Taking Shortcuts - [ 63, OPEN ]

[jimmyg]

The time was 1:19pm on a Tuesday afternoon. By all accounts, Jimmy should've been in school at the moment. He wasn't, though. During the lunch break that the students received, he had made his way out of the building via a side door that no one had kept their eyes on. It led directly outside to the playground designated more or less for the elementary students when they came for visits for whatever reason. Nothing much. A couple of swing sets, one of the old fashioned merry-go-rounds, a small tire house, and one of those metallic domes for the kids to climb all over. Had he been a few years younger and not in a hurry to get off the premises, he might've stuck around on the swing set for a bit. Otherwise though, Jimmy never really did care for playgrounds.

The walk home from school was a decently lengthy one. His mother or more rarely his father would often drop him off and pick him up from school; he never rode the bus. Due to his own request. He rode the bus one time and the entire trip was miserable. Because of course, only the worst group of bullies that continuously picked on him throughout his grade school career rode that particular bus with him. It took a few days for his mother to finally see his side of things, but in the end, he won. No more bus riding for Jimmy.

There were times where he was able to call his mother and tell her that he'd rather just walk home, though. Today would've been one of those days had he stayed long enough to walk home at the correct time, but he'd just surprise her when he got home, he figured. Sure, he'd be in trouble for skipping school. But what was the worst that would happen? He'd be grounded. And aside from reading, Jimmy didn't have many hobbies. He didn't have many friends, either. Being grounded, to him, was no big deal. His mother and father were both just lucky that he was such an intelligent child who actually wanted to be able to learn things at school, and he personally was convinced that that was the only reason he continued to go. Because he wanted to. Sometimes.

Unfortunately for him, even living in a relatively safe part of Gotham was met with a few minor skirmishes with the less safe parts of town. Particularly taking shortcuts. Never really a good idea, but Jimmy had been down this particular alley way enough times that he deemed it 'safe enough' to pass through. Now about fifteen minutes away from the school on foot, the landscape was changed. Tall buildings were on either side of him, the only trees being purposefully planted there in order to appear decorative. Trash littered either side of the alley, and occasionally he saw a few cats or dogs, sometimes even rats scurry away out of his path. The rats always interested him the most. Supposedly, their anatomy was relatively close to that of a human. He'd considered setting up traps for them in the alley so that he could catch them and have something else to do when he got home, but he'd had his fair share of small animal dissections before his 'sister' moved in with them, and it had been very clearly outlawed in the Gordon house.

Instead of thinking too much about something that would only get him into more trouble, Jimmy continued along his path quietly, bringing a hand up to adjust the glasses that were a bit too big for his face back up the bridge of his nose, and zipped up his jacket after a wind that was too cool for his liking brushed against his face.

[cat]

This is one cat who hates having to do everything for himself, but ever since Ragady didn't return 'home' one night, that's how it's been. He's kept his nose on alert for her scent, but he hasn't caught any signs of her yet. And to make matters worse, he's noticed the other day that his 'voice' was slightly weakened - a sign that he's going to need his collar fixed again soon or risk ending up unable to communicate properly again. And this while he's humanless - oh joy. About all he can do is keep quiet and hope that he manages to get someone before it's too late again.

The best place for a loose cat in Gotham is the alleyways - there people rarely object to your presence, there aren't any cars or pedestrians to avoid, and very occasionally he'll find something worth eating. So it should be no surprise that he'd be here. At the moment he's doing nothing more but walk down the alleyway, exploring this part of the city and hoping that he'll bump into something or someone useful. He walks with quite a bit more purpose than a normal cat, but people rarely pay enough attention to strays to notice anything like that.

He looks up when he sees a young human coming the other direction, though he doesn't slow. He does stare, however, since human males about that age seem to have a strong tendency to attempt to harm him for absolutely no reason. Not that he doubts he'd be able to dodge any such thing, but definitely something to keep an eye out for.

[jimmyg]

With another gust of wind down the alley, a few littered cans and whatnot are sent flying against the walls surrounding the narrow pathway. It's fall, it's windy, it's cold, Jimmy actually prefers this kind of weather. Still, the metallic clang draws his attention over to a series of trash bins. Only, before his eyes land on those, he spots a cat almost directly in front of him. A distance away, but still. In front. Tilting his head, he blinks at the cat and stands there for a moment, torn between trying to call it over or just letting it be. He never was a big fan of cats. Though on the flip side, he never disliked them either. Having never owned one, he simply was ignorant to the entire species for the most part. When he thought 'cat', he thought 'Catwoman', who he knew was just another part of Gotham that was taking his father away from him.

Deciding that he was in no hurry to get home and the cat did sort of look like it was staring at him, Jimmy tugged his sleeve back just a bit to get a feel for the time and afterward, looked back over at the cat, who was still standing there.

Kneeling down slowly, Jimmy held out one of his hands to see if it would respond at all. Maybe come closer to him, maybe run away. Afterward, he wondered what exactly he'd do if it did come near. He couldn't bring a cat home. He didn't even want a cat. He was bigger than it, and he could just throw it into the river nearby if he wanted. But that was out of his way and he wanted to get home sooner rather than later. Plus, the cat was pretty big anyway. Gerbils, hamsters and birds lacked much natural defense. A cat as big as this one could do some damage if he tried to hurt it. So, he decided that he wouldn't. If it even came closer, that is.

[cat]

When the male starts paying attention to him, the cat slows to a stop while he's still well out of reach. For a second or two he's tense until he can clearly see that he's not about to be attacked immediately, but though that eases he's not about to come any closer. Instead he eyes the stretched out hand suspiciously and his gaze shifts back up to the kid's face as he sits to demonstrate his complete lack of desire to move now, his tail shifting behind him being the only sign of his state of mind - wary. Not trusting enough to come close, but also not fearful enough to run.

It's not very often that a human pays any particular attention to him without him making more of an effort to solicit it, and this certainly isn't the type of person he'd want to try doing that to. On the other hand, he'll eventually want to get some assistance from someone, the sooner the better, so he might as well see what kind of human this one is before he moves along.

[jimmyg]

Despite some of his greater efforts, the cat doesn't come near Jimmy. Not near enough, anyway. He has to ponder a moment to consider if it's even worth it. Why he even cares about the dumb animal is still a mystery to even him. He would take off his backpack, reach in and see if he has any food for what is probably just another hungry stray, but he doesn't want to scare it off, so he stays still, keeping his hand out and all.

"It's okay." He says quietly, his tone of voice not exactly the most comforting seeing as he made no attempt to make it that way, but it isn't frightening or off putting either. After another few seconds of keeping his hand out, he brings it back and sighs quietly, ready to stand back up and call it quits. But before that, he keeps his eyes on the cat to make sure it's just going to stay there, and not run off.

[cat]

At the male's words, the cat's ears turn forward, obviously listening. All cats have a way of looking very understanding, as if they know exactly what's being said to them, but this particular cat looks especially so. Mostly because it's actually true in his case.

And the problem with that is that after hanging around with Ragady he's gotten accustomed to casual conversation, so he neglects to take into account that his reflexive mental reaction to the human's words will be mistaken by his collar as an attempt at speech. "I don't believe you," he replies without meaning to but, quick to catch his mistake, he immediately twists his ears and glances around as if trying to look for who said that. What? Who said that? A lame trick, but it just might work given that he's a cat and isn't supposed to be able to do that.

[jimmyg]

Keeping his eyes on the cat, he lingers around only a few more seconds before suddenly, it speaks. Or, something spoke. It couldn't have been the cat. Cats can't talk. Jimmy's brows furrow in confusion at the source of the words. He too looks around, suddenly slightly wary himself given the exact words that were spoken, before he stands up and looks around just a bit more. Seeing no one and hearing nothing out of the ordinary, he simply looks back to the cat, and tilts his head again.

"..Did you just talk?" He asks, mentally angry with himself to an extent because of what a dumb question it is. Cats can't talk. To think otherwise is stupid, and Jimmy is not stupid. Despite that, he looks around again for any other source of the voice.

[cat]

Attempting to keep up the act, the cat nevertheless slips up again and says, "No." He mentally kicks himself. It's so difficult not to speak when he's spoken to when he's used to doing it and the answers are so simple. Dropping the act, his eyes shift back completely to the human and this time it's intentional when he adds, "Fine - yes."

And though he remains in place, his muscles tense beneath his fur as he watches carefully to see what the human will make of this. Worst case scenario, he can bolt away and there's no way he'd be chased for long - cats are good at disappearing.

[jimmyg]

Again, there's that voice. The voice that simply can't be coming from the cat, but then again can't be coming from anywhere else, either. Is he just hearing voices? Considering this for a moment, he finds himself in a brief state of mental panic. If so, he can't tell his mother. She already thinks there's something 'wrong' with him. Hearing voices would only make those tensions higher. After another pause, there it is again, this time, the cat admitting that it is in fact, him.

Looking back over at the cat, Jimmy's eyes don't widen like they possibly would with others. He doesn't really look surprised. At the end of the day, he probably won't even care. For now though, he turns back to face the supposedly talking cat, and kneels down again. "..How are you doing that?" He asks, assuming that since the cat can talk, it can also explain things.

[cat]

Well, so far so good - the human isn't attempting to harm or capture him. His expression remains suspicious though. Humans are very different from each other, after all, and he knows that he isn't very good at picking out the subtleties. The brief scent of fear that reaches his nose, for example - is that a good sign or a bad sign? Impossible for him to really know.

He considers the question for a moment this time, as it's one that he actually has to think about. Unfortunately, he only has the barest of understandings about himself and can only say, "I'm not a normal cat. And my collar makes the voice." Perhaps it would have been useful for him to recount a bit of his history, but he's never been one to see his past as relevant to anything. He is what he is and why he is isn't important to him. Caring about such things is a human thing.

[jimmyg]

The fact that the cat continues to talk to him, answering the questions that he's asking is a good sign that he is still alone in the alley as far as other human company is concerned, and that he is not in fact imagining the voices in his head. Though, there is still the possibility that he's simply imagining the cat being there in the first place and then in turn also imagining a talking cat being there. How would he explain that? Of course, to think that the cat isn't really there would imply that he's questioning reality and, for the moment, he is not.

The explanation that the cat gives as to the source of his voice is puzzling still, but it at least makes sense. See? The cat can't talk. It's collar can. Jimmy's mind, baffled as it is at the moment, accepts this answer and nods slowly. "What kind of a cat are you?" He asks, his tone a bit hushed now since, if anyone does come by, the chances are likely that it might be a kid from school. And the last thing he needs from them is for them to see him talking to a supposedly talking cat. The chances of them appearing any sooner than about an hour though, are unlikely. Out of reflex however, the boy looks back over his shoulder, just to make sure.

[cat]

The cat notices how nervous the human seems to be getting and wonders at it a moment, but doesn't think on it for too long because the question he asks this time is quite the tough one. Why does he keep getting asked all these hard questions? Thinking out the answers isn't easy for a cat, you know. It's supposed to be impossible, in fact. So he's quite certain that he deserves some sort of reward for this, but somehow doubts that will happen.

"A brown one," he finally replies, not really knowing how else to answer that, "What kind of human are you?" If he was the type to think that way he might have noted that it was unlikely that they'd be spotted by another human without him knowing, thanks to his many sharp senses, but he isn't so he doesn't.

[jimmyg]

Jimmy is usually pretty good about hiding his emotions, masking them, even. At home he can fake a smile and neither his parents or his sister when she's around will be the wiser. At school, it's quite the same, though most of the time he simply doesn't even bother with putting on a mask of everything being fine. With supposedly no one around though, he shows a bit more of his true nature in being paranoid. He looks back again, then to the cat, and once more, tilts his head to one side at his answer, and then his question.

"Oh." Is his answer to the statement that the cat is, indeed, brown. Thinking on the question directed at him; still unable to get over the fact that it's from a cat who either is or is not really there, he takes a moment to respond. "Um.. my name is Jimmy?" He answers, for once in a while unsure if it's the correct answer.

[cat]

The way that the cat's ear turns toward him would indicate that the cat heard that, but the human won't get any further response to that information. Giving things names and attaching some sort of importance to them is a human thing, not a cat thing, so he hardly cares what this one calls himself and it doesn't occur to him to provide that information unless asked. Instead the cat literally stares up at him in complete silence now, having absolutely nothing to say now. Whether or not this is awkward for the human he's staring at, it isn't for the cat.

[jimmyg]

When the cat says nothing back to him in return this time, Jimmy feels that something is wrong. The thoughts that this is all being imagined seem to grow stronger in his mind, and he furrows his brows at the cat, observing him sitting there for a moment before he pushes himself back to his feet and stares down at the cat instead of being only slightly above his own level. It wasn't so much that the lack of response was awkward for Jimmy as that he was still having trouble convincing the logical side of his brain; which admittedly for him in particular was most of it, that a cat was talking to him.

"Did you want something?" He asks, and why he asks, he doesn't know. The boy continues to be upset with himself mentally, but figures he can push those feelings aside until he figures out what exactly is going on with this odd animal.