Tiberius doesn’t remember just when (or even where) in his admittedly short life that he started to realize he wasn’t like the other cats in the colony, but it might have been back in his kitten hood at the sanctuary when he earned his name by being really intent on getting his smaller self into massive amounts of trouble, much like the infamous James Tiberius Kirk. Gale, one of the people managing the feline sanctuary, had an unhealthy obsession with William Shatner's starship captain and had found that out of all seven kittens born on site during that season - thanks to irresponsible caretakers not having their pets altered and surrendering the pregnant queens to shelters where they were lucky enough to be brought into the sanctuary instead of put down - that even blind and mostly deaf at birth, Tiberius was about as good getting into trouble as the Captain of the Enterprise. His siblings were likewise named for the various members of the Enterprise crew, and eventually all were adopted out to what seemed to be good homes.

What he does remember is always being interested in the technology of the humans around him. Phones, computers, laptops, PDAs...you name it, he wanted to learn about it and play with it. Tiberius had been quite lucky, going with an active, young family along with one of his siblings (Bones) for the early part of his life...but at some point the family's fortunes had changed and the cats weren't left behind, but rather became indoor-outdoor cats instead of purely indoor cats. Eventually he and Bones became less attached to their family and more attached to colony living at the apartment complex, enjoying the affection of multiple people and using his wits to get more of the things he wanted out of the human participants.

There was a preteen girl that liked to use a soft-bristled brush to keep his fur neat and orderly and all he had to do was put up with her putting tiny hats and wigs on him for Instagram, a stoner that left his window (and his laptop) open who would give him slices of pizza if he caught roaches for the guy's bearded dragon. A few crazy old cat ladies that would brush him, give him treats, feed him, and otherwise take care of him so long as he would put up with a few cuddles and some really obnoxious baby talk.

It wasn't a bad life, really. He'd managed to get a swanky custom collar, had plenty of food for both himself and his sibling, and was even able to play with the technology he so loved and was drawn towards sometimes! And if there were occasions where Tiberius felt in his little kitty head and heart that there was something more out there for him to be doing, a higher purpose...well, that was just part of life wasn't it? A yearning for a more grandiose life, a more exciting existence - or even just hands - was a wonderful dream, not a certainty; no matter how many hours he might've spent dreaming about being bipedal with two brilliant hands that could cobble together the most fantastical creations - things that were wondrous, that made those new Marvel movies about Iron Man's technology seem...dated.

Tiberius arched against the legs of a woman who's name didn't matter but who would sometimes give him those really nice real-meat treats, especially if he looked up at her and gave an open-mouthed but mostly silent meow. Bingo, hooked! I'm getting treats today~ If there were ever a cat that looked smug, it was Tiberius, and he looked very smug just then indeed.


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