2023-08-30: DecuFes '97: Cat Island

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<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        One of Free Japan's most important areas, unclaimed by the Britannian flag, has and will always be...

        Tashirojima. No dogs are allowed here, for this place is a haven for all cats: there are many more cats than people on this island, a cat for every porch and every wall and every strange feline shrine hosted by this sleepy rural town. Despite being classed as a dying village again and again over the centuries, Tashirojima stands undying: it has never hosted a large population, but it has always hosted a population. At first, they harvested silkworms, but when a decree in ancient history led to the release of all pet cats to defeat a flood of rodents threatening the industry...

        ... well, it wasn't long before their industry became cats, historically speaking. And there will always be someone on this earth who loves cats enough to want to be buried in them, each and every day.

        Though these cats are by and large -- let us say -- free-roaming, the feral cats of Tashirojima are in no way unfriendly. They're all well-socialised and cared for by a vet who visits the island regularly; these good-fortune felines love visitors.

        The centre of the island hosts the most prominent shrine to catkind: the Neko-jinja, which houses the spirit of a fishercat tragically and accidentally killed during preparation for the day's fishing. Fishing has always been important to Tashirojima's people and cats, and the island exports oysters and abalone to the mainland. Many other, smaller shrines dot the island -- and more frequent still than those are cat-shaped stone monuments, little celebrations of their feline friends and protectors.

        Accessible by ferry from Ishinomaki city, the village hosts a small but flavourful tourist front, with a cat-themed inn for travellers. While much of the island is still quite rural, its ports open to extremely walkable village-fronts.

        Luckily for one visitor today, they're also wheelable paths. Nunnally Lamperouge is one of the students who alights (with some assistance) from the ferry onto Tashirojima, directing her psycommu wheelchair around the streets. A cat has sensed the mobile lap fortress she presents, and she already has a bobtail kitty curled up on her lap, perfectly content to ride along with her as she travels with the rest of GUTS. She is blind, and cannot appreciate the rustic streets; many other students can. There is a cat on every surface.

        You've come, after all, to Cat Island.

        Your one task today...

        Is to befriend cat.

        And Nunnally speaks the words of friendship into the feline aether: "Miaaaaaaaaoooooouuuu..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Much of this place's economy and history is lost to Rei Ayanami; a distinctive tracing, like the colors in the walls of a canyon, or like the architecture of an old Italian street tracing through eras. She knows of it but she does not know it, but it is also as alien to her as anything else.

There is, of course, one thing Rei Ayanami knows quite well.

Rei crouches in front of a bench, gazing down at a seemingly-fat cat with black and white patterning. The cat reclines not on top of the bench (currently occupied by a standard-issue gray mackerel-pattern tabby, industriously cleansing his hind parts) but beneath it, enjoying a sunbeam.

Rei is wearing her school uniform. No hat. The sunlight rests on pale white skin, reflecting enough to stand out; perhaps she endures it with the blessing of Pure Shield in generous quantities.

The sleeping cat rolls over to one side; awakens; stretches with an enormous yawn and a vigorous blep. The cat rises up then, turning her head to look momentarily at Rei (who wasn't there when she went to sleep) and moves to amble off. For the cat is not overfed, but is rather soon to be a mother.

Rei blinks at the cat, several times, but then she moves along. Rei's head turns slightly, watching them go.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        To befriend cat... For someone known colloquially as Puppy Boy, Shinji Ikari might be at a disadvantage. Fortunately for him, he has Rei and Kaworu with him today, two very cat-aligned souls.
        
        "It's too back Asuka and Makinami-san couldn't make it," he comments to his friends as they make their way off the ferry onto Tashirojima. "This seems like something they'd both like." Even if Asuka would never admit it. He looks around at the island (Nunnally gets a brief look of concern, but she seems to be doing just fine, so he chooses to mind his own business), and marvels at just how many cats there are here, just hanging out. Yes, Mari would definitely love it here. He resolves to take a lot of pictures and videos for her and Asuka both.
        
        Kaworu follows him, as he often does, with hands tucked in his pockets. School has resumed for the fall semester, so the two of them wear their school clothes, Shinji with a blue undershirt, Kaworu with violet. And while Shinji might take out his phone to start recording the island and its many, many felines, he takes in the sights with nothing more than his body. (The mind is also part of the body.)
        
        "It's a very cozy village," he remarks. It's no surprise to him that a cat has already staked out Nunnally's lap as prime real estate; the sight of it brings a chuckle to his breath. He turns his perennial smile Rei's way as she crouches before that pregnant tuxedo cat under the bench. "Don't you agree?"

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        Nunnally is not the only one here today grateful for wheelable paths. Coco too departs the ferry in her wheelchair, assisted by her loyal protector, Chloe. The latter is helping to push the former along, doing a bit more of the work today than usual. Coco doesn't have quite the knack for navigating herself as Nunnally has and she is of course wary about accidentally running over a tail or two.

        Coco is of course delighted by the visit here, "Ah... I had no idea there was a whole island for cats. What a wonderful idea! There are so few pets where we are from."

        Behind her, Chloe briefly explains, "Animal control is tight. The artificial ecosystem is too susceptible to disruption by pests."

        Coco knows this of course, but nonetheless counters with, "You should not call cats pests, Chloe! Especially not here."

        Chloe pauses for a moment as she notices a grumpy cat on a wall staring at her. She stares back at it for a moment. Before she cautiously continues onwards, keeping her eye on that cat.

        Unaware of the exchange her protector just had, Coco giggles as Nunnally meows, playfully saying, "I didn't know you speak cat!"

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka Takarada loves cats. Tragically, however, the Takarada family has never hosted a feline friend of their own. As much as she's wanted one, it's just never happen... which means she needs to take every opportunity she can to interact with them. So naturally, she signed up for the cat island ferry trip!

She joins the others as they disembark from the ferry - taking a moment to make sure Nunnally makes it just fine too - and takes a moment to just take in the surroundings.

...It really is pretty here. Rikka's glad that this place has been able to endure so well, despite the ages.

Rikka is dressed appropriately for a more active day, and her hair is presently tied back. And, of course... she has made sure to arm herself appropriately.

'Appropriately', in this case, means that she has brought with her a cat wand(plus a spare) and a small batch of treats.

Already it seems that the students have attracted attention... Rikka chuckles, taking a moment to watch everyone. 

<Pose Tracker> Sho Tachibana has posed.

Sho Tachibana is, of course, known as the pilot of the second Neo-Getter Machine, 'Neo Jaguar', so of course she'd take this opportunity to be among her kind. Like Shinji and Kaworu, she's wearing her own school uniform, although the Jindai jacket is folded up in her duffel bag rather than worn across her shoulders. The school's blue ribbon-tie has been removed, with her blouse's collar undone, and tied into her hair as a ponytail. Completing the look: A long skirt rather than the traditional length, and a sturdy pair of boots.

Disembarking the boat with Alouette, Sho beams at the sight of the cats milling about the island - in particular the one settled in Nunnally's lap, and the pregnant tuxedo cat Rei has been studying. "This is already great," she murmurs to her girlfriend. "See any favourites yet?" 

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

'Cat Island'... it's definitely one of the more unusual events on the itinerary for Deculture Festival. Doesn't mean Alouette isn't interested, though. She read up on the history of the island and its unique form of tourism and ecosystem, and she found herself fascinated that such a place could even exist.

Like most, Alouette dresses in her summer school uniform, with a distinctive blue ribbon tied around the back, of course. She's come prepared with a few nice little cat toys and treats in her purse too! She's also brought a secret weapon.

As they make it out the ferry, following Nunnally's lead, Alouette immediately starts taking in all the cat-astrophe of the island.

"Meownjour~ Comment chat va?" Alouette waves Rikka's way, and she can't help but giggle. "No, I don't think that one really worked..." She asides to herself, kneeling down to pet a cat. "I bet Calibur would really love this place, though."

Sho has a question for her though... any favourites yet? "Oh, that's easy." She smiles, taking her hand. "You're my favourite cat!" 

<Pose Tracker> Namiko has posed.

Namiko (warning - incoming name; warning - incoming name) has of course ALSO come. One of the few ways Namiko is not The Most is that she is in fact the least cat person among her friends, but there is no shame in losing to a superior opponent, like her girlfriend whose cat is named Ravage.

"It's kinda nuts, right?" she asides to Rikka. Her favorite long red tie swishes a little as she walks. Also, she is wearing an impressively dark gray cat ear headband, for reasons she does not feel like you should need explained. "Forget the Universal Century, they say this place was around before they invented hip hop! Just a quiet island of cats that'd been there for centuries even when Dre and Washington walked the earth..."

Namiko... ...technically, passed her history class. 

<Pose Tracker> Hass has posed.

Hass arrives alongside Rikka and Namiko, clad in her school uniform, plus a decidedly non-regulation mask--it's her other favorite, a white cloth one with a cartoony kitty mouth and pink nose printed on it, and she wears a cat-ear headband to match Namiko's. Her eyes are unusually bright-looking today--she is very much a cat person, so a trip like this is a highlight.

She's got a few cat-related items in a small bag over her shoulder. "A paradise for kitties," she muses out loud. "How many generations do you think these cats have been here?" It doesn't take long for her to get a visitor of her own, a bright-eyed young tortoiseshell. The subdued girl squeals a little, squatting down and holding out her hand at the cat's level, palm up.

There's a moment's inspection, a sniff... and, promptly afterward, the cat rubs its head against her hand, and she smoothly transitions to a pet on the head, scritching cozily between the ears. "Ohhh, yeah, you like that, huh?" she coos.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Rikka helps Nunnally off the ferry, and Nunnally smiles in her direction. "Thank you, Rikka," she says, warmly.

        And now she's safe on the streets of Catsville, Nunnally smiles, brightly, turning her face to Coco. "Miau!" She chirps, again, and giggles as the bobtail in her lap uncoils to sniff at her face. She feels around so she can give him pets with both hands as he drapes over her shoulder. "Hehehe... do you like it? I think I'm very good!"

        (Luckily for the cat's tails, Nunnally's chair has automatic obstacle detection; the same thing which stops her from driving off a ledge stops her from running over a stray cat.)

        "It's so cozy," Nunnally echoes Kaworu, smiling. (Like Rei, she is of course wearing Pure Shield to protect her fine skin from the sun.) Hearing Cat French -- and Alouette's flirtations -- Nunnally giggles, again, even as the cat in her lap bonks his head purringly into her chin. "No, no, these cats are Japanese! You must say, konnichinya! ... did I get it right?" She asks Hass and Namiko, curiously, with a tilt of her head.

        An old woman feeding the cats chuckles, hearing Hass's question. "Goodness, gracious," she says, her own Japanese accented from a lifetime living on Cat Island, "Tashirojima's been this way since the Edo period...! Every time men with guns go past, we tell them, no, no, not here. The cats keep us safe, you know. We all love them very much..."

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Rei had been her usual quiet self on the ferry ride over, watching the sea and the horizon. Here, of course, she has been walking; she has not been far from Shinji and Kaworu, and so it is no surprise that Shinji can address her so easily. "I don't know," Rei answers Shinji.

"But, it's nice," she concludes, sweeping some hair back from her ear with one hand.

She glances towards the girl in the chair, and looks to others. There is a subtextual thread running through them. Rei asks Kaworu, even as her arms fold, "Do they really know how to speak to the cats?"

After all, it seems plausible, somehow, given how well they speak; but then she hears what Nunnally says.

"Your Japanese is good," Rei tells Nunnally, even as her eyes turn towards the older woman speaking. "Are the cats the same as they were, then?" she asks.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Shinji double-takes at Sho in her long skirt, but when he sees who it actually is, he relaxes. Would a delinquent even come to a rustic cat island like this, anyway...? Hard to know.
        
        He bobs his head in greeting to her and Alouette. He hadn't spotted them on the ferry, but it's nice to see them here and now. ...Until they start flirting and holding hands. Then he feels his face heat and he quickly looks away, as if just by acknowledging their existence he was infringing on their alone time.
        
        He really wishes Asuka could've made it... but still, it's not bad at all with Kaworu and Rei. He... misses her? But he isn't lonely. ...Is that a good thing?
        
        As Rikka looks around the island and the others, she'll inevitably meet eyes with Kaworu, who's doing the same. His smile broadens as his eyes shut, but he doesn't otherwise interrupt her hang-out with Namiko and Hass. Instead, he turns that smile back to Rei. "It is," he agrees.
        
        A small black cat does come sauntering up to him, though, the tip of her tail high and hooked in a little curl. She sniffs at his feet as he peers down at her. She looks up at him.
        
        Then she apparently decides he looks like a fine tree and starts climbing up his pant leg.
        
        "Wha--Kaworu-kun!" Shinji utters, turning the phone camera his way.
        
        But naturally, Kaworu is unperturbed, not then and not when the cat continues her climb up his torso, up an arm, and finally onto his shoulders. She noses his ear... and then bats down at the breast pocket on his button-up shirt, where a packet of treats rests.
        
        "Wow, that's one gutsy cat," Shinji comments, impressed despite himself. "Makinami-san will be really sad she missed out." Well, maybe not sad? Whatever Mari gets when she misses out on something she'd have liked. He's glad he got that one on camera.
        
        Rei wonders if the girls really can talk to cats. "Huh? Huh..." Shinji looks over at Nunnally, despite Rei having been talking to Kaworu. "She couldn't really... right?" he wonders, uncertain.
        
        "She can," Kaworu says, decisively, as he feeds the cat on his shoulder.
        
        "What, really?!"
        
        "...But that doesn't necessarily mean the cats can understand her."
        
        "Oh... Yeah, of course." 

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        Coco grins as Nunnally 'miau's at her. So she replies with a, "Meow!" It's not quite as good and Coco knows it, giggling, "Guess I need more practice."

        However, the call does seem to draw some attention as a cat jumps up on one of the arms of Coco's wheelchair. Although the girl didn't see it coming, she had been expecting it to happen eventually so wasn't too surprised. However, when the cat proceeds to jump onto her shoulder and perch though, Coco is a little more surprised, "Ah!" She tries to hold still, so the cat doesn't fall off. With her other hand she reaches up to pet it, "Well hello there."

        While doing so, Coco counters to Kaworu, "Now now, while they might not understand our words, I'm sure they can understand our feelings!" She continues to pet the cat on her shoulder, asking, "Isn't that right?" The cat purrs in response. To the petting or the feelings, who knows?

        Behind Coco, Chloe stares down at said cat. The cat turns its head midpats to stare back up at her.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"No problem." Rikka replies, with a warm smile of her own. Alouette greets her then and Rikka laughs, offering a wave in return.

"It was a good attempt." She says with a laugh, and then considers. If they brought Calibur her... "I imagine he would. I bet he'd be covered in cats within minutes... but we'd still have to practically drag him away."

The blatant flirting gets a smirk from her, too. She looks away politely - and as she does, she meets eyes with Kaworu, who she offers a smile and a brief nod of her head in greeting.

Hass and Namiko are also here, and she's glad for it.

"It really is." Rikka agrees. To think that, despite everything, this island has endured for so long... "I'm kind of impressed."

And old woman nearby has an answer to Hass's question, in fact! Rikka listens in awe - and soon finds herself in aww as one of the cats approaches her with an insistent meow.

"...I believe it. Something like this doesn't happen without a strong love from both sides. There's a lot of power in that." Rikka comments. She kneels down and pets the cat gently to a purr, then pauses for a moment to reach into her bag, drawing out the cat wand. She gives it a few experimental shakes - and soon enough, the cat that has chosen her is pawing at it. 

<Pose Tracker> Namiko has posed.

"Edo..." Namiko says, in awe. "That's soooooo long."

Namiko squats down near the cat Hass has lured, "You always get the cute ones," Namiko says, which is meaningless because everything within a hundred kilometers is cute, that's the bit.

She does find herself grinning. "You're a real romantic these days, Rikka," Namiko giggles. "You're right, though. These days...hard to ignore it takes more than feline charm to do something like that..."

She grins. "Very cool."

And then, she levers herself upright and laughs to Nunnally and Alouette. "That's right! It's all about opening dialogue!"

<Pose Tracker> Sho Tachibana has posed.

"That's cheating!" Sho laughs, blushing softly and squeezing Alouette's hand.

The history lesson gets another smile from her as she walks over to listen. "Yeah... It's great that this place has survived for so long." Just another reason for her to work hard as a Getter pilot - certainly Gore won't pay any regard to a place like this.

She dwells on that thought only briefly, distracted by the feeling of something brushing up against her boot - a rusty-red calico accompanied by a wiry, feisty-looking black cat and a chubby grey. She crouches down to greet the trio, grinning. "You're in charge, right?" She addresses the calico, blinking slowly and offering the cats her hand. After some sniffing, the grey cat butts his head against her hand, followed by the calico - the black cat doesn't approach, but doesn't hiss at her either.

"Look, Lou-chan," she grins, indicating the trio of cats to invite a deliberate comparison. 

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"Hehe... the shot was right there," Alouette insists in a very teasing tone, at Sho's accusations of cheating. "How could I not take it?"

As for Calibur... "The moment we got back, we'd be sifting through plans to turn Tsutsujidai into some cat paradise..." Alouette laughs, imagining Calibur buried under all these cats. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad, though." She'll definitely at least snap a few pics for him later!

Even as Shinji flusters away in embarrassment, Alouette waves his way when she catches his attention, and Kaworu and Rei too, by extension. She silently wonders how the latter two are doing after Gridman's departure, but she doesn't dare breach the subject. "Well, we can't say for sure they don't understand us. It's why an island like this can exist in the first place, right?" Alouette answers Rei instead.

Nunnally, then, corrects her, pointing out that these cats have been raised around Japanese. "Of course... ahem, konnichinya!" She mirrors Nunnally's greeting, and as if to confirm it... a small striped black-and-white striped cat by her feet "mews" back! "Aww.. I think this one likes me." She grins, kneeling down again to brush its silky fur.

She nods at Rikka and Namiko's assessment, too. "Besides... it's really hard to tell a cat 'no', isn't it?" She concedes, at the same time, giving the cat pawing at her incessantly a treat. "Eating sweets all day, getting constant attention, this really is paradise for them..."

But the trio of cats gets her attention next. Three of them, each with very recognisable builds and personalities. Gettercats! "I get the feeling these three are very hot-blooded cats," Alouette laughs, slowly petting the calico, and watching the other two. "Isn't that right, little one?" 

<Pose Tracker> Hass has posed.

Hass' cheeks lift in a smile, looking up at Namiko. "I *do* get the cute ones." She winks, pulling a small bag of treats out. As soon as she opens it, her feline companion perks up, ears turning directly toward her as he smells something delicious. She pulls a couple of soft little nuggets out and holds them out to the cat, who happily devours them out of her hand. "Aww, hehe... I bet they're all pretty spoiled here. And everyone loves cats..."

She nods to Nunnaly! "Konnichinya~" she says, holding up her hand like a paw.

The thought of Calibur covered in cats earns a giggle from her. "He'd just sit there, too, with like six cats on his shoulders and head, I bet..." Putting her treat bag away, she occupies both hands with the cat, petting along his back with one hand, scritching behind his ears with the other.

"I'm already in heaven."

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        "Thanks!" Nunnally smiles, brightly, to Rei. The flowers streaming off of her portrait are metaphorical, but implicitly understood. "I'm working hard to learn Japanese... Sayoko's really helping me!" Sayoko, of course, being the extremely competent maid who frequently helps Nunnally with her daily life. She wanted to go to Cat Island on her own, though, in a fit of independence.

        Well, 'on her own'. She's with the GUTS tour, and people like Rikka are still looking out for her.

        Luckily, Nunnally can't see that Sho is a delinquent, so she doesn't suffer from Shinji's nervousness. She can tell he's uncomfortable, though. Somehow. Is it the way he's moving? Maybe she can hear it.

        "Keep trying! Like this! Miiiii~" Nunnally tilts, with a big grin in Coco's direction. "Haha... you have a friend too, right?" She scritches her own cat behind the ears, as he purrs in her lap. "We can definitely, definitely talk to cats. Arthur and I talk all the time! She has fun, and so do I. So it's fine if we don't know exactly what we're saying, right? We know enough!"

        Nunnally giggles, nodding at Alouette. "Cats are very insistent," she agrees. "You can't just say no to a cat! It's very rude." Still looking in Alouette's direction -- which might not be entirely where that trio of cats are -- she wonders: "Hot-blooded cats..."

        The old woman chuckles, to Rei and Namiko and Sho. "Oh, yes. Very long, but the cats have always been here. All generations of cat, but they're the same kind of cat," she scatters cat treats, and a dozen happy cats chomp them up. "Protector cats, good fortune cats. They tell our men when to go to the seas, and when the storms are coming. When disaster strikes, it's the cats who keep us safe. Many tsunamis, many storms... but Tashirojima's always stood. Yes," she nods, to Hass, "heaven is a place with countless cats. Heh heh heh...!"

        Nunnally cants her head, listening to the old woman's wisdom, and says: "I wonder if Arthur would have had fun here... oh, but she has to keep an eye on Suzaku. She's like our protector cat...!"

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Shinji's feelings are complex things; Rei could empathize more deeply than he might know, though she does not speak, nor pry. (She, however cordially, does not ever miss the Second Child.)

She cranes her head when a cat finds Kaworu and begins to ascend Mt. Nagisa with industrious vigor. An adult cat, if small, Rei judges, even as the truth is revealed-- the packet of cat treats he is carrying. Something not unlike a smile crosses Rei's eyes.

Then the question is answered.

Rei looks briefly, silently, but profoundly shocked.

Then off to the side slightly, resuming her normal expression, as Kaworu drops the other shoe. Her arms fold, for a few moments, before Coco and Chloe come by. Coco speaks of sharing your feelings across the species boundary.

"You might speak things they won't like," Rei tells Coco, rubbing at the side of her neck as she does. She takes a deep breath and lets it out.

The old woman speaks to them of the lay of the cats. They have been here for hundreds of years; since the Edo era, so long ago, hundreds of years, perhaps approaching a thousand if one counts from the start rather than the end. And why not? Isn't that how you count ages?

After this, Rei's head turns to gaze upon Rikka... and her sorcerous wand of feline enchantment +2. After this, Rei reaches over, not looking away from watching Rikka's play, to stroke the side of the cat that has meownted Kaworu's shoulder.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "That's true," Kaworu says affably to Coco before turning his smile on Nunnally. They know enough, she says, and that's very true. All the same, there's something a little bittersweet to his air as he continues, "Language is not the only way in which two beings can communicate."
        
        As both he and Nunnally would know well.
        
        Shinji marvels in silence at how bold all these cats are, really. A lot of them just hop onto people like it's totally natural. He switches from footage to photos--Kensuke is better at taking videos than he is, anyway (and never mind that he's not here either)--and starts snapping photos of the various cats.
        
        He pauses as he considers the people with the cats. He knows Coco and Chloe, but only barely... he doesn't really know Namiko or Hass... he still doesn't want to disturb Alouette or her girlfriend, even if the former waving at him does get a small smile and a wave back... so he turns to Rikka.
        
        "Do you want me to take your picture?" he offers as Rikka seduces a cat with her wand. "I bet Shinjo-senpai would love to see it later."
        
        Shinji does take a moment to pause to listen to the old woman, though, having been distracted earlier. "What do they keep you safe from?" he wonders--and sure enough, she answers. "Wow... How do they do all that?"
        
        Truthfully, he's a little dubious it's true... but he kind of thinks at the very least, the old woman believes it's true. It's always nice to see an adult with sincerity, right or wrong.
        
        Meanwhile, the cat of Kaworu's shoulder looks up with interest at the scattering of treats--but is distracted by a lily-white hand that rises to contrast her sable fur. She sniffs it, then rubs her head into Rei's hand. Kaworu watches them both fondly.
        
        Alouette doesn't ask him how he's doing now that Gridman is gone, and he doesn't volunteer that information either.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"He would." Rikka agrees with a laugh in response to Hass, and then considers Alouette's comment. Tsutsujidai, the cat paradise... "...I could live with that, honestly."

She does pause for a moment, laughing a bit sheepishly at Namiko's comment.

"A romantic, huh..." She considers. "I wonder when that happened."

She nods too, though, and turns her attention back to the cat she's currently playing with. The old woman speaks of cats of protection and good fortune, and Rikka regards her friend fondly.

"You've got quite the legacy to uphold, don't you?" She comments, raising the wand up high. The cat rises up, batting at it - and Rikka lowers it again. She glances away for a brief moment, though, as Shinji makes an offer. Rikka offers him a smile.

"Oh that's really nice of you... Thanks, I'd appreciate that." Rikka smiles, briefly imagining Akane's response. "I bet she would."

She's sure to smile - those as she plays, she notices Rei watching her. She considers her for a second and then stands up, reaching in her bag to draw out... the spare cat wand! She holds it out to Rei.

"Do you want to try?" She offers. 

<Pose Tracker> Namiko has posed.

"Gosh, I can hardly imagine!" Namiko teases Rikka. "Must've been a poetry class I slept through."

Namiko puffs up wih pride when Hass correctly calls her adorable, and then squats down along with everyone else to greet a curious tabby inspecting her (red, natch) shoes. "Cats are pretty sharp, huh. No wonder Calibur likes 'em," she muses.

"So," she adds, leaning toward Rikka, "Do you figure he stares into the distance like that because he knows what they're seeing, or he's trying to understand?"

She holds out a finger toward her visitor, grinning. "They know we're only here to dote on them, so they've all come out to play, huh?" she laughs. 

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"It'd definitely make all my visits even more lively," Alouette agrees with Rikka with a smile. "Oh, and I think you're absolutely right, Hass. I bet that's what it's like at his apartment when no one's visiting, anyways." She giggles. Maybe she ought to visit soon, now that it comes to mind.

But for now, she continues to watch everyone else's efforts in reaching out to those cats - and they really do seem receptive to it all! "It must be what makes them so bold," Alouette asides to Nunnally about hot-blooded cats. "Let's see what they can do!" She rolls a fistful of cat treats out to the floor. The wiry black one lunges at the main pile, while the red one cleverly picks up on the ones that fell off-course, while it's up to the grey one to divide them all between the three. "It looks like cats are better at working together than you'd think too..." She muses, grinning Sho's way.

Alouette is also very attentive to the old cat lady's words, who tells them of the island cats' legacy as protectors and bringers of good fortune. "Protection and fortune... if you'd take my selfish request," she speaks to a cat curled at her feet. "I think your help will be needed in spades for many very soon." Her words sound vague... but surely, she's just talking about school starting back up, right?

She ruffles in her purse, then, and unveils an irresistably ball-shaped and yarn-textured toy. "Not for free, you say? Oh, of course~" She rolls the ball, and the cat nearly leaps for it.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.


Rei gently crushes the black cat's ear, feeling the softness of that fur with the nuzzling head behind it mashing against her hand. She curls her fingers downwards a little, and when she hears a sound like a stuttering biodiesel bike starting to warm up, she...

Rubs the skin - surprised at how loose it feels -

Has Rei ever pet a cat before?

It seems to come naturally to her, at least, but then, the cat is helping. When Rikka speaks, she looks at her again, and -- reluctantly, it must be said -- draws her hand from the head of the cat and reaches it forwards towards her.

"Yes," Rei tells Rikka. "I would like to try it."

When she is entrusted with this sacred power, Rei grasps the rod with both hands, holding it before her as if it were a gohei.

She twitches her wrist a little. The fluff at the end twitches more dramatically.

Several cats look towards it. Rei's eyes turn towards them.

Twitch, twitch.

"mrowr?"

A shift to a one handed grip, and - suddenly, the cat who had been petted moments ago makes a full-spread leap from Kaworu's shoulder to try and bat at the fluff.

Rei whips the toy away, leading to mid-air tumblings and a neat landing followed by a firmly emphatic recovery face-groom.

"It's strong," Rei says to Rikka. "Do you need it back?"

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