It's a Beautiful Day in the Nexus, and You are a Horrible Coyote: Part 1

[becarefulwhatyouwish]

Perhaps you're browsing the open market, easing through a crowd of strangers of all shapes and sizes and colors, looking for a shiny new trinket or vital supplies to bring home. Perhaps you're taking a stroll through the park near the Plaza, following the walking path around the pond, enjoying the quiet sounds of nature or carrying a pocketful of bread crumbs for the turtleducks. Perhaps you're just after a cup of coffee and you don't plan to stay, or you're looking for work to keep busy, avoiding some task you really don't want to do. Whatever the case, everyone in the Nexus is here for a reason. For a purpose. Everyone is looking for something, whether it's a physical object, a friend, or maybe simple peace of mind.

Wherever you are, you're not alone.

You won't have seen him before he speaks, nor heard his approach. But there he is, as if he has come from nowhere. Perhaps he has. Coyote's suit is immaculately pressed, a pleasant smile pulling his lips back from his teeth. Wherever you are, so is he, looking to you in greeting.

"Hello, friend!" he says, ears perked forward attentively, his furred hands clasped in front of himself. "A question, if I may. What's the one thing you desire most right at this exact moment?"



[OOC: Please READ BEFORE REPLYING! This is part one of a mod-sanctioned event in which your character will have a wish temporarily granted. However, rather than granting the spirit of the wish as intended, Coyote will twist the wording into something your character finds genuinely distressing a la The Monkey's Paw. Please message me to arrange consequences for your character and (if needed) to set boundaries! While your character will not have fun, participating players absolutely should. For those who want to participate but don't want their character in distress, stay tuned for part two. You're also welcome to tag into threads after Coyote has worked his magic and left, though please ask the target player first.]

Comments

[tieflingtarot]

Oh well he's familiar!

'Aziraphael! Oh thank fuck, I was beginning to think there were nothing but strangers around-' Unless the angel happened to speak Cat? Well all he'd know is this cat was very noisy as it came trotting over near immediately, wobbly and uncertain as a newborn colt as it was.

[sohoangel]

Unfortunately, Aziraphale's 'Cat' is even worse than his French, so all he hears is a lot of frantic meowing. But as an angel he can at least sense if the cat is hurt or ill, neither of which appears to be the case. Just very wobbly on his feet. How curious!

"There we are," he says soothingly, offering the cat a hand to sniff and stroking him gently behind the ears if he's amenable. "My, aren't you a pretty one! What interesting markings you have, too..." Nine red spots, it looks like. "Are you hungry, little one? I know I get a tad unsteady when I'm feeling peckish. What would you say to a bit of fish, hmm? Or some chicken?"

[tieflingtarot]

Oh well, it was worth a shot. Won't stop Molly from chattering which just sounds like all manner of meows and chirps. At least he doesn't sound injured. Just noisy, like any cat who would positively wither away without attention.

That much hasn't changed.

And he was absolutely here for the praise, sniffing at the angel's offered hand before he was all too happy to press his head into those scritching fingers, fuzzy butt hitting the sidewalk near immediately, tail curling and whipping in an utterly content way because holy hell that felt amazing-

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale is very good at giving pettings, as a certain redheaded demon (and sometimes snake) would be quick to declare. He smiles at the cat and continues rubbing him behind his ears. "That's a good kitty. I wish I knew if you had an owner or were a stray. I'd hate to get you even more lost."

It has not occurred to him yet that this friendly cat may be someone transformed, but he sees no reason not to talk to him as if he might understand. It's the polite thing to do.

[tieflingtarot]

Molly hasn't sorted how to explain things to Aziraphale yet. So for now he's just going to bask in that truly expert attention, purring up a storm as he just swayed into the angel's hand, tail swishing behind him, eyes partly shut in the absolute picture of feline bliss.

Yeah, this was okay. He's good with this.

[sohoangel]

It's simply adorable how much this cat is enjoying the attention, and Aziraphale would be content to pet him for quite a bit longer, preferably while sitting in a chair or on another comfortable surface. Crouching on cobblestone is not great for one's knees, angelic or otherwise, and Aziraphale does not want to be an impediment to other pedestrians.

He looks around once more to see if anybody is frantically searching for a lost cat. Finding none, he sighs and rubs the cat underneath his chin. He's not about to leave the poor thing to fend for itself! Trusting (perhaps naively) that the cat will follow him, he straightens up and takes a few steps in the direction of the bakery.

"This way, my dear. We'll get a bit of food in both of us and sort everything out."

[tieflingtarot]

If Aziraphale voiced his opinion, well Molly could agree that somewhere comfy trumped cobblestone every time. He sways into the rub under his chin, eyes squinching with feline delight before he had to catch himself and straighten up once again, blinking owlishly.

At least he seemed a bit steadier when he started trotting after the angel when he moved, a meow let out in answer to the plan laid out.

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale looks relieved to see the cat more steady on his feet this time around. He walks slowly so he doesn't lose his feline companion in the crowd. Perhaps he should have scooped him up? Oh, but that would have been presumptuous of him. Besides, some cats really don't like that.

"Here we are," he says brightly, once they've arrived. He holds open the door for the cat to walk through, then heads to the counter to place an order. The chaos of the Plaza has fortunately not seemed to touch the bakery, significantly quieter inside with only a few patrons. He selects a toffee danish for himself and a small platter of lox for the cat. The bakery happens to have some for their bagel sandwiches, so it's no trouble.

Once the items (along with a pot of tea and a small saucer of cream) are obtained and paid for, Aziraphale finds them a table. He thinks nothing of pulling out a seat for his companion, as if sharing afternoon tea with a cat is perfectly normal. He even offers a hand, in case he needs a little boost.

[tieflingtarot]

By the time they get there he's looking much better on his paws, less lurching or stumbling about. Waiting patiently while Aziraphale orders, Molly isn't sure what lox is, but assumes it's some manner of meat given he'd ordered it for a cat. And the smell of salmon that wafted his way affirmed that assumption, making his tiny kitty tummy rumble a bit.

So he wasn't wasting time in following the angel to one of the tables, and honestly that hand is appreciated, as while Molly was getting used to walking like this, jumping around was still a clumsy affair.

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale helps get the cat settled in his seat before taking his own. The fact that the cat needs help in the first place is a little concerning, and as he pours himself a cup of tea, thinking over the past few minutes of their interaction, it's finally starting to dawn on them that this is perhaps not typical cat behavior.

"Erm..." He looks at the little furry feline sitting across from him, unsure how to broach the subject. If he's wrong, he's speaking nonsense to a cat. If he's right, then he's created an awkward social situation. The dilemma! "I'm starting to think you are perhaps not an ordinary cat. Is that right?"

His angelic senses are unfortunately unhelpful on the matter. Too much ambient magic everywhere... even more so than usual come to think of it...

[tieflingtarot]

Molly of course has no idea the quandary Aziraphale finds himself in. Just investigating his little lunch, nibbling a corner of the lox as the angel works out how to approach the situation.

Ears perking as he finally speaks up, the cat lifting his head with a little 'prrbt?' of noise that likely didn't answer the question before he was glancing around the table trying to think of something to do to illustrate- oh!

A coin! A busboy must have missed it on their quick pass of the table, just out of sight under a low lip of the dish of sugars and jams. Molly reached out delicately with a paw to gingerly bat it closer to himself. And resisted the entirely feline urge to send it bouncing to the floor with great difficulty. Instead he spent a few laborious moments struggling a bit with the edge of it- he couldn't walk it like normal, but maybe a couple deliberate-looking flips on the placemat would illustrate it well enough?

[sohoangel]

That little questioning chirp does not answer his question, no, but it is adorable, and Aziraphale can't help but watch with a fond smile as the cat starts to play with an abandoned coin on the table. How cute! And yet, also oddly familiar...

Without meaning to, Aziraphale finds himself mimicking the gesture, walking an imaginary coin over his knuckles, just like --

The angel gasps loudly, leaning forward to stare at the cat across from him. "Molly? Is that you?"

[tieflingtarot]

Heck yeah! Molly can't help the satisfied little wiggle as Aziraphale puts the puzzle together, meowing in clear delight.

Take that Coyote! He's totally great at this communicating as a cat thing!

And okay now that the angel has gotten the idea, he's gonna give into the urge to just delicately, gently start tapping that coin a bit closer to the edge of the table, bit by bit until he finally paws it right off, watching as it clinks to the floor. Wow. That was... actually pretty satisfying.

[sohoangel]

Aziraphale blushes and fusses with his tea spoon, adding a generous amount of sugar and feeling quite silly for treating Molly like the cat he assumed he was. "Forgive me, my dear, I had no idea, the ambient magic here has my angelic senses overwhelmed and you were acting... er... very cat-like..."

He watches Molly knock the coin off the edge of the table and holds back a sigh. Maybe he can cut himself a bit of slack for not noticing sooner. "Enjoying yourself?" he asks before bending over to pluck the coin from the floor. "Now then, how in the world did this happen? Was it some sort of spell gone awry, or -- well, never mind, there isn't an easy way for you to answer that question, is there?"

Not unless Aziraphale wants to start parsing meows. He takes a fortifying sip of tea and looks at his companion thoughtfully.

"How about this? Tap the table with your paw once if this was intentional, or twice if otherwise."

[tieflingtarot]

As if Molly wasn't entirely feline normally. Letting out a little chatter of noise as if to declare just how entertaining being a cat was, as if the angel could clearly understand him.

The tiefling-turned cat considered his options. Because this was intentional just not on his part! So slowly he papped his paw against his own nose before tapping the table twice, before waving it towards the outside through the window and bapping the tabletop once a bit more emphatically.

Did that make sense? He hoped it did!

[sohoangel]

Molly certainly seems pleased with himself, which is why Aziraphale wonders whether his friend asked to be transformed. It seems possible with the sort of magic available to him, although the communication problem is an unfortunate stumbling block. Crowley can still talk while a serpent, even if he has to hiss all his sibilants.

Aziraphale watches the multiple taps and tries not to sigh. Had that not been enough of a yes or no question? It appears that there is some ambiguity that need to be puzzled through. "You... did not mean to turn into a cat?" he guesses from the double tap to the table. "But... someone else did?"

He glances outside the window in concern. A mischief magician on the loose? Well, it wouldn't be the Nexus without a few troublemakers...

"Who was it, dear? Er. Tap once if it was someone you knew, twice for a stranger."

This is going to be the longest game of twenty questions ever if Aziraphale can't think of a more efficient way to understand Molly.