fandomtownies | Groovy Tunes, Tuesday

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Groovy Tunes, Tuesday

Alice was having an interesting time with the mid-Cs. Chemical Brothers and Crystal Method seemed to mean staticky interference and driving bass lines with high repetitive vocals. Both required further investigation. Coldplay and Counting Crows featured singers feeling grandly sorry for themselves, and were both quickly dismissed. She'd no idea why Color Me Badd couldn't spell properly, but they were even more worthless than the whiny bands.

Really, her current favorite involved a group she couldn't pronounce with difficult accents and unusual ideas about harmonizing. Intriguing.

Groovy Tunes was open.

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Can you take my silver wheat?

Murdock had something for Alice. Actually, it was for Dinah. Was it odd to give things to someone's cat and not the person? "Hey ya, Alice!" he greeted cheerily upon entering. "Got something for ya. Well, Dinah really." He pulled out a small fuzzy ball that jingled. "Thought she might get kinda bored in here. Think she'll like it?"

Alice smiled brightly at Murdock, dropping him an abbreviated curtsy out of habit. "That looks delightful," she beamed. "I'm certain she'll adore it. Let's show it to her, and see what she thinks."

She started walking over to where Dinah usually napped, near the convenient afternoon sunbeams.

"How have you been, may I ask?"

"I've been great!" he flashed a huge smile. "Goin' visit Madagascar over there with a friend tomorrow." He trailed along after her. "How you been doin'? Whatcha think of that volcano the other night? Somethin' else wasn't it?"

"Beautiful," she said, "though terrifying. I'm relieved that the scent has lifted, and if I never have ash rain down upon me again, I shan't miss it for a single moment. One supposes that very few people get to observe such goings-on and live to tell the story to others, as they lack mobile islands."

Dinah was sunning herself on a fuzzy blanket, and purred as they approached. Alice was somewhat heartened to realize that she was looking healthier than ever; no longer skin, bones and heavy eyes.

"Dinah," she said, kneeling next to the blanket. "Did you want a toy? Mr. Murdock brought you one."

"That's true. The ash wasn't too great. And the smell sometimes," he wrinkled his nose a bit, "not very pleasant either." He smiled as he watched her and Dinah. "Huh. She looks a bit different. Like she gained a bit of weight or somethin'. Was she sick?"

Alice flushed. "Hungry," she said softly. "She was mine ... before the asylum. She stayed mine while I was mad; slept in my bed when she could, and beneath my window when the orderlies chased her out. It was not the most pleasant of lives, I would imagine."

She held out the tiny, fuzzy ball. "Dinah? Look, you've a toy."

Dinah perked up, jumping onto her feet and sniffing both the ball and Alice's fingers with some degree of curiosity.

"I'm so sorry, Alice," he replied just as softly. "I probably shouldn't have asked that. Sometimes I just don't think." He squatted down next to her and Dinah. "Doesn't sound very pleasant, no. Not terribly nice even for the people sometimes, I reckon it wouldn't be much better for a cat."

"At least you both got better," he smiled gently.

"It's all right," she said quickly. "You couldn't have known. Astonishingly loyal, Dinah is. In fact I daresay her presence was ... part of what brought me back to myself. Cats can be very soothing, you know."

Dinah, for her part, headbutted the jingly toy, two or three times for good measure -- or possibly to enjoy the noise it made -- and then proceeded to eye Murdock with some measure of curiosity. He seemed familiar; had she sniffed him before? She could sniff again, just to be sure.

Murdock noticed Dinah eyeing him and stretched out his fingers to accommodate sniffing. "I've heard that about animals. I never really had a pet though. As you said, they tend not to like animals running about such places. Eventually I made up Billy," he shrugged slightly. "At least gave me someone to talk to."

"I'm so sorry," Alice said softly. "Had I been aware -- when Dinah was with me -- I would have tried to send her away. It's no life for a cat. I'm grateful that, for whatever reason, she chose not to find a better home for herself."

Dinah remembered those fingers, and greeted Murdock with a brush of her whiskers against his fingertips. Oooh, he had interesting smells on them, today.

"Could you get one now?" she asked. "A dog, that is. Or a cat."

"Eh, ain't nothin' to be sorry about," he shrugged. "Just fact. Home is where the heart is," he quoted absently. "Or so they say."

He greeted Dinah back by scritching between her ears. "Maybe that's why she never left. She probably could have found another place to live, sure. But it wouldn't have been home without her Alice."

Murdock considered her question. "I guess I could. At least while I'm here at Fandom. I'd have to get someone to look after the critter for those times I have to go back, though. Tryin' to travel with a pet wouldn't be very easy." Especially if those travels ended in a shoot-out.

"It wouldn't be home without her, either," Alice smiled. "And I'm certain you'd have no difficulty finding someone to watch him, or her. There's something very astonishing in being loved by something so small and precious. I highly recommend it."

"Well, if you recommend it," he grinned at her. Murdock watched Dinah play with the ball for a few minutes. "There is something about it. Like having a little family member. You look after them and they look after you. Pretty cool stuff."

Dinah was pouncing on the ball, attempting to stop it from rolling away with her paw, then bringing it to her mouth so she could chew vigorously on it.

"I looked up my records, later," Alice said softly. "She was there the entire time. I can never hope to deserve such love or dedication. All I can do is be amazed by her. And do my best to spoil her hopelessly. She was so very spoiled, before; I'm certain with time and care she can be again."

"I'm sure she'd love to have a pampered life," he agreed. Though Alice had been speaking largely about Dinah, or at least he hoped, there was one thing she'd said that snagged his attention.

"You know, Alice," he spoke softly, "you do deserve that. Lots of it. Not just from a cat either. I'm not saying Dinah isn't great," he quickly clarified, "but from people too." He flashed her a smile, even if it was a tad bit wistful. "People care about you, you know." And there was one such person right next to her.

Mix it up with butter and treat

I feel a chill go down my feet

Your maple is so sweet

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Groovy Tunes, Tuesday

Talk to Alice

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Mod Your Shopping

Play with Dinah

OOC