The second of the Half Moon was sitting in her bunk and luxuriating in the space afforded her. The 'curtains' that gave her some semblance of privacy were pushed aside to allow light to fall across the book in her lap. She was reading to pass the time before her duty roster came up. Kaimenko turns a page and pauses when her bed shifts.

"What the-"

"Mrrt?" She stops and stares at the kitten sniffing at her pillow.

"..."

Itsuho had finished her quick scrub earlier and come back to the crew quarters to relax and meditate a little before her late duty. The tall thin woman sat on the floor of the gently rocking boat in a lotus position. She'd donned her usual white robes with red haori, leaving the legion clothing to the side for now.

The girl's eyes open at the meow. The room had been silent for some time, other than the slight rustle of paper. She spotted the cat sniffing at the Gunso's pillow, looking curious. She didn't remember a cat being in here before... Her meditation broken, she stirred, unfolding herself and standing, rubbing her limbs softly.

The cat was made of ninjas. Or at least, that's what it wanted to think.

Kaimenko eyes the kitten as it stalks across her pillow and attacks a shadowed hummock in the blankets, "..."

Its tail flicks back and forth before it sits down and yawns.

"Don't you dare, cat," she mutters darkly.

The Dragon samurai-ko remains silent, looking over curiously once more as she rubs at the back of her neck to sooth it. She reaches for her traveler's pack, which hangs off a post on her own bed, taking some dried fish from it. She sets it on the floor next to her as she sits down onto her knees.

The kitten blinks wide-eyed at the woman before casually glancing away. Thyme sniffs the air and ignores the irate shugenja. Her ears flick forward as she scrambles off the bed. It wasn't an elegant jump. It was more a flop and the animal squeaks before shaking it off and quickly grooming herself.

Thyme scuttles across the floor towards the Dragon as Kaimenko picks up her book once more.

Itsuho raises a brow at the magnificent feat of grace and poise by the cat, but doesn't laugh at its expense. She leaves the fish where it is, letting the cat come to it on it's own. She takes a small bowl left laying around and pours a little water in it, securing it against a post nearby to the fish. She stays on her knees, intent on making sure things go as planned.

Besides, the Gunso appeared to be quite content to not have a distraction anymore.

Thyme chirps and sniffs the air, crouching down to 'stalk' closer to the dried fish. She didn't seem at all frightened of the Dragon or people in general. Her little tail lashes the air excitedly.

"Does the fish have bones?" comes the flat question. Kaimenko continues to read as if she had never opened her mouth at all.

The Dragon doesn't look up from the stalking cat. Perhaps she doesn't trust the little thing to get everything done on its own. "Iie, no bones, Gunso-sama." She picked the fish up and dangled it over the kitten a little, as if to make the hunt that much more dramatic.

The kitten looks up as the fish is moved, eyes going wide in surprise and puzzlement, "Mrrt?"

It sits down on its haunches and cocks its head to the side before licking at her chest. Maybe if she ignored it, it would come down.

"Fine," she murmurs, "Don't piss it off."

The Dragon woman slowly lowers it until the cat can snatch it from her hands. She lets the cat wrestle with the fish until it's properly subdued. She makes no sound though, letting the Moshi keep to her reading.

... and Thyme did, little claws digging into the woman's hands as she shook the evil fish back and forth! She would subdue it, oh yes!

If Itsuho felt the claws at all, she didn't seem to care at the least. She tucked her hand into her sleeve, tensing her hand inside it, just watching the cat do his work. She wondered how long that energy would last before the fish would be rendered a dead conquest.

The kitten didn't seem interested in eating the fish, just playing. She wrestles with her food before hopping away and then coming back to pounce it. This little dance is repeated over and over again with small growls, hisses and prrts.

Kaimenko... ignores it all and continues to read.

Itsuho watches the cat for a while, wondering if she is needed anymore. The animal seems entertained for now, and the Moshi seemed content to be back into her scroll. Itsuho slowly stood and grabbed the water bowl, pouring it back into her skin carefully. She set the bowl back where she got is and put her water bottle back onto the hook before she grabbed her Legion uniform.

The feline eventually decides that the fish has indeed capitulated to her superior tactics. She decides to follow the Mirumoto, since this one at least seemed to be doing something interesting. Thyme's tail goes up like a little flag as she leaves the saliva soaked fish to shadow the Dragon.

The Dragon looks outside through one of the windows at the distant clouds. It'd been a while since the last rain, so she unpacked her straw cloak. She shook it out, some dust blowing off the folds where it had gathered. Setting that with her Legion wear, she sat onto her bunk. She put a hand down for the cat almost as an after thought, half meditating while she has the time.

For her troubles, she gets a handful of kitten snot as Thyme sneezes. The kitten butts the offered hand and rubs her face upon it, purring.

The Dragon turns her hand over, letting the kitten rub over both sides, so the cat's scent can be on her, plus the snot of course. She turned her hand over to give soft head scratches, just behind the ear and along the forehead.

Thyme happily leans in to the pettings. There wasn't enough affection in the world to satisfy a cat. They wanted it all.

Thankfully, there was little in the world that possessed more patience than a Dragon. The pettings would continue, oh yes they would! For a good long time, until sleep sounded better to the cat, or it was time to change for duty up on Aftdeck. Regardless of the exact timing, Itsuho pampers Thyme like a professional before she's through.