The Missing F // On the case!

[tanteiotaku]

It wasn't like Mick at all to just wander off on his own for this long. Normally he wasn't too far from Philip's side. He didn't really seem to like anyone except for Philip, after all. He kind of grew to tolerate Shotaro, though. They didn't have much of a choice for a while there, anyway.

But for as long as Mick had been missing, Philip was getting upset. He was the last remaining member of his family, after all. So it fell to Shotaro, finder extraordinaire, to track him down.

The boss had told him, that in order to catch someone, you had to think like your mark. And the same thing applied to cats, right? In one hand he had a feather on a string, one of Mick's favorite toys. But he wasn't just waggling it around calling the cats' name like a normal person, no. That was for amateurs. Instead, he was making his best "Myaaaa~" as he went along the corridors. He was hunched over, with his hands curled over like paws. Occasionally he would rub at his ear like a cat that was cleaning its face. Some of the time he would even have his eyes closed, for the sake of focus.

He didn't really pay attention to where he was doing this, so if he's being loud outside the door of someone doing important work that needs focus, or some poor sap that got stuck on third watch last night, then that was unfortunate. He's a detective in the zone.

Comments

[dictaphonic]

Will happened to see Shotaro doing a cat impression in the middle of a corridor he was passing through--and by "happened to see" he really meant "couldn't fail to miss." While Will liked to think that he was a person who was rather well-versed with strange occurrences, he had to admit that this was completely new even to him. For a moment, he wondered if this man were an alien for whom this was normal behaviour and if perhaps he should just keep walking.

But in the face of a man hunched over, hands curled, eyes closed, making cat noises while waggling a feather on a string, he couldn't help but interrupt. "Um...excuse me? A-are you all right?"

After all, this could be some type of virus--or, at least, that was the only explanation that came immediately to his mind in a bizarre situation like this...

[tanteiotaku]

Shotaro started a bit when the guy started talking to him. He immediately stopped what he was doing and cleared his throat. He fidgeted with the knot of his necktie. "Y-yeah, totally fine. Working on finding my partner's missing family member." He tried to look casual with the cat toy but holding it at his shoulder like one might a baseball bat probably didn't come off like he wanted it to.

He stepped closer and held out a photo, quite close to Will's face. It was of a smiling Japanese kid with binder clips holding his hair to one side, with a fat grey British Shorthair in his lap. Shotaro tapped where the cat was on the photo. "Have you seen him?"

[dictaphonic]

"I...see..." He really didn't, but it seemed like the polite thing to say. His expression, however, remained just as baffled as he blinked at Shotaro's sudden change into...well, what seemed closer to normalcy, at least. Cat toy excepted.

When the photo was shoved into his face, he stared at it, first focusing in on the child until Shotaro directed him otherwise. And then suddenly everything made--a bit more sense, anyway, if not exactly complete logical sense. He relaxed, glad that this wasn't some sort of virus. "Ohhh! Were you trying to...draw him out like that? Does he have any toys with bells in them, perhaps? He might recognise that sound even from a distance!"

Realising he hadn't actually answered the question, though, he added: "But I'm afraid I haven't run into any cats. This is a big ship, too..." He frowned, not liking the thought of a lost animal somewhere as vast as this. "Are there any particular places he likes? It might be better to check those first."

[tanteiotaku]

He sighed heavily when the guy answered negatively. "He doesn't usually stray far from my partner..." he complained. Yeah, there were a lot of places for a cat like him to hide. "Maybe he found a girlfriend," he smirked.

But when the guy started dispensing advice, he got a little sour look on his face. "Hey, you're talking to a specialist here, buddy. Shotaro Hidari, private detective," he said, sweeping his fingers across his fedora. "Expert in finding lost pets." Of course if anyone called him that, he'd get mad and shout a lot. The photo disappeared into his vest pocket.

[dictaphonic]

"Do you know of other cats on the ship?" Will asked curiously at that suggestion. Remembering his conversation with Kale, he added, "A friend of mine mentioned one once, but I'm afraid I've never actually seen it."

"Oh." Just from the expression on Shotaro's face, he looked abashed. But that description surprised him. "Really?" He brightened. "That sounds very lucky for your partner! That you have the exact skills that are needed right now, I mean." It wasn't a sarcastic comment in the least. Will was, in fact, thrilled to hear that the cat had someone with experience in the area looking for him. "Um. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

[tanteiotaku]

"I've seen a few, but none that I'm looking for, or are lost in the first place," he shrugged.

The sour look faded, though. He might have overreacted a little on account of Philip being so upset. "I've found him before, but that was in my own territory. On this ship, every time I turn around I find something new," he grumbled. He scratched at his head just under his hat in frustration. "Ah, dammit. If you see him, try luring him in your room with tuna. And he doesn't like strangers." That last comment was meant to serve as a warning. Sometimes even Shotaro still got growled at if he came too close.

[dictaphonic]

"Oh, I just meant...well, you mentioned a girlfriend, so I thought..." he stammered before giving up on that train of thought.

"A-anyway, yes!" His nerves retreated a bit as Shotaro started to look less hostile, and he nodded eagerly at the suggestion. "I'll keep an eye out. And...replicate some tuna." He frowned. "Sorry I can't be more helpful. But I hope you find him soon!"

[primeverdeen]

Prim opened her door, confused. She would have ignored the sound outside her door, expect Buttercup had been yowling at the noise, wanting to get out and investigate. As soon as the door opened, Buttercup shot out and lunged for the feather toy, trying to carry it back into the room.

As depressed as Prim has been of late, she just stood there, dumbfounded and confused. "What....?" was all the sound she was able to make. Something... just didn't make sense. Was he on morphling or something? Bad mushrooms?

[tanteiotaku]

"Eh?" Shotaro looked down, a bit confused at the other cat that was helping himself to Mick's toy. Mick wasn't going to like that. He glanced over at the open door the little orange tabby had come from.

"Oh, hey Prim. Hey, could you help me out with something?" He pulled a photo out of his inside vest pocket. It was a picture of Philip cuddling with Mick, a fat grey British Shorthair with an imperious look on his face. The environment in which the photo had been taken was certainly not on the Enterprise, instead it was at their office back home. Fortunately, Bat Shot was able to interface with Enterprise tech enough to print a picture for this particular case. "I'm looking for this guy," he tapped the photo where Mick was. "Have you seen him?"

[primeverdeen]

She blinked slowly, focusing on the picture, then shook her head. "Is he on the ship? Or are you just hoping he might have been brought here?" Her eyes were still somewhat lost, hollow. There was still a great emptiness there.


"There is someone here... he's a doctor for animals... and he has a cat too... A female cat," she added, in warning.

[tanteiotaku]

She looked like she was still pretty upset about her sister disappearing. He was no good at that kind of thing, but maybe he could cheer her up a little. "Ah! I don't think Philip wants grandcats... Or maybe he wouldn't mind too much," he chuckled. "Do you think you could maybe help me out? This is a pretty big ship, and you look like you could squeeze into some of the same size places Mick can."

[primeverdeen]

Someone... needed her help? Here? But... with Katniss gone... no one needed her here but Lady and Buttercup. But... he needed her help. For Philip. Who showed her the pasta and cheese dish. And called her stupid.

But she tried not to think too much about that part.

Someone wanted her to help. Did she even remember how to help people? She found herself nodding anyway.

"Alright," she heard herself say softly. A bit more of her returned to her eyes. Helping people was what she did back home. All the time. It was who she was. She was Katniss' sister, and her mother's assistant with medicine, and helpful. Here... she was none of those things anymore. It might... be good to be helpful again, if she could.

[tanteiotaku]

He kept what he hoped was an encouraging grin on his face. "Good. I've pretty much covered all the ground in the area they've got all us strangers set up in. If I know this cat as well as I think I do, I think he might be hanging out in the arboretum." And eve if he wasn't, maybe being out and about and around green things would be better than steel walls.

If he were pulling from personal experience, from when his own reserves were low from his own loss, he was never going to say anything. As the months went on, and it still felt as raw as if it had just happened, he would force himself away from places that meant something to him and Philip. Which ended up being green places. A park or two. Some woods. He'd seen the look on her face in his own mirror some mornings.

Philip was back now, though. Nothing else mattered. All that was in the past. But maybe he could help her out, even if only a little.

[primeverdeen]

"Alright," she said softly. "I don't think I've been there yet, but I'll help you look," she said. She had no clue what that place was. Had Katniss mentioned it? She thought she had heard that word somewhere since she got here. It was harder to think, sometimes, recently. But she made herself grab Buttercup and shove him inside and close the door. "Which way?"

[tanteiotaku]

He started their journey with an unnecessarily large first step. "Right this way, little flower," he said, leading the way. He wasn't continuing the cat act, but he did allow the feather on the string to drag along the floor in case Mick wanted to come out of his hiding spot to attack it.

"So, what have you been doing since I saw you last?" he asked, just to make conversation. "Kinda dull around here most times, huh?"

[primeverdeen]

She walked along side him, looking around for the cat. Until he asked the question. Then she looked down at her feet and shrugged a bit. "Mostly... Mostly been in the room. Feeding my animals..."

She shrugged again. "Not... not much else to do. Not like anyone needs me here..." she whispered. She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall.

[kaylinneya]

Kaylin's updated permission post/trigger warning

Kaylin had been patrolling the halls. She still wasn't official or anything, but she needed to be useful all the same. She was looking for things odd, though what might be odd here.. she wasn't so sure. Until she saw him, then she WAS sure.

"Something I should know about?" she asked, dryly.

[ro_laren]

Ro was stalking through the halls, displeased that she was not allowed to work. She was still Ro Laren, still an Ensign, and despite how her body looked, still an adult.

Where as this person had the body of an adult, but was clearly a child. "Is there some reason you are making a fool of yourself outside of my quarters?" she asked, in as cold a voice as her 12 year old body could manage.