[Open] Catgroove.

[regalduchess]

The cat; small, lithe, and scared; runs through the aviary chased out by chirping birds, their beady eyes vindictive.

Once upon a time, there was a cheerfully tinkling bell on her collar. Now, it lies on the aviary floor as a trophy to the birds. The entire castle she runs through has a strange feeling to it, like everything is dead. Or asleep, or in mourning.

She finally comes to the throne room. Even cobweb-encrusted as they are, the silk seats are soft and comforting. The musty warmth reminds her of Bonfamille and her pink boas, her soft skin, the perfume she always wears-- always used to wear.

With a soft sigh, Duchess curls into a circle with her tail hanging off the edge of the throne, and tries to sleep.

Comments

[andthebat]

"Like how people are?" the Batman says lightly. (He feels a little thoughtless immediately afterwards.)

"Somewhat. Parts of the layout like to change." Which makes exploring the castle an ongoing issue.

[regalduchess]

Duchess twitches her ear. Yes, she sometimes lumps people all together; Edgar, who cares for them, and Bonfamille, who pampers them, and-- that's all the humans she spends time around. Not the commonfolk out in the streets. Nor children, excepting her own, and they're cats.

"The layout changes? Oh, how? I hope it isn't too drastic..."

[andthebat]

Duchess doesn't comment on the Batman's little cats-aren't-people implication, so he presumes that the matter is dropped.

"Parts of it," Batman explains. "But this throne room seems to stay in the same general area, and the gardens don't change either. Outside of those and some other rooms, the rest of the castle isn't so reliable. So a door that leads into one room will lead somewhere else tomorrow."

Which does indeed sound drastic, so he adds, "But I have noticed you can always seem to find whatever you're looking for. If you need food for example, you'll probably run into a kitchen eventually."

It's enough for him to wonder sometimes if the castle is a genus loci, like the legendary Mount Mogo, but outside of that it hasn't shown any signs of true intelligence.

[regalduchess]

For Duchess, her polite nature bars her from commenting back in just the same fashion. And so, yes<>/em>, she has ignored his 'cat's aren't people' implication.

"Well, that is comforting. So at least, I will be able to find my way around after a while simply by concentrating on what I need? That seems like quite a polite way for a transforming castle to function, right next to keeping th same layout."

She finally leans to sniff the Batman's hand in greeting, then goes back to her perch fully.

"How long have you been here, Batman?"

[andthebat]

"It's comfortable enough, as far as prisons go," the Batman says. He answers Duchess's question with "A few months."

A frown settles on his face, as he thinks of all the work in Gotham City that's left undone. He's sure Batgirl and Robin are doing their best, but there are more than a few people who must be having a ball now that he's not around. And his family's probably worried about him vanishing without notice.

[regalduchess]

She frowns, herself, though far more lightly and daintily; as if strong emotions aren't a feeling she's experienced in quite a long time.

"...oh. A few months?" She'd only been there a day, and she was already mad with confusion and longing for her children! "...Well. I look forwards to seeing you around the castle, the Batman."