Mars Callifatan

Mars Callifatan, male, human (non-Earthprime)

Age .... unknown, appears to be early 30s, late 20s depending on mood

Light skin, blond, short hair, blue eyes

Profession - Admin One, planar control (administrative work, filing, investigation, legal, identification/personal, ID/plane, direction sense, Planar development, Planar access)

***

Ever since Mars got back from The End last time, slumming it with kath and (regrettably, regrettably*) Kitty, he had (a good case of the hives developing) the strange feeling that he was being watched. His instincts might have been a bit off what with all the cat hair in his eyes already. But he had a feeling and that was good enough for him. He decided that he needed to clear his head - literally and figuratively - and headed out again. He grabbed a Starbucks, and then hit another local coffee outfit for his second cup.

He wound up plane hopping around Pilons for a good two hours, at first desperately seeking a world which had no cats (no dice, sorry Mars, they all have cats**) and then seeking a good stiff drink. This was getting weirder by the minute, he felt almost as though Max were still around. Fortunately for him, Max had secured herself a ticket to being chased down by Dems deFachs - and Mars didn't mess with Dems. Not since that one time.

He swigged back a drink, then another, and started listening in to a chatty bunch of people gathered around the bar's nearby pool table. They were talking about a party they were to attend shortly, but didn't have a good off-plane connection with their portal device. Mars stood up, sized them up through slightly drunk eyes, and loudly offered to take them, if he could check out their party.

They were thrilled - and young, not so much underage but clearly the next age-bracket down from Mars. (Well, as much as Mars aged, which he didn't, and hadn't for a long, long time, because that was one of the perks of being an Admin among the planes, you could pretty much stay ageless and immortal as long as you held the post.) Among them were a pair of twins, boy and girl, who both latched on to him instantly. They seemed kind of familiar, but then in his buzzed haze, he didn't even care.

They went out to the parking lot, where it wasn't just cars that they had - it was dragons. "Why'd'ya need me, you have dragonssss," Mars said. The effects of the drinks he'd had started plunging through his brain just about the time they started heading toward another universe.

The twins and their friends would easily have gotten more lost than ever without even a drunk Mars to guide them to their destination. It was a good party, on an isolated plane filled with weird color-twisty skies and loud music (though that might just have been speakers and a good lightshow, Mars wasn't actually sure - and certainly didn't care). He danced with a bunch of people, and continued to take the drinks they offered.

Finally exhausted, or at least tired of standing and dancing, Mars headed over to the bar nearby, and let his head swim pleasantly. He could take a good alcohol romp, he was no lightweight but he also had been really moving around and getting himself pumped. The local bunch of folks plied him with more drinks, and asked him to join their game.

They were placing wagers, of some kind. Mars eagerly went into their group, swaggered around a bit, and apparently - passed out cold within a few minutes.

* regrettably, regrettably - Mars regrets having to regret...

** cats and dogs exist on every world which has sentient life, and many which don't

Later.....

Why was he here again?

Mars squinted at the sun, then back down at Akelara. Several fuzzballs that looked suspiciously like large kittens scampered across the green common area enclosed by the sweeping arms of the Clan complex.

Why.. was.. he.. here..

He rubbed at his head. There was something lurking in the corners of his mind. Something about a party, and drinking, and a...

Dare? A dare to do... what?

Sighing, Mars trudged across the grass towards the complex, past the darting kittens -- winged kittens at that! -- and the exasperated looking adults of several races, heading towards the main entrance, where he could at least get out of the su--

THWUMP!

Mars yelped, shoving whatever-it-was off of him, hands coming into contact with silky fur as he swiftly rolled to one side and stared up at the winged kitten that grinned down at him. He could feel his eyes already begin to tear in reaction.

Rtar lays claim! the kitten grinned as he chirruped happily, laying a paw on Mars' chest. Rtar goes home with jumpy man!

"I never agreed to that!" Mars snapped, eyes sparking.

Rtar purred, rubbing his chin on Mars' chest, Did sooooo! Rtar was told so!

Mars groaned, putting his head in his hands. He'd figure out what was going on later... as soon as he got away from the cursed winged cat!

***

He would never quite forgive himself for going to that bar. Never.

Nev. Er.

Rtar prowled his home - his home where he lived! - and got fur simply everywhere. But Mars could actually take this in stride, bringing in a couple mages who regularly 'cleaned' the air. He thought seriously about asking the Night Guy to come and do it better, because he was after all a time lord and had powers way beyond some magics. But the Night Guy was still none too friendly toward him, not after even all this time. kath had forgiven him almost instantly for having tried to take over her Planes, but some folks just didn't. Dems was one of them, though he was more mercenary in his friendships versus his jobs - and if Mars needed him to do something, Dems was someone he would try to afford. Even though he'd blackened Mars' eye.

He deserved that.

What he didn't deserve was this ... quickly growing kitten thing, rampaging through his house!

Rtar is not rampaging! Rtar is surveying his belongings!

"They're my belongings! This is my house!" Mars yelled, sneezed, and then flopped down hard onto the light blue couch. "Oh what's the use. You're going to have your run of the place anyway."

Rtar will need to be outside, there are places too small here now. Rtar liked the little spaces behind warm blocks. But they are small, Rtar is bigger.

"You... yeah you used to hide behind the fridge." Mars chuckled. The fact was, that Rtar, whatever he was, was growing pretty quickly. And elegant, when Mars could see through his watery eyes at the creature. He had to admit that there was a certain charm to the growing kit.

"Go outside, spread your wings, can you fly yet?" Mars asked. He hoped, perversely in the back of his mind, that this might get the creature to leave if he could fly away... But... that was not to happen either. The blue colored wingsails on the male's wings were really quite pretty, translucent.

Rtar is not strong enough yet. Rtar will practice.

He then proceeded to jump onto the roof of Mars' house...

***

"If only you could ride him," kath said, looking at Rtar while they stood on the Pier. "He's really big, like a Shire only .... slinky."

"Why couldn't you have gone there and found him then?" Mars said, thankful for the pure air of this Plane to clear up his sinuses if only for a moment. "I'm just happy he grooms himself. Constantly I might add," Mars said, "or I'd be stuck actually brushing him... and that just would not happen."

Rtar flew overhead, made one of those brilliant noises his kind were known for, a laugh that echoed over the sound of the sea.

"..... Tell me something I didn't know," kath said, chuckling. "You know he comes to others for grooming, right? Real grooming, not the kind you'd give." She made a mockery of his 'holding a brush and comb at arms length while sneezing and looking offended'. "Kitty brushes him all the time. Rtar knows that you can't touch him a lot. That's why he comes to us."

Mars stood with his jaw slack. ".... two years, you could have told me sometime?"

kath shrugged. "It was nothing, and it'll continue to be nothing, it's that Kitty doesn't quite know that you belong to him."

"I. Do not. Belong. To him." Mars said, "he latched on to me!"

"You are so not a cat person," kath laughed, "and yet you are a cat person through and through... denial isn't just a river in Egypt you know!" kath went over to help get the sand out of Rtar's mane and tail, and indicated Mars should at least come try it out himself.

"You don't have to worry - if you start breaking out, we'll just dump you in the ocean and clean you off." kath said.

"Oh that's reassuring..." Mars said. For once, though, he was able to put his hands on the Alevaharin and not feel like he was about to explode. Perhaps it had been the two years-plus he'd spent around the furry creature, but he was finally able to really get close. Rtar's head towered over the pair of humans, even though Mars was quite tall. The wind whipping around with salty air put more pressure on Mars' eyes than the fur did, at least for the time being.

"Don't think this means I'll be able to hang out with Kitty and her friends," Mars said, petting down Rtar to his delight.

***

Name: Rtar
Gender: Male
Color: Blue Roan (equine)
Fur length: long, silky
Height: 18 hands
Telepathy: 5
Empathy: 9
Powers: Equine, Northwest: 7
Personality snipet: Assertive, strong-willed, playful, daring

Note: Yup, Alevaharins are feline enough to trigger the allergies of people alergic to cats, no matter what their coloration. Same goes for those allergic to horses. Though because they're a mixture, it's likely the reaction will be less severe than when dealing with a full feline.

Mars kept fiddling with the magical totem-stone that he'd been given, he was told it would do its job well enough that he'd be fine.

Rtar will be right there! Rtar mentally announced, flying somewhere over Mars' home and then landing with a thud in the space outside where a big magical barrier had been set up. Mars wasn't normally this big on magic at all, but it was useful and since he did know a ton more mages than he thought he'd known, he might as well give them something to do.

That something was 'create a safe area for Rtar' at first. Mars' home was hardly in a busy district on this Plane of reality, in fact it was almost isolated but there was still a street, still other homes around. One just didn't necessarily see them. Plus, he wasn't exactly 'not' a mage himself. He knew magic, but it was something from his past, studied in his childhood and with gusto at that point, until he had to do that one summoning and it all turned rather on its side. He had graduated with honors the year before, but fell behind when he ... Well, never mind.

Mars used magic when it suited him. He was not an expert on a lot of things, but he could do bits.

The bits that he had done recently told him he was going to need more space.

So space it was - and space he got. The landing outside the back portion of his home was now a curved, pale blue 'ramp', which emulated the Pilons' powers - walking up or down it led you to different places. In this case, going up it went to a private area where Rtar had set up shop with bigger versions of house-like things (play areas, he was sure to want to stretch out or leap over things, lay under a shady spot, or whatnot - and where the sun came from, just don't ask). Heading down went right to the back yard.

Rtar headed down, and there was....

"Oh, you didn't," Mars mumbled. He knew there was no getting around this. There was another dragon in Rtar's paws.

Rtar did! Her name is Ini. She will like it here. She will like the warm spaces behind the boxes.

"Wait, wait, you mean she has to be inside? Why can't she be out there with you! I had that space made just for you!"

It is Rtar's space! The Alevaharin declared proudly.

Mars visibly deflated. "Meaning, of course," he said to himself as he concentrated on the magic-stone doing its job, "that I'm going to have to put one together for her, when she's big enough too..."

Ini wasn't much bigger than Rtar had been when he came to Mars. But she was very different indeed. With a shorter, fluffier coat, lighter in shade, and with clear soft markings, plus her wingsails were more solid leather. She had soft golden eyes, which looked at Mars with a mixture of delight and wonder.

"Hurrah!" She purred, startling him. "Home!" She lept into Mars' arms, inadvertently - he was never, ever the kind of person who expected anything to leap into his arms - nuzzled him warmly, butted her head against his chin, and giggled when he began to sneeze.

"This rock's not working," Mars gasped, "look, hold on, let me ... put you down here..." He gingerly placed the ball of fluff and leather onto an end table, where she skittered off and started exploring his house. Two inhaler bursts later, Mars was on the vidphone to one of those mages he'd tried to work with... They were too pricey, they warned him the cut-rate magic wasn't going to do it...

"I swear this is the last time I'm going to let you out of my sight," Mars said, muffled, because he was actually wearing a gas mask.

Rtar thinks you swear too much, the blasted thing thought with a gleeful trumpet.

Mars knew it was absolutely pointless to argue with him though. Ini had already slunk up and investigated, apparently whatever it was passed her inspection but would definitely have to keep off of her spots in the back yard. He was the right color at least, Mars thought. Through his slightly yellow-tinted goggles, he thought he saw faint spotty markings on the small cat's shaggy blue-grey fur. This one didn't have wings. That meant a number of things - it would run around the house...

Like it just started doing. Crashed into something, almost knocked over an end table, and very nearly had to be untangled from a lamp cord.

"You are the clumsiest cat I have ever seen," Mars muttered, but he was smirking. "I think I'll call you Tripper. No mistaking you for a dragon... no idea what you are. Good kitty."

He'd be needing more mages.