ArchivedLogs:Of Culture and Cats (Or, Ill Humours)

Of Culture and Cats (Or, Ill Humours)
Dramatis Personae Kavalam, Kyle, Mina
In Absentia	2017-09-12 "...are ya speakin' to a cat lass?"
Location <XS> Playground
Set on the still-expansive grounds around the side of the school, this area is to the outdoors rather what the rec room is to the indoors. There's a large basketball court out here; a fenced-off tennis court adjacent. Further distant there are setups for other sports -- a large track, a soccer field. Closer in to the school, though, in its own large enclosure adjacent to the basketball and tennis courts, is the playground, a huge expanse of equipment set up on alternating plots of slightly squishy flooring and mulch. Centrally there is a large sprinkler-fountain, not always /on/ but it can be turned on with a push of a button; spreading out around this is the actual playground equipment, sturdy and varied. A huge dome constructed in honeycombed interlocked poles and rope netting rises hiiiigh for climbing; a large swingset holds four pairs of swings. A large roundabout in bright colours stands in one corner near a long see-saw. The huge bridge-and-tunnel castle structure at one end has many routes of entry, from poles to climb up (or slide down) to a small climbing /wall/. Monkeybars. Four different slides of varying lengths and spiraling. For the adventurous, between things to climb on and jump between and bounce across it is probably possible to skirt one end of the playground and back without touching the ground, though it might take a particularly adept feat of balance and agility. Or possibly wings. It's after dinner -- past dusk, really, the playground lit now by the moon and the bright electric lights at its edges. With many students /actually/ off being studious in the dorms or library before bed tonight and a growing approaching-fall chill in the air, the playground is quiet. Not quite deserted, though. One student is tucked away inside the castle, collecting a not quite Disney-princess menagerie of moths and mosquitoes drawn to the small lantern (its metal casing lets light spill out of a number of cut-out stars) she's hung from the ceiling. Mina herself is tucked into a corner of the structure, dressed in a long flowing white skirt, a halter-necked yellow top, bright pink and purple sneakers, a very pink cardigan with flower patches dotted around it. Another large hibuscus flower pin tucked in one side of her thick dark hair. Her backpack is beside her, a textbook in her lap and a notebook laid out on top of /that/ which she is busily writing in, a determined frown on her face. Every so often: "Ugh!" or "Mmph!" -- small frustrated noises escaping the lantern-lit playground castle. In these after hours, Mina would hear the sound of a ball being kicked....-hard-, and bouncing off a tree. If one were to look, Kyle would be practicing his soccer skills in the dead of night. Wearing a longsleeve jacket with baggy pants and sneakers..he wore a backwards baseball cap. New York Giants. He doesnt seem to notice anyone yet, or at least not outwardly. He practices his feigns, driving through an invisible team and moving the ball around fluidly. He was very good. Though he was really smiley, probably thinking of something happy or good. Mina doesn't look -- not at first, at least. Eventually -- probably after about the dozenth THUMP -- she does poke her head out of the castle, in time with another "Nnngh!" Her brows furrow, eyes skating around the darkened grounds until she locates the source of the noise. Her frown clears up, at least a /little/ -- but she's quick enough to pull her head back into the castle. This time, pulling out a pair of headphones to put them firmly on her head, plug them into her phone, tap at the screen a few times to start some music. Kyle hms? faintly, turning his head in the direction of the lady who doesnt seem too pleased with him right now, managing to grasp a glimpse of her before she goes about her business epicly ignoring him. He does approach though with a curiousity "Oh, uh hello? I hope I didn't disturb ya time. he looks quite apologetic, strong Scottish accent in his voice. He does knock on the castle a little bit just to be fun...and maybe get her attention. "Ey! I'm sorreh!" "Hm?" Mina tucks one ear of the headphones back behind her ear, looking up at Kyle with wider eyes, brows lifting. A moment later she pulls the headphones off entirely, dropping them to rest around her neck as she looks at him more quizzically. "Huh? So... um, gomen, I... what did you say?" She's twirling her pencil restlessly between her fingers as she looks Kyle over. Swatting absently with her other hand at a mosquito that's just landed on her leg. With an apologetic dip of her head, "I didn't understand... any of that." Kyle smiles faintly to Mina in a friendly manner "It's alright. I don' think we've met yet." he stretches out a hand "I was apologizin'. I 'eard ya sound of uttter disapproval." a smal lchuckle there "My name's Kyle. Might I ask what yours is lass?" he smiles, always happy to make new friends! Mina starts to extend a hand, still a little puzzled, but ultimately draws it back to rapidly swat at another mosquito. "Ugh I swear there's /mutant/ mosquitoes here too!" Her hand waves at the air in front of her, batting away another of the offending bugs. "You're going to have to forgive me I really um. I'm still only getting like every third word? That's not an accent that I... Where are you even from?" Her brows are still creased, face kind of squinching up in concentration. As a belated afterthought: "I'm Mina. Not lass. It's this homework I'm disapproving of, it's honestly killing me." Kyle smiles to Mina lightly, though he looks lightly puzzled when she reels back to slap the crap out of a mosquito. "I mean..it's possible yeah?" and when she asks where he's from, he tries not to be insulted at her not understanding him "Sorry..I'm from Glasgow, Scotland. If you like, I can try talking more - American soundin'?" he asks politely, not trying to make it difficult on her. "What's the homework? I can try to help ya out." Kavalam's path to the playground has been a meandering one. Slow, wandering, and by and large completely unnoticed by any of the residents of the mansion save for one determinedly friendly cat who has been winding around his ankles for a little bit. To outside observers, though -- /just/ a cat, purring loudly by the time they reach the playground and it decides to separate from Kavalam, jumping up to make itself cozy in the castle instead. Kavalam does not jump up, though he does lean against the base of the structure, peering inside thoughtfully. "Oh, /Scotland/. That's," Mina considers this a moment before deciding, "exotic!" Cheerfully: "I have watched a lot of Highlander with my sisters." Shivering slightly, she pulls her cardigan closed, tucking her legs up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. The look she gives Kyle is /highly/ dubious, mouth pursing and twisting to one side. "You want to help me?" A little flatter than before, though she plows on ahead with a skeptical: "Do you speak Mandarin? Oh! Oh my /gosh/ what a cutie pie!" The smile that blooms across her face is as bright as her clothing is -- she holds a hand out, clicking softly to the newly-arrived Cat. "Have you been here long? I mean, /you/," looking to Kyle, "the not-furry you. Unless you're a student too?" Suddenly apprehensive as she eyes the cat. Kyle glances to the cat a moment, a tilt of his head there, before he glances to Mina again.. "I used ta do the Highland games every now and then when they were goin' in Edinburgh." a small chuckle then, though he does look a tad saddened "Sadly, I don't. Guess I'll be no help to ya then yeah?" he shrugs "It's alright though. I'm sure you be havin' a grand 'ole time learnin'." he smiles to her "I've been 'ere for a few years. I'm no stranger to this place..or really, New York." he smiles faintly "I'm not really cute..." he comments, glancing to the cat "...are ya speakin' to a cat lass?" "There's at least one student here who can be a cat. And one who just -- looks -- very cat." Kavalam has folded his arms against the platform, resting his chin on forearm, eying the cat idly. He has an accent, too, somewhere on the Indian subcontinent, though his English is crisp and fluid. He's also -- more or less just /appearing/ where before there seemed to be an empty doorway, thick black hair tousled and glasses slightly askew on his nose. "I suppose it is better, overall? To be too polite to a cat than rude to a student. This school, it is very." Pause, frown. "Strange." Mina squeaks, hand clapping to her mouth (and interrupting the cat's pettings) at Kavalam's sudden presence. "Ohmygod! So... apologies, where did you -- hi." Her frown is returning. She pulls her headphones off from around her neck, wrapping them up neatly and tucking them back into her backpack. "Is this your cat? They're /not/ a student, right? I'm /not/," this time it's just a tiny bit more exasperated than the /first/ time she said this, "/lass/. Just Mina. And you're right about not being cute I was /talking/ to the /cat/." Whose nose she now boops lightly, adding: "Because you're adorable." Kyle shrugs "It means girl..." he sighs when she starts getting real attitude with him. he looks then to Kavalam, ignoring Mina for the time being. Kicking his soccer ball back to his hand, he smiles to Kav, extending a hand "Ya 'ave a good point there lad. May I ask yer name? I'm Kyle." he smiles to him in greeting. "I'm assumin' that's yer cat?" "No. It just followed me." Kavalam is pulling himself up, now. Idly scaling the outside of the structure. At some point -- nearly coinciding with him disappearing from the immediate view of the doorway -- he also slips easily out of the others' minds without any trace or even lingering memory that they /had/ been talking to a third person. The cat is still purring, though. "Huh? It's not my cat..." Mina rubs at the cat's head again, now. "I don't know, I think it just showed up? Are there /stray/ cats around here? Maybe it's someone's cat." Shrug. Her eyes /roll/ at Kyle's explanation, head shaking. "God, I /know/ what it means. Don't call me /girl/ either. That's just so condescending. Like did you just /assume/ I asked you not to call me that because I'm too /dumb/ to know what /lass/ means? It's a word here in America, too. Maybe you could just, I don't know, /listen/ when people make an incredibly simple request? M-i-n-a. That's. My. Name. It's not hard. I didn't even /give/ you the hard version." Kyle tilts his head faintly to the young lady "..why's my hand extended?" he questions, perhaps a little too confused to be dealing with Mina's antics at the moment. "Huh...oh, there's a cat there." he moves to pet the cat. Though he does catch the last part "I know how to spell yeah." he spits his tongue out a little. "I might just call ya lass just ta mess with ya. Ya make it too easy Mina." he smiles faintly, thuogh he does juggle his ball a little bit, before catching it back in his hand "..I am curious as to know what the 'ard version actually is." he raises a brow a little. A head pops down from -- the roof of the castle, now. Kavalam's glasses are even more skewed when he dangles upside-down off the top of the structure. "Real winner you have found." Peering into the castle at -- neither of them in particular. Maybe the cat. "Wow, you're a prick. Is everyone in Scotland such a dick?" Mina shoves her books back into her backpack -- which she /drops/ rather than shouldering it, squeaking again and scooting rapidly backward when Kavalam reappears. "Ohmygod! Have you been up there all this /time/ you're quiet as a mouse." Now she's putting her backpack on, though, head shaking. "Is this your cat? We just found them." Kyle hms lightly when he hears Kav speak again, lifting his head "..'ow long you been up there?" he questions "I didn't even notice ya...sorry 'bout that." he's too distracted by randomly appearing people to really notice anything else. He glances to Mina and looks to Kav again, curious. "Forever," Kavalam's answer comes solemnly. "I live up here, now. Only one week of school, hm? Already it's amazing how much there is to overhear. You overhear a /lot/ when nobody is looking. I should take notes maybe." He seems half musing to himself, though he's still tipped upside-down to watch the others. "It's not my cat. It only followed me. You can have it." "Have it?" Mina looks /briefly/ excited by this idea. Briefly. "Are we even allowed to have pets? Anyway, what if it's /someone's/?" She shakes her head, tucks hair behind her ear, and climbs down out of the castle. "Anyway, hopefully he finds some proper home. Have fun with your --" Frown. "Notes?" She's heading away from the playground. Not back in the direction of the school building, admittedly. But away. Kyle turns his head lightly to Mina when Kavalam says she can have his cat, he then glances to him "Whats ya name, friend?" he asks him again, not recalling anything about him. "Do ya normally give away animals for free?" he chuckles faintly, though when Mina wanders off, he offers her a wave before looking back to Kavalam "Why ya upside down for?" "It's not my cat, so why not. You can have it." Kavalam offers this magnanimously. Sweeping a hand -- downward, really. Maybe /generally/ toward the cat, though the gesture makes him slide slightly down, tipping precariously down further off the roof. "You won't remember my name." Matter-of-factly. "Most girls, do they usually storm off after speaking with you? Is that your mutation?" Kyle tilts his head to Kavalam "Not too much o' a cat person lad." he shrugs, and when asked about his mutation, he shakes his head "Nah. She's just a tad rude. I don't think she's very friendly..." he sighs a little "My mutation 'as nothin' to do with social skills." he shrugs "What's yers?" "So in your culture," Kavalam pulls himself back up onto the roof, turns around, slides down off it with a THUD. Picks himself up nonchalantly from the mulch, "to be deliberately ignoring a person's request, call them things they do not like, that is -- how you show friendliness? How to be polite?" He is swiping absently at a phone as he talks, mild and politely curious in tone, eyebrows lifting from behind his half-rim glasses. "Everywhere, conventions are so different. I try to learn. Last time we met, she was quite very friendly, though." Kyle tilts his head faintly to Kavalam "I was just jestin' with 'er...she didn't appreciate me sense o' humor it seems..." he sighs faintly "I'll 'ave to apologize to 'er later. Though she was rather rude before...shoulda seen it. unless ya did." he shrugs "I don't think we'll get along too well..." he sighs lightly "I merely returned what she was givin'." though he does look at her curiously "hm. I must'a caught her at a bad time then. We Scots are polite, but we have a big sense o' humor." he shrugs "It is what it is I s'ppose." "Hm." Kavalam's 'hm' is one of thoughtful interest. He swipes more text into his phone. "All the while I was here." Tucking his phone away, he brushes mulch off his jeans. "I suppose we in India, we do not have. The humour. I'm sure I will learn." He's sidling around the side of the castle again -- just as neatly fading from notice and memory once more. His last, "Good luck," is left only to the cat to hear. Kyle tilts his head a moment as he stares off at a castle. "...what was I doing again?" he looks to his ball, shrugging, turning around to practice soccer by himself a little bit. He looks around, trying to recall what just happened...but for some reason, he can't!