Cautiously, you walk the dawning

[define_belief]

It is a week after The Fischer Case, and Ariadne is cooking eggs in a friend's apartment in New York. She blinks and finds herself in another, completely unfamiliar kitchen, still frying eggs but on another completely unfamiliar stove. She is not so used to waking up in unexpected places out of nowhere that it doesn't startle her, causing her to

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[the_crat]

Should she wind up in the library, there is a crat laying on a large, open book. His eyes are half closed and he's considering taking a nap as the book he's reading isn't terribly interesting, though it is very comfortable.

He wouldn't say no to a bit of conversation though.

[define_belief]

Ariadne winds up in the library, and walks up to the crat as soon as she notices it. She slowly reaches out a hand in the manner experienced cat-people do to let strange cats (for that is what she supposes this animal is) sniff before touching.

"Hello, kitty," she greets. "Good book?"

[the_crat]

Echo blinks and looks up at the offered hand. He does give it a sniff and gives her hand a good rub of his cheeks so that it's a proper greeting before looking back down at the book and sighing.

"I'm afraid not miss," he says. "It's actually very dull. Not one I'd recommend."

[define_belief]

She snatches her hand to herself and jumps back a bit.

"Talking cat. This is a new one."

[the_crat]

Echo sighs again, then stands up and stretches. "Crat. Cats don't speak your language, but I am a crat and I do. My name is Echo."

[define_belief]

"Oh, sorry. Crat, then." She is becoming better accustomed to weird things. "Hello, Echo. I'm Ariadne. Are you...aside from talking, are you like a cat?"

[the_crat]

Echo is pleased that she's caught on so quickly. "I also posess two livers," he says. "And I've been told that my fat is valuable in some circles. Aside from those, I am exactly like a cat."

[define_belief]

"That must be useful at parties," Ariadne replied, attempting to just roll with the weird. It wasn't too different from working with dream logic, after all. Though her forays into dreams were under heavily controlled circumstances and hardly like real dreams at all. But whatever helps her deal with talking feline-like beings.

"Are there other talking animals here?" she asks. "And...Would you mind if I pet you?"

[the_crat]

"So I've been told." Echo stretches again. "You may pet me. I rather enjoy it actually. And yes. There are other animals that talk, though most are much larger than I am."

He's pleased that she's taking it so well actually. Makes things easier.

And she wasn't assuming he was some kind of demon or something.

[define_belief]

"And you read too? What else?" She scratches him behind the ears.

Ariadne seems to be adapting because she isn't sure she isn't in some new dream. It makes the strange easier to handle. Additionally, deep down, she has always liked the idea of talking animals. And she doesn't believe in demons. As of yet.

[the_crat]

He purrs a bit and tilts his head to make the ear scratching easier for her.

"I've been told I make an excellent lap warmer and a decent listener," Echo offers. "Though, sadly, without thumbs my skills are limited to more simple things such as enjoying the books here and keeping others company."

[define_belief]

She smiles. She likes cats, and the crat's coat is soft like the cats she is used to.

"Can I ask where you came from?" Ariadne inquires.

[the_crat]

"I'm from a place called Malaisea and it is just as unpleasant as it sounds." He arches up into the petting. "Thankfully though, it was getting better by the time I left.

"What about you miss?"

[define_belief]

"It doesn't sound unpleasant. I've never heard of it, though." Her hands follow the crat's leaning. "Earth. At the beginning of the twenty-first century," she replies. "It's pretty good, in some places."

[the_crat]

"I've heard of earth," Echo says, "though the time frame isn't one I know. I'm glad that it was a good place for you. Malaisea was a place that was known for being the sickest country in all the world. Illness was very common there."

[define_belief]

"Is it a place where everyone is a talking animal? Like Narnia?" Ariadne asks, genuinely curious.