After setting their groceries down, Caleb busies himself with hanging both of their outerwear on the pegs beside the door as Yussa crouches down to greet his cats. As he begins removing his boots, he watches Fritz approach first, the bolder and friendlier of the two, to sniff at Yussa's fingers. He is a large cat, and his fluffy white fur only makes him seem larger. It doesn't take very long before he begins rubbing his cheeks against Yussa's hand instead. Ida, smaller and shyer, hangs back and observes a little longer before following suit, sniffing cautiously at his sleeve rather than his fingers.

For Caleb, this is all as surreal as it is charming. He'd long assumed this would never actually happen--that Yussa had no interest in coming to Rexxentrum, and that was perfectly fine. But here he is now in his cluttered little house meeting his cats, dressed simply but beautifully in a Zemnian frock, and not seeming nearly as out of place as he should. Mentally recapping his day since Yussa's arrival is more of the same. Finding him in his office, bringing him to class, walking with him arm in arm across the Academy campus and through the streets of his neighborhood, buying food for dinner--things that could be normal if they weren't so completely unexpected.

Yussa is here just to see him. To watch him teach and spend a quiet evening together. Even with the number of times he has visited Tidepeak purely for a social call, Caleb is still trying to wrap his head around this.

"The big one is Fritz and the little one is Ida," he notes aloud, and picks up their bag of food to bring it to the kitchen. "There are a few strays I feed in the garden, but these two are the only permanent residents." For now, anyway.