2283/A Cat's Frantic Escape

A Cat's Frantic Escape
Date of Scene:	31 January 2025
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Finding herself in a weird situation, Veronica takes refuge on campus, and soon enough runs into a lot of helping hands... and petting hands, to her embarassment.
Cast of Characters:	Veronica Perenna, Ikiko Hisakata, Erika Shimizu, Hinoiri Kirara, Amanda Faust, Norie Okana, Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino, Laisa Samuiko
Tinyplot:	Flameborn Façade

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Veronica Perenna has posed:
Frantic steps, and desperate dodges of a flame that comes scarily close to burning a blue kitten, a desperate meow being heard as the kittens' paws hit the ground desperately. "Of course you couldn't do anything right. Shows how well they do things at Obsidian", a black-haired girl in a Sailor uniform sneers at another girl, one with flaming red hair.

"You just got lucky, watch this!", the latter says shoving the Sailor aside, a flame causing another scared leap while the cat's heart beats rapidly. The black-haired warrior is quick to react, bringing her hands around the other's arm, and pushing her to the ground. "Don't touch me like that ever again, Sunbreaker, or I will burn you to a crisp, no matter how many times you come back."

While the two of them quarrel, Veronica's blue eyes fill with joy when she sees a very familiar gate, her steps accellerating as fast as she can to reach the salvific destination. "Look ahead, she is almost at the school!", Sunbreaker shouts, getting to her feet when the other girl loosens her grip.

Too late though, and the cat finds safety onto the school campus, while the two fire users stare threateningly from the streets. "Good job now, Sailor Mars. This is the stuff sparkles are really made of", flame reigniting in Sunbreaker's hand.

"I don't care, there will be other occasions", the Sailor warrior leaps away towards the rest of Tokyo, leaving the fiery redhead to do the same with a swear.

The kitten slumps to the ground fatigued, her irregular breath calming down with each moment that passes. 'How did this happen?', she thinks dejectedly, an unhappy meow escaping from her mouth.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
End of the school day, and time for Ikiko to work on her 'club project' -- namely, heading out to feed some of the stray dogs of Tokyo.

    (okay, so it's technically a personal project that falls under the auspices of the Animal Care Club, but for paperwork & support purposes, it's being counted as a project for the club.)

She gives a quick check over her supplies before she head out:

* Dog food? Check!
* Food bowls? Check!
* Exhausted kitten by the front gate? Che--

    ...wait, what?

Ikiko carefully approaches the grey kitten, so as to not scare the little one, then asks in Feline, "Little one, okay are you?"

(okay, so her syntax is still a bit quirky, even after all of her lessons with Luna... but it's still much better than it was before those lessons!)

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Okay so, Erika Shimizu is, usually, a member of the swim club. Right about now she'd be at the pool doing laps for fun but... Well something came up and she had to miss her usual club activity. So here she is with Ikiko out to feed the cute strays of Tokyo.
    "Right so, I ain't much of a dog person but I think that's a cat, Ikiko." She says playfully when-- she realizes something's up.
    "Oh that kitten's not looking so hot." The blonde says as she scootches to a crouch and...
    "Oh you can speak to cats too?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was, once again, covered in grease. She'd been working with the motorcycle club and they'd had to work on installing... well, it didn't really matter what. What did matter is that they had some success, so she was walking back into the school ground not long after, frowning when she smelled something... burning? Huh. Weird.

Hopefully nothing major. It would...

...

And she turned the corner to see two kids surrounding a poor, exhausted kitty. Were they... bullying it? No. They didn't seem to be. It looked... fine. If exhausted. Was... that cat one of the mascots? Or possibly one of Mamoru's shop's? Or one of those two girls? She walked towards them, wiping the grease off her hands on a rag, glancing down at the kitty. "Is... everything okay with your cat?" she asked.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy pulls out her phone as she crosses campus, checking Datcord, when she hears a plaintive meow.

    As she understands it, cats meow primarily to get attention from humans, and knowing that doesn't matter because it works.

    Also she absolutely loves kitties especially when they're friendly enough to let her pet them. The cat cafe is an absolute treat!

    She approaches, slowly, making eye contact and blinking very slowly before breaking eye contact. "Oh, poor kitty, are you lost?" She kneels down and slooowly holds out her hand to let it smell her. "You look kind of small to be away from your owner, or mom..."

    Ikiko is there and meowing at the cat. Amy giggles a little. "If only we could talk back to them, right?" She imitates a "Ehh-rrow?" noise she heard a cat make once, a call she thinks might mean hello/is anyone there, but she doesn't think cats speak an actual language. Normal cats anyway.

    "It's okay, we're nice humans. Although I guess you have no way to know that..."

    Oh hey Erika's here. 'You can speak to cats too?' Amy turns and stares at Ikiko, then the cat, then Ikiko. "What? Really?"


    She looks up at Hinoiri, "Oh, it's not our cat. But it seems kinda small to be on its own, and there's no collar..."

Norie Okana has posed:
Veronica is really late getting home to the dorm today. When all you can feel is bad feelings, dread and worry are paramount, even over something as minor as she manages to consider finally is her probably stopping to get a few things. Yeah that's all. So she leaves a note on the mini fridge and she goes searching.

She's about to (She thinks, thankfully) about to leave the school and it's radiating goodness field when she spots a crowd around a cat and she stops and considers.

"What's... the big deal about a cat?" she asks Amy, finally. "Is something wrong with it? I dunno where to take it if it is. Sorry."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's in his school uniform, mostly, except that his jacket's draped lightly over his shoulders and his arm's in a complicated looking sling-brace. His glasses are smudged and he looks tired and subdued, and sort of-- gingerly clingy about the Usagi he's holding hands with.

"Ooh a crowd," he murmurs, starting to drift in that direction. "A crowd looking at something." Starting to drift but holding Usagi's hand, still.

They come up behind Amy, more or less, in time for plenty of meowing and also Ikiko, and Mamoru says, "Is the kitten hurt? Could take her to the cat cafe, the staff there..." he trails off, glancing at Ikiko again. "Do you want me to call Anko or do you have it covered?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
An Usagi is present too! Just one, today, and this one is a little clingy too, and tired. She's already texted Wako and confirmed that she'll be able to help her out later, and now... now she and Mamoru have been having the world's most exhausting day of school.

She'd hardly gotten any sleep last night, between sitting up at the hospital, talking to her parents, talking to Junichi's parents, talking to the police, waiting for Mamoru to be released by the hospital -

"It's either something really cute, or really not," she notes, and follows after him, still clinging to his good hand.

"Aw, it's cute, though - Ikiko-chan! Is this one of your Animal Care Club kitties?"

Poor thing certainly looks like it needs help.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica's ears lie flat backwards when Ikiko approaches her, staring with hesitation at the unknown girl, clumsily standing up before Ikiko speaks to hear in feline, if a broken one. Not taking another step, she looks at Ikiko with stupor, realising the latter must be a magical girl. Was that really a thing?

"I am ok now, just had to run", she meows, keeping the details at a minimum in front of the unknown girl. "Erika!" Veronica meows relieved, walking over to the pirate, tail standing slightly curved towards Erika, just when Hinoiri and Amy join the forming crowd.

Her attention turns towards the second redhead when she does that poor imitation of a cat's sound, which to Veronica's ears seems garbled and without a meaning. Was she trying to say hello? "I am not sure what that is", she tells Ikiko.

What Hinoiri says distracts her from asking to relay that to Amy, and the taller of the two redheads will hear an annoyed hiss in her direction. "I am nobody's cat!" she frowns.

With Norie, Usagi and Mamoru joining the group, Veronica starts taking a few steps back, her tail now low, giving a slow meow while her eyes glance towards each person here. She really wants to talk to one of her friends, but the big crowd of looming people is getting to her.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko glances at the gathering crowd. "My syntax is awkward, but the vocab's no problem," she shrugs, both in response to Erika & Mamoru's questions and in acknowledgement to those she's not as familiar with. The corners of her mouth do twitch upward at Amy's inadvertent 'tuna piano' 'remark', though.

Raising her voice a little to address the small crowd, she explains, "Definitely exhausted; haven't had a chance to check beyond that. Not our cat, and not an Animal Care Club cat. That said, she does recognize Erika-chan by name."

Glancing at the kitten, and then at the looming crowd, Ikiko makes slight shoo-ing motions with her hands towards the gathered humans. "Give her some space; all of you crowding this close are frightening her," she gently chides, then turns and softly offers a downcurled finger towards the kitten. "Ikiko Hisakata, my name is," she introduces herself. "Your name, may I know?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's eyes widen when the kitten starts turning to people and conversationally meowing back to them. That's... Concerningly like someone trying to talk that isn't used to being unable to. "Hey, are you..."

    She starts to ask, and then Ikiko says she recognizes the name 'Erika'.

    And translates responses to things they said in Japanese.

    "Are you... a human?"

    After asking that she reluctantly backs away, watching the kitten curiously.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yeah, we're spooking her - sorry Ikiko-chan, I'm gonna back up and let you do your thing now."

Maybe Usagi's just gotten to used to talking cats, but the fact that the kitten is communicating with Ikiko just doesn't even surprise her - at least, not until Amy asks if the cat is human.

That sparks enough concern - and confusion - that even as she backs up, still holding Mamoru's hand, she's asking -

"Who do we know that can turn into a cat?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru starts backing up immediately on seeing the kitten backing away; he looms over his fiancee, nevermind a little adolescent cat.

"Sorry," he says, "sorry." He doesn't back all the way away, only as far as Usagi does, and he frowns. "I don't know of anyone."

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    "Oh hey Mamoru, Usagi, Amy." Erika says ash she looks up from the cat, beaming brightly. "Not our cat nope." She says. "We found her here looking beat." She explains before...
    Erika blinks owlishly.
    "... She knows me by name?"
    That's baffling. But then the blonde shifts down from her squat to sit properly on the ground veeeeeeeery slowly as to not spook Veronicat.
    "Everyone here's cool. No one's gonna hurt you." She says very gently, still absolutely CLUELESS as to who the cat really is.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana has the same idea as Erika, she gets low to the ground, instead of backing away as her eyes cross-eye a little curiously. "A cat that knows a name. I mean. That might not be weird." she says. "I'm sure cats know names." she says.

She looks to Amy and crosseyes again. She doesn't voice it. But she thinks the following 'dumb, you're dumb'.

She then does the call of call cats across the world.

"Pspspspspspspsps." she goes, as she puts on the very gloves Veronica made from her, producing them from her pockets.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara couldn't help but get slightly... tense... when Norie approached. Well, last time they'd spoken, it... hadn't... gone well, to say the least. She did, however, give Usagi and Mamoru a small smile and nod. "Hey. I--"

And then the cat hisses at her. She blinks a few times. "Huh. That's... new. It... really doesn't seem to like me. I'm uhhhh... gonna... take the hint. I think you've all got this... handled?" she said, eying Ikiko. Could... could she talk to the kitty? She then gave Norie another glance before starting to inch away. "I need to get cleaned up, anyway. Later gater," she said before she started to walk off.

After actually saying, non-ironically... later gater.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica gets a bit more relaxed when people start stepping back, meowing thankfully to Ikiko for her intervention. She still keeps her distance generally, though. "Hi, Ikiko-san", she greets the animal care girl, realising that she has to rely on her if she wants to go anywhere. And her friendly demeanour certainly helps.

"You are the only one I didn't know here", she meows to Ikiko when her recognising Erika is brought up. "And Norie-chan is my roommate", she admits, a bit embarassed over starting to admit what has happened to her.

She stands straighter and finally gives Ikiko her name. "I am Veronica. There was a bit of an incident with a relic earlier, and Amy-chan is right, I am human."

Then Norie starts making the call of cats at her, and her ears immediately turn towards Veronica's roommate, something in that sound attracting her attention like a magnet, approaching Norie before stopping just in front of her roommate, her embarassment running rampant at the realisation.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko gives the crowd a thankful smile for backing off, then retracts her offered hand when the kitten keeps her distance. There's a nod of acknowledgement at being the only one unknown to the cat, then a moment of confused blinking at the mention of Norie being her roommate.

Followed by a massive wince at the mention of 'an incident with a relic'. "Oof, yeah, cursed relics can be a real pain," she agrees -- in Japanese.

Steeling herself for the probable hubbub, Ikiko gives Veronicat a small bow, saying, "Nice to meet you, Veronica," with a grim nod towards Norie -- yes, that Veronica.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Having been shooed, and not really being able to help, Mamoru shifts his weight. "Somebody text me if you want the cat cafe's help," he says, and he's clearly physically uncomfortable, and it is very likely whatever's put the healer's arm in a sling. And the arm in the sling, too. "Ja," he says.

He squeezes Usagi's hand, then starts walking toward the gates, not letting go of her hand unless she lets go first.

In that touch: come wiiiiith me. In that touch: we have a cuddle date let's get back to it. In that touch: it's okay if you stay though :)

Either way, though, with or without Usagi, he's off down the road.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
They've been shooed, and there's definitely something going on, and though Usagi is a little worried, she's also tired and needs to get purified later, and well -

She's fought with every single one of these girls, at least once. If they can handle a monster, they can handle a cat. She's confident in that.

"Tell me what's up, okay?"

This, as Mamoru lightly tugs her away, and she waves to them, vanishing just before she can hear that it's a cursed relic or Veronica who's in trouble.

...honestly it's for the best she doesn't see Fake Sailor Mars when they get to the edge of campus.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Norie is looking at her like she's dumb but Usagi, bless her, takes Amy seriously. "As far as I know, no one's been turned into a cat yet... I don't think Veronica can copy animals? But she could copy me when I was a doll, so... I don't remember what the limit was. But like, she could just turn back if it was her powers, anyway..." Amy notes, and then... the way the kitten so readily follows the pspsps and sits at Norie's feet makes her doubt her conclusion a bit. "Maybe... Maybe I do read too many stories..."

    Then she double-takes between Veronica(t?) and Ikiko! "Wait, really?! But... her.... it's a cursed relic? What happened?? Also why can you talk to cats??"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Much meowing happens. Erika is not privy to what is said until Ikiko translates.
    "BUH!??!"
    That's Veronica?!
    Erika goes as white as a sheet.
    "Avast, what the heck kinda thing turns someone into a cat?!"
    That's stunning.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie saw Hinoiri. She's pretending she doesn't exist because she's weak on campus now, and can't kill her on it anymore. So ignorance is bliss.

Wait what? "Veronica? I guess this is my cat then, because I dunno how to explain another cat in the dorm..." she says a little crosseyed as she looks down at Veronica.

"Okay. So a curse did this. Could be worse." Norie looks at herself. Much worse.

"I'm sure we can get you back to normal. Hopefully." but she doesn't use the word 'I promise' here. Promises are for wishes and fishes and she doesn't have a tail and swim in water.

"So where's the artifact?" she asks? pause. "Can...can I pet you?" she finally asks. Like this isn't a weird question to ask. "I'm wearing the gloves!"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Yes", Veronica agrees with a displeased meow, her tail swishing behind her. Even if it wasn't an incident in the traditional sense. "I don't really know what to do though. This is... not really pleasant. Disorientanting. Odd. Confusing", she breathes out in a long and quiet meow.

"The thing is... the relic was cursed especially for me", she looks at Amy even if she is still relying on Ikiko for interpreting. "The demons of my Ward saw an opportunity and took it", she meows next.

Where is the relic? Where indeed. Considering who took it, it could be anywhere in Tokyo now. Twice over. "They sapped a bit of my energy to create a fake Sunbreaker and a fake Sailor Mars. They each have half of the relic", she meows, her tail swishing behind her. She doesn't want to talk about her disguise power like this.

"I don't know where they went, but they are probably creating more disasters", she folds her ears back. She really wasn't cautious enough. If she had been, none of this would have happened.

Norie's request, and being claimed as her roommate's cat, makes Veronica stare wide-eyed. Ok, she does look like a cat, but she is still human! She can't just be a pet! "Well, I guess you can pet me", she concedes reluctantly with another series of meows. "Just I am not a pet, ok?"

As for her accomodation, staying with Norie make some amount of sense, if nothing else because it's the environment most familiar to her. But she still has to warn Mamoru and Usagi about the fake Sailor Mars. It would be horrible if they mistook it for the real one and the clone took advantage of that.

"Ok, just can we go to Mamoru's cat cafè tomorrow? It's really important I tell them this." At least, Anko is there to help.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    A purple haired school girl is walking by when she notices a group of people surrounding a cat. At first she spares it only barely a glance, but then she hears the phrase 'cursed relic' and suddenly gets intensely curious.

    A hand goes to her own Rime Rosary, and she frowns thoughtfully. Are these people like her in some way?

    She steps a bit closer and peeks between people, hand going to mouth as she coos, "Aww, so cute!"

    Yeah there's a new person here now, and while she's keeping a bit of distance, it's clear that she's probably not going to just back away.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I'm more fluent in Canine," Ikiko shrugs to Amy in a half-response, her attention more on Veronica, and going into full interpreter mode when Veronica starts directly addressing other people.

When Veronica finishes talking, Ikiko nods to her. "I'll also send Usagi a text, warning her about the fakes," she replies grimly, pulling out her cellphone, then gives Erika a wry grin. "Curses can do even more than what you're familiar with," the younger girl points out.

Then a new person shows up, and while Ikiko doesn't remember hearing her introducing herself, she does still recognize her. "Oh, hi!" she waves. "How's your succulent doing?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Avast, what the heck kinda thing turns someone into a cat?

    Amy rattles off, dryly, "Cursed spring, angered a witch, family curse -- twice, a shady magic mask salesman, any reality-warping villain that shows up for like one episode, mysterious tea, anything that swaps bodies, finding out you're a lycanthrope or being bitten by one, ritual you weren't told all the details of ahead of time... I'd generally be wary of any cursed cat accoutrements like collars or bells, magic potion or anything it could be in is a free space, as is like angered a god or something I guess, or a vengeful cat spirit -- possibly tricked into being angry at the wrong target..."

    She watches and listens intently as Veronica meows to her, and then looks to Ikiko for a translation. Then back to Veronica. "So... if we get the relic back, can we change you back?"

    Something else that comes up: "So, I know this sounds bad," Amy grimaces awkwardly, "We might need to get you a collar--" she holds out a hand in a 'woah' gesture, "--we all know you're not a pet! but... You might want a collar so that people who don't know don't think you're a stray and take you in." She grimaces awkwardly. "Or send you to the animal shelter."

    "...The cat café is probably a pretty good bet. They can probably handle another, uh, cat, you have a large space meant to be inhabited and traversed by cats," she grimaces awkwardly again, "there's a ready supply of food, water, and basic needs without constant human intervention, and no one should be trying to take you home. Plus Luna and Anko might be able to translate for you?"

    Beat. "...Do you still have your phone? I think your paw pads or nose should work for using it... Although I've heard cat vision isn't good that up close, so maybe something with a keyboard would be more practical." Amy taps her chin, "Do you have dichromatic vision like a cat or trichromatic vision like a human?" She gets down on all fours and lowers down to Veronica's level. "What's it like? Can you smell super good now? Can you see in the dark?"

    And then Amy hears a new voice and briefly looks at Laisa like someone who's been caught doing something embarassing, and then rolls with it when Laisa calls Veronica cute, smiling, "She is, isn't she?"

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana looks around and goes. "WHELP I'm petting Veronicakitty now." she says. And then she starts petting Veronica, starting from head to the back and up the tail~ It's how she always pets cats. At least the gloves prevent an energy drain.

"I have to take care Emery while you're a cat. I will. But I don't think they like me too much." she says. "Maybe you can speak to them, for me?" she asks.

"Maybe we can smooth things out!"

"Maybe the cat cafe WOULD be better. And Amy has a good idea, if only for your safety." she offers.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    The succulent?! Laisa suddenly gets a bit nervous. It had been so long that she had forgotten all about that.

    "Eheh... honestly, I think I lost track of it when that teacher suddenly got all bossy. I'm surprised you remembered all of that."

    She doesn't ask what happened to that teacher, because well... she already knows. "I actually forgot all about it until you said something."

    She glances around at the various people, especially Amy, and considers for a moment whether to out herself and decides that, well... People are going to realize that she didn't get Veiled by this later.

    The cat's out of the bag, or at least will be soon.

    Laisa pulls out her Rime Rosary, a silver pendant that looks like it has a bit of frost gathering on it. "Relax. I have a couple of curses of my own to deal with." The Rosary is placed back in its hiding place soon after. Laisa glances at the poor cat who is apparently a person, crosses her arms and asks, "Any idea where this cursed relic went? Or how we can track it down?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
A slow blink, and Veronica looks up at Laisa, bracing herself for the obvious reaction at someone seeing her. Which comes soon after, that declaration of cuteness like she is just a kitten. She does look the part, yes, but still. At least others are here to explain now. And the size of the crowd isn't the same as before.

"There are things I must tell her myself", Veronica remarks to Ikiko, thinking that she is responsible for this since Usagi allowed her to use the disguise. And if that fake Mars runs into the Black Moon Clan... Let's hope not. "Call you tell her to tell her to follow the dark energy, please?", Veronica meows at Ikiko, tilting her head towards Laisa.

A not follows at Amy's first question, and then there is a displeased stare at the proposal. Yet, when the redhead explains more of her reasoning, Veronica cannot deny she is right. Especially the thought of ending up ending up at an animal shelter, that's enough to make her fur stand straight. "Well, fair, just doesn't put weird names on it."

Her phone... "It is probably whenever things end up when you transform", she meows to Amy. Even if she is not sure her suggested method would have worked even if Veronica still had it. Especially with the issues Amy herself explains.

Startled, the blue cat jumps back a bit when Amy kneels down on her level. Seeing her huge face up close is actually disconcerting in some way. "I don't know what's the dark is like yet." She will find out soon though. "But you are right, my sight is... a lot more grey now. Or muted. And the smells are much stronger." She is really not sure that last thing is good.

At least, she is glad that this time she is being understood directly. All this back and forth, as necessary as it is, is stressing her current situation more and more. And she does stare at Amy when the redhead agrees with Laisa. Please don't encourage people.

"Thank you", she meows to Norie, before considering her issue with Emery. Was it really that bad? "Yes, I can put in a good meow for you", Veronica agrees, actually curious herself about what talking to her own cat will be like. Hopefully, she has a good opinion of her.

Waiting with a bit of nervousism for when Norie will start petting her, Veronica instinctively closes her eyes. The touch of Norie's hand is actually soft, but well, she has done that many times before. The cursed cat is a bit tense at first, but the more the vampire does it, the more she finds herself relaxing under the soothing reaction, and it's not long afterwards that her body vibrates with purrs.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko nods to Veronica. "I let Usagi know about the fakes, and that there'll be more info shared at the cat cafe tomorrow," she notes, then looks over to Laisa. "There's a dark energy trail nearby; could you follow it, please?" she relays.

The messages to Amy and Norie are relayed in a more interpeter style, and Ikiko stifles a small smile in deference to Veronica's dignity when the small cat starts purring cutely.

With the pause in the conversation, Ikiko glances over to Amy. "Minor bloodline curse plus a sorta-juryrigged magic item can also result in animal-ish transformations," the younger girl remarks with a cryptic matter-of-factness.

Norie Okana has posed:
Pet pet pet, Norie pets as she gets purrs. She wishes she could smile. She can't, but she still pets. It's calming to pet a cat and most animals hate her because they can sense her nature.

"Good Veronikitty." she says. She then stands up and looks down at Veronica. "I..have no idea what she's saying." she says. "All I hear is mewling." she says. "Sorry Veronica." she offers.

"W..-want some tuna?" she offers. Cats f***ing love tuna. Right?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy does drop the 'aww what a cute kitty' act after Laisa reveals she heard what's going on and is magic. She nods at Ikiko's translations, and at her explanation of how she can talk to animals. See? Family curse was one of the items on the list she just rattled off!

    She can't help but smile at Veronica purring, though she still looks concerned. "See? You can... you'll make it through this. Getting used to a different body is... manageable." She moves from all fours to sitting on the ground and "AGH COLD!" cries out at thin leggings providing too little insulation from the cold ground -- she lifts herself up with one hand to sweep her uniform skirt under her with the other.

    She gives an awkward grin and then looks at Veronica with that concerned smile again, holding out a hand with fingers half-extended. "Um... Want scritches? ...And I'll point out that humans eat tuna too, I love fish, so... having some doesn't count as... like... it's not just a cat thing."

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Laisa crosses her arms and looks down at the cat. She has a way of dealing with cats, of not necessarily approaching too quickly while still showing interest. When this little one gets visibly uncomfortable (in the way that cats tend to express that) she holds up a hand and says, "Ah, don't worry. I've no intention of infringing on your dignity."

    Her mannerisms are a bit cold, as they always are, and she is keeping her distance at least. Watching the cat get pets from her roommate is still cute, however. Sweet, in a way.

    Amy's reaction to the chilly ground gets an eyebrow raise from Laisa. "It's not that cold, is it?"

    Yeah, actually it is that cold. Laisa's just one of those people who never seems affected by cold weather.

    Track the dark energy... Well, there are ways that Laisa can do that, she supposes. "A trail? Let me see if I can pick it up..." She glances around for a moment and considers. "... ah, even though I just told you, I probably shouldn't use my power right here. So before I go..."

    Laisa takes out a notepad, scribbles down her number, tears the page and hands it to Ikiko. "Animal Care Club, right? I'll swing by if I find anything." She then glances at the others for a moment before turning towards the nearest building and ducking in for a moment.

    A bit later, completely unrelated, Snow Angel Mou Fubuki walks out of that same building, holding a snowglobe in her hands. She's using it as a hot/cold device to track the dark energy trail.

    The closer one looks, the more obvious it would become that the snowglobe is somehow magical. The snow seems to glow in the presence of darkness, and the globe itself is made out of incredibly clear ice instead of glass. She passes by the group and gives them a wave, which is weird because she totally hasn't said anything to them yet, before heading further out.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica stifles a small hiss of embarassment when she finds herself purring, not that's especially hard, since it seems like her mouth got her own will, and she keeps purring for as long as Norie pets her.

"Fur helps surprisingly well", Veronica considers when the subject turns towards the cold of their environment. She really doesn't feel as much cold as she would have presumed hers. She can get used somehow.

Though she can't apparently escape Veronikitty. It could have been worse. She feels a bit weird about Norie apologising for something she has no control over, and tries to say otherwise... by meowing some more.

Realising the pointlessness of her actions, she growls slightly in annoyance, and tries solving the issue by putting a paw on Norie's shoe. Better than nothing, right?She shakes her head at the offer for tuna, adding some mewls at Amy's consideration. "I love fish, just not tuna." At least they asked before assuming. "Go ahead if you want", she adds to the redhead. They have already gone this far, and as much as she would like to, she can't deny Norie's pets felt pleasant.

"Thank you, Ikiko, I really appreciate you being here", Veronica meows a few time at the dog girl, once the petting session is over. "I would have probably ended up with a dumb name somewhere otherwise", she looks gratefully towards Ikiko. Not to say of every other problem.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko glances at the number, then tucks it into a pocket with a nod. When Mou Fubuki walks by and waves, Ikiko waves back with an acknowledging grin -- the day with the succulents made for an excellent point of reference, especially with the tidbits Laisa had just shared.

More translating is done, although the paw on the shoe needs no actual words. The mention of fish brings to mind a thought of Amy and Norie feeding sushi to Veronicat, which does result in a small giggle that Ikiko has to stifle to keep up with the translating.

The younger girl smiles warmly at Veronica's thanks. "Glad I could help with translations! And I'll do what I can to help recover the relic fragments."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Once permission is translated, Amy smiles, scritching at Veronicat's cheek and chin while Norie pets. "It probably feels nice for the same reason, like, a scalp massage would. Hair or fur covering everywhere all the time, it doesn't get, a touch, right? ...Although I guess there may also be a cat instinct to rub your cheek on things to mark them with your scent."

    She continues, calmly relating thoughts, "Don't feel bad about purring, or meowing. You're... in a different body, and some stuff comes with that. I'm not going to say the mind is completely seperate from the body; Soul gem or no, I do my thinking with this young brain soaked in teenage hormones that are all too keen to remind me of that. But it is certainly not the body's plaything."

    She pulls her phone out of her bag, sets it on selfie mode, and holds it up in front of Veronica so she can see herself.

    "Despite everything, it's still you."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana blinks as her shoe gets a feline paw and she hehs a moment in a strange way. Like she tried to laugh but couldn't. Ugh. She looks up at the snow maiden passing and waves as she looks back with a blink. "Who was that?" she asks.

She hehs. "Not a fan of tuna? Salmon? Sardines? I'll buy cans of sardines. It'll be great. Maybe some sushi..." she considers and thinks. "eel?" she says. "Oh I'll buy some eel!" she says as she claps and looks back. "You know where the dorm is, Veronikitty. Come meow and scratch. I'll hear it and let you in and I'll feed you all sorts of delicious fish~" she says as she does that strange heh again, before she looks sulky.

"Ugh." she goes. "Look, just. Come. Soon. I'm not gonna pick you up. Unless you wanna follow me back..." she says.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
It probably says a lot that the part of her that feels the embarassment is somewhat silenced by the scritches and pets. Amy is right about it feeling kind of equivalent to a massage. If she thinks of it that way, then she feels a lot better about it.

Veronica looks taken aback slightly when Amy shows the kitten her look for the first time. There really wasn't any time for such things earlier, and she doubts the clones would have stopped to give her the time to adapt to the whiplash from the sudden changes.

She looks a lot like Emery. Those demons must have a really weird sense of humour to do this. At least they didn't actually swap them (that would have been disastrous!), and she can see enough differences that the others would be able to tell them apart. The eyes, for one.

She is quite hungry from all the running she had to do earlier though. Norie's proposal is extremely enticing. She can go to Mamoru's place when she has taken care of this and putting a good word for Norie with Emery. Meowing one last time in thanks to the rest of the group, Veronica walks next to her on the way to the dorms.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy watches Veronica with interest as she's confronted with the mirror. This is a rare experience to observe! "It's so weird, right?" She can't help grinning. "Like you look at it and your brain goes 'there's a cat over there' and then like a split second later it clicks and it's your reflection. ...Maybe longer, with a change that severe."

    She hopes that describing such experiences, letting Veronica know they are common -- or at least shared -- will make her feel less isolated or alienated from the others.

    She looks at Norie turning to leave, and then solemnly back to Veronica; the girl stuck with a body made of negative energy is right there and it feels rude to potentially downplay this. "...Perhaps I shouldn't undersell it: The mind might be more affected by the body than I'd like to admit... so, try not to panic if you get a little cat-y. There's also what navigating and seeing the world the way you're going to for the next while, and facing the problems of it, will do to you... but it's still not going to change everything about you, and... anything that does change, should change back when you're human again, right?"

    She smiles, and reaches over to pet Veronica a couple of times, from the top of her head to her tail, sliding all the way to the end of the tail the second time.

    As Veronica pads off, Amy calls after, "Stay safe. Don't leave your friends' sight until we can take more precautions. And you can come to me any time, or call me once we establish a way for you to do that. Stay safe, Veronica!" She waves.