Ask to Join Chic Winter

The world is your play den~
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

It had been a long wait to be let out of the twoleg den, Smokey could hardly contain his excitement. His fur ruffled in the crisp air as he barreled after his "noble" companion. The twolegs had tried to put a "sweater", as Lelouch had called it, on him but he wriggled and writhed until they had given up. He didn't care how cold it was outside, he wanted to feel the air run through his fur.

"Lelouch! Its so pretty, isn't it?!" He cried out as he plunged off the porch and into the garden.

Marquess of Noon
⤟ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⭒ ♕ ⭒ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⤠

Lelouch watched with mild amusement as Smokey tore across the garden, his exuberance a stark contrast to the serene elegance of the surroundings. The young tom’s unbridled enthusiasm sent a flurry of frost dusted leaves scattering in his wake, and Lelouch couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at the display.

"Mon dieu, such enthusiasm. One might think you’d never seen the garden before."

Adjusting his chic cream and white sweater, Lelouch took a more measured step off the porch, his paws landing gracefully on the cold earth. His breath puffed in soft white clouds, dissipating into the crisp air as he surveyed the garden glittering under a delicate layer of frost.

"It is quite lovely. The snow transforms even the most ordinary landscape into something... enchanting."

He padded forward, each step deliberate, his tail trailing behind him like a regal banner. "But, Smokey...must you always make such a spectacle of yourself? A true gentleman appreciates beauty with a certain... finesse."

Still, despite his chiding words, there was a lightness to Lelouch’s expression - a small, reluctant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watched Smokey revel in the simple joys of winter. Lelouch continued passed the fountain, half circling it before he hit the sidewalk, ready to meet the neighbors.

The world is your play den~
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Smokey snorted at Lelouchs words, "Where's the fun in being a 'gentleman'?" He pounced into a frosty pile of leaves before looking back over to see that Laetitia had joined them. He nodded at her happily, before diving back into the leaves.

When he came up again he purred with delight, "It may be cold but its also beautiful! Ive never seen anything like it!" He bounded back over to his housemates, tail flicking back and forth with excitement. "What should we do first?" He questioned aloud as he gazed out over the garden.

Marquess of Noon
⤟ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⭒ ♕ ⭒ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⤠

Lelouch sighed, his breath curling into the crisp air as he cast an exasperated glance toward Smokey, who was now thoroughly dusted in frost and leaves. "Quelle horreur… You are a walking disaster, mon petit." he drawled, shaking his head.

His gaze flicked to Laetitia as she approached, her lavender sweater complementing her soft, refined steps. Unlike their excitable companion, she carried herself with the dignity expected of their lineage - though Lelouch did not miss the way she shuddered at the cold.

"Laetitia. We have been imprisoned in that house for days. I refuse to allow winter to dictate my movements, no matter how much you detest it." He gave a pointed look at her dainty attempts to avoid the snow. "You might as well embrace it, non?"

At Smokey’s eager question, Lelouch hummed in thought, golden eyes sweeping across the frost covered landscape. "Well, you have already taken it upon yourself to redecorate the garden with your flailing, so perhaps something a little more refined is in order."

He lifted a paw and gestured toward the yard’s far end, where the bushes still bore traces of ice. "A proper stroll, perhaps, before the frost melts." His gaze flicked between Smokey’s boundless enthusiasm and Laetitia’s obvious distaste. "Though I suspect we may be at an impasse."

Grace is effortless when born into it.

━◇──✧──💎──✧──◇━

It baffled the young Noon how her older brother and his steward could be so compliant with the snowy season, sure she did feel a little confined in the manor, but at least it was warm and dry. With a sigh, she decided to keep her mouth quiet on that topic to avoid conflict from rising between them when she had hardly gotten out of the manor in the first place. The only response to her brother's remark was a soft "Oui" before turning her sights to Smokey.

"Mon ami, being a gentleman is what toms in Duchy Von Noon take in stride, while you are no level of importance as myself or Lelouch here, you should hold yourself to at least some sort of higher standard. You have made a home here, so it is in your best interest to act at least a little gentlemanly, oui?" she stated to Smokey, her long, plumed tail neatly curling around herself with executed calmness and practiced poise.

Laetitia's cold paws were not lost on her, ever now and again she would lift them up and lap at them delicately to rid them of any excess snow. Her large ears perked themselves upwards as her house-mate suggested a stroll, perhaps reaching the edge of the garden may give her more sight into the unknown, as she had been taking small visits to the windowsill every now and again to snatch brief glances, but it hasn't really gone further than that. "A stroll could keep us active an warm also, bien sûr" the lithe bodied she-cat agreed

The world is your play den~
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Smokeys tail drooped, a stroll. Its always a stroll with these two. If it wasn't taking a stroll it was lecturing him on being more like them, but Smokey didn't want to be more like them, he wanted to have fun and play.

Regardless of how he was feeling in the moment he followed his housemates down the garden path, listening to Laetitia words but not really hearing them. He was to awestruck by the frosted garden. OK, so maybe strolls weren't such a bad thing, he admitted to himself.

Hooking a claw into one of the leaves in the path he flung it skyward as hard as he could, while it didn't actually go very high he watched as it twisted and turned in the air before softly landing on the ground again.

Marquess of Noon
⤟ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⭒ ♕ ⭒ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⤠

Lelouch cast a glance toward Laetitia as she spoke, his whiskers twitching with quiet amusement. Ever the dutiful noble, she wasted no time in attempting to refine their unruly steward. He allowed her words to hang in the crisp air, watching as the younger tom’s enthusiasm dimmed ever so slightly.

"Come now." Lelouch drawled, his tone laced with mock sympathy. "Must we break the poor boy’s spirit so thoroughly?" His golden eyes gleamed with amusement as he padded forward, paws barely disturbing the frost-dusted ground.

As expected, Smokey was too enamored with the winter scenery to pay much mind to their critiques, his focus drifting to the twisting leaf he’d flung into the air. "Well, at the very least, you find entertainment in the simplest of things. If only all of us could be so easily amused."

Still, despite his ever-present air of superiority, there was no true malice in his words. Lelouch’s pace was slow, deliberate, as he led them further along the path. "Shall we make this stroll worthwhile, then? We could go beyond the garden, just to the edge of the courtyard. It would be a shame to waste a morning as picturesque as this."

Grace is effortless when born into it.

━◇──✧──💎──✧──◇━

Laetitia's eyes stuck to Smokey for a moment, it was so fascinating how a cat could find such menial entertainment with a leaf. Though there was a part of her that admired it, he had no bloodline to carry on his back, no expectations to keep up, he could just... be. I wonder what that is like, she began to wonder, but shook her head clinging rather closely to her brother's side while keeping a professional, delicately calculated distance between them.

"I wouldn't believe it could be broken if I gripped it with my paws, Mon frère" she responded, twitching one of her large, expressive ears. "Mon dieu, he has the energy of a restless hurricane" she whispered, mostly to herself, but if anything she admired it, though admitting that out loud seemed like an act of heresy, especially with her distinguished lineage feeling like snow gripping at her paws... but perhaps that was just the snow.

As the three made their way though the garden, her pale green eyes turned towards the courtyard, and as if reading her mind, Lelouch made the suggestion to walk around there for a short time, and who knows she could see more of the world outside where she was raised, outside of the only world she knew. It wasn't likely though, especially since it was assumed most if not all cats had the level of prestige as Smokey at least. She assumed it that way at least.

"Let's" She responded, turning to her pointed compatriot to see him still, rather charmingly to her, wrestling with the stray leaf in the sunlit snowy landscape. "Mon ami, we are venturing into the Noons' courtyard, care to join?"

The world is your play den~
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Smokeys ears pricked up at the mention of going beyond the garden. His eyes widened, he had never been so far. "Is it really OK? Ive never been past the garden." His tail was flicking back and forth in excitement, what he really wanted was to go even beyond that and meet some other cats but at least this was a start.

He trotted after the two noble cats, a purr deep in his throat. Every now and then he would stop to pounce on a leaf before running to catch up with his housemates.

While it hadn't been what he expected when the two legs brought him to his new home he was really beginning to enjoy it here. Even there air of uppitiness was becoming usual to him.

Marquess of Noon
⤟ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⭒ ♕ ⭒ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⤠

Lelouch arched a brow at Smokey’s obvious delight, finding the younger tom’s enthusiasm both amusing and mildly perplexing. “Really, now?" He mused, glancing toward Laetitia as if to confirm this unexpected revelation. "Well, I suppose every cat should have their first taste at some point."

His tone was airy, but there was a glint of intrigue in his golden eyes as he led the way. The air carried the scent of stone and dormant earth, the statues standing like silent sentinels among the neatly arranged flowerbeds, now blanketed in white. Lelouch paused at the archway that marked the garden’s end, his tail curling with measured grace. "Take it in, mon cher. The Noon estate does not host the common fray, so consider yourself most fortunate."

His gaze flicked briefly to Laetitia. Though she kept her posture composed, he noted the way her eyes lingered on the open space ahead. She had been confined as well, in her own way. Smokey, meanwhile, was practically vibrating with excitement. "The courtyard beyond, and the streets await... Think any of the sightly neighbors will be out?"

Grace is effortless when born into it.

━◇──✧──💎──✧──◇━

Laetitia was quick to follow behind her brother, he had much been a role model for her since she could open her pale green eyes, so she had no reason to appose him, nor did she think she would be given one. The regal lilac she-cat turned to Smokey, her ears giving a small twitch to the slightly older cat "Mon ami you just must!" she purred, "The courtyard rivals the gardens beauty, très bien if I choose to say so myself, enchanting could be a fitting word" she purred, though she may have been overstating the Noons' courtyard, she meant every word she spoke, when it wasn't hellish snow, the courtyard seemed very lovely to her.

Making the choice to wait for her compatriot, the oriental she-cat let a smile pass over her muzzle, lighting up her features "Come now, there may be new cats to meet beyond our little garden, Mon ami" she purred, moving to follow her brother once more, her paws stepping, still distastefully, but delicately on the white snow. No matter how beautiful the snow was, damn paws were not worth it. However, time spend in kinship and friendship are, so she decided to push past her obvious distaste.

"I recall an interesting character or two... I believe I've heard a few names being spread about while I was in my youth, before I could leave the manor" she explained, twitching the tip of her tail with intrigue, if she met a new cat today, that would be interesting, but if she didn't and just spent the time in kinship and friendship then she didn't mind that either.