A treat that wants to be no treat [NPC encounter]

[saveournpcs]

Date: June 7-9
Characters: Open!

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Those who own/regularly look after a dog or cat might find their pet chasing something around.

Something small and fast and scurrying.

Something very crafty - nobody will find their cat or dog having caught it, but they'll find the pet trying to reach under a low space, into a wall cavity, and dog affiliated persons may even find the dog barking up a tree (or up at a high spot in the kitchen/living room/etc).

Investigate?

[ooc: Simply respond to this post, including the information of what the pet is and where they are.]

Comments

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie's four cats (Squash, Tigger, Amber, and Mr Evil's cat) are focused intently on the small space at the bottom of the TV stand in the lounge.

[saveournpcs]

There's some rustling at the very most removed spot of that small space. Something's most definitely trying to stay out of cat reach, hoping for them to get called away or perhaps just bored.

[dragoonrouge]

Unfortunately for whatever the small, scurrying thing is, the cats are tenacious and surprisingly patient as four sets of eyes all in a row remain locked on the area under the TV stand with four set of very sharp claws at the ready.

Tigger, ever the endeavouring feline, swipes underneath to see if the scurrier is withing paws length.

[saveournpcs]

Nope, it is not. And it's going to utter some distressed squeaking noises now.

Is there no help nearby that could take the cats away?

[dragoonrouge]

Living with cats for as long as she has, even with her more sensitive hearing, the scrabbling sound of animals in the house is a bit like white noise to Sadie. What isn't white noise the sound of squeaking that definitely isn't coming from a cat.

"Oh for fucks sake!" Sadie opens her door and starts heading swiftly for the lounge, "Which one of you menaces brought in a mouse?! Shoo! Shoo!"

Sadie waves the cats away and kneels down next to the TV to try and get a clear look at what the cats have dragged in this time.

[saveournpcs]

It's small. No, actually - it's tiny. No longer than a woman's hand is wide, most definitely. Likely some form of rodent? It's also brown and quite distressed, though some calming down happens when the cats are shooed away... and then it starts up again when a human that somehow still manages to be part cat shows up. THAT WAS NOT WHAT IT WANTED why are there so many cats in this household!!!!!!

June 7th

[spaghettimonster]

After whatever mischief Chad got up to the previous weekend, and Russell's gone to some effort not to ask anyone what, so he can't somehow get made responsible for it... His owners contacted Russell for a couple extra walks this week.

Days like this, Russell remembers why he's a dog-sitter, and not a dog-owner.

They're in the park, taking a tour of all the best sniffing spots, with Chad checking out some large popular tree in particular. Russell's paused just a moment of checking his phone, and the barking begins.

"Chad, psst! Not so loud."

[channingchanningchanning]

But there's a really interesting scent up this tree!

Look, it wiggles and moves and he just chased it agross a whooping five feet of grass onto that tree and LOOK! THIS IS ALMOST AS GOOD AS RANDOM CHICKEN!

[spaghettimonster]

Dog-sitting should be easier when the dog can understand exactly what he's saying. It should be. Instead, it's like baby-sitting.

"Come on, the volume... Barking isn't going to bring it down, you know!"

If anything, Russell figures, the volume of Chad's interest is just going to convince whatever stray animal he's chased into the tree to stay up there.

What is up there, anyway?

[saveournpcs]

What Russell can see is that it is tiny and ...very hard to spot. Likely some form of tree coloured, probably brown.

A bit more indicative might be that it is squeaking down at the dog.

Oddly enough, it doesn't sound scared so much as... angry. There's a good amount of consternation in the squeaking sounds.

[spaghettimonster]

At least it doesn't sound terrified.

It's... a little too brown, and a little too far south, for him to assume it's an insulted squirrel. And that squeaking doesn't quite sound like an unhappy bird. A small cat, maybe?

"What is that...?"

Russell's not about to join in the barking, but he pulls out his mobile and opens the camera app to zoom in at it.

[saveournpcs]

It's definitely a lot smaller than a squirrel. Or a cat. No longer than a woman's hand is wide, most definitely. Which makes it hard to spot more details from this distance, but going by the angry squeaking sounds it's probably more a rodent.

It's definitely not amused by the dog barking at the bottom of the tree...

And considering escape mechanisms.

To which end it is scurrying onto a branch of the tree that hangs directly above Russell and then just drops, aiming to land straight on his head.

[dreamtamer]

"Gizmo?" Thom crouches over next to the dog, who was staring fixedly at the space under the couch. "What are you looking for? Did you lose one of your toys under there again?"

[saveournpcs]

Well, perhaps. But only if the toy suddenly developed the ability to move, because something is definitely moving back there - scurrying forth and back, trying to make sure that it is solidly out of the dog's reach and attempting to find a safe way out.

[dreamtamer]

That's all it takes to get Thom down on the floor right beside the dog as he tries to see what was moving. Gizmo whines a little and tries to fit more of his head under the couch.

[saveournpcs]

It's too dark to really see anything. All that Thom can observe from here that whatever it is is very small, no larger than the palm of his hand.

[dreamtamer]

Obviously the answer to seeing something small moving around under the couch is to make friends with it. He shushes Gizmo and squirms a little to get a better view of the space under the couch and waits to see if it will come any closer.

[vernal_miss]

Nel is laying on the bed in her bedroom drawing in her sketchbook. Accompanied by Dizzy, the cat that has claimed her bed most often, her pencil lifts away as Dizzy wakes from a lazy nap and shows intense interest towards where her bed meets the wall in a matter of seconds. Dizzy hops from the bed and ducks under the bed to investigate.

A little slower to follow, Nel sits up on the bed and slides off to crouch on the floor and look under after the feline, “Dizzy? What’s the matter?”

[saveournpcs]

Almost the second Nel leans down that far, something tiny and brown shoots towards her and up her arm, all the way to her neck where it seems to hunker down trying to hide in her ear - Nel will be able to hear worried squeaking somewhere behind her right ear.

[vernal_miss]

Barely able to spot the brown blur coming towards her from under the bed, the feeling of it racing up her arm makes her fall back to sitting with a shrill squeak of her own in surprise. Surrounding her shoulder and even covering her ear, her long hair will provide a thick curtain of cover to hide. With the small creature hiding at her ear, she freezes and looks towards the right without moving her position.

Taking a few breaths as she listens to the worried series of squeaks, she starts to move as she sees Dizzy come back out under the bed. Rather than allow Dizzy to chase the creature further once she realizes where it has gone, Nel stands up slowly.

"Okay...okay, calm down. I'll keep you safe."

[saveournpcs]

For almost a minute, there is no response. The little visitor is almost hodling its breath (just that it of course isn't, it can't for that long) while it isn't entirely sure if nel is going to shield it from the cat or not.

But then, a bit after Nel has stood and once her words have sunk in, the visitor relaxes a bit. The worried squeaks reside and it finds a comfortable spot hidden under all the hair.

It would almost feel like a tag in the back of a t-shirt now, only a slight irritation of bitty claws, if not for the snout that is moving around, tiny whiskers brushing against Nel's neck.

[vernal_miss]

Once the sounds quiet at her shoulder, the girl eases her own guard and smiles softly. The transition to the back of her neck makes her squirm from the passing claws, and a giggle slips at the tickle of whiskers at the back of her neck. Nevertheless, she stays steady on her feet as the visitor makes itself comfortable. Eyes turned with her head following only part way, she comments, “I don’t think anyone will find you there.”

Dizzy of course has caught on, and is circling Nel at her feet. When the cat vocalizes impatiently for attention, the girl turns her focus down, “Sorry, Dizzy. You can’t play with ‘m.” Stepping carefully over the feline, she moves out into the hallway. As expected, Dizzy follows, and when Nel darts back into her bedroom, she shuts the door to block the cat from returning for the time being. Nel returns to her bed to climb up and sit with her legs crossed. Hands grasping her ankles to make herself still, she tries to lend some encouragement, “There. Now it’s just us. It’s safe to come out, and I’d love to meet you.”

[faimommy]

Mocha scrambles around the flat, at a speed Rune is not familiar with. Rune blinks, wide-eyed, as Mocha slides and crashes into a hutch.

"Mocha, wha's gah'en into yuu?" (Mocha, what's gotten into you?) Rune tries to pick up Mocha, but Mocha is having none of it, trying to chase whatever-it-is around and sliding out of Rune's grasp frequently.

Cats are definitely abrasive liquids.

[saveournpcs]

This will be going on for however long it takes the tiny creature that Mocha is hunting to find a spot the cat can't access. That ends up being the space under the fridge. The little brown speck of running away shoots under the fridge and scoots far enough back that cat paws cannot reach it.

Sorry it took me forever to get back to this. If you want to handwave, just let me know!

[faimommy]

Mocha furiously claws at the corner and Rune pulls him back enough.

"Mocha! No!" Why is he scratching so hard? It's not like him. Rune grabs a leash and harness that he has stowed in a drawer. He quickly yoinks Mocha and straps it on the cat before hooking him to the arm of a chair so that he can't get in the way. Rune goes back to the fridge and kneels, trying to look under the fridge, even closing the eye that can't see underneath it. Maybe it's a mouse?