Realistic or Modern House of Cats (And a Human) Roleplay [OPEN]

[SpotBandit]

**If you are seeing this thread and would like to join, please visit our OOC and read the rules/requirements before doing so**
Keep in mind the lines above the text I write with the words in them identify where the characters (or Atsushi) is located, the time and their interactions.



------------------------
The House of Cats
5:25 AM
Interactions: [N/A]
-------- ATSUSHI --------
Today's alarm clock was a poor robin bird that just so happened to fly smack-bang into Atsushi's window, which thumped the pane of glass so aggressively that it managed to wake up the white haired handler inside-- just barely. The two of his purple eyes slowly cracked open after managing to pry themselves away from each other, only to meet the stare of his wooden work desk he'd been sat at last night. All he could do was roll onto his back and stretch, and then groan loathsomely. Damn, it was morning already. He wasn't particularly fond of mornings, or waking up in the midst of them. If he could, he'd sleep until the middle of the day, or sleep until he'd be completely unable to because of the copious amount of energy his body would've had at that point. No, today was just another day of caring for the felines. Most people, if they were tasked with this for a day, would've bolted out of bed and prepared everything they needed almost immediately and tried their very best to accomodate the cats in any way they found suit. Most people weren't Atsushi however, and most people hadn't been doing this for two years straight. The young man learnt that, much like the cats in the house, you could cut some slack yourself. Overwork yourself, and you find yourself miserable. Wether that affected the cats was really up to the cat's personality. Regardless of wether or not the white haired Atsushi wanted to go back to bed, he slumped himself upright and rubbed the crust away from his eyes before flicking it away, probably mourning his loss of sleeping-in privileges he had when he was younger. Even if he was granted the option to rest an extra couple of hours, he'd imagine the stress of one of the cats stepping out the line would keep him from venturing beyond the brink of sleep.

About ten minutes passed before Atsushi emerged from his bedroom, this time with his trademark yellow shirt and a pair of dark pants-- and the socks. Heaven forbid he forget the socks. The white haired handler had watered all of his little 'man-eating babies' in his bedroom, and now had to go check the mail and get the cat's breakfasts ready. It was a Saturday, wasn't it? The handler groaned to himself silently. Ah, Saturday was grocery day. The hell that ensued grocery day was often one of which that rivalled any kind of capital punishment. He'd need to go grab groceries, but he'd need to bring some.. 'tag-alongs' with him-- to his dismay. Disregarding the sense of horror that'd just crept down his spine at the realisation of today's schedule, Atsushi quietly tip-toed down the stairs past the domestic cat room, not wanting to either get jumped on or to wake someone up. It was about 5 in the morning, a time that you would've assumed Atsushi would be fine waking up at if he'd been doing it for about two years-- but no. He would've been just as groggy as anyone else. Perhaps he didn't want to burden any of the animals with the need of waking up at such an early time.

At the base of the stairs he slid past the snow leopard room, then the tiger room, and finally the lion room. Before long, he made it outside. The sun was still rising, but hidden just below the trees the sky was a deep hue of purple- much like the handler's eyes. It was the very crack of dawn, and the air was fresh with cold, damp air. He took in a long breath of air and took off his socks, knowing they'd get dampened by the stepping stones that lead to the mail box. How long would it be until one of the cats emerged, he wondered? He knew that the prospect of grocery day often awoke them from their sleep. Now that he thought about it, if one of the cats died and you muttered 'grocery day' besides their ear, they'd probably immediately spring back to life in a frenzy.​

 

[Pysren]

Halsey
Where: House of Cats
Interactions: Ryder Pysren |
Mentions: Atsushi SpotBandit |​

Bi-colored eyes gleamed in the dark as she noticed Atsushi come out of his room. He didn't wake her as he was being extremely courteous by being quiet. Halsey could never sleep knowing that it was Grocery day. It always delighted her whenever she got chosen. Would she be chosen today? She hoped so. She watched him as he slowly made his way past the big cats room and soon left her view. The young female inched away from her brother who had let her cuddle him even though he loathed it. She kept her eyes on the front door as she did so, wonder when Atsushi would come back, but when her brother stirred she froze and looked at him. He looked sleep but she could see one eye open looking at her. She offered up a apologetic smile and wiggle free from him and quietly made her way to the windows at the front of the house. There she peered through the curtains and blinds to watch the human head to what she learned from her last home, was a mailbox.

Halsey remember when she was young kit and would try to fit in the mailbox because it looked so cozy. Her eyes went to the grass which could see looked wet and frowned. Was it raining last night while everyone was asleep? The thought sadden her because she didn't want to get wet but it WAS grocery day. She wrapped her long fluffy tail around her waist and moved her uniform she had Atsushi buy her so she could partially hide the tail. If anyone asked, it was simply a fluffy belt. Human school girls are always wearing silly things, so it would pass. As for her ears.... she'll have to wear some type of hair. She turned around and made her way back to her and her brothers side of the giant room and started rummaging in box full of clothes and pulled out a stylish beanie. She looked it over and donned it. Now she was ready to go if Atsushi chose her.

 

[Sunshine in Your Smile]

The early bird catches the worm, or at least tries to.

To the surprise of his own species, Gin was a morning person, or should he say, morning cat. He loved waking up at the crack of dawn or even before it, all to be able to witness the sunrise. It didn't matter how many times he's seen it or how identical each day looked, he simply liked watching the sun's rays pierce the night sky, pulling in vibrant hues of red, orange, and yellow. Sometimes so immersed, Gin would wave out the window, as if saying goodbye to the night sky. His eyes full of awe at such a mundane aspect of life, at something that was guaranteed to happen each and every day, would soon fade back into fatigue. If breakfast was coincidentally ready at that time, he'd sleepily chomp it down before heading back to bed, or to the floor near some pane of glass displaying the great outdoors to nap at, the warmth of basking in the morning rays unrivaled in terms of comfort compared to anything else. If the weather allowed it, he'd continue his sleep in the backyard, sheltered by the many trees. However, it was rather cold this morning. Curse every other season that wasn't his blissful summer. He was a simple cat who loved simple things. And with his simple mind, it took him quite a bit to realize only Saturday was a grocery day, and not every day. And today, according to his calculations, should be that fated Saturday.

Gin was already awake by the time Atsushi was, passing time by watching the tv, but it was only white noise to his true intentions for the day. He assumed some of the other kitties were awake too. They must know what day it was as well, as Gin was one of the slower ones to catch on. As soon as he heard his caretaker's footsteps walk past his room, Gin crept the door open, a pair of eyes watching as that white haired boy disappeared out of sight.

He followed suit with a hop in his step. It was a shame that Gin couldn't also accompany Atsushi to whatever he did in front of the house and he was limited to the rooms inside but at least he knew his human would be coming back inside soon enough. Plus, maybe he'll be picked to go grocery shopping today! That would be more than enough to make up for it.

Gin sat himself in front of a window, looking directly at the sun to distract himself from his excitement.

 

[sunbear]

Like any other day, he had woken up early. It wasn't necessary to shake himself awake and he never felt the remaining drowsiness try to draw him back into another slumber with a promise of a few more hours of sleep. Some of the other cats seemed to had risen early as well, but he paid them no attention. He scooted down from his bed, tip-toeing over to one of the windows where he would find a comfortable position to sit in.

He couldn't say why these moments were so peaceful to him. Maybe it was how the early sunlight bathed the room in a gentle light, making the dust particles glitter like fairies as they danced around the room in their lazy fashion. Maybe it was the darker colors still painting the horizon, fading into blues and yellows, as just a trace of the night that just went by. Maybe it was because everyone was still asleep, and if they weren't no one would disturb him he hoped. The persistent worries that plagued his mind throughout the rest of the day had calmed, just like the sky on a clear morning.

Today a smidgen of uneasiness wouldn't let go. It was because it was Saturday. Saturdays were a bit of a wild card for Conrad. Atsushi would take some of the cats grocery shopping and if he was asked to go Conrad wouldn't refuse, but venturing outside the house of cats scared him. He couldn't possibly have the foresight to know how the trip would fare, as the variables were too many. But everything that could go wrong would go wrong. He read that in a book a while ago. Maybe he would trip and knock over everything within reach, or maybe the store would be crowded and he'd panic. Both were likely to happen, he didn't even have to close his eyes for the images to form in his mind.

He enjoyed how to sun warmed his face. It made him feel at ease. Absentmindedly he began picking at the skin on his left indexfinger, while watching the blue sky turn more opaque.

 

[The Royal Keen]

Oreo had already been awake. He wasn't too big of a fan of napping. Not in this unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. Not just yet. Having only lived here for a month, he didn't want to open up too much until he understood the personalities and stories of everyone he was being forced to live with.

Okay. Awake wasn't perfectly accurate. He had dozed off and then woken up with an attentive glint to his eyes five times. Before the sixth time, he decided he was now completely awake. It looked like everyone else was waking up anyway. It wouldn't be good to make himself seem like the lazy one in this place.

The sweater he had on made him sweaty during the night, but it was necessary to wear when he didn't have his binder. A shower sounded nice. Oreo deftly moved off of his bed and immediately went to get himself a shower and a change of clothes.

When he came out, he wore a black-purple gradient top and shorts. His damp hair was tied up in a ponytail and he carried around his towel any time he needed to pat down his still-wet fur. The downside to having such thick hair and fur was that drying it off felt impossible and getting it wet meant it weighed a ton.

Though Oreo would have preferred going to his room to watch some TV, he copied the other cats to watch Atsushi through the window. It would be a lie to say Oreo wasn't excited about grocery day. He wanted to go outside so badly. He wanted to meet people and talk to people and feel known.

 

[SpotBandit]

------------------------
The House of Cats
5:30 AM
Interactions: [N/A]
-------- ATSUSHI --------

Stood before the cliche red mailbox with its flag stood up- much like the ones you'd see in older movies- Atsu let out a short breath of anticipation, which came out as a small cloud of air, before it disappeared into the sky. It was freezing cold out here. The only times he ever got mail was from the government, whom of which tended to prefer sending physical notices rather than digital ones- the reasons behind which Atsushi never really knew, or really cared about. The damp stones felt like ice, and the now shivering handler almost thought his toes would get frostbite if he stood on the rocks for too long. Despite the imaginary threat of having his tootsies frozen off, he calmly opened the mouth to the mailbox and slid his hand in, only to pull out a neatly folded envelope with a familiar stamp on it. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly at the sight of such a note. Oh, joy. Another cat, maybe? Were one of the cats being relocated? Or perhaps they were going to add cat-related instalments into the house? The anticipation of the inevitable disappointment or joy Sushi would feel when he opened the small letter was killing him- but not as much as his cold feet were killing him. Still clattering in the raw cold of the outdoors, Atsushi hurriedly flipped down the red flag of the mailbox, shut its maw and speedily skittered back inside, clenching his socks which felt like they were going to be the saviour of Atsushi's cold legs.

Once he got to the door, he quite happily opened the door, entered the house and closed it shut after him. The warmth of the house washed over him and he let out a breath of relief. He spun away from the door and took a step forward-- and then slipped, almost falling over if he hadn't just impulsively grabbed the door handle out of a desperate attempt not to fall and hit his head. He held himself in that position for a moment with wide eyes, before he pulled himself up and out of the position. Wet feet sucked, Atsushi decided as he walked up to a nearby table positioned close to the entrance of the house. The young man pulled out himself a chair and propped himself down onto it, before he stared blankly at that seal on the envelope. It was red, with a paw-pad imprinted on it. Did people still use seals? As cool as they were to see, they were quite outdated for 2020.. but who cared, really. Atsushi didn't, and quite calmly opened the envelope to pull out a letter addressed to him. Being shortsighted allowed him to properly read the tiny handwriting that was printed on the letter. He leaned back into the chair as his eyes trailed down the message, his mind absorbing all of the information jotted down on the white sheet of paper.

It only took a moment after Atsushi completed the letter to place it down on the table, sink his head into his hands and groan to himself in a loathsome way. His job had just become harder than before, and from now on, it would stay like that. He knew the cats would eventually trudge their way into the dining room for breakfast and ask about grocery day, and Atsushi would have to break the news to them. It was news that the cats would all rejoice at, and news that made Atsushi shake his head in disappointment. Just that little bit of extra responsibility lumped onto the handler's shoulders almost made him want to simply sink into the floor and lay there the entire day, but he knew he'd have to start getting the breakfasts ready. Usually the smell of cooked meats or sound of clattering plates as Atsushi set up the table coaxed the cats out of their rooms, so he'd probably get some early company to talk to.

Hesitantly, Atsushi wandered his way to the kitchen and started pulling out breakfast plates from the drawers. Many, many breakfast plates, mind you. Each plate was a different size, with regular cats having the plate the size of a human's, lions and snow leopards having larger plates, and tigers having the largest plates. He trudged over to the dinner table; a relatively large table that took up the majority of the dining room. Atsushi gently started to set down the plates, perhaps in an attempt to avoid any of the cats hearing him and coming downstairs to talk to him-- mainly because he didn't want to repeat the terrible news regarding the grocery days now, and ahead.​

 

[Sunshine in Your Smile]

A spotted ear turned to the direction of the house's entrance, his long tail swishing back and forth. If he wasn't mistaken, that was the sound of the door... opening? And closing? He couldn't exactly confirm as that would require him to turn away from his gawking window but it must mean that Atsushi was back, not that Gin could, or more appropriately, would, do anything about it. He didn't want to spare even a single second to scurry over and peer between the stair railings to see how he could weasel his way into his caretaker's path this time.

Maybe revert to his cat form and ram into Atsushi's leg to trip the poor man for the fun of it. Or lay his tail right where he would step so Atsushi would be the undeniable perpetuator of stepping on an innocent kitty's tail and he would have to give out some spoiling to stop Gin's crocodile tears. Or batting at his ankles while he moved. Maybe remain in his human form but suddenly jumping up and yelling his hello. Or quietly walking up to him and pulling at his sleeve. Or simply sit at the table while his caretaker's back is turned, so when he went to set the table, he'd be greeted with Gin, already waiting. He took great joy in making dramatic entrances but his sunrise watching was just getting to the best part! Gin will come around eventually of course, his stomach was begging for anything hinting at being slightly edible, but his childish curiosity about the world was far greater.

Plus, maybe it was for the best his mischief was put on hold. Atsushi wasn't always in the best of moods early in the mornings, Gin really couldn't understand why and never cared to find out as usual, and if he's learned anything about humans it's that an unhappy human is less likely to spoil their cat.
The bright curve of the sun raised high enough to start to spread its warmth like a blanket over the horizon. "Bye bye..." he murmured, watching as the clouds illuminated with color and the cool tones of the dark gradually pulling back like a curtain. How little soft bursts shone in between the gaps but the denser sections remained dark or only slightly tinted, it all reminded him of a nightlight he once had. Gin remembered it coming with an orange lightbulb and how a simple color turned his room into a completely different world at night. It was like that dreamy sense of watching the sunrise had been captured and played again just for him.

It was really quite the shame when he accidentally shattered it. It was replaced soon after but that feeling was never the same.

Gin wondered why he didn't immediately hear the sound of plates clattering and drawers opening, but it was nothing more than a passing thought. Then his stomach growled. Having the patience equivalent to the moment of peace after dropping mentos into diet coke, Gin gave into his body's desires and turned away. Well, his favorite part of sunrises where the perfect circle shape reveals itself wouldn't be coming up until after some time, checking in on his breakfast wouldn't hurt.
The soles of his feet gave out a faint pitter patter as he approached the dining room. The light pink tip of the inside of his ear poked out from the wall. Then the very white tip of his otherwise brown tail. Then a hand. Then a lighter brown strand of hair. Then green eyes and a fair complexion.

At this point, Gin could hardly be considered even trying to hide.

 

[Shadow Alpha]

Sona

In the room designated for Sona, the artificial and real plants combined to form a tropical environment. The trees managed to block out most of the sunlight like she had requested only leaving a few select spots for sunbathing purposes. Sona stretched her long limbs and released a pretty loud roar/yawn in an attempt to fully come to her senses. 'I'm up way too early, once again.' She felt a loud grumble from her stomach and wanted nothing more than to eat breakfast and go back to bed. However, today was the dreaded day of the grocery shopping. In a way, Sona was the perfect cat to take along because she was not interested in the mundane lives of humans nor did she get distracted and run off. On the downside, her height instinctively draws the eyes of those around her.

Sona lifted herself off of the small nest made up of various large, fluffy gold and black pillows. She threw on a simple black shirt with a very cartoonish tiger head on the center and basketball shorts. Her messy bedhead would remain throughout the day as she saw nothing wrong with it. The sound of her bare feet was nonexistent for a top predator such as herself so there's was no problem with going into the kitchen unnoticed. Sona spotted one of the smaller domestic cats peeking around the corner. Usually not being for antics or pranks, she couldn't resist the opportunity. Still being mildly sleep, she crouched down slightly behind Gin "Stalking the human like a good little predator I see, but you definitely need to work on the hiding part. You're completely exposed Gin." A low chuckle came from Sona after she whispered to him.

Location: Dining Room/Hallway Mood: Sleepy, Playful Tags: Sunshine [/USER]

Sunshine

Sunshine

Sunshine [/SIZE] [/user]

 

[sunbear]

He could hear the faint sound of cutlery clattering from the dining room, a clear sign that breakfast would be served soon. Usually, he would watch the sunrise for another half hour, but the impending grocery trip made still him restless and by that time he would probably have destroyed the skin on all of his poor fingers. Maybe he should change clothes. He was still wearing his pajamas, which was mussed and a bit smelly after a whole night.

He noticed Oreo with damp hair. Should he take a shower too? He didn't particularly like the feeling of the water from the shower, he always felt drenched and sorry for himself afterward. Maybe it had something to do with being part cat. It hadn't been too long since his last bath, so it should be ok, he thought to himself, and he could always just make sure to keep a distance to the other residents in case it bothered them. He probably would even if it didn't.

Intent on making as little sound as possible he went to the bathroom to change. He decided on wearing a white knitted sweater, with long sleeves perfect for hiding his hands, along with a pale khaki colored pair of slacks. His reflection in the mirror looked both worried and washed out, like someone who hadn't seen the sun in ages. It stared back at him like it was frightened to see him, but maybe he just worried so much that his face got stuck that way. He didn't mind the way he looked though, as long as he didn't draw too much attention to himself it should be alright.

He decided to go to the dining room, where he found Atsushi, Gin, and Sona. The two latter seemed to be talking. He placed himself at the end of the long table where they would eat, standing awkwardly while his gaze flickered around the room. His ears were turned slightly back. The smell of food would soon waft through the air and the rest of the cats would come and the place would become lively with voices and munching. He felt slightly faint.

 

[Hoshi]

Much like always, the snow leopard was already awake. Naturally being active within the hours of the night and morning, Yume was up long before anyone else awoke. Minding his own business and keeping to himself within the isolation within his room; he was somewhat dreading this morning. Like every Saturday, he wasn't the biggest fan of 'Grocery Day'. Too many potential interactions he could've avoided by staying home. That, and the fact that sometimes the shopping trips would linger on longer than they should've, leaving Yume drowsy and up past his nap time. But the most annoying thing was probably him having to hide parts of himself that were deemed not normal by Humans. It probably wouldn't be so bad if his tail was shorter...or if he didn't have to hide anything at all. Yume would rather stay-in and play games...like he was doing now.

Sprawled upon a rather large beanie comfortably, his lengthy tail curled up beside himself for maximum comfort as he mindlessly played some game. His multi-colored hues locked on the HD TV before him as he concentrated on what he was currently doing. The pierced ears upon his head only twitching as they were sensitive enough to pick up on movement outside of his room. It not being uncommon for anyone to be awake at this time. It was about the time Atsushi awoken to prepare breakfast for everyone, well in Yume's case, his dinner. Yume didn't even bother to look in the direction of his door as he heard shuffling in the halls, finding his score on the game to be more of a priority than eating at this moment. He rarely raced anyone to the kitchen in the morning, finding it to be a tedious task. He rather wait till everyone else ate or wait long enough for his food to be presented and take back into his room to eat it there. He wasn't too fond on mingling with the other cats of the house over breakfast, lunch or dinner. Hell, Yume didn't even know all of their names. He didn't talk to them much, or even see them often enough for them to leave an impression. He just knew there were larger cats and smaller ones. How many of them were there? Yume didn't know. He hadn't been living here that long but the leopard definitely wasn't exactly trying to get to know his housemates. Probably hadn't even said more than five words to anyone else this week within this house. His horrible tendencies of being anti-social and avoidant kind of put him within this predicament.

A soft sigh escaped the leopard's slightly parted lips. Revealing the sharpened incisors hidden behind them. A puff of air lingering out into the air as he did so. The frigid temperatures of the room easily rivaled how cold it was outside currently but Yume appeared unfazed by it. Enjoying the seasonal weather the most out of all the current residents within the House of Cats. The controller slid from the feline's grip, finally finishing up with his level after playing for about three hours straight now. Glad to be rid of the task of that video game had given him because his fingers were going numb and it had nothing to do with how cold it was.

Yume shifted where he laid upon the beanie bag, his tail flickering around thoughtfully. Contemplating on if he should even bother exiting his room or not. So the waiting game of being chosen or not would be be out of the way. It was better then sitting in his room and anticipating the whole thing. Bundled up in a black hoodie with gray cargo pants and wireless headphones to match, he appeared to look as if he were ready to go somewhere if he had to. That is if he was chosen to go to the store...which he hoped not for the day. If he was picked, he'd be ready at least.

Another sigh came from Yume as he wondered if he'd regret his decision later or not as he removed himself from his seat. His imprint embedded within the beanie from sitting in it for so long. He stretched lazily as he shuffled his way over to the door, the look upon his face almost vacant of emotion as he did so. Peeking out of his room and down the hall, seeing everyone who was currently making their way towards the kitchen. Yume was greeted with the warmth of the rest of the house, it was a drastic change from his own room. But it wasn't enough to make him feel sick or anything luckily. He silently left out of his room and closing the door behind himself, minding his tail as he's accidentally closed it in the door more times than he'd like to admit out loud. Not even bothering to turn off the game or TV, thinking he might go back to continuing what he was doing if he didn't have to go to the store today. It didn't take the leopard long to reach the kitchen, almost silently appearing along the tiger, peeking around her and into the kitchen. Acknowledging the other felines and Human that made it here before him as well, but he didn't greet them, nor did Yume utter out a sound. Simply enough, the leopard merely eyed the table like it was remotely interesting, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his dark hoodie to calm his nerves. He didn't recognize half the cats here sadly and he was pretty sure he's seen them before.

 

[The Royal Keen]

Location: Dining Room
Interacting With: sunbear Hoshi

​

With Atsushi back and preparing for breakfast, everyone was moving towards the kitchen. Predictable, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Oreo didn't waste a second following the crowd.

Well, he wasted a few seconds. Being around the other cats still made him nervous, so he lingered behind for a bit before peeking into the dining room.

Atsushi, Gin, Sora, Conrad and... the snow leopard escaped him. Atsushi looked busy, and Gin and Sora were already talking. Conrad and the leopard both looked like they weren't up for conversation, but Oreo was, so he didn't stop and think about what to do next.

Putting on his most enthusiastic smile, he hopped from paw to paw as he entered the dining room. "Hi Conrad! Hiii, hmmm... I don't know your name, leopard, but I've seen you before. I'm Oreo! Looks like we were all drawn here by the anticipation of food, huh, huh?"

 

[Hoshi]

Yume didn't even bother looking in the direction of the other felines as he just...well stood there. Zoning out momentarily, that is until he heard movement from down the hall. His ears swiveling around to pick up on the not-so stealthy movement behind himself, though Yume had the feeling that they weren't attempting to sneak up on anyone. Continuing to stare directly at the table, only to side glance up towards the cat that greeted him. Apparently he didn't know his name. Yume took zero offense however, wasn't like he knew anyone's name in this kitchen besides Atsushi and Sona. Probably only knew Sona's since she was the only tiger in the whole house. Knowing Atsushi's was mandatory. Now he knew Oreo's and Conrad's.

"It's Yume." The leopard introduced himself before returning his gaze to Conrad for a moment, figuring he was the other cat Oreo had greeted. His eyes then slowly trailed back to the non-interesting table as the tip of his pierced tail flickered. Surprisingly, Yume didn't sound as socially awkward as he was. His voice calm and the words flowed out easily, even if he internally struggled to force the words out. Not talking much did that to someone at times. "Actually, I'm not waiting for dinner." Which was half the truth as he didn't leave the comfort of his room to eat. But only to find out quicker if he had to go on the trip to the store or not. It was better than anticipating it from within his room. Oddly enough he felt a tad bit antsy about it for some reason this Saturday. Hopefully the odd sensation bubbling up within his gut had nothing to do with that trip and only him being a bit hungry.

 

[sunbear]

Location: Dining Room
Interacting With: The Royal Keen , Hoshi

Oreos enthusiasm gave Conrad a small shock, but he quickly remembered his manners.

"Good morning, Oreo" he greeted the taller cat. His voice came out a bit quiet, but at least he didn't stutter. "Did you sleep well?"

He glanced nervously at the snow leopard Oreo that had also addressed. He hadn't known his name before, it dawned upon him, but that might be to expect when they seemed to be two of the least talkative residents, in each their own way. Now he knew it was Yume. He would make sure not to forget it.

Yume didn't appear to be as tall as some of the other big cats, who usually towered above everyone. Actually, Oreo seemed to be a few inches taller than him, Conrad noticed. He looked at Oreo, then Yume, then Oreo and then back again, just to make sure he was correct until he realized he was gawking.

Nervously he began to fidget with the ends of his sleeves. Hopefully, Atsushi would announce who would go with him today soon and he might be able to calm down a little.

 

[SpotBandit]

------------------------
The House of Cats
Dining room
5:40AM
Interactions: All of the cats

-------- ATSUSHI --------

When Gin and Sona were the only two cats downstairs staring at Atsushi, the handler didn't even notice either of them. Even with gazes starting directly at him, the white haired Atsu's mind didn't fire off any warnings, despite that weird sensation people often got when they had unwanted attention looking right at them. While being pounced on was something that happened somewhat rarely in the house, it was something that often terrified the living daylights out of Atsu when his brain would catch onto the fact that he was, in fact, being stalked. Cats were sometimes horrid little creatures that liked to get a rise out of things, and Atsushi knew that fact well. Luckily for him, the task of getting all the dinner plates and the silverly out distracted him enough not to stand on the spot and look around sheepishly while that ominous feeling ate him from the inside. Actually, scratch that. The only remotely ominous feeling the handler felt in his stomach that weighed down on him was the news he had for the cats. It was that sense of dread that really sapped Atsushi's energy today. If only the cats didn't have access to the fridge when they wanted.. if that were a reality, grocery day would happen once in a blue moon.

More cats arrived downstairs, but unlike the stalking Sona and Gin, they were in full view of Atsushi, whom of which would glance up and give a brief "Morning." before continuing his work. First there was an uncomfortable Conrad, then an uncomfortable Yume, and then a slightly less uncomfortable Oreo. Luckily for Atsushi, Oreo decided it'd be his duty to talk to the two other felines stood before him. Good, good. That'd buy Atsushi time. He hated holding people up and asking them to wait, especially when they woke up so early-- or, heaven forbid, were already awake. The cat food was already cooking, as Atsu's trip to the kitchen earlier had him properly warm up the foods prepared for the cats. Their rich scent wafted through the air, rich with meats. Speaking of foods, the chow that the cats ate would be delivered to Atsushi's house as a kind of plan, a schedule in which the government regulated and followed. Almost like a subscription, except you couldn't really unsubscribe from it. Though, despite being food that was prepared beforehand, it was unusually high quality and rich in nutrients. It was like gourmet food, but ones you had to heat up and would keep their quality consistent. The very scent of the food would give anyone the impression that Gordon Ramsay himself prepared each meal individually with his entire heart and soul, and by god, did it taste like it. Unfortunately for Atsushi, there were never any packages designed for humans. Rather, he often just heated himself up a piece of toast or two and spread butter on it. Now that he thought about it, that was probably why he lacked so much energy in the morning. Perhaps he should eat properly. Damn you, Gordon Ramsay. Don't keep all the good food to the cats.

When the handler had finished up placing down all of the plates, he strut back into the kitchen with warm hands. The plates had been heated up too, mainly because Atsu wasn't comfortable putting warm food on a cold plate. It often ruined the quality of the chow and cooled it down, and given that the food was-- according to the cats each time he'd asked them how it tasted-- 5 stars, it'd be the last thing Atsushi would want to do. The scent of the foods was intoxicating when he walked back into the kitchen, though Atsushi fought the urge to pass out at the very scent of it. Humans weren't naturally carnivorous however, so he imagined that if one of the cats walked into the room and took a whiff of the air, they'd either pass out or go feral. Gently, the fair skinned Atsushi grabbed different serving trays- things that he hated using because it made him feel like some kind of waiter- and began to place the different foods on them. They were labelled differently, and some had specific names on them if the cats had specific dietary needs or specifications they wanted met. There was 'Tiger', 'Lion', 'Domestic' and 'Snow Leopard'. He made sure to get the domestic's food out first, and placed their meals on the trays. They took up about both trays, so balance was something that Atsushi utilise perfectly as to not spill everything everywhere and make a fool of himself. He's done it before, and that very memory was at the forefront of his mind as he emerged with the plates, bringing that rich scent with them. He'd go to each plate designated for each individual, and gently set down the food. Rich, creamy food. Meats with gravy. Scents that made anyone drool. Food that would make any gourmet chef whine in envy. Atsushi would go plate to plate placing down the divine food. Not only did it smell good, it looked good. The human was surprised the cats had so much self restraint, sometimes.

The domestic food was set down, and Atsu hurried back into the kitchen to grab the remaining big cat's food. Sona's, Yume's, Skimbas.. all of them. Their meals consisted of foods with higher nutrients and more meat. The handler emerged with the chow and did the same as he did with the domestic food-- set them down on the correct plates and make everything look fancy. He stepped back from the table and admired his work, before he clapped his hands together quite fondly. Each time he managed to do something he didn't want to, he felt as if he were on top of the world.

"Alright everybody! Food's served!" Now he'd only have to watch as the herd of cats would walk into the room and find their food- or dash in, depending how hungry they were. Atsushi turned his head to the kitchen. He'd need to prepare his toast.​

 

[The Royal Keen]

Location: Dining Room
Interacting With: sunbear Hoshi

​

"Yume," Oreo repeated back to confirm he had the proper pronunciation. It wasn't a hard name, so he did well. He didn't think too long about it anyway, as Yume mentioned "dinner" and Oreo gave a confused expression. He must have a weird sleep schedule. That was understandable. Oreo sometimes threw out his sleep schedule to nap whenever he felt like it, which threw out his eating schedule too.

Oreo looked over at Conrad, who was looking at him and Yume for some time. "Sorry! Yep! I had a great rest," he lied perfectly. "How about you t—"

The smell of food hit Oreo's nose like a truck. Atsushi had already entered the room with food and was announcing that its readiness. Broken out of the trance of conversation, Oreo wasted no time getting into a Domestic seat. Only then did he continue acknowledging Conrad and Yume. "Yume, are you going to sit with us? I know you aren't waiting for dinner, but I think you should."

 

[Sunshine in Your Smile]

Gin nearly jumped out of his skin before his fear turned to excitement from hearing a familiar voice. "Sona!" he turned, flashing a grin from ear to ear. It was clear he had no concept of subtlety. But can you blame him? Sona was his favorite, though he could say that about all the cats depending on when you asked him.

He wouldn't deny he was terrified of her at first, properly stalking her behind walls, doors, furniture, anything he could squeeze himself out of view with, before getting used to her large presence enough to be able to sit in the same room without shedding up a storm out of anxiety. She was this cool and brooding character, the epitome of a proper wild cat with the wisdom and skills to match, and he didn't want to get on her bad side.

Plus, her room was cool.

"Hehe, I wasn't stalking him, I was just watching." Gin crouched down too, looking up at Sona. "Hey, don't you think if I turned into a cat and ran up to his leg it would surprise him or what? Oh, but now that we're talking I think he'll expect it." he talked excitedly.
It was when Atsushi had finally sent out the food that Gin caught a whiff and remembered why he was watching his human in the first place. "Ah, something smells good! Right?" Luckily for him, it was always the domestic cats that were served first and he just so happened to be a house cat. He practically shot straight up like a jack in the box with hearts in his eyes but stopped himself from immediately running to the promised land. Though he saw no problem with being a little lively, it was polite to think about others. Or, so he heard. Wouldn't being on his best behavior make Atsushi more likely to let him go grocery shopping? Holding his horses seemed like the right choice to make.

Gin waited for what seemed like an eternity for Atsushi to formally call them all into the dining room before moving. It started out with normal calm steps before the scent became stronger and stronger, clouding his brain, until he found himself having slid on his socks and into his usual seat. He blinked, taking it in for himself.

 

[Hoshi]

The snow leopard paid no mind to Conrad's staring, unaware of it as he wasn't looking in the other male's direction currently. Rhythmically swaying the end of his tail back and forth to calm his nerves as he heard Oreo repeat his name. Figuring he was trying to get the pronunciation correct. It wasn't a common name here so he doubted many knew of such a name but Oreo pronounced it fine so he didn't bother correcting the taller feline.

Even when food was served, Yume didn't budge to make a dash for his meal. Sure, he may have been a tad bit hungry but the drive to kill his meal wasn't there. His primal instincts wanted more than food presented to him on some silver platter. Maybe if Yume had been starved or so, then he'd most definitely rush towards any source of food...but his prey drive was so low now, eating often bored him to an extent. He dared not complain however. Bored or not, he was still undeniably grateful for the food given to him. Yume gently fiddled with his claws within his pockets as he stared unblinking at the table, seeming to be in somewhat of a trance. Almost to the point of tuning everyone else out for a second or two; that is until he heard his name again. Lifting his gaze to the source, which happened to be Oreo once again. He hadn't planned on eating outside of his room, then again he hadn't ever planned on leaving out of his room this early either. Oh, how badly the leopard to decline the invitation, a slight frown forming upon his face. Because, in all honesty, Yume would have simply grabbed his food and left if Oreo hadn't spoken to him earlier. Otherwise he'd probably come of as rude or something along those lines.

"...."

Yume quietly looked away, reaching up to gently scratch along side his temple, an ear twitching as he did so. Answering a simple question shouldn't be so difficult but Yume sadly found it to be harder than it should be. Pursing his lips as he began to make his way over to his seat, passing by Conrad as he did so without verbally answering right away. He caught a whiff of the pale cat as he went by but he made no comment about it. The words finding themselves stuck within the leopard's throat momentarily. It also occurred to him the way Oreo mentioned the word 'dinner'. Maybe he wasn't aware of Yume being pretty much nocturnal. That could cause confusion during meal time as his dinner was usually everyone else's breakfast and vice versa. "Yeah, sure." He finally responded as he pulled out his chair to sit. Surprised it wasn't covered in dust since he's only used it one time before now, which happened to be his first day living here. He sat down slowly, not acknowledging the meal made for him as he looked past it, glancing forward again at nothing in particular. He leaned forward on the table, resting an elbow upon it an cupping his chubby cheek in an bored fashion. He wasn't bored, he was just awaiting the news he wanted to hear.

Not even the pleasant aroma of the food in front of him caused any urges to dive right in. It was almost as if it weren't even there to begin with. His multicolored eyes slowly looked towards Atsushi, staring at him pretty intensely. Yume was growing anxious with this waiting game but he figured he was going to have to await for the other cats to awake for Atsushi to tell them who was coming along for Grocery Day and who wasn't.

 

[Shadow Alpha]

Sona

Sona nodded along with Gin's explanation for his behavior. She would have loved nothing more than to take the small cat under her wing and teach him the true ways of the predator. "That would be fun to see the human scared, plus I'm not allowed to do things like that but the occasional pounce keeps him.on his toes." Sona watched as Gin's attention was directed towards the food and she followed along with her stomach growling loudly.

Sona found her plate of assorted meats and other things the government deemed "nutritional". Her eyes scanned over the other cats that had gathered and, for some odd reason, she took interest in the conversation between Oreo and Yume. As one that originally had to move overseas from her homeland of Bengal, she was use to having her own name pronounced as Sun-Nah when its Soh-Nah. "Here's a little trick to remembering Yume's name if you ever feel like it may be wrong. Yu as in 'you are' and Me as in the ridiculous sound sheep make." Sona focused back on her food with an aggressive focus on the rarer pieces, "Not a bad breakfast human, I'd still take sushi over this any day though."

Location: Dining Room Mood: Hungry Tags: Hoshi Sunshine [/USER]

Sunshine

Sunshine

Sunshine [/user]

 

[sunbear]

Conrad hesitated for a while but eventually sat down beside Yume. Hyperaware of how crowded the table was getting, he sat tense in his seat, waiting for their caretaker to announce who would go with him. At least the food smelled nice, so that was one positive thing in this situation.

He was quite happy he didn't have to hunt for his food himself, as his natural grace (or rather his lack thereof) and more or less nonexistent hunting instincts probably wouldn't make it easy. He would most likely trip in the grass and scare every living creature away if he should try - including himself. The food Atsushi served was always nice so he was quite fortunate in that aspect.

He didn't have the energy to make conversation, so he just watched the situation unfold. The expression of the cats around him varied from excited to apathetic about the meal. Sona taught them an interesting way to remember how to pronounce Yume's name. His own name was easy to pronounce and didn't require any mnemonic device, but it wasn't as pretty or unique as some of the others. It was the kind of name an old lady would give their cat, he thought.

He glanced towards Atsushi. He didn't want to rush him, but the anxiety made him feel faint and twitchy. Trying to calm himself, he started picking at his sleeves again, some of the wool coming off.

 

[SpotBandit]

------------------------
The House of Cats
Dining room
5:45AM
Interactions: Sona [ Shadow Alpha ], all of the cats
Mentions: Skimba [ Nxtsu ]

-------- ATSUSHI --------​

Atsu decided to put his toast-making on pause for the time being to announce the unfortunate news-- unfortunate for him. He managed to pry his head away from the kitchen to meet the cats that'd woken up and sat themselves at the table to eat. Other cats such as Skimba were still asleep, Atsushi assumed. He couldn't tell wether or not he was relieved, as he'd know that Skimba would probably fly into an energetic frenzy when he realised he could harass Atsu throughout the entire grocery day, on every grocery day ever starting from now. The tigress Sona made a remark about the food, stating she'd take sushi rolls over the gourmet food whenever given the chance. Oh, yea, he forgot. Sushi was Sona's favourite meal. If she ever ended up stalking or pouncing on Atsushi to scare him- which she's done before- Atsushi would cave in and offer to buy her sushi in exchange for not having the living daylights scared out of him. He was certain this only taught her to do it more, so if it happened in the future, maybe he should try not to be so skittish and just deal with it until she lost interest. Hopefully that'd work. Tigers are determined creatures, though.

"Oh, yea." Atsu remarked. One of his hands gravitated up to his head and gently scratched the left temple of his head with a finger and looked to the side for a moment, before he managed to bring his eyes back to the tigress. "You'll be able to get sushi from the grocery store today, so don't worry." If Atsushi didn't have that big announcement, an observant Sona would've realised that he'd just inadvertently informed her that she was coming with him to the grocery store. He pulled his eyes away and back to the table. He hated having to speak to large groups of people, but he had to do what he had to do.

"So," Started the handler, holding the note close to his abdomen. "as you all know, it's grocery day today. Under normal circumstances, I would announce who would be coming with me and the rest would stay back and try not to destroy the house." One of Atsushi's fingers started to trace the rim of the note. He honestly wished he could just hide it away and not acknowledge its existence, but he was certain either one of the cats would find it, or he'd somehow magically get in trouble-- even if he hid it perfectly. The handler's voice lowered a bit when he continued to talk. He held up the note a little higher and managed to tear the hand that was tracing it away and back to his side. "I've received a letter in the mail today from the government addressed to handlers, and as it turns out, it's going to be mandatory for me to bring you all on the trip.." He shuddered at the thought of that. So many cats to manage-- so many potential slip-ups. "Meaning that we're all going today."

He opened the note again an had his eyes trace over the lettering. Maybe if he re-read the print, he'd find something that told him that bringing all of the cats WASN'T mandatory. Perhaps he felt a little selfish for wanting to rain on the parade, but the sheer chance of getting found out intimidated Atsu beyond belief. Even if someone managed to spot one of the cat's tails and the handler managed to convince them that the crazy cat person was just a cosplayer, he'd still get into a whole heap of trouble by the government. When his eyes realised that they'd picked up on every drop of detail that lead to the very same conclusion, he simply let out a small sigh to himself, folded the letter shut and placed it on the table-- perhaps if any of the cats wanted to read it, they could.

Atsushi spoke again, but this time he sounded far more stern and serious than he had before. Any issues, and they would all get into trouble. He leaned onto the table and addressed everyone sat at their seats. "I expect you all to be on your best behaviour." With that said and done, the white haired handler pulled himself away from the table to brush himself down and get himself some toast. He would've left an ominous air looming over the entire room with that final sentence if he didn't slip near the door and almost fall over-- luckily he'd gripped onto the handle before he hit the ground, and he held himself right above the floor with his eyes wide. He regained himself quickly and nervously laughed to himself faced away from the table. Thank god he didn't have any food on him.​

 

[The Royal Keen]

Location: Dining Room
Interacting With: Everyone at the table

​

Geeze was Yume quiet. It was a little boring. Oreo liked people who could match his energy, even if they were stoic about it. Now, Sona, she was fun. Her joke about Yume's name got a laugh out of Oreo. He didn't even have to fake most of it.

Oreo was about to make conversation with the awkward-looking Conrad, but Atsushi decided to speak before him. Lame, but he was patient. There was an announcement coming up anyway if he had things right.

And it did. The way Atsushi moved gave off the impression of tenseness. Surely bad news was coming up, even after he announced that they were all going grocery shopping, something that should've overjoyed and terrified Oreo.

Nothing came after that, just a warning about being on good behavior. Confused, Oreo piped up with, "This is good news, isn't it? Why did he seem so..." Oreo watched where Atsushi had slipped a little earlier, "off about it?" Thinking, a small, predatory smile rose on his face as he looked back at the cats. "Did he not want to take one of us? Who do you think he's dreading to watch over?"

 

[Shadow Alpha]

Sona

Sona's ears had flicked up at the underlying notion that she would be accompanying Atsushi along on the shopping trip. She couldn't decide whether she was excited to marvel at the selection of raw fish or the irritation she got from being stared by humans in a way that reminded her of the old life she lived. Forced to be on display and marveled at as if she wasn't a living being. She licked the remaining blood off of her paws before focusing on what Oreo had said.

'Well, I believe the human doesn't approve of the way anyway of us tend to act or the large amount of attention we draw with our various heights and hard to hide feline features.' Memories of the first grocery trip Sona was forced to go on flashed through her head before being forced away. 'I know that my dislike of adult humans can be....problematic. Granted if they didn't smell overly strong and didn't bump into me, I wouldn't have pinned that man down after he tried push himself by me. I don't back down from a challenge of ranking.' Sona scratched her claws against the table, admiring their sharpness. She was thankful that she had chosen to shower directly after waking up. If there was one thing she placed above the rest it would be grooming., even when it came to grooming the other cats. The fur on her tail glistened whenever the light caught it. 'Is it as hard on us big cats as it is for you smaller, cute domestics?'

Location: Dining Room Interactions: Everyone Tags:

Sunshine

Sunshine

Sunshine [/user]