# 272 -- Do you have any pets? Would you like some (more)? Why/why not?
She looks around at the people on the street, under the afternoon sun. It's easy to see the dark ones. The description has nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with intention. The ones that prey on their fellow Gothamites; the ones she would be paying a visit to when the sun goes down. But Alfred had pointed out that such a focus could be unhealthy.
The old butler made a very convincing argument, citing Batman-Bruce's-own blind spots and how they had impaired the man's effectiveness in past investigations. He then suggested that she engage in using a different focus to her observances when not actively in the Batgril suit. When Cass had silently raised an eyebrow at that, he'd made his suggestion: observe owners and their pets, see if the old idea of the two resembling one another actually holds true.
The idea had honestly intrigued her and it would be a good exercise for her observation skills. So she found herself sitting here on a stool, looking out the window of her favourite cafe, sipping her tea. The Asian girl is smiling, just a little. It is fun seeing the similarities, and there are many. The stocky old man with deep jowls and the signs of old, well used muscles walking a bulldog. The sleek, stylish blonde woman with her flawlessly groomed afghan hound. The aging matriarch walking primly, the chestnut color of her king charles spaniel matching her dyed hair perfectly. However she really isn't sure what to make of the twenty something young man walking his rather annoyed looking ginger tabby tom cat. There are people that walk cats?
Shaking her head, the smile widens just a bit more. It is fun, but this venue is limited, she muses as she finishes her tea. Maybe a stop to a pet store? There is that large one that is part of the Balavow Mall. That one has a policy of letting owners bring in their animals. Yes, that would seem a likely venue for her continued practice.
The trip there is a short one, only needing a trip on the monorail. She does have civilian transport. Of course Alfred had seen to that, but she much prefers public transit when practical. Taking the monorail or the bus is one more way of getting a feel for the mood of her city.
There is a black lab on the train, but he's wearing the bright orange vest and harness of a working dog. The man handling him is clearly not impaired in any way, but the way he moves. Ah. The dog is young and in training. She didn't know that Gotham had such a program. When she gets home, Cass intends to learn more about it.
When she gets to the pet store the first thing she notices is the noise, followed by the smell. Neither of which is bad, and both tell her that this is a well run place. There are children here, one is quite loud and that is upsetting the animals. Oh, the mother is taking the child out of the store.
However, her hypothesis about this being a good location for her investigation is thwarted. There are no owners with pets here. There is however an adoption center. Curiously she looks in. The room is all cats in small cages. Some look happy, excited even. Others are depressed. One looks decidedly pissed off. That one has a note attached his cage. Frowning she tries to puzzle the words out. Then again. Then a third time. It still doesn't make sense and she sighs. Fortunately, she has a little something that will help.
Reaching into her knapsack, she pulls out a little device about the size of a credit card. There is a wire running from it to the single ear bud she fits in securely. Pressing the button on the “card” she passes it over the note, a little bit of blue light the only evidence that its' scanning the text. A digitise voice comes through the ear piece.
“Please don't bother me, I'm grumpy.”
Well, that's....interesting. She looks at the creature. His fur is short and a patchwork of white and grey, but her first thought is to Bat-Bruce. That notion makes her smile. Or perhaps Jason. Definitely not Dick and the beast is far too expressive for it to be Tim.
For a moment she almost considers about adopting the grumpy one. But...no. It wouldn't be fair to the cat. She can't devote the time it would need. With some reluctance she leaves the room and carefully heads away form the one containing dogs and puppies.
Realistically, she should just go home. Or to her cave. There are cases she could be working on. And Alfred wouldn’t' have reason to get cross with her. But for some reason she looks around the large store just a little bit more. The rodents are interesting. And she over hears a pair of individuals talking fondly of their “ratties.” The hamsters are very cute, but she's not so sure about the mice. She really has no idea what to make of the chinchillas.
The fish were also interesting. She kept the little scanner in the palm of her hand and passed it over the labels on the tanks and she has not studied fish the way she has dogs. The Angel fish are very beautiful she decides. On some stands across from the wall of tanks, there are a collection of what appear to be small jars. At the bottom of each is a fish with gossamer fins and tale. Cass makes no claims at being able to read fish body language but she's fairly certain those fish aren't happy. In fact she has to watch carefully to make sure they are still alive; which they are.
The synthetic voice tells her that these are betta fish. Or Siamese fighting fish. Giving into her curiosity she heads to area where there is a selection of booklet, picking up the one with the image of a black, purple and green beta on the front. As suratipiously as she can, Cass uses the scanner to go through the book, which isn’t' long at all. All very basic information on the breed and how to care for it. And...oh. Hmm.
Apparently they do best in small spaces, which explain the tiny containers. However, it's recommended that they have plants (fake or real) in their habitats so that the feel like they can hide. And those little jars have nothing of the sort. She frowns.
Taking the books with her, she walks farther in the store. Yes, there; a large bowl. A bag of pebbles. Those plants are nice and leafy. She signals the sales person to help her get the one’s she wants. A container of fish food, water conditioner and...snails. They will help keep the bowl clean. The sale person that had helped with the plants now finds his arms full of the items Cass is picking out, leaving only the book in the girl’s own hands. Then it’s back to the display of betta fish. She looks them over and has to remind herself that she can only have one as they do not get along with others well. That familiar though makes her smile and she reaches for the glass containing a predominately black one with deep blue highlights.
Taking that and her book, she heads for the casher.
She admits to herself that she is excited as she takes her new friend and his supplies with her on the monorail, heading home to her apartment. Actually the entire building is hers, but Barbara and Tim always called it an “apartment” for some reason.
Carefully she puts the fish down in his container and hurries to set up his new home. There is something almost meditative about the activity. Then everything is ready and she picks up the little glass, carefully dumping him in among the new plant think environment. If she looks at the side of the bowl she catches only glimpse of his find but if she looks in from above she can watch him move, exploring his environment.
A smile crept over her face even as a feeling quiet peace fills her.
Mun Note: Betta's don't do well in "small" spaces, though this idea is found almost everywhere, rather theny like a lot of space but with plants and structures that provide abundant cover.
The old butler made a very convincing argument, citing Batman-Bruce's-own blind spots and how they had impaired the man's effectiveness in past investigations. He then suggested that she engage in using a different focus to her observances when not actively in the Batgril suit. When Cass had silently raised an eyebrow at that, he'd made his suggestion: observe owners and their pets, see if the old idea of the two resembling one another actually holds true.
The idea had honestly intrigued her and it would be a good exercise for her observation skills. So she found herself sitting here on a stool, looking out the window of her favourite cafe, sipping her tea. The Asian girl is smiling, just a little. It is fun seeing the similarities, and there are many. The stocky old man with deep jowls and the signs of old, well used muscles walking a bulldog. The sleek, stylish blonde woman with her flawlessly groomed afghan hound. The aging matriarch walking primly, the chestnut color of her king charles spaniel matching her dyed hair perfectly. However she really isn't sure what to make of the twenty something young man walking his rather annoyed looking ginger tabby tom cat. There are people that walk cats?
Shaking her head, the smile widens just a bit more. It is fun, but this venue is limited, she muses as she finishes her tea. Maybe a stop to a pet store? There is that large one that is part of the Balavow Mall. That one has a policy of letting owners bring in their animals. Yes, that would seem a likely venue for her continued practice.
The trip there is a short one, only needing a trip on the monorail. She does have civilian transport. Of course Alfred had seen to that, but she much prefers public transit when practical. Taking the monorail or the bus is one more way of getting a feel for the mood of her city.
There is a black lab on the train, but he's wearing the bright orange vest and harness of a working dog. The man handling him is clearly not impaired in any way, but the way he moves. Ah. The dog is young and in training. She didn't know that Gotham had such a program. When she gets home, Cass intends to learn more about it.
When she gets to the pet store the first thing she notices is the noise, followed by the smell. Neither of which is bad, and both tell her that this is a well run place. There are children here, one is quite loud and that is upsetting the animals. Oh, the mother is taking the child out of the store.
However, her hypothesis about this being a good location for her investigation is thwarted. There are no owners with pets here. There is however an adoption center. Curiously she looks in. The room is all cats in small cages. Some look happy, excited even. Others are depressed. One looks decidedly pissed off. That one has a note attached his cage. Frowning she tries to puzzle the words out. Then again. Then a third time. It still doesn't make sense and she sighs. Fortunately, she has a little something that will help.
Reaching into her knapsack, she pulls out a little device about the size of a credit card. There is a wire running from it to the single ear bud she fits in securely. Pressing the button on the “card” she passes it over the note, a little bit of blue light the only evidence that its' scanning the text. A digitise voice comes through the ear piece.
“Please don't bother me, I'm grumpy.”
Well, that's....interesting. She looks at the creature. His fur is short and a patchwork of white and grey, but her first thought is to Bat-Bruce. That notion makes her smile. Or perhaps Jason. Definitely not Dick and the beast is far too expressive for it to be Tim.
For a moment she almost considers about adopting the grumpy one. But...no. It wouldn't be fair to the cat. She can't devote the time it would need. With some reluctance she leaves the room and carefully heads away form the one containing dogs and puppies.
Realistically, she should just go home. Or to her cave. There are cases she could be working on. And Alfred wouldn’t' have reason to get cross with her. But for some reason she looks around the large store just a little bit more. The rodents are interesting. And she over hears a pair of individuals talking fondly of their “ratties.” The hamsters are very cute, but she's not so sure about the mice. She really has no idea what to make of the chinchillas.
The fish were also interesting. She kept the little scanner in the palm of her hand and passed it over the labels on the tanks and she has not studied fish the way she has dogs. The Angel fish are very beautiful she decides. On some stands across from the wall of tanks, there are a collection of what appear to be small jars. At the bottom of each is a fish with gossamer fins and tale. Cass makes no claims at being able to read fish body language but she's fairly certain those fish aren't happy. In fact she has to watch carefully to make sure they are still alive; which they are.
The synthetic voice tells her that these are betta fish. Or Siamese fighting fish. Giving into her curiosity she heads to area where there is a selection of booklet, picking up the one with the image of a black, purple and green beta on the front. As suratipiously as she can, Cass uses the scanner to go through the book, which isn’t' long at all. All very basic information on the breed and how to care for it. And...oh. Hmm.
Apparently they do best in small spaces, which explain the tiny containers. However, it's recommended that they have plants (fake or real) in their habitats so that the feel like they can hide. And those little jars have nothing of the sort. She frowns.
Taking the books with her, she walks farther in the store. Yes, there; a large bowl. A bag of pebbles. Those plants are nice and leafy. She signals the sales person to help her get the one’s she wants. A container of fish food, water conditioner and...snails. They will help keep the bowl clean. The sale person that had helped with the plants now finds his arms full of the items Cass is picking out, leaving only the book in the girl’s own hands. Then it’s back to the display of betta fish. She looks them over and has to remind herself that she can only have one as they do not get along with others well. That familiar though makes her smile and she reaches for the glass containing a predominately black one with deep blue highlights.
Taking that and her book, she heads for the casher.
She admits to herself that she is excited as she takes her new friend and his supplies with her on the monorail, heading home to her apartment. Actually the entire building is hers, but Barbara and Tim always called it an “apartment” for some reason.
Carefully she puts the fish down in his container and hurries to set up his new home. There is something almost meditative about the activity. Then everything is ready and she picks up the little glass, carefully dumping him in among the new plant think environment. If she looks at the side of the bowl she catches only glimpse of his find but if she looks in from above she can watch him move, exploring his environment.
A smile crept over her face even as a feeling quiet peace fills her.
Mun Note: Betta's don't do well in "small" spaces, though this idea is found almost everywhere, rather theny like a lot of space but with plants and structures that provide abundant cover.