#Halina Dabrowska

[wpk12art]

Finally done with the Halina standee! I am honestly so proud of this!

Everything put together💖

[gentlelass]

Fanart for most talented @wpk12art who inspired me to open this blog and I keep admiring to this day 💗

[callistadarewell737]

This is my first collage of my favourite oc's from Lackadaisy, it may not be the best prettiest thing in the world, but I really wanted to post this.

Thank you so much @wpk12art, @ladybugkisses and @plutopools, I love you and XOXO.

[captainpowow]

Ponified @wpk12art's Lackadaisy OC, Halina Dabrowski. Sorry, @wpk12art but no one is safe from me. I'm not stopping until I've turned every character into ponies, including OCs. Can't help it. It's my calling. So actually, I'm not sorry. It HAD to happen.

[yanci-indigo]

The Goth Mother in this dress >>>

Yes, that one woman I've been simping over (guilty)

References!!!

I just knew this will fit perfectly on her <3

(dang this took me a while I almost forgot her name)

~ 🧊

[whatavery]

A short little story I wrote for @wpk12art featuring Halina and Mordecai. Had a lot of fun with this one, hope y'all enjoy it!

_____________________________________________________

The thudding, wet impacts echoed throughout the room. Red splattered everywhere with each hack. Halina’s arms and most of her apron was covered in red, dripping, gushing. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight to her, her yellow eyes fixated on the business at hand. It didn’t matter how soaking wet she was, she needed to get this done. The fur on her hands stuck to her, covered in red as well.

Halina’s ears perked up when she heard the door opening, her tail giving a flick, but she didn’t stop. She had a job to finish.

The footsteps out in the living room hesitated, the owner likely hearing the wet impacts with each hack and chop. When her face was splattered, Halina scoffed in annoyance, a red streak across her face. She swore in Polish under her breath, but she was too determined to finish, she left the red splatter for now…

“… What are you doing?” Halina’s ear perked up again as she slowly turned to face Mordecai. The tuxedo cat stared at her in silence, looking initially alarmed. This much red wasn't a foreign sight to the Marigold gunman, nor was it to Halina. His green eyes looked her up and down, taking in the sight of his lover partially soaking wet, the apron looking exactly like it had just left a murder scene.

In her right hand, Halina held a metallic meat tenderizer, the hammer-like tool’s dripping red onto the floor. Albeit unsightly and messy, Mordecai didn’t focus on that for now. He raised an eyebrow.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Halina asked, finally wiping her face with her sleeve, though all this did was smear more of the red into her gray fur.

“It looks like you’re dismembering someone…” Mordecai noted calmly. Indeed, both of them were rather desensitized to this sort of violence and gore by now. He stepped closer to her. Unlike Halina in her messy, red-stained state, Mordecai was dressed nicely, cleanly, neatly – as he usually was.

The lean trigger man watched his lover with some apprehension, before making his way on over, steering around her, as to not risk her getting red stains on him or his clothes.

“Ah… so that’s what you’re doing,” he said when he glanced down at her handiwork. It was a familiar sight to Mordecai. He’d seen it before, he knew it all too well, in fact. The last time he’d seen a big, red mess like this was…

Mordecai squinted at her, then frowned. “You didn’t get this from my place did you?”

“I did… is that a problem? You borrow my books…” the black-haired female noted, raising an eyebrow herself, fixing him with a puzzled expression. “Or am I doing it wrong? I just followed the instructions…”

“That recipe is no good, Halina,” Mordecai said as he glanced down at the messy attempt at cranberry sauce before him. It looked like a massacre. Red everywhere, fruit meat splattered in a way that so resembled gore like the very gore both of them had seen on the job.

Halina stared at him in disbelief for a moment, mouth slightly open. She sighed and frowned. “So are you saying I made this disgusting mess for nothing? Why do you still have it then? I found it tucked away in your books…”

He sighed and shook his head, but a small, very small smile spread across his lips. “It was tucked away for a reason, Halina… Well then, now let’s go get you cleaned up, dear… Afterwards, we can figure out how to make something more… edible, shall we?”

[samantha-and-her-chaotic-desires]

I did the thing <3

Halina belongs to the amazing @wpk12art !! <3333

[licially]

Surprise! (Somewhat angst.)

// I'm not sorry for this @wpk12art, this is another one hour practice. // slight TW for blood and gore mention.

She stopped.

Halina straddled into the rain, the stormy weather that loomed overhead was about to give in, and no matter what she did she had wanted to meet Mordecai back at this parked car from the road: the usual Marigold car, headlights beaming at the two targets they had both put a bullet through and a third that escaped down the ditch and through the maze of a nearby cornfield. Mordecai had pursued him through it, and left Halina to fend the company car in case of any trouble.

Normally, a triggerman with a tenacity for killing such as Mordecai would be done in about three minutes, or even five minutes if the target proved too evasive. The case remained the same ever since Halina got recruited into Marigold, and it has been the status quo of the duo. 

Yet tonight it seemed an anomaly had appeared, with Mordecai having disappeared for 15 minutes straight with no signs of anything that could prove he’s done the job, such as a grunt, a gunshot, or him appearing to have teleported back into the position he was at. In this case, the company car.

Halina stopped walking around the car in what seemed to be a daze: she felt zoned out by the current situation, and had hopes of him being back about five to six minutes ago. Now she’s killing time for that to be faster, not noticing that too much time had passed already.

Halina stopped to check her pocket watch, it struck 16 minutes past midnight.

She felt ever so frail: once in her life she’d never feel this sort of frailty.

A tiny yet growing bubble of anxiety quickly overtook her, as she faced the direction of the cornfield past the ditch that they were about to dump the bodies over. 

They were tasked to handle three “leeches that backpacked most of the money” and they could “leave them to rot”, and so they were subconsciously selected by Asa to finish the job. Given how they were in Marigold, it was best for Mordecai and Halina to be arranged for this blatant betrayal against the company.

17 minutes passed.

Halina, now a little more frightened than she needed to be, scavenged a nearby handgun from the dead body. A clean decapitation, done almost flawlessly, but only if there weren't some arteries still stuck on her ax that she could have scavenged it. However, evidence is still evidence, and as she did pick up the imported gun: a Browning Model 1922, somehow brought over here, she rushed back out into the wilderness and unpredictability.

18 minutes.

She first ran through the established routes within the maze, footprints that littered the beaten path as she closely kept an eye beneath her, before the trail eventually led to a dead end.

Her eyes, now lifted off of its dead calm, sprouted and bursted into emotions.

The bubble of anxiety soon rivaled her usual state of calm, as she retraced her steps back out onto an intersection. She deduced that there may be conflicting steps as this last person was known to be the most proficient at maintaining stamina, and could have also outran Mordecai on several occasions. His strong suit wasn’t limited to marksmanship and trigger discipline, but for a night like this it didn’t make sense.

Why could he not shoot the target before it could have outrun him?

Was it purely because of ammo management or was it a practice, just like all he did during these missions?

She didn’t want to distract herself from the main question.

For the first time, as she ran back through the previous path, she had felt it.

Fear.

Fear that there was something else that was unaccounted for prior.

A fear that slowly rose with every passing minute.

A-third of the hour now wasted.

She stopped dead in her tracks. She did so, catching up with her own breath, when a glint caught the corner of her eyes. In the shadows, leaning against another body, and across sporadically littered items laid Mordecai Heller.

Her dormant and idly body now felt puppet-like as she rushed over to be on his side.

She didn’t have a light, nor was there enough light to make aware of the situation: was an ambush in plain sight waiting for her to pull it from that state? Was that body behind it still alive? 

No matter, she aimed directly at the background and pulled the trigger.

One shot, two shots, and three shots threw the dead of night into a stir.

A homogenous mixture of silence threw off balance.

22 minutes.

She kneeled beside him, an irreality dawned back onto her once again.

The broken pince-nez, the M1911 that laid strawn towards the ground, blood soaked suit that served as a bed for him, and–

Mordecai Heller, an unstoppable force,

Stopped.

[wpk12art]

I did actually meet my great grandma and great grandpa from my father's side. Both sadly aren't here with us anymore, however, Halina has the no-nonsense attitude of my great grandma Zofia, alongside her seamstress background, my great grandma was one of the best local seamstresses in Stockholm back in the day.

My great grandpa was such a lovely soul, and such a trouper during WW2, ol' Telesfor turned 105 years old, I will always remember him and I will tell the next generation in my family about the stories he told me from when he was serving in the war.

Mine was amazing (x)

[wpk12art]

Happy Pride month everyone 🖤🤍💜

This month may have been a bit rocky here and there, but I am happy to have such amazing friends near. I wanted to draw a pride month piece earlier in the month but well, here we are!

[samantha-and-her-chaotic-desires]

Challenge (optional LOL): Name as many Lackadaisy OCs that aren't your own, and the most prominent detail of each of those OCS!

*rubs hands* I GOTCHU!

Halina Dabrowska: her HAIR! OH MY GOD!!! IT IS LITERALLY THE FUNNEST THING TO DRAW FOR HALINA BY FAR!!!

Lola Deluca: Her fur color! It's just so vibrant and fluffy looking, it's so DISTINCT and recognizable!

Marly Divata: Her glasses and her outfit! They're so vibrant as well, and also her hair and ear design!

Rebecca Wright: OH MY GOD HER HAIR AS WELL. IT'S LITERALLY SO PRETTY AND CURLY AND FLUFFY AND HHHHHHHHHHHH

Lars Van Horne: His fur pattern, his eyes and ears design!! As well as the drawings of him with either Mordecai or Zib LMAO

HHHHHHH MY BRAIN IS FAILING ME, BUT HERE THEY ARE!!! :D

(OCs are by the following people! @wpk12art @blogplutocrat @scrunkalicious @starbittsy @lackingdaisies pssssst I love y'all's OCs hhhhhh <3)

[wpk12art]

FOLKS! I am so happy to show this absolutely FANTASTIC ART by @lackadaisycats

I legit can't stop looking at this, it's so gorgeous and perfect. Halina and Mordecai look so cozy together. I am absolutely ecstatic!

[wpk12art]

Mordelina for real

🌤️ The Addams Family 🌤️ | 2.14 - "Morticia's Dilemma"

[fforfangirl]

A lil sketch/doodle (?) which I did today at school instead of paying attention to my history classes.

(No, I can’t, under any circumstances, draw, yes, I just had to do this nonetheless because I f*cking love ‘em.)

Halina Dabrowska belongs to @wpk12art

Mordecai Heller belongs to @lackadaisycats

[wpk12art]

"I hope he's not dead."

[whatavery]

Barefoot Cinderella (Art Trade)

Mordecai’s left ear gave a flick of annoyance as he stepped into the noisy and crowded Marigold Room. He was flanking Mr. Sweet on his right side, barely paying attention as the older cat was rambling about this and that. It was a busy night from the looks of it, but the Marigold Room seemed far from close to being over capacity. Green eyes surveyed the scene as they entered, before they landed on his counterpart on Mr. Sweet’s left.

Similar to Mordecai in many ways, Halina Dabrowska had proven to be reliable enough to be his assigned partner in crime. She was a dark gray cat with lighter gray accents on her face. She had her black hair up in a very neat do, though Mordecai hadn’t the faintest clue what to call it. At least it didn’t look as ridiculous as some of the hairdos he’d seen at some of these parties – he could appreciate that.

Walking between the two monochromatic cats was their boss, Asa Sweet himself. A stout, tall cat with a friendly face that constantly seemed to be smiling. Mordecai knew the man to be quite… unusual. He liked cracking jokes (or rather, his idea of jokes) and certainly wasn’t above taking digs at Mordecai and other Marigolds. He wasn’t at all like what most expected someone in a high position of a crime gang to be like. Asa wasn't at the top of Marigold, but he was the one Mordecai and Halina answered to. For better and for worse.

Asa Sweet was so unlike Mordecai’s former boss Atlas May, but he had long since come to terms with that fact. Even if his job now involved a lot more shenanigans than he had to deal with under Mr. May. It was less than ideal, but at the very least, Mordecai supposed things could be worse.

Dressed smartly in a black suit, Mr. Sweet looked right at home in this company. And of course, the way he swaggered around made this abundantly clear. While he didn’t own the place, he worked a high position at the Maribel Hotel as well. Asa wasn't a shy man, he liked showing off and he most certainly liked flaunting his wealth and power for these parties.

“You should let your hair down some.” Mordecai glanced sideways at Mr. Sweet as the latter addressed Halina. Raising a white eyebrow at this comment, Mordecai momentarily wondered if the statement was meant to be taken literally. Seeing as they’d passed several women on their way into the Marigold room, none of which had their hair down, he supposed it wasn’t. Though come to think of it, he’d never seen Halina with her hair down before either…

“Excuse me?” she asked, similarly side-eyeing Mr. Sweet as Mordecai glanced away. His green eyes surveyed the room. The Savoys were nowhere in sight, no doubt out on a job of their own. What Mordecai wouldn't give to have taken their place tonight. But Mr. Sweet had insisted that both he and Halina attend the party. And unfortunately, their boss was indeed in charge.

“Oh, all I’m sayin’ is you’re already such a dish – a party dress would do you good.” The older cat only managed to keep a straight face for a moment, before he chortled loudly. “Actually, you’re terrifying. Almost as much as Mr. Heller.”

As the stout cat laughed at his own joke, Mordecai returned his glance to Halina, who looked annoyed with their boss – well, more than usual. She was dressed as formally as Mordecai, though far from looking like she had come to the place to partake in the party. Much like Mordecai, she was dressed for business. Dark gray skirt reaching her ankles, a darker vest over a white dress shirt and a long, black coat, the gray cat wasn’t dressed very colorfully, save for her red neck tie. While she wore the signature orange flower pin that all Marigold’s members did, hers was usually covered up by the folds of her jacket.

Similarly, the male tuxedo cat was clad in a pair of black pants, a dark gray vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie and finally a black jacket. Mordecai’s clothes looked as clean and pristine as they would have, if they’d been ironed just minutes ago. His golden spectacles rode on his nose, the glass as clean as could be. Adorning the left side of Mordecai’s jacket was the deep orange french marigold pin, the brightest splash of color on his outfit.

Neither of the two cats responded to Mr. Sweet’s sleight at Halina, both somewhat used to it by now. They were also used to each other, more or less. Not only were they made to work closely together under Mr. Sweet to do his dirty jobs, but they even lived in neighboring buildings. How that had come to be, Mordecai wasn’t entirely sure about, but he had gotten quite a start when he first saw her in the area.

“Oh. You…” had been what she’d said to him at the time. His own reaction to seeing her had been similarly unenthusiastic, but now it felt almost comforting to know that there was another Marigold nearby.

Almost.

It also had its risks. After jobs, they’d arrive home at different times and separately as well, as to not arouse suspicion, in case they were followed. It wasn't the neatest of arrangements, but it worked for the two of them. Even if Mr. Sweet was borderline unbearable at times.

Tonight wasn't a special occasion as far as Mordecai knew, but he was sure Mr. Sweet would be dragging him and Halina around with him all night. They’d stand by, listening to whatever menial conversations the older cat would have and forget the next day. It was a rare occurrence, but Mordecai hoped there might be need for more hands on deck out in the field. It had saved him from unbearable parties more than once.

“Alright, you two, how about we loosen up those scowls with some drinks, eh? My treat,” Mr. Sweet offered ever so graciously, although it was also a veiled insult. Both of them had simply been showing their neutral expressions. “Maybe something sweet before we head out.”

Both Mordecai and Halina politely declined and yet Mr. Sweet steered the two of them towards the bar. The bar wasn't too busy just yet, but Mordecai felt a great sense of relief when Mr. Sweet only ordered for himself – a Bee’s Knees of all things. As the bartender prepared the sweet drink, Mordecai checked his pocket watch. It was already shaping up to be a long, long night.

“Alright then, you two sure you wouldn't like some?” Mr. Sweet asked, waving the coupe glass holding the dark orange gin-drink.

“Positive, Mr. Sweet,” Mordecai said in the most monotonous tone he could, hoping it might discourage Mr. Sweet from trying to initiate too much smalltalk with him.

Halina similarly looked rather displeased, but just gave a noncommittal grunt. As Mordecai’s eyes met hers for a moment, they shared a moment of solidarity. Here they were, two professional killers dragged to a party like two show dogs for their boss’ amusement.

“Oh, you’ll come around to it, I’m sure. Now then, shall we?” Without actually waiting for a response, Mr. Sweet led the way from the bar towards the tables of the main room. The two monochromatic cats exchanged looks again, clearly thinking the same thing; this was quite unusual for Mr. Sweet. Normally he’d be taking to the upper level of the Marigold Room for these things, if he was expecting any special guests.

Much to Mordecai’s dismay, Mr. Sweet settled on a table near the dance floor, though he said nothing. He just drew a sigh that was thankfully drowned out by the music coming from the band. Not that Mordecai particularly enjoyed jazz, but he supposed it was better than no music at all. Even if he tended to yearn for peace and quiet whenever he was around Mr. Sweet.

Albeit reluctantly, Mordecai took a seat on Mr. Sweet’s right, while Halina took the one on his left. It wasn't too unusual for Mr. Sweet to sit by and wait for his company, though Mordecai was more used to that being the case upstairs. He cast a glance up at the upstairs area, which was remarkably vacant tonight. When he returned his gaze towards the table, Mordecai noticed that Mr. Sweet was staring at him.

“Yes…?” he asked, slightly annoyed, although he tried to keep his face neutral. His ear flicking was one of the tuxedo cat’s few tells whenever he was feeling irate.

“Well, you do realize I didn’t bring you for business, right? I wanted both of you two to let your hair down and let loose for once,” Mr. Sweet said, a mischievous grin on his face.

“Excuse me, sir, are you saying you dragged us here for… fun?” Halina asked, looking at her boss in disbelief. Much like her, Mordecai knew that the term fun was something to be used rather loosely in this situation, seeing as Mr. Sweet’s idea of fun was… quite different from either of theirs.

The words had barely even left Halina’s lips before she rose to her feet, looking like she was ready to leave. Though Mordecai couldn’t say he didn’t want to go as well, he simply just watched her. He hardly blamed her. The less time he had to spend in Mr. Sweet’s company, the better, usually.

“Now, now, li’l missy, not so fast,” Mr. Sweet said with a chuckle. “I brought you out here for your own sakes. Let’s not waste this wonderful opportunity. We can just relax… maybe you two could get on out on the dance floor together, eh?”

Mr. Sweet was grinning in a mischievous way, as he so often did, looking between the two monochromatic cats. He almost looked like he was let in on a secret that neither of them were.

“Highly unprofessional,” Mordecai and Halina both said at the same time. Halina scoffed and continued, “Improper workplace behavior, too.”

Both of them stared as the golden cat roared with laughter – he even slammed the table with his fist once to the point that nearby people stared. “Oh, good one! And I thought you two had no sense of humor! You two make a great couple; you’re both terrifying, I’ve yet to see you dance, and I would wager to say that you could both do with lettin’ loose!”

Mordecai stared at the older cat with an almost disgusted look, though Mr. Sweet continued to look amused. Dancing was neither of the two murder cats’ forté and surely Mr. Sweet realized. Mordecai and Halina exchanged looks of contempt for the idea.

“It’s either tonight or tomorrow… or the day after… or the day after that…” Mr. Sweet said in an almost sing-song voice as he glanced between the two with an expectant look on his face.

“You’re not seriously implying that you’d…” Mordecai trailed off when he saw the look on Mr. Sweet’s face. Oh, he absolutely was. Resisting the urge to groan and roll his eyes, Mordecai cast a pleading look around, as if looking for somewhere to hide. But alas, not a single viable ficus within his line of sight.

“Fine, on your feet, Mr. Heller, let’s get this over with.” Mordecai stared at Halina in surprise, but at least he was pleased to see that she didn’t look like she liked the idea any more than he did. If anything, she had said it with the tone of someone going to a doctor’s appointment.

Mordecai could feel his face sinking from the idea of being dragged back here several nights in a row by Mr. Sweet. A moment’s humiliation would be a small price to pay for getting to actually go and put their skills to use. Mordecai had only been bullied into dancing with someone once, and it had to be among the most humiliating moments of his life. Swallowing his pride, the tuxedo cat rose to his feet.

The dance floor wasn’t overly crowded, but Mordecai hoped they’d be able to hide behind someone else when they did this. He’d rather not let Mr. Sweet watch them, but alas… the two settled on the very edge of the dance floor. He shot Halina a look of alarm as the band started playing a slower song, a look that was very much mirrored by her. The two turned to look at Mr. Sweet, who looked like Christmas had come early. He took a sip of his drink, before he did a circular motion with his free hand.

“Are you carrying your gun, Ms. Dabrowska?” Mordecai asked as he looked back at Halina. She nodded, fixing him with a puzzled expression. “Please take me out now.”

“No can do. Unfortunately, you’re still needed around here, Mr. Heller.” The gray-furred female gave a snort, before she held up her hands, the sight only alarming Mordecai further. He sighed.

Slowly, Mordecai raised his own hands and put them on Halina – one holding onto her hand, the other onto her side, though both barely touched. The light touches were enough to make the fur on both cats’ bodies stand on end, as if they’d been electrified. Perhaps Mordecai was trying to see if he could get away with just approximating it, and she seemed to be of a similar mindset, over a foot worth of distance between them.

At the table, Mr. Sweet was having a giggle fit, enough to attract attention from other guests and most certainly enough to get noticed by both Mordecai and Halina. They each tried to tune him out as they stiffly danced with each other. They stared at everything but each other, both barely moving. When their eyes met momentarily, they each looked rather helpless. How had it come to this? Perhaps they ought to ask for a raise after this, Mordecai thought.

What kind of boss would do this?

Despite themselves, they stayed on the dance floor, doing their rather awkward dance together for the duration of the song. Unfortunately when they began to move slightly more, turning this way and that, they each caught glimpses of Mr. Sweet watching, laughing and looking as though he was having the time of his life.

When the song came to an end, they each let go immediately and stepped backwards. They each looked miserable, ears laid back against their heads, eyes not meeting as they trudged back towards Mr. Sweet’s table.

“See that wasn’t so bad, was it? I’m sure you had fun – it looked like fun,” Mr. Sweet said immediately, snickering. “You sure were leaving room for the Holy Spirit!”

When he barked with laughter, Halina stared daggers at the older cat. Mordecai was reminded of the fact that she did indeed carry a gun – a gun that she looked as though she’d love to use on their boss at the moment.

“Hey, now, don’t look so sour, li’l missy – you should thank me! I heard some fellas talking about you, now they’ll think you’re even more of a catch when they know you can dance.”

“You’ve got to be kidding-”

“No, I think they were actually interested in you.” Mr. Sweet once more roared with laughter, even slamming his fist on the table a few times to the point where some of his drink spilled onto the white tablecloth. Still laughing, he continued, “As… As for you Mr. Heller, you looked like you had a plank of wood strapped to your back. Oh, that was priceless…”

Mr. Sweet’s colorful commentary didn’t make either of them feel better. If anything, it only amplified the humiliating feelings. “Alright, another, Mr. Heller.”

Mordecai stared at Halina in alarm when she rose again and beckoned him along. Mr. Sweet perked up instantly. “See there, I knew there was a real bearcat hiding in there!”

***

When the black car pulled over, both occupants looked like they wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of time. Halina exchanged a look with Mordecai, but said nothing. Of all the things Mr. Sweet had made them do, all the murders, everything… this was the only thing that left them feeling genuinely unwell.

Thankfully, they’d managed to get lost in the crowds and make their great escape from the Maribel. Surely, Mr. Sweet had caught on by now, but neither of them cared. They’d take whatever punishment he’d dish out, though it hopefully didn’t involve any more dancing.

“You look…” Halina glanced back over at Mordecai as the two stepped out of the car, the cold night air only amplifying the sickening feeling for her.

“Yes?”

“… pale. Can’t say I blame you – that had to be the most humiliating-” Mordecai shook his head and sighed. Halina nodded and cast a glance up at the building Mordecai lived in, then her own.

“You want to come over? I think I might need some… company,” she said, though neither of them seemed particularly fond of the idea. Mordecai just wordlessly nodded, walking with her towards the front door. They both knew that bringing a man home in the dead of night was seen as an improper thing to do.

Halina certainly didn’t want there to be any rumors flying around the block about her being a lady of the night. But she hardly cared. She was feeling mildly nauseous. She would normally never ask for company from a man in private and certainly not him, but right now she felt as though she needed to calm down.

Unlocking her front door, Halina quietly guided Mordecai inside, pleased by how silently the black and white cat moved. She of course knew that he was a stealthy one after having worked with him. She showed him where to step to make the steps of the staircase creak the least as they ascended it together.

Arriving at the landing of her apartment, Halina unlocked the door and let the two of them inside. Her living space was rather spacious, despite its limited size. It wasn’t as overly stuffed as some homes might be. It was clear she lived alone by the sparse amount of interior items. She had a small study with bookshelves that were stocked from top to bottom. It also held a desk with a chair. Her living room had a couch against a wall that looked remarkably comfortable and a dining table with seating arrangements for two. The kitchen was also directly connected to the living room.

“Ah, so this is what you live like,” Mordecai said, tone only mildly judgmental as his green eyes glanced around. “Very quaint…”

Halina wasn’t entirely surer if it was a genuine compliment or not, but she just nodded, acknowledging it as she locked the door. She removed her shoes and opted to go barefoot around her apartment. She normally wouldn’t but right now, she didn’t care one bit. Anything to feel comfortable. “Just… Make yourself comfortable, I’ll make us some tea.”

Halina moved to the radio on her way out to the kitchen. The wooden appliance came on, playing a late night re-airing of a certain radio show. The host’s excitable, almost obnoxious voice didn’t last for too long, thankfully. As music came on, Halina made her way out to the kitchen.

Her fur was still standing on end as she prepared to heat some water. Thankfully, the music was slower, calmer than what was normally played in the Marigold room. It helped her feel calmer, little by little, as though a massive weight hanging over her slowly evaporated into the aether. Turning back, Halina raised an eyebrow as Mordecai was nowhere to be seen, though she did spot his coat hanging by the door.

Stepping into her study, she watched him from the doorway. Not that she didn’t trust him, but she was curious. The monochromatic cat was seemingly examining her books. She had procured many books since coming to America, all on a variety of subjects. Many of them were historical in nature, a select few were novels and there were even philosophical musings in there. The books were neatly sorted by genre and subject.

Halina turned back and returned to the living room, for the first time noticing that she’d left a few things on her living room table. She didn’t waste any time in moving over to clear the space. After all, she knew that Mordecai was unlikely to be pleased when sitting at a messy table. A few papers, some pens, a book, a notepad. As she carried it off to the study, the song came to an end. As the host began to yap again, Halina made it to the desk and put the papers into her drawer.

When she looked up, Halina noticed Mordecai watching her. She shot him a quizzical look, but neither of them said anything. “Tea’s almost ready.”

Leaving the study, she took note of the song now playing on the radio, though unless she was mistaken, it was the host himself singing. It wasn't too terrible at least.

When she wasn’t being put on the spot by her boss, Halina supposed dancing to some nice music wasn’t so bad. The gray female cat closed her eyes for a moment, gently swaying on the spot. Halina moved slowly, moving her feet and her arms, a slow, gentle dance all on her own. When she opened her eyes, she stopped and stared when she saw Mordecai in the doorway.

“Please, don’t stop on my account,” Mordecai said, fixing her with an intrigued look. “You looked like you were having fun.”

Albeit hesitantly, Halina continued, dancing to the song by herself, trying to ignore the fact that Mordecai watched her. She could still feel his eyes on her, however, watching and observing her. She knew he had a meticulous, analytical eye, and she knew he was likely seeing flaws in the way she danced. If he even knew anything about dancing.

“So you can dance…” Mordecai said, sounding surprised. He cleared his throat and stepped closer to her, holding up his hands. Halina stared at Mordecai in surprise, watching the monochromatic cat’s ears laying back in a slight display of embarrassment. “Well, show me how, please.”