singillatim | April catch-all

Who: Levi and ???
What: Closed and Open starters
When: This month
Where: In and around Milton

Content Warnings: Levi carries the probable warnings for child soldiers, child abuse and mental illness (PTSD/Depression). Will note anything specific!

Cat(friendly) - Open
The original idea when he brought the kitten back to Milton was to just let her live wherever and follow him around or whatever cats did. The fog changed that, at least for awhile. The fog made it hard for him to function, he imagines it must be a million times worse for a tiny kitten. So not long after it starts Levi's corralled Mary into the community hall and is trying not to let her out. And since he's spending more time there as well, he'll try to keep up with her antics.

He's put a pillow under his cot, but also put some blankets in a corner (if no one has taken them) for her to sleep in. She's a cat, though, so she sleeps where she pleases. He doesn't really know much about how to take care of a cat, but he's managed to find a book and has set up a bowl of water near the fireplace. Through out the month, Levi can be found playing with her, trying to get her down from things, and sometimes trying to get her out of whatever tiny hole she's managed to climb into. Sometimes she calms down and just sleeps near or on him while he reads.

Mary is kind of a skittish kitten. She'll dart away from movement and will watch people for awhile before approaching any of them. The first few days she tries to keep out of sight but she'll warm up to those who hang around regularly soon enough. Even quicker if you have food to share.

Normal Fog - for Ruby
The fog made it hard to navigate. Levi wanted to head further out from town, just in case something was lurking out there but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to find his way back. So he stuck close to town, trying his best to remember which way the town was as he did. His senses were on hyper alert and his rifle was in his hands, because nothing was safe in or around Milton.

He wasn't going alone, though, so that was another line of security. He pauses for a moment, looking around before looking to his companion. "How far out do you think we can safely get back from?"

Green Fog - for Lt. Little (Content warnings for gassing and trench warfare/PTSD here!)
He hadn't buddied up for every trip into the fog, though perhaps he should have. He couldn't remember how far out from town he was when the fog had taken an odd green tone. He hated that color, but he hadn't treated it any differently than the rest of the fog.

He should have. Only his face wasn't covered, so he didn't notice the real danger until it was upon him. It burned his face but it burned his throat and lungs more. The green fog reminded him of the gas that was sometimes used during the war, and there was only one way to deal with that: get away. After the first breath his reflexes kick in and he raises a hand to cover his mouth and nose. It can't block it all, so he turns and runs. Staying in the ~~gas~~ fog was practically a death sentence, even if it didn't seem like it at first. He wasn't one to run away much, but you couldn't fight something like this.

Memories and barely contained panic clouds his head as the runs, so Levi has no idea which way he's going. The gift he was given by Enola allows him to out pace the green death, but it wears him out. Eventually his body starts to give out and he collapses, crawling to a nearby bush in hopes that it might block some of the ~~gas~~ fog if he catches up to him. His coughing makes him easy to find, though.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That tracks with what little he does know about cats. In that respect, he supposes they're not all that different from dogs, they just want safety, food, somewhere warm to nap. Of course, if he thinks about it like that, then they're all kind of similar.

He watches as she climbs up Levi's arm, and he only winces a little at the thought of the claws. "Can't imagine a dog could do that…" it's said with a small laugh, though he's sure there are dogs that would like to try. "Honestly, I uh, I never saw a cat until a few years ago. Like, a real one, anyway."

Thankfully the claws are mostly in his sleeves instead of his skin. He chuckles a bit, "Maybe a puppy. I'm not sure she'll be able to do it when she gets bigger."

He gives the kitten a few scrithches before looking back to Maccready. "Really? I've seen stray cats just about everywhere where I came from. And dogs."

"Ha, yeah…" He lets out a mirthful laugh at that, because, yeah, it's kind of hard to believe he'd gone so long without ever seeing a cat — they just weren't around, and he imagines if they were, they probably didn't last very long.

"There are a lot of stray dogs, though, if you can really call them strays." A grimace, because they're horribly vicious beasts, closer to wild animals than anything. Thinking about them in comparison to the dogs they had in the caverns, or even Dogmeat. There really is no comparing them. "Honestly, most animals just aren't something I'm really familiar with."

"I never really dealt with animals much either. A few people in Prehevil--uh, where I grew up--raised animals but I never interacted with them. Or had any pets...um, b-before now, I guess."

"I think most animals do alright by themselves. It can't be that hard to look after a cat, though, right?" Maybe it is, he doesn't know.

"You stay here in the community hall, don't you?" There's an idle curiosity on his face — he's not sure if the cat would appreciate being in a space where people are coming and going all the time. Though, maybe when the fog clears it'll be safer for her to go out…

"I don't know, I hope it isn't." He nods, "I was planning on just letting her come and go as she pleases but I don't want her out in the fog...hopefully it will pass soon."

"Ah, yeah, makes sense. Probably other things out there, too, though. Not sure if she'd stray far enough from Milton to get into any trouble, but…"

There are the wolves, those bigger cats now, too, to contend with. It probably wouldn't be an issue if she stayed close. "Might be worth trying to keep her inside, y'know, just to be safe." Not that he's the authority on how to look after cats, he just knows the few people he'd met in the Commonwealth who kept the animals as pets tried their best to ensure they stayed close to their homesteads. He also learned that cats kind of just do what they want.

"I hope she wouldn't..." He'd be hurt if she disappeared one day or got eaten by a wolf, but it didn't seem like the best way to take care of an animal who'd been outside all her live. "She followed me around a lot, so I'm hoping she'll do that, or at least stay near people."

"Maybe you can train her? We had a lot of dogs when I was growing up, and they didn't really stray too far. I guess one of the older kids must have taught them not to go outside the gates or something." A weak shrug, "I'm not sure how it would work with a cat, but… probably kind of the same?"

With enough effort, he thinks it could be possible. Or, maybe just put up a notice to not let the cat out. He doesn't think people need to be reminded to keep the door closed, given how cold it is.

"How big do you think she's going to get?"

"Maybe...I didn't look for training in the books I found." He hadn't really read that much of them yet.

"Um...maybe around..." He gestures with his hands, about the length and height of a normal house cat. "...or at least that's how big the cats were where I came from."

From just eyeballing it, Maccready thinks that the cats he'd seen back in the wastes are probably the same sort of size — maybe a little but smaller, if anything, but nothing too drastically different. That should probably be some kind of comfort, both here and at home.

"That's not too bad, she won't be taking up much room, at least."

Spoken like someone who has never had to share a bed with a cat.

April catch-all

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject