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It was an indeterminate time of day, with the only certainty being that Cecil was in the Night Vale Community Radio Station but his show had yet to start. That meant Cecil was not busy when a small figure approached him.
“Jon!” Cecil’s eyes lit up, and he kneeled down to properly speak with him. If this was going to be a longer conversation, he did not want to crane his neck the entire time, and he had yet to learn whether Jon would be okay with being picked up by him or not. “What brings you by the Radio Station? Is Carlos nearby?” He glanced around, but there was no sign of perfect hair.
“Carlos is at the house that looks like it exists, like it’s just right there when you look at it, and it’s between two other identical houses so it would make more sense for it to be there than not, but it does not exist,” Jon recited like a script. “I want to meet Khoshekh.”
“Oh! Khoshekh, our station’s new cat?” Cecil asked, wanting confirmation before he assumed anything. At Jon’s nod, he stood back up, offering his hand. “Right this way, Jon!” With Jon’s hand dwarfed in his- kids were really small at that age- they made their way through the studio. “So, you like cats, Jon?”
The kid nodded.
“Does… Carlos, like cats?” Cecil was more of a dog person himself, but having Khoshekh around was really changing his mind- and he wasn’t the only one!
“He’s allergic,” Jon informed him, but it was distracted because they had reached their destination: the radio station men’s restroom, where Khoshekh had appeared one day and was immediately adopted by the workers.
Upon seeing Khoshekh, Jon perked up, offering a rare smile… but then, he frowned slightly. “...you can’t feed him regular cat food,” Jon said, glaring at the box of cat food on the sink like it told him to gouge out his eyes. “He’s stuck in place, so he can’t exercise; he’s going to become obese, which can lead to health risks like diabetes, heart disease, and an overall weakened immune system.”
“Oh- oh! Right,” Cecil nodded his head. He hadn’t even thought of that! It would have come up eventually, he’s sure, but it was nice that Jon knew and cared enough to catch that before it became an issue. “I’ll ask our intern, Brad, to pick some up- he’s actually working on a litter box for Khoshekh to solve the, uh, problem-” He gestured vaguely at the ground, feeling a little awkward about that. “-but I’m sure he can take a moment to buy some, for Khoshekh’s sake.”
Jon nodded, then- picking up the proper safety-glove reserved for petting cats, until they could get a better safety suit to fully mitigate the risks- attempted to reach out and pet Khoshekh. It was an awkward scene, in part because the glove was not sized for children… but mostly because Khoshekh was floating slightly above Jon’s head, and that made petting him difficult.
“...if you want,” Cecil said, witnessing Jon’s disappointment and frustration (even as he continually tried to pet the cat- the determination of that kid was admirable). “I can pick you up so you can pet him.”
Jon’s face flushed, and he turned his head, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I’m not short.”
“No,” He confirmed. “You’re of a relatively average height for your age- for humans of your age, anyways. As far as I know, Avatars of the Beholding don’t experience any extra growth compared to a ‘normal’ human, though admittedly I have not encountered an Avatar of the Beholding in quite some time, let alone one who hadn’t already reached their full height-” Ah, and now he was rambling. “-and, uh, there is nothing wrong with being short. Short people have plenty of advantages that people never consider! Like having less heart problems because their smaller bodies require less effort to keep the blood flowing, or- or having more places to hide from Librarians or other threats.”
That… may have been the right thing to say, because Jon was looking at him again- gosh, those all-Seeing eyes were just the cutest, weren’t they? Having him and Khoshekh side-by-side was almost cuteness overload! Fortunately, Cecil was a professional, and was not about to kneel over from cuteness overload.
“...okay…” Jon breathed out, stepping back to Cecil. “Can… can you pick me up so I can pet Khoshekh- please?”
“Of course!”
“Listeners, we had a visitor at the Night Vale Community Radio Station today! Jon, the cutest Avatar of the Beholding, stopped by to visit Khoshekh and even gave some helpful advice about his care! Who would have guessed that one of our local all-Seeing entities had a soft spot for cats? Well, it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise- between you and me, the Sheriff’s Secret Police have increased surveillance on this place since Khoshekh appeared. It seems that the way to their hearts is through a small, fluffy companion! Maybe see about getting one for yourselves.
The cat distribution system- sponsored by the City Council, of course- may not be gifting us all with cats floating four feet off the ground in a fixed point in the men’s restroom, but there are plenty of places around town you can get a pet of your own! Go to City Hall to get a dog during their dog-give-away days, or go into a local construction site and flip rocks over to find a cat. Who knows how your life will change with the addition of such a friendly companion?”
“Jon, did you go visit Cecil?” Despite already knowing the answer- Cecil had mentioned it on his show, after all- Carlos felt the need to ask, just to retain some sort of normalcy. Plus, there was always the chance Jon would try to lie to him, even if the kid was insanely honest for someone his age- was that a ‘Jon’ thing, or an ‘Avatar of the Beholding’ thing?
“No,” Jon lied, and Carlos opened his mouth to refute that- “I went to visit Khoshekh. Cecil just helped me find him.” Oh.
When Khoshekh had first appeared in the Night Vale Community Radio Station’s men’s restroom, Carlos had gone over to see why the cat was floating in a fixed spot. That had been a little bit before Jon showed up, and after Khoshekh proved to not be as interesting as other things in the town- and Carlos’ own momentarily-forgotten allergies flaring up- Carlos had moved all thoughts of ‘why does the cat that might not be a cat float’ to the side.
“So you didn’t go specifically to see Cecil?”
“No,” Jon confirmed, and this time Carlos knew it was the truth. “I see him every time you go to talk about science with him. Why would I need to see him more?”
Carlos’ cheeks flushed pink. “I don’t… I don’t talk to him that much.”
Jon blinked his hundreds of eyes, unpersuaded by Carlos’ diversion.
“I don’t-”
Brad had seen the kid around a couple times, always visiting Khoshekh. He knew who Jon was- there was nobody in Night Vale unaware of the little Avatar- and that he was allowed through, so he rarely paid him much mind other than a friendly nod when he walked by.
But then, he walked in to feed Khoshekh and found Jon climbing on the sinks to reach Khoshekh. It never occurred to Brad that Jon was too short to properly pet Khoshekh until that day, and when he went home, his mind was spinning with ideas on how to fix this. The sinks were hardly a good place to sit on, and Brad had plenty of carpentry skills- bequeathed to him by his Uncle’s will- he could use to fix that.
Between college and his internship, it took him quite some time to finish it, but nowhere near as long as his trials of making a proper litter box for Khoshekh. That had been a nightmare not worth repeating… not that it could be repeated, now that he had a design that worked and- Reeducation, brainwashing, or classic amnesia aside- was not going to be forgotten any time soon. He even made extra blueprints for it, just in case. Compared to the continued failures and restroom cleanings, making a stool that anyone could climb and sit on was easy.
“Brad, why do you have a stool?” Cecil asked, politely holding the door for him. “Did something happen to your chair?”
He shook his head, explaining his plan as he tried to move around desks without bumping into any of them. As soon as Jon’s name was mentioned, Cecil immediately lost all confusion and was nodding along cheerfully. “Oh, yes, I hadn’t considered that… are you sure the sinks don’t suffice?...right, well I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”
(Based on the green eye sticker-sheet that found its way into his folder… Brad actually wasn’t sure what that meant, but he hoped it was a sign that Jon liked the gift.)
“We’re getting a cat.”
Carlos startled. “What-? Jon, no. You Know I’m allergic.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Jon informed him ominously, but in true eldritch-child fashion, did not elaborate on what he meant. Instead, he turned back to staring into the distance, Watching something unseen.
“Explain.”
“Khoshekh had kittens and they’re up for adoption,” He complied, one of his eyes flickering back toward Carlos, bored. The radio had not mentioned that yet, though the birth of the kittens had already been shared throughout town. “They’re stationary, so they can’t be moved from the men’s bathroom, so you don’t have to worry about them.”
“Oh. Right. I… suppose that’s fine, then.” Pets were good for kids, right? Even if ‘pets’ in this context were cat-like creatures that hovered off the floor in a men’s restroom, and ‘kids’ referred to an all-Seeing eight year old who ate people’s trauma.
Jon nodded, going back to Watching the kittens.
“Do you already have a name picked out, Jon?” Cecil asked, standing next to Jon and his new, floating kitten. “Perhaps something scientific for Carlos? Or something related to your patron?”
Jon shook his head. “This is Captain Cecil,” He declared, holding up the kitten’s paw using his specially-designed safety glove. “Captain for short.”
Cecil was unable to speak for a full minute.
“-and he named the kitten after me! Listeners, listeners, have you ever had an adorable child holding an equally adorable kitten and tell you that they decided you were important enough for your name to be reflected onto that kitten’s perfection? I doubt you have, so let me tell you- it’s a wonderful feeling. Having someone you care for believe you to be worthy of mimicry… that is when you know you’ve become a person you can be proud of.
So tonight, remember to tell the people around you how you feel about them. Find a gesture that shows how much they matter to you, how much their lives have impacted yours. Even if you make something that you believe is an insufficient show of how much you love them, give it to them anyways and start chiseling away at that debt- you may find the gift is of much higher value to them than you expected.
And as always… goodnight, Night Vale, good night.”