whatisright | IC Inbox (Drift Fleet)

[Both Shiro and Procyon (who has been sitting behind Shiro's legs and waiting like the obedient puppy he is) are startled by the sudden voice behind them. They were expecting it to come from the bedroom!

Honestly, frowning guys with simple bedrooms don't bother him. Keith has been good practice. Shiro raises an eyebrow.]

She "lingers in your company" and takes your bed. [He shares a look with Procyon before turning to Justice again.] She's also a cat - that means she's adopted you. And if you let her stay around and use your bedroom, she probably thinks you've accepted that fact.

[Congrats on your new daughter, Justice.]

I do not use the bed. It seems a waste to not allow her to use it if that is what she wishes.

[Even now that he has begun to sleep, he sleeps on the floor. He does not need soft things like the leopard seems to.]

I do not understand cat behaviors, but she is not mine. I own no free-willed creature.

[Pets have always seemed a little too close to slaves for Justice's taste, which is why he had attempted to free the leopard in the first place. This is also why he's been terrible at training her--that, and he has no idea that animals are supposed to be trained.]

Look, you may repeat that all the times you want, but like I said, she's already adopted you. And that's fine. Having a pet doesn't take away their free-will.

[He looks back inside, where the leopard is now happily napping on the bed. Shiro thinks she'll still be there when they leave the planet. Oh boy. Better make things clear now.]

If you don't want to take care of her, then take her back to the wild. Set her free and don't come back. The longer she stays in the ship, the more sure she'll be that you're her master.

I tried that. She refused to stop following me.

[Justice still doesn't quite get the whole animal thing. They are living creatures with free will, so that means they should be able to make decisions and take care of themselves. It seems hypocritical of him to turn out the random creature who started following him, considering that's exactly what he did to the Wardens and they accepted it.]

She wishes to join us. We have the resources to sustain her. [Justice assumes, at least. Listen, they have at least one crewmember that never eats or drinks, so she can just have all his rations.]

[That's an odd way to phrase things. To be fair, Shiro has seen and heard weirder, but still... this conversation is going to take a while, isn't it? And since both men just keep talking and talking, Procyon decides to enter the room and see if the leopard wants to play.]

You're right, we do. I'm not against her presence here, Justice. I just want you to be responsible for her. She doesn't wish to join us, she wants to join you.

[The leopard in question seems quite interested in playing. Immediately, she begins batting gently at Procyon's ears, tail swaying back and forth.

Justice, for his part, stares blankly at Shiro.] I do not understand what you mean. [He wants Justice to be responsible for the actions of an independent creature? The leopard isn't his daughter.]

[Ah, excellent! Procyon tries to dodge those white paws while he tries to bat at the leopard too, forgetting he's kinda bigger like the good dog he is. And Shiro... well. Justice is lucky his captain has dealt with alien races before - culture shock and all. Part of his life, really.]

Do you not understand the concept of a "pet"?

[Ah, yes, proper play. Unfortunately, it's proper play with a very big dog, and he almost knocks the leopard off the bed. She tries to nip his ear in gentle retaliation.]

Pets are when humans, elves, dwarves, or Qunari claim ownership of animals for the purposes of companionship, sometimes by force.

I have not claimed ownership of her, and I do not force her to remain in my company. I do not see how her behavior is my responsibility any more than another friend's.

Edited (Forgot to say what Loyalty was doing!) 2018-03-04 05:48 (UTC)

[Trying to get her off will send them both rolling. Good luck with that, snowball.

So this guy isn't a human, elf or dwarf. Shiro has to wonder exactly what he is then, considering the looks, but then he remembers Baku. Yeah, ok, fair. It explains a lot anyway.]

Because she's claimed ownership of you. She isn't here because she likes the ship, she's here because she wants to be your pet. So you need to be responsible for her, or find her a new owner.

[The leader voice is coming out, watch out, Justice.]

But she does not own me, regardless of what she may claim.

...How does her claiming ownership of me make her actions my responsibility? [He is honestly trying to understand what the human is saying, but Justice isn't getting it. A part of him wants to ask Anders or Riona but... well, he can't.]

Because you're allowing her to stay here!

[He may've... raised his voice just a liiiiitle bit here. He feels like they're talking in circles. He takes a deep breath and tries again, but his eyebrow still twitches.]

She claims that because your actions, in her language, speak of acceptance. You let her follow you and lend her your bed. If she stays, she's your responsibility. If you don't want her as your pet, find her a new home.

[Justice is getting the sense that he is frustrating the human, but he just genuinely doesn't get what he's trying to say.]

I do not understand why her presence here is more of an allowance than anyone else's. [Goodness knows that the cat contributes more than certain humans on the fleet.] If you wish me to see to it that she has access to food and water, I can.

[That's what 'she's your responsibility' means, right? Make sure she doesn't die because this ship is designed for people with thumbs?]

[GEE, JUSTICE, YOU THINK? At least it seems the guy is finally catching on, even if it isn't for the right reasons. Shiro will take it, thank you very much.]

Food and water, training her, watching over her health, the whole package. You must learn how to take care of a pet.

She is her own creature. I will not train her to behave as I wish like a slave. [Yeah he's not budging on that one. Why is he allowed to have pets?]

But I shall see to it that she has access to the essentials despite her lack of thumbs.

[...he just didn't. Unbelievable. Shiro has been trying to be patient, he really has, but this takes the cake - and touches a subject that's more than a little personal to him. Not even Slav did this.]

DON'T YOU DARE- [Yep, finally snapping. For real this time. His human hand closes in a shaking fist as a metal finger pokes Justice's chest, the commander tone all out now.] -- to compare slaves to pets ever again! She stays as a pet, your pet, following the rules of such, or find her a new home! And that's final!

[Justice thinks he's been very reasonable, humoring the human this whole time despite the fact that he came into Justice's space without invitation at a time when Justice would prefer to be utterly alone.

But the sudden outburst of hostility and the sudden intrusion of the finger at his chest quickly runs down his good will. Physical contact is a complicated thing for him in the first place, something he's only just begun participating in in a positive context, and he does not like being touched by a stranger so aggressively. He does not sense any intent to actually attack from the human, but it still puts him on edge and his presence is louder with physical contact and Justice doesn't like it.

Justice isn't particularly expressive, but his eyes harden, and the sudden chill that comes to his voice is unmistakable.]

Human, at what point did I give you the impression that you may give me orders?

[There's only one human he takes orders from, and even then, it's on a conditional basis. She earned his loyalty through demonstrating her worthiness and extending her kindness to him countless times, and now even thinking of her hurts. Now this human thinks he can come in and start ordering Justice around?

Justice grips the human's metal hand and pushes it gently but firmly away.] Do not touch me like that.

[As soon as Justice touches his hand, Shiro takes it away, not wanting to be touched by this "man" either. While he does have a good poker face, he doesn't use it right now - he's expressive as he can be, his hard look letting Justice know how much he dislikes what he's heard so far.]

I'm the captain of this ship. It's not something I'll hold over people's heads often - as long as you do your job, I don't care how you spend you free time. But I do care about my crew and their comfort. Pets are allowed - animals running wild aren't. You should learn the difference before engaging one.

[He steps back, showing his intention of leaving this damn conversation unless Justice wants to add more.]

You just said a horrible thing. The only acceptable demand right now is an apology.

You are not my captain. I do not care what our captors say. [Justice says it like it's just that simple, just that obvious. Why should the placement of his room have any implication on who he follows? He follows no one that has not proven themselves to him, and this human has not. The fact that he demands to be followed anyway just seems irritating at best, like he expects Justice to behave like any army-enlisted mortal when he is as far from one as possible.

At the best of times, spirits tend to be solitary creatures. They do not create organized societies. There's only the impression of such things in the Fade, full of memories of mortals going about their lives while the spirits observe and occasionally act out parts. Justice agreed to follow Riona and act the part of a Gray Warden because the body he accidentally possessed was a Gray Warden, and it seemed just to pay back its owner by fulfilling his mission. Afterwards, it was Riona's and her Wardens' kindness that drew Justice to remain by their side. Justice feels no such responsibility to this ship or this so-called 'captain.']

I do not see how an apology would mean anything, considering I do not know what you find so offensive about what I have said.

[If Justice comes off as cold, it's because he's being that way. It's not that he's incapable of listening to people explaining how he missteps socially and trying to learn from it; he just loses that openness in a fight, and that's what this feels like at the moment.

Our captors didn't choose me, I took the position because I wanted to, and because I have experience. [And because Kate asked. Remembering her only feeds his anger.] And even if they had chosen me, the point still stands. Any crew needs a leader and each member has assigned duties. It's for the sake of organization, our survival when trouble comes, and an easier cohabitation. If you don't like it, you know where to find the transfer application, but I doubt you'll find a captain that won't expect you to listen.

[Shiro is usually calmer than this, more patient. But Justice is hitting all his weaknesses, and each word that comes out of his mouth only rubs the wound more. He's so done here. So quiznaking done.]

If you can't see the difference between slaves and house training a cat that followed you here, I have nothing else to tell you. You've been warned.

[And with that, he leaves, not without snapping his fingers to call on Procyon, who of course obediently follows his master.]

[Justice would probably say something along the lines of how his previous so-called captain didn't expect people to listen to him, and their ship worked fine. He could say something about how the mortals can have their organization if they wish it but Justice never agreed to be a part of it, and making demands won't change that. He could say that he was randomly transferred here without prompting, and he doubts Atroma will allow him to transfer back. He could say that he is not intimidated in the least by the threats of an arrogant mortal that assumes that all intelligent creatures will fall in line for him.

But the mortal takes care of it by walking away and ending the conversation himself. So with a frown that is basically tantamount to a middle finger for Justice, he closes the door without a word, less willing to show consideration for the man now than he was before. He has bigger things to worry about right now regardless, and soon his mind is dragged back to them.

If the leopard ends up eating some important wires in Shiro's room the next day, it's unrelated.]

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