8531/Adventures in Cat Sitting

Adventures in Cat Sitting
Date of Scene:	03 November 2021
Location:	Level 4 - Recreation - The Roost
Synopsis:	Tim and Laura get to meet Rasputin, the tiger that Gabby is cat sitting. Talk of random things occurs.
Cast of Characters:	Gabby Kinney, Tim Drake, Laura Kinney

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Gabby Kinney has posed:
Early morning at the Roost! Gabby had sent out a text to everyone informing them that she was cat sitting, and didn't think there would be a conflict with Murder Mittens but she would keep an eye out. There's also a note that says: Also avoid wearing red shirts and capes if you can. Apparently it's a trigger for Rasputin. Sorry for the inconvenience! He'll be kept out of work areas I promise!

That's pretty much the only warning that's given though for now. The pile of pillows in the recreation room has been claimed by the cat in question: A full grown white tiger who is currently grooming himself with fastidious licks of his paws while Murder Mittens stares on from the top of her cat tree unimpressed. Gabby's in the kitchen getting together something to eat while occasionally leaning out the doorway to make sure everything is okay.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim is something less than a constant presence at the Roost as he once was. He's still local, still doing the whole Red Robin thing, but he goes out on patrol and then doesn't come back to the Roost until the next day, or sometimes even the day after that!

    It is, however, still his home. And he's not in red, thankfully; he's wearing a pair of shorts and an oversized black hoodie from some punk band's tour as he walks into the kitchen with an empty cup. How dare it be empty. The audacity. "Morning, Gabby," he says as he makes his way immediately to the coffee machine, which is still the basic Mr. Coffee model that Pheebs bought to replace the machine that was broken. He snoops good-naturedly in on what she's making for food while he gets coffee brewing, and then he glances out into the rec room. He acknowledges Murder Mittens with a nod, because they have an understanding, and then after a moment he returns to staring at the coffee brewing.

    "Gabby, is the cat you're watching a full grown white tiger?" he asks, flatly.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney pauses from her cooking of bacon, eggs, and what appears to be a mashed up pumpkin in a very large bowl. A sheepish, guilty-as-charged grin creeps over her face at the question. "I probably should have led with that part, huh?" Of course she kind of knew that would be an issue. Maybe that's why she didn't mention it. OR... Or maybe she was looking forward to the surprised faces on everyone. "I didn't think people would believe me though if I said that. I mean. I know I can be a bit over the top at times. He's well trained, though! His name's Rasputin."

Some of the eggs are scooped out of the pan and into the large bowl atop the pumpkin. "Just fixing him a morning snack as well as myself. There's still eggs and bacon if you're hungry, too," she adds quickly in the hopes it smooths things over a bit.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim folds his arms over his chest and taps his fingers against his elbow as he contemplates his reaction. It's very likely that his lack of caffeine is causing him to take longer than normal to decide how he feels about all this. Maybe that will be to Gabby's (and Rasputin's) benefit!

    "Is it... as tame as one could expect a full grown white tiger to be?" he asks, after a long moment. And then he sloooooowly peeks his head back out into the rec room, shooting a very concerned look at Murder Mittens. But then the coffee machine gurgles and he straightens back up, so he can refill his cup. "Okay."

    Yep, just okay. And since Tim is allowing himself to be agreeable this morning, he fixes himself a plate of eggs, which get a healthy topping of cheese from the fridge. Yummmm.

Laura Kinney has posed:
With all the distraction Rasputin is causing it'd be easy enough to miss X-23 slinking in. Her bare feet make next to no sound and she's hardly one for announcing herself. It's like one minute there are two people and a tiger and the next she's there.

Opening the tiki bar fridge without a care in the world.

Is she surpised that Gabby has a tiger in the Roost? Who can say. The tiger itself isn't a surprise though. It doesn't smell anything like a regular house cat and her nose always knows.

"At least she has her own room now." Because two Kinneys and a tiger would be rather too much for one Roost bedroom.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins broadly in response to Tim. Sometimes sleepy Tim was a good thing. "About as much as any trained attack animal? Really he's a good boy. Just likes throwing his weight around sometimes," she assures as another scoop of eggs is squished into the pumpkin mess. The dish is hefted into her grasp then to turn and carry it back to where he's lounging. "Okay, nummy time Rasputin! The meat is later so no complaining." A pause and she adds, "Hi Laura. Are you drinking?" There's a hint of surprise to that. It's not as if it could affect her after all.

Tim Drake has posed:
    No more black coffee in Tim's life. Sure, it's like... the barest suggestion of milk and sugar added in, but hey, it's something! And then there's the cheese melting atop of the plate of eggs he'd nabbed from Gabby's breakfast preparations. Though he's still Tim enough that he stands at the counter to eat it.

    His mug of coffee does not leave his hand once as he moves eggs via fork to his mouth.

    "Hey Laura," he says, just before he takes a slurping sip of coffee. Which is hot, probably scalding his mouth, but if anyone's tongue has adapted to boiling liquid it's Tim. He doesn't even seem to notice. "I'll keep Murder Mittens in my apartment while he's here, just to be safe."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"It's unlikely a big cat would try eat a house cat," Laura says earnestly. "The meat from a predator is stringy and makes for poor eating. It's much more likely to accidentally kill Murder Mittens while 'playing'." She's probably trying to be helpful with this information.

"I need to mix some cocktails for an experiment I'm working on." She picks out a few bottles and a cocktail shaker. "It's been a while since I last trained myself to pick out beverages which have been dosed with drugs or poisons."

Which means her experiment is probably going to involve mixing up some very deadly drinks. "You're both welcome to join me if you like. I don't intend to make anything that'd prove fatal."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney settles the food down, then backs away from Rasputin while dusting her hands off on her sides. The tiger chuffs a single time before rolling forward with an easy gait to chomp down, noisily, on the food. There's a little 'mmrmrmrmrmrmr' rumble that comes from him while he eats. Its only little in that he could make much louder noises if he wanted.

With that settled Gabby glances back to Tim nodding in understanding, "He hasn't eaten any of the imps that usually are around him, but it might not hurt since cats can be territorial," she agrees easily enough. At least until Laura offers up her own explanation.

And here Gabby stares at her sister. A single, long look, before she glances to Tim with a helpless shrug. Sure she would sometimes practice things too but poisonings weren't her thing. "I think I'm just gonna grab some bacon and eggs, thanks. Oh, you should stop by the school and chat with Logan sometime. I think he'd like to get to know you better."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim continues to work through his standing breakfast with all the nonchalance of someone who lives with a really diverse set of teenaged and young adult superheroes. Eventually, he's just learned to roll with the punches. "That's a good point," he acknowledges. "And it's not like Murder Mittens would ever back down from a challenge."

    And then with that same good-natured nonchalance, Tim averts his eyes as Laura starts pulling out the alcohol. What alcohol? Alcohol that could be easily accessed by the aforementioned teenaged superheroes who live here? Tim has no knowledge of such things. Also he trusts his team, which is why he turns a blind eye.

    "I'm neck deep in research at the moment, but have fun. And let me know if you want me to keep your vitals monitored while I'm at my computer in case anything goes wrong." Roll with the punches but also set up reasonable protections! That's Tim's way. He glances back up when Gabby mentions the school and Logan, and it seems an opportune moment for him to slip into the rec room to scoop Murder Mittens up (who doesn't protest, wonder of wonders) and cart the ginger cat off. It's only a brief disappearance, though, as he just sets the cat down in the elevator and sends him on his way.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney gives Tim a look when he suggests something might go wrong with her plan. Much in the same way Gabby just gave her a look. "If I can't accurately dose a drink with a toxin it'll be time for me to retire from Outsiders operations."

She turns back to Gabby. "I will try. Although with my current schedule it's quite tricky. Today is one of the few days when I don't have to check a remote dead drop for intel."

It's probably not a great shock that she's adept at mixing up drinks. The Facility no doubt drilled mixology into her alongside the best poisons for each particular kind of beverage. For those operations where the client wanted to send a very specific message.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney shakes her head a little bit at that. "Just because you don't have ALL the skills in all the areas doesn't mean you're not useful, you know. I'm not super skilled at lock picking but I'm learning. Plus," she adds thoughtfully, "I haven't really had need to use it yet. Just in case though," she reasons while popping a strip of bacon into her mouth.

Tim's departure with Murder Mittens is given a wide berth in case the cat decided parkour was a fun game today. Thankfully that doesn't happen. "Though I guess knowledge of toxins is important. I'd probably be more worried one of the Outsiders got some though. I dunno." A single nod is given as she considers things herself, chewing slowly on that bite of bacon while plucking up another peice just to hold. "I guess I ought to decide what I'm going to be doing soon. Logan's doing this sponsorship of me for the X-Men... but they've let me sit there so many years I'm not sure anymore? Most of my teammates have moved on."

Tim Drake has posed:
    "If some day all you can do is knit really nice hats, Laura, you're still welcome on the team," Tim says, and he nods at what Gabby says, too. "None of us can do everything. It's why we work together, so we cover each other's backs, make up for each other's deficits, and protect one another." Somehow he manages to say all that with Murder Mittens in his arms, and the cat just *tolerates* it. It's definitely not an enjoyment thing, because the cat is obviously not pleased, but they've... reached some kind of accord.

    And then the cat is free to wreck Tim's apartment, and Tim himself is back at the counter to finish his breakfast. He cuts off a bite of eggs with the side of his fork, but then he pauses. "You're welcome to still maintain your room here even if you join another team. It's not like we don't have the room! And I want you all to have somewhere you can feel safe to come back to, any time."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I can't knit a terrible hat. Or any kind of hat for that matter," Laura muses. "But I can kill someone with a knitting needle. Does that count?"

She nods in agreement when Tim says Gabby can stay even if she joins the X-men. "I don't know if they'll restrict your ability to associate with other teams. But if they do... simply refrain from telling them. What they don't know won't hurt them." It's not like the Outsiders advertise themselves or their operations.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins at the pair only to shake her head. "More meant I wasn't sure where I want to spend my time focusing on. Plus I don't know if I'm going to do college or not. I mean. I guess it's something I need to actually think about now." Another chomp is given to the bacon only for a rolling shrug to come. "So far I feel more useful here in Gotham, but I know you guys got a thing about powered sorts. Kind of. I don't plan on vanishing though."

As for the teams... another grin comes over her. "Well I've not told them for this long so nothing will change there. I think Logan kind of knows, though. He's got the family nose after all." she taps her own only to shrug. "The one thing I don't have."

Tipping her head toward Tim she asks, "Speaking of splitting time places... Where have you been so much lately? Got a side gig?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    After a second or two of thought, Tim nods. "Yeah. It counts." He leans an elbow on the counter and tucks his chin into his cupped palm. "Powered folk are everywhere, even in Gotham. Our name might be the Outsiders but if you want to live in Gotham then you belong here just as much as anyone else. The only real issue is the... well, the whole concept of escalation. That's part of the reason why the Outsiders operate on the down-low. That, and it means we don't have to suffer under the oversight of other groups."

    At this, he makes a face. "I'm not saying we're above the law... but we do operate outside of it."

    And then at Laura's suggestion to tell the X-Men nothing, Tim fires two finger-guns at her with a grin. "What they don't know won't hurt them!" Surely that won't come back to bite him in the ass.

    He takes a sip of his coffee, and then his mug stays there as he mumbles an answer to Gabby's last question into it, so it's perfectly unintelligible.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"If you want to experience a 'normal' life at college then you should try it Gabby," Laura suggests with a shrug. "It wasn't an option for many of us. And the more you fight crime the harder it'll be to actually go back and try it."

She sniffs the air, tilts her head at Tim, and shrugs.

"I'm sure he's just dealing with some personal matters."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances between the two. It's the lack of response from Tim and the sniffing of air from Laura that has her attention most piqued. A slow grin spreads over her as she puts a few things together. "Tim! You're not leading a secret triple life are you? Galvanting around being a spy or something? Shacking up with models?" She pauses, considering that before adding, "Well I guess you could do that anyway given who you are, but I don't think that's something you WOULD do so it'd have to be someone way more interesting than a model." Tapping her chin with a single finger she lets out a sigh. "I don't want a 'normal' life. Everyone keeps trying to shoehorn me into it. But I do realize there's an education option there for me."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The brief thousand-yard stare Tim affects when Laura sniffs at the air probably tells both Kinneys exactly what's up. He lowers his mug to the countertop and stares down into it, as if there in the depths of blessed caffeine a solution to all his problems will be found.

    Turns out, though, that coffee has not yet gained sentience. So Tim shakes his head at Gabby. "No," he says. "No spying, or shacking up with--" He chokes down a laugh, there. "That's just what the media says! I don't even know that girl!"

    For a while there Tim was 'dating' a model from Metropolis, according to gossip blogs and some of the less... on the up-and-up news sites. Because to them, the fact that Tim had actually never met her doesn't matter.

    He pokes at a last lone little curd of egg on his plate. "I... uh." He chews on the inside of his cheek. Frowns. Stares into his coffee some more. "Ihaveaboyfriend anyway, if you want to try the college thing out, I can get you into Gotham U pretty easy."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney looks blandly indifferent as she mixes up the first of her planned cocktails. "I really don't see what the big deal is," she points out. "People have sex all the time. And it's next to impossible to hide from individuals with enhanced senses anyway.."

She glances back at Gabby. "I was only pointing out that it's easier to try a normal life now than it will be later. If you don't really /want/ it don't do it."

"Learning is always of value though. College courses will broaden your skillset. And spending time around normal people will help with covert operations."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Too late. Those fateful words have been rattled off causing Gabby to respond as only an excited Gabby can: She clutches her hands to her face with a shock-gasp of excitement as her voice rises into a squeal. "OHMYGOD! Tim!" Without warning she abandons her bacon to instead grab Tim up in a hug because that's what you do when you're excited, isn't it? "Congrats! Who is it!? Oh oh is it that cute guy from that one mission that you were hanging out with or or OOOH is it someone I don't know?" There's a pause as she regards him with a stern gaze. "Just don't be Namor okay he's way too old for you. I mean I know he's got the abs going on but ..." Catch and release hug done she adds, "If I'd known you were interested I coulda introduced you to Julio! He's such a sweetie!"

Tim Drake has posed:
    There's something reassuring about Laura's non-reaction. Tim tends to deadpan his way through life a lot but Laura manages to take it to another level, and he both respects and admires her for it. Though he does stammer through what ends up being a wordless rebuttal when she uses the word 'sex'. Eventually he gets out: "We're dating!" As if that implies something different.

    But then he's got an armful of Gabby, and Tim laughs as he wraps his arms back around her in turn. "The mission on the Delphine Princess? Yeah, that was him--we were just friends then. Uh... well, we started out as enemies, but you know. Superhero community. Things change!" He snorts, and then gives her another squeeze. "It's *not* Namor. His name is Lonnie."

    He's reassured by Gabby's enthusiasm, too, and Tim looks between the both of them. "It's been two months. I'm... working my way up to telling people, still. But the rest of the team will know soon." He doesn't mention the high number of Bats who don't know yet, but it's a lot easier to focus on the Outsiders in this situation. "But seriously--there's something about the college experience that even I enjoyed. You don't have to take it seriously. If you don't want to declare a major, you can just take a bunch of gen-ed courses. Same goes to you, Laura, seriously. Continuing education is important!"

    Don't worry, he's not going to start demanding people take CE courses yearly or something ridiculous like that.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney adds a few drops of poison, then swirls the drink around and sniffs it. "Almost undetectable." There's a hint of satisfaction in her voice. Although it's hard to say if that's because it's almost undetectable or because she can actually pick it out.

She blinks a few times at Tim. "Well when the sex does start just be careful?"

"I haven't got any pressing need for college education. I am more than capable of teaching myself anything I need to learn."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Not *everyone* has sex all the time. I don't," Gabby points out even as she keeps grinning in that same excited way. Odd topic change but she was trying to back Tim up some! "In fact the most I ever did with Julian was hold hands and kiss, and that was fine. Though everyone thought he was taking advantage of me cuz he was older." A small shrug comes dismissing that. She knew the truth after all! Releasing poor Tim again she does give him a nod of understanding. "Oh, I get it. I mean we're already kind of doing things that are semi-legal to begin with, just for the right reason, while some others might be for another reason. I mean I'm friends with Catman!" A thumb jerks over her shoulder to the tiger that was once again lounging on the pillows. "That's actually who owns Rasputin. He needed to get away for awhile to do some thinking and trusted me to be the most responsible with him. So. Uh." Here she pauses, looking between the pair. "But you both already know I'm friends with him. That's who's been teaching me lockpicking and other things." A pause. "For good reasons." Pause. "Really."

Tim Drake has posed:
    "Yeah, but sometimes you get a professor who is really enthusiastic about their work--I had to take a humanities course and it was taught by a graduate student whose perspective on Henri Matisse's work really convinced me to reconsider the value of modern art." Tim is glad for the change of topic, because... ahem. He goes for a coffee refill. "If you don't want to, no pressure. Or if there are other educational opportunities you want to pursue, I'll support you in that instead. Maybe you want to take a knitting class," he says, and shoots a wry smile in Laura's direction.

    Tiny splash of milk, the barest sprinkle of sugar. Yes. Good. Tim doesn't even need to taste it to make sure it's the correct ratio. At the mention of Catman, Tim's eyes slide back over to Rasputin. The dots connect, in his head. "...that makes sense," is all he says regarding the reveal of the tiger's owner. Given he's dating an ex(?)-villain, it's not like he can really judge who Gabby's hanging out with.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I never said all the time," Laura points out. "Just whenever they want to. Providing they have taken suitable precautions and both consent to it." She starts working on the next drink. "You can also learn lock picking here you know. Not that locks are really the primary security measure anymore. Most public places use keycards or RFID fobs. Or more exotic security measures like biometric scanners."

"I don't understand modern art. Abstract scrawling and sculptures made from dead things. Like the pickled shark."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"High security areas, yeah, but usually down by the docks or warehouses it's still old locks. Even if they have something new on it the old infrastructure is in place and that's mostly what we've been hitting." Gabby pauses before adding, "Basics first is what he said then we'd get into more. Or I could ask you guys, yeah, but I think he likes getting to teach me something. It makes him happy." With that little insight into Catman given she snags another piece of bacon off the plate she'd already cooked up, and turns to make herself a coffee, too.

"I think I'd like to take some art courses actually. I kind of like fashion design. And just colors in general. Even the fake colors we can't actually see like Magenta." Tilting her head toward Tim she adds, "Yeah, amusingly enough Rasputin is the only cat he has. Probably a good thing though," she reasons. "He's really popular with the local strays."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim stares up at the ceiling for a long moment before he takes in a deep breath. "I feel awkward making this announcement but if anyone in the team needs discreet access to... birth control or sexual health counseling, I absolutely have an agreement with Dr. Thompkins' clinic and will make sure you get it." He needs to take a steadying sip of coffee after that. "You don't have to tell me about it. You can go through the computer, even, to set up an appointment, we have a direct line. It's none of my business but if anyone needs to talk about anything like that, I am here to support you all."

    And with that moment of serious business face over, Tim sags a little bit. "There's a lot of modern art that I don't get but I've learned to acknowledge that sometimes, it's just not meant for *me* to get. But anyway--let's get you into some art courses. Maybe that grad student is still in residence...."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I am sure the school Gabby attends covers such matters in class," Laura notes with a shrug. "As for myself I am more than capable of taking care of my own needs in a responsible manner." It's probably best not to think too deeply about the sort of people X-23 considers suitable for dating. It's probably a system based largely around sniffing.

"If anyone can claim to be making modern art then what is the point of it?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney lifts her eyebrows a bit, and then clears her throat. "Actually one of our older brothers had that chat with me, then Thomas--Catman. And then his succubus girlfriend... Actually that was just WEIRD and I'd rather forget it." A small shiver runs over her at the very thought, but she flashes a grin again. "It's the freedom to create and express yourself! Speaking of expressing themselves I better get Rasputin out of the open before he starts trying to mark territory on the couch."

Tim Drake has posed:
    It takes only a couple of moments for Tim to wash up his dirty dishes in the sink, as well as some of Gabby's--she let him eat some of the eggs she made, after all--and then Tim nods, over his shoulder. "It can't hurt to have extra resources," is all he says as he dries his hands, and then he takes up his coffee. "I'd say be careful, but..." He looks over at Laura. "You know what you're doing."

    And then Tim is excusing himself, to get back to his computer. Also probably to check on Mr. Murder Mittens, who may have started destroying things in his apartment.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Yes. Yes I do," Laura agrees. "I also know most of what everyone else is doing." She taps the side of her nose.

"In the interest of safety I think I should finish my experiment in my room. It'll reduce the chance of any stray poison getting on a surface someone without a healing ability could come in contact with..."

This was probably something she should have considered before making two dangerous drinks. Lets just hope she started with the least deadly and was working her way up...