| A Crossing of Cats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary: Resident cat-girl Tabitha meets resident cat-boy Asato. Does the artificially created neko live up to the real thing? Only one way to find out... And what's this? Rayne arrives to meet another potential Council woman! A shame she has no idea she's been enlisted yet.    |
Connecting via a small island near the center of the lake is two long bridges that allow you to cross to the other side of the lake. No one is sure when the bridges where built but the 'MM' design worked into the side panels is a sure give away as to whom was responsible. Sitting alone in the darkness of night, the cat-girl Tabitha rests on the shore watching the water slowly trickle past in the lake. Her hair lightly moves in the breeze forcing her to pull a strand or two away from her eyes. With a slight chill in the air she's wearing her too-short jacket, but really it's only her arms that are cold. With a soft sigh she stretches slightly before curling up to continue watching the waves. Splip. That's the sound of the surface of the lake being disturbed. Probably just a fish, right? Maybe not. Because there it is again. It's slightly to the right of where Tabitha's watching. A disturbance in the water. And then something breaks the surface of the water. Ears. Cat ears, to be more precise. And then the rest of the cat-eared being breaks the surface. Well, about half of him. It's a black-haired fellow-- yes, with cat ears-- and light brown skin. His ears flick to get the water off them, and he shakes a bit. He doesn't completely exit the water, though. He does, however, look at Tabitha in surprise. His blue gaze fixes on her ears... and then his ears flatten to the sides, as if anxious. "...Are you from Kira?" he asks her. With an uncharacteristic shriek, Tabitha kicks backwards away from the water as something comes splashing up out of it. Her blue eyes are wide as she pants momentarily for breath. "What th' heck?!?!" Blink. Blinkblink. "Who's Kira?" Wait! Better question, "...wha' th' heck are you doin' in the lake at this hour??" Asato looks at Tabitha. Blinks. His ears relax a little, and instead swivel forward at her, where his attention is. When she asks the questions, he stays quiet for a moment more, as if he's still considering her. He answers her second question first. "...Bathing." In the lake? Then he answers the first one. "Kira is my home. They don't like me very much. But they stopped sending other cats to kill me." He has an awkward, stilted sound to his words, as if he's not quite sure he's picking the right ones, like he's going over them in his head mid-speaking them. That's when he walks the rest of the way out of the lake. He is wearing something, yes. It's just a pair of briefs, but at least his important bits are covered up. (Bathing? Wait-what!?)Oo Tabitha flails once again as he starts to just walk out of the water, his body on full displa-oh. Wow, who knew she could turn the same shade of red as her jacket? She stares a too long moment and then promptly buries her face in her hands and sighs. She slowly pulls her head up, wiping down her face in the process. Well, better not bring attention to it. "Um, I was born here. On Twisted. ...apparently in the UR." The last statement is said under her breath for the most part. "But there's other um... cats where you come from?" The girl blinks a moment at the thought. She's really only seen one other cat-person that she can recall. "Cat-people or....?" Well she has seen that black cat randomly. What's with that cat anyways? Not to worry, there is that ONE garment preserving his modesty. Barely. Once he reaches the bank, he heads over to where there's a pile of clothes, most of them a navy blue color. He sits down near them, but not too near to get them wet. And then what does he do? He starts... LICKING HIS ARM. This is apparently how he's going to dry himself, yes. He pauses as she says she was born in Twisted. During the pause he's still got his tongue out, yes. That weird thing cats do, yes. The question gets a nod. "We're all cats there," he answers. "Except Firi. I don't know what he was." Huh. How did she not notice those sitting-WHY IS HE LICKING HIMSELF?! Needless to say there's more staring. Lots of staring. At least until she hears him start talking again. Somehow it breaks the spell and the girl literally shakes her head until her mind is clear. "I'm s'posed to be a Nekojin. But I've got no idea what that means. I've never really met another... cat." She's back to staring again as he presumably continues. Is that a thing she's supposed to do too? Tabitha shudders at the thought. "Y'know my house is on th' other side of th' lake. I could get'cha a towel." Asato does indeed continue to lick the water off his arm as he listens to Tabitha. In fact he finishes that arm and starts on the other. He's methodical and quick about this; apparently he's done this before enough times to be pretty fast at it. But he pauses again as she mentions 'Nekojin'. "Ribika," he says, rather suddenly. Then he looks up at Tabitha curiously, as if gauging her response to the word. As for a towel? He blinks. Again pausing in mid-lick of his arm, he looks up. "...That's right. Two Canes didn't groom." That's probably not what he meant, at least not in a literal way. He sends a sheepish look Tabitha's way. "...Sorry." The girl just continues to stare. "I... have no idea... what you're saying..." She's a little fascinated by that as her perked up ears give away. "Are those names? Is that another language?!" Those thoughts were supposed to be in her head. Oops. Blushing again, the nekojin jerks her head away and sighs. "I-I'm sorry. I'm just..." oO(Fascinated?) "C-curious." Well that's good. She's managed to totally embarrass herself in front of what could almost literally be described as her own kind. Good job. Asato's ears lower a little, and his tail curls back a little, as if trying to make him appear smaller. He's not good at words, he knows, even if he's gotten a little better. It's not a huge amount of improvement. He remains quiet for a moment, as if trying to figure out what to say. "Ribika. The goddess," he tries again. "Brought the world back after the gods destroyed the Two Canes." Another pause. Then he adds, "Two Canes... humans?" He seems unsure of the pronounciation. "Ribika... our ancestors were Two Canes's pets. She entered the body of the last cat and brought life back to the world." Tabitha blinks at the speech having never heard something like this before. Silently she mouths the words in an attempt to remember them. "Ribika... Two Canes..." Oh! Wait. "Um, I'm Tabitha by the way! Tabitha Li-Bogard. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner." Yes. Introductions are important strange water-birthed catboy. "Asato," comes the response to Tabitha's introduction. He seems to think he's dry enough-- or maybe he's just cold, who knows?-- because he starts getting into his clothes then. Aside from the fact that there's a sword-sheath in all that, one that's a large two-handed deal, there are a couple bandages. One of them be winds around his right hand and arm, the other he puts around his neck. Then he sits down again. And then he says, "You're not a Ribika, then." It's hard to tell if that was meant as a question or not. The girl blinks again. "I... um. No I don't think so." Clearly she didn't understand what he meant by that statement. But that's okay. She watches him get dressed silently and turns her attention to the waters before her. It may come off that way, but she's not eyeballing him. She's just curious. Never quite fitting in and then suddenly seeing someone like yourself will do that to a person. Or Neko. And then suddenly Asato's getting in Tabitha's space. Why? Because he's sniffing at her. Nowhere inappropriate, no. He's not really even making contact. He's just sort of leaning over her shoulder and sniffing. His ears are aimed forward, as she has his attention. Once he's satisfied he's got the scent, he sits back, with a nod. "You don't smell like a Ribika cat," he confirms. Pause. "Nobody in Sisa would have been able to tell, though." His way of saying she'd have fit in well there? Once more Tabitha's cheeks begin to burn the color of her red jacket. "What are you??" She's tempted to punch him square in the face but luckily he says something first. With her ears drooping and her shoulders raised she just slowly shakes her head, "You're a strange one..." The girl blinks again realizing suddenly, "...and you still haven't said what yer name is!" Is she supposed to guess? Her mind races, oO(Oh, God. Is it a scent thing? Do I have to smell him?) Her ears draw back as a horrified look spreads across her face. Fortunately he doesn't seem offended when Tabitha doesn't return the sniffing. He's figured out that she's probably been raised like a Two Canes, so she interacts like a Two Canes. Which means she doesn't sniff others! Though he does seem puzzled when she mentions that he hasn't said his name. "I did. Asato," he repeats. "And I'm a Ribika." Apparently their race shares the name of their goddess. He also keeps a patient tone. Mainly because he realizes it's probably his fault if she didn't understand something he said. Tabitha blushes again, "I-I'm sorry. Asato?" She'll be dammed if she forgets that now. "I'm sorry. I-I'm just..." The girl suddenly lets out a long sigh. "...it's been a very long an' crazy day. I think I left my brain behind somewhere. Please don't take offense." Suddenly she grabs her arms and hugs herself tightly. "I'm also sorry I interrupted yer, um. Bath." Asato nods at the confirmation of his name. He tilts his head when she apologizes and says why she seems 'off'. He scoots a bit closer, though still not enough to touch her. "Are you all right?" he asks. As for his bath? "I was done." After a pause, he notes, "...Adjusting is hard. We didn't know much about Two Canes. So I'm still... figuring out how Two Canes live." Probably trying to explain what she's no doubt seen as just weirdness from him. The catgirl looks up as he asks if she's alright and watches his reaction as he continues. She bites her lip thoughtfully before she decides to go ahead and talk about it, "I.. sorta got a chance ta meet my sister - an' had ta lose her again after finally gettin' ta know her." Yeah, that's not far from the truth. "An' now I have ta go on knowing I won't be able to ever talk to her again." She lets out a heavy sigh. Why is it always easier to tell a stranger your problems than your friends? Maybe because she's talking about someone everyone else knows far too well. Asato stays quiet and listens to Tabitha speak. He shifts, to sit tailor-style on the ground, and leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. As he leans forward to listen better, he tilts his head inquisitively at her. But his ears lower when he notes the source of the problem. "I'm sorry to hear that." That's the right response, isn't it? "Konoe is gone, too." A clear tragedy. But he also has a question. "Why not?" Tabitha does another double take at the question. Well she didn't exactly spell it out, did she. "She's... dead." Can't make it more clear than that. "It was my fault. S-She forgave me. ...sorta, but..." The girl looks up the sky, her eyes wide, trying her best not to let herself cry. Instead she forces a little laugh, "I'm sorry. It's complicated." Nope too late. She wipes away a stray tear on the back of her gloved hands. She starts to ask who Konoe was but right now is probably not the right time. She doesn't even know this person. "...I probably sound like a lunatic or a monster. " Suddenly she laughs a little more honestly, "Or like NNY. I dunno if he'd be proud or offended." Of all the strangers, it's almost difficult for Asato to believe he ended up being the one here and now. It can't be a coincidence. Maybe Ribika's influence reaches even this far, and she brought him here at this time? He could have waited to wash the salt out of his hair. But he chose to do it now. Because of all the people in Sisa, Asato is the one who probably understands this the best. He shakes his head at her mention of sounding like a lunatic. "I... understand, a little." Pause. "...Do you want a hug?" That tended to help, he noticed. A strange thing happens to Tabitha at the question, she uncharacteristically throws her hands in the air and cheers, "YAAAY HUGS!" Even she stops and blinks at her actions. Slowly putting her arms down the girl crosses her arms nervously and does a mental catalog of the voices in her head - or the lack there of. "...but they stopped? They're gone?" This probably makes no sense at all to Asato but then why should it? He's just met her. "I... I'm sorry." Blush. "I don't know why I just did that..." Asato smiles at the sudden response. But the smile freezes as Tabitha's mood abruptly changes, then falls altogether as she apologizes. He seems confused now. And concerned. He tilts his head at her. "...Are you okay?" he inquires, leaning over slightly, ears lowering. "Don't apologize. If you felt like that. You said it, so..." He trails off as if he's not quite sure how to continue the thought, or even if he needs to. Tabitha blinkblinks. Aaaaand she's flailing and backing away again, "NO! No! No. I'm sorry. I just haven't been in my right mind lately." She blinks again, settling back down when she's sure he's not going to just start hugging her now. Calm again the girl takes a deep breath and sighs. "It's been a weird couple o' months, honestly." What did just happen there? That was totally something Newt would have done. Not to worry, Asato wasn't raised his arms up to hug her or anything like that. He's actually remarkably good at respecting personal space. Unless he's been giving permission to violate it, that is. He has not been given that permission here, so he doesn't. Suddenly he looks worried. "...Are you possessed? Konoe was possessed... Riikusu made him curse all of us..." The girl raises an eyebrow and an ear. "Possessed?" It's slowly starting to dawn on her that this person probably comes from a less advanced world. Or at least one with less advanced concepts than multiple personalities. "You... could say that I... was? But it's supposed ta be gone now." She frowns, "Part o' that whole killin' my sister thing I mentioned." Yeah. That seems like a fair explanation. "I thought it was completely gone, but now I'm worried there might be some o that left..." Asato nods. He doesn't speak immediately. Instead he places his hand on his torso, right there at the very center. Too low to be his chest but too high to be his stomach. About where his solar plexus is. His core. He winces a little, as if remembering something. "...If it's dark, it'll always be there," he says distractedly, as if talking more to himself than anyone else. And then in a rather abrupt change of subject, "It makes me do things I don't remember. Changes me. It's sleeping now. But it's still there." Tabitha slowly nods her head at his words, "Yeah. I think that's it exactly." She sits quietly, choosing to pull her knees up and wrap her arms around them. Her tail swishes slightly behind her as she thinks things over. She didn't expect to find a kindred spirit, or anyone else tonight, but that's exactly what she seems to have found. The girl smiles to herself and shakes her head. "Do you live far from 'ere Asato?" Asato gives an affirmative sound as Tabitha confirms it. As for him, he's sat tailor-style with his tail looped around underneath his knees, so the tail can't swish as hers does. Instead, the end sweeps out of cover underneath his knees, and then back under them. Her question gets a nod and another affirmative sound, and he points towards the trees in the park. He's not pointing at the apartments. Or the school. Tabitha raises a brow again, "Wait... you... live in the trees?" She blinks and mutters under her breath, "Well that explains bathing in th' lake..." Pausing to brush some hair back out of her eyes, she then informs him, "Y'know there's an Inn just up th' road that lets people live there for free." She glances briefly at the sky and then back to Asato's face. "I can show ya if you like." Asato nods when asked if he lives in the trees. As for the inn? "I know. Integra Arms." He shifts; he cuffs of his pant legs suddenly seem fascinating. Though he doesn't seem particularly embarrassed or uncomfortable. Finally he speaks up again. "I don't like being inside. And I don't have..." Pause. "House... things. To put in a house. Furniture. Cooking things. Stuff." The girl can't help but giggle at his words, "Well you've clearly never tried ta get an apartment there. I used ta have to greet people for old horny." She sticks her fingers up on the side of her head in a mockery of Diablo. "So ya go in there and you talk to th' lady at th' desk and she'll ask you questions about where you'd like ta live. And then they make a place for you with magic that looks like what ya tell 'em. Furniture too, if ya want it." Asato tilts his head at the mention of 'old horny'. Though when Tabitha puts her fingers up to resemble horns, his ears flatten. "...Did THEY come here, too?" he asks, a growl in his voice. He doesn't acknowledge the explanation of how the apartments work just yet. He's got something else on his mind, something that's apparently disturbed him. His ears are pinned back, half in fear and half in anger, and his head is down as if he's trying to escape notice. The anger's not aimed AT HER, though, so there's that. Tabitha blinks as his anger rises, "Um... 'They'? I was referrin' ta Senior Diablo. He's sorta the guy in charge around here. Big scary guy with horns on his head? He used ta make me go aroun' and greet people an' explain Twisted to 'em." This time she holds her ground. There's been enough scooting away for one day. "He's a jerk an' he used me. That's why I don't do that anymore." Asato's ears do not relax. "The Devils have horns," he points out. Possibly unnecessarily. "Like that." He mimicks her gesture. "I don't know him. But if he's a jerk, he must be one of them." That seems to be enough for Asato to decide. "'THEY' tried to eat Konoe. And tried to kill Rai. I don't like Rai. But he protects Konoe. And I don't like THEM more." This 'THEM' he's talking about must be people he really, really doesn't like. Though he's not being very clear. The only thing he really is clear about is they have horns. Tabitha can't help but nod at that statement, "Yeah, he's a Devil all right." She sighs irritably. "I wish someone would get rid o' him." The rest of his statement starts to sink in a few moments later, "OH! Oh. Oh no. He's not THAT bad." She thinks about that a moment, "Well, in some ways... But he really does care about Twisted." Ugh. Defending him puts a bad taste in her mouth. Asato tilts his head, one ear swiveling forward, as if beginning to relax some. But not completely. "The others eat people who make contracts with them. They offer people things... take advantage of it when people are upset... or want something. Offer it when someone's weak-willed and hurting... and then." He doesn't even trail off that time. He just leaves the statement incomplete, punctuated with that last word that sounded like he was going to continue. But it had a final sound to it, so probably not. Tabitha listens to his words and frowns. After a moment or two she finally speaks up, "I think devils are similar on any world." She exhales sharply. "But we'll get nowhere dwellin' on that." Yep, time to change the subject! "Soooo... Dwellin'! You should try th' Arms. It's free, what's th' harm?" Asato seems willing to let the subject go, and his ears swivel forward again, to pay attention to Tabitha. He nods. "I'll try." Pause. "...Can they make trees? Inside a building?" Asato really seems to like the trees for some reason, doesn't he? From the fountain area, a slight reflection of the moon, stars, or other, artificial lighting might draw attention towards someone approaching. Of course, the ever so slight clink of armor might be more the giveaway to the two with their cat-ears. Afterall, Rayne isn't trying to be particularly stealthy as she walks along, seeking out a tree appropriate to what she wants to do. Eventually, though, she gets a little fed up with the darkness and turns on a small electric lantern, announcing her presence even more so. And of course she's carrying her art pad... Looks like Rayne wanted to try some nighttime drawing again, and this time out at the lake. The catgirl's ears twitch at the sound of clinking armor. It's Twisted. Some of the things you get used to are weird. As such she doesn't investigate just yet. She does however try to answer Asato's question, "Yeah. It's a thing. I've seen rooms made fer dragons before." She nods at her own words without a hint of humor in her eyes. Eyes that suddenly wince as light flashes across them in the middle of the night. Twisting around away from the lake to the person roaming around behind them Tabitha can't help but ask, "Hey? You alright over there?" Asato's ears swivel in the direction of the clinking armor, and then his head turns in that direction, following his ears. His eyes are better in low light than they are in normal light, actually. And it doesn't take him long before he sees who it is, electric lantern or not. He smiles broadly, his fangs peeking out from under his lip. "It's Rayne," he announces to Tabitha. He's not particularly trying to keep quiet, and Rayne's lantern probably reveals his presence too. "Hrrrm? Oh, hello... Yeah, I'm fine," Rayne responds to the unfamiliar voice. Really, she wasn't seeking out the other people, more the trees for one suitible for a perch to draw from. At the familiar voice, however, she turns and does actually approach. "Asato? Is that you?" she asks. Without thinking Tabitha looks up at the sky in confusion before realizing he's talking about the newcomer's name. "Rain..? Oh." She leans back onto her palms, letting her legs stretch out before her as she listens to the two greet each other. Strange to see the park so busy at night, but then she hasn't been around a lot either. She'll give them some quiet for the time being. Asato nods, forgetting that Rayne might not be able to see him in the dark. Though he does remember that a moment later, and offers an affirmative grunt. Belated, and it's quiet. But he also waves in Rayne's direction, both as a greeting and to show her where he is. Looking to Tabitha, he says, "Rayne protects this place too." Rayne moves down to where the other two are, taking care to watch her step... She's off the paved path, afterall. "Hey, Asato. What brings you out here? And who's your friend?" No, she doesn't seem to recognize Tabitha from the images Caliga showed a few months back. "Oh! Is she an arrival from your world?" Well... one can at least see where she might have gotten that idea from. Tabitha shakes her head playfully at Rayne's question. "Nuh-uh. Twisted native!" She kicks off the ground onto her feet and offers a hand to shake politely. "Tabitha Li-Bogard, nice ta meet you." Look at her, all official like. Waiting first to see if Rayne shakes her hand she'll drop back to a crouch and go back to relaxing. "I ran inta Asato here in the middle of his bath. I've been tryin' ta talk him into goin' to tha Integra's Arms ever since." She nods at her own words and smiles at Asato hoping it'll keep him from thinking she's trying to be mean. She's relaxed for a change. It's been a few months since that happened last. Asato looks to Tabitha when Rayne asks who she is. He doesn't introduce her, figuring she'll do that if she wants herself known. But he does answer that second question. "No. I thought so too. But she's not a Ribika cat." He doesn't seem too bothered by that. Maybe he thinks she's close enough? Tabitha does introduce herself, it seems! Oh, those words of the Intergra Arms might catch Rayne's attention too. Since Asato's been sleeping in the trees in the park since he came to Twisted. He nods to the statement, though. Rayne flinches a bit away from the offered hand. "Uh... Nice to meet you..." she says, but still doesn't take Tabitha's hand. She then blinks as the name registers with her. "Wait... Tabitha Li-Bogard? You're... You're one of the potential council members!" She looks up from the hand to Tabitha's face in slight shock. "Oh, wow, I've actually been kinda wanting to meet you! I'm Rayne Hurris, uh, we might be working together in the future?" Nope... There's no thought of Integra arms now. This is kinda a big deal to Rayne. The catgirl looks up at Rayne after she's already plopped onto the ground. We warned you that was gonna happen. "...Council?" See, there's the thing. No one has told Tabitha yet. "That's a joke, right? Diablo disbanded the Council. I should know, I had ta go greet all th' old Council members." She glances at Asato with a look that screams, 'Is she crazy?' It lasts only a moment before she glances back and laughs, "I'm sorry, but ya gotta be mixin' me up with someone else." Asato blinks as Rayne reacts so. Oh, so Rayne knows Tabitha? He stays quiet, but when Tabitha looks in his direction, he shrugs. He has no idea either. He's not really aware of what goes on behind the scenes here. He doesn't know anything about this 'council'. But he does know that 'council' means something important. And generally something secret. Like the Elder of Kira. So, he stands up. He turns, about to leave, but then remembers walking off without saying anything is rude. "It sounds important. Secret." Pause. Looks around. "I'll be back." He's going to go sharpen his claws a while, let the important conversation happen. It's sort of been ingrained in him that he doesn't need to be around when the 'adults' are talking. Rayne blinks, looking rather confused. "Um..." /Wait, if she wasn't told, then... Crap, is this supposed to be a secret?!/ The rainbow haired girl looks a bit frightened, suddenly. "Um... Yeah... It was a bad joke intended for someone else..." Not the most convincing of covers... but when what she's covering isn't beleived, she's hoping the cover doesn't really matter. She nervously looks about, and... she really was distracted for a moment, she didn't even see Asato walk off. "Uhhh..." She frowns, now suddenly horribly self conscious.
Looking back up at Rayne, Tabitha gestures for her to sit. She might as well join them right? "Are you sure ya got my name right?" There's only two Li-Bogards who've been on Twisted after all. "Who told you it?" Rayne looks left, looks right, and sighs. "Some guy named Caliga," she replies, sitting dejectedly. "It was the only time I ever met him, though. He seemed....Odd and overly dramatic." She sets her art pad on the ground next to her and frowns down towards the ground. Well, Asato is going to clearly hear this one. "CALIGA?! FUCK HIM!!" Tabitha huffs angrily. "Don't trust a word he says! He tried ta 'train' me, right? Like I don't know how ta fight? Best he did was beat th' crap outta me an' try ta get me to hang back while Twisted got attacked by those monsters." She glowers angrily at the memory. "Sure. I fucked up. I let Christabella out, but it's not like I knew she was some kinda horrible monster." Oops. Probably shouldn't have said that part. Rayne blinks and retreats a bit. "...Yeah... I've gotten the idea from others that he's a bit of an asshole, actually.... Wait, you what?!" Her eyes widen at the admission of letting Christabella out. "Uhhh..." Suddenly she's feeling a bit less comfortable with the situation, and looks around again. "Well, um, you... at least are taking responsibility for it, I guess?" /I'm beginning to get the distinct feeling that I'm not doing any good at all right now./ Tabitha winces when Rayne calls her on Christabella, her ears drooping at the mention of it. "Well, yeeeeah. I mean, yeah kinda." She sulks a moment. "I thought she was trapped. I mean, she was - but I thought I was saving her. I thought she was a normal little girl. Until we got 'er out and all hell broke lose." She sighs again. "It was a mistake. I could say I'm sorry a thousand times, but it wouldn't do any good." The girl suddenly holds out her hand, palm upwards. Fire erupts from her fingertips - the shadows somehow converging into the flames creating some kind of orb. With a mischievous grin she laughs, "But I might have a few ideas how ta fix th' problem." Rayne says, "Look... everyone makes mistakes. Sure, some are bigger than others... The closest sized mistake I made to that involved screwing up- let's not talk about that..." She blinks a few times at the orb and accompanying grin and laugh. "Well, they've been less active lately, but... what?" Tabitha's smile remains on her face even after she wills the orb away. "My sister taught me how ta finally use my powers. I think I can track 'er. Christabella. If she's still around, maybe we can seal her away again for good." She sounds pretty confident in this. The lightshow put away, her attention returns to wherever Asato has gotten off to. "He's been gone awhile. Y'know, come ta think of it I didn't even see where he walked off to." Funny that. Asato is not visible, but the keen ear might be able to hear a soft, intermittent 'skrrrrik!' sound. It's pretty far, but it's quiet enough out here that it should be able to be heard, even by human ears, if one listens close enough. Seems he hasn't gone far. Rayne raises an eyebrow. "If you can do that, we'd all be very, very grateful. If you can also track down where the damn Xenomorphs are coming from, that'd be nice, too... they've been a bit more of an immediate threat recently." As Tabitha looks around for the catboy, Rayne sighs before shrugging. "Asato has a... tendency to do that. I'm not entirely certain what he did on his homeworld, but I'm starting to lean towards 'ninja.'" Tabitha listens for the sound as she nods her head at Rayne's words. "He seems the type." The rest of it she mulls over a bit before commenting on, but what she didn't expect was to hear a word she knew without knowing where. "Xenomorphs?" Blinkblinks. Why is she suddenly thinking of Johnny? "Some kinda armor plated things with two sets o' teeth?" Her eyes look kinda vacant as she describes them. Probably because she doesn't know, "...why do I know that?" Rayne says, "...You're lucky you don't know it from personal experience... Beware the little ones..." She shudders slightly at that. "Um... anyway... what were we talking about?" She blinks a bit, mentally rewinding the conversation some. "Oh... Yeah. Any help you could provide would be.... helpful."" Tabitha sighs at Asato's absence. She's really wearing her emotions on her sleeve tonight. "Um, oh. Yeah." That confidence crawls across her eyes again. "Pffft. Kotal knows me. I don't think he likes me much except for gettin' in Caliga's face. I'm here ta help!" Her voice suddenly quiets to a whisper, "...when I'm not battling split personalities an' time warps with dead family..." It's been a weird few months for her. "The things with the claws are horrible." Asato's voice sounds out from the darkness. He probably needs to stop doing that. Providing Rayne doesn't dropkick him for speaking up out of the dark like that all of a sudden, he returns to the illuminated area and sits down near Tabitha. Not near enough to touch her or violate personal space, but near enough that she can probably feel his warmth. "They made it wake up inside me." Oh yeah. He'd also mentioned something to that effect to Tabitha earlier. Rayne says, "Uhhh... yeah. Well... Kotal is..." she tilts her head, trying to find the right words. "Obsessed. Sometimes I wonder why he seems to favor me." She frowns, then shakes her head. "Okay, so... I'm guessing you don't give a crap what Kotal thinks, but the easing of tension between you two couldn't hurt, right? And that help would go along way toward-" She eeps slightly as Asato suddenly reappears. "Where in the galaxy did you run off to, Asato?" "I don't think there's any tension? He just doesn't care fer-" The comment and his sudden reappearance makes her lose that train of thought and smile. "Yay! He's back!!" She's not even going to question it anymore. This is clearly just something she'll have to put up with. "Welcome back, good sir. Feelin' better?" There was going to be a comment about feeling 'sharp' but he never actually said where he was going. "Over there." Asato points in a direction. There's nothing really over there. Just more trees. "I was sharpening my claws." He does that when he's nervous. Not that it's easy to tell when he's nervous anyway, since he always seems so awkward. The question of if he's feeling better gets a nod. And he scrapes his claws against the palm of his hand lightly as if checking them, making a soft scratching noise. Rayne says, "Right, well, I'm not of the same... uh...." She in the end sighs and hangs her head slightly. Lifting it again, she looks back over to Asato. "How does scratching up a tree actually sharpen them anyway? I mean... doing something like that would dull a blade, wouldn't it?" Tabitha finds herself leaning back on her palms again and stretching out. "Bone's different from a blade. It's less like flattening th' blade to an edge and more grindin' the edges ta be sharp." She pauses and looks to the side as she considers what she just said. "Wait, that's kinda the same thing..." With a shrug she dismisses it. Grinding her nails against a tree doesn't sound like something she'd want to do anyways. Suddenly she stretches her arms out and flops backwards onto her back, looking upwards at the simulated sky with a yawn. "...it might be time for me ta be headin' home finally." "They're not blades," Asato points out to Rayne's question. Tabitha explains it, and he nods. "Claws are brittle. The edges crack," he adds, looking to Rayne. "Scratching something hard chips the cracks away. Like chipping an edge on a stone knife." Wow, was that a cognizant sentence from the most socially awkward cat in Kira?! Well, it WAS about weapons, so that makes sense. He pauses at Tabitha's words. "Home?" Rayne says, "Huh... well, I guess that makes sense..." She looks up to the sky as well with a slight frown. "Hey... feel free to keep in touch, eh? If you don't want to talk to Kotal... and beleive me, I could understand why someone might not want to talk to Kotal.... I'm around there, too." She takes a deep breath and picks up her art pad again. "But for the moment... I think I wanna just draw and think for a bit." Tabitha smiles at Asato's words when they come close to what she tried to say. She wasn't completely wrong after all! Propping herself up on one elbow, she uses her other hand to point at the row of houses across the lake. "Over there. I live in one o' those houses. I just gotta cross th' bridge." Pushing herself back up, the girl nods at Rayne's words and pulls herself to her feet. "That... that might work. Lemme get back to you on that." She smiles warmly, "Rain, right? I can remember that." Asato nods as Rayne mentions keeping in touch. He puts his two cents in too, "...I'd like to talk to you again, too." Pause. "...If that's all right?" He says this almost timidly. He doesn't really have a lot of people to talk to, so having another-- particularly another feline-type person-- is a thought he likes the sound of. He stands too, as Tabitha does. Not to follow her, though. He heard Rayne say she wanted to draw and think, so he's planning to leave her to her quiet. Rayne says, "Oooh, an actual house? I always forget those are out there, to be honest... And I think I prefer my apartment like it is..." She glances at Asato. "...In the Integra arms." Maybe she did pick up on that earlier? She looks back to Tabitha, at any rate. "Well, I'll keep an eye and and ear out for you, then." Tabitha chuckles at Asato's words. "Perfectly fine by me. I'll try ta be around more. If nothin' else ya know I'm in the only house over there that's lived in." Her voice lowers a little, "It's a little weird, honestly." She glances back to Rayne and nods, "You can get one-a th' houses from the Arms too if you ever wanna. It's what Sun did ta get ours." With an unexpected yawn mangling her last word she smiles back at both of them as she starts to walk towards the bridge that leads across the lake. "Nice meetin' you guys!" | |
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