Cammie and Catseye

[x-catseye.livejournal.com]

A sleep-deprived Cammie challenges Catseye's speech patterns and manages to avoid a serious discussion on just exactly why she hates October.

"Hi Cammie!" Catseye exclaimed enthusiastically, bouncing as she sat down on top of the desk at the Elpis office next to the green-haired girl. "How is Cammie today? What is Cammie doing?"

“I’m wondering why I bothered to crawl out of bed,” Cammie said. She was taking a short and unscheduled break to try to get around the fact that she was fucking exhausted. Likely because she only had two hours of sleep the previous night.

"Hmm." Catseye's head tilted in thought. "Catseye thinks this is a hard thing to wonder, because beds are so warm and cozy and napping is the bestest. Maybe because Cammie needs to work to have money to buy things she likes and needs?"

“Would it kill you to use ‘I’?” Cammie returned, “Or ‘you’?” Yes, beds were warm and cozy but the thought of bed just reminded her that it was time to bleach her sheets again.

The purple head tilted again. "Catseye does not think it would kill Catseye. Why?"

“Because you sound like a two year old,” Cammie returned. Oh sweet head on desk, please provide me with two minutes of sleep. “And you’re smarter than a two year old.”

"Really?" The response so stunned the catgirl that she didn't elaborate whether she was questioning the statement that she sounded like a two year-old or that Cammie thought she was smarter than one.

“God, I’d hope so. You never struck me as being that dumb,” she said, turning to look at the cat girl. Her own eyes were very, very bloodshot. Her long list of immunities didn’t include fatigue. “So yeah. You’re smarter than a two year old.”

"But Cammie thinks the way Catseye talks is sillystupid?"

“Right now? Yes,” Cammie said firmly. “Because seriously. You’re a smart big kid. You can talk like a smart big kid.”

"Catseye is not stupid!" she cried out, upset. Luckily they were the only ones in the office at the moment. "Why is Cammie being so mean to Catseye?"

“I know you’re not fucking stupid,” Cammie returned, moving her head so she was mostly face down on the desk, “You want me to be mean? I can be fucking mean.”

Catseye nearly hissed at the other woman, more from the tone than the words, which didn't really mean much to her, but she held back. She also held back on kicking Cammie in the shins. "Cammie," she said in a patient tone, "tell Ca- tell me-" she emphasized, not wanting to give Cammie another excuse to be mean, "tell me what is wrong with Ca- with you."

“It’s October and I only got two hours of sleep last night,” she snapped. “I’m being nice, all things considered.”

"Oh. Well Ca-you should go home then if Ca... argh... you are sleepy. Ca-I- this is hard!" she muttered, exasperated, "I can do C-your work for you. How come Cammie doesn't like October?"

“Because it’s October. Bad things happen in October,” Cammie said, it was a perfectly reasonable explanation. “And I’ll be fine. I just need a few minutes.”

"Bad things? Like the sneakybadmutant Apocalypse hurting people?"

“Kinda. On a smaller scale though,” Cammie muttered.

"Is October when Cam... when you came to the mansion?"

“Nah, that was in January. October was when I ran off the first time,” and that was all she was going to tell the cat girl.

The catgirl patted Cammie on the shoulder. "Ca... I understand. Ca-ugh! I have a secret place in one of the storage rooms where Catseye naps sometimes. I can show Ca... you where it is? There are blankets and everything! They smell like paint a little-" because they were actually paint covers that had been left at the office the last time it had been painted- "but maybe Ca... you don't mind?"

“What do I care? I used to sleep in a garbage dump,” Cammie returned.

"Ca... me too." the catgirl reminded her. "How come Cammie is not happy that she does not have to sleep in a garbage dump anymore?"

“That’s not what’s bothering me,” Cammie said, yawning. “It’s a long, stupid story.”

"I like stories. Unless they are private stories," she amended, wrapping her tail around Cammie's wrist and tugging gently in an attempt to get the green-haired girl to follow her.

Cammie got up and followed, “Yeah, this one’s kinda private. Something bad happened this month, that’s all that matters.” All the whining and moaning about it wouldn’t change anything.

Catseye led the way to one of the storage rooms and used a claw to open the locked door, crossing the large, derelict expanse of shelving units and presenting a nest she'd made out of paint covers to Cammie. "Voila! she said with a giggle. "Ca... you can nap here and I will not tell anyone where you are."

“Well, this works. Don’t let me sleep more than an hour,” Cammie said. She could make it on three hours of sleep.

The purple head tipped questioningly. "Why can't Cat... I let you sleep until you are not grumpy anymore?"

Cammie laughed, "Because that won't happen for a long, long time."