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Cleaning took way too much energy.

Prissy wrinkled her nose for the millionth time that evening as the washrag in her hand got tossed to the side. It wasn't fair, leaving her to do ALL the work. Daniel, the cafe's barista, had to leave early because of some emergency - his mother had fallen ill or something equally ugh - making her close the shop by herself. Which sucked. It really sucked.

Thankfully, the customers were scarce for the remainder of the evening, remaining safe and warm in their homes as the snow continued to fall outside. There was about twenty or so minutes left before closing, but the cafe was empty. If she played her cards right, she could fudge most of the rest of the cleaning and get out of there in a decent amount of time, at least.

Glancing towards the window facing the parking lot, she looked to see if the snow was still falling. What she saw, instead, were a pair of golden eyes staring back at her.

What the heck?

Stepping out from behind the counter, she approached the glass. Was that... was that a kitten? Out in this weather?

Priscilla Stratford wasn't much of an animal person, but she had the decency to at least feel a bit of pity for the poor thing.

Stepping over towards the door, she cracked it open, glancing outside. The wind was cold, blasting a wave of frigid air into the warm cafe and sending a shiver through her. Through chattering teeth, she called, "Hey - what are you doing out in this weather, little guy?"

Oh no.

No, no, no.

The kitten was approaching her. Then again, what had she really expected, opening the door and addressing it? That it would dart away, back into the cold, wintry evening, to lose itself further in the snow? No - clearly it was more interested in a cafe that promised warmth and delicious smells... that is, if cats even cared for sweets.

She did not claim to be an expert on this subject.

Priscilla floundered hopelessly in the doorway as she watched the kitten approach. Its mews were heart-wrenching - clearly it knew how to defeat even the most callous individuals with one tiny, adorable sound.

Glancing back, she did a double check to ensure there were no lingering customers. Nope, all was clear, save for her and the little feline.

Her head nodded, one hand motioning towards the empty cafe. "Erm... sure, for a little while?"

Not that she really expected an answer. And surely she could catch and toss out the kitten when it was time to close...right? Kittens weren't impossible to corral.

... at least, she hoped they wouldn't be.

She was momentarily startled - yes, she'd met a talking cat already this month but talking felines weren't something she felt was a regular occurrence.

Rose colored eyes watched as the cute kitten with the sweet, timid voice brushed against her and it was then that she noticed the small little star on its - no, her - forehead. Like Grendel's, lighter maybe, but clearly a noticeable star.

It took a moment to collect her thoughts, before she was able to answer the question. "No - but I'm the only one here for the rest of the night, so you're welcome to stay until I leave."

Oddness was an understatement when it came to admitting one was willing to hold a conversation with a cat, but Prissy had an inkling that this might become more regular than she had thought.

Closing the door, she decided to go ahead and latch it locked - she was fairly certain that no one else would attempt to come in this evening, but she definitely didn't want to risk exposing a talking cat to the public, not tonight. After ensuring it was secure, she made her way over to the counter and scooted behind, her destination of the confection display evident.

Now that The Sugar Cube was closed early, what better way to celebrate than with a cookie or two?

...or three, or four?

Sliding open the door to the display window, she eyeballed the options, debating which treat looked the most appealing. "Anything look good to you, little one?"

The realization dawned on Priscilla as she watched the kitten move up to the cabinet and pawi at a cupcake, still in the display. An animal had invaded the display. All of the sweets - the candies, the cakes, the brownies, the biscotti and croissants - all of them were now subject to contamination.

Granted, this might have been a tiny bit of a stretch from the rules the manager had established, concerning infection control and contamination of pastries. But he didn't have to know the kitten touched a single cupcake - it would be their secret to keep from him.

And it wasn't like she wouldn't have to toss some of this stuff out anyways, due to expiration, right?

Pulling out one of the porcelain plates they used for dining-in customers, she placed a pair on top of the counter, adjacent to the display case. Out came the pawed cupcake, along with several cookies, petit fours, a brownie and a trio of macaroons. Cats and sweets - she'd seen some pictures online that had looked precious and adorable, but as far as what they could or couldn't eat, she'd leave that call to this little girl's decision.

Turning back towards the case, it was time for her to choose her treats for the evening. Fingers rubbed against the edge of the plate as eyes wandered. Reaching in, she picked a cake pop first, iced in pink and white.

"I'm Prissy, by the way." Manners had been sidetracked by delicious looking late night cravings, her hand reaching back in to pluck several more cookies and sweets to pile onto her own plate.

The second dish was delivered alongside the first, the girl leaning over to take a quick n** out of one of the chewy, sugar dusted butter cookies.

Mmmmmmm, perfect.

Glancing down, she watched to see if the kitten could make it up to the counter by herself. Then, she examined the dish set aside for Little Adorable. "If you need me to cut anything for you, let me know."


In the meantime, however, she returned to devouring the butter cookie before it had the opportunity to get any staler.

For not being a cat person, Prissy could feel herself growing more and more infatuated with the adorable little kitten. Was this what the Negaverse was all about? Collecting beautiful glowing orbs and petting adorable kittens? If so, why hadn't they found her sooner?

Leaning over, she generously began to break apart the harder sweets, the cookies and macaroons. For the cupcake and brownie, she gingerly sliced through each pastry with a butter knife (which she would leave for the opening crew to clean up later - not her problem, as far as she was concerned). Satisfied with her slicing job, she slid a fork from the utensil holder and went to town on her own plate.

Swallowing a bit of brownie, she nodded her head with a smile. "Lace, I like that." Another gentle stab with her fork, another bite.

"I'm Prissy. Well, Priscilla, but Prissy is so much cuter. You understand that though, right? Cute names for a couple of cute girls."

Leaning over the counter, she glanced up to watch the snow as it slowly fluttered to the ground, each snowflake taking its time to arrive, one on top of another.

"And...y-yes." Her voice lowered out of habit, despite knowing they were the only two in the store. Eyebrows furrowing, her attention turned back towards the tiny kitten. "You're the second one to figure that out - do you cats have like...psychic powers? Or a tracker or something?"

Odd. Mildly unsettling, but there were worse things to be tracked by, right? Kittens and cats weren't exactly things to worry about.

Another bite of her brownie and the pastry was gone, a chocolate chip cookie soon vanishing alongside it. Empty fingers cleaned themselves on a nearby napkin before moving over to gently rub behind the kitten's ears.

Was it wrong to pet a Guardian, as opposed to a normal cat?

It was just too adorable to resist, ugh!

"So you already know that I'm Dia then." It almost felt redundant saying it, knowing the small, precious little creature beside her already knew the answer. "It sounds as if you're well on your way to taking care of business for the Negaverse, Miss Lace."

Smiling, she rested her arms on the countertop, watching the kitten do her normal, adorable kitten-like things. "So, aside from you and Grendel - how many of you guys are out there? Do you all have the stars?"

One finger rose, tapping her own forehead.

Hearing the kitten, as small and tiny as she was, compliment her sphere caused a surge of pride to swell up within the young woman. With her only attack being candy-tossing-goop-balls, Priscilla had begun to think that, despite the adorableness of her power, her sphere was more or less useless against the cooler, more crippling powers that the others had.

The thought of a second kitten as equally as precious was almost impossible to fathom. Two tiny balls of adorable fluff? UGH!

....but then, hearing her talk of the other felines, she developed an idea.

Glancing up at the clock, the minute hand had indeed inched its way to the top of the hour, permitting the employee to now (at long last), close up shop.

Eyes fell back down towards the tiny creature, Prissy's smile widening. "Well, Miss Lace, I just so happen to know of an older cat that works for the Negaverse. Would you like to meet him?"