Owner	Pose
Jax	Up and down Jax paces, figuratively wearing a hole in the carpet of his room. What if she doesn't come? What if she thinks he's being stupid? What if... What if? Pacing resumes apace.     Earlier that day, Jax had finally mustered up the courage to go speak with Shannon. It was becoming too painful, it'd been less than a day and yet it felt as if his heart was rent into a million pieces. His ears had been drooping all day, his smiles watery and fleeting, tears often brimming in his eyes. What has the school's most flamboyant and notoriously self-assured cat mutant in such a funk? What could possibly have happened to knock him off his unflappable pedestal?     It is evening, the hallways are finally near deserted. The hour draws near.
Shannon	The hour that draws near is heralded by a familiar, comforting, ooey, gooey, delightfully cheesy aroma wafting down the hallways towards the boys' dorms. The heavenly aroma is followed by a soft thumping on the closed door, that sounds perhaps more as if a be-slippered foot might be employed for the task, rather than one's outstretched hand. "Jax?" Shannon calls out, keeping her voice low. After all, while visits might not be discouraged between boys and girls, she still had some measure of propriety to consider, for both sides involved! "I come bearing gifts! Mind if I come in?"
Jax	From the other side of the door comes the sound of bare toes thumping the carpet, a sure sign that Jax is in a hurry. Normally he doesn't make a sound when he walks, but when rushing, or running... it's distinctive. The door opens to just a crack, a pair of eyes peer out and peer around, before the door is opened quickly and urgent motions urge Shannon inside.     "Quick, quick!"     Clearly he doesn't want anyone knowing he has a visitor...     Worryingly, he's utterly ignoring the delicious comfort food that's being brought in.
Shannon	Indeed, the device used to knock upon the door was none other than a sideswipe of one beslippered foot, as Shannon is in her familiar, comfortable Old English Sheepdog slippers. This time, they are matched with a set of two-piece pink satin pajamas, that button down modestly in the front. She has two covered containers in hand, and two spoons; it is from these that the delectable dairy-infused pasta seems to give off their ambrosial aroma. She slips inside and just past Jax, to allow him to shut the door.      "What's going on?" she asks, her brows furrowed with worry--especially as the containers in her hand seem to be utterly ignored!
Jax	The room is very much like any other in the school, with the exception that Jax isn't sharing with anyone else. The reason for that becomes clear almost immediately... there are bits of fluff /everywhere/. With his long-haired double coat of fur, Jax sheds hair nearly constantly, and small strands are even now starting to attach themselves to Shannon's clothes and slippers. Anyone with a cat allergy would do well to steer clear of this place.     That this room is inhabited by Jax is evidenced by the posters and memorabilia everywhere. Trophies, signed shirts in proper frames, pictures... any fan of organised sports will find someone they recognise here, usually with a brightly smiling Jax posing next to them. Scattered here and there are pillows, clothes and a few stuffed toys. In short, a fairly normal room for an upright, talking cat.     Said upright and talking cat paces to the other side of the room, grabs two fists full of his own hair in seeming indecision or desperation, and then turns to pace back, the picture of abject misery. Ears have drooped, tail hangs listlessly...     Finally he motions Shannon to a seat and bites his lip, looking at every corner of the room before looking back. "I... You have to... I mean..."     Turn, pace, tug hair, turn, deep breath. "You can't tell anyone about this, okay? Nobody. It's important."
Shannon	"Tell anybody about what? I heard nothing," Shannon says, sliding into the indicated seat. Her brows furrow with mild worry, and she motions to Jax. "Here, please have a little of this mac 'n cheese and have a seat before you wear a hole in the carpet. What's going on?"      As it is, her pajamas are perhaps not quite as pristine as they might have appeared at first. For, if one were to look a little bit closer, bits of short black and white fur cling to the rosy satin like a dusting of salt and pepper--particularly in the area of her lap. Oh, no. She is no stranger to friends of the feline variety.
Jax	For a few seconds, Jax stands there, clenching and releasing his hands so much that his claws pop out from time to time. Then, with a whine, he turns suddenly and heads for the wardrobe, opening the door with more than necessary force. "You can't tell... anyone. Please..."     What can possibly be this important?!     The answer emerges a few moments later. Clutched in Jax's hands is an object about the size of a kitten-sized Jax, which is just still recognisable as a hand-made plush toy mouse. The cartoonishly large ears are still intact, as are all of the limbs and even the tail. All the eyes are there, as are the whiskers and the felt nose... but a large seam has ripped along the back, and the stuffing has come out of the body, leaving it a limp, lifeless husk of its former cuddly self.     Jax stands there, tears running down his cheeks, ears flat and a soft whine in his throat. "This... this is Squeaks... he's my buddy, and... an'... When I'm stressed, he's... an' last night I... my claws, they just... it was an accident! Honest!"     With a few soft sobs, he brings the pitiful looking thing over, falling to his knees and holding it out to Shannon. "They say you're really good with fabrics and sewing an'... an'... Please, please! Save my buddy! Please!"
Shannon	Shannon immediately sets aside the containers of mac 'n cheese, holding out her hands to gently cradle her newest 'patient' between them. Slender, slightly needle-pricked fingers poke and prod very gently at the gash in the poor felt mouse's back, nudging bits of stuffing aside to assess the severity of the 'injury'. Her smile is gentle and she nods.      "This looks worse than it really is," she offers. "It's a large cut, but the edges are clean, and it would only take a few minutes to put the stuffing back in and stitch it up. As a matter of fact..."      Offering the poor mouse back to Jax, she gets to her feet and smiles. "I could just run back to my dorm for my sewing kit and have that done for you right now. Funny, you named him Squeaks. My cat's name is Squeakers."
Jax	Jax watches with tear-filled eyes, eventually wiping his nose on the sleeve of his jersey. It's likely that nobody outside of his family has ever seen him quite like this. Lost, distraught, broken because of the loss of a childhood toy. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was an entirely different cat mutant altogether.     "My gramma made him when I was little, just a little Jaxling... that's what she called me..." a weak smile at that "... when I was still living on their farm. One day I saw this little grey thing and chased it into the barn. Found a whole family of mice in the upper hayloft, on the other side of my secret fort." Ears slowly lift as the memory flows in through the grief.     "I told Granpa about it, an'... an' he told me what a barn cat is, an' what they're for." He looks up to Shannon, still sad but a little bit proud as well. "I wouldn't come down from the hayloft until they promised me to let the mouse family live there. Gramma thought it was funny, but I was so serious about it, kept going back to the hayloft every day to make sure they were okay... So she made me a stuffed mouse as big as I was back then. Squeaks... my buddy..."     His ears fold down again, watching Shannon examine the 'patient'. "He's... he's gonna be okay? You promise?"     The look he gives is, quite frankly, pathetic. Puss in Boots couldn't have done it better.     "An' I know about Squakers. They claim most of the East hallway, but only to halfway around the staircase. That's where the territory of Joe starts. But they share neutral ground in the back yard, around the flower beds of the student gardens..."
Shannon	Smiling warmly, Shannon nods, placing Squeaks back into Jax's paws. "You were a hero to those mice," she says, her smile widening as she gets up to head towards the door. Pausing, she turns to glance back over the edges of her wings to her distraught friend.      "Someone very wise once told me, 'It's not stopping. It's not backing down even if your back's to the wall. It's getting up to your feet 'nd gritting your teeth 'nd making them realize that they're going to get more than they bargained for.'"      Her smile widens further, till she is fairly beaming with pride. "And that is exactly what you did. You stood up for life. What could be more worthwhile than that?"
Jax	With infinite care, Jax cradles the head of Squeaks in his arms, gently stroking the large ears. "Everyone always expects me to want to hurt them. But they're so small, so defenseless... if I didn't stand up for them, who would?" His smile is brighter then, looking up at Shannon with undisguised gratitude.     "Thanks. For coming over and... and not laughing at me. For saving my buddy. I won't forget it."     Sniff... sniff sniff...     "Is that Mac 'n cheese?"
Shannon	"Exactly. Sometimes, being a hero is a kind word at the right time. Other times, it's standing up for those who can't defend themselves. You've done both." Shannon just smiles knowingly and dips her head towards Jax and Squeaks. "And yes, that's mac 'n cheese. I brought enough for both of us. Bac in a sec!"      With that, she slips out the door, only to return a few minutes later with a small, very plain ebony box in her hands, which she cradles with reverence equal to that shown by Jax to his childhood friend. "Shouldn't take but a few minutes, and he'll be good as new."
Jax	By the time Shannon returns, Squeaks has been laid on the bed, propped up by a pillow. Jax is sitting on a chair nearby, eating a bowl of mac 'n cheese, but keeping a careful and concerned eye on his buddy.     "It's... not going to hurt, is it?"
Shannon	Shannon shakes her head and smiles, perching on the edge of the bed. She opens the box to reveal needles, pins, thread, and little scissors, the tools of her trade all contained within the silk-lined ebony sewing box. All are of unusually brilliant hue, and the needles positively gleam. She finds a thread just the shade of the well-worn, well-loved little mouse and sets to work. "I won't let it hurt. It's as simple as that. He is too dear to you for that, and so is dear to me."      Deft little flicks of her fingers see the bits of scattered stuffing tucked back into place, the needle flashing as she takes small stitches to close the rip. "I can admire the kind of guts it takes to stand up for what's right like that. Against strangers or enemies, it's a bit easier. Against family or friends? That's something else."
Jax	Jax watches, with a worried eye... but no cry of discomfort seems to come from his buddy, so he slowly starts to relax. Stress is most certainly not good for a cat, and the cat mutant almost seems to melt into his chair as he finally allows himself to breathe easy and stop worrying. Squeaks is going to be fine!     "You get to do it a lot though, when you're like me." Bowl finished, Jax just watches, eyes on a few memories a few years in the past. Mostly in the form of trophies and pictures, eyes skipping from one to the other. "I mean, I get along with most people. But there's always some bullies that think just because you look different, they somehow get to do what they want. I've been fighting against those most of my life. But yeah, that's easy..."     Meaningful pause...     "You know, sometimes my best friends forget I'm a mutant? I mean, they've been around me for so long that it's gotten normal. Like, some kids have this weird voice, or they walk funny, or... y'know, whatever. In my case, I'm just that weird kid that has fur and a tail. Becomes normal after a little while. And then they start talking about mutants, how they're dangerous, or scary or weird, all three of those at the same time... when I'm just sitting there, listening, asking if they're sure? And then they look at me, and remember. It's like this switch gets thrown inside of their brains, and suddenly... you know how it goes. Mean nothing by it, some of my best friends are mutants, was just joking... So I just smile, say I knew they were joking 'cause they sure sounded funny, we laugh... they never do it again."     "Until they forget again, of course."
Shannon	Shannon does frown a little bit, and lets out a small sigh. "I'm sorry. That didn't come out very well. Standing up against bullies is never easy. Just... it can be more difficult when it's family and friends." About halfway done with the repair, she pauses, tucking in bits of stuffing -just so- and ensuring that Squeaks will be properly shaped when all is said and done.      "I know how it is. I went from my friends and community back home shunning me for being a -healer-, for pete's sake, to being different becoming my new 'normal'. Yet sometimes when I so much as go to Salem Center for a burger or some pizza, all hell breaks loose because I happen to have wings and look like an angel. You'd think folks would have the opposite reaction, but no."      Pausing, she smiles somewhat. "It got particularly ugly one time, and I was very lucky someone chose to stand up for me. Just like you did for those mice in the barn."
Jax	"Next time you go get pizza, lemme know. We'll get you there and back again in my Jeep, it'll probably be safer... if you trust my driving, that is." A wink to Shannon, and it seems that Jax is slowly getting back to being his old self.     "But don't get me wrong, I'll stand up for what's right, but... well, I'll run away too, when words aren't enough. Words and wit, my weapons of choice. And my fabulous looks, of course."
Shannon	"Sounds good. What's your favorite kind of pizza, anyways?" As she resumes stitching the gash closed, the form of Squeaks becomes more and more of a hale, whole figure by the minute in Shannon's hands. Finally, one last stitch is taken, the tail end of the thread 'buried' inside the plushie with one last pass of the needle, and the thread cut. She runs her fingers over the surface of the fabric to help fluff it up again, and hide the fact that a repair ever had to be made at all.      Smiling wide, Shannon offers the little gray mouse back to Jax. "If you'd care to reassure yourself of the patient's well-being?"
Jax	Carefully, Jax takes his plush buddy in both hands and boops it nose to nose. Next he puts it down in his lap and wraps his arms around Squeaks, hunching over and around the toy protectively, purring softly as if he was comforting a small kitten.     With his chin between the two large ears, Jax gives Shannon a sheepish smile. "Thank you..."
Shannon	Shannon just smiles wide, her wings flaring outwards. It was moments like this she lived for, even if her 'patient' in this case was a dear childhood friend. "You're welcome," she replied, her voice soft. Gathering the tools of her trade, she put them all back in the little ebony box, snapping the lid shut with a little -click-. "So. Pizza run, very soon. Maybe we'll bring back enough to share with everyone, yeah?"
Jax	Standing up, Jax tucks Squeaks into bed with exquisite care, and following Shannon to the door into the hall. "Very soon. An' we'll bring back a whole mountain of pizza, my treat."     With a sudden 'mrowr', he wraps his arms around Shannon and hugs his friend, purring. "I mean it, I won't forget this. I promise."
Shannon	Wings and arms enfold Jax in a fierce hug, and Shannon just smiles. "It was a joy to help. It felt good to be needed and wanted, and to be able to give again."      Besides, who could say no to the prospect of a whole mountain of pizza?