The Inventor's Neko

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki placed down the tray with different pastries on a small table in the garden, as Korina joined him. There were a few rose bushes and other flowers around as most of Itsuki's time, that he spent outside, would be spent here. Reading, drinking tea or tending to the garden. He smiled as Korina had picked one of his favorite tea brands, it was an easy tell by the smell. "Have you ever tasted tea before Korina?" Itsuki asked as he looked at his red roses, where a couple of white roses was behind. He was very proud of his garden, as that was perhaps some of the few things he would "socialize" with during the day before Korina came.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina sat down in the chair across from Itsuki. She noticed him looking at the flowers, maybe she should leave the tending of the garden to him. It seemed he took great pride and they were quite beautiful. When the question was brought up she shook her head "no, it was a luxury we couldn't afford." She replied holding her cup in her hands. "Though sometimes when I was little my mother would boil down some herbs, I guess that could count as tea. But it never smelled this good. And I've never seen that much tea in my life. You must have all of them." A small smile appeared on her face and she laughed quietly.

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki laughed too, thinking of how many different brands were in his cupboards. There was an entire cupboard dedicated to tea after all, maybe he was drinking too much of it. He smiled when Korina let out a small laugh, glad that her nervousness from earlier had seemingly eased off. Tea usually had that affect on people, calming down the nerves. "Now. Is there anything in peculiar you like to do on your free time? Drawing, painting, singing, reading or anything else?" Itsuki asked her, wanting to know a bit more about her as it seemed the nekos that lived around town were poor and lived in bad conditions. No wonder they were being sold off like this, the thought of creatures like her being used as slaves... it almost scared him.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Itsuki must be talking about a hobby. As she thought about what she did other than chores and helping her mother gather berries or roots in the Forrest she brought her tea up to her mouth and started lapping it up with her tongue. It was comfortable to do so even though it might be strange to him. The sipping action he did to drink tea was a little strange to her so a little culture shock for both of them is expected. "Well, I don't really know how to read, but I would boil down some berries in water to make paints. You would be surprised ow many colors you could make" she reached out to pick a pastry wanting to at least try one of each by the end of the afternoon.

 

[CrystalTears]

"Painting... I believe there is a store nearby town we could go and visit," Itsuki said and looked at his watch, he could make time to buy her some painting equipment. Itsuki grabbed a pastry and ate some before he brought the tea to his lips, taking a small sip from his tea. It was nice, to have a friendly chit chat like this. Of course he was sued to being completely alone and reading a book right now, but talking to Korina gave off the same satisfaction. Itsuki laughed a bit thinking of how to make paint with berries, it was highly probably, but it wouldn't stick for long, or so he thought. "That sounds interesting. I've never done that before," Itsuki said interested and happy she was willing to open up to him like this. It was as if they were already on good terms.

 

[Mari_Rose]

As much as she liked the idea of painting again she didn't want to trouble him by buying her something else, it wasn't really a necessity. The clothes she needed, and despite the deliciousness of the pastries they weren't needed either. Though it seemed that he really wanted her to be comfortable in this home, surrounded by things she enjoys. "By now I don't think you're going to take no for an answer" she out her hands in her lap "I just don't want to trouble you, aren't I here to serve and help you?"

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki chuckled at her answer, she had clearly been to her brother's house first that is for sure. "Do not worry, you are not troubling me at all, I quite enjoy your company," Itsuki said and smiled to her, petting her head gently. "Well I believe I never said you were here for that. Of course, it is good to get some help to do the chores, but serving is taking a bit too far do you not agree? I think we can use the word... 'helping' as you are living here now. Oh, and of course I won't take no for an answer, it's good to have something to do on your free time is it not?" Itsuki answered her and finished his tea before he poured himself another cup. "Oh, and I will gladly teach you how to read. It is a basic skill everyone should have, in my opinion," Itsuki said as he grabbed another pastry, taking a small bite of it.

 

[Mari_Rose]

"Yes I guess it is good to have something to do but I could just clean" Korina stopped herself at that idea, "no I guess that's not free time is it..." She mumbled to herself and lapped a little more of her tea and nibbling on another pastry. "And don't you have your work to focus on? I would think whatever it is you do is more important than teaching me how to read. It's not all that necessary"growing up she never really had the luxury of doing what she wanted when she wanted it. She could only do what was required to live day by day. As she got older she wasn't allowed to paint and focused more on preparing to work for someone like Itsuki, so the money used to buy her could go to food or clothing. Or just a better way of life.

 

[CrystalTears]

"Oh no. I have time to teach you how to read, we could read before you go to sleep. You easier remember things before you go to sleep," Itsuki said and chuckled when she thought cleaning was free time. "Reading is actually essential, what if you get lost and needs to read signs to find your way back? Or if you buying something, but can't read what it is? Reading is important," Itsuki said as he had a strong passion for reading, since he was an inventor and he usually did nothing else, but read and write. "Of course, work is important, but taking time to teach and taking a break every once in a while is important too. Plus you cannot clean all day, you make yourself exhausted. Taking a couple of breaks during the day is very important, don't forget that," Itsuki told her, hoping she wouldn't overwork herself. She obviously needed to be taught normal life, as nekos were obviously treated as lesser beings, or maybe just as slaves in general.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina smiled a little and her gaze turned to the flowers, being literate was the first step to a real education though at her age she wasn't sure how easy it would be. It would be fun to figure out though. Then her mind went to his work, she wasn't told yet what it was and was actually told not to ask about it. But she was told a lot of things that didn't seem to happen here. She looked back at him with a curious look on her face and in her ears "what do you do, if you don't mind me asking. You don't seem to work outside of the house and while I was cleaning there were a lot of tools an mechanical parts lying around"

 

[CrystalTears]

"I am an inventor. I am making new things for others to have an easier everyday life," Itsuki answered her honestly, as he wasn't exactly sure how he had spread mechanical parts around the house, but when he was on a roll there would be tools and parts laying all over the house for months. "I think it's great you are interested though. I was wondering if you wanted to help me out on my work, of course only after you've gone through the safety measures, as it can be a bit dangerous at times," Itsuki asked with a smile. It was great to see her being interested in what he was doing, curiosity was one of the best traits a scientist had, and the first step to take towards science. Plus, it was a trait from the cat too, which seemed to be infused with her genes... This was getting more and more interesting indeed.

 

[Mari_Rose]

"Oh, then reading must be very important, you must know what you're doing" Korina gave a nod and placed her cup on the tray "if it is dangerous than I wouldn't want to get in your way. I don't want you to get distracted or anything and getting hurt." Sometimes she could be asking way to many questions, it never ended in her favor. "Are you done with your tea? I could go and clean the kettle and such" she nodded standing up and straightening out her dress collecting things onto the silver tray to collect into the kitchen. "Oh and also, did you have any other plans for today?"

 

[CrystalTears]

"Oh no. I would appreciate the extra help in my office. It would make my work more efficient," Itsuki said as he petted her head, she was very efficient when it came to her work. Maybe she took some pride in it. "I am done with my tea. Thank you, it was prepared lovely. I was only planning on going to the town, so I suppose we can do that once you're done cleaning?" Itsuki asked her smiling as he headed on inside again, glad she was happy to do the chores as he had no clue what to do if she didn't want to do them... He was never good with children, and always thought they should do some chores around the house, as a small 'thank you' to the paying parents. Maybe he was too strict when he thought of that.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina followed after him and turned into the dining room to enter the kitchen. Another day in town sounded nice, Mabye they could get more of those pastries. The ones they had with her tea were truly mouth watering. But she would have to stay close to him if the streets were crowded like last. The point he made about getting lost and needing to read signs was a good point, especially in her situation. She didn't think anyone would want to talk to her, her kind never really had that sort of respect. As she thought about all of this she was watching the kettles and teacups careful not to drop and break them. When she was done she dried her hands and went to go find Itsuki to tell him she was ready to go.

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki was waiting in the living room for Korina, reading one of his favorites novels. It was good to enjoy some peace and quiet and read, but he was looking forward to going to town again. It was nice with some company he actually enjoyed, unlike his brother's company or his family's company in general. They were always nagging him to get a 'real' job or get a woman in his life. Dumb enough to not mind their own business was his personal opinion of their nagging. He sighed, as he continued on reading not wishing to think about his family as that was it ruined the story of the novel he was reading.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina looked for a while starting upstairs in his office. He seemed to be in there often so it was a good place to begin. She gently knocked on the door and stood for a few seconds not hearing a response. The next room he tried was his bedroom repeating the knocking and waiting but to no avail. She went back downstairs and peaked back out in the garden. Maybe he went back there but there was no one. Finally she walked into thee living room finally seeing Itsuki. "There you are!" She said with a smile before stopping short seeing the book in his hand "oh, I'm sorry I hope I didn't interrupt anything" she frowned a little bit her ears sinking and her hand behind her back

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki was a bit startled as he was captivated by the story of the book as Korina entered the living room. It seemed as she had been looking for him, as she was quite happy to finally find him. "Are you ready then?" He asked her with a smile as he walked over to her, petting her head. "Don't apologize, I was the one who suddenly disappeared. Sorry about that," Itsuki apologized as he could have told Korina where he had gone off to. Itsuki peeked quickly at his pocket watch and smiled, they had time to be in town for a small while. Maybe they could pick up some good books while they were at it? He had read most of the books that he had available after all. "Okay Korina, when we get to town you need to stay by my side no matter what. If there's any place you want to go, just tell me okay? The town can be very scary if you get lost," Itsuki told her, hoping she would listen this time as they walked out towards the car.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina's ears perked cup again as they walked out. "I understand. I guess I'm lucky you found me last time" she replied as they walked back out to the car. When she got int the back seat she eyed the leash that sat in the spot next to her and looked at Itsuki "you're not.. Putting the leash back on, right?" She asked quietly folding her hands neatly in her lap. In her mind she believed she behaved well enough but in all honesty she wasn't sure why the leash was there in the first place. Just because she had ears and a tail doesn't make her an animal.

 

[CrystalTears]

"Why would we need a leash? We both got hands right?" Itsuki asked her a bit questionable as he had completely forgotten about the leash in the first place. He looked at her from the rear window, she seemed a bit nervous about the leash. He smiled to her, hoping to maker her calm down a bit as he began driving towards the town. "How about we eat lunch in town? That way we get better time, as it is important to keep ourselves nourished throughout the day. Maybe we could just go and get some ice cream too..." Itsuki thought out loud, debating if they should or not, but it seemed as a good idea to not having to stress themselves up. Haste is waste, or so he believed at the very least.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina was relieved and seemed to physically relaxed as well. But did he mean holding hands? It's inly been two days they weren't that close yet were they? And she worked for him, or served under him. She would just have to stick close that's all, hopefully the crowd wouldn't be too bad. "Ice cream? That's that frozen milk thing right?" Again she felt like a child, all of these new items and sensations she was never quite sure how to react. Walking to the car she also noticed a distinct height difference between them, she probably looked like a child to match her limited knowledge on the world. "And didn't we just have tea and pastries? Was that not lunch?"

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki glanced up in the rear window to see her relaxing, that was a good sign. Perhaps he should throw out the leash, he had no use for it unless he could use the leather for something in his invention perhaps. The thought crossed his mind, but he couldn't honestly think of something as he brushed the thought away for now. "You've never had ice cream? Well then, we are definitely having some ice cream," Itsuki said determined as he added it to his mental "To Do list". He chuckled a bit when Korina reminded him that they had already eaten, he was maybe over worrying over her since her appearance made her look like a child. "You're right, let us get some ice cream and some more pastries. Oh, and let's not forget your painting equipment, then the bookstore, maybe we could go on a trip to a museum or a cinema... depends on the time I suppose..." Itsuki said to Korina to make sure he did not forget anything.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina gave out a little laugh shaking her head "slow down, I'm not going to be going anywhere" she nodded knowing that was true, she expected herself to live there until she or he died, that's usually how these arrangements worked. "We have plenty of time to do everything why don't we go to the museum you talk about tomorrow after my chores" she suggested. Maybe by then she'll get a hang of things. If not it'll be a few days, or weeks. Her mother did tell her that there is something new to be learned everyday. Maybe postponing the museum was her way of preserving that new thing so it was every day.

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki laughed too as he realized he truly was rushing into things, he was just a bit happy to have someone to talk too, someone he enjoyed being with. "You're right. The museum can wait, we have enough planned for one day," Itsuki said in between his laughs as he stopped and parked outside the painting shop, hoping to find some decent equipment there and then go the rest on foot. That should work out just fine, as the town wasn't too large, and despite him being a 'science nerd' he was strong, at least strong enough to carry a couple of bags around town. "Well we're here," Itsuki said and exited the car, looking at painting shop. Honestly there was a lot more equipment to be bought in there than he thought, he himself was more into drawing, so he didn't know a whole lot about how much equipment would be needed.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina looked out the window to see their location and smiled seeing it was the paint store. Finally real pants and brushes. Happily she got out of the car and walked up to the door eager to go inside and pick out her supplies. This was almost just like shopping for clothes. When she walked in she turned to Itsuki "I promise, I'll pay you back for all of this, the clothes, everything" she nodded and looked around at the various paints she had to choose from, hundreds of colors she couldn't imagine. The tubes containing the paint luckily had a band to represent the color.

 

[CrystalTears]

"You don't need to pay me back for this. Consider it a... sort of..." Itsuki stopped, he was actually for once unsure what to say as he began looking at the different types of painting equipment to collect his thoughts to come up with a good answer. "Think of this as a reward for all the hard work you do back in my house," Itsuki finally said as he smiled to Korina who seemed very excited to be in the paint store. He couldn't see the store keeper anywhere, but he let that slide as he walked after the excited Korina, looking at the equipment with a somewhat adoring gaze, he had never seen so many colors, and he never knew that there were at least fifty different types of white, and that's what he saw on one shelf.