#That would be his only unprompted observed use of the water button

[obesecamels]

So my cat can say "water."

He's said it twice now to me, plainly, and in context. Very big *insert meme of Perry the Platypus saying 'They'll never believe you.'* vibes.

Yes, he does have some of those voice buttons, but it takes so much coaxing to get even a dubiously intentional step on those.

No. I trained him on the words "water" and "food" since I met him as a blind, half grown, sick kitten. I wanted to show him where his dishes were and spend time encouraging him to eat and drink because he had a fever and not much appetite. Later I got the buttons and tried to get him to step on them every meal and everytime I refreshed his water dish. Not too much luck with that.

Then one night he's laying on my knees like normal, and we hear one of the other cats drink from the dish in the hall. This guy sits bolt upright and says, "wah-ah?" Nothing else. I wake up enough to praise him a little and pet him and fall back asleep.

Tonight when I get home, mom's already fed him, but hasn't put water on it, like I usually do. (He eats fast and barfs, so I was hoping to make his food easier to digest. He loves it so much he stops scarfing to follow me to the bathroom and back to pour the water.)

So as soon as I come in he rushes to me and headbutts my legs, then he runs to his half full food bowl, says, "wah-tah?" and starts eating.

"Water? You want water?" I ask. He follows me to the bathroom and back as I get water for his kibbles, then immediately resumes eating.

[launchpadthai]

Heliotropism 2/?

Summary: Fethry finds Steelbeak in a bad state and gladly nurses him back to health. Genre: Fluff, bonding, platonic intimacy. Confident!Fethry and Humbled!Steelbeak  Rating: G Word count: 1750ish Part one

Notes: Again no beta, so feel free to message me if you see any funny sentences or grammar!  --

One night (or morning? Did time matter under water?) he woke up sprawled on the library floor rug and looked over to see Fethry laying a few feet from him. He was reading a massive book, his face in his palms and was lightly kicking his legs in the air behind him. Did Fethry sleep AT ALL? 

--

When Steelbeak explored parts of the sea lab while trying to “break out,” he wasn’t able to get through certain doors without a passcode, so he just full fist punched at some panels, smashing the buttons in frustration. Now, as they walked by one of the panels with crooked buttons and a toolbox sitting near it, he felt a bad feeling start to bubble inside of him. It was fleeting though, as he rubbed the back of his neck to chase it away. Fethry just kept humming as he walked by.

They stopped at a different door with an untouched panel and Fethry slowly pressed the buttons, like he meant for him to see the code. Steelbeak did see, and as Fethry turned back to grin at him, he turned his head a little too late, but still pretended he didn’t see. The doors slid open and he was met with a large dome made entirely of transparent material, save for a few metal beams lined with dim lights holding it all together, and a view of the bottom of the ocean. Aside from the colorful krill, schools of fish swam by, illuminated only by the lights given off by the rest of the sub lab. ‘Interesting…” He moseyed to the middle of the dome, tilting his head up and around. There was a little living room style set in the middle, complete with couches, chairs, lamps and a rug pulling it all together. It was by far the tallest room in the lab, but it also felt like the smallest. Steelbeak was not used to being trapped by a void, but rather a room like brick or cement. His hands in the pockets of borrowed pants were not enough to chase his shivers away, but when he looked back to Fethry, who was pressed against the dome wall- red outfit vividly standing against the deep blue- he felt the warmth of a campfire. Fethry moved his head around, like he was searching for something in the darkness before turning to Steel, his finger pressed against the clear wall above his own head. “Look! Barracudas!” Fethry bounced a little on his feet, his hat dancing like him. “Did you know they have ring structures in their ears like trees? The number of rings they have is also their age!” Steelbeak walked over, looking up at the pod of large fish floating in what little sun had made its way down to the depths. It was…kind of nice. “They have razor sharp teeth, like you.” Fethry said matter-of-factly and Steelbeak chuckled. After a few minutes of silence, Fethry jumped into a fighting pose, his stance like a boxer, making Steelbeak flinch and reflexively put an arm up for defense. “Who wins in a fight! You? Or a Great White Shark?” Fethry asked while bouncing side to side on the balls of his feet. Steelbeak stared but moved his defense arm down and put a flat hand out, allowing the smaller bird to give it a playful punch. “Actually, I already know you’d beat a shark, but how ‘bout me?”  Steel couldn’t prevent the rumble of laugher forming in him, all he could do was collapse to his knees and try to breath as much as possible through his nostrils to try and prevent the giggles bubbling inside. He had really thought this guy was a threat, huh? “Yeah that’s what I thought!” Fethry crouched next to him, giving him another small playful punch to the larger bird’s arm and THAT, that felt good.

--

Hanging out with Fethry was both a good time and something to overcome for Steelbeak. Having a “friend” without ulterior motives was new for him, but was it luck that Fethry was patient with him? Or was he just...like this with everyone? Steelbeak calmly observed the puzzle that was Fethry. Soon, Steelbeak put together that Fethry did everything when he found him at a desk littered with microscopes and tubes sewing the ripped sleeve back onto his white blazer he thought was lost at sea. “You know that ‘white day’ is a scam, right?” Fethry asked unprompted and all he could do was sit on the floor and listen while Fethry went on a rant. The duck would chat about the sea life, then smoothly transition into clouds or politics while they lounged in sporadic areas of the sea lab Even though he talked a lot and referenced things Steelbeak didn’t know about, it didn’t make him feel stupid and he especially liked when Fethry would act things out, like moments in history or describe something with his hands.

Fethry not only did all the maintenance for the sub lab, but he also cooked, cleaned, recited poetry, organized, created sculptures, and tinkered with different inventions all while reading large books on all kinds of animals, volcanoes, space things, world politics and whatever else he felt like. Steelbeak almost forgot it was just the two of them submerged at the ocean floor because Fethry brought enough light and energy to fill the whole lab. “If your ribs still hurt, sleeping while sitting up should help ease the pain.” Fethry mentioned one night when the larger bird stretched a certain stretch that should have been accompanied by a yawn. “There are a lot of futons, you know.” His ribs didn’t really hurt anymore, unless Fethry made him laugh too hard, but sleeping on the futon while the duck worked on his projects sounded nicer than going to his claimed bed alone. So he started falling asleep in the various places they’d hang out, lulled by the sound of Fethry talking about the zodiac or different types of plastic. One night (or morning? Did time matter under water?) he woke up sprawled on the library floor rug and looked over to see Fethry laying a few feet from him. He was reading a massive book, his face in his palms and was lightly kicking his legs in the air behind him. Did Fethry sleep AT ALL? “Buongiorno!” He beamed when he saw Steelbeak stretch awake. “Help me make the next batch of stew?” -- Steelbeak walked a bit more confidently as he helped bring the little box of vegetables to the kitchen. It felt good to be able to lift something again without pain, even if it was small. The kitchen was a descent size, made for a crew (like most of the lab) and was clean save for a pantry that was clearly rummaged through and unorganized. “Stew is pretty much the only thing I know how to make.” Fethry admitted. Steekbeak would drop his jaw if he could, but of course couldn’t so he settled with wide eyes but furrowed eyebrows towards the duck who studied almost everything. Fethry waved it off. “I do more reading than cooking, and stew is good! But, if I wanna spice things up, I just read a recipe.” Steel set the box down and tapped on his own chest. ”You.” Fethry said matter-of-factly. He motioned around the kitchen and pointed to himself again. “You want to clean everything?” Fethry cocked his head to the side while pulling out cutting boards. Steelbeak could finally pick up on his jests but could only retort with an eyeroll or crossed arms. He chose both this time.  “You know how to cook?” He corrected with a grin and Steelbeak nodded proudly. “Well, let’s do one of your recipes when our delivery comes in, we’ll have more ingredients and you’ll be able to chew again.” They dumped the veggies on the countertop and Fethry placed them haphazardly on top each other next to a block holding various knives. Steelbeak grabbed a paring knife and reflexively started peeling a potato in a spiral, pulling the skin off in one piece. “Whoa! Where’d you learn that?” Fethry asked wide eyed. He put a hand on his chin thoughtfully before tracing a square in the air with a finger on one hand and knife in the other, then put two fists in the air in front of him, like holding bars. The universal sign for “prison cell” or so he thought. “Ah, you aggressively read about it in a classroom! I see!” Fethry chirped brightly and Steelbeak shook his head quickly, cutting the air with a straight hand like “no, no” then dead panned at him while he giggled. “You know I’m kidding. Was it jail?” He froze, realizing what he had just gotten himself into.  Getting booked to stay in cement rooms, prison wall etiquette, and breaking out was probably the main thing Steelbeak knew the most about (aside from fighting in general) and normally he’d pride himself but now, under Fethry’s curious gaze he didn’t feel so proud. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and avoided eye contact. “Prison?”  He nodded lightly, turning back to peel another potato but didn’t move his hands, just hovered the knife above it. Fethry didn’t know anything about him and Steelbeak wished he could unlock his beak now more than ever so he could explain and defend himself.  Fethry brought a pot out, placed it on the stove and dropped the spiral into it. “The skin has a lot of nutrients in it, so I’m still going to add it to the stew if you don’t mind. I mean, I have to run it through a blender anyways.” Steelbeak felt like shrinking again as his mind started running because of course his action was worthless! He rubbed his forehead, exasperated, thinking of course we’d just keep the skin, of course we must blend it because of his stupid beak! Heron was right, how useless could he be! Fethry stayed quiet while a small rain cloud seemed to form over the larger bird. He gathered his own thoughts before picking up a potato and another paring knife, then repeatedly looked at Steelbeak’s hands back to his own and shifted his fingers to mirror the larger bird’s grip of the knife. He moved his pointer finger to the back of the blade and wiggled his thumb next to it, slowly rocking the knife into the skin but could only pull some small patches off. Steelbeak stared for a moment, only blinking a few times at Fethry struggling to peel the root before he understood what was happening. He looked back to his own hands and slowly started to peel the other potato, careful to have his fingers in the right position. He couldn’t really teach someone how to do this, even if he could speak, but he tapped his thumb at the front of the knife’s blade to show how it guides under the skin. He did it slow enough so Fethry could see and Fethry did, silently following his guidance. As they moved onto more veggies, Steelbeak had more tricks to show with the knives and all Fethry had was a smile and time to encourage those tricks. The rain cloud above Steelbeak’s head disappeared and Fethry pretended not to see it in the first place.

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

A Brief Recap of My Vacation Thus Far

- Yesterday, we accidentally took the wrong route and ended up on The Bad Bridge, everyone was panicked and our travel time was increased by an hour

- We still somehow made it here before the rest of my family. I get so much shit but honestly? None of us are capable of being on time

- There was a guy innocently dancing at a gas station, my grandmother called him a 'nut' and he heard and started laughing with us. This innocent interaction somehow sparked into a 30 minute race debate where I was told "It's bad to be PC. You're being too PC." All I did was say "Hey, maybe don't refer to non-white strangers as 'foreigners'". Help me.

- My Grandmother, like, completely unprompted, started denying the fact that the world has a growing population that's a bit of an issue??? Still confused

- I forgot. To pack. My headphones.

- My mother peer pressured me into drinking at dinner (omfg the waitress asked me if I had an id and literally before I could move to pull it out she goes 'who am I kidding, I can't fucking see it unless you hold it all the way over the ocean). Despite my usually high tolerance, I hadn't eaten all day so while I wasn't acting drunk or tipsy I could not make my legs function properly rip

- I came home and slept for like six hours before my mother's monstrous snoring woke me up at 2 am. Was never able to recover. I'm so tired rn

- The whole family, in true form, spent the morning ignoring me and then left for the beach without me. It took me over an hour to dredge up enough willpower to walk there myself

- I had to leave through the garage, in which you have to walk through the Hillbilly Murder Showers and struggle with The Very Small Yet Astoundingly Heavy Door. Despite pressing the button a total of six times, it still had to be essentially pried open

- This lead me to under the Boardwalk, which was covered with orange construction cones and had a huge gaping hole with Very Worrying Noises emerging from it, new feature this year. I almost took it as an omen to head back but trekked on anyway, managing to not fall into the hole.

- My family was found under a flag for the country of Montserrat, a place none of us have even heard of, but apparently my cousin kept getting emails that he had been promoted to the general of their military, and found the flag on complete coincidence and thought it fate. There was also an Eagles flag, because we are quite literally never allowed to forget that this is a Philly Family(tm)

-  My mother learned the hard way that you're supposed to Goddamn rub in the spray on sunscreen

- My hair got caught in my sunglasses so badly we almost had to consider using scissors to cut them out

- The Moon Was Apparently Out, But Only Eileen Can See It For Some Reason

- My younger cousins have a profound misunderstanding of what an undertow is

- The water was so rough today it was alarming tbh like HUGE waves hitting in the shallows, I was getting a little worried

- Even though alcohol has like, never been allowed on the beach, this year they apparently decided to Care About The Rules, so police officers were milling about. My family decided the best, least suspicious way to hide the beer was solo cups.

- I ate my weight in resses cups because I literally have no concept of self control

- Every time I pulled out my book, Jenna popped up going "did you know that movie sucked?". She wouldn't stop. I was there for three hours and barely made it to chapter 2

- Me, stuffing my face with cheese and sliced ham "idk veganism sounds kinda neat"

- My cousins three month old baby was there and my mom had to keep this child in her sight at all times like she was so convinced something was gonna Happen

- Also, the baby's grandmother was holding her while she napped and she went on this little tangent to my mom like "My mother taught me how to put a baby to sleep-" like she kept going on in this nostalgic tone about her mother and finally mom was like "Kathy we're literally sisters and mom is sitting right there you don't have to do this no one cares"

- Megan took a nap and her seven year old woke her up to ask her where his shirt was and she got. UNREASONABLY mad at him. The whole 'God forbid I can rest I do everything' spiel but like. Megan. Megan. You were asleep for like two hours. He's seven. Megan he's literally a baby he can't exactly be independent all the time.

- Seanie came over and was sitting on the big wheel of the wagon next to me so I asked him what he was doing and he went "Well, apparently I can't sit in a chair without people annoying me" and gave me a VERY pointed look so I just went back to my book so as to not invoke a 12 year old's wrath

- Can I just say: Seagulls need to stay THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME

- I cowered in fear most of the day

- A man with a chair strapped to his back and very dark sunglasses wandered into our site, head tilted toward the sky and arms out in front of him, wobbling and almost fell into multiple holes my cousin's dug. He didn't seem to notice us as we called out to him, and eventually tumbled out of our site and plopped his chair down some ways away, which he collapsed into. The Elders and The Youngins' were convinced he was blind and was whispering amongst themselves, if he's blind where's his cane? Why's he here alone? Is he really blind. To which one relative finally quipped "Well, I'm sure some alcohol can MAKE you blind" and I was cracking up tbh like how HADNT they smelled the booze coming off him when he passed by?

- Danny, 12 years old, sitting calmly in the sun, drinking a large mason jar of pickle juice. When I politely asked him what the fuck, he turned and held eye contact with me for a solid three minutes, still drinking the pickle juice.

- When you're scared about getting arrested for drinking a bottle of beer but someone can apparently start Blazing It(tm) feet away from the police with no repercussions

- Also...random observation but all the police officers, firemen, and various other In Charge people I've encountered down here over the years seem to be younger than me? Why is this place being run by 18 year olds?

- Intense debate about why there's been so little promotion for Sharknado 5, airing this Sunday.

- Holy SHIT okay so I started leaving the beach right

- I'm having trouble trekking through the thick sand. My hair looks like a literal nest, I am unevenly pale and tan, a chair and bag are threatening to knock me over in the winds- basically I look outside like the mess I've always been inside.

- AND THIS FUCKING

-THIS FUCKING GREEK GOD OF A LIFEGUARD

- YOUNG, FIT, SHIRTLESS, BLINDING SMILE, EFFORTLESS HAIR, LITERALLY THE MOST FLAWLESS TAN I HAVE EVER SEEN

- HE FUCKING PULLS UP TO ME IN HIS SAND ROVER

- REMEMBER I LOOK LIKE A HERMIT CRAB THAT JUST EMERGED FROM THE SEWERS HERE

- AND HE JUST CHEERFULLY CALLS "MOLLY! HOP IN, I'LL GIVE YOU A RIDE!"

- HOW

- THE

- FUCK

- HOW DOES THIS GORGEOUS ENTITY KNOW MY NAME? WHY WOULD THIS IMMORTAL BEAUTY CHOOSE TO ASSOCIATE WITH ME.

- He said "Molly" one more time and I'm not kidding or exaggerating. I felt my name in his voice IN MY UTERUS.

- We did not speak the entire ride, but he somehow knew pretty much exactly where to drop me off and told me to have a great day before rovering off into the fucking sunset

- I am still so SHOOK right now who was this man????? I know for a fact I've never met him before so HOW DID HE KNOW MY NAME. Why did fate bring us together when I looked so authentically me???? Who is pulling these strings I Would Like A Word With Them

- I need to lie down it's been far too long since I was this attracted to a person idk what to do goodnight