Resolutions- (Doc)

[Dominique]

"--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--"

Doc: He had spent a few hours with Mortll. She wanted him to stay, but he had something to do. It was the Spawn’s birthday. He wanted.. no. He needed to see her. He had not seen her since the rumor that Verne was alive surfaced. That had made him livid. He had been judge jury and hangman, and condemned her without hearing her side. His anger had been so great, that when he ran across her in Caverns, he shot her. In the head. Point blank.

Now as days passed, it had come to light that maybe, just maybe it hadn’t been Verne after all. It was more than likely a case of mistaken identity. It could happen. Hell Lions and Verne looked liked they could be twins, until you really compared them side by side. After that single event of the video tape spotting Verne, there had been no further sightings. That told him, he had over-reacted. It was most likely someone else. It could happen.

However, the last time Doc had seen Minx, he had shot her. She probably was not in the best of moods in regard to his presence. And he didn’t blame her. Not a bit. If he had been her, he would have retaliated. Which would have made things worse. He sighed. He had fucked up yet again. He basically shot her for what? Because he ‘assumed’ her guilty. ****.

So faced with a Spawn that would most likely kill him as soon as she saw him, and she could to. She had crippled him once before, and sent Ripper to the Shadow Realm just a few days ago, he did the only thing he knew that would allow him to get close to her. He took on the form of the Puma.

He felt a form of catharsis come over him, as he loped through the wilderness toward her home. The stresses of the last few weeks seemed to fall away as he bounded through the snow. The smells of the forest hung heavy in the crisp clean air. It seemed to make things clearer in his mind. At least for the moment. All too soon the oneness with nature faded, as he easily leapt up to the balcony of Vita Bella.

Dominique: Shadows. Dominique had all but surrounded herself within them as time had passed since the funeral. She felt as if she had all but effectively transformed into one herself. She was never one to seek shelter, or to hide. This shadow had she had become she chose slowly and carefully. She governed the time and path she took to get there. Now as the year had come to an end she found much of what she had left to hold on to did as well. Of course this was all a part of the grieving. The young woman was coming to full awareness that the journey she was on had indeed hit a hell deep hole and she was the only one who could pull herself out of it.

Denial and isolation. She mastered that. Nearly made it an art form. Anger. That was never a problem for the tenacious female. Just ask those who knew the end of her blade. Bargaining. She did that every god damned time her eyes closed and she saw his face. Depression. That came and went too. Not the type she would find having her kill herself or setting herself on fire. She couldn’t. There was a fire within her that nothing could put out. Not even the loss she was working through. She couldn’t break. Acceptance. She finally was there. It was not just that Verne was gone but that she died too. A year ago. Yes, it took a long time to sink in. It was time to live and that meant breaking free of the self-imposed confines that had her otherwise dying over and over again the longer she allowed this to continue.

A long awaited process came to be on this night of the dark elusive butterfly finally emerging slowly, painfully from its tight merciless cocoon. It was going to eventually happen. Nothing could stop what was meant to be. Fate had delivered this.The petite woman had rolled herself into a hundred ways or more into her comforter and bed over the past month and more. The limbo between vivid nightmares and dreams had slowly warped into some sort of bizarre reality for her to exist in temporarily. She had came to accept her loss only to snap somewhere in her mind and go back to bargaining it all back as if she could make things right in her sleep if she fought hard and long enough. In the end she was left where she began with grief the only reminder or comfort. Enough was in fact enough. She pulled the comforter away and got up and this time she didn’t pre-plan to crawl back into that refuge of high count cotton anytime soon.

Dominique moved through the bedroom slipping into a burgundy sweatshirt that had in bold large font ‘I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON’ across the front and black leggings that ended at the ankle. She reached for the cigarette pack that had two left inside. Just as she was about to pull one of the aromatic tight wrapped sticks of russian tobacco from the cellophane, she paused. A sound from the balcony caught her attention. It was winter. In Canada. What would be out there this time of the night? She dropped the pack on the kitchen island counter as she passed it by on her way to the glass door. Whatever it was she was ready. She had rested long enough.

Doc: The Puma yowled at the sliding glass door. He knew she was in there, her had to get her to come to him. He could get in using his powers, but then that would defeat the purpose of seeing her in animal form. He paced back and forth by the sliding glass door.

Dominique: Dominique rubbed her sleepy eyes with the heels of her hands over each. She stepped without looking as she had a thousand times before. She could be blind and navigate Vita Bella without incident. Her heart built the place and it would always guide her safely through it. HOPE pulled back the thick dark velvet curtains that served their purpose of keeping the interior safe and dark during the day hours. Now that it was well after sundown there was no longer a need for the protection.

The colorfully inked shadow pulled the material back towards her and found a reason to smile instantly. LESS unlocked the door and tugged it open letting in the winter night air to rush over her face, through her black waist length hair sending it flying behind her. So sweet, so fresh and so consuming was this moment. She felt close to breathing all over again. The cool rise of her chest after it filled soon lowered as she released the brief gift of winter.

“Mr Mittens!” She chirped as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around the pumas neck then popped back up and stepped to the side so he could walk in. “I wondered where you have been.”

Doc: The Puma nuzzled her neck before she released him, to allow him to enter her home. He padded in and rubbed up against her, as he wound himself about her legs. He rubbed his face against her hip and chuffed softly as if to tell her to rub him. It was a good sign that she seemed to enjoy his presence. At least while he was in this form she accepted him.He knew he had probably ruined whatever chance they had at a relationship, when he shot her.

He should have called her to apologize or explain. But it was already too late. If he was going to call, it should have been done days ago. But it was time and circumstances that gave him the ability to see the situation clearly, rather than how he had ‘presumed’ it to be. He had been livid when he thought all this time she had been playing him for a fool. His anger had been palpable and had become a living thing of it’s own. He had forced himself not to even think about it. He knew how obsessing on things could skew reality and twist even the most innocent of circumstances into a dark evil thing. It was easier to tell himself not to obsess, than to actually practice it. But the deed was done. The bullet was out of the cartridge and the black powder spent. There was no undoing it. Far too much time had passed for a mere apology.

Regret and remorse filled him. He and he alone had fucked it up. As much as he wanted to lay the blame elsewhere, he knew it was on him. The big cats head lifted to look up at her. He knew it was only a matter of time before she realize that this was his other form. But for the moment he was going to try enjoy the moment. It was one year ago that she had become his, he wanted to spend the rest of the night with her, whether she knew it was him or not.

Dominique: Dominique felt warm. It was not solely the cold puma she affectionately named Mr. Mittens. The proof of winter still rested in his fur coat. He likely had been exposed to the harsh elements for a while making his way so far out to the house. More than the contrast of cold and comfortably warm it was far deeper than that. It was the fact he arrived and initiated what she had spent most of her existence alive and dead trying to assert she did not need or desire. A defense of hers was evident perhaps.

Kenlie had been one of the few who saw through that invisible wall and broke it down by being who she was. She pulled her in when she would try to step back. She held her close despite everything. Verne and Andy did that too. She had felt she failed but when the time was there for her to get a final confirmation she was greeted with a presence she didn’t expect. Now she felt the weaving of fur against her leggings and her bare feet topped with the massive lethal paws that were grounding her where she stood with his weight. Mittens had blown it all apart.

[Doc]

"--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--"

Dominique: Truth was Dominique loved contact and interaction. She just hated admitting it. And she certainly would never ask for it. As she stood there she realized what was finally breaking. That shell that had kept her from feeling the world around her. The freedom to truly absorb the positive and the negative that came with contact. Instead of a select few she was open for the first time. She didn’t die like she thought she would. She finally woke up.

Dominique closed the door to the night air and moved slowly towards the stainless steel industrial fridge and pulled out a steak that like would be bad in a couple days and nights if it was not consumed. She pulled out a clear plate rarely used and went about the process of unwrapped the white butcher paper over the meat. Plucking it from the juicy wrapper she dropped it heavily on the plate and set it down in front of Mittens on the floor.

“Eat up, Mittens. Soon the New Year will greet us both. You will need your energy.” She rinsed her hands beneath the hot water out of habit more than need.

Drying off her hands she went for the cabinet and looked to see what was left to celebrate with. A last bottle of the whiskey that nearly did her in on Halloween. That and black latex. Being a superhero was never said to be easy. Her inner Batgirl would always agree. Her inked fingers curled around the neck of the bottle and she hoped Mittens would not be offended if she indulged in a last round of drinks for the year. Who could blame her? She not drinking alone and she was for the first time doing it to celebrate instead of forget.

“How about we toast in the year to come with a bit of bloody meat and whiskey? When both are gone may we be stronger and wiser for it.” She lifted the bottle and the crystal glass in her hand as she made her way to the elevator. “C’mon. I know a place to see the first minutes of 2015.”

Dominique was in the elevator with the press of her elbow to the button. She wanted to see the past the present and the future. for her it meant the garage. The one she built with her own hands that contained good memories. She wondered if a puma like he had ever had the pleasure of eyeing a classic rare mustang like hers up close.

Doc: The Puma eyes the slab of meat with a wary eye. Would a real wildcat pass up the juicy morsel? No. But **** him, even in feline form he couldn’t ingest anything except blood. As she turned and headed out of the room, he gratefully padded after her. Though he pauses tentatively at the elevator. He couldn't help but feel a slight sense to trepidation. What if.. No. He forced the preemptive thoughts out of his mind, and moved hesitantly into the small space.

Dominique: She stepped to the side as the massive puma moved towards the elevator. Her big warm brown eyes drifted over the top of his back and spotted Hello Kitty leaping towards the untouched meat on the plate. Vader was skidding ungracefully across the light hard wood floor until he slammed *** first into the fridge. She raised a bow and looked slowly to Mittens. He perhaps already ate? She shrugged and waited patiently as he approached.

Doc: Puma circled the elevator almost nervously. Where was she going? Did she know it was him? ****. He should have just told her. Had she found out on her own? How? And why was this bothering him? He tried to make sense of the emotions hitting him. He really was not comfortable in the elevator. It was enclosed and he felt claustrophobic.Without realizing it, the Puma bolted out of the metal box, it’s tail swishing in agitation. He didn’t understand it. Small spaces never bothered him before, why now?

Dominique: Dominique tried the button several times when the elevator wouldn’t move. Something was odd. It worked a while ago. The only one she knew of that messed with it was Verne to slow her down on the way to the race for the dock. He wasn’t doing that now. She would have to fix it herself. She looked at her full hands and the back end of Mittens making a run for the living room again. She winced. The serval and bull terrier were playing tug o war with the raw steak. Hopefully Mittens was not having a change of appetite. those two were not known to let go easy.

“Let’s take the stairs.” She nodded as if the puma would follow her and understand. “Only time that should happen is if someone is playing around with the controls or an intruder is trying to gain entry.”

Dominique shook her head. She knew for a fact it was just her, the menagerie of pets and Mr. Mittens in Vita Bella. Another shrug of her petite shoulders followed her thought as she navigated her way through the stairwell. It was not a short walk to reach the basement and underground custom garage. A few sets of long industrial stairs descended to the garage where she did her custom mechanic and auto body work in.

Doc: The Puma slowly, almost cautiously followed her. He heard and understood her comment about the intruder. Was he an intruder? She had invited him. But she hadn’t known who the Puma really was. ****. The feline followed her at a distance of a few yards. The anxiety from before falling away, as the stairwell opened up into a cavernous garage. The puma seemed to relax upon entering the larger room. The cat padded about the perimeter of the room, noting the exits and doors before finally returning and laying down on the floor. The cat watched her from his relaxed position.

Dominique: The bottle tipped and the amber liquor poured as she moved towards the spot where Mittens had taken to lounging his long length of fur and muscle. With the glass half full rather than half empty she set the bottle in her hand down on the nearest flat surface available. Her eyes moved about while her body remained still where she rested against a rolling work table that currently was securely braked into its position. HOPE held the crystal drink glass and rocked its weight just enough so that the aroma of the fluid moved upward beneath her face. the aroma brought back thoughts and before too many filled her at that moment she took control of the moment and nudged her hip to push off from the table behind her and step towards her pride and joy. The fully restored candy apple red 1968 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet.

“It is nearly one of a kind.” She almost purred when she spoke out loud and stroked the front panel with her left hand. “So rare, and so beautiful.”

Doc: The feline watched her push herself off the workbench and move to the car. The love and affection in her voice for an inanimate object, caused a pang of jealousy. He had had such high hopes for her. He could see her potential when he first met her. But she fought him at every turn, And even now, having made her his very own, she still fought him. Part of him reveled in her independence and spirit. That spirit was a joy to behold. The determination reflected in those brown pools. And he, who could have been apart of her world, had to ruin it. He had to over react over a grainy bit of video that proved nothing. The puma sighed and laid it’s head on its paws. As she caressed the cold metal, he told himself, he should have never come this night.

Dominique: Her eyes traveled the route of her fingertips. It was as if her gaze had the power to caress what was beneath her hand. The car was symbolic more than what she couldn’t live without. She knew the difference now. She learned painfully so the difference between man and machine. She had been without the car before she had stole it. She had also been without it afterward when it was stolen from her before it was again returned. She knew she could live without it yet again if it came to be in the future. She had learned just how much she could live without...exist. In the reflection of the pain she saw her reflection and swallowed slowly. She had realized just how much she could endure as her fingers lifted from the flawless paint.

“I hope your year was a good one.” She turned and looked to the relaxed puma as if somehow he could comprehend the slow verbal reflection she was about to entertain him with. Her words took a pause and she lifted the rim of the glass to her lips and sipped a surprisingly small amount for her. She really had no interest to drink to escape, to get lost or distance herself. It never did anyone any good when those were the reasons for drinking. This year she learned that as well. This time she swallowed to feel the warmth in her throat that the otherwise cool liquid gifted her body with. Nothing more. She smiled and returned to where he lounged and sat down.“As much as has happened I can say mine was as well. Bittersweet but one I wouldn’t trade for anything none the less, Mittens.”

Doc: As she started speaking again, he felt sure he could predict how she was going to say hers had been the year from hell. The feline tensed as it expected her to launch into a hate-filled tirade. He would leave. He would have to. There would be no way he wanted to stay and hear the caustic remarks sent his way. But then, she had said the opposite of what he had expected. The cats head picked up and canted to the side as it regarded her curiously. Her year had been good? He had killed her. Killed her and then sent her to the Shadow Realm. Then attacked her, and Tytonidae sent her to the Shadow Realm, her sister died, her boyfriend killed himself, and then He shot her in her the head... and this was a Good Year? What the **** was she drinking?

The puma got to its feet, then sat on its haunches. It watched her as though she had to be ******* crazy. The cat looked at the bottle, then the girl. There wasn’t enough gone out of the bottle for it to be the alcohol talking. And her voice held a sense of purpose to it. It would almost seem as though she had come to a decision. Like she had resolved a matter and now had only
to put the plan into action. What action would that be? Most likely it meant, she was going to come gunning for him. ****.

Dominique: HOPE released the glass gently to the shop floor beneath her. Her knees lifted forward as her bare feet went flat to the cool surface. She looked down at the vibrant rose that adorned the entire surface of the top of her left foot. It was like the anchor of her toe to hit full leg piece. Admiring it with focus, she reached down and traced the outside lines of the full bloom with a single fingertip. It was permanent. So was each and every memory that went through her mind as her finger traveled.

“I don’t expect you to understand.” She raised her eyes to look at his body and finally leaned her cheek on her knees as she wiggled her fingers deep into his tawny coat as if they could get lost in there if she continued to work her hand where it was. “To be honest I doubt I would tell anyone what I am going to tell you.”

Dominique nudged the glass of whiskey farther from where she sat. She went back to resting her chin on her knees thoughtfully but continued her soft stroke of her fingers into the heavy thick fur beneath.

“I lived more and survived through more in this year than most really should in a single lifetime. I know that all too well now. What I have to show for it and walk away with is too many lessons to count. Each one far more valuable than I had ever appreciated until perhaps now. Instead I spent a huge portion of the time that has passed avoiding the full value of those lessons, the reality that spawned them and most importantly my part in their occurrence.”

Dominique rubbed her nose quickly to attack that sudden itch that had plagued her at moments like this. “I think it is safe to say I am where I am and what I am because I pretty much made it happen. If you push there will be a resistance and if you pull you will find the same. I made those choices and looking back I can see now...I would do the same things all over again. It is my nature to push limits, to test things when warned. It always found me in trouble.It also was a rush to fight my way back out of them. Not productive but I did this no matter what my grandparents tried to tell me.”

She looked at the garage and what surrounded her. “If I had not then I would never have known what I do about life, love, loss and who I am. I was a waste of air and life before. One of the most ungrateful bitches around. I became a better person when I died.” She laughed because it was entirely true. “I thought I was wronged, had been stolen from but looking at things over all...I was fighting the truth. It was my time to go and what came next was a chance few ever get. A gift that did not have to be given was extended.

“He..” Dominique cleared her throat. It was the first time she spoke really about who claimed her final breath. “Doc… may not have intended it that way but I don’t blame him. Not anymore. Who watches their house go sky high and not want to kill someone for it? I only regret whatever my obstinance may have done to hurt those I love. The other **** that happened was like a war and two sided. War is never kind, or appropriate or respectful. Not the kind we fought. You lose yourself and only when it is over and time passes can you see you, too, are capable of the unthinkable. And I am.” She leaned back on the palms of her hands and stretched out her legs. “I am ready to grip the value of the existence I now have and palpate it for all that it can offer. Wiser choices in the New Year, Mittens. I promise you that. Choices based on what this year has taught me.”

Doc: The feline laid back down as it seemed like that she was about to expound on the different events over the last year. The cat propped his head on his paw, and got comfortable.

Dominique: Dominique gave it a lot of thought as she sat there quietly. All of it. The warnings she ignored, the chances she had to do things different. It all came down to the fact she was sitting there with an ice cold *** on the garage floor talking to a stray friendly puma minus a pulse, a reason to need to breathe and a mate she did not deserve because why? She could hear the drum roll in her head as the truth arrived. She did not listen. The guilt that used to accompany those thoughts was now significantly less. acceptance had finally taken hold of Jane Dominique Doe. That and something she valued. Accountability. Accountability was huge. She held herself responsible. It was time she took that and walked the walk. The war was over. Anything else would would bring more destruction.

Kenlie always liked him. That was reassuring. He never once harmed her. Then again Kenlie never gave him a reason to. Doc had no responsibility to tell her that her sister was dying or to bring her there to her side. He was fighting the same war on the other side. But he did. Would she have done the same for him? She sighed. Perhaps just as she used what she could to keep her stand strong so had he. At the time would she have loaded him with chemicals and attacked her? Yes. As well as remove his limbs one by one. She plotted how to kill anything with fangs. When it came to Doc she did not just plot. She tried to kill him anyway she could think of. It became an obsession she was ready to lose everything to make happen. In essence she succeeded. Perhaps now karma was in force and that is why she was denied to ever have a set of her own? Fangs. She scrunched up her nose. They were likely over rated anyways.

“I started the war, Mittens.” She blinked fast. It came out. She found out what Doc was and she made it a mission to erase him just as he did to end her. “I need to end it. Do you think he would accept a truce? The cost has been astronomical.” She shook her head and reclined back on her elbows. “He did shoot me several times while I was resting in the caverns recently. I don’t bother to look for his holes he hides in. Never cared to. I saw more than enough of the lab. I like to fight it out not play cat and mouse. At the time it happened the wounds felt good compared to the pain that was within anyways.”

Doc: The puma’s golden eyes bored into her brown ones. A truce? A chance to start over? To start fresh, from a new beginning, for the new year? Yes she was probably feeling maudlin and needy, but ****, he needed to make sure he didn't let this opportunity get away, before she came to her senses. The feline’s gaze locked on hers as it’s big head nodded in answer to her question.

There. He had ‘let the cat out of the bag’ as it were. He had shown her by a simple action he understood her. Did she mean her words, or would she get irate because he had duped her. In his defense he was merely looking out for her. Making sure she alright. She was his spawn it was his duty to check on her. But he could envision her arguments against that just as easily. It was an invasion of her privacy. Duping her while she was in a vulnerable state. It was sneaky and underhanded. He mentally winced as he waited for her reaction.

Dominique: Dominique was feeling the calm after her verbal purge. Mittens was a great one to share her year with. Her summation of events spilled out and she was pretty sure he would understand those topics she left unsaid. Just because she was finally ready to move forward didn’t mean the losses or those especially recent would be any easier to talk about. Some would remain fresh as if it happened yesterday. She would let them sit unspoken. Her eyes danced from the ceiling she currently was finding in need of something to add to the lighting when the movement of the puma next to her caught her by surprise. She cocked her head and stared at Mittens. that is when its head nodded. Not the way she would expect at all from an animal unless she was dangling a string, or in Mittens case a turkey drumstick, up and down. She froze in her leaned back position watching him.

[Dominique]

"--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--"

Doc: The cat stared back at her. Waiting for the penny to drop. Did she not get it? No. Of course she did. The way she froze said that loud and clear. Why didn't she say something. Was she contemplating how to kill him now? He dared not look away from her. He waited.

Dominique: She didn’t dare blink. Her lips parted though. Her jaw would have dropped if she wouldn’t have had a sinking feeling she suddenly should perhaps feel like an idiot for what she was about to ask the puma beside her.

“You understand me?” She was about to swallow hard but stopped. Dominique lifted up and sat staring at Mr. Mittens. “Understand what I just said?”

Doc: The puma stared at her, then slowly but definitively, the feline nodded again. She didn’t seem angry. He watched her eyes to make sure he caught sight of the tell tale anger rearing its head, just in case. However, her body language did not suggest anger, it was more.. like eagerness? Or Anticipation maybe? Hard to tell.

Dominique: Her eyes went wide with excitement. “Holy ****” She quickly covered her open mouth with her hand. She bounced where she sat over the discovery. “I get it!” She giggled so uncharacteristic for her. “I can’t believe this! I got it.”

Dominique bounced up and stood. What moment to discover this power! She could talk to animals. She thought her boss always had some cool rapport with animals. That must be it. She somewhere along the way developed it too? Like the way she was able to disappear into thin air and not be seen as she moved around. She now was ready to get a few answers out of Vader and Hello Kitty. Rufus! What was up with that? He had been holding out on her. She calmed down realizing he was likely still mad. He took the end of the year really hard. Her shoes were paying for it bigtime. She nodded at the thought and at Mittens.

“No wonder you have been hanging out with me.” That explained it. Now she could get into Rufus’ head and hopefully get some answers on the shoe issues that had been going on. “

The Puma canted his head to the side and looked at her questioningly at her first statement, but then at her second comment, the cat nodded it’s head again. He had not expected a different sort of reaction.. perhaps a bit of ire, perhaps a cross word or two.. but giddy acceptance? No.. that couldn’t be right. The big cat placed a paw on her knee, in a beseeching sort of fashion.

Dominique: “I know. It is disturbing if you aren’t a turtle. But different strokes for different folks. Who knows. It isn’t an easy task getting some female shell on the fourth floor of Vita Bella. Especially if your *** is the only one carrying a shell around.” Dominique shrugged and patted the puma’s paw on her knee. “Fine. I will pick him up a little something colorful at the pet shop as soon as they open back up. That hissing during the day is annoying.”

Doc: The puma canted its head to the side. ‘What the **** was she talking about? Turtles? Where did turtles come from?’ The big cat huffed and huffed then again and shook his head, which looked more like he was trying get something off of his head, or out of his ear than a negative expression, but what else did she expect? Except that apparently, maybe she expected something about turtles, but why? She said she understood.. and then suddenly .. turtles. What was he missing?

Dominique: “You need a little tail too, Mittens.” She was not forgetting him. “You need to hook up and fill your little cave or whatever you sleep in with some little pumas.” Her hand wiggled into his fur and smiled. “Winter likely isn’t the time to find something but just wait till spring. I am sure something will come along.” She sighed. “Just don’t give up. It finds you when you least expect it.” She looked at him a little. “Hungry now?”

Doc: The cat rolled over hand and dragged a paw over his eyes. ‘Little Pumas? Really?’ She didn’t get it. Oh sure.. she ‘said’ she got it. What she got.. he had no clue, but but it wasn’t what he expected her to get. He sighed. It had not dawned on him, that she was under the mistaken impression that she could ‘talk to animals’. Short of taking his normal form, he didn’t know how to get her to understand. And he didn’t want to take on his normal form, until she knew without a doubt it was him. Mostly because he figured she wouldn’t try to kill him as a puma. As Doc the vampire.. oh ****, yes she would. And probably take great delight in it as well.

The feline rolled back over and got back to his feet when it hit him. How he could get her to see who he was? He bared the claws on his paw and began to scratch the letter D in the floor. The feline looked at the D, then looked at her.

Dominique: Mittens was adorable. Who could resist that playful paws over the eyes peek-a-boo move? She was about to turn and lead the way to the last steak she had in the fridge to offer when the sound of his claws scraping the garage floor called for her attention. Her head slowly tilted to the side as a letter formed in the claws marks left behind. She stared at the ‘D’ then glanced slowly at him. Her eyes bounced back on the ‘D’ then again back at him. She stood there. Her eyes blinking fast. She almost shook her head no. But something within her knew and it made sense. She knew it meant she couldn’t talk animals like she thought. If she could Vader would have stayed out of the garbage when she swore from the bed she refused to get out of. It also meant the puma that etched the letter ‘D’ in her floor was in fact someone she least expected to be privy to everything she had just said. Her eyes burned but she kept the orbs from filling with tell tale signs that she knew who she was looking at. So close she had been. How kind he had been. She was about to attempt to shake her head again but she was done with the denial.

“I meant what I said.” She hissed in a breath of air that she didn’t need out of reflex. Her chest was tight, her stomach felt a small knot forming. The type that happens when you don’t know what to expect next. “It was a war that should have ended this time last year. It needs to stop. I am done fighting you.”

Doc: The puma cautiously stepped toward her, his eyes locked on hers. Then slowly shoved his head under her hand. He nudged the hand. And he kept nudging until she chose to rub his head. He began to purr.

Dominique: She watched the puma move towards her slowly. She swallowed hard. He could attack her but for that moment when her her eyes fixed on his she was certain she wouldn’t move. She stood her ground every other time and this night especially she found herself looking at him almost to the minute as she did last year. What a year it had been. Now her eyes filled with those tears she had swore she would not shed again.

This time while the last minutes of the New Year ticked away his touch came beneath her hand. Mittens fur covered head slid beneath her open palm and nudged upward until her fingers moved as they always would when he would come to her. Deep and slow at his fur until he made that happy sound that was powerful enough she could feel the vibration flowing up her fingers and into her wrist.

Doc: The feline leaned heavily against her, then slowly, reluctantly, the cat moved away. The feline slowly coalesced back into the form that Dominique knew best. Dr. Charles Nilson. He didn’t know what to say. What should he say? Anything? Nothing? Yes. Nothing. He stepped toward her and pulled her into a slow and deliberate hug. He brushed her hair back from her face and held her in a firm, and yet at the same time, gentle hug.

Dominique: It was brief and the vibration that confirmed the truth between them left her hand. It was expected. What she didn’t expect was to witness the transformation he went through as he turned around and came back at her. Her eyes danced quickly across his face and searching his own as he arrived back at the spot he left this time towering over her as she looked up at him. He pulled her body gently to his without a word. His arms went around her and she felt the most soothing stroke of his hand brushing back her hair. Her arms moved and her fingers trembled. She was unprepared, she was hopeful and she was tired.

Dominique needed this hug. Her face nearly hid against the material of his suit jacket between them. The hands that took her life were able to deliver the prospect of another type of existence a year later. No, none of her would never be the same again. It would be different and if it was going to be better then that was up to her. The choice was hers. In many ways it always had been. Her hands found their way around him and she held them gently with her fingers loosely linked at the back of him. There was nothing left to say.