The shadow cat appears (intro)

Cheshire entered a country he had never heard about, but to be blunt he hasn't heard a lot of countries other then his own. It seemed to have a lot of good fishing spot and plenty of fish species and some port towns that have some to, he was in one of them. Chesh was in his cat form trying to find someone to give him some fish for free since he was feeling lazy today and didn't wanted to fish today. So he when into the shopping district to do so, most people didn't notice him so he kept trying with other people until someone had finally given him some which he started eating on the spot.

Deep sapphire blue eyes looked around, feet silently moving along the docks. The mixed blood had expected today to be like just any other, but instead there was a bit of energy at the docks. It wasn't chaos or trouble, just someone eating fish on the spot, apparently not being careful with bones or anything. This was how Omaras ended up walking over. The ice blue skinned person was in their male form at the moment, dressed in a grey dress shirt, white dress pants, black dress shoes, and a white dress vest. On the vest was a pin that held the west fiore trading company guild symbol on it. Over one of their shoulders was a large white bag. The mixed blood looked at the active youth before beginning to speak with his soft quiet and gentle voice. "The fish flesh tastes a bit better if its cut certain ways. The direction and way its just can affect the texture and help bring out the full flavor." The person looked distracted enough that Haraka decided it shouldn't be spoken first. No, the first thing is more likely to be missed.

While finishing up the fish, Cheshire had spotted someone or something looking at him. It seemed to be a human but his instincts told him that this person wasn't human at the same time, though that could just be the fish he just ate, it was one that he hadn't seen or heard of which again not surprising. So he ran off, but not to far. He ran off to a location hidden from site but he can still see the thing, he would then stalk it to where ever it was going. Maybe it will be somewhere nice or some den where it is full of treasure or something, where ever it was going to go it will probably better then what he is doing now which is nothing.

Sol had been on one of the rooftops smoking from his Kiseru like he usually did but he found that on this day he saw  Haraka speaking to a cat eating a fish but it seemed this cat was not actually interested in being social and instead tried to run away, Sol scoffed slightly before he dropped down before Haraka before motioning to him to follow and the dragon had shifted into his shadow form and followed the cat to its location in the hidden shadows. As soon as the boy had stopped Sol made his move and emerged from the shadows behind him.

normally Sol would not think twice about a cat but he sensed something off about this animal and it made the dragon cautious, the dragon watched and made sure to be ready incase the creature decided to bolt again."hmm now what cat has magic power emanating from it" he questioned as his ruby slitted eyes watched the cat cautiously.

Haraka watched the person move away, unsure what to make of this. "Should I really spend my day doing this?" Though the young looking elder knew what he was going to do, he also knew that it made him feel very silly for even thinking about doing it. Was he going to treat a person like a cat? Maybe. He shook his head a bit, thick long black locks moving along with it. What was the best way to get a cats attention? After some mental preparation, he released his tail and wings. If they had a more animal mind, then perhaps the long and large dark sapphire blue colored mantis shrimp tail would get them. The sooner he got their attention, the sooner Omaras could check them out, at least check if they understand common tongue. Well, that was the plan until a certain King popped up. The mixed blood blinked a bit before heading over himself. This wasn't exactly how he first imagined trying to connect, but life doesn't always go the way you think it will. "I think hes just being cat like Sol, not suspicious."

Yona had entered the market square on her own. She had been avoiding going shopping, avoiding her little brother Sato too. The fact was that as efficient as their young garden was, Sato needed real food and that was what drew her out into the open. It had been a week since she had come back out into the open. The incident on the docks in the middle of a job had been a disaster. Luckily, Johann and she had completed the mission successfully, but the way her demon has taken control of her body still haunted her. A part of her liked the power and the grim and easy way her demon fought. A bigger part of her remembered the horrific taste of blood from how he shredded and bit into the assassins. The docks had been covered with blood and the guards had seen her transform. Luckily, it had happened so quickly nobody had made the connection to her yet. Staying inside for the past week was helping clear the air; not many cared enough about the death of a couple of evil mages sent to kill a specific target.

It was all so fresh in her mind, but staying cooped up for a week would do that to a person. She wore all white, as was custom for the West Fiore Trading Company, but she walked slowly and cautiously. She was cringing at every guard sighting but other than a couple of smiles and even a wave, Yona found no hostility. It seemed that the event of a demon bursting from her body and devouring the body of an assassin on the docks was memorable but perhaps the body the demon had been in was not as easily recalled. Yona walked a bit sturdier, collecting fresh fish from the market in her basket, along with spring onions, various greens, and spices she didn't already grow herself, and a couple of loaves of sweetbread. Yona knew Sato would love that. It was an easy get in, get out, shopping excursion, dipping her toes back into the metaphoric waters of society.

As the green haired woman was about to leave she caught sight of both Haraka, of whom she let out a groan, and Sol, earning a double groan. They appeared to be chasing a cat or something into an alleyway and Yona rubbed a hand on her forehead. She didn't have to investigate but she was curious, and Ketsueki, her secret demon, had been quiet so far. Probably, Ketsueki understood the tentative nature of her role in the guild and despite his cravings for blood, he had chosen to remain silent for her sake. She scoffed out loud, muttering, "Yeah right." She approached Sol and Haraka and gingerly ran a hand through her short green hair. "What are you guys doing chasing a cat? You have nothing better to do? Get your eyes checked, I mean come on." A little breeze lifted her hair, and her white cropped top, slightly, but her fitted white pants and tall white heeled boots didn't even rustle.

Cheshire still in the shadows and following the strange person saw that more had showed up, it was strange because they seem off. Then another one of them showed up, this one was a woman, kinda pretty but not Umbra standers of pretty. Anyway, while following them there seemed to be a mark on them which looked like a clan symbol which got him curios about this location more. In his mind he said,"Are these people in some sort of clan or covenant or something like that and where is this clan? Many question so there will be many answers."

Sol glanced at Haraka as he said that the cat didn’t seem suspicious and the dragon shook his head.”again what cat has magic power emanating from it Ice Dragon” he questioned with a look to the Half dragon that showed he should be more sensitive to such things. As he then heard the voice of Yona behind him and also her mocking comment the dragon king felt his right temple throb in irritation.”Hisamori I suggest you keep your snarky comments to yourself or you will be on Dock Duty for a while “he said his tone was icy and his eyes darted to her and told her to watch her tone.”I would think after how many near fatal encounters you have had by angering people you would learn” he suggested knowing that she had made many of the higher ups angry and had nearly gotten herself killed by him when she took his limiter and he went berserk.

Turning his attention back down to the cat the dragon kneeled down and his Ruby Slitted eyes stared at the cats and his expression was unreadable as he sniffed a bit as he tried to get a bit more of an idea as to what this creature was and why it was here.

Haraka made a face before even looking towards the voices direction. Whenever thinking of the youth, he still thought of the tree incident. A young person who didn't understand older language and zoned out as soon as the term god was used. It didn't matter if there were no actual gods, she would assume you were talking of them. He didn't want to feel upset so didn't turn her way. This didn't stop memories from causing Omaras to feel aggravated, nor from their face from glaring briefly at nothing. Though the expression was quick to face, the change in gender was perhaps a better reflection of her emotions at that time. "The youth who can't listen jumps the gun again." She quietly muttered before looking over at Sol. Try not to be too annoyed, try to keep on topic. Thinking of the topic just caused her to open here large bag though, taking out a fish that had been wrapped heavily in layers of fabric.

"Are you going to call me ice dragon every time you're annoyed now? Because I was trying to win over a cat like any weird old person would before you jumped out of nowhere. Yes, I can tell they have magic.. but I have seen animals with magic before. Those animals are typically able to transform into people, just as there are mages who can change into animals... But I can tell the difference between a threat and a cat who just wants to cat." She took he annoyance out of the fish. Making a fabric bag made of plant fibers, she started using her talons on the fish. With the movements of a swift master with a sharpened blade, she skinned, cleaned, and de-boned it with quick ease. All the extras fell into thee bag, bits that would be used in cooking later.

Yona lifted a brow at the greeting she got from the two guild members. Turning to Haraka, she retorted with sharpness in her voice compared to the tired playfulness that might have been in her voice when she had first come over, "I've heard plenty from you. Or did you not both follow a cat into an alleyway?" She tried not to roll her eyes. It was so strange. These two were chasing cats into alleys but they thought her inquisition deserved reprimands and bratty comments. "Who peed in your fishbowl?" She said, obviously referring to Haraka. If he was going to be a jerk, so she could be as well.

The green haired woman was stunningly beautiful, her heritage giving her an unnatural level of beauty. This was not the situation where it would give her an advantage so she simply walked over while Sol and Haraka did what they did. Sol was sniffing up on the cat and Haraka was cutting up some fish. "Dock duty or not, oh Lord Sol of the Child-sized, you were chasing a cat. I think its normal to be asked why as an Ace of the guild, you would choose to spend your time doing that. Don't be so.." She rolled her hands and fingers through the air, looking for the word. She gave up and went with, "Up in arms. It's too early for that nonsense." Yona bent down and picked the cat up.

She lifted the cat and gripped its hind feet with her left hand, tucking the cat into the crook of her left arm as if it were a child. She made sure he couldn't use his back claws on her and then patted his head with her right, curling her right arm around him to make sure he could not jump free with ease. She gave the cat good scritches as Haraka cut up a fish. Then she spoke audibly and carefully, using a singsong voice the way cat owners would do with their pets. "So cat, either you're just a dumb little thing who wants a fish, good for me and my secret experiments, or you're a mage hiding as a cat." Yona narrowed her eyes and began rocking and petting the cat a little more, her voice going up half an octave, "Are you afraid of needles? Big needles? Is the kitty going to be my little pincushion? I'm going to inject you with an array of poisons I've been saving and growing. Does that bother you, hmm?" Of course, Yona never did and would not take lightly using animals for experiments. But her well-told lie might have been effective in getting the mage to change. A normal cat wouldn't care. A normal cat wouldn't even know what she was talking about. In that case, she could just set the cat down and walk away, letting Haraka and Sol feed him, sniff him, and otherwise interrogate the stray animal.

Though he knew what this crazy woman was saying to him he couldn't break character, but being held and petted was really pissing him off. In his mind he had said,"LET GO OF ME FILTHY HUMAN, I HATE BEING HELD AND PETTED." He then bit her since he was unable to even use any of his claws, as soon as she would let go he would run full speed out of range. What ever they were apart of was not with this, Cheshire hates being petted because it makes made that people think that they can make a pet out of him. The only time he lets people even do any of that is if he likes them or knows them well enough to even let them hold him.

Sol felt his eyebrow threatening to twitch as he heard Haraka suddenly start questioning if he was going to call the dragon Ice Dragon every time he was annoyed with them and mentioned that they know the difference between a threat and a cat wanting to be a cat.” I call you Ice Dragon because you are half one”he said getting ready to say more before he heard Yona suddenly call him Lord of Child Sized which made the vein in his head throb harder as he.” I sensed magic in this animal which while not uncommon is also a bit odd since most magical cats are not found in town” he explained as he tried to keep is temper in check and he brought out his Kiseru and took a puff to focus and calm himself down.

Hopefully Yona would understand the importance of the Kiseru and leave it alone and perhaps know she was irritating him.haraka on the other hand would not know. As she seemed to talk in a childish tone to the cat it tried to bite her and scratch her and Sol simply shook his head.”Clever girl” he said his tone not impressed at all as he took another puff.

Haraka gave a slight sigh at Yona, shaking his head. "How many people do you bother to not remember?" He didn't want to know the answer to that, not really. Hopefully it wasn't too many people? Oh well. At least she wasn't aimed directly at him. Even now she was down talking Sol. Was it the size? Did she just feel like it? Somehow it just didn't seem all that smart to do. Besides that, it wasn't polite. Maybe she didn't care about being polite? Well, she wasn't his kid. She can dig her own hole. What he didn't expect? For her to take what was supposed to be a stray cat and... "...Most stray cats aren't used to being touched and will treat being restrained as a threat on their life." Her threats were made null as a way to test anything concerning the cat. What sort of person would handle a cat like that? Does she actually know anything about cats? He started cutting the raw fish meat into thin strips, making sure to use their talons to cut it in a direction that would bring out the flavor of the meat. Did she notice how Sol hadn't been restraining the legs or anything like that? No obscene amount of touch and he wasn't attacked.

As with Sol? Omaras shouldn't have translated it that way and now he was regretting it. "Sorry, being called be species just makes me think of..." People who said it while wondering if they should try to kill him. He didn't say that, but there had been a pause in speech and an expression of deep thinking. "...anyway, I'm sorry for being rude the other day. I was going through a little inner turmoil and couldn't handle a certain topic well." He would say more but... this wasn't the time or place. It wasn't the right company. There was no way he was saying more around Yona. It was a vague apology, hopefully vague enough that the girl wouldn't get why he was apologizing. The only person he did want to understand it was Sol. Being that he didn't socialize with the dragon king much, he had no real idea that it meant Sol was irritated. They simply hadn't interacted enough for that.

Yona pet him and moments later he took a nip at her hand. The woman looked at her hand, seeing a red droplet form upon her skin. The blood in her sight brought her a strange craving, one she recoiled at. She let the cat go, watching him dart away and shrugged. "Well, this has been fun and all but either he's just a dumb cat or he's a person who doesn't want to be engaged." Yona felt a stirring inside of her head as Ketsueki lifted himself up and into the forefront of her mind, speaking only to her. "Well, well, an alley. No witnesses. Are you finally going to let me out for a bit?" Ketsueki's deep voice questioned her. Yona felt him flex his long claws and gnash his pointed teeth. Her heart rate sped up but she maintained a look of calm superiority in the presence of Sol and Haraka.

It would be best to leave now before Ketsueki tried anything. She reached down and picked up her own basket of goods, moving to get out of the alleyway with a wave, not even turning to look at the two still there. She didn't much care if she made Sol mad. He was going to have to figure out how to handle it. If he thought she was bad, he had spent too little time in the world with other people. Name calling was juvenile but seeing him puff on his kiseru reminded her of the poison that ran through her body weeks before. He needed a stronger backbone than what he had, she thought to herself. And Haraka was all sorts of weird and vague today. She doubted either of them wanted her around, and realistically, Yona had better things to do than hang out with them. Especially if they were just chasing a cat around. And especially given that Ketsueki was actively trying to break free again.

Yona looked over her shoulder briefly before turning out of the alley, she opened her mouth to speak and then felt what was like a punch to the stomach. She gasped as Ketsueki took control, her chest tightening and her body going into a tentative state of rigor mortis. Her inner demon was waiting for the right moment when she let her guard down and had given her a quiet day in the market without even a whisper until now. Her eyes flashed like two blue flames and quickly Yona turned her head away, without saying a word. The mage's body relaxed again as she took a deep breath. Hopefully, neither of the males had caught sight of the struggle inside of her head. Yona swallowed hard and then took off running, feeling the abrasive change of her skin to something darker, then something more like wood. Yona needed to escape before anyone saw what she was really dealing with. Her neck was growing antler-like branches of wood from her collarbone and shoulders, her clothing tearing as it was breaking out from her skin. "Oh yes, almost there. I can smell them, I can smell so much blood." The plant mage sucked on her thumb to stem the minute flow of blood but tasting the iron made the situation only worse. Yona ran at her top speed, losing some of her shopping items along the way, and left the market, forgetting all about Sol, Haraka and the dumb cat that had bit her.

As he is released he quickly ran to a spot where he could transform back without anyone seeing hims, Jinks got out of hiding and looked at him, his familiar seemed to be worried about that lady that was threatening his master's life,"What Jinks, you know we don't talk to the crazy ones remember what mother said. Never get tangled up with the crazy ones, they will make our lives a living hell." Jinks keeps looking at him, pushing his master's face and pointing into the direction where that group was,"I said no Jinks, we are not going back, plus I don't feel like being injected with 13 kinds of poisons today." Eventually Jinks won and Cheshire when back to where the 3 people were and saw the woman seemed to be acting a tad strange. Chesh then said,"Hello, is there a problem. I couldn't happen to over hear you two talking about something in what sounds quiet loud." He was acting as though he had never seen them before in his life which means he has to act like he doesn't even know what they are talking about if they talk about a black cat.

Sol simply sighed as he breathed out some toxic smoke from his last puff of his kiseru as Haraka apologized and said he was not use to it.”it’s a habit I have when I talk to one of dragon kin Haraka im sorry I was not meaning to irritate you” he explained and apologized before he felt his irritation flare with Yona due to her tone with her comments but he then caught sight of an issue going on with her, it only showed for a fraction of a second but it was long enough for the dragon to catch sight of it and it instantly put him on edge even more.

However before he could approach her and then chase after her a newcomer approached and Sol became wary as they were asked if something was wrong.”we might have an issue Haraka could you stay with him while I go get Yona” he asked as he quickly rushed in the direction Yona had went trying to stop her and make sure she was alright.

Yona had ran hard, pushing through the market, dropping various items she had bought. It would have been easy to follow if someone thought chasing the mage running like a mad woman was going to be a good idea. The branches were just out of her collarbone and shoulders enough to show and the blue flames in her eyes would not cease. "Stop, Ketsueki, stop!" The way that she implored pleased the demon and he stopped fighting her to take control. For just a moment more, her features stayed in the strange shift between forms before returning to normal again.

"You owe me then. Tonight, no excuses. Or I'll rip apart that little boy you love so much and feast on him instead." It was becoming harder and harder to maintain and control the demon inside of her body. Harder still was keeping it a secret. She stopped racing to lean against the far wall of the stable. "Yeah. All right, tonight." Yona said aloud. She caught her breath and the evil presence inside her seemed to dwindle and relax. She listened to the snorting of the horses, smelled the hay, honeysuckle and grass. She just breathed in and out until she was normal again. Yona looked down at her basket, half full of her purchases and frowned. She wasn't going back to the market, so she might as well just head home to Sato.

[exiting guys, we can chat ic later!~ Sol if you really are trying to track me down I can stay but why not just start a social and talk with me there!!]

Haraka stared at Yona a bit when she didn't flinch at the animal bites. Was this the same person that got so upset over sneezes and shivers? But soon enough the cat was released and she had run off. That entire thing was a little off, but he didn't know her well enough to know for sure. It just felt that way to him. But when the cat came back as a person? It was kind of annoying that Sol was right, but even worse when the person started to pretend like they hadn't been the cat that ran off before. They had the same magic and smell, of course it was the same. "Okay." He still responded to Sol, even if the man had already bound off after Yona. Whatever was going on, the vice president could handle it. The young looking man had faith in the dragon king. What should he say? The mixed blood wasn't sure how to feel about the entire situation. So he looked over to the cat man before spoking in his gentle, soft, quiet voice. "You have the same magical presence in both forms. Yona's lies to get you to squirm may have been harsh, but it does look like it still worked to get you to change to a humanoid form." Harakas talons poked at a thin strip of fish meat, plopping it into his mouth. It was only a sliver of food, but it was a good reminder to keep calm. "I'm Doctor Haraka Omaras of the West Fiore Trading Company. Welcome to our guilds country. Now, what brings you here?"

Rather then admitting it Chesh said,"Both forms? I have no idea what you are talking about, but still it is nice to meet you Doctor Haraka, the name is Cheshire Umbra. So this is guild land huh, looks very lovely but I have to ask, what were you guys doing to the poor cat? I can agree that my aura today is similar to a cat but I haven't been in my cat form today." Though his poker face is good, it doesn't mean that Jinks won't come out and help him on this so he has to pray to the goddess that this person can't tell if he is lying or not.

Did this person want to get in trouble? It's probably a good thing that it was Omaras that was talking right now. Still, it was agitating that this person was still lying. Never mind that the mixed blood was a doctor, or that he knew a vast amount about a fair amount of species. Never mind that he was thousands of years old. Haraka had been the one who gave this person the most space to show that they were a cat, only to have him be wrong. Even worse, a liar. The young looking old man wanted to scold this person, but it was pretty obvious that this person was skittish. "What did I actually do?" This person was slow. They were so focused on what Yona did, what Sol did. All this person was doing was proving more so that he wasn't the sharpest knife out there. "As one of the vice presidents of the west fiore trading company, Sol takes the safety of the people in Tolgalen seriously. He spotted something that made no sense, and thus responded. He would have released you the moment you answered his questions and stopped acting so suspicious. Even around the person, who at worse offered you better quality fish that you ignored and rejected, all you can do right now is lie?" The half demon frowned at himself. Hadn't the ice blue skinned person told himself seconds ago that he wouldn't scold the cat? Yet that's what ended up happening.

"HUH fine, how you figure it was mean that was a cat hu, you going to tell me you can see my saw." Cheshire was a bit mad because he doesn't even give off human size amount of magic, in fact he knows for a fact that even cats produce magic, every living thing does. So how the hell does this person know that he was even the can,"Anyway, im looking for a job and housing. You got any positions opens that I can fill at that company of yours?" He might be angry but Cheshire still needs some money and a place to stay.

Sol tried to catch up to Yona but he lost her in the crowd before he decided to walk back to where Haraka was and he saw him conversing with a person who he had never seen before but seemed to have the same scent as that cat he had saw before.”So I was right all along” he said as he approached them. He caught the tail end of the conversation and he spoke up.”We are always looking for new members but you will be tested and if I ask you a question I expect an answer am I understood” he said his tone was honest but near the end he became stern since the boy had hidden his form from the two and it made Sol wary.

“now lets go to the company Building Haraka you coming?” he asked as he turned and motion for the two to follow him” it seemed they were getting along of members lately but Sol was always cautious of each one since he knew enemies were out there and he would not put it past one of them to try and slip a spy in.

It seemed Sol came at the right time, so the mixed blood didn't need to do anything. Not figure out what 'see my saw' meant, nor say they needed to wait there. Haraka nodded a bit to the vice president, "Yes you are, and I was wrong." At least the normal guild member was fine with admitting it? Sol was the one who thought it was a mage after all, while the mixed blood had thought it was probably just an animal. But there was still something lingering on the mind. He knew that an empty threat to figure something out wasn't off from what he had seen of her, but the non reaction to pain? If she reacted so badly to shivering and sneezing, there should have been more towards bites. There had been blood. He hadn't noticed every detail, but hadn't needed to be Mr. eagle eyes. "Did you find out why Yona was off? Is she okay?" Was he going to come and watch another test? While the lies that cat mage had spoken bothered Omaras, he still wouldn't mind watching. That's why he nodded before starting to follow the dragon king.