Arthur Kirkland [Complete]

[Arthur Kirkland]

SU003

Name:Arthur Kirkland
Aliases: Art; Artie // Courtland Whitechapel
Age: 25
Date of Birth 23rd of March; 10th of July
Gender: Male
Heritage: Quality British Stock
Birthplace: London, England; United Kingdom
Occupation: Police Captain; Amenic Police Department


Height: 175cm or 5’9”
Weight: 73kg or 163 lbs
Hair: Arthur = dirty blond // Courtland = red
Eyes: Arthur = emerald green // Courtland = moss green
Distinguishing Features:There are a few tattoos on the Englishman’s body that were put there by Courtland. An English rose with winding thorns creeps up the right side of his back; a torn Union Jack just above his front left hipbone; and one that creeps around the middle of his forearm that reads “Piss off wankers!” His ears, eyebrows and tongue had been pierced a few times, but Arthur does his best to keep the jewelry out in the hopes that they will close up. Arthur’s other prominent feature is his eyebrows. They are thick regardless of what ‘split’ he is in. Neither he nor Courtland care for them very much.
Sexual Orientation: Arthur = Prude // Courtland = Bisexual

Specimen’s Likes:

• Tea // Earl Grey // Teatimes // Teacakes // Teacups
  Arthur’s tea intake is considerable. He follows a very strict routine of making sure to take time in his day to unwind with a freshly brewed cup no matter what chaos might unfold at the police station. Arthur also finds enjoyment in collection rare teas when they come upon the market, though his favourite will always be the classic Earl Grey. He also has an extensive collection of teacups and loves to display the more intricately hand-painted ones.
  
  
• Books // English Literature // Poetry // Fairytales // Romance Novels // Erotica
  The other collection that dominates the Englishman’s residence is his massive collection of books that could rival any library in Amenic. Arthur has two entire rooms devoted to nothing but assorted literature, floor to ceiling on shelves. He has a few that he enjoys more than others, particularly Peter Pan and Alice In Wonderland. There are also some books that he keeps hidden as much as possible, embarrassed by his selection of romance novels and some with questionable content that would leave Arthur mortified if anyone discovered them. Naturally his collection is prominently books dealing in crime, criminal history, and similarly themed ones.
  
  
• Cooking // Baking // Gourmet Food // Foreign Cuisine
  One of Arthur’s shortcomings is his inability to cook anything that is truly edible. Yet he still enjoys the relaxation that baking provides him and so he continues to keep optimistic that one day he might find the right balance. Gourmet foods and foreign cuisine is a weakness of his, as Arthur can be easily softened up or swayed by the offering of foods made by others. Despite his general dislike for everything French the Englishman would still manage a few polite words to one if it might get him a sampling of their intricate desserts.
  
  
• Tweed // Neckties // Wool Sweaters // Vests // Khakis // Suits
  Having been raised with the belief that men were supposed to dress like gentlemen, Arthur rarely surfaces from his home without being dressed as neatly as possible. Starched, crisp collars, pressed trousers and polished shoes. Even on days that are warm he will still cover himself in layers of clothes and suffer in silence while dabbing sweat away with his handkerchief. The way that he dresses give many people the impression that Arthur is a stiff man without the capacity to let loose – but he likes to consider his type of fashion ‘librarian chic’. Even when out of his police uniform he seems incapable of relaxing from the rigid requirements of his work’s code of dress.
  
  
• Music // Rock And Roll // Jazz // Punk Rock // Opera
  Arthur loves music of all types, with the exception of a few genres. His love for punk rock music would probably surprise many people. He prefers the experience of live performances when possible. Arthur likes to put music on to listen to while he is doing menial chores around his home, like cleaning or baking.
  
  
• Games // Chess // Crosswords // Strategy Games // Embroidery
  The Englishman does not like to let his mind idle. He tries to keep it sharpened during those times that he has nothing else to do, so Arthur will often do activities that might help to maintain his focus. He adores games that provide him a challenge. Arthur keeps several crossword puzzle books on hand so that they will be ready when he has time to kill. Some have said that idle hands are the Devil’s Playground, and Arthur is satisfied to keep his fingers occupied with knitting or embroidering things. It is not a masculine practice but he doesn’t seem to care.
  
  
• The Supernatural // Magic // Ghosts // Mythical Creatures
  It could be said that Arthur has a quirky obsession with such things. He becomes quite animated when the topic of the supernatural comes up in conversation, fascinated by the idea that such things might exist. Arthur is easily suckered into purchasing things if a persuasive salesman can convince him that it contains some magical property, has its origins in mythology, or might be haunted by a spirit. He also has a tendency to buy any book that has mentions of these supernatural subjects in them.
  
  
• Working // Routine // Accomplishment // Productivity
  Being a workaholic has always been part of Arthur’s life. Even as a child he was devoted to following schedules and working hard whenever presented with a task or chore. Arthur can work independently from others, so it puts the burden on him to produce results that meet his high standards – and Arthur never fails to put forth his best. At the end of the day, even if he is doing something as minor as filing reports from a routine traffic stop, it still makes the Englishman feel good to know that he got something done.
  
  
• Alcohol // Spirits // Whiskey // Beer // Imbibing
  Another of Arthur’s weaknesses is his love for alcohol and his total inability to handle drinking. He operates under the delusion that his tolerance level is high. But after he’s consumed three strong drinks then Arthur’s composure tends to unravel and his behaviour certainly suffers. Most of the time the Englishman reserves his heavy drinking in the privacy of his own home. A few holiday parties and social drinking situations in the past have provided some amusing legends of the things Arthur has done while under the influence.
  

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Specimen’s Dislikes:

• Laziness // Unmotivated People // Wasted Talent // Wasted Potential
  Encountering people that fail to work as hard as he does, or do not apply themselves as strongly as they could, is almost offensive to Arthur. If he sees some wasted talent that is merely being thrown away by others then the Englishman is likely to give them a piece of his mind in the form of some lecture on the importance of making an effort in the universe.
  
  
• French People // French Culture // French
  Arthur has not had regular encounters with the French, but a general dislike of the nationals has passed down through his family for generations. He has seen nothing in those that he has met that would potentially redeem the French in his eyes. They represent, in his eyes, everything that he dislikes in people.
  
  
• Chaos // Disorganization // Clutter // Messes
  If things are not organized, or if situations dissolve into some form of chaos, Arthur finds this intolerable. He is likely just to leave the location than to get wrapped up in the mess if there is no chance of him fixing it. Arthur feels mild disgust for those who would prefer to get emotionally carried away in such situations instead of using the logic of their rational mind.
  
  
• Bigots // Rude People // Willing Ignorance // Refusal To Learn
  People who are unwilling to expand their minds to learn about people or ideas are ones that Arthur thinks are better to avoid. He cannot tolerate intolerance, and is quick to come to the defense of others when he feels that they are being judged for their differences. Arthur recognizes the inherent danger that comes with a hatred or lack of understanding by individuals who have too much fear to learn more about that which they do not know.
  
  
• Coffee // Soda // Carbonated Juices
  Arthur can barely stomach any of these despite them being such a regular source of energy fuel for his fellow police officers. He finds coffee too bitter and doesn’t appreciate the jitters that it gives him. Sodas and carbonated juices are too sweet for him. Arthur cannot comprehend the obsession with any of these particular beverages. If they are his only options available when being offered something to drink, the Englishman will politely accept them and take his time with consuming them so as not to seem rude.
  
  
• Arrogance // Obnoxious People // Loud People // Attention Seekers
  The Englishman believes in restraint of emotion. If people cannot conduct themselves in a civil way that is inoffensive to others, then Arthur is unable to bring himself to socialize with these individuals. People who cannot act without seeming invasive in the peace of others cause Arthur to grit his teeth. He cannot fathom why others would hinge their happiness on whether or not their peers paid them the least bit of attention.
  

Specimen’s Interests:

• Guns // Firing Guns // Gun Ranges
  Arthur likes to keep his skills at their best. He spends an hour three times a week at the department’s firing range. Arthur has the best aim in the department, and sees this as the best way to make certain his reflexes and response time are optimal.
  
  
• Smoking // Drinking // Vices
  While Arthur might be a cop, that doesn’t mean that he is a saint. He is just as likely to indulge as anyone else – provided it remains within the confines of the law. The stresses of the job do drive Arthur to unwind with a drink after he’s off-duty on regular occasion. He also tends to smoke too much.
  
  
• Solving Crimes // Busting Criminals // Writing Tickets
  Some might claim that Arthur demonstrates unnecessary roughness at times when apprehending criminals. He’d prefer to think of those occasions as ‘creative problem solving’. So long as he can take people off the streets that are a potential danger to others then his duty is served as far as Arthur is concerned. And the Englishman is not above abusing his power on occasion. He has written one or two citations in his time for people that were being, quite simply, wankers.
  

Specimen’s Strong Points:

• Determination // Resolve // Sense of Duty
  Once Arthur has made up his mind to see something through, he will fight on until the end. He never leaves projects or cases unfinished. If Arthur makes a promise to do something then it will be accomplished to the best of his ability. He would never try to half-arse anything that he does.
  
  
• Physical Prowess // Defense // Health
  While other officers might become lazy from the slow points of their job, Arthur remains in prime physical condition. He works out regularly to keep himself as fit as possible. Cardio and self-defense are his preferred exercises. Arthur has worked his way up to a black belt and can use it in hand to hand combat in instances where his gun might be ineffective. This puts him at an advantage when encountering fugitives that are larger and stronger than him.
  
  
• Resourceful // Strategic // Good Planner // Intelligence
  Arthur is no fool even if he does occasionally settle into denial. He does his best to outsmart or outmaneuver criminals. Arthur will sometimes think ‘outside of the box’ to solve cases or to apprehend suspects. Before he goes to catch a known suspect Arthur will try to have a plan in place to make things progress more smoothly. He dislikes getting into situations where he has to operate on the fly, but is skilled at improvising when he needs to.
  

Specimen’s Weak Points:

• Temper // Anger // Inner Darkness
  It might just be part of his job, but Arthur is a man that always seems to struggle against some inner darkness inside of him. He might lash out in anger with minor provocation; and Arthur has been known to use violence as a means to get things accomplished for his job. Despite these facts he is in firm denial that such a part of himself exists.
  
  
• Soft Hearted // Children // Cuteness
  One of Arthur’s greatest weaknesses is children, or those in need. He has a soft spot for innocent women, or those who become abused by crueler individuals. Arthur’s temper tends to get short when he confronts suspects accused of bringing harm to women or children. It is easy for Arthur to be swayed by pretty girls or cute kids. He is the type to purchase gifts every Christmas to donate to charities, and will help out or turn a blind eye to those living on the streets. Arthur will bend what rules he can to assist them when he can.
  
  
• Socializing // Communication // Expressing Emotions
  Arthur is not the best when it comes to communicating with others. He does to some degree when he is on-duty since it is important for his job. As soon as the uniform comes off (and even sometimes when it is still on), Arthur has a tendency to close off emotionally from other people. The Englishman is poor at expressing his feelings. His default expression is a scowl because Arthur thinks if he intimidates other people enough then they will stay at arm’s length. In truth, he is a soft-hearted man and secret romanticist that wants very much to love and be loved.
  

Specimen’s Aspirations:

• Promotion: Arthur’s hope is that he might one day become the head of the police department. His hard work and dedication to his job have already escalated him through the ranks, and the Englishman is proud to be the youngest Departmental Head in Amenic Force’s history. He will not be satisfied until his efforts have earned him the highest position available. Since his position of leadership within the branch has already increased his particular department’s productivity, Arthur believes that it will merely be a matter of time.
  
  
• Domesticity: The Englishman is of traditional roots. He would like to see himself settling into some form of a satisfactory relationship with a wife or partner that is willing to accept his flaws and devotion to his job. When Arthur has tried to maintain such a connection in the past, it has always ended poorly. Arthur would like to one day have a child of his own – whether through adopting one in need or in somehow managing to produce one.
  
  
• Finding Adventure: As much as Arthur would like to pretend that he is content with his life as it is, he still pines for having something happen that might take him through an adventure as exciting as the ones he reads about in books. Arthur is afraid that his routine life will continue on forever, and that he will eventually pass away without ever having known what it is like to taste a life that is more fascinating than his own. That is why he clings to his job with law enforcement – despite Amenic being incredibly less exciting than his prior jobs and major cases.
  

Specimen’s Fears:

• Never Catching Courtland Whitechapel
  Arthur does not remember what happened that fateful day on the warehouse roof. The compilation of all of the events leading up to Courtland’s suicide left the Englishman in a state of traumatic shock. So considering that the Sweetheart Killer’s victims keep turning up on occasion, Arthur is afraid that Courtland must be hunting him down – or at the very least taunting him. It is his foremost priority to make certain that Courtland Whitechapel is brought to justice.
  
  
• Something Happening To His Family Members
  Losing his mother to violence had a profound effect on Arthur. He is protective of his relatives as a result. Arthur will often sternly lecture his siblings when they leave themselves potentially vulnerable to harm. Since he still believes that the Sweetheart Killer is out there, Arthur is afraid that the murderer might surface to kill his siblings out of revenge.
  
  
• Letting Down His Department
  Being someone that holds himself up to high standards Arthur does not like it when he fails to close a case in a timely manner. Unsolved ones drive him nutters. Arthur will occasionally open up Cold Case Files to see if there might be something he can puzzle out from them. He does not like it when he falls ill or gets hurt on the job because Arthur feels like his absence creates a burden on his fellow officers.
  

Specimen’s Personality: Arthur Kirkland is a man similar to a puzzle box. On the outside surface, he has constructed enough mental and emotional armour to prevent his secrets from being brought out by anyone who might dare to try. Arthur prefers to maintain a distance from everyone around him when he can, submitting only to certain individuals that have earned his trust, his respect or his ire. This protection of self is what often gives people the opinion that Arthur is a man of polite detachment -- as rigid and inflexible and passive as the stone foundations that had been built on the swampy marshes of his homeland that later became an empire. For those who have made a closer examination of him, there are some clearer aspects of Arthur’s personality:

Public Temperament: When Arthur must interact, his manner shifts depending on whom he is interacting with. To many, the Englishman is a politely distant gentleman officer. That doesn’t prevent him from switching to dry, scathing wit and harsh cynicism if it suits him. Arthur works hard to keep as flawlessly composed as possible, and will try to avoid one-on-one contact since he seems to flounder in those particular social circumstances.

Private Temperament: Those close to Arthur who have worked with or been on the receiving end of his temper, are familiar with the Englishman’s foul mouth. His tongue is sharp and bites just as deeply as bullets when he has something harsh to say. If Arthur feels that it is justified then he will not censor what comes out of his mouth in the least. Oddly enough, most of his searing lectures are out of concern for others.

Stubborn: This is both a benefit and a flaw in Arthur’s nature, depending on how he uses it. The Englishman has an iron will that has allowed him to find success against seemingly insurmountable odds in the past. On the other side of this is his pride. Arthur worked hard to gain his position in the police department, and behaves as a man who feels that respect should be entitled to him. He will not easily admit when he is wrong, so apologies are few and far between. This has caused him issues with others. Arthur is unapologetic to those that he might have targeted with his sharp tongue and opinions. He is of the belief that in the hierarchy of the world, there is no excuse for weakness or laziness.

Melancholy: Arthur is serious by default. He does his best to hide his sadness because it makes him feel awkward to have others perceive such vulnerability in him. But Arthur’s consistent trips down to the pub and his common habit of locking himself away from others are a sign of this clinging depression. The Englishman would prefer to wallow privately than let others see him in such a condition. When Arthur is sad in public, he channels this into gruff behaviour to deflect from the core issue. He would rather have people think that he is just grumpy than to address any underlying problem. This shows in Arthur’s love for dark things, macabre relics and literature or poetry that suits his black moods. It probably also explains why there are so many places in the Englishman’s house where he keeps alcohol on hand to ease his sadness as a temporary fix.

Social Awkwardness: When it comes to interacting with other people, Arthur seems handicapped. Once upon a time, he was of the opinion that he had no need for others in his life, and became especially good at evading appropriate social development. This leaves him openly awkward when he becomes the focus of others. He is prone to blushing, or at least locking up when faced with situations where Arthur feels on the spot. The Englishman is horrible with receiving compliments. In terms of courtship, Arthur is pretty hopeless. His composure can unravel quickly when confronted with attention, and that leaves the man flustered, stammering and floundering for how to handle things.

Romantic: The fact that Arthur is a horribly sappy romantic is the universe’s worst kept secret. He is much enamoured of the old fairytales, and romance novels that are a good chunk of his massive book collection. Arthur believes firmly in the concept of undying love, chivalry and sacrificing everything for a lover. While he has never been married, Arthur is envious of those who are. He is rather embarrassed by this aspect of his personality and tries not to let any of this on. But his reaction to occasions where others make some gesture that could be romantic is a dead giveaway.

Temper: His temper is explosive. There is passion inside the Englishman despite what he lets on. If the circumstances are right, he can demonstrate that he is capable of being brutal. Arthur contains a dark rage within him that is thankfully rarely stirred. Sometimes it surfaces when he settles for getting violent with those who deserve it.


Specimen’s Second Personality:Courtland Whitechapel is the sort who could easily blend in amongst normal society if he so chose. Being a sociopath, Courtland is adept at mimicking the emotions of normal people. He can conduct himself in a way that keeps him outside of suspicion. Though many people with any perceptive or empathetic abilities can instinctively feel that there is something incredibly wrong with the man. There’s an empty quality to his eyes and the forced edges of his smile tend to give away the true lack of feeling – a detachment from the world around him.

Most of the time, Courtland surfaces at times outside of the public eye. He is driven by his ruthlessness. The man has no sense of mercy, and will hunt down someone that he has decided to target no matter what. Courtland is quite skilled at cleaning up after himself when he leaves a kill scene. Living up to his namesake as the Sweetheart Killer gives him a sense of accomplishment. Unlike other serial killers he doesn’t bother to take trophies from his kills. He doesn’t see the acting of killing random strangers as personal enough to warrant keeping souvenirs.

He is unhinged with his emotions when he is at liberty to be. Courtland often lacks the ability to censor himself, his urges or his actions. This is much to the dismay of those who have the misfortune of encountering him. Courtland’s brain does not operate on the same plane as ‘normal’ people, so he doesn’t have the ability to process things as other people would. He has no concept of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. He operates better in terms of ‘need’ and ‘satisfaction’. Everything else is a grey, foreign element.

Courtland prefers to operate alone. He doesn’t like to socialize unless it is absolutely necessary. There is no such thing as ‘friends’ in his head. There are only targets to be played with.


Specimen’s Family:

• Father: Reginald Kirkland
  
• Mother (deceased): Miriam Kirkland (Maiden name: Miriam Delsey)
  
• (Scotland)
  
• Brother/Younger: Jamie
  
• (Wales)
  

Specimen’s Brief History: Ever since he was a small child, Arthur had dreamt of growing up to be a police officer. His father was a member of the force so the boy looked up to him as a mentor. Arthur was an intelligent child with a driven personality. So he began to study in earnest all of the things he would need to know to become a member of the force once he came of age. Not only did Arthur spend time on his normal academics, he also became involved in sports that he felt would help him to improve his chances of becoming an ideal officer. Arthur became involved in track and running events; he took up marksmanship to fine tune his aim. There was plenty of quality time spent with his father on activities like paintball, hunting and martial arts.

Arthur graduated from university early. He was one of the youngest members to enter the academy and due to his drive, perseverance and display of potential as a prized officer Arthur was assigned to the Homicide Division. Arthur was able to handle the grim reality of crime scenes. The young rookie was flawlessly professional on the job, processing with detachment what veteran officers recoiled from. It made Arthur feel satisfied that he could handle the worst of what the city gave them.

Until the police chief assigned him onto a serial killer case that had just recently been brought to their department. The Sweetheart Killer, as the media had dubbed it, had already reached a body count of three. These kills were easy to identify because of the degree of mutilation done to the victims. The victims also had the symbol of a heart traced on their torsos, along with the initials “C + W” in the center. Speculation began that the killer must have been acting out from some relationship gone sour. But was it “C” or “W” that was their murderer?

Being a workaholic, Arthur took on the case with determination. He wanted to catch the person responsible for these deaths. His involvement on the case became even more personal when they were called to the scene of another suspected Sweetheart killing – and Arthur found that the victim was none other than his own mother, Miriam. This left him devastated. Arthur had to remove himself from the case to deal with the grieving process.

Once Arthur had recovered enough, he asked to be returned to the case. The police chief turned him down because of the personal connection to one of the victims and concern that Arthur would be too emotionally affected by the case. Despite his protests, the Englishman was not allowed to rejoin the team to search for his mother’s killer. He did, however, begin to investigate on his own. Arthur became obsessed with solving the case. Every hour was filled with pouring over all the clues, images from the crime scene and other evidence as Arthur tried to solve the case without the resources of the department.

Then he came into the acquaintance of Courtland Whitechapel. Arthur became convinced that this was the Sweetheart Killer. He began to shadow the man at every moment, watching him going through every moment of his daily life. Courtland became a new obsession for Arthur because he was confident that this was the murderer he’d spent all of his time trying to find. Then the night came when Courtland went out to kidnap another victim. Arthur pursued them to the killer’s hiding place, and tried to stage an attack on Courtland to save the poor woman and apprehend the murderer.

When Arthur made a wrong move, Whitechapel managed to get him subdued enough to knock the Englishman out. Arthur woke up to find himself bound, unable to escape. Courtland had been aware of Arthur’s shadowing of him, and knew the extent of the Englishman’s obsession. He taunted Arthur about it before the killer explained that he would allow Arthur to see him at work firsthand. So Arthur was trapped there as Courtland butchered that victim – unable to save the woman like he had wanted to. Courtland had been prepared to kill Arthur next when law enforcement swarmed onto the scene. They had worked off a tip from someone who had spied Courtland’s vehicle in the area. The Sweetheart Killer was taken into custody and Arthur was taken to the hospital for the injuries he’d suffered.

Arthur was mortified to learn that Courtland Whitechapel would be released due to his connection with a father politician and on some technicality with his booking that had left the prosecution unable to move forward with the case. Unable to let it go, Arthur went after Whitechapel with his own intention of vigilante justice. But when he finally cornered the killer upon an abandoned warehouse roof, Courtland taunted Arthur over his own inner sense of darkness. Then the killer stepped off the side of the roof and plunged to his death. Arthur was left in a stunned state.

After undergoing a psychological examination, Arthur was suspended from duty from the force when concerns were raised about his stability. The Englishman continued to carry on with his life in order to find some new routine and often filled his day tracking the crime reports from afar. He was surprised when a letter arrived in his post one day from the Police Department of Amenic. Arthur didn’t think that he was going to find a position on another police force. The Englishman immediately accepted the position that they offered him, and moved both himself and his brother into the charming community of Amenic. Arthur is now one of the highest ranking members of the Amenic police force, and regularly handles the criminal cases that arise due to his experience outside of the city.

Split’s Emergence: Courtland first surfaced as a split in Arthur’s personality when his homicide next case following the ‘tragedy’ resulted in the suspect getting released on a technicality in the processing paperwork despite being caught literally red-handed. Arthur struggled with the knowledge that yet another criminal would get away with murder. Unsatisfied with this lack of justice, Arthur finally decided to break policy and go confront the man at his home. The Englishman’s last recollection of the evening had been when the door had swung open to admit him…

Nearly two weeks later, a call came into the station reporting that a body had been discovered. Arthur’s unit went to the scene and discovered the heavily mutilated remains of the suspect that had been let off for murder. The man appeared to have been tortured, then gruesomely murdered by someone. Just like Courtland Whitechapel had done to his victims. It had the serial killer’s M.O. down to the letter. Arthur was left considerably shaken from the event. Whoever had killed the man had done an excellent job of leaving no trace evidence for the investigators to find – a seeming professional. It was speculated that some new emerging copycat killer might have surfaced to continue the work of the original serial killer.

Similar copycat murders started to become a regular occurrence after that initial event. The victims had no real ties to each other. People in the police force began to question whether Courtland Whitechapel had somehow managed to return from the grave to continue his senseless killing spree. Or had somehow recruited someone else to carry on his legacy.
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OOC

Name/Alias; Hat
Age; 30
Favorite Pairings; ScotUK // PrUK // FrUK // USUK – though expect to be topped.
Did you read the rules? I like carrots. With celery. And peanut butter. Nom.

Arthur Kirkland, to put it succinctly, was drunk.

Of course the stodgy British gentleman would deny such an accusation outright and slur his innocence to the world. He would settle for ‘tipsy’. Yes, definitely tipsy, if those two pints from the alcohol wagon that he’d consumed were an accurate measure of his level of drunkenness. Arthur was convinced that his tolerance level was astronomical. Practically lunar. Certainly cosmic.

As cosmic as the…

As the…

Bugger all.

His inner rationalization of why he wasn’t completely hosed had managed to scatter itself the second Arthur set foot in the animal pen. It might have been that dimly screaming warning shout in his fogged brain that informed him he was far from his caravan. Had he come to the animal pen for a reason? No matter now – he was there, and his presence had stirred up the penned beasts in their cages.

The gentleman vampire stumbled his way up to the one that held the prized panther of the Zirkus. He leaned a shoulder against the bars, dismissing the warning signs that told him not to do so out of sheer drunken defiance. Bleeding sign wasn’t the boss of him, now was it? Arthur let his weight rest against the metal and turned his drink-flushed cheek to brush against the cold surface as he sighed out with relief at the sensation.

Then the panther stirred from its sleep. It growled at the pale figure that had come to disturb its rest. And Arthur, being prone to behaving like a difficult man on his best days, took immediate offense as he rapped his walking stick against the bars.

“Oi! None o’that now. Makin’ all that racket – you’re goin’na wake people up!”

It seemed that the panther did not take kindly to having the bars of its cage hammered against by the metal of the Englishman’s cane topper. The deadly feline’s body rolled up to begin pacing along the width of its containment as its eyes glittered balefully out at Arthur. Of course the Brit took this as a most disagreeable response to his commands. “Cheeky puss! I’ll come in there an’ knock tha’ smarmy look off your face, I will! Jus’… jus’ hold on.”

Arthur was brimming with indignation when he pitched his weight sidelong and let his body go staggering to the locked door on the side of the cage. He’d show the beast his fangs as well. Then they’d see who was permitted to be making such a fuss at this early hour of twilight. Some surly puss wasn’t going to make a fool of Arthur Kirkland!

The Englishman’s gloved hands closed around the lock holding the door shut. He shook it, yanked on it, wrestled with it – all in an effort to get the thing to open. Then Arthur showed ingenuity despite his inebriated condition and used the topper of his walking stick to bust the lock open. Arthur was chuckling darkly with his success as he pulled the door open with a creak of the hinges, and went toppling into the cage. “Here kitty, kitty. Puss puss. Come t’Arthur~!”

[Carrot]

Accepted, of course, my lovely Hattylove~! It was amazing <3