video; un: mogget

[themogget]

[There is a cat on the screen. A white cat wearing a red collar sporting a small silver bell and a green, tear-drop shaped pendant. He looks at the communication device for several moments with a pair of sharp, vivid green eyes.

Then the cat speaks.]

Ah, good, it's working.

[The cat's voice sounds... more or less as you might expect a cat to sound. He doesn't have a human voice, but rather the various sounds a feline might make are twisted around into entirely coherent words. He shifts in place, adjusting the position of his small white paws.]

I thought it best to get this out of the way as quickly as possible, having no wish to spend another year explaining that I am not someone's familiar. [His ears flick back momentarily.]

Nor am I a human choosing to look like this, or a simple housecat. Do not treat me as such. [The talking part probably gave that last bit away, but he's met a lot of stupid people. Mogget pauses here, and lets out a quiet sigh.

He ends the communication there, though one might hear a mutter of '--don't know why I bother' just before it shuts off.]

Comments

[prontissimo]

Huh? Wha—?

[ No. He does not. He’s still calling his cell phone “the Everything Machine.” He’s… struggling with all this technology, as much as he’s delighted by it, too. ]

[themogget]

Mm. Anyone who cares to look can see what you're saying.

[Not to say people will be looking, but a talking cat is probably something to look at... so who knows.]

I'm sure it's fine.

1/2

[prontissimo]

Well, uh— Anyone who's looking— I am human! I was just bluffing to make the not-cat feel better!

[ He says it in a louder, more pronounced voice, as if he were trying to be overheard by someone in the next room over. He's still not fully grasped the nuances of talking online, his passive-aggressive instincts are misplaced. ]

private; 2/2

[prontissimo]

[ But he pauses, thinking to add another stab at this after examining his comment fields a little more closely (far be it from Alberto to examine anything more closely, really), then continues more normally, though cautiously— ]

Sooo is there a way to make it not public, liiike—? This? Wait, no— No... Wait, yes! Like this?! Right?

[ Well, he, uh— he got there...? That was embarrassing just to watch, yeesh. And probably rather annoying. ]

[themogget]

[Mogget watches his display with a passive expression, for as much as cats can really make expressions at all. When the boy finally stabs the right button to lock their communication from any prying eyes the cat blinks slowly and shifts position slightly.]

That's it.

[Though the cat is already out of the bag... so to speak. Hmm.]

If it's any consolation, I doubt anyone here is going to care what you are.

[prontissimo]

Really? Don't humans hunt monsters here? Or, uh, at least fight them or something? I've heard about the "quests" and stuff...

[themogget]

People hunt and fight dangerous monsters, or ones that want to fight.

[Mogget blinks once again, still quite slowly.]

You don't look like a dangerous monster. You look like a boy.

[prontissimo]

Yeah, and? Bet you’re more dangerous than a cat, aren’t you?

[ Alberto’s not a dangerous monster. He is just a young boy. But he fancies he could be dangerous if he wanted to be, certainly can scare humans, and that’s pretty much enough to be considered a “dangerous monster” half the time. In reality, though, he’s really only a danger to himself in all his boyish recklessness. Mogget’s not entirely off the mark. Though Alberto has a point, too… ]

[themogget]

I have magic, so naturally I'm more dangerous than a cat.

[And much like Alberto, he could be dangerous if he wanted to be. Mostly, though, Mogget is far too lazy for that. Besides, no one here has done anything to draw his wrath save for whatever brought them here in the first place, and he doubts he's going to come up against whatever that is any time soon.]

But I also have no pressing desire to cause physical harm or property damage. Unless you're planning to cause deliberate injury to the local populace, I think you're in the clear.

[prontissimo]

Nah, nah, nah. I just wanna take photographs and try all the weird new human stuff and maybe learn to make fireworks. Y'know, — play around.

[ He's nonchalant, but then casts a wary glance, feeling he needs to puff himself up a bit, though, ever having something to prove. ]

...But if someone tries to fight me, or hurt someone I like, I'd fight them.

[themogget]

[The cat blinks slowly.]

That would make you no different to anyone else here, I expect.

[He shifts his paws, crossing one front leg over the other and slowly flexing his claws out and then back in.]

But I'm curious - you seem to want to make yourself seem frightening. Why?

[prontissimo]

[ The question catches Alberto off-guard, and he shifts his eyes away, glancing to the side in thought... He'd never considered himself this way. But as soon as he's told so, his mind is flashing backwards, first to his most shameful moment, trying to scare Giulia away by revealing his true self, in some horridly petty and jealous attempt to keep Luca by his side; then to every time he'd taunted Ercole, even as the bully's goons invariably took hold of Alberto and punched him in the gut, to which he did nothing to protect himself; every time he'd forced Luca into doing something his best friend was clearly terrified of; every time he told that little voice in the back of his head that spoke good cautious sense "Silenzio," to convince himself he's fearless, a force to be reckoned with, even without anyone around to prove himself to... Was it frightening? He never seems to have succeeded in frightening anyone like that — and the times he had frightened people... had been very much to his detriment. A scowl tugs his face as these thoughts rush by in a flash, and he responds with a steelier tone to his voice than has been heard thus far — indeed, always something to prove. ]

...I don't wanna be frightening. I don't wanna scare anybody. I just wanna be strong. And have fun.

[ To him, after years all by himself in all but total isolation, the two ideals have strangely become inseparable. ]

[themogget]

Then I don't think you're going to have a problem here.

[But he's very interesting... and Mogget will be keeping an eye on him.]

So stop worrying so much.

[prontissimo]

As long as no one's hunting sea monsters here, then I'm not worried...~

[ There's an airy, dismissive tone that comes along with his shrug, like he's shaking himself of the worry itself. He's certainly an odd boy, who lets much more information slip than he often means to. But that just makes him all the more interesting, perhaps. ]

[themogget]

Only the ones causing problems, I expect. Sinking ships, eating swimmers, that kind of thing.

[He browses the quest board from time to time and hasn't seen anything about any sea monsters, but who knows?]

You're not planning to cause those kinds of problems are you?

[prontissimo]

Wha—? No, of course not! I’m living above the surface anyway — everything good is above the surface. I don’t care about that stuff. Besides— I met the sea monsters here. They’re weird. And tried to curse me to trap me down there.

[ Alberto, that’s not exactly how it happened and you know it. They encouraged you to leave so that wouldn’t happen. An important difference, probably? ]

[themogget]

Is that so? Funny, I didn't hear anyone else complaining about that.

[Could it be that this boy just got a bit too close to things that he shouldn't have been sticking his nose into? Mogget really couldn't say.]

But I do hope you took that as a warning.

[prontissimo]

Uh, yeah — a warning not to go back! I just wanted to see their village and they wouldn’t let me in! Even when I told them I was looking for my friend!

[ Which was, truthfully, halfway a lie. They probably could tell that, Alberto. ]

[themogget]

Have you considered they could tell you were lying?

[Mogget isn't a mind-reader, but that's an old excuse.]

I'm sure it's not the first time they've heard that from someone who 'just wanted to see'.

[prontissimo]

Eh… I did have some weird cursed human kid with me… She didn’t wanna see the sea monster village as much as I did. Maybe if I’d been alone they would’ve believed me. Although, they did kinda look at me weird when I was asking about my friend… I don’t really look anything like them. Cuz I wasn’t cursed, I was fine! The human girl was the one who was cursed to be able to be underwater, I guess, cuz she looked all weird and half-human-y like those sea monsters did. Not like normal sea monsters in my world…

[ He rolls his eyes, but pauses, glancing to the camera as a thought strikes him. ]

Actually, though— I wasn’t totally lying to them. I am looking for my friend. Another sea monster. Do you know a kid named Luca?

[themogget]

Luca...

[He does think about it genuinely, if only because Alberto is interesting to him and if there's another one like him, perhaps he would also be interesting. But... nothing comes to mind. Mogget's ears flick slightly and he gives a small shake of his tiny head.]

No. I haven't heard of anyone by that name here, child or not.

[prontissimo]

Well, keep an eye out for him, will ya? Luca Paguro. He's short, kinda shrimpy, wavy brown hair, round face, big brown eyes — like a fish, but cuter.

[ He shifts the camera to what's clearly the wall above his bed, and shows a picture... o-obviously Alberto's own handiwork, somehow, just from looking at it after having talked to the boy... ]

He looks sort of like this.

[themogget]

... Truly a work of art.

[Mogget sighs, closing his eyes for a few seconds.]

Very well. I will keep an eye out for your friend. Is he as prone to dramatics as you are?

[prontissimo]

Hah! No! Not at all. He's not dramatic at all, haha. Luca's a good kid~ Very nice, super smart, kind of nervous... We're pretty different, actually, heh.

[themogget]

Hm. Good friends often are.

[Not always, but often. Mogget himself is often drawn to people of opposing personality to his own.]

If he isn't here now, there's a possibility that he might show up later.