It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood, won't you be my multiversal friend?

[basic_powers]

Parents were off taking Toby out for dinner, and Cecil was covering the excuse for him. He had a spare of the knock-out capsules, body armor, and some opened cans of tuna out for his guest, just so she wouldn't attack food in the grocery store.

It was a late Saturday afternoon and just beginning to ease into the evening hours outside, the inside of the home was neatly furnished and well kept, not a mote of dust anywhere. And given that this was only a fascade house for coverstories that was some accomplishment of cleaning in itself for a living room that size.

Which is what the linen closet door opens up into.

Welcome to Earth.

Comments

[basic_powers]

"Yes, there's cheese, and fish."

...there's going to be endless punnishment for this.

[nepetaleijon]

"Yay!"

Happy cat!troll is happy.

"... what kind of fish?"

[basic_powers]

"Tuna, cooked, sorry I couldn't get any raw."

Safety law again.

[nepetaleijon]

She gives a shrug, accompanied by a tail-flick. It's all good!

[basic_powers]

Yeah, it is, since toasted tuna salad cheese sammiches are delicious.

And devoured relatively quickly between the two of them.

"Mhmm."

[nepetaleijon]

By this time, Nepeta is pretty well prepared to eat anything Tyler offers her. He hasn't been wrong yet.

"So now we go shopping?" she asks, licking her fingers.

[basic_powers]

"Yeah, you wanna turn on your holodisguise?" Tyler asks, heading for the door out into the light.

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta equips the disguise, and ventures blinking out into the sunlight.

It's really about the same as the sun at Milliways; not all that much brighter than a double full moon.

[basic_powers]

It's kind of nice actually, things are warm and there're other humans strolling down the street, though on the otherside. There's the sounds of play coming from a couple of yards and some kids who zip by laughing on bikes on the street.

Tyler nods down the street jogging and pocket jingling a little.

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta trails behind him, looking wide-eyed at everything.

It's so ... weirdly normal, considering how alien it all is. She's got some experience with human culture through the four kids they've watched, but ...

A human kid zips past them on a two wheeled device, and she almost laughs. They're exactly like the two wheeled devices back home!

[basic_powers]

A couple more zip past on razor scooters further down the street, give thanks for the residential neighborhood. For there are plenty of kids within spitting distance of the house and no one's really going to question things.

It's a good long walk to the store, and somewhere in the distance, there's an ice cream truck playing it's siren tune.

Tyler's watching a few of the other kids in the neighborhood, thoughtfully...

"We might get some party crashers for the night time party..."

[nepetaleijon]

"Party crashers?" She blinks at him. "Are we going to n33d to put up defenses?"

[basic_powers]

"Maybe. Maybe not, all depends on if we have an adult present or not...Then again..." Then again he could get a chance to...no. no. Neighbors are not acceptable forms of guinea pigs.

"We could get an adult form Milliways to act as a chaperone, or we could just let Karkat be himself all around the party."

[nepetaleijon]

"... Oh."

She looks oddly hesitant at the mention of Karkat.

[basic_powers]

"...Nepeta?"

Tyler did catch that hesitance in her voice. Boy he is, idiot he is not.

[nepetaleijon]

She glances back at him, and smiles gamely. "Oh it's nothing! I just ... I don't know if Karkat's coming to the purrty."

[basic_powers]

"Why's that?"

Call him curious. Also just a touch surprised.

[nepetaleijon]

She shifts, looking a little embarrassed.

"I don't know! He's just ... not so enfursiastic about, you know. Human things."

[basic_powers]

"Really?" Tyler looks a little surprised. "I thought he was just being angry about human stuff for the sake of being angry with it, because it's so similar in appearance to troll things."

[nepetaleijon]

A slight shrug.

"He's Karkat," she offers by way of explanation. "He purrobably is just being angry about human stuff for the sake of being angry. That is an immewtable fact I am stating for the record. It doesn't mean that him stubbornly avoiding the party like a big grumpyface is not what is going to take place here."

[basic_powers]

"...so telling him he can't come wouldn't make him want to be there just as stubbornly?"

[nepetaleijon]

"No," she sighs, "he'd just get grumpier. And say he didn't even WANT to come to this stupid party ANYWAY. Except he'd say it with more swearing."

[basic_powers]

"...immewtable fact huh?"

Well, there's no convincing, and Tyler has no idea what to bribe Karkat with....and threatening the troll is just plain stupid. "No way to convince, bribe or threaten....maybe it'd be better if we just leave him out of the party without saying anything."

[nepetaleijon]

Another sigh. "Yeah."

[basic_powers]

"...then again we just proved him wrong about you not being able to come to the human world so he's going to be crabbier than usual."Beat. "Even with Birgus nesting in his hair."