The Night's Hunt

[miss_sanguine]

Damn Kabe. He always showed up at the worst time.

Well, any time Kabe showed up was a "worst" time. The bastard had a tendency to make everything--no matter what it was--worse.

And now his back and neck ached. Who in the their right mind would put all of their weight onto someone's shoulders?

Oh, that's right. Kabe wasn't in his right mind. As eccentric as Monnayage was, Kabe outranked him in that regard.

<The woman didn't like you, anyway,> Maneki said to him, not helping him feel better at all. She seemed unfazed by his brother now that Kabe had gone and complimented her--one of the cat's weaknesses. Fickle and prideful; hating on someone one moment, loving them the next.

Something wet and cold landed on his face, followed shortly by another. Before he knew it, the entire sky made an attempt to drown him in a torrent of water.

What? But it had been a clear night! The moon had been out, and the stars! He looked to the heavens, face bombarded by raindrops. Where had the clouds come from?

Maneki released a long series of frantic hisses, her displeasure seeping into his own feelings and making him uncomfortable.

"Huh. Imagine that. Rain!" he heard Kabe saying, and turned to see his brother with his arms open wide to the sky as if in greeting. The other laughed.

In the grip of Maneki's desperation, Monnayage's mind raced in a panic not his own; she sat huddled on the ground, as close to it as she could be, hissing at the rain as if to scare it away. He heard shutters open, heard someone say something, but he was already moving, as was Maneki. The both of them sprang for the welcome sight, him shoving Petal out of the way to get inside--though he had enough of a hold on his mind to do it gently enough to not harm her.

From outside, he could hear Kabe laughing even harder. The sound, grating and bringing back memories of childhood teasings, brought Monnayage back to his senses, and he became aware of what he'd just done.

Horrified, he turned to Petal, aware of his dripping clothes and the puddle already forming at his feet. Maneki, as unconcerned as ever simply because she'd gotten her way, was busy licking at her wet fur with a sort of feverish fervor.

"Ah! I'm so--I don't--" he scrambled around in his mind for words that might help him, but none came.

More laughter, and Kabe climbed professionally in through the open window. His hair, Monnayage saw with some jealousy, looked just as good wet as it did dry. "I'm sure what my little brother means to say is that he's terribly thankful for your hospitality, especially considering how much you seem to despise us."

[GoblinFae]

The frantic cat, Ladybird had been expecting but the man's sudden need to clamber through her window and knock her out of the way infuriated her. "Oh for the love of Kia, it's only a bit of rain," she growled, throwing a towel in his face to silence his sputtering in time for the other brother to appear.

This brother's nonchalant attitude to his entrance and to the rain itself amused her slightly and helped to settle her grumpiness. "You do know there is such a things as a door," she returned, handing the man casually standing in front of her window a towel as well, albeit a bit gentler than she had his younger brother.

"I do not despise you. I just do not like your attitude. Barging into private gardens and scaring its occupants isn't considered acceptable behavior in the rest of society. Now," she sighed eying the pair. "Can I trust the two of you to behave or do I need to throw you both back outside?"

[miss_sanguine]

Kabe took the towel in his hands, noting the girl's less forceful approach on his behalf when handing it to him, as opposed to her tossing of one toward Monnayage. Had it been a hard object like a chair and not a soft towel, it would have proved a painful attack on his brother's face.

Such a strange young woman, to harbor resentment so easily. He imagined she didn't make many friends. But he liked it: feisty, like a stubborn cat. All the more fun to try and tame. Some girls proved just too easy; not that he minded easy girls, of course.

"Doors are too expected," he said to her after wiping his face dry with the towel and then rubbing it over his hair until he felt the strands frayed out around his face. "Boring, really. Everyone goes through doors. And, not to be rude, but," he swung the towel haphazardly over his shoulder, holding to it like the rim to a bag, "I didn't barge into your garden. Nor did I frighten you. In fact, you liked my owl form, if I remember correctly."

Suppressing a laugh as he saw from the corner of his eyes Monnayage visibly scowling at him, he added, "And I promise to keep my brother on a tight leash while we're here. You've seen how uncouth he can be--'barging into private gardens' and shoving beautiful young women aside like common furniture--"

"I didn't mean--!"

"Wouldn't want the littlest Mint soiling my good family name, after all." He grinned wide.

[GoblinFae]

"I see," she replied, nodding her head. "But, you did intrude as did your brother. While I may have at first enjoyed your entrance some others did not." Lifting her wrist, she showed him her living, hissing "bracelet" wrapped firmly around it. "There are many who enjoy the safety and solitude of my garden. While the mice I don't mind you scaring off, the others I do. I take great pride in my work and my home. It disheartens me when people like you and your brother do not respect that."

Ladybird sighed and turned away. "Just don't go terrorizing anything else and there won't be anymore problems between us." As if called on cue, a scruffy tomcat sauntered down the stairs and eyed the dripping wet Maneki. Had the botanist seen it she would have warned Monnayage of it but, as such was a bit more preoccupied with getting Fern to unwind from her wrist so she could make tea. Yet every time she got half of him off she would recurl himself back as she continued.

'Fern you annoying leach, let go!'
The snake hissed angrily and lifted the upper half of his body to stare not-so-fearsomely into his ward's eyes. "I's iss nots a leach! Big copper sscreaming things iss warm. I's wants it."
'The last time I let you near the tea kettle you nearly broiled yourself. Unless you want to be dinner, let go!'

Growling slightly, she scowled at the repitle but otherwise left him alone. Ladybird continued to work at making tea and kept her back to her guests. "Feel free to sit down, just watch out for the hedgehog. He has a tendency to sit on soft chairs when you're not paying attention." She giggled softly at the idea of one of the men sitting and then jumping up squealing because of one of her little visitors.

[miss_sanguine]

Why did he always feel like such a child when Kabe stood near? Normally this whole situation would have come off as funny to him, even attractive in some ways--but not now. Not with Kabe standing there all smug as if he owned the world and Petal falling for it. At least he, Monnayage, was sincere in his appeal. Kabe just wanted some ass, as usual.

And she had the nerve to say that he'd intruded. No more than Maneki had 'intruded,' but the cat wasn't getting hounded for it. Maybe if he'd the ability to sprout a tail and some ears, she'd be nicer to him.

Oh, Kia. A tail and ears. The thought made him shudder. What a hideous idea.

Not that he looked any better right now with his wet hair and dirty clothes. Freaking out was usually his reaction to being such a mess, but it would only lead to more teasing from his brother, so he restrained himself.

"I've no desire to go terrorizing anyone nor anything," he heard Kabe say, though Monnayage's attention had moved to a tomcat coming down the stairs. The sight brought him comfort--here was some company he could feel comfortable around. If the girl liked cats enough to have one of her own, she couldn't be too bad.

Maneki had noticed the other cat as well, though her reaction was less welcome as she glared at it in daring, paw still half-raised from her licking.

[GoblinFae]

While Ladybird busied herself setting her worktable for tea and clearing off the flower order she had been working on, the tomcat decided to accept the unspoken challenge and causally sauntered his way up to Maneki, tail raised high with pride.

The kettle whistled startling both human and cat alike. However, whereas the lady's response was to retrieve and start pouring the water, Tips, the cat's reaction was to puff up to twice his size and jump a foot into the air. Abashed, the ginger-colored sat on his rump and causally licked his tail back into submission as if nothing had happened.

'You say that now, but I too have siblings. I worry more about your brother than my visitors.' Adding sugar to her own cup, Ladybird moved to sit down when a deep hiss sounded from her seat. "Oh Randy! How did you even get down the stairs?" Sighing exasperatedly, she put her cup down and removed the tortoise from her chair and instead placed him in her lap. "Just one thing after another here. So," she finally sighed, sitting properly. "Is there any particular reason you decided to come harass your brother Mister Mint? Or do you just make a habit of squashing him?"

[miss_sanguine]

Everything about this whole situation struck Kabe as extremely amusing. Here he was, in a woman's house in the middle of the night--and he wasn't in her bed. Instead, he stood in her living room, soaking wet while watching two prideful cats jump at the sound of a teakettle.

This woman had a menagerie of critters in her house. Even had a turtle, of all things. Or a tortoise. He'd never stopped to find out the difference.

After a quick glance around to see if he might find a bird stuffed in the crevices of the walls, or a squirrel living on the ceiling, he made his way over toward the young woman and stared down at the animal in her lap. A soft hiss crept to his ears as his brother's cat showed her obvious dislike toward the other furry intruder.

"No reason whatsoever," he said. "Except, as you said, for my habit of squishing him. I find brother-squishing an enjoyable pastime."

[GoblinFae]

The woman giggled despite herself, politely hiding it behind her napkin as she looked at the younger brother. " Your poor brother. As a middle sister I can understand the feeling of sibling-squishing on both ends." She tilted her head as she looked at the dripping wet and distracted man. "Would you like some tea Monnayage? I'm sure it'll warm you up a bit. I'm sorry I can't do more for you though," she apologized, pushing a cup across the table towards him.

"For heaven's sake, please sit down! You're making me feel like a poor hostess.Don't worry about the furniture or getting things wet. Kia knows how much water I've spilled on things as it is. Excuse the mess and the animals though. Business does not leave much time for tidying up my workroom."

Ladybird blushed and dipped her head to sip her tea, scolding her tongue in the process. 'Well I deserved that.' Fern, who would normally have jumped on the opportunity to squawk at her for that remained lethargic and content around her resist, enjoying the warmth of teacup close by.

Meanwhile, Tips had decided he was ready to re-approach the new feline in the house. Tail once more raised high in the air, the tomact resumed his saunter up to Maneki and meowed. If he could have winked and smirked he would have but, he did not since he was just a cat.

[miss_sanguine]

What, was this woman bipolar? One minute hating on him and the next trying to pity him for being a younger brother? Monnayage didn't know how to react, so he just stared at her and shrugged. When the cup made its way to him, he looked to it hesitantly, then picked it up and sniffed it tentatively. He'd never been a big fan of tea, but he didn't want to be rude.

What always baffled him was how his charm seemed to leak out of him when Kabe stood near. He wanted nothing more than to leave.

There were tinges of a territorial dislike that he had a hard time distinguishing between his own and Maneki's. Both his and her feelings were blending into one, which explained her hatred of this other cat and his unhappiness at being near his brother.

In a great force of will, he managed not to drop the cup when Maneki's anger turned to fury; his mind blared with red as she let out a horrible hiss and lashed out at the male cat with her claws extended. His grip on the cup tightened and he quickly turned around.

He had no hard feelings toward this other cat, but caught up in Maneki's anger, all he could do was glare at it. <Why not just move away from him?> he asked irritably. All he needed was for Maneki to hurt Petal's animals and make her hate him more.

<I was here first.>

<He lives here.>

"Hm." It was Kabe. "Hard to tell who dislikes that cat more; the way both she and Monna are glaring at it."

[GoblinFae]

Ladybird smiled somewhat apologetically at Monnayage as he took the cup. She knew she had not been very fair or kind to him. Of all people, she knew better than most how infuriating siblings could be and how they could make one not behave as normal. She highly suspected that without this other Mint brother, Monnayage would have been the interesting man she had met in her garden.

She was just about to speak when a cat's hiss sounded from behind him. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of her cat's flicking, bushy tail. Jumping to her feet, Ladybird thrust the Randy into the other brother's arms and raced over to the fighting felines.

"Tips you idiot! Quit being such a male and realize she isn't interested!" Angrily, she bent and snatched up the yowling cat before moving to get out of Maneki's way. Raising the cat to eye level, she glared and winced as she was clawed in turn. "You are a pest, you know that don't you. You're lucky I don't cast you back out in the rain."

The woman shook her head exasperatedly before turing to Monnayage. She bowed slightly while still clutching the cat close. "I am so sorry Mister Mint. I didn't know he would come down. He usually doesn't like it when there are strangers are in the house. I really am quite sorry. This should never have happened."

Ladybird bit her lip in nervousness and averted her eyes, too embarrassed to look at either brother. 'Today is really not going the way it should be, is it? I make such a mess of things. It's no wonder I can never find a man to marry. Look how I treat strangers!'

[miss_sanguine]

Monnayage's curious stare at Petal's interference with the tom quickly turned to a glare. The woman was a glowing hypocrite in all regards; getting mad at him for being sarcastic toward Maneki when she too got frustrated with her own feline.

And not just one feline. He could sense others slinking around the house. Could smell their cat musk permeating the air. It proved a homey smell, if not a bit overwhelming. Exactly how many cats did she have?

But, being a Mint, it wasn't in his nature to stay upset for very long. It drained him more than anything. He gave an inward sigh and shrugged his shoulders at her apology, his lips twitching into a slight smile at the irony of the scene. To own a cat made it only natural to know how prissy they could be.

"You can't blame the tom," he said. "Maneki is a most beautiful cat. He'd be crazy not to want her."

His familiar had gone back to licking herself the moment the tom had been lifted away, her tongue raking along her flank to smooth the fur and remove the wet. <I've no interest in a plain tom,> she said mostly to herself, her tone less irritated under the praise he'd given her. She always seemed to love praise from him more than anyone else, which made him smile more.

Feeling better, either from Maneki's new calmness or from his being too drained to continue with his sour mood, he placed the cup back on the table and stretched, his arms reaching over his head in a tight arc. "You wouldn't happen to have any dry clothes, would you?" he asked when done, gesturing at his shirt and pants, which were cold and clung to his body in a most uncomfortable way. He'd never liked clothes.

A hairbrush would be nice, too, he thought forlornly to himself, more out of pride than discomfort. No doubt it looked terrible, and he hated when his hair looked terrible.

"Psh. Since when do you want clothes when you can go without?" Kabe suddenly asked. The man had been inspecting the turtle in his hands, turning it this way and that, upside-down and right-side up, but now had it tucked into his pants--head-up--so as to remove his sodden shirt and swing it over his shoulder. Monnayage noticed the older one made a show of taking it off in as fancy a manner as he could. "Don't you usually like to go naked, anyway?"

And here Monnayage felt his face grow hot, Maneki following this up with a low, involuntary growl as she continued her cleaning, unaware she had even made the noise.

[[Edit;; Because it was just too funny a mental image to pass up, I used my amazing tablet-less Paint skills to draw Kabe with his new best friend in his pants. //http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v384/MortalBakuluver/?action=view&current=Kabe.jpg]]

[GoblinFae]

"Aye she is," the woman agreed, smiling down at the cat. "It's just she doesn't deserve to be harassed by him. I really am sorry about that." Ladybird was distracted though by Monnayage's change of topics. "Clothes? Oh! Um," her eyes widened as she turned to listen to the other brother and caught sight of her turtle in his pants.

A few unintelligible sounds escaped her for several moments as she just stared and tried to think again. "Um, well," she sighed heavily and tried again. "I suppose since it doesn't look the weather isn't going to lighten up anytime soon you could spend the night here. I'm afraid I don't have any men's clothes. Here come upstairs and you can at least take your clothes off and dry off in privacy. I'm afraid you'll have to share a room though. My space here is very limited between the animals and the shop," the botanist shrugged and headed for the stairs.

"Mister Mint I would appreciate it if you would uh handle taking Randy upstairs." Ladybird kept nervously eying turtle but otherwise did not comment further. You are more than welcome to stay but you'll have to excuse the other occupants. Some of my visitors are not as shy as others." Still holding the squirming Tips, she motioned for the pair to follow her upstairs to her sole guestroom.

[miss_sanguine]

Kabe hadn't had much experience with turtles before, but he found that he rather liked them. Well, this one at least. The little guy had such a melancholy face, tolerating his inspections with surprising patience. And, not to mention, he could have sworn it'd smiled at him. A charming smile that no sane person could dislike. Why, the creature was cute. A shelled bachelor who no doubt had no trouble with the ladies. He felt a kinship with the turtle almost right away.

When he looked up from the animal's head, which was poking slowly but curiously out of the top of his pants, and saw the girl looking at him, his reaction was to beam at her, flashing his brilliant white teeth in her direction, as if it were a perfectly commonplace thing for him to have a reptile sticking up out of his pants where his privates were.

"Why, I would love to share a room with you, madam," he said, half-jesting. "What a kind and generous offer. I imagine Monnayage would have no problem sleeping on the floor while we attend to . . . other duties." He winked. "He's like a cat when it comes to sleeping habits--can sleep any and everywhere."

He followed the young girl to the base of the stairs, making sure the turtle remained safely in his pants. Randy, was it? That didn't seem a very befitting name for a handsome little guy such as this one. He mentally renamed him The Stag.

[GoblinFae]

The woman blushed before turning and coming up with a reply. "And would those duties include sharing the bed with the two and half dozen other animals I have in my room Mister Mint? I'm afraid if you want into my sheets you are going to have to get in line. Keep that up though and your brother may be the one making you sleep on the floor like the dog you are."

At the top of the stairs she opened up a door to the left and went it. "I'm afraid this is the only guestroom I have. I hope it will do," she stated as she started to put a fire in the hearth. "Is there anything I can get you? Do for you? I know it's not much; I just never have any guests as a rule."

As Ladybird fidgeted, unsure whether to leave or stay a blue-eyed completely white-furred kitten dropped down from the tall armoire and landed on her head. It mewled softly as it slid down and flopped onto her right shoulder. She placed a small kiss to its little head to avoid meeting anyone's gaze.

[miss_sanguine]

The sound of Kabe's low chuckles could be heard as Monnayage followed his brother up the stairs. No doubt the idea of sharing a bed with a woman and several animals only came off as kinky to the other, which made Monnayage grimace. Where had his brother picked up his strange courtship mannerisms?

For a guestroom, it was rather small and poorly lit. She hadn't been kidding when she said she didn't get too many guests. Unless she counted the various animals wandering around her house.

Following his brother's example, he lifted his shirt up and off, a bit more tentatively than the other had. The dry air of the room felt good on his skin, like it could suddenly breathe after hours of not being able to. He took his stripped shirt and placed it over the hearth so that the fire could dry it off. "You've already offered two strangers a stay in your house," he said, his voice drowned by a loud boom of thunder that made Maneki curl up at his feet and growl. "We don't need anything mo--"

A kitten fell out of nowhere and landed on Petal's head, making him stare long and hard in disbelief. What the hell? Did animals just fall from the ceiling in here?

"Looks like you've got a leak," Kabe commented from the corner of the room. "I mean, it is raining cats and dogs outside." Then he looked around in curiosity. "Think a doberman might fall down next? I prefer dogs."

[GoblinFae]

Ladybird paled at the sound of thunder, burying her face in the kitten's side. "A leak indeed," she giggled weakly, shuffling to head out the door. "Although I doubt you'll have any dogs bothering you Mister Mint. I'm not as partial to them as cats. I currently do not have any that were in need of tending. If you'll excuse me," she bolted from the room as another crack of thunder sounded and lightning lit up the sky.

She did not even bother to shut her door as she dashed into her room and dropped Tips to the bed. The little kitten was removed from her shoulder and cuddled close to her. Every rumble of the night sky made her flinch. Not caring about her clothes, Ladybird curled up against the headboard of her bed, praying that the storm would pass quickly.

[miss_sanguine]

The older Mint only managed to get out a small, "Shame," before the girl disappeared from the room. What was wrong with dogs? They were lovable, playful, loyal. Everything a cat wasn't.

To each their own, he guessed.

Not hearing another door close after a few minutes, his lecherous grin returned. She hadn't closed her door. Did that mean she wanted him to go in after her? Poor little thing, afraid of thunder. She needed someone there to comfort her, the warmth of a man's body to chase away her fears.

"Don't even think about it," came Monnayage's voice, stopping Kabehim in his tracks. He hadn't even been aware of his heading out the door.

His younger brother walked over to the door to their room and closed it, giving a purposeful glare in his direction before returning to the fireside and proceeding to remove his pants to place them up by his shirt. Kabe had just tossed his shirt haphazardly to the floor.

"Not bothering with your undergarments?" he asked, smirking. Always the modest one, Monnayage. As if to prove his point of immodesty, Kabe stripped his pants and underpants off completely--making sure to take The Stag out and put him down on the bed--and dropped them to the floor before stretching in as obscene a way he could.

But now that the girl had left, Monnayage didn't seem to be as reserved as before. He ignored Kabe, his back to him. "Aw, come on. No hard feelings, little Monny." He sat on the bed next to his turtle companion and watched as his brother sat on the floor with his cat in his lap, whom he was petting absentmindedly while staring into the flames.

Before too much time had passed, both brothers fell asleep--Monnayage curled up on the floor with Maneki tucked up beside him, and Kabe in the bed, The Stag on the pillow beside his head.

[GoblinFae]

No matter what she did, Ladybird was not able to make herself ignore and forget the storm raging outside. She eventually gave up and crawled out of bed long enough to change her clothes and check on the animals resting in her room.

The kitten had fallen asleep on her pillow, a pair of mated birds perched on her bookshelf, and she could hear the bunnies settling in for the night under her bed. It brought a smile to know that all was safe and well and that her "family" was happy.

Curling up into a tiny ball under the covers she fell asleep to the sound of gentle purring and Fern's soft hissing. The snake knowing how much his charge hated storms stayed close to her instead of wandering or resting in his own special "bed." He spent most of the night staring down at her from a top one of the rungs of her bedpost.

[miss_sanguine]

Monnayage didn't know what it was that woke him. He became aware of something and it made him come back to a groggy consciousness. Maneki's soft fur warmed his side where she slept nestled against him. Her tail twitched in her sleep. The rain had stopped, and in the new silence he could hear her quiet breathing. The only not-so-quiet sound was that of Kabe's muffled snoring from over on the bed.

That couldn't have been what had wakened him, though, could it? It wasn't that loud.

Shifting a little, Monnayage turned his head and opened his eyes--and nearly yelled in fright. What seemed like hundreds of gleaming, yellow eyes were staring at him.

They were eyes. Cats' eyes.

<They came in through the door,> Maneki said, apparently not asleep. He could see that now, her tail twitching not from a dream but from her agitation caused by their visitors. And, sure enough, when he glanced over at the door he saw that it was now open, more cats creeping in through it.

What in all the damned hells of religions he didn't believe in was going on? How many cats did this woman need? He counted at least sixteen of them, and more were coming. And why were they surrounding him and staring at him like this?

<What do they want?> he asked, bemused. <You're not in heat are you?>

But, no. He would know if Maneki was in heat. And besides, some of the cats here were female.

Before Maneki could answer, however, another noise cut through the silence; a noise so soft he thought he might have imagined it. No ordinary human ears would have been able to pick up on it. All of the cats' heads turned toward the door, some going as far as to get up and go near it to peek out.

It sounded like someone was downstairs. But who? Had Petal gotten up to get a glass of water?

Maneki, obviously more interested in keeping the other cats away from him than she was by this noise, said, <They say there's a stranger in the house.>

That got Monnayage up. <What? A stranger?>

<A robber, by the sounds of it. They say he crept in through the window.>

<Maneki!> He was getting to his feet now. <Why didn't you tell me sooner?>

<It's not our house. What do we care if something is stolen?>

"Kabe!" he hissed in the quiet, trying to be loud enough to wake the other, but not loud enough to alert the person downstairs that he was there. "Kabe, wake up!"

"Mm?" His brother didn't open his eyes, still half-asleep.

"Kabe. There's someone in the house."

More indiscernible grumblings, then, "It's a house full of animals, little brother. That's all you're hearing."

"What? No! The cats--"

A bright light suddenly lit the room, so bright after lying in darkness so long that Monnayage had to shield his eyes with his arm.

"Kabeyage, you bastard. This is where you've been hiding? Should've known." A man stood in the doorway, hand outstretched and producing the strange light that permeated Monnayage's sensitive eyes. A tall man with long, lank black hair and eyes more like dark pools. The stranger glanced about the room in mild curiosity before settling on Kabe's figure in the bed. "It's been a while. And wha--why the hell are you naked?"

Kabe had risen from the bed, stretching and yawning as if this were a usual wake-up call for him. "Dimetri!" he said through his yawn. "Caught up with me already? That didn't take long."

Kabe knew this man?

The man snorted. "Cut the crap. And put some clothes on, for hell's sake."

The cats of the room were now ambling about the room, hissing at the stranger in warning. Kabe looked to them with an amused smile, one brow quirked in curiosity, but said nothing.

Monnayage knew why they were hissing, though. This Dimetri had a strange smell to him that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He smelled of wild poisons and smoke.

What was going on?

[GoblinFae]

The botanist slept soundly, never hearing the intruder nor knowing that her human guests were awake. It was not until she felt a heavy weight land on her chest that she startled into awareness. Glowing mismatched eyes stared down at her in the dark. She inhaled sharply but settled as Fern reminded her it was only one of the cats.

"Pessky things been pawing yous for a whiles now," he hissed grumpily. Ladybird sat up, forcing the cat to jump at the side as she lit a candle. Ink-black fur and one blue and one copper eye met the human's own questioning pair. "Akira? What are you doing on the bed? Did the rain scare you?"

The feline rarely came near humans and even when she did it was not for long. The fact that she was not only walking all over Ladybird and grumbling and staring led the human to believe something was wrong. The woman reached out to pet the cat only to get a set of claws embedded into the flesh of her palm.

Retracting her hand, Ladybird watched as Akira jumped down and paced back and forth in front of the door restlessly before returning to the bed. Thrice more she did this odd routine, seeming more and more agitated as time passed.

Ladybird got up from the bed and wrapped a robe over her nightgown, not bothering to tie it in her concern. "I better just go check on things. Better safe than sorry. Come on Fern," she commanded, scooping up the grumpy reptile.

"I's didn't hears anythings. Yous are jumpin' at sshadowss." The botanist rolled her eyes at the familiar's words ringing in her head. 'Of course you didn't hear anything. You don't have ears to hear with.' Sighing, she made her way out into the hall and down towards the guestroom.

She was nearly there when she saw the strange light beaming out from the door and the shape of a large man on the opposite wall. Akira dashed in front of the human as Ladybird rushed to extinguish the flame of her candle. Unsure whether this man was friend or foe, she pressed herself up against the wall and inched her way closer, listening to the voices inside.