[Firepaw gives Siffrin space to work, and watches them with open fascination. That's much smarter than whatever he was planning to do. (He didn't actually have a plan at all.)]
Bottles might actually be the one thing I'd want to bring home with me... usually we soak moss with water to bring it places, but then it tastes like moss.
[Or they can go out and drink out of puddles and streams, but that's not always possible.]
they'd have to be smartbottles since it's technus. a curse is unleashed upon pokekind...
[Mossy water... well, it doesn't sound like the worst thing. Siffrin's done more than their fair sure of drinking out of streams themself!]
[Hmmm. Through the cork stopper, their voice muffled, they ask:] Do humans... not use bottles, where you're from?
[If Firepaw says yes, they might honestly believe him. They have a really weird idea about what the humans from his home are like at this point...]
[But yes they are implying that the Clans should just steal some water bottles.]
[Siffrin nudges the bottle with their nose to tilt it down when the water stops flowing - they don't trust repositioning it with their paws. When it's empty, they roll it back into the bag, and drop the stopper in with it.]
Oh, they do! I think they do. But the cats don't have anything like that - they don't like touching anything that belongs to humans.
[Should he feel bad about how little he paid attention to his owners' lives, to the point where he can't remember if they kept water bottles in the house? Maybe.
He doesn't, though.
Now that they're all set up, though, he folds himself into a loaf and starts eating his malasada. Which means... the conversation might be dead for a little bit, since Firepaw has developed an aggressive sweet tooth since gaining the ability to taste sweetness.]
[Siffrin tucks themself into a slightly less natural-looking loaf, near Firepaw, but not quite touching him. They're still not great at initiating contact.]
[They're noticing, somehow, that Firepaw is saying "they" about the cats rather than "we." But it feels odd to bring that up...]
...why not? [Maybe it's too dangerous to take something human, especially with the weird monster-riding humans Firepaw has?]
[Whatever it is, for now they pull over their malasada with one paw and munch on it too; they don't seem in a rush for an answer. They're probably done sooner than Firepaw, just because of their size difference.]
[His own wording fully escapes his notice - but he's definitely been feeling more distant from his cathood, the longer he stays here. And even more so, feeling like it's disingenuous to talk about ThunderClan like he belonged there - he didn't know any of them nearly as well as he knows the Cheri members, and he's known Emporio, Dark Heart and Shoka much longer than he knew Graypaw and Ravenpaw.
He does hesitate at the question - although he covers it up with another bite of his food.]
Humans set traps for them - load them into monsters and bring them to the cutter, or... shelters. If a human caught one of them, they might never see their kin again.
[He hesitates.]
I never saw anything like that, but... it's what the older cats told me. They didn't like me talking about humans too much, though.
[No one liked feeling like he was regretting his decision to join - least of all Firepaw himself. He's spoken much more about his owners and their house here than he ever did in ThunderClan.]
[(No Siffrin does not realize what Firepaw is talking about.)]
That sounds like a good reason!
[Forget whatever horror story the cutter is, even just being separated from family against your will... but they wouldn't know anything about that, hahaha!]
[They chomp down on the remains of their malasada with a bit more vigor, finishing it off.]
Yeah... but we have bottles here, and we don't have to steal them. So that's good.
[Unfortunately, the effect his choice of wording had is sort of lost on him. (He barely remembers that it's supposed to called a vet.)
Food, though! He's just about finished with his malasada, and afterward he rearranges himself to press his side against Siffrin's. There is a pause, as though he's hoping to put a little distance between them and the terrifying topic of the cutter, but eventually he leans over to start grooming behind Siffrin's ear.]
[While they're not good at initiating, Siffrin is pretty good about having Firepaw press up against them now - they lean back in response, lightly.]
[The lick is a bit more of a startling feeling; their ear instantly flicks a few times. One of their front paws twitches, too, as if they've just barely stopped themselves from reaching up and bapping with it.]
[...]
[Hesitantly, they tilt their head down more to make it easier for Firepaw to reach. They are notably taller, after all.]
[They're just! Going to let Firepaw show them what to do first! Before they try anything themself!!]
tbh technus needs to invent squeezy bottles for them
Bottles might actually be the one thing I'd want to bring home with me... usually we soak moss with water to bring it places, but then it tastes like moss.
[Or they can go out and drink out of puddles and streams, but that's not always possible.]
they'd have to be smartbottles since it's technus. a curse is unleashed upon pokekind...
[Hmmm. Through the cork stopper, their voice muffled, they ask:] Do humans... not use bottles, where you're from?
[If Firepaw says yes, they might honestly believe him. They have a really weird idea about what the humans from his home are like at this point...]
[
But yes they are implying that the Clans should just steal some water bottles.][Siffrin nudges the bottle with their nose to tilt it down when the water stops flowing - they don't trust repositioning it with their paws. When it's empty, they roll it back into the bag, and drop the stopper in with it.]
no subject
[Should he feel bad about how little he paid attention to his owners' lives, to the point where he can't remember if they kept water bottles in the house? Maybe.
He doesn't, though.
Now that they're all set up, though, he folds himself into a loaf and starts eating his malasada. Which means... the conversation might be dead for a little bit, since Firepaw has developed an aggressive sweet tooth since gaining the ability to taste sweetness.]
no subject
[They're noticing, somehow, that Firepaw is saying "they" about the cats rather than "we." But it feels odd to bring that up...]
...why not? [Maybe it's too dangerous to take something human, especially with the weird monster-riding humans Firepaw has?]
[Whatever it is, for now they pull over their malasada with one paw and munch on it too; they don't seem in a rush for an answer. They're probably done sooner than Firepaw, just because of their size difference.]
no subject
He does hesitate at the question - although he covers it up with another bite of his food.]
Humans set traps for them - load them into monsters and bring them to the cutter, or... shelters. If a human caught one of them, they might never see their kin again.
[He hesitates.]
I never saw anything like that, but... it's what the older cats told me. They didn't like me talking about humans too much, though.
[No one liked feeling like he was regretting his decision to join - least of all Firepaw himself. He's spoken much more about his owners and their house here than he ever did in ThunderClan.]
no subject
[(No Siffrin does not realize what Firepaw is talking about.)]
That sounds like a good reason!
[Forget whatever horror story the cutter is, even just being separated from family against your will... but they wouldn't know anything about that, hahaha!]
[They chomp down on the remains of their malasada with a bit more vigor, finishing it off.]
no subject
[Unfortunately, the effect his choice of wording had is sort of lost on him. (He barely remembers that it's supposed to called a vet.)
Food, though! He's just about finished with his malasada, and afterward he rearranges himself to press his side against Siffrin's. There is a pause, as though he's hoping to put a little distance between them and the terrifying topic of the cutter, but eventually he leans over to start grooming behind Siffrin's ear.]
no subject
[The lick is a bit more of a startling feeling; their ear instantly flicks a few times. One of their front paws twitches, too, as if they've just barely stopped themselves from reaching up and bapping with it.]
[...]
[Hesitantly, they tilt their head down more to make it easier for Firepaw to reach. They are notably taller, after all.]
[They're just! Going to let Firepaw show them what to do first! Before they try anything themself!!]