[OPEN] the cat returns

[plentystrong]

WHO: Catra, mayhaps YOU?
WHERE: cat cafe, De Chima library, some De Chima street
WHEN: October
WHAT: going about her catte life, having the sads
WARNINGS: None so far!

1. Royal Purrincess Cat Café

[ Yes, wonder of wonders, somehow Catra is still employed. Or, to be fully correct: employed again. She was fired for a hot second, but her fandom staged an uproar when word got around. And so, to the dismay of her coworkers, she is back in her corner, napping or playing with the cats, and mostly staying out of the service area because she has received a solid warning.

Why is she putting up with this? It's an easy, cushy job. She barely has to actually do anything and there are a bunch of cats -- or, the coworkers that actually like her.

Interact at own risk. ]

2. De Chima Library

[ Who would've thought? Catra, back at the library. Of course, she's doing it her way: she's brought snacks and drinks and hunkered down in a corner in the comics section, laughing audibly whenever something funny happens in the comic she's reading.

There is plenty of empty space around her, as she's gained some notoriety with the general populace of imPort cities and no one really wants to disturb her. She is quite happy with this and keeps reading, snacking and laughing. ]

3. De Chima street

[ The days since Riptide has disappeared keep stretching longer and longer. It's been over a week, making the likelihood of him returning ever lesser, and for some reason, Catra is feeling pretty morose right now. Of course, those two things have nothing to do with each other.

It's not like she liked him.

It's not like they were friends.

It's not like he was one of the few people who saw her for who she was and didn't leave.

So there's no particular reason at all why she's stomping down a street, glaring at anyone who dares to look at her, kicking a soda can that happens to be in her way. ]

Comments

3

[adamantlyardent]

[the first and last thing Cecelia wants right now is to be seen. that singing thing? awful. dreadful. she'd vowed never to set foot outside her room ever again, but that...turned out to be impractical. it just meant she wears a lot of bandannas and over-sized sunglasses wherever she goes to evade detection, making ever possible effort to not say a word.

it's a struggle, especially with a customer service gig. honestly, who has it worse than she does?! gods, she just wants to grab something to take home to eat, crawl into her room, and hide away with her nine different sets of nail polish and--]

Ffh-oh!

[she squeaks, getting nearly bowled over by the stomping cat crossing her path. in her hurry to press up against a wall and evade her, her glasses pop off her face and clatter to the ground.]

[plentystrong]

[ Catra is pretty stuck in her haze of sulk, but that squeak -- well, it's familiar enough to catch her attention. She turns around to the person who has just narrowly evaded her and -- well. ]

Oh. Hey, Freckles.

[adamantlyardent]

Cecelia. [she huffs it a bit, bending down to collect her glasses before they can get stepped on.] What are you in such a hurry for?

[plentystrong]

[ The huff is mutual! Catra digs her hands deeper into the pockets of the jacket she has once more taken to wearing. ]

I'm not in a hurry.

2

[prayercycles]

[ Fortunato hasn't been in De Chima in a while, but he has some books to return- things he took out on loan for someone at Church, as he could get between cities easily.

There was certainly a time when he would go to random libraries in the porter cities, though, simply to be some place quiet. He feels a bit healthier now, and more like Maurtia Falls is a home, but to some extent it's still nice to be here.

...The laugh is a surprise, however. Not a fellow teenager making noise- that's honestly fairly normal. But is that-

He can see well enough to glance around a shelf. That's Catra. And then he turns away, though he's somewhat glad to see her not making too much trouble. Maybe it's better if she didn't see him... ]

[plentystrong]

[ Alas, he is not in luck. Just in the moment he looks around the shelf, Catra's eyes happen to stray from her comic and she sees him.

Very quietly, she gets up and sneaks over, until she is right behind him. ]

Whatcha doing? Spying on me?

3

[hordinglife]

[It's technically a time when Lonnie is supposed to be at work, but of course she lost her job a long time ago. She's managed to do some temporary jobs, almost got a job doing construction of all things, but then she'd accidentally torn down a scaffold when she'd touched it with her gloves off. So much for that one.

She's brushed as much of the dust out of her hair as she can as she trudges down the street with her hands in her pockets, not looking up. Most people seem to be avoiding her which is just fine with her. And then she almost gets hit by a can kicked by some je--

--Oh, look who it is. Lonnie's just gonna kick the can into the air and catch it.]

Are cans the new enemy now?

[plentystrong]

[ There she is, working up a good brood -- and then, of course, she has to run into Lonnie. Lonnie, who has nothing but her usual attitude to offer. Catra's even less amenable to it now than before. ]

Go away, Lonnie.

[hordinglife]

[Wow, Catra's got an attitude. Guess it's a day that ends in Y. But something about the mood seems different from how Catra's been since she got here. More like the Catra Lonnie knows and less like the weirdly content and almost friendly--to everyone else but her--Catra that she's been dealing with.]

What happened? Did someone start something? [And of course Lonnie jumps to conclusions thinking one specific person is the cause of this mood. Because when is something about Catra not about Adora?]

[plentystrong]

[ Great. Here's Lonnie again, pretending to, somehow, care? The thought is pretty ridiculous. Catra replies through gritted teeth. ]

No one did anything.

1

[perfectlyhuman]

[ How's he supposed to resist a Cat Café? He's never even seen one before! He had no idea these places even existed! He'll have to tell Jane and Aziraphale about this.

Unfortunately, he has to leave his own furry little friend behind, for which he apologizes, leaving Dog tied up somewhere outside and promising to not take long.

He's going straight for the cats.

And that's where he finds someone who...looks a lot like them. Which is, all things considered, pretty cool. ]

Excuse me. Are you a cat, too?

[plentystrong]

[ Catra is entertaining a fairly young and playful cat, when... oh look. A human kid. She gives him her most deadpan of stares. ]

What do you think?

[perfectlyhuman]

[ Yes. A perfectly human little boy.

He doesn't react to the sarcasm much. He's more interested in nothing her different colored eyes and her ears. ]

Just never seen one before. Or a place like this by that matter.

What's your name?

2

[monster_san]

[It's been a month now, and Fuu is starting to accept that Hikaru isn't likely to come back. She still might, and Fuu herself is an example that she might even do so with her memories intact. But... that's very rare, she knows.

She's here with the express purpose of taking her mind off of things, and the laughter in the stacks is the perfect sort of distraction. It's familiar, too. Fuu meanders through until she finds Catra sitting with a bunch of comic books, and snacks, which she is technically not supposed to have back here.]

Oh, Catra-san! I was wondering who was back here.

[plentystrong]

[ Catra's just munching on some popcorn when she is accosted by... oh look. It's little miss prim and sensible. She just raises an eyebrow, not bothering to get up. ]

Yeah, well. Now you know.

[monster_san]

[Not the most welcoming of responses. And well, if she's absorbed in her reading, Fuu's not going to prod at her unduly.]

I'm sorry to interrupt. [She starts browsing a nearby shelf. Comics actually seem like just the thing.] But I heard you laughing, so I got curious.

2. De Chima Library

[hailgiovanni]

[ Archer had come to this library because it had a book he could not find in digital format - oh how he was enjoying this world's technology - and that was not available in Maurtia Falls. He had looked forward to reading this specific book, planning to finish it in his time here.

However, every time he had gotten truly invested in the history the book laid out before him he was drawn from his attention by a loud, irritating laugh. After one time too many he closed the book, marking the page number in his mind, and made his way to Catra's location, intentionally blocking out as much light as he could when he approached. ]

Pardon. You are being quite loud, and it would be best if you remembered yourself.

[ The man did not look at all pleased, or like he actually wanted any pardon. ]

[plentystrong]

[ Catra peers at him over the brim of her book. ]

Bold of you to assume I somehow forgot myself.

[hailgiovanni]

You have at the least forgotten basic decency.

[ He is looking at her with the most unimpressed expression. It could perhaps rival her own. ]

cats! cats! cats! cats! cats!

[catlady]

[ She had completely forgotten about the cat café until it came up in conversation, the words slipping out once during their usual sparring sessions. It's one of those things that goes in one ear and out the other and it isn't until a few weeks later that she's happens across it on a totally unrelated trip that she decides to pop in.

She isn't necessarily expecting to run into Catra, the place has to have more than one employee, but seeing as she's there? Oh, you know she can't resist bothering her. ]

Hey, Catgirl. How does a person get a little service in this place?

[plentystrong]

[ Catra is currently leisurely entertaining the cats, one of them in her lap receiving scratches. It is purring loudly.

When approached, she looks up, though from the look on her face, she might as well be looking down her nose at Selina. ]

You ask the waitress. If she isn't around, she should be back in a minute.

[catlady]

[ Yeah, that about tracks. Selina rolls her eyes in response, hand resting upon the counter as her fingers tick-tick-tick against the countertop in an annoyed and expectant manner, but it's not meant to express that annoyance -- it's meant to get the attention of the cat sitting in Catra's lap and it certainly does.

She just has a way with cats. Well, every cat except for the big scruffy looking one who's always got her whiskers in a knot. And to think she's been so nice lately. (Spoilers: she hasn't been, that's just Selina's idea of 'nice.')

Selina leans against the counter. ]

Don't you work here?

1!

[tricksterofasgard]

[ This is Peter's fault. This more than definitely is Peter's fault. And Loki will make sure to keep mentally blaming Peter as he sets foot into this place called a Cat Café.

And part of him hopes there is actual coffee at this place and that it is not a place merely serving felines. Which, fortunately, it isn't. But it certainly is a place loaded with them and a few of them lift their heads when the tall, darkly clad Asgardian enters wordlessly and casts a look around. To be fair, he isn't entirely sure what he has expected.

He is no stranger to cats, though he is more used to them being feral beasts than domesticated pets, as keeping pets is not something commonly done by Asgardians. There is a vast difference between battle companions and pets. And these creatures sure don't look as if they are trained for battle. They much rather appear to exist to... Nap.

The attention of the cats vanes quickly. Most of them plain going back to their naps, one or two yawning beforehand and a few more stretching into impossible positions while yet again others let themselves be occupied by other patrons. Cats also being cats and somehow sensing which person in the room is the least comfortable about how to deal with them, two of them have wandered over to the almost ridiculously misplaced looking Asgardian to rub against his legs in yet still subtle demands for attention.

Peter. This is all Peter's fault. Loki will have to kill the boy after all. ]

I will have a coffee.

[ He informs the shop at large and attempts to take a step forward, only to find that three additional cats have joined the two around his feet, seemingly attempting to trap him in place. ]

Oh, you have to be kidding me!

[plentystrong]

[ From her spot in the corner, Catra notices the cats absconding toward the seating area. ]

Whoa. Do you have catnip on you or something? If so, you can pay with it.

[tricksterofasgard]

What?

[ The question is shot back sharply and with a clearly irritated tone as Loki looks up and away from the felines in his path to locate the source of that voice. The catgirl isn’t hard to miss at least and Loki’s tone shifts into something akin more towards resignation. ]

I have no idea what that even is, but if you can call these beings back, I shall locate some.

[ Attempted bribery? Maybe. Loki may in general be fond of a little chaos, but this is a little too out of his control for his own liking. Especially as more cats keep joining his little gathering. ]