16097/Of feeding Cats

Of feeding Cats
Date of Scene:	17 October 2023
Location:	Bushwick <Mutant Town>
Synopsis:	Kitkat and Catseye are grabbing some lunch from the butchery... and Caleb is a jerk.
Cast of Characters:	Kitkat, Sharon Smith, Alex Summers, Caleb Dykstra

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Kitkat has posed:
Bushwick has some appeal to Kitkat. Mostly, because people there don't stare at you as much as in other areas. But the exchange rate of green slips for food is decent, and they have a butchery that doesn't ask too many silly questions about shedding or the amount of meat she bought. Not the best cuts but several pounds of mixed cuts and other meat products. Lugging the white plastic bag in one hand and a large black cat on the other, she opens the door out with the back.

"Hold on a minute, let's first get to a bench, ok?" she notes to her feline baggage, lifting her up a little so she can reach down with the head, licking over the head of the large cat, right between the ears.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith had one of those cuts hanging out of her lips. She was in the form of a small, black cat. Her sharp teeth firmly pierced the small hunk of meat, which wobbled aimlessly in the air as she bounced between Kitkat's clutching arms. She glanced up with almost an annoyed look as she was licked, seeming too busy trying to figure out how to eat the small chunk of meat without dropping it to be bothered with licks!

Alex Summers has posed:
Fred's Diner is a favorite of Alex's. He's been coming here for breakfast for breakfast, breakfast for lunch, breakfast for dinner, breakfast for after clubs... for nearly 5 years now. He's also saved the place a number of times from being destroyed by rowdy mutants who would show off their mutant powers for fun and sport. So many times.

Today, like many in the past, Alex is seen walking down from the elevated subway train platform and onto the busy sidewalk. He normally minds his own business with one goal in mind; bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns... breakfast. The diner is a good block and a half away. He slips his hands into the pockets of his black jacket and peers down the street through his blue eyes. For the most part he ignores the mutants that surround him. He looks normal and he doesn't want to draw their attention and then be forced to display his power. That's also happened more than once. But, such is life. He walks.

Note: If anyone attends Xavier's School, he's a noted science teacher there. Otherwise, he's just a guy.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Also looking normal here, is a young man in a biker jacket, in his late teeens, early twenties - Caleb. His helping his dad with the family business brings him to New York frequently, and also frequently passing Bushwick. Besides, he's become acquainted with a couple mutants already, so a visit is not off the list of possibilities. Maybe even grabbing a bite.

Besides, you don't have to be a mutant to go into Bushwick, a.k.a. Mutant Town, right?

...Right?

Kitkat has posed:
Chufing a moment at Sharon's antics to try and eat before they had taken a seat, Kitkat hurries her steps a little, the fingers under the cat trying to scritch her just a little, but that was tricky with only the one arm for it. "You're greedy." she muses, offering a teasing little breath over the ear before she stretches the back again, approaching a park bench close to the train platform.

Kitkat doesn't know Alex.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith small black paws helped to clutch the hunk of meat as she nibbled. She gave Kitkat a muffled reply, or perhaps a sound of warning as she gnawed at the dripping slab of dead carcass. Glowing blue eyes only briefly glanced up before focusing back on the task at hand.

Alex Summers has posed:
Seeing a cat person carrying a cat isn't the oddest thing in Mutant Town he's ever seen. In fact, it's normal to Alex and he'll give pause to let them pass in front of him in their route to the park bench. Meanwhile, he will resume his journey toward the diner without further regard. If anything, he's reminded of Rahne and Hepzibah, and he has a nice reflective smile that draws the corners of his mouth upward. The soft booted heels of his footfalls press onward in a busy sidewalk allowing pace.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Oh, speaking of grabbing a bite, there's a diner just up ahead - the one Alex is headed into. He too passes by Kitkat and Sharon in her cat form, and he smiles somewhat warmingly. He's actually no stranger to mutations, as he's met a girl that looks like a shark, which makes it a pretty big starting step. So, it's not really something that's surprising him, no. Could it be he's thinking... They're family?? Like, mother and child??

"Greetings, ma'am", he says. "Cute kid."

Yeah - he does.

Kitkat has posed:
Originally Kitkat wanted to sit on that bench pretty much right bast Caleb... but then he calls Sharon her kid. But then... that stranger calls Sharon... her kid? Stopping and spinning around, the white bag of meats falls, but Kitkat ever so gently lowers Sharon to the ground, glaring at Caleb even from her lowered positon.

"Where do you get that idea from? And where's your manners?!"

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith looked similar to the cat that lingered around the Xavier's School for so long, but in fairness... all black cats looked like that cat. Obviously Catseye had started a trend. She flicked her ear as Kitkat gave her the warning. A deviant look came over her face... though it was hard to discern from any other look the cat gave, because she always seemed to have an air of wild deviance. The chunk of meat slowly sagged from her sharp teeth, lowering ever so close to Kitkat's once stain-free skirt. She snapped the meat back into her mouth as she was lowered out of reach of her target.

Alex Summers has posed:
Alex heard the comment and there's a very clear wince to his expression. Yet, he knows better than to get involved. At least not until the claws come out and there's fur flying. Instead, he slows his pace and slightly turns to the side to find a light pole to put his foot upon and pretend to tie his boot while he continues to listen.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb is taken aback by the glaring. "Oh, I uhm..." He pauses to gather his thought process. "Well, I thought a kinship because you have feline traits, and she..." He shrugs, "Well, looks like a cat..." He adds, "Besides, her behaviour seemed to be akin to that of a child..."

He cuts himself off, changing his paradigm. "You know what? My bad, and my apologies. I didn't mean to break into a discussion." He adds, moving towards the diner. "Nice cat, then."

Kitkat has posed:
"So I can assume that you are... his brother because you are both skinned lightly and seem same age?" Kitkat counters as she gets up, gesturing randomly into the crowd to Alex. "Just because my friend is a cat doesn't mean I am her mother. Just being a good friend doesn't make you someone's parents. Besides, she's older than me."

Grunting, Kitkat eyes Sharon as the guy calls her 'nice cat.', reaching for the dropped bag of groceries with the other.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith thought of ways to diffuse the situation, but decided instead to make it more volitile, either that or she saw Caleb's leg as a pleasant thing to purr and rub against. She seemed like one of those cats who couldn't read a room, or didn't listen to what people were saying. In this case, Catseye was listening, and seemed devilishly amused to switch sides like the little fuzzy traitor she was!

Alex Summers has posed:
When Alex is gestured to, he turns his neck a bit more and gives the 'confused look'. Roughly, the huh expression that everyone offers when being singled out for something that they're not a part of. His glance though is brief, as he assumes it best that he stay clear of the potential kerfuffle that's about to come out of this. He takes note of Catseye, yet, like every black cat on the street, she's not recognizable unless she shifts back to her humanoid form. At least not to him. He also wonders about 'cat years' and if they're the same as 'dog years'.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb looks at the approaching cat, and smiles some as his leg is rubbed against, and returns his attention to Kitkat. He looks at Alex, and then back to her. "Well, going back far enough, there could be a common ancestor, coming from Europe..." He shakes his head, returning to the subject at hand. "But no, I'm the oldest sibling in my family. But again, you're right, and my apologies."

He crouches to pet Catseye. "Well, here's someone who took no offense to what was said..." He considers her travelling from person to person, "And I think she'd prefer us to be friends."

Kitkat has posed:
"Nah, she's is just trying to spite me." Kitkat notes, sighing a short moment as she sends a glance to the cat, ever so slowly turning. "Come on Catseye, the meat's getting warm and you wanted that T-bone that's in the bottom of the bag."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith gave a light bat at the downward falling hand. Her paw didn't have enough force to push his hand away, but it was the gesture that counted rather than the result. Luckily those claws were sheathed, otherwise it might have left a mark. In the end, her ears were left flattened by a petting hand, they only perked up when she was reminded about the T-bone. Catseye quickly darted back to KitKat's side, betraying Caleb for the prospect of food.

Alex Summers has posed:
Kitkat said 'Catseye' which actually captures Alex's attention far more than the potential comedy that was unfolding with the conflict. Surely it's a coincidence. But he focuses on the named cat in question and considers that it could be the one he knows - though impossible to discern. Emma would know. Either way, he discerns that the encounter is over and it's none of his business. So he drops his boot to the ground, seems content that life will move on, and so will he. He turns on his heel and resumes his path toward Fred's Diner.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb recoils his hand instinctively when he gets the paw, "Heeeyyyy---!", and sighs. Getting back up, he replies, "Oh well... Some other time, then."

He looks back to Alex as the two feline-traited women move away, "Sorry you got mixed up into this, man." And he heads for the diner.

Kitkat has posed:
The Path of Kitkat leads to the bench she initially targeted, putting the bag down in the middle and then sitting down on its right. Reaching in, she pulls out a steak wrapped in waxed paper, and then a second, putting the latter on the bench on its wrapper. The former, she only partiall unwraps to dig into it like... well, like a sandwich.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith leaped onto the bench, sticking her black nose deep into the bag, mostly to hinder Kitkat's efforts as she sniffed and eagerly examined the wrapped parsel.