Closed cat-escapee! pv cade

@Everly Charlton

Cade Darkbound was just dismissed from a rather boring and terribly bothersome study period of Transfiguration. Sure it was a Saturday, but there was nothing else for him to do than catch up on his homework. Transfiguration was by far Cade's worst subject this year and it was gutting him to think that he might never catch up with his classmates. The Ravenclaw was usually rather astute in his subjects and was unused to this feeling of utter hopelessness when it came to his performance in classes. Cade pondered about heading to the library, perhaps reading up a little more on transfiguration reversal spells. But as he walked from the familiar corridors juggling his downcast thoughts he was interrupted by a peculiar sound.

Was that... purring? Cade's dark bronze eyes darted around the corridor but saw no sign of an offending cat. Dismissing the sound for his imagination, the Ravenclaw continued on walking a little quieter just in case he heard-- there! But where was it coming from? Following the echoing chirps and hisses, Cade found his feet taking him towards the abandoned toilets, near leagues away from where he started. How on earth did he hear this batty cat from so far away? Unless... was it leading him away on purpose?

Cade paused in front of the toilets, catching his breath he paused with his hand perched on the splinter-ridden door. Cade had a horrible history with the abandoned toilets. He had avoided the place like the plague since his first encounter the previous year. Cade didn't fancy returning so soon, but the intrigue was too great... and he already came this far. The wizard listened for another sound, he wanted to be sure the cat was still there. There it was again! Yanking open the door, Cade clambered inside first looking towards the floor before scrunching up his nose in distaste. The abandoned toilets were... well... abandoned for a good reason. Namely, the horrible condition of the plumbing. Cade stepped gingerly over the questionable puddles gracing the flooring.

"Er... Hullo?" Cade wandered further into the bathroom holding a hand over his nose and mouth. It was then that movement caught his eye. Turning his head sharply, Cade caught sight of the cat sitting upon the taps as if expecting him for a meeting ages ago. "Aren't you a pretty fellow... but where'd you come from?" Cade approached slowly, he held out a hand for the cat to inspect. And in turn, he examined the little animal. The coat was spotted like a leopard and was very well groomed considering the cat's current whereabouts. Which could only mean the animal had wandered from a very loving home. She had to be a student's pet. But then, her owner couldn't be far behind... could they?

"Is anyone in here?" Cade called out louder, he waited, no response. "Alright..." The Ravenclaw looked over the cat wearily for another moment. "Alright," He said again gingerly picking up the animal and depositing her into his messenger bag, opening the flap wide enough so she could poke her head out if she needed to. "Let's get out of here. Then I'll figure out what to do with you."

So Cade and the cat traveled back into the corridors. Cade pondered who he should tell about the cat first, he certainly did not want to keep her. Bartles was already quite enough on his shoulders and he wasn't sure how the two would get along. Thankfully he decided to leave Bartles back in the dormitory for today while he studied. He considered perhaps going back to his dormitory to grab his art supplies and craft several 'found cat' posters. And deciding that was the best option, Cade redirected his path towards the west tower.

As he walked, the corridors became far more crowded with students all of which were walking painstakingly slow. Cade shouldered through against the traffic, with muttered apologizes, a hand protectively hovered over his bag. At that moment, Cade spotted a familiar Gryffindor in his path. Cade slowed down his pursuit and he thought of his last encounter with Everly Charlton. He'd lost a duel thanks to her and her partner. This wasn't the right time for a conversation with her. He needed to get this cat back into her owner's hands! Dropping his head, Cade would attempt to look inconspicuous, but privately he wondered if she'd already spotted him. Was he just being a pratt?

@Everly Charlton

Dragon bogies... She'd seen him! Dropping the act, Cade would beam at her. "Hi Everly, fancy seeing you here, I was actually on my way to--" Apparently she was on a mission. A mission to retrieve her cat, no funny business. Cade blinked a bit surprised at the business-like urgency of her tone. Where was the friendly witch he'd met on the train? Cade glanced down at the feline in his hands. "This cat? Well spotted then. Here," The Ravenclaw dumped the animal in Everly's awaiting hands, dusting his robes free of cat hair. Awkwardly he wondered what to do now that the crisis had been averted. Cade supposed he'd better get on with some homework in Ravenclaw tower. But he needed to make sure Everly had everything she needed first. It was only polite.

"She was prowling the abandoned toilets... I found her there. How'd you lose track of her? You might want to keep a better eye out. I can't always be around to save the day." He joked, a crooked smile materializing on his pale face. He watched the two reuniting for a bit before taking a step back, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Why did it feel so weird to talk to Everly? What was going on? Weren't they friends? "So, erm... Did you get the chocolate frogs? It was a good duel we had. You were brilliant!" To tell the truth, Cade still felt a little embarrassed about the events of their duel. He'd been so confident against the Gryffindors, and for what? Sure a bit of playful competitiveness was warranted, but it never felt good to lose. He wasn't in any way bitter about it, just shamed he'd been knocked out so early. The night spent in the hospital wing was never comfortable. He much preferred his own bed up in the west tower.

Cade found it strange he hadn't seen Everly around outside of dueling, normally he would be glad to see her, perhaps even give her a hug hello. But for some reason, the tension was thick around her. And he felt like he'd much rather fall through the floor than face the shame head on. The Ravenclaw wizard hoped she wouldn't hang it over his head. Everly was bigger than that, right?

Witch and cat were finally reunited, once again, and she cleared her throat discreetly, forcing a small smile on her face. Perhaps she'd been a little too straightforward. "Thank you," she told Cade breathlessly. The moment Tzahala was returned into her arms, she hugged them around the bengal tightly, just in case she was going to try to run off again. "The abandoned toilets?" Everly frowned, narrowing her eyes at Tzahala—it was very unlike her to hide in the first place, especially in the abandoned toilets. Rarely anyone had a reason to be there, much less a cat. Everly had quickly learned in the first few months that Tzahala was a calm cat, and would almost always end up in her dormitory, at the end of the day. Was this normal bengal behavior? She'd have to do a little research later, just to make sure Tzahala was doing alright.

This was rather ironic, she admitted to herself. Cade was, technically, the very first friend she'd made, ever since that very first train ride to Hogwarts. It was a little befuddling why they didn't seem to encounter each other that often, though maybe she hadn't been putting much effort into hanging out with Cade often. She would try to do that... right after this was over and she was on her merry way.

"I'm not so sure, actually," Everly said in response to how she'd lost her cat, trying to retrace her steps again. "I just came back from breakfast and she was gone." She hadn't spent that long on her toast, had she? "She's normally right where I left her." Now she just sounded like a bad cat owner. "She'd never ended up at the toilets, though."

"I will, I promise," Everly said. She began to smile, and this time, it was genuine. Tzahala had rolled over in her arms during their brief talking, and Everly ran her fingers through her fur absentmindedly. There was an awkward, stiff silence for a moment before Cade picked up the conversation once more, and—oh, here it was.

She honestly didn't know why she was still so iffy about the duel. It'd been fun, and there were no hard feelings, right? Right? Everly was competitive, maybe too much so for her own good. Maybe it was just her subconscious messing with her, and she just needed to take a breather. "Um, yeah! I did. Get them." All of her previous thoughts went out the window. "It was," Everly agreed, nodding. "You did really good as well," she said sheepishly, red blooming on her face. Somehow, she still didn't know how to handle compliments.

That night in the hospital wing must've been rather miserable, though. She'd been there before, though only once, and it hadn't been pleasant. Now she felt terrible. Oh, Everly was being a really bad friend at the moment, wasn't she? "I, um," she began, unsure of where she was headed, "would love to duel with you more often. You're a great dueler."

@cade darkbound
20 november, 2021