Liam, Sharon: Barn Cats
Dec. 27th, 2023 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsLiam does what all kids in rural Maine eventually do: head out to an abandoned barn for some personal time with a friend. As he is reminded, "personal time" is not something that should be attempted around Sharon.
The party was going full swing with a bonfire surrounded by an array of aging folding chairs and the nearby barn, nearly falling down at this point, was the only source of privacy or relief from the frigid winter cold. That didn't stop the kids from their fun, though the addition of a couple kegs and plenty of cheap PBR and Natty Lite helped as well.
Liam had reconnected with his friends, chatting happily about his new school, with a few very intentional omissions, a can of beer in his hand when Clarissa had joined them. Sharon was.... somewhere. He wasn't concerned because no one was screaming about giant cats or getting gutted by her claws, so it was fine. Taking Clarissa's hand, they headed to the barn.
They'd never dated, never made anything official, but they'd fooled around plenty at parties and he was pretty sure she had a cat kink or was a furry or something. He didn't want to know, so long as it was casual, whatever. And he was thrilled that she was still interested.
Something else was interested, but in a very different way.
Whatever kink Clarissa may or may not have possessed, it was not the sort that sparked a sense of surprise and delight when finding a pair of huge yellow eyes staring back at her from the rafters. Particularly when something long and snake-like dropped into the shadows below, and twitched.
Turning at the motion, half rolling off the girl beneath him, Liam growled, then hissed, "What the hell Sharon?" he demanded, Clarissa already moving away and pulling her shirt to lay properly.
"I was here first. Is Liam who has trespassed, not I. I stayed only to supervise." Sharon's dangling tail gave a languid sweep as she turned her full attention to Clarissa. She had moved far enough out of the shadows to reveal she had been lurking in her hybrid form, though this may not have been an improvement. "Safe sex is important. If Kitten was remiss, I am sure one of your friends may supply protection. Your erogenous zones are being sufficiently addressed?"
"Sharon!" Liam squeaked, ears down and clearly unhappy in aeroplane mode. "No! Go away! You're being creepy!"
Clarissa cast a look between them and shook her head, heading out back to the party. She wasn't okay with whatever that was.
"Clarissa!" Liam went after her, though it was clear that she wasn't interested in him joining her now. Turning, he glared at Sharon, "You suck. Why can't you be normal?" he asked, going back to the party, too. Maybe he'd go home. No point in being here if Sharon was going to be like this. It wasn't fun.
"Am perfectly normal cat," she replied as she landed lightly beside him, watching Clarissa's retreat with eyes slitted in evil satisfaction. "Or perhaps you mean normal girl? Is strange, I recall someone in this room telling me I was not to act as one. Mocking my efforts with jeers of high heels and Korean pop sensations."
In hybrid form Sharon's lips were not mobile enough for a smile, but every syllable dripped with spiritual smirk.
"Mine is a dark and terrible vengeance."
Normal. As in 'not making his life suck.' He didn't reply, the only indication that he'd even heard her was a twitch of his ear as he headed back into the throng of kids, reaching for the keys of his dad's truck and leaving her there. She could find her own way back to his house.
****
"Is Kitten done being immature, or must I find another barn to languish in? It is good I had Pixie's bag. Is not convenient to carry boots in my mouth."
Sharon stood in the doorway of Liam's room, her expression annoyed. She was in human form, now redressed in the oversized sweater and thick leggings she'd worn to the party, and had pulled the soft hand-knit cap Liam's mother had given her over her head. His mother hadn't realized Sharon, unlike her son, had human ears, and had consequently included accommodating peaks in the design. Sharon had not taken it off since receiving it.
Liam was on his bed dressed in sleep clothes and playing a game on his phone. As much as he hated to admit it, Illyana's game was kinda addicting. "You done being a cock block?" he retorted, sighing and putting his phone down, motioning for her to come in. He kinda wanted to sleep for a little bit, but it was too late, so he might as well stay up. At least his parents were already asleep.
The older girl stalked into the room, her unwavering yellow gaze never leaving his face. "You think I should feel guilt, but you are the one who left to pursue his own sexual exploits. Party was too loud, too crowded. I knew no one. I went to the barn for respite. It was only after this that you appeared. And you were occupied. I declined to interrupt."
"You not only interrupted, you asked if I was... what? Performing properly?" Liam scoffed, tail swishing behind him in agitation, "I looked around and you were gone! You're fun, you get along well at the mansion, I figured something caught your attention and you wandered after it, so I went to catch up with friends! I wasn't abandoning you!"
Sharon's expression was defiant. "People at the mansion are known to me. They are like us. How to interact with normal humans, people I have never met before, this I do not know. I was alone." She seized the old carpeted scratching ball from his desk and began to play with it. "Besides, I am not good at being human. When Kevin Sydney tried to teach me how to look as one you laughed at me. Is better if I do not try to pretend."
Wait, what? Liam took a long moment, thinking. "Sharon, you look weird with makeup because you don't usually wear it. It's like.... Breakfast Club when they are in the library? Besides, you're still Sharon with or without it. You're still you."
Sharon didn't say anything, but the scratching on the sandpaper stopped briefly. From anyone else one might have said the silence seemed embarrassed.
"You did not say this," she muttered. "Until this year, I had no friends who had seen this face. How am I to know that is what was meant?"
Staring at her, Liam's ear twitched and he blinked. "... How?"
"How what?" Sharon asked sourly, still not looking at him. "Was homeschooled. Because I am visibly mutant mother was strict about internet safety. No webcam, all profile pictures of myself were as smallcat only. Faces are not necessary for friendship."
Liam blinked, confounded. "But. Okay, same, but...I still went to public school and stuff. Like, I wasn't allowed to play sports because of an 'unfair advantage' BS, but I could do pretty much anything else?" He wasn't allowed social media other than the bare minimum needed to be social as he got older and that was pretty monitored.
Sharon shot him the look of someone who didn't particularly like what she was feeling and hugely resented having to explain it to someone else. "Is my point. Some of us did not grow up with school and parties and friends who tease you, or pettable ears and gorgeous stripes. Which I do not covet," she added sulkily. "I am only expert in Cat. People I am still learning."
Sure she didn't. Liam was at least smart enough not to comment on that. "I bet we could give you stripes. At least in your hair and tail. Maybe your body if you're in cat form?" The pharmacy wasn't open now, nothing was 24 hours, but it likely was tomorrow.
The ball flew at Liam's head. It wasn't hard, more of a lob than a throw, but it was pointed enough to convey the appropriate frustration.
"You are too orange for this conversation," Sharon snapped. "Point is you have had these things, you have had these friends. These things you understand, and assume I do also. But when I do not I feel stupid." She wrapped her arms around waist and looked away, tail winding around one leg. "Sometimes jealous a little, maybe."
He blinked, stunned. Oh. "You're not stupid, no one is good at everything. You're the one that talks of aluminum instead of onions or whatever. So you gotta learn something new and you're not immediately good at it. That's.... normal? Guess learning to not be perfect in everything is something else up work on."
Sharon looked back at him, studying him as if still unsure whether he was being sincere or this was yet another joke she didn't have the experience to understand. It was so hard to tell with Liam sometimes. She was coming to realize that was the risk they ran with each other, approaching the same point from opposite ends of the spectrum as they did.
Slowly, her tail uncurled.
"I am sorry I ruined your heavy petting," she said at last. "Was rude. Will not do so again."
"People..." Liam sighed, "People like to at least pretend they have privacy in these things. Something about it separating them from animals. Now. Wanna make hot chocolate and run around outside?"
Sharon chewed her lip, then abruptly disappeared. From the pile of empty clothes crawled a purple housecat. Some people may have liked the separation between the species, but it was clear Sharon did not.
But she did pace over to Liam and wind around his ankles, purring quietly as she did. It was a gesture of apology that did not properly convey through human form, nor one she felt inclined to give while in it. Perhaps sometimes a little separation was acceptable.
Grinning, he unfolded himself and headed down to the kitchen. They even had non- dairy hot chocolate for Sharon, because his parents were awesome like that. And no one liked getting the runs.
The party was going full swing with a bonfire surrounded by an array of aging folding chairs and the nearby barn, nearly falling down at this point, was the only source of privacy or relief from the frigid winter cold. That didn't stop the kids from their fun, though the addition of a couple kegs and plenty of cheap PBR and Natty Lite helped as well.
Liam had reconnected with his friends, chatting happily about his new school, with a few very intentional omissions, a can of beer in his hand when Clarissa had joined them. Sharon was.... somewhere. He wasn't concerned because no one was screaming about giant cats or getting gutted by her claws, so it was fine. Taking Clarissa's hand, they headed to the barn.
They'd never dated, never made anything official, but they'd fooled around plenty at parties and he was pretty sure she had a cat kink or was a furry or something. He didn't want to know, so long as it was casual, whatever. And he was thrilled that she was still interested.
Something else was interested, but in a very different way.
Whatever kink Clarissa may or may not have possessed, it was not the sort that sparked a sense of surprise and delight when finding a pair of huge yellow eyes staring back at her from the rafters. Particularly when something long and snake-like dropped into the shadows below, and twitched.
Turning at the motion, half rolling off the girl beneath him, Liam growled, then hissed, "What the hell Sharon?" he demanded, Clarissa already moving away and pulling her shirt to lay properly.
"I was here first. Is Liam who has trespassed, not I. I stayed only to supervise." Sharon's dangling tail gave a languid sweep as she turned her full attention to Clarissa. She had moved far enough out of the shadows to reveal she had been lurking in her hybrid form, though this may not have been an improvement. "Safe sex is important. If Kitten was remiss, I am sure one of your friends may supply protection. Your erogenous zones are being sufficiently addressed?"
"Sharon!" Liam squeaked, ears down and clearly unhappy in aeroplane mode. "No! Go away! You're being creepy!"
Clarissa cast a look between them and shook her head, heading out back to the party. She wasn't okay with whatever that was.
"Clarissa!" Liam went after her, though it was clear that she wasn't interested in him joining her now. Turning, he glared at Sharon, "You suck. Why can't you be normal?" he asked, going back to the party, too. Maybe he'd go home. No point in being here if Sharon was going to be like this. It wasn't fun.
"Am perfectly normal cat," she replied as she landed lightly beside him, watching Clarissa's retreat with eyes slitted in evil satisfaction. "Or perhaps you mean normal girl? Is strange, I recall someone in this room telling me I was not to act as one. Mocking my efforts with jeers of high heels and Korean pop sensations."
In hybrid form Sharon's lips were not mobile enough for a smile, but every syllable dripped with spiritual smirk.
"Mine is a dark and terrible vengeance."
Normal. As in 'not making his life suck.' He didn't reply, the only indication that he'd even heard her was a twitch of his ear as he headed back into the throng of kids, reaching for the keys of his dad's truck and leaving her there. She could find her own way back to his house.
****
"Is Kitten done being immature, or must I find another barn to languish in? It is good I had Pixie's bag. Is not convenient to carry boots in my mouth."
Sharon stood in the doorway of Liam's room, her expression annoyed. She was in human form, now redressed in the oversized sweater and thick leggings she'd worn to the party, and had pulled the soft hand-knit cap Liam's mother had given her over her head. His mother hadn't realized Sharon, unlike her son, had human ears, and had consequently included accommodating peaks in the design. Sharon had not taken it off since receiving it.
Liam was on his bed dressed in sleep clothes and playing a game on his phone. As much as he hated to admit it, Illyana's game was kinda addicting. "You done being a cock block?" he retorted, sighing and putting his phone down, motioning for her to come in. He kinda wanted to sleep for a little bit, but it was too late, so he might as well stay up. At least his parents were already asleep.
The older girl stalked into the room, her unwavering yellow gaze never leaving his face. "You think I should feel guilt, but you are the one who left to pursue his own sexual exploits. Party was too loud, too crowded. I knew no one. I went to the barn for respite. It was only after this that you appeared. And you were occupied. I declined to interrupt."
"You not only interrupted, you asked if I was... what? Performing properly?" Liam scoffed, tail swishing behind him in agitation, "I looked around and you were gone! You're fun, you get along well at the mansion, I figured something caught your attention and you wandered after it, so I went to catch up with friends! I wasn't abandoning you!"
Sharon's expression was defiant. "People at the mansion are known to me. They are like us. How to interact with normal humans, people I have never met before, this I do not know. I was alone." She seized the old carpeted scratching ball from his desk and began to play with it. "Besides, I am not good at being human. When Kevin Sydney tried to teach me how to look as one you laughed at me. Is better if I do not try to pretend."
Wait, what? Liam took a long moment, thinking. "Sharon, you look weird with makeup because you don't usually wear it. It's like.... Breakfast Club when they are in the library? Besides, you're still Sharon with or without it. You're still you."
Sharon didn't say anything, but the scratching on the sandpaper stopped briefly. From anyone else one might have said the silence seemed embarrassed.
"You did not say this," she muttered. "Until this year, I had no friends who had seen this face. How am I to know that is what was meant?"
Staring at her, Liam's ear twitched and he blinked. "... How?"
"How what?" Sharon asked sourly, still not looking at him. "Was homeschooled. Because I am visibly mutant mother was strict about internet safety. No webcam, all profile pictures of myself were as smallcat only. Faces are not necessary for friendship."
Liam blinked, confounded. "But. Okay, same, but...I still went to public school and stuff. Like, I wasn't allowed to play sports because of an 'unfair advantage' BS, but I could do pretty much anything else?" He wasn't allowed social media other than the bare minimum needed to be social as he got older and that was pretty monitored.
Sharon shot him the look of someone who didn't particularly like what she was feeling and hugely resented having to explain it to someone else. "Is my point. Some of us did not grow up with school and parties and friends who tease you, or pettable ears and gorgeous stripes. Which I do not covet," she added sulkily. "I am only expert in Cat. People I am still learning."
Sure she didn't. Liam was at least smart enough not to comment on that. "I bet we could give you stripes. At least in your hair and tail. Maybe your body if you're in cat form?" The pharmacy wasn't open now, nothing was 24 hours, but it likely was tomorrow.
The ball flew at Liam's head. It wasn't hard, more of a lob than a throw, but it was pointed enough to convey the appropriate frustration.
"You are too orange for this conversation," Sharon snapped. "Point is you have had these things, you have had these friends. These things you understand, and assume I do also. But when I do not I feel stupid." She wrapped her arms around waist and looked away, tail winding around one leg. "Sometimes jealous a little, maybe."
He blinked, stunned. Oh. "You're not stupid, no one is good at everything. You're the one that talks of aluminum instead of onions or whatever. So you gotta learn something new and you're not immediately good at it. That's.... normal? Guess learning to not be perfect in everything is something else up work on."
Sharon looked back at him, studying him as if still unsure whether he was being sincere or this was yet another joke she didn't have the experience to understand. It was so hard to tell with Liam sometimes. She was coming to realize that was the risk they ran with each other, approaching the same point from opposite ends of the spectrum as they did.
Slowly, her tail uncurled.
"I am sorry I ruined your heavy petting," she said at last. "Was rude. Will not do so again."
"People..." Liam sighed, "People like to at least pretend they have privacy in these things. Something about it separating them from animals. Now. Wanna make hot chocolate and run around outside?"
Sharon chewed her lip, then abruptly disappeared. From the pile of empty clothes crawled a purple housecat. Some people may have liked the separation between the species, but it was clear Sharon did not.
But she did pace over to Liam and wind around his ankles, purring quietly as she did. It was a gesture of apology that did not properly convey through human form, nor one she felt inclined to give while in it. Perhaps sometimes a little separation was acceptable.
Grinning, he unfolded himself and headed down to the kitchen. They even had non- dairy hot chocolate for Sharon, because his parents were awesome like that. And no one liked getting the runs.
