Owner	Pose
Kit Killovarras	Maybe it's because some people might still have classes or maybe it's because the yeen is exceptionally lucky, but he's got the Rec Room MOSTLY to himself, maybe one or two other students are hanging out, playing video games. Kit meanwhile is getting himself a drink, swaying a little bit with what to anyone else would be a pretty much silent soundtrack, but sensitive ears have their perks indeed. It's a rare moment when he isn't exactly alert, or at very least he doesn't seem to be. Who knows?
Jax	Now then, would be the time to strike! The time of payback! Back turned, ears engaged, Jax could finally do what he had been plotting to do for months now. Months!     But as the cat mutant is only just now coming into the rec room himself, the moment passes by, unexploited. Next time, perhaps... As it is, the slightly damaged feline walks up to the side of Kit and reaches for his own glass with his left hand. By now the stitches over his brow are partially covered by regrowing fur, although the length is still very lopsided for now. Any other injuries he may still be carrying are perfectly hidden under the loose and comfortable clothing.     His tail starts to sway in time with the music that is probably inaudible to the other students, as he fixes himself a glass of apple juice... he's such a party animal.
Kit Killovarras	Entirely unaware of the plot that could have been played out in this moment, Kit just gives Jax a glance when he walks up and a warm smile. "Hey Kitten." he says quietly, getting himself a bit of coke as he glances over. "How're the wounds?" Little bit of guilt in his voice with that one, but at least he hasn't stopped smiling. He does take note of the swaying feline and gives a little chuckle, but he doesn't mention it too much. Maybe it's because the song is still playing? or maybe because there was already a question posed.
Jax	"Eh, not too bad. Got it in hand." Jax responds, giving a jaunty wave of his bandaged right hand, still wrapped up completely except for the thumb. It's probably a good thing he's mostly ambidextrous, or that could have been awkward. "Glad to see you're walking around... well... swaying around. 'cause, y'know, you're a citizen now, you can't just stay in bed." A grin and a wink. "That's a foreigner thing."     Leaving that one hanging, he goes to claim a seat. Claim, feline style, which means he sprawls out as much as he can.
Kit Killovarras	Well, that comment seems to throw Kit for a moment and he just stops, one ear folding to the side before he just shakes his head and sighs, "Sounds like something my grandmother would say.." he muses before following the feline, finding a place nearby to sort of flop himself down. "Well, so long as you're healing alright.." he mentions with a little nod. "And yeah. Not the first time I've had to deal with broken ribs.. So long as I don't overdo it, I can generally deal with being up and about.."
Jax	There's a long pause, as Jax's ears go through a very complicated sequence of emotional ranges. It would take an expert in body language to decipher them all, but there's probably a good chance Kit can have a stab at it. From hesitation to doubt, to levity, along a brief twitch of annoyance and anger to something settling in the vicinity of 'friendly aloof with option of annoyance later'. Yes, he has very expressive ears. "Hurting ribs suck. I'm always sore after a team tryout, and then I can't really relax my back for days." Injured ribs are a pain when your spine is more or less optional. A flick of the ear seems to indicate he's about to get to the meat of the matter.     "So ehmm... the whole hero thing..."
Kit Killovarras	Yup, the ears do get the Yeens attention, though his own just sort of fold back and to the sides a little as he sips his drink, watching until they actually settle on something. Then Jax mentions hurting ribs and he nods a little, "At least it's not as bad as dealing with internal hemorrhaging." There's a momentary wince as it dawns on him what he just said, though he's not about to try to walk that back, at least not yet. Jax's mention of the 'hero thing' though does get his attention, mismatches eyes sort of locking on the feline for a moment as he tilts his head. "Hmm?"
Jax	Cue ear shift. That off hand comment most certainly nudges those ears towards 'concerned annoyance' before slowly shifting back. Yeah... It takes a moment before Jax continues.     "So... you know it's optional, right? Nobody is expecting you to go fight weapon dealers, or deal with hunters all on your own. There's other ways to deal with things."
Kit Killovarras	"First off.. I'm not trying to be a hero." Kit says, his voice suddenly sounding a bit too defeated for the moment. "Second. Right now it's the only way I can train my magic.. Someone took every bit of arcane text out of the school save for my private collection and I've already gone through those a thousand times.." There's a bit of a pause, ok maybe more than a bit.. Yup, he's thinking and he practically drains his glass as he does before he licks at one side of his maw and adds, "And I do need to train, you saw the exact reason I need to the other night.." Then he kills off the rest of his drink, staring into the glass for a moment with a 'why is it gone already?' sort of expression before he sighs and adds, "And yeah, I get it.. I could work with a team, but there are problems with that too that I'll need to learn to deal with.."
Jax	Aaaaand *flomp*. One moment Jax is seated a short distance away, the next he's sprawling against Kit's shoulder, careful that he's not putting any weight on those injured ribs. Not all of him is facing the same way, due to space restrictions, but that doesn't seem to bother him at all.     "When you're fighting weapon dealers, that's hero stuff unless you're a cop. You're not a cop. And magic... there's, like, a dozen different hero teams with mages of some sort running around. If they won't let you study magic here, try studying magic with them? That's gotta be safer than just going out and finding trouble until you find too much trouble. I mean..." sip of apple juice "... we met an actual god over the summer. Why not ask them? Or ask if they know someone?"
Kit Killovarras	Theres a moment of 'wha-?', though Kit doesn't exactly protest when he becomes a kitty lounge chair. He just wraps his arms gently around the feline and sighs, "Do you realize how often I get mistaken for some kind of villain? The number of times I've nearly gotten attacked while just out and about is insane.." There's a moment where he just sort of enjoys the moment, but then he sighs, giving Jax a glance before he asks, "Besides.. Do you really think it'll be any different, working with another group? Hell, the two main options I have at the moment other than this, involve going to war somewhere out in space or doing the exact same thing I'm doing here, just with people I don't know or trust.." His tone hasn't changed either. Still that defeated sound of someone who is arguing a point they know they've already lost at, but hell if he isn't a stubborn creature sometimes.
Jax	"I go out all the time, and the worst I've gotten is a whole lot of bad 'here kitty' jokes. Look, you saw what it can be like, over in Italy. It's all a matter of publicity." Leave it to Jax to know all about publicity... and showing off.     "Look, what I'm saying is this... I don't wanna be a hero. Seems dangerous and a lot of hard work, and the best I can hope for is to do with a lot of effort what I can do now just by being myself. Until now, you know, there wasn't really a reason to be any kind of heroic."     Uhoh, was that a past tense? His head tilts until he's looking Kit in the eyes, ears perking forward. "But if you're gonna keep on doing this, you're not giving me much of a choice, y'know?"
Kit Killovarras	Nope, his ears aren't perking up yet, though he does look Jax right in the eye for a few moments before he leans in and nuzzles the feline, being careful not to nose or nudge any of his wounds as he murmurs, "You always have a choice.." before pulling back to look at Jax again. "And hon, I hate to break it to you, but you can get away with it.. You're a cat, most people aren't afraid of cats." He doesn't vocalize the other half of that argument, but he's probably thinking it. "Besides.. You do realize that the few times I've come back messed up like this.. Are the few times people I've actually given a damn about wound up in the mix, right?" He tilts his head as he asks this, studying the feline for a moment before he admits, "I've taken down over a hundred criminals.. I've been doing this since--" There's a sudden stop and a sort of wince before he adds, "Since Jack.. I've been going out just about every night and including this one? I've only gotten really hurt three times.." Then he sort of glances to one side as he adds, "I tried being normal.. I tried to stay out of trouble and all it got me was a stay in a hospital and a warrant.."
Jax	"Which is why you need a kitty sidekick." Jax simply decides, draining the glass with a grin. Yeah, you can bend steel bars around that confidence. "Think about it! If you keep doing this, what's the odds that eventually people you care about are going to end up getting involved? Unless you never let anyone get close to you to care, an' that's just sad, so not happening."     "If I can't stop you, I'm gonna make sure you won't get into too much trouble. Or are you saying you don't think I can do it?"
Kit Killovarras	Well, ears can say a lot and, up until now it's been a fairly constant 'depressed' from Kit, but when Jax says that, there's an almost immediate change.. His ears pin back for a moment as he murmurs, "I'm not going to be the reason you get hurt again.." But, then his own words come back to bite him on the tail.. 'you always have a choice.' There's a moment where he just shuts up, but then he glances away again and his ears go back to the 'back and splayed' place he's been keeping them most of the conversation. "If you come with me on this, you're likely going to see the worst side of me.." he murmurs after a moment, it's probably a lousy argument given who he's talking to, but it's the one he gives never the less.
Jax	"Really?" And Jax slumps further, now sprawled over Kit's lap with a grin. "I'm not worried. You jumped in front of a magic grenade for me, don't think I forgot that."     And then he reaches up, to actually boop Kit's nose with his bandaged hand. "But maybe that's another good reason to have someone around who knows you. Just in case."
Kit Killovarras	Kit's ears finally lift a little and he gives a sigh, "Maybe.." he says after a moment, offering the faintest hint of a smile before he tries to explain, "Just.. try not to let what you see when you're out with me get to you..? I don't know quite how to explain it, but.. I'm not the same when I'm out hunting." sounding more than a little worried. But, at least he's smiling again. Then the comment about the magic hand grenade and he sort of winces a little, "Yeah, that's actually probably the reason why Askante showed up, by the way.. I don't want to be the reason why you get hurt."
Jax	"Without you, I'd have gotten killed. So, you know, all in all it's an improvement." Boop! No, Jax does not take anything too seriously, not even near death experiences. What kind of a hero could he possibly make with an attitude like that?     "Look, I know you when you're chilling. I know you when you're listening to music. I know you when you're trying hard not to tickle my belly. I think I can know you when you're hunting, it's not going to scare me."
Kit Killovarras	Kit wriggles his nose at the second boop, giving a little chuckle as he admits, "Honestly.. if it weren't for me, you'd never have been in that situation to begin with." which is true in so many ways, but then he tightens his grip, pulling the feline a little closer as he adds, "I'm always going to try to protect you though. No ones going to get away with trying to hurt my Kitten." with a grin, even playfully baring his teeth for a moment before he gives Jax' cheek a gentle little lick. Then Jax makes the comment about trying not to tickle his belly and Kit gives a little laugh, ears perking up a bit as he admits, "Not your belly I usually wanna tickle.." then he sticks his tongue out and moves a paw up to give Jax' side a single, playful little scritch, still being careful not to hit possible wounds, "Bellies are better for rubbing. I have always wondered if your ribs are ticklish though."
Jax	"One of the great mysteries of the world." Jax says as he stretches, grinning. "It's a shame there's absolutely no way to find out."     Pause.     "Look, it probably wouldn't have been a mage hunter, but eventually I was gonna get into trouble. I'm not stupid, y'know? I know I've been really lucky up to this point, lucky and sheltered. Probably spoiled. Maybe. But anyway, it was gonna happen, and you were there when it happened. Doesn't have to get more complicated than that."
Kit Killovarras	"Not as fun when you're expecting it," Kit says with a grin, still scritching at the felines ribs gently. "Maybe one of these days I'll have to catch you off guard." Then he gives a little nod and chuckles quietly, "Sheltered, spoiled, lucky.. Yeah." he says with a little wink. "But, at least you've got me around." There's a little pause for a moment, but then he goes back to being a little more serious as he muses, "Next time something happens.. I'm not going to hesitate, but I'm not going to hold you to what you said.. I scare myself sometimes, hon, so I'm not going to expect you not to be if it comes down to it."
Jax	All the talk of scaring other people, worrying about others, the depths of heroism and the loneliness of the heroic path are getting to be a damned sight too serious for Jax. So, rather than thinking of some kind of witty comeback or a change of topic (especially since he started it), he does the next best thing.     Slowly, never moving too fast so as to remain unnoticed, his right hand creeps up behind Kit's head. Then, in an instant, it reaches out... and he scritches Kit between the ears. "Good puppy."