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Post by Kiersten on Dec 24, 2023 0:26:41 GMT -6
Cedrick looked down at the level below him, admiring how everything was set up, feeling like it had a cohesive flow. He was frowning though, wondering if he’d spot the perpetrator that was ruining the cables to a few of the games already, costing him a couple of thousand dollars already. He figured it was rats, but when he spotted a cat, he’d called the local shelter to see if they had anyone that could come catch it, not thinking a cat as causing the damage, but he hadn’t seen another animal in the place. Now he waited for someone named Ari to show up, just weeks away from opening day, and hope they could help him solve this problem.
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Post by Bri on Dec 24, 2023 1:06:09 GMT -6
Ari adjusted her glasses as she walked up to the new arcade, frowning a little as she wondered how a stray cat would take up residence here and cause the issues the owner was reporting but she figured she'd have an answer to that once she got into there. She reached out, testing the door to make sure it opened before heading inside and looked around, raising her eyebrows at how the place looked before calling out, "hello?" she shifted a little, having a backpack on and was carrying a live trap and a net. ![](https://www.stylebysavina.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/hoodie-outfit-inspo.jpg)
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 24, 2023 1:35:25 GMT -6
Movement at the entrance caught Cedrick’s eye and he watched as a woman stepped into the space, holding what he guessed was a trap. This must be who he spoke with on the phone. “Dr. Ari Kay I presume,” He called out from the second story as he waved to her slightly, wanting to make his presence known before he disappeared down the stairs. “Welcome, I’m hoping you can help me with my problem.” He spoke as he wound his way around the stairs at the back, but everything echoed in this place that she could easily hear him where she was standing. Once he reached the first floor, he made a B line for Ari. “Cedrick Marruco, owner of this place.” He held his hand out, all the air of a professional gentleman who ran a business.
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Post by Bri on Dec 24, 2023 1:58:36 GMT -6
Ari looked up when she heard his voice, squinting slightly but it was hard to make out Cedrick's face until he came closer to her. She couldn't help it as the hair on the back of her neck raised as he came down, feeling like she watching some kind of villains grand entrance. She offered him a small smile and tucked her net under her other arm, reaching out and shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you but you can just call me Ari...you said there's a cat in here causing issues?"
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 24, 2023 19:16:29 GMT -6
Cedrick frowned slightly when she allowed him to call her just Ari, finding it a little too formal so early on, but he smiled, figuring she just liked it that way. He noted she had a good handshake, eyeing the cage in her hand. “That’s a humane trap, right?” He didn’t like the idea of ones that kill the animal, if more for the cleanup, though he didn’t think a cat deserved to go out just because it was running loose in his place. “I don’t know if it’s a cat, I read that it’s unlikely to be, but I have wires with teeth marks and I watched an orange cat disappear in the basement.” Though when he searched the entire place, he hadn’t found it. It would tease him, constantly popping in and out between the games, only to disappear into thin air in the hard-to-reach places.
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Post by Bri on Dec 24, 2023 22:05:35 GMT -6
"Absolutely it's humane." Ari said, looking down at the trap in her hand, "I just stick some food in it and set it so the door is open and once whatever little creature is roaming around her steps in and triggers the door, it'll snap shut." She explained to him, glad that he wasn't one the types who wanted the nuisance eliminated instead of relocated. She regularly defied those ones and saved the critter anyway. She looked at him with a slight frown as he spoke about the potential of the animal being a cat or not being a cat, nodding slowly, "well we won't know until we try, can you show me the places you've seen it? I can set the trap in one of the high traffic areas."
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 24, 2023 22:52:34 GMT -6
“It’s a cat, I know it’s a cat,” Though Cedrick did feel like there was something else crawling around that the old owner had neglected to tell him. He thought about where he’d seen the cat the most, “He was seen in the basement the most, so let’s head there.” He didn’t hesitate to turn towards a door labeled laser tag before she could answer. The door led to a dark room lit only by UV Light which caused the neon paint splattered on the ways to glow and give you some sight. He flipped a switch, and it turned the UV lights off and turned-on soft light that wasn’t harsh on the eyes, but you could easily see the entire room clearly. “The second floor of the laser tag is the basement, I don’t know if he just likes the dark.” He shrugged, moving towards another door that led into a darkened room.
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Post by Bri on Dec 24, 2023 23:09:49 GMT -6
Ari raised her eyebrow but nodded, "alright, it's a cat." She agreed as she followed him down to the basement, looking around at the rest of the arcade as they went then looked at the whole area set up for laser tag. "Wow, you really set this place up." She said with a small bit of admiration, wondering how successful this place was going to be, it was bound to be popular with the kids. She followed him to the next room, "more than likely and it seems like there's a lot of places to hide, which is optimal for a stray wanting a home."
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 24, 2023 23:44:37 GMT -6
Cedrick plastered a knowing smile on his face. “A lot of research, tons of plans drawn up. I wanted a fun place to go to.” Though it was also modeled like his father’s casino where you’d probably spend more money than get anything back, other than fond memories. “What if this isn’t the cause of the damage I’ve found?” hoping she’d have a plan as a backup in case the cat wasn’t alone.
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Post by Bri on Dec 25, 2023 0:01:24 GMT -6
"It looks like it'll be fun." She said, and a labyrinth that might be impossible to find your way out of, but Ari kept that thought to herself as she looked around the area. "Then I'll keep looking until we find the cause of all the fuss." She replied, setting down her things and looking around and taking down her backpack, looking around and pulling outa flashlight. "So is the damage being done to all the wiring behind and under the machines?"
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 25, 2023 0:24:24 GMT -6
“There’s a lot to do still, so this place will be empty.” Cedrick let her know, so she wasn’t worried about showing up during opening hours. He sighed a little when she said she’d keep looking for it. He watched her carefully, shining a flashlight and looking around the two-story laser tag field. “No, just a few of the games, that was the first time I saw the cat.” Most people would put two and two together, but he felt like the cat wasn’t dumb enough to electrocute itself.
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Post by Bri on Dec 25, 2023 0:47:21 GMT -6
"Good to know," Ari replied, that would give her plenty of time to search and do things her own way without having to worry about prying eyes or people getting in her way. It wasn't that she didn't like people...entirely, they just tended to ask questions right when she was in the middle of something that needed her full attention. "Hopefully the most this ends up being is maybe a couple rats or even a raccoon, I have more than enough experience with those." She said, looking around as she tried to think of where a cat would be, seeing a spot in a back corner and dropped down to her hands and knees, shining the flash light as she looked around for any signs but when she didn't see anything she continued along the floor, not caring how ridiculous she probably looked with her butt in the air but she didn't want o miss any important evidence.
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 25, 2023 1:10:14 GMT -6
Cedrick quietly cursed under his breath, hoping it wasn’t a racoon, or anything other than a cat or even a rat. He raised an eyebrow at her movements, but he wasn’t going to question her methods until she came out empty handed. He wasn’t sure what she was looking for but looked around at anything other than her. “Do you release the stray back into the wild?” he asked, falling down a rabbit hole when he googled cat and wires, finding out that cat colonies were a thing.
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Post by Bri on Dec 25, 2023 1:25:02 GMT -6
"Depends on the stray," Ari replied, if she had it her way and the world was a perfect place, she would find a home for every animal she came across. "Sometimes strays are able to be adopted out and if not we fix them and let them back out into town or adopt them out as barn cats." She explained as she moved along the floors, frowning when she didn't see any signs of the cat he had described. "What does this cat look like?" Maybe if it was a black cat that would explain why she didn't see any fur.
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 25, 2023 1:41:28 GMT -6
Cedrick took in the information as he thought about the purpose of a barn cat, then his brain clicked, as if he opened a new browser. “Ah, orange. Tabby? I think that’s the correct coloring.” He said, knowing he saw orange in the fur as the cat disappeared every time he tried to get close.
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Post by Bri on Dec 25, 2023 1:57:14 GMT -6
"Okay, orange tabby." Ari repeated, that definitely made her question some things. "Have you checked to see if any of your vents are loose? If they're big enough for a cat to climb through?" She asked, standing back up and brushing herself off, ready to move on the the next room. "I'd like to see all of the space to decide where to put the trap, I might have to come back and set a few more depending." She explained, pursing her lips slightly in thought.
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 25, 2023 13:09:36 GMT -6
“I have been told the vents have been checked and are all covered.” Though Cedrick didn’t check them himself, but he didn’t want to be like his father, controlling and micromanaging everyone. He had to trust that it was true, “I’ve seen the cat in multiple locations, but somehow it can slip through somewhere.” He had even left food out in his office to try and trap him inside, but even if the food was eaten, the cat still escaped.
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Post by Bri on Dec 25, 2023 14:35:51 GMT -6
Ari frowned as she considered what he had to say, making a mental note to check the vents as she found him. Just in case. "Cats can be tricky little beasts but I'll do my best to try to catch him." She said, determination lacing her voice. "Out of all the animals I've worked with the most difficult ones are almost always part of the feline family."
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 25, 2023 17:36:50 GMT -6
“I believe that,” Cedrick was starting to believe witches had a reason to always have cats involved, because they seemed to be made of magic. He heard a thud next to him and looked up to the cross beams that led to the roof above the laser tag pit. “There he is!” he pointed, hoping she’d see him, hoping someone else saw the phantom cat and didn’t make him seem crazy.
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Post by Bri on Dec 25, 2023 18:28:31 GMT -6
"Mhmm," Ari went to inspect another corner in the room that could be a good hiding spot, peering underneath a shelf built into the wall that, when during laser tag, would also be a great hiding spot, when Cedrick cried out. Automatically her head snapped up but instead of the cat all she saw was stars after her head snapped into that shelf. She groaned, pressing a hand to her head as she tried understand what had just happened while looking up to try to see the so called cat...which was already long gone. "That's...gotta be a fast cat..." She muttered.
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 25, 2023 18:48:33 GMT -6
It seemed like seconds that he turned when hear hard Ari knock something, not realizing it was her head, but when he turned back to see the cat, it was gone. “Dammit.” He cursed, wondering where the cat could have disappeared to. He turned back to Ari, “You alright?” he asked, noting her pressing a hand to her head.
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Post by Bri on Dec 25, 2023 19:20:48 GMT -6
Ari clenched her teeth from the pain in her head and the annoyance of missing out on seeing the cat. "Yeah, just hit my head," she told him, embarrassment warming the back of her neck. Apparently she was still the clumsy idiot she used to be. She pulled her hand back and swore when she saw a bit of red on it. "And apparently cut it, cool, do you have a first aid kit by chance?"
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 25, 2023 19:32:22 GMT -6
Cedrick frowned and turned to face her straight on, seeing as the cat was gone, there wasn’t anything to see. “Back in my office, do you feel lightheaded?” He asked, planning to make a pit stop at the bar to grab a bag of ice first.
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Post by Bri on Dec 26, 2023 2:15:06 GMT -6
Ari held back her grumbling from the pain radiating where she had hit her head but tried to focus on the other feelings hitting her as she stood. "Just a little, I can't believe I did this, I bet I look super professional now." She tried to joke, casting him a small smile. "Usually I'm prepared for animals bites and scratches, not smacking my own head."
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 26, 2023 17:59:03 GMT -6
Cedrick chuckled as he took her by the elbow and started leading her towards his office at the back, very different from his father’s front and center show office back in Vegas. “Should always be prepared for that to happen, I was hit in the head with a beer bottle before, and I wasn’t even in the conversation with the guy.” It had been a wrong place wrong time situation, but the angry customer didn’t want to leave, and threw his bottle in an attempt to keep security at bay. Unfortunately, he’d been standing nearby dealing with another issue at the casino and was hit on the side of the head. He put her at the end of the bar while he grabbed ice from the machine behidn the bar, filling a bag of it.
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Post by Bri on Dec 26, 2023 18:44:37 GMT -6
Ari glanced down, a bit surprised from the touch but followed after him but her gaze flickered up at him in surprise when he mentioned the beer bottle. "That sounds...awful," she grimaced slightly, "I think I'd rather face a pissed off wolf than deal with an angry person with a glass bottle." She said with a little laugh, stopping at the bar while he got the ice, frowning a little when more blood came away with her hand.
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 26, 2023 19:20:58 GMT -6
“Well, wasn’t expecting it. But I think I’d deal with an angry person over a wolf,” Cedrick could handle humans, something about how calm he usually was when letting them scream made them eventually stop. He gave her the ice, and continued leading her back to his office, helping her into a chair before he dug out the first aid kit.
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Post by Bri on Dec 26, 2023 20:12:50 GMT -6
Ari laughed a little, "two different kinds of people in the world." She joked, at least animals couldn't say one thing while meaning the other. She was grateful when she was able to sit down and took the ice, pressing it to her head with a sigh. It stung a little bit the ice did make the ache feel better.
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Post by Kiersten on Dec 27, 2023 23:03:51 GMT -6
“I think there are more than two types of people, but I’ve met a lot of people.” Cedrick knew thousands of people walked through his father’s casino every day, some pleasant, some not, and some odd. He opened the first aid kit and grabbed everything he needed to clean the wound. “Alright, lets take a look.” It wasn’t the first time he had used the first aid kit, but every time he did, he felt like he didn’t know what he was doing.
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Post by Bri on Dec 27, 2023 23:37:53 GMT -6
"More than likely, but it hurts my head even more to think about all of that." Ari replied, slowly pulling the ice back so that he could look at her head, tilting it down so that he could see better. She felt a little odd being the one treated and not being the one to do the treatment but she knew this was the easiest way to get this stupid wound taken care of.
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