Like Cats and Dogs [Peanut]

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

Bold were those that walked through the East End by choice. Batshit insane were those that willingly walked through the area. Those that geared up to go on extensive runs through the East End? They probably belonged in Arkham Asylum. But for those familiar with the area, and with thin slivers of fear about much of anything, it was just another day pounding the pavement, getting their exercise in. Considering how intimately entangled Selina was with the area, how keenly aware she was of who did what, and where they did it, she was quite comfortable running the streets in the early morning. There were few still left that knew her true identity, and the others, well, if they really wanted to rile her up, they could try.

Even then, she was clad in enough black and grey to be unnoticable, earbuds not entirely visible, and her phone secured in the waistband of her running leggings. There were not many out and about at this point, unless they were just crawling in from the bars and other less sundry areas. Not that she cared. It had been a while since she prowled in this area, and cats needed their alone time...

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The cool, crisp morning cooled and found the pavement damp with condensation and it eased tender little paws. Alone; albeit with a lovely little backpack on, Peanut enjoyed his solitude in the mornings, and the cold ground helped with the burns that covered his paw pads.

He had really bungled some crappy wiring in the duplex, and now the power had gone out. Peanut was not concerned about fixing it, but he had been tired and hadn’t slept so a walk was in order to ease his frustration and hopefully make him sleepy enough to pass out when he got back.

For now, Peanut enjoyed East End and East End ignored Peanut. It was an amicable arrangement and the pug found he quite enjoyed his morning strolls away from Kevin and even Mrs.Nesbitt. It was a time for introspection and self-discovery, as brilliant as he was he was only four, his sentience only granted to him a year or so previous.

Peanut was lost in thought, strolling at a slow but steady pace down the sidewalk.

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

The calm was refreshing. The air had that acrid smell that was known for this side of town, but was still familiar to her. So as she continued to run, lost in thought, she narrowed her eyes, finally, at something moving ahead of her. Slowing her running pace slightly, she tried to focus on just what it was. And she desperately wished she had her goggles to focus, instead of just her own eyes. And she hoped it wasn't a rat.

Whistling was out of the picture, so she tried to catch up. After a good amount of pacing, she realized it was a little dog. Not a rat, but a pug. And this little dog had....really? She had to blink a few times. The dog had a backpack on. A tiny one that seemed to fit perfectly. And no leash. No owner. She'd lived in Gotham most of her life, and this was on the lesser end of peculiar. But something still was making her curious beyond her normal interest. A dog, out this early, with a cute backpack on and no one walking him? Hm.

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Peanut was too lost in thought to hear the approaching footfalls of his observer, he was staring at the cement under his paws and going through the motions of listing off all the different ingredients that went into making the liquid form of cement.


He did catch a bad crack in the sidewalk as he was lost in thought and gave a little stumble, uttering a honk of surprise before shaking it off and walking a bit faster; as if creating distance between himself and the split in the concrete would lessen his embarrassment.


When he came to the crosswalk he sat down on the ledge and stared up at the lights, waiting for what few cars that did pass by to stop for the red light that signaled his turn to cross. Panting idly as he planted his fat little toosh on the sidewalk.

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

Shit. She was almost on top of the little dog when he stumbled...over his own two feet? Something in the sidewalk? It could be nearly anything, and that dog was pretty tiny. Almost falling flat on her face herself, Selina caught her balance, and paused, going to crouch for a moment, still eying the little dog. It did erupt in some sort of abrupt noise, but that was normal, right? She was totally a cat person, not a dog person. But a small animal was a small animal, right?


It was only a short distance to the street, and she paused as well, waiting for the cars and the light to change. As the little dog sat to her left, she looked down at him as he panted, reaching to her own water bottle.

"Hey little guy. You doing ok? I have some water if you want some." She did have a water bottle on the small belt around her waist. She spoke to him as if it was entirely normal for her to talk to animals daily. She was of the mind that even though they didn't always return the polite conversation in speech, they were more aware than they let on. Especially cats.

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When the pretty lady stopped next to him and asked if he was ok, Peanut cocked his head to the side and looked up at her with silent consideration. He wheezed and gave another honk before standing up and nodding. “Yed pleads. I’mb agdully preddy firsty” [Yes please. I am actually pretty thirsty.]

Now, Peanut was no fool and normally he would not have spoken so blatantly to a stranger, but this was an animal person (he could just tell) and didn’t foresee the lady doing anything untoward in regards to him. That and he was very thirsty, having been too lost in thought to realize it prior to stopping for the light.

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

Wait a minute. Blinking, she wasn't exactly aware a person could choke on their own air. But it was possible as she found herself sputtering, a hand going to cover her mouth as she started to cough. The little guy had a bit of a lisp, or hell, maybe that is just how dogs spoke? (Dogs, speaking?) Without a second thought to it, the coughing fit subsiding and leaving her with a bit of a red face, she nodded, and crouched down a bit on one side of the sidewalk, just in case someone else came along. She didn't want either of them to get knocked over, or hell, ran over, even.

"I'm surprised you don't have anything in your backpack." Pulling out the waterbottle from her belt, she thought a moment. It was a squeeze top, so she could either cup the water in her hands so he could lap it up, or squirt it directly in his mouth. If it was a he? She just had a feeling, if that even made sense.

"Well, we've got a few options here. I can squirt some water in your mouth, or I can have it so you lap it out of my hands? I'm Selina, by the way." In leiu of a handshake, she held her hand out, first, to let the little guy sniff, if he felt inclined to. Of all the odd things, she really shouldn't be surprised a dog was talking to her. Cats were so mercurial, she bet if Jasper could talk, he wasn't just because.

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Peanut gave a soft whine as the woman coughed, feeling that he might have startled her a little too much with his reckless talking. But she recovered and pulled out her precious water; which managed a few little wags out of that curly little tail of his.


When she offered her hand he moved closer, sitting down for balance and tucking his paw up under her hand so that he was touching her palm. He gave a few up and down motions with his arm, shaking her hand awkwardly but politely before letting his arm fall back down.

"Ib yoo wood'nt mind madam." [If you wouldn't mind madam.] The pug stood up and turned in a little half circle, panting and smiling wide up at the woman. "Id id a pledge-ur Mid Selinda. I'mb Peabnut. And I hab a liddle cupb ind my pack" [It is a pleasure Miss Selina. I'm Peanut and I have a little cup in my pack] 

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

Holy shit. The little guy was more than polite. Actually, he was more polite than most of the people she had met in Gotham. Blinking, she gently held his paw and returned the shake. Handshaking with a wee dog. And her being Catwoman, of all people! Of all things in Gotham, this had to be one of her already favorite encounters. With a pug. Grinning, she watched him trot around, offering his backpack to her.

"Nice to meet you as well, Peanut. I'm going to get that cup out, and get you situated." Make that a rather polite pug with a fucking backpack!

Glancing at the pack, she was soon able to unzip it and find the little cup inside. Re-zipping the backpack was important, so nothing else fell out. Even as she was curious as to what a dog would carry with him, she refrained from peeking too much. Flipping the top of the waterbottle, she filled the cup up, and set it down for him, her hand hovering in case he wanted other options.

"Do you want me to hold it, considering, well, we are in the East End. Or I could hold it for you. Admittedly, I am more of a cat person, so I'm not as keen on canine ways. So you tell me, and I'll do what I can, Peanut. And then when you're better hydrated, we could talk more?"

She certainly wasn't going to let an opportunity like this go to waste. And he was rather dashing.

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Peanut gave a happy yip of approval. “Tank yoo Miss Selina. I dun mind yoo pudding it on da ground” [Thank you Miss Selina. I don’t mind you putting in on the ground]. The dog leaned in and sniffed at the cup for a second, he couldn’t remember if he had Kevin pack one he had inspected prior to departure. It smelt clean so he mentally shrugged off his concern. “I woodn’t wand to get slobburr on yoor hands”

He lifted his paw and batted at the air slowly, gesturing for her to place the cup all the way down lest he get her messy with his messy ingesting habits. “Why Miss. I wood lub to continue our loberly conbersation!” [Why Miss. I would love to continue our lovely conversation!]

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

She couldn't help but smile when the little guy got excited. Nodding, she carefully set the cup down and watched as Peanut sniffed at it. Perhaps to make sure it was ok? She certainly didn't want him to think something was in the water. To be honest, you could never really know in the East End.

Perhaps to put his mind at ease, and her own, she herself squirted a teeny bit of water into her mouth as well, making sure to not contaminate it. She hadn't really stopped in her run, so it was still clean. "You're too kind, Peanut. And a little saliva wouldn't kill me. Trust me, I've dealt with worse on my hands."

Winking at him, she nodded. "Well, when you are ready- and no rush, I'd rather you stay hydrated and healthy, we can chat more!"

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Peanut uttered a grunt and began to lap slowly at the water, his throat stung a bit (when had he become so thirsty?) but he made sure not to spill too much. Once he couldn’t fit his face down in the cup anymore, he sat back and pawed at his face to dislodge any remaining droplets.

It would be far too mortifying if he was to be covered in slobber!

Once he was ready, Peanut turned around so that his pack was facing the black haired woman and wagged his tail absentmindedly. “When Eber yoor ready Miss Selina. My cup can go bacg in dere and we can proseed” [Whenever you’re ready Miss Selina. My cup can go back in there and we can proceed]

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

As much as she was touted as a cat person, Selina really did have a heart for most animals. And Peanut was up there as one of her favorites. And it really had nothing to do with him talking. It was the manners, and that look on his face, and the backpack. Or maybe the bowtie. Either way, the canine was a gentleman, and that language always spoke to her, no matter who was saying the words.

Still crouching, she watched Peanut lap the water, her mind going over a mental check of his well-being. Hopefully he had someone taking care of him, at the very least. Maybe she would figure out how he had gained speech, and hopefully it wouldn't involve some sort of nightmare or animal cruelty.

But it seemed he was ever a gentleman, and when finished with the cup, she more than made sure the cup was dry before she followed his directions and deposited the cup back into his backpack. Zipping it and double-checking it was secure, she nodded.

"Well then, Peanut, I was out and about for a run. It seemed you were headed in a specific direction, so would you prefer to take the lead?" She was familiar with the East End, yet had no agenda for the day. And clearly, the pug had some sort of business to do.

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Peanut sat patiently until Selina was done putting his little cup back in his pack, once he felt she was done he stood up and waddled in a circle so he could look up at her. “I was heading to da cement lod downd da way. I waz gonnda do a eggsperimint.” .

Peanut did not really understand why he was being so forward and candid with Selina, something just felt safe about her. He could trust she wouldn’t do him wrong, for the time being anyway. “Wood yoo like to see?”

Without waiting for her answer; because he knew she wanted to see, he turned to head towards the curb and waited for the light to finally change back to the walking man. He would wait for her and walk at her pace to escort her safely across the street, but he had a feeling she didn’t need his protection. It didn’t matter, decorum dictated his actions.

[Selina Kyle - Catwoman]

He was such a gentleman! Of all the creatures, man or beast she had met, she honestly doubted she had met someone so polite, and genuine at that. "I haven't been there in a while. And I'd love to see!" Standing straight as she watched him, she allowed the dapper gentleman to take the lead. As they both watched for the light to change, she couldn't keep from smiling, content as the little dog escorted her across the street.

At least that is what she thought. There was no other way to truly describe how he was acting. Yes, it was a dog, and a smaller breed at that, but he was so refined. Even with that face. His manners were endearing, and for a proclaimed 'cat person' she was enamored. She did feel it improper to just take him home, as a lady of herself that might be a bit too forward. Perhaps they could work something out, especially considering she did live closer to the park, even.

"What sort of experiment are you going to conduct?"