Partners in Crime [Tao]

[Isette]

OOCNo worries! It's not like I've never taken a long time to post. xD Take your time. Isette laughed good naturedly at his question about whether Miruku had been up to no good. Again. It seemed the cat had a reputation. Well, kittens will be kittens. “She is young,” Isette said fairly, “And kittens are always hungry. Please, do not blame her. Or yourself. You will not protect her from everything. She will learn in time.” The kelvic smiled reassuringly and returned his bow with one of her own. She was unused to such nice treatment. This man was surprisingly gentle in demeanor. It made her feel comfortable. Relaxed. She could understand why Miruku chose him to be her human. Oh good. He had understood what she meant when she said she spoke to the kitten like a cat. Isette nodded in agreement. “Yes,” she said, “Humans and cats are opposites. Humans rely on words. Reading body language is subconscious. It is not so with cats. We rely on body language to speak. We can have conversation with no sound. Many cats do not meow when they are older. They do not see a reason to.” Kittens meowed to communicate with their mother easier. It helped to steal attention when your mother may or may not be paying attention to you. As they aged, most cats decided meowing wasn’t necessary anymore. Some cats used it as a way to try communicating with humans, because humans responded more readily to sound than body language. It was interesting to Isette the way humans thought loud cats were more communicative. If only they knew… Right. Food! Isette considered the question for a moment. “I like…” What? Chicken. Beef. Soup. Everything. Anything. “Food.” She was easy to please. Isette looked at him with a smile. “Warm food.” She didn’t get a whole lot of warm food. It would be a special treat for her. Her mind swam with images of all the wonderful food stuff they had in Lhavit. Like Miruku, Isette didn’t have a whole lot of self control when it came to food. She was always hungry. Always wanting more. Even more so than a normal cat because she had to keep her energy up in order to shift back and forth. Her stomach was like an endless pit. She always wanted more. And when the opportunity came to have something special given to her for free, she was only to eager to pounce on it. But she didn’t care one whit what it was.

[Tao]

He had to wonder exactly what it was like to be a kelvic. She didn’t seem to be an animal, like people had claimed that most of her kind was. Just... a strange human who knew an awful lot about cats. Still, it was a relief to hear that Miruku’s antics were not unusual among cats; at least that meant that it wasn’t his influence that made her a little terror of the night at times. “So, if the conversation is mostly silent, I suppose you can’t teach me how to speak it?” He asked, a little disappointed at the revelation. He would have liked to be able to communicate with Miruku a little better. Even if it was likely she’d ignore him anyway. “Perhaps you can help translate for me, then.” He said, reaching up to pet the kitten nestled on his shoulder, smiling as she began to purr. “Miruku is my first... er, friend, and I don’t really know what to do sometimes.” (He dodged the word ‘pet’, figuring that it would probably have a different definition to the kelvic.) At the mention of food, he immediately held Isette’s full attention. Her response was simple; something hot. Were hot meals rare for her? It seemed so. “We can get something from one of the street vendors, then.” He replied, glancing around to see what was closest. “They’re not too expensive, either. I’ll get some dumplings for Miruku, and you can just pick something you like, okay?” At the sound of her name and ‘dumplings’ in the same sentence, Miruku began to purr and nuzzle up against his neck, like she always did when she was begging for food. He began to pet her as he waited for Isette to gather whatever she needed from her things. A thought crossed his mind, and he dug a hand into his pocket to see how much kina he was carrying. A little more than usual, considering he was going clothing shopping. Probably a day’s wages, actually. More than enough. “Alright, then. Let’s go.” He said when he thought Isette was ready. Turning around, he led the way off towards the vendors, where all the scents of freshly cooked foods comingled in the evening air.

[Isette]

The kelvic considered his question. After a few moments, she shrugged apologetically. “It is not likely. You have no tail and your ears lack…expression. I can teach you feline, but you will speak it like a small child.” He would sound like a toddler, but he may be able to communicate a little bit with Miruku. And she may be able to explain some of the basic body language words so that he could determine simple things from the cat, but she doubted he would be able to pick up on the subtleties that allowed felines to have real conversation. Even so, a little was better than nothing. The offer was there if he wanted it. Having the ability to communicate even basically with the kitten could prove beneficial to them both in the long run. It was an interesting idea. Isette had never tried to teach anyone feline before. She wondered how good of a student Tao would be and how much a human could possibly understand. Feline was such a subtle language that utilized all of a cat’s senses. Humans were lacking. The human mind was so completely different than the feline mind, but Isette was proof that one could come close to finding a middle ground. “I like dumplings,” Isette replied automatically as soon as he mentioned them. Her other musings were instantly forgotten as she pictured the warm food, steaming hot in her mouth. She licked her lips, already anticipating how they would feel in her belly. In response, her stomach growled. Isette smiled, glad that she would soon be able to satisfy her hunger. She gathered her things (no way was she leaving them there again!) and followed Tao back towards the vendors, where she was soon enveloped in a variety of tantalizing smells. She wanted all of them, but was polite enough to keep her desires silent. The first lesson Isette had learned about living on her own was that hunger was eternal. Back home, she was allowed to eat whenever she wanted. All she’d had to do was go into the kitchens and ask the cook to fix her something. Any time she was hungry. It was a wonderful, endless supply of food. Living without that had been difficult at first. Hunting had come fairly easy to her. It was instinct. But nothing beat good, warm food. It was, after all, what she had been raised on.

[Tao]

It really was a shame that he could learn how to speak to Miruku. He hadn't thought that they used their tails for much other than balance and brushing his nose when he was trying to memorise words. The kitten balanced on his shoulder as he walked, shifting herself with each step so she wouldn't lose her balance, tiny little claws digging into his shirt. Her ears were pricked up in excitement at the mention of dumplings. Isette seemed to have the same sudden attentiveness, a smile on her face as they made their way towards the vendors. Her ears weren't as flexible in human form, he supposed, but he could see that she was happy at the mention of food. “I can get you some dumplings, too, then.” He offered, coming to a halt in front of the stand. The cook manning the little stove eyed him cautiously, likely for the cat on his shoulder. He didn't really blame him. Miruku could and would wolf down anything she could get her whiskers in. When Isette didn't offer any other opinion as to what she wanted to eat, he decided to just get the dumplings; they were pretty cheap, and certainly warm. It fit all the criteria. Putting Miruku on the ground before he approached the stall (he was always paranoid she would leap up onto the hot metal and burn herself), he bought a round dozen for a kina and made his way back to Isette, kitten mewing furiously at his heel. “Here you are.” He said, offering the treat over to the kelvic. The timing had been lucky, as they were the latest batch just off the stove, and were still giving off steam. He let Isette hold the tray and took one to give to Miruku, who had been mewing at his feet sadly since she had seen the dumplings. Dropping it on the ground so he wouldn't lose a finger, he straightened back up to look at Isette, a wry smile on his face. “I may not be able to communicate with her, but she certainly knows how to talk to me.”

[Isette]

Mmm, dumplings. Isette let the smell tantalize her senses. For once it, was okay to tease herself with wonderfully warm food. She was going to be satisfied! Her eyes stalked his every movement. She couldn’t help it. It was the hunter in her, keeping her eyes on the prey. Not that Tao was prey. He wasn’t. But he was providing her with food. The Kelvic could barely contain her excitement. She fidgeted. Instinct was not telling her to be patient. It was telling her to circle around him and pester him until he gave the food up, which was silly because she knew full well that he intended to share with her. Tao offered her the warm meal and Isette’s expression changed drastically. It went from hopeful and slightly pathetic to overjoyed and cheerful. “Thank you very much, Tao!” she exclaimed as she accepted the gift. This man was so nice. He would be a friend to her forever! Isette bowed hastily and then dug in, savoring the wonderful taste. What flavor! She smiled down at her feline friend, glad that they were both able to receive such a grand treat. Isette decided there was no gift better than good food. Once the Kelvic had gone through quite a bit of her free food, she was able to slow down a little bit and maintain a conversation. “Yes,” she replied with a chuckle, “Miruku may read your body language and she learns how you respond to her behavior.” Domesticated animals were really good at learning to communicate with their humans. They were smart in an entirely different sort of way than humans. While unable to pick up complicated subjects, they understood more about people than many humans did. Isette had seen more pets with trained humans than humans with trained pets. Isette slowly finished off her final dumpling. The rest of them disappeared far too quickly, so she figured she would take her time with the last one so that she could enjoy it for as long as possible. Then she would see about getting her money back. Or making new money. The latter would probably be her best option. The Kelvic sighed, annoyed that her things had been taken from her. Perhaps it would have angered her more if it hadn’t been for Tao’s presence. His kind demeanor distracted her from her own misfortune. She didn’t want to drag him into her problems.

[Tao]

He couldn't help but be pleased with how happy Isette looked upon being presented with her prize. She had hovered by his shoulder until he had handed over the food, and now scarfed them eagerly down, like she expected him to snatch them away from her again. By his feet, Miruku nibbled more delicately on her treat, tearing off bite sized pieces so that she wouldn't choke. It was an interesting parallel between the two; the stray choked down her food as fast as she possibly could, while the pet took her time, knowing that her next meal would be right on time. He smiled back her gleeful expression, her mouth full and her fingers sticky with dumplings. Eventually, she slowed down a little (only after half the box was gone) and responded to his comment. “Maybe she'll eventually understand what 'no' means, then.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders. A soft meow from by his feet made him look down; delicate or not, Miruku had quickly finished off her portion and was already sniffing around for more. He bent down and picked her up, putting her on back on her shoulder perch, moving her away from Isette's last dumpling. There wasn't really much else to say, unfortunately. He couldn't help the stray girl with her problems even if he knew what to do. The food would have helped some, and it was better than nothing. He wished he could do something more. “Well... er. Thank you for helping Miruku, again.” He said, bowing his head. “I... hope you'll be alright.”

[Isette]

The Kelvic smiled to herself as she finished off the last of her dumpling. Even if Miruku did learn what ‘no’ meant, she still may not listen. Kittens were similar to human children in that way. It wasn’t that they did not understand, they simply had a one track mind. It wasn’t enough to understand the meaning of the word no, one had to understand why the word was being used. Unfortunately, when communication was a problem (as it was between a human and a cat), one often had to learn things the hard way. Miruku struck Isette as particularly spirited in that way. When Tao spoke again, the feline found herself caught off guard. The food he’d given her was still warm in her stomach. She was feeling particularly social and had not expected to be so suddenly dismissed. Oh, but he probably had better things to do than babysit a Shimobe, didn’t he? She was probably wasting his time. Being a nuisance. She flushed and looked embarrassed, feeling suddenly shy. “Y-yes. You have been kind to me. I thank you.” Isette bowed politely. When looked back up, there was a friendly smile on her face. Regardless of her time with him being cut short, Isette thought he was a nice man and was grateful to have met him. Her attention to towards Miruku. “Farewell!” Her feline speech was clumsy and awkward in her human body, allowing for only the most simplistic of meanings to come across. At least she was able to get out that one word. It would have been terribly rude for them to part without her offering a proper farewell to her new feline friend. She hoped it would not be the last time they met. Isette was fond of both of them and the bond they shared was sweet.

[Ophelia]

Experience Isette: +2 Running, +1 Tracking, +1 Observation Tao: +2 Observation Lore Isette: People Watching, Saving A Kitten, Scavenging Advice, Altrusim, The Purposes of a 'Meow', Tao Kuroya (Partial), Miruku (Basic) Tao: Arguing With A Cat, Talking To A Cat (I Have No Idea What She Said), Human Interactions With An Animal, Miruku's Human, Appreciation, Isette (Partial) Notes Kitties are adorable. I just want to snatch them both up. Tao, I am sorry I couldn't give you much in the way of substantial reward, seeing as Miruku did about half the thread. Please subtract a kina from your ledger. Very cute thread, I am going to go and d'aaaw at kitty photos now. PM me if there are any issues!