August 14, 2021 – 12:01 AM
Elsie Kirke — Played by Bee
There wasn't a way to avoid it much longer, Elsie knew she was going to have to speak with Mr. Ainsworth sooner rather than later, but she was terrified she was going to lose her job and then where would they be? The beginning of next week, she'd made up her mind. It was getting harder and harder to hid her waddle, even if she could use an illusion charm to diminish her growing belly. There was nothing she could do about the walk though, no matter how hard she tried. She had every intention of talking to Tyb about it tonight— except that every thing she'd thought to say had been cast aside as she'd walked home from the market today.
A merciful day off from the library had given her some time to get to the market and get a few things they needed. They weren't struggling as much financially as she would have expected, but Elsie was still playing it safe, budgeting, close to putting them in a place to buy a little cottage in which they could bring this baby home to. Once they could pay that off in full, they would have a bigger cushion. It would give them a little breathing room.
Naturally the trip could never be as straightforward as she would have hoped. She had a basket of goods on one arm, complete with some fresh flowers, but as she'd turned down the last alley toward their house, Els had come across a couple of boys crouched down and laughing in low whispers to one another. Typically Elsie wouldn't have gotten involved, but that was before she heard the helpless little mew. She was not one to raise her voice and it surprised her as much as the boys when she nearly hollered, "What are you doing there?" They boys jumped and scattered, leaving Elsie to find a tiny black fluffball struggling in a bucket of water.
Dashing forward, Els scooped the kitten from the water, soaked through and shaking. She hadn't anticipated bringing home a cat in addition to the groceries, but here she was. Tyb liked creatures right?
She hurried home to get the kitten warmed up and to get dinner started (she was getting better at that). It didn't take long to get her dried off and fed, the kitten napping in an old blanket near the corner of the kitchen while Elsie started dinner. Of course that's when she heard the door open. The sheepish grin on her lips couldn't be helped as the curious little kitten beat her to the living room, Elsie waddling more leisurely behind. "Surprise?" Memories of finding Dora in the street surfaced as she realized this was a habit of hers and she couldn't help but to chuckle.
![[Image: Elsie-MJSig.png]](https://i.ibb.co/zFHDHQc/Elsie-MJSig.png)
MJ always makes her so pretty
August 17, 2021 – 8:56 PM
Tybalt Kirke — Played by MJ
“Surprise,” Tyb agreed faintly, already crouching down to get a better look at the kitten in their flat by the time Elsie appeared in the doorway to the living room behind it.
(At least Elsie had appeared behind it – if she hadn’t, it might have struck him that she had... dropped her wand or something, and somehow accidentally transfigured herself into a cat today. Which wasn’t that farfetched, really, spontaneously being turned into a little black cat: Tybalt would know.)
His gaze fell back to the kitten – the very fluffy, very adorable kitten – his hand tentatively extended towards it to see how friendly or skittish it might be, and he tried not to visibly grin at it before he peered back up at Elsie again, attempting to seem – stern. “Who’s this, then?” he said, with raised eyebrows. And where had this little creature come from, exactly?
August 26, 2021 – 10:30 PM
Elsie Kirke — Played by Bee
Elsie leaned a hip against the door frame as she watched Tyb greet the kitten. His expression didn't fool her much, but she played along anyway. "Well, I haven't exactly named her yet," She hadn't quite dared to get too attached, not that she really thought he would say no, but there was a chance. Did they need a kitten right now? No. Did she want one? Yes. The kitten and the baby would grow up together, how adorable was that?
"On my way home from the market I passed by a couple of boys who had her in a bucket of water and I scared them off. I couldn't just leave her there." She intoned with just enough of an urgency that she hoped it helped her story. "Look at how fluffy she is." Now that she was dry and warm. With her little green eyes and extra fluff it was so hard not to want to keep her!
MJ always makes her so pretty
September 7, 2021 – 5:02 PM
Tybalt Kirke — Played by MJ
Yet.
He hadn’t missed that implication, but stayed quiet to hear the rest of the story, still fighting the smile that wanted to twist up at the picture of Elsie getting protective of the poor thing. He pulled a face instead that was nearly a frown.
“But you know we can’t, right?” Tyb protested, with audible reluctance. But they shouldn’t, not now: it was one thing to have watched Elsie take home a stray puppy when it was her mother’s problem and nothing to do with him, and a very different thing when time and money were tight as it was and the flat was cosy rather than spacious, and there was already a baby on the way, a real commitment. A kitten was just – a cherry on top of a cake they probably couldn’t afford to buy.
Even a kitten with a sob story and very soft fur.
Merlin, Elsie was supposed to be the sensible one! It was impossible not to read it plainly on her face, what she wanted him to say – so how could she leave it to him to try to be the realist, when there was a kitten curiously headbutting his hand?
September 20, 2021 – 12:52 AM
Elsie Kirke — Played by Bee
It was hard not to be disappointed and so her face fell just a little bit. She ran a hand over her rounded stomach, a new inescapable habit (which she secretly enjoyed) and tried to rearrange her features. "Maybe Meri or Adella could take her." Perhaps a good home with her friend or her sister would be a better spot. At the very least, Mr. Calendar could probably easily find a suitable home for the kitten, it was his profession after all.
Tyb was right, a kitten was the last thing they needed, but she still thought maybe they could have made it work. It would have been a nice addition to their little place, something to make it feel a little more like home. "I'll send some owls after dinner." She conceded with a sad sort of smile and turned back to the kitchen to resume making their supper.
MJ always makes her so pretty
October 1, 2021 – 12:06 AM
Tybalt Kirke — Played by MJ
So that wasn’t the answer Elsie had been looking for. And that wasn’t the response Tyb had expected, either – he had been preparing for a little debate about it, not just immediate surrender!
Wrong-footed and completely bewildered, Tyb watched her turn away to the kitchen, the frown frozen on his face. Meri or Adella? Sending owls as soon as after dinner? Not even a pout and a please?
He lingered in the living room, peering at the kitten. “Did you hear that?” Tyb moaned to the little black ball of fluff, and sprawled to the living room floor beside it, reaching out to stroke its fur forlornly. “She’s not usually so barbaric, I promise. She’s just being mean to me,” he explained, “making me look like the bad guy. And after you’ve had such a bad day.” The poor thing had just narrowly escaped a drowning and Tybalt was supposed to be the one making the call to kick it out of the house post-haste?
October 3, 2021 – 12:50 AM
Elsie Kirke — Played by Bee
Elsie would hear him talking to the cat from her spot in the kitchen. Did he just call her barbaric? Of all things!
"Excuse you!" She reappeared in the doorway with a wooden spoon in hand, pointing it directly at the pair on the floor. "You made a perfectly logical decision, we shouldn't keep her." She sniffled and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him with a slight pout now.
Pregnancy was a wild ride and it was really messing with her hormones. Normally she was much more even-keeled than this which meant she regretted the outburst immediately. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. I just thought it would be sweet if the baby and the kitten grew up together." Not for the first time today, she was on the verge of tears for absolutely no reason. She had to look away to blink them back.
MJ always makes her so pretty
October 13, 2021 – 8:39 PM
Tybalt Kirke — Played by MJ
The kitten didn’t seem remotely concerned about what he was saying to it, but someone certainly was. Tyb lifted his head from the floor dubiously at Elsie’s outburst, caught between the temptation to laugh or be apprehensive at the brandished spoon. What was she going to do, cast Stupefy with it? Smack him with it?
She did seem... more upset than he had anticipated, though. And the kitten was now headbutting him gently in the arm, which must mean it didn’t much like the logical decision, either. “No, I’m sorry,” Tyb said, a touch sheepish, as he beckoned Elsie back over to them and peered at her meaningfully. “And you’re right,” he admitted – surrendered – whatever. Logic was overrated anyway. And a kitten would be good practise for a baby... maybe? “Anyone who could let this adorable little thing go without a fight is barbaric.”
October 16, 2021 – 3:27 PM
Elsie Kirke — Played by Bee
Shoulders slumped, Elsie shuffled over to where Tyb and the kitten were on the floor. She looked down at them dubiously, wondering if she sat down if she'd be able to get back up, plus dinner was nearly done. It did look like she was going to get what she wanted after all; Elsie sort of knew he had a hard time saying no to her, which she'd been banking on. However she didn't do it very often, and that little face was just so cute!
"She is quite adorable." Elsie sniffled again, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she managed to get down to their level. "I'm sorry I shouted." This time the apology was warranted.
MJ always makes her so pretty
October 27, 2021 – 7:29 PM
Tybalt Kirke — Played by MJ
Tybalt made a mental note to help Elsie get back up again afterwards – her walking really was becoming a waddle, and her manoeuvring to a standing position again looked like it would be a hefty task. But, in the meantime, she was sorry, and he wordlessly scooped the kitten up to place her on Elsie’s lap. As good a comfort as anything. (As long as those were the threatening tears of emotion and not of cat allergy.)
Stop saying sorry, Tyb might have teased, if he weren’t worried that even a joking remark about it might overwhelm her. Maybe she was stressed. Maybe this was another pregnancy thing, to add to the never-ending list. He leaned towards her all the same. “I’m sorry I tried to be logical,” he said instead, with his usual grin. He peered at the kitten fondly again, scratching at the black fur and pleased the kitten didn’t seem too worse for wear from its earlier incident in the water-bucket. “But I think you should probably give her a name, if we’re keeping her.”
November 13, 2021 – 5:20 PM
Elsie Kirke — Played by Bee
Elsie stifled what she was sure was going to be a shuddering sigh and instead took a deep breath, trying to figure out just what was wrong with her. Thank Merlin Tyb didn't take her moods too seriously; they really were all over the place. Running an affectionate hand down the kitten's back as she settled in Elsie's lap, Els reached her other hand to her husband fondly.
Smiling softly, she looked at the kitten. She had been thinking of names, even if she hadn't been sure Tyb would agree to keep the little fluff ball. "Black cats always remind me of All Hallows Eve... how about Hallie? She had considered a couple, but this one had stuck out as she'd been making dinn-
"Oh! Dinner!" She scrambled to get up, placing the kitten back with Tyb before trying to scramble to her feet. "I don't want to ruin it." Again. This whole making a meal thing was harder than baking! She managed to get up without assistance, which was a feat in and of itself and waddle off to the kitchen.
MJ always makes her so pretty
