Yvette and Catseye - Changes

[x-catseye.livejournal.com]

Catseye comes across Yvette practicing her control over her changed powers and she offers the catgirl a new opportunity.


Her woods had been pretty crowded lately, with people trying to cope with the aftermath of the events in Genosha as best they could. Catseye didn't really mind. The woods were a good place to feel better in. They were her favourite place for that very reason, so she never minded sharing them for that purpose. She'd been wandering around for a long time now in her small form. After all the fighting she'd done in Genosha she didn't feel like hunting in any of her forms, so she just moved through the woods, criss-crossing the deer trails, taking everything in. Until she'd picked up the scent of Yvette. She smelled different now, after Genosha. Catseye knew she'd been out here a lot since they'd gotten home. She'd left her friend alone with her thoughts up until now, but after roaming around for what felt like a week, Catseye was ready for some interaction, and she felt like maybe it was time Yvette had some too.

"Mrrrrrrrrrrt?" she called out, so as not to startle her friend.

There was movement in the treetops, a rustling of leaves and then a small, spiky shape dropped down from the branches. Yvette's battle form was barely human, but as she caught sight of her friend, she smiled, the expression odd among the sharp ridges protecting her face and eyes. "Hello, Catseye," she said. "A moment, please."

She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath and focussing. Slowly, the spikes and sharp outcroppings of her skin melted away, the long talons of her fingers reducing until her hands were close to normal-looking, until instead of the spiked monster there was a slim, red-skinned young woman, dressed in her X-Men leathers. Her hair had begun to grow back, a rough fuzz over her scalp.

Catseye tried not to bristle with fear at the battle form, forgetting for a moment that the creature was her friend and not wanting 'it' to sense her panic. But then 'it' was Yvette again and she chided herself for being afraid, and for being worried about showing it. The purple cat wound herself around Yvette's legs, purring and headbutting.

"And hello to you also," Yvette said with a chuckle, bending down to carefully stroke her friend's head. It was strange, touching things without her gloves on, even stranger getting used to the fact her hands were closer to human-sized than they had been in years. "Have you also been having the alone time in the woods?"

After indulging in the skritches for a moment, Catseye shifted back to girlform. "No! No no no! No I wasn't having alone time!" Then a thought hit her. "Oh, wait. You didn't mean... that kind of alone time, did you?"

"What kind of time?" Yvette asked, puzzled, before realising what the catgirl meant. Her eyes blazed bright blue, bigger than ever without her hair. "Oh, no! Not that," she hurried to clarify. "I meant the personal quiet time, for thinking about things, yes?"
"Yes. Okay. Good. Yes," Catseye giggled. "I was thinking, that's what I was doing. Well, actually," she admitted, "I was sort of just wandering around trying not to think. There's too much...stuff in my head, I wanted to squish it down so I didn't have to think so much because the things I'm thinking don't make me very happy. How about you, were you thinking happy things?"

"A little of the column A, a little of the column B," Yvette replied a little ruefully. "It seems that I have, how do I say? The greater range for my powers now. I can go softer than I could before, but there is also the... fighting shape, I suppose it should be called. The scary one." She shrugged. "I have been trying to practice these things where I will not make people frightened."

Catseye nodded. "Practice is good!" Except practice made her think back to their conversation of years previous, about the alone time, which made her giggle again. "I'm not scared of the fighting shape," she lied, "and I think anyone who knows you isn't going to be scared for very long, because they know who you are inside. I mean, people are always scared of BigCat when they first meet me in that form, but they aren't frightened forever. Still," she giggled, "I don't like to be BigCat when I'm lying on the couch in the mansion, so I understand why you don't want to practice where lots of people are. How's the practice going? It must be nice to go softer than before, huh?"

If Yvette caught the lie, she didn't pursue it. She'd seen the expressions on the faces of her friends during the fight with Moreau, and after, had seen herself in the mirror in her battle form. echoes of memories painting her skin with blood spray. "It takes the concentration," she replied, "And lots of meditation time, but I think I am getting the hold of it. It will need a lot of practice for me to have the proper control, I think."

"Good thing you have all summer, huh?" the purple haired girl grinned. "Couple months to hang out in the woods and the quarry and just practice practice practice before school starts again! Well," she added, "I guess you have to be at the mansion sometimes to make sure the kids aren't pranking each other to death, but mostly you can just rest and meditate and practice!"

"Actually, that was something else I was thinking about." Yvette gave Catseye a considering look. "With summer English classes and powers training and the X-Men, I do not have a lot of time. And, I think I have been as useful as I can be as an RA. It is time to pass the job on, I think." Her smile turned a little sly. "How would you like the job?"

"Me?!" Catseye squeaked, pointing a clawed hand at herself. "Keep kids from pranking themselves to death?! Well... I do like them. And this way I have good reasons to be talking to them! Instead of just being the creepy old person who wants to hang out with them, the way I feel I am now. I'm very responsible now, you know. Much more than I was when I was a student." She mulled it over for another moment. "Yesyesyes, I think I like this idea! If you think the kids would be okay with it, that is. And the Professor. And if you're sure that you don't have enough time for it. I think you're really useful."

"We can talk to the Professor together - he knows I am wanting to hand the job onto someone else, so it is not such a surprise for him." Yvette gave Catseye another smile, this one a little sad. "And there is much that I have to work on now, after what happened - it is better that I take the time for that. You will be a wonderful RA, I think." The smile turned a little mischievous. "Especially since you can be pouncing on them as a cat when they are being naughty."

"FlyingCatDeathFromAbove! No more pranking!" Catseye laughed at the mental image. "Or, I could Lake them. Kidding," she added, just in case. "I think it's good that you take the time to work on things. I'm going to be a veryverygood RA to make you proud and then once you've worked on things if you want to be an RA again you can! It will be like I am keeping your place warm for you. Cats are good at that. And if you need some help working, or if you just want to talk, or just want a cuddle, I always want to help. Can I hug you?" She didn't want to take her friend by surprise.

Yvette blinked a little, surprised by the request and for a moment falling back into her old habits, the instinct to caution and back away. But she was getting better. "Yes?" she replied, a little hesitantly.

Catseye threw her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. "You're gonna work super hard, and you're gonna be okay. I know it." Thankfully, she hadn't had to fight Yvette in Genosha, or she probably would have been much more emotional right now, but even without having actually seen Yvette as a mutate, Catseye felt a lump coming to her throat thinking about what her friend must be going through right now. "Next time you go to a protest you're taking me with you, okay? Cats are good bodyguards. Little known fact about us. I think only He-Man knows that right now, but I'm gonna change that."

Yvette had stiffened a little with the embrace, but after a moment, she began to relax into it. "Thank you," she said softly, tentatively hugging back. "For everything."