Catseye and Jean-Paul

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After her meeting with Sarah, Catseye tracks down Jean-Paul for reading time. He winds up making a suggestion that could help with her lack of feline company.



It had been several days since Catseye had last visited Jean-Paul for reading time, since it seemed as if she could never catch him alone. Not that she minded the other people at all, of course, she just felt that some things she didn't want to talk about in front of other people. Her issue with Sarah, and the conversation that had resulted with Jean-Paul, was one of those things.

But he was alone now; she could hear from the other side of the door that he was alone. She knocked politely, latest book in her tail, and called out "Mister Beaubier! Can Catseye come in? Catseye wants to tell Mister Beaubier about how she talked to Sarah!"

Jean-Paul opened the door, greeting his student with that same quiet, somehow forced smile that he had adopted since his return. He usually relaxed somewhat after a few minutes spent together, but still, it was different than before. "Of course. Come in. You have missed Jeanne-Marie again, but there is time for that later." And probably just as well; Jeanne-Marie had developed a mild unease around cats since the incident with Delphine and she had already spent the morning discussing the resolution of their less-than-pleasant old history with Ernst St. Ives with him. "How did it go?"

"Sarah gave Catseye a stuffed kitty! He is called 'Cheshire Cat' and he is purple like Catseye!" she exclaimed happily, bounding into the room. "He has funny eyes and stripes and a funny smile! And Catseye and Sarah talked and Catseye said she was going to try to tell people about being a cat and a girl when they move to the mansion right away next time, because Catseye is proud to be a cat and a girl and because it is not Sarah's fault that she did not know who Catseye was because it's not something most people are going to know looking at you at first glance, but you can't be shy about letting them know because you're afraid that how they'll react will make things more complicated." The last half of her speech was based on what Jean-Paul had talked to her about earlier in the week, and she was happy to have remembered it, and that it had done the trick to mend things between herself and Sarah.

Catseye's description of the encounter did much to ease Jean-Paul's smile to a more genuine expression. The girl was so earnest in all of her pursuits that it was impossible not to be pleased when matters worked out for her. "I am glad that things have smoothed out between the two of you. It is good for Sarah to have a friend here while she adjusts to missing her home, and she knows that she has someone she can trust at her side." Jean-Paul held out his hand and Catseye used her tail to flip the thin paperback his way with a grin; he had found that she liked testing her teacher's reflexes. "So what have you brought me today?"

"Catseye brought more Shakespeare!" she said happily. She'd been to the library and harangued Tabitha for a copy of Hamlet. "Catseye remembered reading the Shrew play with Mister Beaubier before and Catseye watched a movie with Nick and Yvette that was supposed to be like the Shrew play, except it was called 'Ten Things I Hate About You.' Catseye liked it very much and Catseye looked up on the internet today for other movies that are made to be like Shakespeare, and Catseye found out that 'The Lion King' is like this Shakespeare! Catseye has seen the movie about lions but not read the Shakespeare. Can Catseye and MisterBeaubier read it?"

"But of course. If you will raid the fridge for snacks, I will get the supplementary material." Shakespeare with Catseye was always an interesting experience. Jean-Paul fetched the usual dictionary (though it was becoming more and more of a standby these days), the Shakespeare-to-English Dictionary (a recent acquisition), and Shakespeare: The Bard's Guide To Abuses And Affronts (more for their entertainment than Catseye's education, but what was wrong with that?) and parked himself on the couch.

She did as she was told obediently, pouring glasses of milk piling cookies on plates, and beginning to fix sandwiches with cold cuts. "Has Jean-Paul seen the Lion movie?" she asked conversationally as she slathered mustard on the sandwiches. "Catseye likes the lion movie very much. Especially when the lions are cubs. They are very cute. Catseye thinks lions are very cute when they are made with drawing, but Catseye has never seen a real lion with her eyes before. Has Jean-Paul ever seen a lion for real?"

Jean-Paul nearly dropped the books he was arranging on the coffee table. "No one has ever thought you might find a zoo interesting?"

The catgirl made a face as she returned to the living room with the food. "Yes Catseye has been to the zoo but that is not the same! At the zoo all the cats are in cages! Catseye wants to see them with no cages, and maybe BigCat would like them." She hadn't played with any other cats, even Kyle's TinyCat, in ages. And TinyCat wasn't really that fun to play with because he was confined to Kyle's suite. A frown marred her features. "Catseye used to play with other cats lots but since coming back to the mansion Catseye has been busy with school and driving and plays and reading," she said wanly.

"Well, I have not seen a lion in the wild either." He shuffled the books aside to make room for their snack as Catseye came to sit beside him. "As to your lack of playmates, I am guessing that you are bored with the same furry faces here day in and day out?" It made sense; human visitors came and went, but the pet roster was slower to change. "You could look beyond the school for feline companionship. I understand that there is a local no-kill shelter? Perhaps you could volunteer there."

As she munched on her sandwich, Catseye thought this over. "Go visit cats? Take them out of their cages to play with them? Catseye thinks this is a veryverygood idea!" Her smile grew, but a sudden thought tempered it. "MisterBeaubier won't be mad if Catseye plays with other cats instead of other humans?"

Jean-Paul paused in the middle of reaching for a cookie. "Why do you think I would be upset?" He had an idea, but he most definitely did not wish to assume in this case.

She thought over the best way to phrase it. "Well, because MisterBeaubier gets sad sometimes when Catseye does things like a cat and not like a human. Catseye can tell. Because MisterBeaubier wants Catseye to be able to be normal when she needs to be normal like when talking to people not at the mansion, which is a goodthing Catseye thinks. And it makes Catseye sad when MisterBeaubier is sad, and Catseye does not know if playing with cats instead of humans will make MisterBeaubier upset." The catgirl had always been very much about doing what made her happy, but since first arriving at the mansion, and especially after meeting Evan and going to live with him, she'd begun to realize that sometimes it made her happier when the people she cared about were happy instead of when she was the only one who was happy. If it was a question of doing what was right or wrong, in her own mind, she would always do what she thought was right now matter who it disappointed, but this wasn't really a question of right or wrong in her mind, so she worried about what Jean-Paul might think.

Jean-Paul nodded at her observations. "Very astute." He weighed his words carefully before he spoke next. "I would not say it makes me sad...well..." He reconsidered again. "Perhaps a bit. Your world is already growing larger than the boundaries of the school. Even just since I have been here, you have taken strides in that direction. I want you to be prepared not just to act like a human, but to understand them, to know how they think and how they will likely react, and I want that to be as painless as possible for you." Or, more succintly, "I wish you to be safe. But, at the same time...I do worry. I am not so good at being the voice of conformity. When we talk of how you can better fit in to expectations of human society, I wonder if I am pushing you away from what makes you so uniquely Catseye. I do not wish to give you the idea that you must be exactly like everyone else or that I do not like who you are."

Catseye poked at her sandwich as she considered this. "Catseye is happy that Mister Beaubier wants her to be safe and to understand humans. Mister Summers says that change is a good thing, but Catseye knows she does not want to change to be exactly like everyone else. But Mister Summers also says Catseye will never stop being Catseye even if she changes," she smiled. "So is Mister Beaubier saying that it will not be a bad thing if Catseye goes to the shelter to play with other cats?" She was still a little confused on that issue, since he hadn't exactly answered her question.

Jean-Paul blinked, then laughed softly, mildly embarrassed by his tangent. "My apologies. I sidetracked myself. No, it would not be a bad thing. Playing with cats will not cause you to forget any of your lessons about people, so what reason is there to be upset?"

Catseye frowned when she was laughed at, tail lashing unhappily. That was exactly what she was afraid would happen. "What if Catseye does forget about people? What if playing with other cats makes Catseye so happy that she does not want to be a human again?"

Her teacher sobered a bit at her obvious concern. "I honestly do not think that it will," he said. "Not any more than finding any new group of friends would cause you to run off and leave the people you care for. Do you truly think that you would be so happy with cats again that you would never again want to read, continue your driving lessons, or even just talk with the friends you have made here?"

"Catseye was a cat for fifteen winters," she said quietly. "Catseye was happy. Driving and reading and talking to friends makes Catseye happy, but Catseye does not know if being with cats will make her even more happy because it is easier to be a cat than a human." She took another bite of her sandwich. Thinking about things that were in the future, that you couldn't anticipate, was silly. What more could anyone do except tackle the problems they had right now and see what happened? "Except Catseye will not know unless she tries, yes? And Catseye hopes that she will never run off and leave her people."

"So do I. We would miss you very much." Jean-Paul brushed his hair back behind one pointed ear; he was overdue for a trim. "Would you like me to go with you, just in case you wind up needing someone?"

Catseye hugged him around the shoulders, grateful for the offer. "Catseye thinks Mister Beaubier does not have to go to stay the whole time because Catseye does not know how long she will be there if she talks to the person in charge and is allowed to stay and help play with the cats, but maybe Mister Beaubier can take Catseye and come get Catseye after? To make sure Catseye comes home?"

"I think I can somehow find the time for that." He wrapped one arm around Catseye in a brief return hug, giving her a quick pat on the back. "It is probably a good idea to have an adult there anyway, depending on what papers they need filled out."

The catgirl giggled at him. "Catseye works at Elpis," she reminded him. "Catseye knows allllllll about papers!" It helped that she read everything she filed, and was familiar with various forms and types of paperwork, so she thought she could anticipate how to respond to questions. "But yes Catseye thinks it is a very good idea to have Mister Beaubier there."

Jean-Paul decided not to clarify his meaning so far as paperwork went; if he was needed, that was fine, and if not, there was no need to make Catseye wonder what her age might have to do with her ability to play with cats.

"Let me know when you wish to make the trip." He picked up the book and leafed over to the opening scene. "That is the nice thing about summer; I find myself with a very open schedule."