Cats in London

[comebewe]

People had been disappearing.

Which wasn't all that unusual, really. Not in a big city like London. People went missing all the time. Maybe they wanted a new life, maybe they died, maybe they just fell through the cracks. Normal.

Except there were more than usual, many of them happened around Trafalgar Square, and people were seeing things in the western fountain. So. Not so normal. And, strictly speaking, not actual his area. The Midnight Mayor was supposed to defend the city - the city, not the people. The Aldermen were keeping an eye on things, but as long as it was just people disappearing, as far as they were concerned it was just another magical oddity. None of their concern, unless things got worse. Strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to be dealing with this at all.

Matthew had always been very good at doing the things he wasn't supposed to.

Although now that he was here, he was starting to think that maybe the Alderman was wrong. The fountain felt...wrong. Off. Out of balance, on a deeper level.

They planted their palms on the edge of the fountain, leaning over to stare into it. Would something reach up out of it, try to make them disappear? Would they see the flickers of a vision, off the odd, far-off places they'd heard about? If they let their senses drift, flow deeper into the waters, would they be able to find what it was that was taking people away...

Comments

[visionarykitten]

Arhu flicked his tail, unimpressed. "Ehhif are so weird about their Powers... People do it much more sensibly. But I want to know because if I know what you can do, then I'll have a better idea of what I'm supposed to do. The Powers would have put us together for a reason, you know, didn't I say that? What you do and what I do are probably what they need to fix whatever the problem is."

Whether or not he knew Matthew was technically a Power-- or housing one, anyway-- probably wouldn't have affected much. Cats showed respect to their gods, in some fashion, but not when they were being dense.

[comebewe]

"People? What, like I'm not? What am I supposed to be, a toaster?" he said, grumbling. Bloody cats. This was why he preferred foxes; they didn't constantly act like they were superior to you in every way.

He shifted, still eying the cat with a suspicious air. "And how do I know you're not part of the problem? You're not making the slightest bit of sense here, kitty-cat. Powers don't go around putting people together. Cats aren't meant to talk. And anything that comes out of a fountain that's been making people disappear doesn't just get to demand whatever the hell he wants to know."

[visionarykitten]

"I am part of the problem," Arhu huffed impatiently, giving his still-wet tail a lash, this time, rather than just a flick. "I'm just as out of place as everyone else who's gone through this gate without knowing it. And I can't go back until I know more about what's going on."

He turned quickly to lick his shoulders one more time, then hopped down off the fountain's ledge. "If you aren't going to help me, then I'll just start looking myself."