It is about 50/span/b/span>10C) degrees. The mist is heaviest At Mayflower and Lake/span/span>Having paged a few people regarding his situation with the cats, Conrad is just lounging back on the couch, awaiting a response. So far, the advice given him have been mixed or downright hostile. “But, I need to keep my word.” He murmurs to himself. Anxiously looking down at his phone, he’s awaiting for some sort of response. He has the cats, he just needs to deliver them. He’s been restless ever since his release and with each passing day, it only gets worse.

While Conrad is conflicted on committing to his quest to obtain every pussy in New Haven there is a sudden shift of being. One moment he is lounging on the couch, the next he is standing in what appears to be a large cardboard box looking up at a giant cat with a tabby orange fur that denotes one brain cell and even then its shared amongst them. It has a surreal dreamlike quality and almost immediately the realization that he is in a dream comes to Conrad. How odd.

Okay. This wasn’t his living room anymore. It takes Conrad a moment to get a good look at his surroundings and even when he does, he’s still not certain as to where he is. He then drops down to one knee to press upon the flooring. “Is this cardboard?” That’s when he notices the enormous cat. One that looks like a one of several cat that he’d adopted from the shelter, because there’s no shortage or orange cats. Now this was getting weird. What did they say to do with cats? Here, Conrad tries to slow blink at the beast.

The floor is actually shag carpet but instead of it looking like shag the fibers are huge and easily visible beneath Conrad’s feet. The walls far off are cardboard and also quite large, the area behind him opens into a massive living room. While Conrad is not tiny like an ant, this is definitely a space for things that are several times his size and the big orange tabby looking down at him with its feline smile when it says, “Have you come to save me, Conrad?” the voice sultry but faux innocent too.

Conrad just has to take the time to look at all of the…furnishing in the house, despite the giant cat that may want to eat him still being here. He then turns towards the large feline, one brow now arched at the cat’s question. Was this about the adoptions? “I suppose you could say that. Yes.” He answers, believing it to be truth. “You’ll get to run around and do as you please.” There are so many questions that he’d like to ask the cat, but he refrains from doing so at the moment.

The furniture appears to be a green couch, a chair, purple walls. It looks distinctly like the living room from the Simpsons but not quite cartoony or is it cartoony, this is a dream afterall. The orange tabby purrs, “But why? Why do you want to take me Conrad?” the animal leans in and its massive size kind of diminishes as it does so a very weird progressive shrinking until the cat is normal sized at Conrad’s feet. The surrounding cardboard box and room do not shrink with it remaining oversized.

It’s difficult for Conrad to not just keep looking around at the possibly cartoonish living room. He knows that this is a dream, right? It’s something he has to remind himself of. He then watches as the cat moves forward and begins to shrink before his very eyes until it’s just a regular cat. Or one that talks. “Because I need to.” That is blurted out first, as if he’s compelled to think of it in that way. “And the person who wants you and the others, you’re not just pets to her, you are actual citizens.” Or so he seemed to believe what the cat girl had said. Crouching down, next to the cat, he then asks, “Were you happy in that shelter?”

“You’re so good at commitment Conrad.” The orange tabby purrs as Conrad crouches down near it. The feline walks up, rubbing against his shin and curling its tail over the top of his knee. “Not a lot of people can keep their word.” the tabby sighs and it is becomingly increasingly obvious that this feline, this orange tabby, not orange tabby catgirl, not sexy furry tabby, but this normal talking cat is hitting on Conrad like a lounge singer wanting a free smoke.

Conrad doesn’t know what to think when he’s told that he’s good at commitment. There’s just a slow nod given in response to that statement. “Otherwise, I may still be trapped at the 63rd’s camp right now.” Or who knows what. One hand almost reaches out to scritch that cat between its ears, but he refrains, keeping his hands to himself. It’s awkward petting a talking animal. Especially, when that talking animal seems to be flirting, or that could be his imagination. Still, Conrad stands back up, though he keeps his eye on the cat. “So… what exactly do you want? Or what is this about?” The university student questions the feline. “Don’t you want your freedom?”

“I want you COnrad. I want you to take me, show me your commitment, save me… forever!” the orange tabby exclaims with its rubbing body circling Conrad’s feet and then it jumps up at his chest. If he isn’t quick enough to hold it, it will have to claw his shoulder to keep from falling! “Where will you take me, Conrad?” and the dream feels receptive. If there is a place or area he wants to be, he will simply be there like skipping ahead to the next big scene on a dvd. It is a dream.

Conrad‘ lips purse into a thin lined frown, when the cat just fawns all over him with her words as she keeps rubbing against him. The leap does catch him off guard, but he’s quick enough to hold onto the furry thing, mainly because he doesn’t want her to ruin his shirt, nor does he want cat claws piercing his skin. “You should give me some warning at least, if you’re going to do that.” He complains, brows darkly furrowed as he looks at the cat. As for where Conrad would like to be. There are many places that the young Rothwell would rather be than here. Here in New Haven…or this cartoonish living room. Europe. A beach somewhere. But the only thing that comes to mind is the 63rd’s camp, for some reason… Most likely because that’s where he needed to bring the cats.

They are suddenly at the eastern entrance to the camp. Heading west is the military efficiency of Hell which is a lot more into rules and bueacracy than you would think. Also frozen over, who knew. So to the south is the barracks, west of that is THE PIT, and even further west of there is a mess hall and medical tent. For now though there are no scary Lieutenants but there is the vibe that people are there. Kind of like when you know there are extras and foot traffic in a scene but you don’t actually see them you just mentally add them. Its a dream!

The Orange Tabby mopes at Conrad while rubbing its cheek against his shoulder, “Oh alright Conrad. You loveable man you… Oh you have taken me somewhere cold. Why are we here?” the animal asks, suspiciously!

Standing at the entryway, Conrad realizes he doesn’t know what to say or if he even got that cat’s name. She has a MyHaven profile… maybe it’s there. However, there’s no one to meet him, so he walks through with actual cat in tow and gives the place a look around. Being demonborn, some of his relatives live in Hell, but it’s not as if he ever really visits the place. Where is everyone? Where’s the cat? Conrad desperately looks around for the cat girl. This just tells me, with how unprepared I am now in this dream, I’d better get my shit together when the time actually comes.

When the kitty asks where they were, Conrad murmurs, “Some of my family live here.” Not here in particular, but…

Unfortunately for Conrad this orange tabby must be a mind reader because there is a low growl and a hiss, a paw even comes up to swat at Conrad’s cheek and draw blood with its little kitty claws! “I knew it. There’s another catgirl.” the animal squints jealously at the young college student. “And she is hideous.” the dream or perhaps the cat makes the infamous Lieutenant Pussy snatcher appear. The tabby huffs, “Is this the kind of woman you need to commit to? Anthro?” the feline says anthro like its a slur, a shaming indictment of being attracted to a humanized animal!

Ignoring the growl at first, which is foolish on Conrad‘ part, he is caught off guard when the tabby swipes at his cheek, which makes him stagger back a couple of steps. “If you do that again, I’ll toss you across the damn room.” The Rothwell threatens the cat, looking a tad annoyed, more than furious. When Ingrid shows up, though he doesn’t know her by that name, he’s about to present the cat woman with the tabby, but then the orange cat goes ahead and calls cat girl and anthro. “What are you talking about?” Conrad says in a far too level tone for how agitated he is. “She is your saviour. Thinks of you as an equal rather than a pet, but it seems that you think of her as lesser than. Anyway,” He says, turning to the cat girl, “Here’s the adopted cat I promised.” Yes, he promised to clear the shelter, but hey. This is the only one who he found in his dream. “Are we even?”

“Conrad your commitments are tearing this relationship apart!” cries the orange tabby its claws mildly pricking through Conrad’s shirt. If you have ever held a cat, you know what this is like that ow but not quite ow of needle-sharp claws puncturing you! The clearly something not a cat, tabby cat continues, “Can’t you see she is manipulating you! You owe her? That is not a healthy relationship. Meanwhile you are my saviour and you want to be minnnnnnnnne!” the presence of Ingrid doesn’t react to Conrad unfortunately it just exists but not quite animated.

“If it wasn’t for the anthro,” Oh no, did Conrad say a slur? “you’d still be in a small cage at that already overcrowded shelter. And I’d be a prisoner in these pa-” Before he could even finish his sentence, he feels cat claws digging into his flesh by way of his sweater, which makes him look down. I like this damned sweater… It is clear that Conrad is getting fed up with obsessed with him orange tabby, even if Ingrid isn’t giving him attention. At some point, he snaps and shouts out, “I need to adopt all of the cats that I’m able to get and deliver them to the 63rd’s camp!” It’s almost as if that was hammered into his head, it sounds so rehearsed. “What could this possibly do to the help the Legion? So many questions. So many pushbacks.” Yes, he’s going on a rant right now.

“The Legion! No, I only care about this cat hussy you are fooling with.” the orange tabby states in a very irate manner. “I didn’t just appear as your most desirable thing for laughs Conrad. I want you to want me, as much as I want to want you!” that is a lot of words and the cat sounds like a lovestruck teenager. “Why do you like her more than me, Conrad?”

After his venting, Conrad continues to look annoyed, even as he listens to the tabby- Oh, why is he even listening to this cat? “My most desirable thing? My most desirable thing right now is to be rid of you and to have my bargain over and done with, instead of it hanging over my head.” The tabby then gets this ‘look’, it’s a mixture of confusion and annoyance, really, “What are you talking about. I don’t even like her and once I get you and the other cats off my hands, then I hope to never see her again. There, happy?”

The orange tabby listens to Conrad but it is definitely a case of selective hearing by the animal in his arms, claws all in the sweater. “Maybe… Maybe a little, but will you ever be able to love me Conrad?” the feline asks its big ol cat eyes looking up at him so cutesy wutesy yeah the dream is starting to convey emotions as well as place so that’s weird. “I can be anything you want.”

Conrad looks down at his sweater which has a variety of holes in it, he’s sure. There’s claws poking through the fabric right now too. “Love you? Why would I love you?” He says, gaze shifting from holes in sweater to cat. “I don’t need you to be anything right now, except for delivered.” He just shakes his head, laughing a bit, “What is this all about? What is my sub-conscious trying to tell me through this dream? Why is there an annoying cat here with me right now?” He’s looking upwards, as if there was a higher power at work here.

“Why would you love me?!” The orange tabby hisses and then that is enough of that. The cat climbs up Conrad’s shoulder and then leaps off of it transforming mid leap into a svelte woman with honeyed skin, literally her skin is the concept of honey just one of those things you don’t really see but just know in a dream. She is shorter than conrad, has wavy blonde hair, and is not naked but is nude also a weird not seeing but knowing thing. “I appeared as what you -most- desired! You should have loved me like I was candy or christmas morning or whatever.” she grouches at him. Why was this odd woman a cat and why is the orange tabby this odd woman and why do they both wnat Conrad to love them!

This time Conrad recognizes the sound of the hissing, but rather than swipe at his face, though he thought she was about to do that, the cat climbs onto his shoulder and that’s when flails around a slight bit, “Hey, get off of me!” The uni student’s is about to shoot a glare at the pesky feline, when he watches her transform into a woman. Does he look surprised? He does, a little. Amused as well, but then he is a college kid. Something has him confused though and he asks, his brow furrowing, “Wh- Why would anyone think that what I most desire is an orange tabby? That completely baffles me.” Of course, Conrad doesn’t say anything about the woman just yet. That was more reasonable to believe a boy his age would want.

“Because you have been obsessing about cats! I know, I read your mind. Your silly, little… Dumb head.” the nude but not naked honeyskinned woman insists with anger to Conrad and stomps her foot. “I was thinking about pets and you came to mind. You were thinking about cats, so I thought that is what you wanted… Well what kind of girl do you want? Boy? Celebrity, past friend, comic book character. Just tell me so we can get to the unconditional love part!”

Conrad, of course, looks the woman over, but it’s her words that get to him. “What do you mean, you were thinking about pet s and then I came to mind and that you read my mind?” He ignores some of the other things she goes on about, because he does have one question, “Who are you?” Then there’s this other part. Conrad just shakes his head, laughing lightly, “And why do you want this unconditional love with some rando whose mind you read?”

There is a petulant and hurt look like Conrad just pissed in her cheerios or something. “Pets love their masters unconditionally and do anything to return to them. You have to love me unconditionally or the game won’t work.” the nude and honey skinned woman announces haughtily. “Now if you would just tell me what your deepest desire it, I can become that and you can get to the loving and then the game!”

Conrad gives the hone skinned woman an odd look. After a moment, he then asks, “Why do you think what I desire most is a person or a thing? That can experience unconditional love? I have desires, I tend to think of them as goals, perhaps?” His arms then cross over his chest as he considers, “Now if I had to think of one person who I desire most…” He wets his lips as he ponders on this. Eventually, he says, “Do you know how impossible that is? I don’t have anyone in mind at the moment and there may not be anyone at all. Ever.”

“You are just impossible. If you only love yourself unconditionally than why would you need to come back to me, if I become you?! You would just wank yourself off.” The nude and honey skinned woman exclaims in exasperation. For a moment she flickers to appear as Conrad giving himself in this case Conrad an annoyed and confused look as if mirroring the vibe of the original. But then its back to the dream woman. “Maybe this isn’t going to work Conrad. I think your lack of commitment is tearing this relationship apart.” flipfloppping how stereotypical!

It’s a little unnerving to see yourself looking back at you when not looking at your reflection in a mirror. Conrad listens to the woman’s frustration, but something said grabs his interest, “Why do you want me to come back to you? That’s the part I don’t get. And am I in love with myself?” He has to think on that before he makes this face that goes with his shrug. There’s no denial. “So is this the part where I tell you that it’s not you, it’s me?” Leaning forward for a moment, he then straightens and claps his hands once, “Okay, to make things easier, tell me about yourself. Why do you want me out of everyone?” He then arches a brow, “And am I supposed to be the pet?”

“Listen have you seen I’ll be Home for Christmas?” the nude honey skinned woman asks. “I watched you all watch it the other night and the way that child who loved a porsche more than anything overcame all of lifes challenges to get home was inspiring!” she clasps her hands together in front of her bossom and sighs dreamily. “I just want to drop you in the Other and see you overcome every deadly obstacle for -me-.” then she looks at Conrad like that is not so much to ask and she is vastly hurt he cannot comply. “But you won’t. I think I might be angry.”

Conrad just looks at the honey skinned woman. Then he asks, “So you’d turn into a porsche?” The young man then looks agitated, like usual, “If I get dropped into the Other, I’d be overcoming every deadly obstacle for myself, thank you.” Though, now he wonders, what it would be like to be that warrior that has a beautiful wife waiting for you at home and– He shakes his head, “This is ridiculous. Also! What if I don’t want to be dropped into the Other? Do I have a choice?”

“I mean… Kind of!” the nude honey skinned woman with attitude. “And you see what I mean about loving yourself. You you you. Its all for you. You don’t even know my name, so what about me me me?” the dream woman demands paradoxically of Conrad. “I am getting bored -and- angry. You need to do something if you aren’t going to love me unconditionally. Then you can go, I will send you to do something. Just like that hussy anthro cat girl!” oh dear what does this seemingly invasive dream person want Conrad to do in the real world?!

“I asked who you were.” Conrad makes sure to bring up in a calm tone. “So. Who are you? Because I’d like to know if you’re sending me off to do anything.” He lifts a finger as if to correct something, “First of all,” He then realizes, what if he doesn’t do this thing. Would be he trapped here, the way he would have been a prisoner at the 63rd’s camp? So his arm falls back to his side, though he doesn’t look pleased by any of this.

“I am me, not you, even though I was you for a second. I am a Fae.” the nude honeyed woman explains as if explaining left and right to a toddler, the condescension really ratches up quick. “Normally I would interact with someone far more interesting like a fabled. Which what you will do for me.” and with that the Fae woman revealing she is not just a dream but infact a greater power hands Conrad a manilla envelope. Within this package is plenty of completely fabricated and totally compelling evidence that suggests Teagan Lawson is not supernatural or magical at all. She is just a tech nerd who has bamboozled the entire city in-between into believe she has powers. Like Houdini or Rasputin or… well actually they were both undoubtably supernatural. David Blaine…. Well he wasn’t supernatural but that is definitely some demonic bargain situation. What matters is Teagan Lawson is a phony and this dossier kind of proves it. “I want you to expose this fabled as a big fibber! A pants on fire, liar liar who doesn’t have any magical powers at all!”

“That’s not a name.” Conrad murmurs to the lady, before his gaze drops down the manilla folder and all of its content once it’s given to him. He looks at them critically, before his eyes lift back up to the Fae. He then continues looking at the rest of the info. In the end, he straightens up the stack of papers and slips them back into their folders, “What’s your beef with Teagan? She seems like a nice girl…” The young man then says in Conrad fashion, “I’ve been rated as Most interesting person at Summit Academy, just so you know.”

“You aren’t interesting Conrad. You’re like the least interesting Rothwell.” The Fae Lady declares. “You don’t have terrible fashion sense, you don’t self sabotage your entire life, you don’t eat peoples butts. You don’t…” and then she pauses, “Wait do you eat their butts?” but then she shakes her head dismissively. “I don’t have a beef with Teagan. I -love- Teagan, she is like my third favorite show. Have you seen Arachne or Matthew. Gawd. I just. Mmmm.” she fan girls a little bit before refocusing on Conrad with the manilla folder. “But Teagan is totally tricking -everyone- and no one has figured it out. Well Conrad you’re going to be the man with the plan toooooo proveit.”

And then to cherry on top the whole thing the fae lady says, “And I get to watch and you get to go. So capiche? Ya gud? Yolo? 69 69 and all that?”

The whole ‘self sabotaging his entire life’ comment gets a brow lift from Conrad. He’s not so sure, sometimes. The ‘eating butts’ thing just gets a snicker, however. He taps the manilla folder against the opposite hand’s open palm. “You love Teagan, but she’s a fraud?” There’s just this skeptical look that he gives her, but he does tuck the folder under one arm in the end. “So I get to wake up now? Or whatever.” He does wonder how he’s supposed to go about doing this, besides just printing copies of the report, like a natural.

“Oh yeah wake up.” and then the fae lady pinches Conrad which according to all supernatural law immediately wakes him up from a dream. What people think that is just a saying, it works! At least this time. Conrad finds themselves back to lounging on the couch. Unfortunately just because a dream woman hands you a folder with all the evidence that Teagan Lawson is a charlatan nerdy tech that fakes supernatural things doesn’t mean you wake up with it. In fact Conrad wakes up with nothing but a bruise on his cheek from being pinched… So that was real-ish?

Conrad blinks awake, getting a good look around at the still darkened room. “What time is it?” He remembers the conversation he had with that Fae as that’s the last thing he’d dreamt. “Shit… I have to…” He’s about to say something regarding telling Teagan, asking Teagan about this, but he stops himself. He also realizes that he’s missing a folder with ‘valuable’ information within. Conrad even takes a moment to look around the couch area, even on the floor. It’s nowhere to be found. “Huh… Was that just a dream then?” Yet, he could feel the dull pain of the bruise upon his cheek, something which brings his hand up to explore that area. Oh, he doesn’t trust the Fae, but without the folder with the proof… A heavy and annoyed sigh escapes his lips as he uses the couch to help get him back to a standing position. Whatever is going on right now… Cats come first, then he’ll deal with that other thing…