Ghostcat shenanigans

[technicallyhellbound]

It had been a few weeks since they'd started this arrangement, and so far the Cat had, in fact, been a surprising amount of help. Enough so that Charles had stopped being mostly on-guard while in his presence and had even taken the 'puppy' nickname in stride, though he still hadn't really looked too deeply at why it didn't bother him as much as it probably should.

That particular day was neither a Monday nor a Friday, and was in fact a Wednesday, so while it wasn't one of their scheduled briefings, it was a visit that had been arranged in advance, a few hours while Crystal and Charles were at a concert, the kind of thing that while Edwin enjoyed being invited to, really wasn't the kind of thing he actually enjoyed going to, and the others both knew it, which was why they continued to invite him, even if he always declined.

It was late afternoon, not yet early evening when he stepped out of the mirror into the cannery, tugging at the collar of his slipover in much the same way he did the lapels of his usual jacket. He'd been branching out from his usual look, just a little, in bits and pieces, and now had something of a range of shades of those softer jumpers, this one was a deep bottle-green and was nearly a cowl-neck, but definitely less severe than his usual look.

It had been raining in London, or rather it had been misting heavily, and he wasn't quite sure if it was still raining here or if it had just finished, there wasn't the same kind of moisture in the air, which meant that if it was raining it hadn't been doing so for long, and all he knew was that the Cat had something planned for them to do, he was only now considering that he probably should have asked a few more questions beforehand.

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[catting]

Port Townsend is much the same as it ever was, save for the fact that the weather isn't quite as prone to random fits of terrible lightning or gloomy clouds now that it's resident witch has no power over it on account of her being Very Much Not Here. It doesn't feel all that much different otherwise, but the Cat feels a certain kind of freedom being able to walk around in this form with Edwin without worrying about her nasty bird spies or even the woman herself clip-clopping her way down the high street. It isn't often he walks as a human, preferring to move as a cat, but something tells him Edwin won't much appreciate being left quite literally in the dust by his quicker feline pace.

Speaking of felines.

"All cats are cats, Edwin, regardless of their size. For once, this isn't something you know more than me about—"

It isn't a spit, not exactly, but there is a show of teeth and a definite... straightening to the Cat's posture. Okay, so maybe he hasn't quite gotten used to walking around like this yet, and maybe Esther's absence is a blessing, but her presence is still heavy in the air, and maybe he's been driving himself nuts in the confines of his pillow palace and is feeling a little on edge because of it. Then, there's the problem he'd invited Edwin here to help him fix that could very well be messing with the general aura of the town as a whole and...

"Sorry," He grits out, inhaling slow and exhaling sharply out of his nose, his spine relaxing with the emptying of his lungs. He's only really shown his short patience to Edwin once, and that had left a real sour taste in his mouth, so — reluctant to repeat that — he focuses back in on the game element, without elaborating on his apology, or his apparent ill mood.

"Twenty questions should give us enough time to get there, if you want to play along." Wrenching himself back into business as usual, he tilts his head at Edwin and smiles. "Unless you want to get a little more personal; we could play two truths and a lie."

[technicallyhellbound]

"Accepted," he replied easily, having watched that process with interest, though resisting the urge to slip out his notebook and jot it down, "but not needed, I was needling." Something he'd been aware of even if he hadn't entirely been doing it on purpose.

"I'm a terrible liar." In and of itself a lie, or most of one, but one that people tended to believe because he was honest to the point of being blunt most of the time, which did make it easy to believe he wouldn't -or couldn't- lie, "So the former is likely the better option."

His brow arched, arm curling a little more closely with the Cat's, something of an apology of his own for the aforementioned needling, "I take it that means you've got something in mind I should be asking about? Or should I come up with something for you to guess at?"

[catting]

Usually he would relish the chance to witness Edwin's more prickly side in person, and the fact that he's apparently a little too on edge to appreciate it only makes him wish he had the protection of cat's body and their lack of physical tells to make him feel more comfortable as he experiences the weird shame-frustration combo that swirls in his chest. But, ever the expert at faking it until he forgets the line between reality and pretend, he firmly boxes the thought away. He does, however, let himself appreciate the closeness of Edwin on his arm, not missing a beat when he comes in tighter, his own shoulders visibly dropping a half-inch or so in relief.

"I'm not sure I agree with that. I've seen you lie. You're not bad at it, just..." Searching for a good word, he seems about to cast his eye over the town, but detonates that plan before it really takes off and looks at Edwin instead. Edwin has lied about him to Charles, he's lied about his feelings, he's lied about his motivations, his desires; and all of that only in the Cat's brief experience of him. He shrugs. "Hm. Well, you take it too seriously. You use lies like armour, and they're shitty armour, you can take that from me. You need to learn to lie for fun. Sometimes a white lie here and there can make things interesting. It doesn't have to be so serious."

But then, Edwin's seriousness is oddly refreshing to him, if equally frustrating at times. Though he's not sure he'd like it if Edwin cut a little more loose.

"Well, you can guess where I'm taking you. I think you can probably get it in- hm, maybe ten or so, if you're in top form today." A shrug. "Unless you've got an annoying little trinket or something like it in mind that you're expecting me to guess."

[technicallyhellbound]

"Well that would hardly be fair for me to do, the point of the game is to have something unusual in mind, certainly, but still something that is ultimately possible to be deduced by those you're playing with."

Focusing on the game and the visit at hand was easier than getting into the weeds of just how well he could lie about what, and why he would do so, especially when they were supposed to be having a good time. Or, at the very least, determining that while they could work together, they couldn't actually manage being friends, though Edwin doubted that was likely to happen, and only partly because they both needed friends.

A thoughtful sound followed, already easily keeping pace with the Cat, "So you think I'll be able to guess where we're going, in near ten, before we get there, is that what I've just heard?"

[catting]

The Cat could very easily point out that he's been around the block enough that his experience with magical trinkets isn't exactly limited — especially when it comes to wearable trinkets, as Edwin should well know — but he gets a strange enjoyment out of Edwin's pragmatic fairness in this regard. And oh, this is so much easier, isn't it? This is better than moping or wondering about what ifs, maybes, all of that. Whatever happened to his unaffected hedonism, what about all the fun he's had when nothing means anything?

He decides not to think about it — as easily as that. He decides to focus on this, on enjoying this, on enjoying Edwin for this limited time he has him, like he vowed to do at the market. Fuck everything else, that's for him in the future to worry about. Him in the now is delicately dancing his claws over the hand Edwin has on his arm, a physical tease as well as the vocal one he's about to supply.

"Well, if you're as good as I think you are. The game relies on how good your questions are, right? And you've got a head start, since you've already been to the town and all. Though I don't think you've ever been exactly here."

He retracts his hand to hold it up and over his mouth, the pantomime of shock.

"Oops," A smile grows. "Call that a freebie."

[technicallyhellbound]

He laughed softly, shaking his head, "Well that's two, then, since you'd already said it was a place rather than a person or an object." Maybe he hadn't outright said it, but it was a reasonably clear implication of such.

Edwin considered for a moment, mostly just compiling a quick list of questions to start with and sorting them into the order he felt would be most beneficial, though he knew some would be removed simply by dint of answers to earlier ones.

He arched a brow then, "Is it somewhere indoors?" There were certainly some public buildings they hadn't been to in their earlier time there, and that seemed like the most sensible place to start his deductions.

[catting]

The Cat scrunches up his nose at that first point — because he can't think of a single person in Port Townsend he'd want to take Edwin to (possessively, he wants to keep him for himself while he has him) and there are only so many objects of interest in such a sleepy little seaside town and he would hate to be a disappointment after this much build up — but he can't deny the little curl of his lip in amusement because, well. He really did let Edwin have a head start, even if he absolutely didn't need it. Call him sentimental.

While Edwin thinks, the Cat busies himself by patting over the collar of that sweater where it peeks out of his cuff, enjoying the fabric against his fingertips, almost absently needling it as he leads them onwards, through the quiet main roads and off down a side street, leading toward the beachfront.

"Ah...." Hm, he actually has to think about that a little. "It's not indoors, but it's not exposed to the elements, either."

What? He never said his answers would fall within the rules. Where's the fun in restraining a Cat who loves to hear his own voice to the limits of only being able to say yes and no?

[technicallyhellbound]

"And now you're being generous with your answers." He replied, that prior sliver of amusement still very much in evidence. Right at the moment he was reasonably sure that yes, the two of them would make fine friends, though it mostly depended on just where they were going, and why the Cat thought he might like it.

But those were concerns for later, right at the moment he considered again, "And we're heading towards the beach instead of further into town or out into the woods. Not indoors but out of the elements."

His brow creased then, "Is there some sort of cave system here?" It seemed like the most logical conclusion, but he was also careful to keep his question neutral, just asking if the thing existed instead of asking if that's where they were going.

[catting]

"I'm a generous Cat," He says, an idle shrug lifting one of his shoulders as he looks at Edwin's face, his single earring twinkling as it reflects off the light of the clear, cloudless sky.

He feels indescribably delighted at seeing that flicker of amusement across Edwin's features; it was a given that he'd like the gamification of this little mystery, but the Cat hadn't quite been prepared for how Edwin might look while enjoying it. So far he's only seen Edwin smile a handful of times (with varying degrees of authenticity) and so few of those times have been directed at him that now he finds being in the wake of them almost addictive, even when it's only something as low-level as this.

His golden eyes flash when Edwin mentions caves, and he purses his lips to stop himself smiling.

"There are, and quite a few stories to go along with them. I'm surprised you didn't read up on those during your time here, but then..." He hums, pantomiming genuine consideration, like this particular train of thought hasn't been tumbling through his mind the entire time he's known Edwin. "There's quite a few things you didn't manage to fully read up on about this place, isn't there?" He bats his eyelashes at the ghost.

[technicallyhellbound]

"Yes, well, I was rather preoccupied when I was here before." He replied, because that much had been true, even without the caseload they'd taken on while they were stuck in town."

He shook his head, "One of our potential clients might have mentioned it, but it was only in passing, nothing truly related to their case." Both brows lifted then, eloquent as ever, just regarding the Cat for a moment, "Though I am curious now what would make you think that someone who escaped from Hell would enjoy spelunking."

Truthfully he didn't have any issue with caves, none of the parts of Hell he'd known were particularly cave-like. Some were cavernous spaces, certainly, but not of the underground cave variety. Mostly he just wanted to see what the Cat's response was.

[catting]

The Cat pauses in his needling of Edwin's cuff to narrow his eyes a bit; like a Cat considering if the arm of a couch is worth sharpening its claws on. His smile overturns his attempts to control it, but he looks self-satisfied rather than guilty now.

"You escaped from Hell? Why, Edwin. You should have told me, I had no idea."

Apparently having swapped out needling his sweater for needling the ghost himself, the Cat relents quickly to make sure Edwin knows it's all in jest, by returning the little back-and-forth of his fingers across the seam of the cuff, and giving another casual little lift of his shoulders as they take a turn and start making their way down the little sloping road leading toward the familiar giftshop, and the lighthouse.

"Anyway, who said I was taking you spelunking? Isn't making assumptions a bad look for a detective?"

[technicallyhellbound]

"Hm, yes, it's something most people don't know about me, actually." He was biting back a smile himself, because despite his earlier claims of not being able to lie, that was dangerously close to one and he said it incredibly easily.

The smile went a little too impish a moment later, one brow lifting, "So if it isn't exploration of the caves themselves, that means it's a feature of them. Something specific."

He shrugged then, fingers of his free hand flicking in a half-circular little gesture, "Or perhaps only something near the caves, but still out of the weather. And an educated guess is hardly the same as an assumption."

[catting]

"The ghost detective doth protest too much," The Cat says easily, enjoying this little back and forth for exactly what it is: finding a relative comfortable ground where he doesn't take every dismissal or reminder of fact to heart, and Edwin doesn't assume he there is nothing to the Cat's attention other than foolish romantic intention. It's a good part of it, yes, but that's not all he's interested in. "I don't think we can call that guess educated, if we're being fair. There are plenty of things people can do in caves that don't even come close to being considered spelunking."

That could have soooo easily been turned into an opportunity to flirt, but look at him, being all normal about something he said instead of latching on to every chance he gets to level a suggestive comment at Edwin. He's not even waggling his eyebrows! Personal growth, ladies and gentlemen.

"But, while we're on the topic, I love that you use words like 'spelunking'. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that out loud. So weirdly endearing." Okay, well. It was good while it lasted.

The Cat unfurls their arms as he gets to the little strip of wooded land before the walk down the brushland leading to the beach (if it can be called that) and the quietly roiling sea. Instead of letting Edwin hold his arm, he takes his hand, under the — very understandable, if you ask him — guise of making it easier for them to follow one another down the set of stairs leading to the rocky shore.

"It's something to do with the caves, yes. If you're scared and need me to hold your hand once we're inside, I won't mind."

[technicallyhellbound]

"Honestly I haven't been in enough caves to know if I'm going to be scared of this one." Leaving aside the fact that he didn't scare easily, there was no reason to mention it, "And I'm well aware that there are other things to do in caves, but I sincerely doubt that you'd think of taking someone, even me, for a geological survey as a means of seduction." Were there more things that people might do in caves besides those two things, spelunking and surveying? Sure. But that was entirely beside the point at the moment.

Edwin was surprisingly sure-footed on the uneven terrain, but accepted the hand all the same even as he asked: "What word would someone use for cave exploration besides 'spelunking'? That's what it means, and just calling it 'exploring' is too general, there's all sorts of exploring, and why use two words, 'cave exploring', when you've already got a perfectly good word in 'spelunking' already?"

It was half a genuine question and half annoyance that language seemed to have moved on in a way he didn't agree with, but even on top of that it was also something dangerously close to flirting, since the Cat had said he liked hearing it.

[catting]

Alright, now the Cat is really having fun. He hasn't even considered that Edwin might be saying it on purpose because he said he liked it, but all the same he's thoroughly enjoying hearing it over and over again, his grin getting a little wider and a little more genuinely amused with each repetition.

"Uh, caving?" He asks, in the tone of voice that denotes a duh without him having to say it. The way this real smile lights up his features makes him look a little more human than catlike as he turns it on Edwin as they walk, not needing to look where he's going, as he's walked this path enough times to not need to. And, well. Cats have a tendency to land on their feet. "I'm pretty sure that's what I've heard every group who come here to investigate them call it. And, speaking of geological seduction—"

They reach the bottom, and the Cat takes a moment to stop their progress, so that he can direct a more wicked grin at Edwin; back to his more typical expression.

"Some people dig it." Haha. Cave joke. "I guess it depends how into rocks you are. I've sunk to further depths than that, so if that's what gets you off, I don't mind being along for the ride."