be scratched, and he'd already had enough of that for today from Maneki.

Darrak's healing didn't seem to be having the same happy effects on Dorothea as they'd had on him. Perhaps she was made of tougher stuff than he.

<The bartender's glaring at me,> Maneki cut in, her agitation floating in through his consciousness.

He sighed. "You'll have to excuse me," he said. "My cat's getting upset."

The last thing he needed was for Maneki to start a scene. He liked this place and didn't want to be banned from it.

He stood, ready to go back inside.

[Clair]

She stood with him and smirked. "Sorry for earlier," Dorothea said, following him inside. "It was just as embarrassing for me as it was for you."

[miss_sanguine]

He stopped short just outside the door, his hand ready to push it open. Her turn-around in mood caught him off-guard, and it baffled him; it was like a constant mood swing, verging on the edge of frightening.

"Not at all," he said a bit hesitantly, wary, before opening the door and holding it open for her.

[Clair]

Dorothea sighed. No matter what, he seemed taken aback by her. What could she do to improve what she'd messed up? She remained silent as she walked towards the bar.

[miss_sanguine]

Maneki was where he'd left her, sitting on the counter, except now she was lying down. She looked up when he came in, blue eyes shining in the dim lights of the bar. The bowl of juice was behind her, her tail hitting against it gingerly when it twitched. Darian had yet to move Dorothea's drink, either, probably because he didn't seem to like being near a cat. The man was off cleaning tables again, though he kept looking up every so often, as if eager for them to leave.

<What took you so long?> Maneki asked. Her eyes traveled to Dorothea, but she didn't saw anything upon seeing her.

<I was only gone a few minutes.>

When he was once again sitting at his stool, he stared at the bowl. Someone was going to have to drink it. He wasn't going to waste his money on two drinks tonight. But he wasn't thirsty anymore.

Darned picky cat.

[Clair]

Dorothea was itching to know how the two communicated. It was obvious that they did, but how. She leaned over and whispered to him. "How do you hear her? Is her voice in human tongue?"

[miss_sanguine]

Blinking, he looked away from the bowl and at Dorothea, a little surprised by her question. "Maneki? Oh, err . . . It's hard to explain." As unexpected as it was, he supposed it shouldn't have been. He hadn't gone out of his way to treat Maneki like an ordinary cat, and it was hard for someone to not notice this.

"She's my familiar. I'm a mage," he told her. "I can . . . hear her thoughts in my head. But they're not in human tongue. They . . . ah . . ." How did he explain it? He didn't have to very often. "They're just . . . there. Like an idea that pops into your head. It's not in words, it's simply there. Does that make sense?"

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Man, he must sound like an idiot.

At this, Maneki rose and came over to him, her long, furry tail brushing under his nose. The tickling sensation made him scrunch up his face.

[Clair]

"That is incredible," Dorothea breathed, truly impressed. She looked to Menaki. "Sorry for making you feel like I was getting between you and him."

[miss_sanguine]

If he was surprised by her question, what she said next blew him out of the water. Maneki was startled, too, standing there under his chin and contemplating Dorothea. The apology sounded sincere.

After a moment or so of scrutinizing, Maneki sat and wrapped her tail around her legs. <Tell her she's forgiven,> she finally said. <But not to let it happen again or I'll scratch out her eyes.>

Another nervous laugh. "Uh . . . She says she forgives you." No need to mention the last part.

He felt a little better now that his cat and Dorothea were getting along. "Listen. Lemme go ask Darrak if he knows of any good places to sight-see," he offered. "We can enjoy the rest of the evening. Forget about what happened."

[Clair]

Dorothea crouched down and gently ran her hand through the cat's soft fur. She was a beautiful creature, indeed. She was also Dorothea's ticket to Monnayage. At the back of her mind, Dorothea smirked. "Sight-seeing would be lovely, wouldn't it?"

[miss_sanguine]

A sensation of pure pleasure coursed its way down his back at the same time that Maneki leaned into Dorothea's touch and started to purr. Oh, Kia. The last thing he needed was to be aroused just because his cat was being pet.

"Right!" he said rather hurriedly. He scooped Maneki up, her giving a low growl. "I'll go ask him, then."

<I want to stay with her,> Maneki protested. She was never one to deny a petting, but he couldn't allow her that right now.

He wondered if Darrak would be upset at a third visit.

[Clair]

Dorothea noticed the shiver that went through Monnayage and pursed her lips slightly; it was intriguing to see that sort of reaction. She had not expected it. She nodded sweetly, though, when he said he took the cat to speak with Darrak. Thinking he wouldn't mind, Dorothea moved to follow him but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the drink left on the counter. She grinned. Glancing around quickly, she reached into her side pouch and sprinkled some flecks of dried leaves into the drink.

[miss_sanguine]

As it turned out, Darrak was more than happy to accommodate him with his want for places to go exploring. By the time Monnayage left the man's office, he had several places in mind that he thought Dorothea might enjoy. The little waterfall near the edge of the nearby river, for example. It was the perfect place for them to . . . get to know each other more. Even Maneki agreed that it was a good spot, though she refused to get anywhere near the water and promised to make him her personal pin cushion if he did anything more than simply talk to the girl.

"Good news," he said, sliding in beside Dorothea once again and grabbing the bowl of juice. "Darrak was full of ideas, all of them great."

Maneki went from his shoulder to the counter, padding over to Dorothea and mewing at her once she sat down.  <Pet me,> she said, though only Monnayage could hear this. The meow alone was obvious enough, however.

Right. The evening was turning out for the better already.

He left his cat and Dorothea to themselves, putting the rim of the bowl to his lips and taking a few sips. The taste made him gag. He looked down at the drink in disgust. <Maneki!> he said. <You weren't kidding. This juice is terrible.>

<Yes.> She wasn't paying much attention to what he said, still looking at Dorothea with imploring eyes.

Be that as it may, he was going to have to pay for it, and with Dorothea not having her drink, he had to make sure that his money didn't go completely to waste. After a deep breath, he downed the drink in  three seconds, shuddered a bit and placed the bowl back down on the counter.

"Right," he said aloud. "Let me pay and we can get out of here." He pulled his money pouch from his shirt pocket.

[Clair]

Dorothea smiled inwardly as he drank. She busied herself with giving the lovely cat- she was gorgeous- attention so to keep from laughing. Looking up to him as he spoke, Dorothea replied "Where shall we go?"

[miss_sanguine]

Having been to this bar a few times, he knew the exact amount owed, and left a little something of a tip for Darian. It wasn't the man's fault that Maneki--an intelligent animal but an animal all the same--felt the need to be prim and sit up on counter tops. And, as promised, he reached over the counter to grab a rag and lightly ran it over the spot where Maneki had sat.

When his money pouch sat tucked safely away in his pocket once more, he turned to Dorothea. "There's a nice little spot by a river near here I think you'd really enjoy," he said. He ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth, trying to wash out the flavor of the juice. It really had been quite nasty. Never would he order it here again.

Due to his being ready for it, the sensitivity of Dorothea petting Maneki did not reach him, though he did have traces of the cat's satisfaction. Due to past experiences, he'd been working on this trick.

"Shall we go?"

[Clair]

Dorothea reached down and hoisted the beautiful cat into her arms, cradling her against her chest. She smiled at Monnayage and nodded towards the door. "To the river we go then," Dorothea said cheerfully.

[miss_sanguine]

Maneki gladly allowed Dorothea to lift her, purring and nestling into the woman's breast, paw resting up on her shirt. What a silly cat, to turn into this bowl of mush toward anyone that petted her just right. It made him grin, almost laugh. Cats were such fickle animals.

Isn't that why you chose her? he reminded himself as he got up from his chair. He'd been told he was like a cat, a statement that had only increased when he'd made Maneki his familiar. Couldn't blame it on the bonding, no. He'd had the attributes long before.

A loud crash filled his ears, accompanied by a shot of pain in his side. Somehow he lay on the floor, the chair with him. Blinking, he looked around at the barmen who stared at him with mixes of amusement, concern, and annoyance.

How had it happened?

<Monnayage. . . .> Maneki gazed at him from her spot in Dorothea's arms.

"Whoops! Guess I lost my balance." This assuaged the attention of some of the onlookers, their eyes going back to their mugs or speaking companions. He laughed to show that no harm had been done, then slowly got to his feet, brushing dirt from his pants. The action made him sway a little, baffling him.

<You don't lose your balance,> Maneki stated, her eyes squinting suspiciously, and she had a point. He couldn't remember ever having lost his balance before, but there was always room for a first time, right?

<I'm fine, Makki.> A little dirty, but fine.

With a glance at Darian, the man peering at him with disdain, he righted the stool he'd fallen over.

Good as new.

[Clair]

Dorothea gaped, her expression shocked. "What happened?" she gasped, still cuddling the cat. "Are you okay?"

[miss_sanguine]

"What happened?" he repeated, looking down at his side where he had fallen on it, knowing later that a large bruise would form but not caring. "Why, I do believe I fell over."

He laughed, finding all of this quite amusing. Him! Falling over! No wonder the men in the bar had laughter in their eyes; he probably came off as a drunk, a man none-too-tolerant of his alcohol and proving it after only a swig.

Drunk on juice. As nonsensical as the concept was, he still continued to laugh.

"I'm fine," he finally said, hand coming to rest on the chair next to him in order to keep from falling again. There was a delightful hum starting his head. "Though I suggest we leave before it gets too late."

[Clair]

Dorothea nodded seriously and struggled to move the cat to her shoulders, so that she could better assist Monnayage. Inside, she was giddy with excitement. Obviously, Monnayage didn't have much of a tolerance for substances. This would work in her favor and if she played her cards right, Dorothea was convinced she would be able to drug him.

She linked her arm with his and gave him a beautiful smile, sweet and innocent. There was no malice in her eyes. "Fresh air might be best for you."