13995/Is This Goldilocks Or Red-Riding Hood

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Is This Goldilocks Or Red-Riding Hood
Date of Scene: 28 January 2023
Location: Maria's Homeless Squat
Synopsis: Maria comes back to her squat to find Alderic has found it and eaten her food. Thankfully she doesn't get made into a second meal!
Cast of Characters: Maria King, Alderic




Maria King has posed:
As the sun goes down, the temperature starts to plummet with it. Lacking a phone or internet connection of any sort, it is difficult for Maria King to know what the weather holds. Word will get out on the streets when bad storms are coming, or big freezes. But the regular variations tend to be unknown.

And tonight seems like it is going to be a cold one. Maria looks at her meager supply of wood she has for the fire. An old frying pan is sitting nearby, waiting to be cleaned of the grease from a small cut of beef she'd gotten from a butcher who was going to throw the meat out after it had reached a point he wouldn't sell it. It wasn't much, but it had briefly quieted the girl's stomach. And the scent of it was a nice addition to the small interior room of the collapsing building that comprised of her squat.

Pulling off the blanket she is draped with for warmth, Maria gets on her jacket, and picks up a cloth sling she uses to carry back wood. She looks around the little room. The fire is burning low, down to coals. It should be ok to leave it as it is, especially with a metal trash can lid covering it to make sure no sparks pop out while she's gone. Her plastic water containers are near to full. Her food supply is woefully low. Some old burnt bread from a dumpster behind a bakery, a quarter-full bag of jerky someone had tossed in a trash can in front of her that she'd quickly retrieved. She'd leave those for when she returned.

The petite teen moved over to the little tunnel through the rubble that leads out. Crawling on her hands and knees to get out, she pushes aside the old metal filing cabinet, tipped on its side and without drawers, which she conceals the hole in the bottom of the wall with. Replacing it carefully, she peeks outside of the building, before slipping off down the alleyway in search of pallets of wood or other discards she can garner something to burn from.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic had been prowling around New York City, after having paid a visit to his friend in uptown Manhattan. It's been years since he was in the city, and he went exploring the alleys and abandoned buildings - anything that kept him generally out of sight. He followed curious scents to their source most often, and he caught one curious scent just shortly after Maria had left. Meat, near a fire. That meant food! Alderic sniffed his way to the hole in the wall, and rumbled at the size of it. He wasn't a petite teen girl - he was much larger.

    Still, he was a feline, and one of their special powers was squeezing into places they don't belong. It took a few minutes, scrabbling with claws against concrete, for Alderic to pull himself through the small hole that led to Maria's refuge. He sniffed around, getting her scent all over the place, along with fire and ash and a few other curious scents. Finally, he found the bag of jerky and, quite rudely, tore into it. It didn't take him long to finish it, there wasn't much left, and he is, again, a very big feline.

    He doesn't have any precognition though, and before he could get back out again, he heard someone approaching the hole in the wall. Swiftly and silently, the cougar man conceals himself behind one of the desks, hunkering down behind it and peeking his head around the corner, just barely visible. He watches the entrance expectantly, as though anticipating one of his old enemies to come slinking through it to start a fight.

Maria King has posed:
The metal filing cabinet doesn't make much sound as Maria slides it out of the way, having put down some cloth beneath it to help avoid noise that might draw attention. But it's still a noise that stands out well enough to the feline ears.

Even if it wasn't, the teen's soft grunts would be as she pushes the bundle of wood ahead of her. Push, crawl forward, push, crawl forward. It doesn't take long but it's enough exertion, on top of lugging the wood back to the building in the first place, that the brunette isn't all that cold as she finally crawls back out of the hole near the ground. She glances back at the opening and mutters aloud to herself, "I should probably hang something dark over it in here too, make sure no firelight makes it where it might get seen around the cabinet. Well, something for tomorrow. I wonder if Father Jasper might have any cloth he'd let me have."

The girl is only around five feet tall, and as she pulls off the jacket, revealing a green hoodie, she's got a slender build at that. In baggy enough clothing to hide the too-small waist and the eighteen year old's curves, one could mistake her for younger than she is. Especially with her very delicately featured face.

Maria hefts the firewood and lugs it over to her tiny pile that she had left, and begins transferring the new wood into the pile. She pulls off the lid and sets it aside, then adds three wooden two by fours to the fire. The girl gets down on her knees, crouching down to the fire and blowing gently on the coals. She's skilled at rekindling it, and soon one board is starting to catch, while the other two will need to dry out a bit more.

She hasn't yet noticed the torn apart bag, or the figure hiding behind the desk. Though she's between Aldric and the way out.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic watches, silently, as Maria makes her way inside and starts getting settled in, putting her wood into the pile and adding to the fire. Once it's going again, and Alderic sees no one else is coming through the hole. He stays hunched behind that desk for a time, just watching her quietly while she gets settled. She hasn't noticed the bag yet, but Alderic has noticed she's between him and the door. He's not going to be able to escape without her noticing, but since she's clearly not an enemy...

    "Rraow..." It's a quiet, raspy sound that the cougar man makes. It's not meant to alarm or threaten, but to alart. An indication that hey, there's someone else here. He waits to see her reaction, which might not be a particularly positive one. He waits for her to notice him, though, before the feline man slowly slinks his way out from behind the desk. He seems to be taking care that his movements are slow and intentional, revealing himself to her on purpose, and once he's out from behind the desk he just... settles into a crouch, on his hands and feet, watching her. "Rraow," he repeats, a little louder this time.

Maria King has posed:
Maria King turns and picks up the metal pan that she uses as a washbasin, setting it over on a metal grill she places over the fire. She adds some water to it and is just setting the water jug back to the side when that animal sound comes from behind the desk.

The girl gives a little jump in surprise, eyes flitting over to the location it seemed to come from. She sees the cat ears and the outline of the head as he slowly slinks out from behind the desk. Caution in slow movements to not startle her also kind of look like stalking behavior, particularly in the flickering light of the barely burning fire.

The petite girl tenses, eyes going to the wood not too far away. A few feet length of board about the nearest thing to a weapon at hand. The pretty, dark eyes flit back to the feline, seeing how it settles down into a crouch. Which could be relaxing or could be getting ready to jump on her.

"I'm really not very good eating. Not much meat on me," she says, her voice sounding steadier than the little tremble in her slender limbs would suggest she feels. "I... I've got some jerky though," she says, and looks over to see the torn open, empty bag of jerky. "Or, you had some jerky, already," she mumbles. She glances to the tunnel out, knowing there's no way she could even get all of her body inside before the cougar could be on her. "Good... good kitty?" she says.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic watches her from where he's parked himself, his tail twitching and swishing side to side on occasion. He doesn't make any sudden movements, doesn't lunge at her. Half the time he's not even looking at her, instead turning his head this way and that to look around the open space with curiosity, as though he could hear sounds that she couldn't - which is probably true. It's hard to tell if it's the 'jerky' or the 'good kitty' that makes his ears perk up, both of them seem to get the same reaction from the cougar man.

    He's definitely a man, at least in shape, rather than an animal. He certainly has all the animalistic features, though. He licks over his maw briefly, and the cougar moves over towards the empty package that the jerky was in. He sniffs at it curiously a moment, then looks back to her. "Raowrr?" Then it's her he's 'stalking' towards, slinking in a graceful feline nature towards the petite teen. Perhaps she might expect him to pounce on her, though if she has an extra sense that warns her of danger, it doesn't come. Instead, if he can get close enough, Alderic leans in close to sniff at her hand, and then his raspy tongue licks at her fingers a couple of times. Maybe he is a good kitty, after all.

Maria King has posed:
Though she's spent time working in a veterinary clinic, and even of late has helped at one nearby, what she learned didn't really extend to truly wild animals. Maria is wondering whether she should just stay quiet and hope the cougar departs, or whether to try to make herself big to discourage attack.

Before she's come to a conclusion though, the cougar is moving closer to her. The unusual shape is starting to get noticed, though between the inconstant light of the still growing fire and the adrenaline and racing of her heart, it's slow settling in.

A little shiver runs through Maria's body, whether at the lick, or out of concern it will be followed up by a bite. Just getting a taste before the meal? But then the lick repeats without any gnawing or biting. "G-g-good kitty," she repeats again, swallowing and then very slowly moving her fingers to lightly touch the cougar's muzzle. If there's no negative reaction, she gently rubs and scritches there, hoping for a positive reaction.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic doesn't bite at her, or snarl, or hiss. His breath is hot against her hand, a little damp, but his fur is soft as her fingers brush against it. The gentle rub and scritch earns a deep, rumbling purr from the cougar man. His chin tilts up and his eyes close, directing that scritching to under his jawline. Without pulling his head away from her touch he repositions himself a little, settling into a crouch in front of her. He tilts his head to nuzzle the side of his face against her palm. One eye opens to look up at her face, and he licks at her hand and wrist again - more firmly this time, but not so hard it hurts.

    "Rraow!" He makes the sound a little louder this time, perhaps excited to have met a new friend! His tail twitches a bit towards it's darkened tip, and he continues to purr, the warm and loud sound filling the air. While the appearance of him manages to sink its way into Maria's adrenaline-addled mind, she might also notice that the cougar man has a collar. Polished metal sits around his neck, with no clasp or seams. There's only a plate on the side, engraved with "Subject PCON-04" and his name, "Alderic".

Maria King has posed:
As the gentle scritching and petting seems obviously appreciated, the fright begins to slowly drain away from Maria a little at a time. The tilting of his head to draw her fingers to scratch along his throat, the wonderful-sounding deep purr. The eyes closing in a way a predator about to strike definitely would not. Each bit of feedback relaxes the petite teen. Before long the animal lover in the girl is taking over fully, the petting turning more energetic. The fingers stroking through the fur which is delightfully soft and clean.

The lick to her palm and wrist draw a warm little giggle from Maria. "You... are just about the most amazing thing," she murmurs softly. She cautiously leans forward, and if the cougar man is behaving the same, the girl gently rubs her face against his muzzle and the side of his face.

That's when her fingers encounter the collar and she tilts her head to be able to see it better. "Alderic," she says softly. There's a little empathic, worried look at the other lettering. "Subject. Did you escape from a lab somewhere?" she whispers, looking at the cougar more closely. The fire is gradually growing, but the light is still flickering and inconstant, not letting her get the best look at the bipedal aspects, yet she can tell this isn't a normal cat, even if his actions are still very feline.

"Poor thing, you must be as hungry as I am," she says, leaning in to nuzzle her face against his fur again. "I have some bread, it's a little overcooked, and, I don't know if it'll be all that nourishing for you. But if your belly is empty it'll help," she says, but doesn't reach for the bag the baker threw out yet.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic only rumbles louder when the petting becomes more energetic, and when Maria leans in to nuzzle against his cheek, Alderic returns it full-force, almost bowling the girl over. He's incredibly warm, and his fur is almost luxuriously soft. He's quite clean - a lot more than one would expect of a feline living on the streets. He has the faint scent of floral shampoo about him, a suggestion that perhaps he has people who look out for him.

    It would seem Alderic understands English well enough, even if he can't speak it himself. The questions get answers - a nod of his head for the first, and a shake for the second. He ate all her jerky, of course, and bread doesn't interest a predator like him. He did escape a lab, that much is obvious, but where and when and how are as much a mystery as the feline himself. Alderic nuzzles against her again, firmly pressing his head up against her, practically knocking her over again. He's certainly strong, even for a cougar. She would be able to feel the muscle beneath that fur, should her hands pet along his shoulders or back.

Maria King has posed:
Maria King the first head movement Maria seems to write off a coincidence. The second, the shake, causes her eyes to widen greatly. "Do you understand me?" she asks Alderic, her hands moving to both sides of his neck, rubbing through the fur there and then up behind his ears.

The next forceful nuzzle actually does knock her over, the girl being outweighed by more than three to one. She laughs though as she falls over, landing on her back on the blankets that seem to make up her bedding. There's some rolled up clothing serving as a pillow there with the loose blankets.

She lets out a giggle though at the forceful nuzzle, reaching up to keep running her fingers over the cougar's throat and head and then down to his shoulders. "You smell nice," she says. "Better than I do, probably. It's been a few days... ok a lot of days, since I got my things into a laundromat. Though I try to brush them out and wash them here best as I can. It's tougher this time of year when it's cold," she tells him.

"No one knows about my place here. Or, well ok that's not quite true. Very few know about it, and I don't know that any of them are even around the area. Except for a woman I know. She's a veterinarian. Do you know what one of those is? She runs an animal hospital. If there's anything wrong I could get her to take a look. She's also... um, discrete." Not having turned anyone in when Maria brought her to treat not an animal, but The Punisher.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic nods his head when she asks if he understands her. Though the scritching behind his ears makes him purr up a storm, and his eyes close again as he lifts his head to press against her hands. He's panting softly - and his breath is not as nice as the rest of him smells. It would seem whoever takes care of him hasn't gotten around to teaching him about mouthwash yet.

    When Maria tumbles onto the bed from Alderic's nuzzling, the cougar man doesn't let up. He positions himself leaning over her, nuzzling down against her face and neck and shoulders. He starts licking at her, his rough tongue dragging against her face a few times, though it's easy enough to get him to stop. His purring continues unabated, the deep thrumming rising and falling with his breaths.

    When she starts to talk about where she lives, he settles into a crouch again and peers down at her with a curious tilt of his head. His head shakes when she asks if he knows what a vet is, and the explanation doesn't quite get him any more information! He only knows so many things, after all, he's only been at a human level of intelligence for a few years now, and several of those years were still spent living as a wild cat!

    He seems to understand her about the cold, though, and after a moment the big feline man crawls over her, to the side of her opposite the fire. With a heavy thump he flops down onto his side, twisting and wriggling about until he can get his arms about her. Maria would find herself pulled against the big, warm feline's torso, hugged against him by a firm embrace. He nuzzles in against her neck again, purring deeply, licking a few times up the back of her neck and head, making a mess of her hair. It seems Alderic is plenty willing to help her keep warm, at least for as long as he's around New York!

Maria King has posed:
There are people who just don't get animals, and then there are people who watch the video of the man sleeping with the two cheetahs, hearing their rumbling purrs and just wishing they could experience that. Maria is decidedly the latter.

So the nuzzling feline head and the purr seemingly on steroids that is so deep and even so much more pleasing than that of a housecat just thrill the teenaged girl. She nuzzles back and ruffles her fingers through his fur all along his head and the back of his throat and then down along the broad, muscular shoulders and back.

The feline body slides across her and curls up along the other side from the fire. The Dreaded Side as Maria thinks of it, the side that is always a bit colder than the other, until she's been in her blankets long enough for them all to trap in enough body heat.

The warm body pressing against her from that side draws a soft, pleased sigh from the petite girl. She reaches over, the firewood pile right beside the bedding so she can reach it with just an arm exposed to the cold when she's covered. She adds two more boards and then finds herself being pulled into the big warm embrace, snuggled against the warm furry torso. She lets out a happy sigh, closing her eyes and tilting her head. It exposes her throat, which might speak instinctually to his feline instincts, something another cat would only do with one it trusted. The girl gives warm shivers at the warm, slightly sandpapery tongue moving first over her throat and then up into her hair. She giggles at that, leaning her head into the affectionate cleaning as she gently slides her arm around the warm body, then draws the blankets up for more warmth.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic, with those blankets around himself and Maria, is practically a furnace compared to if she were cuddled against another human. His rumbling purr is a soothing vibration pressed against her, and the strength of his arms is a comforting security Maria has probably been missing the nights she's here alone. Alderic continues to 'groom' her, interspersed with nuzzling his face against her neck and shoulder. Eventually he begins to settle down, cozily snuggled up with the petite teen as the pair of them drift off to sleep. Eventually, the fire dies down, sinking to embers, but the warmth of the cougar man's body practically curled up around Maria is enough that she likely won't even notice the fire's gone out.