Bowing to Satan's whim {OPEN}

[Mordred Le Fey]

So, he had a kitten.  A ridiculously teeny tiny, cute and fluffy, squeaky and cuddly kitten.  Who had already melted Mordred's heart, and turned his brains into fluff.  It was when Mordred realised that he'd been sitting on his bed making kissy noises and speaking in baby-talk to the little fluffball that he realised he might have a problem, and he should probably get out of the house for a bit.  And of course, Satan was going to need supplies.

He'd carried Satan carefully downstairs, worried that he'd try to go down on his own and would fall and hurt himself, and deposited him on the living room floor as he prepared to go out.  As he'd turned and pulled a jacket on though, the little ball of fluff had made the most heartwrenchingly adorable squeak, and as Mordred turned and looked down at him, he realised he couldn't leave him here alone - what if something happened?!

And that was how he found himself wandering through the mall, heading for the pet supplies store, with a tiny furry head poking out of his shirt pocket, happily watching the world go by. His sister had a lot to answer for.

[Nancy Panic]

Nancy sometimes had to ponder how lucky she was to not have the same struggles as her parents...but that didn't mean she didn't follow in her mother's footsteps in terms of part time employment. Her family wasn't in financially dire straits, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try to earn her own money once she could...and what better way to do that than to be surrounded by animals? Plus it helped that her mom was able to put in a good word for her as a former employee and all.

If anyone who knew her from school could see her now, they might not quite recognize her. She didn't seem remotely shy or stressed out here, simply happy to cater to the animals, like right now, as she was refilling the hamsters' water bottles, chatting away with them like they could understand her (and...well, they SORT of could, it wasn't like, full on Disney princess, but given she could transform into any of these animals at any given time, they sort of got her, and it just made her all the better at making sure they were happy and healthy, so hey), and even engaging with the customers. Work gave her an excuse to talk to people, and actually know what she was talking about, and she was far better with the unofficial script everyone in customer service had...even if a part of her cried everytime someone decided to be a jerk at work.

But no time to think about that, she spotted the boy with a kitten in his pocket from the door, and made a beeline towards him, readjusting her name tag and putting on a surprisingly confident smile for someone with the last name Panic.

"Well hi, welcome. Anything I can get you or your little friend there?" she asked, motioning towards the kitten and very much resisting the urge to scratch his little ears.

[Mordred Le Fey]

He'd barely stepped foot into the pet store when he was greeted and offered help. Help he definitely needed. What did a tiny cat actually need, anyway?! He smiled at the girl, checking her name tag before responding.

"Hi... Nancy. Mordred," he pointed to himself, "Satan." He pointed to the fluffball. "Satan and I have just formed a partnership, and now I find myself in need of... stuff. Stuff for cats." He looked around, still no closer to having any idea what he'd need. He'd only ever taken care of horses before, and even that hadn't extended much beyond giving them some hay and water and throwing the reigns to a stable boy to do the rest. He was at a total loss.

"I guess I need... food?" He glanced down at Satan. "You need food, right?" The kitten looked up at him and squeaked in response. Mordred grinned, looking back at Nancy. "Yeah, he needs food. And that cat wine stuff - do you have any of that? Satan's going to need some if he's going to be living with me and my housemate." He scratched Satan's ears as the kitten mewed again. "See, he agrees."

[Nancy Panic]

Perhaps she should've been more shocked that he had named his kitten Satan, but she almost had to laugh. After all, her grandfather was basically Greek Lucifer, in a Paradise Lost sense, so why not? She had a feeling she'd greatly prefer this Satan over the one in her life. She did giggle a little when Mordred was clearly coming up with what he needed off the top of his head.

"Let me guess, Satan was a surprise arrival?" And given Satan seemed to enjoy having his ears scratched, she reached out a hand to let him sniff her. She was usually good at gauging if animals wanted to be touched, but she figured she'd let Satan make that decision before assuming. "I can definitely help you find everything you need. Let's start with the food and cat wine, and we'll go from there." Already she was making a list in her head of where to take him. Scratching posts, that little guy will start teething before we know it, litter box so he can start training him...

She readjusted her ponytail, and lead him to the food aisle. "I would keep an eye on how he reacts to whatever food you get, in case he turns out to have any allergies or digestive issues you don't know about...might be a good idea to get him a check up, maybe some vaccines if he hasn't already..." She glanced around at the options. "So do you want to go with canned food or kibble? Or maybe some combination of both? I've got some that vets tend to recommend, and you usually want to go with those." She also glanced towards Satan with a smile. "What do you think, sweetie? Any of these smell particularly good?"

[Mordred Le Fey]

Surprise arrival was right. Mordred nodded, rolling his eyes slightly. "My sister seemed to think I was in need of a furry companion. I think she thinks it'll be good therapy or something." He couldn't help but smile slightly as he looked down at Satan, who was looking around and sniffing the air. "Hell, she's probably right." As Nancy offered him her hand to smell, Satan pushed her head against her fingers, purring.

He followed Nancy through the store, and stared at the seemingly endless options of food. He'd expected it to be simpler than this, just grab a box of something and be done with it, but there were a lot of options. He looked up and down the shelves, at a loss, as Nancy made some suggestions. "Erm..." What the hell was kibble? "Sure, a combination, that'll work." Satan was sniffing the air again, wriggling in Mordred's pocket. He gently picked him up, and held him on the palm of his hand. "What d'you reckon, cat?" He held Satan towards the food, and he reached out and tapped a box with his paw. "I guess we'll be getting some of that one." Mordred laughed.

He placed Satan on his shoulder, where the cat lay down and continued to look around. "I guess he'll need toys too? And a bed. Like, the softest one you have. Only the best for a Le Fey cat." Mordred grinned.

[Nancy Panic]

Nancy's expression softened. Sure, pets as gifts were always a little tricky, since those were often the kinds of animals that got abandoned at shelters, but it seemed like Mordred wouldn't dream of doing that. "Well, having a pet around can work wonders. A lot of the time, especially with cats and dogs, they're always happy to see you, so no matter how bad everything else is, you at least have that. Your sister might be on to something." Her family had had a number of dogs throughout her life, most of them adoptees (and she suspected that after her first dog, her mother wanted to have more than one in case one of them died), and there were few things that could make Nancy feel better about life than cuddling up with one. She couldn't help but think of that as Satan curled up against her hand. She beamed and scratched under his chin, getting an even louder purr out of him. "Gods, he's so precious, you're very lucky."

She could see Mordred's confusion and was awaiting an array of questions...but it looked like he was good at thinking on his feet, at least, and with Satan's help she seemed to have made a decision on a kibble, and she grabbed onto some cans of wet food that she was fairly certain would go well together...not that she ever turned into a cat just to give these foods a test drive so she could have an informed opinion or anything.

He continued to make a list of things he might need, and she nodded...and then she heard the last name......oh now I remember where I heard that name before... Mom never really stopped telling her the old stories that she now knew were actually true...and now she was wondering if it was so Nancy could be prepared for certain things when she arrived here. And she had certainly heard of Mordred's mother...she almost wanted to say something but how could she do that without making him seem singled out...

...then her eyes met Satan's and it seemed completely simple. "Huh...you and I have something in common," she muttered before going into proper customer service voice. If Mordred wanted to take the bait, he was more than welcome. She certainly wasn't trying to trap him of course, who was she to judge him on his family, after all?

"And we can definitely make all of that happen. I'd definitely recommend getting him a really fun scratching post, because he'll be trying to rip and bite up your furniture before you know it otherwise. We have some that are built kind of like little playgrounds for him, if you're interested?" And then she led him towards some of the beds that were on display. "Feel free to test them out. I think the one in the middle's the softest, but it's up to you."

[Mordred Le Fey]

"Yeah, well don't tell her that," he laughed, "she might realise she's the smart one out of the two of us." He couldn't help but smile proudly as Nancy complimented Satan, and he rewarded the kitten with an ear scratch. "He's not too bad." He said, not realising quite how much he sounded like a proud dad.

He frowned slightly at her words, following her to the beds, watching her thoughtfully. He wondered what she was referring to - did she mean something as simple as that she had a cat too? Or was there something more in that comment? Looking at the beds, he gently placed Satan on the bed Nancy indicated. The cat immediately began exploring, sniffing around the beds, and it didn't take long before he started padding at the soft fleecy cover on the bed. Mordred grinned, looking at Nancy. "I think he likes it. And we'll take the biggest most adventurous scratching post you've got."

He watched the cat for another moment, before turning back to Nancy. "So, what do we have in common then?" He asked, folding his arms. "You got a cat too?"

[Nancy Panic]

Nancy giggled. "I don't think I've met her, I wouldn't worry too much about me blabbing." But gods, it was downright heartwarming to see him get so taken by the kitten. Half the fun of working here was seeing just how much people loved their new family members, or even their more settled ones that they just wanted to spoil here.

But then he asked her about the comment and...well now that she thought of it, she supposed she could see why he assumed the cat thing. And now she was wondering if she should just keep her mouth shut, would he get offended if she mentioned she had heard about his mother? I mean who hadn't heard, but that was no excuse for bringing up what could very easily be a sore subject?

"Well I can turn into one!" she blurted out...okay, now she was blushing, and her voice went a little quieter. "I can turn into a lot of things, actually...got it from my dad 'cause I guess Grandpa Hades thought that'd be a good idea..." She cringed even using the term "Grandpa", which slipped out of her mouth in a pool of sarcasm...but, well, she supposed that could be a lead in without alienating him...or she could have made him feel awkward by bringing up her family history.

"Sorry, that was personal, I talk too much sometimes...so scratching posts! I think there's one that's meant to look a bit like the grounds of a palace." Really, anything to get SOME of the worms from leaving this can...unless Mordred was actually okay with being all 'oh hey, both of our families have at least one side that's kind of fucked up! Fancy that!' but that seemed unlikely.

[Mordred Le Fey]

Raising an eyebrow, he looked at her in surprise. "You... can turn into a cat?" He asked incredulously. "Ok... Not seeing what I have in common with that, but whatever you say." He listened to her as she continued to explain, looking slightly impressed. "So you're a shapeshifter? That's pretty cool." He did a double take at her Grandpa's name.

"Wait a minute - your grandfather is Hades? As in, Greek god of the underworld?" Ok, he was officially impressed now. "That's pretty cool. Bet he's a barrel of laughs at the family gatherings." He looked away, looking back at Satan, who was curling up on the bed. "I know all about fun family members, although even you might have me beat there. Not many who can say that."

"Grounds of a palace, that sounds perfect. What d'ya think, Satan?" The cat looked up at the sound of Mordred's voice and he grinned, picking up and holding him close with one hand, while grabbing the bed he'd made his own in the other hand. "Think we'll be taking this one too."

[Nancy Panic]

The minute Mordred raised an eyebrow and asked the question, Nancy wanted to shrink into the size of a mouse and just let Satan eat her. Oh that wasn't at ALL what she wanted to do, making him think she was crazy and making random ass comparisons...fortunately, however, she realized that he at least thought the shapeshifting was cool...and he caught on to the whole 'your grandfather is Hades' thing. It was rare that someone mentioning that could make Nancy feel better. She pretty much despised him, even if she understood where he was coming from to an extent...but it possibly offered her a way into her initial point.

"Oh we hardly ever see him, my mother hates him that much," she explained. It was when Mordred mentioned that he knew a lot about fun family members that she saw her way in...but she really had to tread lightly. "Yeah...yeah, I guessed from the last name..." she said, keeping her voice as level as she could...and she held up her hands. "No offense...it was just something I noticed...that...that was sort of what I meant, but then I chickened out in just saying so...didn't want to make you feel like I was implying anything. I...I just imagine assumptions are often made, and...I have an idea of what that's like."

Hoping the shopping trip would at least offer them respite if she had crossed a line, she smiled and nodded. "Really good choice...and yeah, let's go get that one!" She hurried towards the scratching posts, and motioned towards the one she was talking about. "What do you think? Seeing as you probably live around actual castles, you'd know better than I would if it's suitable."

[Mordred Le Fey]

He raised an eyebrow slightly as she mentioned her knowledge of his last name. He wasn't particularly surprised, one of the downfalls of his mother having insisted he take her name was that it was yet another constant link to her, a constant identifier of his heritage. He almost laughed as she stammered through an explanation, but he settled for an amused smile, raising his hand and waving it a little.

"Hey, no offence taken. My dear Mother is somewhat infamous round here, from what I understand." He said with a shrug. "And hey, I've read the books, I know what the stories and legends say." He raised an eyebrow at her again. "It's fun having a legacy to live up, isn't it?" He asked with a smirk.

He followed her over to the scratching posts and raised his eyebrow as she showed him the one she meant. "Erm... well it definitely doesn't look like any castle I've ever lived in." He said with a small laugh. "Got anything less... feminine? I'm not sure that one's going to do Satan's rep any good with the ladies." He said with a wink.

[Nancy Panic]

It took Nancy a moment to realize Mordred was smiling, almost as though he was on the verge of a laugh. For the first time ever, that was the best reaction she could’ve hoped for. She let out a sigh of relief, and then a nervous laugh, especially at the question about the whole legacy thing. “I mean, depends on if you mean fun in a sarcastic way…I’d much rather take after my mom’s side of the family, to be honest…although I’ll keep the shapeshifting. It’s fun and handy and what little girl doesn’t dream of turning into a unicorn at will?”

She rubbed the back of her neck, and then let out another chuckle at Mordred’s more customer service oriented question. “Fair enough, um…admittedly I know almost nothing about that sort of thing but…oh, this seems a bit more adventurous. Maybe?”

[Mordred Le Fey]

"Yeah, that was definitely sarcasm kid." He said with a small laugh. "Shapeshifting is pretty cool though, it would definitely be handy to be able to turn into stuff. Not sure I'd go for the unicorn though." He said with a smirk. "A dragon maybe - now that would be cool." Lifting the kitten to place him on his shoulder, Satan settled against Mordred's neck and Mordred looked back at Nancy. "You should meet my sister," he said thoughtfully as he studied her, "that whole coping with people making assumptions thing - you've got that in common. Poor kid has to live with my reputation as well as our mothers." He gave her a rueful smile. "At least she's got Dad's name though, because boy does the Le Fey name come with some baggage."

The talk turned back to the scratching posts, and Mordred grinned widely as she pointed another one out, nodding enthusiastically. "Oh yeah, that's the one. That thing is ridiculous." He laughed. "We definitely need that, right cat?" He turned his head a little to look at Satan on his shoulder, who licked his head. "Yep, he wants it."

[Nancy Panic]

Her expression softened once it was confirmed that Mordred wasn't too thrilled with his mother's legacy, and once he mentioned his sister felt really pressured by that as well. "It's rough...I'm sure she's lovely. And for what's it worth, you seem pretty cool..."

She supposed she wasn't surprised by his comments regarding unicorns, and she probably would've normally shrunk back and stammered about that, but...it was funny, maybe it was the fact that she got through what she thought could've been the most awkward conversation ever unscathed, maybe it was making her feel a little bolder. And with being a little bolder, she was getting an idea.

"Well I mean..." She willed the skin on half her face to become green and scaly, almost cell by cell, having it shine under the florescent lighting like emeralds, and once she was satisfied with that, a blink of her eyes turned one of her baby blues into a fiery marble with a reptilian look to it. She wouldn't complete the transformation of course; she didn't want to completely terrify the animals OR Mordred...and it'd be a little harder to say, "Lucky for me I don't have to choose," without human vocal cords.

Within seconds, however, she found herself losing her nerve and switched back to her human self, smiling sheepishly. "S-s-sorry..." she muttered. "I got a little carried away..." Fortunately her suggestion for Satan's scratching post seemed to be a winner, and she grabbed the accompanying box and added it to the evergrowing pile. "But great, awesome! I'll throw in some little mouse toys too, trust me, they'll pay off once he starts teething too, plus it's just fun to watch them try to pounce on them!"

[Mordred Le Fey]

He snorted slightly at her concession that he was 'cool', raising an eyebrow at her. "Kid, I'm the coolest." He grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her slightly.

His expression quickly changed to one of surprise as he watched half of her face change, his mouth falling slightly open as he looked at her, impressed. "Dude. That is cool." He grinned, as he wondered if there was a way to learn that sort of thing. He had magic, after all, his mother was an expert at casting glamours - he'd never bothered much with that line of magic but he was beginning to wonder if it was an option worth exploring. If he could change his appearance into that of other peoples', if he worked at that and got good enough, would there be a way to change his appearance to things that weren't human? Or potions maybe, spells? He made a mental note to look into that. He really wanted to be able to change into a dragon.

"Hey, don't apologise, that was awesome." He said with a grin. "Be proud of your abilities, kid. If I could do that... man. I thought having magic was cool, but that is something else."

He nodded at the mouse toys, looking around the shop to see if there was anything else he needed. "Anything else you'd recommend?" He asked, still thinking about whether he could learn to change into a dragon.