Something Something cats

[karappo]

[It had been about two weeks since he'd found himself in this shelter. There were animals of all sorts, but mostly they took in cats and dogs with cats being kept in their own area more securely inside as opposed to where the dogs were. Small cage-like kennels that they stayed in until they were adopted or fostered, this sort being a no-kill shelter.

They just had no clue, somehow, that one of the "cats" that a family had brought in to them was no cat at all.

Karamatsu would say that, overall, he didn't really mind this place too much. Sometimes it got loud and he got very lonely without his family, but it was something like an extended vacation, wasn't it? That's what they'd told him, anyway. And being too young to really understand it as anything else (while knowing his parents were too big to actually get inside such a small kennel with him), he wasn't too bothered by knowing they weren't immediately with him. After seeing his fellow kennel mates and other cats being taken away every day, it brought him to the realization that the only way to find his family again would be to get someone to take him out.

That's how Karamatsu learned to start making himself as obvious as he could, strutting in front of the cage bars and meowing as loud as he could, though...people didn't seem to react well to his attempts at being cute. He didn't meow so much as yowl, and it wasn't very appealing to prospective adopters. He had an unusual coat, too- orange/yellow with dark black stripes, white patches on his belly and neck...he was really odd for a cat.

But he wasn't going to give up. Someone would come along, if his parents didn't first.]

Comments

[ichimyatsu]

You'll have to go outside to take a shit, I don't think human toilets can support the weight you're gonna wind up.

[He is having concerns.]

[karappo]

Oh...I can do that!

[Or you could get him a litterbox the size of a bathtub.]

[ichimyatsu]

[He doesn't want to scoop tiger poop. Nor does he want to smell it.]

Good, 'cause the reaches of my care only go so far.

[karappo]

[The tiger stretches his paws out in front of him, claws extending for a moment before he does the same with his back feet, then toddling over to rub his head against the side of Ichimatsu's leg.]

I'll do whatever you want me to!

[Maybe then Ichimatsu will be more like to, you know. Keep him.]

[ichimyatsu]

[He chuckles softly, crouching and smoothing a hand along his fur.]

Don't worry too much about that. I told you, I like cats.

[karappo]

[He arches his back against Ichimatsu's hand, rumbling and coiling himself around his ankle.]

Tigers are the best cats, right?

[He says this while hopping away from his foot suddenly, just to see if Ichimatsu will reach out for him.]

[ichimyatsu]

[He watches him hop, raising an eyebrow and not reaching right at first, but feinting like he's gonna hop after him.]

[karappo]

[Karamatsu growls and hops straight up into the air an inch or two, coming back down in a deep bow with his front paws splayed in front of him and his butt wiggling in the air.]

[ichimyatsu]

[His face hurts from smiling so much, what the hell. He laughs, and reaches both arms forward making a put-upon growling sound, hopefully snaking his arms around Karamatsu's middle and dropping them both to the floor on his side, curling him close to noogie him.]

[karappo]

[Ichimatsu will be able to do this easily, seeing how Karamatsu's so full that he couldn't get anywhere fast. He lets out a sharp, yowly chirp of a sound when he's caught and pulled to the floor, then further over to Ichimatsu's front. He wiggles and growls louder, trying to briefly free himself from Ichimatsu's hold before he relents because ah...this is nice, actually. Being held close, and...warm...

He's cut off by a yawn as he tilts his head up, rubbing it hard against the bottom of Ichimatsu's chin before settling in his arms.]

[ichimyatsu]

[Ffffffuuuu, this is actually the cutest thing he's going to explode. He shifts, hefting Karamatsu as he sits and eventually stands up, moving them back out into the main room of the apartment. He shifts Karamatsu to one arm and nudges open a closet, kicking a futon out into place and carefully laying Karamatsu on it.]

Sleep some, yeah? Just don't keep me up all night.

[karappo]

[Karamatsu yawns again and almost immediately curls up into a tight little ball on the futon, his tail wrapping around himself. He's full, he's warm and surrounded by softness, and he's...happy. The only thing keeping him awake really is the sound of Ichimatsu's voice, which has him peering up at him through half closed eyes.

He turns his head a little to rest his cheek against the side of one of his big paws, blinking slowly.]

I won't, Ichi...myaaa-tsu.

[He yawned for a third time, then.]

[ichimyatsu]

[Ichi-myaaa-tsu what the fuck he was going to die. Killed by a tiger, but not how you'd expect. He clamps his hands over his face and wheezes, nodding.]

I'll hold you to that.

[karappo]

[That's undoubtedly going to be Ichimatsu's fate before all is said and done. Regardless, Karamatsu doesn't say anything else. He just settles down and falls asleep the moment he lowers his head. For once, he's in for a relatively peaceful rest compared to the fitful sleeps he had before where he'd wake up and beg to be let out of his tiny cage. Of course, the very moment Ichimatsu comes to bed that night will probably be the time Karamatsu wakes up, full of energy once again and ready to play. Either pouncing on his hands and feet whenever he dares to move them, or bapping his paw against Ichimatsu's cheek to see if he'll react, then hopping away when he stirs.

Assuming Ichimatsu does survive the night, though, he'll wake up to Karamatsu not being in the main room at all.]

[ichimyatsu]

[It's been a few weeks. Karamatsu is rapidly outgrowing Ichimatsu's small apartment, and he's starting to get noticeably anxious about it. In the form of, he's not a very cluttered person (largely because he doesn't have much to clutter) but he has been neurotic about cleaning every time he comes home. He's started devoting about an hour upon arrival to scrubbing down both the bathroom and kitchen.]

[As such, it's been about forty-five minutes since he got home and he slumps to sit in the tiny space of the bathroom, purple kitchen gloves to his elbows and hair mussed beyond its usual state of endearingly unkempt. He drops his head backward and grumbles at the ceiling, calling out to his feline roommate.]

...Karamatsu, we're gonna have to move.

[karappo]

[Karamatsu, for the most part, has been largely oblivious to his rapidly growing state. There are a few things very different, like how he can see things higher up and get into a lot more that Ichimatsu probably never wanted a tiger rooting around. And as he grows he loses his grasp on his own strength, and tiny toys become easily mauled by his much larger paws, teeth, and claws.

In fact, he'd been lounging in the hallway when Ichimatsu calls out to him, his body halfway sprawled across the length of it with his tail flicking this way and that. He lets out a soft mrrrr of acknowledgement at his name, lifting his head up off the floor with his paws stretching out in front of him.]

Move? But I like it here.

[ichimyatsu]

You're getting too big, do you not see how you take up most of the hallway now.

[He sounds... not annoyed, but so, so very tired. He peels the gloves off his hands and crawls forward on his hands and knees until he's laying on his stomach alongside the tiger.]

...I gotta get a better job.

[karappo]

[Karamatsu looks over as Ichimatsu lays down next to him, his tail curling up and then draping over Ichimatsu's side.]

I am not that big...if I was, I wouldn't be able to fit through the doors.

[He's lucky he hasn't gone through one, at this point.]

...what should I do, then?

[Can tigers get jobs, is that acceptable in this society.]

[ichimyatsu]

Tigers don't get that wide, and you're quadrupedal. Doors won't be a problem. But aren't you like... cramped? You've got no space to really run or anything.

[He instinctively rolls under the tail onto his side and reaches out to pet him, idly.]

...mmn, I dunno. I'm the one responsible for you, so I gotta figure this out.

[karappo]

[He thinks about that for a moment, but his answer comes pretty quickly anyway.]

Better than being in a cage.

[Nothing will ever compare to that, and at least in Ichimatsu's apartment he's not alone.

Karamatsu chuffs, dropping his head onto his forepaws and closing his eyes at the petting.]

I just want to stay with you.

[ichimyatsu]

[He quirks his mouth and squirms, less uncomfortable and more uncertain of how to respond to the vaguely affectionate thoughts from the tiger. He scoots forward and drapes one arm over him, huffing a sigh and closing his eyes, too, his head pillowed on a folded arm.]

...well it's gonna take something pretty outrageous to get me to give you up, so we shouldn't have to worry about that, at least.

[karappo]

[That's comforting to say the least. Karamatsu's already been abandoned once, he probably couldn't handle it twice.

Ichimatsu has a lot on his plate, though. Not only is Karamatsu bigger, but he's grown into an awkward stage between child and adolescent. He's not quite as dependent, but he still very much needs Ichimatsu to look after him, whether it be caring for him or keeping him out of trouble. Plus, he's...basically a child, still, so he's not quite grasping the issues Ichimatsu's grappling with when it comes to housing problems.

He rumbles deep in his chest when Ichimatsu puts an arm around him, immediately butting his head against the side of Ichimatsu's.]

Good! I'll stay with you forever, even if I get bigger than a house.

[ichimyatsu]

[A snort, and he shakes his head, shifting to slide his other arm under Karamatsu and draw him forward, noogieing him.]

God, I hope you won't get that big.

[karappo]

Nyahaha!

[Karamatsu laughs, lifting one of his much larger paws to bat at Ichimatsu's chest, lightly. Even then it's got enough force behind it to feel like someone throwing a small bag of sand onto him.]

Is that the outrageous thing, then? Me getting that big?

[ichimyatsu]

[He makes a soft oof of a sound and pushes at the paw, shaking his head.]

No, because you won't get that big. And honestly that'd just mean you'd have to live outside and I'd make you big blankets or something.