[OPEN] he just couldn't stay away

[catmemes]

WHO: Kaijin (catmemes) & OPEN
WHAT: Catch-all for general catventures and TDM prompts
WHERE: All over
WHEN: August-ish
WARNINGS: will add as needed




[ Prompts below, feel free to throw me a random start or poke me through PM or talkincodes for something specific. ]

Comments

[open] the belly is(not) a trap

[catmemes]

[ The thing about ice cream is that it is very easy for large chunks of it to end up on the ground where wandering small animals might decide to have a taste. You definitely didn't see it happen, Kai has his dignity, but it could have. Potentially. Look it was colorful and available, what do you want from him.

And maybe it's the sugar influx or maybe he's just in a particularly good mood, because Kai finds himself gravitating towards people. Any people. People are great. Which might be why you've found yourself with a fluffy black tripping hazard suddenly winding around your ankles or else confronted with a fuzzy road block that has appeared to sit directly in front of you and look up expectantly. ]

You should pet me.

[matermali]

[ It had felt impossible to choose a flavor, and Vanessa has been forced into some upsetting considerations in recent days. Considerations about Sir Malcolm's probable death, of enemies hidden among friends, of all the ghosts in this city that she isn't able to see. Such low spirits have subdued her enough for her to utterly abandon any illusion of a fast. Hypocricy at its finest.

Vanessa carries a small tub with her, because nobody is around to judge her and she could not care less if there is some kind of repercussion for taking too much iced cream. It isn't as if she'd taken one from the front; she'd found an empty tub in the back so that she could include samples of each flavor. She shouldn't have to choose, and she doesn't feel like partaking in public at the moment.

It's already late by the time she begins to step down an alley towards a back room she had already scouted earlier in the day. Before she can reach the door, though, she's greeted by a cat. The shock of it stills her. This is the first animal Vanessa has seen in this city, and she watches in wonder while it begins to wind about her ankles to tangle through her skirts. The bewilderment yet grows when she thinks she hears something, but—

Vanessa has heard voices all her life. Voices of spirits — of demons. She stares down at the feline now with a new sense of caution, yet her senses are so dulled at the moment that she can't feel anything more from him than that of a simple cat. Foolishly curious, as she always is with the worst temptations, Vanessa begins to crouch to hold down her fingertips for it to get her scent. ]

Beautiful. Where did you come from?

[catmemes]

[ The outstretched fingers get an almost perfunctory sniff before Kai immediately rubs his face against them, giving a low, pleased rumble at the contact. Why doesn't he do this more often? Sure, people are a lot, but right now all he wants is to be close and to be appreciated and happily that doesn't seem to be too much to ask.

It's only when he's firmly wedged himself closer into her hands that he twists a little to look back up at her. ]

The train. Same as everyone.

[ There are no other animals in the city, he knows that much. Well, that just means more attention for him, doesn't it? ]

[emyoji]

[ Seimei isn't eating the ice cream. Not at the moment, at least. It's definitely intriguing, but if he gets swept up in the experience, then who's to say he'll be sober enough to record the results of all this! He'd much rather take notes before trying anything himself.

Which absolutely means he hurries over to Kai when he spots him wandering up to people, uncharacteristically friendly. He at least has the grace to wait until the cat is alone again before crossing his path. ]

Kaijin-sama! You look like you've been busy out here. Did you find a good bar?

[catmemes]

[ Kai is already heading in the direction of the new person when he realizes who it is, but doesn't bother to stop before headbutting Seimei's leg impatiently. He of all people should know what to do here. ]

What do bars have to do with anything? Pet me.

[ He almost never tries to take a commanding tone with Seimei, largely because he's fairly sure that the onmyouji would make him regret it even if he got what he wanted, but at the moment the cat brain has taken over, and the cat brain demands cuddles.

When none of them seem instantly forthcoming, he knocks his head into Seimei's shin again. ]

[emyoji]

Ah, you're looking very cute today.

[ Obviously he's gotten into something, but it doesn't seem dangerous as far as Seimei can tell. Nothing more than a bruised ego later, surely. He dips down and runs his hand along the length of the cat's back and then scoops him up, holding the little furry form out in front of him at arm's length to examine him. ]

Sure, I'll pet you. But first you have to tell me what you found.

[catmemes]

[ He makes a pleased sound as he's gathered up, but when Seimei does nothing but leave him dangling he begins to wriggle impatiently. ]

Found? I don't know. There was some ice cream I guess.

[ The only thing he can think of that's at all out of the ordinary, but he's not entirely sure why Seimei cares. Then again he's not really sure why Seimei does anything ever, so what else is new. ]

It was colorful. Tasted weird.

[emyoji]

Ohh?

[ Well, that explains everything. He keeps holding Kai up above his head, examining him in the light for any weird traits he might see. Obviously, there's no physical signs on the cat, and there's not enough spiritual energy to pick up strange magical traces either. Seimei tucks Kai into one arm, ruffling his head like he's giving the spirit a little cat noogie. ]

You should watch what you eat. What if you end up finding something dangerous?

[unrequite]

[ ...........

This is almost certainly a trap. Despite Midnight's best intentions, cats simply tend to rebuff his peace offerings. Well, that, or they tend to see him as an easy target. (He is a rather easy target, at least when it comes to cats.) ]

My friend, I'd love to, but why solicit a pet from a stranger?

[catmemes]

I deserve them.

[ But true as that may be, too focused on his search for contact means that Kai ignores the brief warning signs that come from someone's hesitation and presses in against his leg anyway. And that's fine, for a moment.

Right before the urge becomes one to bite instead, so Kai goes ahead and does that too. But, you know. Lightly. A warning rather than an attempt at damage, because he still wants pets but his instincts are going slightly haywire. ]

Stop moving. [ Being bitten is probably not going to help there, but you try reasoning with a cat. ]

[unrequite]

You do, dear sir, I — ow —

[ Midnight flinches and does have to do his level best not to lash out in return, but lash out he does not. It's completely absurd. He is a tall, strong person, normally very close to indestructible, yet cats sense his reluctance to harm them no matter what they do, so they cat all over him. There is literally no winning here. ]

If I sit here and pet you, can you please promise not to touch the face? I like being able to see.

[ And because he is also a bit of a wreck, he collapses down, just right there on the curb outside the ice cream parlor, and holds his hand out for the cat to sniff. Look, he knows the rules, all right? It isn't his fault if they never work for him. ]

[catmemes]

[ He backs up a little when Midnight topples over, tail lashing impatiently as he gives him as thorough a once over as his slightly addled mind can manage at the moment. Once it seems clear that there's no actual damage done, he bypasses the more delicate offer in favor of just rubbing his face against the outstretched hand.

If he has to reach up with both front paws and dig his claws in just a little to keep the hand exactly where he wants it, that's neither here nor there. He's not drawing blood, it's fine. ]

I don't want to touch your face.

[unrequite]

Sir, I appreciate it, but oooooow is this really necessary?

[ Midnight chances picking up his other, unpricked hand, and petting the top of the stranger's head very gingerly. Wooing humans goes better for him than wooing cats... At least it's usually frowned upon for humans to dig their claws into other humans. Cats have no limitations. There are no cat gods. (Or are there?) ]

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Jo should really look where she's going, instead of at her phone. Especially when there are cats around. ]

Shit--!

[ WHY ARE YOU AROUND HER ANKLES. Constantine manages not to kick him, but only barely, and the sight of her staggering to find her balance is extremely inelegant. ]

[catmemes]

[ Large as he is, Kai still has the cat ability to turn into a liquid when he wants, and somehow manages not to get caught up in Jo's stumbling. He does wait for a slightly impatient moment or two until she seems steady before pressing in again.

What, she's warned now. It's her own fault for not paying attention to him, probably. ]

[keepgodwaiting]

Christ!

[ She glowers down at him, confused as much as anything. ]

What are you trying to do, kill people?

[catmemes]

[ He just stares back at her, unimpressed and butts his head against her leg. ]

Pet. Me.

[ Clearly that's what he's after, why the confusion? Tripping just means you're lower to the ground and therefor more available. ]

[cranekin]

( Tsurumaru isn’t the type to give personal answers. If you asked him what his favorite food was, he would simply say something along the lines of, “Something that goes well with tea.” But it never takes long for one to figure out that Tsurumaru Kuninaga is fond of sweets. Of course he would be drawn to the ice creams. There are flavors here he’s never seen before. He didn’t know food could be some of these colors. One of those ice creams is the color of a rainbow!!!

But before he can really let himself get distracted, he feels something brush up against his leg and when he looks down, he decides this is much better than ice cream, )

Koneko-chan! ( Ah, he kneels down instantly, reaching out with both of his hands to floof Kai’s fluffy face, ) Ah, you’re in a good mood today.

( Come closer so he can really spoil him. )

[catmemes]

[ And Kai immediately shoots forward into Tsurumaru's grip, accepting the attention as what's due to him. Should it feel weird that he really wants people he doesn't know that well to touch him? Probably. Is he going to let it bother him at the moment? Absolutely not. At least Tsurumaru is someone he recognizes.

Instead he winds as close as he possibly can with a low rumble that he won't admit is a purr even under these circumstances. ]

I want attention.

[ It's as close as he can come to actually parsing what's happening right now, nevermind that his cat brain is interpreting the need to be affectionate as the need for people to be affectionate to him. Close enough? ]

[cranekin]

So demanding today!

(Compared to how aloof he'd been before! If Kai lets him, he'll even scoop him up in his arms and carry him... otherwise he'll just keep petting him, floofing him up, giving him scritches, and just generally spoiling one sweet, good, adorable cat.)

My, what's got you in a good mood today?

[catmemes]

Pets are good.

[ He says it as if it's something he's just discovered, but the fact of the matter is that he genuinely doesn't have a better explanation. He just...wants it.

So why not? He presses himself into Tsurumaru's hands, allowing himself to be gathered up even if he wriggles a little despite himself. Weirdly, most people are not lining up to pick up the youkai, and he's not quite sure how to handle the situation. ]

Nobody pets me usually. [ Not that he wants them to, but that's besides the point. ] They should. I used to have respect.

[justscribing]

Hm? [The existence of a cat at all gets Alhaitham's attention with the distinct lack of animals about the city. So he stops and lets Kaijin slink around his legs.

And then the cat talks, and Alhaitham's brow raises in muted surprise.]

You're not a cat at all, are you? [But he comes down to a crouch to stroke Kaijin's head regardless.] Not a normal one anyway.

[catmemes]

What's normal?

[ It comes out a little grumbly, but it's hard to be genuinely annoyed with hands in his fur exactly the way he wants. He butts up into the hand, a wordless demand for more pressure.

Also it's true, so. ]

Not a cat. Youkai.

[justscribing]

Youkai, huh? [He's familiar, though he's never met one before. That's actually a more expected explanation than 'just a cat', in this case.

He gives Kaijin a few firm strokes down his head and back.]

[catmemes]

[ And Kai rewards him with a pleased purr, arching himself into the hand in a wave as it moves down his spine. ]

There's a few of us around. [ He won't say who, maybe, but they're not that difficult to spot if you know what to look for. ] Weird that there weren't any when we got here.

[ Among the many, many other very weird things about the city, but something that stands out the most to Kai. The complete lack of any kind of lingering energy. ]