CWDT 2013

[hecu_marine]

He's been shooting, he's been running; it's been a day. He even got the chance to get out and walk his trapline, resulting in a fair few demon rabbit pelts he'll be tanning just as soon as possible. Bar's been giving him more credit lately for the skins he's turned in, so he figures he's been getting pretty good at those. It's all good, really.

'Course, that doesn't mean he hasn't got other responsibilities, too, especially now. And those are kind of sitting on his thoughts no matter where he goes or what he does, at home or in the Bar or outside or anywhere else.

There's probably somebody he ought to talk to about that.

Comments

[nepetaleijon]

Well, if he's still outside, he might find somebody near the foot of the mountains.

Specifically, near one of the little streams that runs down into the lake, peering down into the water with claws poised to spear anything tasty-looking that might swim by.

[hecu_marine]

There's plenty of those. They make good obstacles for jumping, so he occasionally takes his PT out in their direction. Of course, he makes a point of slowing down if other people are fishing. It's only fair.

She probably hears him before he comes to a stop nearby.

[nepetaleijon]

Indeed she does.

"Hi Shepurrd!" Nepeta waves.

[hecu_marine]

Shephard grins, waving with the gloved hand. "Hey there, Nepeta," he calls. "How're you doin' out here?"

[nepetaleijon]

"Okay! I can't believe it's already getting cold again," she says, waving a hand. "I don't know if I'll efur get used to these short Earth years."

[hecu_marine]

"Least it's gittin' darker longer," Shephard says. "Ain't like the sun's near as bright as what you'd be used to, but that's still got to be a relief, am I right?"

Maybe not for Kanaya, but Kanaya's a different case altogether.

[nepetaleijon]

"Defurnitely. Of course, then it'll only be like thr33 months befur the nights start getting shorter again."

She flops back on the bank, abandoning the stream for the moment. "How're you doing?"

[hecu_marine]

"Doin' all right."

Shephard exhales.

"Reckon I probably ought to tell you 'bout some shit that's happened since last I saw you, though. You talked to Kanaya lately, any chance?"

[nepetaleijon]

She pauses, and frowns. "You mean our Kanaya, or the grub Kanaya?"

[hecu_marine]

Well. There's the opening he was looking for.

"Turns out they're the same person."

[nepetaleijon]

"... how could they be the same purrson?"

[hecu_marine]

"Some kinda magic spell turned her young," says Shephard. "Same spell hit a shitload of humans in the Bar'n turned 'em into the kids they used to be. Found out after it wore off with her in my quarters."

[nepetaleijon]

"Oh." She looks a little taken aback. "Is she still here? Is she okay? Did she say anything about how everynyan is back home?"

[hecu_marine]

"They're doin' all right," says Shephard. "Tired as fuck. But they're doin' all right, she said. She's gone back, though. Had shit needed doing."

"Got a picture before she left, though. Wanted to talk to you about that."

[nepetaleijon]

"A picture? Can I s33?"

She bounces closer, looking hopeful.

(And trying not to feel hurt that Kanaya's gone back that quickly, without so much as waiting to say hello.)

[hecu_marine]

"Sure thing," says Shephard, and pulls out the photograph. It was taken outside on the Milliways grounds, at one of the rare nice moments of the pseudo-Scottish autumn; the Bar kindly developed the film for Shephard. From the look of things, it was done with a camera on a tripod with a timer Shephard didn't quite trust.

Yes, he's in it too. He's got his arm around Kanaya's shoulder. She's smiling; he's grinning. It seemed appropriate at the time.

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta studies it.

Slightly small-voiced: "That's so sw33t."

[hecu_marine]

Shephard, it has been noted, is more perceptive about interpersonal things than he generally lets on. There's something about Nepeta's tone that sounds off; he glances at her a moment, considering.

Then he says, "It ain't that she didn't want to say goodbye, Nepeta. She only stuck around for the picture 'cause I asked her to, in case somethin' happened once she went back. She wasn't never supposed t'be here at all this time around."

[nepetaleijon]

She looks up at him, a little defiantly.

"What do you mean, not suppurrsed to be here?"

[hecu_marine]

"She wasn't tryin' to git here. Accidental dream bubble, it turned out," he says. "She got turned into a grub pretty much the second she got through the door."

[nepetaleijon]

"So how come she couldn't stay? Once that was ofur and she was back to her regular age again?"

[hecu_marine]

Shephard exhales. "Said she didn't know if the meteor'd still be intersectin' the dreambubble if she stuck around much longer," he says. "Didn't much want to find out what'd happen if it kept goin' and she wasn't on it. 'Specially not if it meant bein' stranded here without Rose."

"Reckon I probably ought to've told you that shit first, huh. Sorry, Nepeta. I ain't always as good at that as I ought to be."

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta still looks a little mutinous, but nods at the mention of Rose. If she and Kanaya are going to be matesprits, then ... well ...

"I guess getting back was impurrtant." She sighs. "Meowbe she'll get to come back here sometime soon."

[hecu_marine]

"Sure do hope so, kid," says Shephard as gently as he can. "'Cause there's somethin' else that happened, too."

[nepetaleijon]

"..."

She looks up at him warily. "What?"

[hecu_marine]

Shephard runs a hand over his face. He has no fucking clue how to say this part right.

"'member how you figured she thought I was her lusus when she was a grub in the Bar that first day?" he says. "Turns out she still does."

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta blinks.

"But she had a lusus."

[hecu_marine]

"Yup," says Shephard. "And now she's got two. Far as we can tell, she imprinted on me when she was a grub again."

[nepetaleijon]

"But you don't even have the same blood color, how does that work?"

She isn't so much objecting as just bewildered.

[hecu_marine]

"Fuck me if I know," says Shephard. "Shit, I ain't even got the same blood color as her when I'm a fuckin' troll. Maybe it's somethin' jades c'n do?"

[nepetaleijon]

"...meowbe. Or ... you were taking care of her, meowbe she just sort of ... developed a custodial affurction?"

[hecu_marine]

"Could be," Shephard says. "She seemed to think she recognized it."

"She called me Dad, Nepeta."

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta blinks again.

"That's so weird," she says furvently fervently.

[hecu_marine]

"No shit," Shephard says. "It ain't exactly normal for me, neither. I ain't never had to be a dad to nothin' that could talk."

[nepetaleijon]

"That might be weird for Kanaya too. I don't know if her lusus could talk. Mine nefur could, until she was a sprite during the Sgrub game."

[hecu_marine]

"Yours was that cat critter, right?" Shephard says. "Pounce or somethin'?"

[nepetaleijon]

She nods. "Pounce de Leon."

A sigh. "I miss her."

[hecu_marine]

"I can only imagine, kiddo," Shephard says gently. "My dad died years ago, but I still got my mom. Ain't nowhere near the same."

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta leans against him.

[hecu_marine]

Shephard puts an arm around Nepeta's shoulders.

"Sucks, kid. No matter how you slice it."

[nepetaleijon]

Barely above a whisper: "I wish you could be my purrtend dad too."

[hecu_marine]

"I can act like it if you want," says Shephard. "Ain't nobody got to know you ain't imprinted. I'm already doin' it for one of y'all, it won't hurt none to make it two instead."

He can't get any more in over his head, right?

[nepetaleijon]

... Yeah, Shephard's getting hugged within an inch of his life right about now.

[hecu_marine]

And he's fine with that. He really is.