Sharon & Namor | Early Friday

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Catseye and Namor work off some frustration by flirting in the indoor pool.

Floating lazily on her back in the indoor pool, Catseye stared up at reflections of light on the ceiling. It was late at night but she hadn't been able to sleep and was hoping the calm, insulating water would lull her into a more restful frame of mind. But it wasn't working.

She was anxious about the deli opening in the face of vandalism and hate mail and the fact that the Salem Center police didn't seem overly inclined to take her complaints seriously. If someone was hurt because of her restaurant, she didn't know what she'd do. It was an unpleasant feeling to realize that things had been a whole lot simpler before she'd decided to open Deli-CAT-essen.

And because she was feeling down, she extended that thought to add that things had been a whole lot simpler before she'd gone to college. Before she'd left the mansion. Before she'd arrived at the mansion in the first place. Yes. If she'd never come to the mansion, where would she be right now? Definitely not in a lonely pool in a boring old mansion wearing a stupid swimsuit, she told herself, despite the fact that said swimsuit was the skimpiest string bikini she could find to cover the bits everyone insisted she keep covered.

Could she take the bikini off? It was really late. Or early. Whatever. Would anyone really know? She was an RA and was supposed to be respectable all that stuff, especially at the mansion, but would anyone even find out?

As Catseye lounged contemplatively, the pool lights danced across the slight waves she made. They lit the dark room sparingly, creating a shadowplay against the ceiling that hid a figure within the deep end. It stirred against the ripples. The shadowbeast, now awake and cloaked in midnight, kicked toward the surface beneath the drifting woman.

Oblivious to what was rising nearby, the highly stressed catgirl decided to indulge her animal nature in an attempt to make herself feel better. Arms stretched out to keep herself afloat, she used her tail to tug off the offending swimsuit, pushing it away to float on the water with a wrinkle of her nose. That was better. No more fabric. For a little while, she didn't have to be Sharon Smith the RA and mutant businessowner, who wore clothing because everyone else said she had to. Pleased with herself, she hummed happily and continued to drift lazily around the pool.

The figure in the water froze as soon as fabric was released. Its quietness was eerie: no bubbles to hint to its presence, no ripples to warn of its existence. The moments beat away as it sat there. Perhaps it was plotting. Perhaps it was confused. Perhaps it would stay there forever and hope that the woman above him never looked down.

That was a real option. He could do that. The problem was, Namor wasn't the type of man to shy away from awkward situations. He had proven that earlier in the evening before retreating to the pool to regroup.

A loud splash -- comically so, even -- echoed off the moonlit walls as Namor made a show of resurfacing, back turned from the naked woman. He cleared his throat to preserve a little dignity.

Startled by the sudden noise and voice, Catseye did the first thing that came to mind- she shifted into BigCat form. And then realized she was still in the middle of the pool. On her back. Sinking under the greatly increased mass.

With a roar, the enormous cougar thrashed about for several chaotic seconds before Catseye's higher faculties mastered the cat's panic and started controlling the immense form. Calm now, she righted herself in the water and swam strongly towards the edge of the pool, managing to grip the side with her front paws and haul herself out of the water. Lavender fur dripping, she assessed the interloper. It was Namor. The new guy. Was he eighteen? Because she didn't want to get in trouble for being naked around a minor. She thought back to what she'd read when he'd come to the mansion and did the math. With the Attilan time displacement weirdness he was over eighteen here, right? Right! So she wasn't going to get in trouble for being naked around him. Which meant she could shift back!

"Hello," she called out as she sat down at the side of the pool and dipped her feet in, a naked human once again. "I didn't hear you come in."

Namor had started an overture during the cacophony of cat noises, but an inhuman roar and squeal was enough to make him stop and reevaluate what was transpiring over his shoulders. Her verbal queue assured him that whatever had transpired was over. "My apologies, Miss," Namor began in a tone that lacked real apology but also any coldness, "but I was here before you were."

"Were you?!" Catseye sounded intrigued. "Does that mean you were under the water the whole time? That's amazing! " This new discovery triggered her lately-dormant curiosity and tendency towards rapid-fire chatter. "Don't get me wrong, I love being able to be a cat, but I think being able to stay underwater would be almost as good. How deep can you go? I mean, could you scuba dive without the gear? How long can you stay underwater? How cold can the water temperature be for you to swim in it? How hot? Are you going to stay turned around until I'm not naked anymore?"

Catseye got a shrug in response, light playing over broad shoulders, as the man slowly turned to face her. Namor's face was impassive, but held no hint of embarrassment or scandal. "Believe me, I have no issue with you being naked if you wish to be." He made a sweeping gesture, punctuating his statement with a slight bow. "I only regret that I surprised you."

There was a pause as Namor parsed her rapid fire questions. He gave her a proud smile, "I've found no limits to what I can do and how long I can be underwater."

"Nothing to regret," Catseye answered amiably, waving the comment off. "I love being surprised. Surprises are awesome." She smirked at Namor. "Why do you think cats like sneaking around and jumping onto unsuspecting victims so much?" When what he'd said about his mutation sunk in the catgirl raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Wow. That's... wow. Why would you ever leave the water?" she asked in a dreamy tone. Ever since discovering snorkeling with the New Mutants in California years ago she'd been fascinated by everything about the world under the water. She'd done as much scuba diving as possible during her time in the Middle East and Africa with Elpis, but since returning to New York she hadn't done any. She didn't realize until this moment how much she missed it.

"The sea is wonderful," Namor replied with growing relaxation, "But I find the conversation on dry land to be better. I'd much rather talk to a cat than a catfish."

The catgirl giggled, and then realized sadly that it had been far too long since she'd giggled about anything, which made her even happier that she'd decided to visit the pool tonight. "Good point," she acquiesced, "although cats aren't always such great conversationalists... unless you have something they want. And sometimes if you talk to them people think you're crazy. Especially if you're a lady. Lucky for you, I only turn into a cat, and then only sometimes." She slipped back into the water to avoid becoming cold. "Have you been enjoying your conversations since you came to live here?" she asked casually.

He smiled playfully — a flash of white in the dark — as he treaded water. "Well, none of them have felt this natural. Tell me. You're sometimes a cat and sometimes a lady, but are you crazy?"

Catseye giggled again, treading water herself. "I'm not too sure," she admitted. "I want to say I'm less crazy than I used to be. From the time I was one until I was sixteen I lived on the streets in Manhattan, thinking I was just a regular cat. That's pretty darn crazy, right?" She didn't wait for a reply since she knew how crazy it was. "And then when I could turn into a girl I came here, but for a veryvery long time I thought I was a cat that turned into a girl. How crazy is that? I refused to even use peoples' names," she told him unabashedly, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Now I know I'm a human with a mutation," she carried on, "so I didn't think I was crazy anymore. But I'm a mutant opening up a deli in Salem Centre. People tell me every day that's crazy. So I don't know if I'm really less crazy than I used to be. But," she added with a hint of hopefulness in her voice, "sometimes I think everyone that lives here must be a little bit crazy. I mean, is this really the type of place normal people would live?

"Or am I just trying to make myself feel better by telling myself that you must be a little bit crazy, too?" she asked Namor with a smirk.

"I drifted to sleep in the deep end of the pool," Namor returned her smirk although it was softer around the edges. "That cannot be normal. Why should it be? What makes a person truly worth knowing is when they embrace their potential; be it crazy or not." He arched his eyebrows. "I've also been accused of being crazy, but you're going to have to get to know me to figure out in what way."


"You say that like it's a bad thing," Catseye replied teasingly, flicking water at Namor. "I like that you think people who embrace what they are are worth knowing," she told him. "I think that, too. I like who I am. I guess the crazy talk is just me being grouchy about my restaurant. People are dicks sometimes, you know? They keep vandalizing it. Sometimes it just makes me want to go out and vandalize their businesses, y'know?" She grew her claws out and made slashy motions in the air. "I've never been to Attilan. Are people mean to mutants there, too?"

"Wait," Namor's face hardened, "People are vandalizing your business because you are a mutant?" He sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Attilan is a place where mutants are accepted. It is a small nation, so good relations are easier." His eyes grew icy. "Tell me who to beat some sense into and I will."

Still paddling around, Catseye made a face. "I wish I knew. I mean, I know retaliating is wrong and it just makes things worse and makes us look bad and we're supposed to be better than the jerks, but if I knew who was doing it, I'd tell you. And I'd help," she muttered darkly, though she tried to keep herself from having those thoughts. "Why would you leave a place where mutants are accepted?"

"Of course its wrong," Namor muttered only half convinced. He was ready to do what he offered, even if he knew better. "Have you ever felt contained? Like there are walls on all sides that you cannot break through?"

Catseye laughed. She couldn't help it. "Catgirl, remember?" she pointed out gently with a big grin on her face, hoping she wasn't insulting Namor. "I got dragged here from the city and then everyone kept telling me I had to stay here, I couldn't go back because I needed to learn how to be a human in this place. This place that's filled with humans... and even though they tell you you're supposed to be like them, you aren't. So you're stuck in this place with all this stuff you don't understand and people you don't understand. I used to go out and sleep in the woods a lot just to feel like I wasn't in a cage. Or I'd sleep in someone's bed with them," she shrugged. "That made me feel better." She did a somersault in the water. "Didn't you used to live in a palace?" she asked Namor, then carried on innocently with, "isn't the whole 'the palace is stifling' thing kind of... Disney?"

She got a laugh in return. It wasn't a nervous giggle, or a sympathetic chuckle, but a deep, silent laugh that spoke of self-realization. "I don't sing." Namor smiled, "Attilan is small. I grew up within the people's gaze and was taught to meet their expectations, but that's a way to never discover yourself. I outgrew the walls around me." Namor didn't add "And my family thought I was growing into a prick."

"And what are you discovering about yourself here?" Catseye asked, dog-paddling around him and using her tail as a rudder.

"That I'm less worried about cat and fish metaphors than I should be," Namor replied with a wink.

The catgirl raised her eyebrows at him. Winking? There was winking going on? Well then! It had been far too long since she'd been winked at. "Well, Mister Non-Singing-Disney-Prince, I think that's very good news for me," she smirked. "So you're not worried that I'm... predatory?"

His eyebrows quirked, "I would be disappointed if that wasn't true."

Catseye swam closer to him. This was probably a bad idea, but she'd been so stressed lately, and it would make her feel better. "Just... y'know... as a total hypothetical question... If we were to kiss underwater could you breathe for me or would I have to breathe for myself?" she inquired inquisitively.

Namor leaned toward the swimmer, a smirk rising to match his eyebrows, and suggested, "I honestly don't know. Should we risk it?"

"I think we kinda have to," Catseye answered in her most apologetic tone. "For science!"

He had stopped drifting. They were now a breath apart. Namor could feel the heat off Catseye's skin through the water; the rise and fall of her breath. Her pulse. He smiled his most innocent smile, "Well then, for science."