☼ 004 [video]

[got_it_memorized]

[See Axel. See Axel looking puzzled. See Axel looking puzzled with a very small cat sitting neatly on his shoulder, mesmerized by this strange device in Axel's hands.]

So this happened. [He shrugs the shoulder that is not a cat perch.] I was near the ruins and... Well, she followed me home, you might say. As in she staged a hostile takeover of my hoodie pocket.

[He looks a little uncomfortable. Watch out, Axel, your squishy side might be showing.]

I think she's still too small to take care of herself, you know? So... [Fidget fidget. The little cat blinks at the screen, then turns to look at Axel and impulsively bonks her head against his jaw. Great. Cat, you're not helping that squishy side showing thing at all.] I've never had a cat before.

[Translation: HALP?]

Comments

action | locked to roommates

[got_it_memorized]

[So let's back up a little. Axel did indeed find the cat by the ruins, and she did indeed commandeer his hoodie to hitch a ride to a new home. And he was indeed unable to just say no and leave her there. So now he stands in front of the door to his apartment, unsure what to do next. He doesn't think Sheena or Riku will mind having another critter in the house (so long as she doesn't try and eat Luna or anything), but he's not quite sure how to broach the subject.

Pulling the little creature from his pocket, Axel holds her up in front of him and frowns.]

You're not makin' this easy, you know? I have a very important reputation to maintain: I'm an assassin, okay? Assassins don't adopt cute cuddly kittens.

[The cat doesn't seem moved by his words and instead swats at those two little stray spikes of hair that spring forward from his hairline.]

Cat. Cat focus, I'm talking here.

[Nope, now it's a game.

[With a heavy sigh, Axel just gives up and puts the cat on his head, turning the doorknob and stepping inside hesitantly. Maybe no one's home and he'll have time to come up with a dramatic cover story.]

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena is there, unfortunately, so no dramatic cover story for you. She's in the middle of cleaning off the furniture (god, all this hair) when she sees Axel come in.]

Oh, hey--

[That's... a cat. Sheena blinks once, twice, then asks:]

Why is there a cat on your head?

[got_it_memorized]

[Caught! Damn. Okay, stay calm.]

I have a very good reason for there being a cat on my head.

[Well that didn't work. He can't really admit to any good reason without making himself out to be a big softhearted dweeb. Don't fight it, Axel. Search your feelings, you know this to be true. Okay. Uh. Improvise.]

She's my new hairdresser.

[Nailed it.]

1/2

[fujibayashi]

[fujibayashi]

Pffft--ahahahaha!

[So sorry, Axel, you're getting laughed at. GIVE HER A SECOND she's actually hitting the couch from laughing so hard.]

[got_it_memorized]

[He'll give her a second. Or two. Or six. Okay, ten is all you get. He clears his throat.]

Whenever you're done. [He gives her a few more seconds and then reaches up to move the cat to his shoulder instead, as this might prove a less hilarious location for her to be.]

Hey, you're the one who told me I should try out a new 'do. Cats are expert groomers, you know!

[Might as well run with it like he planned it this way.]

[fujibayashi]

[Just the thought of a cat licking his hair every morning is enough to nearly send her into another gigglefit. She stifles it, tries to catch her breath.]

Sorry, I just-- a cat would probably make it worse.

[She misses Corrine, suddenly, and tries not to let it show on her face. Corrine always rode her shoulder. She gets a little closer, reaches out tentatively to let the cat sniff her hand.]

Do you have a name picked out?

[got_it_memorized]

[He snorts a laugh. At least she humors him.

[At the approach of Sheena's hand, the kitten hesitates, then cranes her neck forward and sniffs at the offered fingers. Then she promptly rubs her face against them before adjusting for balance and reaching out with one little paw to swat playfully at them.]

Ah... [He does. And he feels a little silly that he does. But a cat needs a name, right? Nothing silly or sentimental about it or anything.] Dusk.

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena brightens visibly as the kitten takes a liking to her. She wiggles her fingers to entice the kitten more, unable to help herself.]

Dusk? [She's not sure that's a girl's name, but whatever, Corrine is definitely not a boy's name so there you go.] It fits.

We should probably find her a collar and a bell. [She has one, but it belonged to Corrine and she is never, ever going to part with it.]

[got_it_memorized]

[He doesn't really comment on whether or not the name fits. It suits her visibly well enough, but there's more to it than that, but it would take too long to explain well to her, he thinks. She doesn't know he's anything but human, and bringing his Nobody status into the equation could make thins weird, so he'll just leave it.

[Axel folds his arms and 'hmm's softly.]

Yeah I guess a collar would be a good idea. I dunno how animal control works around here but I don't want anybody carting her off.

[fujibayashi]

[Haha, like she's gonna judge. She traveled with half-elves.]

We could probably find a coin or something and scratch our room number on it.

[The kitten loses her balance and starts to tip. Sheena lets out a little surprised noise and reaches out to catch her in her hands, though that means she's half-clinging to Axel's shoulder too.]

Whoops! It's okay, little girl, I got ya.

[got_it_memorized]

Probably... might look kinda swanky on that piece'a gald you gave me.

[He sort of goes rigid when Sheena grips his shoulder and catches Dusk as she topples. He's not sure he'll ever get used to this whole being in close proximity with other people gig.]

Ah... y... Got her?

[limitstorm]

[ after a long day at work and greeting new arrivals, riku heads back to the unit. it always tends to pour around this time; he's at least prepared for the deluge, with two jackets and a new scarf around his neck. maybe it was the sickness that made him take a little more care of himself, or maybe it's just that it's about this time that the heavy rains come in destiny islands--either way, he's got a bag of groceries (ugh, the man he usually could haggle with was giving him a cold shoulder all of a sudden--what a hassle) as he opens the door, tossing back his hood. but as soon as both feet are inside, what he sees is a flash of white and grey streaking across the ground.

stellaluna seems to be leading the assault, but riku's too focused on the kitten, so much so that-- ]

Cat.

[ --is the first thing out of his mouth. ]

[got_it_memorized]

[Axel pokes his head around the corner from the kitchen and then spares a glance to where Dusk and Luna are playing. He's glad at least that they get along; it would be a lot harder to make this work if they didn't.

[He waves a spoon at Riku and then emerges from the kitchen with a bowl of cereal in his hands.]

Yes, excellent, your vocabulary lessons are really paying off.

1/2

[limitstorm]

[ one, two, three, and riku scoops her up.

he turns to the door. ]

2/2

[limitstorm]

[ ... and closes it. ]

So we have a cat now? We need to get it a collar, you know.

[got_it_memorized]

[For half an instant, Axel worried he was going to put the cat outside, but then logic kicked in. Riku would have been hard pressed to abandon anything in need. Axel knew him well enough to know that, at least.

[Dusk seems puzzled by her sudden altitude, and turns to look at Riku with big curious green eyes. She reaches one little arm up to paw at Riku's chin, and Axel snickers, taking a bite of his cereal. He's not sure why he was worried anyone might not be okay with a cat.]

A collar? Is there even a licensing system for animals around here? [He scratches his head and sits down on the arm of the couch, but seems content to let Riku hold the cat as long as he likes.] I don't think letting her outside unsupervised is a good idea, either way.

[limitstorm]

[ the moment her paw connects with his chin, even if her claws aren't out, riku freezes, awkwardly looking at her before scooping her up into his arms. he wasn't a cat person; not by a long shot, but... there were cat dream eaters. echo cat and meow wow (truth be told, riku had no idea if meow wow was a dog or cat dream eater) had been a part of his party, so he knew how to handle a cat... sort of.

he gently scratches the top of her head, idle before he speaks. ]

She, huh?

Well, a license doesn't matter, but if she gets lost, we want to make sure someone can bring her back--so we need a tag for her name and where she lives, so in case she runs off or there's a raid and people're rounding up pets, they know who she belongs to.

[ he lifts his eyes to axel, now. ]

Did you or Sheena bring her?

[got_it_memorized]

Yeah, she. I was never able to have cats when I was a kid, but I at least know how to tell 'em apart. [He scratches his head then.] But that's true, an ID tag prolly ain't a bad idea.

[And then he looks a little sheepish.]

Ah... I did. I was poking around the ruins earlier and she kinda... [Fidget.] Well I couldn't just leave her there. [Angry cereal eating. 8|]

[limitstorm]

[ riku stares at axel for a few brief moments, honestly considering something before he just looks back down and scritches the kitten's little head. ]

She's probably used to going outside, so unless you wanna set up a litterbox, we're gonna need a collar soon so she can do her business. Thought up on what to feed her yet?

[got_it_memorized]

Ah, fair point. Don't think they sell litter at the grocery store, you know? [He rubs his chin.] Guess maybe I'll leave my bedroom window open so she can come and go. I guess if she's made it this long on her own she'll be all right going out to use the bathroom.

She'll be easy to feed, I think; cats eat meat, so. She'll prolly like canned tuna, and if you an' Sheena don't mind setting aside some scraps when you guys cook...

[He feels a little silly, like the fact that he's given serious thought to how to look after this cat is somehow emasculating or something. There's a kneejerk defensiveness that wants to crop up and he keeps having to tamp it back down.]

[limitstorm]

[ riku nods absently, watching as the kitten sniffs at his fingertips and gives them a tentative lick. ]

Collar, litter, food and water... [ he mutters to himself, ticking each off in his head. ] Cats need places to scratch, or she'll tear apart the couch. I guess we could get some rope and twist it around a post...?

[got_it_memorized]

[Apparently a Riku is delicious, because after licking his fingers Dusk grabs at them with her paws and proceeds to nibble in an adorably ferocious manner. Axel snorts a laugh at the sight, then grabs his tablet and pulls up a search engine to see what they can do about cat supplies.]

Can prolly just nab a hunk of wood from the ruins or the forest, and there might be some carpet scraps left in the busted zone upstairs where the spaceship hit. She could go to town on that.

[limitstorm]

[ aw, now that's a weird feeling. he flinches his hand away at first before just letting her nibble at him. ]

That's what I'm saying. I think that's-- [ oh no wait

uhhhhhhhhh ] Axel?

[got_it_memorized]

[Glancing up from his tablet slowly at Riku's odd tone, Axel lifts his eyebrows.]

Y... eah? [He spies Dusk nomming on him and gets to his feet.] Easy, champ, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have cooties or anything. [He takes the cat from Riku and plunks her back down on his shoulder again.] What? You look like you just saw a ghost or somethin'.