The Catbrary

[20:44] <Charm> September 27, 2054 || The Library, Collections Annex || 1754 hours, GMT+1
[20:45] <Charm> "Well...That seems to be done well enough. Thanks a lot for the report, Miss Asami." Julie nods as she reads over what you wrote up based on your experiences with the last encounter.
[20:46] <Lecia> "Any time~" See, paperwork can be a good thing!
[20:46] <Charm> Granted, between ahegao Noire going batshit crazy, magical fog that almost killed Lilo and Laura, and Japanese snow spirits in eastern Europe...it was hard to keep things straight.
[20:47] <Lecia> It was. It was also a bit hard to write, but she tried her best!
[20:48] <Charm> "Anyway, you're free to clock out for today. Make sure you send in Miss Devereux if you see her." Julie nods as Lecia leaves. However, she does run into a fairly familiar face.
[20:50] <Lecia> Could it be?! Does it start with a T? Or an M? Whichever name you use for that? If it is, guess who's glowing with joy.
[20:51] <Charm> "Ohayo Lecia-chan!" Yep. It's Mitsuki Tanaka, although she isn't wearing anything overly special today.
[20:55] <Lecia> Huzzah, it was~! "Ohayo Mitsuki~" Lecia, after everything she's been though, cannot help but hug her. It's not a 'lingering hug' or anything, but it's totally a bit tight.
[20:56] <Charm> "So...how have you been adjusting?" She seems to be able to breathe just fine - can't be that bad.
[20:59] <Lecia> "It's been...tough, yeah. But it's nothing I can't handle!" CAN'T BE INCOMPETENT. GOTTA PROTECT EVERYONE. FROM WHAT SHE CAN, ANYWAY. Not being Ulphia.
[21:02] <Charm> "Yeah...It's probably good that you still have a family you can go back to..." Mitsuki sighs. "not everyone is so lucky"
[21:05] <Lecia> "...yeah..." And then there's turning into a psychobitch yangire when she's normally the (second) best person ever. That's also terrible. But then there's people not having families, which is just as bad. Unfun times.
[21:06] <Charm> "...You're right to worry about your friends...but they have a gift just as much as you do. They'll be fine."
[21:07] <Lecia> "...but when she USES the gift..." Things that require more explanation, Lecia says them.
[21:08] <Charm> "Yeah. You have a point. I'd be scared too if a partner suddenly decided she wanted to cut me up for the hell of it."
[21:09] <Charm> She smiles. <You have to remember - just because electricity is my thing doesn't mean it's all I can do.>
[21:11] <Lecia> <Oh, yeah!> Right, right. Telepathy. She probably knows about this. But it's OK, she can look through her head. <...yeah...but even when she doesn't want to cut me up, she's...different...somehow.>
[21:13] <Charm> "Hmm...It would probably be best for the two of you to talk it out."
[21:17] <Charm> "Excuse me, Miss Asami?" Julie pokes her head out, a phone in her off hand.
[21:18] <Charm> "If you haven't clocked out yet, do you mind helping me with a tiny thing?"
[21:23] <Lecia> "Yeah, I should." A nod to Mitsuki, and oh, Julie pops her head out. She's not quite done working yet (gotta work hard, can't just NOT DO THINGS that would just be wrong), so, "What is it?"
[21:24] <Charm> "It...well, can you promise not to laugh?"
[21:24] <Charm> Lilo is in the office room too, barely stifling a laugh.
[21:25] <Lines> laugh barely stifled
[21:25] <Lecia> "...um, sure?" Sure. Laughing would be horrible. It's a task.
[21:26] <Lecia> Though if it's laugh-worthy enough for someone to think that...what could it be?
[21:26] <Charm> "I...well, my neighbor's cat is stuck up a tree. Think you could try persuading it down?"
[21:28] <Charm> "I wouldn't ask you guys normally. But the thing has developed a serious attitude, and even worse, it treats magic like it's catnip."
[21:29] <Lecia> 'what' is what's going through Lecia's mind. This quickly fixes itself, but...she must take this as seriously as possible, at least in order to avoid laughing because this is serious and SEE, it treats magic like it's catnip so it's the PERFECT job for them. Totally. Yes. Go with that, Lecia, brave knight that gets cats off of trees like a REAL superhero. "Will do~!"
[21:30] <Lines> Lilo shakes her head in amusement, "We better get a bonus for doing something this dangerous. Right, Lecia?"
[21:31] <Charm> "Yeah, I can get you a little bump for Hazard Pay. My flat is about three blocks south of here. Be careful to not overdo it though."
[21:33] <Lecia> Promising not to laugh promising not to laugh promising not to laugh promising not to laugh--wait is Julie here acting SERIOUS about this? ...Maybe it IS dangerous. Yes, convince yourself it's dangerous, Lecia. "S-sure, got it!" TO THE CAT!
[21:34] <Lines> Overdo? That sounds weird... Right, she probably just meant going in magicalaserguns blazing. No big deal. Lilo nods and leads the way; the kid can follow.
[21:35] <Lecia> She follows, oh yes she does, she is so psyched--not really, but more psyched than she had any right to be.
[21:36] <Charm> The walk is uneventful, thankfully. A light chill snaps in the air. It doesn't take long to find the woman with the cat - the only one who is standing in front of a massive tree, ranting madly.
[21:37] <Lecia> Crazy, cats...is she old too?
[shittysplicingofotherpeople'slogs]
[21:37] <Charm> Not as old as the stereotype would suggest - still significantly older than either of you.
[21:39] <Lines> Lilo eyes the lady. Kind of a creeper, maybe. "Hey, lady! We're here about the cat. Julie sent us."
[21:40] <Charm> "Ohthankheavensyoutwoarehereohitssogoodtohaveagoodsamaritanthesrdays."
[21:41] <Lines> "Uh... Huh..." Lilo looks up in the tree for the cat, half expecting to be some big, monstrous feline.
[/myinternetisfuckingterrible,whyweren'tyouheretree]
[21:42] <Charm> Well in comparison to your normal housecat, it certainly qualified as big and monstrous. In comparison to a lion? Not that big or monstrous.
[21:47] <Lecia> ...perhaps she doesn't know about magic. To use it in front of someone...like this...who knows what could happen? And she can't simply SAY this in front of the lady, which forces Lecia to think. Until then, filler words. "We'll get the kitty out of the tree~" Even if it's not much of a 'kitty' at all.
[21:49] <Lines> Lilo looks from Lecia to the cat to the tree to Lecia to the cat to the tree. "So... Here kitty, here kitty? Don't think that's gonna work. Do you wanna play rock paper scissors to decide who climbs?"
[21:49] <Charm> "ohthankyoudearnowdonthurtitorelseillhavetosueyouokayokay"
[21:52] <Charm> Fortunately, you see her retreat into the apartment building.
[21:53] <Lecia> How does one even PARSE such a thing? But...a PLAN! If she uses magic without letting any sign of it from being seen, perhaps that could work? And with the cover of some leaves, it could be done slightly easier...and because she can't SAY this plan because crazy lady is RIGHT THERE--oh well so much for that. In the lady goes. "...maybe we won't have to climb..."
[21:55] <Lines> "What have you got in mind? A..." Subtle, subtle, "Magic touch? Sound and music's my thing, maybe I could sing or hum or convince it to come down by mixing in a little bit."
[21:56] <Lecia> Easier than using machines? Yes. Much more natural, yes. "Yeah, that sounds perfect!" It's hard not being able to be completely subtle.
[21:58] <Charm> Lines hears a soft wispy melody in the air - it's calm...but it's fast paced. Like this could go downhill and fast.
[22:00] <Lines> She'll keep that in mind, but it's too late for this instant. Lilo calls out another "Here, kitty-kitty!" in a very sing-song voice. Probably to little effect considering the magic was only present in trace amounts. Woops, undershot that one.
[22:01] <Charm> Her magic falls flat - the fatcat just mrowls and lumbers deeper into the tree's foliage
[22:01] <Lecia> A ROBOTIC CAT TOY (which totally exist in the 2050's). If she can be subtle in producing one of those, maybe she can help! HELPING PEOPLE! So, put her heart into this one...
[22:02] <Lines> "Let's try to keep the magic on the downlow. I'm getting a bad feeling about it, and Julie said it feeds off magic. Might try and eat us if it senses magic."
[22:03] <Charm> The cat reacts to the toy like it seems to react to everything else - with disdain. It seems the two of you will need to be more...aggressive.
[22:04] <Lilo> "...Climbing time or do you have another idea?"
[22:04] <Lecia> BE AGGRESSIVE. BE BE AGGRESSIVE. THIS IS FOR THE CRAZY CAT, AND THE CRAZY LADY THAT COMES WITH! PUT SOME MAGIC IN THIS TOY! SUBTLY. TRYING HARDER.
[22:05] <Lilo> "...One more try? Okay."
[22:06] <Lecia> Basically, that's what her expression said.
[22:06] <Lilo> Lilo scratches her head then moves to try to climb the tree. Magic's not working too well. "Better catch me if I fall!"
[22:09] <Lecia> ...no luck. She's just not into this today, huh. "...OK..." Disapointed that didn't work? Yes. Gonna catch anyway.
[22:10] <Charm> Lilo does well enough to support herself up to the level the cat is. It looked smaller from down there - but still not exceptionally lithe.
[22:11] <Charm> "Chubby" is a pretty apt word for it.
[22:12] <Lilo> Up she goooooes after the big kitty-cat. "Heya, kitty. Come on down with me."
[22:13] <Charm> "mroooooowl~"
[22:14] <Lecia> ...No, she can totally do this. TOTALLY. Just...just try harder! Can't be stumped by a cat, that's just...not superheroish at all! Let's try this again, now...
[22:14] <Lilo> Lilo glances down, "Hey, uh, Lecia, how am I supposed to get him down? We're pretty high up here and he's big..."
[22:18] <Lecia> "Well if you can't carry him and climb down safely...I could catch you..." Like that's going to work. Just look at her! She's still trying though, even if her attempts to tap at her magic to just wake up already aren't coming to much success. She'll probably end up overdoing it at this rate, as it jumps from hardly anything to extreme.
[22:20] <Lilo> "No more magic for right now, 'kay? Old school." Lilo turns her music player on and sets it to oldschool techno, lotsa UNTZ. The girl attempts to take the fat cat under an arm and climb down. MUSCLES.
[22:22] <Charm> The cat scratches and flails about but Lilo is able to trap and pin the thing down.
[22:22] <Charm> ...now what?
[22:24] <Lilo> NOW WE FLY. I mean climb. In a downward direction.
[22:24] <Charm> It's a fairly tall tree. Falling from it would be painful. And her hands are full of cat. Both of them.
[22:25] <Lecia> That's OK, though was Lecia probably completely enwrapped in getting the cat to come down with the toy, such things stopped once Lilo here actually got the cat. She'll totally catch them!
[22:26] <Lecia> Or get crushed by them. You know, whatever works.
[22:26] <Charm> Lilo's balance is getting really unstable - she has to let the cat go if she wants to not take a header coming down!
[22:30] <Lilo> Well, cats always land on their feet, right? Fly free, little kitten. Lilo will have to land however she can other than on her head. "Leciacatchit!"
[22:30] <Lecia> Lecia, obviously, attempts to catch it.
[22:31] <Lecia> Attempts is the key word here.
[22:32] <Charm> BONK! it bounces off Lecia's head and jumps off. Lilo slams down on her back.
[22:34] <Lecia> "L-Lilo! Are you alright?!" That was horrible. Even though the cat also knocked her down, she got straight back up. It looks like Lilo took quite the fall there.
[22:35] <Lilo> Whomp. Lilo lands hard on her back--no blood is gushing, but it looked painful. She groans on impact once before falling into nearly still silence. Her chest's heaving, so she's obviously not dead.
[22:36] <Lecia> Not feeling brave enough to climb the tree after such things...well, she's totally breathing, and totally groaning, so still concious. Good. "Maybe we shouldn't try climbing..." More coaxing with the toy. COME ON. WORK, DARN IT.
[22:37] <Charm> "mrooooooooooooow~" the cat stares at you as if to say "you're fucking kidding, right?"
[22:39] <Lilo> Lilo doesn't really feel like hurrying to move anywhere fast. Her voice is a little bit shaky, "Hey Lecia? I think I hate cats."
[22:43] <Lilo> "Can we just give this cat back and go home? I'm gonna pop some pills."
[22:45] <Lecia> "...yeah, let's do that..." CATS. Though a certain SWR OG has two talking cats (that aren't actually cats but they look like them so close enough), there's...cats like this. Smug bastard jerk cats.
[22:46] <Charm> "ohlawdisthatmycatthankyoudeariesioughttorewardyounow."
[22:46] <Lilo> Lilo stumbles to her feet and brushes herself off. Definitely just a little too dazed to be the one talking to crazy lady.
[22:48] <Lecia> "Y-you're welcome, and thank you!" CRAZY LADY, CRAZY CAT. THEY GET ALONG WELL. The cat probably doesn't want to be with her, actually, now that she's thinking about it. ...Oh well.
[22:52] <Charm> "hereyougogirlsdontspenditallinoneplaceyouhearme?"
[22:54] <Charm> In your hands, each of you have a change purse, filled with...
[22:54] <Charm> ...gum. Lots of gum.
[22:54] <Charm> She paid you...in...gum. Urge to kill, probably rising.
[22:56] <Lilo> "Ha... Ha... Thanks, lady. Let's... Ha... go... Lecia," Lilo's eyes are wild and her voice is strained. It's time to get the fuck out.
[22:58] <Lecia> Gum. Gum? ...Gum. Accept your fate, Lecia. Gum lasts quite a while, and there's a lot of it, so it should last a REALLY LONG TIME. Yes. Totally. BRIGHT. SIDE. YES. "Thanks~" Gone with Lilo.
[23:01] <Charm> The cat gives you one final "mrooow~" and waddles inside with its owner. You both swear to the deity of your choice that you can't possibly be getting paid enough for this.
[23:02] <Lilo> I am my own deity.
[23:02] <Lecia> But gum lasts a long time, don't you see? ...what flavor is it? Just plain?
[23:03] <Lecia> And hey, it's great to avoid confrontations!
[23:03] <Charm> It's whatever flavor is the new thing these days. Whatever. No one bothers with reading anymore.
[23:04] <Lecia> Plain average bubble gum then. Still, if you chew bubble gum, you don't have to kick ass! Not like Lecia gets that joke.
[23:05] <Lilo> Lilo leads the charge away from this shithole, "Never again."
[23:06] <Charm> The Library, ground floor || 1825 hours, GMT+1
[23:06] <Charm> Julie is behind the counter of the bookstore, counting change out for a customer. "Everything go okay, you two?"
[23:07] <Lilo> Lilo frowns and crosses her arms, "I fell out of a tree. But, you know, other than that we're fine."
[23:08] <Lecia> "We got a lot of gum~" BRIGHT. SIDE.
[23:10] <Charm> "Gotcha. I dropped a little extra something into each of your accounts. Something more substantial than gum, though."
[23:11] <Lilo> "Uh huh." Lilo grumps and turns to walk home. This was more trouble than Lilo wanted to deal with.
[23:12] <Lecia> The sigh of relief is instantaneous (and a bit louder than one would expect). Thank god that it's not just gum. After that, a pause, and a "Thank you!"
[23:12] <Charm> "Miss Devereux? Could you spare a moment more? I promise it's not another errand."
[23:15] <Lilo> She groaned and turned back around. She'd spare a moment, but she'd clearly had enough and doesn't intend to spend much more than that.
[23:16] <Charm> "I...I'm concerned about you. I know that you lack the tragedies the Noire suffered, or the loss that Ms. Ingram has had to deal with. But the fact still remains that you were ripped from the life you knew. I'm deeply sorry..."
[23:17] <Charm> "And yet you seem to be the one having the hardest time moving on. What's on your mind?"
[23:17] <Lilo> Lilo narrows her eyes, "There's nothing wrong. I'm just waiting to go home."
[23:18] <Charm> "And what exactly do you mean by that? What home do you have?"
[23:20] <Lilo> "My home. My mom and dad. I'll go home eventually, I just haven't had the chance yet. That's all."
[23:21] <Charm> "I don't know how much plainer I can make this. You have no home. Your biological parents would not recognize you. Any form of identification you have will not work. You no longer exist as a person in that world."
[23:22] <Charm> "It's a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy...but it happened. And you need to grow up and accept it."
[23:23] <Lilo> Lilo shrugs and smiles, "Then this is just the wrong world. I'll get back to mine and I'll go home. It's just a matter of time. I have magic, after all!"
[23:24] <Charm> Julie sighs. "I...if there is something that can do that, we haven't found it. It wouldn't surprise me if it did exist, although I do hope you realize how much of a long shot it is."
[23:26] <Lilo> "Haha, don't be silly. You oughtta have more faith in me. Don't worry, I'll get home. You'll have to find someone to replace me when I go, though."
[23:26] <Charm> "...Are you sure this is the path you want to take? A long treacherous path looking for something that very well may not exist?"
[23:27] <Lilo> "It exists. The only reason you have to go one way is the sign tells you."
[23:28] <Charm> "...Alright. You can head on out then. Just...be careful, okay?"
[23:30] <Lilo> "I'll be fine. Nothing more than a few scratches can happen to me before I get home. Bye." Lilo waves and sees herself out, her smile of denial begins fading to the scowl from before. Falling hurt.
[23:35] <Charm> Julie sighs again and leans on the counter. She was stubborn, that one...it could be a great asset. It could also get her killed.
[23:35] <Charm> Then again...there were a lot of things that could get them killed. That one, for example...that might work well.