Such a Bedraggled Kitty... (Open, Random Social)

(Random Social means no fighting against players, but NPCs and random mobs is okay, and post order is catch-as-catch-can... This is purely for fun and quick posting)

She didn't think she'd been walking all *that* close to the edge of the wall in that flying city... but the next thing she knew she was falling paws over tail through the air to land with a huge splash in what had to be a river. She fought to regain her senses and find her way to the surface, breaking through to the air with a pitiful, mewling cry.

Cats did not like getting wet! Not even this cat who remembered what it was like to swim like a fish through the oceans. She wasn't a fish this time, though, she was a cat... a cat with golden and pink fur and eyes of two different colors, one blue and one purple.

She cat-swam her way to the bank and crawled up onto the sands, falling down on them with another mewl of frustration and unhappiness. She'd survived... but she was soaked now... and so tired...

Lar was enjoying his peaceful day. he didn't expect to see a little cat plummet off a wall and into the river nearby where he was resting. As the person fell, he got up quickly and ran over to where the cat had already pulled itself out of the water. As he got closer he noticed the cats unique eyes, 'Heh.. thats pretty cool lookin..", he thought to himself.. Lar wondered how it would have managed to fall off the wall but that wasn't important right now.

"Hey there little kitty, are you ok?" he asked as he approached. He knelt down close by and took his cloak and a candy bar that he had bought earlier and looked down at the soaking wet creature.

"Here you go, get dry with this. And here eat this.. it's not much but its all i have right now." He offered hit a comforting smile. It had been quite some time that Lar had seen an animal that wasn't trying to eat him. That happened more than he would have liked... He looked at her and saw that she wasn't about to keel over and finally asked it, without really expecting some kind of reply. "How did you manage to fall off that wall? Are you hurt at all?". Lar gently draped the cloak around the furry beast and broke off a piece of the candy bar offering it to it with the hopes of not getting several claws lodged in his approaching hand.

The little cat looked up at the person who was speaking so kindly to her. He looked... very strange with his spiky hair going every which way on his head and the really strange clothes... but he was a very nice person even as strange as he was. He picked her up and wrapped her in a cloak and tried to dry her off after her unexpected tumble into the water.

She sniffed at the man and then sniffed at the candy bar and meowed happily. She knew that smell. That was chocolate and nuts and soft stuff that was sticky-sweet. She liked that smell. She took a few bites of the candy bar piece which was offered to her and then proceeded to climb onto the man, exploring him nose-first.

This was a fascinating two-foot person...

Lar was shocked as the little cat began to explore him with furious sniffing. It made him laugh though, something he was not accustomed to. 'Hey there.. be careful.. don't fall off." he warned the little kitty. Lar picked up the cat off himself and back into his lap, petting it gently. "Hmm.. wonder if someone's looking for you.. Maybe I should take you back to your owner, hey little fella?" Lar said as he stroked the cat from the top of the head down to the tail. Sitting and thinking more, he quickly broke off another piece of the candy and offered it to the little cat. "You got a name little fella?" He asked it, even though he knew silence would be his reply. Talking to the little beast made him happy none the less. Gently grabbing the Kitty with his cloak he carefully stood up to not lose his balance, and then they both end up in the river, and began to walk in what he thought was the way to get into the city. He had never been here before and was not super good with directions, but he wasn't extremely worried.. He had a little kitty to keep him company now. Looking down at the small creature in his arms, he smiled again, "I hope i'm going the right way back you your home... Or we could be taking the really scenic route, hey?" he said as he gave a slight giggle.

The little cat didn't mind being lifted up and carried in the nice man's arms, wrapped in the cloak. She could probably find a way to tell the man her name, but she kinda liked the way he didn't seem to expect her to really answer, even though he was talking like she could.

She wasn't certain that she really liked the way he seemed to presume that she was male, though...

She did like the way he giggled, though. It was a happy sound. She liked happy sounds. And she really liked the feeling that she wasn't alone anymore. She watched the world as they walked, smelling the air as they went and purring contentedly in his arms.

After about 15 minutes of walking and feeling like they weren't getting any closer, Lar stopped walking. He wasn't tired, but he was thirsty.. "Hold on little guy, I need a drink" he said to his new friend. As he put the little cat down he noticed that the cat almost had a look of frustration on its face and Lar took a quick second to think.. "Guy!", the thought almost instantly popped into his head.. "I'm sorry little girl", he said to her. "I didn't know!" He gave a half smile at her and felt kind of bad about how he spoke earlier. Offering her another piece of candy he knelt down to her level, "can you ever forgive me?" now smiling fully as he held out the small treat. With his free hand he reached into his bag and pulled out his bottle of water, holding it up to the light and giving it a slight shake. The last few drops glistened in the light. "Huh.. should've filled up at the river... not very smart of me.." Looking down at his new companion he took the bottle and tilted it up for her to drink the last bit. "Here.. you have it, i'll be ok until we can refill the bottle. Then we can both fill our bellies!", he said to her as sweetly as he could. But the truth was, he was really thirsty, and the sun beating down on him wasn't making it easier by any means.

The cat seemed to chuckle at his confusion. When he set her down she set to grooming her fur and setting herself to rights again.

When he knelt down to beg her forgiveness she looked up at him and calmly touched his nose with hers, purring contentedly and then, with a look of impishness in her bi-colored eyes, she licked his nose with her rough tongue.

She really liked this man. He was fun. He could be a good friend. He even offered her the last of the water in the bottle. She nudged the bottle back towards him and wound around his hand, rubbing her fur against him. He was nice.

Lar smiled as she nudged the bottle back towards him, and drank the last small gulp. It felt so refreshing even though it was such a small amount. Sitting down against a tree in the shade, he took her and help her comfortably petting her softly. "Gee.. why cant i meet more people as friendly as you?" Lar said with a smile. He was fairly tired now, and the shade relaxed him. Not tired enough to sleep, but he would enjoy this break. He really liked this cat.. But he always liked animals like this. They never looked at his eyes or clothing and accuse him of terrible things that they claimed Shinra and SOLDIER did to them. This was nice, he didn't have to explain himself to a new person, nor hear accusations of terrible deeds. He could just be himself, and for once.. he really was happy. He picked the cat up and gave it a small kiss on the head, then looking into her eyes, "More humans could learn alot from you.. You see people for who and what they really are, don't ya?" He still had the same smile from earlier. He put her down in his lap again, and began to pet the back of her head again. No longer worrying about the stress of everyday life. "An amazing thing animals can do to a person." he thought to himself.

The cat seemed to really like being held. It was calming to the man, as she could plainly tell, and she certainly did like the feeling of security that came with being held and petted. It was part of the reason she liked being a cat. People tended to open up and show their true nature around a cat.

The sun was definitely warm in this strange world. She rather liked the warm sun, though. It enticed her to simply stretch out and sleep, though she wasn't exceptionally tired, just worn out from fighting the water.

She could tell that she was going to have to find a way to be a fish again if she were going to do much swimming, but that was a task for another day.

But that was when she saw a butterfly fluttering about nearby and her attention focused completely on the delicate insect. She started to stalk forward... but just as she pounced, the butterfly escaped her grasp and she meowed in frustration. Gosh darn it, was she never going to be able to catch one of the fluttery things?

Lar watched his little friend stretch out on his lap and he gave her a scratch behind the ear. The heat of the sun seemed less intense when he ignored it and paid more attention to his new friend. As she stalked away from his lap he looked up and saw a butterfly. He gave a laugh as she pounced and missed. The meow of frustration she gave made him smile.

He stood up quickly and hopped over to where the butterfly was and quickly and softly cupped his hand around the butterfly. trapping it in the gage his hand had made, and avoiding crushing it. He walked to the kitten and knelt down beside her showing her the small insect. "You didn't actually wanna catch this little thing did you? You might have hurt it." He said smiling. He held it down for her to sniff a few times then stood up and released it and watched it flutter up and away. "Man.. Imagine what it would be like to fly...", looking down at h is little friend "I bet you'd like it too, hey girl?" He stepped back over to the tree and sat again, grabbing the last bit of the candy bar and broke off 2 more pieces, one for each of them.

The cat sniffed at the butterfly held in the cage of the man's hands. It was so pretty... when would she be able to get her wings back? She missed being able to fly... There was such freedom in the skies above and she missed that sense of freedom.

Then he let the butterfly go and it fluttered into the sky and she heaved a sigh of envy. She wanted butterfly wings... she wanted her feathered wings, too, but it would be nice to be a fairy with butterfly wings, too.

So many possibilities...

She nosed around the man's hand at the bit of candy, enjoying the treat. Even if she couldn't fly, she could still be carried around and that she liked very well indeed. She purred contentedly and rubbed her head against his hand. He was a very nice friend.

"Well girl, I suppose we should get going before we both cook in the heat" Lar said to his new friend as he stood up, packed his things and then picked up her up carrying her along with him. After about a hour of traveling, They had made it firmly into the City. Lar was completely unfamiliar with this city, but tried his best to navigate it's terrain but was trying his best. "Hmm.. I have no idea where to go, girlie.... Do you?" he said to his companion. The look Lar had on his face proved his confusion. He stopped off the side of the main road and looked around trying to get is bearings. "Hmm... If i lost my cat.. where would I look first.." Lar said quietly as he looked around. "Why the heck would I leave a cat unattended here in the first place anyway?". Lar held the Cat to eye level with himself and looked at it curiously. "There's something very different about you.. Isn't there?" He questioned to his friend. By now he had known that this cat was far more intelligent than any animal he had met before. Cats were smart, yes, but he didn't think that they were this smart. 'What's your story, girl?"

The cat didn't answer his questions, insightful though they were. He was a very smart person to realize that she had secrets, but he truly didn't believe that a cat was going to give up her secrets all that easily, now did he? She batted playfully at his nose, being careful to keep her claws sheathed. She didn't want to accidentally hurt her new friend.

He was much too fun.

But then she spotted something in the distance that had her tilting her head curiously. Was that...? She twisted in his grip, quickly working her way loose and landed on her paws on the ground and was off in a moment, weaving her way through the legs of the people around, chasing... something.

As she jumped out of Lar's arms he now realized that if this cat actually had any kind of owner that this is probably how they lost her. But a part of him figured that that was not the case. As she ran he gave pursuit as best he could. Running through crowds was fairly easy for him, it was much like a battlefield but with less death involved. Just dodge the people standing. Lar kept one eye on his friend as she ran after whatever it was she was chasing. Lar increased his rate of chase, but not to the point of catching her, he was now curious to what she was chasing. It was almost fun for him. He hadn't been in a chase for quite some time.. too bad he was only chasing after a cat. The thought of that made him laugh as he ran. Lar was trying his best to keep up, but the streets became busy with people and eventually he was unable to keep the pace. Lar eventually had to slow down causing him to lose sight of his little friend. "Aww damnit!" he thought to himself. Squeezing his way through the crowd he began looking every which way for the cat. Maybe, he thought, the cat was tired of him and tried to escape. But then that wouldnt seem right, since she took off after something, so it seemed. Lar figured he would keep looking, for anything, his little friends safety.

The cat actually wasn't aware of the moment that her friend lost track of her. She wasn't really trying to escape him, she just was focused on following that tantalizing hint of something familiar...

But that was the exact sort of distraction that she couldn't really afford. She was, after all, a highly unusually patterned cat, and there were those who liked to collect oddities in any world. The next thing she knew there was a cage surrounding her and a large being was lifting her up in it.

"Aww, not gonna hurt you, little kitty," the being said with a thick voice, "you'll fetch me a pretty gil, now won't you?"

She hissed in anger. This was not in her plans.

Lar would be able to hear a crash and a yowl of anger from one of the shops nearby, and then a shout of disbelief.

As he continued his search his ears perked at the noise he heard coming from the shop not too far away from where he stood. Not normal sounds for a shop to have. He really wanted to continue the search for the cat, but someone could be in serious danger. He wouldn't be comfortable with himself if he didn't investigate. Its what a real SOLDIER member would do, protect the people. And he figured if no one was in any danger, he could ask about his little friend. Lar worked his way through the crowd as quickly and safely as he could, and came to the shop. He figured knocking would be a waste of time to knock, so he pushed the door open and entered the room quickly.

What he found was probably not what he expected.

The shopkeeper, a piggish looking Ivalian native, was lying on the floor with a mark on his face that looked like the shape of a dogwood bloom imprinted from some sort of magical blow and standing over him was a very young teenage girl, roughly thirteen or fourteen years old, with cat ears on the top of her head and a long cat-tail lashing angrily from side to side. Her hair was blonde and pink mixed and she was holding, of all things, a wok in both hands much in the manner that someone would hold a sword.

The bowl of the wok was pointed towards the unconscious shopkeeper.

"Stick me in a cage, will you? I'll show you what happens when you go putting people in cages!" She swung back, as if to launch another attack and noticed Lar entering the shop. Her eyes were the same blue and purple as the cat he'd met. She immediately calmed and lowered the wok, taking a step back.

"Uhm... hi." There were the shattered remains of a wooden cage scattered over the floor. "I guess you're looking for the cat that just came through... she ran out the back. If you hurry, you might can catch her. This meanie," she toed the shopkeeper angrily, "scared her badly."

Lar looked very shocked at the situation that was playing out in front of him. This catgirl had just layed out a man at least twice her size... with a cooking utensil? Lar wanted to burst into laughter.. The girl was very able to defend herself. Why she was in a cage however seemed to boggle his mind. As he walked in the girl explained the story of where his little friend before. He nodded to the girl "Thank you.", he said softly to her.

As he began to make his way to the back door, he stopped suddenly. Something about the girl seemed strangely familiar. He turned around and walked back towards her and looked her over quickly. Lar had a feeling that there was more similarities than the obvious cat similarities. And thats when it clicked! The eyes! They were the same! One blue, one purple, Lar would never miss something that unique.

"Is that so.. Right out that door?" Lar said to her. Not waiting for a reply Lar then spoke up, "So you made me carry you the entire way?" he said with a smile on his face, giving a slight laugh. "Oh c'mon! I know its you! Your eyes gave you away!", Lar was now hoping his accusations were correct, or that frying pan might fid his way towards his face next.

The girl blushed a deep red and the wok dropped to her side, and slightly behind her as she fidgeted nervously. "Please don't be angry with me... it's... it's fun to be a little cat sometimes..."

Then her expression grew angry again and she kicked at the unconscious shopkeeper again. "If it weren't for meanies like this... this baka." She grumbled. "He was gonna sell me to some oddities collector..."

She then flounced her hair as she turned away from him and shoved the wok into a belt pouch, obviously some form of zip space because the pouch was nowhere near large enough for the "weapon" and yet held it without deforming. She smiled at Lar, then, with a cheerful expression on her face. "So, you know anything fun to do?"

Lar smiled and laughed as he let out a "I KNEW IT!", the expression on his face was not one of anger. "I'm not mad, that's an awesome trick!" Lar then remembered about how open he was towards the cat and kinda at this moment felt kind of silly. But it was too late to hide it now. He walked towards her "accidently" kicking the man on the ground as he walked by and gave him a very sarcastic "Sorry buddy...". Lar put one hand on her head and rubbed it playfully. "Don't worry. I wouldn't let him sell my little friend." Lar gave her a reassuring smile.

Lar pondered her question. "Hmm.. well to be honest, I've never been here before. I'm sure there's gotta be something fun to do here though. If you want we can go find something to do?". He looked around and made the choice that they probably shouldn't linger here any longer, and took her by the hand and escorted her out of the shop back to the street. "So.. little cat friend.. do you have a name yet?" Lar asked her smiling. "I'm Lar.. If i didn't say earlier. It's nice to meet you again.". Lar felt as if he knew this young girl for quite some time. She made him smile and feel all around good. He hoped that she would hang around with him some more, since she seemed nice enough and knew her way around this place a bit better than himself.

She grinned at him as they walked away from the unfortunate sap of a shopkeeper. He'd wake up in a couple hours with a blinding headache, but none the worse for wear. "Good to meet you, Lar. I'm Mairi."

She looked around at the city and took a deep breath, sampling all the smells at once with a smile on her face. "I've never been here before, either. I'm exploring places 'cause that's what Adventurers do. I just figured it would be easier to explore as a cat... easier to hide in small places if I needed to in order to get away from something."

She pouted slightly. "Didn't expect to fall into the river, though."

She looked around. "Hmm... what to do, what to do..." She tapped one finger against the side of her mouth as she considered the question. "Well, there's a cave nearby, I think... could be interesting to see what's in there... or we could go shopping, but I don't know if boys like shopping as much as girls do..."

"The cave, the cave, please, please, the cave!" Lar said to her. Lar didn't mind shopping, when it was for himself, but he couldn't imagine having to go shopping with a hyperactive cat-teen. Lar looked her over and thought about his hasty answer to her though. "Are you able to go adventuring like that? I mean a shopkeeper who's not expecting it is different than some of the things I've seen in the wilderness. I just want you to be safe is all.", Lar blushed softly as he spoke. He didn't wanna seem overprotective, but he cared for this girl. He would feel awful if anything had happened to her and he wasn't able to help her. Lar figured he should keep his eyes out for a shop that sells real weapons or armor, at least something that could protect her. "Lets see if these shops have anything that you could actually use... other than that frying pan." Lar said as he gave her a chuckle and rubbed her head. "Maybe a good spear like me?" he said jokingly. Walking through the crowd, he tried his best to guide their way through the mob. "Geeze.. so many people.. why would anyone wanna walk through this?" Lar was so focused on trying to get through the crowd that he walked right by the shop he had been looking for in the first place.

Mairi giggled at his protective worry. It was sweet, really it was. "My wok isn't like other woks. It was special made for me by a Galka craftsman back on Vana'diel. It's actually designed from a 'racket' that the mages of Gaia use sometimes. I'm not made for actual hand-to-hand stuff, so I gotta find other ways to lay a smackdown on the meanies out there."

She was walking towards the gates and grumbled a bit at the crowds. "Gosh darn it, I can't show you with so many people around here..." she sighed and continued, "but I can use the wok to throw energy at people. It's as strong as my magic is, which is cool, actually."

She paused to look at some jewelry for a moment, wondering what the necklaces would look like on her. "Uhm... yeah," she looked up again, "I'm a full-fledged Adventurer of Vana'diel. I'm a healer, actually. It's a useful sort of ability what with all the other Adventurers getting themselves knocked around, you know."

Lar stopped on the streets after hearing her explanation of her equipment. "Oh.. well thats good then.. guess I can stop searching around like an idiot then eh?" He said to her with a polite smirk on his face. Upon nearing one of the shops, Lar noticed out of the corner of his eye that Mairi was looking at some jewelry. He knew that look, too. He had the same look when he saw something he wanted too. "Ahh, Hell.. Why do I do these things to myself?" he spoke aloud, and took Mairi by the hand and led her into the shop. Once inside he looked around and saw several beautiful pieces of jewelry. Sighing he looked down at Mairi and turned his almost sadness into a smile and told her "Ok.. you get ONE piece to buy.. so choose wisely!", and gave her a small rub on the top of her head. He was terrified of what little fortune she would dig up, but he didn't care.. she earned it after her day, and he knew he could very well afford it with all the SOLDIER pay that he had saved over the SEVERAL years of service.

Mairi smiled happily when Lar told her that she could pick out one piece for herself. It was so nice of him! He was... he was just like an older brother and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had someone who cared for her like he was an older brother.

She had lots of sisters, after a fashion... three of them as a matter of fact, but she hadn't seen them in a very long time. And that wasn't even counting the Mithra family she'd left behind when she became an Adventurer.

Of course, she didn't have any brothers as a Mithra. Mithra didn't have boys very often so she had lots of adopted moms and adopted aunts and adopted sisters... but she hadn't had an adopted brother.

She rather liked the feeling.

So she looked through the necklaces and the earrings and the rings and finally settled her eyes on one necklace in particular. It was a ribbon, of sorts, that looked as though it had three silver feathers dangling from it. The ribbon would tie at the back of the neck, like a collar. It was so pretty, especially since Mairi missed her own wings terribly. She'd lost them before she was born, and the scars where they had been were barely visible on her back... but they still itched sometimes.

"I like that one, Lar..." she pointed at the collar-necklace. "It's really pretty."