milliways_bar | (no subject)

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The front door opens a tiny crack, like it wasn't properly latched and has come ajar. A moment later a tiny nose pokes through, followed soon by a fuzzy head.

A cat, black and white with wide yellow eyes, peeks into Milliways, meowing to announce this new discovery, then slipping through the crack into the bar.

"No, no, no, no-- "

The door swings wide, pushed open by a man in a black mask, a box of kitty kibble in his hand.

He's too late, the cat makes a break for freedom and adventure, and Matt is left standing in the doorway trying to track the feline as it threads its way through the chaos of the bar.

"Damn it."

There is absolutely no way Claire is ever going to let him live this down.

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The cat immediately presses into that hand, looking for all of the pets.

'Hungry?' is a question it definitely understands, and it gives a pitiful and loud yowl.

Why yes, human, this cat is starving.

With one hand, Cassian pets the cat while with the other, he breaks off some chicken, pieces with no bones and sets it on the floor for the cat. "Here you go, but I should get you some proper food."

When a rat comes by, he orders food for the cat.

The cat gobbles down the chicken, immediately reaching up to paw at Cassian for more while meowing loudly.

Cassian gives the cat a little more chicken as the rat comes back and warily sets down a bowl of delicious wet cat food.

When he sees the rat's not coming closer, Cassian reaches out to put the bowl right near his boot. "Here you go, this should be tasty."

The cat again scarfs down the chicken.

The rat is eyed, but the bowl draws most of the cat's attention. When the cat food is brought closer the cat gives it half a cursory sniff, then turns away from it and back to Cassian, mewling for more of the chicken.

"Shithead?"

The call comes from the masked man on the approach and when the cat hears it it takes off underneath the table.

He starts to answer the cat when it hides at the voice. Cassian pinpoints it to the man in a mask with no eyeholes and stretches his legs out to help the cat hide.

"Can I help you?"

Matt is ready to go in and grab the cat beneath the table, but pauses realizing that might not be the best approach given the table is occupied by someone.

Stopping before the table, but keeping close tabs on the cat, he regards Cassian a moment and then says, "I'm looking for a lost cat."

"There are a lot of cats around here. Do you know which one is yours?" He's not going to let the cat go with someone who it doesn't know.

In point of fact Matt doesn't know for sure which of the cats he's looking for, but he's fairly confident it is the one underneath Cassian's table right now.

The question is still aggravating in the implied distrust within it. Being leery given the mask is one thing, but on the grounds of cat-snatching is just ridiculous.

"That one under the table there. It has a bell on its collar."

Its not so much the cat-snatching as the outfit and the cruel name. "Is there a name on the collar?"

Cassian gets more chicken and offers it under the table saying to the cat in Festian. "Come here and show me your collar. This man in a mask says he knows you."

Matt's jaw tightens briefly, but his voice is level when he says, "The cat belongs to a friend." Friend of a friend. Either way, Matt doesn't know the cat's actual name.

"I'm just looking after it." Sort of.

The cat comes over quickly for the chicken, eager to eat the proffered food and with its ears pricked a bit as Cassian's words and accent are familiar.

When the cat comes over, Cassian reaches down to pick up it up and read the collar.

There is a bell which is a plus for the man in the hood. "Does their cat normally answer to the name you said before?"

While Cassian is reading its collar the cat tries to sniff at the man's hand, looking for more food, and then starts to rub against Cassian's arm, purring.

"He knows it." Claire certainly called the cat that often enough when she was still taking care of it.

Growing impatient, Matt says, "I'm just trying to get it home. All I was doing was checking in and feeding it and the bar decided to show up and let it in."

Cassian stands up and gives the cat a chance to sniff at the other man as he says in Festian, the cat seems to understand him. "Do you know him?"

Then to Matt. "Is the outfit part of feeding the cat or what you were wearing?"

The cat is far more interested in trying to lick Cassian's fingers than sniff at Matt, Cassian is the one the chicken has been coming from, after all. Still, it doesn't show any fear of Matt.

The question gets a head tilt from Matt, and although the the mask over the top half of his face covers most of his expression, he still manages to convey the confusion from what seems like an oddball question.

"What would wearing a mask have to do with feeding a cat?" Matt is quick to shake his head, dismissing his own question and Cassian's; not about to get into any discussion with the man about it.

"I feed the cat on my way out. Listen, I'd be happy to let you keep the damn thing, but as I said it belongs to a friend and she would be very-- disappointed if I lost it. So just let me take him."

If nothing else, the cat does seem very well taken care of, if suddenly very attached to Cassian now.

“I don’t know, you’re the one wearing the mask. The cat does seem to know you but is also good at escaping. I couldn’t keep a cat.”

Cassian disentangles the cat from his arms to hand over. He’d like to find out the reason behind they mask but he can tell he won’t learn more if the other mans concerned about the cat. Having a pet is something for people with less violent lives than him.

Edited 2018-09-18 03:47 (UTC)

Matt has never owned a pet, and after tonight definitely doesn't get the appeal.

Cassian seems to be relenting, though, and Matt steps forward quickly to take the animal. The cat gives a pitiful meow as it leaves Cassian's arms, heart-breakingly separated from its new best friend.

"Stop," Matt chides the cat, securing it against his chest. He winces slightly as little needle claws sink into his shoulder as the cat clings on, and then the cat starts rubbing against his neck.

"Thanks," Matt tells Cassian, still annoyed, but at least he has the cat back now.

"I ordered some food for the cat. Maybe you should take it with you or some of my chicken, it liked that."

Though the cat does seem to like the other man, Cassian hates the thought of anything being hungry.

Matt wrinkles his nose at the thought of taking the food with him. It smells terrible, but then Matt won't exactly be keeping it with himself, he'll be leaving it in the apartment.

"Sure," he says. Reaching a hand out for the dish shifts his hold on the cat, and the cat wriggles around, sinking claws deeper into Matt's skin as it tries to climb up onto his shoulder.

Matt struggles, trying to keep a hold of the cat and pull it off, which upsets the cat and makes it fight more fiercely to claim its perch.

There are definitely some yowls and curses going back and forth between the two of them.

Cassian gives a skeptical look at that wrinkled nose and the cat trying to get settled.

"Do you want some help?"

"No. I'm fine. I just-- " Matt hisses as the cat rakes a paw full of claws across Matt's exposed jaw.

The cat manages to clamber over Matt's shoulder and only with an awkward twisting reach around move does Matt get a hold of it again before it can jump free.

With the cat clawing down his back, Matt struggles to hang onto it.

"Grab it!" he finally barks, certain that the cat is about to get away.

He moves behind to try and grab the cat, speaking to it in Festian as the cat seems to like that.

"Come here and calm down. He's trying to take you home."

Matt twists around, giving his back up to Cassian so the man can grab the cat.

The cat practically leaps into Cassian's arms, back to purring and snuggling the man's chin.

Dabbing a bleeding welt on his chin with his gloved fingers, Matt frowns.

"Spanish? Is that what you want?"

Yes, Matt speaks Spanish, too, although his tone isn't quite so friendly as Cassian's.

Still the cat's ears prick in response and it swivels its head to look over at Matt.

"Festian. Do you like my language, opinionated cat or how my voice sounds?"

Cassian keeps his voice calm as he pets the cat's back.

Edited 2018-09-19 04:38 (UTC)

"Its owner speaks Spanish," Matt says, finally putting that piece together.

This isn't going the way Matt wants it to at all, so obviously he needs a new plan. Cassian seems to have the cat for now, so letting the man hang onto it, Matt calls to a wait rat and asks for some chicken.

The cat is content in Cassian's arms for now, leaning up to lick the man's chin with it's raspy tongue. Matt can hear the thing purring and it makes his shake his head, annoyed.