018 -- [Action]

[its_troublesome]

Comments

[abidinglaw]

[Norrington is in the item shop, too, clicking through the settings on an electric fan. 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3, off. He can even make it blow from side to side. Hmm. But! When he picks it up and turns, intent on bringing the device to his apartment to experiment with, his excitement makes him strangely heedless and he accidentally blows a gust of 3-strong air directly at the kitten and its host. Immediately he apologizes, cycling through the buttons until at last he puts a stop to its infernal gusting.]

Oh! I am sorry. Please, one moment.. There. My apologies.

[abidinglaw]

[A strange place to keep a kitten. Norrington narrows his eyes a little, but does not comment.]

My thanks, I confess I had not thought to look.

[A beat, and then he adds,]

Does the animal have a name?

[its_troublesome]

[A nod.] Kenta.

[abidinglaw]

An unusual name -- to my ears at least. But not without merit. Do you plan to keep him behind doors or will you give him the run of Luceti?

[By this point the admiral is making idle conversation of a sense of duty. He did cause the cat to claw the poor man half way to ribbons.]

[its_troublesome]

Uh... [That's a good question, actually.] He's an animal, so he needs to run around. [Grumble, grumble.] My apartment would probably look better for it.

Not sure how much freedom I should give him yet, though. It'd be troublesome if he ran off.

[abidinglaw]

Indeed.

[He considers this for a moment.]

And if the infamous Shifts have the power to effect cats as they do Luceti's citizens, you would have double the cause for worry.

[its_troublesome]

...secondary concern. And here I was just wondering how much trouble he'd cause if he got out and knocked some girl cat up.

[abidinglaw]

For an answer to that we need only turn to the plague of kittens that has befallen our Luceti of late.

[its_troublesome]

Troublesome. What this place really needs is a vet.

[abidinglaw]

A little louder, perhaps.

[The admiral suggests, without any intention of explaining quite why. The truth is that he is coming to the conclusion that the arrivals in Luceti are in some small part dictated by the needs of its current residents. Silent for a moment, he turns his attention to the shelves of the item store. Here he finds a tin soldier, two or three inches tall and with a rifle held up across its chest. He picks it up.]

Perhaps Doctor McCoy is capable of providing medical care for animals? You may wish to ask him.

[He might, for example, remove the kitten's claws.]

[its_troublesome]

[It's something he's wondered himself, along with why so many people who know each other arrive here too. It gives him pause before responding - something to think about another day.]

That's the guy you were talking about earlier, right? Can't hurt to check.

[abidinglaw]

I have not had need to seek his aid myself, but he did admirable work on the draft and he has been recommended to me by a number of my closest allies.

[One is a number, right?]

[its_troublesome]

[The loneliest that you ever knew.]

For veterinary work? I didn't realize that was such a problem on the last draft.

[abidinglaw]

I cannot imagine that the anatomies of men are far removed from those of animals. Why, not long ago I saw a rat dressed as a man running errands in the square. He walked on two paws and stood as tall as a child.

[A pause.]

This is a strange place.

[its_troublesome]

...aa. I've seen that guy before, myself. [Not sure if that anatomy thing applies to a normal cat, though. 8|a]

This place is pretty messed up though. Then again, it's the people who make it seem that way, but none of us really belong here.

[abidinglaw]

[And for some of us, there is nowhere else.]

If you do not mind my asking, where might you belong?