Motion Pictures (Pt.2)

"Get under there, see if you can find anything."

Kei spoke, kneeling by the stage where he had taken off one of the panels to look underneath where a variety of things lie cluttered and dusty.

Avina did as he said and vanished in the dark until the tip of her tail lit a small flickering flame, that gave enough light for Kei to see as well.

"What does it look like?" She asked, searching around.

"Look for a big metal box, with some metal disks around it," Kei replied, watching as she heads further into the dark.

Avina then approached the film reel and what seemed to be a large, crank-able movie camera. 

"Is this it?" Avina gently pawed at the camera curiously.

"We'll see, hang on a second." Leaving the side of the stage, Kei headed off behind the curtains to a room he had designated to supplies and other things. Coming back he held a flashlight in his hand, giving it a few shakes to make sure there were batteries. He knelt down again by the stage, flicking it on. 

"That'd be it."

He replied, and with a grunt, he crawled under the stage to pull it out. He returned with a large metal box, as well as a circular case filled with large rolls of film. He sat them both on the stage, shaking the dust off his jacket, ears twitching from the cobwebs.

"You couldn't have gotten the flashlight earlier?" Avina commented as she jumped on the stage beside the equipment, shaking off her pelt. Avina sniffed the old box and sneezed. "Do you think it will still work?" 

Pulling the projector out of its case he set it up, head tilting. "We'll see in a second." He commented. He turned it around as he inspected it, leaning over to look at the lens, pressing a few buttons. 

"Not too bad, a crooked lens and one of the reel spools is bent. Let me mess with it for a while here." 

Avina peered around curiously and padded over to backstage. She went over to the more mechanical area, looking for some small door where extra parts could've been hiding.

-/-

"God fucking dammit!"

A couple hours had passed, and such profanities hadn't ceased throughout. Letting his curse subside for the time being Jason sat in the first row of theatre chairs as he worked on it. He held a screwdriver between his teeth, his hands meanwhile had been tinkering with the lens in order to put it in correctly.

After dropping it once, it meant another trip below the stage for spare parts.

Avina hurried over to Kei to see what the trouble was, only to see a grumpy man that had broken a lens. She jumped on his lap to cheer him up and yowled at other cats to stay away.

Jason exhaled and stroked Avina's head gently, wiping his brow. "That should be it for that... just straightening out what's bent, now." He updated her. 

Avina purred, pressing her head against his chest. She watched him fix it and jumped beside the camera.

"I do hope it runs."

Avina said, looking at it inquisitively.

As he fixed the last of it Jason went behind the stage, pulling out a generator from behind the curtains. hooking it up, he flicked the projector on and aimed it at the closed curtains. He sat back down, as well as letting his curse take over once again. He knew the stray preferred his appearance as 'Kei' for obvious reasons.

Avina watched intently, ears pricked up and eyes wide. Comedically, her pupils were wide as well, until they adjusted to the light. Avina jumped and huddled next to Kei when the reel began to turn.

"There we have it, now let's see what we've got," Kei commented, pulling the box of reels closer, looking at the titles on the covers. Most seemed unfamiliar, spare a couple of classics.

Kei would feel her pressing against his neck and cheek, still spooked by the camera moving. 

"I don't know any...films you people call it. Pick something interesting." Avina said, her tail wrapping around his neck.

"Alright... this'll be fine." He replied, picking up a reel. He flicked off the projector to put it in place and turned it back on. The screen came up as black and white, a quiet song playing as a farm came into view in the scene. 

Avina sat on his lap when he took a seat. She was intently watching the moving pictures. Avina was entertained after such a long time. Her slender figure blocked his view some, putting her front paws on the seat in front of them.

As the scenes carried on, a girl came into view. Of course, having seen it a couple times Kei sat back, watching Avina's reactions more than anything. He watched absently nonetheless, scratching her neck.

Avina ducked whenever something seemed as if it were coming toward her on the twister scene. Whenever the dog appeared, her fur stood on end. Her back pressed against his hand when Kei stroked her. She was dazzled to see moving pictures in color.

"Well princess, what do you think?" Kei commented. 

"It's nothing like I'd ever seen..."
Avina 's eyes were trained on the screen, lying cozily on Kei's lap into a ball with her paws tucked in. 

Her eyes closed as she purred softly.

"If anything, the only thing I admire about humans is their creativity. I still think their lowlives though."

Avina mewed, pressing her head under Kei's chin.