xp_logs | Amanda and Catseye log- Saturday bus run

Backdated to Saturday morning.

Catseye sees Amanda again for the first time since returning to Xaviers and learns about Amanda's rebooted (and odd-but-more-pleasant-smeling) powers, putting the SmellyPotionsGirl handle to rest for good. Before this.

Hoping to surprise Evan with a visit to his apartment in the city, Catseye waited patiently against the side of the bus on Saturday morning for Amanda to arrive, tugging at the fabrics of her uncomfortable skirt and button-down sleeveless blouse. Evan had been sweet to buy them for her- he was always very considerate in buying her loose, somewhat skimpy attire in light of the fact that she hated the feel of clothing on her skin- so she wanted to wear them for his sake. Plus she hated riding in a vehicle as a cat. It was impossible to keep one's balance without shredding all the upholstery.

Hearing footsteps approach, Catseye left off fidgeting with her clothes and judged the rate of the footsteps against her own pouncing speed, then paused until the appropriate moment and leapt around the side of the bus, tackling the approaching figure. "SmellyPotionsGirl!"

"Oof!" It was testament to the combat training Amanda had been receiving for the past couple of years that she managed to fall under the taller girl's weight without cracking her head on the garage floor. "Hey, Cats," she said a little weakly, grinning up at the purple-haired girl. "I'd say look what the cat dragged in, but the cat's you in this case. You tagging along on the bus run, are you?"
Catseye got to her feet so Amanda would be able to breathe- something she'd been getting used to since going to live with Evan. She even offered Amanda a hand to help her up. "Catseye is going to go surprise BigBrother! And Catseye wanted to see SmellyPotionsGirl. SmellyPotionsGirl looks very full and warm and happy," she said with a smile, pleased.

Amanda took the offered hand, and was hauled to her feet. "I am." Especially considering she'd spent the night with Angelo, as was the case sometimes before a bus run. "Which is probably a bit of a change from the last time you saw me." She grinned. "Which is good, since I don't really want dumping in the lake again. So, you're back for the schooling thing, are you?"

"BigBrother was spending too much time teaching Catseye. Catseye thought this was a BadThing," the purple-haired girl answered, tugging a little on the hem of her skirt. "So yes, Catseye is back. And Catseye missed throwing SillyKittens into the lake," she added with a grin. "Is SmellyPotionsGirl going to college like WarmSnugglyFriend?"
"Not exactly. I've got a job with some of the other people you remember - Doug and Marie-Ange and Jubilee and 'Yana. Pete, Wanda and Remy, too." The whole backwards degree thing was a bit hard to explain so she left it at that. "And you sure you want to still call me SmellyPotionsGirl? I haven't made a potion for a couple of years now." She leaned back against the van, crossing her arms over her chest, giving the catgirl an amused look. "Your nose should tell you that."

The catgirl grinned back. "Catseye's nose smells gasoline and tires from the garage, and SmellyPotionsGirl smells like SillyPuttyBoy and ickysmoke and shower and NotSleeping and..." she narrowed her eyes, coming closer to Amanda and sniffing liberally, "...something else... smells like..." curious, she pressed her nose against Amanda's cheek. "Almost like the alley in the BusyTown where Catseye used to live? Catseye doesn't know," she added with a frown. "But Catseye likes the name SmellyPotionsGirl." With a smile, she poked Amanda in the arm. "Maybe SmellyPotionsGirl will have a new name soon. But SmellyPotionsGirl is worse than SillyKitten?"

"Anything's better than SillyKitten," Amanda agreed. "And there's plenty of new kids for you to be hauling around and dumping in the lake too. Have you met many of the new crop of students yet? They're a good bunch, for the most part." Recent dramas aside.

Catseye stopped sniffing at Amanda and stepped back, still not satisfied she'd pinned down the origin of Amanda's notnormal scent but well aware that Amanda was changing the subject and wasn't going to give her any clues. So she would ponder it for a bit and ask Amanda if she couldn't figure it out herself. "PointyEarsGirl likes to play in the woods; Catseye likes her very much," she answered fondly, "and SharpSkinGirl is very good at HideAndSeek!" She wrinkled her nose. "But Catseye doesn't know if she likes BreakingTableGirl or the others. WrongNamesWoman didn't understand The Way Things Are but Catseye taught her and now WrongNamesWoman is a good warm catpetter, and she is a lovely shade of blue! Does SillyPuttyBoy'sGirl know WrongNamesWoman?"

As always when talking to Catseye, there was a pause while Amanda untangled some of the nicknames. WrongNamesWoman... ah, the thread a little while back. "Morgan? I don't know if Ange has met her yet, but I've run into her a few times. She's mates with Garrison and Adrienne, so we meet up at the pub sometimes." There was a hint of mischief in Amanda's smile. "She's adaptable, yeah. Did you two wind up doing the powers thing?"

"Not yet," Catseye informed Amanda. "Catseye has been working veryveryhard on her schoolwork because sillystupid schoolwork is important and so Catseye has only seen WrongNamesWoman at sleep time." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "If SillyPuttyBoy'sGirl and WrongNamesWoman go to the pub together, SillyPuttyBoy'sGirl will have to make sure WrongNamesWoman doesn't drink too much SmellyBadStuff or Catseye will throw WrongNamesWoman into the lake when she comes back to the mansion." Of course, she'd throw Amanda in too, without hesitation, but she was fairly certain Amanda didn't need the warning.
Amanda raised her hands in mock surrender. "Not too much SmellyBadStuff, definitely." At least anywhere where Catseye's sharp nose might detect it.

Amanda's gesture had stirred up the odd smell Catseye couldn't exactly pin down, bringing it back to the forefront of her thoughts. "Mrrt? Catseye doesn't know why SillyPuttyBoy'sGirl smells like the BusyTown." She shook her head confusedly. "BigBrother lives in the BusyTown and BigBrother doesn't smell like BusyTown. No one else Catseye has smelled smells like BusyTown. Why does SillyPuttyBoy'sGirl smell like the BusyTown?"

The witch blinked and sniffed at her sleeve. Of course, she couldn't smell anything different beyond the usual leather of her jacket and tang of cigarette smoke. "Big Town..." she began confused, and then her face cleared. "Oh, you have to be joking. My powers make me smell like a city?" She laughed, shaking her head. "Well, if I can be eaten by London, I guess anything's possible."

"BusyTown," the catgirl corrected. "BusyTown is different from BigTown," she said with a raised eyebrow, as if this should be obvious to anyone. "How come SillyPuttyBoy'sGirl smells like a city and how can London eat SillyPuttyBoy'sGirl?"
"My powers changed," Amanda explained. "When I was... um, away. I absorb energy from big cities to power the magic, which is why I don't do the SmellyPotions any more - the magic changed as well." A lot of things had changed, she reflected, not the least being Selene's legacy in regard to the healing. "As for London... 's a bit hard to explain. Someone did something that messed up London's energy, and to fix it, it needed me to ride along for a bit. I got swallowed up and then spat out - it messed my head up for a while."

"CityMagicGirl..." the catgirl pondered, trying the name out. "The LondonCity swallowed CityMagicGirl!" Catseye giggled gleefully. "CityMagicGirl should be LondonSwallowedGirl!" She sobered up after a moment and cocked her head at Amanda. "Is CityMagicGirl's head better now?"

"As good as it ever gets," Amanda said with a grin. "And I think I like CityMagicGirl a lot better than LondonSwallowedGirl. Shorter, at least." She glanced at her watch. "Looks like it's time to get this show on the road. You want to ride up front with me? You get to pick the music."

Leaping forward to squash Amanda in a hug, Catseye grinned widely. "Catseye wants to ride up front with CityMagicGirl and pick the music! MusicMusicMusic! Does CityMagicGirl like Cat Power?"

Breathlessly, Amanda squeaked out: "Can't say I know the music, but it can't be worse than Mondo's taste."

"Cat Power is better than the LoudAngryBadWordMusic that CityMagicGirl used to listen to," Catseye giggled, poking Amanda in the arm before racing into the bus.

"What do you mean, 'used to'?" Amanda replied with a laugh of her own, before swinging open the driver's door.