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*     he let out a sigh    ,    tail flicking    .    he thought about it    ,   for a good minute    ,    then picked it up from the shelf     *      .,.       will you stop asking and bothering me if i buy it       ?

@arcanepaws   /     a cats worst enemy ..
            
            "I don't believe you."  elwyn smiled  ,  clearly amused.  "if you're sooo sure about that  ,  then why won't you let me test it out?"  he pointed towards the aforementioned item  —  the one he was trying to convince thorne to buy.  

@dearpreys 
            
            elwyn flinched back  ,  head jolting up to look at her.  his mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of what to say  ,  eventually ending in a nervous whine.  "  ..  I smelt something.  a good smell.  I was just  ..  curious."  a pause as he looked away.  "sorry  ..  "

/        !!

*     !! 

og character concept by @arcanepaws  ,  added on to by rez !

¹  elwyn is still very hyper  ,  but he'll close off the second he thinks someone's annoyed with him.  he has a fear of being left alone  —  of being abandoned.
            
            ²  he has ptsd.  loud voices  ,  raised hands  ,  weapons  —  everything of the sorts will make hin freak out.
            
            ³  he absolutely refuses to wear shoes.  you can maybe convince him to wear socks  ,  but he will genuinely growl if you try to make him wear shoes.
            
            ⁴  he hates tight clothing.  all of his clothes are oversized.  he likes stealing clothes  —  specifically from thorne  ,  the person he lives with now.
            
            ⁵  still very dog - like in his mannerisms.  he whines  ,  paws at things  ,  tilts his head  ,  rests his head in people's laps  ,  lays by their feet  ,  etc.
            
            ⁶  he's unknowledgeable in just about everything  ,  but he does have the ability to name practically any plant.  the farmer was big on teaching elwyn about it all.  it's like he knew the dog could understand  —  he'd listen and learn as long as he made it interesting enough.
            
            ⁷  he hates being alone.  when he's with someone  ,  it's likely he's holding on to them in some way.
            
            ⁸  once he learned where meat actually comes from  ,  he refused to eat it.  he was horrified that he had been eating his farm friends.  
            
            ⁹  he doesn't like talking about his past.  he's worried that if people know  ,  they'll start thinking badly of him.
            
            ¹⁰  very very expressive.  it's easy to tell how he's feeling.

he remembers the fury from the farmer's daughter.  he remembers her husband picking up that bat  —  doing the very thing he was fearful of.  the boy  ,  despite everything  ,  had begged for his father to stop.  the man didn't listen.  elwyn  ,  on the brink of death  ,  ran away  ..  leaving behind the cries of his boy.  
            
            he didn't get too far before he collapsed.  he had tried to live  —  had tried to fight on.  but with a lack of food and festering wounds  ,  he was quickly declining.  a coat of gold now stained crimson.  he had expected to die  —  but he woke up  ..  different.  human.  there was someone with him  ..  a cat.  his third chance at love.

yes     ,     humans      /    are     /     .,.     peculiar     ,     but dogs are peculiar to them     !     especially when the dog is a five foot eight man      !    *    he  grabbed elwyn by the shoulders    ,   to steady him    ,   almost comfort him     *    i know its difficult     ,    but     .,.     but i'll give you a treat for evry week you don't lick a customer      .

@arcanepaws 
            
            elwyn tossed those words around in his head  ,  eyes squinted as he thought them over.  how did just saying it do anything?  and what's a bow??  he brought his hands to his temples and pressed down  —  he was really trying to find answers inside a head that had no idea what was going on.  he even did a few spins  —  as if that would take him out of his buffering state.  
            
            "mm  ..  nope  ,  I don't get it!"  just about every part of him sulked in defeat.  his ears folded in on themselves  ,  his shoulders slumped  ,  and it was even enough to make his tail stop wagging.  "licking someone makes so much more sense!  humans are weird."

because thats not    .,.      *     he let out an exasperated sigh     ,     pulling elwyn away from the customer    (   who was rather distressed    )     ,     his tail tucked between his legs as he showed the customer out  ,     apologising profusely   .     thorne couldn't entirely blame elwyn    -    the adjustment period after turning human for himself was long   ,      and still   ,    thorne had alot of trouble picking up on social cues  .     the main difference is   -   the cat's patience wears thin when trying to teach somebody    ,       compared to his kind   ,     old wizard      *    you just   .,.    say thank you    .     maybe bow     .     you don't lick      .

.,.      you can sleep on the end of the bed    *    a small boundary   ,   him subtly admitting that he liked elwyn's company   ,    alot more than he could admit   .      he couldn't lie    ,     he did enjoy the warmth  .   the comfort that the pup gave when they lay like this    ,    it was nice   .   a soft purr emerged from his throat as he closed his eyes   ,     pulling the other closer   ,  as close as he could   *     you don't need to sleep on the floor   .     but   .,.    stay here   .    for tonight   .     for you    ,    naturally   .

@arcanepaws 
            
            the pause put him slightly on edge  ,  but thorne finalizing the promise was enough to soothe him.  as far as he knew  ,  thorne didn't say things he didn't mean.  "I can be quiet  ..  "  he mumbled.  he knew how to behave  —  he could do that.  he could.  "just don't lock me out.  I'll  ..  I'll even lay on the floor or something.  you don't have to see me at all."  but elwyn would know thorne was there.  he'd stop convincing himself thorne was mad at him as long as the door stayed open.  he didn't need much more  ,  even if he wanted it.

*      a moment of silence overcame the two   ,      one that shouldn't have been as long as it was    .     thorne nodded    ,    as if elwyn could see it     *       .,.     i promise      *    he didn't know what elwyn had gone through in his previous life   ,     he liked to believe that it wasn't serious or tragic    ,     and that all dogs were clingy the way elwyn was     .     but every time thorne acted a little     /    too     /     distant    ,    wanting space    (    as a cat does    )     ,     he often found himself comforting elwyn    ,     the pair closer than they had ever been       *      sometimes   ,   i just need a moment of quiet     ,     el   .    you're    .,.     alot      .,.      for a cat    .

*   he nodded   -   the acknowledgement of elwyn's internal struggle never really going past that   .    he continued working on the ledger   ,     then finished it off   ,   staying silent as he read over it   ,    tail flicking as he counted      .    it seemed to take a    /     painfully     /      long time       .     finally   ,    thorne stood up     ,     calmly walking to the door     .     he picked up his cloak   ,     a beautiful   ,    deep red colour with golden embroidered embellishments     *         come   ,    elwyn  .    and put on some shoes   .    i don't want to bathe you when we are back   .

@arcanepaws 
            
            "a nap?!"  his poorly placed indifference was immediately replaced with a startled expression.  naps were terrible!  not that he didn't like them  —  who doesn't?  but thorne took really really long naps where elwyn was supposed to be quiet and leave him alone!  what if today was a day he couldn't convince him that elwyn would be quiet so they could cuddle?  this.  was.  horrible!  what was thorne thinking?!  or maybe he wasn't!  because this was a dumb change of plans.  "no  ,  no!  we can go on a walk!  and I'll be super still.  you won't even know I'm here."

*      thorne did not  move   ,     seemingly not even fazed by elwyn's behaviour     ,    though his ears twitching slightly was a bit of a giveaway    .     he was ready to call the other's bluff   *         .,.    okay then   .   i'd be delighted to go nap after i am finished     ,    the walk is not necessary to me     *     his tone was flat   ,     as always    ,    not even a sense of playfulness in his voice    -    always formal     .    he flicked his wrist     ,      replacing the now dry inkwell in front of him with a new one    ,     almost finished with his paperwork      *