Kitten in a Box - Locked to grimholdkeeper

[puresilverpaws]

It was warm, quiet and dark. He wasn't sure where he was at first, as his senses began to awaken. He felt a soft blanket underneath him. Slowly moving, he sat up, his head gently nudging up the flap of the large cardboard box.

...A fireplace? This wasn't his room. Sure, he made a lot of forts, so being in a box wasn't unusual.

"Myieeeu..." It had an interesting smell about it, and, nervously, he ducked back down into the warm box, curling up within the confines once more, and pawed at a corner of it, his claws lightly scratching it. Maybe if he stayed hidden, he could figure things out better? Were he really aware of his real self, he might have boggled at the fact that first the hotel aged him up, and now it had aged him down to ten.

At least the hotel had put him in Balthazar's room? Furthermore, the box was very large, as if made for one of those older, heavier TVs. But anything smaller would not hold him.

Comments

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

"That makes sense. But there's a difference between teaching appropriate restraint and forcing submission by means of guilt." He's focused on fixing dinner now and mercifully oblivious to the blush and the subsequent look of worry.

"I guess it's a little like sorcery that way, though. It's very hard to harm a sorcerer if he sees you coming, and even low level spells can seriously injure people. My master taught me to be very cautious with my power, and to serve in any way I could." He trails off with a little frown, because there really is a fine line between the mentality Merlin impressed upon him and, as he said, forcing submission by guilt and by duty.

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Roi continues to stir, his mind slowly relaxing and ears eventually standing upright again.

"That's... kinda how I see myself. Not so much the serving part. Compared to a human, I'm stronger than them, and if I'm not careful, I can easily do more harm to them than they can do harm to me. And then there are the wild cats. They easily hold double my strength, and sometimes more."

..Ah, one of the oysters stuck, so he carefully adjusted how he stirred. Great, not even five minutes and he was screwing up. His ears fold back again, slightly.

"S-so, this war... If you teach me, what... what are our odds of winning, do you think?"

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

"You feel responsible?" He gives him a thoughtful look, shaken out of his ruminations about Merlin. "That's impressive for such a young person."

He's finished slicing the bread, and goes to set it and the butter out on the table, pulling out a chair for Roi. He then returns to the fireplace to take over the stirring, in time to catch the hesitant question. "Our odds...? Well, we're thoroughly outnumbered, but my master was a powerful clairvoyant. He saw the end of the fight, and he felt we have a good chance. I trust his vision." After 1400 years, he has no other choice but to trust his vision. "I'm searching for the heir to his power. Only he, or she, can end the war decisively. But even if we fail, we can do a lot of good in the world before the end."

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Outnumbered. It rides on one person or it fails.

Roi is grateful not to stir the meal anymore, and he fidgets.

"...I think, I want to help you. If I can." His hands, which are curled on his jacket, tighten their grip.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

"Ah? Well, you can butter the bread--" Balthazar breaks off as the tone of voice sinks in, and he turns to look at the boy, shocked and a bit awed. "That's not what you meant, is it."

He crouches to be on Roi's eye level, searching his face. "That's a big decision. I won't hold you to it right now...but I'll remember. I think you could be a very big help. To me. To my world."

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Roi just peers at Balthazar back, mostly undaunted. He means what he said, and he nods slightly.

"Okay." His lips then quirk into amusement. "Still want me to butter the bread?" he asks with a soft laugh.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

Balthazar smiles gently. "You know, I choose my students carefully, and sometimes I look for unusual talent, but more important than that, I look for students who have the will to do good in the world. Not even necessarily good for the world as a whole. Sometimes it's a passion to care for the clan or to heal a loved one. I had one girl trek across half of Northern Africa to find me, to demand I teach her how to find water in the desert, for her people."

"You have a good heart." He strokes Roi's hair lightly, then nods. "Go on and butter the bread, yes. I'll serve the stew."

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Roi's eyes close briefly as Balthazar pets his hair, but his tail wags.

He takes over the task of buttering the bread, as he can do that much without messing it up.

"I.. don't exactly know what I want to do in life. Those in my class talk about being doctors or firemen, and things like that. But..." Roi smiles shyly. "I like to help people, whether it's just with their homework, or trying to solve a problem back at home."

A pause, and he focuses on Balthazar. "And you're my friend, so I want to be able to help you, too."

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

His expression softens, and he looks into the fire to hide the smile. He can't recall a student ever wanting to learn to help him before. But Roi's a unique person, and their situation is unique. Slowly, Balthazar dishes stew into two bowls and carries them to the table. He's given Roi the lion's share of the oysters, but there's plenty for them both, and a few extra still in the pot.

"Don't burn your tongue," he tells the child, and sits next to him, watching him with approval that's too difficult to mask.

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Roi grins back at the warning. "I'm not a moron." His tone certainly shows further that he thinks its amusing, and he at once starts in, sniffing the aroma up close, and then carefully blowing on it so that he won't burn his mouth trying to eat it.

It's a different sort of flavor. One that he's not had before. Kind of tastes like the sea to him, but... more pleasant. He doesn't much care for the ocean - the sand irritates his feet more than concrete, hampers his movement, and the salty air bothers his senses.

"This tastes pretty good," he murmurs, smiling a bit.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

"I'll try bouillabaisse next time," he smiles. "I'll have to leave out the garlic and orange, I suppose. Or maybe just fish chowder." He takes a piece of bread and dips it in his broth. "I'm glad you like it, though. You haven't had oysters before?"

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Bouila...baisse? Roi has no idea what that is. Even so, he just smiles. "Nope, never had oysters before. I mostly stick to fish and poultry. And the infrequent frozen shrimp. Among other things."

Roi then follows suit with Balthazar, dipping his bread into the broth and trying that as well. Well, it's got his stamp of approval, that's for sure!

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

He's so...cute. Balthazar is utterly charmed, watching him eat. "No oysters, no sashimi--you told me that before--seems like you've been missing out a bit. Too bad I'm not a great cook, but maybe we can learn some together one of these days."

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

If Roi knew that Balthazar thought he was cute, he'd probably make a face at him.

"Alright. And, it's not all bad. I can just get by with a limited diet." More nibbling on the broth-soaked bread. Honestly, that part of anything, whether it was soup or stew, tended to be one of his favorite parts.

Especially when the bread was as yummy as this!

Aside from the "meat" of it, of course. That always came first.

"But first, I have to learn how to let things cook without them burning." Because that was a most basic hang-up. "But I'd like that. It sounds like fun!" He smiles happily at Balthazar.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

"Maybe you'd do better over a fire like this," he smiles. "I always burn things in the oven, but I don't have nearly as much trouble over an open flame. Probably because that's how I learned."

He really isn't much of a cook, but he's not as bad as he claims to be, when it comes down to it. He can make simple, hearty fare good enough to keep his students full, anyway. "If I had marshmallows, I'd offer to let you toast some over the fire. That'd be good practice."

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

"I can toast marshmallows easily enough." Roi pouts, and eats more of the oystery-stewy goodness. How would that be good practice?

"Just hold the marshmallow approximately one inch away and turn it steadily so it doesn't catch fire. Nothing to it."

He watches Balthazar for a moment, and then moves his chair over, closer, just a bit, and pulls his meal along with him. Closer feels better.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

He smiles. "Well, that's mostly how cooking over a campfire works, in my experience. Unless you're lucky enough to have a pot and cooking oil and herbs..."

He takes another piece of bread, but pauses to blink as his guest scoots closer. After a moment's consideration, he reaches to ruffle his hair gently. To be trusted so fully, so quickly, is a balm to his soul.

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

"Eek!" Having his hair ruffled makes Roi hunch his shoulders just a bit, but he soon recovers and tilts his head into it. The affection is very noticeable and he honestly revels in it, and he purrs in response.

So long as that hand is messing with his hair, his meal is temporarily forgotten.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

Much of the time, Balthazar can ignore or forget Roi's feline nature. It becomes more evident when he reacts like this to petting or cuddling. And the purr...not quite as deep as that of his older self, but audible. It's all he can do to keep from pulling him into a hug.

He rubs the child's scalp gently for a few minutes, grinning, then withdraws. "Finish your soup," he says. "And we can play games or tell stories or something, mm?"

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

"I still want to try moving the blankets!" Roi grins at him and resumes eating. "Stories after?" he asks hopefully after swallowing a mouthful. He's trying not to scarf it all down - he was taught better - but it's good enough that the idea is tempting, what with how eager he is to keep trying his hand at magic.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

"Sounds good to me." Balthazar smiles and works on finishing up his own soup. "Oh--there's a bit more in the pot, if you want seconds. I might have something for dessert around here. I had shortbread cookies the other day..."

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Roi makes a happy noise in his throat and continues to eat, trying very hard not to scarf it all down. He really, really, really wants to!

"Shortbread cookies?" he asks after another few mouthfuls. Another food that he's never had before.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

"Yes...you should be able to eat them. They're just flour and sugar and butter. Maybe a little vanilla." He takes the last bite of his stew and gets up, wandering over to his nighttable to look for them. Cautious, he stands so Roi can't see what else might be in the table drawers. He tends to limit it to toiletries and tea, but the hotel sneaks things in there on occasion. Today there's nothing too bizarre, and he finds the package of cookie without too much searching.

"Here they are. And still good. Do you want to finish off the soup first, or are you done?" He comes back to the table and sets the package down. The cookies smell pleasantly sugary.

[little-roi.livejournal.com]

Roi smells the sugary sweetness and his large ears tilt to the sides. He glances at his meal - which has all of one or two mouthfuls left - and then back at the cookies.

In the end, he looks back at Balthazar with a perplexed expression. "Is this a trick question?" he asks, his ears twitching.

[grimholdkeeper.livejournal.com]

He bites back a laugh. "I was offering another helping of stew," he explains, "but if you're ready for dessert, that's fine, too. Do you want more milk to drink?"

He opens the cookie package and takes out two for himself, which leaves five for Roi, if he can eat that many and Balthazar doesn't stop him first.