So sweet, little Kitzy's

[ameliagreyson]

Having finished her normal rounds within the confines of the Lab, Amelia headed into what she jokingly refereed to as her private sanctum. The group of rooms was once used as extra storage but she had them convert the smallest of them into her little pet project area. It was enough space for the few cages that held various feral cats and dogs. Through the years that had become scarce and sickly. If they could create a better human that would be hardy and endure why could not the same be done with animals. Granted she had met with more failure then success in the beginning.

~~~~

Amelia sat patiently still next to the lab table and waited as Knezel one of her female hybrids gave birth to her second litter. The exam room was quiet and still except for the occasional mewl of the kitzy This would be her second litter since she had began splicing the delicate strands of feline DNA with that of the more hardier desert reptiles, that not even a holocaust had been able to kill completely.

She reached in and stroked the soft fur and scales of Knezel as she pushed forth each new life. After several hours four new Kitzy's were struggling to find their momma's milk. "Perfect little darlings my sweet" She cooed softly, praising a job well done.

The labor had gone well enough, with no losses this time. Amelia took off her exam gloves and started making notes upon her board. The soft scratch of the pencil on paper inter mingled with the newborn's plaintive mews.

She looked back into the birthing crate and smiled down at the dark grey and black little ones. Each a variation of their mother and father. Pity they had to put him down. He had become a might bit feral after the last injection of plasma. She had great hopes these would be the start of a new and stronger breed that would not die off before their first year.

Her attention was drawn to the last little one that was born and she chuckled softly to herself. It appeared to have more then five toes on each of it's front paws. Most interesting she thought and gently picked the little one up to exam it closer.

"My, my what a beautiful Kitzy you are. You shall be called Mistoffelees." She told the little bundle of fur and scales. Gently she placed it back down next to it's mother and watched them for a time. Amelia sighed and pulled herself away and moved off to check on the other specimens in the lab. She was most pleased with the way things were going and hopped to have at least three more litters before the week was out.

Once satisfied with everything within her lab area she ended up at her desk to write up the latest report documenting her progress. A soft smile of satisfaction played across her face. With a graceful hand she tucked a lose strand of her hair behind her ear and finished her task.

[Necalli Meztli]

Necalli was not settling into New Vegas particularly well. He wasn't sleeping properly and he was constantly agitated. Waiting was not something he was good at but timing was everything in his project. Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night and seven decades of searching might at last bear fruit. He had everything he needed and Thor had finally given his blessing to it, though not without a great many conditions.

He wandered through the lab he had been assigned. Everything he had brought with him and all the research material that had been shipped from Brazil was still stood around in its packing crates. Necalli had not yet had suficient reason to unpack it. If things did not go well tomorrow it was unlikely that he would be welcome to stay in the Lab and if things went badly he would be beyond worrying about packing or unpacking.

There was nothing much he could be doing here anyway yet; he was just killing time, trying to keep himself distracted until tomorrow. With a sigh he wandered out into the connecting corridors to head back up into the city, but he was quickly intrigued by a soft but insistent mewling sound. A cat? Were there even such things left? He changed direction and headed towards the sound quickly reaching another laboratory area.

Amelia Greyson was the name that neatly labelled the door of the office adjoining the mewling lab and overcome with curiousity he knocked lightly.

[ameliagreyson]

Tucking her hair once more behind her ear she sighed softly. The lab had gone quiet except for the mewling of her little dears. She glanced over at them and wondered how the adoption day she was planning would go. It would be ever so nice to get them all into good homes. Amelia returned to the paper work and finished up the last of the reports.

Amelia soon had all the notes filed into the right folders and did one more check on Knezel, her litter was curled up into little balls of fluff about her. Every thing was just right. She started to turn away from the cages. A faint little squeak had her turn back to the grey kitten she'd picked up earlier. His eyes were slitted shut but seemed to be fluttering in attempts to open. So strong. Hardiness was what she was aiming for at least. After several moments of watching him just a little more, she moved back to her desk.

She wondered about heading out for a bit of nourishment when someone knocked at her door. "Come in, it's open." She called out and turned in her chair to see just who else was working as late as she was this evening. Dawn was a few hours off yet, and she had not been above ground since coming down tonight. Work had as usual wrapped it's little paws about her heart and kept her from other things.

Her once tidy bun of hair was slipping and with a deft hand she had it back to rights in blink of an eye. Personal vanity was not something she had in abundance but, if it was a visitor she thought it best to be more presentable. A quick look at her lab coat relieved her of worry that she was a mess. It did happen more then not though that she forgot to pay attention to such details. She'd given her blood slave a proper fright upon several occasions when she did forget. He was often to squeamish about such trivial things.

[Necalli Meztli]

Hearing the invitation to enter Necalli opened the door and stepped inside. He moved silently and with a grace that was exceptional even amongst vampires. Cal did not particularly look like a scientist or researcher; in fact he looked about as ungeeklike as it was possible to be. He was wearing an elegant white silk suit so clearly he was dressed for the city rather than lab-work. The fine cut of his clothing however did not disguise the sharply defined musculature that rippled beneath it nor did his long jacket entirely conceal the glassy black sword that hung from his waist. No, Cal was definitely not a geek.

The door swung closed behind him as he moved into the office with all the poise of a great cat. Stopping before her desk as she turned towards him he bowed his head respectfully. New to the city he might be but he wasn't an idiot; he had sensibly familiarised himself with both the Laws and the ruling Magistracy of New Vegas prior to his arrival and the newly appointed Councilwoman was thus known to him. “Magistrate Amelia Greyson,” he greeted her, his voice soft and lilting with his rich South American accent. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” His pale green eyes met hers and he smiled.

“Please forgive my presumption, but did I really just hear a cat in here?” Belatedly he realised that he might have been too direct and that he had not given her his name; the authorization badge clipped to his lapel was as yet a temporary one and did not contain such information. “I do apologise, I have been distracted and have it seems no manners at all tonight,” he chuckled in mild embarrassment. ”I am Necalli Meztli. I hope to be studying some archaeological artefacts here shortly.”

[ameliagreyson]

Amelia glanced at the male that entered into her area. Her eyes glanced over his outfit and rested a moment at the sword? Did he honestly have a sword. Tilting her head slightly to the side, her brow quirked as he addressed her as Magistrate. A title she had not had time enough to get used to quiet yet. His voice was soft and beautifully cultured. "A pleasure to meet you as well. Please, I'm not so formal in the lab. Just Amelia if it would please." She added with a kind smile up at him as he came to a stop at her desk.

"Yes, there are several in fact. Though I would not venture to call them cats any longer." Amelia added with a soft chuckle of her own. Amelia rose from her chair and flicked a hand down her skirt smoothing out a wayward wrinkle. It brushed against her boot clad ankles with a quiet whisper. "No need for that Sir, ah; well welcome then to the labs. I'm sure we shall see each other once in a while then."

She was mostly certain that the labs he would be occupying were on the same level as her lab. At least she would no longer be quiet so alone in the pursuit of scientific inquiry. A loud mewl came from one of the cages and she could hardly suppress the smile that blossomed on her lips. "Would you care to see the Kitzy's as we call them. Sadly normal cats and dogs have been dying and I've been attempting to breed something with a little more endurance. The results have been unique." She offered as another plaintive mew came from Knezle the kitzy whom had just given birth to several new kitzy's

[Edward Dalton]

((hit and run))

Edward ran through the hallways of the lab. His lab was in section 5 so he had to take an elevator to section 3, where he would finally, he hoped get what he had been waiting for. He smiled brightly at the other scientists who were looking at him like he was crazy. He didn’t understand why they were looking at him like that but it didn’t matter, he was excited.

When he finally reached the door to Amelia’s lab he fell into the door panting. “S..s…sorry, “ he panted, gasping for air, “To interrupt, but…you said…he would be ready.” He sputtered. He suddenly stopped and looked at his hands then wiped his brow and looked at the perspiration on his hand, “Whoops!” he exclaimed and laughed, “So that’s why they were looking at me funny, I’ve transformed again.” His smiled quickly faded, “Oh…not good….spontaneous transformation…” he muttered and took out a notepad and began writing, “No, no, not good at all.” He completely forgot why he was there and turned around while writing on his notepad.

Edward began to walk away then stopped, “Why was I here?” he asked himself and scratched his head, blinking. Suddenly he remembered, “OH!” he turned back around and hurried back to the doorway, “Um Dr. Greyson, pardon my appearance, but you said that Fargo would be ready to take home today?” he inquired about the little derg who was the only survivor out of a litter of ten. He had been promised the pup when he fell in love with it on first site, and it with him. Up until now, he was just too young to take home but today was his 8 week birthday. He glanced at the other scientist…”New guy huh?” he asked, “Dr. Edward Dalton, pleased to meet you.” He nodded and reached his hand to shake Necalli’s and realized it was shaking.

He froze, staring at his hand for a second, “Oh dear, that’s not good…” he took out his notebook and began to write, “Suspect low blood sugar…” he looked at this watch, “time unknown with spontaneous transformation…” his stomach growled angrily, “I…I think I’m hungry.” He looked into the distance with a confused yet thoughtful look on his face, “Odd sensation really…it’s been so long…” he turned and wandered away, completely forgetting why he came in the first place. He turned one last time, "Do you remember why I was here?...no..." he answered himself and continued on in the pursuit of food.

[Necalli Meztli]

Necalli saw the way the magistrate's eyes moved over him, taking in all the details of his appearance. It made him glad he had taken the time and effort to maintain a proper appearance despite his frustrations and anxieties since arriving in the city, even if it had been half done just to keep himself occupied. He knew he was not dressed for work in the lab, he had simply come down to check on the last delivery of crates and ensure that they were all accounted for. Introducing himself to the other staff was not something he had anticipated doing until after tomorrow but the sound of cats had piqued his curiosity.

Amelia's eyes lingered on the glassy-black obsidian short-sword that he carried and he sensed her surprise. He knew that there was nothing in the city laws that prohibited his carrying the weapon, he had checked given that with most of his field research being out in the wastes it was his habit to never be without it. Cal had worked his way through a number of the swords over the last handful of decades; obsidian was razor sharp but it could also be quite brittle. Still, he was perfectly adept at crafting them anew and he had never found anything else to be superior for dispatching a zombie with the minimum of effort or mess.

“Amelia,” he smiled at her. “Then you should call me Cal.” He raised a brow curiously as another loud mewl came from the lab area. “It would be a privilege and a pleasure to view your work.” he chuckled. “I have been saddened by the loss of so much of the magnificent fauna from these continents over the last centuries. It would be a marvel and a joy if you were able to save even some small remnant of them.” Cal was entirely genuine in his sentiment. Whilst he had once or twice caught a glimpse of eagles soaring high above, he had not laid eyes on a jaguar in what seemed like an eternity.

It was at that moment that the door flew open and a human burst in. Necalli was momentarily startled, stepping back lightly on the balls of his feet as he slid into a perfectly poised fighting stance and reached instinctively for the hilt of his sword. It took only a fraction of a second longer for him to realise that there was no threat here and to relax again into a mere cautious puzzlement as the man began to babble. Spontaneous transformation? Necalli stared at him as if he expected him to suddenly sprout another head or something equally dramatic.

His eyes caught sight of the security badge the man wore; he was a vampire? It was incomprehensible! The man looked and smelled human; his heart was racing and he was sweating. How could he possibly be anything but human? Cal was too baffled to immediately respond to the man's introduction and by the time he offered his hand the peculiar Dr. Dalton had already withdrawn his own and begun another round of scribbled note-taking. Cal looked at Amelia, his expression clearly asking if this was somehow, explicable or usual or possibly merely if it were safe or sane...

[ameliagreyson]

Cal's smile was rather nice she noted before nodding. "Cal it is then. We've had some success with the farms bring most plants back but sadly its the animals that are suffering more at the moment. This new breed.. we've taken to calling Kitzy's and Dergs. Only blending the species with another brings a bout a favorable result and a longer life. Though they are no longer quiet the same. " She went on to explain at great length as she guided him over to where the cages were. Knezel mewed loudly and was brushing her half fur and scaled back along the bars of her confinement area.

Her littler of kitzy's were doing quiet well. The door opened and she turned to see Edward Dalton enter in. Though he looked to be rather moist. Was that sweat upon his face? If a jaw could drop and hit the floor; Amelia's would have resounded with a loud thump. Edward came rushing in all higgledy piggledy and she gaped at him. This was so not the normal for him. She'd never seen him in such a state of dishabille. "He's.. just sleeping." she managed before Edward turned himself about again. Hurriedly taking notes and muttering about transformation? Did she just hear that right.

He abruptly introduced himself to her visitor and she blinked confused. What the devil had gotten into him. Amelia started to step forward as he began to take notes and then he started up with more inconsistent babbling. This time about being hungry? "Dr. Dalton.. perhaps you should.. " She didn't get a chance to finish before he was out the door again. He'd not even gotten to see Fargo. Taking a redundant breath more just to sooth her own self then really breath. even as old as she was, some human habits were just hard to break. Amelia was torn between dashing after Edward and leaving her company.

She glanced back at Cal to see what his take on this was. His expression was priceless. Amelia bit her lip slightly to keep from laughing aloud. "I fear that Dr. Dalton is not quiet himself at the moment... " She let that sentence trail off as she searched for even a remotely plausible excuse as to what the man was up to and had none. She was still quiet shocked herself actually, and hopped he had not done anything that would cause himself harm. As soon as she could she would find him and see if she could help him. Yes, that is exactly what she would do.

[Necalli Meztli]

“Kitzys and Dergs...” Cal murmured, clearly intrigued by the whole idea. He listened diligently to Amelia's explanation though the more technical details were far beyond him, his knowledge of biochemistry being rather limited. Of course 'limited' was a relative term when one had been around for half a millennia and shown the slightest inclination towards sciences of any kind.

Amelia seemed more baffled than afraid by Dr Dalton's strange appearance and behaviour. It was in fact his lack of decorum more than anything that had her flustered if he was reading the situation aright. He carefully mentally filed away what had been said regarding transformation for any future encounters with the Doctor. Necalli's work involved a very precise attention to detail and that manifest in every aspect of his nightly routines.

He realised then that Amelia was staring at him again. Her eyes were sparkling with humour and it occurred to him that his expression and demeanour must look a little strange for him to have so amused her. Necalli certainly felt a little out of place in the Lab, it was not an environment he was particularly well suited for unlike his preferences of field work, which though hazardous was certainly satisfying to him.

However, it took the wonders of science to crack the mysteries of history and so laboratory work had been something he had needed to add to his repertoire. Seismic readings, carbon dating and electron scanning were more the direction his skill-set had turned though, not this biological jigsaw puzzle that Amelia seemed to have found new and innovative methods of reassembling. Necalli's idea of biology was the anatomy of killing blows.

Whilst Amelia was staring after the retreating figure of Dr Dalton, obviously internally torn as to the proper course of action to take regarding the odd encounter, Cal politely busied himself looking into the various habitats she had been indicating to him a few moments earlier. The Kitzy that seemed to be her current favourite did not seem to like Cal being so close and hissed at him arching itself protectively over its young.

Cal smiled a little at the reaction; the small creature clearly knew a predator when it saw one and was prepared to fight for its offspring. He had always admired wild and spirited creatures and withdrew from the crate to allow the creature to care for its litter. He had glanced with similar results into a few other crates when he noticed one set off to one side that was rattling furiously. Curiosity again piqued he approached the crate to find it was sturdy and securely fastened.

Peering inside his curiosity was met by a hissing, spitting ball of scales, fur and claws as it hurled itself again at the side of the crate causing the rattling he had noticed. The small creature picked itself up, shook itself off and proceeded to repeat the performance another twice before he could contain his laughter no more and began to guffaw at its belligerent antics. He stuck his fingers experimentally through the grill and sure enough the small creature pounced and began a determined gnawing on them.

He looked over to Amelia who was looking at him with some concern now, before he lifted the clipboard from its slot on the side of the crate and scanned the last page of notes. The dam had it seemed not survived the birth of her litter and the little monster growling fiercely at him having been unable to make an impression on his finger had promptly killed its two litter-mates and proceeded to attack anything that entered the crate. A few more tests and the creature would be euthanised.

Necalli crouched down so he could look directly into the kitzy's bright green eyes and growled softly at it. The tiny creature looked momentarily stunned. “Kan holcan onen” he murmured to it. This was a fortuitous night indeed; he had obviously been meant to find this creature. He rose to his feet again to address Amelia. “I should very much like to possess this beast if it is no hardship to your research, Amelia.” he requested softly as the kitzy again exploded into its violent escape attempts, rocking the crate quite noticably.

[ameliagreyson]

Amelia worried the soft inner layer of her lip a moment more. What the devil had Mr. Dalton gotten into, spontaneous transformation, sweating.. Her brain boggled the many different possibilities each more unlikely then the last. Alright she fiddled with altering DNA of animals, had he tried to do the same with vampires and humans? A cold chill of fear skittered down her spine, at the very thought.

Knezels hiss drew her attention sharply back to the man in her lab. Now was not the time to fret over the errant ways of Mr. Dalton. Surely he had not done anything as drastic as she was assuming. At least Amelia hoped he had not. She moved over to him just as he rose up and inquired as to the little hell cat, Diablo as she had lovingly dubbed him. Much as she loved his beautiful markings she feared he was not going to make it out of the lab.

Concern bloomed within her chest. "Cal? Are you certain? Nothing we've tried has improved his temperament. He attacks everything that moves." She added feeling at a loss. While beautiful this little one was extremely dangerous. She had begun to fear that if he was kept longer he would escape and potentially harm the humans that dwelt within the city. Should he do that and the council get wind of it, she would be hard pressed to keep the lab open. Her beloved creatures would come to a abrupt end.

"I fear what his release would bring." She admitted softly. Her instincts were conflicted. Cal would be able to handle the little terror. She'd noticed that several times Diablo had stilled and seemed to listen or size up the vampire before it. That spoke volumes to her. It was the fear of what it would do if by chance it could escape him that caused her the most concern. He was subject for two more shots of a distemper serum. It had brought about a positive change in some of the creatures. Not making them meek by any means but certainly not as feral as this.

"If after his next shots he shows some calming.. I would be more then happy to place him in your care. Perhaps coming in the next week to familiarize him with you might even help." She offered instead. It pained her that there was the possibility the kitzy would be put down, but something about the way the kitzy regarded Cal made her think otherwise. Even in his attempts to escape now. She could see his eyes trained mostly on the man before the cage.

[Necalli Meztli]

“I am quite positive.” he smiled reassuringly at her rather lost expression. “I am no stranger to wild things, Amelia; their wildness is rarely without purpose.” He glanced down again at the kitzy, meeting its bright and fierce little eyes, and the kitzy stared back at him unblinking. “He has a warrior spirit” Cal said softly. “Hoy holcan.” he murmured to the kitzy again. He stuck his finger back through the grill and waggled it about some but the kitzy refused to be baited and sat just out of reach growling fiercely at it.

Cal laughed again then as he withdrew his fingers. “He learns quickly; I do not think I will have any problem teaching him what is acceptable. I think he needs only a disciplined hand.” He smiled again at Amelia as he took her hand in his. “I thank you for this opportunity, Amelia. Your work here is truly remarkable. I should be pleased to drop by as often as you think would be of use. This little one is a treasure and I will do as you please to claim him. My work here has not yet begun and it would be no hardship to me.”

Fondly he smiled down again at the kitzy who was peering up at them now curiously. “He reminds me of another creature I possessed long ago...” Cal mused. Shaking off the revere he returned his attention to Amelia. “I had been just on my way out to feed; would you care to join me?”

[ameliagreyson]

With a slight tilt of her head she gauged his words and found herself nodding. A warrior spirit. Somehow she felt that like had found like. He would be kind to the feisty terror of the lab. While reluctant to let any of her pets go, she knew that they would all be found good homes in time.

Dalton's derg let loose with a loud long whine of a yawn that had her chuckling softly. Fargo would have a good home as well, though her concern with his owner was brought him back to the forefront of her thoughts once more. She had no clue what the man had gotten up to with his experiments and was worried more so then she originally let on. Not only that, but she held a smaller tender of feeling for the errant vampire.

"It is my pleasure Cal, I'm sure you will be just what he needs to guide him. You'll forgive my doubts though as he has been such a terror. It is hard to unleash a potential danger upon what remains of the world. As well as the repercussions he may well incur should he cause a issue." She added hoping he would understand. It wasn't that she wanted to deny anyone an animal. She just hoped that it wouldn't bite her in the ass later.

At his invite to join him to feed she shook her head. "I'm sorry but I really must track down Mr. Dalton and see if there is something I can assist him with. I am concerned about his irrational behaviors. Another night perhaps would be better if the invitation will remain open?"

[Necalli Meztli]

He nodded his understanding of her concerns, though he had no doubts after staring into the creature's eyes that it would do well in his care. It was perhaps for the best that Amelia did not wish to release the kitzy just yet. Cal needed to prepare himself for the coming hunt and the small creature would require considerable attention as it adjusted to him, attention that he could not really afford to divide right now. Still, he had made his interest in the creature known and need not fear that it would be destroyed whilst other matters held his focus.

His hunger gnawed sharply at his stomach, reminding him that he needed considerably more than the few ounces of blood that would normally maintain a vampire's health. His remaining blood-slaves were mostly exhausted from the long journey to New Vegas and his poor sleep had considerably increased his needs. He required to feed quite substantially in the city tonight and whilst company would have been a very pleasant diversion from his concerns it would certainly proceed faster without.

“Of course,” Cal responded with a smile. “Whenever it is convenient for you it would be my pleasure.” He raised her hand to his lips and brushed a light kiss onto the back of it. “I shall bid you goodnight now Amelia, for I anticipate having much to do tomorrow night and will need to be well prepared for it. I look forward to our next encounter.” Cal bowed his head politely and took his leave, well pleased with how the evening was progressing so far. As the door closed behind him the kitzy took up a determined and angry yowling.

[ameliagreyson]

It was odd but wonderful to her the bond that was forming right before her eyes. Procedure sometimes was strictly regimented. She genuinely returned his smile and her eyes grew soft at the chivalrous kiss he placed upon her hand. "I as well. If you need anything or have any questions that I may be able to help with please feel free to stop by any time. I'm here most evenings late or close to sunrise."
She added and watched his retreating back for a moment before the kitzy started up with a raucous that rivaled any other he'd had thus far. The yowling pierced her already sensitive hearing and she frowned.

"Well if you weren't such a terror and behaved I would have given you to him straight away. It's really up to you little one. If you wish to go with Cal you best behave." She told the animal so matter of factually that it meowed a purr like noise before yowling mournfully once more. She threw up her hands in surrender and moved away from the little kitzy. One way or another it would settled down and find peace within it's self. Amelia had a sneaky suspicion that Cal was going to have a vary large roll in it too. It was not often that she got to see pets and potential owners click. Smiling at her thoughts she hurried to tidy up her desk and do once last round of checks on all the cages.

She stopped at Dalton's derge Fargo and gave him a bit of extra attention. "Sorry lad, he will be back in and you may go to your new forever home with him. I promise." She whispered as she soothed a finger over the smooth scales between Fargo's ears. The little pup licked at her fingers and yipped softly making her chuckle. He was such a cutie. Now to find his would be owner.

Amelia hung her lab coat up on the coat stand by the door before shutting off the lights and leaving. Once the door clicked shut she moved off and headed to where Mr. Dalton's work area. She did hope that he'd not done something harmful to himself. It was one thing to experiment on human/mutants or animals for the sake of science and progress but another all together to try it on one's self she thought.