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In Kaelin's continuing quest to make some new friends in a new place post-prison, the sphynx decides to throw a little party at his and Jesse's apartment! Who could possibly say no to free pizza? Meeting people has been simple enough, but getting them to stick around and have any sort of meaningful connection has been the more tricky part.

Adding to the frustration of course is Jesse's unwillingness and disinterest in making new friends. His default setting is cold and indifferent, which means most people just avoid him, and they certainly don't bother talking to him. That suits the hyena just fine, he's never been much of a conversationalist anyway. Even as a child he's always gotten by with no friends, and at this point he feels that's simply the way it should be. After all, if you don't have any friends, you don't have anyone who will let you down, or betray you, or hurt you. Unfortunately, the unintended effect of that is it makes making friends harder for the people he does hang around.

Kaelin as a child never had many friends, since being a hairless cat made him a bit of an outcast. But rather than adapt to his loneliness, Kaelin instead sought out other outcasts and made friends with them. All those old friends are gone now in some way or another, and even if they were still in touch, they'd all be back in Old Quarter, too far from Kaelin's new home. Kaelin, unlike Jesse, needs social interaction, and craves it when he doesn't have it. Sure, he's got Jesse now, but there are a lot of things the scarred hyena doesn't know about, like art and music, things Kaelin very much enjoys. It's not like Jesse will ignore Kaelin, but trying to share his passions with someone who doesn't particularly care about them can really wear a cat out. And since Kaelin's initial attempts to make friends on an individual basis has so far failed, surely a casting a wider net will do the trick!

The one thing Kaelin hadn't counted on, however, is no one wanting to show up to his party. He blames this, of course, on he and Jesse being ex-convicts. As worthless, untrustworthy members of society, hanging out with them would only serve to bring your own social standing down, surely. Jesse's initial instinct is to say "fuck 'em," but he knows Kaelin well enough to know he needs this party, and more importantly needs the friends it will hopefully bring. And he knows why no one's coming, he's not that stupid. And so the hyena must swallow his pride and do the one thing he's never been particularly good at: apologize, and sincerely.

Will it be enough to change peoples' minds?

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