Chéri was a person of principle when it came to wine: he would not leave any good one go to waste. He got up and poured himself some, sipping it right away granted it hat breathed a little.

Chéri tried to launch a few adorable looks at the cat, wondering if that could work for him too. Chéri shook his head “Get as close as you want.” He reassured her. He had very little physical boundaries apparently and seemed to feel relaxed and at home, at least physically.

Christine watched as Cheri poured another glass and chuckled to herself. Her cat simply stared at the guest uncertain how to act.

When she returned, she pet the cat and smiled. "Just go slowly, he is very agreeable." The woman settled beside him close but not so tight one was practically in the other lap. She opened her book and showed it was Hansel and Gretel. "This is one I had mentioned before." She said to him cheerfully before she started to read it slowly.

The cat was unsure. To try and make friends with him, Chéri raised his glass, as he would do with a friend and then chuckled a little. Chéri nodded. “He knows not to trust people who are just too quick,” he winked and then shook his head “which makes our friendship more unlikely. What do you think, Archimedes, will you make an exception for your Chéri?” He extended an arm towards the cat.

Chéri made a little more room for her and started to look into the book. Chéri could read, of course, but looked at the pictures -granted there were any- with great curiosity.

"Just about anything and anyone is nervous around those who move too quickly and confident. " She said softly as the cat allowed himself to be pet.

She slipped beside Chéri and opened the book to the story I particular and it did have some illustration in it, which she showed him. "It is such a sad story..." she mused as she read to him about the two starving children being abandoned and finding the witch.

Christine seemed optimistic about the developing relationship between Chéri and the cat, while Chéri was still a little bit doubtful, obviously. But they smiled again in their own warm, sweet way when the cat approached his.

Chéri rose his shoulders “Then why did you chose it? Is the poor witch unhappy?” The story hadn’t started yet and Chéri was already rooting for the villain. That was encouraging. Also, Chéri didn’t know how much potential trigger the story carried. His eyes emptied a little at the prospect of starving children.

Archimedes seemed quite content to stay just close enough for Chéri to scratch under his chin and behind his ears. The cat purred slightly but watched him with either suspicion or contempt.

"Oh my dear one, the witches never have happy endings.." She sighed sadly as she looked over the story. "But it's still a good story. Maybe one day we'll find one with a happy witch. But it doesn't matter, because they are just stories. I can be a real witch who is very happy."She said playfully.

Chéri had no intention whatsoever of ignoring the cat. The creature felt simple and friendly, like most humans weren’t and it liked him without complication. This was something Chéri deeply appreciated.

Chéri seemed distressed by the perspective “Oh, why not?” he asked about the poor witches. He nodded, although he felt like the fun had been spoilt a little. “Maybe you can change it, for me? I’d really like a happy witch story. Even more than one.” Chéri laughed and fixed his hair, without any particular care. He was losing some of his affectations, partly thanks to the wine, but mainly thanks to Christine. She had put him at ease. She had made everything simple and any faux pas a small matter.

The cat soon relaxed and he could pet him all over as Christine watched quite cheerfully.

She seemed in thought and looked over her new friend and giggled a bit. "Change it? You know, I think we can do that. I will give the witch a happier ending for you, and for me."

Her head leaned forward as she read the story allowed. It followed the usual tale of two children led by their father deep into the woods and left behind, their trail of crumbs eaten by hungry birds. But when they came upon the witch, she mentioned how it was their own fault for not being suspicious of an edible house if the birds were so hungry.

The witch captured the children and by the next full moon she had a feast for her best witch friends and they lived happily ever after in her magical gingerbread house.

"What do you think? Or should I have still let the children escape?"

Chéri kept petting the cat, but didn’t dare go too far with it.

Chéri seemed relieved at the perspective of not having to see the poor witch end up losing and living unhappily. Apparently he cared more for her than for the children.

Chéri shared “it must not be easy to build such a place and then have two pests coming over and eating your stuff off the walls,” commented, with a certain disappointment. Chéri shook his head.

“I think they should do something to fix what they have done to the witch’s house. Most children are stupid, no one needs to build an entire house made of gingerbread to have them over, so she must have built it for some other reason. I think they should work to fix it. And because she is fair, she will feed them during their work time. Does that make sense.”

Christine seemed in agreement as she nodded sagely and sipped her fine wine. "You'd be quite right. And while making the children help in rebuilding seems like a fine punishment, they can be stupid and might make things worse.

"Better to remove the pests and do it alone. Besides, she has magic on her side. But perhaps she could make them fix it and every time they mess up, they must work longer to make it up to her. Thus they have a home and food and steady work and learn skills that may help them in the future. That could be a good ending all around." Whe said softly as she watched Chéri pet a happy, purring Archimedes.