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[worldisyours]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, RINDO KANADE. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 4.28.13.9 *** rindragon has joined 4.28.13.9

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[telewarped]

[Recognizing this particular cat, Shoka is prepared to give Rindo the same warning she's given other customers in the past—but ultimately, to her pleasant surprise, it isn't needed. He's careful and patient, and the usually testy Umbra waltzes right up to him like they're old friends.]

Well, look at you, Mr. Cat Whisperer! [He already looks smug about it (earning an amused little laugh from her), but after a moment, she decides that he probably deserves to be.] Low-key, I'm actually impressed... That's definitely the warmest reception I've ever seen her give a stranger.

[Meanwhile, she's apparently been chosen by another resident of her own. Once she notices the (also familiar) tom slinking his way toward her, she quiets, waiting patiently for him to reach her. When he does, she'll offer out a cautious hand for him to sniff, too, as she greets him in an unusually gentle voice.]

Hey, you. Miss me much?

[worldisyours]

[Evidently a fan of the scritches Rindo's giving her, the cat hops onto his lap, to his surprise. He begins to run his hand along her back as she settles down.]

…She's not usually like this?

[He looks back up at Swallow, spotting her very own feline visitor in the process. …It's nice, seeing her so relaxed after everything that's happened. Maybe even comforting. He finds himself smiling fondly at the sight.]

Hey, you're popular too.

[telewarped]

Heh, far from it. Full disclosure: she's a serial biter. And clawer.

[Many an unwelcome hand has been shredded by those needle-fangs... But right now she looks perfectly docile.

Shoka gives her own feline companion a gentle scratch on the head. Though he responds with a slow blink and a purr, he seems to take a moment to weigh his options afterward, briefly eyeing Rindo and Umbra... But eventually he decides the coast is clear, apparently, because he proceeds to follow Umbra's example and climb cautiously up into Shoka's lap.]

Well, somebody's feeling brave today...

[She rewards him with long strokes to his fur as he curls up. Rindo's comment earns a chuckle.]

With him, maybe. Been trying to get this guy to come out of his shell a little for a while now... So he knows me. [The cat shuts his eyes. Shoka's smile is soft.] I guess we usually do kind of just get each other, though... Me and strays.

[Guarded, often testy, unwanted...]

[worldisyours]

[…Really? This fluffy purring pile of fur on his lap?]

Oh… I wonder why she's being so nice, then?

[Not that Rindo's complaining. It'd have been embarrassing if none of the cats had cared to approach him.]

I'm not surprised you got through to him.

[She's so good at soothing his worries; it only makes sense for her to be a calming presence for animals too. The strays comment makes him smile as he shoots a pointed glance at what she's wearing.]

So the hoodie's more than just an aesthetic?

[telewarped]

Who knows? Maybe she's just naturally drawn to loser aura.

[Or he was just one of the first to be patient enough with her—but that's a little too sweet for Shoka to say to his face. Much easier to teasingly imply that he was just so sad-looking already that the cat didn't need to knock him down a peg or two.

When he brings up her hoodie, Shoka smiles, too, and lifts a hand to fiddle with one of the hood's ears.]

Maybe. [Definitely.] It's the first thing I bought in Shibuya, actually... It sort of just spoke to me, y'know?

[She gets a sense of déjà vu, talking about this with him again, but it isn't at all unpleasant.]