[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

[espansivo]

a
[on top of doing all the preparation and the like, making sure all the cats are happy and not too irritated, leo is absolutely partaking in his own activities!!!

mostly sleeping with the cats. a number of them seem to gather around him to sleep too, apparently comfortable with This Human In Particular, and it's gonna be the most angelic you ever see the foulmouthed man.]

b
Hey~. I wanna practice, so give me a song to play~.

[he's also taking requests, apparently, and though there's a small cream colored cat sleeping on his keyboard (not the keys themselves, thankfully) it seems there's no cats to sing along..?]

I know a lot of different ones, but if I don't just let me listen to it once and I'll be able to do it..♪

[in addition to that, though, he will just be practicing by himself without instruction, playing little diddles he'd heard on the ipod sena lent him and not quite getting them to sound right from the look on his face.]

c
[finally, catch him teaching the cats new tricks, like flipping in midair. they don't want to do it all the time, but sometimes they will... for an audience, leo has noticed, so--!]

Come on, come on~! See as these pretty kitties jump and leap through the sky, all for a little treat. ♪ They love an audience, so cheer them on~. Come up and see if they'll listen to you too~♪

wildcard
[u know u know]

[cattack]

i

[Cleo heard about the event, and, well. Of course she had to be there. She wants to help all these cats get adopted! She knows all the strays around the city, after all.

Unfortunately, this means they all know her, too. And they know her habit of carrying treats everywhere she goes. So she ends up sitting down to try to help wrangle the cats, and instead gets mobbed, several cats climbing her like a tree to try to get to her jacket pockets, where she keeps the cat treats.

She may need help.]

iii

[She's also taken it upon herself to help. So, if anyone is interested in adopting the cats, Cleo will be trying to wrangle them over to the prospective owners to try to meet them... Unfortunately, herding cats is hard. Which means it's time to cheat.

Cleo's got a laser pointer out, and is slowly drawing a huge herd of cats over to the adoption signs with it. It's helping!]

ii.

[odasaku]

[ this is the first time that akage goes to the outside world for something that isn't a visit to the vet. it is also the first time that oda tries to take her out with a cat harness because...how difficult can it be to get a cat to go on a walk in the park?

it's really hard.

in the end, he's given up on trying to get akage to walk and simply decided to carry her like some sort of parrot on his shoulder...where she's very comfortable since she feels like she's on top of the world, looking down at all the peasant cats on the ground.

but she's going to lose all that glamour once the treats start getting thrown and hiss at whoever tries to even approach the treats on the ground around oda. she just be like that. ]

[elevelvetor]

[ liz loves cats, even if she's allergic to them, so of course she is here. she is only slightly sniffly and has taken her allergy medicine and She Is Here.

regrettably, she does not have a cat to bring. she has two of them!! but they're not hers, they're her roommates. she also brought her dog. after the initial Bark Of New Things, he's pretty chilled out.

so.

meet a little shih tzu named potato, a large Savannah cat named belle, and a black cat that looks a lot smaller than it is next to belle named gold. they're all harnessed, don't worry. ]

ii-a
[ ahh, music... elizabeth looks very at peace, even with her own animals trying to join in once they get the hang of it. and also see that Treats Are Being Thrown for those who participate.

please give them some praise, all three of them are doing their. best. ]


ii-b
[ every so often though, she does give their leashes a little tug and frowns at them when she catches them trying to steal someone else's hard-earned reward. ]

We are not thief cats and dogs, you three. Please behave.

[ .....yeah. ]

[elevelvetor]

[ belle is also fond of sitting on shoulders, even if she is much too big to do that reasonably... (she's 14" at the shoulder. her breed is very big.)

so that's where liz is at, watching akage and oda curiously. she glances at her other two and... carefully stands to go join them; all three of her animals stare at akage, but liz is nice enough to address oda instead of his cat immediately. ]

She's much cuter than I expected.

[ ......address oda about his cat, but not the point here, probably. ]

[odasaku]

She's gotten better since I picked her up.

[ he doesn't mind being addressed about his cat because...this is an event about cats, no? besides, he knows that he's no competition when it comes to akage. she's the real star between the two of them.

and what is she doing? staring down at all three of liz' animals, tail moving slowly as she assesses the situation.

odasaku, in the meantime, looks at the shih-tzu and smiles. ]

That's Potato?

a

[strayknight]

[Leo sure was in his element. Looking at Leo asleep with the kitties it makes him wish he had brought Kou as well but this was nice to see. Kneeling down he pokes Leo's face.]

Where did you find all the kitties? Ou-sama the cat king~

[adoringpast]

i.

[ there sure are a lot of cats here and sena's a little overwhelmed? how the fuck did leo catch all their attention... oh well, he'll ask later since the guy's looking a little busy right now. sena did come prepared with a can of cat food and he's crouching down to put it on the ground and watch the little critters lap it all up.

and the weirdest part? he's smiling. it's genuine and soft too, as he picks up a gray one because he's always impartial with little gray cats, putting it over his shoulder and stroking it like in that icon of his. might not want to point that out, he's really not aware of how he immensely relaxes at the presence of cats of all things. ]

iii.

I don't think that's a comfortable napping place, though.

[ indicating the "sleeping corner" because what the fuck, this doesn't even look like a futon or anything. and it doesn't look clean? ugh, he'll bug leo later about this. ]

i

[adoringpast]

[ yoink, grabbing a calico by the scruff of its neck as he works on picking out those cats clinging onto cleo for dear life ]

Did you have any catnip on you or something? Christ.

ii-a

[adoringpast]

They sure are good at this... Did you train them yourself?

[ he's actually acknowledging them, isn't that grand. he's standing right beside her, paying more attention to the animals than the actual performer himself. ]

[elevelvetor]

[ ah, mizuki... ]

Not at all... Though I admit, I do sing quite often at home. [ given her interests this is probably not all that surprising. ] Really, they're all very smart animals—I think they've simply learned that if they try, they'll get rewarded.

[ ...they're good beans. ]

Only one of these is mine, anyway. Potato. [ she nudges her dog, and he gives her a look??? then stares at mizuki, tail wagging slowly. ] Isn't he adorable? And very potato-like... in stature, and somewhat in color.

[ somewhat. she'll pick up a little black cat, who immediately scrambles onto her shoulder and resumes his little "singing". ]

This is Silver's cat—Gold. [ ... ] I'm aware. He thinks he's cute, and unfortunately, he's quite right. [ she's very fond of her beau. ] And the very big cat that looks like she wants to jump on your shoulders—and believe me, she does—is Goro's cat, Belle... Let's see, what was her full name...? Beautrelet, after a detective.

[elevelvetor]

This is.

[ potato wags his tail, knowing his Name and also Praise when he hears it. or maybe it's her very fond tone... regardless, he's a happy puppy.

even with a cat gently judging him. he lives with two cats, it's okay. gold and belle, meanwhile, assess akage right back, with belle drawing herself up a little more to be more eye-level... since she's the one on elizabeth's shoulders. this is slightly painful but she can bear it for a cat— ]

I simply couldn't leave him without securing his adoption after seeing that adorable face of his... Never mind the fact he was very... [ how to put this... ] ...he was very fond of my lap. I felt my very heart strings pull at his face when Goro and I were discussing leaving the shelter, potentially without him.

i!

[lifespanned]

[ Is she inconspicuously trying to snap a photo of him smiling?? Yes, most definitely. She just cannot resist, not after seeing him so grumpy at literally every other time they've interacted. ]

Aw, wow~ You should smile more often. You really are a natural~

[ She definitely is ruining this cute and serene moment, but it's worth it if she can get physical proof of his smile. And the cat is so cute, too... ]

b

[stressweets]

[ tsukasa gently lifts the cream colored cat off of the keyboard anyway, cradling it gently as he sits down, while leo's working on the ones from the ipod. those little diddles sure are— different, but he likes them. ]

Mmm, anything's fine... Are you writing something new, Leonii? [ !!! CAN HE HEAR IT... ]

[espansivo]

[leo makes a noise of discomfort, curling up tighter with a large grey one at his stomach meowing in complaint, and peeks open an eye. even if he said it'd be okay to call him ou-sama, it's still hard to get used to...]

Around~. We're kin, Rittsu, me and these cats understand each other completely~. Wanna lay with us?

[espansivo]

[tsuka..!!!! leo brightens up immediately, hands dancing across the keyboard in a more cheerful rendition of what he'd been playing.

and pauses, squinting at the keyboard for a moment and fishing out the ipod to listen to. he's gonna toss this thing at some point but it's his for now.]

Nope~. Apparently, it's a lot of compositions the other me did... Mitzy lent me it. I'm trying to work them, but it feels like there's some sort of... different motion he's making with them, something with his hands. Poetically speakin', Tsuka, they're waltzing~.

[here, have an earbud, you can listen to.]

I really hate to admit it, but he was pretty good at making songs.

iii

[espansivo]

[he thought he saw someone with cat features join the crowd, but wow..! she must really like cats. wait, are they real? are they fake? leo's scooting over to investigate while she's distracted herself, glancing over her person before decided to tug on her tail lightly.]

W~oah, aren't you one of a kind..♪ Nice, nice~.

[stressweets]

[ mizty again... tsukasa scoots closer and carefully puts it in, petting the cat. oh, this is... ]

...I like yours better. [ he hasn't even listened to a full song yet and he's already saying this— ] It's nice that you've always liked music though... I guess that's what makes Leonii Leonii though?

[espansivo]

[you haven't even listened to the full song... as it plays, leo, who has long memorized the tune, lets his fingers tap along to it, adding his own little flair here and there.]

Yup. A Leonii without music is no Leonii at all..♪ Thanks though, I'm glad that you like mine more. But that's definitely because you're more used to my songs, just listen to a couple more of his, okay?

[how they have the essence of "knights", yet have a kind of childlike liveliness to them.]

[stressweets]

I'm still going to like yours more.

[ because he stubbornly loves his brother, but he leans against him anyway and watches his hands move on the keys. it really is amazing, how he can just so naturally pick up anything he wants... tsukasa lets his eyes close a little, looking fairly similar to the cat on his lap now. ]

...It's too bad you don't have the sheet music for this. I think that'd be easier to play than finding it by ear.

[espansivo]

... Mm, probably. There's probably all kinds of notes that he left behind on them -- louder here, with feeling, all this and that. He was a pro, you know? A total genius. I can tell.

[musician to musician and all that jazz. he plucks out his own earbud and sets both hands on the keyboard again, playing one of the old tunes he used to sing with baba and tsukasa.]

But I've got something he doesn't. ♪ Every musician's got his own unique charm, polished or not. ♪ Like an artist's style, Tsuka.

[stressweets]

[ ah, that's nostalgic... tsukasa smiles without thinking about it, lifting the earbud up and over his shoulder so the cat doesn't get the bright idea to wake up and play with it. ]

...Isn't it wrong to compare artists if it's like that, then?

[cattack]

[behold, the first time in history anyone has ever been relieved to see sena]

A bit, but it's in a sealed bag... I think they just know me.

[cattack]

[Back in October, Cleo went through... well, an extremely traumatic experience. And though she seems mostly okay now, there are a few things that can get the same reactions. After what Malik did to her tail...

She yanks her tail back, and using that momentum, she spins, lifting a leg in a very high roundhouse kick, right at his head. Fortunately, at least, she manages to stop herself- Discipline from martial arts training, and the fact that he doesn't look anything like Malik helps. But still, her foot stops abruptly about an inch from Leo's ear.]

Do not ever do that again.

[espansivo]

[it happens so suddenly, so fast, leo can't do anything but start to bring his hands up to defend; kuro is the one who finishes them for a reason. but it doesn't land, it stays where it is with a hissed warning, and he opens his fists to a surrendering gesture.]

Sorry. [like, sincerely.] Also, that was kind of hot. If you don't mind me saying so. Ma'am.