thenearshore | [open mingle] close your eyes, feel the present

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[open mingle] close your eyes, feel the present

Who: Everyone! This is an open mingle log, so feel free to toplevel and thread between yourselves as much as possible.
When: October 27th
Where: Calico Cat Cafe, somewhere vague in Tokyo. An address was posted on the BBS a day prior.
What: Cat adoption day - come bring some (or a lot of) new friends home, take advantage of the no entry fee to spend a day hanging out with cats, or volunteer to help out the somewhat overloaded staff.

An adoption event needs no small venue, and Cat Cafe Calico provides that much, visible as soon as anyone walks in the front door, pane glass with a little bell to ensure no cats walk out undetected. The area is spacious and welcoming, warmly lit with smooth and modern decor, and of course, plenty of posts for the cats. The cafe area itself is on the lower floor, along with various stools, cushions and lounges for people to sit on and spend some time with the plentiful felines. Most of the adoption services have set up along one wall down here, but it's plenty easy to avoid them and just play around with the cats unless you intend to adopt. They've got plenty of waitstaff available, and the cafe is testing out some new and unusual styles and flavours of tea, coffee and milkshakes, as well as seasonal fruit based cakes and tarts. For those without as much of a sweet tooth, there's savoury snacks as well - or maybe you'd prefer to just buy some snacks for the cats, which is an option too.

Upstairs, there's also a video game area with plenty more seating and plenty more cats...though good luck getting them out of the way of the screens, or occasionally off the consoles themselves. Quite a few of the cats are lounging around by the large window, either between cushions or on an impressively-sized play frame, and some are even up near the roof on mounted walkways. There are no guarantees they won't drop onto the occasional passerby. The upstairs also houses a few enclosed areas for people to socialise with specific cats or groups of them to see which ones they get on with best.

Volunteers will be thanked profusely, and some of the staff may even approach visitors to ask if they might help, offering compensation of food and drink prices or similar. There's a lot of adoption paperwork to be done, and with the waitstaff run off their feet, there's few people left to supervise interactions between visitors and cats to make sure all's friendly. Of course, this is an excellent excuse to just surround oneself with any available cats and let others approach as they please.

There's a steady stream of kittens being let out into the mingling cats throughout the day, most of them kept to enclosed areas under staff supervision. Whenever more come out, it might be possible to catch some whispers from the waitstaff, as if surprised at something - listen closely enough, and it sounds like they're talking about an employee, one who they barely see and rarely talks, yet finishes work promptly and slips away before anyone notices except the cats, who all seem very comfortable around him...

Whatever the reason for being here, there's plenty of cats to go around, plenty of activity, and ample opportunity to take home a new friend! Or two. Or ten, if you can convince the staff you can handle it.

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I. Why am I here?

[Piccolo still wasn't sure how he'd ended up in this place. He had been out and about trying to do more as his god wished of him--fitting in, after a fashion, by attempting to help out with prayers and the like--when he'd heard a desperate plea from some tiny mortal as he was walking past. While it was true he could only do so much as a shinki he could still act on behalf of his god or in general to be useful to the populace. Besides, his curiosity was piqued as he'd only caught part of the plea and wanted to know what it was all about.

To make a long story short, he had ended up following the tiny mortal and its parents into the cafe and once there he'd been shocked and stunned into into a silent, brooding mass of green shinki. Entirely because he regretted his curiosity-driven path as soon as he realized what the fuss was all about: felines. And there were entirely too many of them crawling, mewling, rolling, sniffing, and everything else about.

There was a fleeting moment of the desire to blast his way out of the confines of the building but it was tempered by the sudden, inane thought of the hordes of cats escaping out into the city. And for whatever reason that abhorred him. Maybe it was the sheer amount of fur and cuteness that it would unleash. He shuddered at the thought.

Instead, Piccolo found himself trapped inside for a bit as the enthusiastic crowds of humans came in and out to coo at the soft, fluffy balls of fur scampering all about. He reluctantly relegated himself to a corner as he eyed everything in sight with a nasty glare of hatred and loathing--until he caught sight of the original tiny human girl that he had heard pleading with her parents outside. His visage softened slightly as he watched her try to coax a small feline out of one of the hidey-holes. The cat, however, was either too stubborn or rude to come out and play with the girl and Piccolo watched as her demeanor slowly began to change to one of unhappiness.

Annoyed, the green shinki glanced around until he spotted a ~~poor, defenseless~~ cat lounging on a nearby stand. It looked to be a good size for a tiny human so he roughly picked it up to the cat's displeased yowl and brought it over to the little girl. He thrust the unfortunate feline towards the girl. "Here," he said as the cat dangled limply in his grip around its collar. It mewled plaintively.

Startled by the sudden appearance of a green man shoving a cat in her vicinity, the little girl went very quiet and shook her head. A glance towards her parents and back told Piccolo she was obviously frightened of him. Well, he was a very imposing stranger. Good on her. Still, she hadn't called out yet and after Piccolo knelt down to her level she seemed a little less scared as she instead began to look at him curiously. When she started to reach out towards one of his antennae though he flinched away with a small "tch" noise that had her pulling back her hands quickly, tucking them under her chin in renewed fear.

Piccolo distracted her by holding out the cat still in his grip front of her. "Here. Don't you want one of these?" he asked her.

She shook her head again and this time spoke up, quietly. "Not that one," she said. The girl pointed to the one still hiding in its hole. "That one."

Piccolo glanced at the indicated feline. For the life of him Piccolo could not understand why she was so dead-set on the one that wanted nothing to do with her. It was stubborn and rude and clearly not coming out of its hiding spot any time soon. With a resigned sigh, Piccolo released the ball of fur in his grasp; it scampered off with an indignant hiss at the shinki and disappeared. Piccolo watched it go and an idea hit him as it passed by one of the tables set up off to the side.

He got up and walked over to the table. On it sat a bunch of cat toys for people to pick up and use to engage the cats. After examining the different types of toys, Piccolo eventually picked up a pole with a string on one end that had some feathers and a bell attached to the opposite end. He walked back to the little girl and offered the toy to her. "Here, try this."

For a moment the girl just stood there and Piccolo feared he would have to demonstrate what he was trying to get her to do but then a light hit her eyes and, overjoyed with the prospect of luring her feline friend out of its hole, she took the stick from him. She immediately began to flail the stick about, whipping the feathered string about quickly, and while Piccolo could see the cat was watching it he could tell it wasn't going to come out with that as its lure. He knelt down again and gently instructed her to be more patient, to keep her movements to a minimum while still keeping the cat interested in its quick flitting about. Thankfully, she seemed to grasp the concept rather quickly.

Piccolo moved away to watch from a safe distance. With her happy nature restored, he seemed more content than he had all day long. Not that he was going to admit that to anyone. Her enthusiasm seemed catching, too, now that she was being both patient and encouraging to the cat as it slowly began to inch towards the exit closest to the toy. The little girl was smart; before Piccolo could prompt her, she dangled the feathers closer to the exit while the cat seemed interested and sure enough was rewarded with a paw striking out. She let out a cheerful little giggle and continued to dart the toy in and out of the cat's line of sight.

Piccolo watched over the tiny human for some time after that. He felt an odd sense of pride as he watched her scoop up the feline and present it to her parents with an excited smile. After seeing her bond with the feline her parents couldn't seem to resist the little girl's renewed pleas to adopt a cat. A few minutes later, he watched the little girl leave with her parents, cat in tow within its carrying case.

Though perhaps not his original intent with the day, it looked like he managed to help out with a "prayer" after all. He let a tiny smile tug up his lips briefly as he leaned back against the wall, arms crossed and looking rather pleased with himself. Let the vulnerable moment pass or interrupt him for maximum embarrassment effect?]

II. Wildcard

[[Hit me up for anything else! You can PM with an idea if you prefer to plan out something or just hop straight in with a tag of your choice. c:]]

[Kairi hadn't seen him since her fly-by comment encouraging Goten not to be rude to the new person, but he was hard to miss in a small space like this. She observed his interactions with the girl and, when the family finally left, Kairi stepped forward to smile up at him. She's much shorter than him, so it's not hard to be intentionally looking up in order to meet his eyeline. She's wearing casual but fashionable clothes for a young lady, with a vest over a long-sleeved shirt and a skirt on, plus open-toed sandals that make it easy to see her shinki name on one of her ankles.]

That was very kind of you just now.

[Her smile widens as she tries to make eye contact.]

I didn't get your name before, but I'm Kairi. It's nice to meet you properly.

[Piccolo froze stiff as he realized he had an audience, the minuscule smile disappearing from his lips instantly as he pressed them into a thin line. His embarrassment at being caught turned his expression more awkward than foreboding, however, as a soft purple blush darkened his cheeks faintly.

He coughed once, unnecessarily, and cleared his throat. A low growl started and stopped quickly in his throat as he finally looked down at her. Though he had never gotten much of a look at her, her word phrasing forced him to think where he might have noticed her before and though different due to considerably less shouting than before he thought her voice might be familiar. He shifted awkwardly and squinted down at her.]

Piccolo. And I wasn't trying to be kind, I just-- [His face scrunched slightly as he tried to think of another way to put it.] --couldn't stand watching her mope about a dumb cat any longer.

[Yeah, so much better. Very convincing. Except that it really wasn't.]

[ She giggles slightly at his phrasing. Sure enough, she doesn't believe there's really a significant difference between what he just said and 'being kind' but she supposed that it would be a bad idea to point that out to him. ]

Well, Piccolo, I'm sure she appreciated that all the same.

[ A different topic perhaps. ]

Did you come down here to the Near Shore with anyone else today?

[ She never did find out whether he was a god or shinki, so this is her way of starting to tease it out of him. ]

[He remained silent and stoic at her follow-up remark. He got the point. He looked like a softie for helping out here. Perhaps it was best if he didn't care about his appearance.

He frowned slightly at her question, more thoughtful than perturbed by it.]

No. I decided to travel alone today.

[ Well that didn't work out as planned. ]

Oh, really? You have a temple nearby that you were able to travel by?

[ Sometimes shinki thought of temples as 'theirs' too, but it was a bit rarer, she found. So perhaps he'd correct her if he was a shinki, or mention his godly affiliation if he was a god. Not too many newer gods and shinki knew you could ask permission to use another god's temple for travel, either. ]

[ She's not one to hand out compliments in a hurry but... ]

Heh, that was pretty cool.

[ Mordred is crouched down beside Piccolo, playing with one of the many cats roaming the space. She'd been watching the whole encounter, fully expecting that the big green man would scare the girl into leaving— the idea that he'd be able to get a cat adopted never even crossed her mind. ]

From that face you're making, I guess you think so too.

[ The cat Mordred's been playing with soon loses interest and decides that attempting to climb Piccolo's leg is a better use of its time. ]

[Piccolo's face twitched at the compliment, the small smile disappearing instantly as he realized that he had been watched. If that hadn't been enough to cause him to return to his perpetual scowl then the cat's sudden interest in his leg certainly did. He glanced down at the offending feline and gave his leg a soft shake.]

Get down.

[He ordered the feline, possibly knowing it was futile but having to put up the effort anyway. His attention diverted back to the other shinki with a small frown.]

It was nothing. I only did it because it was... sort of like a prayer. [Practice made perfect, right? Sure, we'll go with that excuse.]

[ At Piccolo's order the cat pauses and stares up at him. Whether it understands what he said or simply doesn't care isn't clear but it immediately resumes its climb. ]

Looked a lot like simple charity from over here.

[ Mordred replies, meeting his frown with a smirk. ]

Then again I suppose that's what answering prayers is like anyway— Do things for random strangers without any compensation for your time and effort.

[Piccolo cringed as the feline continued its climb up his leg like the trunk of a tree. He knew he was green but this was ridiculous! He wasn't a tree, or a scratching post!

He growled, and it was honestly unclear whether he was making the noise at the cat on his leg or at Modred's comment because he glanced up at her sharply for it.]

It wasn't--

[He was interrupted by a painful prick just above his knee and he jerked reactively. Dear kami, he could take a punch to the face without flinching but tiny pinprick claws were somehow ten times worse than a true warrior's strength. How did that add up?

At least he heard the rest of Modred's comment after that.]

Yeah, well. That's what they expect around here.

[ Mordred would help Piccolo out and remove the cat but she's invested in seeing how high the feline can make it. So she's just going to bury her amusement in a can of soda. ]

Getting divine spirits to help humans solve pathetically simple problems— wonder whose bright idea that was.

[ It doesn't help that many requests come from people Mordred doesn't believe deserve help— the conmen, the liars, the selfish dregs of humanity that call on divine intervention only to pull them out of a hole they've dug for themselves. She's plenty bitter about that but not enough to kill her mood right now. Mordred looks up at Piccolo from her spot on the ground. ]

So, you a god or a shinki? Never seen a green one of either yet.

Someone who's a pain in the ass, probably.

[Piccolo was distracted by the feline crawling up his leg and didn't watch what he was saying, not that he had much of a reason to withhold such a snide comment. He had already made it clear to a few others that he wasn't fond of this place or the way it was run.

He made a swipe for the cat but the sudden motion startled said feline and it scrambled away from his hand in quick (and painfully sharp) movements. The unexpected pinpricks of pain caused Piccolo to misjudge any attempt at adjusting his aim and the cat got away. Of course, it was still on him and it was only a matter of seconds before the shinki tried again.

In the meantime, he responded to Mordred between clenched teeth.]

Shinki. I doubt you'll see to many of my kind around here.

[Whatever "his" kind was. If asked, he'd probably respond with "demon" for lack of anything better to say.]

[ Amusement makes her suddenly choke on her drink but it's not clear if it's the cat's antics or what Piccolo says that causes it. Mordred grins, using the back her hand to wipe spilled soda from her mouth. ]

I totally agree with ya there. Probably a big shot god that reaps some kind of benefit from "good deeds".

[ She'll have to pester Yuna for some information later. Not that she thinks she'll get much since her goddess seems to enjoy helping people for the heck of it.

Oh cool, another shinki. ]

Yeah? What kind is that?

[ Of course, she was gonna ask! ]

[Piccolo snorted in response. That one was both new and yet all too easy to accept as quite possibly true.]

That sounds about right for a place like this.

I-- [Wait, what? He looked up at her, feline temporarily forgotten. His eyes narrowed.] My kind? [He grimaced and looked away. He immediately refocused on the cat as a distraction.] Ma. Demon. Don't I look like one to you?

So having green skin is enough to be called a demon, now?

[ She sizes him up and then turns her attention back to her soda, unimpressed. Mordred might not remember it but she comes from a time when people thought demons were ugly, hairy and had pointy horns. As it stands she's never seen a demon before but Piccolo doesn't fit the picture she has in her head. ]

And if that's true, what's a demon doing helping little girls find their ideal kittens? Shouldn't you be out stealing babies or something?

Green skin, pointed ears, sharp fangs and claws... and antennae-like horns.

[Or more accurately: horn-like antennae. But he might as well play it up. He wasn't entirely certain himself what they were anyway, or why they were what they were. Not without any memories to go off of.]

Why would a god want a former demon to be their shinki? [He countered.] The hell if I know. It is what it is. I didn't ask to be here or to have to help answer pathetic mortal prayers.

[ Further questions about why a demon is in Heaven are put on hold while she gives his antennae a skeptical stare. ]

Pff! Those floppy-looking things are horns?

[ They don't look like horns to her at all. Now her inner child is tempted to yank on them to see if they're boney or not. ]

Can I touch 'em?

Edited 2018-05-06 16:04 (UTC)

I don't know. [He said rather bitterly.] Maybe humans just think the worst of them, I.. gu...ess...?

[He trailed off, his tone going from the grumpy irrate growl into a less certain and slowly fading out questionable sound. He blinked at her almost uncomprehendingly. Did she seriously just...? She had, hadn't she. She had just asked to touch him. Worse, to touch his antennae.

He scowled.]

No.

[ Mordred springs to her feet. ]

Come on, I promise I won't pull on them or anything!

[ Maybe she was planning to before but she isn't anymore! Knight's honor. ]

[What is she, five!? Piccolo cannot believe this is even happening. Why for the love of ki is someone asking him about this?

He growls this time.]

No. [ . . . ] They're sensitive.

[ The second denial seems to do the trick. Mordred pouts and huffs. ]

Ugh, fine.

[ Wait, did he say they were sensitive? ]

Hey, if they're too sensitive to touch then how do you stab people with them?

[ Mordred illustrates this by placing her index fingers on either side of her head and making a goring gesture. Are you paying attention Piccolo? That's how you're supposed to do it. ]

[He blinked at her demonstration, expression flat.]

I don't.

[ He doesn't stab people with them? ]

That's so lame! You can't call those horns if you can't stab things with them! That's the whole point of having horns!

Hmph. Whatever. I'll call them whatever I want if it'll get people to fear me.

[And thus leave him alone. Which, sadly, obviously isn't going to work here.]

Fear you? You couldn't even scare children with those bean sprouts!

[ Clearly she's an expert on the subject. ]

You'd have better luck scaring people by just bein' green.

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[open mingle] close your eyes, feel the present

OTA

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