Odd Attachments [Mikemon/NPC]

It might have been the start of the city's nightlife, but that didn't mean that Mikemon's clinic followed the same nocturnal schedule. After such a long time away and a full day of work on his day back, all the Stingmon wanted to do was lock up and get some well-needed rest in his quarters. But just as he raised those keys, a rather informal voice hit the insect's ears.

A 'fellow demon' needed to consult the doctor? Turning to face the guest, the Stingmon gave a sigh, shrugging as he shook his head. "Even if you say that, the Doctor has to be 'in' for that sort of thing. I can see about-"

"No need for that, Stingmon."

"Ah, speak of the devil." Turning to his left, the Stingmon gave a nod to the doctor - a Mikemon, whose ears barely passed higher than the other two's knees in this conversation. The cat had a plastic bag slung over his shoulder, apparently from a quick run for errands in the city. Taking a brief look at the Astamon, the cat gave a nod. "Come on in, I have no appointments for the rest of the night. Stingmon, go ahead and lock up your desk."

The insect gave a nod, holding the door open for the other two before taking to his receptionist's desk, the Mikemon leading his guest to his office. "So, what brings you all the way out here? Poker night's still next week, right?"

The Stingmon definitely wasn't a dweller of the night, but to be fair, neither was the cat on most days of the week. Taking just a moment to set that plastic bag in the supply room, the doctor gave a chuckle, shaking his head as his guest joked about 'stealing' the rest of their bits. "Careful there - I've seen you lose oh-so-much when you get hot-headed on your bids."

That aside, it didn't take long to get to Mikemon's personal office. Rather than an observation room, here the cat had a desk, a chair high enough to sit level with the average visitor, and a number of books and files on-hand, in various shelves and cabinets, for reference. Climbing up behind his desk, he listened to Aster's curious question. It was good to hear that the visit wasn't about him, but what he asked about made the cat do a double take.

How to care for... humans? 'In-Training' humans, at that? The Mikemon ignored the term for a second, the cat needing to catch up with what the Astamon just asked. And, slowly, the cat lowered his head, eyes closed, pinging the bridge above his nose with a single paw.

"... Astamon. I'm just going to ask once." He gave a pause:

"The hell have you done, this time?"

"Because when you get like this, its usually because you have done something, Astamon." Ever since that 'Seadramon' incident that the two had vowed to never speak of again, the doctor had learned to take whatever the Astamon had to say with a grain of salt. The way he was speaking of caring for a human, like it was the same as keeping a house pet, was only ringing more alarms in the doctor's head.

If he was a victim of circumstance, that would just remain to be seen. At least to humor him, the cat went ahead and listened to everything that Aster had to say. A Trailmon left a human in the middle of nowhere, the Astamon tried to tell 'it' to shove off, but 'it' started crying... and so the Astamon took 'it' home. All the while, the Mikemon could feel his eye twitch, a vein pulsing above his temple under the fur as he explained the situation.

"Good, good. Now the next logical step is to get 'it' something to eat, wrap a nice warm blanket around them, and get 'em right back to Terminus so they can get along with their lives." The cat gave a sigh, but at this point, he just pressed for more questions: "Did the human have any sort of digivice on 'em? Doesn't matter what kind, just curious. And where's the human right now?"

Aside from that, though, the cat mulled over what to tell him. Aster was basically asking how to be a parent, and quite honestly, Mikemon was seventy percent sure the demon wasn't qualified to take that on. Regardless, though, he ran a finger through a few hardcovers, and pulled something out.

"Generally speaking, it should be about the same as a mammalian Digimon of their size. There's a book or two I could loan you on human physiology, but I don't know how much you'd be able to use as a guide. I mean..."

He flipped through the pages: "Its not like too many human diseases can even exist on this side."

Right, of course Astamon was keeping the human at his place - a remote abode out in the Shining Sea. For the demon before him, it wasn't too far away from a few cities, but for a mere human - or even a Harpymon - it was one of the most isolated places one could be.

"So you mean, alone, back at your place." The cat's words were sharp as he asked for clarification, sighing as he tapped his claw against the desk. Worse yet, it sounded like this human came with some bandage - had the Harpymon already imprinted on the Astamon? From a cursory glance, it sounded like the human, at the very least, had abandonment issues in the past - and if that was the case, Mikemon wasn't sure how long they would just sit still in Astamon's abode.

Hearing the human's apparent desperation from the Astamon was definitely concerning, though. It wasn't that Astamon was keeping the human there - its that he absolutely didn't want to go back at all. For an adult, that was a choice, but for a mere child who didn't understand the terror this world could bring?

The cat took a moment. And he sighed, shaking his head.

"You are one of the least qualified 'mons I know when it comes to what I would think of as a 'parent', Astamon." The Mikemon let out a 'tsk', leaning back in his chair. "I'll let you play this game for a bit, but what can you really do for the human, holed up out there? They won't learn anything, won't thrive - the human'll just grow more and more dependent on you. And the 'dark arts' ain't something I think they'll bite too hard at. So I need to know your plan, Astamon. Think of something."

A glint crossed the cat's eye: "Because if you won't, I'll have to find a way."

Mikemon was harsh by necessity.

He was in the awkward position as one of the few in this world who could diagnose humans, and on top of that, the doctor was in touch with several others along the same level of concern. At the very least, he had to make sure that this Astamon still had his head screwed on at least somewhat the right way - which involved him starting with a rather low opinion of the Astamon.

Of course, the demon had some backbone. No-one liked to be spoken to like that, but the cat didn't even flinch at that silent show of fangs. With the taller demon, stripped away from his patience and his mask, the Mikemon was finally able to get down to the point:

Just what was his plan?

A tour of the Digital World. Specifically, his 'hidey holes' strewn about. The cat knew vaguely of them - they were all a stone's throw from civilization but far and out of the way enough that he could stay out of common lines of travel. His effort was an intent to 'scare' the human, but at that, the Mikemon gave a sigh.

"... Its not... entirely unheard of for humans to take residence in our cities." Conceding that much, the feline's tail flicked behind him, as he gave it a moment of thought. "Don't show the human just your hiding places. Show them Whitewater, Terminus, common points of travel - heck, have them run into other humans, see what comes of it."

His idea came calmly, the cat letting out a slow, deep breath: "And should they find something they like better than what you offer, don't be afraid to cut them free. The last thing I need to hear from you is that you have a 'Harpymon' pet, understand?"

"Well, so long as you keep it in the kid's hands, I guess I can't berate you more than I already have..."

The cat was far from apologizing, but at the very least, his tone was more level than it had been a few minutes ago. It was hard to entirely tell with the demon, though as long as he was acting in the human's best interests - and not getting too caught up in his own emotional attachments - it should probably work out alright. "Don't hesitate to bring the human here if something comes up that you can't handle, mind you. I've given you a general guide, but I can't cover for everything. As long as you keep 'em out of the more unique virus-type delicacies, though, you should be fine."

Right, was that about it? The cat took a moment to yawn, shaking his head as he tapped at the desk. "Sorry, running all over with this D-Reaper business has been making me run around ragged. Even had to send the Stingmon as a proxy to a few meetings I really should have gone to myself. Can't be helped..."

Well, there was that, the missions, the research club, and his time with K. The cat was really stretching himself thin! "Anything else you needed?"

Ah, that was it? With a small pause, the Mikemon gave a nod back to the Astamon, and even extended a hand out to shake the ultimate's own.

"You'd better keep a watch over her," the cat added to his comment, with a fang-filled smirk. "But don't try and hover too much. Bird or not, she's gotta be able to stretch her wings out somewhat?" Did that metaphor really work, or was the cat grasping at straws?

Either way, there wasn't much more he could say at the moment. The Astamon was right that he had it quite busy, but at that mention of thanks, the cat gave a chuckle. "Heh. If you wanna show it, just wear your poker face like you usually do. Who knows, I might end up taking you out to eat with your own money."

With that, and a hearty laugh, he gave a wave out to the Astamon.