2020-04-05 - Mikocat?! The Potion Wasn't Finished Yet!
| Title: Mikocat?! The Potion Wasn't Finished Yet! | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Yumi makes an alchemy potion to get some extra credit. Mikoto helps. Hijinks ensue. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Infinity Institute - Dormitories | |
| OOC - IC Date: 2020-04-05 - 2015-08-19 | |
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Homestuck - Nepeta's Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ZUxyLyIao
INFINITY DORMITORIES, one lazy afternoon:
"Extra credit..?"
"It's gotta help?"
"... I wanna talk with cats! Make that potion, Yumi!"
Mikoto Minagi, attempting to make up for her delinquency, has brought her homework over to Yumi's to try and power through some more of that endless work Kasagami demands on her desk. (Sometimes friendship is so cruel.) Mikoto, it turns out, is not the only person who didn't do well in all her classes, though Mikoto may have failed considerably more of them than certain friends.
Friends who Mikoto has (gladly) put her chemistry homework aside to help.
Alchemy is like chemistry, right? It's basically all vials. Who cares if some of them are magic vials? Science may as well be magic, as far as Mikoto is concerned: it's about as explicable. It's probably powered by friendship. Who knows.
Now she perches on a couch with a blanket folded over one arm, knees set against a blue-green pillow as she leans over the back and watches the delicate art of alchemy with wide eyes. She just came here from her own tutoring, so she's still in her school uniform - though she doesn't have to wear that magenta undershirt, any more, so at least she's not baking in the heat.
"Wooow," she comments, looking at all those potions and vials.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi's dorm's main area is a little bigger than some--comparable to the one that was meant for two in her last place. There's the kitchen area nearest the door, and then here, the living area with a very good couch. Yumi... is set up on one of the counters, facing Mikoto so she can talk with her and also so she can see it! There is a cauldron, a few racks of vials... things she usually keeps put away, naturally. But now...!
Now she adds another weird, arcane ingredient from a jar, biting her lip in concentration as she tries to swirl it the right way on the way in to make it actually work. "Okay..."
It's definitely like chemistry, about as much as it's like cooking. ...Which is to say not exactly.
Rather than in uniform though, Yumi is in a long skirt and a tanktop, hair tied back. "And..."
Next, a little fish! It actually smells pretty nice.
Tama sits over near Mikoto for the moment, watching. "Hmmmmmmm," the elder cat judges.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Fish for cats!" Mikoto insists, brightly. "Fish for cats!"
(NOT SHOWN: Mikoto, now some weeks ago, travelling up one of Infinity's many elevators with a fish she had to hold in both hands. This was Tama's apology fish. Mikoto spent all day catching it. She might have gone right to Infinity once she did. She might have gotten a few odd looks for wandering around in a swimsuit with a big salmon. She might have not cared one little bit.)
Mikoto is younger than Tama, and so she claps, having evidently already judged favourably. A hand to the back of the couch, and she vaults over neatly, the motion too quick to topple the furniture - she doesn't have to worry about her sword-case, that's leant safely near the door, and whatever Miroku might think about all this is safely obscured by black fabric. Mikoto, at least, is enthusiastic! Up to the kitchen counter, and she stares at the swirling vial up close, now.
"Colourful!" She chirps, in support. "Looks good!"
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Haha, yeah," Yumi answers Mikoto. "Since we're kind of calling to cats here, we need to include some stuff that they'd want to listen to." Pause. "So to speak." Since fish don't exactly talk either. Or for that matter at all when they're reduced to fish bits. It's a whole thing.
That apology fish, meanwhile, is a good part of why Tama is where she is, though naturally she doesn't say this. She doesn't refer to it at all. There's nothing that needs to be said. It was a good fish, though.
...Yumi's gotten some questions.
It is colorful! The smoke that rises from the next ingredient Yumi mixes in and starts to stir is a bright pink. "Thanks for the fur, Tama!"
"It's summer," the feline replies casually, without so much as looking up. That surely explains it all.
...The potion smells pretty nice at this point. Like a mild curry maybe.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Right!" Mikoto nods, firmly, as Yumi explains how potions work. That makes perfect sense. Cats like fish, so they put in some fish.
And cat fur makes sense, too, because that comes from cats. Obviously. Why can't chemistry be this easy?
Of course, a mild curry happens to be a mild warning bell, for Mikoto. What if the next ingredient makes it spicy?! Then she wouldn't be able to drink it at all!
There's only one solution to this problem.
While Yumi is busy thanking Tama, Mikoto grabs the vial and drinks the whole thing while it's still good. Bottom's up!
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Cooking should work that way! ...But Yumi knows.... on some level, anyway.. that it seems not to. But that's different! That's for far away, something entirely otherwise, that doesn't matter here at all.
Don't remind Yumi too much of cooking...
Mikoto's logic meanwhile is sensible. This--this is the problem. Because Yumi is busy with Tama, and then looks back to Mikoto, and--"Oh--Wait!!"
It is too late. There is a burst of pink and purple and green smoke, and a sparkle in the shadow. The whole room is blotted out!!!
...And then, when it clears, there is a Difference. Still lightly glittering, Mikoto is now... a kitteen. A cat!
Tama sneezes, and then looks over--and says nothing. Yumi, on the other hand...
"Oh, that's... that's not what that was supposed to do at all!"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Kitteen, n: a teenage cat.
Small and black, with short scruffy fur which sticks in ten different directions, but those big yellow eyes are unmistakably...
Mikoto blinks, head cocking to the side, ears flicking aside. 'Miiii...?' Is the sound which comes from her jaws, from behind sharp little teeth, tail flick-flicking from side to side.
She looks down at her hand--
Oh, wait.
She looks down to her paws, and all a sudden leaps four feet into the air, SPRING up from sitting position, only to tear around the loungeroom in a flurry of claws and fur. 'MRRRROWWW?!'
At least, unlike the HiSS Mikodkod, she doesn't seem to have obsidian claws. In fact, she seems to be a perfectly normal cat. And she doesn't look like she's going to stop any time soon...
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yep. Those are Mikoto-eyes already. 'Mii'. Yumi is of course disturbed and distressed! And yet.
This is also completely adorable and as a witch she just can't fail to recognize that. ...Well, before... before all the b ouncing and springing and tearing around. "Ah--Mikoto, wait!"
Yumi starts to whirl around from behind the counter and goes into the room trying to calm--maybe catch--Mikocat. Tama, on the other hand, just lifts her head to peer over.
"She seems to disapprove of your potion's effect, Yumi."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
NYOOOOOOOOM goes Mikocat, around and around and around the couch, until she finally finds the curtains --
And jumps up --
Claws stick in, and up she goes, bounce-bounce-bounce, until she's all perched on the curtain rod with a trail of frayed fabric behind her. Now she's successfully up high, she...
... uh...
Mikoto didn't think this far. With new empathy for cats stuck up trees, she wails. 'Nyaaaaoooo!' Fur all apuff and tail lashing against the wall, at least there won't be any dust back there by the time she gets down.
If she ever gets down.
Maybe this is her life now.
A cat, stuck on top of the curtains.
Terrible fate of Mikoto Minagi...
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Well..." Yumi sighs, slouching a little as her hand finds her face. "Mikoto-chan..." Siiiiigh. Those were very nice curtains. On the other hand, it does mean that she's stuck in a place. A puffy cat, up at the top of the curtain rod, terribly graceful... It's a lucky thing that Yumi is so tall.
"Oh, sorry Mikoto-chan, I wasn't quite... done, and..."
Would it have turned out like this anyway? Mmmmmaybe. Yumi can't say. She kind of suspects though. Maybe it was the wrong paste...
"And I kinda figured Tama," Yumi says with a roll of her eyes, as Tama peers over to watch Mikocat thoughtfully. Is she amused? It couldn't be.
"Here, I'll get you down, just..." Yumi starts to lift her hands. Good thing she's tall!
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Lash lash lash goes that tail, as Mikoto's big golden eyes peer down at Yumi's hands. They get even bigger in her consideration, as she make her calculations. Wriggle, wriggle...
Pounce!
Down Mikotocat sails, into Yumi's hands. Maybe there are claws. It's hard to get a hold of things without thumbs! 'Mawwwrrrrrrr,' she complains, piteously, ears all aeroplaned flat either side of her head.
Could the terrible fate of Mikoto... actually be Mikoto's fault...?!
No, it's the potion which was wrong.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Lash lash--pounce! "Oh!!" Maybe there are claws; Yumi is a little clumsy, and she winces at her bare arm on Cat Claw. She does not make anything like such calculations as she catches Mikoto though, and catching in this case mostly involves reaching out and holding Mikotocat closer because that's how she learned to catch things.
"Very disapproving," Tama offers helpfully. It is not very helpful. Yumi in fact frowns.
Could it be...?
"Ohh..." Yumi frets. Because of course she frets. "Oh what are we even going to... Is there any left??"
Yumi brings Mikotocat over to the counter and sets her down while looking for the vial. She totally got scratched!
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
At least Mikocat doesn't wriggle around once Yumi has safely caught her! Thonk, she shoves her face in against Yumi when the girl brings her in closer.
Over to the counter, and Mikoto flops bodily when she's put down, keeling over to the side in the most dramatic fashion. Everything is overwhelming for cat. Truly, now, she understands... the overwrought cat.
It's only when she looks up from her ultimate destruction that Mikoto sees the scratches on Yumi's arm. Oh no. Like magic she somehow remembers how her legs work, getting them up underneath her so she can pad on over to get in the middle of what Yumi is doing, tail raised up with a concilatory curve, sniff-sniff-sniff.
If she licks Yumi's arm, it will get better. Mikocat is assured of this fact. That is how wound treatment works for cats.
Unfortunately, as a perfectly normal cat, Mikoto's tongue is a little bit sandpaper right now.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Thonk. ...It is not bad, to hold a cat. Tama doesn't usually go for it, being entirely too independent and technically not very domesticated. So it is nice. But--Yumi spots her flopping. She immediately spots it in fact, and has to suppress a little laugh because being around a Cat just fills her with delight.
But then she's very busy, and does not realize Mikoto is approaching as she looks for the vial and finds--ah, there it is. A couple drops, maybe? That might be enough but...
"Oh, this isn't going to be fast," Yumi starts to sigh, kbefore--"Ah--"
It burns a little. But--"A-aw, it's okay... You're trying to help, huh?"
Distraction established.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
There's that little pause, the noise...
Clearly, Mikoto decides, she is going to have to go to the next level.
But how can a cat escalate their healing endeavours..?!
Mikoto, right now, is a cat, and so knows just how a cat escalates cat's healing endeavours. She drapes her chin over Yumi's arm, and starts purring.
PrrRRrrrRrRRRrrRrRRRRRrrr.
That's right. She's helping, in the most obstructive method possible.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Luckily a cat scratch isn't terribly deep, or Yumi would need to attend to it immediately. Frankly she still should very soon, but first there is the matter of her friend and what she can do for her, and that is also clearly important. But--but she doesn't have her hand after a moment.
"Oh?" she asks, not really a regular question, more like just a reaction as she blinks next. "Oh, um, Mikoto-chan..."
Purring. "..."
"...Aww..." It is helpful. Kind of. xcept the opposite of that. But it's nice!
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikocat is helping! See, that's a much nicer noise. The quiet noises mean humans are happy!! This is the eternal wisdom of cat, eyes blinking shut and lips curled up in feline smile.
It's only a moment later that Mikoto thinks: wait, why focus on the tone of Yumi's voice instead of what she actually said?
Oh no. What if Mikoto is a cat forever?! Mikoto likes cats very much, but Mikoto is a person!
Blinking, Mikoto looks up to Yumi, with big doleful eyes, and makes the most difficult decision a Mikoto can possibly make...
She stops helping.
Which, in this case, means straightening up and padding over to the edge of the table so that Yumi can focus on her work, hopping down and going to wait on the couch instead. It's fine. Tama is there. Tama can keep her company!
Tama, and Tama's tail...
... which moves in a really interesting way...
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
It is a nicer noise. But it's also very distracting. But Mikoto moves... to stop helping. She hops down. "That's probably best," Yumi says after that, taking the few drops in the vial and pulling a fresh vial to put them in. "I'll have to use a reversal agent... and it'll need time for the base to cook..."
Yumi hrms, thinking about it. "But if I can remember what I did.."
Tama's tail continues to move. "I can't say it's not a bit of an improvement," the older cat says after that.
Yumi, "Tama," she says. "She's not supposed to be a cat!" Siigh. "Let me just... Clean my hands, okay? I'll get it..."
Yumi pulls out one of her many little emergency kits with some antibacterial cream and starts to wash her hands first.
Tail twitch. Twitch twitch.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto... is better as a cat?!
Well, of course a cat would say that.
'Naaaow,' she echoes Yumi's protests with a yowl of her own, because Mikocat can make noises too. Oh right. Also because Mikoto is perfectly fine as a girl! Mikoto is only cat by adoption! This isn't how it's supposed to work at all!!
But Yumi goes to take care of inscrutable Yumi things, which don't smell pleasant, so instead: Tama. Tama tail. Tama tail twitch. TAMA TAIL TWITCH...
Those eyes once more grow large as saucers, pupils huge and rimmed in gold, as she watches the tail twitch back and forth. Maybe Tama wants to play. This is a good plan Mikocat has had. All she has to do is lean down a little... and wriggle, and...
Pounce, right onto that tail!
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Naturally, a cat would say that.
"You're hardly in a position to argue," Tama tells Mikoto, using words for Yumi's benefit. She uses more than that, though; she still remains calm, apparently aloof. So that's how it works.
Yumi finishes handling her hands and arm quickly, because she's used to it but also because she's obligated to do so even on minor things. Would a magically transformed cat even have bacteria??? It's not the point.
But from there she turns to start working as well on her potiony tools, getting ready to... well, to have to wait for a while.
But Tama? Tama does not wait. Tama rounds with a yowly noise and bats Mikocat on the nose. "Mrowr," she answers, and looks severe.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
'Mreh,' Mikocat gives the beginning beats of a meow in reply, cut off before it can really get going. It's truly the most stereotypical thing a kitteen could say to their elder.
Mikoto is a magically transformed cat, but she seems, for all intents and purposes, to be a perfectly normal cat. Maybe in a few thousand years, Mikocat will gain the wisdom and voice Tama uses so easily; that is the nature of old things, to become more human, in the strangest ways. Mikoto is not old like old things, though she is old for cats.
(Which is another very good reason not to be a cat forever.)
Right now, though, Mikocat is a cat, and Mikocat has a great plan, and --
BOP, Tama's paw crashes into Mikoto's nose. 'Nyar?!' The younger cat exclaims, bouncing - it's definitely a bounce - back on the couch. Safely out of batting range, she proceeds to lift a paw and wave it in the air, mirroring the motion, ears perked straight up. Does it go like this...?
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
The most stereotypical, perhaps, but it works for the moment. Tama is indeed a very old thing, older when so much else was young. But in the moment she is an elder cat, to a younger, and there are ways to give these lessons that she has not forgotten. See:
Bat. Mikocat had a great plan and also bounces back on the couch, and Tama watches her there. She waits, and sees batting. Seeing no need to involve Yumi in pure cat matters, Tama returns to her previously calm state, but first--
First she bats the air more slowly again, showing. Then she curls her paw under herself again, and...
...knocks a pen off of the couch.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Bat. Bat bat. Tama demonstrates, and Mikocat echoes the motion. It's not the first time a cat has taught her something! It is the first time a cat has taught her something while she is also a cat.
With big, big eyes, Mikoto watches Tama's paw curl...
!!! MOVEMENT !!!
Mikocat dives after the pen, skittering it across the clear floor, batbatbatBATBATBAT. She disappears under the couch, briefly, only to reappear as she knocks the pen back out from underneath it. She pounces, paws curling around it as her back legs kick-kick-kick!
Sharp little teeth gnaw on the pen lid.
She is a successful hunter.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Movement!!!! Pretend it flashes. Because for Mikocat? It absolutely does. Tama, if she had a human face, might smile. Instead she just sits smugly and watches the kitteen play. Disappearing under--reappearing! Curl, kick kick!
Yumi blinks, and peers over. ".........."
Yumi's cellphone clicks very shortly after. It's a worthy interruption.
The pen is delicious.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Click! The sound of a camera rouses Mikocat from her savage disemboweling of the poor, innocent pen. She uncoils from around it, with a twitch of her tail as she finds her paws underneath her again, as if to say that she would never be seen disemboweling a pen.
Pens are for writing. They don't have guts. That's just silly. Mikoto knows that!
Up she jumps onto the couch again, creeping forward, nose out towards Tama... sniff, sniff, sniff. Tail curled up in greeting, ears pricked forward, she is making friends.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi won't* tell. Okay she will. But she might not mention to most that this cat is Mikoto. Definitely not to.... most.
Yumi eyes the pen and thinks about whether it needs to be used as a pen again. Or whether it absolutely should. But then she's back to work. "Um, this is going to take a while, Mikoto-chan, but I'm almost to the stage where I can let it cook..."
Tama accepts Mikoto's presence this time. She creeeps over, and Tama looks to her in turn, deigning to sniff a few times at Mikocat, too. Her tail curls. This is... acceptable.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
'Mii!' Mikoto issues a tiny meow of acknowledgement to Yumi's assurances. It's probably the closest a kitteen can get to chirping 'hai' without any vocal chords which would allow for such a thing.
Or magic. Which is probably how Tama does it, because Tama is clearly otherwise a perfectly normal cat.
For instance: Tama knows how to give a good cat greeting. Sniff sniff sniff! That is how she smells, and that is how Mikocat smells! With all the arrogance of youth, that scruffy little black cat proceeds to amble up...
And sit right next to Tama.
Tama is warm. Mikocat is also warm!
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Indeed Mikocat's youthful arrogance sees her sniffing and then ambling up onto the couch next to Tama, who is indeed quite warm and fluffy. She could, of course, make it not at all uncertain that she would prefer to sit alone. SHe could direct Mikocat elsewhere. Buuut...
She did bring her that fish before. Tama allows this seating, folding her paws beneath herself again and letting her tail lower in calm acceptance of her new warms buddy.
It is chillier than usual in here because of the alchemy's needs and all.
...Yumi peers over. Aww. "A-almost there, but it's going to have to sit a long while..."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
New warms buddy..!
Mikocat settles in next to Tama, and with a look over to her to see the Correct Sitting Position, mirrors her gesture by folding her own paws underneath her. The rumbling coming from her chest is the unmistakable noise... of purr. It should come as no surprise that Mikoto, in the guise of a cat, purrs like a motor. It's audible even from that kitchen counter.
That noise is briefly interrupted by the rising tone of 'prrt?', back-fur twitching as Mikocat's head rises to listen to Yumi's voice, ears pricked forward. She bliiinks, slowly, and settles her chin down again, because she too can sit a long while.
Prrrrrrrrr.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi on the other hand does some stirring, dropping another pinch of some goopy substance into the cauldron while biting her lip in concentration. Working... working... The purring sound reminds her--
Oh yeah! The stone! Plink, she drops that in.
But Mikocat listens to Yumi and Yumi peers down over her. "...Okay," she says, and stirs a little more, lighting a small fire before... Sighing.
Her bandaged wrist rises as she waves her hand a little. "Okay, um... Now it's just... waiting..." She sets her timer, and starts moving around the counter.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
See! Mikoto is helping.
'Miiiii,' comes the friendly noise from Mikocat, one paw wriggling out from underneath her to bat in Yumi's direction. The downward motion could almost be the gesture for urging someone forward.
Forward to... the couch?!
The couch is cat territory, but evidently Mikocat is opening their borders.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Couch territory. Cat territory. Yumi was going to just sit in the chair nearby, but...
Tama does not contravene Mikocat's invitation. Indeed, Yumi tilts her head this time, looking at both of them, and...
Wellll...
"I do have a timer set," she allows, and. "...You sure?" It will take her a moment once she gets close to actually sit down, suddenly shy at something like 1.8 times the cat.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
'Mii!' Mikocat's meow is small, just like she is. She is, in fact, about .8 of an adult cat.
Mikoto has complete faith that Yumi will make sure the potion is done right..! But, well, those thoughts are secondary to Mikocat's affection for GOOD PERSON APPROACHING. Yumi is a weird huge gangly cat with half the bits in the wrong places, but that does not mean she is not a friend. This is the eternal wisdom of cat.
Being such an extremely large cat makes it a bit worrying for her to get so close, but shyness is politeness in cat wisdom, and Mikocat perks up to sniff-sniff-sniff as Yumi gets closer.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Miiiiii. It's too cute. Entirely too cute. So gangly, awkward Yumi extends her hand to Mikocat for sniffing purposes, glancing at Tama as if to ask 'am I doing it right???' and getting a closed-eye response for the moment.
So Yumi waits on a reaction. "I can sit somewhere else, if you'd rather..."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Sniff, sniff...
Mikocat proceeds to lean forward, and bonk her head into Yumi's hand. It is a headbutt of love, and if Yumi doesn't retract her hand she's going to find a cat cheek rubbing against them in short order.
'Miaou,' she meows, happily.
Apparently Yumi has official cat approval.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Sniff sniff. This hand doesn't smell of bandages or disinfectant; that's the other one. Yumi does not in fact withdraw her hand; quite the opposite she makes a little noise of delight in response to the happy meow, beaming. "A-aw," she answers, and...
Scritch cat. It's fine. Yumi finally sits down.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
SCRITCH CAT SCRITCH CAT SCRITCH CAT
Mikocat in fact picks herself up when she receives scritches, so that she can better push her face into that very good hand.
This means that when Yumi manages to sit...
... there is a cat who's going to leap up onto her, clambering up to her shoulder as her tail swish-swishes behind her, ears perked forward and eyes ashine. Tama might be modelling poise, but Mikoto is a much younger cat, right now. She is here for hugs.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi indeed sits down, and--suddenly there is a cat! Luckily she doesn't get scratched this time, instead suddenly finding herself with a cat on her shoulder. "Oh--"
She doesn't have to ask Tama this time. The frailer girl just lifts her hands and gently hugs cat. "Aah, you're so..."
She considers. "No this is definitely like you," she realizes a moment later.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Purrrrrrrr, goes the two-stroke motor of Mikocat Minyagi. She settles her head down on Yumi's shoulder - not so unlike her actions as a girl - and sinks into her, because the essential nature of cat...
... is that cats are a liquid. They expand to fill all available space.
Twitch-twitch goes the tip of her tail, back and forth, and aside from the occasional twitch of her ears or kneading of her paws that's the only movement from her. She lives here now. This is Yumi's life now. She is trapped by cat for all time. Cat is warm, cat has hugs. Cat... is happy.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
It is... a good motor. Yumi is veeery careful at first. There's a lot of Yumi to sink into and around up there; with her height and Mikocat's sudden smallness that makes for a lot of shoulder, and there's also still couch. Yumi is careful, though--careful not to disturb the kitteen at first.
Tama peers over for a moment. "Hmmm," she declares. She is not a shoulder cat in most cases. ...Most. One day she's going to really surprise someone.
But with happy cat, Yumi is trapped, and eventually... drifts off a little. She's tired from the extra sudden work and excitement and was kind of tired today anyway. So...
-=-=-
BEEP BEEP BEEP. The alarm on the counter goes off!! It's been long enough!
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
PrrRRrRrRRrRrrrrr.
Kitteen... doze. Mikocat, languid, is staying right here on Yumi's shoulder, because unlike Tama she is absolutely a shoulder cat. It's not really a big leap, considering the amount of times Mikoto has fallen asleep against Yumi's shoulder while watching the cooking channel.
Important facts: Mikocat is still warm.
Warm and sleepy...
zzz...
'Mrrp?!'
That's the noise of Mikocat's head lifting from Yumi's shoulder, ears pricking up to track the noise. All at once the liquid becomes a solid again, as that tiny cat hops up over Yumi's shoulder - little bit of claws but it's fine, Yumi wears long sleeves - and over the back of the couch, to hop up onto the countertop again.
'Nyaao,' she meows, tail curved up like a shepherd's crook.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Liquid to solid transformation...!
Between the noise and the movement, Yumi blinks a few times and then sits up, adjusting her glasses as she looks over--"Oh!"
Mrrp is right. She is a little slower to get there, but gt there she does, walking around the counter and turning off the alarm before she does anything else.
Tama looks less annoyed when the alarm is off. She happens to be actually watching what's going on, though she isn't commenting about that.
"Hi, Mikoto," Yumi says, and reaches out to pat her head without really thinking. "Now I just have to mix in the fur and then stir counterclockwise..."
"It'll probably work," Yumi explains, as she opens a little jar and dumps in the contents before she stirs the warm (very warm) cauldron. A faint smoke starts to rise...
(Don't worry the smoke alarm is tuned to magic.)
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Once the alarm is safely off, Mikocat's ears can relax a bit. It was very loud beeping for cats.
One of those ears flicks to the side as Yumi pets cat, but that's mostly because of the way cat shoves her whole head up into the motion. For cats, headbutts are affection.
Yumi explains, and Mikoto peers at the cauldron, neck stretched all the way up so she can try to see inside. She at least has enough sense to quash the first cat instinct to jump up and see what's going on in there, because she needs that potion to not be a cat any more.
Not that being a cat is bad, or anything. Just, Mikoto is a girl!
A girl who is currently a cat who definitely just kitten sneezed because she got too close to the smoke.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Ah, hmm..." Yumi brings out a little dish a couple inches across, setting it down as she stirs through the mixture. "This should be easier, since you don't have... hands."
Yumi might be standing up a little straighter because cat pets are still nice even when they're your friend who isn't usually a cat. Which is important not to be at the moment. Because Mikoto is supposed to be a girl.
"Oh--not too close," Yumi warns, "If you fall in the whole thing's probably ruined." Pause. "And it's hot. Really hot."
Low as cooking goes, but still uncomfortable! Still, stir stir stir, pour into a vial, and...
And caaarefully start to pour into the little dish. "It should reverse..." She pauses. "Oh, uh. Wait." Yumi scoots cauldron and vials well back from the dish. "Okay!"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikocat looks at the dish.
Mikoto looks back up to Yumi, with eyes which really haven't changed all that much from cat to girl.
Perhaps it's for this reason that her scepticism is perfectly communicated.
At least she backs off of the cauldron! A little bit. She's still hanging around, tail twitch-twitching back and forth as she watches proceedings.
Yumi pours the vial, and Mikocat approaches the bowl, and --
This time when Yumi tells Mikoto to wait, Mikoto actually waits. She can actually learn from past experiences. Arguably. Most of the time.
Once the potion gear is on the other side of the countertop, Mikocat sniffs at the potion, lap lap lap...
Hey, is that dish smoking?
With a puff of shrouding smoke, there's suddenly not a cat on the countertop any more.
That's because there's a girl there instead, looking up at the ceiling with a little dish flat against her face. "Mfff," Mikoto shakes her head, and it goes flying. It sails merrily off into the loungeroom and somehow lands right on the pillow of one of those comfy loungechairs.
Her hands reach up to pat at her face, and then she looks down and yes, in fact, they are hands, with fingers and a thumb, which is actually important for grabbing things. "Hey!" Her expression brightens, clapping them together. "It worked!"
Note: Mikoto Minagi is still just bodily sitting on the kitchen countertop.
That never stopped being a thing or anything.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Oh yeah. 100% communicated, that skepticism. "What, how are you going to drink out of a vial with paws??" But still, Yumi is working at it. At least Mikoto does learn--Yumi is relieved when she waits, because, well...
Otherwise there might be a lot of broken glass to clean up. And there's some more of the resultant potion this time, just in case.
Puff!!!
"Oh--" Mikoto sends the empty dish flying and is Mikoto again, and Yumi blinks. "Oh!" she sanswers, and sounds... surprised, "It worked!" Pause. "I, ah. I mean, great!"
Hands, for grabbing and clapping. A big--
Wait that's--
"Ah, you're on the... Um, watch your head when you sit up." Pause. "How do you feel? Everything where it's supposed to be?"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto doesn't have room to be alarmed that Yumi wasn't sure if it would work, because it did work, and she ends up laughing in relief.
With a questioning grunt, she looks up when Yumi tells her to watch her head, and...
Oh. Oh, right.
Hands to the edge of the countertop, Mikoto slips off, straightening up now she's not under risk of hitting her head on something. (That's a strange feeling for Mikoto. She's not very tall.) "I'm okay!" She says, brightly, rocking back and forth on her heels. "It's all fixed now!"
Beat.
Mikoto pauses, and Mikoto looks behind herself, spinning a brief circle.
No tail. Okay. Good.
"... yup!" Mikoto confirms, a moment later.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
This is not exactly Yumi's area of expertise. Neither was the first one. It wasn't quite supposed to go that way anyway. But it's fine! It's all... fine.
The hanging lamp doesn't boop Mikoto's face, which would've been unpleasant. Instead, though, Yumi approaches Mikoto to look her over thoughtfully, and then beams. "Great!" she answers, watching the spin...!
"No tail! Though, uh..." She points a finger over at the dish across the way, and it starts to float back over. "Guess I can't turn that one in, huh...?" Pause. "Maybe a nice... diagram."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Why not?" Mikoto asks, nose wrinkling as she thinks about how that result would preclude her potion-making mark. "I wanted to talk with cats, and I got real good at talking with cats!"
Mikoto points at Tama. "Wasn't I talking with cats better?" She demands, of that poor dignified old woman, just because she happens to be the only cat in the room now.
Mikoto's logic is inalienable and insufferable. Cats are good at talking to cats. To be fair, this is, broadly, true.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"I..." Yumi tilts her head. "Huh. You know, that's kind of a good point, isn't it? And since I kept the reversal potion..."
"Oh, you can sort this out yourselves," Tama says, standing up. "My suggestion was that she spend more time on her schoolwork and less on games." Rising and stretching, the cat hops off the couch and starts to walk casually back towards Yumi's room.
"Ah, ha ha..." Yumi glances to the side. "You were, though... That's true. Though I'm not sure that it wasn't because..." Yumi pauses, opens her mouth, and closes it.
"Oh my--Tama!! It's because your fur is--"
There's a dotted outline where Tama was.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Hey! This was school!" Mikoto defends Yumi from Tama's dismissal, bravely. That's right, Yumi. Mikoto likes you enough... to stand up to a cat.
At least Yumi is willing to confirm Mikoto's suspicions, and she folds her arms, with a firm affirmative grunt. "Uh-huh!" She says, eyes closed in her surety. It's only when Yumi trails off that they peek open, glancing back up to her. "...?"
It was--!!
"Tama!" Mikoto yowls, because you can take the girl out of the cat but you can't take the cat out of the girl. But she turns, and realises: "She's gone..."
Puffing out her cheeks, Mikoto turns back to Yumi. "Anyway," Mikoto puts Tama's cat crimes aside, "I bet Yumi would get lots of marks for cat potion."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
That's a lot of like! Tama does not reply. Perhaps she has nothing in particular to say about it. But with Yumi and Mikoto talking here...
She's super gone. "I was wondering how a potion I made this way had that powerful of an effect in the first place. But that would explain it..." She pauses. She thinks.
"...Kinda would, wouldn't I? I'd just have to warn the teacher about it... It's not like they don't know she's here. That means..."
"That means I can save my grade! Hooray!" Yumi hugs Mikoto. "Thanks, Mikoto-chan!"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Yay!" Mikoto bubbles cheer, hugging Yumi just the same - arms around her and she manages to hoist her up for a second, because Yumi might be taller than Mikoto but Mikoto is the one who picks up Yumi, that's just science facts. "Yumi's gonna be okay!"
Straightening up, Mikoto taps a finger to her lip, with a thoughtful noise. "I wonder what'd happen if Yumi used normal cat hair, not magic cat fur..? Maybe it'd do what Yumi thought, then! And that's easier to show people, right? 'Cause it don't involve Tama."
Tama might be an open secret, but Mikoto can still appreciate not wanting to point her out!
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Ee!" Yumi laughs despite herself at being picked up a little, because sure she's very tall but she's also rather light for that height. Still a little too thin. But Mikoto looks thoughtful and--
"Oh! ...Oh, yeah, that's a smart idea. I don't even want to try a regular familiar if that's how it turned out here, we might get a catgirl or something, and that would be an issue..."
"I think it'd work!" Yumi says. "Yes. It's kinda best not to be all open with the rest of the class about what we get up to..."
"Think you could help me find some? I can get someone else to test it this time if you'd rather."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
It's fine, they have time to put on a little weight now.
"Yup!" Mikoto nods, firmly: it will work, it's best not to be too open, and she can help Yumi finds some normal cats. "... it's okay! I trust Yumi! If it goes wrong, you'll just fix it, right?"
She waves a hand. "'Sides, if I didn't drink it when Yumi didn't want me to, it might not have been that strong." If Mikoto had listened to the person who actually knows how potions work, maybe the potion would have worked. This is a shocking revelation.
Mikoto turns, only to pause...
"Yumi," she asides, over her shoulder, "what's catgirl?"
OH NO.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Well Yumi wasn't going to say it. It would've been impolite! Especially since Mikoto still trusts her. So she smiles at her shorter friend. "Yeah. I wouldn't just leave you in trouble like that."
She notably does not actually answer the matter of whether Mikoto could've avoided all this by listening. But Mikoto pauses and--Ah?
"Oh! A catgirl is..." Yumi thinks about it. Yumi thinks about all the things catgirls can be. And then, "I mean, you know. It's a girl with some cat features! Like, cat ears, or a tail..."
...Or maybe eyes. Um.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Bright gold eyes turn back to peer at Yumi, which would not, it is entirely true, look out of place on the face of a cat.
Blink. Bliiink.
"Oh!" Mikoto brightens, as she places it. "Like those waitresses in Akihabara! Right!" Clearly, she's just never run into the terminology before. ... to be fair, Mikoto doesn't watch much anime.
With a flap of her wrist, Mikoto goes to retrieve her bags. "Come on, Yumi! There's cats outside! Let's find cats!"
Yumi asked for help with the thing Mikoto is best at and Mikoto will not rest until they find a volunteer.
Or three.
Tama won't mind, right?
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
They can be very, very cute, much like Mikoto can be when she's happy. But not exactly--
"Oh yeah," Yumi answers, a little relieved to have an easy understanding and not have to explain too much further. But Mikoto is all ready to go and Yumi--Well.
Yumi did just have a nap, didn't she? It was nice.
"Oh yeah," Yumi answers, and smiles. "Yeah! Let's!" Tama totally won't mind. It will be super fine, totally fine. Completely fine.
Yumi moves to grab her purse. "Lead the way!"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"To cats!" Mikoto enthuses, as they're out the door.
She will do her best to make sure this quest doesn't take them to the rooftops, for the sake of Yumi's hollow bones.
... but Yumi has a broom, so it's probably fine.
