Thief in Distress (Tara)

[Etrius]

23 of Winter, 511 AV

The sun had recently set, leaving behind lines of orange and red on the horizon. The forest ahead was dark and foreboding. The sounds of nighttime flowed through the trees, creating a eerie, yet somehow calming feel. Etrius weaved between the trees, following his senses. He finally came upon a small campsite, almost totally concealed in the darkness. A horse near the tent looked up to examine Etrius and stomped its hoof in greeting. "Hello to you too, Iona."

Etrius looked around the campsite. He dropped his pack near the entrance of the tent and went a small ways deeper into the forest once more. He picked up a few small sticks and logs and placed them in his hastily made fire pit. Returning to his pack he pulled a flint and steel out and sat on a log next to the pit. After putting a few leaves under the sticks he struck the flint. Nothing. He struck again. Still nothing. He was beginning to get aggravated and the more he tried, and failed, the more frustrated he became. Finally, giving up and tossing the flint back towards his pack, he opened his hand. He closed his eyes and pushed the djed through his arm, feeling it flow, until a small, shimmering ball of liquid res materialized in his open palm. He ignited it and stared at the flames.

Fire was truly a wondrous thing. It had the power to both give life and warmth and healing. And it also had the power to destroy, hurt, and kill. Finished with his pondering he tossed the flames into the fire pit, setting the leaves and sticks on fire. Placing himself on the ground, he leaned his head against the log, feeling the warmth from the fire, and closed his eyes. Peace was something you didn't get a lot of in this world and he was glad to experience it now.

[Tara]

Tara smelled the smoke first before anything else. A camp! she thought in delight. A camp meant money, food and also warmth, seen as they had a fire. Tara crept forward slowly, being careful not to step on a twig or alert whoever may be at the camp; they may not be friendly towards those like Tara. As she got closer the camp came into view. There was a man with his tent and a horse. He was sitting beside a fire. She smelled the air and a familiar scent drifted towards her. Etrius she recalled the name with precision. She slowly moved forward a little, with a light step so as not to alert the man. She saw his bag flung near the entrance to the tent. Tara did not want to resort to using reimancy again, seeing as only recently she experienced quite the overgiving.

Thinking about then reminded Tara of the silver necklace that hung around her neck. She held the heart shaped charm gently in her fingers. It felt strange, alien almost.

She waited until he would not be able to get even the glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye and then she shifted. A blurry array of lights engulfed her and dissolved her and reformed a small marbled silver cat. The cat crept forward, body low and close to the ground. Her clothes were abandoned where she shifted. She would pick them up on her way back. Her bag and her bow and arrows were stored inside a tree which Tara had sealed to perfection, making sure that no one would steal from the clever little thief. Her necklace still hung around her neck though.

She snuck a little closer and then started to figure out exactly how she’d go about this. She decided to create a distraction. She let loose the horse with sharp claws, but it refused to run. It simply stood there, nibbling on some grass growing in the forest. Huffing a little Tara tried to figure out another plan. She was about to just dash in and grab the bag when Etrius’ horse turned around to sniff the little cat. This gave Tara a fright though. She spun around; her back arched hissing at the horse. Then she realized she’d made a mistake.

[Etrius]

A loud hiss ripped through the night air. Etrius' eyes snapped open and he quickly spun around towards the source of the sound. Crouched with one hand on the ground and his gauntlet hand open and drawn back, he was ready to leap at whatever came at him. Only... nothing attacked. He surveyed the area again. There was nothing but his undisturbed tent and horse sniffing at a bush. He crept toward the area, still ready to defend himself at any moment. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't figure out what.

Iona was still sniffing at the bush. Maybe she found something? That's when Etrius saw them. Two yellow eyes, glowing brightly in the light of the fire, staring right back at him. He froze for a second then relaxed. It was just a little animal, probably got spooked by something and hid. What was it? A cat? He couldn't tell. The eyes were the only things about the creature he could see. He crouched down in front of the bush. "Hey there. You gave me quite a fright, little one." The eyes remained where they were.

Etrius extended his free hand in hopes that the creature would sniff it but the eyes lurched back, retaining the distance between it and his hand. C'mon, Etrius, you don't even know if this thing is feral. He stood and walked to his pack. Fishing through it he found a small chunk of meat and pulled it out. Turning and crouching again he held it out toward the bush smiling warmly. "C'mere, little one. I got somethin' for ya." He scolded himself internally. Idiot, that's YOU'RE food! When are you gonna have a chance to buy more? But he shrugged off the chastising thought. He always did have a soft spot for the small furry ones.

[Tara]

Tara saw the man approaching but recoiled when he offered his hand, however when he returned to the bush with food her perspective changed. Warily she crept forward. Her stomach growled, it had been a while since she’d eaten. Not since two days ago. Her silver fur became visible as she slinked out, shimmering in the soft moonlight. Cautiously she stretched out her neck and took the chunk of meat from Etrius’ hand and took a couple paces back. When she was satisfied that the distance was big enough she scoffed down the meat, revelling in the taste. She turned her pale eyes back up to the man. She wondered if he had any more food.

Letting that thought go she decided to first see if she could trust him to not kill her. For all she knew he had a thing for cat pelts. Her tail balanced uncertainly in the air. She was unsure whether she should stay and see if he had more food or to make a run for it while she still could. Tara’s near empty stomach ended up making the decision for her. She slowly padded a little closer to Etrius, stretching out her neck and sniffing tentatively. His hand smelled of food but she was sure that was the meat he had just given her. The thought crossed her mind to shift into her human form but she dispelled it. This man seemed to have a thing for cats so she’d rather keep it that way. If he found out she was kelvic he may not retain any pity for her, since it was her own fault that she was now confined to outside the city gates.

Tara was curious though. Had they managed to put out the fire? Had the woman survived? Were they looking for Tara? She shook away the questions. She would find the answers within good time but she would not find them now.

[Etrius]

"There's a good cat." Etrius' smile widened as the cat finished off its meal. Food truly was the way into an animal's heart. Kinda like me. That's how mom and dad would always reward me for a job well done. Food. He stared ad the cat with a sense of awe. He had never seen a cat like this before. It's fur almost shined in the moonlight, casting an ethereal aura around it. He gave a little chuckle when the cat looked back at him with wanting eyes. It was obviously still hungry, but too cautious to come close again.

It tread a little closer, sniffing the air near his hand. Etrius reached into his pack and was ripping off another small strip of meat when he saw it. A small gleam near the cat's neck. What the... He offered the meat to the cat but held his hand a bit closer to his body. As the cat drew closer the its neck gleamed again. He squinted, trying to see what it was. A collar? No... a necklace?" Did the cat already belong to someone?

Etrius stared at the cat as he slowly but two and two together. He looked into it's eyes as it stared up at him, wanting even more food. It's eyes were feral, catlike, piercing, familiar... TARA! Suddenly he was angry, angrier than he had been in a while. So angry he felt like killing someone. He lashed out with his gauntleted hand in an attempt to grab her by the scruff of the neck, taking care not to cut her with the claws on his gauntlet. Holding her close to his face, but not close enough to let her scratch him he yelled "You idiot! What are you doing here? Don't you know that half the petching city is looking for you?" He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. For all he knew he could just be screaming at a normal cat. A cat with refined tastes in jewelry albeit, but a cat nonetheless. He stared at it with his teeth barred. If this really was Tara, she would have a lot of explaining to do.

[Tara]

Tara hissed in surprise and lashed out with clawed paws, though missing his face by a couple inches. The man had suddenly become filled with rage upon recognizing her. Tara twisted out of Etrius’ grip and back up a little before shifting into her human form with a bright swirl of white lights. She looked up at Etrius, a cold and almost emotionless expression on her face. ”Well, originally I was here to see if I could get a bite to eat” she answered his question. ”And I had my suspicions that I was more or less wanted by the city, yes”. She did not seem to show much interest in the matter, she shrugged placidly as if the ordeal had flown over her head and was of little meaning to her. She grinned a little. ”It’s not as if they don’t have a reason to” she said.

Tara sat down and crossed her legs, seeming oblivious to the obvious anger that was going through Etrius. ”So it’s been a couple days; fill me in?” she requested. She wanted to know what was going on in Syliras. Usually she was not caught so she managed to keep track on any investigations but this time it was not the case and Tara was curious. ”How bad is the house? Did they manage to save the wife? Have they figured out that I killed the man?” she asked. He had already made clear that she was a big deal in the city, which pleased Tara. It was not often that she was the centre of attention and she enjoyed it.

[Etrius]

Etrius stared at her, still burning with rage. Tara's seeming apathy just made him even angrier. Did she really not care about what she had done? About what was going to happen to her if she got caught? He looked at the ground, steaming while she talked. "Well a bite to eat is what you petching got." He mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes and sat on the ground, hugging his knees as he listened. At the barrage of questions that came next Etrius looked at Tara and leaned back on his hands. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"There are wanted posters all over the city with your description on them. It's not every day a person burns one of the only buildings made out of wood almost completely to the ground." He huffed. He was calmer now. Still pissed. But calmer. "Yea, the lady is fine." he continued. "That's how they know exactly who to look for. And that's how they know you killed the man." He leaned forward, crossing his legs. "By her account you ripped his head off, tore out his heart, and feasted on his entrails. How much of THAT is true?"

"In fact I was about to ask the knights if I could go looking for you to collect your bounty. Guess that's out of the question now." He closed his eyes again and took deep breaths. Now that he was significantly calmer he lowered his voice to a quieter tone. Keeping his eyes closed he asked her another question. "So what are you going to do?"

[Tara]

Tara laughed as Etrius recalled the woman’s account. ”I’d say that’s a bit of an overstatement. I tore out his throat” she said, grinning a little. She leaned back against a tall tree growing near the camp. ”I never liked that woman anyway. Should of done her like I did the other one” she mused, more to herself than to Etrius. She was glad to hear that he was not going to hand her over to the Syliran knights. Though she didn’t trust him to be telling the truth it did mean that there was more of a possibility that he would be on her side. Anyway, if he told them now she would have a chance to run for it.

”I’m not sure. I think I’ll stick around for a little while” she said. ”What’s the point of committing a crime if you don’t get to see the aftermath?”. She would eventually have to move on though. She would probably return to Taldera, seeing as she was born there. It also had a wide variety of animals. But she hadn’t decided yet. ”After a couple days I’ll be leaving though. Any suggestions?” she asked the question as if she were asking where to go on holidays. It was not the first time Tara had committed a crime considered ‘unforgivable’ such as murder, but it was the first time she’d done it in Syliras. It was also the first time she’d made such a scene about it. Her thoughts were interrupted by her stomach which let out a growl. ”Hey, you got any more of that meat?” she asked with a small smile. She would pay him back somehow, maybe a couple mice or so.

[Etrius]

A small grin formed on Etrius' face. He was both amused and annoyed by how nonchalant she sounded. By what she said he figured the kelvic girl had previously known, and hated, the woman. "Stick around, huh? Imminent danger gives you a thrill doesn't it? At the question of more meat Etrius burst into laughter. She really had the audacity to ask for more? Damn it, why are you such a sucker for a pretty face? He reached into his pack and tossed the rest of the steak in her direction. "That was supposed to be my dinner tonight so don't expect any more handouts from me." he said lightheartedly.

"Y'know, I've just about overstayed my welcome here." he said, still looking in his bag. "I've got maybe one or two things to pick up before I go though. Problem is I don't know where to go... Mind if I come along?" Now that he was calmer he examined Tara again, only to find that the Tara he was looking at was a completely naked one, save the necklace still hanging around her neck.

"Khgh!" The surprised sound escaped Etrius' lips. He felt his face turning bright red. He quickly turned his head and looked in a different direction. "Uh, b-but before anything else." he mumbled shakily. "You should probably get some clothes on... It's... cold out here."

[Tara]

Tara dug into the steak, ripping out small chunks and swallowing them nearly whole. She looked up and licked her lips when she was finished. ”I’ll catch ya something later” she assured him, though not entirely sure if he liked forest meat. She nodded her head warily as he asked to join her. She still wasn’t entirely sure if she could trust him, but she didn’t have anything else to rely on and the journey would be a rather dangerous one. Now that Tara was somewhat frightened to use reimancy too much it made her life a hell of a lot harder.

Her head snapped up in surprise when the man let out a startled sound, his face turning red. She tilted her head to the side, confused. She was slightly surprised when he told her to find her clothes. He hadn’t seemed to have a problem before. ”Hm, alright” she said. Tara had never understood human’s fascination with piling lots of heavy clothing on themselves. She got that they had no fur and needed some way to keep warm but she never really felt the need. The only reason she wore clothes was to blend in and not attract attention to herself. She got up off the ground and walked over to where she had dumped her silver dress and sandals. She kept looking over her shoulder, still not fully trusting of Etrius.

She reached the spot where she had shifted first; it was behind a small tree. She slipped on her clothes and sandals before walking back to the camp. ”When you said you had things to pick up, I’m assuming you don’t need me to go into Syliras with you?” she asked, eyeing him warily. For all she knew he could be leading her to her death. Tara turned to look at the walls of the city. Though she did not trust Etrius, she did want to go into the city. If she had some sort of disguise… It would be fun to have a peek at the damage she’d caused. If only the knights and the woman had not seen both of her forms she would have been able to sneak in.