11764/Time to Get a Cat

Time to Get a Cat
Date of Scene:	23 June 2022
Location:	Animal Shelter in Manhattan
Synopsis:	Jon and Cael go to get a cat. They find a cat! And confirm that Jon is, in fact, a cat person.
Cast of Characters:	Cael Becker, Jonathan Sims

---

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael, occasionally, has a flare for the ridiculous - and that was evident the day her new '68 Camero was picked up from the paint shop. Going down the sides of the car? Massive wings in blue, teal, and a gold paint that shimmers and sparkles in the light. That's the main feature of the car's paint job - but there are images of scarabs, of pyramids rising out of the desert sands, of the sun - with the eye of Ra super imposed on it. On the hood of the car, between the wings, is a scale with a heart and feather balanced in place. In short - the paint job is a bit much. And yes, Cael stubbornly insists on calling it the Ma'atmobile.
    This is the car that Cael, Jon, and Agnes climb into on their way to the shelter - with Bear in his service dog vest, sitting in the back with Agnes. "Hopefully we can find a cat that's not too upset by a large dog," or two, Cael remarks as she drives, glancing aside at Jon as they make the last turn - the parking garage for the animal shelter just ahead of them, on their left.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon... actually has to take a moment, on seeing the car. Yes, it's ridiculous, but it's ridiculous in reference to something desperately important to him. Even if he's angry at Ma'at just now, it's the kind of anger that comes from being angry at that which you love. So he gives Cael a long kiss--ignoring Agnes' smirk and eyeroll--before climbing into the car. Evidently, he's touched.

    Otherwise, they're quiet during the drive, watching the buildings go by with a faintly distracted expression. "It's been years since I had a cat," they note. "You'd think, if I'm actually a cat person--" They shake their head. This constant self-doubt is draining even to them; it must be even worse to those around them.

    "I'm definitely a cat person, and I've never had a cat," Agnes pipes up. "Don't worry, Dad."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael responds by simply reaching over to put her hand on Jon's arm, giving it a squeeze before she shifts gears. Once in the parking lot, she's picky about finding a parking space that makes people least likely to bump into her car and damage the new paint job, then she climbs out - resting her hand briefly on the roof of the car.
    Thanks, Alis.
    She remains there a moment - then locks the car up and turns back towards Jon and Agnes with a smile on her features. "Well. Let's see what they got. Are we thinking kitten - or adult cat?" she asks, walking towards the entrance. She joins arms with Jon as she walks, with Bear naturally falling in at her heel.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Well... an adult cat would be more likely to bully the dogs, but a kitten would be more able to adapt, so... let's see?" Jon says, tucking Cael's arm in close. He's wearing his prosthetic today, since he can't seem to summon magic in the real world just now anyway.

    "I've read that it's more ethical to adopt an adult cat since most people want kittens, and adult cats need good homes," Agnes notes, peering around at the place as they walk in.

    Jon shrugs. "It's really down to what animal we connect with. I figure we'll... know the right one."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Same with foster kids," Cael mutters quietly - but she leaves it at that, as they make their way into the lobby. "Hello. We were hoping to adopt a cat today," she greets the volunteer at the desk with a friendly smile. "We're hoping to find a cat that doesn't mind large dogs?"
    In no time flat, they're directed down a hallway - after having been advised to read the cards on the outside of each cage. It would note if they were known to tolerate or fear dogs. Large, glass windows give them a clear view into cage after cage of cats. Some a housed individually or in pairs in small cubicles - but there are also large play rooms, with multiple cats, running around chasing toys, and climbing up onto cat trees. "I guess we'll have to get one of those things now," Cael remarks. "...we'll probably want one with a fairly wide base, so the dogs don't knock it over."
    Bear, meanwhile, snuffles curiously at some of the lower cages - causing some of the cats to back hastily away.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon peers at the cages, but it's a mark of how depressed he is that even cats /in person/ can't quite seem to shake him out of the funk. They pause before this or that cage, but then move on, shaking their head. The play rooms get a little more interest, but it's vague and dull. They've been trying, but fear and rage seem to be the only emotions they can summon up with any kind of regularity. Joy, contentment, humor--anything positive seems to be fleeting.

    Agnes is much more animated, cooing at several cats and rolling her eyes at the ones that shy away from Bear. "Oh, come on, he's a big dumb fluff ball, he won't /hurt/ you," she chides them. She points out several options, and it's clear that were it up to Agnes they'd just adopt the entire shelter. Perhaps the next Archivist's 'day job' will involve animals in some way--or at least cats.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael smiles at Agnes' enthusiasm - it doesn't seem to be put on. At least, not much - though she's almost certain Agnes is at least trying to get her father more involved in the process. "Why don't we go into one of the play room's, Jon?" Cael suggests. "And Agnes - if you find //one// you like," here she gives the girl an amused look, "you can see if one of the volunteers will bring it into the playroom with us." She squeezes Jon's arm encouragingly as she asks, "Alright?"
    Looking back at Bear she adds, "And no, you're not coming in with all the cats." She can just imagine all the chaos that'll cause.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "But I love them /all/!" Agnes complains. "Look at them! They're all adorable, and they all need good homes. Do you think they'd let me volunteer? How old do you need to be to volunteer at an animal shelter?"

    Jon chuckles, if a little dully. "I suppose it'd keep you busy," they murmur, still staring at cats without seeming to really see them.

    Then he stops in front of a cage holding a large cat with long hair and tufted ears, mostly black but fading into reddish-brown in places. It peers at Jon with bright golden eyes, curiously. The name tag reads 'Nimue.'

    "Something's wrong with her leg," Jon says. "See, there? The way she's holding her paw?" It's the most emotion his voice has had besides fear since he woke up. He leans in close to peer at the cat. "Hey there, girl," he murmurs. "You come out worst against a crow or something?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "We can ask on the way out?" Cael suggests to Agnes. "See if they'll take teenage volunteers? And grab an application, or permission form, or whatever it is they require."
    She stops next to Jon, the peer at the cat with a curious look on her features. "Hey there gorgeous," she greets the cat casually, her hands shoved into her pockets. Bear comes to a stop at Jon's side - thumping his tail a few times, and then leaning in against Jon's leg - something that gets an amused smile from Cael when she spots it. Sometimes, Bear doesn't seem to care who he's helping - as long as he's helping.
    "Should I get one of the volunteers over to get her out for us?" she asks - just a touch hopefully.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Ohhh, she's pretty," Agnes says. "Tortoiseshell is a color pattern, you know, not a breed--a lot of people think it's a breed. Almost entirely females. And Maine Coon... largest breed of domestic cat. They're energetic and love people, but also tend to be kind and gentle." Yep, she's her father's daughter alright.

    Jon reaches a finger--of his left hand--through the cage to let Nimue sniff at it. "Let's? I want to know what's going on with her paw. And see if she likes Bear."

Cael Becker has posed:
    It only takes a few minutes to get a volunteer to gather the cat up for them - carrying her into a private room for the family. Cael brings Bear in with her - but directs him to a corner of the room. "Bear - down," she commands simply. The pup obligingly lies down on the floor. "Stay," she adds, only then nodding to the volunteer to release the cat. She takes a seat on the floor near Bear, her hand resting on top of his to scritch idly, and keep him calm and relaxed (not that that's a praticular challenge with Bear) while she watches Jon and Agnes with the cat.
     It's far more important to her that //they// get along with the cat.
    Besides? What if she has some sort of... jackaly presence that sets the thing off? She doesn't want to spoil things.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    It's clear what Jon means with the paw very shortly; Nimue has a limp. Her left front paw is oddly twisted, and she places it gingerly as she walks, like she's afraid to make things worse. Still, she doesn't seem to have any issue with either Bear or Cael, focused instead on sniffing at Agnes and Jon curiously and then butting her head at them for pets and scritches.

    The volunteer explains that Nimue belonged to a family whose home was destroyed in the angelic invasion, and they presume the injury happened while she was wandering the streets during the occupation. She was microchipped, so the family found her again, but they ultimately moved to another borough, into an apartment that doesn't allow pets, and couldn't find anyone that would take a cat with a lame paw. And the name? Evidently that's because she likes to play in the water.

    Jon crouches down next to the cat and reaches out to gently take the paw in his hand. "I'd imagine I could heal this," he murmurs quietly, eyes thoughtful. "When... when I'm better." The cat pulls her paw away and places it on Jon's hand for a moment before trilling at him and butting his hand again. /Scritches/.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "She seems nice enough," Cael remarks. "For a //cat.//" But there's amusement on her features. Cael is not actually a dog person. Or a cat person. In fact, she hadn't really considered herself a pet person at all - until Bear. But now that she has him - well. But the truth was, she likes all pets well enough.
    "Stay," she reminds Bear, before moving closer to offer her hand to the cat, before gently stroking and scratching the creature herself.
    "Let me know if you want me to let Bear up," she suggests, while scratching behind Nimue's ear.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Nimue seems to be a people person--maybe a 'human cat' instead of a 'cat person'? At any rate, she trills and purrs at Cael, quite happy to get the attention. She seems like she'd be energetic, if not for the paw, quite willing to bat at things dangled in front of her.

    "Have Bear come sniff at her?" Jon suggests. His mood has definitely brightened. "If they can get along I think I'd like to adopt her. It... I don't know. She seems... right."

    Agnes beams and winks at Cael from behind Jon's back.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Sure," Cael agrees - and after a final scritch, she climbes to her feet. "Bear - up," she tells him. She puts her hand on his collar, and the pair of them approach the cat, walking at a calm, sedate pace while Cael watches the cat for her reaction.
    Bear, for his part, is happily tail wagging - his nose reaching out to sniff curiously at the dark colored feline, with his floppy ears partially cocked upwards.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Nimue sniffs at Bear curiously, and eyes him warily for just a moment. She then lifts a paw to bat his him gently. When he, presumably, doesn't growl or bite, she backs up a bit and crouches down, hindquarters wagging back and forth a bit.

    Agnes giggles. "She's offering to play," she points out. "They did say there was a dog in the home, right? She's probably used to them, although maybe not as big as Bear."

    Jon nods to himself and gets up to go find the volunteer that had been helping them. "We'll need a larger carrier than I was expecting," he murmurs to himself. Evidently he's decided Nimue's coming home with them.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Good boy, BearBear. Good boy," Cael murmurs - as the most 'aggressive' thing Bear does is sneeze. He looks like he wants to sniff the cat all over - but she holds him back from that, for now. It might be better to get Nimue home and settled in before that.
    "Agnes - you want to stay and guard our chosen cat from all comers?" she suggests with a grin that carries a hint of triumph - before she follows Jon out to find a volunteer.
    "Don't they sometimes have those cardboard carriers we can use for taking cats home?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Agnes nods and starts working on coaxing Nimue into her lap. She's not trying to steal Jon's cat or anything, but it'll keep the cat safe while the adults go to get papers dealt with.

    "I can /feel/ you wanting to gloat," Jon comments as Cael catches up with him. "Go on, then. You won't be happy until you do."

    He makes his way up to the front desk and asks to start the adoption process. He also asks after the minimum volunteer age and, sadly, discovers that it's 16.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "If this helps you, Jon, then I'm happy," Cael answers, wrapping an arm around their waist, so she can rest her head on their shoulder. "Very happy. I know it doesn't fix things, but- Bear helps me immensely."
    "Agnes will be disappointed to hear that," Cael murmurs quietly. "But... well. Maybe there's a cat rescue she can help with? Manning the booth at an 'adoption day' or something like that? There has to be some sort of animal group that'll take her off our hands for a few hours a week."
    While Jon is taking care of the paperwork - she handles the adoption fee, and starts carefully constructing the cardboard carrier.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Well, she'll have her remedial classes starting in a couple of weeks," Jon notes. While Agnes is /very/ smart, she was behind in several subjects when she started school, and thus has been enrolled in ESY just to give her time to catch up. "And I've got her in a summer camp or two, just to get her out and socializing. But that would be a good idea too." A pause. "Martin, of course, wants her to join Scouts, but I don't know how outdoorsy she is. We'll see."

    The paperwork isn't complex, and while filling it out Jon asks the volunteer behind the counter, "How many of the animals here would you say were affected by the siege back in January?" He raises a brow. "Even just... tangentially?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I went to a few Girl Scouts things growing up. I didn't- I don't know. It wasn't for me." With the carrier constructed, she scratches idly at Bear's head - her eyebrows going up a bit at Jon's question.
    "Oh, uhh - I don't have the exact numbers. I mean - I'm just a volunteer, you know?" the young woman replies. "But- well. It was a pretty big problem at the time. Finding housing for the animals from the Manhattan shelters, and taking in the animals of all the evacuees, and all that. All the shelters were //way// over capacity. Even the no kill shelters - we had to euthanize more of the medical cases because there just wasn't enough resources and- well. Things are better now. But we're still just... getting back to normal."
    "Are you thinking of using some of the... funds?" Cael asks Jon in a quiet aside. It wouldn't have even occured to her to use it for animal wellfare. "Huh."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon nods to Cael, then looks to the woman and pulls out a business card. "I'm the manager of a fund set up to help victims of the siege. I think your shelter--well, any of them, really--would probably qualify." He holds out the business card. "Tell your director to get in touch and feel free to put out the word to other places. And... if you can send along the information to any families that have had to move and are willing to be contacted... well. It's for /anyone/ that was affected."

    Offering the help seems to boost his spirits a bit, too. Presuming the woman takes the card, he smiles and goes to finish filling out the paperwork, signing his name with a flourish.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Oh, uhh- thanks. I'll pass that one," the woman replies. She sounds a bit surprised and flustered - but she dutifully writes out a note, and staples it to the card, and then tucks it into a mail slot behind the desk where, presumably, someone more important than her will be able to deal with that.
    Taking the paperwork from Jon, she glances it over and remarks, "Well, it looks like all of this is in order, Mister uh- Sims," she remarks, after looking back to the top of the form. "...wait." See, //now// she seems to be connecting the dots. "I- oh! But- you changed your hair!" she says a little flustered.
    "It's Doctor Sims," Cael corrects helpfully, flashing the woman a brief smile, before joining arms with Jon.
    "Are we keeping the name Nimue?" she asks casually as they walk back to find Agnes.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon puts a hand on his hair, a little self-consciously. "Oh. Yes. Well. It's... umm... it's a... thing." His cheeks flush a bit darker. "Anyway, ahh... yes. Please, uhh... well. Tell your supervisor the Archivist would be glad to help out."

    Now there's going to be a whole /thing/ about the Archivist adopting a cat. Terrific.

    "That's the first thing I noticed," Jon says as they head back to Agnes. "The name. Nimue is one of the possible names for the Lady of the Lake, particularly in Le Morte d'Arthur. Lancelot's guardian, Merlin's lover, usually the bestower of Excalibur to Arthur. Of course, Morgan le Fay is often said to be the Lady of the Lake, but..." He shrugs.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...keeping the name, then," Cael remarks with amusement, bumping hips with Jon. "You know that 'Merlin' and 'Arthur's about all that made sense to me there?" she asks.
    As they return to the room, cardboard carrier in hand, she cheerfully announces to Agnes, "We own a cat! I guess we better get her home and settled in." There's a momentary pause before she adds, "Though - turns out they won't let you volunteer for a few years, yet. Sorry, Agnes."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "...You wouldn't sit down and read Le Morte d'Arthur, I suppose," Jon murmurs with a chuckle. "Well, we can find something to watch. Movies or TV shows or both, and I can point out the discrepancies."

    Agnes, by now, has Nimue in her arms; she stands as they enter the room and offers her over to Jon. "Aww, that's a shame," she says with a pout. "Well, I'll find /something/ to do. Maybe I'll join Scouts like Martin kept hinting 'round at. It's worth looking into at least."

    Jon takes the cat into his eyes with a wide-eyed look, and then suddenly bursts into tears right there in the shelter. Well. "Sorry. Thank you. Sorry." He pulls the cat in close and sobs quietly.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Jon... Love." Cael turns towards him, gently wrapping her arms around him - mindful of the cat. She gestures Agnes in with a subtle movement of her hand - and will open her arm to let the girl into the hug as well. "It's okay. I mean - this is where I was six months ago, yeah? We're here for you, so it can get better. You can be sad, or mad, or numb, or whatever you need for now - and we'll be here to get you out of bed with a breakfast burrito, and a coffee, and even a song if you need it. Okay?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "B-but I can't... people need me. /You/ need me. The JLD needs me. Th-the /world/ needs me. I c-can't just... fall apart, when people need me." Jon sniffles, leaning into Cael's arms.

    "You deserve to be saved too, Dad," Agnes says as she comes in to join the hug. "And you need things too, right?"

    "Stop being better at my job than I am, both of you," Jon grumbles. Then, after a moment, he pulls away and wipes at his eyes. "You're sure it's okay that I'm... just... a damn mess? I know you're going through a lot too..."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I do need you," Cael admits. "And I have you. We're stronger together - right?" she reassures him. "You are always there for me. You need to know - I'm here for you too, without question. Without hesitation. It's okay that you need me."
    She puts her hand behind Jon's head, gently pulling their face in towards her so she can kiss them on each eye before releasing them. "Go ahead and be a mess - it won't be forever. I'll- I have Caldwell, and Bear, and Sara, and Sam, and Cap. And I still have you - right here with me. Yeah?"
    After an encouraging smile she adds, "Shall we get Nimue into her carrier so she can go see her new home? I think she's waited long enough. Don't you?"