xp_logs | Kevin & Kurt | Thursday morning

Kevin returns to the school, meets Kurt's furball, cranky ensues and One gets a real name

Two days in near solitude with Yvette at Mrs. Espinosa's house hadn't nearly relaxed him enough to be back to normal. He had both dreaded and looked forward to the return to the mansion. On the one hand there were people. Lots and lots of people. On the other hand there was his bed, which he could sleep normally in, and his suite which was Kevin-proof. And there was also Jay and all that went along with that situation. Mixed feelings regarding his return to his prison was an understatement at best. Kevin was planning to lock himself away for a week if he could manage it and not talk to just about anyone. He desperately needed solitude. However, after being up eating the left over candy they hadn't passed out to trick-or-treaters the previous night he also desperately needed actual food or his stomach was going to go on strike and eat itself.

After waving Yvette off to her room he made a pit stop in the kitchen, poking his head into the fridge and pulling out a few apples and nectarines before deciding to head up to his room. Sadly, person in the doorway. Blue person. Fuzzy person. With a small furry thing. Well, that sort of hindered his escape, didn't it?

The small furry thing was held firmly under Kurt's arm, despite his attempts to escape and/or lick any skin within reach. Kurt stepped forward out of the doorway on realizing he was blocking it. "Hello, Kevin."

"'Ello," though he couldn't actually remember Kurt's name for the life of him. "Ya know yer duster's squirmin', yeah?" He was sort of a mass of furry and fuzzy and while Kevin was pretty damn certain it was a dog he hadn't actually located the critter's face yet.

It was understandable - Kurt had been away since before Kevin came back to the mansion. He just liked to remember all the students' names. "Yes", he said with a grin. "He would like to explore, I think."

Kevin just sort of stood there and blinked at Kurt. "Ah don't reckon dusters are meant ta have tha' much mind o' their own." Then again, he really was fairly certain it was a puppy. On the other hand, Forge may have gotten bored, or perhaps insane. Given Haller said no one should bug Forge for a good long while he was willing to bet the guy went crazy and made a self-aware fuzzy duster or something.

Kurt had assumed it was a joke, but he suddenly wasn't so sure. "It is a dog", he said carefully. "A gift from Lorna."

Kevin stood by his excuse that Forge could have gone loopy. "No," he pointed out, "It's a minidog. Puppyish. An' why ya goin' an' trappin' 'im if he wants ta go sniff at stuff? Don't seem fair."

"This is still Lorna's kitchen", Kurt noted wryly. "Everywhere else, he may run as he wishes, but he is not supposed to be in here at all. I was hungry."

Kurt earned himself a look that suggested Kevin suspected he was a bit daft. "An' wha's gonna stop 'im from going after tha forbidden fruit o' it when you finally stop babysittin' 'im every momen' o' tha day?" And man was that too close to home for him to be saying so casually.

"...he is a puppy", Kurt said patiently, returning the look equally well. "I am hardly going to allow him to run the mansion unattended even when he is full-grown."

"Jus' 'cause you can cage a thing don' mean ya really go' any righ' ta. An' it don' mean ya should either." Kevin thought it was pretty fucked up that the poor thing was going to be a fully grown dog and on a short leash. Silently he commiserated with the squirming furball.

"I did not say cage him", Kurt retorted. "There is a way between the two, you know. Would you let a dog of yours run loose without even going with him?"

"Woul' you wanna not be able ta go anywhere 'less your master wen' with ya or foun' you a babysitter?" The question held a slight challenge. He didn't think you should cage wild things. Dogs weren't as wild as cats, but they were still wild and they should be allowed to be free if they wanted to. "Why shoul' you take away 'is ability ta choose whether er not he wants ta be alone er with you?"

"I will not stop him going out, if he shows me he wants to. And this is the only place he has not walked under his own power - but, as I said, Lorna does not like animals in her kitchen. Would you prefer I had shut him in the room while I came to get my food? He does not like to be left alone."

"Then Ah think Miss Dane shoul' weigh tha difference 'tween tha damage mos' teenagers do and tha damage one lil' puppy coul' do." No one should be caged as far as he was concerned, especially when there was so much room to roam. Kurt was not going to change Kevin's view on that point.

And his own view was not going to change. "It is a matter of hygiene, I believe", he said mildly. "I have let him explore everywhere else we have gone to his heart's content, watching only to be sure he will not break anything or chew something that would harm him."

Kevin tried desperately to not comment on the hygiene of some people when teenagers. He ended up simply snickering.

Kurt just blinked at him, and then realized something. "I do not know if you remember my name, by the way - I have been away for a few months, and of course you were before that. I am Kurt Sefton. The puppy has no final name yet - Lorna was calling him One, and I have yet to find the right name for him."

He gave Kurt a nod at the name reminder and then gave him a what the fuck? expression. "Ya can' call a puppy One. Tha's like callin' yer kids One, Two an' Three. A' leas' call 'im somethin' generic like spot er rover er pooch. 'Leas' it's somethin'."

"Oh, I have no intention of leaving that as his name", Kurt assured him. "I just do not know quite yet what would suit him. Do you have any suggestions?"

Kevin thought for a few moments before deciding to just rattle stuff off. "Koi, Djanjo, Pillowhead, Mr. Muscles, Chance, Killer, Mocha, Popeye, Dallas, Catfish, Bear, Muskrat, Kitten, Triscuit...."

Kurt listened to all the names in attentive silence, though visibly dismissing a couple of them on the spot. "My family would probably appreciate Djanjo", he said with a smile. "But... Triscuit. Tris?" This was directed to the puppy, who cocked his head curiously.

Amazingly enough, Kevin almost smiled. "Ah like Triscuit."

"I think he does too", Kurt said thoughtfully. "And it would suit his colouring. Shall that be your name, then, Triscuit?"

"An' it's better 'an One," Kevin confirmed. Triscuit seemed like a good name, even if he would be named after crackers. Could be worse, he could be fluffy.