[ LET'S PLAY A GAME ] ; i'm just such a happy mess

[ungrieved]

        _______
       |/           |
       |
       |
       |
       |
       |
____|____

[That's it. That, and...a number of blank lines for people to guess letters. If they're interested in playing, that is. He apparently hasn't seen fit to explain the game, but if you stay tuned, you might catch the general gist of it.]

[[ooc: guessable words are in the comments. Please feel free to threadjack/make new words at your leisure!]]

Comments

[catpiper]

['Cat's game' should mean everyone is a winner. Only Ren can't figure out how to right this atrocious wrong with only the chalk in her hand and a bunch of words she can't write. Or even think to write. Cats are always good and their name should be used for good things. That's the point here.

Another tic tac board goes up, with everything identical to the previous one, except-]

|X|O|X|
|O|X|X|
|O|X|X|

this is a cat's game

[One where mystery bean wins twice and is happy. That's the new cat's game.]

[ungrieved]

i mean no
a cat's game is a draw
a tie
no man's game

[They let him win, even. That's both irritating, because it's patronizing, and...weird, because it's nice.]

but i guess this works too

[catpiper]

[Victory thy name is Ren. Take that tic tac toe creator!! She adds a giant, smiling purple cat under i guess this works too for good measure. Nice. Glad they're on the same page now.]

this will make them happy

[Will cats even care? Stay tuned. ESP Kitty will be interviewed shortly over this new development.]

[ungrieved]

make who happy

[Ren, help. He doesn't follow.]

[catpiper]

[The multiple blue cats that appear on the rock might be enough to indicate what this gremlin's answer is gonna be. But she writes it anyway-]

the cats

[ungrieved]

this island has cats?

[Literal cats, or imaginary ones?]

[catpiper]

yes

[Secret human looking ones and-]

one is with me

[ungrieved]

and does this cat actually exist

[catpiper]

[That's a weird question and one she has to read twice to make sure she's understanding it correctly. ESP kitty is real??? He's a real, good boy who deserves fish and head pats all day long.]

yes

hes warm

he purrs

he plays with toys

[ungrieved]

prove it

[Gabe's cunning plan to Meet A Cat comes to fruition.]

[catpiper]

["prove it". How? By writing something on the rock? By sitting here until this mystery player shows up?

Both maybe? She can do that.

In case the mystery bean doesn't show up before dark, Ren taps the rock and her goodest!!! boy!! puts his little paw up against the stone, allowing her to outline the shape of it with purple chalk.

There's your proofx2 pal. A cat signature.]

[ungrieved]

[A pawprint.]

[Good? Maybe. Good enough? Not yet. Not yet, because he's never gotten to pet a cat before, and he thinks he'd like it. He thinks he wants to know how it feels.]

you couldve drawn that on

[catpiper]

[SHE KINDA DID draw that on. This person isn't wrong. Drew it around an actual cat's paw, but still.

Maybe she's gonna wait here then!! She'll prove there are cats on this island the old fashioned way-by shoving this good boy it someone's face.]

[ungrieved]

[Maybe she’s gonna wait there. And at some point or another, because Gabe is nothing if not devoted to his little games and ploys, he’ll happen by the communal stone and stop dead because, like and behold, not only is there a little girl in front of the rock, but the girl has a cat with her.]

[Well, shit. Guess she wasn’t lying.]

You really do have a cat.

[catpiper]

[The vindication she feels is enough to last her a lifetime. She wouldn't lie about a cat, gosh.

It takes her another full second to connect the dots that this bean is the purple writer she had been speaking with before.]

He's a good boy.

[And true to his good boy nature, he watches the newcomer, whooooshing his lil tail back and forth.]

This is 'ESP kitty'. That's his name.

[ungrieved]

[ESP kitty.]

[Of course it's not a great name, but something about it is amusing. Maybe the idea that it might potentially confuse other people with just how bizarre and out-of-place it is. Gabe crouches slowly, never once taking his eyes off the cat.]

[He's never gotten to pet a cat. Not once.]

You named him?

[catpiper]

His friend gave him that good name.

[Keep your eyes on the prize, friend. ESP kitty returns the gaze in his own mild mannered way, standing up and purring when Ren begins to scratch his back.]

He likes it when you do this kind of thing.

[And she moves her fingers up to gently scratch behind his ears. Good boy, best boy. She loves him so much.]

[ungrieved]

[His eyes are well and truly on the prize. Now how does he draw this promise of a new and unknown experience to himself while still retaining his reputation as a cocky, standoffish asshole of a teenage boy? He's already staring at the cat too fixedly, too intently, for that charade to stay in play.]

[He looks away. Look at him. He doesn't even care, gosh.]

Your "friend" is pretty terrible at names.

[catpiper]

[Thems fightin words. The heck?? Murasaki did his best to give his friend a nice, cute name. ]

I like it-[A pause, and she moves to scratch under his cute cat chin.]-He likes it too. I can tell that kind of thing.

[And because ESP kitty is such a good, pure boy who doesn't understand when someone insults his kitty namesake, he starts to plod over towards the totally uninterested party.]

So it's a good name.

[ungrieved]

He's a cat. He doesn't care what name he has, as long as you feed him.

[How long can he keep this up? How long does he have to go until she starts to understand that he's just here to be an agitation, nothing more? How much longer before she oh god it's coming closer this is tearing down his cool and collected air by the second because the cat is coming closer and he's only seen one cat in his life, the one Mom crushed beneath the tire because she was trying to teach Natalie how to park the Honda and she wasn't checking her mirrors, and Natalie cried for days after even if she pretended not to be surprised.]

[This cat looks very much like he might consent to being crushed beneath a tire if it meant getting a scratch behind the ears before and after, so terribly unconcerned he seems with the proceedings.]

[Gabe stares at the cat, hard, like that might chase him away.]

What? [he says to the cat, somewhat defensively. He's talking to a cat. Stop him.]

[catpiper]

[The only saving grace is the cat, who's doing his best, because Ren's already 130% not okay with how this is going down. A part of her attributes it to him being unable to understand cats like she does. That would be well and good if his voice wasn't so-

She's watching this interaction carefully, waiting for an indication the cat isn't having a good time anymore. It would only take a second to scoop the cat into her arms and meander into the woods, but him staying this calm is-well, it means things are fine.

At his what ESP kitty stretches his front paws forward like he's beginning his daily yoga routine by this new person. Love him dammit.]

He only speaks 'nya'. That's the language he knows.

[And then-]

You can hold out your hand and say 'hello' that way.

[Let this good boy smell you!!!]

[ungrieved]

[He only speaks 'nya.' Jesus, and she's completely sincere. That's the problem with kids. He could tell her no, and no, and no, and no, and she would continue to be completely sincere, and the cat would not care about how cruel he is.]

[Short of trying to run the cat over with a car he doesn't have, he - ]

[He's not going to run the cat over. God.]

[He holds out a hand in the absence of anything else to do, because he honestly can't think of any other retort to - to this ridiculous situation that he himself has placed himself in. Like an idiot. A large part of him hopes that the cat can smell the dead body on him, and doesn't dare venture closer.]

[A larger part hopes that he does anyway.]

[catpiper]

[The nice thing about anime cats from a show you know nothing about is that maybe they don't care if you smell a little like dead body.

Good boys that only speak nya care about warm hands that are going to scratch their ears, not the stink on his fingers. As is the case now. ESP Kitty sniffs his hand and rubs the side of his face against it. Now you smell like dirty kitty and not dead boy!! Congrats!!

And Ren, pleased by the reaction, gently scratches his back.]

That's how you talk to cats. He's saying 'hello' back.

[ungrieved]

[...weird.]

[But it's not unpleasant, is it? It's not a disagreeable feeling, the sensation of a small, furry animal rubbing up against his fingertips. Slowly, he starts to pet the cat back, trying his best not to look as rapt and intent as he feels. Every sensation is new, and this is no exception.]

[Especially new in that he seems to like it.]

I don't have any food, puss. [In case the cat is, you know. Asking.]

[catpiper]

[This is the reaction she wanted to see. He may not have understood how to interact with cats, but he's learning and she smiles because of it. ESP kitty looks content, clearly basking in all this attention and arching his back to get more pets from this stranger.

This stranger who says something that makes her lean away from the cat and over towards her bag. If she were a normal person, she'd dig in to find what she wants, but when the item she's seeking isn't apparent when she opens the top, she dumps all her garbage onto the ground instead. The cat seems used to this, at least, and doesn't bat an eye.

Don't worry friend. She's got you.

Among the marbles, leaves, rocks and flower covered sticks, she's got a couple tins of cat food left. One of which she holds out to him.]

You can use this food. If you feed him, he'll be your friend. That's how it is.