Jono and Sharon | Night Scares
Jan. 4th, 2024 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsOn one of Jono's late night walks, he's confronted by a talking cat. It doesn't end well.
She had been watching the newcomer for a day or two, slowly decreasing her proximity with each sighting. Data was important. It gave her time to become accustomed to his mannerisms: morose, adrift, and, of course, smelling strongly of something like a little like fire and a little like electricity, but was neither. A mystery.
But eventually observation periods must come to an end, and, like data, first impressions were also important. It was for this reason that when Sharon finally chose to announce her presence it was by dramatically inserting it directly in Jono's path in the form of a 120 lbs feline hybrid -- right in the middle of one of his evening walks.
Jono quite liked the grounds at night. They were quiet, the moonlight made bold gothic shadows on the grass and walkways. And in the darkness of the night air he doesn’t have to see the absence of his breath fogging up in front of him. When he was a child he used to pretend he was a fire breathing dragon in the chill air- if only he knew then what sort of monster he’d become….
He didn’t notice any sounds as the feline approached, far too engrossed in the dulcet tones of The Smiths playing in his earbuds. As soon as the feline moved into his line of sight he stopped, staring at it for a moment before the reality of the nature of American fauna hit him like a brick. Whereupon he promptly fell and landed on his ass, hoping the large cat wouldn’t make him use his powers.
He didn’t want to hurt it….but he’d also thought the eastern cougar was extinct?
Sharon flicked her tail in satisfaction. She enjoyed having an effect on people.
"I am Sharon Smith," she declared without preamble, pleased Jono's fall had placed him conveniently at eye-level. Her tail flicked again. "We are now introduced."
Slowly, Jono took the earbuds out of his ears and then furrowed his brow. He held his right hand up to his ear cupped to draw in sound and with his left, gestured for the cat to…..repeat itself.
He really, really hoped this wasn’t Match’s wife.
"I am Sharon," the cat repeated simply. She padded closer, tail slung low and yellow eyes large with interest. "And you are Jono Starsmore. You are non-verbal. This is understood." She stopped a few feet away from him, then lay down on the path and rolled onto her side, partially exposing her stomach in the relaxed pose of a predator ready to mete out a terrible justice on any who dared take it as an invitation to touch.
"I am perceiving you, Jono Starsmore," said Sharon.
Of fucking course it was Match’s “wife.”
Well….far from him to touch another man’s girl let alone a strange cat who hadn’t touched him first, Jono sat up and stuffed the earbuds in his jacket pocket. He stared at the large cat, wondering what it would do. It’s not exactly like he could talk to her, and it was too dark for the notepad.
"You are silent. These things I understand. Speech is not given to all my forms. For months before I came here I could communicate with no one. Some others here with this difficulty, also. April Parker, mutable physiology has temporarily inconvenienced her. Ar . . ." Sharon stumbled over the name before deciding to omit it, "another has a forked tongue. Communication is here replaced with a projection of images directly into the minds of others. Some manner of speech synthesizer also. An option for you also, maybe."
Jono continued to stare at her. And blinked in confusion. The cat was helping him? Had he walked into a Lewis Caroll novel? He realized he probably owed her a response and then nodded awkwardly.
"Unusual wealth of resources to be had here for apparel also. Some clothing was designed for me by a girl named Pixie, to accommodate my form. But more advanced options exist also."
The cat suddenly became a gangly, long-limbed young woman in a charcoal jumpsuit. Her bare skin was on the sickly side of pale, and seemed to glow against the dark. She rolled onto her back and regarded Jono from the path.
"Am told my collar utilizes something known as unstable molecules. Most convenient for the sake of public decency. A custom creation. For yourself, perhaps appropriately insulating materials may be found. Tailored, maybe, for ease of application and removal." Her tail, which she did have in this form, flicked casually against the dirt.
Jono continued to stare, there wasn’t really much else he could do. He was though, remarkably happy that this being was Match’s wife and not his own.
"Final point of interest," the girl continued as she gazed up at him from a spray of careless limbs and purple hair. "Technology available includes device known as image inducer. Projects limited hologram of less conspicuous form. Useful for safety. Avoiding unwanted attention also. Availability is unknown to me, but know one such is possessed by Alani Ryan. If such things are of concern this, also, may be a resource."
Sharon rolled back onto her side, propping one hand beneath her cheek to regard him.
"May these suggestions be of help to you," she said. It did not sound as if she was giving him an option.
Jono tilted his head to the side and signed Thank you?
Sharon's tail gave a dismissive flick. "This world is not built to accommodate the aberrant. Even other mutants cannot appreciate this. Compensatory resources must be shared by those who do. It is only just."
The girl rolled onto her stomach, skin and muscles flowing as she did to bring her back to all fours as a giant cat once more. The creature padded up to Jono and stared him directly in the eye.
"I have seen what is beneath those wrappings, Jono Starsmore," said Sharon, "and one day I shall touch. One day."
And then, with these final reassuring words still hanging in the air, she was gone.
She had been watching the newcomer for a day or two, slowly decreasing her proximity with each sighting. Data was important. It gave her time to become accustomed to his mannerisms: morose, adrift, and, of course, smelling strongly of something like a little like fire and a little like electricity, but was neither. A mystery.
But eventually observation periods must come to an end, and, like data, first impressions were also important. It was for this reason that when Sharon finally chose to announce her presence it was by dramatically inserting it directly in Jono's path in the form of a 120 lbs feline hybrid -- right in the middle of one of his evening walks.
Jono quite liked the grounds at night. They were quiet, the moonlight made bold gothic shadows on the grass and walkways. And in the darkness of the night air he doesn’t have to see the absence of his breath fogging up in front of him. When he was a child he used to pretend he was a fire breathing dragon in the chill air- if only he knew then what sort of monster he’d become….
He didn’t notice any sounds as the feline approached, far too engrossed in the dulcet tones of The Smiths playing in his earbuds. As soon as the feline moved into his line of sight he stopped, staring at it for a moment before the reality of the nature of American fauna hit him like a brick. Whereupon he promptly fell and landed on his ass, hoping the large cat wouldn’t make him use his powers.
He didn’t want to hurt it….but he’d also thought the eastern cougar was extinct?
Sharon flicked her tail in satisfaction. She enjoyed having an effect on people.
"I am Sharon Smith," she declared without preamble, pleased Jono's fall had placed him conveniently at eye-level. Her tail flicked again. "We are now introduced."
Slowly, Jono took the earbuds out of his ears and then furrowed his brow. He held his right hand up to his ear cupped to draw in sound and with his left, gestured for the cat to…..repeat itself.
He really, really hoped this wasn’t Match’s wife.
"I am Sharon," the cat repeated simply. She padded closer, tail slung low and yellow eyes large with interest. "And you are Jono Starsmore. You are non-verbal. This is understood." She stopped a few feet away from him, then lay down on the path and rolled onto her side, partially exposing her stomach in the relaxed pose of a predator ready to mete out a terrible justice on any who dared take it as an invitation to touch.
"I am perceiving you, Jono Starsmore," said Sharon.
Of fucking course it was Match’s “wife.”
Well….far from him to touch another man’s girl let alone a strange cat who hadn’t touched him first, Jono sat up and stuffed the earbuds in his jacket pocket. He stared at the large cat, wondering what it would do. It’s not exactly like he could talk to her, and it was too dark for the notepad.
"You are silent. These things I understand. Speech is not given to all my forms. For months before I came here I could communicate with no one. Some others here with this difficulty, also. April Parker, mutable physiology has temporarily inconvenienced her. Ar . . ." Sharon stumbled over the name before deciding to omit it, "another has a forked tongue. Communication is here replaced with a projection of images directly into the minds of others. Some manner of speech synthesizer also. An option for you also, maybe."
Jono continued to stare at her. And blinked in confusion. The cat was helping him? Had he walked into a Lewis Caroll novel? He realized he probably owed her a response and then nodded awkwardly.
"Unusual wealth of resources to be had here for apparel also. Some clothing was designed for me by a girl named Pixie, to accommodate my form. But more advanced options exist also."
The cat suddenly became a gangly, long-limbed young woman in a charcoal jumpsuit. Her bare skin was on the sickly side of pale, and seemed to glow against the dark. She rolled onto her back and regarded Jono from the path.
"Am told my collar utilizes something known as unstable molecules. Most convenient for the sake of public decency. A custom creation. For yourself, perhaps appropriately insulating materials may be found. Tailored, maybe, for ease of application and removal." Her tail, which she did have in this form, flicked casually against the dirt.
Jono continued to stare, there wasn’t really much else he could do. He was though, remarkably happy that this being was Match’s wife and not his own.
"Final point of interest," the girl continued as she gazed up at him from a spray of careless limbs and purple hair. "Technology available includes device known as image inducer. Projects limited hologram of less conspicuous form. Useful for safety. Avoiding unwanted attention also. Availability is unknown to me, but know one such is possessed by Alani Ryan. If such things are of concern this, also, may be a resource."
Sharon rolled back onto her side, propping one hand beneath her cheek to regard him.
"May these suggestions be of help to you," she said. It did not sound as if she was giving him an option.
Jono tilted his head to the side and signed Thank you?
Sharon's tail gave a dismissive flick. "This world is not built to accommodate the aberrant. Even other mutants cannot appreciate this. Compensatory resources must be shared by those who do. It is only just."
The girl rolled onto her stomach, skin and muscles flowing as she did to bring her back to all fours as a giant cat once more. The creature padded up to Jono and stared him directly in the eye.
"I have seen what is beneath those wrappings, Jono Starsmore," said Sharon, "and one day I shall touch. One day."
And then, with these final reassuring words still hanging in the air, she was gone.
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Date: 2024-01-05 12:41 am (UTC)(I loved this)
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