Take a Break, I am on my way PV Zahid Finished

Zahid had taken to taking Herodotus along whenever he took a walk on the grounds. He'd noticed early on (on their second day together) that the kitten had a penchant for cuddling up to him on his chest, clawing into his t-shirt so that he could hang on even when Zahid had to get up for some reason. The little one had claimed his chest as his spot, no matter if Zahid was sitting down or not. The first few times Dot had refused to let go, Zahid may have panicked a little that he'd fall down, but the kitten was still small enough that Zahid could carry him around easily if he wore a light jacket or a button-down and trapped the little one between the layers. Dot seemed to really enjoy getting carried around at times – though he'd gotten quite inquisitive. Well, it was a cat's prerogative to be curious. He'd started adventuring a little and liked running around on the grounds, but it seemed nothing came close to his favourite spot yet.

Originally he'd planned on visiting the library again now that he had a bit of free time but as Dot had refused to let go, he'd reconsidered. Zahid was well aware that he would come to regret indulging Dot so much while he was little but he could not help himself. After all, he finally had a cat of his own! And it was such a darling cat. Barely a few weeks in, he'd resigned himself to the fact that he would have a completely spoilt cat – the only time he really knew how to say no to Dot and leave him behind, was when he'd had classes and other school work to do.

As the weather through his window looked quite nice out, he'd only sighed and thrown a dark green button-down over his black t-shirt (and Dot) and slacks, slipped into some loafers and left his quarters to take another walk. Making his way outside and toward the Great Lake he noticed his silver-haired colleague sitting beneath a tree and made his way over to her instead to wish her a good day.

Hjørdis pulled a little face as she gazed down at the bundle of love in her lap, playing with him a little. He purred as he opened his eyes. The gorgeous blues that won her heart in an instant. She continued to stroke him behind the ear before looking back towards her book. It was a fictional muggle book that she had bought whilst she was at Kings Cross before the start of the year. She just had not gotten around to reading it until now as she was reading mostly for amusement, rather than a need to read. Curling up with a book for fun was a nice change of pace today.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a figure moving in the distance. Glancing over, she spotted the History of Magic professor making his way over to her with a - wait... Was that a kitten attached to him? Hjørdis blinked a little. She always made attention to people's appearances and outfits - mostly because she was vain and swallow enough to do so. But she never really imagined seeing this sight. 

"Good afternoon, Professor Zahid," Hjørdis greeted, "I like your outfit, it comes with a very cute kitten." She continued. It sounded a little teasing but it was kind of amusing to see. It was incredibly adorable at the same time too, however. "He's very sweet, what's his name?" She asked, a smile tugging on the edge of her usually blank face.

She would have gotten up to shake his hand or something but... there was no way she was able to move right now. The kitten on her own lap stirred a little as she spoke. He immediately moved to stand up his legs, still on her lap, when she stopped scratching him, almost looking around to see what took her attention away or see what was going on.

“Good afternoon, Professor Jensen.“ Zahid returned her greeting. “Yes, Dot likes to nestle up. Uh, Professor Jensen, meet Herodotus or Dot for short. And who is your little friend?” As soon as he said it, he had to suppress a wince. He hoped his colleague would not find his question patronizing, it certainly wasn’t meant that way. He was genuinely curious about the other kitten. He was adorable – not as adorable as Dot, of course, but Zahid was honest enough to admit that he was clearly biased and no cat or kitten would compare to his very own.

The little one looked quite cosy in the Head of House’s lap if a bit grumpy now that he did not retain her full attention. Hesitating for a second, Zahid nodded to the ground next to his colleague to ask “Do you mind?” If she gave the go ahead, he would sit down cross-legged near them under the tree, if she didn’t he would remain standing for now. He had gone out for a walk, but he was not opposed to a bit of company – or quiet reading as he had noticed her book – so that Dot could potentially make a friend.

So far Dot had been happy with just him for company but he doubted it would stay that way as he grew older. He most certainly would not be content with staying locked in their living quarters when Zahid had to teach or see to his other duties at the school the way he was now. He dreaded how fast the little one would grow up. Could he not stay a kitten forever?

Herodotus on the other hand was still nestled up in his spot and while he clearly heard his human talk to another he did not seem particularly bothered by it. As long as he was not disturbed, it probably did not matter to him if his human was walking around or not. The air was nicer out here though and the kitten was always eager to run around a little bit later on… but not yet. He was quite cosy where he was.

"He's adorable, how old is he?" Hjørdis smiled softly as her eyes fell onto the cute little kitty called Herodotus. A fine name, exactly the sort of name she would have expected from the History of Magic Professor. "This little fella is Jeger," She replied as she moved her hand to gently stroke the top of the Bengal's head. He purred slightly, looking pleased to be receiving some more attention again as he pushed his head further into her hand.

"Not at all, please," She replied, not minding if Zahid joined her as she tilted her head slightly to the floor to indicate that he should sit. She had briefly had the chance to get to know him during the BBQ held recently but that had been a rather crowded environment. Hjørdis had not brought Jeger along that day, for fear that he would get hurt near the grill or lake when she was not looking. Flipping burgers made things a little more difficult. Her attention would always be diverted to the food and safety hazards.

She lifted her hand for a moment from the kitten to tuck in a bookmark on the page she was at so she could lower the book for a bit. Placing it on the ground, she shifted slightly so there was space for him to lean against the tree too, if he wished to do so. Hjørdis particularly enjoyed having a backrest whilst reading but she had no idea what his preferences were so adjusted a little to allow him to choose.

As she moved, Jeger seemed to suddenly wake up. He had already been on standing up, leaning into her hand for more strokes or some cuddles but he seemed less sleepy all of a sudden. The Bengal Kitten carefully climbed down onto the ground, making his way over slowly to the new professor that had taken a seat. Jeger was definitely a curious kitten by nature. His first instinct was to figure out who this person - and other kitten - was. It was not often that Hjørdis spent time with other people, willingly, so the young kitten had not really had all that much experience with others around.

Seeing as Hjørdis did not mind, Zahid sat down leaning his back against the tree. He had to give it to her, she had chosen quite a nice spot to relax. “Jeger, hm? Quite the fitting name for the little one. Well, Jeger, it is nice to meet you.” Zahid greeted the kitten with a soft smile curled around his lips. “Dot is almost four months old now, I believe. What about him?,” he asked with a nod to Jeger.

Curiously he watched as the little one got up and made his way closer seemingly to inspect him – not that he could blame the kitten. He found himself surprised that Dot had not moved from his spot yet, although he had turned his little head towards the two and was watching Jeger's approach keenly. Idly, Zahid wondered if it was caution or curiosity (or laziness if he was perfectly honest) that kept Dot where he was for the moment. Scratching behind one of the little ones ears, he carefully extended his other hand to Jeger in case the kitten might want to sniff him before investigating properly.

Was it idle curiosity to wonder if he'd found somewhat of a kindred spirit in his colleague, given that she seemed to enjoy reading and had an apparent penchant for cats? He had not thought about it before but he realised that he missed having a friend to read with... or an acquaintance to read with, he supposed. Still, it might be a bit too early not to mention forward to contemplate such a thing as a friendship considering he had barely spoken to the Head of House before, given that he'd only seen her maybe once or twice outside staff meetings, if that. Yes, once again he was reminded that books were far easier to navigate than people – they carried far fewer societal expectations and such. Shaking off such musings, Zahid returned to observing the kittens.

Herodotus might be slightly surprised that his human sat down near the other human – so far he had not met any of his human's friends yet. He almost certainly noticed that the other human clearly belonged to the other cat however, so he would not have to worry about that cat having any designs on his human. The kitten cocked his head slightly to watch both the human and the cat. He would wait out the other one. Staring at his approach, Dot was possibly wondering if the other cat would turn out to be a rival or a friend... He would most likely prefer the latter, fighting with some of the other cats back at the place he'd found his human in [Magical Menagerie] had been far too much work.

Hjørdis smiled and nodded. She was very pleased with the name. It was a strong Norwegian name that had been selected with the help of her favourite naming seer. Though she did not get the name approved because she thought names had to be checked by seers. Rather, she did it because this particular naming seer also happened to be her close personal friend. She trusted her friend's ability and opinion so it made sense to approach her about this. "Oh? About the same as Jeger then. He's around seven months old," Hjørdis replied. From what the shopkeeper told her, Jeger was born early January.

She watched the little kitten eyeing up the man and his pet. Jeger slowly walked around Zahid a little, keeping a bit of distance. It would appear that he was trying to suss the man out from every angle. His gaze flickered between him and Dot often, watching them both. After a few moments, he glanced back to Hjørdis, as though to confirm she was still present before looking back to Zahid and taking a little step closer. "Ah, he might climb on you..." She warned Zahid softly as she watched Jeger, starting to understand what he was like.  She would assume Zahid did not mind too much, given that he seemed to like cats but she felt the need to warn him nonetheless. If Dot happened to react badly to that then at least he would have the chance to say something so she could stop Jeger before it was too late.

Jeger certainly was a curious one. He was very active too, despite his young age. Being young, he seemed to still be finding his bearings. She had never seen him venture too far from her. In a way, he was a little like a curious child. He would wander off but then keep looking back to make sure she was still close by, never straying too far away. Hjørdis imagined this would soon change. As he grew up, she expected him to rush off on adventures on his own. But for now, he was still finding his feet in the world. 

The Bengal took a couple of steps towards Zahid, gazing at Dot nestled up on him. He lifted a paw slowly, reaching out with it as though he wanted to stroke the other kitten but made no move to do so. His paw just hovered in the air a bit. His actions were slow, his eyes were full of curiosity. Hjørdis could not help but watch him, wondering what he would do and how Dot would react to it. 

Smiling slightly at Jeger, Zahid watched his approached. “Ah, I won’t mind and I’m sure Dot won’t either, will you, Dot?” Scratching his little one’s ear, he chuckled at Jeger’s almost human gesture of reaching a paw toward Dot. Was the cat mirroring him, after all he had just extended a hand to the kitten in case it wanted to sniff him before coming closer.

He focused on the two cats, just in case of Herodotus reacting badly to the company though he doubted he would. After all, Jeger was adorable (if not as adorable as Dot himself). To him, Dot seemed merely curious if a bit wary in response to the other cat. Not wary in an aggressive way but in that he would not approach the other first.

Herodotus stared at the other kitten as it came a few steps closer and lifted a paw. He sniffed. He did not react aversely to the other cat's smell. And unlike some of the cats in his former home – or some of the other creatures there from what little Zahid had seen when he'd bought him – it didn’t make his fur stand up, so the kitten had probably decided that he would treat him as a potential friend and not rival – as long as he didn’t try to steal his human. But as the other kitten seemed more interested in meeting him than meeting his human… Dot carefully stuck his head out of his nest to get a bit closer to the other kitten and attempted to lick his extended paw in greeting.

Hjørdis smiled and nodded, pleased to have met another person who likes cats as much as she did. His own kitten was sweet - though she was biased enough to say she preferred her own. She watched as Jeger continued to slowly extend his paw towards the other kitten, who moved his own head closer and licked the paw. Lowering his paw, he gently moved a bit closer and attempted to nuzzle the other kitten's face a little. It was the same sort of thing Hjørdis would do to him, gently nuzzling his face with her nose. She could not help but giggle, noticing how quickly Jeger seemed to be picking up human habits. He seemed rather curious and always eager to learn. She liked it. He was sort of similar to her, in a way, which was probably what attracted them to each other.

"Well, they certainly look like they are going to get along." She spoke, pleased to see that Jeger might have made a friend. He seemed to like the other kitten. Glancing up towards the other professor, she decided to make some attempts to get to know him better, "How are you finding Hogwarts so far? You did not graduate from here, did you?" She asked to confirm her thoughts. As far as she knew, a few of the professors did not graduate from Hogwarts. She was one of them too. "May I ask what you did before?" She asked, out of curiosity, wondering what his background was and how he became the History of Magic professor at Hogwarts.

Zahid watched as the two kittens interacted. Dot seemed a bit taken aback as the other one nuzzled his face. The kitten froze momentarily and it seemed like his fur bristled before he relaxed again apparently having decided that the second kitten – Jeger, was it? - was not a threat. While he did not reciprocate, Dot held still and made a small snuffling noise, scenting the other kitten.

Content that the two kittens would be fine he turned to answer the Head of House's questions. “So it seems. I must say, they look adorable together.” Not that Herodotus was not adorable by himself. “Hogwarts had been interesting so far. It's been a bit of a struggle, joining so late in the year. But I think I handled it as well as could be. Well, at least I hope so. At the very least, the students did not complain.” It had been a bit of a mess, figuring out where things stood, how far each class had progressed in the syllabus. But then, that was normal when teachers changed mid-year, or professors mid-semester for that matter.

“Indeed, I did not go to Hogwarts or any of the other big schools, for that matter.” Of those, Uagadou would have been closest but that had not been in the cards. He did not think his school had even had a name if he was honest. “Did you graduate from this school?” He asked. He wondered how many of the teachers here had also attended the school. It was far from rare for people to return to their alma mater. He had done the same at first after all.

“Ah. I used to teach history at a Muggle university.” Until after the war that is. But well, he supposed it could not be helped. Life was what happened while people were busy making other plans and so on. So even if he would have liked to stay that had not happened. He still missed it – thinking back made him feel a bit nostalgic or melancholic even – but he did not regret the path his life had taken. “But lately I had been travelling.”