The Cat and the Cocktail

“I have decided” Lumine said

“Really?!” Twilight and Rainbow called out

“Yep, I want to go see the kittens” Lumine explained

“What?! Why?! I mean… Drinking beer is much more fun!” Rainbow reminded

“Sorry Rainbow but I think she doesn’t like beer, right Lumine?” Twilight asked

“Yeah, sorry RD” Lumine apologized

“Fine, guess it’s just me drinking beer then” Rainbow said

Margaret then chuckled a bit

“Here for the kitties huh? I suppose we do have a lot of cute cats here” Margaret said

“No thanks, I’m good” Rainbow said

“They’re all quite friendly, in fact, many other customers are here for the same reason after all there aren’t many places in Mondstadt where you can just relax and interact with friendly cats” Margaret explained

Diona then scoffed in disbelief

“I’ve never seen such a bunch of arrogant and stubborn cats, I don’t understand why people like them so much, besides, shouldn’t the main purpose for going to a tavern be drinking without getting cat hair in your beverage?” The girl asked

“Maybe everyone just thinks cats are cute?” Lumine asked

“What kind of reason is that?!” The girl asked angrily before crossing her arms and looking away in disbelief “So as long as they’re cute nothing else matters?” The girl asked

“Well, judging from the customers, that seems to be the case” Margaret said before chuckling a bit before pointing to Twilight and Lumine “See? These travelers are here for the cats as well” Margaret reminded

“You’re really gonna make a name of yourself that way you know” Rainbow reminded

Twilight and Lumine then chuckled a bit only for Margaret to have a worried look

“However, you’ve come at a most unfortunate time, our cats see to have snuck out to play somewhere” Margaret explained worriedly

“Really?! Sweet! That means it’s safe for me to go inside!” Rainbow said in relief

“If you’re willing to wait, Diona here should be able to bring them back shortly…” Margaret said

The girl named Diona then turned to Margaret angrily

“Huh? When did I agree to go fetch those little troublemakers?!” Diona asked angrily

“Consider it a task straight from tavern management, besides, the cats are quite fond of you so you’re the natural pick for the job” Margaret explained

Diona then sighed in disbelief

“They’re probably just bored and wandered off to get people’s attention” Diona said in disbelief

“Is that so?” Margaret asked before chuckling a bit “...Well anyway, it’ll be up to you to bring them back here” Margaret said

“No! Please don’t! I don’t wanna see such cute monsters!” Rainbow said

“They’re not monsters Rainbow!” Margaret reminded angrily

“Exactly!” Twilight agreed angrily

“I agree with them so please, stop bullying them and if you don’t like cats just go to Angel’s Share” Lumine said

“And let you get stuck with all of the cat’s fur, no, no, I don’t think so, I’ll be joining you and making sure that doesn’t happen” Rainbow said angrily

“By the way girls, didn’t you two say that you’re here to see the kitties? If you’re up for it, perhaps you could accompany Diona to retrieve them” Margaret said

“Really? Why?” Twilight asked

“Maybe after interacting with them for a bit the cats will get to know you and seek more of your attention” Margaret reminded

“Good idea, let’s do it then” Lumine said

“What?! Are you seriously gonna team up with them?!” Rainbow asked in shock

“Yes we are and you’re gonna help us, it’s as simple as that” Twilight said

“Ugh fine but when I have the chance I’ll sue you for ruining my awesome life with such cuteness” Rainbow said angrily

Lumine, Diona, Margaret and especially Twilight were shocked at what Rainbow just said which made Rainbow confused before realizing what she said

“Let’s ignore that shall we” Rainbow suggested

“Agreed/Yeah, let’s do it” The group said in unison in agreement

“Anyways, the three cats that snuck out are Roger, Nelson and Paisley” Margaret explained

“Cool!” Twilight explained

“I gotta say, Roger’s a good name!” Rainbow said

“That’s the only thing you agree on?!” Twilight asked in disbelief

“Yeah, kinda” Rainbow answered nervously

“Don’t worry Twilight, she might just love it because it’s from her favorite voice actor or something” Lumine said

“Voice actor?” Twilight asked

“A person that voices characters in movies and shows, did you not hear about that when you went to the human world?” Lumine asked

“No I didn’t, I mean, I got there twice and there wasn’t even one day with a single mention of voice actors” Twilight explained

“Hmm, alright then, when you see Sunset you should definitely ask her” Lumine said

“Of course, will do” Twilight said

“Anyways, Diona, you usually take care of them so you should be quite familiar with these three, right?” Margaret asked

Diona who heard that then groaned in disbelief

“Them again?! And they even dared to sneak out during working hours… Don’t they have any sense of duty as tavern cats?” Diona asked

“Tavern cats? What’s that?” Twilight asked

“You know, I’m confused too” Rainbow agreed

“Come on Diona, not every kitty can be as reliable and caring as you Diona” Margaret reminded in disbelief with a small chuckle

“I am not a cat!” Diona reminded angrily

“Yeah, she’s not! …Or is she?” Rainbow asked in confusion

“You know that answer well, miss colorful pony!” Diona reminded

“For the record, my name is Rainbow Dash not colorful pony” Rainbow said angrily

“...Whatever” Diona said in disbelief before turning to Margaret “So all we have to do is to bring them back to the tavern, right? This shouldn’t be a problem, let’s scurry out of here, they love wandering around the center of town so let’s check there first” Diona suggested

“Let’s get going then” Twilight said

“A rescue mission for cats? Fine by me, as long as they don’t begin purring cutely” Rainbow said

“I’ll leave you girls to it, in the meantime I’ll keep an eye on things here at the tavern, once you’ve found the little rascals, please bring them right back” Margaret suggested

“Of course, we’ll be back before you know it” Lumine said

The group then followed Diona away from the Cat’s Tail and to the center of the town where they suddenly stopped in confusion

“Hmm, their tracks end here… Looks like they ran off somewhere else” Diona said

“Then how do we find them?” Lumine asked

“At this point Paimon would’ve asked us to use our elemental sight but that wouldn’t work in this case” Twilight said

“Agreed! Diona, got any ideas yourself?” Rainbow asked

“Yeah, don’t worry, those cats are very stubborn especially so stubborn that they’re also easy to understand so I have another idea” Diona said

“Really? Tell us” Twilight suggested

“Alright, let’s pay a visit to Marjorie at ‘With Wind Comes Glory’, Roger broke his cat toy recently and I ordered him a new one there” Diona explained before thinking “Maybe he snuck out because he didn’t have anything to play with…” Diona thought out loud

“Seems like you know him really well” Lumine said with a heartwarming smile

“I-I only know these things because I want them to do their job and not mess around!” Diona explained nervously

“I know how you feel, I feel the same when I see cute faces such as theirs” Rainbow explained

“Thanks, now c’mon, let’s head over to Marjorie’s store” Diona said

The group then began walking towards ‘With Wind Comes Glory’ where they saw Marjorie looking at Diona in happiness

“Oh, hello Diona, you must be here for the cat toy you ordered? I just finished preparing it and made it extra durable according to your request, your kitty should be able to play with this one for quite some time” Marjorie said with a smile

“Much appreciated! Margaret will come and settle the fees later” Diona said

“No problem!” Marjorie said before thinking “So, that cat named Roger… Is he usually at the Cat’s Tail?” Marjorie asked

“That’s right, he’s almost always in the tavern” Diona answered

“Wonderful! I’ll definitely make some time to head to the tavern and play with him” Marjorie said

“Oh I see… Well, you’re welcome to visit anytime” Diona said

“I gotta say though, you’re awfully particular when it comes to taking care of that cat” Marjorie said before chuckling a bit “You even provided me a list of materials to use for his cat toy” Marjorie explained

“That’s just because Roger tends to get excited whenever he plays with the customers and he always ends up ruining his toy. This time we needed to make it more durable so that it would last longer but he usually just lounges on the cabinets when no one’s around…” Diona explained

“Maybe he just needs someone to play with?” Lumine asked

“You really think so? Hmph, I’m not interested in figuring out what those cats are thinking, they’re just stubborn, that’s how all cats are” Diona explained

“Yeah, I have got to agree” Rainbow said, causing Twilight to hit her in the hoof hard “Ouch! What was that for?” Rainbow asked angrily

“Let’s just head over to see Sara at Good Hunter, she always makes Nelson’s cat food” Diona reminded

“Wow! I thought you guys did” Twilight said in disbelief

“Well yeah but he’s the one that always eats the most and even though he’s always eating he somehow weighs the lightest, I really have no idea what he’s up to all the time…” Diona explained

“Weird” Twilight agreed before clearing her throat “Ahem, well, let’s continue on then” Twilight suggested

Diona then grabbed the toy she got from Sara as the group then went to ‘Good Hunter’ and once they arrived they saw Sara there

“Welcome to Good Hunter” Sara said before she realized Lumine, Twilight, Rainbow and Diona were there “Oh, hi there girls! How can I help you all?” Sara asked

“Hello Sara, I’d like some more of that cat food I bought last time” Diona answered

“Oh, is my favorite kitty Nelson hungry again?” Sara asked in disbelief before chuckling a bit “Hold on one moment, I’ll have the kitchen prepare it for you” Sara said

Sara then rushes into the kitchen and just as quickly as she disappeared she came back and this time with another bowl full of cat food

“Alright, here’s the cat food, it hardly takes any ingredients to make so it’s on the house!” Sara explained

Twilight then picked the bowl with her magic and turned to Sara

“Thank you for your help Sara” Twilight thanked

“No need, anything for Diona “Sara said before she got a worried look as she put her hands together to beg “But please, if you can, bring Nelson with you next time… Everyone wants to pet him!” Sara reminded

“Sure, I-I’ll see if he wants to come” Diona said

The group then went far away from Sara as Lumine turned to Diona

“You think cat food will do the trick?” Lumine asked

“Well… Nelson’s not usually very fond of people but as soon as he smells some dried fish he’ll do anything you say” Diona explained before getting a disgusted and a disbelief look “And once he starts eating, ugh, he doesn’t ever stop, someone has to drag him away from the food… Kinda like the old drunks at the tavern” Diona explained in disgust and disbelief before giving a brave look again “But the amount of cat food isn’t too much this time so it’ll be fine if he finishes it all” Diona explained

“That sounds a little troublesome” Twilight said

“Anyways, we have all we need for now, let’s go find Roger and Nelson, we’ll deal with Paisley later” Diona said

The group then looked at each other in confusion before deciding it was better left unasked as Rainbow turned to Diona

“Let’s start with Roger” Rainbow suggested

“Alright, Roger always likes to sit in high places so… Maybe we should go check the rooftops” Diona said before getting worried “Do any of you know how to get on top of the buildings here? If not you can just wait down here and I’ll take care of it” Diona said

“Not exactly, I’m only good at climbing cliffs” Lumine explained

“Very well then, got any other ideas anyone?” Diona asked

“Well, I can teleport but I have no idea what the top of the roofs look like” Twilight explained

“Well, I could fly and look around, does that help?” Rainbow asked

“Yes” Diona answered in relief

“Alright, Then I’m on it!” Rainbow said

Rainbow then began to fly before Twilight tugged on her tail with her tail

“Rainbow, we can’t fly or climb in my case, remember” Twilight reminded

“Oh right, hop on then” Rainbow said

The trio then hopped onto Rainbow who then grunted

“Okay, I may be a Knight of Favonius but I did not know you all were this heavy” Rainbow said

“That must be because I’m a bucking horse!” Twilight reminded

“True, well then, let’s get on our way!” Rainbow said

“Agreed, let’s go up and look for Roger together” Diona suggested

Rainbow then nodded before she began to trot while spreading and flapping her wings until she manage to fly up as she used all her might to lift up herself with three people on her (Especially Twilight) as the group looked all over the high spots and after a while Diona found Roger making her point at it

“Wait, see that cat there? That’s Roger! Oh, he really picked a high place to sit this time…” Diona called out in relief and disbelief

“Finally, let’s go and get him!” Rainbow ordered before she wanted to fly again only for Diona to grab one of her wings causing her to fly sideways “What was that for?” Rainbow asked

Diona then let go as Rainbow steadied herself again while Lumine held a now dangling Twilight

“Sorry but don’t get too close, if we startle him he might run away” Diona said

Rainbow then groaned as Rainbow then flew towards another part of the rooftop as Lumine and Diona then climbed off while Twilight was dragged on top of the rooftop

“Finally! I was getting tired from carrying all that strength!” Rainbow said in disbelief

“Alright, now you two, stay here and don’t make a sound, me and Lumine will handle Roger” Lumine said

“‘Roger that’” Twilight said

After saying that Rainbow and Lumine had to struggle not to laugh while Diona scoffed a bit

“Haha, very funny” Diona said sarcastically before shushing “Now stay quiet girls” Diona said before the duo then slowly approached Roger while also making sure they don’t get too close “Okay, remember all the things we prepared? Now’s the time to make use of them” Diona said

“Exactly” Lumine said

“Do you remember what would be better for attracting Roger?” Diona asked

“Of course, the cat toy” Lumine answered

“Hey, you’ve got a pretty good memory, that’s right, cat toys are Roger’s favorite” Diona said

Diona then slowly approached Roger and put the cat toy as far as she could while it was still in her hands and once Roger saw the cat toy he slowly approached the toy and sniffed it before he began playing with it and once he was distracted Diona turned to Lumine who knew what she meant as Lumine slowly went towards a distracted Roger and picked him up while Diona still held the toy in her face

“That was a great distraction” Lumine said

“I agree” Diona said before turning to Roger with a frown “Don’t make me do that again, you hear that Roger?” Diona asked

But all Roger did was purr which made Diona irritated but she knew she couldn’t get mad even if she wanted to quit working with them

“Still, he did let his guard down almost immediately, looks like he was just waiting for someone to come play with him” Diona explained in disbelief

“Yeah, just wondering but do any of the staff give attention to them?” Lumine asked

“Well… Sometimes but it’s mostly the customers that give attention to them, guess they must’ve gotten bored thanks to the vacation yesterday, I should probably bring them home if it’s weekend again and nobody can take care of them” Diona explained worriedly

“Alright but don’t worry if you can’t, I can always come and sleep at the Cat’s Tail while taking care of them” Lumine reminded

“That’ll be much appreciated” Diona said

“Still, it’s no wonder the customers like him so much, the first thing they ask is when they visit the tavern is if Roger is around… Yeesh” Diona said in disbelief

“What should I tell? Do I say Rainbow has her own fan club or something a bit more helpful?” Lumine thought

“Maybe he has a fanclub of his own, Rainbow had one too in her home world” Lumine explained

“Yeah that’s the problem! Who cares about specialty drinks when you have these fluffy little kitties to play with, right? If you ask me, the tavern doesn’t need any more new drinks to attract customers, just get more cats and people will come!” Diona explained in disbelief

“Unless they’re Rainbow Dash” Lumine explained

“Huh?” Diona asked in confusion

“Nothing” Lumine said nervously

“Alright let’s bring Roger to our friends and go find Nelson” Diona said

The duo with Roger then went towards Rainbow and Twilight who were chatting quietly before they heard the duo approaching as they turned to Diona and Lumine

“We’re back!” Lumine said

The duo then noticed the cat Lumine was holding as Twilight rushed towards it in awe while Rainbow only rolled her eyes in disgust

“Is that Roger?!” Twilight asked

“Yes it is” Diona answered

“Well then, how did he get here, did he secretly have wings?” Rainbow asked

“I’m not sure, maybe he’s that good in climbing or a bird caught him” Lumine explained

“A bird caught him? How exactly do you think the bird catches him?” Twilight explained

“I’m not sure, guess the cat must’ve climbed that far” Lumine said

“Alright then” Twilight said

“Can we just get to the business at hoof now please?” Rainbow asked in disgust and disbelief

“We may as well” Diona said

The group then went onto Rainbow’s back and when they all were on her she helped the group get to the ground where the group went off of Rainbow

“So Diona, what’s the next place on the list?” Twilight asked

“Hmm, Nelson likes places that are warm, in fact, the last time I went looking for him I found him in the bush next to the blacksmith so let’s go look for him there” Diona suggested

The group then went to the blacksmith where they looked around before Rainbow found Nelson

“Over here girls” Rainbow said

The group then slowly approached Rainbow and Nelson where they stood in front of him only to see he was beginning to fall asleep

“Yup, I knew we’d find Nelson here… And he looks like he’s about to fall asleep, huh, could it really be more comfortable than in the tavern?” Diona asked

“I think so seeing as he doesn’t like people” Lumine explained

“Anyway, let’s take out the thing we’ve prepared, I’ll let you give him it Twilight’ Diona said

“I’m not it” Twilight said

Twilight then teleported the cat food for Nelson into her magic which she then put on the ground using her magic

“Nelson loves eating this stuff, the cat food will definitely make him happy” Twilight said

The group then watched for a moment as they saw Nelson approach his food and sniffing it before he began to eat it with a happy sound

“Aww!” Twilight and Lumine called out

Meanwhile Rainbow scoffed in disbelief while Diona was confused once more as she got angry

“Didn’t the customers at the tavern already feed you enough? How can you still be so excited to see food all the time?” Diona said but the cat didn’t listen as he continued to eat “And there you go snarfing everything down as always… Why do customers like you so much? They even fight over who gets to feed you!” Diona said angrily before she began to think suspiciously “Are you just pretending to be hungry all the time just to get the customers to come take care of you?” Diona asked angrily before getting calmer but still looking at him with a frown “What a cheeky little guy… No wonder customers completely forget about their drinks after seeing him” Diona said in disbelief

“Should I taunt Diona or just give her a compliment? Let me think” Lumine thought

“Maybe you should take a hint from him and do what he does” Lumine suggested

“Take a hint… From him?” Diona asked angrily before scoffing “Forget it! We should probably just get more cats at the tavern, they seem to attract more customer than my drinks” Diona said angrily

“That’s not what I—” Lumine started before she felt Diona’s glare staring into her soul “Sorry” Lumine said

“It’s no problem, go ahead, pick him up, he doesn’t weigh much, I really have no idea how he stays so light…” Diona said

“Alright” Lumine said

Lumine then put Roger onto Twilight’s back who was distracting him with the toy in her magic grasp while Lumine picked up Nelson before she turned to Rainbow

“Mind if I sit on you for once?” Lumine asked

“Nah, not really, I mean, how are you supposed to continue giving him food anyway?” Rainbow asked

“True” Lumine said

Lumine then went to put Nelson on Rainbow’s back before she picked up the cat bowl and sat behind Nelson while holding the bowl making sure Nelson can eat

“Alright, let’s go find Paisley, he used to always sneak out to go to the Cathedral before so let’s start there” Diona said

“Does he like cat food? I mean, there’s more room for both of them” Lumine asked

“Nope… He doesn’t like either of the things that Roger and Nelson likes, I’ll tell you more when we get there” Diona said

The group then went towards the Mondstadt Cathedral as they looked around for clues where Nelson is until they saw a bunch of cats sitting together

“What’s going on there?” Twilight asked

“Paisley’s over there, follow me” Diona said

The duo then walked over towards the group of cats as Diona could only look in relief

“Just where I thought I’d find you Paisley” Diona said in relief

“So… What should we do now?” Lumine asked

“We don’t need to do anything, Paisley just doesn’t fancy anything special, he just does whatever he’s in the mood for so… Just to sum it up, he’s just a self-centered little cat” Diona explained

“That’s a bit troublesome” Twilight explained in worry

“Agreed, we may as well just quit” Rainbow said

“Even back at the tavern he hardly ever interacts with any customers, usually he prefers to play with the other kittens” Diona explained before shaking her head “But enough about Paisley, let’s just take him and head back, I’ll pick him up as he doesn’t usually run away when I carry him in the tavern” Diona suggested before she noticed Lumine smiling brightly with tears in her eyes

“Uhh, wait, you want to pick him up? I’m telling you Paisley just ignores strangers” Diona reminded

“Exactly, pretty please!” Lumine started

Rainbow then rushed over to her and pulled her back in worry

“Are you sure? I mean, these cats… They’re too cute, what if you get too attached?!” Rainbow asked in worry

“Of course” Lumine said

“Very well then” Rainbow said

Lumine then slowly began to approach Paisley who easily got out of her hands

“See? No response at all… Here, just let me do it” Diona suggested before she turned to Paisley with a serious look “Listen Paisley, just be good and stay there okay?” Diona asked

Paisley then lovingly approaches Diona and began rubbing one of her legs causing Twilight and Lumine to look in awe while Rainbow only groaned while Diona crouched down and rubbed Paisley’s chin

“Good kitty, ohh, that’ll do, you really are pretty cute when you’re being good…” Diona said happily

“Alright that’s it!” Rainbow said angrily before she approached Paisley “Go into Lumine’s hands or else I’ll make sure you regret ever seeing me!” Rainbow said angrily

Twilight then pulled Rainbow back

“Rainbow, calm down! He’s just a kitten!” Twilight reminded

“Well, I don’t care, this cuteness is hurting my dignity, this has got to stop, just pick him up and go before I die from embarrassment” Rainbow ordered angrily while turning to Diona

“Hey!” Diona said angrily as she turned to Rainbow “Why are you looking at me like that huh?! He only listens to me because I feed him all the time, that’s all, no need to get so enraged” Diona said angrily

“Are you serious?! Then why don’t I feed him! And it’ll not be in a cute way!” Rainbow said angrily

“Rainbow stop!” Twilight ordered angrily before turning to Diona “Why’s he doing that though?” Twilight asked

“Well, for some reason, some customers actually like his persona, once Paisley bobbles his head at them they all start looking like they’d be willing to buy him cat food for the rest of his life” Diona explained before sighing in worry and disbelief “If only we got a few more cats at the Cat’s Tail, then I wouldn’t need to spend all my time making drinks anymore, all I’d have to do is take care of the kitties and let the customers come and pet them” Diona said in worry and sadness

“Lumine, remind Diona about the drinks and the kitties” Rainbow said

“Don’t listen to Rainbow, she’s trying to anger Diona and we wouldn’t wanna do that, right?” Twilight asked

“Hmm…” Lumine thought

Team up with Twilight

Remind Diona about how the customers got to know the cats