(Untitled)

[tall_dark_and]

Riku is outside the bar, in his civvies. He's holding a wooden practice sword, and using it to batter up what seems to be intended to be a person. The contraption is made of sticks and bounds together with what seems to be mummy-like red stripes of cloth.

It's holding together pretty well, but from the looks of it, he'll split it apart soon.

Comments

[mogget_cat]

Slinking from the deep green of the forest, a little slip of white shadow comes, flickering through the long grasses.

When it reaches Riku, the little white cat stops to observe, politely not breaking the silence.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku notices the cat after a minute, when he pauses to lean on the sword, studying his work. He can see a spot of something white in the corner of his eye, and when he turns -- well, look, there's a cat.

He raises an eyebrow.

"Looking to join the fight, kitty? Or are you just spectating?"

[mogget_cat]

The cat tilts its pristinely white head, almost appearing to consider joining the fight.

But on which side?

It lifts one white foreleg to paw the air once, slowly, claws extended. Like raking its claws through an invisible curtain.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku snorts.

"I wouldn't even try it," he says. "You couldn't fight this guy, he probably eats kitten."

Or babies.

[mogget_cat]

The cat's emerald gaze falls upon the stick figure in red.

...

The cat snorts through its whiskers, a sound of utter contempt.

[tall_dark_and]

....

"It's a representation," Riku says, a bit loudly. He's not sure why he's arguing with a cat. He's not even sure why he thinks the cat is responding.

[mogget_cat]

If the cat had eyebrows, one would be raised.

It's just a representation, so logically the cat isn't be worried about it eating kittens.

Or babies.

Silly human, its expression says.

[tall_dark_and]

"Oh well," Riku says, dismissively. "What do you know.

You're just a cat."

[mogget_cat]

A cat who, after hearing that statement, marches strides slinks straight over to Riku and does the same paw-movement it did earlier, the clawing-the-air one.

At Riku's pantsleg.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku jumps. "Hey!" he says, indignantly. "Don't do that!"

He's not sure how to ward cats off. So he tries to just pick this one up.

"Bad."

[mogget_cat]

That thing cats do when they're suddenly picked up? The one where they stick their legs straight out, stiff, with claws extended?

Yeah. He can't help it.

It's so undignified.

There are claws.

"Bad human," Yrael hisses.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku looks more than a little surprised, for a moment, before he narrows his eyes. "So you talk too, huh?"

He eyes the claws warily. He knows better than to say they wouldn't hurt much if they actually scratched him.

"How about this. I put you down and you put away the weapons."

[mogget_cat]

"Sounds like a plan," it says, sharply. Those claws are sharper, however.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku puts the cat down.

Gentler than he picked it up, even.

[mogget_cat]

It slinks a few feet away, then sudden light blossoms from it, blazing white like a miniature star, bright enough to blind if one looks directly at it. The catshaped blaze's edges run ragged, stretching up, up, until they are as tall as Riku.

Then, the light dimming, Yrael is left standing there in human form, dressed in impeccable white once more, his white hair slightly mussed and his green catseyes sharp.

He crosses his arms, looking at Riku.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku does the only thing he can do, in this situation.

He stares.

And then he facepalms.