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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[ A ]

[Ren comes here often enough that he's a familiar face to all the cats, even if it takes the staff a few moments to remember him every time. As such, he seems to have been accepted as one of their own and somehow gathers a small crowd of cats anywhere he sits or walks.

...Of course, that might also have something to do with how happy he is to buy treats for them, but you know, details. He is a Cat Whisperer, and the how doesn't really matter all that much, does it.

He's also technically a volunteer today, but he was probably only asked because he was going to be hanging out where he could help supervise the main floor all day anyway, and he's seemingly not even doing a great job of that. At the moment, he's paying a whole lot more attention to the handful of cats darting around his feet and the stick toy that's keeping them there. At least, until one snags it out of his hand and starts dragging it across the room, leaving Ren and other other cats to weakly chase after it.]

Hey, if you steal that, I can't play with you guys anymore...

[ B ]

[It's been a long, exciting morning, and some of the cats are tuckered out and taking naps. And curled up right there on the floor with a couple of them is a certain red-head who is definitely shirking his volunteer duties. It's not his fault the small patch of sun looked so inviting...]

[ Wildcard ]

[Ren is going to be somewhere in the cafe all day so feel free to hit me with something else!]

[ Kairi has returned from getting another round of treats for the furry friends when she sees that this is a volunteer on a break - but also recognizes him. ]

Hi there - you're from the Far Shore, aren't you?

[ She laughs. She's not about to tattle on him or anything, but she's still curious. ]

Is this for a prayer or something?

[Ren opens one eye to look up at her, and then smiles and gives a little wave to answer the first question. The answer to the second is probably in how genuinely bewildered and dazzled he is by the whole idea that this could be someone's prayer.]

Do you really think I could get people to ask me to nap with their cats?

[That sounds like the best job sign him up--]

[ Kairi grins back. ]

I dunno. What are you the god of?

[ She assumes he's a god since he didn't correct her, but maybe she'll find out he's a shinki like her? Stranger conversation twists have happened to her. ]

And even if you're not the god of something like cats, maybe the answer to a prayer of yours could involve napping with cats.

Well, I did add small animals onto all of it just recently~

[He reaches down to pet one of the cats curled up next to his side, looking very proud of himself for actually having a domain that's applicable here.]

Maybe I should put up signs at my shrine? "If you leave me 100 yen, I'll take a nap with your cats~!"

[ She claps her hands together - softly, so as not to disturb kitties - and nods her head while giggling a little. ]

That would be great! Just the kind of sign that becomes a local feature and ends up on the news or something.

[ At least, she thinks it's funny. Maybe not enough to go viral worldwide, but very entertaining for a god to leave a note like that. ]

[That sure is a head of red hair he recognises asleep in the sun. Shun should've figured Ren wouldn't last more than about an hour or two awake with the temptations of sunlight and cats around. That doesn't mean he's necessarily going to leave him alone to his bad work ethic, though.

On one hand, he drapes a blanket over him to help with the warmth situation, with a careful enough motion that it probably shouldn't wake him up.

On the other, a moment later comes a rain of eight-ish decidedly not-asleep kittens who are very excited to be landing on a soft warm person they can march around all over. This may or may not include marching onto his head depending on how quickly he sits up.]

[It's not the worst way to be woken up, but it sure is startling anyway. Ren yelps and jerks halfway upright--not enough to dump any of the kittens to the floor, but enough to startle the cats sleeping with him and other cats nearby and send them all scrambling to be somewhere else.

He stares after the cats for a good long moment, looking a little dazed and very confused about what just happened, until there get to be a few too many tiny claws digging into his skin for him to ignore. Eventually, he flops back down onto his back with a light laugh so the kittens have a better area to crawl over and explore and maybe they also won't feel like the need to cling to him for dear life quite so much.]

Well, hello there! Is it time to play? That wasn't very nice of Kurosak-ki-kun, though, was it~?

[Not that the sad pout Ren gives him at that looks at all serious.]

[When Ren moves, there's a loud meow from somewhere in the vicinity of Shun's feet - a certain grizzly white cat has followed him out of the back. It couldn't hear breathing to identify Ren as a Moving Thing, but once he makes it very obvious by half-sitting up, it promptly decides to go join the kittens in sitting on him once he flops back down again.

Shun crouches down next to him, expression as neutral as ever like he didn't just dump a bunch of kittens on Ren.] It's been a while since you used that name.

[Even if he doesn't look serious about the offense, it's a little bit weird to hear it again.] There are quieter days than this to do something like that. Otherwise I might have to beat someone for stepping on you.

[He's just going to ignore the fact that grizzly white cat is now slowly sticking its paw out with intent to boop Ren's nose.]

Edited 2018-03-28 13:54 (UTC)

I liked the rhythm of it better there. And it's hard to make you first name cuter so I miss it sometimes.

[Why does Shun's name have to end with a nnnnnnn sound, he can't make that cute at all...

Ren blinks up at him at the threat...not necessarily because of the sentiment but more because he's surprised Shun would just come out and say it. He smiles a little and turns his attention back to staring cross-eyed at the paw booping his nose]

You shouldn't tell me that. I might like to see that.

[And then he reaches out to boop the cat's nose with his finger in return.]

If it was quieter, I wouldn't be tired enough to take a nap. I tried to pick a spot that's out of the way... [So it would be harder to find him and drag him back into helping, probably.]

It doesn't need to be "cuter". I've never been able to understand why people are so fixated on that. [While Shun sounds exasperated more than he sounds like he has an actual problem with it, he really doesn't get the compulsion to give people nicknames around here. And especially not ones that are supposed to make it sound cuter.

And while he's not too surprised at the response Ren has to the idea of Shun beating someone up for him, he gives a faint snort.]

At least set it up so it's someone who's an actual challenge. [It's not going to be very entertaining for either of them if any old person gets tangled up in it.

Meanwhile, the cat looks rather surprised at being booped back for a moment before meowing loudly and flopping down on Ren's chest, now trying to bat at his hair. It doesn't seem to have much of a sense of how loud its meows are. Shun, if nothing else, seems used to it, since the loudness of it doesn't draw a reaction. But he does sigh quietly at Ren's last remark.]

You only did that so you could nap instead of working and nobody would call you out on it. [Except Shun, who is definitely going to call him out on it.]

["Because it's cute"? That's definitely the sort of non-answer that'll make Shun even more bewildered by the whole concept, though. "Because it's fun"? "Because I like it"? "It's a sign of friendship"?

He's still pondering the best way of putting it when Shun moves on, and he's almost too lost in thought to move on with him. Not quite, though, and he hums a little like he's actually thinking over the possibilities.]

I guess I'd have to plan that very carefully... [He can't think of anyone who could give Shun a challenge who he'd want to see beaten up or who'd do it without asking some awkward questions. But the thought is nice.

The cat is definitely loud a little too close to his ears, but Ren just smiles and wraps his arms around the cat to give him a hug. He doesn't mind letting the cat play with his hair either, as long as he doesn't get too close to his eyes.

--The kittens on his legs who just decided his fingers look like great toys, on the other hand, need to not. Ren quickly stops hugging the cat and moves to give him some good head scritches instead while he pouts up at Shun.]

I was keeping those cats company and they didn't want me to work. [...Yeah...]

Probably carefully enough that it's not worth the time. [There are easier ways to sate that particular fondness of Ren's that don't involve lengthy and unnecessarily complicated plots to make people step on Ren.

Shun almost looks expectant of something when Ren starts scratching the white cat's head, and he gets it soon enough, because it meows again (equally loudly) and immediately starts headbutting Ren's fingers and hands with great enthusiasm. Figuring he should probably take some kind of pity here even if it's a minuscule amount, Shun picks up the bitier kittens and sets them down again closer to himself.

That doesn't mean he looks at all convinced by Ren's excuse for not working, though.] Sounds more like you didn't want you to work and you're using the cats as an excuse.

[Surely he'd never do a thing like that, except he definitely would. In the meantime, one of the kittens tries to latch onto Shun's hand, which is answered by him rolling it over onto its back so it can flail like a flipped turtle for a few moments before figuring out how to right itself.]

[Ren isn't quite expecting the meow, or at least for this one to also be that loud, so he starts a little. But it is pretty cute, and how enthusiastic the cat is about being petted is super cute, so of course Ren has to return that enthusiasm in kind and keep petting him, and he even adds his other hand into the mix.]

...Maybe~. [More like definitely. Shun knows him too well.] But if it annoyed you that much, you wouldn't have brought even more cats to keep me trapped here. See, this guy definitely doesn't want me go anywhere now.

[Ren pauses to stare thoughtfully at the cat for a moment, and then goes back to petting him, now with some scratches under his chin.]

By the way, does he have a name?

I brought them to wake you up. [But he's sure Ren already knows well enough that Shun could've picked a lot of worse ways to wake him up, so that argument is probably void anyway. Still, Shun can stubbornly pretend he was being rude the whole time.

When Ren asks about the white cat, Shun grimaces for a moment before glancing back towards the stairs, since most of the staff are on the lower floor.] The owners thought it might be easier to get him adopted if he didn't have one, so a kid or something could name him. People don't like how loud he is, and they usually move on after they hear he's deaf.

[It seems obvious to Shun considering the cat's lack of awareness about how loud it is, but then, he's also been party to seeing it startle when touched unexpectedly and that sort of thing, which most people don't hang around long enough to see. It's always pleased enough with getting attention when it's expecting it, though, as is probably obvious by the happy wriggling going on under Ren's hands right now.

Shun watches the cat for a moment before his gaze shifts to Ren.] Do you like him?

[He'd kind of been hoping someone on the Far Shore would be a bit more receptive to adopting the cat.]

Oh, he is? [He'd kind of thought the cat just liked being loud, to be honest. That's pretty sad that it's put people off from wanting to adopt him, though. He seems like a very sweet cat.

Ren gives Shun a somewhat sharp look at the question. He knows perfectly well what the actual question is there, and he's not sure he should be considering it or that Shun should be asking it. He does already have several animals, after all, and he probably shouldn't bring home another one. But his expression softens again as he looks back at the cat doing his best to make sure every bit of his head gets scratched. Shun shouldn't ask that because of course he's considering it and Shun's supposed to be the voice of reason here.]

I like him a lot. He reminds me a little of someone. [White and fluffy, craves attention, and doesn't know or care how loud he is. Yep, sure does.] I don't think I'd want to pick that name, though....but it is pretty unfair that he doesn't have a name yet...

[Look, he was firmly on the side of wanting to keep the cat as soon as that became an option, and he's pretty much just trying to convince himself not to at this point.]

[Shun's just going to look right back at him, because while he is supposed to be the voice of reason, if the only way Ren can stop himself doing something like this is with Shun being the voice of reason, it probably means he doesn't really want to not do it anyway. Which in this case, works to his favour, so he'll take it as is.

To demonstrate the point about being deaf, Shun leans forward and clicks his fingers directly behind the cat's head. Despite the sharp, loud noise, it doesn't react at all until he moves his hand to somewhere within sight, at which point it takes a short break from rubbing all over Ren to try and headbutt the new hand.]

You don't sound like you're trying that hard to convince yourself not to. [He's heard that tone a few times before at this point, and it's usually the one that happens when Ren actually wants to do something but is trying to say he doesn't.] I think he'd do better on the Far Shore than here. And he gets on well with younger cats.

[Like, say, Ren's, even if it's not that much older than they'd be - despite the grizzly look, it's only a little over a year old. As ever, Shun's making it sound like he doesn't care that much, but he wouldn't be bringing it up at all if he really didn't care.]

[Welp, that look didn't work at all. Ren still gives him another brief look as Shun keeps trying to sell him on the cat anyways.]

You brought him over here because you knew I'd want him.

[And it definitely worked, so he sounds much more amused than upset about it. Still, he has enough animals at this point that he should probably try to be responsible about taking on another one. So while Shun is distracting the cat, Ren carefully squirms until he can reach his phone and pulls it out of his pocket.]

I'm going to make sure Eric is okay with it first. But I don't think he's going to try to talk me out of it either.

[While he's talking, he starts composing a message to Eric, and also starts scratching the cat's head again with his other hand.]

Edited 2018-04-05 04:27 (UTC)

I wasn't planning for him to still be here by the end of the day. [Does that mean Shun would've done this himself if nobody else wanted to adopt the cat? Possibly, but since Ren's already interested, he doesn't have to worry about that now.

Since Ren needs to text uninterrupted, Shun flicks the tip of the cat's ear to make it look at him more instead of Ren's fingers. This is apparently not uncommon, because Shun doesn't look very surprised when the cat rolls over and starts trying to grab his hand.]

He's brought back animals before, so I doubt that as well. [Shibau had been Eric's addition, to Shun's knowledge, and it's not as if they don't have enough space for animals since the temple changed districts.]

[ Eric had come by to check out the kittens because, well, who wouldn't, when he saw his god entertaining some kittens himself.

He also watched as one of the kittens ran away with the toy. Eric couldn't help but give a small smirk before looking back at Ren. ]

Having trouble?

[Ren gives his shinki a very pitiful pout indeed, which lasts pretty much until he ducks behind Eric to try to push him toward the cat thief.]

Eric-kuunnn~ Help me get the toy back so I can play with them~

[ Eric starts and flails as he's pushed forward toward this tornado of kittens and he looks back at Ren ]

U-uhm...I...

[ He looks back and kneels down, looking none to confident as the kitten ran around. ]

He's fast...

[Guess who is completely unapologetic about dragging Eric into this wild situation outside of his comfort zone. Yep, it's this guy. (At least it's just a bunch of cats and not people?)]

Okay, you wait there, and I'll try to chase him toward you.

[Ren gives him an encouraging smile and heads off to try to get behind the kitten. It's not very easy when it has a few other kittens chasing after it and they toy it's dragging too, and it might not be too easy for Eric with, as the rest of the kittens immediately come over to him to try to climb on his and investigate this new person in their midst.]

Ri-right...

[ Eric watches Ren, getting ready to grab the little furball...before a whole lot of kittens decided to swarm him. He stiffens, not sure what to do. He couldn't move or else he might hurt one, but he had to get the cat with the toy and..were they climbing on him now? ]

H-hey!

[ Eric fumbled and tilted to one side, luckily not smooshing any kittens but not lucky because he was in a super awkward position.

Even still, Eric tries and grabs the trailing rod the kitten was dragging. He might've accidentally tripped one of the bolting kittens, but Eric managed to slow down the stick, stopping the thief for a moment before he tugs it out of his weak grab. The herd was running again. ]

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[open mingle] close your eyes, feel the present

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