Quote:
His breath was already hot and labored by the time he reached Schöneberg, and he still had at least three miles to go.
Alex paused in his trek, moving to pause his iPod so he could get a better look at his surroundings. His lips twisted in distaste as he recognized a nearby shop, representing a landmark that ensured he had thirty-plus minutes of walking left. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad (and it'd have likely been shorter, too) if it wasn't negative ten Celsius and there was at least a third of a meter of snow along the sidewalks. Even with his pair of heavy snow boots keeping his feet insulated and giving him decent traction, traversing downtown Berlin during the waning of a small blizzard at 2am in the morning had proven to be a most unwise of decisions. It had been his decision alone to head out of the TU Berlin dorms; a melancholy had gripped him earlier that evening and it had oddly led to a profound sense of wanderlust, and he had chosen to heed it fully.
The end result? A two hour walk that made the young psion realize just how pitiful his physical conditioning was.
"Ok. Tomorrow, gym," he mumbled to himself, tightening his grey hoodie's drawstrings some before patting some snow away from the "Mordor University" logo emblazoned on its front. By the time he had trudged past three more city blocks, goal posts had been moved from tomorrow to Thursday evening sometime before Nick's party. His legs already felt a bit wobbly and the acidic burn in his chest was far more distracting than the biting chill at his face - enough to make him forget that he had regretted he hadn't brought a scarf to wrap around his lower face. His dark brown leather gloves did their job well enough, but Alex still found himself rubbing his hands together and blowing his breath into them past lightly chattering teeth. As he focused on keeping his body warm, his mind went and did some wandering of its own. Introspection was not something uncommon for him, but Alex knew that this particular reverie would lead him down a morose path.
The reason he had gone for a walk, to try and shake his restlessness - it wasn't because of a bad social life, or studying pressures. It was because he felt his life was being wasted.
There was nothing wrong with the university experience. He appreciated it and the education he was getting; even though she didn't like the distance (not that he cared), even his mom was happy for him. Yet, he knew he wasn't like everyone else in his school, as stupidly cliché as it sounded. He had frickin' powers! What digging around he had done secretly had hinted at a whole community - a whole different world - that he could be part of. No, he should be part of. And why wasn't he? He was twenty years old - it wasn't as though his mom could stop him at this point, no matter how hard she fussed and lectured him. It had taken months to convince her to let him study overseas, as-is. It didn't help that Iris had whined at the fact that he was able to exercise independence. The witch-brat had insisted she come along for the ride, like it was a vacation or something. He nearly had to shove her in a damn closet to allow himself to pack, only to get stuffed in it instead.
Sisters were frustrating. They were even more frustrating when they knew magic.
Growling to himself, he knew that this particular life conundrum wasn't going to get miraculously solved tonight, no matter how hard he thought upon it. Grasping his iPod again, he shuffled the playlist, humming quietly to himself as the opening lyrics to Closer started up.
Alex paused in his trek, moving to pause his iPod so he could get a better look at his surroundings. His lips twisted in distaste as he recognized a nearby shop, representing a landmark that ensured he had thirty-plus minutes of walking left. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad (and it'd have likely been shorter, too) if it wasn't negative ten Celsius and there was at least a third of a meter of snow along the sidewalks. Even with his pair of heavy snow boots keeping his feet insulated and giving him decent traction, traversing downtown Berlin during the waning of a small blizzard at 2am in the morning had proven to be a most unwise of decisions. It had been his decision alone to head out of the TU Berlin dorms; a melancholy had gripped him earlier that evening and it had oddly led to a profound sense of wanderlust, and he had chosen to heed it fully.
The end result? A two hour walk that made the young psion realize just how pitiful his physical conditioning was.
"Ok. Tomorrow, gym," he mumbled to himself, tightening his grey hoodie's drawstrings some before patting some snow away from the "Mordor University" logo emblazoned on its front. By the time he had trudged past three more city blocks, goal posts had been moved from tomorrow to Thursday evening sometime before Nick's party. His legs already felt a bit wobbly and the acidic burn in his chest was far more distracting than the biting chill at his face - enough to make him forget that he had regretted he hadn't brought a scarf to wrap around his lower face. His dark brown leather gloves did their job well enough, but Alex still found himself rubbing his hands together and blowing his breath into them past lightly chattering teeth. As he focused on keeping his body warm, his mind went and did some wandering of its own. Introspection was not something uncommon for him, but Alex knew that this particular reverie would lead him down a morose path.
The reason he had gone for a walk, to try and shake his restlessness - it wasn't because of a bad social life, or studying pressures. It was because he felt his life was being wasted.
There was nothing wrong with the university experience. He appreciated it and the education he was getting; even though she didn't like the distance (not that he cared), even his mom was happy for him. Yet, he knew he wasn't like everyone else in his school, as stupidly cliché as it sounded. He had frickin' powers! What digging around he had done secretly had hinted at a whole community - a whole different world - that he could be part of. No, he should be part of. And why wasn't he? He was twenty years old - it wasn't as though his mom could stop him at this point, no matter how hard she fussed and lectured him. It had taken months to convince her to let him study overseas, as-is. It didn't help that Iris had whined at the fact that he was able to exercise independence. The witch-brat had insisted she come along for the ride, like it was a vacation or something. He nearly had to shove her in a damn closet to allow himself to pack, only to get stuffed in it instead.
Sisters were frustrating. They were even more frustrating when they knew magic.
Growling to himself, he knew that this particular life conundrum wasn't going to get miraculously solved tonight, no matter how hard he thought upon it. Grasping his iPod again, he shuffled the playlist, humming quietly to himself as the opening lyrics to Closer started up.
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Schöneberg at night was fairly impressive, and still so brightly lit that the difference between early evening and half past 2 in the morning were negligible. Foot traffic was not anymore sparse than any other time of day, but the motorized traffic had slowed to a crawl in the wee hours. Main Street was bustling even at this hour, but rather than finding it to be a nuisance, Jaseala relished the convenience as it played well into her favor.
Hood and scarf drawn, only a forelock of bright red hair jutted out from beneath the leather head covering, while her face from the nose down was concealed and guarded against the harsh elements of a typical German winter. Hunkered down in her leathers and cargos, she wordlessly scrutinized the passersby while shamelessly sprawled out on the bench in a covered bus stop along Main. No line was currently running at such an unseemly hour, so there was no one to complain at exactly how much space such a small girl like herself was taking up, not that she would have cared about it if it were the opposite. Leaning with her back against the glass and steel shelter, she propped one leg up and made herself comfortable.
No one took more than a brief glance at her in passing and continued forward to whatever their destination without saying a thing. No one cared that she sat waiting for a bus that would never come, and no one questioned why someone like her was out in the city, alone, after dark.
It helped that she blended in well enough.
Fewer bodies came through and when the street grew a little quieter, and the wind relented, Jaseala emitted a short and shrill whistle. "Teufel." She beckoned in almost a whisper.
A moment later, a blur of white skittered out from beneath the bench and leapt rather artfully onto her open lap. Still keeping her eyes forward and trained on the streets, she laid a hand on the feline's back in a subconscious motion as if it were an action she performed regularly. The cat arched his body in approval, flicking his bushy tail as she stroked him and scratched around his ears.
When she abruptly stopped, he craned himself around and nudged her hand with his head in a sign for her to resume.
Jaseala sat upright, straightening herself out and planted both feet firmly on the ground while her eyes locked on to a passing figure some feet away and followed his path. Tall and wiry were the best two descriptors based on what little she could see. Her eyes narrowed to small violet slits while sizing him up further. Even if the bus shelter and the street on which it sat had not been so well illuminated, Jaseala was fortunate to boast a keen night vision. Well, all it took was a simple cantrip really to invoke the ability, but she relied on it so much it might as well have been natural. Who was counting anyway?
Carefully she watched him trudge along, his long legs allowing him to take greater strides than some, but his huddled form and ragged huffing easily suggested his lack of physical fitness even for someone as skinny as him.
He was a student, and a scholarly type. So much was what she gathered from the academic sweatshirt, and the youthful profile jutting out of the sweatshirt's thin hood. Had she not known any better and he were further away, she could have easily mistaken him for any typical college brat you might find around West Berlin, but this one stood out like a beacon on dark waters. Jaseala's eyes remained fixated on the boy and focused, tapping briefly into the aether and glimpsed through her 'other' sight. His aura burned gold and bright, like the glow of the streetlights above her. She only needed that quick confirmation before a grin split her concealed face.
"Go," was her one word, spoken command to the cat, her familiar and her only real 'partner', The feline stretched his body out and low, flicking his tail at her in silent defiance. "Don't be a little s**t! Go on!" She hissed, annoyance very evident in even her hushed tone. God, that cat was going to be the end of her! He made a sound that might have been mistaken for a sneeze if she didn't know it was a snort of retaliation. However, rather than put up more of a fight he hopped off her lap and onto the concrete below, sprinting off without further delay.
Before the passing stranger could get very far, the feline caught up with him and made a wild line straight through his legs...
Hood and scarf drawn, only a forelock of bright red hair jutted out from beneath the leather head covering, while her face from the nose down was concealed and guarded against the harsh elements of a typical German winter. Hunkered down in her leathers and cargos, she wordlessly scrutinized the passersby while shamelessly sprawled out on the bench in a covered bus stop along Main. No line was currently running at such an unseemly hour, so there was no one to complain at exactly how much space such a small girl like herself was taking up, not that she would have cared about it if it were the opposite. Leaning with her back against the glass and steel shelter, she propped one leg up and made herself comfortable.
No one took more than a brief glance at her in passing and continued forward to whatever their destination without saying a thing. No one cared that she sat waiting for a bus that would never come, and no one questioned why someone like her was out in the city, alone, after dark.
It helped that she blended in well enough.
Fewer bodies came through and when the street grew a little quieter, and the wind relented, Jaseala emitted a short and shrill whistle. "Teufel." She beckoned in almost a whisper.
A moment later, a blur of white skittered out from beneath the bench and leapt rather artfully onto her open lap. Still keeping her eyes forward and trained on the streets, she laid a hand on the feline's back in a subconscious motion as if it were an action she performed regularly. The cat arched his body in approval, flicking his bushy tail as she stroked him and scratched around his ears.
When she abruptly stopped, he craned himself around and nudged her hand with his head in a sign for her to resume.
Jaseala sat upright, straightening herself out and planted both feet firmly on the ground while her eyes locked on to a passing figure some feet away and followed his path. Tall and wiry were the best two descriptors based on what little she could see. Her eyes narrowed to small violet slits while sizing him up further. Even if the bus shelter and the street on which it sat had not been so well illuminated, Jaseala was fortunate to boast a keen night vision. Well, all it took was a simple cantrip really to invoke the ability, but she relied on it so much it might as well have been natural. Who was counting anyway?
Carefully she watched him trudge along, his long legs allowing him to take greater strides than some, but his huddled form and ragged huffing easily suggested his lack of physical fitness even for someone as skinny as him.
He was a student, and a scholarly type. So much was what she gathered from the academic sweatshirt, and the youthful profile jutting out of the sweatshirt's thin hood. Had she not known any better and he were further away, she could have easily mistaken him for any typical college brat you might find around West Berlin, but this one stood out like a beacon on dark waters. Jaseala's eyes remained fixated on the boy and focused, tapping briefly into the aether and glimpsed through her 'other' sight. His aura burned gold and bright, like the glow of the streetlights above her. She only needed that quick confirmation before a grin split her concealed face.
"Go," was her one word, spoken command to the cat, her familiar and her only real 'partner', The feline stretched his body out and low, flicking his tail at her in silent defiance. "Don't be a little s**t! Go on!" She hissed, annoyance very evident in even her hushed tone. God, that cat was going to be the end of her! He made a sound that might have been mistaken for a sneeze if she didn't know it was a snort of retaliation. However, rather than put up more of a fight he hopped off her lap and onto the concrete below, sprinting off without further delay.
Before the passing stranger could get very far, the feline caught up with him and made a wild line straight through his legs...
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Alex quite literally did not see it coming.
It was difficult to blame him, really. Even though he was partially zoned out to the soft refrain that filtered in through his ear buds, Alex still kept his dark grey eyes scanning ahead for potential danger. Last thing he needed was to drop down a manhole or something stupid, though the most realistic occurrence was accidentally bumping into someone or tripping over a curb. Having an animal blaze between his legs without warning was not something he reasonably could have predicted.
"The fu-!?!" He shouted, eyes bulging from the shock sensation of something careening through his legs. Had both his feet been firmly planted to the concrete below, Alex probably would have gotten off with a minor jump scare. As fate had seemingly decided to troll him tonight, the damned thing - probably a cat, from the brief glimpse of the white devil as it shot off into the night - ran through him as he was in mid step. Brief, mortal panic gripped the young psion as he began to lose his balance, and his immediate reaction was to overcompensate with a large step. This did nothing to restore his lost balance, of course, and gravity took him forward and to his left a few more steps.
Right into the wall of the building next to him.
CRACK
"Oh ******** noooo," he hissed as his music was cut short in a warped, spiked garble. He frantically dug the mp3 player out of his hoodie's pocket, the sensation of cracked glass and bent aluminum confirming his fears already. He pulled the broken device out, grimacing in horror at its condition. He could see the front screen partially, but two-thirds of the left screen was pulverized. That, and no music was coming from the device anymore. Gritting his teeth, he began to feel anger roiling up inside him like a living thing.
"God DAMN it!" Alex cursed, lashing out at the wall with his right shoe. Fortunately, he wasn't so mad as to put all his force into it, so he wasn't rewarded with a broken toe - just some pain that helped dull the frustration of having lost a €200 mp3 player. It was more than enough to distract him from anything else around him at the moment.
It was difficult to blame him, really. Even though he was partially zoned out to the soft refrain that filtered in through his ear buds, Alex still kept his dark grey eyes scanning ahead for potential danger. Last thing he needed was to drop down a manhole or something stupid, though the most realistic occurrence was accidentally bumping into someone or tripping over a curb. Having an animal blaze between his legs without warning was not something he reasonably could have predicted.
"The fu-!?!" He shouted, eyes bulging from the shock sensation of something careening through his legs. Had both his feet been firmly planted to the concrete below, Alex probably would have gotten off with a minor jump scare. As fate had seemingly decided to troll him tonight, the damned thing - probably a cat, from the brief glimpse of the white devil as it shot off into the night - ran through him as he was in mid step. Brief, mortal panic gripped the young psion as he began to lose his balance, and his immediate reaction was to overcompensate with a large step. This did nothing to restore his lost balance, of course, and gravity took him forward and to his left a few more steps.
Right into the wall of the building next to him.
CRACK
"Oh ******** noooo," he hissed as his music was cut short in a warped, spiked garble. He frantically dug the mp3 player out of his hoodie's pocket, the sensation of cracked glass and bent aluminum confirming his fears already. He pulled the broken device out, grimacing in horror at its condition. He could see the front screen partially, but two-thirds of the left screen was pulverized. That, and no music was coming from the device anymore. Gritting his teeth, he began to feel anger roiling up inside him like a living thing.
"God DAMN it!" Alex cursed, lashing out at the wall with his right shoe. Fortunately, he wasn't so mad as to put all his force into it, so he wasn't rewarded with a broken toe - just some pain that helped dull the frustration of having lost a €200 mp3 player. It was more than enough to distract him from anything else around him at the moment.
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Violet eyes peered out from under the wide, black hood of her coat and over the scarf concealing her fact from the nose down. They watched the white feline dart between the man's legs and effectively interrupt his stride. As expected when one encounters such an obstacle, he tripped up and succumbed to gravity's unpleasant laws.
Poor kid nearly broke his damned nose by careening headlong into the nearest building.
She genuinely winced, as if in some mock sympathy for his plight but it was short-lived if it existed at all. Almost a blur herself, she was up in an instant, on her feet with near inhuman grace clearly well practiced. He struck the wall in his anger, shouting at his music player, the deitie(s) above, or whatever forces that were at work to result in such misfortune. Jaseala couldn't bring herself to give two shits about whatever string of bad luck might have befallen this hapless soul, not when she had a goal in mind.
He was tall, lean as a whipcord, his university sweatshirt lending him more bulk than he obviously possessed. That, however, wasn't but a minor afterthought for Jas and did nothing to impede her. Quick on the draw, the small bodied girl lashed out and clamped a gloved hand over his mouth to stifle any further shouting or angry ranting. such a maneuver would have been difficult, awkward even, but she had managed it with a frightening measure of ease. Her other arm snaked around to grab him from the front and in a very fluid like movement, turned them both down the darkened side alleyway, away from any passerby that might still be out at this hour.
It was late (or early), and few folks ventured out during the wee hours of the morning but there were always the few. Usually university students, insomniacs or graveyard shifters. She didn't want to take a chance either way.
She wasn't about to stop there, considering doing so would be absurdly stupid. Jaseala forced her newfound captive against the side surface on the opposite building, one of two that formed the alleyway. She had to remove her hand from his mouth, using it to force his arms behind his back and hold them fast while the other now rooted around for something in a pack affixed to her side. If anything about the situation was even slightly awkward, it was this part.
A quick cursory glance to either side nearly made her groan in annoyance when it became clear her "little helper" was not in sight, but with a sudden, shrill whistle the white menace came skittering down the alley in response. Clearly he had not been too far and didn't need any cue from her to get the hint. Jaseala fixed both hands to his, while the cat tugged on the dangling rope cord sticking out of her pack, pulling it out a few centimeters at a time.
"Teufel!" She hissed at him between clenched teeth, obviously with little patience for dally or his games. She had to use one hand to pin her captive again, and used the other to remove the whole coil from her pack and shook it free. Time was of the essence and her fingers, only partially covered by her gloves, were dexterous and nimble, swift with the winding of the cord around the young man's wrists, knowing he wouldn't let her do this without a fight for more than a few precious minutes before realizing what the hell was going on...
Poor kid nearly broke his damned nose by careening headlong into the nearest building.
She genuinely winced, as if in some mock sympathy for his plight but it was short-lived if it existed at all. Almost a blur herself, she was up in an instant, on her feet with near inhuman grace clearly well practiced. He struck the wall in his anger, shouting at his music player, the deitie(s) above, or whatever forces that were at work to result in such misfortune. Jaseala couldn't bring herself to give two shits about whatever string of bad luck might have befallen this hapless soul, not when she had a goal in mind.
He was tall, lean as a whipcord, his university sweatshirt lending him more bulk than he obviously possessed. That, however, wasn't but a minor afterthought for Jas and did nothing to impede her. Quick on the draw, the small bodied girl lashed out and clamped a gloved hand over his mouth to stifle any further shouting or angry ranting. such a maneuver would have been difficult, awkward even, but she had managed it with a frightening measure of ease. Her other arm snaked around to grab him from the front and in a very fluid like movement, turned them both down the darkened side alleyway, away from any passerby that might still be out at this hour.
It was late (or early), and few folks ventured out during the wee hours of the morning but there were always the few. Usually university students, insomniacs or graveyard shifters. She didn't want to take a chance either way.
She wasn't about to stop there, considering doing so would be absurdly stupid. Jaseala forced her newfound captive against the side surface on the opposite building, one of two that formed the alleyway. She had to remove her hand from his mouth, using it to force his arms behind his back and hold them fast while the other now rooted around for something in a pack affixed to her side. If anything about the situation was even slightly awkward, it was this part.
A quick cursory glance to either side nearly made her groan in annoyance when it became clear her "little helper" was not in sight, but with a sudden, shrill whistle the white menace came skittering down the alley in response. Clearly he had not been too far and didn't need any cue from her to get the hint. Jaseala fixed both hands to his, while the cat tugged on the dangling rope cord sticking out of her pack, pulling it out a few centimeters at a time.
"Teufel!" She hissed at him between clenched teeth, obviously with little patience for dally or his games. She had to use one hand to pin her captive again, and used the other to remove the whole coil from her pack and shook it free. Time was of the essence and her fingers, only partially covered by her gloves, were dexterous and nimble, swift with the winding of the cord around the young man's wrists, knowing he wouldn't let her do this without a fight for more than a few precious minutes before realizing what the hell was going on...
Quote:
Briefly, Alex had wondered if the night could have gotten any worse.
It took even less time to start believing that fate was trolling him.
The young psion didn't know what hit him. There was an ephemeral sense that something was wrong, but by the time he even registered the feeling,a hand had pressed tightly over his mouth. His first reaction was gasping in surprise; with his mouth firmly clamped shut, he inhaled sharply through his nose, taking in the pleasant scent of the leather glove the assailant wore. Ignoring the odd juxtaposition, Alex's following reaction was to grasp at the offending arm's rather slender wrist, and to swear loudly in utter bafflement.
"Whff mngh ffmngh!?!"
Well, as much as he could, anyway.
He couldn't even react in time to intercept the other arm, which wrapped around his wiry frame and pulled him close to the attacker. A few things clicked in the student's mind at this point, despite the confusion and panic of this apparent mugging. One, the wrist he had latched onto was rather slender, regardless of the strength it somehow possessed; two, from prior experience of being grabbed from behind by shorter people, he gauged that his attacker was significantly shorter than him; and finally, after pressing against their chest, he promptly discovered that the attacker had a pair of tits.
So, he was being attacked by a woman.
The idea wasn't utterly incredulous to him. s**t, he even wondered if Iris had somehow made her way over to Germany and this was her way of saying 'Hi!' to her brother. Those thoughts were quickly dashed when the chick hissed out something in German, and it was a voice completely unfamiliar to him. That wasn't good. Alex had managed to drag his heels into the concrete as he was being dragged, but it barely slowed the chick down, who promptly pinned his a** to the wall to force his hands behind him. God, she was strong! He fussed, kicking out at her leg even, but he wasn't able to wriggle his arms free. At least he could yell at her now, though.
"HEY! Get the hell off of me, lady! I don't want to have to kick your a**!" Only after saying it did he realize how much of a paper tiger he represented, what, with him being manhandled by a girl who probably only came up to his chest in height. Alex managed to crane his head around, catching a brief glimpse of vibrant, purple eyes and dark clothes - with a hood and a face mask obscuring her features, the psion couldn't tell who this woman was, or what she really looked like. It was around that time he heard a scurrying noise, which he redirected his attention to. His eyes widened at the sight - it was that ******** cat! Worse yet, the thing was helping the woman, who had now begun to wrap black rope around his wrists that the damned feline had pulled out of her bag.
"Holy s**t, if you want my wallet, just take it! You don't need to ******** tie me up," he yelled loudly, trying to squirm his wrists away to avoid them getting cinched together. He knew by experience that once that happened, he'd be effectively helpless against whoever was attacking him.
It took even less time to start believing that fate was trolling him.
The young psion didn't know what hit him. There was an ephemeral sense that something was wrong, but by the time he even registered the feeling,a hand had pressed tightly over his mouth. His first reaction was gasping in surprise; with his mouth firmly clamped shut, he inhaled sharply through his nose, taking in the pleasant scent of the leather glove the assailant wore. Ignoring the odd juxtaposition, Alex's following reaction was to grasp at the offending arm's rather slender wrist, and to swear loudly in utter bafflement.
"Whff mngh ffmngh!?!"
Well, as much as he could, anyway.
He couldn't even react in time to intercept the other arm, which wrapped around his wiry frame and pulled him close to the attacker. A few things clicked in the student's mind at this point, despite the confusion and panic of this apparent mugging. One, the wrist he had latched onto was rather slender, regardless of the strength it somehow possessed; two, from prior experience of being grabbed from behind by shorter people, he gauged that his attacker was significantly shorter than him; and finally, after pressing against their chest, he promptly discovered that the attacker had a pair of tits.
So, he was being attacked by a woman.
The idea wasn't utterly incredulous to him. s**t, he even wondered if Iris had somehow made her way over to Germany and this was her way of saying 'Hi!' to her brother. Those thoughts were quickly dashed when the chick hissed out something in German, and it was a voice completely unfamiliar to him. That wasn't good. Alex had managed to drag his heels into the concrete as he was being dragged, but it barely slowed the chick down, who promptly pinned his a** to the wall to force his hands behind him. God, she was strong! He fussed, kicking out at her leg even, but he wasn't able to wriggle his arms free. At least he could yell at her now, though.
"HEY! Get the hell off of me, lady! I don't want to have to kick your a**!" Only after saying it did he realize how much of a paper tiger he represented, what, with him being manhandled by a girl who probably only came up to his chest in height. Alex managed to crane his head around, catching a brief glimpse of vibrant, purple eyes and dark clothes - with a hood and a face mask obscuring her features, the psion couldn't tell who this woman was, or what she really looked like. It was around that time he heard a scurrying noise, which he redirected his attention to. His eyes widened at the sight - it was that ******** cat! Worse yet, the thing was helping the woman, who had now begun to wrap black rope around his wrists that the damned feline had pulled out of her bag.
"Holy s**t, if you want my wallet, just take it! You don't need to ******** tie me up," he yelled loudly, trying to squirm his wrists away to avoid them getting cinched together. He knew by experience that once that happened, he'd be effectively helpless against whoever was attacking him.
