Fic Snippet: Uncle Meowpheus
In her defense, Rose was very new to this fame business.
She hadn't expected her first book to do so well, let alone the sequel. It helped that she had the actual Prince of Stories challenging her when she felt stuck or tempted to tapdance past a particularly difficult scene or plot point. That imperiously raised eyebrow was like a challenge she couldn't resist. And then, she found herself writing the next few scenes without any issue.
And of course, King Somnio was a joy of a character to write and if she indulged in a few in-jokes at her Uncle Dream's expense, then that was just a bonus? In fact, Calliope herself blessed those efforts and laughed loudest at the "wet of cat" line, to the point of tears.
Today, Rose was on her way to class - Professor Gadling's lecture today promised to be very interesting - when she was joined by a magnificent-looking black cat. She reacted as any sensible person would.
"Awww! Hello, meow! Where'd you come from?"
"The Dreaming, although if one must be perfectly truthful, I did walk all the way here from the New Inn. It's a rather lovely day, isn't it?"
Rose was very proud that she did not scream. It was a near thing, though. Coherence was, unfortunately, not something she could manage at the moment. "Uncle Dream?!!! Cat?!! You?!! OMG?"
"Calm yourself, my dear Rose. Yes, it is I. And yes, sometimes, I am a Cat. The King of Cats, to be precise."
"How?!! Why?!!" Rose was rather glad that they seemed to be alone at the moment because she really needed to sit down. There was a nearby bench that she thankfully sank into. Her ridiculous feline Uncle gracefully leapt on the bench to sit beside her, fluffy tail curling elegantly about his legs. Naturally, he treated that bench like it was his throne.
"I must confess that everyone's daydreams seem to be a little... loud these days, especially when I walk amongst them in my human form." If it was possible for a cat to sigh, then Uncle Dream certainly managed it. "It is a trifle disconcerting, to attract so much attention."
Rose blinked. "Attention? What do you mean by that?"
"It is no concern - it will pass, as these things tend to do, eventually. I would much rather follow the daydreams of the one dearest to me." Mischief glinted in those unearthly blue eyes, that now held the slightest bit of feline gold. "They are far more... interesting."
Rose snorted. "I'm gonna stop you right there, Uncle Dream, before you go into TMI territory. Does Professor G know that you can turn into a cat?"
"No." That was a very definite feline smirk. "This should prove most amusing."
"Great, good to know your husband has charge of the brain cell today. Please try not to break our professor, Uncle Dream, we still need him to teach us, y'know?"
"I shall send Matthew your regards as he is indeed with Hob right now. And alas, I make no promises about breakages. But I shall wait after his class for that." Dream hopped off the bench. "Shall we?"
Rose shook her head and groaned. "How is this my life?"
On the bright side, Rose was glad that Dream had graciously allowed everyone's favorite history Professor to complete his lectures for the day in peace. It must be noted, however, that Robert Gadling did emerge from his office at the end of the day looking very rumpled and quite dazed. His husband, "Thomas Murphy," was wearing an expression that could only be called "cat-that-got-the cream."
Rose absolutely refused to think about this any further.
