xp_logs | Heretics: Morning in Casablanca (Reply)

After a long and delayed flight, Nathan checks to make sure that Catseye is ready to face the day.

Sitting in the main room of the suite and sipping at black coffee that tasted very strongly of cardamom and cinnamon, Nathan looked up and smiled as Catseye emerged from the bedroom she and Monet were sharing. "Morning," he said. "Sorry for the very interrupted sleep last night. That plane was supposed to get us in here considerably earlier than it did." At least she'd gotten some sleep on the plane; Nathan hadn't managed that, as per usual. I wonder if I'll ever not hate commercial flights.

Catseye bounced over to Nathan, shaking her head. "Catseye did not mind! Catseye likes having naps all the time!" The catgirl tended to nap periodically throughout the day at home or stay up for the duration of the night with no real schedule. "Where are MisterNathanSoftHands and Catseye going today? Somewhere fun?"

Nathan laughed gently. "Well, I can't promise the meetings will be all that fun. I'll need you to take notes, like we talked about. Once we're done for the day, though, I thought I'd take you and Monet out for dinner someplace nice."

Nodding emphatically, the catgirl sniffed at Nathan's coffee. "Catseye will take notes, yesyesyes! And then someplace nice for dinner? Some place that has fish? Or pastrami?"

"They do some very nice fish dishes around here," Nathan said thoughtfully. It could be a bit jarring, the first time you were exposed to a dramatically different local cuisine. He'd have to figure out what Catseye might like. "Spicy, though. Do you like spicy?"

"Catseye does not like spicy very much and not lemons or oranges at all," she said, wrinkling her nose in response to what she'd read about the extensive use of citrus in the local cuisine in the tourism guide she'd bought about Morocco before departing and had been reading diligently. "But Catseye would like to try couscous!"

"Couscous can be had for the asking," Nathan said, more briskly, and eyed her. "You're not nervous or anything?" he asked her. "I know this city isn't much like New York." And she was at a disadvantage, not knowing the languages. He was going to have to work on that with her over the next few months.

The purple-haired girl cocked her head in confusion. "Why would Catseye be nervous? MisterNathanSoftHands will feed Catseye and take her places and show her fun things! And Catseye will not have to talk in the WrongWords because MisterNathanSoftHands will talk! Catseye knows she should use her eyes not her words with the CasablancaPeople," she assured Nathan, sensing that he was worried, maybe worried that she would embarrass him the way she could tell Evan or even her friends got embarrassed when they took her out sometimes. She knew she would not be understood here, and was perfectly happy letting Nathan take care of her. "Catseye is going to use her eyes and ears and nose and Catseye is going to write down everything she sees when Catseye is in her bed at night so that she can tell MisterSplodeyButt and MisterPointyEarsBeaubier about Morocco when she gets home!"

Nathan caught himself smiling again, this time in something close to contentment. "I think that's a great idea," he said. "And you know, we shouldn't be in meetings all the time. When we're not, want to go shopping the North African way and find gifts for people?"

"Yesyesyes!" Her head cocked in confusion after she said it. "What is the North African way, MisterNathanSoftHands? Veryvery different from the America way?"