New Arrival! [open to everyone left behind]

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

For all the strangeness found in Stacy, it was made only more surreal by the latest addition. There, wandering the halls as if it owned the ship, was a cat. Not a telepathic supercat, and not a giant tiger, ready to pounce upon its prey (though she liked to think she was). Just a normal tabby with a pink collar, wandering around without a care.

Well, maybe one care. She whined for her master as she traveled, wondering where he could be. She'd only just arrived, having slid out of a pod quite by accident, and now was quickly on her way to getting lost.

Comments

[withteethbared.livejournal.com]

Cat!

Bella picks up the scent and, a little more cautiously than she normally would, follows it to its source. For all she knows, it might be like that hairless rodent-thing that she's not allowed to eat.

The wolf eyes the cat warily. "Cat," she says, wondering if it will respond. She wouldn't be surprised, this place is really weird.

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

Spot paused upon hearing the animal approach. She turned to the werewolf warily (lawlz), narrowing her feline eyes in confusion. But when the wolf made the strange sound, Spot pulled back her lips, set back her ears, and hissed like a demon from the Hell itself.

[withteethbared.livejournal.com]

Bella flattens her ears and bristles a little. Is it... going to attack her? She's not sure. It doesn't look like it could hurt her too much, but then again...

She growls at the cat for good measure. "Do you threaten me, cat?"

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

If there was one thing Spot was not, it was a coward. She refused to back down from the much larger animal, even going so far as to take a single step forward, adding a hiss and a growl to boot.

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

"...Oh for... leave the damn cat alone." See this? It's wags Facepalming at you.

[withteethbared.livejournal.com]

"I do not know what it is. Just cat or not." Bella flicks an ear at Wags, slightly annoyed. "There is a rat-thing here that speaks."

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

"So far it looks like a cat, walks like cat, smells like a cat, and sounds like a cat. Chances are it's probably a cat."

[withteethbared.livejournal.com]

"But does it speak?" she insists, eyeing the cat. Bella's stance becomes a little less aggressive, the head and ears come up and she stops showing her fangs.

[vision-ya.livejournal.com]

Vision didn't have much of his own experience with cats. He was familiar with them on general principle of course, and he had encountered a few feral ones during his world tour. But this one was clearly not feral, and on a bizarre, sentient space ship with a preference for abducting powerful entities.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he crouched down so as to be more on-level with the animal.

"[What manner of cat are you?]" he asked, checking the impulse to reach out and scratch its ears in case it was a sentient who would resent being stroked without permission.

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

Now here was someone Spot liked. The tall one reminded Spot of her own friend, especially with his smell and appearance. Even if he wasn't Spot's tall person, he was still a suitable substitute, and Spot let him know this by purring loudly and rubbing against his leg.

[vision-ya.livejournal.com]

Vision decided it was likely either a) a normal cat, b) a super-powered cat that was otherwise normal, or c) a sentient cat that saw no reason to behave other than it was. He could certainly respect that.

Whichever it was, it clearly didn't mind the idea of him petting it. He briefly offered a yellow-gloved hand to sniff before running along the creature's spine and then up to scratch gently behind the ears.

"[Hello to you too, then.]"

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

He even smelled a little like Spot's tall one. Spot couldn't tell if she was pleased or confused or some measure of both. Still, she continued purring and graciously accepting the petting, quite pleased at having found someone.

[vision-ya.livejournal.com]

Cats, thus far, were officially a pleasant experience. Vision smiled and sat down, cross-legged, in a more comfortable position than a crouch.

"[Friendly cat,]" he murmured to himself. "[Do you have a name to go with that collar?]" He ran his fingers around the accessory in question, looking for an ID tag of some sort.

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

Of course she did, and she proudly sat up, displaying the tag that said "SPOT" on it.

[vision-ya.livejournal.com]

Awww, sweet kitty!

"[Hello Spot, it is very nice to meet you,]" Vision said. "[My name is Jonas.]"

He paused, and sighed.

"[And -- unless you are hiding a surprise -- I am talking to a cat.]"

More pettings for Spot anyway.

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

If Jonas might be shocked by anything, it would be that Spot seemed to almost arch one of her nonexistent eyebrows. Of course she was a cat, what else did Jonas think she was?

[vision-ya.livejournal.com]

'Shapeshifter' was an option!

Vision skritched Spot's ears again. "[I do not believe any of the crew mentioned a missing cat. I hope someone knows who you belong to.]" Then again, cat. "[Or who belongs to you.]"

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

Of course, if Vision cared to look, he'd probably spot the "If lost, please return to Lieutenant Commander Data, Deck 2, Room 3653" part on Spot's tag.

[vision-ya.livejournal.com]

He would, but it wouldn't really help. Stacy didn't come with numbered doors, and Vision wasn't familiar with Lieutenant Commander Data either (although he would quickly agree that he had excellent taste in pets).

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

Spot had to concur with Vision's assessment of Data. Now much more comfortable, Spot made a show of plopping down, closing her eyes, and letting loose a low and steady purr.

[vision-ya.livejournal.com]

Vision chuckled a bit and kept petting Spot. Eventually, he'd have to continue onto the labs.

Eventually.

In the meantime though, it was very difficult to convince himself to uproot a clearly happy cat.

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

Spot was perfectly content right where she was. She had no intention of moving just yet.

[potentialmonkey.livejournal.com]

Rufus had ducked away from his owner to explore more of the ship. As of yet, he hadn't noticed the tabby.

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

The smell caught Spot first. She glanced in the direction it came from, wondering what in the world it could be.

That's when she saw it. It was easily the ugliest rodent Spot had ever seen, and even if her first instinct was to tackle it down and rip off its face, Spot didn't really want to. She wasn't hungry, and she was kind of worried that if she did, the rat would just make her sick.

So she settled for mewling at it, stepping closer curiously.

[potentialmonkey.livejournal.com]

Rufus jumps in surprise, "Yikes! Cat!" and hides as quickly as possible, poking his head out slightly to keep an eye on Spot.

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

It spoke. Why was the ugly rat speaking. Spot stopped and just stared at Rufus, wondering just what the heck was going on.

[potentialmonkey.livejournal.com]

Rufus growls. Cats? Not his favorite animals/

[cognitive-array.livejournal.com]

So the rat could growl.

Spot growled louder. Besides, the cat was now flexing claws in dire need of trimming. They seemed to look like small swords on the feline.