Spycat

[bellbound]

It's been decades since Mogget has wandered around London this freely. It's almost like discovering the city all over again. At first he sticks to exploring mainly at night, keeping his nose to the ground and sniffing out magical activity. During the day he switches to crow form for a bird's eye view of the city, updating the mental map in his head. He has a specific mission, however, and so in the latter half of the month he begins to target certain locations:

Bromley and Bexley
Despite being in enemy territory, Mogget trots through the suburbs as if he has every right to be here. The fae presence is strong and every once in a while he senses a door to the Other Realm and raises his hackles, approaching with caution. While he may sniff around the edges of a door, he will never go through; that is forbidden to him.

But he's not here looking for doors. He's here to scope out the area and identify the resident fae. Maybe even talk to some of them, if they will talk to him.

Hillingdon House (17th-19th February)
Mogget hangs around the house for an entire weekend, watching who comes and goes. He's here to talk to the hunters, although you might not believe it if you find him in the kitchen, but anyone who seems like a promising prospect will hear a voice at their feet:

"Looking for work?"

Abbott Mill, The East End Den (around end February)
Mogget hates dogs. He doesn't want to be here, his small white cat face wrinkled in disgust at the stench of werewolf that permeates this place, but he's under orders and so he must pad with great caution into the den.

He's here to deliver a message to the alpha, Katherine Moore. Hopefully that won't take long and then he can just sneak his way back out without being noticed...

Comments

[bellbound]

"Don't be silly." He squints at the wolf. As if Samantha would ever set foot here. "Now, can I come out without you pouncing on me? I am rather busy and would like to leave this place before noon."

He'd like to leave this place as soon as he can, in fact. But even Mogget is capable of some small level of decorum.

[ghoulaid]

"Nope. You come out from under there and I'll be on you like a fat kid on cake." Ghoul rests his chin atop his crossed arms, watching Mogget calmly. "Unless you wanna be agreeable and tell me what you're doin' here. Then maybe we can work something out."

[bellbound]

Rude.

"My business here is none of your business." His green eyes gleam beneath the armchair. "I am here to see your alpha. Not some scruffy hanger-on."

The scruffy hanger-on is Ghoul, by the way. In case that wasn't obvious.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul responds with a disdainful hiss of air between his teeth, reaching an arm beneath the chair and swatting at Mogget. He'll show that little fucker scruffy hanger-on. "What if she ain't here?"

[bellbound]

He backs off, crouching low. You can't get him here, Ghoul.

"I was told that she would be." He stretches out one paw, flexing his claws. "I doubt she'd be pleased to know that you obstructed our meeting."

He'd be happy to tell Katherine just how impertinent her underling is being. Hopefully she favours the old-style wolf punishments, like the chains with spikes that dig into the skin every time the offender moves.

[ghoulaid]

Maybe he can't reach Mogget, but he can twist his wrist a bit and flip him off. Because he's a charmer. "Fuck you and all nine of your lives. Go ahead and tell her I was tryin' to be safe." He hopes he doesn't snitch, actually. She might side with the stupid cat after all, depending on what sort of mood she's in or how important their meeting is supposed to be.

Ghoul slides himself back and then pushes himself in to a sitting position, giving Mogget room to safely crawl out. "Come on then, you little rat."

[bellbound]

Rude. He makes a mental note to advise Samantha to put a leash on this one first. A muzzle would work wonders.

The cat tilts his head, regarding Ghoul with a suspicious air for a moment, but he's going to have to risk it. He crawls out from under the chair and stretches again, this time a full body stretch that rolls through his shoulders.

"Where can I find her?"

He makes no promise on what he'll say to Katherine. Maybe Ghoul should think about being nicer to him.

[ghoulaid]

There he is. The little bastard. The urge to lean in and flick his nose or something is unreal, but he puts his hands to better use by dragging himself off the floor. "I ain't lettin' your skinny white ass prance all over the place alone." Because who knows what he might get in to- his concern is entirely for the pack's safety and the safety of their things, of course, not for Mogget. But still. It's nice to have a guided tour, isn't it? "Come on and I'll show you where she's at."

He starts walking slowly, casting frequent glances back to make sure the cat sticks close.

[bellbound]

Since the scruffy werewolf is actually being obliging this time, Mogget obliges him back by following, first breaking into a trot to catch up and then slinking along with his head shifting from side to side, always aware of his surroundings.

The place absolutely stinks of wolf. It's wretched.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul guides him to an only slightly spooky stairwell, then begins leading him up, up, and up. There are a couple of old lifts, sure, but Mogget deserves to have his stupid furry legs run off. "Why'd she send you to do her business for her?"

[bellbound]

For the record, this is unfair. His cat form is not made to ascend endless human-sized flights of stairs. In other circumstances he would jump up and hitch a ride on his companion's shoulder, but if it's a choice between hanging out on a mangy werewolf and taking the stairs, he'll take the stairs.

He'll take his time too, working his way up slowly but steadily, whiskers brushing each step as he ascends.

"Because she can," he replies, which may not be very helpful. "I serve the Mother of Witches. That means doing as she asks."

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul discovers, very quickly, that he's going to need to step a little slower. He pauses, watching and waiting for the cat to catch up... and maybe quietly snickering at him a little bit. It's a good thing Mogget is such a pain in the ass, otherwise this might be cute.

"Well, yeah." Once Mogget's only a couple steps away, Ghoul turns and starts moving again. "But if you go out and do official meeting shit for her, what happens when you need to sign paperwork? You got fuckin' paws. And I kinda doubt having a cat's signature is like, legally binding."

[bellbound]

"Who says I can't sign paperwork?"

It's an oblique answer but it is in fact true. Mogget is adept at writing with his claws. All he needs is an ink bottle to dip into. Alternatively, he could shift into his human form. Which he could do now, but Katherine is expecting a cat. He doesn't want this deal to go wrong, so it's best not to surprise her.

[ghoulaid]

He glances down at Mogget, giving him a strange look. A cat actually signing paperwork. Jesus, what would that even look like? "That's weird. You're weird." Just in case he didn't already know.

"So you run around town as a cat-secretary." It's nothing he's trying to be insulting over this time around, he's actually trying to learn. The relationship between witches and familiars is a little unclear to him, but he's always assumed it's a two-way street. "What d'you get out of the deal? Salary pay? Dental?"

[bellbound]

He's been called worse things. The cat laughs softly, which sounds more like he's about to hack up a hairball.

"Oh, I get nothing except a roof over my head." Even that is more like a prison as far as he is concerned. That's one thing he's glad of with a change of Mother: it comes with a change of scenery. He had been getting bored and slow in the Redbright household. "Is it much further?"

He peers up, but he can't see much past Ghoul who is blocking his way up the stairs.

[ghoulaid]

What a liar! "Fuck that. There's no way you're gonna get me to believe you're nice enough to do a bunch of lapdog work just for a place to stay." He figures Mogget is being a smartass, not that he's being serious. If he'd thought otherwise, maybe he would've pressed the issue further instead of joking, "There's like eleven more floors."

Which is a load of crap. There aren't even that many floors in the building to begin with... "Why? Legs getting tired?"

[bellbound]

Oh, come on. He knows this building doesn't have eleven floors. Mogget shakes his head irritably.

"Merely eager to meet the alpha," he replies, because he wants to get this over with.

And he can't lie, so it must be true.

[ghoulaid]

"Yeah, sure. It's up there." He stops and points to a door ahead, watching Mogget with an eyebrow arched. He makes no move himself to get closer to it, only because he's interested in seeing how he handles opening it. If he can sign a paper then he can manage a door on his own, can't he?

[bellbound]

Mogget approaches the door, but before he gets there he turns around, regarding Ghoul with something of a wicked gleam in his green eyes.

"I'm afraid you're not invited to this discussion. Be on your way. I'll go from here."

He's got this. Doors are no problem.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul's expression sours instantly. Okay, maybe he'd been waiting for Mogget to admit defeat. And perhaps he'd been hoping Mogget would be forced to ask nicely for help, but apparently neither of those things are going to happen. What a bummer.

He sighs out a put-off sounding, "Whatever," and turns away, stomping his way back down the stairs noisily.

[bellbound]

The sullen attitude doesn't bother Mogget at all. Ghoul has gone and now he can finally relay his message to Katherine. He'll take human form for a few seconds to knock on the door, and then he's in. Mission (almost) accomplished.