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5:04pm May 24 2014
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Alfred gently set the little glasses case aside, then he grinned. "They're such pretty flowers!" he chirped before he ended up turning to give his new friend a big, tight hug, of course being careful of his gifts. "I, uh. I don't have a vase of anything for them but I can put them on a cup for a while," he said with a soft laugh as he slipped his glasses off and set them inside their new case, which in turn was placed into a pocket of his jacket. "But! That can wait until after we get fuzzbutt here cleaned up and happy," he said with a warm smile directed at his friend, idly stroking the tomcat on his lap with his currently free hand once he pulled back. "By the way, I really like the presents," he added as an afterthought, scooping an arm under Vodka to lift him up to allow him to climb out of the car, the flowers still carefully held in his other hand.
((Alfie keeps them in his room and keeps them alive for as long as possible <3)) |
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5:17pm May 24 2014
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Ivan released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding with a slight chuffing sound, relief and satisfaction colouring his subsequent smile as Alfred reacted to the formerly hidden portion of his present. He likes the flowers~ I was concerned that he would think it silly, but it looks as though I did good~ He thought happily, relaxing into his friend's embrace and squeezing him back. Vodka regarded them with moderately aloof bewilderment, blinking at their antics, before attending to the far more important matter of licking his haunch. "A cup should be fine, do not worry~" Ivan answered, his smile evident in the tone of his voice, even if his face wasn't visible because of the hug. When the cuddle was over, he felt quite pleased with himself as he saw his friend put his glasses away in the case he'd bought for the American, and he giggled at Alfred's words. "Phhhahaha, fuzzbutt! I like that one~" He snickered, nodding his agreement as he registered the smile that was sent his way and softened all the more. "You do? I am glad~" He sighed contentedly, following Alfred out of the car, taking care to ensure that he did not leave anything behind. It touched him, the care with which his loud friend handled the delicate blooms, and he felt another stirring of the metaphorical squirrels inside him. It was a good job that Vodka couldn't reach them, though, as he was hungry enough to try to eat them if he noticed them.
((Gotta go, see you tomorrow~))
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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12:25am May 25 2014
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Posts: 11,785
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"Glad you liked it," Alfred responded with a laugh as he moved to head towards the house. He carefully adjusted Vodka so he could unlock his door and step in, carefully setting the flowers on the nearest table so he could adjust his hold on the large feline and allow Ivan room to walk in, since now he was carrying most of the stuff. "You can set all of that anywhere for now. All we need is the shampoo," he said with a smile. "And then Vodka can be on his way to getting cleaned off and made presentable!" he practically chirped, looking down and over as Penny stepped up, curious about the new scent she had smelled. She meowed up at Alfred, sitting down in front of him and staring up at the strange tomcat her owner had brought home, her tail curling neatly around her paws.
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2:58am May 25 2014
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Ivan followed his friend into the house, shutting the door after himself, and placed the items he'd been carrying onto the table - including the books from his pockets. He kept a hold of the sunflower for a moment longer, uncertain of where to put it, but he set it down gently next to Alfred's flowers after a moment's thought. "Da~ Hopefully, he will not mind to much." Ivan responded, giving Vodka's headfur a playful - but gentle - ruffle. "Ahh, Penny! Come to see what the humans have dragged in? This is Vodka~ We're going to be cleaning him up next, but you'll be able to greet him properly soon." He informed the female Coon, though he had little to no reason to actually explain himself to a cat. For his part, Vodka peered down at Penny with interest. This was the female cat he'd scented on the humans, and now she was right there looking at him. He mewed a greeting, all he could do seeing as he couldn't reach her to introduce himself properly. It would be good to have some feline company, though he was a little nervous about being on her territory. Would she fight him, or allow him to stay? He had no intention of leaving, so her intentions would be relatively important.
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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9:40am May 25 2014
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Posts: 11,785
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Penny blinked, tilting her head a bit before she moved to hop up onto the table, leaning forward to sniff at Vodka. She pulled back after a moment, ears pulling back from the various scents the tomcat carried. She ended up lowering her head to rub at her nose, trying her best to get rid of the scents as Alfred giggled softly. "Looks like Vodka really does need a bath," he said with a grin before he moved to start towards the bathroom, Penny sneezing behind him. He shook his head with a small smile, gently setting Vodka in the sink before he started looking through the drawers to find the comb and the scissors they needed. He usually kept them in the top drawer nearest where he would usually groom Penny, so they weren't too hard to find.
He nodded once before he started stroking the hefty feline to hopefully keep him calm. "Hopefully after your bath Penny won't mind being around you," he said with a soft laugh. |
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9:51am May 25 2014
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Vodka looked somewhat taken aback by Penny's reaction, not wholly aware of his own scent - given that he had been smelling like that for a while now. He didn't quite understand the queen's response, but at least it had not been a hostile reaction. "Da, it looks like~" Ivan giggled, amused by both the sneezing and the wide-eyed look of injured innocence on Vodka. "I do not think that he realises that he smells bad - look at him!" He chuckled, browsing the supplies laid out for the flea shampoo. The tomcat had no idea what was going on, and looked towards the disgruntled Penny in search of some indication as to whether this was normal. While he had been bathed before, quite some time ago, it had not been in a sink, and he wasn't sure what was up. He batted inquisitively at the tap, licking it when he scented water. Was he there to get a drink? If so, the humans should hurry up and make with the wet stuff, he felt. "Do you need any help looking?" Ivan asked, placing the flea shampoo near to the sink. "Oh, and how should we deal with temperature?"
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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9:59am May 25 2014
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Posts: 11,785
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Alfred was able to pull out the scissors and the comb a moment after, looking at Ivan with a slight tilt of his head. "Oh, uh, well if need be you can lift him up while I make sure it's not too hot or cold? Penny always liked it to be at least decently warm," he murmured, looking over as said feline jumped up to rest on the edge to the sink, tail ending up around her paws once again as her head cocked a little to the side. She recognized what was happening and she was all for it; the tomcat the humans had brought back smelled awful and definitely needed a bath before she was getting any closer than she currently was. She glanced at the handles of the sink, wishing they were a shape that she could push herself to keep this from being prolonged any longer than it obviously already has.
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10:08am May 25 2014
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"Da, I can do that." Ivan nodded, observing that Alfred had located the comb and scissors they'd need once Vodka was dry again. He lifted the thoroughly bemused tomcat up a little, out of the way of the tap, in order to allow his friend to do some temperature assessment and adjusting. Vodka saw that Penny had moved in to have a look at proceedings, and he turned his head in order to regard her. She didn't seem ill at ease or nervous in any way, so he didn't lose his cool either. He was still perplexed, however, and he didn't know why she was staring at the handles so intently. Was he going to get a drink or wasn't he? Confused, he mewed at Penny, hoping she'd do something that would clarify matters, when he saw the yellow-pelted human operate the handles, causing water to come forth. Hoping that this meant that they had gotten their act together, he tried to squirm over to take a drink. This made things a little difficult for Ivan, until a drop landed on Vodka's nose, and he realised that it was not as cool as drinking water. What was going on here?
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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10:15am May 25 2014
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((Woops Penny's a sassy cat))
Penny merely sat there and purred softly, the tip of her tail twitching idly as she tilted her head a little bit, watching Vodka with an almost amused ex
pression. Alfred smiled and nodded, moving his hands out of the way as he put shampoos where they reach them easily as well. "Aliright! Time to give this cat a bath!" he said happily, only to end up laughing softly. "I do believe Penny is enjoying this," he stated, motioning towards his own cat, who was definitely watching intently to see how the cat reacted to being bathed. She was also prepared to defend her human and her human's apparent new friend, so of course she had to sit there and watch. She couldn't very well punish the tom from the living room if he struck out at one of them. |
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10:25am May 25 2014
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((Sassy win for Penny~ >:3))
The queen was purring? What was she happy about? Vague memories associated with the sound of running water and the sensation of that water being above drinking temperature were beginning to percolate through Vodka's mind, and the word 'bath' was also ringing bells... Glancing around, the tom spotted bottles, which set off the rest of the association. He was to be washed, he now realised with a start. It had been a while since that had happened - perhaps that was why the queen had been acting in such a way? Most of the baths he'd experienced had been on a scale of pleasant to tolerable, but the people he'd been left with when his first human had started smelling very sick had not been as gentle or as practised at feline hygiene as that first one, so he was nervous again now. Turning his face up towards those of the humans, he widened his eyes and let out a plaintive meow, hoping that they were the gentle sort. "You know, I think that she is..." Ivan responded, noticing this for the first time. "She is a sassy kitty, come to make sure that Vodka takes his scrubbing~ Ahahah, look, I think he has realised what is going on."
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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10:43am May 25 2014
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Alfred chuckled as well, glancing at his cat one more time before he set to starting to carefully wash off what dirt he could using just the water. "Alright, when you're bathing cats you can to be careful with them. They can't take quite as much as dogs can, assuming you've washed a dog of course. You also have to be more careful than if you were washing your own hair," he murmured gently. "That helps them keep calm," he added, smiling up at Ivan. "But to be fair, not all cats are the same so sometimes it's a learning thing. You just have to try different things," he murmured, reaching out for the shampoo once the fluffy black tom was wet. "Also fluffy cats look hilarious when they're wet so there's always that to look forward to." He grinned, gently beginning to properly wash Vodka. "Washing their faces wakes a much more careful way of doing it, but we can get to that when we need to," he murmured softly before he took a step to the side, smiling at his friend. "Now you go for it," he said as he leaned against the edge of the sink/countertop thing that most bathrooms seemed to have.
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10:56am May 25 2014
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Ivan watched carefully as Alfred demonstrated what to do, taking mental notes. He had never washed an animal before, so this was all new to him, and he wanted to do the best job that he could. Vodka was vaguely reassured by the softness of tone in the words being spoken, for all that he didn't understand them, and the fact that he wasn't in any physical discomfort so far. "Ahh, I see... so gently and softly, da?" Ivan responded in similarly hushed tones, observing that his cat seemed to be relaxing a little. "They look that funny? I suppose that I will see so for myself soon enough~" He added, observing the shampooing process closely. Vodka was no longer agitated, as the fingers rubbing foamy stuff into his pelt were not rough or heavy-handed, and it was actually feeling kind of nice. Playfully, he splashed at the water with one of his front paws, enjoying himself now that the suspense was over. "I will do my best..." Ivan answered, putting his own hands to use with the shampoo as his friend had shown him. It was a good thing that he was nowhere near as ham-handed as some assumed his size to indicate, he reflected, carefully caressing the sodden fur. The water was no longer very clear, and there was fur floating in it, but Vodka didn't seem bothered. He was tempted to try and splash someone, but something about Penny's stare told him that it wouldn't be wise. Instead, he simply stared back.
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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11:01am May 25 2014
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Posts: 11,785
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Seeing that the tom wasn't going to attack one of the humans helped Penny to relax, the still-fluffy feline laying down and resting her head atop her paws, tilting her head a little bit as she watched Vodka getting bathed. Surely he would smell much better after this.
"Perfect," Alfred responded, smiling rather wide. "Penny doesn't need a bath for another few days but I might groom her a bit while we're Vodka since we're already in here doing it, and I can maybe use her to show you what to do while Vodka dries off," he said, glancing at his cat...who appeared to have relaxed herself. "You know Penny if you want to take a nap somewhere that may not be the best of places," he pointed out, to which Penny merely flicked her tail. Alfred shook his head slightly and chuckled. "I'd be lying if I ever said the name Independence didn't fit her," he murmured, instead going back to watching Ivan. |
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11:16am May 25 2014
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It was a relief to the soaking tomcat to see that Penny didn't seem to be silently judging him any more, and Vodka began to purr. This was more like the bathtimes he remembered, and it made him happy to feel the evidence that he was cared for once more. He was getting attention, he was getting clean, and he was being treated with care. That, and the fact that he was no longer alone, made him very pleased. For his part, Ivan was glad to hear that he was doing well, and the corners of his lips quirked upwards as he attended to his cat. "Thank you~" He responded, "That sounds like it would be useful, if Penny will be cooperating." He added, feeling that it would be useful to have an example on hand. "Ahh, well, cats do have a reputation for such - it is likely as much a part of her nature as the fluff on her, da?" He chuckled, when his friend mentioned the queen's name. "I do not know if the name Vodka fits my cat so well as that, but it is amusing nonetheless. I am going to rinse the shampoo out of his fur, now, unless there is something I still must do?"
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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12:07pm May 25 2014
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"Nah, go ahead and rinse him off," Alfred responded with a smile, cocking his head a little bit. "And she usually likes being groomed. I wasn't kidding too much when I called her the queen of the house," he said with a laugh. "But yeah. I wonder how he'll feel about getting blowdried," he murmured. "I mean it's warm but the noise seems to bother most animals." He crossed his arms, watching Ivan as he bathed Vodka on his own. "And well, hey, I like his name if that helps any," he said with a smile, lightly nudging his friend before he pulled back to slip out of his jacket, poking out of the bathroom just long enough to put it somewhere safe. He was back at Ivan's side a moment later, humming gently under his breath. It wasn't really a song, just a random little melody he hummed when truly content.
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12:18pm May 25 2014
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Ivan nodded, beginning to tease the suds out of Vodka's soggy pelt, contemplating what his friend had to say. "Would it be better to use a towel, then? That would not be noisy. If I am making glaring mistake, please excuse - I am not practised at washing animals." He responded, smiling a little sheepishly as he continued to rinse his cat. Alfred wasn't far wrong when it came to Penny, he mused, seeing as she had been giving Vodka imperious looks the whole time - she really was in charge here, as far as cats were concerned. "It does, thank you~ If you had thought it was stupid, I would probably have picked something else." He replied, when Alfred told him that he liked the name the Russian had picked. After all, he reflected, his first choice in naming the kitty was not so important as harmony in a newly-shared home. The nudge was pleasant, as a contact between friends, and it didn't jostle his arm - he was getting more used to Alfred's displays of affection now. The aimless melody the American had begun to produce had a certain charm to it, though Ivan wasn't certain quite what that was, and he felt happy listening to it.
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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12:34pm May 25 2014
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"Yeah since he just got here a towel would probably be the best idea," Alfred responded as he turned to go grab one, setting it onto the counter before he dipped a hand into the water to lean over and gently start scrubbing the cat's head, being very careful. "Washing their face is probably the easiest to do with just your thumbs to rub in the stuff," he muttered softly, not even really noticing that the way he was currently standing he was leaning lightly against Ivan, his posture relaxed as he focused on making sure their new housemate was completely clean so Penny could at the very least tolerate him being there. "You don't really HAVE to use shampoo on their faces," he added. "It's probably safer not to, since it could get into their eyes fairly easily."
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1:13pm May 25 2014
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Ivan nodded, observing the motions Alfred made with his thumbs, pleased that his notion had merit. It looked like a delicate job, but Vodka was being rather laid back about it - probably reminded of previous careful washings enough to remember his manners. Ivan certainly noticed that Alfred was leaning into him in order to achieve his objective, and the Russian could feel the warmth of his friend's frame pressing into his. It seemed as though the American did not even notice that he was doing so, but Ivan certainly wasn't about to complain. In many respects, he really was like a great big kitten, responding to contact with someone who had shown him kindness in much the same way - at least emotionally. Alfred was an affectionate other, someone who smiled for him, and he could not help but feel attached to someone like that - even without the peculiarly strong attraction he felt towards his friend. He hoped that it was not wrong of him to savour this contact, as unconscious as it seemed to be, but he would not be the one to pull away. "I will try to remember that." He murmured, referring to what Alfred was saying about the shampoo.
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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1:48pm May 25 2014
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Alfred nodded before he finished up what he was doing and pulled back. "Uh, you might need to take off your coat to keep it from getting wet," he murmured, patting the top of Vodka's head. "Drying off these balls of fluff is easier than washing them but you still have to be careful not to hurt them," he told him before he moved over to Penny to start petting her since he had yet to do so. She purred loudly as she was given attention, rubbing her head into Alfred's hand as her tail twitched idly. It was about time he started giving her attention.
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1:57pm May 25 2014
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"Ahh, okay." Ivan responded, nodding. He felt faintly disappointed at the loss of contact, but shook it off as he pulled the plug, dried his hands and shrugged off his coat. He draped this over the handle of the door, and made sure that the ends of his scarf were still located around his back, before returning his attention to the very wet Vodka. The cat in question had blinked each time his head was patted, which had been mildly amusing, and he regarded Ivan in expectant silence as the water swirled away. "I will be as gentle as I can." He added, taking up the ready towel and beginning to apply it to the freshly cleaned cat. Vodka was listening to the sound of Penny purring, registering that she was now in a good mood, and he decided to try the same thing she was doing. This made it a little difficult to dry him effectively, but Ivan persevered, alternating petting and drying in order to placate his feline. "Am I doing this right?" He asked, glancing across at Alfred.
Gneiss, but not taken for granite~
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