8115/The Cat and Her Secrets

The Cat and Her Secrets
Date of Scene:	30 June 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Black Cat, Doctor Strange
Tinyplot:	Weather Spheres

---

Black Cat has posed:
"Hey, can you -- ow! That's my //hair//, you can't eat -- ouch, Shammy, your claws -- there."

Felicia's fondly exasperated voice precedes her as she exits from her personal Room of Requirement and out into the hallway of the second floor of the Sanctum. Outheld before her, a very interesting-looking kitten. Its fur is brilliantly forest-green (as vibrant as sunlight through maple leaves) and tipped in the golden hues of autumn; the aurous color thickens at the tip of its lengthy, furry tail. The construct must have been patterned off a tuxedo tabby, given the white bib and face with slim central blaze ending in a perfect point between its tufted ears. Shammy mews pitifully where he hangs in her hands, but only because he was enjoying his ride on the Cat's shoulders...and trying to eat her hair.

"No. You're cute, but you're not //that// cute," Felicia gently admonishes him as she tucks him to her chest instead. She's in a baby-pink t-shirt (form-fitting, rest assured) and black yoga pants, barefoot on the carpeting, and her hair's in a tumble of platinum waves.

"Copperfiiiiiieeellllllllld?" she calls out into the Sanctum proper, still one for apparently yowling at the Sorcerer Supreme. "I have something to tell yoooooooooou!" She pauses at the bannister running along the open hallway on the second floor, looking around. Shammy yawns, his white whiskers twitching.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Yes?" Stephen asks his voice appearing right behind Felicia's ear as well as that subtle tickle of his goatee at her neck and yet the man stands about six feet away from the woman who has undoubtedly been spending more and more time in the Sanctum. A fact Stephen has noted since the appearance of bobby pins at his personal sink. He didn't even know she'd discovered his master bath yet, and yet the proof was there for him to see on his own.

    "You don't have to yell like some southern mother Felicia, it's a magic house I keep telling you." The wizard says with a playful glint in his eyes that most would miss even if they were looking for it.

Black Cat has posed:
Shammy appears as wide-eyed as his mistress when Felicia lets out the usual 'eeep!' of surprise and pirouettes off the carpet by about an inch or two. She lands gracefully and scowls at Stephen, her lips twisting against revealing a smile. The goateed man gets a small rasperry to boot.

"I'll yell if I want to," replies she with her nose in the air in exaggerated pique. Still, there's the fetching grin she saves for Stephen as she saunters over to him and lifts up the small construct-kitten, keeping yet close to her chest. "Look! Jeremy pulled him out of a bag for me! His name is Shammy. He was a rose first, but then I said the word that Jeremy told me to say -- a magical word," she adds almost breathlessly in excitement, " -- and he turned into a kitten! I'm not saying the word again because I want him to stay as a kitten. He's so cute!"

Shammy has...a subtle if eerie absence in his chartreuse-green eyes that marks him as a construct to a knowledgeable practitioner rather than a living thing. Still, the kitten blinks at Stephen and mews quietly. "Oh, and Jeremy told me to tell you something about the Orb. I guess he knows about them?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen's hand goes up to his forehead and frowns as he slides his palm against his face. "I thought I told you to trust no one Felicia." The doctor reminds the thief. But he seems to move on from his point rather quickly, "What did Jeremy tell you Felicia?" Strange asks, his hand reaching out to take Shammy by the scruff and hold the creature up close enough to examine, if Felicia allows it, but not close enough that the thing could reach out and scratch him. Cat Scratch fever is the last thing Stephen needs.

Black Cat has posed:
Shammy allows being scruffed, for what it's worth, and beneath his little pink toebeans, Felicia keeps her hands outstretched like a platform. She winces a little here and there as his tiny claws prick at her palms, but nothing's broken her skin yet.

"Jeremy told me he had an idea about the Orb of Spring. He mentioned something like using the polarity of magnets to find it, but in a magical way. Like...if you made the influence of one Orb reach out far enough, it would spark the other Orb into reacting and bam: like finding it on a radar," the cat-burglar reports as she reaches to try and take Shammy back from Stephen; the kitten is wriggling up a storm now without attempting to claw or bite.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I hope you didn't tell him anything that we had discussed?" Stephen asks, looking past Shammy and to Felicia. He so desperately wants to dispell the creature but the thing gets to remain in his realm for a while longer as he finally sets the thing back down into Felicia's waiting hands as he waits for her answer to his question.

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia tucks the wee green kitten back against her collarbone, where he settles and purrs up a storm in the subtle divot of his weight on her shirt. Her manicured nails run along the rouded head and gently scratch behind the huge ears. She glances up from the construct and to Stephen again, looking between his eyes.

"No, I don't think I did. I mean...I mentioned hearing about Loki and I wanted to know what he knew about the guy. It...sort of helped me deal with...actually meeting the guy too." She frowns and wrinkles her nose. "I kind of ran into him on a rooftop a few nights back. I see what you mean about Trickster God. I wanted to trust him, but..." Her chest rises and falls in a sigh. Holding Stephen's gaze still, her jade-green regard holding worry. "When he smiled, it didn't reach his eyes."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Of course, he's a trickster, that is his nature, he's always got some ulterior motive, even if he himself doesn't know it yet." Strange says with a stern look to Felicia and then even sterner to the 'cat'. The wizard sighs softly and lifts his hand to brush some hair out of Felicia's eyes, and he takes in a breath, "Just be more cautious Felicia, and keep your secrets well guarded."

Black Cat has posed:
"I'm beginning to wonder if you think he's as tricksy as his titles suggests," Felicia replies with a light attempt at humor and wry quirk of her red-red lips. "He had a lot of them. Thor was there too, his brother. They don't look alike at all. Between you and me, I bet the milkman was involved, if you get my drift." The thief winks at Stephen before she steps into his space, all the better to lean at an angle on him. Shammy won't be squished between them, but he wouldn't know anyways -- he's asleep now, little eerie eyes closed.

"Besides, you know I'm a big girl and I can tie my own sandals and all, Copperfield. I'm not afraid of him -- and I won't say anything stupid around him, don't worry. He can stand there and look all...gothy all he wants, but I'm on your side." She gives him a twinkling grin to attempt to further reassure the Sorcerer.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "You are a big girl, yes." Stephen says allowing Felicia to lean into him, even lifting his hand to rest just behind her waist and even hold her towards himself as he savors her touch and company. "I want you to be safe Felicia, as well as not messing up any plans on accident is all." Stephen says in a whisper, noting he should probably expound upon that but he takes her for a smart girl who can fill in the blanks all her own.

    Then he tries to kiss her forehead and then his eyes go back to the cat. "How long have you had that thing?" He is quite curious about the construct and devious nature of the creator.

Black Cat has posed:
"You worry too much," the cat-burglar mumbles as she leans into the forehead kiss, but it's a fond grumble nonetheless. "Shammy? I've had him...gosh, just over a week now, I think? Time flies when you're having fun -- or comfortable." Her nails brush through Shammy's headfur again and he stretches out a front leg in his sleep to let his white paw dangle in the air, still a limp bundle of fur.

"It was very cool, how Jeremy made it all happen. I was just talking about magic with him and he did this kind of...street magician kind of thing with his hands and then there was a flower. It looked kind of like a lotus, I think? Yeah, with the way the petals spread out," and she accents the description with a splay of one hand's fingers between them. "Made of gemstones. Stephen, it was //amazing// -- how much that thing could have fetched at market!"

Black market, of course.

She continues on, unphased by her lack of scrupels. "Then he told me to say a word and it would change shape, but only if I was calm. Otherwise, it would...go funny or something. So I tried it and it changed into a rose. That was beautiful too. It was white, almost the color of my hair, with the prettiest leaves." She sighs. "But then I tried it again after he made a chick show up -- no wait, the chick became an orange kitten, right -- and when I said the word again, I got Shammy!"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen looks uptwards and hmms, resting his chin on Felicia's head as he ponders the story she feeds him. "And Jeremy did all this for you because... he thinks you're pretty?" The wizard speculates, and in doing so, invites Felicia to give her input on the situation.

Black Cat has posed:
"I dunno...maybe? I mean, we both know I'm beautiful." Felicia doesn't even flinch leveling this edict. "He's young though...and he reminds me a little of the little brother of a friend of mine, so I'm not going to yank his chain. I mean, I kissed him on the cheek as thanks for Shammy, but that doesn't mean anything. It's polite to do in some social circles."

The softness of her hair nuzzles in closer beneath his chin given their height differences. She smells as always of her lightly golden perfume in vanilla and caramel overtop musk. "I think he gave me Shammy as thanks because he knew I'd talk to you about his idea with the Orbs. I'm honorable, in my ways..." she demures with a subtle purr of self-appreciation. "He seems like he wants to impress you, like, as a baby wizard. Apprentice. Whatever you call your not-students."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "He certainly wants to impress me, but I'm not someone these people, or really anyone should strive to seek admiration from." Strange admits he's not particularly a fan of himself, hugging Felicia the slightest bit harder at that before he lifts his chin and starts to take a step back, not sure if Felicia would stop him with an embrace of her own or not, but he does have work to get back to. He's going to complete his decoy before trying to use one of the spheres, that's just the idea Loki would like him to do... or is it?...

    Damnit, Stephen smells a plot here to trick him by using Felicia, but its methods are not clear to the sorcerer as of yet, so he's going to keep working on his path but then, "Sure, if you see Jeremy before I do, tell him I'll try that, using the Sphere to attract the other sphere." He should be ready to set the decoy in a few days as it is.

Black Cat has posed:
Stephen does get a squeeze back from Felicia with her free arm and before he can completely step back, a red-red kiss lands on the corner of his mouth -- yes, a tease, given how she takes a rolling step back and curls her lips.

"I'll definitely pass on word to Jeremy if I run into him again before you do. I'll make sure to tell him to talk to you too though, so you can get ideas all ironed out. It was a good one, the one he had. It seems...simple and yet effective. I bet between the two of you, you'll get this all figured out and Loki will left out in the cold." She even fingerguns at the Sorcerer before her smiles deepens.

"...but I impress you, right...?" There's the winsome charm she's known for on full display with the subtle tuck of her chin, likely surfacing because she too senses insecurities if only in her subconscious.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "You impress me constantly Felicia, but again, don't be seeking my approval." Stephen says with a weak smile back to the platinum blonde before he turns on his heels and steps away from the banister and marches back into the hallway he may or may not have sneaked out of initially.

Black Cat has posed:
"Oh...Copperfield." Felicia huffs a sigh through her nose at the behavior on display. It simply won't do. The lithe thief daintily lopes on her tip-toes around to plant herself directly in his path again, still wearing the dimpled smile of earlier. It contains all sorts of machinations.

"I think you approve of me," she states before she attempts to walk her two fingernails slowly up his sternum. Of course the lapels of his gi-shirt get fussed with, straightened and flattened. Stephen gets a coy look up through her lases. "I think you approve of //all// of me and you're adorable when you're flustered," she teases, rolling her steps backwards if Stephen chooses to keep walking. "And you worry too much. It'll all be fine! Loki won't know what hit him when you close the lid of the cookie jar on his fingers."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen does in fact keep walking, curious how Felicia is able to walk backwards so well with a cat asleep on her chest and still being semi-new to this house. But he keeps his concerns unvoiced. "I wish I had your level of faith Felicia, but even still, I have to finish this decoy else we may have no choice other than to follow Jeremy's plans." Stephen says with a soft sigh even while looking down to Felicia, knowing that she does care more than anyone else.

Black Cat has posed:
"Ooh, so you are doing the decoy?" With a quick side-turn on her toes, Felicia falls into place beside Stephen, still looking up at him and not at their path of travel. "I wondered if that was the game plan. What else do you have to do still?" Shammy stretches out his other paw now to dangle alongside the first and by all accounts, is still deep in the sleep of the youthful.

"Probably not too much left to do. I've got faith in you because you're good people, Copperfield. You're good people and I think you know it even if you don't want to admit it." She nods curtly and attempts to slink her arm around Stephen's arm in order to rest her palm on his bicep. "You've got better style than Loki anyways. I feel like if I tried to fix his lapels, he'd bite my fingers." Felicia scowls at the thought.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Of course you thought of fixing his lapels..." Stephen says with a roll of his eyes and yet he doesn't pull away from Felicia, if anything he leans slightly towards her. "And of course I'm doing the decoy, it's the plan Lara, Wanda and I agreed upon, and you're the only other person who knows of it. Even Jeremy and Magik are out of the loop on this. This is hush hush work Felicia." Stephen says with a burning stare towards Felicia this time.

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia's eyebrows nearly disappear into her hairline at the look given to her. As she walks, she momentarily unhooks her arm to mime turning a lock at her lips before very deliberately slipping the metaphorical lock away beneath the collar of her t-shirt. A pop of her lips accents the whole geture.

"You know I'm not going to tell a soul, Stephen. If anyone asks, I'll say that I don't know about it -- because I kind of don't, and that's okay. It's better that you probably keep most of it to yourself. I don't mind," she assures him.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Somehow I don't believe you." He assumes she wants to know as much as she can, she does go by the moniker 'Black Cat' as it is. He slips his arm around hers this time as the continue to walk the extremely long hallway. And yet he's still astounded she can hide a lock and a cat in her shirt without waking the cat or being uncomfortable.

    Then an odd thought hits Strange and he has to voice it, "What's your next job Felicia?"

Black Cat has posed:
Another raspberry for the man and his sentiment. Felicia subsides however, content to walk alongside the Sorcerer with her arm in his once more. Shammy's head appears sleepily between both of his paws from her collar and he blinks, little ears half-pinned to the sides as he gets comfortable again. The thief smiles down at the wee fuzzball and scraches behind one tiny ear gently.

"I'm not sure what my next job is just yet. It hasn't wandered my way. Why, did you have something in mind?" Her eyes flick to him and an expectant smile hovers about her lips.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "No, but I would feel better knowing you were in Asia or Australia for the next while or so." Stephen says with a sad kind of face. He's honestly concerned about her and he knows that he can't control the outcome of the coming fight. "I can't risk telling you specifics Felicia, but I presume it's going to get bad around here." The wizard says with a glance to the cat-struct and frowns while biting his tongue.

Black Cat has posed:
This is enough to make the thief pause in the hallway. Her jade-green eyes grow wide and now mirror the Sorcerer's concern. Her free hand reaches up and lands over his heart to linger there in a gentle weight.

"That scary, huh...?" She looks to one side and then back at Stephen again. "If...so, here's the thing. I don't want to be a...I mean, it sounds so bad when I say it like this, but a liability for you when this all goes down. I know the Orbs are scary business. I get it. You wouldn't be this worried if they weren't. So...I mean, I don't mind taking a vacation in Sydney for a week or two, if you feel like that would be better. I like the city. I've visited the place before. The seafood's great." She smiles again, but it's more melancholy now, responsible and understanding in a way.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "You're a grown woman Felicia, I'm not going to tell you what to do or not to do." Stephen says, his grey eyes looking more and more tired each time she sees him. Like he never really gets a chance to recharge himself. "It may not be far enough, the spheres are world wide influences." Stephen sighs as he squeezes Felicia's wrist weakly, his hands hurting more than normal today, but he doesn't voice that concern either.

Black Cat has posed:
Her red-red smile dimples to one side. Stepping into his space again, Felicia looks up into those eyes of ever-changing color. She rotates her hand in order to take his own, scarred and sore, in a gentle hold against her own heart.

"I've got news for you, Copperfield: you've never told me what to do or not to do. When you've suggested something that makes sense, I've decided to listen to you instead of doing my own thing. If you think I'll be safer elsewhere, I'll listen to you. You're the Supreme Sorcerer for a reason, sweetheart." Felicia's voice has dropped to quiet and private, for his ears only even in the mansion. "Just let me know when I need to fly out. We can still text and hey, you can do those gate thingies -- the circles, if you have time to visit me. We can go...see the kangaroos or something."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen stops and as she presses his hand into her heart, his other hand moves up to wrap around both hands and he holds this woman as tight as he can, which to her, might feel like a breeze for as strong as she is. "I'm honestly not sure if anywhere is safe, I just know you'll have a better chance if your farther away..." Stephen says with a frown. Almost like he sounds like he's expecting a loss in this coming battle.

Black Cat has posed:
Her white teeth fret at the corner of her lip as Felicia considers her options. Finally, it comes to her and she tilts her head, still having not dropped their shared gaze.

"My family has a beach house I can go to. It's up north about an hour or so. Nobody really knows about it, since...since my dad wanted it kept private. You don't even know where it is." She laughs quietly at this, at least trying to keep things relatively upbeat. "How about that? Far enough away but not too far?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I'm not sure for once..." Stephen says, his eyes darting left and right between both of Felicia's as he wants to hold her and allow his mantle and his person to fade away into unimportance as he wants to just be a man with he's with her. "It's ultimately up to you, as you said earlier Felicia." The wizard notes softly before he lifts his hand to brush at her cheek with the backs of his fingers.

Black Cat has posed:
Those scarred fingers, with their mapping of surgical battle, are captured against her cheek by Felicia's own hand. She turns her face and presses a light kiss to his palm before gazing back at Stephen.

"Then it's a plan. I'll spend a week at the beach house and wait until it's safe to come back. You have to text me though, okay? Keep me updated? And you'd better plan on visiting at least //once//, okay?"

The little addendum comes without a single iota of manipulating charm or tease -- just an honest hang-dog as the normally-proud cat-burglar says, "Please, Stephen?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "You said I don't know where it is..." Stephen says, suddenly in a catch twenty two of Felicia's creation as he smiles weakly to the woman, curious as to what she's thinking, more so than any other mind on the planet. Even Loki.

    "I'll do what you want this time Felicia. Just tell me what you need."

Black Cat has posed:
The Sorcerer can probably see the squirrel gears start rolling behind those jade-green eyes, lined with dark kohl as always. Felicia's lips curl up at the corners as a part of her usual charm regains its foothold in her mein.

"How about... So, I did some reading, right? So..." She takes up a single strand of her platinum-blonde hair and plucks it from her skull, uttering a whispered 'ouch!' when she does it. Before herself, she deftly ties it upon itself until it's a bow.

Offering it out to Stephen, she grins at him. "This'll help you find me if you need to, right? I give it to you of my own free will. So...you can visit me at the beach house if you want or...I dunno, maybe something crazy happens and you need to find me. Now you can."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen takes the strand of white hair and looks it over for a moment, her essence and it causes him to waver that weak smile even more so before he slides the folicle away into his pocket and he looks deeply into Felicia's eyes, as if he can see her ever thought and impulse. "I will protect you. This I swear to you Felicia. I will."

Black Cat has posed:
"I know you will, Stephen. I know you will. It's kind of like gravity, you see? Gravity just is. You'll protect me. I know it like the sun rises over the ocean each morning. Or like I know you'd be worried if I didn't text //you//, you busy-body," she teases gently. Felicia's smile softens more.

"When you give me that look, I get a little mushy inside, I'll have you know." Another smoothing of his lapel is unthinking habit. "I think I like it."