Cat to be Kitten Me Group PV Errand Finished

Interacting with @Astrea Soleil Neptune

Ever since Willow had gotten Buttons the two seemed to be inseparable whenever they could be together. They were often found cuddling next to each other in the Common Room, something that Willow wouldn't have dared done last year after the brutal explosion that ripped through their home in the dead of night. Everything seemed safer with Buttons around, he was her protector now. She was able to sleep in the dark again and in the comfort of her hammock within Plant Palace once more. Her tabby always laid dutifully on her chest or in her arms. He had a habit of licking her awake when the nightmares seemed to plague her resting world, bringing her back to remind her that everything was ok. There was no ominous hum of mosps, no heat from a fire that never seemed to go out, nothing moving in the darkness ready to lash out with a curse. He had truly been a gift to her, one that she be grateful for for years to come.

Buttons himself could look quite dumb with the vacant look in his eyes as he mindlessly stared off into space, but Willow knew how smart he was. His eyes held a similar curiosity that matched her own in the world, constantly observing, wanting to capture a single moment. He would often spot things that even Willow couldn't see, like a tiny speck of dust floating through the air that he had become particularly fascinated with. The young badger thought that Buttons must be a Hufflepuff too, with how good at finding things that he was.

It was an obvious decision for Willow to take him to a grooming day when it was announced. A day to pamper and spoil him and treat him like the absolute King that she saw him as. She donned a comfy cozy outfit, one that included a sweatshirt that had a pocket to hold her dearest Buttons. She always worried about him getting trampled under the feet of careless students, and him riding on her shoulders just wasn't a long term suitable option for her back health. Her parents bought it for her off of the beautiful muggle shop of Amazon, and owled it to her as soon as they could. He would just chill out in the pocket, his head making sure to peek out to watch the hustle and bustle of the student body walk by.

Once she entered the room, she was absolutely ecstatic with all the supplies that were available. She had some of the same stuff, but not to this extent. She figured she would just take some time on his short coat, making sure to get any of his excess fur off that seemed to cling to her robes lately. He didn't shed a lot, but it was enough to where it was slightly noticeable. With her... one supply in hand of a fine brush she looked around for any of her friends and spotted the ever glowing, albeit a darker aura type of glow, of Astrea in the corner. She hadn't really seen her over summer or even during the first couple weeks of school. Butterflies spurred up in thinking about approaching her, something that seemed slightly wrong considering that she has a boyfriend, but justified it as excitement to talk to a friend she hasn't seen. "Astrea! Hi! I didn't know you had a cat~" Willow took the desk next to her and gently set her boy on top of it. "This is Buttons! I got him over the summer. Aren't cats just the cutest?" Willow truthfully preferred dogs, but Buttons seemed to be the exception in absolutely capturing her heart and attention.

Word Count || 617/1000

@Astrea Soleil Neptune | @Willow Anderson

Ana did not even remotely want to bathe Jaz. Cats were fairly clean on their own, weren't they? Then again, Jaz was abnormally curious, even for a cat, and God alone knew what that cat got into while Ana was in lessons. In any event, being alone with her thoughts on that particular afternoon did not sound overly appealing. Ana was in a strange mood most days. She couldn't stand to be alone, but she also couldn't stand talking to her friends or really anyone.

She entered the designated classroom and glanced at its occupants. Jaz bristled at the end of her leash and Ana let out a small laugh. Like cat, like owner. Jaz didn't particularly seem to like other cats. Or humans. Or anything else for that matter. She tried to eat most things smaller than her and fight anything bigger than her.

Ana could relate to that. She didn't particularly want to socialize with irritating first years nor did she want to deal with any of her friends. She caught sight of a pair towards the back of the room. Ideally, she would have kept to herself, but the room seemed to be filling up, so this was the next best thing. Astrea was someone she considered an ally, even if they weren't particularly close outside of pureblood parties and running towards danger together. Willow was in a similar category. She enjoyed spending time with both of the other girls, without feeling as though they knew her well enough to be able to tell that something was seriously wrong. Granted, the sudden and sharp change in demeanor and style weren't exactly something that would miss most people's notice.

Anastasia gathered some tools that looked promising before approaching her chosen desk. "Lovely to see you both," she said, uncharacterisitcally friendly. Not that she wasn't a friendly person towards people that she liked, but in general, she was a bit more on the abrasive side. Jaz seemed fascinated and horrified by Buttons. Ana bent down and unclipped Jaz's leash before dainitly lifting the spoiled and shocked feline. Jaz was a bit prone to sharpening her claws on random pieces of furtinure, so clipping her claws seemed like a good place to start.

The Bengal seemed to still be frozen in outrage as she continued to gawk at the male cat perched on the neighboring desk, as evidenced by the fact that she made no move to attack Ana or resist the nail clipping. As she set about her task, she contemplated how similar her own personality was to her pet's. Just from her first observation, Buttons seemed to be quiet Willow like, and Ana was willing to guess that Astrea's cat was similarly comparable to his owner. What did that say about Ana then? That she was violent and prone to get into fights she had no chance of winning? That she hated the vast majority of people? On second thought, maybe she and Jaz weren't all that similar.

threading as astrea soleil neptune-chou
private thread with @Willow Anderson & @Anastasia Beckett

Footsteps, getting closer. Not looking up from where she was arranging various tools over the white-towelled wooden desk, Astrea glanced toward the newcomer from the corner of her eye and took a second of doubletake to blink in surprise as the other greeted her. Her back straightened up at the appearance of a familiar face, head tilted just so as her hands continued to straighten and primp. "Astrea! Hi! I didn't know you had a cat~" Pink hair. She hadn't seen the other in quite a while- summer was busy and Astrea had kept her head down for the beginning of the school year away from any curious first years, but seeing the other now once again- Willow looked quite pretty. And it wasn't just due to their past interactions. Though, Astrea wondered how the second-year had done it to her previously blonde hair without the usage of the colour changing charm or something. Perhaps something muggle in material? It mattered little. "Willow, hello." The Hufflepuff, though not expected, was a welcome sight.

"I've bought one during the summer break. Cats are quite cute, you are right." The day that Demetre had received a cat for his own third year- two years ago now, she had been in first year- Astrea had been in France staying with the Noir-Moon's for the summer and had come along to the store. She remembered the swishy dress she had been put into, the utter disinterest she had in drawing eyes even younger, the disheartened look upon Virgil's face when the storekeeper had taken one whiff of their presence and demanded them stay outside. The birds inside had squawked like thrown, the toads croaking madly. But the cats that had escaped- they had no fear in brushing up against the trio of heirs.

The ginger feline placed upon the desk looked rather endearing- although Astrea had always been biased toward the species so maybe her opinion was skewed a bit to the left further than her usual impartial opinion. "Buttons, you say? A nice name." Endearing but a considerable amount more 'no thoughts head empty' in the eyes than she had expected. Not to be mean, but Buttons did seem as simple as his name, at least in whatever she had seen just now. She could appreciate the thing but much rather preferred her own fearless feline.

Another, with a familiar hair-pricking feeling that Astrea had been told was one of their gifts, another part of life. This time she turned her head, watching curiously as fair Anastasia Beckett pulled along her leashed animal. "A pleasure, Ana." A polite nod of greeting as the Gryffindor delicately took their cat in arms, the little Bengal gaping hautily at the affront of Buttons dopily sitting around. She had seen the other previously, the Beckett Manor primped and proper as their backdrop, but after that the other's activities were just as much as a blank as her knowledge of Willow's. Maybe it was a testament to how isolated a pureblood family's life was outside of specific events, or a reminder of how distant Astrea specifically was in regards to her schoolmates. She wasn't sure which one was worse, or which one she preferred to think about.

"Orpheus." She clicked her tongue twice sharply to call the Egyptian Mau, twirling back around to face the ready work space expectantly. As desired, an enthusiastic chirrup sounded from the other side of the room as Orpheus came out from behind the curve of a beanbag chair and the wall and zipped underfoot to sit at Astrea's feet. Pleased at the proof of good training, the Slytherin heir bent down to smoothly pick up the feline, slipping a fish kibble for the dignified as she settled him on the table. Her furry companion didn't deign the others an acknowledgement more than a nervous nose sniff. As actively curious as Orpheus was in the few months that Astrea had him, the cat was just a bit more than shy and much preferred the dim green of the Common Room to relax in the presence of strangers. It was telling how much Astrea could relate.

text colour #274E13
outfit ref here
orpheus here

✿Interacting✿
@Astrea Soleil Neptune, @Anastasia Beckett

The beautiful Slytherin seemed to not be disturbed by her presence, which was a good start. She always felt nervous around the other girl, though she could never pinpoint exactly why. There was also a lack of a desire to understand, the curiosity was always quickly shrugged off by the enchantment of a conversation with her. "Oh my Gods, I also got mine over summer." She sputtered for a moment. "Which.. which I already said." The familiar word vomit that seemed to manifest it's way out of her mouth like the slug-vomiting charm she experienced last year. It wasn't the cat that had her tongue, it was Astrea's presence. She let out a small sigh, but quickly perked back up with she mentioned her cat's namesake. "I actually named him that because the first time I picked him up, I was wearing a shirt with buttons on it and he just started chewing on them. I thought it was so cute, so that became his name. He's such a curious little critter... chewing on everything. He likes to discover new things with his mouth which isn't exactly enjoyable."

Her brushing momentarily paused as she moved her head to look at his mouth, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe I should brush his teeth too..." She was about to get up on a quest for teeth cleaning supplies when Ana arrived. "Ana! The fire element herself~" Her greeting was quite a bit more electric than Astrea's was. Sometimes she wondered if she should tone her own energy down to match the others around her, but found that would be really boring. She could be grounded when she needed to be, and she didn't necessarily see time with friends to require that. "Your cat is so cute too!" She squeaked with joy, "Cats are so cute, I can't deal with it. What's their name? This is Buttons!" She gently moved her poor cat's head to look at Ana, his eyes becoming more alert the more he realized how busy and crowded the surroundings were. There was much to explore here.

She looked over at Astrea who called her cat back with a single saying of his name and a click. "Wow... how'd you train him to do that? There was one time I lost Buttons in my house and couldn't find him for like an hour and he wasn't coming when he was called. Well, ok, maybe that was because he was actually sleeping under my covers and the door was closed so maybe he didn't hear me." Her face scrunched up in thought, "Do you think I could train Buttons to paint with me? With animal-friendly paint? That would be cool, don't cha think?" Suddenly her new life goal was to become a traveling 'Painting with Buttons' performer. If she would pay to see a cat paint, she was sure other people would too.

✿Word Count || 1097^617+480/1000 Complete✿

✿Reference Pictures for Buttons and Outfit✿

Reducio

@Astrea Soleil Neptune | @Willow Anderson

Jaz seems completely baffled by Buttons, as she continued to stare and submit to Ana's nail clipping. The Bengal was so preoccupied with staring down the orange cat that she didn't even notice the more regal cat on the next table, who definitely fit the profile of a feline that Jaz would attempt to fit for dominance. The Gryffindor was content to focus on her cat's strange behavior rather than risk the topic of her and Astrea's last encounter. It was an innocent enough subject, to Astrea, at least. To Ana, it was the last moment resembling normalcy, the calm before the storm. The day after that garden party was the night she had been disowned, and it got worse from there.

Ana smiled slightly at Willow's enthusiastic greeting. She rather wondered if Willow woke in the mornings and set out to be a ray of sunshine or if she just naturally was. Neither would surprise her. "This is Jasmine, although she mostly answers to Jaz," Ana told Willow. That wasn't entirely accurate, as the Bengal rarely answered to anything other than food, but she seemed to generally prefer Jaz to her full name. Jasmine seemed deeply disturbed at the fact Buttons was now face her, and continued to stare him down, as though she expected him to submit to her supreme authority or something.

Ana's eyes widened slightly at Astrea's cat's obedience. Based on Jaz's insanity, she had assumed it was normal for cats to eat pygmy puffs, fight most other animals, chase house else, and in general, behave abysmally. She nodded in agreement as Willow expressed a similar sentiment. "That's rather impressive, Astrea. Jaz is incorrigible the vast majority of the time, and I've all but given up on trying to train her," Ana noted. It also occurred to her, given Jaz's snacking history, it might not have been the best idea to take her off her leash in a room that contained rats and pygmy puffs whose owners presumably would have preferred them not to be lunch.

She cocked her head at Willow's idea of teaching her own kitten to paint. Cats were apparently vastly more cooperative than Jaz had lead her to believe and she glanced skeptically at her cat. She was more than confident that Jaz possessed whatever intelligence that was required for something like painting, but lacked any inclination to do so. Ana was almost certain at this point that her cat was raising an army of pets to take over the world or something.

Once she was satisfied with Jaz's nails, she removed her jacket and emotionally prepared herself for trying to bathe her demon kitty. Jaz still seemed mesmerized by Buttons, so that gave Ana a slight advantage. Not that the advantage did much help. The minute Jaz touched the water, she twisted violently and indignantly glared at Ana. "Jaz, stop the acting, I've seen you playing in the tub," Ana informed her cat. More than once, she had found the kitten choosing to play in the water, so she knew for a fact that her pet enjoyed the water and was just being contrary because she could tell Ana wanted her to bathe. As a few angry meows and a bit more twisting, Jaz went limp and allowed Ana to finish bathing her in near peace, occasionally meowing pathetically.

threading as astrea soleil neptune-chou
private thread with @Willow Anderson & @Anastasia Beckett

The flustered repetition of the information and subsequent self-awareness warmed something in Astrea, warm and encompassing as if wrapped up into a bundle of sweet endearance. An unfamiliar feeling- The shocking power of adrenaline magic, the cool indifference that enveloped her. It was so different but in the best way- but a feeling not unwelcome. "How unique. It's rather cute, fitting." If she was talking about Willow or Buttons, it came off the same. The- uhm, sweater?- with a front pocket and pompom strings that the other wore was questionable, to say the least. It seemed comfortable enough if the pinkette chose specifically to wear it on such a dismal day, though the Slytherin wasn't sure about her opinion about it.

The soft clipping of nails as Orpheus kneaded at the towel, Astrea's attention wandering to where the Mau refused to look toward. Buttons looked so spacy, she wondered for the mind of the tabby. The one-sided aggressive, one-sided oblivious staring contest going on between the two other cats was a fearsome one, the appalled tension made silly when you compared it to the easy-ish nature of their owners' interactions. Ana's cat looked so appalled at everything that Astrea was secretly grateful that the Bengal didn't acknowledge her or Orpheus- she wasn't sure what she would do if Jasmine turned that glare toward them. As fearless and affectionate as the cat was, Orpheus was the shy type when it came to newcomers, especially ones as passive-aggressive as Jaz.

"Ah- Thank you, Ana." Astrea, entirely too used to the obedience of Orpheus, didn't know where to start. Maybe it helped that Astrea was naturally as her feline companion's personality dictated- quiet and wandering, the waning tide lapping in and out of view whenever it suited her- or perhaps because she spent as much time with the Egyptian Mau as she did. She looked back at the cat in question, who only licked his lips innocently, tail curling around her sleeve.

The first few weeks that Astrea had Orpheus, he had been skittish in the face of the Lord and Lady, cautious around the houseelves and just slightly less wary around the heiress. Cedarwood Castle was large, mostly empty, and cold- uninviting but beautiful. "It took some time." What an understatement. The amount of treats given and burnt off in an attempt to clicker train- er, snap train in her case- Orpheus were uncountable, the regal Mau's wandering personality far surpassing the easily given laziness of the Moon cats. It seemed that Orpheus had at least some basic training as a kit, either before being sheltered and rescued or after in Magical Menagerie, so perhaps that helped just a bit. Regardless of whatever had happened to come to this point, it had paid off so, so well. Though it seemed that not everyone had the same luck as she did. Hmm.

"Training- would be difficult, I would think. But it would turn out quite interesting regardless." She truly doubted that Buttons would be able to paint anything very impressive, though she would willingly watch the tabby's artistry herself, if only to see what masterpiece Willow and her cat think up of. It sounded cute. She'd seen Orpheus sniff at her inkpot or dip his paw into puddles of water to smear against the stone enough times to know that it certainly was possible. As for controlled? Probably not.

Orpheus kept stubbornly ignoring the other two felines- Astrea knew better, the furry beast was surprisingly perceptive and a great deal more vigilant than what was probably expected for a cat-, pressing a cheek to her hand as she started brushing the silver striped fur down. The quiet rumble of purring ran up through the Slytherin as Orpheus enjoyed the care, the calmness of it making her glance up sceptically to where Jaz was spitefully meowing, soaked in water.

If Astrea wasn't a filthy rich sheltered pureblood, maybe she could have likened the stare of Buttons to a Windows' screensavers, bouncing thoughts around and around without much proper activity. But alas, she was and the fantastic comparison didn't occur- instead, she thought of the dizzy birds flying into each other in confusion and then chirping in complaint about it. Sounded just a bit like how Orpheus strutted around at night in the common room, fleeing from the cold stone to jump into the Slytherin's lap right after ignoring her in favor of looking out the windows.

But she was getting off track. Orpheus bumped at her playfully, as if knowing her mind was wandering within the few seconds.

text colour #274E13
outfit ref here
orpheus here

✿Interacting✿
@Astrea Soleil Neptune, @Anastasia Beckett

Buttons was starting to get into the mood of exploration, his tail swishing and flicking as his brightly opened eyes flicked to look around the room. Specifically, his eyes kept jumping between the two cats besides him. "Jasmine and Orpheus are such pretty names." She looked down at Buttons, scrunching her nose slightly wondering if she should've give him a more dignified name. She thought it was cute and fitting, but suddenly she felt out of place like a rainbow button set onto a three piece suit. It happened often with some of her classmates. But the feeling of being on the outside never became familiar, just more and more concerning the more she experienced it. For now she tried to ignore it. Her grooming turned into slightly anxious petting and brushing of Buttons.

The young cat seemed to catch onto the feelings, but he refused to give up his observation. Rather, he wiggled his body butt first towards Willow so she had an easier time petting him. "I've had to give Buttons so many baths. He loves to roll in dirt and mud, but he hates the bath so much. You would think he would learn but he never does." She giggled at her cat's mud tendencies that he probably got from his own mother. She looked back over to Astrea when she mentioned training Buttons to paint. "Mm, I guess. But I think anything can be done with enough dedication. I mean, he's already ruined some of my paintings by walking across them and getting paint all over his paws. It couldn't be that much harder to have him purposefully do it, right?" In the beginning it was incredibly frustrating to watch him ruin her hard work. But eventually she got used to it and started to embrace his tiny paw print additions.

Her career as a painting human and cat duo could definitely happen, especially if she started training him now. There was a good chance he could become a master by the time Willow graduated Hogwarts.

✿Reference Pictures for Buttons and Outfit✿

Reducio

@Astrea Soleil Neptune | @Willow Anderson

Jasmine was a little shit. She continued to meow and flop about pathetically as Ana bathed her as if she couldn't comprehend the injustice that was being inflicted upon her. She rather resembled a scene involving demonic possession, with the way that her gaze never left Buttons despite her flopping. Ana was more than a little concerned that the moment she loosened her grip on her insane feline, Jaz would attempt to eat Buttons, who still looked rather vacant and unaware of the threat. Ana was so focused on containing Jasmine that she almost didn't notice Astrea calling Willow cute. Almost.

Ana's eyes flicked back and forth between the two girls for a moment as though she was reading invisible equations before returning to her cat. Now that she had caught that, it felt so obvious. How was Ana so self-absorbed that she hadn't figured it out sooner? She was fairly intuitive. Granted, she had been dealing with a lot and this was the first time that she had the opportunity to observe the pair, but she still felt rather silly.

Ana's thoughts were interrupted by Jaz glancing at Orpheus and wrinkling her nose as though to hiss before deciding the silver cat wasn't worth her attention and returning to plotting Buttons' demise. She loved her kitten more than life itself, but she occasionally wondered what it would be like to have a cat that wasn't constantly homicidal. Ana wasn't entirely convinced that Jaz wasn't running a miniature fight club or another type of crime ring. "Buttons is a phenomenal name," Ana told the Hufflepuff. "And I'm sure he's quite the artist. He certainly seems to be the artistic type." It still amused her more than it ought to how well each of their cats fit their personalities. Buttons was just completely and utterly adorable, Orpheus was dignified and regal, and Jaz was a feral maniac despite the fact Bengals are supposed to be elegant and somewhat well-behaved.

Jasmine could tell that Ana's focus was split and took the opportunity to wiggle free and tip the sud filled tub of water onto her owner as if to prove a point to Ana about what happened when Ana denied Jaz her wishes. Ana jumped backward as the entire front of her was drenched. "Oh, for God's sake, Jaz, get it together," Ana muttered. Jasmine took the chance to leap from the table and sprint towards Buttons. Fortunately, Ana managed to intercept her sopping wet cat. She had never been more glad for her Quidditch reflexes than she was right then. Managing to wrangle her demented cat into a towel, Ana met the feline's eyes and arched an eyebrow as if to say "really?".

threading as astrea soleil neptune-chou
private thread with @Willow Anderson & @Anastasia Beckett

Take pity on Astrea's poor heart and perhaps sympathise with the strange vague sense of despair that struck her as Willow's body language suddenly picked up a nervous edge while contemplating names. That bead of fondness she held for the Hufflepuff burned within her mind as she attempted to force her tongue to work, to help ease the pretty girl's mind. "Worry not. It's rather charming." As she had claimed before, it fit. For Willow to have chosen it and for the cat to have been bestowed it. Ah, speaking of Buttons, it seemed that Orpheus was still acting as the monkey in the middle between Jaz's explosive personality and Button's spacey-ness. With an agreeable nod toward the pink-haired badger, Astrea watched Buttons shift around experimentally with a discerning blank look of incredible doubt. While the tabby cat was becoming increasingly alert, she truly was reluctant to put much faith in the apparently filth-loving energy Willow spoke of. Ah well. If he made her happy.

From the short sprint of time Orpheus had been under her care- and hopefully, for many more- he seemed to enjoy the presence of water. Perhaps a bit too much, but it seemed that Jaz and Buttons were the exact opposite. She has never been one to panic over the insignificant- no, proner to overthink and wallow- but keeping track of the cat when available was a stressful thing. Nevermind the fact that since classes started again Orpheus had more time to wander freely. At least being a member of Slytherin meant that they were allowed to be under the Great Lake in a protected environment- she only hoped that the cat knew where the boundaries were, though he often seemed to toe the line of crossing it. He seemed intelligent enough for it, at the very least.

Thinking of it, the idea of Willow attempting to lure Buttons into collaborating in front of a canvas of brightly coloured paint was an incredibly soft one that appealed to Astrea perhaps more than it should have. "Hmm. I would support your cause if you decide to do so." From within her arms, Orpheus sniffed haughtily at Jaz's aggressive dismissal in the closest move to an eye-roll that a cat could do in that position. A tick of annoyance that Astrea was well-acquainted with the sight of now that they were surrounded by so many people. Such a judgemental boy, considering how dignified Orpheus acted. Expressive he was, under that skin of aloofness. Astrea didn't want to read into that any more than she needed to, at least not here and not now. "Say, perhaps we should set up a day in which they can spend some time together. In a less distracting setting."

And a distracting setting it was. In a great frenzy unexpected action that sent Orpheus stiffening and huddled away from the scene of the crime, Ana's disgruntled leopard-like cat suddenly tipped the entire sudsy bath container over and attempted to make a break for it before getting hijacked by a towel from above- out of the frying pan and into the fire it seemed. Quick reflexes Ana had, honed perhaps from her place upon her house Quidditch team, to wrestle the intercepted Jaz into a white cloth entrapping. Oh- dear.

Not for the first time today and certainly not the last, Astrea would like to reiterate that she would not be able to deal with the spitfire that Jaz seemed to be. Considering Anastasia's unsurprised attitude and the Bengal's one-track 'revenge on the mind' spite, it truly was a match made in heaven. You would think that the Gryffindor took a trip out in the autumn rains from the look of her waterlogged front- say, what did Buttons even do to Jasmine in the first place? From the crook of Astrea's trenchcoat-esque coat and half-hidden behind the dark lapel, Orpheus glared at the pair with all the regal annoyance of a bystander upon the creature's expression, temporarily done with the cold shoulder game.

Stroking the agitated Mau idly between the ears as a silver tail wrapped uneasily around her torso, the young Slytherin merely exchanged a wordless stare of amused acknowledgement with the two other humans at the table. The cats were clearly in their own little world, a clown's mirror of reality. How strange- this combination of personalities, this bubble of reality.

text colour #274E13
outfit ref here
orpheus here