Bodega Cat (System Apocalypse, Deck Builder, Litrpg)

There were only so many ways to tell someone that you couldn't just endlessly restock your stuff for them. Bagel had tried telling the humans that they would have to wait.

That only worked for so long.

There was a big problem. Humans tended to get hungry.

Hunger did things to humans

They were tired and all them were way more sweaty than he had ever anticipated.

Cats as a rule didn't sweat. If they could they wouldn't just on principle. There were better ways to get dirty or wet.

The person in front of Bagel had been run ragged day and night for a long time. The man, an off duty cop he recognized was making his case. "Look here's the idea. You just let us buy what you have and then restock and we clean you out every time. There's got to be a limit to the card so let's test it and see what we can do with it."

Bagel straightened up, giving him the full experience. "If you really want to do that then give me some credits so I can buy more buildings."

He needed a few hundred more for the next building. It was so close he could taste it.

The man stopped drumming on the counter. "It's a bit hard to get credits now that everyone is all aligned on fighting these mobs. You've bought up a lot of the land around here so we have to go a little bit further out. The dungeons... they are getting to be tough. It's almost like you have to know somebody to run one unless you stumble upon it. And no, I'm not complaining. I am in a privileged position. I just want to get some more food for my family."

He didn't slump over the counter but he definitely would have. He had the look.

Janet beeped. She circled a tight loop over Bagels head. "We believe that the Amish Market owner now has the restock card that they need to do that combined with another mantle card that they're using. If not?"

He tapped his fingers nervously on the counter. "I'll check when I'm done here but. Look I never wanted to have to choose between my job and feeding my kids but it's getting hairy out here. The city wasn't designed for this."

He pulled off his baseball cap and bent his head forward closing his eyes. There was some pain in there, Bagel knew. There was enough pain to start a punk group.

This whole situation was painful all around.

Bagel wanted to give away everything but the humans kept telling him not to do that. He wanted to help but... There were so many things he could be doing.

The sounds of a car honking out front stopped their talks. What had once been a common thing was now very rare. Cars passed frequently but they rarely honked anymore.

"First you got that uh... Gridlock easing thing and now we got this? People just aren't coming to the city like we used to and we can kind of feel it," he said grumbling.

Bagel did his best to load the man up with as much as he could carry and then some. He'd come with a little cart. It was one of a type that he had seen before but usually with older women trying to get their groceries done. It was one of the officers from his precinct who had come all this way because of how safe it was.

Why the city made them live in a different neighborhood than where the worked bothered him and if he was the leader of the world he would change that.

He didn't expect much from them individually but they sure as heck did a lot as a group.

Lots of little things working together changed the world.

The car honked again as he made his way out, twenty credits lighter. He would be back. They always needed more, and he was basically becoming the only game on the block more or less.

A human in a bespoke suit jingled the door as he walked in, making a beeline for Bagel. He paused only for long enough to slightly bow forward. A tiny handkerchief with the symbol of a paw peeked out of his breast pocket.

Humans really did stand on their formalities, especially in the apocalypse.

"Good day to you Sir. I come to you here with a message from some of your friends and perhaps a ride on this the eleventh day. The remainders of the downtown awakened feline group would like to assemble and speak with you. They would like you to take your spot as the representative for turtle Bay, if not as a member at large."

He paused to look around the room, briefly. "Rest assured that we take your security very seriously. It is very important that- and allow me to quote them directly- 'You come down to see us.' I am instructed to take you to their meeting should you desire it as the location is not freely given out."

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Bagel desperately wanted to roll his eyes. They were laying it on this sending this envoy to him. Bagel checked and this was definitely a human mob controlled by a feline owner. The fact that it hadn't returned to whomever deck meant that it was a companion mob linked to a mantle.

It wouldn't have been able to walk in as a hostile external mob. At least that's what his understanding of was of the bodega's power.

Would Raul want him to go? He hadn't really talked with them about this ever.

What would it be like to be among his kind?

Janet didn't want to weigh in on this and Khaleesi was absent. "Why not?"

He bounded down. "Raul will be in charge when he gets back. Janet? Let's go meet with the family."

---

It was a black car. One of those ones that used to be expensive to ride around in. Bagel didn't see the difference. It smelled like an NYC cab.

Only Bagel didn't know what an NYC cab should smell like. He just had to guess based off the lot of people that had came into a store and had that same smell. But luckily the ride was only twenty minutes long.

It still gave him a sense that things were happening in the city.

The streets are so packed but he had the irresistible urge to roam around and check things out. It was an urge that he would never really take up. Once one had'seen one New York City skyscraper one kind of got a sense of the rest of them were and unless he had a specific thing to do in there, there was nothing interesting to be done.

The humans all thought that it was the nicest place. The city never sleeps, but really it was just a city of architecture that lets you be a drunk fool on your way back from someplace at 2:00 a.m.

That sounded like fun to Bagel. Maybe after all of this was done he might do that.

They pulled up in front of a building that he didn't recognize and the man held at the door for him. Marble pillars made the place look like old money expensive.

A convenience store next door, by contrast made it look like new money gentrification.

After a brief walk to the ancient looking building, they found a modern side door inside of the marble structure. If anything it looked like had spent way too much time adopting some dead humans best practices.

The ceilings went up and off until Bagel had crane his neck to see the top.

Bagel raised his eyebrows. Of course a secret society of awakened cats would do this to each other; make each other have a crick in the neck as a little entrance thrill.

They were probably watching him and placing bets on if he would look up.

Bagel always looked up, especially after the concrete lizards.

What he was surprised to see was the amount of books in stacks in the building, as well as the walls of books. Each wall was three stories tall and had a catwalk that would walk them around. In the center of the building was a three-story library built on the same basis, it had regular flooring rather than just the expected catwalk flooring.

They were of course gathered in the center of the building, a little study group of cats, all reading various reports in front of them. Though there were eight, six of them were holding newspapers up and the rest had screens. There was a spot for him. The table was large enough to seat at least eight humans but the mass had spread out, leaving a pillow for him to sit on.

"Ah. Bagel. So good of you to join us."

The maine coon sat on one side, clearly watching but he hadn't been the one to talk.

The voice that rose up however, was in the Maine Coon he was familiar with. It was a orange and brown cat. The iconic coloring threw him a little bit but he recovered. It wasn't that every cat dreamed of being in newspapers. It was just that when you met the one that was, you wanted to show a bit of deference.

"We trust that you are interested in membership and honor small but soon to be pivotal organization. I am Copernicus and this group has elected me as their leader."

"Good to meet you," Bagel said, taking in each of those since so that you can remember it. He knew they were doing the same thing. He just had seven new cats to get used to the smell of.

"Copernicus, I'm sure the bagel is going want to return to his base of operations shortly so if you would," the Maine Coon said.

The orange tabby nodded. He began what felt like a prepared speech.

"Jelly side layer private equity firm is interested in having you as one of its leads as we transition to a whatever is going to happen with the human government on the other side of this. Now, this might come into you with a shock, but no one really knows what's about to happen. That's why it's important for us to take our time to consolidate our gains."

Bagel was familiar with the way that humans talked about business and the way that they had overly particular meaningless terms they threw around a lot. He heard many of those terms brought out and left out to dry.

"So in essence, because of your unique status among humans and especially with the city government, we want to invest in you. Further, we wanted you to understand that this is for the long-term viability of cats."

"Long-Term viability of cats?" Bagel asked.

"As a species. Benfield?" Copernicus raised the paw at the human that I brought him in and the man disappeared, returning a moment later with a cat carrier.

Bagel was shocked to see what had to be an ordinary Bodega cat inside of it. But he had been asked to bring ten cards so he done so. This was probably the reason why.

"Now I assume that you have brought low cost cards so that we can make a simple transfer to you," Copernicus said.

"This one is on the house."

Cats didn't have a storage system like pockets. Having a temporary inventory to store cards in had been a great perk that he was taking advantage of. Benfield placed the cat carrier in the center of their circle.

Carefully opening the door, the human stepped back. Bagel pulled the ten cards, mentally pushing them into the newest cat. I looked afraid of the nine of them though he could understand. Something else was going on underneath the surface and as soon as the cards left his inventory, they disappeared. As far as he could tell, the cards went directly into the cat.

For about twenty seconds, the cat sat there eyes dumbstruck as it looked at them all in turn.

It laid down.

This was about the most inopportune time to stretch, but one never really knew with cats.

"Benfield!" Copernicus said. "A bowl of the finest!"

A opened plate with Schmancy treat appeared shortly thereafter.

"Now let's see what this tastes like," the cat said, before putting a paw over it's mouth.

"Well done Bagel," Copernicus said.