Pride of the East

[Mr. Moon]

Michael #6

The lawyer jumped on his chair, sitting down on it almost as if he was waiting for something. Something that wasn´t coming Sophia took the menu for herself and started studying it.
“Meow…”
The large black cat said in annoyed tone without getting any reaction from the redhead that became lost in her own battle between her sweet tooth and her fear of gaining any weight.
“MEOW!”
Michael exclaimed angrily, jumping on the table. His sudden movement and tone startled the young woman, who flinched as if she expected sharp claws to hit her now, but nothing like that happened. Instead the grumpy coffee addict was looking at the menu with eyes wide open trying his best to control his newfound cat instinct to purr.
“Cupcakes...they have strawberry cupcakes!”
He sighed for himself taking a look at Sophia who was still covering on the far edge of her chair.
“You...oh you would like something to eat as well? Let me check…”
Carefully as if she was afraid it was just a trick to make her lower her guard, she took the menu trying to find what made Michael so excited.
“Ehm…”
Her eyes ran through the list trying to control her despair as she couldn´t really imagine that cold, detached lawyer enjoying any sweets.
“Would you like Creme Br…”
The lawyer interrupted her with laud meow.
“No, that´s not it...so cupcake?”
This time his meow was more silent and satisfied.
“Alright, cupcake it is.”
The young woman noted for herself, that she has to make him some when she´ll have a favor to ask.
And while she was slipping back to her own imaginary realm and a young waiter headed to their table, Michael made a few steps across it, sitting down in front of Danielle.
“Meow”
He said, jumping down on her lap.

[Kami-Gaz]

Cleo #6

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Cleo watched the scene unfolding before her with a smile, her eyes strangely unblinking shifted over to Danielle as she asked the real question of the night. One that others would give a stupid answer for, like vacationing or travelling to a new destination in style. Her real reason was to kill, but her cover was to be a bodyguard, which most bodyguards would hide.

With a soft chuckle the reptilian woman shrugged and leaned forward onto her elbows. “I’m here on a work opportunity.” She said in a cryptically cold voice despite her smile appearing warm. “Opportunities that can lead to people and answers I’ve been wanting to work on since I became this monstrous.” She clarified, looking over to see the cat angrily demanding food.

“He’s a pretty spoiled kitty.” She said with a chuckle, flicking her tongue out as she did. “And.” She turned her head to the last woman at the table. The more air headed one that liked to chatter. “What about you three? Romantic get aways? Sight Seeing?” She asked, trying to not steep her tone in a venomous teasing inflection but failing. “Or are you here to secretly be spies and take people out?” She asked, being on the nose with her own mission but wanting to see if the accusation would make anyone sweat.

“I hope that’s this cruises mystery game night dinner.” She added after a heart laugh. “I love a good Murder Mystery.”

---

Cleo: 645990
Troy: acd1fc

[Bobbie]

The cat seemed to steal the show as he pounced onto the table and meowed loudly, much to poor Sophia’s terror and Rosalina’s admiration. Unable to help herself, Rosalina redirected her attention away from the menu and reached out to pet the fluffy creature, until Cleo seemed to address a question toward her.

“Oh, us?” She quickly replied, before Danielle had a chance to utter a word. Instead, the treasure huntress smiled in agreement of whatever was about to be said by her dearly beloved.

“This cruise is a gift from my father to us!” Now leaning toward Danielle, she hugged the blonde’s arm tightly with a content smile and a purr of her own. “Danny’s been a little upset about missing some friends, so my father suggested this cruise to spend some time together. Wasn’t that very nice of him?” Her gaze shifted toward Danielle, who felt obliged to nod and agree.

“It was definitely unexpected… I’m glad you’re enjoying it, my love.” The pair swooned over one another, although the ginger was far more public with her show of affection than her significant other, a soft giggle escaping her before a gentle kiss was shared.

“So I guess it’s a romantic getaway, to spend some time together,” Rosalina concluded her answer with a shrug and a sigh as she straightened up in her seat once more, releasing Danielle’s arm. "I think it was a brilliant idea!"

“Yes,” Perhaps feeling obliged to contribute, there was little else left for Danielle to say. Thankfully, her escape came when the cat unexpectedly jumped down into her lap. Adoring most, if not all, animals, Danny’s hand went to Michael’s neck to instinctively pet what she thought was an ordinary cat, caringly giving the feline neck scratches with a soft smile on her face.

“Monstrous is a strong word…” she finally offered her own personal thought, one Rosalina didn’t seem to agree with as she decided to opt out of the conversation by engaging with the waiter instead. Meanwhile, Danielle simply pointed at her order of a focaccia so as not to interrupt the flow of their talk and continued to talk with Cloe, all the while petting the cat in her lap. “What sort of answers are you hoping to find, if I may ask?”

Occasionally, Rosalina would pet his fur as well, then turned to Sophia. “Your cat is lovely. Aren’t cats so much better than dogs?” She asked, loud enough for all at the table to hear, but Danielle ignored her.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Michael #7

As the waitress arrived, Sophia ordered strawberry cupcake and coffee for Michael, and a cake with latte for herself. Not a piece of cake, but the whole chocolate thing with strawberries and whipped-cream on top ignoring all if any curious looks in her direction. She was forced to live with her “cursed” body for almost two decades now, but that didn´t mean that all these looks and remarks about her appetite weren´t hurtful to her.

“Why monstrous?”
She asked out of sudden as Cleo started talking about her appearance.

“I think you are cute…”
She paused for a moment the color of her face suddenly matching the color of her hair.
“I mean...snakes are cute and you are part snake and…I should stop talking”

She hide her face behind a curtain of red hair, earning a contemptuous snort from the large kitty, that was currently petted by the two women.

“I...got this trip from my boss.”
Sophia finally find her voice again.

“As a reward for doing great during the last fiscal year you know…”

She muttered, her hair perfectly masking the shock that appeared on her face when the snake lady mentioned spying and murder.
“I…”

She wanted to answer Rosalina´s question, but became speechless again as Michael decided to use the opportunity for an attack.

He started slowly, jumping on Rosalina´s lap from Danielle just as she asked her question, looking like a big fluffy ball of cute. Than after she tried to pet him again, he put gently one of his murder mittens on her hand, meowed and second later jumped on it, biting and clawing into that ginger´s hand like a proper murder kitten that became bored by the lack of an action and decided to take the fun into his own hands, or rather paws.

[Kami-Gaz]

Cleo #7

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Cleo felt a quiver in her heart as two of the women at her table expressed that she was not a monster, hell one even thought she was cute! That was such a pleasant change of pace from people avoiding her, scorning her or even trying to kill her for this thing she cannot control. It brought a genuine smile to her face as her slit like eyes flickered between the two.

“I ate a devil fruit… a defective one.” She said softly as she shifted to sit on her tail in a more comfortable manner. As she talked the cat had decided it was time to attack Danielle’s partner and was quite viscous about it. To the point that the snake bolted forward and made a grab for the scruff of the cat’s neck to both pick it up and disable it. In her past Cleo was a farmer, and farmers knew how to disable all sorts of animals. This new form gave her many advantages and quick reactions had come in handy a few times.

“As I was saying…” She said with a soft grunt. “While I got lucky, my sisters lost their ability to swim… and can only smile.” Cleo said softly, her gaze on Danielle the statement hopefully being enough to answer her question about questions.

“And Sophia… Thanks for calling me Cute. It made me feel like a person.” The snake spoke, proffering a smile as her tongue flicked out to taste the air. It caught the scent of blood from the kitty mauled hand.

---

Cleo: 645990
Troy: acd1fc

[Bobbie]

Rosalina let out a scream as the feline attacked her hand and tried to pull it away, prompting Danielle to immediately rise to her fiancée’s rescue. Gently, the blonde lifted the cat and put it down on the table again, steering it toward Sophia, its presumed owner.

Danielle sat down again and nodded to Cleo. She couldn’t say she understood much about Devil Fruits, let alone any defective ones. It was news to her that they could be defective, and that was all the more reason to stay away from them entirely. Unfortunately, the response given did not clarify very much, but the treasure huntress knew not to dig further - it was very clear that this was an emotional topic for the woman and now was not the time to pry.

“Danny, I’m hungry…”

Danielle looked toward the ginger who was now leaning close enough to have an arm wrapped around her.

“I’m sure our order will be here soon, love. In the meantime, let's enjoy the good company.” The tongue that flicked out of Cleo’s mouth sent a chill down Danielle’s spine as she took a paper napkin and began to gently dab the blood from Rosalina’s hand.

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Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff