Touch da fishy

Bonnie had transformed into her cat form. She had spent about a week and a half getting used to the city, to her new job, to the people here, and her paws itched to stretch them out. At a quiet moment, she slipped away, stashing some clothes in a nook she had remembered specifically for that purpose. Now, she walked the halls of the estate from a much lower viewpoint. She had opened a window in the kitchen, where the heat gave her a good excuse to open a window in winter, and now she had to make her way back towards it so that she could explore the city. Perhaps she could nab something to eat from a vendor, or she should see if she couldn't listen to some juicy conversation or two. The best part about no longer being in the blue moon tribe was that nobody would recognize her as a cat. She was pretty much the only druid in town - not entirely true, of course, but close enough that it surely felt like it - and she didn't actually know how much other people knew about their magic anyways. Bonnie slipped through the crack of an open door, but suddenly the environment was unexpected. This didn't look like a hallway? Oh no.. It was more like a bedroom. And there was somebody in the bed. Crap. Emboldened by being in her catform and knowing that she wouldn't be recognized anyways, Bonnie creeped closer, trying to see who was laying here.

+ Myr first

❝ But despite it all, I was powerless ❞

The past few days he had mostly spent on sleeping. And whenever he was awake he was sketching away in his book, like he was now. He had gotten his pain relief medication earlier and they had even brought food. But Myrddin found it hard to just the simplest of tasks since the incident. Not because he couldn't them himself, but simply because his body seemed to remain in that state of pure shock. He barely are, mostly drank water and tea and would leave the rest be. He was already a pretty difficult eater and something in him told him that Shy was annoyed by the fact that he wasn't properly eating. But he tried, really he did. But his stomach would turn and when a new wave of pain rolled over him he couldn't help but feel nauseous instead of hungry. He had avoided thinking about the aftermath of it all. His mind simply set on his book. Drawing was never a bad thing after all. It couldn't harm people. It couldn't cause any issues. So it's all he did anymore. The fact others would despise him for it, didn't cross his mind. For just these days he wasn't going to act like he was supposed to. He didn't want to be that heir they wanted him to be, because simply put... he couldn't be that person right now.

He slowed his hand down as he looked at the drawing of the bird on the paper. Several drawings, even. Sketches... To be exact. He blinked slowly, sighing before turning a page. Why did his mind have to go there...? The man averted his gaze, which allowed him to see movement in the corner of his eye. He frowned, turning his head more as he finally spotted what it was. A cat... He tilted his head a bit, frowning even more. They didn't have a cat in the castle right...? Was it a stray? Myrddin blinked a few times, before he looked over to the plate of food that was still sitting there from earlier. It was already cold; but lucky for him it had been fish. And well... Cats liked fish right? The blonde man leaned over a bit, breaking off a piece of the fish and gently threw it next to his bed. As he waited for the creature to respond he grabbed a napkin, cleaning off his hand as his eyes were curiously set on the animal.

The person in the bed was sitting with his back to her. Bonnie was pretty sure she hadn't met him before - but she hadn't been here for very long, yet, so that was not impossible. The castle was big and there were many people here. She sneaked a little closer to him and saw that he was writing or drawing something. Interesting. But then she was spotted. She froze for a second, ready to run away - the man reached out, but then she saw he took some piece of food and threw it in her direction. Ah, an animal friend, apparently. Bonnie had little experience interacting as a cat with people that didn't know that she wasn't actually a cat - and where she came from, animals were often treated very differently anyways, since many people could also talk with animals if they didn't turn into themselves. But here, animals were very separate, and that was a new thing for her. It occurred to her now that she should be careful. Perhaps he intended to catch her, and that would be quite annoying. But she was curious to see what he had been drawing.. Bonnie looked at the piece of food for a second, and then ignored it - there were nicer things to eat than cold, leftover fish - and jumped onto the bed, next to the man. She meowed once and looked at him with her green eyes, a little cautious, clearly ready to jump if he were to react in a way that could betray bad intentions. She was not sure she should trust him. Now standing closer, she could see that the man did not look very good. He seemed tired and physically hurt. What happened to him?

❝ But despite it all, I was powerless ❞

Myrddin had never had a pet, because he simply didn't have the time for one. If he got a dog or cat he would feel bad that the animal wouldn't see him much. He did know, however, that Shyam had a dog. And he wondered how he even took care of the canine. Because, well, he barely saw the man leave the room anymore. Maybe he could ask about it someday and maybe then he could meet him... Maybe... But then he had to get better first. For now he was still trapped in this room. And he had gotten a visitor; one that had grabbed his full attention. The blond man had hoped that his effort with the fish would be appreciated. He knew animals liked food, so in his mind a cat wouldn't miss on an opportunity to eat some fish. And for just a moment, he really thought that she was interested in it. She was looking at it, perhaps still being a bit cautious. He couldn't blame the animal, because he knew it wasn't one that lived in the castle. So, it most likely was a stray that had wandered in. He knew such animals could be a bit more skittish than others.

But the cat quickly averted her attention, going straight to the bed and jumping on top of it. Myrddin blinked in surprise as he looked from the piece of fish, back to the feline. What? It let out a sound and he blinked quickly, looking around the room as if he tried to look for something or someone that could help him with this. He just laid there, looking at the cat with a frown on his face. What did it want from him? Now he was just getting uncomfortable with the situation. Yea, it was clear that he didn't have a pet growing up. The closest thing he had was his familiar, but that was still on another level than an unpredictable creature. Myrddin averted his eyes, looking at his sketchbook as he pulled it a bit closer to him. If there was one thing he knew though, was that touching wild creatures could be dangerous. You also didn't know where they had been, so... The filth. Oh Lythrania. His face shifted a bit more to clearly point out how uncomfortable he was. Maybe if he ignored it, it would go away? He grabbed his pencil again and started to work on some of his sketches. Maybe it would...

The man clearly got uncomfortable now. Bonnie realized that she had made a misstep - she should have just eaten the piece of food he had thrown for her. It's what a normal cat would probably do. But she had very little experience in trying to look like a real cat, and so she missed that. It was actually kind of freeing to be able to be seen as a real animal, however - they didn't expect anything of you, and you could pretty much just do as you pleased. Bonnie made great use of that. She ignored the uncomfortable look and vibes that the man gave her and stepped even closer, curiously trying to peer over the hand that was drawing, to see what he was sketching. Her whiskers brushed his hand and she turned her head a little to the side. Bonnie let out a small meow again and brushed his hand with her shoulder, purposefully, trying to get him to open up and show her what he was drawing and also hopefully making him slightly less uncomfortable with her. It would be useful to be clearly not a threat; then she might get even more freedom in her cat form in the castle, or maybe she would get more opportunities to listen in to conversations. Perhaps he would even talk to her directly, air his thoughts to a creature he thought was harmless. She could learn so much interesting info that way, if she played her cards right.

❝ But despite it all, I was powerless ❞

He most likely was more of a bird man then a dog or cat person. Ironic since, well, his familiar was a bird. Maybe that was another afterthought as well about it all. But for now, it meant that he was trapped here, with a cat he didn't know. With an animal he had no experience in whatsoever. He blinked a bit as his eyes averted back to the cat, before they went back to his work. Uncertain on what to do from here on out. Especially when it decided to come even closer. The mute man froze for a second, looking at the creature from the corner of his eye. As he held his breath for just a couple of seconds and waited. Something about this was off. He was no cat expert, of course he wasn't, but why did it act like this? That thought crossed his mind once again when he saw her look over his sketchbook, as if it knew what he was doing and wanted a look at it. He frowned. Did they normally do that? Could they understand things like art and sketches and other stuff?

A soft sound left the mouth of the critter, which was quickly followed by it pressing its shoulder against his hand. He looked at her for a moment, hesitantly so, before finally lifting his hand. His finger brushing against the paper of his book, before turning it back a few pages. He halted at a sketch of a man, Shyam to be exact. Some studies of his face, followed up by some poses he had done while taking a nap on the chairs in the room. It was funny to think he had slept on almost every chair in the room now. And every time when Myr had caught the other dozing off, he had grabbed the opportunity to draw him. He looked over the sketches one more time, before finally turning the page again. There were a lot of sketches of Shy, because well, he was a good model. And as he turned the page again it was finally getting back to more still studies; sketches of the bouquet of flowers that was standing next to his bed, which was already starting to show its old age. Drawings of fruit from the basket that had been gifted to him, each and every one of them neatly placed on different surfaces as he had experimented with them. It was just simple things he had used to keep his mind occupied. At this point he had most likely drawn everything in this room in this book.

But the peace wasn't kept for long. When Myr heard something from the door, he turned his head. There he stood, Shy's his dog, Finn. The spotted animal had ran in with excitement to see the blond man, but came to a halt as soon as he spotted the cat on top of the bed. He blinked slowly, looking at the thing that was sitting next to him, before looking back at the dog. With his tail slowly lowering, it didn't take long for a growl to leave his lips. Myrddin looked around a bit panicked, looking from the cat back to the dog and back to the cat, before finally looking around. He didn't- What was- But there wasn't much he could do before Finn jumped into action. The dog jumped forward, barking loudly as it set it's paws on the side of the bed. Growling barks spitting from its mouth as he bared his fangs. Just like his owner, it would seem that his pet was also protective of him. Yet, he was lucky that Finn didn't jump on top of the bed to get the cat. However, the situation still made him a panic a bit as he lifted his hands a bit up and looked from the cat to dog in a helpless state. Uh... Calm down. Good dog, good dog. Please calm down.

She was not sure if the man actually started trusting her more or if he was simply afraid of her, but he lifted his hand and showed her his sketches. There were a few of a man she didn't recognize yet - they were lovingly drawn, beautifully detailed. Bonnie watched with big green eyes at the different sketches; some were only of the man's face, while others were of him sleeping, usually sitting. It seemed almost like he drew nothing else; it was pages and pages of this, until it finally started to change. The sketches in the beginning of the sketchbook were simpeler, more often objects or flowers or fruit. Some things she recognized from the room they were in. These drawings had less character, less emotion. Bonnie pushed her head against his head and purred lightly as if to thank him for showing her the sketches. She could not wait to meet the man of the drawings, see if they were really close - or perhaps really closeted. That would be juicy. But the piece was suddenly interrupted; Bonnie noticed it first, because while she was in cat form some of her senses were greatly improved; but she had also been distracted by the drawings, and now she suddenly looked an enormous dog right in the eyes. Great. Her fur stood straight up on her spine and she froze. The dog growled and then pounced. Bonnie jumped away as quickly as she could, barely managing to not get her tail caught between the teeth of the monster. She had never been afraid of dogs before, but she had never encountered them like this - where she was smaller and weaker, an easy and tasty prey. Her sensitive ears were assaulted by its growls and its barks and she was being driven into a corner. With nowhere to go, she tried to jump up, clawing her way into the curtains, but this time the dog managed to get a hold of her tail. A sharp pain radiated up her spine and she lost her grip - both on the curtain and on her magic, in a way. She had never been really hurt before while transformed, and it was definitely an experience she wasn't keen on repeating. She transformed back to her human form a little clumsily; her fingernails still stuck in the curtain, a meow weirdly transformed into a human shriek. The teeth of the dog clapped together now that there was no longer a tail between them. Then the dog yelped out of shock, or maybe fear, or maybe both. "Go away you mutt!", shouted Bonnie angrily. She kicked at it for good measure, and it left the room with it's tail between it's paws. Realizing that she was now in another very compromising situation, Bonnie cringed inside. Great. Show nobody your magic, yup, totally as planned. And she was now naked in the bedroom of a man she didn't know. Sh grabbed the curtain and quickly pulled it around her body as much as she could, training her gaze on the floor between her legs. Now what? She could just transform quickly back into a cat, nobody would believe him anyways, probably. But her butt hurt a lot, and she was pretty sure her tailbone was bleeding. Quite a weird spot for a dogbite, to be sure.

❝ But despite it all, I was powerless ❞

It was kind of weird how fascinated this creature was in his sketches. It was almost as if she was aware of how art worked and what it meant. And Myrddin looked on, hesitantly so, but also fascinated in some ways. The critter had quite the personality, that much was for sure. He hadn't seen any other creature show such interest in such things. Only familiar would have such intellect to share emotions with their masters and the world around them. Fundamentally understanding art in its most basic shapes and meaning. Some of them seeing more deeper meanings in it than others. And some just not even understanding the real purpose of it all. But you even had people like that, who didn't even dare to look behind what it all held and simply brushed past such creations. The world was a diverse place after all, everything that could be and ever would be, most likely had already been thought of or created. So also the many different people and views on the world.

But those deeper thoughts were abruptly put to a stop as Finn appeared before them. The dog was clearly dissatisfied by the fact that a cat was present near its somewhat owner. Loudly growling and barking at the feline, Myrddin felt panic was over him as he held his hands up, trying to keep the two separated as much as possible. But being bedbound and mute he wasn't able to do much and the orange animal jumped down, running around while the dog was on its heels. The blonde man followed them with his eyes, which were wide open from shock what he was seeing here. Shit- He opened his mouth, softly shouting out noises as to grab the attention of either of the animals. But none were listening. A full on assault was already happening and there was nothing he could do about it.

As the chase went on, the cat was driven in a corner and quickly tried to climb the curtains. Once more, the mute boy tried to call out. But his broken and shifted sounds didn't reach any of them and were useless, despite his best effort. He bit his lip slightly and gasped visibly when Finn grabbed onto the tail with his teeth, drawing blood in an instant. Once more he yelled, which hurt his throat as he wasn't used to making much sound to begin with. The noise did grab his attention this time and he let go of the poor tabby, looking over to the man in the bed, before looking back at its prey.

Well... the noises shifted and so did the body of the animal. As Myrddin gasped once more he covered his mouth, his eyes wide open in shock as a nude woman stood before him in an instance. She scolded and insulted his dog and gave it kick, which caused Finn to yelp out and leave the room. The young captain kept on staring at the naked person that was now standing in his room. Looking her up and down, before finally averting his eyes to look at the door, as if expecting someone to enter at any second now. Where was Shy when you need him most....

When his grey eyes went back to the other, his brain slowly started to process what was happening and what she was. A druid, most likely. But he didn't know of any druids living in the court in and around the castle. He visibly swallowed as he realized she could be a burglar or maybe even an assassin. It could have been a good reason why Finn had attacked. The dog had always been more on the defensive side anyway. The mute boy cleared his throat, blinking in confusion before he looked down at his sketchbook. he flipped through it, to the end and started to write something down, before holding it up and turning it towards her. 'Who are you? And are you okay?' The only two real things he had to know. If she tried anything funny he could still scream. It would most likely attract Finn and his owner in an instant.

Why was he not saying anything? The quiet unnerved her. Bonnie looked up at him - because really, it should be he who should be afraid to look at her in her current state and not the other way around. She did not quite meet his gaze, because he let his eyes trail over her body, only slightly hidden by the curtain, before finally looking away. But still, he did not say anything. Was he so shocked? Had he never seen a woman before, or what? Back at home, nobody had been very prude about these things. It was not very efficient if everyone was scared to be naked around eachother when they all jumped from animal form to human form multiple times a day. If she had been at home, back in the jungle, she would not have felt the need to cover up or be ashamed, not like here. But the entire atmosphere was different here, and perhaps she had even been here long enough already to pick up this prudish side of the Lemurian people. The man started flipping through his notebook. Wait - was he going to draw her? Now?! She did not know what she had expected, but that was surely not it. Bonnie started to go over her options. She could just go back to catform and run out of here. But transforming was not easy, and especially so soon after having been forced to go back to human form because of an attack. She had to be in the right mindspace to turn; she could try it now, but she was not entirely sure she would succeed completely and that was dangerous. She could also just flee as a human, but that involved running around the castle naked as the day she was born, so that would probably not end very well for her either. And also, she was pretty sure she was still bleeding from her tailbone, which hurt like hell, so she'd be creating a trail of blood through the castle as well. Maybe the dog would even smell it and follow her for more of that feline goodness. At that moment, the man showed her his notebook. He had written in it - why did he not just... Talk? Was he not able to speak? "Who are you? And are you ok?", was written in it. She had expected more something like 'why are you naked' and 'get out of my room' but hey, she could work with this. "I'm... Arippe", she said, not revealing her real name but instead using the name of her rival back at home. Nobody probably knew an Arippe, and the name could not be linked back to her, so if he ever told - or well, wrote to - anyone about this incident, they would hopefully not know that it had been her. And she could just make sure to not get too close to this room anymore. He seemed pretty much bedbound anyways, so it would not be too hard to avoid him, she guessed. "My tailbone is bleeding a bit from where the dog bit me, but I'm okay. I just need something to cover up with so I can get out of your here, and then I will never bother you again..", she continued, choosing to not focus any more about the 'who' question. At least he couldn't see from her clothes now that she was a servant here. She'd rather he presumed she was some kind of friendly robber, or something, as long as it gave her enough time to escape. If he couldn't speak, surely he could also not scream for help, and she probably did not seem very threatening anyways, standing here with only the curtain to cover her bleeding ass.

❝ But despite it all, I was powerless ❞

He honestly felt quite odd in this situation. How do you even deal with a problem like this? A sudden naked stranger in his room. But perhaps his own reaction was the oddest here, as he didn't seem all too bothered or flustered by the fact that a naked woman was just standing right there. It didn't really do much do him. He just kind of felt... Embarrassed for her. He was impressed that she was still somewhat calm. If he was somewhere naked, he would surely start to panic. Mostly because he felt quite embarrassed about his own body, especially after the accident. He knew that the scars would remain, painting his body full of imperfections and reminders of how flawed he really was. He already had a hard time dealing with the thick scar on his throat, since it was a reminder of his handicap and the fact that he would never be normal. In the winter he could hide it away behind a scarf. But in summer it was there for everyone to see. At least he was lucky his stomach and legs could be properly covered up whenever. The wide array of scars that his current wounds would leave behind would only really be seen by a handful of people...

She introduced herself as Arippe, a name he had never heard before. He frowned, thinking slowly as he thought of the different names he had read about in books. It sounded somewhat... Avalon, so maybe that's where she was from. Not much of a surprise, as druids originated from the wild, lush green lands. The stranger went on, stating that her tailbone was bleeding. He nodded carefully when she said this. So... Where they got wounded in their animal form, would reflect back on their human shape. And since humans didn't have tails, it just went back to their behinds. Poor girl. She had literally been bitten in the ass. He blinked slowly as he looked her up and down again. She went on, stating that she just needed something to cover herself up and then she would get out of here. He looked back at here, a frown on his face. Well, sadly for her it wasn't that simple. She had potentially chosen the most difficult room to infiltrate. There would be guards outside the room. And if she was really lucky she would spot Shyam on her way back. The personal guard would surely make short work of her then.

He shook his head slowly, looking back down at his notebook. As he turned the thing back to him, he started to write. His pen quickly scribbled over the paper as if it were second nature. 'The guards outside will most likely arrest you even if you leave with something to cover yourself up,' A half naked woman leaving the room of the heir? Now that was something they wouldn't just ignore. 'Your best shot is changing back and leaving or we wait for my friend to come back,' Friend, personal guard... Well, more like boyfriend really. But that wasn't something she had to know. The man waited for a bit, before turning the book back to himself and writing once more. 'I can't stand yet, but if you go over to that closet you can surely find something that you could wear. It'll be a bit too big for you, though,' he turned his book back to her, after which he lifted his hand and pointed to some doors further into the room. He had a huge closet, with way too much clothes. But somewhere in there should be something she could wear... Right?