The Night's Hunt

[miss_sanguine]

There was no fear, no surprise. Dimetri had caught up to him, but he'd expected that. After all, a man with as much pride as this guy didn't take theft lightly--even if Kabe wouldn't technically call it thievery. He'd won the man's jewel thing not-so-fair-and-square in a game of wits. Could he help it that he'd outsmarted the man, using rules of his own making? The clever Kabeyage played by his own rules.

The only thing that did surprise him, and surprise was as close to describing what he felt as he could get, was the gathering of cats crowding around his feet and throughout the room in general.  Where had they all come from? It looked like the girl--whom he realized he still hadn't gotten the name of--housed every cat in the city.

Kabe scratched at his chest while looking around, eying the strange company that surrounded him. Monnayage looked on the verge of attack, bared shoulders taut. The fire in the hearth had burned down to cinders some time ago, providing no warmth for the room. By the looks of it, he'd only be asleep for about three hours.

"Well, what might I do for you, good sir?" he finally asked, smiling. "I apologize for my lack of formal dress, but you did come in at an inconvenient time. I was sleeping. Had you warned me of your coming visit, I might have been able to slip into something more . . . appropriate."

"You know what I'm here for," the dark man said, "and you'd best hand it over."

"I'm sure, but," and here Kabe laughed lightly, "I'm afraid I've no idea what you're talking about."

It was hard to remember this guy's deal. He'd met him the one time some few days ago in a bar. Kabe was just happy he could remember the man's name. Something about poison? Was that his ability? Or was the woman he'd slept with that'd had breath so foul it could count as poison?

Ah, well.

Kabe's suspicions were confirmed when, in his frustration, the man spat on the floor. A disgusting habit, really. What made it more foul was the way it started to burn through the floor, smoking and emitting a slight odor of decaying meat. "Hand over the jewel, Kabeyage."

[GoblinFae]

It did not take her long to determine that whoever this man was, he was not someone she wanted in her home. To make the shy and protective Akria react such should have been a sign enough for the human to realize something was up but exhaustion had made her a bit slower.

Sliding further along the wall, Ladybird came right up behind the man just as he demanded for a jewel from whom she assumed was the other mint brother. "He tastes like deaths! Leave 'ems Petal! Leaves!" fern screamed in her head. But, instead of giving her reason to flee it spurred her into action.

Angrily and recklessly she shoved the man from behind into the room and then squeezed past him to stand in front of the Mint brothers. Her eyes briefly caught sight of the eldest brother's lack of apparel before her head whipped to the side as she looked away and glared at the intruder.

"You have intruded on private property. Get out of my house; you are not welcome here! If you have a quarrel with him then take it somewhere else. I won't have you destroying that which is mine! Now leave before something truly unfortunate happens to you!"

[miss_sanguine]

At first Kabe thought the man had charged at random, closing in for an attack, and he made as if to simply side-step the bold move, but then he noticed how the lunge appeared to be more awkward and unbalanced than threatening.

He watched as Dimetri cursed in his descent, scrabbling for balance, and smiled when he did a perfect sort of pirouette to face the one who attacked him.

Couldn't say it had been very smart of the girl to go and do something like that. True, this was her house and Dimetri an intruder, but when unable to size up a threat, one didn't go and push them like that.

"Damn wretch," Dimetri spat, the light in his hand sputtering. "Do that again and I'll show you something 'truly unfortunate.'"

Dearest, noble Monnayage had already instinctively moved himself between Dimetri and the girl the moment she had come into the room. Seeing that the situation grew tense with each second, Kabe decided to lighten it up a little--really, how tense could something really be when someone stood naked a few inches away.

"Dimetri!" he said happily, throwing his arm around the other's shoulder now that he stood close enough. "There's no need to get violent, or go destroying floors that aren't yours. I have your pretty gem--safe and sound! But, I'm afraid I can't give it to you. I won it, you see. It's mine. Fair and square."

The other spun out of his hold as if he'd been burned, making sounds of disgust. "Not yours! You cheated! And do as I said earlier and cover up, else I'll burn your damned privates off."

But, being too lazy too go and grab his wet clothes off the floor, Kabe settled for The Stag, whom he held in front of his jewels as a sort of cover. The turtle took it kindly enough, having not even bothered coming out of its shell. Had The Stag even woken up?

[GoblinFae]

Ladybird's hand instinctively latched onto Monnayage's without her even thinking about it as he stepped in front of her. Moving to the side to stand beside him, she would have responded to the other man's threats if the still unnamed Mint brother had not already intervened.

Suppressed frustration and a small amount of fear bubbled beneath the surface and she had to bite her tongue several times just so she would not do something foolish. Her eyes widened in shock though and a soft squawking noise escaped her as she watched the naked brother pick up Randy and use him as a covering.

Despite her outrage she took a step forward and smirked at the pair. "The both of you may now leave. I asked you before now I'm telling you. Your business does not concern me; I will not have it ruining my peace and quiet. Get out. Now!" Akira hissed and spat from her place at her mistress' feet, looking very much like a huge furry ball.

"Oh," Ladybird chuckled as if just remembering something. "You sir, if you came in by way of the window I would hurry along to the apothecary's just down the street. Those plants while beautiful are deadly. The fastest way to kill yourself with them is to remove them magically, then by burning, then by hand. But, then again a man like you probably already knew that." Her eyebrow cocked in challenge as she continued to smile sweetly.

[miss_sanguine]

Enchanted and mildly confused by the girl's sudden asking for him to leave--he hadn't done anything except get rudely awoken by her intruder--he quirked a brow at her and folded his arms, body tipped back slightly in a comfortable, almost condescending, manner. In his hand he held The Stag, who hadn't provided enough cover for his delicate parts, anyway, them being just a bit too large for the little tortoise.

Cute, how she thought she could turn him away like that. How she seemed to think she had everything under control when she really had no idea who this man was she had so foolishly pushed.

But, then again, this was her house, and it wasn't his place to tell her otherwise, nor object to her kicking him out, however random and uncalled for it was. He'd half-hoped he'd find a way to get into her bed before he left, but that idea was clearly out of the question now.

The man to his left chuckled under his breath. "Bit stupid, aren't you?" he said. "Your plants won't bother me--I know all about them. They might bother the cat I shoved them down, though. Thing wouldn't leave me alone, like a damned guard dog."

"Sir," Monnayage interjected, visibly upset upon seeing the girl insulted thus, "The lady asked you to leave. I suggest you do so." Kabe noticed had pale his brother was, though he couldn't imagine why he was.

It was time to cut in. "Mind telling me why this gem is so important to you that you'd follow me all the way here, Dimetri?" It hadn't looked all that special, and had it been so important, surely the guy wouldn't have tried pawning it off in a gambling game.

[GoblinFae]

The woman frowned at the man's blatant disregard for conduct as far his state of apparel or lack thereof in front of others. Her eyes paused on Randy in order to prevent herself from dipping lower to forbidden territory. 'I better watch that he doesn't walk off with him. Poor turtle, he must be so afraid. Hasn't even left his shell.'

The foul man's words though quickly drew her attention away. The insults meant nothing to her but the possibility of truth in his harming one of her "little visitors" infuriated her. Like a mother protecting her young, she flew at the man without thinking. "What have you done?" she screeched, moving to strike out at him.

[miss_sanguine]

The girl's next step of action made Kabe sigh in disappointment. He'd hoped she had more sense than this.

With the speed of one practiced in moving like a snake--hell, he could become a snake when he needed to--he moved forward and grabbed her forcibly by the arm before she could land on Dimetri, who stood clearly ready for the assault, eyes twinkling with the promise of using his abilities. In having a good grip, Kabeyage pulled her to him, up against his bare body. He wished he weren't doing this out of protection and instead for more sexual reasons, but one couldn't be picky.

There was no time to enjoy his new company, though. Dimetri had prepared for the girl to come at him and had released a stream of black vapor at the same time Kabe had grabbed her. The vapor missed her, instead hitting up against Kabe's grabbing arm, and he winced at the burning pain that followed.

"I'd advise not doing anything like that again," he said, still smiling and hiding the pain he was in, the advice meant for both Dimetri and the girl. "Let's do as the girl said and take this outside, hm?"

[GoblinFae]

She let loose a frustration scream as she was jerked backwards and held in place. The restrainment angered her beyond belief but also allowed her to take a calming breath and realize how reckless she had been. With the calmness also came an understanding what was causing the warmth at her back through the think material of her nightgown and robe. There was a naked man pressed up against her back.

Embarrassed, she instinctively threw back an elbow and reached up for her reptilian guest. "You can leave him on your way out and for Kia's sake put some clothes on before you blind someone with your diminutiveness!" Pulling away she moved back towards the bed and glared at all the male occupants of the room.

[miss_sanguine]

Kabe might have been able to hide the pain he felt in his arm as whatever the man had hit it with made it turn a dark shade of red, but even he couldn't hide the pain that came with an elbow to one's privates. Monnayage winced as he watched his brother curl in on himself with a loud grunt of pain. He had to admire the older one's ability to keep his hold on the tortoise and not drop it, lost in pain.

"Ha," his brother said through clenched teeth, managing a few chuckles. "You're quite . . . the ungrateful one . . . aren't you?"

It had been a bit harsh, in Monnayage's opinion. His brother had, after all, just saved her. He didn't like the smell coming from the wound on Kabe's arm, either. Rancid, burning.

But what could he do? There was a woman in danger, his brother was . . . down . . . as it was, but this stranger took no remorse in killing cats, and he couldn't risk Maneki's health, which would also be risking his own.

<I don't like him,> he heard Maneki say, a growl rising up in her throat that thinned into a low hiss, something he involuntarily started to do as well, to which the man looked to him with mild bemusement.

"Are you growling at me?" the man asked. Then his frown spread into a grin. "You hang out with some strange people, Kabeyage." His eyes wandered the room and finally came to rest on Kabe's pants lying on the floor. "Is it there?" He started to walk toward it.

Faster than the man, Maneki shot over to the bundle of clothes on the ground and promptly sat on them, ears pulled back threateningly.

Well, he couldn't let his cat put herself in danger's way like that. Without thinking he moved to stand between her and this Dimetri.

A grunt from over by the bed as Kabe managed to stand up straight once more. "Oh, for hell's sake," the older one said, dropping the turtle onto the bed. "Do you not understand the meaning of outside, Dimetri? The gem isn't in my clothes, so back off before you hurt yourself."

It was a rare occurrence to hear his brother sound even remotely serious, and it made Monnayage blink in surprise.

Kabeyage strode over to them, a slight frown on his face, and gave a gentle but impatient kick to Maneki, making her hiss but move from his clothes. He bent and scooped them up, beginning to get himself dressed. "If you want your precious gem, you'll know where to find me." And, once his clothes were on, disheveled as they were, Kabe walked from the room without another word. All Monnayage could do was stare after him.

[GoblinFae]

Ladybird gasped in shock as she realized just what exactly her elbow had come in contact with. Instead of the strong muscle of his solar plexus, she had injured something far more delicate. Clutching Randy the tortoise close to her chest, the young woman felt tears well in her eyes from a mixture of horror and embarrassment.

She was in a daze and did not come to her senses soon enough to stop the brother from leaving as she now wished she could have. Her hand was outstretched towards in him, hanging in the empty air, useless. Slowly she let it drop as she turned mournful eyes to Monnayage. Ladybird opened her mouth, forming soundless words as tears fell from her eyes.

The botanist felt horrid for what she had accidentally done and for sending away the brother while he was hurt. She wished she had had the chance to tell him to return when things settled, that she could help his wounded arm, that she was sorry. 'Please be alright. Please be safe. Please come back. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you. I should not have been cruel. I was just scared. Now I am more so. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!'

[miss_sanguine]

"Damned man," Monnayage heard Dimetri curse under his breath. "Still moving even with . . . " but his voice trailed off to something indistinguishable as he left the room, foot steps dull thuds on the wooden floor.

Even with what? Those unfinished words caused Monnayage's heart to drop down into his stomach where it felt like it would stay forever. Sure, his brother was a pain in the ass, but he was his brother first. Had Kabe gotten himself into more trouble than he could handle, or did he really know what he was doing as he seemed to?

He turned to Petal to see if she was all right and--

Saw that she was crying, face crumpled in misery.

What?

Uncomfortable given the situation, Monnayage avoided sending a pleading look at Maneki and instead kept his gaze steadily on Petal's. What was he supposed to say? He felt terrible having invaded in this girl's life like this, only to have such a thing happen. Talk about unfair. There was nothing he could say to make her feel better.

But, still he found himself saying, "It'll be all right, Petal. Come on." And he turned toward the door. After a few steps, he stopped and without turning around added, in a low voice, "I'm sorry," then continued on.

---

The house was bustling with animals, most of them cats. Kabe thought he might have caught sight of a bat or two up in the rafters, their leathery wings rustling in the blackness. Eyes likes moon shone at him from corners and under furniture as he descended the stairs.

It had been one thing for him to face Dimetri, as brash and confident as he was, but it had been another to see his brother do it. He had no doubt in his mind that Monnayage was capable of taking the man on, but the thought of there being any slight possibility of his brother being harmed had set his temper flaring.

Guess I am like a dog, he mused to himself, smiling slightly as he looked down at his injured arm. The pain had not ebbed at all, if anything growing steadily worse, and he hoped he hadn't made a grave error allowing it to touch him. But, knowing his luck, he probably had. Just another difficult situation to get himself out of.

Another noise emerged as he neared the door leading out of the house. He looked around in the gloom and saw a small something writhing on the floor, letting off strangled mewling sounds.

It was a cat. And he knew just what cat.

In a few moments he had the cat scooped up in his arms, the animal too weak to protest with its claws, which was fine by him. "Hang in there, sport," he said to it, not knowing if it could even understand him. Maneki understood him to an extent due to her human-like understanding from his brother, but regular cats were a bit different.

The animal, the orange cat he now recognized from earlier, shivered in his arms, convulsing every few seconds. He ran his fingers through its soft fur, trying to calm it. He wasn't a big fan of cats, but he didn't have anything against them, either, and he couldn't help but feel the tom's suffering was his fault. Dimetri had come looking for him, after all.

There were still clouds scattered here and there in the sky, but the rain had stopped. The only thing left to remind anyone of the previous storm were the said clouds and the puddles on the ground that appeared as bottomless pits in the darkness. The air smelled wet, a usually pleasant smell.

"All right. We're outside," came a voice from behind, and he turned to see Dimetri watching him from the doorway. "Now hand it over."

[GoblinFae]

She watched in silence as Monnayage left the room apologizing. "So am I," she whispered once she thought he was gone. At her feet Akira hissed and paced, winding in and out of the human's legs until Ladybird nudged her aside. "Oh go bother Tips!" Suddenly the woman froze. A cold feeling in her gut made her look about wide-eyed at all the cats in the room. None of them were Tips.

Her fear grew as she raced out the door and down the stairs, now remembering that one of her own was in danger of dying thanks to that vile intruder. From outside she could hear and see the two men but it was the ball of orange in the Mint brother's arms. "Tips?" A feeble mewl met her inquiry and sent her back into motion.

Ladybird threw her robe off her shoulders, not caring that she was in only her nightgown as she flew to her workroom. Ripping doors open on cabinets and frantically searching for something to stop the poison in its tracks. Her movements were somewhat jerky as she tried to remember all of the properties of her various plants, those that were both harmful and helpful. 'What a time to absolutely despise the apothecary. If only-forget it Petal. He'd just kill Tips anyway. At least with you the fuzzball has a chance.'

Leaves and petals were pulled off plants to be added into a mortar where the botanist worked hard to mix the correct cure, praying that it would work. Her fear was turned into a constructive effort to do good. She paid no attention to what was going on around her other than what she was doing. In fact, she was so focused she never once stopped to consider how she was going to get Tips back from the squabbling men long enough to give him the possible remedy.