#cookingcat

Out of newfound love for the 3Cs ship (or whatever you want to call it) and @monster-monsoon‘s cool art, I figured I’d get back in the game of writing with some owl/cat cuteness.

Cooking Cat had gotten into a lot of baking recently. As much as she and Hat Kid enjoyed having a lot of sweets around the ship, the pastries unfortunately went to waste most of the time because she baked more than their stomachs could handle. But that didn’t stop her; she enjoyed her craft.

As CC put a tray of lemon poppy muffins onto the counter in order for them to cool, she heard some light bickering out in the main area of the ship. She poked her head outside of the kitchen, noticing Hat Kid letting Conductor in through the side window. She didn’t hear what they had said initially, but she continued listening in on their conversation.

“You should consider yourself lucky, lassie. I almost neeeever take anyone with me to a movie viewing. But... I guess this does make up for me trying to kill you and all, so... come on, get dressed in something a little more appropriate for such an event! Don’t ya got any nice dresses or something? It’s formal!”

Hat Kid rolled her eyes, but she did have a number of formal outfits in case she needed them for the occasion. She simply nodded her head and went towards her bedroom.

Hearing their conversation, CC slowly exited the kitchen. “Going to a movie viewing?” she kindly asked. “What’s that like?”

Conductor stumbled, letting out a light yelp. “O-oh! You startled me. I didn’t realize the little lass had anyone else on this ship.”

“Oh no, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, crossing her arms behind her back. “The name’s Cookie, but I go by Cooking Cat, too.”

Conductor raised his head up a little bit, letting his nose pick up the scents coming from the kitchen. “I can take a guess why they call you Cooking Cat. Whatever yer cooking in there, it smells quite lovely!”

CC chuckled. “Why, thank you! They’re lemon poppyseed muffins. I actually have a lot of them. You should take them to your movie thing if you want ‘em.”

Conductor smiled. “That... that would be nice.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I’m, uh... I’m the Conductor. B-but my friends call me Wesley.”

CC’s eyes glowed. “O-oh, I thought I recognized who you were. You’re that director, right? I love your movies.”

His eyes widened. “Y-you do? You’ve seen my movies?”

Cooking Cat quickly nodded her head. “Of course! I don’t get out to watch very many, but I love a good Western. Oh, it’s a shame that I won’t be able to go to this viewing.”

Almost out of nowhere, a ticket practically spawned into Cooking Cat’s hand. She felt it, then looked down to see Hat Kid standing there, oddly wearing a tuxedo much akin to what the Conductor was wearing. “W-what is this, sweetheart? Are you giving me a ticket?”

“Go,” she whispered. Her eyes wandered from the Conductor, then quickly back to Cooking Cat. A bright smile curled onto Hat Kid’s face. “Go with Conductor.”

“But I thought you wanted to go, lass!” Conductor asked. “What are you doing giving away your ticket?”

But Conductor’s words went unheard as Hat Kid wandered back into her bedroom to change out of the uncomfortable tuxedo.

Cooking Cat chuckled. “Well, I guess that’s that. She can be a bit stubborn like that, but you get used to it.” She clutched her ticket in both hands. “Well, I guess you’ll be my date, Wesley,” Cooking Cat said innocently. “I can box up some muffins for the both of us. They’re my special recipe, so I hope you enjoy them.”

Hat Kid returned to her ship after making a brief visit to Alpine Skyline, relaxing alongside a couple of her goat friends. Upon entering the main lobby of the ship, she noticed Cooking Cat exiting the kitchen.

“Oh, Ora!” Cooking Cat exclaimed. “Welcome back home. I’m actually whipping up some lunch right now. A couple of my brothers are here, too! I hope you don’t mind. They can be a little rambunctious at times, but they’re good cats, I promise!”

Hat Kid nodded her head. “That’s okay.”

“Oh good. I’ll be done before you know it, so go ahead and relax.” 

Cooking Cat was about to return to the kitchen when two other cats came through the door. The one on the right spoke up, “Yo, Cookie. You got any games here? Claws and I are bored.”

“Why don’t you two just relax for a second while I’m making lunch, hm? I swear, it takes forever to get you two to settle down. Besides, my new boss is here, so why don’t you hush up and say hello?”

Hat Kid watched as the two cats turned towards her. They both had the same fur color as Cooking Cat, though they were both clearly skinnier and slightly taller. Hat Kid wasn’t too bothered by their presence until she paid attention to their clothes: brown boots, small brown coat wrapped around their waist, and two red bandannas - one on their necks and one on their foreheads.

Lazy Paw Gang. They took so many pons from Hat Kid, and she didn’t forget. “No!” she exclaimed.

Claws wasn’t sure why the girl had just shouted at him and his brother, but after a few moments of examining Hat Kid, his eyes grew wider. “Oh, geez. Paws, it’s the girl.”

Paws turned towards Hat Kid as well, then held the same stunned look as his brother. “Y-you’re right, Claws! We gotta get out of here.”

The two Gang cats turned to run towards the glass when Cooking Cat grabbed them both by their neck bandannas. “Nuh-uh, you two ain’t runnin’ while I’m here. Why don’t you stick around and explain to me what’s going on?”

Claws and Paws let out strained gasps as they were yanked backwards. They each rubbed their necks before Claws spoke up: “We may have taken a few Pons from your... friend.”

“Just a few,” Paws said.

“Honest!” Claws exclaimed.

“It was a mistake, really.”

“Our boss made us, Cookie!”

“Can it!” Cookie exclaimed. “Before I smack the both of you. You’d better make it up to this kind girl or else I’m forcin’ you both to eat the Mafia’s slop for a month. Is that what you want?”

“The Mafia slop?!” Paws exclaimed.

“Never!” Claws yelled, clutching his ears.

They both turned towards Hat Kid, hanging their heads low. “We’re sorry,” they said simultaneously.

“We already spent your Pons, but...” Claws started.

“We’ll pay you back!” Paws exclaimed.

“We swear!”

After Hat Kid watched the Conductor consume a variety of different insects, she needed something to help bring back her lost appetite.

Cooking Cat was more than happy to oblige, quickly cooking some pasta alfredo before serving it to the human on a white plate.

Hat Kid returned to the bridge where there was a small table and chairs installed into the floor directly outside of the kitchen. She sat down before taking her fork and slurping up some of the noodles on her plate.

As she enjoyed, someone else came in from the other side of the ship. Hat Kid looked up and was a bit startled when she saw Mustache Girl in front of her. She swallowed what she had in her mouth before asking, “What are you doing here?”

“I guess I was bored,” Mustache Girl responded. “The stupid mafia seem to be leaving me alone and now everything is all… normal. What happened to all of the excitement?” She sat down in the chair across from Hat Kid and stared at the pasta. “Are you finishing that or…”

Hat Kid blankly stared at Mustache Girl. She had only just started eating and had barely touched the food.

Mustache Girl sighed. “Do you have to stare at me like that? I’m hungry, and the food in Mafia Town is appalling. We used to be friends, you and I. Friends share.”

Hat Kid sighed before slowly sliding her plate to the other side of the table.

“Thank you kindly, kid.” Mustache Girl picked up the fork, her eyes practically bulging as she stared at food that looked actually edible. “I knew I should’ve never doubted your goodness.”

Hat Kid rolled her eyes, feeling her half-satisfied stomach beginning to growl. Though to her delight, a plate of fresh pasta was placed right in front of her. She turned to her side to see Cooking Cat there. “I see you lost your food to Miss Cranky. There’s plenty to go around.”

Mustache Girl put her fork back down. “Miss Cranky? Because of you ditching Mafia Town for this bloke, you have brought the food quality down by 1000%.”