[open mingle] close your eyes, feel the present

[revolutionfalcon]

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.

Comments

OTA

[lookingforhead]

A)

[Those who had seen Celty around might have assumed that someone like her wouldn't be interested in such things as a cat cafe. Even those who saw her without her helmet might think so, considering her nonhuman nature. But anyone who had spent any amount of time talking to her would definitely not be surprised seeing the helmeted woman sitting there on the floor with cats and kittens crawling all over her.

In fact it seems like she's being a bit overwhelmed by all their attention. But at the same time she doesn't seem to mind. Still, maybe a good idea to mount a rescue?]

B)

Upstairs in the game area, Celty's opted to use one of the computers set up, both to check some things online and maybe look through the games they have available on it while waiting her turn on one of the consoles. Unfortunately she's run into a bit of a crisis moment. A kitten has flopped over her mouse hand and has fallen asleep. Her helmet turns left and right, frantically looking for someone to rescue her.

C) Wildcard

(Have at it~)

B

[cuddle_battery]

Aww~! He's so cute!

[Yumoto is here to unhelpfully give the kitten some ear scritches. He's got another kitten cradled in his other arm and one on his head.

He loves this place.]

Are you gonna adopt him?

Re: B

[lookingforhead]

[Celty glances at Yumoto and then back at the little grey and white lump presently snoozing across her hand. She'd been thinking about it, maybe telling herself she'd consider it, but now that she's been asked the thought's steadily rising in her mind.

With her other hand she tabs open a text box on the computer to type her reply.]

Maybe...

I worry about Aditi's chickens though.

Re: B

[cuddle_battery]

[Yumoto leans in to read the message. Then his eyes light up with interest.]

Chickens? You have chickens?

[Everyone here has such interesting pets!!]

Re: B

[lookingforhead]

We do but

They're a bit foul tempered
a lot
they like to attack people

B)

[water_meebo]

[ Cats were so much easier to manage than dogs and Mikleo was totally okay with the fact that he was being stalked by cats instead of dogs. At least, cats can be a bit harmless. Save for the small scratch at the edge of his face. Some cat got too happy with him.

Needless to say, he raised a brow when he did catch sight of Celty looking frantically around. Was it him, or did that person seem familiar? ]

Do you need help?

Re: B)

[lookingforhead]

[Her shoulders perk a bit as she hears Mikleo talking to her. She glances at the cat and then back to him before typing something up on the computer screen.]

Ah maybe but i don't want to wake it up

[water_meebo]

[ Of course, this seemed familiar. It clicks when he watched the computer screen-- typing. This was Celty. She certainly did appear a little different than what he last saw her. ]

I wonder if you cradle it gently, it will smoothly be picked up-- but you're right. I read somewhere that cats are pretty perceptive creatures. They'll recognize if something is happening.

[lookingforhead]

[Well the usual black riding suit was a bit less stylish and cute than her dress, not to mention the presence helmet, but she made it all work nicely for her.

The helmet bobs in a slow nod. She gently raises her wrist, arching the kitten up a bit. It doesn't awaken, so she starts to turn her hand, readying her other to catch it as it slowly half rolls and half oozes into her grasp.

And it just keeps on snoozing through all of this.]

[water_meebo]

[ Oh it definitely looks cool to this water seraph. Naturally, he's never seen something like that much less a motorcycle helmet. He's pretty intrigued by it but he didn't want to keep staring at her. It would be a little awkward.

He waited for her reply and cue as he reached over. Cats were generally more behaved than dogs tight? Animals definitely were fascinating. He would carefully follow suit with what she's trying to do and make sure the creature didn't end up on the floor or disturbed. ]

[lookingforhead]

[She has the kitten cradled in both hands now, the little one only stirring enough to make itself comfortable again as it carries on with its nap. When she sees Mikleo reaching over she holds it out in offering, either to take or to pet.]

A

[needsteaplz]

[Saori had only arrived at the cafe when she saw Celty in the middle of a kitten pile. Careful not to scare the kittens, she quietly approached and picked up the kitten trying to cling onto Celty's leg. Soon enough, some other kittens began to swarm around the newcomer while she tried to extract more off of her friend.]

Goodness, Celty. They sure like you. A-are you alright?

Re: A

[lookingforhead]

[There's a slow nod of her helmet as she takes in the sight and sound of all the kittens around her. She's clearly overstimulated right now, though she wouldn't consider it a bad thing. Looking back down at them she pets one. And then another. They all need to be petted for being cute.

This might take a while, especially as they run around and cut in front of each other for second helpings of attention.]

Re: A

[needsteaplz]

It's alright. It's honestly so easy to overdose on the cute.

[She sits opposite of Celty, cross-legged so she could help divide the number of kittens between. Meanwhile, three black kittens caught up to Saori and struggled to climb up onto her lap. ]

Ah, you three again. They've been following me since I got here.

Re: A

[lookingforhead]

[With Saori's help it becomes much easier to clear the pile of kittens. Celty's main concern was accidentally hurting one when she tried to get up, and as unlikely as it was it still paralyzed her.

When the additional kittens come to join the fun her shoulder's shake in soft amusement. Celty herself has a little grey tabby in her lap that has gotten comfortable enough to take a nap, and she keeps on petting the young one.]

[needsteaplz]

If they do keep this up, maybe I will adopt them. It's more common in the west, but black cats get a bad rep because of superstitions so they don't get adopted as much. I think they're siblings and it'll be sad if only one of them got adopted, especially this little guy.

[She holds up the pure black kitten, leaving the other two to take a quick nap on her lap. At first glance, he looked like any other healthy kitten but he only had one strikingly blue eye.]

What about you, Celty? Are you thinking about taking one home with you?

Wildcard!

[pure_radiantics]

Celty!

[She's been thinking about her lately and hadn't seen her around so as soon as she sees Celty she carries the pretty ginger in her arms with her over to ask her question in person.]

I know you're not deaf, but I can't remember if you mentioned before... can you sign? You know, talk with your hands?

[She didn't want to assume and start signing. Besides, cat.]

Re: Wildcard!

[lookingforhead]

[Celty looks up from the little white and grey kitten she's in the middle of playing with as it's flopped on its back in her lap. Her shadow strands make wonderful toys for it to bat at.

But her helmet shakes in a no. She's gotten by with text so far, and honestly sign language never really occurred to her. She can't say why it hasn't.]

Re: Wildcard!

[pure_radiantics]

Well that's a shame...

[She trails off, and is suddenly glad that she didn't try the signing.]

Here I thought of anyone you might know it... There's another shinki here that can't speak, although her situation is different from yours.

[Kairi only means that... Ginia has her head.]

She can text, though! So maybe you two will still get along better than most? If you're interested, of course!

Helmet is on in spite of the icon

[lookingforhead]

[Celty is careful to fish her phone out without disturbing the cat's fun too much. Her shadows also prove a nice help in typing up her reply one handed.]

I never really thought about it before, but now that you mention it I'm realizing it's not something I know.

I guess typing worked out for me? It's something I might have to consider.

But if you think this new shinki and I would get along I'd be happy to meet her.

A

[unlucky7]

[Being swarmed by kittens is a perfectly good way to spend the day; Ginia knows having been the center of an earlier kitten pile. But those claws can still be sharp and they can sure get demanding.

Ginia scoops some of some of the more sleepy looking kittens into her lap to lessen Celty's load. After a brief moment of hesitation, she takes out her phone and types out a message, waving to get Celty's attention as she holds out her phone.]

Sorry to bother, but are you Celty?

[The description of a woman with a cat-eared helmet can only describe so many people.]

Re: A

[lookingforhead]

[It seemed like a good idea at the time. What's better than one kitten? More kittens! And it just felt so nice with all their warm purry fluffiness around and the soft ticklish paw pressure. But after a while Celty found herself trapped more than anything else. She'd underestimated how well they'd pin her down along with her own worries of accidentally hurting one of them.

Thanks to Ginia's help she's able to sit up, but she's surprised in a rather ironic way to find a phone being held out to her. She glances from Giana to the phone and back a few times, trying to place her. Hers is not a familiar face. Did someone tell this newcomer about her?

She pulls out her own phone, scooping another kitten out of the way, and types up her own reply.]

I am. But I can hear just fine. You don't need to type to me.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia huffs softly as she reads the reply, face scrunching into a quick smile. She's said similar to others before and to get it herself, it's both funny and a flash of understanding.]

I can hear too, but I can't talk.

I'm Ginia. I like your helmet.

[Because it is a very cute motorcycle helmet.]

[lookingforhead]

[Oh.

But wait, that means

oh

OH

Celty's shoulders clench and shrink a bit in embarrassment. Even if she doesn't know the specifics she now feels like she might have accidentally crossed a line.

But the compliment to her helmet does help reassure her a little.]

I
thanks
thank you very much

I'm Celty
you already know that
But yes, it's nice to meet you

[A little, but she's still flustered.]

[unlucky7]

[It occurs to Ginia at this moment she didn't think things through. The only common point they have is they're mute and even then the only assurance there is Celty won't mind talking through cellphones.

There's an awkward pause as Ginia's fingers tap on her phone. How does small talk work? She doesn't know!]

Do you like cats?

[Yes. Ask the person covered in cats wearing a cat-eared helmet if they like cats.]

Sorry, that was probably a dumb question.
I haven't met anyone else that's mute.
That I can remember.
Sorry.