THIS REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE HER (x)

she doesn't know exactly what is happening, but she does know that cats are, obviously, the correct choice. dogs are stinky and loud.

lu is a big girl - as an example, she’d be just about the same size as the first adult cat in this t.iktok, but ~2lbs heavier.

also for those who are new - lucrezia is a 20lb maine coon who io found as a wet, angry kitten on the streets during a rainstorm ~80 yrs ago. she's silver-and-ginger in color, including a half orange/half silver face, and classic tabby in pattern (swirly stripes!). she's immortal as long as io is alive, functions as both a magic buffer for io's rather volatile magic and an emotional support animal, and is an excellent gauge of io's trust in a person (less affectionate lu = little trust, very affectionate lu = lots of trust. hostile lu = wtf did you do??). like io, she has a fantastically large sassy streak, a massive ego, and loves to be called pretty.

as I have mentioned so many times that you all are probably like 'yes adair we know' io has stupidly massive trust issues. lucrezia is also very initially distrustful and often hostile/rude to strangers. io does not trust strangers at all, themself. because a stranger could be a hunter. on top of their already present trust issues, io has to be vigilant and paranoid to stay alive. they are, literally, hunted. when io starts to become closer to people, they start to let their guard down little bit by little bit. lucrezia starts to accept them a little more, herself, but she is still obviously rather rude and resentful about their presence. she is always watching them to make sure that they don't get up to any funny business. and when io really gets closer to someone and starts to allow themself those bits and pieces of trust, lucrezia starts to calm down, too. she still watches carefully and keeps an eye on things, but she might also start to offer affection. lu is a perfect echo to iovita's own trust. even in established relationships, if io is starting to feel distrustful for whatever reason, lu will immediately echo it. so, if io is hiding these thoughts, lucrezia will give them away by how she's acting - standoffish, distant, withdrawing her affections.

lucrezia being exposed to so much magic in her formative time of growing means that while she, yes, a cat and acts like a cat, she also has moments where... she does not act like a cat at all. she's more intelligent and calculating. extremely aware of herself and others. watching her long enough can make it clear that she plans some things several steps in advance, and can problem-solve her way through a lot of things. so while she will get up to cat shenanigans, like stalking a mouse in the shop all day or screaming her head off in the kitchen when she smells a bit of chicken, she'll also get up to eerily human shenanigans. like turning the television onto the exact channel she wants (youtube, bird feeder videos or, hockey). it just... kind of depends on the moment whether she's going to act like a cat or something a little more uncanny valley.

“I promise, I did actually come to speak to you.” Even though she says this, statement doesn’t have an ounce of credibility. Her hand is outstretched to Lucrezia to investigate, own feline pupils dilating in their excitement. Adoring smile is given to fellow cat, before sheepish eyes turn to glance up at witch, not looking very sorry in the slightest.

“ UH-HUH, ” IS ALL IOVITA SAYS dully in response, chin in their hand as they watch the tigress interact with lucrezia. their familiar is practically vibrating with excitement – like she’s met her own kitty version of a celebrity. the second ashmi reached out a hand for her to sniff, lucrezia had eagerly stretched forward to do so, ears pricked and eyes huge, round, and dark. if she could talk lucrezia would surely be full of endless questions: how does it feel to be so big and powerful? what is it like to be both woman and cat? does she chase the big prey-animals and not the small prey-animals?

‘ MRRR-UP! ’ comes the insistent mew the second ashmi turns her attention away to look at her witch. lucrezia is, as always, entirely aware of how her witch is feeling (a little ignored, right now), but she is also firmly under the current opinion that it doesn’t matter. it’s all about her and her new big cat friend. reaching out a big, fuzzy paw, she plants it on the tigress’s cheek, staring at her in feline awe.

@deityforged

tag dump #1

as I have mentioned so many times that you all are probably like 'yes adair we know' io has stupidly massive trust issues. this is because of their childhood and also the entire thing with col really fucked them up. io will always have trust issues. they do not want them. they do not like giving these thoughts ground. but it is very hard for them not to. lucrezia is very distrustful and often hostile/rude to strangers. io does not trust strangers at all, themself. because a stranger could be a hunter. on top of their already present trust issues, io has to be vigilant and paranoid to stay alive. they are, literally, hunted. when io starts to become closer to people, they start to let their guard down little bit by little bit. lucrezia starts to accept them a little more, herself, but she is still obviously rather rude and resentful about their presence. she is always watching them to make sure that they don't get up to any funny business. and when io really gets closer to someone and starts to allow themself those bits and pieces of trust, lucrezia starts to calm down, too. she still watches carefully and keeps an eye on things, but she might also start to offer affection. lu is a perfect echo to iovita's own trust. even in established relationships, if io is starting to feel distrustful for whatever reason, lu will immediately echo it. so, if io is hiding these thoughts, lucrezia will give them away by how she's acting - standoffish, distant, withdrawing her affections.

kicks the door down. “where’s the baby?” (lu… she is talking about lu)

THERE'S A NOISE SOMETHING ALONG the lines of HRK! as lucrezia immediately leaps to her feet and springboards directly off of iovita's chest, leaving them to make wheezing noises from their seat as their familiar instead bounds over to loni, meowing cheerfully the whole way.

rubbing up against the she-wolf's legs, she opens her mouth and proceeds to tell her exactly what she thinks.

'AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!' a pause, as something catches her attention and she goes still to stare at it, one ear twitching. it's evidently nothing, as she tilts her chin back up, takes a breath, and starts afresh, 'AAAAAAAAAAA!!'

@lobiita

She is here to scoop up her beloved protege ! Presses her nose to Lu’s own irregardless of potential teeth or claws. (Nyways Ashmi missed Lu so…)

OH! HER IDOL! A PRACTICAL celebrity in lucrezia’s eyes! immediately, deep purrs rumble through her body. she nips rather affectionately at the tip of ashmi’s nose before pressing her nose back, rubbing a fluffy cheek against ashmi’s own.

almost immediately after however, she squirms out of the tigress’s hold, plopping down onto the floor. the air is filled with mews afterwards, and lucrezia trots away, glancing back to encourage ashmi to follow her. she had a fantastic hunt last night, the squirrel still buried nearby with the sole intention of showing it to the tigress. it’s certainly not as big as ashmi’s quarries, but it’s big and fat and lucrezia thinks it was a very good (and hard-won) catch.

@deityforged

"Do you like me too Lucrezia?" Gabriella was knelt down, sparkling as she looked at the feline, hoping for some validation.

HM. LIFTING A PAW, LUCREZIA swipes her tongue over it and then passes her paw over her ear, appraising gabriella silently the whole time. she goes for another lick, and then stops, nose twitching. there’s a familiar scent clinging to the witch… almost like…

she stands, abruptly, and shoves her nose forward, setting her paws on gabriella’s knees as she sniffs. does she also know the tigress that lucrezia had quickly become so fond of? interesting. the familiar lifts her head, seemingly squinting at the witch. how often is gabriella around ashmi? interesting, indeed. clearly a predator more powerful than her enjoys the witch’s company if her scent clings so closely to her. a mark in her favor, certainly.

fluffy tail twitches, and lucrezia seems to consider this new information for a long time. finally, she reaches up and taps gabriella’s cheek with a paw. singular affectionate gesture completed, she settles back down and returns to grooming.

@nexarerum

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lu's nicknames are currently, as follows:

lu (everyone)

lulu (latona)

belua (io)

thief (people she's stolen from)

that cat (people she's attacked for no discernible reason)

pretty kitty! (people who have passed by the shop and see her in the windows)

fluffy kitty! (same ^)

lucrezia has a bit of a raspy mew, as well as a deep, rumbling purr. she makes noise quite a bit, and seems to always have something to say with her wide rage of yells, meows, and squeaks.

" YOU'RE ONE OF THE BEST things that's ever happened to me, you know that right? " perhaps one would expect the witch to say these things to another person, but no - lucrezia is clinging to one of their shoulders, purring and rubbing her head against the side of iovita's own. joyous smile is plastered all over the witch's face, snuggling the silver-and-ginger feline as close as possible.

tell me all about ios hair and lus fur thank you

well, first-off (I almost typed furst-off, lmao), lucrezia is a long-haired cat. she's double-coated and sheds a lot come summer, but io usually keeps her well-brushed no matter what. she's incredibly soft, honestly. so much so her fur feels like a silky soft plush animal's. it's lovely to sink your hands into, and when io sleeps with lucrezia next to them, they like to wrap an arm around her and sink their fingers into her chest fluff. this is also a favorite for lu, as she always starts kneading the air and purring very loudly and will position herself just right for optimum cuddles. it's also to io's benefit, as it helps them sleep a lot better.

now, io's hair is incredibly thick, long, and wavy from roots to ends. I really like describing it as a mane, tbqh. it's not fine hair, either. io's hair is coarser, and doesn't need washed as often. io washes it twice a week with special attention to keeping it moisturized. the sheer thickness of their hair means it takes a long time to air-dry, too, but they prefer it. since their hair is also white, it can get a yellow-ish color if they don't counteract that, and they do, because they love the stark white color.

nowadays, io's hair often lays undone or occasionally tied back and out of the way, but they used to enjoy braiding it, of all different kinds and styles. they can't really manage it anymore, because they can't lift that one arm high enough long enough to comfortably to do so, and they miss it dearly.

also, if you look closely enough you'll see that not all of io's hair is white. there's a few lingering strands of darker gray and even some strands with a hint of brown. they're just so few and far between that they aren't obvious until you look for them.

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