Bodega Cat (System Apocalypse, Deck Builder, Litrpg)

Later on that night, Bagel had his first non-human client. A Maine Coon showed up. Maine Coons were larger than the breed that Bagel ascribed to. He strutted in as if he was ready to make some sort of purchase and Bagel could see from his attitude that not only was this another cat that thought he was handsome boy, but he probably thought that he was a the handsomest boy around. It definitely wasn't a cat girl or a female cat because he could smell that cat piss from across the way. He jumped up to the counter and locked eyes with a new rival.

For a long moment, the two cats just stared at each other, neither one wanting to yield to the other more than they had to. Both blinked, as if the other one was going to lose the stare down contest. Bagel, thinking that the other cat was here because it was looking for some sort of cat food or some sort of sustenance, mentally commanded his worker to grab the cat food and pour some out for a customer.

If the Maine Coon had mistakenly come into his domain, then he wanted to at least be friendly. If nothing else, this told him that someone was still taking care of the cat.

Heed me out at the cat, trying to work out the punctuation from how he spoke before. It didn't sound right no matter what he did, so he sort of let that happen.

And then the cat did the strangest thing. It talked to him. "My word, I thought you were a talking cat. I came all this way to be another one of my kind, or was I mistaken?"

Bagel huffed with annoyance. He was hoping that his creatures could take care of it, but the cat had never taken his focus off of him.

"So what if I am a cat who can speak? So are you?" he talked in a flat, even tone, hoping that the other cat would take the hint that this was his domain and that the other cat should show fealty to him regardless of his size or body odor.

"It's good to see another animal together. We're always looking for new business associates. But first I came to look at your wares and perhaps I could help you out while you help me out?"

"I'm not in the business of doing favors for others right now. If you want something, you got to pay."

"Oh, so to the point. I suppose that is the way of things now. No one could have predicted that the system would arrive and give us this strange ability to talk like the humans did. Do you know what they're doing?"

Bagel waited for the answer, wondering where the Maine Coon was going with this.

"They are freaking out. Everything is closing or opening and people don't know where to go to work or not. But we know we knew in our hearts what's about to happen. They're just one spark away from turning a city into Utopia or a hellscape."

The cat took a second to judge the distance before making the leap 3 ft out to the counter next to bagel. From there. They both had a good vantage point to see the card collection that was on display. The Maine Coon took a second to admire the variety.

"I don't really care what the humans do," Bagel said. "Honestly. So long as they keep on coming in here and buying my products and supporting my shop, I will be happy."

"We all lose when society collapses. Well, I would think that. Somebody has to win. Why can't it be us?"

Bagel didn't really have an answer. For a long moment, he thought he might ask the Maine Coon his name, but what was a name?

The complex smell of the Maine Coon evoked the feeling of the downtown financial districts. He didn't even know what that meant. The cat just smelled like old money. If he was going to have to deal with animal customers as well, he wasn't going to have to think about how they could pay.

He supposed that the Maine Coon also didn't have thumbs, putting them on even footing.

"What do you want?" Bagel said after the Maine Coon had spent about a minute looking at his cards. "We have little yet, but I know where I can get pizza rats and potentially some of those turtles. I might sell you a heal card if you come to me at the right price."

What part of Bagel felt that being here in this strange new state was just silly? Two cats talking to each other. Frankly? It was unheard of.

For years, the only communication you've had with other cats was through smells and sometimes a friendly yowl here and there. Mostly it was a smell. That was now his responsibility, and no one else's, no matter how many times his litter box was changed. It was a slight indignity only.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

He made sure that it knew who was in charge. Clearly, the answer was him.

Things may have changed around the two cats, but always before. Even if they were standoffish, they had an understanding. He didn't understand this new cat the same way he understood himself. It was all so new. It had only been a day.

Sure, it had been a very eventful day, but it had been a day.

Bagel was not in the business of taking human shit. Time would tell if would take the same from one of his own.

As the other cat took his time to look into the catalog, he found himself surprised. Here. Here he was doing his best to make a sale. Here. He was doing the thing for the humans did and was that what he wanted to do?

He honestly didn't know. So much had gone on that he was still trying to get a sense of everything that had changed. Certainly, he was going to need to talk to those girls again about what had happened. It just made sense. I can't stand in front of him. Did that cat's stand in arriving make sense?

Someone had to have told the Maine Coon how to find him. That meant that one of his customers was talking about him.

On its own, that would not be so remarkable. A cat showing up out of nowhere to claim a shop in midtown east?

Bagels card skill replaced stacks upon stacks of various foodstuffs meant for human consumption. The irreplaceable item that made his shop valuable was the card collection behind the counter.

But these were handsome thoughts for a handsome boy. The marble pound cake colored cat stood tall as if they were in a size competition. Perhaps the newcomer was a size queen. He'd heard that was a thing that humans called some people who liked big cats. In the back of his mind, he thought about how the word queen denoted female and he was sure that the cat in front of him was male. He wouldn't do to ask the Maine Coon that sort of question. This might be the first time that a nearly awoken cat had spoken to an early welcome cat. This was a historic moment.

"Pardon me, but have you spoken to any other cats before?" Bagel said.

The Maine Coon cocked his head. "Now that you mention it, there's a bunch of us in the financial district."

It felt like a puzzle. He was trying to figure out what the cat wanted. Obviously and clearly, the cat wanted at that moment to buy something from the best shop on the block if not the neighborhood. But long-term? He wasn't sure. What did it matter that there was a group of cats somewhere? Were they his people?

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?" The Maine Coon took a second to interpret its words and then wagged his tail slightly. He gave Bagel an encouraging gesture. Of course, there had to be some place. They all went together. "Look, it's all brand new to all of us, too. If you want to come by and visit, I guess you're welcome to. It is a bit of a walk from here."

Bagel considered it. Were they more likely to come to him? He wasn't exactly sure. "Maybe after everything settles, we can all get together."

"Maybe. The humans say that eight million people live on this island. That's a lot. Also, I'll take two pizza rat cards."

It made little sense to why the Maine Coon was mentioning how many people there were. What did he care about people? He wants to meet others like him. Maybe then he would feel a little different. There was something that he was missing. It was something that he hadn't gotten before. He didn't feel like he was the time for him to ask the Maine Coon about it. But maybe someday he would figure it out. Something was so vividly different now that he felt awake and alive and able to speak and read.

He felt carefree but also like, for the first time in his brief life, that he was awakened to the possibilities of life. He was for sure awoken by the possibilities of getting a good deal out of this cat.

"I tell you what I'll give you a discount. If you promise that, you'll come back here with some friends. How about 10% off? I'm also looking to buy cards I can't get necessarily where I am."

The Maine Coon nodded at him." Of course! Of course we don't have the same cards over there and honestly I think what is it that the humans used to do? What do they call this? Networking?"

Bagel shrugged. "That sounds like a human term."

The two cats haggled for over the price, Bagel found the exchange pleasant. The Maine Coon asked for a twenty five percent discount, which he was prepared to give, but he wanted the promise of at least two new cards to buy off of the cat. The cat hadn't bought extra cards, having no thumbs, which they both bonded over.

"It's like I don't have these things that humans have. So what am I going to do to carry everything in my teeth?" the Maine coon said.

"I know, and it's a problem for all of us. So, like maybe I need to make little cat backpacks?"

"If you made cat backpacks, I would be the first one in line to buy that. Honestly, if it had like a little attachment like a laser pointer or something like that? Sign me up."

Both cats looked up to the drone floating about them. "Well, while you're here, let me offer you the special package that I've devised for my brothers and sisters. If you got a few minutes, Janet?"

For a moment Bagel thought about the people that had worked at the Bodega for so long. None of them had shown up. They'd all left him. But maybe now with his new friend he might find a way.

Janet gave a spectacular light show as the two cats chased lasers happily for far longer than Bagel was ready to admit. He lost himself in that moment. Letting the flow of chasing and catching the lasers take over. It felt right.

Once or twice they chased the same laser and almost came to blows, but both cats were fast enough and able to move around each other so that the brief crossover between them was only a mere inconvenience.

Eventually he went back to the counter, feeling as if things were just about right with the world at that moment.