Meet Emily

~I will never be, I will never tall.  No.

And I will never be, never ever be sure of it all.

Oh, why’s the world so cruel to me?

When all, all I ever wanna be is anything I’m not?~

Morning again.  Already?  Emily thought, groaning and rolling over as Lenka’s jaunty tune started up, as it did every morning to wake her up.  Right on cue, the digital alarm clock on her side table, blue lighted numbers showing that it was 7:00am, started beeping loudly.  She had the song as her alarm to wake her up and the beeping as the annoyance to get her out of bed.  She only set them about 30 seconds apart so she could listen to almost the whole first verse before getting up.  When the last line played, she groaned again and slapped the off button on the alarm clock and threw the covers off of her.  After she stretched and yawned, she fumbled a little for her glasses and found them on the floor once again.  “Lucy, come on…these aren’t toys!” she muttered, putting them on and glaring at the black and tan tortishell cat who was sitting on the end of her now messy bed, giving her the world’s most innocent, green eyed, look back.  Every night, the cat curled up nice and sweet next to Emily.  But sometime between that and when she woke up, Lucy ALWAYS managed to knock her owner’s plain black frame glasses on the floor.  And she was always on the end of the bed in the morning, arguing her innocence.

~Gimme a break.  A little escape.

 I am so tired of being me.

I wanna be free. 

I wanna be new and different, anything I’m not.~

Emily rolled her eyes and patted the cat’s head as she grabbed her light blue robe off the hook on the side of her window (which her bed was right next to, she liked to look out at the sky before she slept), put it on, and shuffled down the hall to the bathroom in her fluffy blue slippers.  She made a face at the girl staring back at her in the mirror. “Looking good, Emily Evans…” She was thin, but not to the extreme, with a nice oval shaped face and pale skin.  Her shoulder length hair, which was kind of on the border between light brown and ginger, was a foufy mess on her head due to her showering last night and letting it dry naturally while her bluish grey eyes behind the relatively thick framed glasses held the same expression of tiredness and disgust.  She sighed and set to work making the girl look presentable.

~I will never be, I will never be you.  No.

I will always be I will always be me, that I know.

But oh, even though I’m happy being me. 

I want to get away from all this harsh reality, oh~

Hair now brushed and looking only slightly messy, Emily quickly brushed her teeth and rinsed with mouthwash, grimacing at the taste.  She took off her glasses and soaked the washcloth hanging by the sink. She squirted some of her acne fighting/preventing face wash onto it, rubbing it into the cloth and scrubbing her face with it. When she had rinsed and dried her face, she shuffled back into her bedroom.  She was always grateful that she had arrived to school late and so ‘missed out’ on getting any roommates.  Usually college freshmen did.  But thanks to that luck, she had the two room plus bathroom, small living room, and kitchen dorm to herself (and Lucy, of course. The RA had agreed to let her have pets as long as she made it look like she didn’t).  She had turned the second room into a work room for homework and other such things.  She was tempted to use one of her potions to make an outfit for today, but she refrained.  Being a witch didn’t mean taking the easy way all the time.  She was a practical witch, using potions and such rather than a wand, but she tried to live as normally as possible. If the clothes potion went wrong (as a lot of her potions did), she’d risk getting into trouble. Her parents had done a lot to get her into this school and she couldn’t bear to gamble that effort. She quickly got dressed in her favourite dark skinny jeans and belt with a button up short sleeve top before hurrying over and packing her bag, stuffing the homework she had done last night when she got home in her folder and adding it to the plain dark blue, backpack shaped messenger bag.

~ Gimme a break.  A little escape.

 I am so tired of being me.

I wanna be free. 

I wanna be new and different, anything I’m not.

Yeah, gimme a break.  A little escape.

I’m so tired of being me.

I wanna be free. 

I wanna be new and different, anything I’m not.~

Checking that her bag had everything she needed, she made her bed and put her pyjamas, folded nicely, on top, hanging up her robe and putting her slippers by the door, switching them out for her black with white laces hightop Converse.  “Come on, Luce!” she called to the cat as she hurried to the kitchen.  Once there, she picked up the purple bowl with ‘Lucybelle’ written on it in swirly letters and put it on the little island in the middle of the kitchen.  She opened one of the bottom cupboards and took out the cat food there, as well as the bag of treats.  Lucy’s stomach was too sensitive for wet food, so Emily only ever fed her dry kibble.   Bonus was that Lucy was always healthy, no wet food to make her overweight.  She poured in a small cupful of food and put a treat on top, setting it down and stroking the cat’s fur as it rushed to eat.  She spared a smile for her pet before going back and taking out a breakfast bar from another cupboard, along with a strawberry frappucino drink.  Lucy meowed loudly and Emily smiled guiltily at the cat that seemed to be glaring at her.  “Sorry, Luce, I don’t have time for a big breakfast today.  I’ll eat a good lunch, promise.”

The cat seemed happy with this and went back to eating, letting Emily finish getting ready.  She grabbed her black lapelled jacket (a tailored dress jacket) from the hook by the door and threw it on with her favourite off white scarf.  She did a quick mental check to make sure she had everything and glanced at the small table by the door, assuring it held her wallet, iPod, big headphones, and her keys. 

She grabbed the stuff off the table, stuffing it into her pockets except for her iPod and headphones, which she put on and set the playlist for her walk to class. She sighed and opened the door.  Same old routine.  Every day. Whether her classes were morning or evening, the routine to get ready and the routine for the day was always the same.  Was it ever going to change? Probably not. Well, no time to think about it now.  She was going to be late for class. “See you later, Lucy.  Be good.” She called to the cat in the kitchen, before leaving, closing the door.

~Anything I’m not… Anything I’m not… Anything I’m not… Anything I’m not~

***

This is a rare day.  Emily thought as she biked down the street, humming brightly along with the song playing on her iPod.  She had done all of her homework for her classes today, and the teachers had only assigned reading for the next class.  To top it all off, when she had arrived at work today, the manager at the campus restaurant told her that her shift was being covered by a girl who’d just started and needed training in the afternoon and evening shifts.  This meant she could go right back to the dorm and have the rest of the day to herself!  “It’s like nothing can go wrong today!” she actually giggled.  Maybe things were gonna finally turn around today…She started singing along with the overly cheery Japanese song that was playing as she continued along.  She turned down an alleyway, deciding to take a shortcut home and was about halfway down when a black blur darted into her path. She gasped, startled, put on the brakes and turned the handlebars to avoid hitting whatever it was and sent herself and her bike right into a big pile of trash, her bag falling out of the basket and scattering her things everywhere.  “So much for THAT theory…” she groaned, pushing full trash bags and loose trash that had fallen out of ripped ones off of her.  “Ugh…gross…” she crawled out of the mess and started digging out her bike when she noticed that her stuff was everywhere.  “Oh great…” she sighed and left her bike to collect all the papers and such.  “Well at least today is back to normal now.”

Once she had collected everything, she decided to make sure she didn’t hurt whatever it was that had jumped in front of her.  She looked around and after scanning the whole alleyway, she saw a small black…something.  What was it? She straightened her glasses so she could see better.  When the something came into focus, she carefully crawled over to it.  “Hey you…” she said in a gentle voice.  “You okay, little kitty?”  It was indeed a rather small black cat with bright green eyes, staring at her, wide as they could go.  “I’m sorry if I scared you…You scared me, if that makes you feel better!” she laughed. Emily had always loved animals of every kind, but she had a particular love for cats.  “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you…” she held out a hand and stayed still, a couple feet away.

The black cat stared at her for a few more moments, clearly more than startled before very hesitantly slinking up and sniffing her hand, brushing its head against it once the cat knew it wasn’t dangerous.

 “There you go.” She soothed, stroking the animal’s fur.  “You’re really thin, sweetie…” and its fur was matted, she noticed, but it didn’t appear injured from the near hit.  “Hang on…” she dug in her bag for what was left of her lunch, a quarter of a roast beef sandwich.  Taking out some of the meat, she offered it to the cat.  “You must be hungry…Here.”

The cat stared at it, eyes slitting a little. Why feed him? There was no reason to do so, and no one ever did. What's to say she wouldn't smack him if he got close? Still though, the smell of the cold meat wafted to his nose, and he found himself inching forward.  Hesitantly, he stuck his head up, and took the offering

"There's a good kitty." she took out the rest of her sandwich.  She hadn't planned on eating it anyway.  "Here, you can have the rest."  What she really wanted to do was take this poor creature home and give him a bath and a good meal at least.  But like any stray, he didn't seem to trust her, which was understandable.  While the cat ate, she went over to extract her bike from the pile of garbage.  When she finally freed it, she was dismayed to find it hadn't come through unscathed.  Her sudden stop had dislodged the chain and the front tire had gotten a nail in it.  She sighed.  Guess she wasn't going anywhere soon.  Good thing she didn't usually get home til later, or Lucy would be worried sick. 

She pulled the chain out of the trash, set her bike upright with the kickstand up, and set to work fixing it.  She managed to get the chain on okay and turned her attention to the flat tire.  She had a few patches...in her toolbox at home.  She groaned at her lack of foresight today.  Still, she could at least take the nail out.  Glancing back to see if the cat was still eating, she sat down and attempted to pull out the rusty nail.  It was completely embedded.  "Great..." she sighed.  "Guess I'm walking home."

The cat watched this girl while still eating. With a huff, he took the rest of the meat and slunk to the wall and began walking forward. What was possessing him to follow, he had no idea. Probably more food? Let's go with that.

Emily sighed and kicked the bike's stand up, preparing to start walking the bike home.  But she got the distinct feeling she was being watched.  She looked back, expecting to see the cat staring at her, but instead found it only a couple feet away.  "Hey..." she smiled at him.  "You going to follow me then?"

The cat froze, eyes narrowed. It returned to a sitting position and twitched its tail. It took a step forward and sat back again. He would follow, but would leave when he wished.

Emily chuckled and shook her head.  "Oh I see.  Well it was nice meeting you...oh, I guess you don't have a name...Well...I'll call you Kuro for now, how's that?" she put a hand behind her head.  "Yeah, I know it's not creative..."

The cat grinned. It wasn't creative, but the human did try. And it would work for now. She had better come up with something better later though.

Emily glanced at her watch.  "Oh boy...I'd better get home soon...Lucy will be upset if I take too much longer." she started walking the bike down the alley.  "Coming, Kuro who's not following me?" she glanced back at him, grinning.

The cat couldn't help but grin inwardly. She had spunk. With a light foot, he paced forward

Not much happened on the way back to the dorm as soon, Emily had locked her bike in the tiny garage she shared with others on her floor and was walking up the stairs.  She glanced down every once in a while to make sure Kuro 'wasn't following'.  They came to her door and she took out her keys, opening it.  Almost immediately, a tortishell cat came speeding up, meowing happily.

"Hello, Lucybelle!" Emily said, bending down to pet the cat.  "I brought home a new friend.  This is Kuro...well, that's his name for now.  Kuro, this is Lucy.  I've had her...well, for a long time."

Lucy's green eyes were narrowed on him.  She quite obviously didn't see him as a friend.

Kuro's eyes narrowed back. Seemed this would turn out to be an unwelcome visit after all. He should have stopped earlier when he had the chance. Slowly, the cat turned to leave

"Oh no, please don't go!  Lucy, that's not a very nice way to welcome someone new!" she scolded her cat.  "Don't mind her, Kuro.  She's been the only cat here for a while.  You're just...new." she closed the door, insuring he stayed in.  She knelt down, holding out her hand.  "At least stay to have a good meal and warm place to sleep for a night?"

Lucy hissed.  "You've got to be kidding me." Only the other cat heard her.

"Lucy!" Emily scolded again.

Kuro turned to Emily and gave another cat grin. Then to Lucy and smiled even wider. "A pleasure"

Lucy growled.  "Hmph. You're lucky I never argue with Emily...It's only because of her that I'm tolerating you!" she trotted over to the girl's side, brushing her head against her.  Emily smiled and pet her head. 

"That's better." she said, still holding out a hand to Kuro.

The black cat moved to the hand and placed his chin on it

Emily's smile widened and she scratched under his chin.  "So you've decided I'm not so bad, huh?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. 

Kuro looked up at her and slit his eyes

Emily stopped and stood up.  "Of course.  It makes sense that you don't completely trust me.  You've been on the street for so long...poor thing.  What you need is a good meal and a bath."

Kuro retracted his head at the second word.

"Oh come on now...You need one.  Your fur is so matted with dirt...wouldn't you like to be clean?"

Lucy sniggered at the thought of the new cat subjected to a dreaded bath.

Kuro hunched his back and turned away in a pounce

"Kuro!  Get back here!" Emily said, chasing after the cat.  "Come on, it won't be that bad..."

Not that bad. Riight. Didn't he just walk through the rain? That's clean enough!

Lucy sniggered again.  "Give up now.  Emily is incredibly stubborn and clever..."

Kuro smiled back "Hmm, she's already shown that. I wanna see just how clever."

Lucy's ears pricked up as she heard a familiar rattling.  "TREATS!" she walked over and nudged the other cat.  "Come on!  You can't say no to treats!" It was clear that the promise of these 'treats' turned Lucy into a completely different cat.

Kuro grinned. So this was her play. She already had gotten him before with the meat, but that was a gift. This was a trap.

Lucy whipped her head around as the rattling continued.  "Forget you, I'm going for treats!" she ran off.

Kuro smiled and went to follow the cat slowly. As he went past the door, he saw one of the treats lying in the middle of the floor. Looking around, he saw nothing, and gingerly went over and snapped it up. Grinning at the sweet flavor, he sat down to enjoy himself.

Looking to his right, he saw a chair with another on top. So this was how she was gonna do this eh? Alright, guess he could humour her. Not that he didn't want that sweet treat again...quickly, he leapt on top of the chair and gobbled that one up too.

While he was chewing, hands gently but firmly wrapped around him and he was lifted into the air!  Oh wait, it was just the human's arms... "Gotcha~" she said all singsong.

Kuro mewled softly. He expected this, this wasn't the first time someone did this. He'd let her have her fun, but not till she saw who was in control. With a twist, he bumped her chin with his head and spring boarded her chest with his hind legs. It took all his strength, but it was enough to let her loosen her grip and drop him.  But rather than running, Kuro walked a few feet in front of her and sat back down and looked back. Cocking his head, he meowed happily

Emily put her hands on her hips, glaring at him playfully.  "Well, you're a cheeky boy..." she walked towards him.  "And most definitely trouble."

Kuro meowed again, but moved closer to show he would do as she asked.

"I promise it won't be that bad and afterward, I'll give you some food.  Okay?  Good deal?" she walked over to one of the other rooms.  "Let me get some different clothes on and we'll get it over with for you, all right?"

"It really is that bad." Lucy said from her spot in the sun as she licked her paw.

Kuro looked at her lazily. "Probably, but she gave an attempt. Might as well humour her."

"You're cruel." she commented, rolling over on her side.  "Just know if you hurt Emily, I WILL scratch your eyes out, whether she yells at me or not." she glared at him as Emily came back out in a loose t-shirt and some pretty ratty looking lounge trousers.  "Bath time, kitty."

Emily tied her hair back in a messy ponytail and started filling the sink for Kuro's bath.

Kuro gave her an uncaring head roll. "Just hope she doesn't hurt me. I don't trust her, let alone you. And I've dealt with every animal on the street. There's not really much a house cat can do to me. Still, this "Emily" seems to be quite the interesting person. Might as well see all of her. I'll decide what to think of her later." He looked back to Emily, and stepped to her feet.

She arched an eyebrow at him.  "You're gonna cooperate?  Hmm...somehow I don't trust this sudden change..." she grinned to show she was joking and picked him up, setting him on the counter next to the sink.  Lucy was hissing softly, but only he heard. 

"Emily's no brute.  She wouldn't harm anyone!"

Kuro looked back. "Not yet, but we'll see."

Emily hummed cheerfully as she knelt down and pulled out some supplies for the bath.  A silver coloured bottle with a label on it.  Kuro couldn't read it but he saw a cat on it.  A few different...well, he wasn't quite sure what they were.  They looked unpleasant, with their long needle like pieces coming out from a thicker piece.  He'd seen much less dangerous looking ones while he was wandering around.  Humans seemed to use them on their hair.  Did she intend to use those things on his fur?!  He'd have none left!  She also took out a cloth of some sort.  At least THAT looked safe...along with another cloth that looked really soft.  "Okay, I think that's everything." she picked up kuro gently and placed him in the sink.  The water wasn't really that high...It only came up to the top of his legs.

Emily took the safe looking cloth and soaked it in the water, ringing it out and putting some of the bottled stuff on it.  "All right.  Now hold still, okay?  This won't hurt."

Regardless of the words, Kuro still tensed. His tail noticeably bristled. He eyed Emily carefully, and lowered into a slight crouch

"Hey now...Don't you gimme that look." despite her stern tone, Emily was still smiling.  "This won't hurt.  I promise.  If it does, you can scratch me and run away, okay?"

Kuro remained in his posture, but lowered his head to allow her to do what she wanted.

"There's a good boy..." she soothed, gently starting to wipe the surprisingly soft cloth over his fur.  "Look at all this mud...You poor thing." she gently put her hand under his head, lifting it so she could reach his chest.

Lucy watched him like a hawk.  ~You hurt Emily and I'll rip you to shreds.~

Kuro slit his eyes at her around Emily's hand. ~Given your stature, you couldn't catch me unless I wanted you to~

Lucy hissed.  ~Impertinent brat.~

"Come on now, you two...At least get along for one day while we help Kuro here." She gently picked up the black cat enough so she could reach his stomach.  "Just hold still, okay?  It's almost over."

Kuro returned his attention to her and softened his gaze. ~I was fine with the mud you know~ said his look

"You'll feel better when you're clean and dry." Emily replied. gently rubbing the cloth over his head and then very gingerly over his tail.  "Okay...This part won't be pleasant, but it's the only way to get the soap off.  So bear with me okay?" she turned on the faucet again and ran the now filthy cloth under it, ringing it out until it was relatively clean again.  She set it aside and gently helped Kuro move over to the faucet, getting his fur soaked.

Kuro hissed and shrank back from the water.

"Hey hey...shhh..." Emily held him gently, but firmly as she rubbed the water into his fur with the soap.  "I know...I know."

She quickly rinsed the rest of him and picked him up, almost instantly wrapping him in a softer cloth than before.  This cloth was very fluffy and warm.  "There you go...All done.  Just have to dry you off." she gently shoofed his fur with the warm cloth.

Kuro was tempted to jump out as he shook his head of water. But the cloth felt good againstt his fur and he found himself sinking a little.

"There's a good kitty..." Emily said, gently drying his fur and holding him in the cloth.  "Now, I'm going to put you down, but you need to stay in this towel, otherwise you'll catch a cold and get sick." she set him down on the counter.  "While you finish drying, I'll get you some food.  How does that sound?"

Kuro's head lifted. He moved closer to the edge and nudged her hand in approval.

Emily smiled and pet his head.  "Good boy. You stay right there." With that, she went over to the cuboards.  "Hmm...Let me see...I think I bought tuna a few days ago...And he'll need milk to help his weight..."

Lucy rolled her eyes and jumped up on the counter.  ~She's spoiling you. She did the same thing to me as a kitten.~

Kuro stared at her with a grin. ~And the difference between then and now is?"

~I wasn't a stray. She just spoiled me because I needed the extra nutrition as a kit.  She can see you're starving and in bad shape.  Just let her help you.  She knows what she'd doing.~ she licked her paw.  ~*I* don't like you, but she seems to...so count your blessings.~

Kuro turned his back. ~You know empty threats are pointless right?~

Lucy was about to answer when a jumble of different sounds started.  She seemed unfazed by it, but turned her gaze to a small box thing on the kitchen island as Emily ran over to pick it up.  ~That's Emily's connection to her human friends and family.  She calls it her phone.  It goes off every now and again.  Don't be scared.~ the mocking grin showed that Lucy wasn't saying this to be nice.

"Hello?  Oh hi, Mom...I'm doing okay." Emily balanced the 'phone' between her shoulder and her ear as she continued preparing food for Kuro.

~Ah, it's her mother.~ Lucy went back to licking her paw. 

"Oh, not much...got off work early today and I found a cat--Yes, another one.  He's a troublemaker, but still adorable.  Of course I brought him home!  He looked like he was starving--Mom, I can take care of it.  I have more than enough money.  I don't know...He doesn't seem to trust me very much...He probably won't want to stay--Mom, cats have feelings too." Emily rolled her eyes as she poured some liquid (probably the aforementioned 'milk') into a bowl.  "I've called him Kuro for now until I think of a better name...Do you have any suggestions?  He's all black with gorgeous green eyes..." she stopped talking for a moment as she put some tuna on a plate.  "Hmm..." she looked over at Kuro.  "No, doesn't suit him--Oh, you have to go, it sounds like...Yeah, I'll be home all day today.  Eight?  Sounds good.  Okay.  Love you. Buh-bye." she put down the box and walked back over with the food and milk, placing them in front of Kuro.  "There you go...Let me see if you're dry."  She pulled off the towel and stroked his fur.  "Yeah, you're good to go." she put the towel aside and smiled.  "Well, aren't you a pretty boy!"

Kuro cocked his head to the side, then flipped it away. Though the compliment was nice, he wasn't exactly the one to take it

"Still don't trust me, huh?  Well, you still get food.  Here." she pushed the bowl and plate closer.  "Eat up.  I just have to brush you and then it's all over." she picked up what Kuro could only assume was a brush and started gently running it along his fur, reaching over with her (for now) free hand and scratching Lucy under her chin.

He sniffed the food carefully. The strong smell of tuna hit him full throttle and he couldn't stop himself from eating.

"Good boy..." Emily soothed, continuing to brush him, still being very gentle.  "Eat as much as you'd like." she finished brushing and put the brush in a drawer after cleaning it.  "You look better already..." she scratched him behind his ears.

He didn't respond and just kept eating, focusing only on fillin his stomach

Emily tilted her head, looking at him worriedly.  "It must have been a while since you've eaten this much...Poor baby." she stroked his fur as he kept eating.  "Take it easy, okay?  Don't want you getting sick from eating too fast."

"Hmph, that WOULD be a tragedy." Lucy said flatly.

He smiled. "Yes because the first place I'd get sick just might be your bed prissy."

Lucy hissed at him.  "Brat."

"Lucy!  Now stop it." Emily turned her attention to her cranky cat, picking her up to look her right in the eye.  "Stop being such a crankypuss."

Lucy growled slightly.

"Lucy." Emily said warningly.

The other cat didn't look happy at all, but she sniffed and rubbed her head against Emily's chin, apparently showing she would be civil...he'd believe it when he saw it.

The black cat snickered and kept eating, twitching his tail at Lucy.

"Don't push it." Lucy growled quietly at him while Emily got up to clean out the sink.

"I said nothing." he replied, polishing off the rest of the food

"I'm not deaf, I heard you snigger."

"So? Could mean anything. Don't go throwing assumptions"

"Like there were a million other things you could have been sniggering at." Lucy rolled her eyes and licked her paw.

"There well could be," he said with a lick at his paw. "Jeez, such a fussyfangs."

Lucy glared at him before going back to cleaning as Emily came back over.

"Well, you certainly polished that off quick!" she bent down to pet his head as she picked up the bowl. "I guess you like tuna."

He meowed happily but kept his distance. He looked to Lucy with another smirk. "Just wish Ms Fussyfangs would change her tuna."

Lucy groaned, getting up to find a quieter place to clean.

"Well...I had better get started on my homework if I want to have it done before bedtime." Emily got to her feet.  "You can explore if you want, little guy.  Just scratch at the door if you want to leave, okay?" she smiled at him, shaking out one of the...what were they called?  Treats?  Out of the container in her hand and dropping it in front of him, making sure to keep enough distance that he wasn't spooked or anything.  This girl definitely knew her stuff about strays...

He moved forward slyly, slipping the treat into her mouth and chewing as he walked. He searched around the area, and made straight for a nearby bookshelf. He took a mighty leap and rested himself atop it, searching around the room to get his bearings.

The girl, Emily, went down the hall, through a door into a room he hadn't seen yet.  While the fussyfangs, Lucy, followed her in.  Sheesh, was that cat clingy...

A few minutes after they both disappeared, Kuro heard a strange mix of sounds coming from the room Emily was in. It sounded somewhat like the...phone, was it? But different. This set of sounds had a part that sounded a bit like a cat yowling, only not as loud or irritating. And over it all, he heard what sounded like Emily's voice, matching the yowling like sound, but her voice sounded better than the noise she was listening to.

He got curious and leapt down onto the couch. he padded over and got down low trying to see anything from beneath the door. With no luck, he simply sat there, twitching his tail as he debated, hearing the drabble continue on. He contemplated sating his curiosity, which quickly won out. With a stretch, he lifted a paw to the door and gave a light scratch

Emily's voice stopped, leaving only the noise again. Not even a minute later, the door opened and the noise got minimally louder, but not so much that it hurt his ears. "Oh, hello there. Decided to explore after all? Or maybe you just like my company." Emily teased lightly. Lucy glared at him from on top of a VERY comfortable looking structure by the window.

Kuro slinked his way in and looked at her. "Well look at you fussyfangs. More comfortable than a mouse in cheese heaven."

Lucy growled at him. "Don't you dare come up here. This is my spot and--"

"Lucy, stop being mean! Let Kuro explore a little." Emily scolded, turned around in her chair in front of a small wooden table with a lot of papers and bound packs of paper. Emily had one of them open and was looking at it while she made marks in another pack of paper with a long thin object that looked like it would be fun to play with.

He turned his attention away from the other feline as he made his way to the table, jumping on and watching as she made more markings on the paper. he looked at the thin object and reached a paw out, swiping as it went

"H-Hey now." Emily chuckled slightly, lifting the object before it made any more marks.

He sat back and watched it in the air. Not his fault it made a fun little plaything. Then again, anything was fair game. He kept following it as it moved in the air

Emily didn't seem annoyed though, she obliged him and moved it around to let him play with it, keeping a grip on it to make sure it didn't go flying. "At this rate, I'll never get my homework done..." despite the words, she still had a smile. Kuro started to wonder if she ever DIDN'T smile.