The Fox and the Cat [Soren]

[Isette]

13, Spring 511 A.V. It was night time in Lhavit, which meant the plaza was bustling with life. People walked about, their arms laden with food and supplies and more food. It made things easier on Isette. Rather than braving the wilderness surrounding Lhavit or risk getting caught stealing, she could attempt to scavenge. The hunter enjoyed the thrill of tracking her prey, but she also enjoyed being alive. The misty peaks weren’t safe for a young feline who had no idea how to fight. Mice, rabbits, birds, those were all fine and dandy. But there were other things in the wild. Isette did not fancy becoming prey herself. She drifted from shadow to shadow, looking for anything edible. Mostly, she was ignored. Sometimes, she was shooed away. Occasionally, a small child would feed her a piece of their own food. Isette would not starve one way or another. She had money, back at her home (for lack of a better word), but she would prefer to save that for later. When she really needed it. She could buy herself a new dress maybe. Or a blanket. Oh how she would love a warm, wooly blanket! Without holes, soft and new. But she couldn’t afford that yet. Maybe after dinner, she could try her hand at pick pocketing again. It was not her best game, but she succeeded sometimes. And the risk factor was tempered by the fact that she was really good at running away. The fact that she still roamed around freely was testament to that. The reward of a successful take was definitely worth the panic caused by running for her freedom. Or, if worse came to worse, there was her other job. It was a little more dangerous because it required human interaction, but the profit was greater so long as the men didn’t try to hurt her. Ooh! Meat food! The black cat paused in her tracks, standing still in a small patch of moonlight. Where was that coming from? It smelled tantalizingly delicious. Isette sniffed the air, pin pointing the location. There! The Kelvic dropped into a crouch, her skyglass pendant scraping the ground as she moved quickly towards the source of the smell. Her ears pointed forward in excitement and her eyes glinted. Up until then, her scavenging had led her to jelly filled pastries and other sweets that were useless to her. It was meat she craved.

[Soren Thundersong]

Soren, once again, was in the plaza. He had come to enjoy the hustle and bustle, the people going to and fro, gossiping, selling, food jewelery, and clothing from small stands and tables, among other things. Even Mika had grown accustomed to sharing the night, occasianally playing with groups of kids that frolicked around the plaza. Currently Soren sat on the ground, his back against the fountain edge, Mika sleeping beside him. He was tearing small strips of meat from a smoked bird. He wasnt sure what kind it was, though the man he bought it from had said it was pheasant. Some local bird Soren had guessed.

"Mika." The white fox opened an eye. "Do ya want some of this?" She stood and stretched, almost cat-like and looked at Soren expectantly. "What, no please? He joked lightly, handing her some. Soren sipped water lightly from his wineskin. He pulled a small tin cup from his pack setting it down and poured some water into it for Mika. She clicked a thanks and continued eating. Soren bit into a peice, the strong, smokey flavor hitting him instantly. He looked at Mika with a grin. "Its good,yea? She chittered at him in reply.

Soren and Mika sat for a time, eating slowly. Soren pulled out a small eating knife, bread and cheese. He cut a few slices and ate till he was full. Mika got up and went to play nearby with a young Lhavitian child. With about half the meat left, Soren put all but a few chunks of it away, along with the bread, tin cup and waterskin. He leaned back and looked at the stars.

A slight scraping noise caught his attention. Soren sat up and looked around. Then he saw the small black cat, a pendent around it's neck. "Here kitty, want some?" Soren smiled, offering some meat. Suddenly Mika was in front of him, growling. "What's wrong Mika?" She had never done this before, even the other times he had fed other strays. Mika yipped and charged at the cat. "Mika!" Soren quickly picked up the rest of his stuff and shoved it in his pack, wincing as the small eating knife cut his thumb. He grabbed his pack and jumped up, chasing after Mika.

[Isette]

Movement caught her attention. The cat froze as the source of the delicious smell sat up and looked at her. Nice or mean? Mean or nice? “Here kitty, want some?” Isette mewed with pleasure as he offered her a piece of meat, but her pleasure was short lived. Just as she took a half step forward, her way was blocked by a…fox. The cat’s eyes widened. It seemed the creature was the nice man’s companion. She didn’t have time to think things over, though, because the fox was not just growling. It attacked. Isette barely managed to jump out of the way as it snapped at her. She ran, but the creature was faster than her. If she didn’t think of something quickly she would be fox meat. As terrifying as that prospect was, it was also annoying. That was the whole reason she was in the plaza—to not be fox meat. So much for the safety plan. Next time, she was just going to risk her life in the peaks. Or maybe that was the panic talking. Either way, she needed to come up with a plan. Well. Foxes didn’t eat people. If she could find a place to safely transform… There! Isette lunged towards the top of a wall, just barely making it. She clung to the edges and began her shift. Her muscles rippled, stretched, and her bones melded and reformed. Fur receded into smooth human skin as her hair grew long and wild. Only her eyes stayed the same. The pendant became tight around her neck. She crouched on the wall, glaring down at the animal. “Go away!” she hissed. The fox most probably did not understand the feline language, but her body language should make the message clear enough. The Kelvic tensed, waiting. Her eyes sought out the creature’s master. Why was he traveling with such a dangerous creature? It should be on a lead until it was better trained. Unless…What if the creature was trained to chase cats? Isette felt sick to her stomach. It would not be the first animal trained for that. On the other hand, the man had the look of someone who had lost control of his animal. Isette hated his fox, but she found no hatred for its master. He did not look mean and had offered her food. Had it been a mean trick? Looking at him, Isette did not believe so.

[Soren Thundersong]

Mika had darted after the cat, growling angrily. Soren had no choice but to give chase. He weaved through the crowd, only now and then catching glimpses of black or white fur. Slowly, Soren knew he was losing them. "Oh Mika, what do I do with you." They were gone, though he could still hear people yelp and squeal as the duo ran by. Soren spun slowly, looking for the animals.

"There they are. Mika come back! Soren shouted at his friend, having spotted the pair shooting past a small awning covered stand. He jogged over toward the stand and wondered again why Mika had charged the cat. Rounding the stand Soren started to run...and fell on his face. His foot had caught an awning pole, yanking it over and sending Soren crashing to the ground. He lifted his head and saw the cat jump at a wall, Mika standing at the bottom.

Soren groaned and pushed himself off the ground. Suddenly a beefy hand yanked him up to standing. Soren spun around, coming face to chest with the stand owner, for it could be no one else. Unlike most Lhavitians this man was huge, as wide as an Akalak, with arms bigger than Soren's head. The man started yelling in shrill Lhavitian. Soren shrugged his shoulders, the universal sign for I don't understand. The man sighed and waved him away, grumbling.

Soren walked down the street to Mika, still by the wall. She was sitting now, a confused look on her face. He looked at the wall and was surprised to see a young woman sitting where the cat had been. Then he noticed she was naked other than a small pendant. His face grew hot and he felt himself blush, having seen the girl at her most vulnerable. "I'm sorry, i didnt mean to. I didn't expect..." He slowly stopped realizing he was babbling. His eyes wandered back to the beautiful girl. Soren pulled his eyes away again, blushing harder, but not before he noticed her eyes. Suddenly it hit him. "Your a Kelvic! Your eyes look like a cat and the one Mika chased had the same pendent. That's why she chased you, cause she knew you weren't a normal cat. Uhm...oh I'm Soren Thundersong and this is Mika. What's your name? Do kelvic have names? Did I mention your beautiful?" Soren suddenly put his hands over his mouth. Did I really just say that?! What's wrong with me. Wait, does she know common? Soren thought to himself, his face turning bright red.

[Isette]

Oh dear. The man was being confusing. Isette’s face scrunched up as she tried to figure out what he was saying. She had enough trouble speaking her own language, let alone someone else’s. She got some of the pronouns. Isette knew common just well enough to make out the various I’s and your’s and she’s. Her head tilted to the side in open confusion. She gathered that he knew she was a Kelvic. That made her raise an eyebrow. What was his first clue? She caught the word ‘cat’ in there, too. And something about ‘normal cat’. She suspected the word before that meant ‘not’. Oh! Introductions! She knew that one. A little bit of understanding flashed in her eyes as he said his name, introduced the (mean) fox, and asked her name. And something about her having a Kelvic name. She wasn’t too clear on that part. He kept talking. Isette was amused by this foreigner. ‘Have I…something, something…’ What was that last word? She knew that word. Heard it all the time among foreigners. Beautiful! Beautiful? What was he calling beautiful? The city? The fox? Was he mad at her for getting chased? No. No he did not seem mad. He seemed…embarrassed. “My name is Isette,” the Kelvic replied in her terribly accented common. Why were they trading names like everything was okay? His animal had just chased her up a wall and now they were acting like nothing happened! She would have been outraged but she was too perplexed. He was not being mean to her. Maybe he had apologized and she had simply not understood? She watched him cautiously, muscles tensed. He still smelled like delicious food. The smell made her stomach growl with hunger, which in turn caused a blush to creep over her pale cheeks. ”Your fox is mean,” she said in mixed common and Lhavitian. ‘Your’ and ‘is’ were in common, but the other words were in her native tongue. Isette did not know the common words for ‘fox’ and ‘mean.’ But she did point at the creature for added effect and her expression showed that she was not pleased with it. ”Please call it back. I want down.” That part was all in Lhavitian. She highly doubted he would understand her; if he spoke Lhavitian he probably would have tried using it already. But maybe he knew enough Lhavitian to figure it out.

[Soren Thundersong]

Soren tried to calm himself before he said something else emberassing. He slowly looked at the girl, keeping his eyes on her face. She seemed confused to him. It seems she doesn't know common. Maybe only a little. But I don't know Lhavitian either. How is this gonna work. Soren relaxed at this thought, realizing she may not have understood his babbling. Mika clicked at him, still confused by what had happened. "She's a Kelvic Mika. They're people who can change int animals. I don't know if its true but they supposably were made by magic long ago. Mika shook her head.

Suddenly the girl spoke. "My name is Isette." Her common was heavily accented. Soren smiled. "Its...uh how to explain. I like your name" He spoke slowly, pointing t himself and then her. Ughhhh this is harder than I expected he thought sheepishly. He noticed she looked tense, as if ready to run at any moment. Suddenly her stomach growed loudly. Soren almost laughed but, seeing her cheeks flush he restrained himself.

Isette spoke again, a mix of common and lhavitian. He understood your and is, but the others were a jumble to him. A random thought popped into his head. Her voice is really nice. She pointed at Mika, an uneasy look on er face, speakin in Lhavitian again. Realizing what she wanted, Soren moved foward and picked up the fox. She glared at him but climbed into her special enlarged pocket in his pack, her head poking out the top.

Soren looked at Isette again, speaking slowly. "Is that better." He cocked his head questioningly. Remembering, Soren dug into his pack, pulling out a leather pouch, the last of the smoked pheasent inside. "Ouch!" Wincing, Soren dropped the pouch. He'd forgot about his sliced finger. Inspecting it, Soren noted it wasnt to bad, he still needed to bandage it though. With practiced fluidity, Soren drew his dagger. Carefully, he cut a peice of fabric off the edge of his shirt. He sheathed the dagger and binded his finger. "There we go." Soren smiled and picked up the meat.

He pointed to Isette and held out the pouch, now open and said "Hungry. You want food." He waited to see her reaction.

[Isette]

Isette watched the strange man speak to the mean fox. ‘She is a Kelvic, Mika.’ And then something about magic. Why was he talking to the fox? Did the fox understand Common? Was it a Kelvic? If so, that made the creature doubly mean! She frowned at it, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. And what sort of magic was he talking about? Did he know magic? Or maybe the fox did. They were a very strange pair. Isette was so interested, she actually jumped when he addressed her again. The Kelvic blinked, straining to make sense of his words. He was speaking slower now, which helped. Something about her name. Was he making fun of it? Her name was abnormal for a Lhavitian, but Isette has never had a foreigner call it into question. Particularly one that did not speak her language. For a second, she looked hurt. The feeling quickly passed, however. Isette knew her name was strange. There was no reason to be offended by it. The name was hers, that’s what mattered. And strange things weren’t always bad. Had she not just thought that they themselves were strange? Isette liked strange things. So really, that was more of a compliment. Oh! The man understood her after all. The Kelvic watched curiously as the man helped the fox into a carrying pouch. She smiled shyly, appreciating the gesture. Surely the animal wasn’t a Kelvic as she had guessed? No, that didn’t feel right. “Is that better?” Isette nodded and murmured an affirmative “Yes” in Common. Perhaps she would have said more, but her attention was consumed by the leather pouch in his—Soren Thundersong’s—hands. So intent was she on the food he held that his sudden exclamation took her by surprise. She jumped, her eyes wide with shock. Oh dear. He was hurt. Isette jumped from the wall and took a hesitant step towards him, concern showing in her eyes. She was fascinated as he bandaged himself. Using the cloth from his shirt was smart. Isette had never thought of that. She was impressed. Of course, that was quickly forgotten when he offered her the open back. “Hungry. You want food.” Isette grinned and reached for the bag. “Hungry,”she repeated in Lhavitian with an eager nod. Then, in Common, she added, “Thank you, Sir Soren Thundersong.” Isette glanced at the fox one more time, still cautious, and then began devouring the contents of the bag.

[Soren Thundersong]

Isette had jumped down from the wall When Soren had exclaimed in pain, watching him closely as he bandaged his finger. He offered her the food asking hungry. Nodding, she spoke in lhavitian, taking the meat from him. He watched as she tore into the meat, eating quickly. Tentivly he asked "Hunkgary is hungry?" Soren felt like he was butchering the musical local language. She really is quite beautiful. She looks healthy. I wonder why she's so hungry."

Soren sat on a box against the wall, still winded from chasing them. He pulled Mika from her pocket and said to her "Go find Tal. He's in the stables. Stay with him for a bit. Ill come get you later Mika." Mika looked at him, jumped to the ground. With one last look at Isette, the white fox trotted down the street and out of sight. He hoped it would calm the girl's nerves, which seemed wire tight as is.

Clearing his throat Soren spoke. "Isette. You teach me lhavittian and I teach you common." He pronounced clearly and simply, gesturing with each word. Hopefully she will understand me, and agree. The more we talk the more I could learn about her...and the language. Soren, ffor some reason really wanted to befriend the skittish kelvic. "Oh!" Suddenly he realized she could be thirsty. Soren pulled out his wineskin, and held it out to her.

[Isette]

"Hunkgary is hungry?" Isette paused in her feeding frenzy to look at the man. It took her a few seconds to process his words. Not because she didn’t understand but because she was so focused on eating. Eventually, though, she nodded. And then went back to her food. She tensed slightly when he released the fox, but managed to relax herself. She was fairly certain the fox was no longer a threat to her. Soren Thundersong wasn’t trying to hurt her. Even so, she watched the fox carefully as it left the area. Where was it off to? Something about finding ‘Tal’ (whatever that was) in the…stalls? Luckily, she did manage to figure out the next thing he said. Well, she guessed based on the words she understood. Learn, Lhavitian, learn, Common…Yeah, she could guess what that meant. She considered the idea. It pleased her. Isette enjoyed learning even if she wasn’t very good at it. Her curious mind wanted to soak in everything. She liked knowing. “Oh!” Isette looked up, once more startled out of her thoughts. Soren Thundersong was offering her a drink. The feline smiled and took the offered wineskin. Isette had never tried wine before. Her mother didn’t like it, so there was never any in the house. And living on her own…Well, she generally relied on water and the occasional glass of milk or tea. Wine smelled weird. “Thank you,” she said again right before taking a sip. Eww! Isette scrunched her nose in distaste. That was not very delicious. Wine tasted weird. She took another bite of meat to make the flavor go away and then turned her attention back to Soren Thundersong. “I teach you Lhavitian, you teach me Common!” she said happily. She repeated the phrase again in Lhavitian. This would be fun!

[Soren Thundersong]

Soren smiled goodnaturedly at Isette's reaction to the strong wine. "Mika doesn't like wine either. You want some water? I keep some extra." He pulled another wineskin full of water out, sitting it in front of her. Isette smiled at him happilly saying "I teach you Lhatvian, you teach me common." Encouraged, Soren leaned foward slightly. She repeted herself in lhavitian. He smiled and tried to copy her. "I teak you common, you teak me lhavitian." He blushed, his speak nowwhere near as clear as her's.

Soren put his hands on his knees and watched her eat, most of the meat gone now.. "Do you want more food. I have some bread and cheese..an apple i think..oh and a peach. Something about her just drove him crazy. He looked at her again, drawn to her eyes. She's so beautiful, and polite so far. A little different but in a good way. A thoughtful look on his face, Soren smiled warmly.

A sudden realization smacked him across the face. I like her?! Is that ok? Can I like a Kelvic? I don't see a reason I couldn't. Others might find it odd though. A strange look on his face, Soren shook his head. He looked at the young girl and asked "So. What common do you know Isette."