Imaginary Worlds

It was a good thing that the man had laughed. Otherwise it would have been embarrassing. "That's fine. I'm sure that we'll have a wonderful time." he assured.

Sighing, the man looked to the lab building with a frown. "I need to head inside." he murmured softly.

"I need to take Kosch out somewhere, we haven't done much lately," he smiled and looked across the room at his son eating breakfast. He was going to take the boy to ride the train.

"Call me when you're ready. Or when you just want to chat," the Master offered, shrugging his shoulders somewhat.

"Have fun. Oh, and a fair is coming to town next week. You might consider taking him with." the Doctor stated before disconnecting the phone.

What? It was a good idea. And giving that Koschei really hadn't been to one before, it would be interesting.

"Fair? Huh," that was odd. Either way, he left the other man to it and turned his head to his son with a playful smile. "Hey Koschei, want to go to a fair sometime this week?"

What? The Doctor suggested it and he was up for it if the lad was.

Oh? "I don't know. Is it like the park?" he asked softly, cocking his head to the side a bit.

What? He'd really never been to one before. Koschei couldn't help but to be curious about it now.

"A bit, we'll make a date of it, next week. We'll go together and I'll get you some popcorn," he promised as he grabbed his jacket off the sofa and gestured for his boy to follow.

"Come on then, we have to go catch a train," the Master remarked with an amused expression.

Nodding, he did as he was told, following along after. "So. Can we get a cat?" he asked softly.

What? The Master was in charge now. Surely they could get one with the latest increase of funds.

"No, we have a dog," the Master pointed out with a sigh, he'd already gotten the boy a rat before and that hardly went all that well, he wasn't doing this again.

"I brought you a rat you really wanted, now you rarely play with it and I have to change it's cage. I'm not looking after a cat all day because you go off it," the Master explained with a small shrug.

"That's 'cause he hasn't been in his cage for weeks. I let him run about." Koschri informed softly.

Yes. They had a glow in the dark rat roaming about their house. Koschei didn't see the issue here.

"... You're not convincing me," the Master complained, he couldn't help but be a bit annoyed at the idea of the poor cat going missing somewhere because he left it to roam.

"No, kiddo, unless you can prove you can take care of it, no," the Master asserted stubbornly, not willing to change his mind.

Damn. Koschei had thought that would be an issue. "I don't wanna lock him up again! He hates it." he asserted.

His rat couldn't be locked away again. Koschei didn't want his pet to be locked up away.

"He lives there! Like the animals at the zoo.We live in a house as well. He's not locked up, he's been put away safely in his home. If he roams around he could get stuck, trapped or injured," the Master asserted to the boy.

"you're not helping him, you're putting him in danger. What if he gets stuck behind the radiator or a shoe falls on him?" the Master pointed out, it was very possible.

"He doesn't leave my room. An' he can get back in his cage. But he doesn't like his cage." he asserted.

Koschei didn't want his pet to be locked up. It wasn't fair. The poor creature was constantly upset.

"You get instructions with pets, you have to follow them," the Master insisted with a small sigh. "It's for their own good, despite what they may whine over, they need it."

"Look, cats love to roam and they love being outdoor, if I get one then they'll want to be outside," the Master pointed out. "And you knw what happens to most outdoor roaming cats? They get ran over. And it's legal."

"Not when we move. There won't be a lot of cars around." Koschei asserted firmly. And really? How could he not use that?

It wasn't as though his showed signs against the idea. The man had promised they'd move. Koschei planned around it.

"That won't be for a while, as I said, and then what? We lose it in the countryside? That's worse," the Master insisted with a small sigh because he just didn't trust his son.

"Look, prove yourself more responsible and maybe," the Master offered and that was that.

"You said a year." Koschei informed softly. The Master had given him the time they needed, as vague as it was.

"But fine. I will lock my pet back up and deal with it being upset." he ground out. So may e since that entire 'Doctor snapped' episode, Koschei had issue with being locked up.

"I'm not saying that, what I'm asking is that if we have a cat, will you take total care of it?" he asked with a small sigh because he didn't believe him sometimes.

He just didn't want to risk it because it was a real thing. "I'll think on it."

"I would. I like cats. We can get a small one. A black one! An' I will call it Midnight and it can sleep in my room with me." Koschei said softly.

What? He wanted a cat. He wanted a small animal to love and care for. Could he be blamed?

He already had a small animal to love and care for. He had two actually. Three if they counted Sigma. Having any more pets just seemed stupid frankly, what boy needed that many?

"I said I'll think on it but we're not rushing out to get one," the Master said sternly with a sigh. "And no going behind my back to your mother to get one either or you're grounded and you won't have a pet again."

The Master didn't have a clue. "I won't ask her." he promised firmly. And he wouldn't do that.

Not when there was a third option the Master didn't bother to consider. Koschei was truly far too manipulative for his own good.

"I don't want a cat in that house till I say it's okay and I work out how it's going to all pan out, understood?" the Master ordered because he really wasn't fond of cats and if he had to have one, he was doing it properly.

Which meant making sure he could afford it, handle it and everything. "If you do, I'm giving it away. I'm serious on this one, I want to make sure that it would work."

The Master just couldn't make this easy. Koschei sighed and gave a sulk. "What if it's a gift? Then what?" he asked softly.

What? I was a valid point. What of he was given one freely through no fault of his own.

"I'll tell the Doctor not too," the Master said simply with a shrug. Who else was going to buy Koschei a cat? "Look, Koschei, I'm not doing this to be mean, it's just how things are."

And it was a shame but he couldn't help it. "You're at school every day but six weeks in the summer and you're not here weekends. I have to watch the cat. I can't lock pets away and forget they exist, they tie me down to the house and I want to be able to stay over at the Doctor when you're gone and go out. I can't. I'd have to feed the bloody cat like I do your rat. Sigma is easy, he's a dog, I can take him most places because he likes going on a walk. Cats don't. Dogs are easy to take out and about, cats aren't."

"Pest goes on walks and stuff." Koschei mumbled, otherwise dropping the topic. He didn't need to get into it.

Not this time. Not when they were having a good day. "I don't wanna talk about it anymore."