Chapter Text
Almond sighed, nervously biting his nails as he walked out of the vet's office to go back to the waiting room for a little bit. He didn't know what was going on with his cat, but with how she was acting, it was nothing good. Lately, she had been quite a lot of troubles to deal with. She began scratching around doors, aggressively biting his hands whenever he came back home, breaking everything in his apartment ... It wasn't like her. She was usually a sweet, calm thing that wouldn't hurt a fly. Why would she change so much in such a short time ?
Right now, the vet was doing further exams to see if they had to keep the poor furball for the night or not. He hoped that it wouldn't be the case, but right now, all that he could do was wait.
He sat next to another cookie who was holding a cage, apparently bringing another cat in. He seriously needed to change his mind for a bit ... Perhaps a bit of small talk wouldn't hurt.
"So, your little friend needs to see the doctor as well ?"
The other cookie stared at Almond for a little bit before smiling and giggling a little bit.
"Oh well, I brought him for a good reason, but it's nothing too serious."
"What for ?"
"You see, that small devil decided to somehow open my jar of catnip and ate half of what was inside. He's been tripping for hours ..."
The detective lowered himself to the level of the cage to see what was inside. It was indeed a cat, all claws out, with a fur that looked like it was freshly dryed with how puffy it was, staring at him with two giant unmoving eyes. Almond began to laugh uncontrollably as he got got back up, observed by the other cookie who couldn't help but smile.
"I can clearly see what you would need to go to the vet for that ... That cat is seriously having the time of his life, but I don't know how long they can stay awake like that !!"
"Trust me, it's been more than 24 hours and he didn't stop a single second. About an hour ago he started chasing an invisible bird and I thought that it may be time to get him checked."
"Hahaha ... Is he at least alright ?"
"He's not in pain, he's just having fun, but he also needs to rest too. And ... I may have to hide the catnip better next time."
"I never tried giving catnip to my little girl ... Is it always that wild ?"
"Not always, but it usually lasts at least a couple of hours. Usually after drinking a little bit of catnip tea, lord crumbles will simply start rolling around and ask for cuddles."
"Lord crumbles ?! You named your cat LORD CRUMBLES ?!"
"Listen ... He deserves a name fit for a king like him. He's an idiot, but a royal one."
"Oh I'm certainly not judging you, trust me on that. Mine is named Princess Supernoir."
"Pfff ... Is she a coffee cat ?"
"You got that right. She smells like the strongest coffee you can imagine. Most people would complain about it, but it certainly helps staying up late for work."
"You're using your own pet to force yourself not to sleep ? How cruel ... You should take a little break sometimes. With the look on your face, I can tell that you didn't get vacations in years."
"I could try to deny it but ... I'm not that good at lying for things that are this obvious. My work does require me to stay focused at pretty much all times and I rarely allow myself to take breaks."
"That's not good ... You already look like you're in your fifties with how little rest you get."
"What ?! Don't say that, I'm barely 30!"
"Mmmh. And yet you still look like someone who would yell at kids because video games are the devil and it's destroying their lifes or something."
"My my ... That is quite problematic."
"You know what ? If you can allow yourself to get a little rest tonight, I would love to invite you to spend a little time with me at this address"
They quickly handed a little paper that showed a picture of a young barman smiling and a place to go. Almond blushed. Flirting ? This quickly and so smoothly ? That was unexpected, yet not really disliked.
"Heh, why not. I should at least try."
"I would love to see you around tonight."
An assistant in their white science coat shyly entered the room and looked at the mysterious cookie holding their cage.
"Mixter Stilton ?"
"Seems I must take my leave ... I wish to see you later, mister ... ?"
"Almond. Call me Almond."
The cookie saluted them with a little bow and entered the other room.
Certainly, that night was bound to be interesting.