Crewman, 1st Class Cheesecake Watanabe - The Baby Bear

[Wes Greaves]

@Alieth just has this amazing writing sense where she can take a completely benign scene and really make it a joy to read. Outstanding tee-up from @Ben Garcia for this scene as well. I'm loving this so far, and can't wait to see if Cheesecake is going to get the nasty replicator filter or not!

 

 

Quote

(( Senior Enlisted Mess Hall, Morning snack spot, outside opening hours, Deck 6, U.S.S Thor ))

Among the first things Cheesecake had learned by observing her new handler was that if you navigated the corridors of the starship with intent and confidence, no one would question that you were there, nor would they wonder about your destination.

Something else she had learned early on was that, in spite of this, a 77-kilogram dog walking purposefully around a ship always, ALWAYS grabbed bipeds' attention, so wagging her tail and acting all innocent and harmless had been something she had picked up fast. All in all, it didn't take much effort: she was a good girl. The very best.

Four furry paws carried her briskly towards the turbolifts. These had been one of the biggest problems Cheesecake had encountered since she joined the USS Thor. Back on her original homeland, far away in New Siberia, if she wanted to get from one place to another she just had to walk. 

Or jump. 

Or climb. 

On the ship climbing up or down, sooner or later, was a necessity and could only be done through the turbolifts and the turbolifts, alas, were not very bark-responsive. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There WERE other methods of getting up or down, through the burrows hidden behind the walls, but the big Mastiff had only tried that once. 

Only once. 

The memory made her stop briefly and shake herself from the tip of her snout to the end of her tail, as if something foul had fallen on her dense fur. No, she would not repeat that experience again. While her biped had been deeply upset by "the incident" with the tennis ball, that had been fun. Her adventure in the wall tubes? 

Nope, nope, never ever. 

Way too long stuck there, until her mournful howls had drawn a search and rescue party.

So, she would keep the turbolifts. She would sit in front of one and be a good girl until some biped got into one and let her join them. Sooner or later, someone would get off that same lift on the top deck, and then Cheesecake could exit as she had entered and look for her friend's room-for-padds... and as she was A VERY GOOD FRIEND she maybe could gnaw some of them.

It would help him to be less busy, and he could then spend that time holding her on his lap and scratching behind her ears, which, as every dog knew, was why bipeds had developed hands.

Before she realized it, her nostrils picked up something. Something particularly stinky, almost rotten. Which could only mean that it was something DELICIOUS.

Something that was certainly worth taking a little detour for.

A few leaps brought her to a door she knew well, one she loved to visit at dinner time to prove she was a famished dog who had NEVER EVER had a meal and had to be rewarded with some yummy cheese before she died of starvation.

Something that was certainly worth taking a little detour for.

A few leaps brought her to a door she knew well, one she loved to visit at dinner time to prove she was a famished dog who had NEVER EVER had a meal and had to be rewarded with some yummy cheese before she died of starvation.

In front of her, the doors to the mess swooshed open.

The tables and chairs were stacked oddly and the odour was more intense. And yet there was no biped there that she could see or smell.

Not that it was easy to catch a whiff of anything besides the delicious stuff.

Watanabe: Woof?

Cheesecake paid close attention but didn't hear a thing. So she trotted inside, trying to push her way through the furniture that stood in her way, and unceremoniously pushing aside those that stood in her path.

Kerr: Hello? Who’s there?

Watanabe: Woof Woof! 

A biped! The mastiff answered immediately, wagging her tail so much that she wagged all her hindquarters, which caused a number of chairs to topple over.

Finally, she made her way to the biped, which held the yummy smelling thing in front of him. It looked vaguely similar to things Cheesecake had chewed at some point in her life, so she considered it a good possibility for a snack before proceeding with her mission. And, of course, it marked this new and unfamiliar biped as her new very best friend.

Kerr: response?

The mastiff [...]ed her head to one side and raised her ears a bit, intuiting that she was being asked for something, but not knowing what it was.

Watanabe: Arf? 

Kerr: response?

That seemed to lead nowhere, so she proceeded to display her usual array of tricks. With great slowness she dropped her hindquarters to the floor and then slowly, very slowly she leaned backwards, waving her forelegs slightly in the air. Her handler called this trick "the shelat" but she had heard other bipeds call it "the baby bear". That always ALWAYS got him a prize. Or at least a "good girl". It was a good way to smooth things over.

Kerr: response?

She wagged her tail, expectant. A prize and, perhaps, a lift ride, for sure that biped could make those things easier for her.

Dropping back down on all fours, Cheesecake strode forward, rested her huge head against her new friend's hand, and then delicately took the sleeve of his uniform in her teeth, tugging it gently.

Kerr: response?

[[TAG! & TBC]]

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Crewman, 1st Class Cheesecake Watanabe

A very good girl

USS Thor NCC-82607

E239702A10 

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[Karrod Niac]

I really enjoy this sim and I think it beautifully demonstrates that in our world, there are no 'small' characters.  NPC's like this are not meant for everyday simming, but they add a wonderful depth and texture to life aboard ship when used delicately.  @Alieth has a sly, warm humor that makes her characterizations wonderfully engaging and I'm glad to see this small moment featured here.  Cause Cheesecake is a good dog.