Entry tags:

!complete, carol danvers (captain marvel), veronica mars

Who: Carol Danvers and Veronica Mars with NPC Chewie and Backup
What: Random meeting with animals
When: Early December
Where: Vet's office
Rating/Warnings: Low
Status: Complete

Pet ownership was a very serious matter.

Carol was still in that ‘do I like this’ stage of things. Sure, it was company when she get home from work, but on occasion the cat had a bad habit of chewing her way through things or scratching at the door frames. Still, it was a little more company than she already had.

It meant the occasional outing to the vets though, because she had no idea just what Chewie had been through before she’d appeared in Carol’s room one morning. Weirdly, getting her into a cat carry pack and get her to a vet that one of the office guys had mentioned being good was really easy. Like Chewie was used to it.

Apparently Carol was a very responsible pet owner in the dreams -not that she knew it yet.

Chewie, however, was not good around other cats and kept hissing at the other animals in the waiting room. “If you don’t stop that, I’m going to let them shave you.” The weird thing was that Carol had no issue talking to the cat either, giving Chewie a stern look through the wire door.

Veronica entered the vet’s office with Backup on a leash. She had had him for about a year now and he had always been a well behaved dog. Must have been all that training from the dreams considering Veronica hadn’t done all that much training.

Some of the other owners looked up at her when she entered a few even gave her dirty looks. She knew pit bulls got a bad rap and she hated it. Especially when Backup was so obedient. Although he would attack anyone that tried to hurt her, but that was a different story.

There was one pet owner though that didn’t seemed to mind though. Or she was just too preoccupied talking to her cat to care. Hopefully it was the first. And luckily there was an empty spot next to her too. “I don’t know about shaving your cat. Shaved cats aren’t all that attractive,” she commented with a smirk. Probably not the best introduction but it was a good piece of advice if you asked her “Mind if I sit here?” Backup wagged his tail anxiously.

“Nope, not at all.” Carol had been around horrid dogs and lovely dogs and the most obedient, well behaved dogs on the planet -those were the police dogs, they were her favourite dogs ever and Carol didn’t give a rats ass about the breed. Moving her bag to the floor between her legs, Carol offered the dog owner a smile. “And she might actually take me seriously if I threaten her.”

Considering just how violent Chewie could be, and the fact that she was supposed to be the safer of the cat or dog spectrum, Carol wasn’t too concerned with the pitbull aspect of the dog sitting wagging it’s tail contentedly.

Chewie just huffed and curled up a little in her cat cage, still giving Carol a glare.

“Thanks,” Veronica replied giving the woman a small smile before taking the seat next to her. Once Veronica was seated Backup laid down at her feet.

“Your cat must be smart,” she commented. “I don’t think Backup,” who lifted his head when he heard his name, “would understand threats.” When he realized Veronica wasn’t saying his name and just talking about him he set his head back down. “I’m Veronica by the way,” she said introducing herself.

“I’m still convinced she’s plotting to kill me, but I feed her regularly enough that she hasn’t decided when.” Carol believed it was less a case of Chewie understanding her and more a case of Chewie humoring her. Which was more likely given how little she believed her cat cared. About anything. At all.

Sure, there were those moments when Carol talked at length to the cat, and it seemed like she was listening, probably just waiting for a clue as to when food time was, and Chewie made a good companion in that she wasn’t needy but still read Carol’s moods well enough to curl up on her when she was largely depressed. But yes, she definitely was not a ‘good’ cat.

“Carol, nice to meet you.” And a glance down to the docile dog all curled up, Carol offered a small smile towards who she now assumed was Backup, “How old is he?”

Veronica wasn’t exactly a cat person. She didn’t think she was an animal person in general, but her roommate used to have Pete and Veronica had liked him and then Backup showed up and it was hard not to fall in love with the dog. Cats were still another story though. And from what Carol was telling her she didn’t think she would ever want one.

“How long have you had her for?” That would be at least some indication on the whole killing Carol issue. “I hope your cat isn’t capable of murder, for your sake,” she added with a smirk.

And then she asked about Backup. “Not sure actually,” she wasn’t going to go into how he just showed up from her dreams fully grown. There was a chance Carol wasn’t a dreamer and Veronica would sound crazy. “Best guess is around five.”

“She appeared about a month ago, but…” Oh, the dreams. Carol assumed the Chewie was with her for a longer period of time, and maybe the cat knew all that. But since Carol only just knew when she got the damn cat -dreams being confusing thanks to the disassociation she was suffering in the dreams, well, she had no real clue just when she obtained ownership of the cat. “She was a… surprise.”

That’s what people called unexpected dependents, wasn’t it? Happy accidents? Surprise additions?

“And you’re just lovely, aren’t you?” Since the most vicious dog in the waiting room was probably the deranged chihuahua that hadn’t stopped shaking and growling since it arrived. Naturally, as Carol started to direct attention towards the very well behaved pitbull, Chewie got testy, hissing slightly and meowing with a definite petulant tone. “Oh hush up, missy. You are not a child.” So aloof and yet so possessive.

Appeared huh? Veronica knew exactly what that was like. Still she was cautious. “Like a stray cat in your yard?” Because jumping straight to the dream conclusion wasn’t entirely practical. Just because that was how Veronica got Backup didn’t mean everyone got their pet.

She smiled proudly as she complimented her dog. Yes, Backup was very lovely and well behaved. “Feisty,” Veronica commented when her cat acted up. Even with the fact that she wasn’t a cat person and would never want one for herself she had to admit she kind of liked this cat’s attitude. She knew what she wanted and was vocal about it. Her owner was clearly not allowed to like any other pets. “I think she’s jealous.”

“Um, not exactly, no. She was a very unique find.” Suddenly having a cat and all her stupid little bits and pieces -thanks for spoiling her dream Carol- had been confusing enough since at the time Carol hadn’t gotten to the point where she had a cat. “But she’s settled in nicely, we’re just making sure that um… everything is fine with her, given how she came to me.” Could reality warping cat appearances affect the poor thing?

“You should see when the postman comes with a parcel.” Oh, Chewie could give any dog a run for her money. “I don’t know if I thought a cat would be less work than a dog or not, but I was clearly wrong.” Because look at Backup, and look at Chewie. Who exactly was the most work?

“Backup was a unique find as well,” Veronica agreed with a nod. Again her dog raised his head then set it back down when he realized his name wasn’t being called. He was just attentive like that. Best part was Veronica didn’t even have to train him, he showed up already trained. Thanks dreams.

“At least you don’t have to wash her,” Veronica commented. “After I take him to the beach it’s sand everywhere, giving him a bath is a nightmare.” But it was worth it considering how much Backup loved the beach. “What’s her name?” she realized she didn’t know the name of the cat just yet.

Yeah, the fact that the most Carol needed to do was mind Chewie’s claws was a good thing -she wasn’t declawed, Carol looked that up and had shuddered at the thought then donated some money to a shelter that rehomed declawed cats- which meant trimming the nails was a past time if Carol wanted to keep nice things. Although the furballs she was finding in weird places left a lot to be desired.

“Oh, Chewie. Her name is Chewie.” Yes, Carol was a giant dork, in both this world and the next, why do you ask. “Stop moping and say hello furball.” A soft meow accompanied Carol’s demand, earning a small tickle under the chin with the single finger Carol could get through the small bars on the front of the cage.

Veronica didn’t have a cat and though she had heard of declawing she didn’t know what the process entailed. But trimming claws every so often didn’t seem like the worst thing. As long as the cat would let you do it. It probably was a small price to pay instead of doing something as drastic and permanent as declawing.

Okay so Veronica couldn’t help but smile at that meow. Even with all the trouble Chewie seemed to cause Carol the cat did obey. “I think she’s coming around,” Veronica commented. She was pretty much ignoring her own animal companion at this point but Backup was still fine lying down on the ground. He was taking up a lot of space all sprawled out like that instead of sitting up at her side. But whatever he was content. “It’s weird how this pet owner thing kind of sneaks up on you.”

“Doesn’t it.” Carol wouldn’t have considered getting herself a pet, she wouldn’t have wandered into a store or gone looking for her own stray to take in. But with Chewie now, Carol wasn’t looking to give her up. The attachment had already formed. “Not that we could turn them away now.”

The person who was, presumably, in front of Carol was called in, the dog she had with her passing Chewie with a slight sniff and huff. Hopefully it meant Carol would wrap things up and get Chewie home before she had a proper hissy fit. “Although I could do without the vet trips.” Lots of waiting around to pay a man to poke at her cat really.

Veronica wasn’t a huge fan of vet offices either. But you know anything for Backup. “Gotta keep them healthy,” she replied with a nod. “As lame as it sounds I honestly don’t know what I would do without this dog now that I have him.” And it was true. She couldn’t really imagine her life without Backup.

“Sometimes vet trips aren’t so bad. At least when you have someone decent to talk to in the waiting room.” As in Carol the woman she had just met but Veronica liked her and she was usually a pretty damn good judge of character. “Maybe we should schedule all their vet appointments for the same time.”

It was true that you tended to deal with uncomfortable situations for the sake of pets, Carol didn’t like a hospital, just like she didn’t like a vet’s but she was more likely to go to the vet’s for Chewie than go to the hospital for herself. “Pretty much.” Chewie would likely leave a small fluffy hole in her life.

“Well, since she’s not the best of company, I wouldn’t be opposed.” Carol was friendly enough, and she didn’t see a problem with it really, pulling a business card from her pocket, “Carol Danvers.” Since, the pet introduction came before the person one.

“It’s too bad they don’t have cat obedience school like they do for dogs,” she quipped before accepting the business card. “Veronica Mars,” she replied pulling her wallet out of her purse to put Carol’s in and take out one of her old ones. From when she was a lawyer. She didn’t exactly have business cards at The Agency, but whatever it still worked. “Editor? Impressive,” she commented before handing her card over.

Cat obedience school? For Chewie? Carol almost laughed at the possibility, but she just had to just shake her head with a small smile, “Pity, yeah.” Chewie would probably just lounge out and ignore everything. Just as she was about to respond to the comment on her profession the next door opened, and Carol and Chewie were called out. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I’m sure we’ll talk later.”