2501/Whose Dog Is That Anyways

Whose Dog Is That Anyways
Date of Scene:	02 May 2025
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	After several mahoujin lure a squad of Droids into an ambush, Zoisite tries to salvage and study one. Meanwhile, Nephrite found a puppy! (Post-combat social scene)
Cast of Characters:	Chibiusa Tsukino, Minako Aino, Amanda Faust, Zoisite, Catra, Makoto Kino, Laura La Mer, Nephrite
Tinyplot:	Black Moon Clan
Tinyplot2:	BMC: Dimension Future

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Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Another day in the ruins of Crystal Tokyo. The land is barren and dry. The buildings are a wreck. This is all old news.

    What's maybe a bit more exciting is the fact that a very small person with a certain pink twin odango hairstyle is running desperately through the streets, pursued by a flock of Droids. She's surprisingly fast on her legs for a little girl, staying just fast enough to stay out of the reach of the robotic youma, and just nimble enough to barely avoid getting shot by the one Droid who brought the darkness cannon.

    Finally she rounds a corner and runs into a dead end. The Droid squad covers the one exit out, eyes glowing red as they close in on the small child.

    The tiny pink one turns around, showing it's face to all of them. She's wearing Luna-P's smile.

    It's a decoy.

    Watching from the sky above, Masquerade Lapine calls out telepathically, << They fell for it! Get 'em! >>

    Luminous Titan announces, < Moonlight Message > as Chibiusa swooshes her cape, launching her finisher at the squad of 12 Droids that have all gathered together in one convenient, tight space.

Minako Aino has posed:
It was risky trying to trap some of the Droids instead of waiting to be chased and attacked. Tricky, but also something that needed to be done here and there so that they could lead away the larger group safely.

It was a tactic that Sailor Venus at least approved of! It was nice to be on the offensive for once even if she was just playing 'back up' to Masquerade Lapine. It was her task to make sure that none of them escaped the dead end to tell the others. Here's to hoping they didn't have wifi!

Holy Sword drawn and out she steps into the alleyway behind the lot with a grin. "Get 'em, Lapine!" she cheers on (quietly, over the comm)

Amanda Faust has posed:
    There's an explosion nearby, but not in the alleyway... and then Puella Magi Rocket Girl Red sails over the alley in a graceful backflip, the launcher she just rocketjumped with changing into two pistols firing high-caliber homing bullets at the droids below (she doesn't want to blow up Luna-P!)

    << Yeah! >>

    After she lands on a nearby rooftop, she muses, << Is it too much to hope for that they didn't tell all the others the catball thing can do that? ...Maybe it'll keep working anyway, the Black Moon Clan really want Small Lady, after all... >>

Zoisite has posed:
Flurry of petals, unannounced and without much show for it besides Zoisite teleporting in at Small Lady's call. Every petal aiming and mercilessly exploding on impact at the Droids.

<< Might I request one droid to be not destroyed? I would like to study it after this battle. Incapacitate one, at the very least. >>

Catra has posed:
Catra was not, herself, directly involved in this particular fight. The obligate carnivore has to eat, afterall, and she's busy munching on one of Rashmi's noodle cups with as much chicken as could be packed into it. (If only she'd known ahead of time that she needed to bring food, maybe she would have, but hindsight is still only 20/20 even for cats.)

Still, she's nearby, with Powersend hanging off her belt in its scabbard, and her tuxedo shifted to black with red and orange highlights, and brass cufflinks and whatnot. Might as well look the part of a Fire Nation priNOPE WE ARE NOT GOING THERE ARE WE RIGHT CORRECT WE ARE NOT.

At the explosion, her ears perk up and she focuses her attention on that direction -- just in case Chibiusa needs saving. But it's generally apparent that right now, she does not, so she just keeps munching on her noodles and chicken instead.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Venus has her way - watching over Chibiusa, playing rear guard. Letting Masquerade Lapine have the learning experience.

At least one of her fellow senshi takes a different tactic.

There's no warning rumble of thunder this time. Just a whoosh of air, scented faintly of spring, as Sailor Jupiter drops from above like a bolt from on high. Fists trailing electricity, she hits the middle of the cluster of droids like a meteor, sending parts in all directions.

As she straightens up from the impact, her mental 'voice' calls back in a slightly aggrieved tone. << Say that sooner next time! >> The fist she was already rearing back uncurls, sparks crackling between her fingers as she drives a flat-palm strike into the nearest mostly-intact chassis. Maybe it'll be not destroyed enough.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Hovering above that same sky next to Masquerade Lapine, the pink-blue-haired mermaid has donned her winter form to literally hang around in the air while Luna-P acts as bait for the crowd of Droids. "I like that trick", Cure La Mer tells the pink thief, smiling with bright confidence, illuminated by the rainbow radiance of the heart outline on her back.

"Time to get into the action!", the Pretty Cure exclaims loudly, raising the hand with her various rings, and calling on the power of the Marine Heart. "A Tropical gift from Grand Ocean! Marine Heart Swirl Ring! Charm Up! Five powers, roar through the seas!", she exclaims, swallowed up by a pink sphere that changes her into her Excellent Tropical Style.

"Pretty Cure Marine Beat Dynamic!" Next up she jumps into the whale that appears, and the droids will have the biolumiscent cetacean crash down on top of them with a squee, adding its purifying power to the attack.

Nephrite has posed:
It's a very clever trap, drawing those droids into a tight spot, and it's an effective strategy. But it isn't where Nephrite's focus is. The Princess' movements are well shadowed for the moment, and he's satisfied with her safety.

He is, to some effect, bowling. Crass is it may be to reduce it such, he has become used to battle with these droids and he has started to make a game of taking them apart. So, too, he charges into a group now that are otherwise hunting something else-- Star Buckler before him and sword to the hind, and propelling himself along a gale.

Glittering sheild, half darkness and half starlight, bludgeons the metal and eerie humanoid shapings without hestitation or mercy. Sword cut whatever does not break, its edge honed by the ancient magics of the Golden Kingdom, and his leg pins half a torso down to stab false-head. He's hardly even thinking, anymore, it is automatic.

There's a flash of something in the rubble just beyond them, and Nephrite's first instinct is to lash out at this, too. But he halts mid stride-- mid strike, in fact. For a moment he thinks it is hair, and his chest tightens.

No. It's fur. Just fur. He drops his stance.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    The droids get taken out, between magic blasts, bullets, exploding petals and so on. Zoisite requested that one of them not be destroyed, and Masquerade Lapine cancels her Moonlight Message attack, but that's not really enough to save the youma from what Sailor Jupiter and Cure La Mer's attacks do to them.

    There is no safe distance.

    << Luna-P, become a net! >> she commands, and the Small Decoy launches herself at the one Droid most likely to still be intact and explodes into a pink puffy cloud, from which a rope net flies out and wraps around the still moving youma.

    Its broken, and its darkness cannon has been shattered. Its eyes are twitching back and forth in an unnatural way, thanks to the crack in its head. It's vicious, and probably transmitting something to... whatever home base or hub these things have. Still a potential threat.

    Lapine commands her device, "Luminous Titan, scan for it's power source. Load one barret."

    < Loaded >

    "Fire!"

    With one last shot, the Droid is disabled, its chest cored out as a waft of dark energy rises up. It lays still, basically a wreck despite last efforts to salvage as much as they could. Then she looks to Zoisite and transmits, << Sorry. Best I could do on short notice. Maybe next time we can try capturing a live one? We'd want to isolate it from any signals it could send. >> Hopefully the offer will make him feel better. The more complete he wants the Droid, the more planning that will take.

    Nephrite faces a similar amount of resistance. These common Droids aren't the real problem. Not for them, and not at these small numbers.

    << I'm not detecting any more nearby, but I bet they'll notice these ones missing. I think we should lay low for now. >>

    As she says this, Masquerade Lapine lowers herself down to the street level. As her feet touch the ground, the Luna-P net turns back into catball form and bounces to her side.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    A droid is captured, still moving. << Can Luna-P become a net made of wire or cable instead of rope? A metal net would make a faraday cage they shouldn't be able to transmit out of. >> Amy points out, too late. << ...Or you could do that. >>

    She walks up to the edge of a rooftop overlooking the alley and looks down at Lapine. << Chibiusa let you control her catball thing? You must be pretty close... well, I guess of course you are, or you wouldn't've come... >> Wait, Amy doesn't remember any kids on the roof when they departed... Maybe she got sucked in like Pluto did?

    Amy smiles, << I'm glad she has a friend in class too. >>

Zoisite has posed:
There was a snap back at the edge of his tongue for Jupiter, but he held it back for now. No use in arguing with a brute who was mid charge anyway--like most of the bulls in this group. Regardless, a small light of hope shined through as the Small Lady was kind enough to hear his plea.

Blinking with surprise at the effort taken, even the youngling's explanation of it being all she could do at short notice tickled him with such regal sincerity. He couldn't help but give her a genuine little smile, reaching his green eyes with a twinkle.

<< If you did your best, then that's all I could ask for, Small Lady. Thank you for your meticulous kindness. >> Bowing his head before jumping down to street level to inspect the disengaged droid. He would need to be quick in pulling it apart and salvage any parts that would be useful for him to look into.

Especially the schematics of the transmissions and the careful work of their original maker.

<< I'll be a few minutes. >>

Catra has posed:
The battle seems to be finished, which means that Catra isn't going to need to rush in to grab Chibiusa and escape with her today. Which is just as well, because she doesn't have her motorcycle and running off on foot would be somewhat slower. Not that she wouldn't do it mind you, it's just that grabbing someone and rushing them to safety on a motorcycle is by nature way cooler.

So instead, she just takes a seat on a piece of rubble, and goes about enjoying what remains of her meal at a more tranquil speed. Enjoy might be doing a lot of heavy lifting here, mind you, what with instant noodles and dry chicken, but whatever it's food and it's still considerably better than the Gray Kind.

<< Hey. Zoisite. If you want one of those droids intact enough to study, talk to me about it next time, okay? The Horde used a ridiculous number of droids. I don't build them but I'm very familiar with fighting them. >>

The feline chopsticks a few more morsels into her mouth, and then -- after realizing she can actually think telepathic thoughts at people while eating without chewing with her mouth open being an issue -- adds << Hey, Amy, I've been thinking. Remember those grenades you gave me in the dream, when we were saving Hinoiri? Think you could do that here? >>

Makoto Kino has posed:
As the dust begins to settle, Sailor Jupiter looks around her and sighs. Absently, she flexes her hand open, closed, and open again. It always takes a bit for the lingering charge to bleed all the way off.

<< We can move it if we need to, >> she points out. << It'd give you more time to work, without needing to worry about the commotion attracting any more attention. >> For now, though, she keeps herself out of the way, backtracking along the Luna-P decoy's path to stand lookout.

Minako Aino has posed:
With the onslaught from Jupiter, there's little Venus needs to do really. She takes up a spot just watching the damage from both Lapine, Jupiter, and Cure La Mer quietly. Even the netting of the droid is met with a nod.

<< I think Tuxedo Mask wanted us to capture one as well at some point. We can try with the next batch, too. And if we need another lure I can do it in case they catch on to the Luna ball. >>

What? She did LOTS of disguises in the past!

<< Just don't fry me if I do okay? >>

Nephrite has posed:
When Nephrite returns from the narrow street across the way, approaching the main group again, his sword and his shield have been dismissed. Instead, there is something small and brown tucked up in his arm, and somewhat wrapped in his cape.

Alert, alive, though a little roughed up, it would appear he has located what the few droids were distracted by. A small, brown dog. Some sort of descendant of the poodle variety, perhaps, curly haired.

With a hand still settled on its head, his voice muses along the comms. << I'd say odds are good that a few survivors moved through here, recently. With any luck, they made it through. >>

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    As it's pointed out that Luna-P could've become a faraday cage, Masquerade Lapine has to actually ask Luminous Titan what that even is. With a frown she admits, << They don't teach that in kindergarten! >>

    Has she just not studied at all in 900 years? Maybe that's the reason she didn't want to grow up...

    As for the subject of Luna-P, she just kinda stares. She doesn't want to lie to Amy about it, but also she doesn't want to explain it either. Then again, someone did just call her Small Lady over telepathy.

    Zoisite gets a thin, apologetic smile. << Good luck! >>

    Venus offers herself as a distraction, and Lapine crosses her arms and considers. << I mean, that's something you're good at too, right? Maybe if you wrap one up in your chains while we blow up the rest... >>

    Nephrite gets a nod. Small Lady hasn't met the survivors yet, but she was glad to hear that there were some. << Hopefully the way will be a little bit safer for now. >>

Zoisite has posed:
Fingers long and delicate, even when gloved. Despite the brutality that these Droids could unleash, their insides were nothing but wires, boards, fragments of a ghost in the machine in which he definitely wanted to preserve. If anything, the inside of the head and spinal core. It was almost surgical and obscene, thankfully with nothing that imitated flesh.

Once done, his focus returned to the conversations.

<< I might take you up on that offer, Catra. If you're able to subdue one when we have some free time, or two if Tuxedo Kamen is also needing one. It could be a sport by this point with how many were made. >>

As for Jupiter, << Don't worry your little head over it, I should have clarified it would only take me a single minute to get what I required from a 75% intact dead one. Next time, I'll do my best to warn everyone. >> For now, he would place the head and spinal core into a bag he's found recently in a destroyed market area. He knew it'd be useful eventually.

Finally joining the rest of the group, he caught sight of brown fur and for a single moment he felt the roots of his hair want to jump out of his skin. "That better not be a rat--!" Yet he quickly realized it was definitely not that at all.

It was a "Oh good Gods, how did that survive out here on it's own?" Sped up his pace to look at it now.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"VICTORY!"

The battle is over, and with the droids either destroyed, purified or captured, Laura lets the whale fade away, and leaps down to the ground in her current form. Popping out of the Aqua Pot in her hair, Kururun, dives against Laura's cheek, squealing happily. "Thank you, Kururun", the mermaid smiles, petting the seal and gives a wave to the other fighters.

"Here, have this", she gives the fairy a few of her favourite cookies, and takes her in her embrace while the pink seal nibbles on them. The Pretty Cure gives a look to the crystal palace in the distance. Still a bit of a way left before they find Chibiusa's mom and dad.

Diving briefly into the Aqua Pot, she comes out of it with with a few wrapped lemon cakes, and she opens one for herself, before glancing at the others. "Anyone want some?"

"What are you hoping to find?", La Mer asks Lapine and Zoisite with a vaguely disinterested expression. Machines aren't her forte, and she isn't sure she would make it blow up if she started tinkering with it. << If the worry is about getting fried, Venus could jump into the whale with me next time I call on it, that way, the risk would be none >>, she suggests.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter makes a distinctly unimpressed face at being told not to worry her 'little head.' << Sorry, >> she replies, not sounding especially sorry. << 'Keep them in one piece' is the opposite of my job, usually. >>

If she's a little - just a little bit - tempted to ground the last bit of static charge into Zoisite, it's for the best that Nephrite's arrival and his small burden provides a thorough distraction. "The poor thing!" She starts that way as well, checking herself at the last moment so as not to crowd around what is probably a rather stressed and frightened animal. "You think it was with other survivors until recently? The poor baby is probably starving..."

Minako Aino has posed:
<< Of course! I am Sailor Moon's body double after all! >> Venus assures Lapine proudly... Before getting distracted by Cure La Mer's suggestion of how to avoid being injured. << While that would probably work, >> she begins hesitantly as she glances toward the lemon cake holding PreCure. << I'm not sure how I feel about jumping into the mouth of a living thing. >>

The golden senshi stands there a moment allowing her mind to run through all the ways that could be very, very unusual, before shivering. It reminded her a bit of that old movie with the sand monster that people got fed to.

Zoisite's sudden shift in attention snaps hers toawrd Nephrite and the little bundle of fur he was currently holding. Momentarily her eyes widen as she steps forward to join them. More importantly she abruptly swings her sword out to *point* at the dog bundled in Nephrite's cape.

"Wan-Wan! I destroyed you once and I will again!" A pause, and she narrows her eyes squinting suspiciously. Boy was she going to look *really* stupid if that wasn't the youma Wan-Wan she'd fought years ago. But. It really DID look kind of like it.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    They don't teach that in kindergarten! << ...Y-yeah, that's why I was telling you, >> Amy didn't think of it as common knowledge, but she didn't think about how Masquerade Lapine only has a kindergartener's knowledge either, and that might be important to remember later. << Even I didn't know that at your age... >>

    She does wonder, briefly, if Chibi-usa spent any of her centuries picking up knowledge... she must've, right? Maybe not in a dedicated study way, not like Sailor Pluto learning to be a doctor and chef, but the same way Amanda has scattered bits of knowledge even in areas like medicine or zoology, just from picking bits of information up for so long.

    How much does everyone in Crystal Tokyo know just from centuries of living? she wonders to herself.

    Venus suggests being a disguise. Amy remembers Usagi mentioning the disguise compact, so that's not a surprise. << As like, a random civilian? Or can it even make you small like Chibiusa? >>

    "Aww man, lemon cakes? Sure!" She hops off the building and approaches La Mer, and there's Catra too, asking for grenades.

    "Shurf!" she replies around a bite of lemon cake, and conjures a couple of bandoliers of grenades, like she did in the dream, and holds them out to Catra in one hand while while the other holds the rest of the cake. 9 incendiary, 1 each frag, high explosive, smoke. "I can adjust the loadout or give specific kinds if you got ideas, of course."

    And then there's a dog. "Ohmygosh... poor thing... Is it okay? I guess we have healers..." She tries to remember which foods are good to give to doigs.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa finally notices that Neph has a puppy. Oh, it's a cute puppy! She doesn't want to crowd it though, and Venus seems to be eying it suspiciously. Instead, she walks over to Cure La Mer and holds out her hands for a lemon cake. "I'll take one, please!" she asks, politely.

    She may be rude to Usagi, but it's not like she's never learned manners. She just actively chooses not to use them around one specific individual.

    If cake is given, then cake is munched. Small Phantom Thief does not comment on most of the various conversations happening around her right now, but she does observe, and Luna-P hovers at her side with its unchanging smile.

Zoisite has posed:
"Vee! Gods, don't joke about with your sword. The beastie already seen enough death to follow it into the afterlife." He flicks the point of it away from himself and the others as a cautionary move, but his tone carried some good nature to it when it came to the Goddess of Love.

"Anyway, let's hope its owners are indeed alive. I personally find it hard to believe anyone would leave behind their beloved pet, even if it's life or death. But, accidents do happen." He hums, a finger pressing against his chin in thought.

"We will definitely need food for it, to keep it alive. Will you be carrying that, or will you need a leash, Nephrite?" Zoisite questions.

Catra has posed:
Catra stabs the remnants of her chicken and noodles with her chopsticks and holds the cup with one hand while accepting the bandoleers from Amy with the other, and draping both of them over the same shoulder. She gives them both a couple of tugs, making sure they sit right before taking the chopsticks up once again.

"These'll do just fine," she replies, mostly suppressing a grin (but only mostly). "Thanks. Next fight'll be way better." She pauses, and sucks in a breath for a deep sigh, "Of course, if I ever get the Spirit Ember figured out I'll let you know and then you can skip incendiaries after that. Should be good at burning stuff on my own by then."

<< Yeah I'm going to second not wanting to jump in something's mouth, unless I'm gonna stab Powersend right up into its brain, >> the feline contrigutes to the conversation. << Hey wait a minute, is that cake? Who brought cake? Did I miss something? >>

Catra inclines her head and sniffs, ears focused as she seeks to divine the source of the dessert.

<< I've... never had cake before. >>

Nephrite has posed:
A nod is given to Jupiter. "I'd assume it must've been travelling with people up until not long ago." Nephrite glances down at the dog for a moment-- shaken and browned eyed thing that it is. "Other than a few scrapes, it's in surprisingly good condition. Given the circumstances..."

It's an optimistic assumption, but given there was tinned food around to be found, he thought there was sense to having a companion with sharp senses. Especially if the pet had been with his family. Care, in these times, to share scarce food with a dog was a sign of hope, and perhaps time hidden.

He does send a quelling look towards Venus, however. He looks like he may be about to say something mean-spirited, but he stops himself to sigh. "...I don't even want to know." Sapphire eyes turn to Zoisite next. "You always say the quiet part loud, don't you?" He squints at him, "I'll carry the dog. You... do whatever with your pet robot."

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus sucks in a quick breath when Zoisite yells at her, teasing as it may be. The dog wasn't doing anything after all. It certainly wasn't responding to being called Wan-Wan, and knowing what she did about her enemy in the past it would have reacted at least. The sword is pushed aside easily only for her to allow it to swing back to her side where she dispells it back into it's pocket dimension for storage.

Red faced, she instead crosses her arms over her chest indignantly. "Just making sure. I fought a lot of creatures as Sailor V. Besides..." She does pause considering the puppy a moment still serious.

"Everything else alive is kind of wiped out. Was it in hiding with it's owner maybe?" Or was this some new, insipid kind of droid perhaps? Or... or just a puppy.

Venus sighs in defeat. "I have some granola bars. So long as there's no chocolate or raisins I think it's safe for dogs." Her attention shifts away to unzip the hip-bag she'd brought with her into the future to withdraw one of the precious bars to offer out.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"V-chan..." Hands lifting a little as though in a request for caution, Jupiter sidles her way in between Nephrite and the dog, and Venus and her sword, even as Zoisite is much more casually flicking the point of the weapon away. "I'm pretty sure it's just a dog..."

Man, but Minako handled some weird stuff as Sailor V. Even by mahou standards. At least she's put the sword away.

"In any case, we should get her - him?--" she glances back over her shoulder questioningly; "some water, too. Should I run back and get some? I could see if there was some jerky in the snacks we foraged from the dispenser."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods to Catra, "I mean, I think fire's pretty good against the droids, honestly. They're not immune to it, so it can be used to make an area hazardoes to cross, or just to set them on fire... Smoke seems like it should work on the gunners... unless they do share targeting information and every other droid can spot for them..." She remembers she doesn't need to talk out loud. Which makes it easier to enjoy the cake, anyway. << I guess we'll find out soon enough. >>

    Speaking of eating cake: << Really? Never? ...We have got to throw you like, some kind of party when we get back. Or maybe they'll have cake at the palace here, too. ...Should I ask what life was like before you came here, or...? >> She can guess Catra maybe doesn't wanna talk about it.

    << Once when I was a bit younger than Lapine I ate a dog biscuit. I guess they're kinda like a hard granola bar but flavored like meat and cardboard. ...If Lapine doesn't have any water in storage I can give it some from my water bottle, but I don't have a bowl... >>

Zoisite has posed:
As the two Sailors chattered, Zoisite gave Nephrite a little huff and a small one shoulder shrugs. "No point in keeping the possible reality inside." No one else seemed to notice as well, and he doubted very much no one else thought similarly. The world was dying and they needed to have some realism in the matter.

Although part of him had a small twinkle of sadism in the back of some of his comments. It was just how he was. At least he wasn't smirking about it. Believe it or not, he felt some sympathy for the poor creature in Nephrite's arms.

"If anything, due to the lack of sun, you might want to get it a blanket and--" And Zoisite blinks, gasping to himself as he remembered something crucial that he did have in hand.

Putting the bag containing the droid carcass down, he unzips his pouch and carefully pulls out a rather fluffy pink blanket. Still brand new, no real smells besides the pleasant aroma of something vaguely sweet. It had been meant for Small Lady, but he'd keep the plushy for her instead.

"Here. That way, it would be too cold when to carry it."

Laura La Mer has posed:
"It's fine, I do that all the time", Laura shrugs at the Venus. "It's a magical whale made of energy, it's not actually alive in that sense." She is pretty sure the ring itself has some sort of conscience, but it only sometimes shows it, and even then the only time it did anything was to greet the Legendary Pretty Cure.

She pouts slightly when Catra joins in on the skepticism. "It's not unhealthy at all! It's like jumping into a pool, it's completely safe", she insists. "Don't attack it with your sword, unless you want a tail slam to follow", the mermaid warns, then turning over a lemon cake to the catgirl. "Here, feel free to try it. It's tasty."

Kururun is the first of the two to approach the dog, and she jumps onto the ground, doing small hops to get closer and closer to it. "Kururun?", it checks the canine out, seeking any clear sign of hurt. Raising a paw, the fairy passes it through the animal's fur, trying to soothe it.

"A pet here?", La Mer approaches soon after, kneeling down while squinting. That's a bit unusual. Who could have left it out here? She is surprised it's still lucky to be alive. "That's a good idea, the only food I have isn't for pets. Even Kururun's fairy cookies are probably a bad idea", she remarks to Venus.

Nephrite has posed:
Nephrite does enjoy citrus, though he has as yet refrained from taking the offered desserts. He is instead distracted by the proximity of the fairy, and the interactions with this strange pooch.

When the fairy's attempts to soothe come, the animal seems to have calmed some. But the question remains, and it is a good one-- *is* this dog's owner alive, somewhere nearby? Who has kept this pet, through all this chaos, and perhaps more notably, in spite of the draining effects upon the Earth's vitalities, in fairly good shape up until now?

Maybe Venus' paranoia isn't totally far-fetched. But this animal certainly does seem to be alive, and not artificial in any obvious means. The Pink haired Princess hasn't recognised it as some incredibly advanced puppy toy from the future, and that's notable.

"Granola and some water seems like a good idea." He reaches out for the pink blanket, and attempts to fiddle with the animal's collar, looking for any sign of identification. For any clues, really.

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus allows the others to deal with the feeding and warming of the puppy for now as she hands over the granola. Again her arms cross over her chest with only the slightest bit of a pout. So far her suspicions weren't proving to be true after all. So far. "It's fine, Jupe, I'm not going to harm it. Unless it does something underfooted." There, see, totally normal and nice.

The explanation of the 'whale' does earn a mild look of relief. "I guess that's not so bad then. Still a bit weird but way less than a living thing." Right? Right.

Though all seems to be resolved, her foot taps a quick little bouncy stacatto on the ground as she eyes the puppy further. With a decisive nod she turns to walk off stating, "I'll go scout around to see if there's any survivors nearby."

Catra has posed:
"I'm glad to have them," Catra affirms to Amy. "I'll probably use them all up in the next fight. No reason to hold back." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "If we get a big monster I might try tossing an entire bandoleer down its throat. Y'know, instead of jumping into its mouth myself."

The feline finishes eating her noodles and chicken, and unceremoniously tosses the empty cup in amongst the rubble. ...Does it really matter? The city is destroyed, what's a biodegradable noodle cup gonna matter at this point? And as it turns out she does so just in time to have a lemon cake dropped in her hands.

At first, she just kind of looks down at it, and then her nose does that little 'sniff-sniff' cats do when they're curious about something but don't want to admit the curiosity. Unexpected treats are always suspicious, afterall. (Sometimes even expected ones.)

About forty seconds later however; << ...This is what cake is? How have I never tried it before? On a scale of Gray Kind to Salmon this is pretty close to Tuna. >>

Catra devours a couple more bites, and ohs, << Zoisite, other thought, best way to take droids for study is still to cut bits off them so they can't fight back while you're dismantling them. I have a sword. We'll talk next time there's a fight. >>

Makoto Kino has posed:
Venus's granola is duly handed over, unwrapped and broken up into easier bite-sized pieces to offer to the dog. Sailor Jupiter is in the process of trying to rummage up something to use as a water dish when Catra tosses away the empty noodle cup. "--Ah, that'll work!"

She jogs over to retrieve the cup, shakes a few drops of instant broth out of it, and looks cheerfully over at Amy. "Red-chan, if you don't mind sharing a little of your water...?"

In situations like this, you make do with what you've got, after all.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Catra gets a smile and a thumbs-up at the suggestion to just throw grenades inside a big monster. That sounds like a great idea!

    Also, Catra has a noodle cup. "Oh! We can put water in that for the dog..." She moves to retrieve it but Venus is faster. She shifts her messenger bag from 'not part of my current costume' to 'part of my current costume' and pulls out her water bottle, holding the lemon cake in her mouth while she unscrews the cap and pours some water into the cup, then screwing the cap back on and putting it back in her bag and moving the cake to her hand again.

    "Hi there puppy!" She reaches out to pet it with one hand while taking another bite of the lemon cake with the other. "You've had a rough time of it, huh? The other survivors will probably know if chipping or tracking collars are common this days, I suppose, I'm sure someone can figure out how to find out who your owner is if the info is on you anywhere..."

Laura La Mer has posed:
A snort and a quiet laugh follow when Laura takes notice of Catra's animalistic diffidence towards the lemon cake, and she has to force herself not to pat the catgirl on the head. She is almost sure that would not go over well, no matter how cute the feline girl is being.

"Glad it's to your liking", she instead says, winking pleased at the Etherian. "And while I do not have tuna with me, I do have some octopi, if you would like to try them out", she peers with interest at Catra. What better way to get to know her than over food? "I can bring them to you out here, or you can eat them with me inside the Aqua Pot."

Zoisite searching of a tag prompts Laura to ask about the result. "Did you find anything then? Should we go ask the others if they found someone looking for a dog?", she taps the communicator emphatically.

Zoisite has posed:
"As long as the granola doesn't have any sugar or artificial sweetener, it should be safe. I know rice is good for dogs, and Rashmi does have some we could borrow. It will at least keep the puppy full and happy for a while." Zoisite nods as he closes his pouch before grabbing his bag again.

<< Catra, you're full of interesting ideas. I like that. Yes, we'll surely talk next time, make some plans. As long as the Droid is alive in some way, it will still be useful to study it. >> There is a smile to his thoughts, excited in how the next battle would turn out.

And hopeful.

"Hm? I don't think Nephrite saw anyone around here. Only the puppy. But asking the others wouldn't hurt. What do you think?" Green eyes look over to Nephrite, head tilting.

Nephrite has posed:
Despite a little whining, the dog was clearly happy to be amongst real people. Relief, despite the stresses of whatever the animal has recently been through, clearly shows in the slight perking of ears and the wiggle of small body. Eager to smell the hand that pats, and feeling safer for reassurance.

"I can't see anything with a clear indication... Red may be right about a chip of some sort, but with the networks down, I doubt if it will help us just now even if we had the means to scan for it. Contacting the others seems best, if only to put them on an alert." Gently freed of cape and rebundled in pink for the moment, Nephrite's gaze turns to the surrounds. "But, her Highness is right. We should get out of the open for now, we'll settle the dog when we've got somewhere to shelter for a bit, out of view." Sapphire eyes drift back towards the droid. "Before more of these things come filing in to fill the gap."

Makoto Kino has posed:
The reminder brings Sailor Jupiter up a bit short. She'd been so focused on caring for this latest survivor that they found, she'd all but forgotten that they were out in the open and not all that long ago had been engaged in battle. For a moment, she looks somewhat crestfallen.

"Of course," she says, with a little shake of her head to re-orient herself. Focus! "It looked like there was a hotel building not too far from here, I think... that might work for shelter, at least for the time being? Or we can find another train station, we can't be too far off the line."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Zoisite and Nephrite's suggestions get a nod from Laura, who recovers Kururun from the ground, and starts petting the seal again. "Ok, we can get the dog somewhere out of the way of the drones, and then we contact the others." She then switches again to her Snow Crystal Tropical Style form. "Ready to go now."