Who: Kanan Jarrus, Anna of Arendelle and Bubbles (also NPC Damien, the loth-cat) What: A kitty conversation When: Recently, after the loth-cat showed up! Where: Chateau Katou Rating/Warnings Low/None Status: Complete when posted
Theoretically, as a Jedi, Kanan should have possessed the ability of animal ken, that is, a way of communicating with animals. Kind of. Certainly not in the way Bubbles could actually talk to them. It was all in The Force, using that cosmic energy to ...Kanan couldn’t quite explain it...calm the beasts, commune with them. Or something like that.
Unfortunately, Damien (or Demented, as Katou was fond of calling the loth-cat) refused to sit still long enough for Kanan to concentrate on the Force to forge that connection. If he (or she, Kanan hadn’t really had the chance to get close enough to check) wasn’t running through the house making a noise that could have been considered a meow, it was hiding under something Kanan couldn’t quite see.
Kanan was concerned the food he was making for Demien wasn’t what the loth-cat wanted. Usually loth-cats ate loth-rats (both sooo creatively named) and Kanan wasn’t convinced that the home-made cat food recipes he’d found online were to the animal’s taste, much less if they were even good for him! He ate it, at least. The bowls Kanan had gotten for him were always empty the next morning. That probably meant something.
From what Anna had said, Bubbles could probably find that out at least, and maybe why the cat liked to claw and bite at both Kanan and Katou if the two got too close. Kanan had never owned an animal before, and he really had no idea what he was doing.
Anna picked up Bubbles from her place, and the pair of them drove to Chateau Katou. (Anna was very familiar with Katou’s house… especially considering she woke up in his body there once. Not to mention she and Katou were sort of friends. Okay, they were friends. Even as much as he irritated Anna.) She pulled up to the curb and climbed out of the car to head to the door.
“I can’t even. It’s just so cute. I hope it likes me. I think I’m a pretty likable person? Don’t you?” Anna was talking animatedly to Bubbles as she looped her arm through her friend’s to practically drag her along. “Not that I want to have an animal at my house. I feel like that might be torture for Stefan. But really, I love them so much!”
Anna rang the bell.
Bubbles had never heard of a loth cat before, but that didn’t actually surprise her. She hadn’t heard of a lot of things from other peoples’ dreams. So when Anna asked her if she could talk to one, she’d said she didn’t know, but she’d try anyway. She was sure once she heard the cat speak, she’d be able to it. She hoped.
There was an amused expression on Bubbles’ face as Anna spoke. “I think you’ll be fine, but I haven’t met it yet. I’m sure we’ll know plenty once I get in there. If his cat doesn’t decide not to come out or something.” She smiled a little. “I’d like an animal, but the Professor always tells us no. He gave us one in the dreams, though.” There was a slight pout. She wished she had one now. “But I think you’re very likeable, so let’s hope it likes you, too!”
Kanan and Anna’s paths had crossed a couple of times since the party she threw over Memorial Day. Most commonly at Carolina and Wash’s place. The two hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to talk - she was usually there to see Wash, after all. But Kanan liked the girl. Liked her bubbly nature. He’d never met Bubbles, at least not officially, but any friend of Anna’s was a-okay in Kanan’s book.
“Hello, ladies,” Kanan greeted them both with an easy smile when he opened the door. “Come on inside.” Once the girls were in the living room he offered his hand to Bubbles. “I’m Kanan. It’s nice to meet you Bubbles.”
It was amazing how much Anna and Bubbles had in common. They were both friendly and energetic, and at times naively optimistic. But they had hearts in the right place. Anna liked Kanan very much. They hadn’t had too many chances to hang out without either Wash or Carolina distracting them from one another, but Anna would probably consider him a friend.
(Honestly, all the people in the world fell into two categories with Anna; Friends, and people she hadn’t met yet. Oh, and then Katou. He was something else entirely.)
“Hey!” Cue the hug from Anna. It was unavoidable. She stepped in and gave Kanan a quick one in greeting. Once they were in the living room and introductions were happening, Anna ducked down and started scanning under furniture for the cat.
Bubbles smiled at Kanan, waiting for Anna to let him go before taking his hand and shaking it. “Hey. I’m...well, I guess you know who I am.” He knew Anna, so he had to know that she wasn’t Anna, which made her Bubbles. Plus, he said her name. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” Her attention shifted to Anna who was looking around for the cat and she giggled softly.
“So you’ve been concerned about your...loth-cat?” Bubbles had never heard of a loth-cat before, but she’d do her best to help with him. She just hoped that she was able to.
Kanan returned Anna’s hug. By now, Kanan expected them. He was fond of her upbeat nature and absolutely considered her a friend. Plus, who didn’t like getting hugs? When Anna let him go to go in search of the animal in question, Kanan turned a sheepish look towards Bubbles. “Yeah,” he admitted running a hand through his hair. “He’s from the Dreams. I mean, I knew it was possible to get a pet from our Dream worlds, a friend of mine has a variable zoo at her house, but I didn’t really expect it. I’ve never had a pet before, and technically speaking lothcats are wild animals, so I’m not really sure if what I’m doing to take care of it is appropriate. So I appreciate any help you can give me, here.”
And speaking of Damien the lothcat, the little bugger was currently hiding behind one of Katou’s guitars, and not hiding particularly well either. The tip of a round spotted tail was poking out from behind the stand on one side and the tips of black paws were sticking out from behind the other side.
Anna jumped a little in excitement when she saw the creature, but didn’t want to scare him. (Her? It?) She kept her voice down and slowly approached, wandering around the guitar to get a better look.
Bubbles, for all that she could be just as excitable as Anna, was able to stay calm when she needed to. Animals needed to know you were calm for the most part. She stayed still, squatting down a little when she noticed the loth-cat. “I haven’t gotten any pets from the dreams,” she said softly. “Just powers.” She wasn’t sure how to speak to the animal, but she let herself focus for a moment. She hadn’t ever really spoken to a loth-cat before, but she couldn’t remember if she knew how to do it really ever before.
When he made a noise, though, Bubbles felt everything click into place. She smiled before introducing herself.
Damien eyed Anna wearily, but curiously as she approached. It’s beady little black eyes stayed on Anna’s every move. When she got a little too close, he made a noise that sounded as though it could have been a meow and showed of a set of gnarly looking fangs and teeth. Back off! This is my spot!
In the short time he’d been a pet owner, Kanan had quickly learned to identify that noise. Damien often made such a noise before sinking those teeth into either Katou’s or his own arm. “Careful, Anna,” he warned. He took a step forward to intervene when Bubbles started speaking. Then remembering why the girls were there, Kanan stopped. He glanced at Bubbles and then to the spot where Damien was hiding. “Can you...understand him?”
Yeah, Anna backed up. She took a few steps backward and then squatted down to get a good look at the cat. Man, this was so cool! Was this really some kind of alien cat? She was in awe as she heard Bubbles introduce herself to the cat, and then sat down on the floor to try and not be in the way while Bubbles and Damien communicated.
Bubbles looked up from what she was doing, getting her brain back into English before speaking to Kanan. “I can understand him, yes. Oddly enough. I’ve never heard it before, but it’s...well, it works pretty well.” She went back to speaking in loth-cat and asked a few questions about whether he was feeling any pain or unwell and if there was anything she could get for him so that he felt a little more comfortable. Did he prefer certain foods? She couldn’t know without asking and so she was.
Damien cocked it’s round little head at the strange human talking to him, seemingly surprised that the noises she was making was something he could understand. He ventured a curious few steps from it’s spot behind Katou’s guitar. It sat down and peered up at Bubbles curiously. It answered her that it was feeling fine and what he really would like was a loth-rat to eat. The food that human put down wasn’t bad, but Damien would prefer to hunt for his dinners.
Anna had to hold back a little squee of delight. The Loth-Cat was SO CUTE! She watched Bubbles and the cat talking to one another, and then glanced at Kanan. With a bright grin on her lips, she mouthed, This is so cool, am I right??
Bubbles nodded. She could understand wanting to be able to hunt for food as an animal. It was what they did. “Are you able to let Damien outside at all? He said he’d like it if he could hunt for his food instead of being given food. You could probably get a chip from the vet and I could ask if he wouldn’t mind wearing a collar so that you wouldn’t get in trouble and he wouldn’t get lost. But I think that’s what would make it better.” She smiled at Kanan and then over to Damien. At least it wasn’t something complicated to fix.
Kanan couldn’t help but grin back at Anna. He had to admit, this was pretty cool. Hearing Bubbles speak to his cat was something he never thought he would have seen. He looked back at Bubbles, a brow raised. “Let him outside?” He asked. The concern in his voice was unmistakable. Kanan was hesitant to let Damien outside for a couple of reasons. First off, Earth had dangers that Lothal did not. Cars that sped along the roadway, for instance. Then there were predators. Loth-cats may have been near the top of the food chain on the plans of their home world, but here? Earth was home to animals like large dogs, wolves, hawks. And finally there were other people to consider. Kanan was concerned about what would happen should Damien bite someone else.
Kanan looked at the loth-cat carefully. He was technically a wild animal, regardless if Kanan had given him a name or not. Wild animals needed to be able to roam about, right? Kanan rubbed the back of his neck wearily. “I guess so,” he answered cautiously. “So long as he doesn’t go too far. I suppose I could ask Katou if it’d be alright if we installed a cat door for him so he can get inside when he wants to. And he can’t bite other people. He can bite me if he has to, just no one else. I don’t want him to get picked up by animal control.”
Anna frowned a little and turned to Kanan. “Why would he have to bite you?” She asked. Were Loth-Cats like, vampires or something? Of course, that was the first place that her mind went. Anna had offered herself up as vamp food a couple of times in her life. Because she would rather the vampire bite her than someone else. She turned back to the cat, thinking that if he was like an Eart Cat, he probably would be fast and smart--maybe better at staying away from Animal Control than Kanan gave him credit for. Then again, she could understand why he was concerned.
Bubbles was used to talking to animals, but she knew that it was unusual for people outside of her and her sisters. They didn’t always know what to expect with her powers. She noticed the change in the way Kanan reacted when she mentioned letting him outside. She knew it could be concerning for people with their pets. “I’ll talk to him about the dangers of Earth for you if you’d like. And ask him not to bite people.”
She smiled a little. “I’d have said just to let mice or rats loose in the house, but that sounded unhygienic.” She did pause for a moment before turning to ask Damien why he bit Kanan. Just to see if there was a specific reason for it. Followed by the information that she’d just said she’d talk to him about. Even the part about a collar.
“I think he just likes to bite,” Kanan explained for Bubbles. “He’s bitten me. He’s bitten Katou. Hell, he chewed the hell out of the blanket on my bed. He’s just kind of...bitey.”
Kanan actually wasn’t too far off the mark. In response to Bubble’s question, Damien cocked his head to the side curiously. He asked bubbles why wouldn’t he bite the tall scruffy human. Humans made such funny noises when they were bitten. Damien especially liked the reaction the shorter blond human in the house gave when Damien appeared out of nowhere to gnaw on his ankles. It was hilarious. Bubbles should try it sometime!
Damien was less enthused by Bubble’s request that he mind himself while being outside. Be watchful for these things called “cars” and to not go around biting strangers. What was the fun in that, he asked. Had she not heard him say that biting was fun? But...oh, alright. He’d be careful. However, Damien was adamant that he did not want to wear a collar.
“Ah, I see.” Anna said, nodding. Then she watched Damien and Bubbles talking some more, and her grin spread. It was so cool. She turned to settle down on the sofa and get more comfortable while Bubbles talked with the loth-cat. Amazing. “I wish I could talk to animals.”
Bubbles guessed she couldn't fault a cat for finding amusement. Even if it wasn't really the nicest way of doing it. She would consider bringing him some toys that could be wound up and move on their own after she had a chance to get some, but she didn't mention that. She did try to explain that things were different outside and he might have flying rats to catch if he could manage it. She'd heard of cats that could kill bats, but she'd never actually seen it.
“He says he likes biting because of the reactions,” she commented after a moment. “And the short, blond one makes the funniest noises. And he doesn't want to wear a collar, but he'll be careful and not bite strangers. Even if that's not as fun.”
There was a slight shrug. “But I told him about bats and that he could bite them if he liked.” She liked talking to animals and liked the conversations that she could have. Though, she had to admit that of all the animals, horses still took the cake on foulest mouthed. “Is there anything else you want me to talk to him about?”
Somehow Kanan wasn’t really all that surprised to learn that Damien enjoyed biting. That seemed to be part of his nature. Lothcats were known to be mean sons-of-guns, but even Kanan had to admit that Katou made some pretty amusing noises when caught unawares.
“He’s welcome to hunt all he likes,” Kanan told Bubbles. “Bats, mice, bugs, whatever. He is a cat and that’s what cats do.” He thought about adding the stipulation about Damien not bringing the things he hunted in the house, but that seemed to be pushing it. He too made a mental note to pick up some robust cat toys for Damien to play with. “I don’t think there’s anything else,” he admitted. He’d ask if there was anything Damien wanted to talk to him about, but the cat seemed to have lost interest in the conversation. He’d started wandering away from the guitar and into the middle of the living room, where he then sprawled out and started bathing his paws.
“I guess we’re finished,” Kanan said a little sheepishly. He turned his eyes up towards Bubbles. “Thanks for your help.” And then back at Anna, “you too, Anna. Is there anything I can do for either of you?”
Anna shook her head as she stood, grinning over at Kanan. It was nice that she was getting to know him a little better, as she knew he was friends with Wash and Carolina. She wanted to at least be friendly with Wash and Carolina’s friends! She glanced at Bubbles, but turned her attention back to him.
“Just getting to meet him was thanks enough!” Anna said, grinning. “I hope we can come by again sometime!”