[ It took a while for the girl to accept her fate, but there was never much doubt about what she'd choose in the end; the forests of Alternia are as dog-eat-dog as it gets, and she's been raised for this kind of thing all her life. It doesn't sit right with her, killing something you're not going to eat, but they're threatening her moirail. You can't just threaten her moirail.
If trolls want to survive, they have to learn to kill. Even Nepeta knows that's how it goes.
It doesn't take long for her to figure out who she's hunting, get a rough physical description and an idea of how hard he'll be to bring down. He's an adult, which makes her nervous, but adult humans aren't really like adult trolls -- still all squishy and friendly, not yet trained to exterminate neighboring civilizations. She wonders how many planets humans have conquered. It can't be many.
When N can't be found at home, she takes to the streets in search of him, and the park is her favorite place so she makes it her first stop. She can't smell him, and her weak human eyes have trouble with the fading light, so the girl patrols thoroughly on foot. There are kitchen knives held between her fingers, secured messily with strips of cloth until she can get Equius to build her something more high-tech -- but Equius can't build her anything if they kill him first, and just thinking about it makes her furious.
She can do this. Most of her friends have murdered at least a couple people!
[When two people are walking in the same small park, it's never long before they encounter one another. When N spots the girl, he regards her warily; she's wearing knives, and he knows he can't trust anyone here, not yet. Not now. He keeps his distance.]
[ She watches him carefully, immediately intrigued; there can't be that many adult male humans with green hair, right? This could be her prey. But he doesn't seem to be attacking, so she approaches casually enough, unable to hide her gloominess. For now, the makeshift claws hang nonthreateningly at her sides. ]
Yeah. I thought humans were nice and didn't cull anyone, but...
[ Mayfield is still gentler than her world, believe it or not. ]
I'm supposed to be a troll, but they turned me into a human.
[ She runs her tongue over her newly-dull teeth, still marveling at how weak the species is. No fangs, no claws, skin that bruises too easily. The novelty of her new body wore off fast the second time around. ]
[ It's just inconvenient to be one. Anyway, the girl seems to perk up slightly in that cat puns begin to emerge in her speech, stressing the wrong parts of words. ]
They're purrfectly funny and nice and they have families. I've never had a family befur.
[ She can tell. Nepeta's not as clueless as she tends to seem, and she's is a pro at figuring out emotions, relationships, fairly decent at deciphering intent. At his response, she wilts just slightly; a shift in how the girl holds her shoulders and her head. ]
In one movement she's stepped to his left and sprung for his throat, but a human can't jump like a troll can, and he's too tall -- she falls slightly short, two sets of makeshift claws reaching for N's ribs and side. This body might be too fragile to pull it off, but she's used to throwing herself hard enough to take down males twice her size, so it's a hard tackle.
She can apologize while he's dying. She'll even be polite and not use his blood for paint. ]
[The jump doesn't surprise him. N launches himself sideways, taking the claws hard across his ribs but luckily not enough to pierce anything vital. He has to correct his momentum to compensate, sliding his feet across the grass and making a grab for the girl, bringing his knife up with his other hand in the same motion. He's never fought personally before, and this would be much easier if he were on his skateboard, but he has the size advantage, and he's seen how Pokémon do it. Maybe he can emulate that.]
[ She escapes the grab but can't quite dodge the knife; the girl hisses and spits like a cat as it nicks her side and cuts a line of blood into her upper arm, deep enough to send pangs down to her fingertips. But the claws don't require much more than keeping her fists clenched, and that's something she can handle.
Nepeta ducks in and forward, coming slightly from the side again -- going for the crotch, waist, backs of the knees. She'll put those knives through his back if she can get a chance to. ]
If trolls want to survive, they have to learn to kill. Even Nepeta knows that's how it goes.
It doesn't take long for her to figure out who she's hunting, get a rough physical description and an idea of how hard he'll be to bring down. He's an adult, which makes her nervous, but adult humans aren't really like adult trolls -- still all squishy and friendly, not yet trained to exterminate neighboring civilizations. She wonders how many planets humans have conquered. It can't be many.
When N can't be found at home, she takes to the streets in search of him, and the park is her favorite place so she makes it her first stop. She can't smell him, and her weak human eyes have trouble with the fading light, so the girl patrols thoroughly on foot. There are kitchen knives held between her fingers, secured messily with strips of cloth until she can get Equius to build her something more high-tech -- but Equius can't build her anything if they kill him first, and just thinking about it makes her furious.
She can do this. Most of her friends have murdered at least a couple people!
It'll be simple. ]
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Looking for someone?
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Yeah. I thought humans were nice and didn't cull anyone, but...
[ Mayfield is still gentler than her world, believe it or not. ]
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Are you not human?
[You could never be sure. N isn't sure of many things these days, except that he doesn't want to be used again.]
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[ She runs her tongue over her newly-dull teeth, still marveling at how weak the species is. No fangs, no claws, skin that bruises too easily. The novelty of her new body wore off fast the second time around. ]
What about you?
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[His species embarrasses him. The good thing, though, is that he can speak with them, get them to understand. Change everything for the better.]
I've never heard of trolls before. I didn't even know this place could do that.
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[ It's just inconvenient to be one. Anyway, the girl seems to perk up slightly in that cat puns begin to emerge in her speech, stressing the wrong parts of words. ]
They're purrfectly funny and nice and they have families. I've never had a family befur.
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[ She might be one of the few in Mayfield who views this as a good thing. ]
Purrhaps you just need to meet more of the nice ones.
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[ There's a pause while she reflects on this. When the girl speaks next, her tone has changed slightly, no less thoughtful but now vaguely worried: ]
Is your name N?
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[That means yes. That always means yes. While he doesn't visibly move, he does get tense, and his expression hardens a bit.]
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[ She can tell. Nepeta's not as clueless as she tends to seem, and she's is a pro at figuring out emotions, relationships, fairly decent at deciphering intent. At his response, she wilts just slightly; a shift in how the girl holds her shoulders and her head. ]
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In one movement she's stepped to his left and sprung for his throat, but a human can't jump like a troll can, and he's too tall -- she falls slightly short, two sets of makeshift claws reaching for N's ribs and side. This body might be too fragile to pull it off, but she's used to throwing herself hard enough to take down males twice her size, so it's a hard tackle.
She can apologize while he's dying. She'll even be polite and not use his blood for paint. ]
Reply
Reply
Nepeta ducks in and forward, coming slightly from the side again -- going for the crotch, waist, backs of the knees. She'll put those knives through his back if she can get a chance to. ]
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