Carpathia IV: Episode 133 - Kitty Amenaru
Space, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Though the video of Phobos and Baal wasn't shared around, word spread quickly enough. At first, Baal felt a sting of humiliation, until he realized that nobody was laughing at him, exactly. Indeed most considered him a proper member of the crew, that you had to earn your place by trodding right through a massive turd. "One of us," some might say. It took him some time to realize that he had received a sort of Shadowdancery baptism
No baptism for Kit and Amenaru, as they already paid their dues. With their routines now settled, Kit and Amenaru, though they had separate quarters, spent more time together off-duty than not. In Amenaru's quarters, Kit finished up the last few details on his communications diagnostics on his tablet while Amenaru sat on his bed, running his brush through a very appreciative Mrs. Tiggywinkle.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle: Purr... purr...
Amenaru: Still getting ready for our next meeting with the blobbies?
Kit nodded with his nose still buried in comm system schematics.
Kit: We've made some improvements to the universal translator and I've got a meeting with Reylen tomorrow to see if we can get some tokki help on further upgrades.
Amenaru: I suppose we ought to think of something to call them besides "blobby." I don't know if there's anything official for that.
Kit: We intend to ask them about that next time. Their word for it would require a significant amount of gymnastics on our part, so we're hoping for something a little more verbal.
While Mrs. Tiggywinkle continued purring with every stroke of the brush, Amenaru felt rather like purring himself, content in his room brushing his cat and watching his boyfriend being brilliant.
Amenaru: You're cute when you're being a genius, you know.
Kit froze, his finger hovering over his tablet, while a distinct red tinge spread through the cups of his ears. After a couple more taps at his tablet, he set it aside and pointed to Amenaru's toy shelf behind his bed.
Kit: So, which one would you like to use tonight?
Amenaru gave a cheeky grin and set his brush aside, giving Mrs. Tiggywinkle one last scratch on the back of her neck.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle: Mrow?
Amenaru: Okay, Tiggs. Time to go!
Amenaru gave her a gentle push, to which she responded by shooting him the sort of dirty look that only cats can give before jumping off the bed.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle: Mrph.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle sashayed across the bedroom and out the door, tail held high with the tip flipping back and forth, leaving Kit and Amenaru alone together.
Amenaru's Quarters, NCCS Shadowdancer, The Next Day
Amenaru's alarm clock went off with it's usual shrill tone, starting low and ramping up quickly. As much as he'd like a nice, soothing alarm, he'd never be on time for a duty shift again, as he frequently slept through even this horrific noise.
Today, he did not, and stirred in his bed with annoyance. He reached over to give the clock his usual slap, but it was not far enough. Did he scoot clear to the other side of the bed this time? Somehow, that didn't feel right. Nothing, in fact, felt right. He wasn't sick, but he somehow did not feel like himself.
Wriggling his way to the alarm side of the bed, eyes still squeezed shut tight, Amenaru reached out again to smack his alarm clock. This time, he connected. Somehow, the button didn't feel the same, but no matter. The noise finally ceased and for a few seconds, he lay still. Knowing that if he stayed that way for any longer, he'd fall back asleep, he gave a stretch and a yawn, forcing himself to wake up.
Amenaru: Yawn!
Amenaru flipped his covers away and sat up on the bed. Somehow, his feet didn't touch the floor this time. Was he still too far back? He scooted forward and stretched his toes, searching for the carpet, until he tumbled out of the bed and splat onto the floor.
Even more confused, Amenaru rubbed his head and finally managed to pry his eyes open. In front of him was not his hand, but a fuzzy, black and gold paw. He took what he'd hoped would be his other hand off his head and looked. Now there were two fuzzy paws in front of him.
Amenaru: What?
Amenaru started checking the rest of his body. Stomach. Legs. Arms. Tail. All fuzzy. All black and gold. All that remained was his face and he stood up and then fell over immediately with his new body evidently not designed for standing on two feet.
Amenaru: Doctor! I need to find the doctor!
What could the doctor do? Short of an exorcist, he couldn't think of anyone else who might be able to help him. Amenaru stood, this time on all four feet, but did not move. How does walking work? He started with his left front paw and then the corresponding back paw. With that, he inched forward. It was the longest he'd ever taken just to get from his bed to the bedroom door, which is where he ran into another problem.
Amenaru: Crap.
The door control was higher than he could reach. When he discovered that the new Shadowdancer had voice controls in some systems, he found it an intriguing novelty, but little more. Some of that voice control action sounded really nice right now. Slowly and carefully, Amenaru walked his front paws up the wall while his rear legs stretched as far as they could, back feet planted firmly on the floor. He still couldn't reach. Steadying himself, he took a little hop. Almost there. One more and he managed to swat the door open button.
The next obstacle, of course, was the main door to the corridor. Amenaru had never noticed before, but now it was painfully obvious. The control to this door was slightly higher than the one to his bedroom. Little hops weren't going to do. He needed a bigger one, but it was taking practice. For awhile, he bounced up and down on his hind legs, mumbling half-formed, nonsensical curse words under his breath as he did.
Amenaru: Farkin flippin flabbergastin fenal flappin...
Finally, he managed to swat the door button and it slid open, with Amenaru tumbling to the floor again after this last, his highest, jump. Quickly, he scrambled to his feet and darted into the corridor before the door could close.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle snoozed lightly in her bed behind Amenaru's desk in the living room until she heard the alarm clock muffled behind the bulkhead. Soon, Amenaru would emerge from his room, and she looked forward to a nuzzle and some scritches before he went on his duty shift. Somehow, however, it seemed to take longer than usual, but the door to Amenaru's room finally opened. Her cue to stand and give a little stretch, but then she heard something entirely unexpected.
Amenaru: Farkin flippin flabbergastin fenal flappin...
Curious, she strode to the side of the desk and poked her head around the corner, just in time to see the door slide open and a black and gold cat gather himself to his feet and dart out the door. For a moment, Mrs. Tiggywinkle remained where she was, her left front paw dangling in midair. With a heavy sigh, she plopped her butt on the floor and swished her tail back and forth as the door slid shut.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle: Well, shit.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle stood and stretched again, this time headed to the kitchenette.
Mrs. Tiggywinkle: I'd better get some tea and brush my teeth. This is going to be a long day.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
