TRP: Bee, Hansel, and Mishka (Heelturn)

[DAY: 472. SETTING: Skyport. Mishka and Hansel go on a date, then later encounter Bee.]

"I want it to have, like-- spikes--"

"Can you be more specific? Where on the armor, exactly?"

"I don't know. Where should you have spikes, Hansel?" Mishka said, turning to Hansel. The armorer looked very at ease with them in her armory. That was what Mishka liked about her. She didn't blink at having a couple well-known and heavily-armed former pirates in her shop.

IZZY

Hansel opened his mouth to say, On my dick, then closed it.

"Dunno. Whereabouts d'you normally put spikes, on armor?"

COYOTE

Muriel considered this. "Do you wanna kill folks or just scare 'em?"

IZZY

Hansel looked to Mishka for his opinion, given that this was a Mishka Scheme.

COYOTE

"Both?" Mishka said, looking back at Hansel.

IZZY

"Aye, both." Hansel nodded.

COYOTE

"We could add some on the pauldrons, here. If you curve 'em, that's different from having them straight. You can grab onto folks and the spikes will puncture them and stick them to your armor, essentially, and the little hooks make it so they can't pull off easily. You want 'em to stick to you, or you want them to run away screaming?"

Mishka shifted in place. He made a small fist in Hansel's shirt down by his side, and he kept glancing at Hansel and then back towards the spikes with a glassy-eyed look.

IZZY

Hansel grinned down at Mishka, then remembered he was here to do stuff other than be smug at his husband. "Uh, yeah." He paused. "Sorry, what was the question?"

COYOTE

Muriel chewed on a piece of sugar cane stick in the corner of her mouth. "You and your husband are real fuckin' weird."

IZZY

"Aye," Hansel agreed, putting his arm around Mishka. "That ain't a question, though."

COYOTE

"So, do you want straight spikes? To dig into people and then let 'em go? Protect yourself more? Or do you wanna grab people, let the curved spikes hook 'em, and then crush them to death? What kinda man are you." She leaned on the counter.

IZZY

He pointed at her. "Second one. Aye. For sure. The crushin' type."

COYOTE

"We can sharpen the edges of the armor, too. Make 'em serrated so they cut into anybody y'like--"

"Yes, absolutely, that," Mishka said, shifting up on the toes of his feet and then down. His face was a bit pink.

"It'll be a few days. And it'll cost... two hundred gold," Muriel decided. Mishka handed the payment over without arguing about the price.

IZZY

Hansel grinned at Mishka again, dumbly. It occurred to him to object and try to bargain, or something, but it happened a little too fast, and his reaction time was all fucked up 'cause he was busy being all charmed by how into this Mishka was. Precious. He did look back up to Muriel, though. "Anything else we can add on there, you figure? Fuckin' ... more spikes, or somethin'."

COYOTE

Muriel scratched her chin, which had what looked like a few whiskers on it. "We could bang out some of the dents."

"I would love to bang some of the..." Mishka started to say something, then trailed off, the pink color going a bit redder. "Um. I mean. Yes. Do that."

"Could rub some oil on it, tint it a different color. Add some leather on the inside to make it softer and more comfortable."

IZZY

Hansel snorted and turned it into clearing his throat, very gracefully. No one could tell. Yeah, definitely. He squeezed Mishka a little.

The mithral was a pretty light color, kinda bluish-silver. It kinda made him think of Goro's magic, which was neat, but also wasn't real stealthy, even though he never polished it or anything. It was bright even when it was dingy. Felt like that defeated the purpose of having magically-quieted armor. "Could you make it sort of a ... dark goldish, coppery or brassy color? Don't want nothin' too shiny, is all."

COYOTE

"I can do that," Muriel said thoughtfully.

"Do the other thing, too. The leather," Mishka put in. "Make it comfortable. And nice to wear."

IZZY

"Psshh." Hansel waved that off, but didn't argue.

COYOTE

Mishka passed her some extra coin over the counter, then headed towards the door, eyes still a bit glassy, still sneaking peeks at Hansel from the corners of his eyes.

IZZY

Hansel gave the armorer a little salute in thanks and trotted after Mishka, grinning at him slyly. Once they'd gotten outside, he nudged Mishka with his elbow a couple times knowingly.

COYOTE

Mishka scoffed, attempting to duck aside so that the elbows missed, but he was too flustered, and too busy looking at Hansel, and ended up walking into a post instead.

IZZY

Hansel snorted out a laugh before he could help himself, but bit it off and quickly wrapped an arm around Mishka to scoop him closer and kiss his head a couple times to make up for it. "Dumbass," he said affectionately. "Watch where you're fuckin' walkin' or I'm gonna have to carry you."

COYOTE

"I was watching where you were walking," Mishka said, and continued blatantly staring at Hansel.

IZZY

"A'right, you were warned," Hansel told him, and bent to scoop him up, princess-style, and carry on walking. Any direction, really. Didn't much matter to him.

COYOTE

"What a terrible punishment," Mishka said. "Help. Help. I'm being kidnapped." He snuggled against Hansel's chest, wrapping his arms around Hansel's neck to steady himself and sighing contentedly against a bare patch of exposed skin on Hansel's neck.

IZZY

"Mm," Hansel agreed, nodding. "Gotta teach you a lesson. Put you in your place, an' all." Then he snickered and nuzzled against Mishka's hair, murmuring, "Yefefe nesichi. Where to next, eh?"

COYOTE

"Hmmm. What about... y'know that park I like? The one with the winter flowers?"

IZZY

"Y'like every park that's got flowers," Hansel pointed out. "An' that's most of'em. But aye, I know the one."

COYOTE

"Bards play music there in the afternoons, when it's cool. We could sit there for a while," Mishka said. "Pay them to play music we like."

IZZY

He made a pleased sound. Sounded nice -- sitting in the cool grass against a tree, pulling Mishka into his lap and listening to some music until he was good and relaxed -- chin propped on Mishka's shoulder, eyes closed. "Aye, cap'n." He shifted Mishka in his arms, ready to carry him for the long haul.

COYOTE

Mishka cuddled against him for a long time as they walked, then-- eventually, began to protest, Hans, let me down, and, I want to go over there, and, look, look at those flowers over there, I want to go see them.

IZZY

Hansel did not let him down but gamely carried him over to the flowers he wanted to see.

COYOTE

"But I want to touch them," Mishka wheedled. "Maybe steal one. I can't do that from up here." He said, "I'll do something you like if you let me steal a flower."

IZZY

"Hm, hm." Hansel nodded. "Y'know what I'd like?"

COYOTE

"What?" Mishka said, staring at Hansel, feeling a bit glazed.

IZZY

"You stealin' a flower." He set Mishka back on his feet gently. "Fuckin' druid crime, sounds like. 'M into it."

COYOTE

"You're into most crimes. You're a scourge, you are. Corrupting innocent pretty boys such as myself. Keep a lookout, will you?" Mishka bent to gently inspect the flower and see how it could be removed. The stem was quite delicate, so it could not be pulled up without breaking the plant. He'd have to dig it up.

IZZY

"Aye, true," Hansel agreed, shifting to the side so he could block off most of the lines of sight people could get on Mishka, pretending like he was admiring a different flower. Was a nice flower, anyway. Hansel liked a lot of flowers, and a lot of crimes, and a lot of people. He supposed he was like that.

There were a couple of bards not too far off, playing a little duet, one of them singing. He hummed along aimlessly.

COYOTE

Mishka unsheathed a dagger from his boot, then gently worked it into the soil. He pried at the soil, wiggling the dagger back and forth, until the dirt around the flower loosened and broke. Then, very carefully, he sheathed his dagger and gently gripped the plant at its base, tugging it up out of the soil. The plant broke loose, keeping most of the roots intact but leaving the soil behind.

He carefully tucked it into his pouch.

IZZY

Hansel glanced down at him and grinned, seeing the flower disappear into Mishka's bag. "Flower pirate," he murmured, a little teasingly and a lot fondly. "Ain't that just about fuckin' perfect."

COYOTE

Mishka giggled. He never got tired of Hansel looking at him like that, all... glazed over. It had different variations to it-- sometimes scared, sometimes enamored, sometimes just admiring softly-- but it was always the same look.

It was the first thing he'd noticed about Hansel. Six foot half-orc with a bruised face and a hard scowl, carrying several weapons, and staring at Mishka wide-eyed across the bar like he'd never seen anything like Mishka before.

It was-- flattering.

And it was a nice expression, on Hansel. All... tall, broad-shouldered, deadly pirate, with that soft look on his face, like he'd just found a stray kitten huddling under broken crates in the alley.

Mishka nudged him. "I'm gonna give it to Amari. D'you figure she'll mind we stole it for her?"

IZZY

He grinned a little wider at the giggle. Fuckin' adorable. He didn't have any fucking clue what Mishka was thinking about when Mishka looked at him, half the time, but he always liked the way Mishka was looking -- always made him wanna ask, What? and pin Mishka down and playfully rough him up 'til he spilled it. A time and a place, though, he supposed. He just slipped his hand around Mishka's, instead, to pull him in close as he could get him.

"Pffft. Mari." He waved it off. "Bet she'll say somethin' about how nobody own nature, so y'can't steal it, or some shit."

COYOTE

"Yeah, that sounds right," Mishka said. "Exactly. You can't steal a plant. It's a plant. Right? They grow all over the place. In dirt."

IZZY

Hansel nodded in agreement. "Aye, an' gold comes from the dirt, too."

COYOTE

"Precisely. It's all just nature's resources."

In the distance, someone said, in a concerned voice, "Hey."

IZZY

Hansel looked towards the voice, completely fucking blase.

COYOTE

A man in nice clothing-- escorting a fine young woman in a dress-- stared at Hansel and Mishka, consternated, then gently said, "You can't just-- you can't just take the plants home with you. That's illegal. Are you from here?"

IZZY

"What plants?" Hansel asked.

COYOTE

"The... the one you just took," the man said.

IZZY

"Didn't take any fuckin' plants," Hansel said blandly.

COYOTE

The man opened his mouth again. The woman tugged on his arm, then bent to whisper urgently in his ear. Then, loudly, she said to Hansel, "We'll call the guards on you if you don't put the plant back."

Mishka began digging up a second plant.

IZZY

"Ain't takin' any plants," Hansel told them. "You're fuckin' nuts. That's goddamn ... slander, an' shit."

COYOTE

"Aye," Mishka said. "Slander. That's illegal. Are you from here?"

The man and the woman took another look at Hansel, then scuttled off. Mishka finished digging up his plant.

IZZY

"S'pose they're gonna call the guard?" Hansel asked mildly. He could kill a bunch of Helmites if he had to. No fuckin' skin off his nose. Might ruin their date, a bit, though.

COYOTE

"Aye, we should skitter off," Mishka said guiltily. "I don't wanna kill a bunch of folks just because we made trouble."

IZZY

"Ehh, fuckin Helmites." Hansel made a wobbly gesture with one hand. "Ain't sure they count. Bastards." Still, he glanced around. "Could probably get another flower or two, 'fore anyone gets here."

COYOTE

Mishka began digging up a third flower. He did like making trouble with Hansel. A lot. Always did. Always would. Once he'd stolen the third, he put the mask on with a flourish to make himself look like a blue tiefling with long, thick, white hair and white freckle-like spots across his face. "Suppose they'll be looking for an elf and an orc, not a tiefling and an orc, right?"

IZZY

Hansel made an approving sound. He liked the pretty blue tiefling form Mishka put on sometimes. Had cute freckles. He tilted Mishka's chin up and kissed his nose. "Aye. Perfect crime. S'pose I turn into a cat or some such, eh? Cats can't steal flowers."

COYOTE

"That's adorable. Absolutely. Yes." Then Mishka could pet the cat, combing out all snarls in his fur and gently rubbing the scarred spots in his skin-- the places Mishka knew still ached and hurt, sometimes. He could carry the cat and tell Hansel what a good and strong cat he was.

And Hansel wouldn't be able to do anything about it, because he he'd be cat, and if he turned back into an orc to protest Mishka's attention, they'd be caught by the guards.

It was diabolical.

IZZY

Hansel kissed his forehead, too, then rubbed his cheek against Mishka's, and -- he was getting better at this -- curled around his shoulders as a hefty gray tomcat with scruffy ears, purring loud and rumbly, wrapped around the back of his neck to rub against his other cheek.

COYOTE

Mishka took a long moment to scratch his ears-- deeply and a little rough, the way Hansel liked it-- and then started down the path to the center of the garden, where musicians often played their instruments for change.

IZZY

Hansel only purred more loudly, digging his claws in happily and closing his eyes, wobbling with Mishka's steps because he was a bit too big, even as a cat, to be where he was, but that sure as hell wasn't gonna stop him.

Mishka passed the pair doing a duet, who were performing for a modest little crowd off to the side, and more towards the center of the garden, came across more of them. The ones that were proper magic bards livened up their shows with little lights and such, while others just relied on musical talent. The best of them did both, and Hansel didn't have too much of an ear for music -- he liked it loud, many voices belting out the same work song in rough harmony against the crash of the waves -- but he liked the song the smallish bard perched on the fountain in the middle of the garden was playing.

They were pale and dark-haired, in dark clothes, strumming on a gold-framed harp and singing in a language he didn't quite recognize. He could tell they were a magic bard, too, both by the little yellow lights floating around them like fireflies and the fact that they had a pair of scimitars strapped to their back. Regular musicians didn't tend to be armed.

COYOTE

Mishka rolled his feet as he walked, keeping his upper body fairly stationary so as not to disturb the cat upon his shoulders. Hansel began purring more loudly as they approached certain musicians, and less loudly as they approached others, so Mishka amused himself by weaving back and forth until he found the musician that Hansel favored most.

It was Bee, Mishka noticed, startled. He was so enamored with his cat-husband he'd failed to noticed until he was right next to the musician.

"Bee!" Mishka said.

IZZY

Ah, Bee. Hansel flicked his tail a little, suspicious. Mishka'd told him about Bee, but he hadn't met them yet himself. Mishka liked them, but Mishka liked most people, and Hansel slitted his eyes at them. They were supposed to've been a paladin, but they'd lost their powers, and such. He guessed they still had some magic, though.

They opened their eyes and blinked at Mishka, studying him for a moment. Hansel realized that they probably didn't realize who he was, what with the disguise, just as the verse or whatever they'd been singing came to an end, and they politely, but cluelessly, said, "Yes?"

COYOTE

Mishka dithered, confused, then said, "Oh!" He gestured at himself. "Mishka. Sorry." He lifted the mask off his face for a moment to reveal his regular self, then popped it back on.

IZZY

"Oh." They raised their eyebrows. "Are you ... in disguise?" They glanced at Hansel, but didn't ask. "Are you all right?"

COYOTE

"Huh? Oh. No, I'm fine. Business as usual," Mishka said. "Just like to look different sometimes."

Behind him, two dozen feet back, a couple of puzzled-looking guard began to search the plaza. Mishka blandly ignored them.

"Scimitars," Mishka said. "Are those new?"

IZZY

They nodded, as though that was entirely reasonable. Hansel couldn't quite tell if they were being sarcastic about it.

"They are, yes. I had a greatsword, once." They were still idly playing their harp. "But without Lathander's strength, it was a little too heavy for me. I had it reforged."

COYOTE

Mishka sat. "I won't scare off your patrons by sitting and talking to you, will I?"

IZZY

"Oh, no." They smiled. "I'm afraid I'm not making very much money, anyway. I don't think your average Skyporter cares for hymns, but I don't know any popular songs yet."

COYOTE

Mishka guiltily dropped a few dozen coins in.

IZZY

"I'm not too proud to accept that, but please don't feel obligated," they said, a little dryly.

COYOTE

"Sorry. I just-- sorry," Mishka said, embarrassed. He ducked his head. "I can take it out again and come back later and put more in while disguised as somebody else. Then you won't know, will you?"

IZZY

"I ... I'm not sure what the point would be," they said, "but you can do that if you like. I'm not offended by charity," they added. "There's no need to apologize for kindness."

COYOTE

Mishka reached around to try to gently pry Hansel off his shoulders to set Hansel in his lap.

IZZY

Hansel mrrow'd.

"I didn't know you had a cat," Bee commented. "He's very handsome." They held a hand out, palm up, for Hansel to appraise, which he stubbornly did not do, because he felt like it. "Did you rescue him from the street, like a little mouse?"

COYOTE

Mishka laughed. "He's my husband. D'you know Hansel?"

IZZY

"He's a cat," Bee pointed out.

COYOTE

"Aye, and I'm an elf. What's your point? Folks change. Keep up."

IZZY

"I will try," they said dutifully. "Is he polymorphed, also all part of business as usual?"

COYOTE

"Oh yes. Well, y'know, if you could turn into a cat, sometimes, and have somebody pick you up and carry you around and tell you how handsome you were, wouldn't you do it occasionally?"

IZZY

They considered this for a moment. "You know, I probably would. That's very fair."

Hansel kneaded his paws on Mishka's leg, purring again.

COYOTE

Mishka stroked Hansel’s dense fur as Hansel settled down protectively on his lap. “How are you doing?”

IZZY

"I could be worse, all things considered." They plucked at the strings of their harp. "I managed to reconnect with my bardic magic. I'm lying to my order about still being a paladin, and waiting for Sam to come to Skyport, and they believe me, so far, or else they're lying back, and a contingent of Lathanderites is en route to take the job over. I couldn't say."

COYOTE

“What will you do if they come for you? Run? Surrender? Defend yourself?”

IZZY

"I haven't decided," they said idly, like it wasn't that important. "You know, I was hoping I would run into you."

COYOTE

"Oh?"

IZZY

"Yes. I was wondering -- the shears Sam needs. Do you have a plan on how to get them, yet?"

COYOTE

"No. Not yet," Mishka said.

IZZY

"Mm." They nodded a little. Hansel kept kneading at Mishka's leg and looking at them suspiciously. "I just wanted to offer my help, in whatever you do plan. It might be ... best," they said slowly, "if I'm kept away from Sam. I don't want my presence to upset him. But if there's some role I can play, I hope you'll keep me in mind."

COYOTE

For a moment, Mishka was so distracted by Hansel's tiny, precious, kitty-cat paws that he hardly noticed what Bee was saying. Hansel was kneading a little hard, so Mishka winced and said, "Ah, love, can you-- lighten up a bit, there? That's-- ah, ah! Sweetheart."

IZZY

Hansel mrrow'd and stopped, turning around in Mishka's lap to headbutt his hands and demand pets instead, then.

COYOTE

Mishka began petting Hansel obediently. He was such a good cat. Yes, he was. So good. The best. So handsome. And large, too. Very heavy, so heavy that just his weight resting on his teeny tiny kitty-cat paws kind of hurt, a bit, but Mishka was always too delighted by his husband being a cat in order to actually care. It was fine.

"What?" Mishka said. "You're willing to-- you're willing to help us?"

IZZY

Hansel purred, all loud and crackly, and Bee nodded, looking a little amused. "Yes," they said simply. "I'm not one to take the middle ground. I've already forsaken Lathander by not actively stopping Sam. I might as well commit to being on Sam's side."

COYOTE

God, that was...

That was a huge fucking relief. Mishka ducked his head and rubbed his face to hide his smile. "Oh," Mishka said. Then, overcome with relief, he made to clasp one of Bee's hands, then realized that wouldn't work while Bee was plucking the strings of their harp. He dropped his hands, instead, continuing to pet Hansel.

"Absolutely," Mishka said firmly. "Yes. I'd like your help. Pardon, but-- likely a couple of our compatriots might be suspicious, at first. Particularly Goro and Larkin. You'll have to excuse them. But yes, I'd love your help."

Privately, Mishka thought that it was good to have suspicious people. Mishka was suspicious, too; he wondered if Bee was being genuine and really wanted to help Pride cross over, or if these were a lie; and he was glad that he had Larkin and Goro to be openly suspicious for him so he could pretend he wasn't suspicious himself.

IZZY

Bee nodded a bit, smiling. "I won't take the suspicion personally. It isn't uncalled for."

Hansel was still suspicious, himself, but he was like that. It was his job to be suspicious of people who came sniffing around his family. He felt kinda like Bee was trustworthy, though, actually -- at least about this whole wanting to help thing. Didn't seem like they had much to gain by double-crossing Mishka, and shit.

So he stayed suspicious, 'cause it was his job, but relaxed a bit. He raised up on his hind legs to rest his paws on Mishka's shoulder and rub against Mishka's face, purring.

COYOTE

“I think you need to talk to Sam.”

IZZY

"Have you ... mentioned me to him?" they asked doubtfully. "I don't want to surprise him."

COYOTE

“He wants to mend things,” Mishka said. “That’s what he told me.” He faced Bee squarely, cradling Hansel carefully to make sure Hansel had a place to set his footing as Mishka shifted. “He misses you. He said that. Bee, you said it yourself. If Pride truly has Sam’s best interests at heart, he wouldn’t separate Sam from people who are good to him. C’mon.”

IZZY

"I wasn't particularly good to Sam, in the past," Bee said mildly. "I'm under no illusions about that. But if --." They hesitated. "If he wants to see me."

COYOTE

“I could ask,” Mishka said. “Set something up.”

IZZY

"I would appreciate that very much."

COYOTE

Mishka nodded. “Of course.” He continued petting Hansel, admiring his thick fur and powerfully muscled body. He had such cute ears. Mishka wondered if Hansel would let Mishka give his cat form a bath.

IZZY

Hansel kept on purring and rubbed his face against Mishka's some more. Bee looked charmed.

COYOTE

Mishka cradled Hansel close to his chest. “Y’know, you don’t... have to be so polite towards me. I know that I’ve sort’ve ruined your life.”

IZZY

"I'm polite towards everyone," they said mildly. "You haven't done anything to cause me to stop."

COYOTE

“D’you ever get rude or mean towards anyone, do you figure?”

IZZY

"I'm not perfect," they said.

COYOTE

“Well, certainly. But sometimes maybe people ought to be mad at each other or rude.”

IZZY

"Hmm." They plucked out a repetitive little tune on their harp. "Mad, yes. I don't know about rude. It's unavoidable, at times, but not to be aspired to."

COYOTE

“I suppose,” Mishka said thoughtfully. “I suppose I just realized that— I feel guilty when you’re polite to me. I feel like I’ve convinced you to lose your powers, and your home, and your mission. It’d be... more comfortable... if you were angry at me.” He spoke slowly, carefully, aloud, measuring each word as he said it to make sure it was the correct one.

IZZY

"You didn't convince me to do anything," Bee said, tilting their head at him a bit and frowning. "I lost favor with Lathander because I abandoned my mission, which was my choice." They considered for a second. "If ... I had to choose between still being a paladin, and Sam having made friends with you, and Irah, and Goro -- which is what made my convictions waver -- then I would choose Sam having friends. Every time."

COYOTE

“Oh.” Mishka hesitated, momentarily overwhelmed. “Oh,” he said again.

IZZY

Hansel nudged at his face some more, rumbling with purrs. Bee watched with a slightly raised eyebrow.

COYOTE

It was weird, hearing Bee say that it was their choice, and not... Mishka’s fault or problem. It was true, maybe, it was just that... he had always felt responsible for such things.

And it was strange on another level, too. Hearing Bee say that they’d ruin their life to give Sam some friends and happiness.

He wanted— very badly— to help them reconnect. It felt unfair they had lost each other.

“I’ll talk to Sam about it, and then send you a message,” Mishka said. “Are you staying anywhere in particular I may find you?”

IZZY

"Oh, I'm still at that inn. The Horse 'N Ham."

COYOTE

“I’ll send a message there, then,” Mishka said.

He made to get up, but there came an angry chirrup from the ground nearby Bee. Rexaria scuttled along the ground and clawed her way up the fountain where they sat. Mishka was mildly surprised— but not particularly shocked— to see her; she went where she pleased, and because of their magical connection she could frequently just turn up places and find him.

“Oh, hello, my love,” Mishka said, reaching to pet her. But she hissed and snapped at him, which was surprising. She rarely did that.

IZZY

Hansel flattened his ears. Maybe he should be a person again. He didn't fuckin' trust Rexaria when he was smaller than her, or about the same size. He just skulked low down and stayed by Mishka, for now, though. Kinda hated to wildshape back before his time was up, sometimes, since he could only do it a couple times a day.

Bee frowned slightly. "Is your dragon all right?"

COYOTE

Mishka gently felt through their connection. She wasn’t hurt, he realized. Just mad for some reason. “Huh,” Mishka said. “I don’t know.”

He scooped Hansel up protectively, holding Hansel very gently against his chest, making sure that he held Hansel closely enough that his arms protected the cat but loose enough Hansel could jump free and run away whenever he wished.

Rexaria hunkered down. She watched Mishka through little slit-pupiled eyes. “Hello, darling,” Mishka crooned. “Did you come to see me? What a good girl. What a good, pretty girl.”

Rexaria ignored this. She eyed Hansel sulkily, jealously examining Hansel’s covered position in Mishka’s lap, then abruptly turned and began rubbing against Bee while staring viciously at Mishka.

“Hey,” Mishka said.

IZZY

Hansel glared back at her. Yeah. That was right. He'd been here first.

Bee tentatively offered her their hand to inspect.

COYOTE

Rexaria examined Bee’s hand, then, apparently deciding it passed muster, butted her face against it.

“Oh, watch out, she’s gonna bite you—“ Mishka said quickly, alarmed. Then: “Oh. Oh, maybe she just wants pats.”

IZZY

"Does she like scratches?"

COYOTE

“She seems to prefer a deep rubbing,” Mishka said. “I’m not sure she can feel scratches. Her scales are quite thick. She does like scratches on her throat, specifically.”

IZZY

Hansel made a growly sound, pretty sure Rexaria didn't like anything.

Bee glanced up for a moment, smiling faintly. "I take it they're not friends?" they asked, testing to see if she would accept throat scratches.

COYOTE

Rexaria accepted this— seemingly grudgingly at first, then less reluctantly, then quite enthusiastically.

“It’s not so much whether she likes Hansel as much, so much as the fact that Hansel is sitting on what she perceives as her territory,”Mishka said. “Little does she know it’s my territory, not hers, and I will choose who currently sits there.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of Hansel’s delightful little kitty head. He was such a good kitty. Yes, he was.

Rexaria unceremoniously clambered into Bee’s lap, attempting to push the harp aside.

IZZY

They dutifully moved their harp, shifting to make a better lap for her. "I see. Where did you happen to get a pseudodragon, anyway? They aren't very common."

COYOTE

“Oh, it was grand,” Mishka said briefly. “My friend Goro was lovestruck by this mystery woman, y’see, and she was— unfortunately— under the grip of this ancient hydra, so of course he insisted on riding off to save her. Y’know how he is. Or... maybe you don’t. Anyway, we killed the hydra in this truly mad battle, saved the mystery woman, found the hydra had a bunch of pseudodragon eggs in its hoard, yada yada. This one was the smallest. The others were being mean to her. So... I snatched her up. Kicked a big ugly orange one right in the snout because he was harassing her. Bite me right in the foot. Didn’t even notice ‘til I got home.”

IZZY

"Quite an adventure," Bee said mildly.

COYOTE

Rexaria began to let out a unpleasantly loud sound, much like a tea kettle rattling and sputtering. She sank her talons into Bee’s legs to steady herself and then curled up appreciatively.

“She’s purring,” Mishka helpfully explained, just in case Bee didn’t know.

IZZY

They kept petting her. "You're definitely sure she's supposed to make this sound, then?"

COYOTE

“Amari says that means she’s happy,” Mishka said helpfully.

He had been very alarmed the first time it happened. Amari had cast some healing magic on Rexaria, then reassured him everything was in working order. Amari wouldn’t lie to people, would she?

“Rub her ears,” Mishka said.

IZZY

Bee dutifully did so, looking curious.

COYOTE

Rexaria stretched out on Bee's lap, then tucked her face into her tail and, to all appearances, began to take a nap.

It seemed best to leave her there a while. She liked other people so rarely, and Mishka really wanted to catch up with Bee. So they sat, and they chatted a while, and Mishka taught Bee Rexaria's favorite places to be petted, and eventually Mishka pulled out a fine-toothed comb from his pocket and began to brush Hansel-- gently but insistently brushing the little knots of out his fur, getting deep enough into his coat to pull out the loose fur, so that by the end of it, Hansel was gleaming, relaxed and purring in a puddle on Mishka's lap.

Once they were done, Mishka kissed Hansel's little kitty head, then picked up Rexaria and set her on his shoulder. Then they went to get dinner.

By the time they were done, the armor smith would likely be done with Hansel's enhancements-- and then Mishka could put the armor on him, piece by piece. Telling Hansel how good he looked with his spikes and bladed edges. Petting Hansel's hair and murmuring sweet nothings until Hansel had the same happy, relaxed look he got as a cat.

It had been a very good day so far. And it would be a very good day again later, too.

[end]