deercountry | yes I knew it was no moonshine, it is real

[she doesn't know this sleeper, but that's never stopped her before - and it's not about to stop her now as she settles in, getting the hang of retracting her claws just enough so that she can balance and grip. she sees why visenya does this. it's comfortable, and it's a nice way to get a headbutt in just against a waiting chin. oh! that's a hand. which she sniffs - making a surprised face (perhaps too surprised for a batcat, it's a very ...personlike expression) - she is continuously shocked by how different and overwhelming things smell. she's only been a cat for a day, and it not yet tired of it.

forgetting for a moment that she can't speak as she's used to, she attempts to answer his question, but it all comes out in a series of punctuated and very purposeful meows.]

[ Awww, that's adorable. So far Battler still doesn't think that this batcat is anything more than a particularly friendly and intelligent animal! He gives her a little grin and leans his head back a little to try and get a look at her as he scratches under her chin. ]

Oh, I see, I see. You just want somewhere to perch, don't you?

[ Which is probably mostly correct but not because he's understood anything. ]

[there's nothing to give her away - a faint pinkish tinge to her fur in the right light (probably not even weird or noticeable considering) - darker splotches on her front legs and back - one under her left eye, but she's an ordinary grey tabby with notably blue eyes. that close under the power of chin scratches, which she loves. a thing she did not have to learn: how to purr. the sound comes out immediately. and she can understand his words! so she pries herself away from the petting for just a moment to try and make eye contact, and to very firmly nod up and down. with meow for emphasis. ]

Aw, well, you can hang out with me for a bit if you want. I don't much mind the company!

[ He gives her another happy little scratch. ]

You're a strange little thing, though. Like... bat and a cat put together, but I guess I can't complain about that. You're still a cutey!

[if a cat could smile, well, that's what's happening, a little grin to reveal her fangs but friendly all the same, and a little proud at being called cute. of course she is cute, it's practically a requirement - it's batcat 101, and she is happy to make your acquaintance battler, even if she doesn't know your name and can't give hers.

or can she?

she gently lifts herself into the air to flutter in front of him, nose scrunching up in concentration before nodding and holding up a paw, tapping her own chest with it and then reaching toward him in turn. she's trying to point, but she can't quite.]

[ Huh. Battler blinks, as if he's trying to interpret the little signals she's making. She's a very intelligent cat, apparently. ]

Uh-

[ He frowns. ]

I'm... Battler?

[she claps her paws together and nods - yes! he's battler and she's ...well, she can't say it. normally she'd point to the tattoo on her cheek, but that's nothing but an abstract marking now.

at least she knows his name now. still knows what a name is, can still ...oh, well, that's a little bit of anxiety, isn't it? no time for you, worry, let's just burn you off with a little loop de loop in the air before looking around for a way to communicate better.

she holds up her paw again, extends a claw as if to say wait before she zooms off in search of something that's not very hard to find this month, but that the trenchie she takes it from doesn't seem to want to give up. this very strange cat wins the ridiculous tug of war and returns with an apple, which she fumble with (she can't seem to hold it and carve in it at the same time) before holding it out for battler to take.

if he takes it she will attempt to carve her name - a merciful two easy letters and all straight lines - into the appleflesh.]

[ Oh, wow.

This is much more interesting and different than he expected. She's... communicating? He watches with amazement, holding the apple as she really goes for it.

Huh. ]

V... I? Vee? Vi? Six?

[ There's a lot going through his head, give him a break. ]

Which one is it supposed to be?

[she's pleased at every guess - she's heard all of them before (especially six), but she will take what she can get if she can't talk or use an omni to assist her. how to make it clear - hmmm - well, she'll try with tapping her paw twice, very deliberately on top of the fruit. her tail's vibrating as she hovers.

this cat body sure does give away emotion a lot easier than a human one. that's the thing she hasn't learned to control yet. (she hopes there will not be a yet. don't let this be the month, please.) though, there are worse ways to spend it.]

Number two...? Vi! Got it!

[ He's talking to a little batcat.

Not the weirdest thing that's happened to him, honestly, and he's positively delighted to do it in any case. He takes a bite of the apple and considers her for a moment. ]

Nice to meet you, Vi. I'm Battler.

[batcat fistpump! (complete with a little rise as her wings flap cheerily) she is getting somewhere, and this is exciting. the name? not so hard. now. how to tell him she's a sleeper, too? a lot harder.

but. she's not completely hopeless - tries the only pantomime she can think of: pressing two paws together as if she means to pray, but tilting her head and lying her furry cheek atop them as if she's ...sleeping. but her eyes don't close, and after a moment she rights herself, pointing to her own chest, and back to him, and resumes the "sleep" charade.

it's a huge longshot.]

[ Wait, what? Battler frowns as he tries to interpret this particular little charade. It's a little difficult, honestly. He squints. ]

...are you tired? Is that it? Do you need someplace safe to lie down?

[ Nope. ]

[dammit. she does shake her head "no", though the prospect of a nap sounds nicer as a batcat than it does in her human body, but she's going to try again. she doesn't know that she has the coordination to write out the word sleeper, and what with, what on? they're not standing on sand (that would be a bit easier) nor can she claw into the side of a building or a street ...so allow her to think a moment.

and the moment passes without a solid idea. she might steal a whole bag of apples from a vendor, but could she manage to spell out sleeper at his feet before the trenchie followed and snatched them all up? would there even be enough apples to do so? she's strong enough to carry two bags, but ...sigh. a defeated mrrow slips out, and she tries the pantomine again, albeit half heartedly. partway through she's distracted by shadowshapes as the light shifts, and she can't stop herself from an enthusiastic zoom around his head, her tail vibrating again. whoops.]

[ Huh. He's watching her for a moment, trying to decipher what she's trying to convey - and then she goes looping around his head and he ducks a little with a laugh, reaching up to try and catch her. ]

Wow! What's got you so excited now?

[ He's still having a great time just playing around with her. Even if their communication methods leave a lot to be desire. ]

[everything! communication is hard! getting distracted is easy which makes communication hard! but. she has no idea how to pantomime 'squid', so she points toward the general direction of the ocean, and back to herself, back to battler. she has questions, too! like, the name battler?? well, that just opens up so many questions she can only meow or trill about - and even the omnis do not (that she knows of) have a batcat to sleeper translation option.]

Uh. You want to go... to the sea? Just fly over, I guess.

[ He scratches under his chin. ]

...or do you want me to go over there with you?

[ Battler is way off. Which isn't really his fault, but it's probably putting a damper on this conversation. ]

[that's ...not the worst interpretation? she might be able to write in the sand! also, it's kind of a fun game, if she looks at it as more of a temporary challenge and not ...longer. which is easier to do than expected - a byproduct of sensory overload. how had she not noticed each sleeper by smell before this?

yes, battler. you smell nice to batcats. or maybe just this batcat. and wow, does vileblood stink - she gets why visenya makes that face now, 100%.

so she beats her wings faster - up and up and swooping down and around - a pleased little yelp as she moves toward the ocean, looks back at him and nods again before hovering a bit further and looking back. her ears have gone sideways, and she's got a look of planned mischief about her, even if she isn't actively planning it now. this cat is giving all signs of wanting to play chase me chase me.]

[ Oh! He got it right? Great! He follows at a quick little jog, not wanting to lose sight of his new little friend. If she wants him to chase, she'll chase, at least for now. His pace picks up. She's small, but she's quick! ]

Hey, wait up!

[she will zoom a little and then circle back each time - throwing in a loop de loop and only once getting distracted by a child carrying a streamer. it's not parkour, but it's ...close enough to relieve her nerves. it's also fun. and she'll stop the moment she's able to fly over the sand, flitting back to battler to give him a little pat on the shoulder. a good job, kid! from an odd little batcat.]

[ He makes a little noise of amusement - not quite a laugh - as she swoops back to congratulate him. He skids to a halt on the sand and stares out over the waves for a long moment before he turns his attention back to her. ]

Well, we're here! Now what?

[now what indeed! she drops to the sand, backs up a pace, looks up at battler and then back at the sand, and repositions herself so her back's to him before she busies herself with swiping into the sand, digging out lines not unlike a housecat might do with a litterbox, though she is very deliberate in her marks. the curves are harder. so her letters are sharp and the "s" in particular resembles a more of a backwards z, but it's probably clear enough once she's finished, even if she has spelled 'zleeper' with a pointy little frowny face below it. :<]

[ Wait. It's writing.

He just stares for a few moments, a little flabbergasted. Then he has to read it. ]

Wait.

[ He blinks. ]

Sleeper? You're... a sleeper? Are you always a batcat?

[at the first mention of sleeper she mews - surprisingly (even to her) kittenish, a tiny little yes, and she nods and flutters her wings, rising up into the air again before shaking her head no. she brings her paws up to her ears and pats them, and then reaches back to grasp her tail, bringing it between her legs to hold up with one paw while she manages a little shrug with the other before her tail flicks itself away and she spins to bat at it.]

[ Huh. He doesn't know how to take all of that. Although that does tell him something about her. He looks distracted for a moment, his brow furrowing. ]

...so, how'd you end up a batcat, then? Do you wanna go back?

[huge shrug, which does look a bit odd when a cat does it. but she thinks a moment and returns to the sand, wiping away her previous message to spell 'curze' with a little pointy question mark at the end of it. it's easier than trying to spell 'facepaint' or the obvious: 'because trench'. she doesn't think to write 'mask'.]

yes I knew it was no moonshine, it is real

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