[Camp's a slimy and littered mess, lately. Trying to get just about anywhere means dodging the portals that keep opening up in the air, on the ground. And better to be careful, because you never know if falling into one will land you across the camp or across the continent or over the edge of a cliff or something.
And while the many and varied oddities that are strewn around the ground are enough to keep him busy and nosy for a while, the rovers seem to be mostly portal-free, at least. So he's not epxecting anything too weird when he opens the hatch.
What he gets instead, is a loud—if not threatening—meow.
There is a cat in their rover. It's also the biggest non-bahari cat he's ever seen. After frowning down at it for a beat, he looks back up—]
[ It's kind of ridiculous. She's a trained soldier, and has repeatedly proved herself unafraid in the face of monsters and other aliens alike but the incessant meowing is grating on her nerves. It reminds her of the bird that Peggy had been petsitting as part of a Blue mission back on Ajna that had been crying nearly the entire time. Peggy had insisted that it wasn't okay to just knock the animal out, and she's going to assume the same applies here.
But Mikasa hasn't received any training in how to deal with noisy cats, and if it's not a human child then she has no interest in mothering it. Eren might have some clue as to what the cat is doing here. ]
[And there's an awkward moment or so where he gives the cat a mostly-serious second or two to speak for itself, if it's...capable.... (You never know. Mogget had been one of the first people Eren had met in the CDC.) Mochi responds to this awkwardness by bumping his head into Eren's shins and purring for attention.]
[ She might've laughed at the look that Eren gives the cat but. It's not like she hadn't eyed the animal dubiously upon arrival as well, checking for a collar like 1 or Mogget used to wear. It wouldn't be the first time the CDC had recruited an animal, and she half expected the cat to start floating and speaking magically to her.
(That is not what happened.) ]
It probably belongs to Hei or Tadashi.
[ Since it wouldn't have been able to get in otherwise. She's going to venture a guess that it belongs to Tadashi, since he seems a lot more capable and willing to look after a small, useless animal. The cat's presence doesn't bother her on principle, it's just that when it meows again, bumping more insistently and staring up at Eren, having obviously decided to try it's luck with him since Mikasa had been a bust, she's not entirely sure what to do. ]
[Probably. Eren looks around as if expecting Hei or Tadashi to show up and confirm or deny this. When they don't, he shuts the rover hatch behind him and steps into the room proper. Mochi takes this as a good sign and rubs himself against his legs.
As Mikasa diagnoses the problem to the best of her ability, Eren crouches to give the cat an experimental scratch on the head. Miraculously, he stops meowing and makes a pleased purring noise instead.
Okay. Progress?]
Hei brought a bunch of food in earlier.
[They could probably spare some of their rations. He's pretty sure they don't have alien mice in their rover for it to hunt. And probably best not to let it out to fend for itself while the portals are still blipping in and out over camp. (Does that look like an outdoors cat to you, Eren....) Not when it could get portaled across the continent or something. And then eaten.]
[ Mikasa really doesn't care for animals, which is kind of strange when nearly everyone else in the camp would probably die for one pet or the other, but when she watches Eren rub his fingers over Mochi's head it's. It's kind of cute. (Eren is cuter than Mochi, but that's besides the point.)
Relaxing somewhat, she leaves the cat with Eren to grab some food with an ] Okay.
[ They thankfully do have a nice supply of food, which she hadn't thought possible at first given Hei's incredible appetite, but it turns out that he hunts even more than he eats. It's fairly easy to slice off a small piece of meat from their collection in the fridge, and she returns to carefully toss it in front of the cat, looking dubious. ]
Eren's not necessarily any better with animals than she is—the Survey Corps horses are about the closest thing he's had to a pet to watch over. He hadn't had much luck charming Armin's bahari, or Jean's. But lucky for them, Mochi isn't a particularly capricious or hard to please creature. Even for a housecat.
He's still a housecat, though. Eren straightens and steps away to sit himself on his bunk and take off his boots. Assuming, as Mikasa had, that the cat will make for the food. He does, at first. Walks (waddles...) over to the scrap of meat to sniff it, lick it once or twice. But, losing interest, he soon turns his nose back up toward Mikasa.
And meows again for attention. So maybe it isn't that he's hungry.]
[ The cat's cries seem to be getting louder as Mikasa stares down at the fat animal, incessant and demanding. She's not expert on deciphering the calls of a cat, but it there's a pitch to Mochi's meows that almost sounds both whiny and alarmed.
It's a headache, and Mikasa just gives the animal a tired look before crouching down and picking up the discarded piece of meat. Mochi is, at least, appeased when she moves down to his level, approaching her to put an insistent paw on her knee, meowing again—this time definitely whiny.
Mikasa, for the most part is more focused on tearing the scrap into smaller pieces, assuming that it was too thick for the cat to eat comfortably. Smaller morsel acquired, she holds it by Mochi's mouth this time, going so far as to press it against the cat's mouth, and for a moment there's hope. Mochi deigns to give the offering a tentative lick, continuing to sniff the piece before.
He backs up and continues his whining.
And it's really annoying. ]
Do cats eat something other than meat? [ Her question is directed toward Eren, lifting her head to face him, her rapidly dwindling patience rather evident. ]
[In the time it takes Mikasa to try and bribe the cat into silence, Eren's managed to divest himself of his boots and his jacket and lean his forearms against his knees to watch. It's a little ridiculous.]
What? No.
[Why would it eat anything else. Milk maybe? They don't have any of that, anyway.]
[ You're incredibly helpful, Eren. And Mikasa gives him a look the depicts just how thankful she is for his contributions. (Not thankful at all.)
She takes a moment, turning back to Mochi, thinking quietly and watching the cat whine and whine and whine until. When he's got his mouth open for a particularly obnoxious meow, she reaches forward to just stuff the small piece of meat she'd torn off into his mouth. It's kind of funny to watch him abruptly snap his jaw shut in alarm, and he stares at Mikasa with wide eyes for a moment before finally, in a moment of miracles, he begins to quietly eat the offering.
Satisfied, she leaves him with the rest of the slab, hoping that he'll take to it himself. before standing to wash her hands. ]
If it starts complaining again, you can feed it. [ Referring to Eren, who should take some responsibility in raising their new child. ]
[It's Tadashi's child???? Stop??? What do you want from him, he doesn't speak cat.
Mikasa once again asserts her dominance over the other inhabitants of the rover. After chewing and swallowing his dinner like a good cat, Mochi takes the opportunity to waddle over to Eren's feet where it seems to be safer. Hops up onto the bunk beside him to nudge for attention. Eren bats him away when he tries to climb into his lap, but Mochi seems content to settle in next to him.]
Doesn't it belong to one of the others?
[Hei seems more likely to eat it than anything, so yeah, his money's on Tadashi. The point is when the hell did this cat become his responsibility.]
I think it's Tadashi's. [ Because yeah, her line of reasoning is pretty similar to Eren's.
She wanders over to sit at Eren's other side once her hands are watched, staring at the cat with mild interest. Mochi is pretty satisfied with what meagre (non-existent) attention Eren is showing him, purring contently and kneading his claws into the blanket of the bed.
When Mikasa turns to Eren again, it's with a triumphant quirk to her lip. ]
[Probably because Eren didn't forcefully shove food in his mouth, Mikasa. (Well, maybe it's a thing he can relate to. Common ground.) He can feel the low rumble of purring against his leg, a weird domesticated-cat thing that he isn't too used to. He casts a glance back at Mikasa, then reaches over to scratch the top of Mochi's head. Having an animal around is weird, but it's not necessarily bad, when it's not being a pain in the ass. Though—]
Where the hell did it come from?
[Smaller, more friendly, and more familiar than the bahari. Definitely wasn't a wild thing that wandered into the rover.]
[ As far as she knows, they hadn't received any supplies or item requests, though she has no idea if it's even possible to ask for a cat. There certainly aren't any cats native to Macha as far as she can see, so she can only assume it had to have come from Tadashi's homeworld one way or another.
Oh. ]
Maybe the portals? [ They'd been spitting out items all over the camp, though nothing living that she'd heard of. ]
[(He frowns, thinks back to Ajna, to the strange and sudden vacation he'd taken from the mission. Fallen through the ground and back to Karanese and come back a few days later. The portal he'd fallen through that time—)
As strange as it seems...it makes about as much sense as anything else. The first things that they'd seen come through the portals had been living, after all. (The monster, the harpies.) So it must be possible. As if in agreement—]
They're dumping junk all over camp. [So why not a cat, apparently. Purring contentedly at his side while Eren absently scratches its head and puzzles over its existence, Mochi doesn't seem much worse for wear for the experience, at least. There's a collar and a bell around his neck, but if there's a nametag, neither of them could read it anyway.]
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I still can't believe you pageclaimed with cats
And while the many and varied oddities that are strewn around the ground are enough to keep him busy and nosy for a while, the rovers seem to be mostly portal-free, at least. So he's not epxecting anything too weird when he opens the hatch.
What he gets instead, is a loud—if not threatening—meow.
There is a cat in their rover. It's also the biggest non-bahari cat he's ever seen. After frowning down at it for a beat, he looks back up—]
Mikasa?
[Why is there a cat in the rover.]
i'm a woman of many talents
But Mikasa hasn't received any training in how to deal with noisy cats, and if it's not a human child then she has no interest in mothering it. Eren might have some clue as to what the cat is doing here. ]
Eren, have you heard anything about this?
clearly.
It's a cat.
[And there's an awkward moment or so where he gives the cat a mostly-serious second or two to speak for itself, if it's...capable.... (You never know. Mogget had been one of the first people Eren had met in the CDC.) Mochi responds to this awkwardness by bumping his head into Eren's shins and purring for attention.]
It wasn't here when I left.
[And it definitely didn't come from Macha.]
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(That is not what happened.) ]
It probably belongs to Hei or Tadashi.
[ Since it wouldn't have been able to get in otherwise. She's going to venture a guess that it belongs to Tadashi, since he seems a lot more capable and willing to look after a small, useless animal. The cat's presence doesn't bother her on principle, it's just that when it meows again, bumping more insistently and staring up at Eren, having obviously decided to try it's luck with him since Mikasa had been a bust, she's not entirely sure what to do. ]
I think it's hungry.
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As Mikasa diagnoses the problem to the best of her ability, Eren crouches to give the cat an experimental scratch on the head. Miraculously, he stops meowing and makes a pleased purring noise instead.
Okay. Progress?]
Hei brought a bunch of food in earlier.
[They could probably spare some of their rations. He's pretty sure they don't have alien mice in their rover for it to hunt. And probably best not to let it out to fend for itself while the portals are still blipping in and out over camp. (Does that look like an outdoors cat to you, Eren....) Not when it could get portaled across the continent or something. And then eaten.]
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Relaxing somewhat, she leaves the cat with Eren to grab some food with an ] Okay.
[ They thankfully do have a nice supply of food, which she hadn't thought possible at first given Hei's incredible appetite, but it turns out that he hunts even more than he eats. It's fairly easy to slice off a small piece of meat from their collection in the fridge, and she returns to carefully toss it in front of the cat, looking dubious. ]
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Eren's not necessarily any better with animals than she is—the Survey Corps horses are about the closest thing he's had to a pet to watch over. He hadn't had much luck charming Armin's bahari, or Jean's. But lucky for them, Mochi isn't a particularly capricious or hard to please creature. Even for a housecat.
He's still a housecat, though. Eren straightens and steps away to sit himself on his bunk and take off his boots. Assuming, as Mikasa had, that the cat will make for the food. He does, at first. Walks (waddles...) over to the scrap of meat to sniff it, lick it once or twice. But, losing interest, he soon turns his nose back up toward Mikasa.
And meows again for attention. So maybe it isn't that he's hungry.]
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It's a headache, and Mikasa just gives the animal a tired look before crouching down and picking up the discarded piece of meat. Mochi is, at least, appeased when she moves down to his level, approaching her to put an insistent paw on her knee, meowing again—this time definitely whiny.
Mikasa, for the most part is more focused on tearing the scrap into smaller pieces, assuming that it was too thick for the cat to eat comfortably. Smaller morsel acquired, she holds it by Mochi's mouth this time, going so far as to press it against the cat's mouth, and for a moment there's hope. Mochi deigns to give the offering a tentative lick, continuing to sniff the piece before.
He backs up and continues his whining.
And it's really annoying. ]
Do cats eat something other than meat? [ Her question is directed toward Eren, lifting her head to face him, her rapidly dwindling patience rather evident. ]
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What? No.
[Why would it eat anything else. Milk maybe? They don't have any of that, anyway.]
Maybe it wants something else.
[It had shut up for a minute before.]
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She takes a moment, turning back to Mochi, thinking quietly and watching the cat whine and whine and whine until. When he's got his mouth open for a particularly obnoxious meow, she reaches forward to just stuff the small piece of meat she'd torn off into his mouth. It's kind of funny to watch him abruptly snap his jaw shut in alarm, and he stares at Mikasa with wide eyes for a moment before finally, in a moment of miracles, he begins to quietly eat the offering.
Satisfied, she leaves him with the rest of the slab, hoping that he'll take to it himself. before standing to wash her hands. ]
If it starts complaining again, you can feed it. [ Referring to Eren, who should take some responsibility in raising their new child. ]
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Mikasa once again asserts her dominance over the other inhabitants of the rover. After chewing and swallowing his dinner like a good cat, Mochi takes the opportunity to waddle over to Eren's feet where it seems to be safer. Hops up onto the bunk beside him to nudge for attention. Eren bats him away when he tries to climb into his lap, but Mochi seems content to settle in next to him.]
Doesn't it belong to one of the others?
[Hei seems more likely to eat it than anything, so yeah, his money's on Tadashi. The point is when the hell did this cat become his responsibility.]
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She wanders over to sit at Eren's other side once her hands are watched, staring at the cat with mild interest. Mochi is pretty satisfied with what meagre (non-existent) attention Eren is showing him, purring contently and kneading his claws into the blanket of the bed.
When Mikasa turns to Eren again, it's with a triumphant quirk to her lip. ]
It seems like it likes you.
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Where the hell did it come from?
[Smaller, more friendly, and more familiar than the bahari. Definitely wasn't a wild thing that wandered into the rover.]
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[ As far as she knows, they hadn't received any supplies or item requests, though she has no idea if it's even possible to ask for a cat. There certainly aren't any cats native to Macha as far as she can see, so she can only assume it had to have come from Tadashi's homeworld one way or another.
Oh. ]
Maybe the portals? [ They'd been spitting out items all over the camp, though nothing living that she'd heard of. ]
no subject
As strange as it seems...it makes about as much sense as anything else. The first things that they'd seen come through the portals had been living, after all. (The monster, the harpies.) So it must be possible. As if in agreement—]
They're dumping junk all over camp. [So why not a cat, apparently. Purring contentedly at his side while Eren absently scratches its head and puzzles over its existence, Mochi doesn't seem much worse for wear for the experience, at least. There's a collar and a bell around his neck, but if there's a nametag, neither of them could read it anyway.]