AN: Short, fifteen-minute writing challenge. Enjoy!


He was head of the committee for equal treatment for all of those that were different. Mages, elves, little people (they didn't like to be called dwarves anymore), and he wasn't quite sure how he'd gotten the position. Granted, the latter two were few and far between, but there wasn't a day that went by when some poor sod wasn't lighting someone's homework on fire because they were mad about someone or other doing this or that.

And now the Dean wanted something written to explain exactly what they were up to. Which is why Anders was sitting in his dorm room with an ancient pc hooked up and typing.

A cup of cooling tea sat to his left, and he occasionally lifted it to sip at it. He could, jokingly, call this his manifesto. It was something that he had often thought about doing in highschool and the typing was coming at an easy pace at least. Pausing to squint at the words he'd just written, he heard a soft meow to his right.

Glancing over, he gave his cat, Pounce, a smile, then turned back to his work. It was going swimmingly. He'd already written five pages and there was a wealth more of information to work with. The dean of the university would be satisfied.

Another insistent meow, then he had a lapful of fur. His fingers left the keys briefly as he stroked the orange and white cat's soft fur for a few seconds, and a smile was on his face as he continued typing. The odd sound of a key being smacked made him frown, and he hit the backspace button before resuming. Then again, and again. Frowning down at the cat in his lap, he shook his head.

"Now you stop that." He didn't listen though, and rather climbed up onto the desk. Being the cat lover that he was, Anders didn't push him off, but fixed the document and tried to work around him. It wasn't quite as easy with him waving his tail just under his nose. Moving the mouse again, Pounce's eyes caught the little arrow moving and he went forward to pat the screen, following it with both paws and eyes until he stopped moving it.

"Pounce...DOWN." Of course, the cat didn't listen. They had a mind of their own after all. And he lunged forward as the cat rubbed along the monitor, turning it precariously toward the edge. "Dammit all cat..."

Another meow was heard as he bodily picked him up and set him on the floor, shakily taking a sip of tea. And the typing began anew. At least, until part of it was highlighted and he typed over it. A furious ctrl+z fixed that, and he yanked the mouse out of batting range, giving the cat a stern look as he did.

Thankfully, it was enough to send him wandering off into the kitchen and Anders breathed a sigh of relief as he clicked back to the end of the document, took a sip of tea, and started writing again. The sound of something moderately heavy did nothing to distract him, though the feeling of eyes almost did. Still, he continued, even when he vaguely noticed the cat moving around the table and out of his sight.

Then his typing stopped. And he didn't know why. Hands hovered above the keyboard for a brief second before he tried again, and one hand went up to tug on shaggy hair. "Oh no, please no. I don't want to spend my last bits on a new keyboard," he whined a bit pathetically.

A meow made him stop, and he leaned to look down to where Pounce was sitting, next to a pulled out cord.

"You little scamp..." But the cat ignored him, like usual, and went to sit next to an empty silver dish. Then it meowed. Again. And he scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. "You're pushier than Fenris and Hawke both," he muttered, swiping the dish up and standing.

He was certain the cat ate better than he did, and he left the computer, unplugged keyboard and all to pull a can down from a childproofed cabinet. The contents were scooped into the little bowl as Pounce wound around his ankles, a constant purr filling the room. Even if he was interrupted, this was worth it. Leaning down, he placed the bowl onto the floor, and was rewarded by a rough tongue, then a head pushed into his hands before he was forgotten in lieu of stomach satisfaction.

A soft chuckle escaped him, and he ran a hand down his cat's back before returning to the computer. The plug issue was neatly fixed, and he resumed writing again, tea growing colder still. Once again he was startled by Pounce jumping into his lap, and he tensed a little before the cat showed signs of just settling down where he was to rest now that he was full. He spared him a few precious strokes and relaxed. The writing was coming even easier now that they were both content.