{MIW} Kitty's Better Not Have Claws

[François Laffont]

This cat was not a staff member. It seems important to mention otherwise François would look like some guy on a vendetta against said staff, and we all know he isn’t the one doing so. But he was indeed chasing after a cat right now. He tried to capture the little furball but it skipped away before he could do anything and was now on its trail.

He had no idea if that cat belonged to someone or if it decided to move in like so many other students did this week. Either way, Franck had to see for himself that all the jogging he was doing did not make him able to run after a cat and catch it. Then again, he was not really running after it, not wanting to scare it away more than it seemed to. He just wanted to grab it before it went somewhere it should not and then... Give it back to its rightful owner, he supposed. Unless that cat had none, then Franck was not sure what would happen. He had a light allergy to animal hair, not enough to prevent him from having a pet but still enough to consider whether he wanted to breathe right or have one. He always thought it would be a dog though but Franck might not be able to give away this cat if he was to find out he had to send it away to die alone in a little cage because no one would want of it.

Franck noticed it getting into a dorm. He had no idea which floor he was on now and not caring at all if someone might be in there and have the fright of their life for seeing this guy suddenly bursting in, he entered the dorm room and looked around. He was about to go on the floor to check if the cat did not hide under any furniture when movement at his side caught his attention. There was the cat, sitting on top of the cabinets of this little kitchenette. He approached gently. “Come here, kitty, I won’t hurt you, you shouldn’t be afraid of me,” he said with a tone just as friendly and gentle. He tried to reach out for the cat but the creature had no intention of jumping in the boy’s arms. Franck looked around and grabbed a chair to stand on so he may get to the cat. “Just don’t scratch me okay? I’m not here to hurt you.”

[Kyle Underly]

Moving in had become something of a pain. Sure, there were people around to help do the heavy lifting and all, and Kyle had made certain to get as much help as possible. Turned out that most of the helpers were sports types, which weren't his usual audience but hey, he could still mingle with the best of them. He'd even run into a few fans, so he had that going for him. Somehow, and that was the real trick, he'd managed to get everything in his dorm all situated, at least for the most part. he'd still have to work around and arrange things, adjust stuff, make sure his roommates knew which parts of the room belonged to him as opposed to them.

He thought he heard something scampering into the dorm, but he forced himself to ignore it. Wonderful part of his power was how easily distracted sounds made him after all: Kyle had pretty well learned to ignore them since he'd gotten them. It was when he'd heard someone that Kyle had to actually pause. He walked out of his room, looked for a bit, and then stared.

"Uh, hello?" he managed, taking a few steps closer, eyes flicking from guy to where he stretched. Kyle stretched his head slightly. "Are you trying to steal something or--oh," this last came as he noticed the creature on top of a little kitchenette. "Kay. That's not mine," he pointed at it. "Waaaaaait," he looked at the guy, "did you get your cat lost in my room on purpose?" Kyle chuckled shaking his head. "You know there are easier ways of talking to someone, right? It's cool though," he smirked. "I'd want to talk to me if I were you too."

[François Laffont]

The door was open, there was no reason for Franck not to follow after the cat then. Of course, most doors were open right now, since everyone was moving around, fighting for the bedroom of their choices, making sure they got everything and without a single scratch on it, that sort of thing. A lot of movement happened around the south wing and it was meant to be like that for the remainder of the week. Franck already wished for it to be done. Maybe he could convince Frank that a spa treatment was necessary for them to get over it. He usually didn't like using his friend like this, or her money, but he didn’t have that many friends who might be up to give him a massage. A pity, when you knew he could give them one were they just to ask. Maybe a spa treatment at home could do too. Frank had that right? Maybe not, but she was a girl, she had to know which products were the best to use then.

Franck was stretched out, trying to get the cat down or at least to grab it. He didn’t pay much attention whether or not someone entered the room. Or was even there to begin with. Until he heard a voice, that is. He froze where he was, despite the fact he was on his toes, and turned his head to look where that voice came from. He noticed a guy and he dropped on his feet, turning his entire body to face him. He was already asking if Franck intended to steal anything. Unless that guy had a very expensive pocket coffee machine on the counter, or Franck suddenly got the munchies, he doubted there was anything of value to steal in that part of the dorm. Franck didn’t have the time to explain though, as the other guy said the cat was not his.

Franck chuckled softly at that, ready to tell him that he was aware of that but, once again, he started to talk without leaving much room for Franck to say a single word. He was surprised though that the guy implied he might have done it on purpose to meet with him. The next comment was awfully condescending but Franck was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was just a facade of his. “The cat’s not mine either. Not even sure it belongs to anymore, I just saw it running around and tried to catch it. Didn't mean to barge in like that, sorry. I’ll just get the cat... if I can get it down from there. You’re not allergic to them are you?” Because the last thing Franck wanted to do was to cause allergies on this guy.

[Kyle Underly]

"Playing the good Samaritan card?" Kyle said. He pointed at Franck, waving the finger a few times. "Good move, good move. But yeah," he lowered the hand, again looking at the animal, "I'm not allergic to them or anything. Not a huge fan: the hair," Kyle gestured at himself, shaking hands, "not a fan of getting stuff like that everywhere. Pets are definitely not my thing."

It probably didn't help that nearly everything Kyle attempted to take care of died, save for a few extremely resilient plants. Anything that he could just water and forget for a while was good as far as he was concerned. Kyle looked the guy over again, noticing that he happened to be pretty good looking. Not a bad view from where Kyle was either. Might be good material for a posse, so Kyle should aim to get on the good side, recover a bit.

"You need any help though?" he offered, stepping forward. "Maybe we could get a broom, sort of," he gestured at the animal, "nudge the puss out of here. We don't need any of that anyway, right?"

[François Laffont]

This guy was not the first to talk of Franck’s good intentions like he had a further motive behind them. This didn’t mean he learned to deal with it as if it no longer affected him. “I’m playing no card at all here,” he said in his typical French accent. Altruism really was a dying virtue.

At least the guy was not allergic, but he also wanted the cat out of his dorm and Franck could understand that. “Right, working on that,” he assured him. Too bad his power did not extend to animals, or allowed him to share his emotions to people, and animals. He could have calmed that cat and let it jump right in his arms, wouldn’t have taken more than a few seconds for him to be off with it. “That week’s pretty chaotic. We just have so many people moving in and out everywhere. I didn't see a collar but the fur’s pretty thick, maybe it’s hidden well. But I also didn’t take a very close look. If you don’t like cats too much though, I suggest you watch out for the one we have as staff.” Speaking made it a little less awkward for Franck to be here in a dorm that was not his to get a cat that was also not his.

He stopped when he believed he picked something from the guy. Some... but he shook it off and focused on the task at hand. He offered the help. “Well, I don’t want to hurt it either. You think food can work? But if it doesn’t trust us, it might just refuse to go down. I don’t really know how to deal with pets well either. Never had any.” He would have loved a dog, always did, like so many other kids, but that never happened.

[Kyle Underly]

ah, the no card card. Right, Kyle had seen that before. First time he'd ever seen it played by someone French though. Then again, the Quebec types had always been friendly. Kyle had just chalked that up to the whole Canada thing. This guy at least believed what he said, and there was something in the way he handled the words that definitely appealed to Kyle's well developed sound. He almost got lost in it for a bit as Franck continued, talking about the week and all that stuff.

"You all really have a cat for staff? I just figured that was some sort of rumor you made up to scare newcomers," Kyle said. But again: he'd read Franck's voice there. No lying, no kidding, so either Franck really meant it or he was damn good at lying. Considering that he seemed to be the whole Good Samaritan thing, well, Kyle just had to assume it was the former.

"I was thinking of grabbing a broom and knocking it out," Kyle said, shrugging. "But hey, food will probably work," Kyle looked around for a bit, pursing his lips. "I think I've got some snacks around somewhere. Not sure I have anything for cats though. They do fish and stuff like that, right?" Kyle looked back up, considering. "You think maybe startling him could work. Because, well, I don't want to show off but," and the next words came as Kyle closed his mouth, his voice instead coming from right next to Franck, "I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."

[François Laffont]

Something in the way the guy looked at him had Franck think he did not believe him. He supposed he could not expect anything different when they didn’t even know who they were. He didn’t even introduce himself and now that he realised it, he thought it was time to fix that. “My name’s François, but everyone around here calls me Franck. I’m with the student council. I was... helping with the whole moving in thing for the week, that’s why I’m here,” he explained. He felt like he was trying to justify himself a little too much for what was supposed to be introducing himself. So he just smiled to the guy and tried to forget about it.

He nodded. No, this was no joke. “Oh, he’s human, I assure you. But I suppose he just prefers to remain a cat. But definitely human. And he can talk to you,” he told him. Franck wouldn’t have picked up emotions from Humphries if he was not human. It was just hard to get a proper reading when the cat took over. But Franck was not going to explain that his power allowed him to know as much. They were not having that kind of conversation.

“Well, it would knock it out yes, but it might also run away and I’m trying to catch it here,” he pointed out. Sure, this one would be freed of the furball and its hair he didn’t like, but Franck would then have to chase it around, possibly to another dorm room. “I’m no better than you. Fish yes. Milk too, I guess?” But the other guy was already trying not to show off, yet totally doing so, by suggesting something else. Franck startled when he heard the voice near him. He looked but he already knew that he was not there since he was staring at him. He paused, thinking about it. “You think you could calm it down like that? That way, I could get it.”

[Kyle Underly]

Franck and... ooo, on the student council. That had Kyle raising brows. That meant this guy had some leverage, that he'd gotten some attention, and that was exactly what Kyle wanted. He'd have to work a little harder to get into his good graces, even if the guy had already started with the whole stalking him and making up an excuse to get into his room and all. That didn't always work for everybody though.

"Wow, a real cat, huh?" Kyle did manage, raising his brows. "Guess they have all the amenities..." But Kyle definitely wasn't going to focus on that, not when he had the cat to deal with. Franck didn't want to knock it out and had no better ideas to get it out than he. So Kyle could definitely play the hero if he could maybe calm it down.

"Can't hurt," Kyle offered, shrugging. He shifted, getting a better look at the cat. Strictly speaking he didn't need that, not for his power, but it definitely helped. Kyle cleared his throat, and then, in his softest, most cloying voice, he started cooing at the cat. The animal jerked at first, but did seem to calming slightly. Mostly because Kyle kept adjusting his pitch, even as he felt some vocal strain at trying to match. Strictly speaking he couldn't mimic cat noises any more than a normal person, or hypnotize, but when you worked with your voice, you did pick some stuff up. Not like they needed to knock it out just calm it down, right? Of course, Kyle wasn't sure how long it would hold...

[François Laffont]

Apparently, Franck caught the guy's interest as he mentioned the student council. It sure had its little effect on a lot of people, considering it was not everything who could get in. But said effect was not always the one you'd like to get from someone. This one... Franck was not sure yet. Just because he seemed interested did not mean it would be good for Franck. At least it meant he might just get what he wanted right now. He didn't like using this kind of power on someone but he had it admit it had its perks.

Franck nodded as Kyle repeated what he said. "Well, like I said, not really a real cat, but he sure stays in that form. Guess he likes it." A power suppressor could probably bring him back to his human form but who was Franck to judge whether he should or not? He thought there was something a little wrong about not accepting the body you had at birth, some old remnant of his catholic religion still getting in the way. But he tried not to express it and just let it go. It was not his business, he kept reminding himself of that.

He frowned, not exactly sure what the guy meant to say. He did realise he did not introduce himself. Yet he didn’t strike Franck as one particularly shy person. For now, he left it at that. But he might have to ask for his name later. He preferred to focus on the cat and be out of here to let him settle in.

Franck just stood there, next to him, looking between the cat who was pretty surprised to hear a voice nearby when no one was there and the guy himself. It was rather impressive how he could modulate his voice like this. "It seems to be working," Franck let out softly, figuring now might be a good time to get closer to the cat and capture it.

He was able to grab the cat and bring it down with him. "It's even purring," he said as he could hear the cat. He petted the animal and looked around the neck. "Ah, it has a collar. Good." He played with it to try and find if there was anything on the collar. Only a bell. He had a sad smile. No name, but at least it meant it belonged to someone and he could start looking from there. Burt first... "Thank you. That was pretty amazing."

[Kyle Underly]

Someone actually chose to stay in a feline form? Kyle didn't really see the point, since that cut off way too much socializing for Kyle's enjoyment. Still, he supposed if it worked for the cat or guy or whatever. He'd leave it to that. Didn't really pertain to this situation or Kyle, so it wasn't something that he was going to focus on all that much.

instead he had to work at getting the kitty over. It took a lot of work, more than Kyle really liked. But it was working, and that was what mattered. Seemed to be impressing Franck too, which mattered even more. It did make Kyle a little more excited, and he could feel his voice shifting slightly. Thankfully, Franck caught the cat before that could really be a problem.

"Guess the voice soothes all creation," Kyle replied, practically preening. He paused as Franck looked for the collar, figuring that was probably important or whatever. They could at least get rid of the animal, and that was a definite plus. "Yeah, I'm pretty amazing," Kyle admitted, preening a bit more. "Takes lots of practice to get it just right, and I haven't even had the chance to really do that. So, it's got a collar. That include a home?" Kyle stepped forward, albeit cautiously. He still didn't quite trust the cat not to attack or anything.

[François Laffont]

Franck would have to agree with Kyle had the boy expressed his opinion. He too was a social butterfly and didn’t think staying in a cat form would help that. Then again... that guy came with a cute factor even Franck could not beat. But Franck was always charming enough with his human face not to need to be a cat. Or a dog. He saw himself more as a dog than a cat. The cat was his boyfriend. Damn, they better never become animals, the pairing this would make!

The guy seemed a little frustrated that it took so long and Franck was getting impatient too, mostly because of him. But it was working, slowly but surely. It was not the slight change in the voice that Franck caught from the boy however, it was the pride he felt at how he reacted, what he told him. Franck said nothing about it. If he wanted to be proud of it, he should. Franck would not try to break his bubble there.

The guy was practically gloating though. And when he admitted being amazing, Franck started to get that his ego might be big enough as it was and Franck should not try to make it any bigger with compliments. “Yes, I can guess it’s a lot of work but you’re doing fine. More than fine,” Despite the compliment, Franck was trying for it not to sound too much like a praise and more like the fact everyone here was working hard to do as good. He was not sure if it really sounded like that though. Hard to tell just how much a tone of voice could convey. He focused on the cat then. “Home yes but no name. Still, it’s a good start. I should just go and see if someone’s missing a cat.” Meaning he should leave him and his big ego alone and go back to more important matters. Not that Franck would quite phrase it that way though...

[Kyle Underly]

Yep, more than fine. Kyle started to nearly preen yet again. If someone like Franck thought he was more than fine than Kyle was in a more than fine spot. He just needed to make sure that he really had a good impact on the guy, so that Franck would then go and tell everyone he knew how awesome that Kyle guy was.

Which in this case, meant that he had to deal with the cat. It had a home, good, and, oh boy. Kyle could practically smell the dodge. "Hey, why don't I tag along?" he offered. He added a shrug. "I'm just moving in and all, nothing that I can't put off. And we've got to get the kitty back to his owners, right?" Just hopefully Kyle wouldn't actually have to carry the animal. He didn't want to get the fur everywhere.

So Kyle walked toward the door, pausing as he got there to look back at Franck. "C'mon, we don't want to leave someone missing their precious pet a moment longer than we need to, right?" See, now he'd think Kyle was empathetic on top of being more than fine. Everything coming up wins.

[François Laffont]

The whole praising thing was done without the intent of giving an ego even bigger than the one this guy possessed. Yet Franck had to sense for himself that this guy liked praises a little too much. Franck shrugged it off though. Sure, right now, he might get a little cocky himself if he did not pay attention, but that should be fine. As for the guy, if he wanted to be like that when he just arrived, it was his problem. Franck would not encourage him by talking of guy. He might mention he had help from someone or ask others if they had any problem with him in the future. Other than that, nothing.

There were more important things than this guy after all. Starting with this cat and its owner that must be looking for their pet. He was a little surprised the guy wanted to help even further. He said he didn’t like cats and had to settle in. But he offered it anyway. “It’s true. And if you want to join in, you are welcomed. It might also give you the opportunity to look at this new school of yours. I supposed you are a transfer though, right? With your experience so far, you must be. It isn’t all that different around here but it could be nice to get to know who you’ll be living with.” He even nodded at that. Why else would this Kyle character tag along? Franck did think he wanted to be seen around the school and make a reputation for himself already but he didn’t say that.

“I’m Franck by the way. Well, François, but that’s how everyone calls me around here.” He offered him a small smile as he introduced himself. He kept the cat in his arms. The guy said he didn’t like the hair so he’d keep the animal in his arms. Still, even if he left with the guy, he knew they had different goals out of this. He tried to focus on the cat and the fact that, so long as it returned to its owner, this should not matter.

[Kyle Underly]

Yeah, Kyle supposed he really should take the chance to start looking around the school a bit more, since it was going to be his stomping ground now. And hey, being seen with someone who was apparently on student council would have to count to his advantage. Plus: bonus points for helping out a feline. Everyone dug the humanitarian (speaking of, Kyle made a mental note to check out how to do some charity work around town).

Nodding now though. "Yep, went to the Canadian school for a while, got used to that sort of thing," Kyle said, waving a hand a little dismissively. He was definitely willing to talk about himself of course, but he knew he had to at least act a little nonchalant about the whole thing. The other guy was offering a name, French, from the sound of it.

"Francois, eh?" Kyle replied. "And I'm picking up French, right? We had some of those back in Canada. Well, more from Quebec or something, so not the exact same. Oh, right," Kyle nodded and smirked over at Francois. "I'm Kyle, Kyle Underly. And yeah, that Kyle Underly. If you haven't heard of me, just look me up sometime," really, Kyle so preferred it when they just knew. Where were all the fangirls here? Honestly?

He looked around for a bit, trying to figure out how to off load the cat quickly while still getting attention. "Think we should hit up the dorm commons or something?" he asked, nodding toward the cat, "get some attention on the cat and all."

[François Laffont]

“That would also give you the chance to look at the different clubs, if you want to join any. With your talents, I’m sure you’ll find something interesting. We’ve got clubs for almost anything you might want to get a club for,” he told him, although Franck could already see him in a singing or drama one. With his voice, that seemed like good options. But he didn’t know the boy’s interests so he preferred not to suggest it in case he was more into sports or science. You just never know.

He nodded as he mentioned the Canadian school. “Ah yes. ... Acton Vale, was that it? Almost went there myself,” Franck let out. He was not sure about the name, he had not heard about it in a while. He paid little attention when his father chose Bellefonte for him, he had questioned the man only a while later, when he found out there was one in Canada, where some people might have spoken French.

He got his name right. And picked up it was French. Franck grinned, actually proud of that, even nodding to show he got it right. “Yes, I think their French is a little different? At least, their accent are. Kind of like Americans and British people, right?” And he chuckled at that. He then introduced himself as Kyle Underly. Franck thought that he would indeed look him up, just to know why he could come out as ‘that’ Kyle Underly. “Nice to meet you,” he simply said for now.

He looked at the cat as the conversation came back on the fur ball. “Good idea. There are a lot of people there right now in the south wing since everyone’s sort of moving around. Someone might be able to recognize the cat,” he agreed with him. He walked out of the room, letting his power tell whether or not Kyle was following.