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Were it up to her, Phi would not have been interested in being here. She'd never had much interest in owning a pet—not that she disliked animals, it had just never been a consideration of hers—but Diana really, really wanted one. Diana was also really, really indecisive when it came to things like this, and if she'd been allowed to come with her and Sigma to the animal shelter, she would have undoubtedly returned home with every dog and cat and other critter up for adoption in tow. Ergo, before she could bring home an army of pets, Phi and Sigma had to intervene and choose one for her.
Already, she was wishing that she could have gone by herself, if only for the aggravating amount of cat puns that Sigma was making. Each time that any cat-related word came out of his mouth, she had to seriously consider whether smacking him upside the head was worth it. The only thing stopping her was that if she did give him a black eye, Diana would be distraught, and Phi really did not want to upset her.
They had first gone through the dog kennels, but Phi quickly found that all of the ones up for adoption were a bit much for her. They'd all either been puppies only a few months old or large dogs that she worried might be difficult to take care of properly. Sigma was constantly tinkering with whatever new science fair-worthy idea that he got into his head and had very little free time. Meanwhile, Phi had a hunch that Diana would get overwhelmed by the constant activity required to keep a dog healthy. It'd be best for the dogs to be adopted by a family that could properly take care of them, so they moved on to the cats.
The "cat jungle" (as the shelter workers called it) had enough kittens to make anyone's head spin. "Do mew think that there were a lot of litters born recently?" Sigma posed, to which Phi simply nodded, only half-paying attention. Some of the little kitties were chasing each other and playing with catnip-filled toys, a few had tuckered themselves out and were cuddled together, and there were some newborns not ready for adoption kneading their mothers for some milk. There were only a few fully-grown cats that weren't mothers, and they were staring out of the window or looking down on everyone else from a cat tree.
Phi began walking forward inch by inch to make sure that she wouldn't accidentally step on a stray paw or tail. She became lost in thought, ignoring whatever Sigma may or may not have been babbling about in favor of carefully consideration. A kitten did need a lot of attention and needed to be watched until they mellowed out, lest they get into big trouble. Would Diana be able to do that? Frankly, she had her doubts.
Behind her, Sigma was trying (and failing) to get a kitten to play with him. "Mewsually cats can't help but love me..." he despaired, waving a string of fabric on a stick around to no avail, for the kittens were preoccupied with each other or their naps.
"I bet these ones can tell that you're—" Phi suddenly interrupted herself, her head swerving to look at something out of the corner of her eye. "Wait." Sitting off to the side and staring at her was an adult cat with quite the dour stare. It had piercing blue eyes and fluffy white fur with small flecks of ginger on its back and tail. With its narrowed eyes and slim pupils, it looked like it was judging their entire existences for daring to step foot inside the shelter.
Somehow, she felt drawn to this judgemental-looking cat. Slowly, she approached, gingerly holding out her open palm for the cat to sniff. As it did so, Phi felt its whiskers tickling her fingers, and she stifled a giggle while it very intently sized her up. For a moment after, it just stared, as if expecting something from her. What could it...?
Ah, of course. Obviously, it wanted some attention. She placed the tips of her fingers atop its head and began rubbing it. Almost immediately, it forced its head into her palm, happily purring as Phi continued to pet it. Its fur was impeccably soft, and its low rumbling only complimented the texture. Instantly, Phi was attached, trapped in an endless cycle of affection between her and the cat that had claimed her heart.
After some time, Sigma rudely waved a hand in front of her face. "Hey, Phi, are you—"
"This one. This is the one," Phi stated, now too enamored by the cat before her to be too annoyed. "We're adopting this cat right here."
Sigma blinked, then chuckled just loud enough for Phi to hear. "That little guy kinda looks like mew," he pointed out. "I dunno if the world could handle two Phis."
"Shut up, old man. We're adopting this cat and it's final," she declared, tentatively placing her hands on the cat to try and hold it. There was no resistance from it, so she lifted it up into her arms. Despite its still-dour expression, it continued to purr contentedly. She wouldn't admit it to his face, but Sigma did have a point when it said it looked like her.
"Alright, alright," Sigma relented with a hearty laugh. "Come on, let's go let the shelter guys know. And try to think of a name in the meantime." He gestured for her to follow him, and she did with the cat still relaxed in her arms.
"That's easy," Phi declared, a name appearing in her mind like a revelation, "its name is Selene." Diana was going to be thrilled—she just knew it, as sure as anything.