Catch-all for Sleeper, OTA

[definecat]

WHO: Sleeper and YOU!
WHEN: Latter half of January
WHERE: Various locations in Etraya
WHAT: Feline Mischief!
NOTES\WARNINGS: not yet



1. Catch as Cat Can

Out of all the things the feline-shaped creature had expected to hatch out of those weird eggs, a vocal worm was not one of them. The size of a small snake, the thing was an escape artist, too. And trying to keep track of it was fast becoming a nightmare. The quiet squeaks it makes moving around are just enticing enough to make it hard to ignore at the best of times.

So they chase, but every time they catch the damned thing, it squirms free again with a triumphant squeak and seems to quickly vanish again.

"You have got to be someone's idea of a joke!" Sleeper growls, having had yet another successful pounce. They can't even gloat, because the thing shrieks like a dog toy on steroids, and...yep, off again.

"I hate you." Noticing they've been observed, the cat turns and looks over their watcher, and huffs a sigh. "Not you, the egg-worm. Everyone else gets adorable pets, I get a new bane of my existence."

2. IM IN UR HOWZ WATCHIN U SLEP

One thing Sleeper is very good at is getting into places they probably shouldn't. So it's probably no wonder than they end up doing the creepy cat thing of finding ways into private spaces to lurk and stare. Maybe you were asleep and wake up to the faint reflection of red eyes, or are lost in a book or your work. Whatever you were doing, you now have an audience, wanted or not.

3. Wildcard option

[Other ideas, places, things to do with the cat? Hit me up. I'll also be happy to write new starters if you have something specific in mind.]

Comments

1

[leastdramatic]

Both Jason and his blackbird, now named Steinbeak, stare as the catlike being fights over their worm toy. Jason had figured everyone who bothered to take care of their eggs would get a companion who was more... amendable. The scene before him and his bird looks more like a punishment.

"What is it?" He asks.

[definecat]

"I think it's this place's idea of a cat toy. Squeaks and runs away. Every. Damn. Time."

And it's driving them up the wall an onto the ceiling in frustration.

[leastdramatic]

Steinbeak flies down closer to the worm out of curiosity.

"Isn't that a good thing? No batteries to run on," he says.

[definecat]

"This thing would exhaust the Energizer Bunny."

Are they joking? Unfortunately know. The worm seems to only do two things. Try to provoke being chased, and escape the moment it's caught. Case in point, the thing starts wriggling and waving enticingly.

[leastdramatic]

Steinbeak can't help himself as edge closer to the worm.

"Don't suppose you could pin it with something else besides paws?"

[definecat]

The worm doesn't seem to distinguish who the hunter is, but seems to know that the red-winged blackbird has joined this hunt. Wriggling forwards and back, the thing continues to make a tempting target before zipping out of easy reach and starting the dance again.

"Paws, jaws, even enclosing it in a ball of matter doesn't seem to prevent escaping. It's very...impressively annoying."

[leastdramatic]

Steinbeak's engrossed now. The worm looks like a very enticing meal as he stalks it again.

"Seriously?" Jason says, while imagining the worm in a hamster ball. "How'd it escape that?"

[definecat]

"When I figure it out, I'll tell you," they growl. Clearly Jason has hit upon a sore subject.

[leastdramatic]

Steinbeak attempts to snatch the worm again with his beak.

"No chance of getting rid of it either?" Jason asks, with a hint of amusement watching his own bird play with the toy.

2

[godsandbats]

As usual, Kirk is in his lab in the Tower of Justice. He's used to working for hours on end in silence. Even with his recently acquired American robin, he still has plenty of days like that. Today was another day of Schrödinger actually behaving himself in his cage while Kirk was making another batch of artificial plasma.

Then Schrödinger chirped. It wasn't his usual playful chirping though. It was more like a startled sound. Kirk turns to where Schrödinger is looking.

"How...?"

Kirk could swear he didn't hear or smell an alien cat come in and his bird would've alerted him sooner.

[definecat]

"Oh, you finally noticed."

The catlike being is blending very nicely with the shadows on a high shelf that they probably shouldn't have been able to get up to, let alone without making noise, but this was hardly an obstacle in their book.

"If I say catlike reflexes, will you believe me?"

[godsandbats]

Kirk's brow remains furrowed as he looks up at Sleeper.

"No but it's impressive," he says.

And alarming. God, he and Hernan really need to get the Tower's security systems back up to scratch.

[definecat]

"When I don't want to be seen, I won't be. No matter how good your senses are."

It's just that simple. They have the capacity to shape themself into whatever they desire. Being made of a malleable substance has many advantages. Leaving no sight, scent or noise is easy enough.

"What are you doing? Smells like blood, but not."

[godsandbats]

Sleeper's statements interest Kirk. Usually he's the one with the best sense of smell.

"Artificial plasma," he calmly replies. "You have an advanced form of camouflage? Scents are harder to blend with as opposed to visuals."

[definecat]

"Not if you don't produce any or allow the molecules of others to be absorbed by your substance. It's a lot easier when you have complete control over your substance, however."

How they do it isn't something most biological creatures can copy. Skrulls come close, but they never quite pay enough attention to the minutiae.

"Why would one need artificial plasma? I don't know that people really get sick here."

[godsandbats]

"Most don't," Kirk replies. "But I have a chronic condition I still have to keep under control, even here."

It's not a lie. "Chronic condition" is one way to describe his vampirism.

[definecat]

"And that condition requires a regular infusion of plasma? Unusual for a humanoid."

And no, they didn't say human, because even they can tell he isn't a normal human.

1

[welcome_summer]

[Mayuko has been around the interdimensional block a few times, but the initial discombobulation has been hard to shake this time. After getting out of the wizard library, she had been shuttled to the hospital for the typical 1-on-1 with Aurora, and then turned loose. Now, it's time to hunt for apartments.

However, the... cat chasing the worm catches her attention. Especially after the cat speaks.]

It is certainly... excitable! You got it from those gifted eggs?

Re: 1

[definecat]

Hatched out and wriggled under the nearest piece of furniture. I'm half tempted to feed it to one of the other pets.

[It wasn't that they didn't find it amusing, but it just felt more like a punishment than a gift.]

Seems like everyone got something, and most are pleased.

[welcome_summer]

It rides the edge between "annoying" and "engaging", I admit.

[The toad resting atop Mayuko's bundled wizard robe croaks and follows the worm's progress with interest. It's questionable how much speech he understands, but he might take up Sleeper on their tempting offer.]

But I'll keep Genji here at bay, in case the wriggler grows more on you. Are these pets the only animals here? I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to look around yet.

[definecat]

Will the offer be open if it doesn't grow on me?

[They might be joking. They don't seem all that enthusiastic about their present.]

Oh, there's all kinds of wildlife. Mostly familiar, some not. I think they're brought in just like we were.

[welcome_summer]

Possibly. Things that bright and wriggly tend to be poisonous, and while Genji is not a normal toad, I'd hate to test this place's revival methods on him.

[There are vouchers for free revivals, so she has a feeling it's a costly process, one way or another.]

I somehow doubt they've gotten the same spiel we have. But yes, ported in to add some... verisimilitude to the surroundings. How long have you been around, if I may ask?

Catch as Cat Can

[ingestion]

There was very little that shocked or truly moved Heather these days considering she felt she had seen it all. From monsters that taunted her, sights filled with horror and scenes that only someone trapped in a nightmare would see, she felt confident nothing could make her second guess herself.

Sleeper was clearly on a mission to ruin that idea for Heather, because while she had seen other creatures in Etraya such as one wooly mammoth, she hadn't ever seen Sleeper before.....much less a talking worm. So when he approached and told her 'I hate you', she couldn't help but stare down at the being with wide eyes. Finally it became clear what they were angry at.

"Um...why not just squash it when you can? Unless you really want to have a weird worm as a pet."

[definecat]

"It appears to be invulnerable. And about as appetizing as rubber," they say, tail swishing in annoyance, eyes, watching the worm as it went in search of another spot to hide.

"I already have a pet human. Best brother ever. Didn't ask for a pet, it just came from those eggs." If the egg technically appeared a day or two before the brother, they won't say anything about it.

[ingestion]

"Pet human?", she said, bending down a bit to watch as the chaos unfolded before her. Her eyes shifted towards Sleeper with a curious expression.

"Are they here in Etraya? I mean...how are they a pet exactly?"