Closed Cats In The Cradle [Lenz]

[Serta]

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Date: 38th Spring 514 AV

Serta smiled happily as she watched the kitten. It was a tiny little thing, it's head seemingly too large for its tri-coloured body. It meowed and squicked every few moments, batting at an unfortunate beetle with its tiny paws, tail batting wildly. For once, Serta had been let off work, and she had spent the majority of her day lazing around the streets and following the sun. She had wandered across the kitten only a few chimes ago and had become enthralled by the small animals incredibly cute antics.

Laughing out loud as the little animal became frightened by its own tail Serta took a step forward. The kitten froze for a moment, legs half crouched and tail held stiff. As Serta approached it took small, frightened steps backward, beetle completely forgotten. Maybe I'm too big... Serta wondered, dropping down into a crouch and holding her hand out, rubbing her fingertips together in an attempt to tempt the kitten forward. The kitten hesitated, oversized ears tilting forward and pink nose working furiously as it took a single, hesitant step forward.

A huge smile split Serta's face ast the progress and she moved her hand back slowly to search her pocket for something to offer the kitten. Her smile broadened as her hand closed around a small piece of jerky that she had left over from lunch. She moved the small scrap to the tips of her fingers and held her hand back out, making sure that she moved slowly. At the offer of food the kittens steps speed up until it was standing with its little nose sniffing Serta's fingers warily.

Careful not to move Serta gazed at the kitten, completely absorbed by the little creature as it cautiously leaned forward to snatch the food from her fingers with a quick jerk. Serta reined in her delighted squeal, over the moon that the kitten had come so close to her. "Don'tcha have a name, little one?" She asked, voice soft, as she reached out to brush her finger over the kittens velvetine ear.
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[Lenz]

38th of Spring, 514 AV

Lenz’s head was in the clouds raising hellish questions of inevitable ideas and inconceivable requests. She was dwelling on the task of completely another day at work. She kept thinking over and over again about the possibility of even succeeding at work today, but quelled the next few words that dared to explode out her mouth.

Now was not the time, for her line of sight lingered across broken shingles and shattered siding. She sighed and drew her hand through her hair, catching her fingernails on various curls of scarlet and crimson. She wished she could comb it thoroughly until it bled of its colour and straightened entirely.

She had been walking for only mere chimes before rounding a corner of the maze she found to city to be. Once she had positioned her feet on the solid ground of the next alleyway she was met with a cat of beauty so divine she was held captive by the sight for a few moments.

It was playful, prancing around on its paws with such delicacy it made the woman squeal with happiness. Elation bubbled up inside her, enticing other emotions with its powers. Jubilance attached its definition by strands as she sprang into action.

She launched on the balls of her feet, her mind no longer in the clouds, but not yet touching the surface of the earth. She had her priorities set, and they were set defiantly on picking up that kitten and taking it with her.

The creature continued to play with whatever it was that had held its attention until its tail posed more interest. It jumped and spun around, starting to chase the appendage until someone stepped from out of the shadows.

“Wha-?” she was taken aback slightly by the woman. She narrowed her eyes as she started to speak to the cat as if it was hers already. She had no right to claim such a beautiful thing, for Lenz was there before her!

“Excuse me?” she asked politely, yet her voice held tiny amounts of sarcasm and hostility mixed within. Her eyes smouldered and her shoulders tensed as she crouched down and began to stroke the cat’s coat. “I believe I saw her first.”

She made sure to make herself sound more authoritative by describing the sex of the kitten. She had looked down only moments ago and had seen that there were no extra parts symbolizing it to be male.

She felt better about herself, smarter and more intelligent. She meant no disrespect to this woman, but she had been in need of some companionship and this female kitty would be just the thing for her in her time of need. She didn’t just want it, she desired her company.

Only recently had the redhead noticed the other woman giving the cat some food of sorts. Bribery! She couldn’t believe it! No wonder the cat held its attention on her and only her. Lenz tried a different strategy, but nothing sold came to her.

On a whim, she started to scratch the cat behind the ears, digging her nails into her soft tissue just enough as to cause pleasure to fill her belly. She had heard something of the sort about using this technique. Cats liked this, didn’t they?

Once the cat was done eating the food from the woman’s fingers, she flopped on her back, exposing her chest, which Lenz obligingly scratched instead. She smiled, noting inside her mind that she had scored a point. The two were equal, but it was no game, for the redhead had been here first.

She only hoped in the end she would be the proud owner of such a majestic animal. She already had names in her mind, floating around and drifting into one another absentmindedly.

“It’s true.”

[Serta]

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Serta's attentions were pulled away from the kitten as a woman joined her. Her eyes fixed on her suspiciously, pulling her hand back slightly, much to the kittens dismay as it meowed and followed after the food. The woman was fairly slender, and easily shorter than herself. Satisfied that she would be able to take the woman on if need be Serta let her gaze slide back to the kitten.

She snorted as the woman spoke, rolling her eyes. "There is no way you saw her before I did, and even if you had, I touched her first. And clearly, she likes me better." She replied stubbornly as the kitten finished the jerky and sniffed at her fingertips, clearly asking for more. Serta frowned and pushed her hand back into her pocket, searching for any left over scraps yet coming up empty.

"It's true."

Serta paused in what was to be an irritated and snappish reply as the kitten began to purr happily from the women's petting, eyeing the woman thoughtfully. Truthfully the only allies he had gained so far had been members of the Shackles, and really she didn't trust the majority of them. Glancing down at the kitten thoughtfully Serta made up her mind.

As the kitten began to doze, enjoying the attention from the two women, Serta pushed her shoulders back and cast an assessing eye over the girl. "Well," she started, planning to use one of her mothers old tactics. "We could fight for her, winner takes all." She smiled, though it worked more to bare her larger than average canines than anything else. "Or..." She continued, carrying on with the second part of her little bluff, "We could come to a compromise?"

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[Lenz]

38th of Spring, 514 AV

Frustration began to fizz inside her body. She bit her lip, starving herself from showing her irrational emotions. She would have thrust out her hand and snatched the little critter from the ground, turned and ran, but she was holding back. She wouldn’t cause bedlam when there was no necessity for it.

However, when the woman mentioned favouring over the cat’s interests, she could have sworn she heard steam frothing from out her ears and nostrils. Since when did people understand how to communicate with felines?

“I-“ she started, but was cut off my the inexorable words that dripped from the opposing woman’s tongue.

Lenz glared, feeling her pupils dilate and retract until only the blacks of the hole was presented, shrouding the colour from her irises. She was near close to sneering before a proposition was unfolded before her.

“Fight?” Lenz blurted out in a chortle. “You have to be-“

The woman went on, a compromise hinting at the tone of her voice. The redheaded woman perked up, her eyebrows rising in rhythm with her heartbeat. A compromise?

“What sort of compromise did you have in mind? This kitten is a stray, therefore we must take that into consideration. It isn’t anyone’s current pet.”

She didn’t know if that was relevant or not, but at the moment it still sounded relatively intelligent to mention.

Whilst the two were conversing alternatives and outcomes and wagers for either side, the small feline awoke from her slumber and began to slink away. A few yards became several metres before she had rounded the corner of a ratty, crumbling building before disappearing from sight altogether.

Lenz didn’t notice and she was certain that the woman she was opposing didn’t either; not until she turned to observe how much she desired to be the owner of the cat did she realise its missing whereabouts.

“Where did she go?” she announced with an inquiry. The question lingered in the air before her aggressive side started to tumble over her more passive and defensive one.

“You distracted me!”

oocI apologise if this was a huge turn of events. I just wanted to see this entre a more adventurous state. If you wish for me to change anything, let me know!

[Serta]

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"Well, I'm part of an organisation, doubt you've heard of us, were fairly small," Serta started, dismissively skipping over the details of the Broken Shackles, still unsure of how public her accomplices planned to make the group. "But I don't particularly like the idea of throwing in all my cards on the one lot. In that sense I'm looking for allies. Obviously I'm not asking for any commitments here and now, but I'd appreciate it if you could keep it in mind... My names Serta by the way."

She paused, waiting for the women's reply, focusing her attention to her face in order to watch any and all reactions to her words. She wasn't certain by any means of the reliability of the girl, though she had few other options in a town like Sunberth. The red head seemed far less fearsome than any of the other thugs and brutes crawling the back allies. Not that that means anything. Serta reminded herself with a sly curl of her lips.

Serta yelped in shock as she glanced around hurriedly, spotting the furry little tail disappear around the corner. She glanced back at Lenz with an angry glare. "That was your fault!" She accused, before turning on her toe to scramble after the kitten. The kitten turned curiously to glance back at the sound of Serta's hurried steps. As it caught sight of the comparatively huge human stumbling after it it spooked and darted away quickly, ears pressed flat in surprise. Cursing Serta followed as quickly but as inoffensively as possible, babbling random phrases in what she hopped was a comforting and kitten luring voice.

Serta groaned in dismay as her eyes followed the frightened kittens course, the bustling Castle Commons ahead, reaching the busiest part of the day with lunchtime just around the corner. Today however seemed a special one, dozens upon dozens of children, some she recognised from the orphanage, laughed and caused havoc between the stalls.

OOCNo problem at all, sorry for my slow pace in replying!
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[Lenz]

38th of Spring, 514 AV

Warning flags sprung up in her mind as she listened about this particular organization this woman was speaking of. Was it a cult or a gang that came to kill people in the middle of the night? Was she messing with the wrong person who could hold grudges about not obtaining a kitten as a pet?

She inhaled sharply, the cold spring air stabbing at the walls in her trachea. She exhaled slowly, absorbing herself into the situation once again. She only checked her surroundings once to understand that they truly were alone.

Her name was Serta, and she was a kitten lover, such as Lenz was at the moment. She cared for animals as well as people. In fact, she cared about everything in the world as long as it didn’t attack her and try to skin her to her bones.

She smirked a halfhearted compliance towards the woman as she spoke, but again her surroundings darkened. She could feel it, but she wanted to rely on her special tactics to make sure she could gain understanding as to what was happening between the two ladies.

She felt the djed mustering up inside her. She called for it to reach above her heart, to transfer through her veins and upwards until she pulled it towards her eyes. She summoned the power to understand, to comprehend until shades and various tints of multiple colours were forming around her. They centred in on one in particular- the woman who was feuding with her over a cat.

They were a dark purple, wavering between the substance of crimson and violet. Lenz deducted that Serta was severely passionate about this cat, that she would do anything- lust -for this creature.

She shut down her auristic sight and leant backwards.

She was near close at attempting to revert the conversation back to neutral grounds before the lady jumped into action as she began to chase after the animal. Lenz followed hurriedly, hoping that she could make right what she had wronged.

She sprinted past corners, her legs rushing forward of one another, trying to race each other to the finish line. The tendons in her legs flexed as she ran, and it wasn’t until she caught sight of the woman and the cat again id she start to slow her rapid pace.

Finally Serta stopped and Lenz placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Sorry about the cat. I didn’t mean to get so hostile with you. My name is Lenz by the way.”

She stuck out her other hand in a form of formal greeting.

[Serta]

From the Amazing Lenz!

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Serta glanced over her shoulder at Lenz, taking in her words and her appearance. She was a Slight young woman, with enviable amounts of thick red hair. Serta eyed it jealously, twisting a lock of her own, mudwater brown hair back into a knot.

"Yeah," She murmured, accepting the hand and giving it a shake, her grip strong but not threateningly so. "It wasn't your fault anyway, we just weren't paying attention." Serta replied, pushing an escaped lock of hair off her forehead and looking at the other woman sheepishly, regretting her harsh words. Lenz seemed nice, and while her offer of an alliance before had been merely from necessity, she was now genuinely interested in becoming friends with the woman.

"I doubt we'd be able to find the little guy now." She sighed, gesturing to the bustling market. "But it is about time for lunch, and I haven't eaten yet. Care to join me?" Serta offered, with a friendly smile and began to walk towards the stalls without waiting for an answer. "I usually like to get my meals when it's quieter, but we're here now so we might as well." She added, sniffing towards a stall that sold roast chickens and smiling happily. "Where are you from?"

As Serta cast an eye around at the various stalls something different caught her eye. There was a small space between a nearby cheese shop and a second-hand kiosk. An elderly man, beard threaded through with grey stood on a box, his head only just clearing those gathered around him to hear him speak.

Serta frowned, curiosity rising, and glanced at Lenz.
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[Lenz]

38th of Spring, 514 AV

Lenz couldn’t help but take in her previous enemy now subtle acquaintance. She held giant orbs of a sullen yet iridescent and curiously elated gold. It was almost as if the gods who created her had accidentally spilled honey into her irises and churned the substance so that different shades of flecks of brown and green mixed into it.

The woman with crimson hair was immediately hypnotized, for how had she not have noticed her gaze before? She must have held her stare with the other woman for several seconds before shaking her head to clear the stagnant and becoming awkward air.

Serta also had deep chocolate toned hair that matched flawlessly with her caramel and nutty tan skin. Everything about her screamed with flourish and just the simple thought made Lenz’s lips turn upwards into a genuine smile. She wondered how she handled well with men, for she had come across the occasional ‘hands on’ type.

Suddenly strange questions bobbed to the surface of her mind. She wondered if her newly found companion enjoyed music and whether or not she was very athletic or sympathetic to more than just furry creatures. She wondered if this woman was a fan of apples or potatoes and whether or not she was raised with siblings or all alone with nothing but her own quick wits and strategic strength.

The inquiries quickly subsided as Serta began to speak again, her lightly pink tinted tongue spilling words to the redhead’s ears.

She wasn’t in love with the girl or anything, but her simple presence made her stomach churn unexpectedly. Why? She didn’t know and would rather not know, for the curious misunderstanding and ominousness made everything that much more mysterious.

“She was a very pretty kitty,” she interjected solemnly, feeling the vain sorrow for the disappearance of that cat.

There was no doubt that she couldn’t have taken care of herself, but just the mere thought of something of such beauty and harmlessness out there in a city such as this, alone- it made Lenz’s skin crawl as if a million or more bugs were crawling up and down her flesh.

“I would be honoured to join you,” she replied, questioning her sense of formality.

Did she say that too well? Did Serta even care how she speaks or was there some sort of code fellow locals did to one another here? She realised how still new she was.

Only having been in the town for the last of the previous season and the beginning of the present one did a number on her perspective of what was right and what was wrong. She had morals; that was without dubiousness, but to ‘fit in’ was another thing she was constantly struggling for.

She strived to be liked, for that was the only thing that kept her going some days. She hoped that thankfully the tables had turned with this particular woman and that they were back on the right track, starting out both on the right foot this time.

Lenz could be rather rude sometimes believe it or not.

The woman with scarlet locks briskly fell into stride with Serta, following her every footfall. She was so concentrated on watching the woman’s movements that she almost neglected to answer the question she had been asked.

The first thing that always popped into her mind was the obvious lie or truth system. She despised her past and where she came from, but lying usually led to a grave of which she could not dig herself out of. In this case, however, she doubted the two would ever meet up again and if they did that they wouldn’t recollect seeing one another.

“I come from Kenash,” she said before realising that clarification and perhaps better explanation might be needed. “It’s a land of a multitude of crops and farms way off towards the west. I travelled from there to here and boy, did it take me quite a while.”

She hastily brushed the stray hairs from her face so that they were newly positioned behind both of her ears. It was an anxious tick and something that was getting fairly hard to break as of late.

“I’m glad I left,” she added before trying to change the subject.

She loathed having any and all attention directly latched onto her. She needed distraction or something to think about elsewise in general. Some would call it subterfuge, a tactic used by the skillful intelligent kind, but for Lenz, she merely hated the spot light.

“Where do you come from?” she asked politely as the two rounded a corner and passed a stack of empty wooden baskets. “Or have you been born and raised here your entire life?”

The couple again passed another corner before walking slowly past an alleyway. Lenz didn’t notice anything at first, but upon inspecting Serta further, she followed her line of sight to an aged man with a scraggly and rather dirty beard.

He was short and incredibly rounded as if he had too many pigs for breakfast. She would have been more curious, but for the time being, her attention was dragged until its focus point was pinned on Serta.

What was it about her that was so unnervingly interesting?

“What’s wrong?” she asked instead, scanning her face with modest concern.

[Serta]

From the Amazing Lenz!

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"Oh yeah, I heard of Kenash on my way here. Seemed to be a pretty weird place though." Serta nodded in reply to Lenz's words, raising a brow at the quiet "I'm glad I left." that followed them. The words were spoken in her polite, low tone, and Serta could sense a certain self consciousness as the woman spoke about herself. She gave the impression of a people pleaser, one who would go out of their way to make others happy but would blush and stammer if the same attention turned upon themselves.

"No, I've only been here for a season or two. I came here from Taloba, where i was born and raised. The people there are similar to those here, ruthless but not so lawless. Taloba is a wonderful place, choking in jungle and wild animals." Serta smiled to herself as she remembered her home. "Not all are suited there, and hardly any outsiders are permitted to enter. I love it so, but it wouldn't be a place I'd recommend to outsiders, not sane ones anyway."

Serta hummed thoughtfully and took a step closer. As she entered the mouth of the narrow alley she tensed, heart rate quickening as she took in the tight area, made even tighter by the crowd pressed in close, threatening to collapse the stalls either side. Serta took a long deep breath, held it for a few moments before expelling it. She repeated the action a few times, ensuring that the inhalation was longer than the exhalation each time.

After a few moments Serta's heart rate had settled, she let her head roll back on her shoulders, the angle giving her a clear view of the open sky above the stalls and the stone stalls that circled the square. I'm not really closed in, though it looks like it. I'm fine, it looks small but its only sticks and canvas.. Serta repeated the words over in her head until they became somewhat of a mantra and the tight muscles in her shoulders relaxed and unwound.

Sighing slowly Serta glanced back at Lenz, an embarrassed smile slipping over her lips before she turned and stepped closer to the elderly man, still up on his soapbox, speaking of the Svefra that had visited Sunberth not so long ago. The crowd was packed tight, and though Serta did her best to push closer the two were forced to remain on the outskirts, ears straining to hear as the man spoke of the Svefran good, Laviku.
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