[An alleyway] Like a cat outta hell!

[Winston]

Like a cat outta hell!

Thread Inspiration

I have taken the follow job from the bounty board:

Job Number & Name: #10 Cassander is missing!
Location: Scalvoris Town
Details: Miss Berry Hempel, a respectable confectioner, is desperate. Her prized and beloved tomcat Cassander - whose name does not have anything to do with King Cassander of Rynmere, she insists - has been missing for several trials. Will you find him for her?
Skills Required: None
OOC Requirements/ Notes: None.
Hazard Level: Low.
Timeframe: Onoing.
Pay/ Reward: +1 WP to your next wealth thread. Miss Hempel will also reward the finder with a cake, or a box of cookies or pastries of their choice.
Additional Info: Solo, Collab, or GST! This is an opportunity to be quirky if you want!

Winston and cats did not get along, it was a long running deal his nature had with the larger predatorial creatures of Scalvaris to be nervous of attack at all times, just in cast of feline assault.

While dogs and various other carnivorous denizen of the land, and sea for that matter, often took a liking to small, fury, scampering things for lunchen, most of them (dog in particular) tended to be more woofie and far less sneaky. Not like the hawks and tabbies of the world that either swooped down on you from above of leapt from tall grass without warning like death ninja, it was far harder to see these coming and far more important to do all you could to not look like prey. As such, he scampered down the street suited and booted in his usual attire in pursuit of a four legged friend, a Cat named Cassander.

Such that it was, on a trial that seemed to perpetually stab at any crack in your warm winter armour of wool and cotton wrappings, that Kotton turned a corner to a yowling ball of high velocity, glowing fur that all but took out his leg as it rocketed beneath his foot like a white and ginger striped rocket that left the most unusual trail of rainbow coloured glitter in its wake.

No sooner had the cat come, narrowly avoiding becoming attached to the man's foot like some living slipper, it was gone and a second small furry creature arrived. This time however, it was wearing clothes! Panting furiously, it let out a great squeak of surprise... "AHHH!" And a general tumbling and stream of apologies as the (apparently talking) well dressed ferret stumbling into Kotton's foot, narrowly managing to avoid tumbling to the ground as he bounced off the man's shin with a firm and rather uncomfortable *thud*.

Despite its small size and fluffy appearance, the impact came as if from a solid bar of metal

. "OOF! By Ol'Tuck's leathery nut-sa... OH! Sarry-sarry! Me soh sarry! Ar yuh oh-kay?" The tiny Cadouri looked up at the man, then off in the direction the cat hat thundered (there was the sound of a dustbin lid being scattered to the ground somewhere off in the distance) and back at Kotton again. He was obviously very distracted by the escaping animal, but also quite mortified for having struck the stranger... For the time being the latter of these two pressing emotions was winning over as he continued to apologize. No lasting damage had been done, but his shin might have a small ferret-head-shaped bruise in the morning.

"Me soh sarry... Me wus nat payin' attenshun... tuh where me wuz going..." He explained, still gasping for air as he waited for Kotton to confirm he was not going to accost the ferret for his transgression. He glanced off in the direction of the cat and sighed, deciding it was no use trying to catch up now.

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[Kotton]

.

It was concerning to Kotton that the trials were already so cold. Yes, he understood the changes of the seasons. Yes, he knew that warmth was followed with chill. And yes, he could comprehend that as time passed, the season went on and on further into what made it that season, hence why Vhalar was Vhalar and not Ymiden or Saun. Still, he would rather still be in Saun, even through the heatwaves and the sweat and the grime that came from working in a place that had terrible air flow.

He had bundled up for his walk through town and was now holding himself tight, arms crossed over his midsection as though he were giving himself a big hug just to keep the heat in. He gazed casually at the sky and how cloudy it had become. The sun had seemed it was time to quit for the trial even though it was still high-noon. It was when he was looking up at the sky that he managed to make contact with something unusual in the face of simply walking down the streets of Scalvoris.

He cried out as his foot connected with something both fleshy but entirely not. By instinct, the young man had retracted his first most foot, taking several steps back and bringing his arms up in defense? Offense? Surrender? He wouldn’t know until he caught sight of exactly what he had collided with.

It took Kotton two blinks of an eye to register what he was seeing. His head was still in the clouds- quite literally- his eyes slowly readjusting from what had once been clouds and blooms of sun attempting to shine through to the gravel underfoot and what stood there. And there, underfoot (though he would make no joke lest he finalize good companionship with the fellow) was a Cadouri, blabbering and gabbing about curses or swear words or uncles with strange private parts.

“I-I’m sor- Oh, my apologies,” Kotton stuttered, lowered his hands so they were in a position that meant less surrender and more “let me help you”, then stopped abruptly as he realised his mistake. This was no helpless animal, but someone who was independent and in full control of what it was like to be living trial to trial in a place such as Scalvoris.

Kotton noticed the Cadouri’s distraction and hazarded a look at where they had their gaze last. Was that a flick of a furry tail or just a fabrication of his imagination?

“No, no, I should be looking more closely to where I am going. Pardon me… sir.” He concluded his sentence without so much as a blip of a question mark. He was still trying to assess the genders of the Cadouri but was ninety-two percent confident he knew how to correctly.

He assessed the little creature by bringing up his distracted demeanor and lack of attention, his inability to focus on Kotton and instead look off into the wayside where wooden corner met alleyway.

“Are you lost, perhaps? Or have you lost something?” he asked with furrowed brows.

Should he kneel so he was eye level with the guy or would that be offensive? He had only met one Cadouri in all his life and that had been more recent than when he had shaved his chin, so this was all new territory for him.

“Please allow me the courtesy of knowing your name,” the young man continued as he tried to find his new aquaintaince’s line of sight. “If you’ve lost something, I have time to spare to help you find it. You see, I’m just taking a walk through town to clear my head. Could really use the company if you’re so inclined.”

Kotton scrounged away in his left pocket, where a mid-sized hole had started to accumulate from the very same movements he was doing now. Out of it he pulled a singular piece of papyrus. Between his forefinger and middle finger was a pencil no greater than the width of an apple. He quickly set the pencil to the paper and began to write down this encounter of his with hopes of it becoming more than a simple ‘run in’ that amounted to nothing more than a ‘get out of my way, sonny’ or ‘watch where you’re going, prick’.

The young man turned and looked down at the Cadouri and gave him a tiny smile. “I think I saw it head that way,” he announced after a flick of his wrist and a point of his index finger.

[Winston]

Cake fixes all sins!

The more Kotton tried to take the blame for providing obstruction to the ferret's careening, the more he settled into the conversation with a smile. "Haha! Well, yuh very kind tuh say dat, bot yuh wus nat de one ronnen around blind carnas."

The ferret insisted with an accent so thick it could hold a spoon erect in your coffee.

Finally straightening himself up completely, he removed something from his pocket and his suit turned from a cloaking grey/brown to a bright and vibrant

collection of purples, blues and greens

. "OH! Af cars, where es me mannas, naw?! *Ehem* Me name es Winstaaan Millar, an et's me great pleasure tuh meetcha." He gave a rather neat bow from the waist, as if meeting a dignitary. "Me insist yuh accept me apology... OH! An per'aps a cake?" He said as he turned to [get-post=197673 excerpt=Chest's Bag of Holding]his pack[/get-post] and produced, of all things, a perfectly undamaged and truly immaculately baked cupcake. The confection looked GIANT in the arms of the one foot tall Cadouri, but was only a few mouthfuls for a fully grown human. "Dem will warm yuh an dis cold trial" He said with a persuasive smile.

If he accepted the cake, he would find the rainbow coloured icing was warm to the touch and filled his whole body with warmth despite the cold, as if sitting beside a comfortable fire. Also, as the flavours melted in his mouth, there was an interesting 'crackle' and 'pop' sensation in his mouth. The ferret would simply watch in delight.

People 'out for a walk' had things to deal with. Winston himself was a great believer in the power of ignoring one's problems for a bit when looking for a solution and taking but a moment to decide that the man either genuinely wanted to help, or needed it, he nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, wud yuh? Dat would be great! Me es lookin' tuh catch dat cat we jost saw go by. Et's called Cassander an' far some reasan et's ron away from 'ome. Ol' Miss Hempel es most sad an' me said me wud track et down ef me cun."

As he pulled out some paper and a writing implement, the cadouri chuckled in a jolly fashion. "A detective, aye? Well, me lock seems tuh be wid meh tutrial." He winked at the man. "Cun yuh tread lightly?" He asked, conversationally as he wondered past Kotton and stopped at where the cat had left a faint trail of glitter upon the floor. "We cun start wid dis..." He said as he gestured towards the floor. "Me gave 'im some alchemical cat-treats tuh allow meh tuh track et mar easily... Dis trail will fallow et anywhere et goes far a break ar two." He explained as he looked ahead in a manor that might look second nature to the experienced hunter. "Shall we?"

If the man, which towered over the ferret like a giant, consented the two of them would set off around the corner where the cat had vanished...

As they went, the ferret offered tips and observations as they went. Honestly, the trail was quite simple to follow thanks to the trail the ferret has created with his alchemy, but this didn't stop him explaining the prints and marked left by the speeding feline nonetheless. "...me nat sure why, bot et seems a lat mar wreckless den et shud. 'ere, look. Dis es nat the movement af a casual escape. Me 'ave been fallowin' et far a while an' et seems tuh be goin' somewhere specific."

As the progressed, the ferret set about making sure the man felt at ease and probed casually, in a non-invasive fashion about his trial... and his troubles. "Soh, wat do yuh do far a livin'? Me assume yuh nat usually 'angin' around dark alleys at night?" He asked with a playful tone as they turned the corner and peered carefully around it.

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