[open/mingle] in which cats reign

[espansivo]

WHO: pretty much anyone, leo, and like twelve cats
WHERE: park
WHEN: 20th-22nd
WHAT: a three day cat concert..! it's just a log about cats (for cats by cats)
WARNINGS: n/a

i.
[the cats are always out and about to greet people before it's time to begin, cute colorful ribbons tied around their neck or tail (depending on which was easiest, frankly), and they... are not actually shy of human contact despite being strays one might's seen around the city.

they will beg for food though. give them food. they will literally mob people if they see them with food, meowing and pleading and getting underfoot. stealing things from picnics and the like as well.]

ii.
[the actual concert performances are conducted by leo and

honestly they sounds like a bunch of cats singing sound.

there is a certain cadence to it that's actually songlike, the cats are actually singing to what leo is playing on his keyboard and they're sitting very nicely on the steps he's got for them too, but their attention spans aren't good enough for performances and, without fail, at some point of time they start to just... wander off... sitting in people's laps or rolling on the ground without a care.

the conductor doesn't seem to mind and just gestures for people to take their places, which can be your character or some npc, and yes he will bean cat treats at whoever is singing as "rewards". complain if you want or try and catch them, laugh at your friends or encourage them to go up and try!!]

iii.
[otherwise, there's apparently plenty to do..! leo has makeshift profiles of all the cats next to their resting spots (the big sign drawing anyone to it says star hall despite there not being a hall in the middle of the park and they're apparently all up for adoption... with papers to show their vaccinations and the like.

there's toys! there's treats! there's a space dubbed the "sleeping corner" where you can curl up with the cats and doze in the afternoon sun! it's a paradise!

play with the cats and enjoy the company of them, they're all named after different flowers and are all kinds of colors and personalities! it's really just a log about cats in the end.]

Comments

[stressweets]

[ oh, leo's remembered. it still... doesn't feel right to hear, and there's a slight, bittered jealousy at hearing ruka, too.

really, though, why doesn't he have anything back then that he has here? it's unfair, it's really, really— ]

That is...~ [ a ha ha. ] ...I didn't want to say anything. Sorry, Leonii.

[espansivo]

It's fine, it's fine, I don't care either way~. Tsuka's my little brother who I love very much, you know? You're the only sibling that matters to me...

[ruka mattered to that leo, and tsukasa matters to this one. he cuddles his brother closer.]

... Because I'm not that Leo, and I won't ever be. [a sentiment he's expressed to sena alone, and hopefully it'll comfort tsukasa too.] I'm your Leonii.

[stressweets]

[ his leonii.

...but he'll also be leonii to ruka, if she ever comes around. their memories make certain of that. they're those people, even if they're not exactly those people, or... ugh, souls. ]

Sure, Leonii. [ sure. ] Mmm... I'm an only child in my memories, but considering how, er... Well, sometimes him and his seniors seem really close, so I think they're sort of like older brothers to him.

[espansivo]

Even Mitzy?

[... he knows this, too. sorry tsukasa. your older brother knows a lot now.]

[stressweets]

[ ...mmm, damn. he's pointedly looking at the cat in his lap now, steadily petting the little thing. ]

Even Sena-senpai. Actually, Sena-senpai's the one who said that Tsukasa could rely on his "oniichans" sometimes, so...

[espansivo]

I bet he doesn't. Tsuka's a good boy who does, but I have a feeling that if he's being told that, then he doesn't at all.

[... not that leo has any memories of tsukasa himself at the moment. it's fine, it's fine.]

[stressweets]

[ ...well— ]

It's because whatever he takes on he views as a "personal affair," so he should be the one to take care of it. [ SO.... YES, HE DOESN'T RELY ON PEOPLE. ] Unless he specifically involves other people, it's his to handle.

[ ......... ]

I'm sorry I didn't say anything about that either. Um, you hadn't remembered anything that'd be relevant to... our shared group, our unit, so... I was going to say something eventually. [ maybe. maybe not. ] When you did.

[espansivo]

It's fine, it's fine~. Mitzy was surprised you hadn't mentioned it, actually, but I just thought that you would when you did.

[pet pet!!!! it's okay, all is forgiven.]

You can just tell me all about us now! Me and you, our "Knights", stuff like that.

[stressweets]

[ ahh leonii's so nice. so soft. ]

"Knights" is a group of very difficult people...~ When their leader wasn't around, when their leader is around... Individually, too. [ it's... kind of a mixed bag. ] Mm—how much do you know already? From Sena-senpai or otherwise.

[espansivo]

Um. I was the king, there was us four and someone else that's missing, our uniforms look pretty nice..♪ Mitzy couldn't sing at all in that life, not until he practiced lots and lots to get better at it, but he had a pretty voice. Like how you have a pretty voice!

[... what else.]

This is the kinda thing I haven't told anyone else, so keep it close to you too, okay? That guy ran away from school for some reason I don't know and felt like, terrible about it. Seriously the worst. So that might have some Knights business attached, but I don't really know for sure. But that's all.

[ya bro knows Shit All really]

[stressweets]

[ so running away is a core trait of leos, too.

that's a thought he can't help but have, and he mentally reprimands himself when he glances away. he knows it'll show on his face—it's hard for him not to show what he's feeling—and he hums thoughtfully. ]

I see... I never would've imagined Sena-senpai would've needed to practice for that though, seeing how talented he is in this life. [ ah, well. ] He eventually came back, at least... and challenged the Knights of that time to a Duel—a type of performance that's kind of like a chess game—because he thought they were lacking, or something like that... Ahhh, Suou was really hard on him, but I think it's a kind of "taking responsibility" thing since he seems to be like that on himself and with his other senpai.

[espansivo]

[it's a thought he had himself, don't worry, and it goes a lot deeper in that aspect than leo likes.]

Hmm, checks out. I'd probably do the same thing if I found out my band got back together without me in it and were trying to get somewhere. After all, one of me is worth all of them..♪

[in terms of playing anyway.]

[stressweets]

Did you guys part on good terms, or did they get tired of your inflated ego...?

[ he's just teasing But ]

[espansivo]

[tsukasa's getting pinched!!!!]

Just when did you become so cheeky, huh~? We parted on good terms, good terms! Maybe you'll even get to meet them someday.

[stressweets]

[ EVERYONE PINCHES HIM!! why ]

Aren't you the one who wanted me to be cheekier, Leonii...! [ implying he wasn't cheeky At All when he was a kid. ] I'd like that, though... I kind of want to hear about Leonii from the perspective of people who knew him really well.

[espansivo]

[easy to pinch. he'll just rub tsukasa's cheeks now.]

Ah, in that case, I never want you to meet. They'll tell you all kinds of things about me. [it's lightly said, in the way of joking around, but they really could. all his embarrassments... all his mood swings..!] But I guess that's fair since I never could shut up about you.

[sorry,]

[stressweets]

[ so cruel..... ]

I'd tell them all your embarrassing childhood stories too... [ --wait wait ちょっと待って ] What did you tell them? I mean, I'm not that interesting of a conversation topic, so...

[espansivo]

Every time you sent me a new water color, I'd gush about it. I talked a lot about Baba too, about how you were doing in your emails and stuff, just things like that. You weren't so much a conversation topic as a daily routine. Sometimes, they'd even ask about you before I said anything!

[that. that is how much.]

[stressweets]

[ th-that much-- ]

Leoniiii....!!

[espansivo]

Tsuka~. You're getting a nice color in your cheeks, how cute~. Like you haven't talked up a storm about me?

[say no. hurt his feelings. dare u.]

[stressweets]

[ ........aaaah, mmm.....

he's. back to not looking at leo, the color slowly receding from the back of his neck and his ears ]

...Not really, no. I mean, to certain people--who end up saying I have a sibcon--but otherwise...

[ ...he feels bad about it. ]

Sorry, Leonii. I think... I thought it was better if I didn't, because otherwise our parents might find out we were still talking, I guess...?

[ yep, just that reason, absolutely. ]

[espansivo]

[... mm. okay. yeah, that's-- that's fine, sure. leo's gonna go back to playing his keyboard.]

Makes sense. Didn't really have to worry about that in Japan, so. It's fine if you have a sibcon around a few trusted people.

[stressweets]

I don't have a sibcon--! [ huff, you. ] I wanted to talk about you more, but...

[ ...no, truthfully. with all that's been happening, with the restricted contact...

leo didn't even really come to mind. not a lot, not always. it's a terrifying thing to realize, but in that quiet, passive way. something you knew but hadn't pulled back the curtain on yet.

tsukasa carefully lifts the cat off his lap and lays it on his shoulders instead, letting it adjust to them before he pulls his knees up to his chest. ]

...Can you play that song again? The one we used to sing with Baba.

[espansivo]

[... but what?

the same reason as before, or something else?

curiosity prods at leo's mind, dragging the worse reasons forward, but his fingers start on the notes anyway. baba's favorite song... or so she claimed, because she sang it with her favorite grandsons. he smiles despite his thoughts and glances aside at his little brother.]

You remember how it goes, right? I'm not gonna have to hold your hand for the whole song like I used to?

[stressweets]

Of course I do. I sing it when I brush my teeth.

[ which, in a shocking turn of events, is not the most embarrassing thing he's ever admitted. ]

...You never had to hold my hand anyway. I just let you because I knew you liked being the lead singer. [ c: ] Leonii's always been that way, after all.

[ but

he still can't look at his older brother, not even as he starts to sing the song softly. ]