Avoiding Past And Future

(88) Intermediate

November 10

It was just after lunch when the call came in. They didn't quite know who it would be, especially since the code for Selina's comms wasn't that wide spread yet. It wasn't until a young voice spoke up that Dick remembered he had given Jason Selina's contact for emergencies. "Not sure if this is what you meant," he started off sounding rather unsure, "but some ginger fuck just crawled through the cat's window."

It shouldn't be a surprise that he was being only vaguely cryptic. Jason didn't strike them as a fool. Had it been somebody he knew he'd found a way to tell them without passersby figuring it out.

Having some idea of who it might be, Selina opted to go check it out on her own. She hadn't had some time with her furry darlings in a few Manor-locked days anyway so it was about time for some cat time. Bruce offered to come check once it was time for patrol, but that was shut down.

Getting dressed for the outside world and actually getting to her place wasn't too difficult. Though it did feel like a breath of fresh air every time any of them crossed outside the boundaries of their little time bubble. Feeling and seeing time pass by were two entirely different things. It made one appreciate the little moments a lot more. But it also made certain hyperfixating habits more rigid as the passage of time was less noticeable.

Her boys, with some minor yet oddly helpful insight from James, having worked their way to solving 8 cold cases by now should have been warning enough that going outside every now and again might be for the better.

Getting closer to her building, she could hear the distinct sound of her cat hairdryer going. Having her assumptions pretty much confirmed, she didn't bother scaling the walls. Checking the front door, she picked up some mail that had arrived before making her way inside.

Instantly, the boy inside tensed up substantially before forcing his muscles to relax more as he blow-dried his mini-me. Still wet from the bath he undoubtably had, Cheddy happily tried to face-bump his way into getting some extra attention. As if getting blow dried and brushed wasn't attention enough.

Wally squeezed his eye shut, trying to avoid getting Cheddy's shedding fur into his eye as damp headbutts were far from over. "Cheddy, stawp." He groaned as he tried to get the orange fluffball back into a good position. "You just had a bath, I can and will give you another if you don't let me dry you properly." The boy complained, eyes darting up for just a second to see where Selina was roaming.

Weaving between her cuties, she made her way over to the kitchen. Throwing down the letters, she set to filling up the food bowls first while doing a headcount. Most of her regulars were there, a few new faces, a few known visitors. Nothing she wasn't used to. The colder months brought more visitors than warmer ones, and this year was turning out to be quite the early chill kind. It wouldn't be until well into spring that she would truly get a feel on if any of the new faces would become a more permanent resident or not.

But those were tallies to take later, when she didn't have orange and orange fighting for a shared braincell on her living room floor.

Baring his teeth, Cheddy mimicked Wally. Sitting still for once, he let his teeth get brushed. "You were a stinky boy, Cheddy." Wally mumbled softly, just loud enough for Selina to hear. "Stinky, stinky boy. Desperately needing a bath." Cheddy simply purred, scolding going right over his head as he enjoyed the pampering.

Feeling eyes track her every movement, Selina tried to pay him no mind as she went about the regular maintenance of her things. "Gotta be nice and clean when around others, Cheddy. It's not nice to be a little stinky dude. The others won't wanna hang out if you don't clean up." She heard him mumble in that distinct 'not talking about the cat' tone she had come to know all too well. "Stinky boys don't get to hang out with friends-"