A House, Currant, Maine, Saturday

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Earlier in the week, Kathy had requested Ezra to tell her when he was free to be visited at home in Currant. And today, well, he was free for a visit: the house was empty, Lock was off in Boston with Bianca, and Ezra had nothing in the way of obligations happening. So he'd told her that.

And now he was just waiting around, lounging on the couch, reading a book. Easy Saturday, just like he liked it.

[ooc: NFB. Primarily for the one mentioned, but open also for texts/calls/whathaveyou!]

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Ezra frowned, but just barely. "Wait, so are we talking about his... normal, run-of-the-mill basic dog training that got interrupted by this, or...?"

He knew nothing about dogs.

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"He was in training to be a service animal. Probably for someone with PTSD, though it's hard to say without his records," Kathy said quietly.

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"Okay, so I was on the right track at first." Not that it mattered much, especially with her tone being what it was. "He has you to help now, though."

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"...Yeah," Kathy said, even more quietly. It was stupid to feel embarrassed over this. Ezra had seen her on his porch. He'd come for her in LA. Shit, he'd seen her get kidnapped and mind-controlled and bitten again. Surmising that she had PTSD wouldn't be hard even for someone who wasn't as smart as Ez, for all that he pretended otherwise.

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Ezra had PTSD.

He reached up and brushed his fingertips along her jawline.

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He didn't talk about it, though.

Kathy raised her eyes to him, giving him a self-conscious smile. "He was a lucky find," she said, since it was that or rattle off her full diagnosis in a self-deprecating way.

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Not acknowledging the pain (or even having proper diagnoses for it) was the Coterie way.

"You were a lucky find for him, too," he said, and he meant it.

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Kathy had Opinions on the Coterie, what little she knew about it.

"Yeah," Kathy said with a soft smile. She nearly mentioned how she'd found him, but she didn't think it was the best idea to share a 'I got jumped by demons in LC and this stray saved my life' story right now. "Let me know if you ever wanna meet him and I'll bring him over. He's the sweetest boy."

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"If he comes here, the house will smell like dog for weeks," Ezra replied, trying for lightness. "So I can't condone that without meeting him first. But maybe a walk around Fandom, sometime?"

There was no third option.

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Kathy wasn't so stupid to think there was.

"I will have you know, samoyeds are hypoallergenic, which means they don't get that gross wet dog smell," Kathy declared, pretending to be offended. "The slander my poor Ronin has to put up with by all you non dog-lovers."

"...Though, I suppose if we were to go for a walk around Fandom and then stop for ice cream..."

She'd be the very happiest of Kathies.

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"I'm a fox, every dog gets that gross wet dog smell."

He was not sorry. He wasn't very playful, either, but that was more his general mood than it was about dogs. He was exaggerating his distaste on that front for effect.

"Ice cream sounds preferable."

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"Canidae supremacist," Kathy scoffed, though she wasn't exactly as playful as she would be under normal circumstances, either. "You're lucky I really love ice cream."

Ronin would probably love it, too. She'd bring him along to see.

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Ezra shrugged, but only barely. "Foxes are always superior. I won't apologize for it."

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"I wouldn't ever have expected you to," Kathy said, with a snort.

Quieter, she added, "Besides, I really like your fox self."

He was small and soft and comforting.

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Ezra paused. For a good long moment, watching her, clearly thinking about something.

Then he said: "Would you like that? If I turned?"

Because that sounded like a very soothing way for him to get away from words for a bit.

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"Yes," Kathy said, and not even because he lost his clothing when he changed. "I mean, if you don't mind me cuddling you. And maybe, umm, brushing your tail?"

Was that okay? Was that a very weird ask?

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"It's okay."

Both of those things. And it wasn't weird, either. Maybe if she'd been more of a random person, then yeah. But she was Kathy, and she'd been around his fox form before.

He pulled himself off her lap and onto his feet in one graceful, fluid motion. Then he reached for his shirt, and pulled that off, because he didn't want to get lost in it when he changed.

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Normally, Kathy would have watched, fascinated by the change and also Ez in general. But after everything earlier, she didn't want to overstep her bounds. "You are so pretty," she murmured as his shirt fluttered to the ground and then busied herself looking in her bag for a comb

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He didn't strip further than getting topless. Usually, he might've, but he didn't feel like it right now, and it wasn't necessary.

One second, he was a man. The next, he was a fox, gracefully stepping out of a pair of stylish pants that were now laying in a heap on the floor. Then he hopped back onto the couch.

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And Kathy, comb in hand, turned back around and immediately gathered him into her arms, burying her face against his soft fur. "I'm sorry," she told him again because she couldn't see his expression now. "I know I said it and I know you know, but I did have to say it one more time. Because I hurt you and I love you and--"

She shook her head against him. God, he was soft.

"I'm gonna cuddle you and babble at you and you can feel free to just tune me out. It's okay. It'll probably be easier if you did, honestly."

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He was very soft.

He was also very safe, with his ability to keep the very last of his emotions to himself like this. So, he settled down into her arms. She was free to do as she pleased.

He'd just take the comfort from it.

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"I know you can understand me like this and you'll remember everything that I natter on about," she continued, starting to comb his tail. The motion was comforting to her, too. "But it's hard to, like, focus on that?"

She bit her lip. "That night, after the tower, when I thought we were going home? My plan was to let Anders sleep with Dante and ask you to turn into a fox and cuddle you. I was so mad and hurt and scared and you were probably the only one I wasn't at least a little bit mad and hurt and scared at, you know?" However unfair it might have been for her to feel those things, but she wasn't saying that part out loud. "I knew that fighting Vergil was awful for Dante and that he needed comfort, but I was...out of comfort right then? Which is kinda awful for me to say? But my dad--" Her voice cracked and she stopped. Hell, she didn't even think Ez knew about all that had happened there. "I just thought that maybe sleeping with fox-you would be okay. Because I'd be warm and you'd be soft and we could both be a comfort for the other without having to, like, actually comfort anyone, if that makes sense. But then we stayed in Limbo City and you went home - which was smart and I'm glad you did - and that isn't what happened."

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She was talking about Limbo City.

Of course she was talking about Limbo City.

Probably for the best that foxes didn't sigh. He closed his eyes, instead, focusing on the combing motion against his tail and letting her words just... wash over him. Not fully tuning them out but getting closer to that than listening to every single word intently.

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See and this was why it felt like not really talking to him; he didn't respond like normal and she could almost fool herself into thinking he wasn't retaining this at all.

She kept talking, voice soft still stroking his tail. "I just...miss you. I was going to say I miss back when we didn't have any distance, but we always kinda did, didn't we? I was panicky and anxious and you were hiding everything. I want to see how we are now that we're not like that. I mean, at least, not as much."

Looking down at him, she said. "Huh. I wonder how much you is you like this." And then blushed. Fiercely.

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She'd do well to remember that it was talking to him, though. Otherwise she'd run the risk of abusing the privilege. And it was a privilege, because he wouldn't hang out in fox form with just anyone.

He kind of wanted to argue about whether he'd been hiding everything. But he was also grateful of the excuse not to.

As for her blushing, well, he didn't even know that was happening. He was keeping his eyes closed.