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]

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.

[karappo]

[Karamatsu at least relents from leaning his entire weight on Ichimatsu, but he doesn't stop making pleased sounds regardless. Honestly, if Ichimatsu weren't laying down, he'd probably have tried to climb into his lap.]

I guess living outside would not be so bad. There would be a lot of room to run around. You could live out there with me!

[ichimyatsu]

People aren't really designed to live outside, me especially.

[Puuush.] But seriously, you're not gonna get that big. You'll probably a little more than double from the size you are now and then be full-grown.

[karappo]

[Karamatsu's tail flicks again, and he sort of just lets his body flop back over onto the floor, then, stretching out as long as he can with a yawn that exposes rows and rows of needle-sharp teeth.]

Well...maybe I can help you do some things around the house, then? Then you would have less work, and then we would not have to move.

[He doesn't seem all that concerned about the smallness of the place. Honestly, he's gotten rather attached to it over the last month or so.

Also he's not sure where having less work correlates with a bigger house, but Ichimatsu does seem tired...]

[ichimyatsu]

[He huffs a slight sigh, shaking his head and scooting forward to burrow into the fluff of the tiger's chest.]

You don't have thumbs, a lot of what I do around the house requires those.

[karappo]

[Oh, right...damn opposable thumbs.]

Mmm...is there anything else I could do?