dualislogs | kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

WHO: Open to all residents
WHAT: Your regularly scheduled NAPs event for the month
WHERE: The RoCocoa Cat Cafe
WHEN: Aug. 10-14
WARNINGS: Please use these if applicable!

Look at all of these bright, shining new faces! There’s even a few less bright, less shining faces, but hey, this city welcomes all types. Chances are, if you’ve just arrived, you're seeing some pretty crazy things, unless you're used to an eye-blinding amount of neon, robots, weird-ass technology, magic, and an omnipresent police force...and hey, if you are, congrats, you're gonna settle in juuuuust fine. But for the rest of you, the Head knows this has gotta be pretty overwhelming, right?

Well, since your quaint individual processing units are probably having a hard time, why not link up with another one? By which the Head means...

Hello, new citizens of Dualis,
and welcome to your monthly Network Adjacency Protocol~!

NAPs are a monthly community networking event similar to the Earth concept of speed dating! Two citizens (new arrivals and old hands alike) are placed at a table together with a handy cue card of queries to help break the proverbial ice. Ask queries and receive results, or ignore the card and yeet yourself straight into a brand new friendship! But don't be too shy, you've only got ten minutes together, and if you just sit in silence for the whole ten, the Network Admins are likely to come supervise and try to repair the uplink through a mild shock to the ol' central nervous system. You might find yourself saying all sorts of unintended facts about yourself if that happens...probably better to just make friends, right? Who doesn’t like friends?!

This month’s event is held at the brand new RoCocoa Cat Cafe, a sparkly new establishment that caters to children and the young at heart with iced and hot cocoa drinks of all kinds, delicious pastries, age-appropriate live music, and of course many friendly kitties who love to lounge in laps. The cats are of all shapes, sizes, and colors, including some who may look a little different from what you expect, or may look like an ordinary cat but are actually anything but ordinary underneath that adorable fur coat. All cats in the cafe are adoptable, too, if you meet a new furry friend and just can’t bear to go home without them!

So pull up a chair, get to know your new neighbors, and enjoy a sugary treat or two with the resident furbabies. You might just meet your new two- or four-legged best friend!

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Indeed. I...

[Well, he's distracted by the ringing in the air.]

Ah. Time to move on. Nice meeting you Finn. Hope you have a good roommate.

"He didn't mean it. It's okay." Ven is... not a pushover, but very forgiving. Intentions mean a lot to him, and while he's certainly capable of assuming someone's going to be mean and cruel simply for the sake of being mean and cruel, he knows that most of the time that's not the intention. Just like it isn't with the rose goblin. More and more the thing's reminding him of Experiment 626. The same thing had happened with him, after all, where he'd accidentally hurt Ven.

Lifting his hand to inspect it and make sure he isn't bleeding, he flashes a grin at Nida when he just sees a small red mark and no blood. "See? It's fine. No harm done. How 'bout you try?"

He definitely has the aesthetic down. She waves off the flattery.

"He can be, when he wants to."

Steph chuckles, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"They're super weird. Charming, I'm sure! But weird as heck." She points out one which can only be referred to as a centipede-cat.

"Probably not everyone is a cat person, either. I don't mind them, even if some of them are a little... nightmarish."

Heheh, thanks. I'll see you later!

[ He waves as David leaves, then turns to his next partner. ]

No, it probably didn't. He was really messing this up spectacularly, wasn't he? Hyne, he felt like he was in the middle of a battle yet he was standing still just trying to keep his heart from bursting out of his chest. Whatever this was, he wasn't a fan, and he'd really like for it to calm down.

No, he didn't ask her. Not that he ever had time to do so. They still had a lot of unspoken pain between them to sort through. There were a lot of terrible things he did, a lot of resentments he held toward the chosen few. Still, despite his former conversations, a fair bit of guilt over feeling that resentment at all. He still can't accept that he's allowed to be angry about what happened. About how easily he was tossed aside and disregarded.

Oh he was definitely intensely uncomfortable, not that he'd say a word. Just let her get out whatever she needed to get out. Though he was grateful to have his arm back when she finally released it. Awkwardly he reached up to rub his shoulder, unsure how to proceed.

"No..." His voice is quiet while he watches her, unsure and cautious but... hopeful? "It's not too late." Really, he's willing to work with her, she just has to let him know how he can.

Truth be told, it was all a bit... surreal. To be standing there with him. Not as if they were friends, because Rinoa didn't exactly know what they were. Not enemies. She didn't want them to be, anyway. And... it didn't seem he wanted them to be either. But he probably didn't know where to begin. Who could blame him? She didn't know either.

Rinoa reached for her hot cocoa and for some moments, practically buried her face into her cup. Maybe it was just to stall for time. Maybe it was to give her some moments to piece herself back together. Maybe it was to give him time to do the same. Sucking in a sharp breath as she composed whatever of her remained, she finally managed to find words once more.

"It's good to see you."

Which was the truth. "That is, I'm glad to. I'm simply happy to be standing here with you." Because maybe at the end of everything, that's what she wanted.

Wasn't it just? Of course, for Seifer, it was even a little worse. She didn't remember everything they'd already been through. This square one thing sucked, and he didn't even know how to bring it up. They were friends there, they could be friends here too.

Man he sure could go for some cocoa right now. Instead he just settled himself with gathering up the bizarre yellow cat with one huge eye to cradle against his chest, like a fluffy purring shield. Yeah, that helped a lot. He needed a few moments to regain his composure as well.

He nodded slowly in agreement. "I missed you." He murmured softly. She might not know where that came from, but it was also true.

Her gaze switched between him and his cat and she couldn't help smiling a mite. He could be a little cute when he wanted to be, though she assumed that wasn't intentional on his part. And she seemed to know better than to bring attention to it. At least, not here. Not now.

As she was eying her cocoa again, she found herself pausing. Even turning a little pink. He missed her? Was that... true? The odd little flutter she experienced then she didn't fully understand.

"I missed you too," she admitted as she tapped fingertips gingerly against her cup. "Do you want me to get you some? We could... sit... if you wanted. If you have someplace else to be, we can always meet up later."

"Well, if I do decide to go on some sort of crime spree, I'll definitely need to remember that Catwoman is already taken. And 'Dog Lady' just sounds like something that's begging to have some idiot just call you 'Bitch.'" Alex isn't an idiot; people get weird about women reporters and she's had to experience some things with it. Oh, she normally brushes it off as 'not this time' but she's definitely seen how bad it can be.

But onto happier subjects! Alex just laughs quickly and shakes her head. "Nope. My Dad was allergic when I was a kid so I didn't have any pets and I have to travel a fair amount for my job so it doesn't seem to be fair to have a pet when I'm gone so much."

It might be a strange looking cat, but it purrs and appreciates being cuddled like any proper cat so it's a fine cat in his book. Her fear would be correct, pointing out him being cute would result in him immediately having to eliminate any evidence of that happening. He's not cute, he's tough and scary. Fear the giant man cuddling a mop-like kitty.

A few moments while he considered before he nodded. "Yeah... I'd like that." He could go for some cocoa. And they can talk. Awkwardly. At least it'd be better than standing awkwardly. "I'm not doin' anything important." The cafe seemed safe enough. It also offered ample distractions.

"Except spending time with me," she replied with the hint of a smile. "Bring your little kitty friend."

She reached over with a hand to ruffle the fur of his new little companion. Then after a moment, she carefully looped an arm around Seifer's. In the past, perhaps it would not have been so unheard of for her to do such a thing. She could almost predict that she'd likely leave him tense.

Or perhaps he'd like it. Rinoa wasn't about to ask.

"You should come visit me here more. I'll be working here."

He does echo that hint of a smile. It's small, almost imperceptible, but if she looks close she might just catch it before he hides it behind his usual resting scowl. "Alright." Yes he's going to hold onto this cat, as this one has chosen to be his friend for the afternoon.

Tense, yes, briefly anyway, though perhaps not as tense as she might have expected. He's relaxing some now that they're past the initial panic of meeting anew. It's surprisingly easy to fall into comfortable companionship with her. They were close, once, after all. Aside from his posse she was probably the only other person who had ever bothered to be close.

"Do you? It's a nice spot. They got me picking up trash." It's not exactly flattering work. At least it's work.

She chortles. "You, really? I kind of always pictured you taking out the trash. Not picking it up."

Rinoa tips her head as she leads him back to the counter to get him a cup as well. She'll certainly be working enough to put it on her tab, after all. "It's good that you're keeping busy, though." Because she can just imagine what happens to people like him when they have idle hands. What's that saying? Idle hands make mischief, or something of that sort?

Once she receives his cup, she lifts it for him and unhooks her arm from his, so she can carry both cups. "Find us a place to sit. If you can, I'd like you to tell me about your experiences here. I haven't been here long enough to get a solid grasp on things." And it seems like there are many things going on that people aren't telling her the whole story on.

Maybe because they're trying to protect her.

The sad truth was, he talked like this before he though electric shock, chemicals and bats were a good mix to cure his rare illness. Vampire was clearly his destiny.

"I suppose, I should ask then are their other's from your home here?" Honestly he didn't ever care to offer things about himself due to how well known he was back home he always expected the worst. He was proud of himself in that moment though, he was usually a stupid stumbling mess around pretty blondes, but some warning bell screamed in the back of his mind stating to young. How old was Steph? That didn't matter, he's well into his thirties and fells much older. SO he was proud of himself for staying professional.

...Right.

[He gives Finn a small look at that, tilting his head slightly. Points for optimism, sure. But it's blind. He can't help but wonder how long it'll be before it lands him in trouble.]

Look, here's not the best place to talk about it. They've got to be recording this, same as they check the network. [Why else hold something like this, if not to observe?] But you're going to stand a better chance with people around you. So find 'em.

[It's uttered, more than spoken. And some part of him feels he's a pot calling a kettle black, but it's true.]

...And, seriously, watch your back.

[She's getting swarmed by them. Soon enough a number of feline eyes are staring at her, paws at being raised to lightly press against her, and she teeters with each and every feline body that brushes against her. When the last cat jumping up into her lap is enough to make her fall his eyes flash slightly with his own small laugh (despite himself.)

Some food has spilled, and indeed, that attracts more cats. He leans over, offering his hand to help her back to an upright position.]

Here.

[And, at what she says...]

Not really. They're pretty harmless. Wonder where they came from, though. I thought everything on this planet [It's still so weird to say that.] was dead.

Nida and animals don't tend to be a positive, but he has to give credit to the fact that Eos, Seifer's croc-dog, looked menacing but was in fact sweet. It's that knowledge that gets Nida to move to the floor where Ven is. Still looks nervous as he reaches a hand out and hesitates.

"Where should I start? I don't want to just put my hand down on a thorn."

Ven nods, giving the older boy a reassuring smile. "You don't need to invite getting hurt. That's not any fun no matter how you look at it. Just start from the point where all the thorns are pointed away and stroke back. See?"

The goblin's head is pretty sleek, for a given value of the word. Mostly it means the thorns are smaller and lie more closely together, in a closer approximation of actual fur. It's kind of a double-edged sword because that also means the thorns are more needle-like and therefore more likely to actually puncture skin than the bigger ones over the creature's main body, but Ven carefully places his first two fingers at the midpoint of its forehead and strokes backwards, along whatever the thing used for a spine, careful not to pull his hand back towards him at all as that would definitely get some jabs. But the goblin clearly likes that, and pushes its body up into Ven's fingers, and it's a bit tricky to avoid being stabbed but still doable even so.

"Just don't go the other way, or you'll start bleeding."

"Super villain?"

The heavily-tattooed giant of a man settling into the seat across from her shoots her a confused glance at the unfamiliar term.

No.

[You'll have to forgive him, Finn, his eyes are still fixed on the daemon wearing a cat's skin that just hopped off the table, because that ... he's never seen a cat before today, and even he knows that's wrong.]

Hearing that sound Seifer whips around in time to see the bowl drop back to the ground, the cat glancing up at him innocently. He missed the cosmic horror bit, but he sure did hear it. What in the hell..?

"Uh... the hell's a flerken?"

Because it still looks like a cat. A cat that just innocently consumed all of the food, bowl and all, then kindly spit the bowl back out on the floor. How polite. Seifer just nods slowly, turning his attention back to Yondu. That's... an interesting way to start this off.

"Selina?"

The voice across the table is a familiar one, if not one Jason probably cares to hear. When he looks up, he'll find Aleifr in the chair across from him, looking just as displeased to be here as Jason is.

"They're what's actually gonna finish off this place, 'cause those damn things lay a thousand eggs an' can eat four people at once. So uh.... I ain't worryin' about no diseases or robots anymore."

He is 100% sure that it's going to be the Flerkens that destroy Dualis. But, you know, they made their own fate.

"I think it's distracted for now, though."

Well, now he's got an example to work from, and one he was paying a lot of attention to. Which, of course, doesn't mean Nida will get it right. When he reaches out to put a hand on the thing, well, he must come in from a bad angle because his finger catches one of the smaller thorns on the head and he's left wincing in pain as his hand jerks away. No blood drawn, but he looks betrayed.

"Sorry, I guess I just get nervous over animals that can hurt me without even meaning to. Let me try again."

This time he moves slower, comes at the thing from the proper angle, and even manages to stroke the thing all the way without another incident. And he smiles.

"Success."

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