Logs:Finding (and Naming) of Cats

Finding (and Naming) of Cats
Dramatis Personae Sarah, Marinov
In Absentia	2019-07-11 "You're actually, like, the perfect person to help me."
Location <NY> Lower East Side
The city is loud, but Sarah knows she heard a meow. Not even a meow. A tiny baby squeak. It's the reason she finds herself, in--not an alleyway. New York has been shockingly lacking in alleyways, for how many she's seen on TV. It's more of a path between two buildings, filled with stacks of random boxes and wooden pallets that she can barely squeeze through. The tight quarters do nothing to help how ridiculously thick and humid the air is. Sarah wishes it would rain already and maybe wash the air clean for a bit, but only after she's found this kitten and a subway entrance. "Kitty kitty kitty?" she singsongs, hoping to coax the kitten out while opening the flashlight on her phone. She hopes even more that it's water seeping into the knees of her jeans as she gets down onto the concrete to look in-between gaps in the closest stack of pallets. "Where are you, baby?" Marinov has been walking down the street, eyes slightly downcast while they make their way with a long strides, more focused on their thoughts than what's in front of them. They are wearing a green kosovorotka-inspired top with detailing in a ruddy brown in a diagonal line from their right shoulder down to where the collar drops on the left, floral designs in pink, blue and gold are embroidered onto this upper portion, and along the hems of the sleeves and along the tied belt that cinches at their waist, and a pair of black slacks fitted for their relatively inhuman leg structure. "Uh?" they start, looking momentarily annoyed as they turn towards the alley where they hear Sarah calling for the cat, though that annoyance fades upon realization that Sarah's looking elsewhere. They tap one of their claws against the brick wall of the alley to notify Sarah of their presence before speaking, "You looking for something?" Sarah answers without looking back. "I thought I heard a kitten." She tries to keep her voice low, not wanting to scare... what is hopefully a real kitten. Now that she has managed to attract someone's attention. "Sorry if I'm not supposed to be here, I'll be gone in a moment." Scanning the area around her with her flashlight, she looks carefully for any sort of eyeshine or hint of fluff, and comes up empty. Without even thinking of the person behind her, Sarah meows (or does her best impression of one), hoping the kitten answers her and gives her some sort of hint. Marinov lowers their hand off of the wall to rest on their hip. "Nah, I wouldn't give you shit for trespassing. That seems... real hypocritical." Their ears perk into the alert position and they sniff the air, eyes also scanning past Sarah into the dark of the alley. They speak a bit softer, "Especially if you're looking for a scared kitten. You just heard it mewing? Might be looking for its mom or something." "Maybe. It was a very tiny mew. I want to make sure it's okay." There's a sound, behind Sarah and moving away, the skittering of tiny footsteps over wood. Another small, but indignant, little meow follows it. She turns as quickly as she can in the cramped space, following the sound with her light. She's just able to catch sight of a soot colored tail disappearing behind a box near the wall to her left. "I think it's headed your way," she says, scrambling to her feet--and finally takes a look at the second person involved in the conversation. "Oh!" Sarah is later sorry to say that she is awfully, horribly /rude/ for a moment. She stares at Marinov, mouth agape and eyes wide, before another mew from somewhere front pseudo-alleyway brings her to her senses. She blushes, face hot, stammers out an apology. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare. You're actually, like, the perfect person to help me." While Marinov's ears swivel to follow the kitten's skittering, their attention is mostly focused on Sarah, not seeming especially impressed with the staring. "Am I?" They look in the direction that the kitten went, their ears orienting to focus in on it before they crouch down low and hold out a hand in the direction of the kitten. They soften the tone of their voice, to be more soothing, "Poor thing is pretty scared... I guess you're right, though, I'm pretty good with, uh, feline body language. Both interpreting and expressing. What's your plan if we catch the little dirtball?" "If he looks like Mama Cat is taking care of him, I'll leave him be. Like you said, he's probably just waiting for his mom." Sarah does her best to maneuver between stacks without disturbing anything, and she nearly manages; just before she's back onto the sidewalk, her toe catches the edge of a pallet. She tips forward with a yelp, catches herself on the corner of the wall before she can fall; there's a slight pain in her forearms where skin resists brick. Her attention, however, is on the little dark gray puff that runs to Marinov's waiting hand at the scrape of wood against concrete. Sarah isn't a vet, but she's worked in enough pet stores to know that if a kitten can run, it should be much bigger than this one. The state of its fur, dirty and starting to clump together, says that either something has happened to Mama Cat, or Mama Cat has abandoned it. Maybe for being a runt. "Is it okay?" she asks softly, not wanting to move from where she leans against the wall, in case the kitten runs off again. Marinov keeps their hand out as the kitten skitters out, the expression of their eyes softening. Their large feline eyes blink slowly, reassuringly, expressimg to the little creature that they mean it no harm. "Hey, dirtball. All alone out here, huh. You smell like-- I think it's not hurt..." says Marinov, their voice a soothing purr while they speak to the little grey fluffball. Their hand does not move, giving the kitten a little bit of time to sniff them, "but it seems pretty thin. I don't have any, uh... kitten food on me." Their gaze turns back towards Sarah, but they remain still, crouched and relaxed. "You okay? Sounded like you got into some kinda bump..." "I'm okay." Nothing a little peroxide can't fix later, at least. Sarah slowly pushes herself to stand, moving to crouch down beside Marinov. "I can get some food. Do you think it's okay to bring him home?" She does her best to not sound hopeful. She's never had a pet before, but that hasn't stopped her from wanting one. The kitten, meanwhile, has apparently decided that Marinov can be trusted. It leans into her palm, purring loud enough to be heard over street noise. Sarah s l o w l y holds out her own hand next to Marinov's, palm up. Marinov's posture remains relaxed, a reassurance that Sarah is also no threat, and they gently rub under the kitten's chin. "I think... I mean, if it still had a mom then I wouldn't want to separate them yet but, well, if someone doesn't bring it home, I don't think it'll survive out here." They glance to Sarah, "I think there's a pet supply store not far from here, could get some kitten food there. And if you want to give it a home I'd say go for it. Seems pretty sweet for a stray." Sarah doesn't answer right away, not even breathing as the kitten sniffs at her fingers. Once she's been deemed Acceptable and is allowed to give the kitten scratches, she lets out the breath she was holding. "Yeah? You think?" It may be wrong to hope the... cat-person? Person-cat? would be the better cat expert between the two of them, but Sarah knows that working in a few mom-and-pop pet stores doesn't make her a vet. Not even a vet tech. Carefully, Sarah rubs at the kittens neck, before grabbing it by the scruff. It lets out a surprised meow but doesn't try to fight her as she picks it up, and even starts to purr again as she cuddles it to her chest. "Poor baby is gonna need a bath, aren't you precious?" she asks the kitten, falling into baby talk. "Yeah, I mean, I figure so. With a dirty little coat like that, seems like its mom's abandoned it and it's not good at taking care of itself," says Marinov, offering a more confident nod. They get back up to their feet and brush themselves off (even though they haven't really touched anything). They rub the back of their own neck lightly. "So for the best if you take over the mom duties, yeah? I'm Marinov, by the way. Taylor Marinov. Nice to see someone looking out for the kittens of New York." Sarah also does her best to brush off once she stands, but whatever it was that soaked into the bottom of her jeans isn't coming off so easily. Oh well. Her building has a laundry room for things such as this. "We all have to look out for each other, right?" she asks, grinning. "I'm Sarah. It's nice to meet you, Marinov. Thank you for your help, seriously. I think the little one agrees with me." "I'm glad I could help. Watching Animal Planet is really paying off." While Marinov is joking, it's hard to tell due to their kind of inhuman body language. They nod firmly at Sarah's initial question and they pull out their phone. "Hey, you mind if I give you my number? I'd like to find out how everything goes with this little one." They rub under the kitten's chin lightly with a free hand. "You have an idea for a name already? A kitten needs a good name." "Sure thing! It'd be nice to have somebody to send cat pictures to." Sarah pulls her phone out, unlocking it with a thoughtful hum. "I've got a few ideas. I think I'll wait until it's had a bath though. If he or she turns out to be fluffy, it may impact things. Alright, what's your number?"