A wild kitten chase (Karl, Chris, George, Spock)

[ltlbtovik]

The hangover, thankfully, had passed with the hypo Dr. McCoy had given her, and after some rest - and a pleasant encounter with an orange kitten in the corridor- Nora definitely felt like she could go back to her normal routine. Even if she didn't feel like a mess, though, she knew she looked like one; one glance in the mirror was enough to confirm

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[geekiwi]

He'd lost the cats. The cats were gone. The door had been closed, all good, he'd gone out of the room for a minute and left Chris and George tumbling around on the floor. And the next thing he knew, he'd been cat-less.

Damn it. He was the worst cat-sitter of all time. This was exactly why he'd always had dogs -- they didn't try to sneak away. They loved you so much they followed you around and drooled happily on your hands instead of using their wily little genius brains to somehow reach the door controls and activate them and escape out into a giant maze-like spaceship...

Karl moved at a steady jog, keeping his eyes trained on the floor as he rounded a bend, so he didn't notice the young woman in front of him until he was quite close. And when he did, he didn't spend much time on pleasantries. "Hi," he panted. "You haven't seen a couple of cats recently? Young ones, like that big, orange one and a brown tabby?"

[ltlbtovik]

"Huh?" Nora blinked at him, her mind registering him as that actor, the one who'd been switched with Dr. McCoy a few days back. "Um, I played with the orange one a few hours ago, but I haven't seen him since. What happened? Are they okay?" She was suddenly a lot more alert; animals were kind of her soft spot.

[geekiwi]

"Hope so." He sighed deeply. "God knows how, but they got out when I wasn't watching. I just don't want them stumbling into anything dangerous."

[ltlbtovik]

Well, they hadn't exactly had kittens on the ship before, but there were a few places that small animals would probably think to go first. "Is there a hatch outside your quarters?" Nora asked. "If it was loose, they might have gone in there."

[erudite_actor]

Chris had been so busy roughhousing with the ginger kitten, he hadn't noticed they had rolled closer to the door. Not until it opened, that is. Curiosity overcame the possibility of food and they scampered out, the door closing behind them and making Chris start and jerk his tail forward out of its way.

Doors were tricky. He turned to glare at it for nearly closing on his tail.

When he turned back, the ginger kitten was jumping up into an opening in the wall. Curious, Chris climbed up with his front paws on the edge and peered in. It was dark and full of all kinds of new smells. He scrambled in, a short drop on the other side drawing a startled yowl from him.

Shaking himself off, he caught up with his friend, who was sniffing something interesting on the floor.

[kirk_george]

George was his own man most the time, so winding up outside again merely meant more opportunity to explore. OH! He should take his friend to the comfy chair. But first there was new smells in the cave to explore. He mewed for his friend to follow him and set off, following the trail.

[cso_spock]

He was hungry, again. The only time he wasn't hungry was when he was sleeping, and maybe when he was playing with that cardboard box Sybok gave him.

He sniffed at the air and waddled down the hall, smelling something that was familiar but not quiet, but that was okay -- other people gave him food that weren't his mates, and he was hungry.

Spock rubbed his cheek and the length of his body against the man's ankle, and mewled. Food, now.

[geekiwi]

Karl had tried to remember if there was any hatch or anything in the wall, realized there was, and had just opened his mouth to answer Nora when he felt something rub against his leg -- they both looked down, and the pudgy black-and-white kitten looked back up and meowed plaintively, wide-eyed.

"It's Spock," said Karl in surprise. "Guess he's on the run, too."

[ltlbtovik]

"No way." Nora could hardly believe her eyes. "That's Commander Spock?" She'd never expected him to be turned into a cat quite so...fat. Adorable, though. "Hey, kitty," she said to Spock, reaching down and holding out her hand for him to sniff.

[cso_spock]

He wasn't fat; he was hungry. Spock leaned forward to sniff at her hand and rub his cheek against it, but she didn't have any food, so he meowed again.

[ltlbtovik]

"What does he want?" Nora took her hand away and glanced at Karl, confused. She'd never had a cat; did constant meowing mean Spock was about to hairball in the hallway or something?

[geekiwi]

Karl crouched down to pat Kitten Spock. "Dunno. Either he's hungry or he just wants attention, I guess. Maybe he's lost." He tickled Spock under the chin. "You hungry, little guy?"

He hoped the other cats weren't hungry. Hungry and stuck somewhere.

[cso_spock]

Spock wanted both, particularly if attention came in the form of more treats. He purred at the touch of a familiar hand, even if Leonard didn't pet him quite the same way.

He mewled, quieter, and waddled closer so he could put his front paws against Karl's knee. He tried to climb up onto his leg but, well, didn't.

[geekiwi]

God, he was cute. Like a little football with ears and legs and a tail. Karl hoped he didn't still have those Vulcan psychic powers in this body. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes," he said as he scooped Spock up, since up was obviously what the cat wanted, and stood.

"Do you think the computer could locate kittens, Lieutenant To...vik? Tovik. Right?" They hadn't exchanged names yet. But suddenly, her face, with name attached, had popped into his head, and he'd remembered. She'd been in that weird birthday party dream of his. "Don't ask how I know that," he added awkwardly, patting Spock on the back like he would a fussy baby. "Small animals would show up on the internal scanners, yeah?"

[ltlbtovik]

"Yeah, that's me. Nora Tovik." Nora figured he'd been going through the crew rosters or something; it was what she'd do if she was stuck in an unfamiliar place. She grinned at the sight of Karl and Spock, the latter held in the former's arms like a pudgy purring ball, and continued, "They should show up. You want to go to Engineering, or would you prefer to check the Jeffries tubes first? You said there's one by your quarters, right?"

[cso_spock]

Spock purred at the pat on the back and pressed closer to Karl's chest. His paws kneaded his shirt, claws getting caught in the fabric. Getting picked up was one step away from getting fed, so he felt pleased.