Semi charmed discussions

[a_cute_batata]

WHO: Luz Noceda and Rren
WHERE: The Madrigals [Luz's room]
WHEN: Early in the month!
WHAT: The two plan on what they'll say to the mayor's assistant regarding werecats.
WARNINGS: Supernatural discussions? How much warning does this thread need? Will update if needed!



She had some tea and cookies on the table in her room, backdropped with posters of witches, some of Luz's own artwork of her departed girlfriend along with her own impressions of Kaisou. There was an easel in the corner of the room, and her Pokemon balls were in the corner, set on soft pillows, alongside one more pillow with a carved egg.

In the middle of the room, though, was what they'd be working with: a laptop, several mussed booklets and sketches of the presentation Luz was starting to put together. When she heard the knock on Casita, she immediately rose up from where she was sitting.

"I got it, guys!"

Comments

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

It was a little awkward, going to the house of a kid they'd only met while in cat form before. But given that both of them had decided to help out the same person, well, two heads were better than one and all.

They grinned at the sound of Luz yelling and took a step back from the door. They had their bag with their own laptop in it slung over one shoulder. "Hey," they said with a small wave when the door opened.

[a_cute_batata]

For Luz, weird things happening like this was pretty much a given. It was nice to see her friend out of her cat guise though, and more so that they were going to do something that didn't require any deadly action this time!

"Good to see you again, Rren! Oh, hold on. ¡Señora Peppa, llevaré a mi amiga a mi cuarto!"

She motioned for the girl to come to her room.

"It's a mess right now, but I'll show you the goods soon. What do you have?"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

Rren waved off the mess as they followed Luz. They'd seen worse. They'd caused worse.

They couldn't hold back a smirk at the question though. "Well... I found a site that's good for a laugh, but that's about it." They pulled out their phone, screen already on and open to the website 'werecatsandme.com', and held it out to Luz. "Unfortunately, while hilarious, it is also the easiest to find via any search engine, so we will have to counter a great deal of misinformation from it."

[a_cute_batata]

It was messy for Luz, who usually kept her room fairly neat back home. Still, they were on a mission!

Luz chuckled. "Heh, seriously? Actually, that a good jumping point. We can combat some of their questionable facts with the ones I got myself. I actually know someone who IS a werewolf, and recorded some of the things that happen with them when they change. It'll be a little different from a werecat, but I'm sure some of the concepts are still the same."

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

"Oh, yeah? That'd be handy! I can add my own insight, but I am uncertain werecat is entirely accurate. Usually I am human," humanish? "and sometimes I am a housecat. The main thing I have noticed is I like fish way more than I used to, even when I am not a cat." Also catnip tea, but that was not the matter at hand. "And if I get particularly emotional I could end up with the ears and tail at any time." Dang, Kaisou was weird.

[a_cute_batata]

"Look, being a cat helps! At least you can actually change into a different animal! I can't do that! It'll be bound to help. As long as he doesn't make generalizations? I'll be sure to put that in the powerpoint we give to him!"

Luz was already jotting this down.

"Ooh, that is good to know though! I also noticed my friend is super agile and forgets himself slightly in the transformation!"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

Rren nodded, considering. "I feel like I end up way more cat-like during the full moon, even if I only end up with the ears and tail rather than fully transformed? I have not had that occur for long enough to know if it is only like that in the beginning though. I am, however digging through the Zodiac app to find any trends that those with transformations have mentioned, I can add you to the list so you can have the information as I update it?"

[a_cute_batata]

"Yup, it was definitely a full moon thing for my friend too! Honestly, I ought to touch base with him about how frequent it gets. Last I knew, it was only then. But if it's different for werecats, that'll be news to me."

Luz was writing more down, and starting to transfer this to the laptop.

"Thanks! I haven't had any transformations happen to me yet, so if does I'll at least know what to expect. Oh, we should probably tell the assistant to include some fish as anpeace offering, right?"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

"Mmmm.. I'd say no for a few reasons. That may be a me thing, not a werecat thing? Think about how some cats are picky eaters and some will eat anything. Contra will eat one brand of cat food in turkey, and nothing else except fresh shrimp, but only if he can steal it. Besides, I don't know if a peace offering is needed or trying too hard. But if he wants to give one I think a better peace offering would be a gift card that can be used for a date night. Something that focuses on him being a werecat feels like it would definitely be trying too hard, you know?"

[a_cute_batata]

"Yeah, that's true. Besides, being a werecat is a thing that the boyfriend just IS, it isn't their whole personality. Man, I should know better than that. I'm, like, several things, but it's my likes and my memories that make me ME, right?"

Luz thought a moment. "So maybe we should focus on that being the thing he takes away from this: werecats are different in some ways, but like any other being, they just want to be respected and understood as an individual, not as a statistic."

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

"Exactly! And we can show the differences between individuals in addition to the commonalities to help make that point. But... I think we're still going to have to show some of statistics if we're going to hope to counter that website. Though we could keep those in reserve. If we're lucky he hasn't found it or anything like it." But honestly, when was Rren ever lucky?

[a_cute_batata]

"Right, of course. There are still going to have to be things that he is mindful about, just so he doesn't get surprised and come off as being insensitive. And we can counter the 'liberties' the website gives with hard facts, so he's in the know!"

If he HAD already found the site, this was a chance to set him in the right direction.

"So the cat transformation. I don't remember if I asked or not. Is that something you got here, or back in your world?"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

"Yeah, exactly. No one feels good after an accidental faux paw."

...

They shrugged, giving no indication whether or not that pun had been deliberate. (It had, it was too awful to be an accident.)

"Oh, here. It was thanks to one of the Fae, I'm still uncertain if it was a prank or if they thought they were doing me a favor? I um... I actually think I was some kind of robot or ... like a computer? in my last life? I have not received access to many memories yet, and they have been... ... confusing." That was putting it mildly.

[a_cute_batata]

You see that girl beaming at you, Rren? That is the look of a girl who loves puns, and you have just made her day.

"Good point, and even better joke!"

"Ugh, the FAE." Luz looked pretty annoyed at the mention. "They're already making one of my friends' life a living heck, and he already had enough to worry about! Also, that one time I did meet them we were pretty much hiding from them, so it wasn't a great impression."

At the robot thing, Luz raised an eyebrow. "Huh. WOW. I can't even imagine how you could translate one experience with the other. Again, totally lacking any experience being an 'other.'"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

They gave a very faint head tilt. "Joke?" They knew. They clearly knew.

"Yeah they... did not seem to make a great impression on anyone. Did they?"

Oh, it was very hard keeping a straight face. "As I said, those memories have been confusing, but fortunately, I doubt they are particularly relevant here. Even if I have memories of a felinoid, I am quite certain he was not a werecat." Just like the girl they remembered with pointed ears was not a fae.

[a_cute_batata]

"Oh? Was that just a slip of a tongue, or are you just kitten me?"

Sorry, she couldn't resist.

"I've seen a lot of mischievous and downright mean folk. But those Fae are kidnappers and messed up a friend of mine pretty bad. As far as I'm concerned, they have a LOT to make up for."

Not that she thought they'd be feeling too generous with her either. She DID send a legion of them away from Kaisou back to their realm.

"Right, I wouldn't think so. Wait, what's a felinoid? A robot cat?"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

"Meow? I would ne-furr," they replied, maintaining the deadpan, but starting to crack a smile as the pun feedback loop continued.

"Yeah. I got that impression from the others I talked to when it happened. One of the other kids was the first to offer me advise and he'd had a time of it with them." They wondered if Luz meant the same person, and either way, if he was okay.

"No ah, more like how we're humanoids? he basically... looked like a transformed werecat all the time I suppose is the simplest way to put it."

[a_cute_batata]

"Purrhaps, purrhaps not!" Luz was absolutely not going to let that go easily!

"I didn't get super impacted by them the first time, but this time I had two situations with those Fae, and one of those was about getting away from them. If we'd been caught, well. I don't think it would have been a good time for either of us."

This was especially true when they had kidnapped Danny in the first place.

"Oh. RIGHT. Makes sense, now that I think about it. But that's something to take into account. He'll probably just need to remember that no one likes to be singled out because they look different. I made a mistake with a friend months ago, by thinking they were ONE way and that what they are is more complicated. I wound up insulting them, and I had to realize that and apologize later. You just have to keep an open mind and remember we all just want to be understood."

Luz couldn't help but relate to that in another way.

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

"Well... I suppose it's pawsible."

"I'm glad you didn't get caught then," they replied with some concern.

Rren smiled then and gave a nod. "I think we have enough to start at least. I mean, I am certainly glad this guy is trying to understand. That says a lot, honestly." They didn't pry what Luz was talking about, the fact that she understood could only help the presentation they planned on giving. "And if he has any specific questions while we're there I can look it up without it being obvious."

A pause. "So how many of those symbol things have you worked into this presentation, by the by?"

[a_cute_batata]

"Pawsitively!"

Ok, ok, just one more, she swears.

"Invisibility spells are SUPER useful so long as you know how to hold your breath. Luckily, he didn't even need to do that! He could go invisible on his own!"

"Right. True! He's far from a lost cause. We can do a lot with an open mind, we just have to show them how different things are."

Luz reddened a little. "Well. That part I'm going to have to do in person. I'll probably incorporate some light tricks for the presentation. If I have to be more interactive than that, well. I'll improvise!"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

If they hadn't started repeating words to cat pun, Rren would have kept it going, but given that, they shifted focus onwards. "Huh. Invisibility does sound useful. I can't do that but I can teleport. Kind of. Not really. I am bad at it."

Rren smirked somewhat, shaking their head. "I mean, I guessed it would have to be done in person, I was just curious if you planned to use some. I know a little flash goes a long way."

[a_cute_batata]

They were going to have to stop eventually!

"It's not as easy to do as people make out. At least, mine isn't. You still have to cast it and you have to hold your breath. If anything, it's more like you're getting gasps of invisibility. It's still super useful though."

Luckily, Luz was very good at holding her breath.

"Oh,of course! People love a little flash, so why not dazzle them? This way, the message is much easier to digest, and makes it stick out in their head!"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

"I feel like magic in general is just pretty hard. At least while you're getting used to it. I have some things I can kind of do like I plan. But most of it is ah... unpredictable."

Rren didn't grin widely, but it took everything in their power to keep their straight face. Mostly because half of their pun delivery was the deadpan. "Sounds like a plan, you can de-light him with your showmanship and I'll keep my head in the cloud in case he has questions we weren't ready for." Of course, the second pun made the most sense if you knew Rren's main form of magic, but...

[a_cute_batata]

"Unpredictable? Ooh, now you have my attention! Saving that for a surprise?"

Luz could respect that. There was still a lot she didn't know about Rren, and didn't mind finding out a little later.

"Heh, nice one again! You are on fire! I'll help brighten our presentation and dazzle him when I need to!"

The cloud thing made Luz think of electronics, because of course teenagers thought of THE cloud first and foremost.