|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 12, 2017 22:23:57 GMT -5
Julian paused a bit at that. "Oh... Well, I can teach you." He offered. "But it isn't something that comes right away, especially if you learn it later in life. But you don't have to if you don't want to." He explained. He wasn't exactly certain how to teach, but basic reading skills would probably offer some benefit to Aster if he wasn't around to help him.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 12, 2017 22:32:47 GMT -5
Aster considered the offer for a moment, not sure whether he should accept or not. Being able to read would likely be a useful skill, especially if the bakeneko planned to stick around for more than a couple days. But Julian was already doing so much for him, he didn't want to ask him to anything else. Not to mention that would make him feel that much guiltier about it when it inevitably came time for him to leave. If nothing else, he figured he should first try to find a way to repay the human, even if in some small way. But at the same time, he didn't want to completely reject the idea of learning how to read.
"Perhaps," he replied after a short pause, opting for a noncommittal answer. "I appreciate the offer, though. I find your lines... perplexing."
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 12, 2017 22:49:50 GMT -5
Julian looked back at his screen and nodded. "I've heard that English is a difficult language. Coding isn't really easy either. It took me a long time to become good enough to do this and have it work. Now it's how I pay for my apartment." He said. "Well, if you decide you want to learn later on, let me know." He started typing again, though he was still trying to find something that Aster could do to entertain himself. It wouldn't overwork his laptop to play music while he worked... He opened another window and pulled up a few lyric-less songs before login back to his work.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 12, 2017 23:00:40 GMT -5
Aster nodded in response, watching as Julian continued to... do whatever it was he was doing. Some kind of thing with some kind of device. The bakeneko was a bit startled when the object began to make noise, tensing and recoiling slightly as he stared at it. After a second though, he rationalized that it was harmless, if surprising, and stared at it, trying to figure out the purpose of the noise. It wasn't unpleasant, though he was confused as to why the object had begun to make that sound.
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 12, 2017 23:05:15 GMT -5
Julian's typing slowed as he realized Aster seemed perplexed about something. Maybe the music wasn't the best idea... huh... some people used birdwatching videos to entertain their cats. He couldn't have a video going at the same time he was typing though. He took his phone out of his pocket and quickly pulled up a video recording of someone's bird feeder. He pressed play and passed the device over to Aster. Honestly, he was sort of curious about how he'd react.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 12, 2017 23:16:53 GMT -5
Aster stared at Julian with a confused expression for a heartbeat before he realized that the human was trying to give him the small object. Aster sat up and took the object uncertainly, not sure what it was or why the human had given it to him. However, movement on the surface caught his eye, and as he stared at it, he realized it was what appeared to be a bird. Confused, Aster, turned the device over in his hands, not sure how there was such a small bird inside or why it didn't react to its container moving. Turning it upside down or to the side seemed to have no effect on the hanging birdfeeder either, confusing the bakeneko even further. After turning the object around in his hands for a moment, he squinted at the bird for a good minute or so in still silence, just trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, coming to no conclusions, he looked up at Julian.
"How did you make the bird so tiny?" he asked, glancing back down at the screen and tapping it with one finger. He was surprised when the video paused at his touch, the small buffer bar appearing at the bottom. He stared at it for a moment, now concerned and even more confused.
(lol non-human characters being very confused by human technology is my favorite thing to roleplay. At least 15% of my apocalypse LARP is my character just hearing stories about the "humans" that used to live on Earth and being perplexed by all the weird things they did.)
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 12, 2017 23:27:26 GMT -5
(yesssssssss)
Julian quickly became distracted from coding by Aster's fascination and confusion over the device. He stifled a quiet chuckle as he watched, and when Aster looked to him with questions, he set his laptop aside for a bit. "It's a video. Someone recorded a real normal-sized bird at their bird feeder, and they saved the recording online where other people can see it. The size of the bird changes with the size of the device. If I had a bigger screen, the bird would be bigger." He paused, trying to think if he was explaining this well enough for someone to understand. "I can show you how it works." He said, taking the phone back and opening the camera app. He turned the screen around and took a quick picture of Aster, then turned it back. "Here, this is a picture of you. You can take still images or moving images."
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 12, 2017 23:34:52 GMT -5
Aster had seen humans make pictures of things before- that was something he understood. It was relatively easy to make something look like something else just by imitating the same shapes and colors. It was the moving part, really, that perplexed him, or the fact that the images on this device were able to change at all. When Julian handed him the object back, he just stared at the screen, unsure how to react as he considered what Julian had told him. He only understood about 2/3 of what he had said, but he could at least grasp the concept of moving images for now, even if he didn't understand how it worked. After staring at the image for a few moments, he looked up at Julian. "This is what I look like right now?" he asked, glancing down back at the picture. Besides distorted reflections of himself in glass or pools of water, he had never actually seen himself, and even less often in this form. He held the picture closer to examine his face more carefully, deciding whether or not he liked it.
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 12, 2017 23:47:34 GMT -5
Julian nodded. "Yep. Actually, there's a mirror in the bathroom. You can see your reflection clearly, and it'll move as you do. It'll be a little easier to look at than a small phone screen." He advised. He'd seen his own reflection before, right? Well... maybe not. He'd seen reports that most animals couldn't recognize themselves in a mirror, and considering mirrors weren't actually a naturally occurring thing, me might not have been able to use one before.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 12, 2017 23:58:42 GMT -5
Aster tilted his head. "A mirror?" Now he was curious, wanting to look at himself more closely than on the small device. He hopped up, trotting over to the bathroom and glancing around inside for the "mirror." Movement caught his attention, and he turned defensively out of instinct, but rather than an attacker he found himself looking into what he now realized were his own eyes. He stared at his reflection for a moment, tilting his head and pleased to see that it did as well. He leaned closer, looking over the details of his face. First, he examined his eyes, the corners of his lips turning up in a small smile. "They're two different colors!" he commented- mostly to himself- very pleased by the discovery. His attention then traveled to the scar under his eye, which he reached up to touch with one hand, frowning as he traced the line with one finger. He stared at that for a moment before moving on to his hair, an equally displeased look on his face. "Such a mess in this form," he murmured, trying to drag his fingers through his hair, but he couldn't get very far without pulling hard on the tangles.
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 13, 2017 0:05:32 GMT -5
Julian followed Aster out of a mix of curiosity and concern that something might get broken. He watched quietly, smiling as the shifter excitedly announced his discoveries. Though as the initial excitement wore off and he appeared to become dissatisfied with his appearance, Julian couldn't help but feel a bit bad. Aster hadn't been concerned about these things until he'd introduced him to them. He moved around Aster, picking up a brush off the counter. "It happens to all of us. We can't exactly clean up the same way as a cat would, so we have tools to help us instead. This is a hair brush. You have to be a little gentle with it, but it'll straighten out your hair and you can style it if you want to. Some people say they like the way it feels, too."
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 13, 2017 0:11:15 GMT -5
Aster watched Julian's reflection in the mirror as he moved around him and picked up the brush, turning to him in person as the human started talking about it. When Julian was finished speaking, Aster nodded and took the object, looking it over uncertainly. The tines on the brush reminded him vaguely of teeth. Looking back up at Julian, he tilted his head. "How does it work?"
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 13, 2017 0:12:29 GMT -5
(gotta head to bed since its midnight here. I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule and such now that I'm here. I'll get you the reply tomorrow evening~)
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 13, 2017 0:38:07 GMT -5
(alright. I have to go to bed as well, this likely would have been my last reply for the night anyhow. Goodnight!)
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 0:26:58 GMT -5
Julian pointed to the toothed end of the brush. "You run these through your hair and these will smooth it out. You can stylize it a bit with a little water, but if you come across a knot, it's best to untangle it with your fingers. The brush will only pull your hair if you try to use it." He explained. "Here, stand still a second and I'll show you." He said, moving back behind Aster and lifting the brush to the back of his head. He placed one hand behind Aster's neck just incase he pulled a knot. He ran the brush through his hair carefully a few times before holding it forward for Aster to take it and try.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 0:41:22 GMT -5
Aster nodded slightly as he listened to Julian's explanation, mostly understanding. Still, he didn't protest when the human offered to demonstrate, and watched him in the mirror as he moved behind him. He couldn't help but tense and shy away a bit as he put his hands near his neck- he instinctively disliked strangers near his throat and neck, as it was probably the greatest weak point in combat. Of course, he logically knew that it was very unlikely that Julian would try to hurt him at this point, but it still took a great deal of self control not to hiss or snap or hop away. Past his discomfort, though, after a few strokes of the brush he found that, despite the slight tugging on the many knots in his hair, it wasn't an altogether unpleasant experience.
Aster relaxed a bit once Julian moved away, taking the brush and looking it over before pulling it through his own hair. It took him a moment to figure out how to hold it effectively, and then how to pull it through his hair without just ripping through the knots. After a few strokes, though, he had mostly figured it out and couldn't help but give a small smile. "Humans come up with the oddest things," he commented to himself as he run the brush through his hair one more time, looking at his reflection in the mirror again. His hair was still a bit messy, but not tangled and clumped like it had been before.
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 0:45:08 GMT -5
Julian gave a small shrug. "Well, some things work. Plenty of other things don't." He replied. "I've got to get back to my work though. I've only got about an hour left until I'm done for the day. We can get dinner started once I'm done." He said, starting to walk back into the living room. He sat back on the couch and opened his laptop up again. The program opened once more, and he started typing again.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 1:03:31 GMT -5
"Um, okay," Aster replied, moving to allow Julian to leave easier. He wasn't really sure what he was working on or why it was important, but that was a mystery for later. For now, he went back to messing with his hair in the mirror, smoothing out all the tangles and parting it different ways, and generally just playing with it. He had never paid much attention to his hair before; he was more concerned with the fur of his cat form, and really hadn't ever cared much for his human appearance. But then, he hadn't ever really seen himself. This train of thought made him wonder what he looked like in his cat form, since he hadn't really ever seen himself that way either. He glanced through the doorway at Julian, but figured he probably wouldn't care- and he wasn't paying attention either. Aster shifted, shrinking quickly and letting out a quiet and rather frustrated mew as the pair of pants he was wearing tangled around his hind legs and tail. He struggled free of them, then shook out his fur and hopped up onto the counter so that he could look himself over in the mirror. He turned in a circle, admiring how thick his pelt and plumy his tail was before leaning close and looking at his ears. They were nicked and torn in many places; he hadn't realized that. And the scar on his face was there in this form too.
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 1:12:45 GMT -5
Julian remained typing at his computer for some time, focused on getting the code right. He saved out an alternate file of his work and sent it over for review. He continued working, occasionally looking back over his shoulder toward the bathroom. Aster had been in there some time... Well, he was sure he was fine. It wasn't like there was much he could do to hurt himself with a hairbrush.
The razor wasn't out... right? Julian stopped typing. He'd put that away in the mirror cabinet. Right? Aster wouldn't mess with it if he didn't know what it was... it had a cap on it, it couldn't do anything to hurt him... He hadn't heard any outburst that would hint toward trouble... For as much as Julian tried to reason that Aster was probably fine, he couldn't help but worry. What if something happened and he got hurt? What if he needed a hospital trip? Or a vet trip? Which would be appropriate??
This wasn't going to get settled until he went to check on him. He saved his work again and set his laptop aside, heading back toward the bathroom. "Aster?" He called, not wanting to surprise the shifter.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 1:20:50 GMT -5
Aster tensed in surprise and swiveled his ears towards the door as he heard Julian's voice. He stood and moved to the edge of the counter, peering around the door frame to where the human was, and let out a loud meow as if to ask, "What do you want?" Was he done with whatever it was he was doing on the weird slab thing? He glanced at the pants on the floor, wondering if he should quickly shift to human, but decided that it was unnecessary for the moment.
(aw poor Julian with his anxiety, worried about the bakeneko being like a weird toddler lol)
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 1:31:32 GMT -5
(X3 I worry about this irl, honestly. My sister cut herself on our dad's razor when she was little, and even if it was just a little thing, I remember my parents fighting about it. My siblings are all big now, but I've had cats and dogs get into things they shouldn't, sooooo.... but yeah I can see Julian fussing about a lot of things. Leaves Aster home alone for 30 minutes, sprints back to make sure the oven is on child-lock and that the window doesn't come open easily. Childproof the apartment before he goest to sleep. Friends come over "why is there a cushion on the corners of your table??")
Julian sighed a bit. That's why it was quiet. "Just a second." He said, walking through the bathroom doorway and checking over the sink. His worries had just been out of paranoia, the razor was stored away in its proper place, there were no cleaning chemicals in sight, and the floor was dry and slip-hazard free. He wasn't sure how to explain his worries to Aster without making it sound like he was being treated like a child. Well... in all fairness, he was fairly new to enough things that his inexperience might be compared to child-like ignorance, but still. Saying it out loud sounded like a sure-fire way to offend him.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 1:39:44 GMT -5
(lol I'm 1000% looking forward to that because that's exactly the kind of thing that's gonna make their characters clash XD like, Aster is socially inept and doesn't understand human technology or society at all but he's quite competent as a feline and probably older than Julian so he'd certainly start to get annoyed being treated like a "kitten" at some point. And that's when glasses start getting pushed off tables lol.)
Aster sat down on the counter and wrapped his tail around his paws, curiously watching Julian look over the bathroom. Was he looking for something? Aster glanced down at the floor, wondering if he should try to help, but he didn't know what most human things were anyways so he doubted he would be very much help.
(also sorry for the kind of short reply)
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 1:48:23 GMT -5
Julian did spot the pants on the floor and picked them up, folding them into a neat square. He set them on the sink for Aster to put back on whenever he changed shape again, but for now he'd prefer to keep re-wearable clothing off the floor. He needed to vacuum, there was probably dust and now cat hair abound. ...Would the vacuum bother Aster? Probably, it bothered most human kids up until they got used to it, and most animals he knew of fled at the sound of the machine firing up. He couldn't exactly do it when Aster wasn't home, he'd probably be with him.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 1:58:42 GMT -5
The bakeneko watched as Julian picked the pants up off the floor and put them on the counter, wondering why he had bothered to move them. He glanced out the door again, wondering if Julian was finished with his 'work' and would, in fact, be making food soon. He looked forward to getting more human food, though as he glanced at the living room window, he also longed for some fresh prey. He considered whether he should go out to hunt, but decided that he would wait for now; after all there would always be later that day, or the next.
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 2:03:30 GMT -5
Julian returned to his computer for another twenty minutes, polishing up what he'd typed out and fixing a few errors that he'd missed before. Again, save and send out. Finally, he closed his computer and set it out of the way again. He headed into the kitchen, as promised, and he started looking through the fridge. What could he make? A box of pasta seemed simple enough. There were some prepackaged meatballs in the freezer. That would be nice. He started getting set up, filling a pot with water and setting it on the stove to boil. He took out the meatballs to let them thaw a little since they were better fried than microwaved.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 2:09:28 GMT -5
Aster was a bit disappointed to see Julian return to the device, but he knew that even so it couldn't be that much longer before he finished. The cat observed himself in the mirror for a few more minutes before hopping down from the counter and once again meandering around the house, sticking his nose in corners or under furniture and generally exploring. By the time Julian finished, he had settled on the couch in a patch of sunlight that came through the window and was beginning to doze. He looked up as Julian headed for the kitchen, watching as he began to prepare the food. I suppose I should change, then, he thought, casting a glance at the bathroom where his pants were still sitting. After another moment he stood and stretched, trotting over to the bathroom where he shifted and struggled to put on the pants again.
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 2:17:20 GMT -5
As the water started boiling, Julian added the box of pasta, and he set up a pan on the next burner for the meatballs. He put a little oil in the pan and spread it about with a spatula to make sure the food wouldn't stick. As the pan heated up, he opened the bag and poured the meatballs out. He divided his attention between the two dishes, stirring the pasta every once and a while, and making sure the meatballs didn't get too cooked on any particular side. He heard movement in the bathroom. Aster must have gone for the pants.
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 2:28:57 GMT -5
After putting on the pants, Aster saw the brush sitting on the counter as he turned to leave and couldn't help but pick it up and run it through his hair again. He straightened up a bit, messing with his hair a bit more, before he finally put the brush down and returned to the living room. He stretched out on his stomach on the couch, crossing his arms in front of him to rest his chin on as he watched Julian finish dinner.
(I'm going to bed now sorry. Goodnight!)
|
|
|
Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Mar 19, 2017 2:33:35 GMT -5
Julian finally decided the pasta was soft enough and drained the pot into a strainer. He added a small can of sauce to the meatballs and gave that another minute before he turned off the stove. "Alright, come get a plate." He said to Aster, taking two plates down from the cabinet. He added two glasses and filled them with water and ice.
(Night.)
|
|
|
Post by Aphelyon on Mar 19, 2017 20:28:18 GMT -5
Aster rolled off the couch, landing on all fours on the ground before standing up and coming over to the kitchen. He took the plate and watched as Julian filled the glasses. He could never quite figure out why humans had so many little objects to transfer food between- why didn't they just eat with their hands? Why did they have to keep moving the food from one container to another? But he had found that humans always gave him strange looks when he ate with his hands, and so he found it easier to just use their various silly utensils and avoid the extra attention.
|
|