July catch all

[vorbarra]

WHO: Gregor and a bunch of people-- includes open prompts!
WHERE: Various.
WHEN: Various.
WHAT: Various.
WARNINGS: Va-- actually, none so far.


    > THE LUCKY CAT CAFÉ
    > HEROPA -- OPEN
    > 1A. HUMAN; 1B. CAT

[ Gregor works at the Lucky Cat on weekdays in the evenings, and is a polite, attentive, soft-spoken barista whose name tag simply says Gregor where it's pinned to his black uniform shirt. His smooth Russian-ish accent gets him attention from time to time, but it's been enough months that the regulars are all over it by now and make no comment.

You might get an impression from his reserved attitude that he'd have difficulty handling any ruckus that could arise. That would be wrong. He's completely unflappable in the face of impatient or demanding customers, and shoots back bland sarcasm at anyone that causes trouble for other patrons.

He can also be found on his breaks spending time as a sleek gray cat, mostly avoiding human interaction and definitely pretending he can't speak, an act he's unlikely to break. But you're welcome to encounter him that way, too! ]

    > THE RESIDENCE
    > DE CHIMA COUNTRYSIDE -- SEMI-OPEN
    > 2A. HUMAN; 2B. CAT

[ If you live there or otherwise have access to the Residence, you're also welcome to run across Gregor going about his daily life. These days he pretty much only cooks to make breakfast; if you get up early enough he'll share it with you. He does habitually tidy things up and do some basic cleaning as well, and otherwise can be found watching television in the main living area (documentaries, trashy sci fi, and Disney are his prime picks) or reading quietly in various locations.

And, of course, he spends a significant amount of time as a cat, who you may or may not know is actually Gregor. Apart from his favorite people, he wants attention only in small spurts before flouncing off, and is prone to perching in high up locations to surveil his territory. But he can be lured down with bits of fish or chicken... ]

Comments

TEJ

[vorbarra]

[ It's not exactly a high level priority, and it's a little embarrassing, really, although it has occurred to Gregor that it only seems right that he'd be trading one Lady Vorpatril's advice for another's. As it is, he doesn't seek her out but just waits until he opportunely runs into her, whereupon he gently clears his throat when the normal head nods of casual social greeting run their course. ]

Lady Vorpatril, I was wondering if perhaps I could tap you for a favor.

[ghemnotgem]

( out of all the things that she expected the gregor to say when she'd greeted him at work in the morning, it wasn't this. a favor? for the emperor of barrayar? tej pauses in tying her apron around her waist and nods. )

Ah-- what sort of favor?

[vorbarra]

Well.

[ He clears his throat. ]

It's come to my attention that I might like to buy something for a lady I know, but in the past I have always depended on, well, your mother-in-law's good judgement, actually.

SPOCK

[vorbarra]

[ With Spock, Gregor texts him ahead of time and sets up a time to meet under the simple expedient of requesting a meditation session. Which isn't untrue, it's just not the whole story, and he's singularly reluctant to, well, admit out loud that he's having this problem at all. He knows Miles is likely to overreact to it or make some grand self-sacrificing offer to try closing their link more often, which Gregor expects to go over like a lead balloon in practice. He's not even sure that will work, that that is a solution. It's not like his existing links aren't all almost entirely closed all the time anyway.

So he speaks to the natural telepath who's already taught him a fair amount, and who he trusts implicitly. Hypothetically, things should be awkward between them with the outstanding issue of whether they're going to have a threesome with Miles still unaddressed. With Spock, Gregor has no doubt that that is considered a shelved conversation and will not factor into anything.

There's a reason he likes Spock so much. He meets him at his house rather than at the Residence, heralding his arrival with only a polite knock. ]

[overanalytically]

[ Spock had to do some coordination in order to set the time for Gregor to meet with him—make sure Qubit was going to take his dogs walking at their normal time so their barking and general excited puppy behavior wouldn't disturb their meditations within DC#3, request that Doc leave off from the alarms of the numerous clocks downstairs, and he even had to rearrange a meeting with Jim in order to accommodate Gregor's request. All of which is simply not mentioned in his reply text to Gregor, merely replying with a time and asking for confirmation.

When he arrives, Spock answers the door while wearing his under-uniform blacks. ] Greetings, Gregor, [ he nods, only using Gregor's first name when he's certain they won't be disturbed by others. There is no hint of that hypothetical awkwardness either, only that mix of complete professionalism and casual ease that somehow only Spock can pull off. He steps aside, holding the door open for him. ] Please come in.

[vorbarra]

[ Yes, this is definitely too personal a meeting to use titles for, even if they aren't discussing that proposal yet.

He steps in. ] Thank you. And thank you for meeting with me on short notice. I have something I would appreciate your advice on.

MILES

[vorbarra]

[ This isn't an easy topic to broach out of the blue, and there's sufficient delay between Gregor walking in on Miles's hands on Spock's bare chest and when the actual conversation does occur that it's regained its innate awkwardness. It was hardly appropriate while Miles was laid up in bed, so it'd been put off and with no second thoughts about it; Gregor had spent the majority of that time keeping him company as a cat or reading to him as a human, slowly stroking his hair, leaving only to go to work and give Miles some time to himself and to have other visitors.

With all that done and Miles seemingly recovered, it's not something to put off anymore. There's been a mounting hesitance as Gregor tries to find a way to bring it up growing bit by bit over the past week that Miles can likely feel. Telepathy is convenient that way. Subconsciously, Gregor is mostly hoping Miles will do the dirty work for him and initiate this, however selfish that is.

He was supposed to be using all this time to determine how he does feel about this proposal, but has really gotten nowhere fast. It's so the last thing Gregor ever thought he would be considering. Kitty and Miles don't feel stable enough to his liking as a triumvirate as it is-- what makes him think this is a good idea? Pretty much just that it's Spock, honestly, who takes dependable to a new level... ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles has perhaps thought about this even less than Gregor. First the inflammatory attack, then the recovery (and the resulting burst of manic energy after being cooped up so long). He's still half whirled up in it, researching staff salaries and scheming ways to beat his brother at Monopoly. Certain things just take precedence, okay. (And every time he thinks about it, he carefully sets it aside to consider later. And later. And later still...)

As such, it startles him a bit to reach out and find Gregor's thoughts tilting in that direction. Right. That thing he's been putting off. The thing he doesn't know the answer to himself. (What was it Tex had said? If he's happy with the current arrangement, then what's he doing looking for someone else...? Boldly going, mostly.)

He catches Gregor at some point a few days after he first realizes that Gregor is still thinking about the topic. Evening, but not so late that they've retired to bed. Miles has gone looking for Gregor elsewhere in the house. His own mind is turning itself into quiet knots, trying to figure out what he thinks. It's useless. He needs Gregor's input ... ]

Where are you, Gregor?

[vorbarra]

[ Boldly going is not something Gregor does much of, but has gotten a taste for lately largely due to Miles's influence. That doesn't make him any more comfortable with it, though. He's reached a similar conclusion that thinking about this on his own hasn't led to anything; he needs Miles's input, too. ]

Downstairs. Contemplating putting a cat shelf in the game room.

[ The amount of time Miles and Aral can spend in here lends itself to cat-watching. ]

DUV

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor can't actually recall a time Captain Galeni made a direct request of him rather than just obeying the ones made of him, with or without commentary. As such, he accedes to the request to meet with him promptly, within the next day, and sets down with a mug of tea in the study, nodding Duv in when he sees him at the doorway.

With Galeni, his emperor-to-subject reflexes come out the strongest, in unconscious reflection of being treated as subject-to-emperor. ] Come in, Captain. I'm at your disposal.

[komarran]

[ Normally, Duv would abhor taking advantage of the fact that the Emperor is living under the same roof. But this is an abnormal situation in many regards.

He salutes the other man and stands more-or-less at attention. It's his default posturing when in the presence of Vor of any standing, at least when they're not the ones under his command. ]

Thank you for meeting with me, sire. I had a matter I wished to discuss with you, [ he starts carefully. ] I know we have research being conducted here. While it's not my business, I was curious if it involved the Porter in any way?

De Chima country side

[protects_the_small]

[Kel was as dependable in tending her bird feeder as she was in everything else, and often used that time to meditate as well. Unfortunately on this day, she was pulled out of her trance by a shrieking jay's voice and opened her eyes to spot a small, grey cat staring up at the flock.

Well, at least she knew she picked a safe spot for the birds. Taking a piece of jerky out of her belt pouch, she pulled it into smaller bits and clicked her tongue]

Here, puss. This is easier to catch by far.

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor has enough cat instincts to like watching birds, and thinking about catching them very strongly, but once it gets time to put it into practice, the old human part of him balks at the whole violence of it. Cats tend to torture their prey and there's pretty much nothing more likely to shock and disgust him out of being a cat entirely than getting too close to that instinct.

So he pretty much just watches, and is more than happy to be offered jerky instead. He trots over and takes it delicately between his teeth so as not to nip her, then settles onto his haunches, tail wrapped primly around his paws, to pick at it. ]

Late July

[jacksonian]

[ One day, Mark goes out and, without consulting anyone, comes back with a dog. Or, well...That's not altogether accurate, since this is actually a several-day process, what with background checks and demonstrating that he has the resources and all that, but he doesn't mention this process to anyone and so for all intents and purposes, it's just out-and-back-with-dog. And, this being Mark, the dog is not just any dog: it is a heavy-chested, stocky pit bull, its burly glower a rather uncanny match for Mark's own.

It's therefore lucky that Mark's put on that weight lately. A few months ago, he just wouldn't have the bulk to arrest this dog when it spots the cat sitting on the lawn and lunges for it, baying. Today, he's able to dig in his heels, throw his full weight back on the leash in order to keep the dog from going after the-cat-that-is-secretly-an-Emperor. ]

Captain, stop -

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor is, to be frank, a bit of a scaredy cat. He's about as far from confrontational as it's possible to be, and accordingly leaps over to scramble up the nearby fountain (fortunately turned off) and perch himself on one of the higher tiers, fur pricked on end as he stares warily down at the dog.

He doesn't outright hiss, but he is secretly wondering why everyone decided to wake up and obsess about dogs all at the same time. That's not Mark's actual dog, is it? It's not going to be staying here, is it? ]

2A

[fullmetalbrat]

[It's late one morning when Ed finally emerges from the basement lab he's set up for himself (possibly after a while night down there). He's been spending more and more time down there since finally feeling like he's sufficiently caught up to begin work of his own—most of it in working out how to reproduce chemical transmutation in standard chemistry reactions. None of his work was going to matter much if no one but an alchemist could replicate it after all.

But now he's decided on a break and pauses on his way to the kitchen to lean against the back of the couch for a look at the Disney cartoon playing out on the TV. Not really suited to his own tastes, but the bright color and song is engaging enough to hold his attention for a minute. He slumps a little further against the couch as the musical number draws to an end and glances at Gregor dubiously.]

Do you really have that much fun watching a bunch of singing animals?

[vorbarra]

It does seem fantastically out of character, doesn't it, [ Gregor agrees pleasantly, curled up rather casually on the couch and picking at some popcorn, which he offers up to Ed to share. ]

It's completely useless, and surprisingly engaging. And this one seems suspiciously Shakespearean.

[ This one being the Lion King. ]

lucky cat, 1b

[unwiseheart]

[ Nicolas has been fairly scarce outside of actual business. If it weren't for that, he may have simply dropped out of contact entirely. Thankfully, probation means he wouldn't actually be able to do that. It also means his constant meetings with the imPort managing said probation happens, on occasion, at the Lucky Cat. It's local, it's run by people he knows, it's a good spot.

Today isn't a meeting day, though. Today is just a day he's decided to stop sulking away in his apartment and get some air (as well as an excuse to try all the new lemon-flavored stuff the cafe has).

He's sitting at an outside table, because of course he's smoking, but movement from a cat catches the corner of his eye. Not the usual cat that's here, so it does prompt him to turn and look. Then nearly do a double take, because-- ]

...a blue? [ What's one of those doing out here? Outside? In Florida? Well, he's sure snuffing his cigarette before leaning over where he sits to try and get the little beast to come over, quietly praying it isn't, in fact, Kitty Jones. ] Hey, cat. Come here.

[ And other ridiculous noises people tend to make when they're trying to get an animal to come to them. ]

[vorbarra]

[ Oh. It's Nicolas. Who smells a lot more like a wolf as a cat, that's for sure. Gregor trots over, despite the fact that he's been firmly ignoring all the other customers trying to get his attention, and delicately stretches out to sniff at his fingers.

Weird. Deeply unsettling. He has to suppress his cat instincts to wrestle away an automatic sense of fear, which makes him realize why Nicolas is always saying animals don't like him, but Gregor has been getting better at controlling how much a cat he is at any given time and he manages it.

After that, he pushes his head at his hand in a clear demand for petting. ]

BONES

[vorbarra]

[ Once he hears that the project to replicate Betan Miles's autoimmune medication has been turned over to Dr. McCoy, Gregor takes it upon himself to contact him and request a meeting, as he expects Miles himself, while informative, is prone to underplaying every single one of his medical problems. And poor Dr. McCoy does not have access to his ridiculously long file, and Aral and Cordelia are from right after Miles's birth, so they won't know most of it, either.

Which leaves it to Gregor, who as both liege-lord and boyfriend is prone to trying to take care of problems for Miles before they arise.

He invites the doctor over to the Residence to have a casual meeting in the study. He'd have suggested the Lucky Cat, but he doesn't want to talk about something this sensitive in public. Gregor admits to some relief in finally having access to what he can't help but consider a proper doctor-- one conversant with their level of tech, with actual medical training. Thank God. Healing has worked well enough for Miles so far, but as his recent flare up had proven, was not fully able to substitute.

The Residence itself is a large, sprawling estate recently built on a remote property at the outskirts of De Chima proper, edged in mountains. It has a gate house, a simple garden with a fountain, and surprisingly bare furnishings as yet for how large it is. But it is very lived in and quite a few people live there full time, so it has a strong sense of home and welcome to it for all that. Gregor meets him at the door in casual clothes and nods in greeting. ]

Thank you for coming, Doctor. Would you like coffee? [ He's habitually scrupulously polite with people he doesn't know well. ]

[grumbling]

[ you can take the boy out of the south, but you can't take the south out of the boy. this is actually mccoy's second visit to the residence, but he is still awed by the beautiful location and the size of the building they all reside in. unfortunately for whoever cleans the estate, the doctor's clothes and satchel still carry residue glitter from shared household with an artistic little girl. he's more self-conscious about it this time around and manages to brush most of it off on the walk up to the door. ]

It's my pleasure, Gregor. [ the corners of his lips twitch into his version of a smile. ] I'd love one, thanks.

[ mccoy had joked with spock (as well as a human-being can with a stuck-up vulcan like him, mind you) about requiring a permission slip from the emperor to experiment with replicated medication on one of his subjects. therefore, getting an invitation to the residence from gregor surprised him. well, it's less awkward than being found having an argument with spock in the laboratory. ]

De Chima

[idontwanttoknow]

[Ivan isn't oblivious to the fact that his relatives have all but disappeared from the house down the street. He's just...distracted. And busy. Now that he's figured out where they are, though, he should probably check up on them. It's up to him to keep Miles out of trouble, after all.

He has work later on, so Ivan arrives just after breakfast. As usual, he lets himself inside. Gregor is the first person he sees: his emperor is watching some Earth "classic" science fiction.]

Is it true that watching that stuff will get us culturally acclimated?

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor doesn't forget that Ivan is here-- he has a link to him, for all that it's perpetually closed-- but Ivan is not exactly, well, a major concern at any given moment.

That being said, it's nice to see his distant cousin. He's idly munching on some popcorn, which Cordelia had introduced him to. ] I doubt it. I'm mostly watching out of morbid fascination. I had no idea pre-space Earth had such a bizarre fascination with murderous aliens.

2b;

[amadaman]

[One day, while Gregor is sitting around somewhere up high -- a tree, or even the rooftop -- he's greeted by a guest.

Ken usually walks up to the front door of the Vor house like most regular human beings would, but today he didn't see anybody he recognized out front, nor was he visiting to see anybody in particular. Tex said she had at least one dog and Ken wanted to see him, and so did Koromaru. He was just visiting for that. It just so happened that when he got close to the house he saw an adorable looking cat, and he wanted to say hello.

Jumping into a cat's personal space unannounced may not be the correct way to approach one, but Ken, who had lived the last year and a half with the Iron Bull's cats, doesn't know the difference, but he's still quiet and lightfooted as he touches down a few feet away from Gregor, dressed in a black hoodie with a large pouch at the front from which Koromaru is sticking his head out.]

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor is startled to be interrupted; he'd been dozing, mostly, ears flicking occasionally as he tracks noises, largely birds and small rodents that he resists the urge to go after. He just wants to chase; the violent instincts disturb him.

He scooches back on the tree limb instinctively before realizing who it is. Everything's different as a cat, and a lot of the dogs people have been bringing over lately have been a little too enthusiastic about cats, so it takes him a moment to process that this is Koromaru. Who is not likely to harass him, especially since Gregor presumes he smells the same in either form. The jig is probably up with Koromaru before it'd even started.

With Ken... He's always reluctant to break his silence as just a normal cat. Things are so relaxing that way. Slowly he unhunches and stretches out more normally, with a quiet meow of definite complaint. ]