Elarinya: *finds herself drawn towards the outskirts of town, remembering Achilles mentioning something called "The Ruins" being nearby . . . Sure enough, she spies a rather rundown building in the distance. Even if not a part of the main districts of Ikebokuro, it reeked of humans still. Cautiously looks about, humming to herself so that it wouldn't be so silent*
Ikuto: *stalks through the dark, patrolling the boarder of his new territory. Being the newest member, the other, older toms in the territory decided that he'd have to stay up the first night and keep an eye out for humans. The facility nearby had been particularly problematic lately.* Man, this is boring... *crouches beneath a bush, peering outside of the territory with a deadpan expression*
Elarinya: *still humming to herself the melody of one of Bach's inventions - mind you, at a very slow pace - the sound of rustled leaves breaks her pensive mood with a small jolt; she was a skittish type ever since the incident with the dog that had left her both collar-less and with a nasty wound on her right arm. Even now she immediately hugged it to her chest, turning about with bent ears and narrowed eyes, though she could hardly be called menacing* Wh-Who's there? *A minor sense of paranoia had stayed with her that one day that dog would one day track her down and finish the job*
Ikuto: *Perks his ears at the quiet sound of someone humming and peers out from his position. Rich blue eyes tracked the silhouette of a lithe cat as she slowly moved through the dark, he could sense her tension and unease. He debated chasing her off, but boredom compelled him to approach her and find out what she was doing snooping about the territory. Shifting forward, he paused a moment when she stopped and called out to him* Just a stray black cat... *walks out from his position in the bushes, long, black tail flipping up as he did so, one hand in his pants pocket* You're straying very close to some dangerous territories, girl. What's your purpose here? *Tips his head very slightly to one side as he regards her, both ears upright, and mouth turned up in a slight smirk at her anxiety*
Elarinya: M-My purpose? I was just wandering about in curiosity . . . *The cat bows her head politely, though her eyes remain tilted up even then to watch him, breath fluttery for a moment in surprise* A cat named Achilles told me of this place called The Ruins, and I was just trying to see if I could see it for myself what a “territory” was. *She straightens, right hand clutched to her breast, turned to hide the wound as best she could as she recomposed herself* Are you a scout for them?
Ikuto: *raises an eyebrow in amusement at her reaction and gives his tail a few flicks* I'm not a scout, but I am currently on patrol. The Ruins are back that way *jerks his thumb over his shoulder and smirks at her* It's not exactly wise to go prancing around strange territories just so you can see them, you know. There are cats who wouldn't hesitate to do something to a young girl like you. *moonlight gleams against his eyes as he narrows them at her, clearly enjoying himself*
Elarinya: *His desired result is seen reflecting in her eyes, for a moment lit up with fear. Oh God, the dog . . . ! But she shook her head, remembering the mangy thing would be tethered to its personal yard – certainly not way out here! Yet . . . God, yet she still eyed the shadows cautiously* I haven’t met anyone u-until now, so you could count me lucky. “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back” and all. *Agh, why’d she have to use the word “kill”, though? Her right arm twitches of its own accord.* A cat needs a territory after all, no?
Ikuto: Luck, huh? *strides over to her and leans down to study her form a little more closely before letting a grin slide over his face again* Perhaps luck had something to do with it, but I really doubt it. *straightens and flicks his tail a few more times, tilting his ears back a bit and glancing off to one side* Apparently, there's a human laboratory around here somewhere. The guys in the territory say they've got a mean pack of dogs too... *rich blue eyes slide back to regard her slyly* How long do you trust your 'luck' to hold out for you, eh Kitten?
Elarinya: *swallows, then takes a deep breath. She couldn’t let him get to her!* R-Really now. I haven’t heard of this laboratory before . . . Is it new? *Vaguely she remembers the old saying: Don’t let a black cat cross your path . . . Did it count for black cats with blue-dyed fur? The shine of something white on his back catches her attention suddenly, and she recognizes the curve of the case* Oh! A violin? I didn’t know they let scouts play music on duty. *Maybe if she took control of the conversation, he’d stop trying to creep her out*
Ikuto: *grin widens slightly at the girl's reaction and he continues with a smooth, deep voice as he shrugs* Who knows. They've abducted a number of cats already though. *with another flick of his tail, the Bombay tom begins pacing around her slowly, edging closer* I'd be more careful... *flicks his ears forward and pauses in his step, glancing back at the white strap over his shoulder for a second before turning his attention back to her* ...I'm not a scout, you know.
Elarinya: *Edgy, she begins to slowly back away from him, ears docked, her feet shuffling upon the grass* Scout, patroller, it sounds the same to me. Besides, we can hear, see, and smell humans long before they get near us anyway, so it’s not as though w-we have to worry. ‘Right?’ *Thinks it to herself, resisting the urge to bite on her lip. She didn’t want to give this black cat any more satisfaction of being afraid by showcasing it! Although her heart rate was beginning to go up at the thought of labcoats nearby . . .*
Ikuto: *At her backing away from him, he instinctively pursues, taking a slow step towards her for each step she took away* Hn... You don't really look that stupid to me, you know. *waves his blue tipped tail pensively, frowning at the false hope she wanted to hide behind* But perhaps you know nothing of the way humans work. They don't have to be near us to capture us. Humans use a lot of sneaky methods to capture what they want. *lifts his head a little and lets his eyes skirt the area about them* This forest is most likely laden with traps and baits of all kinds, just waiting for some dumb cat to walk into them. *he pauses and looks to the girl* What is it you want to see in The Ruins anyway? Why risk yourself so much for something Achilles told you? *He knew of the cat who had once offered him a place to sleep and now shared his territory.*
Elarinya: *Great, at least she didn’t look stupid!* I have lived alone for all of my life, save for my owner and the occasional visitor. Isn’t it customary for a cat to find solace with others in these, er . . . “territories”? Is it so wrong to poke my nose in curiously? *looks at him with great amber eyes, a kit’s knowledge of the outside displayed. She knew nothing of traps or cages, just a simple bed and three square meals a day – and music of course. Yet the black cat continued to impose upon her space, so she took almost a leap back this time to get the point across . . . INTOANAWAITINGTRAPONOES*
Ikuto: *watches the Burmese as she defends her innocent reasons for wandering around dangerous places at night, raising a hand to his hip with a slightly exasperated sigh* Alright, I get it already, you don't want to be alone. You really should practice some caution before you-- *his speech is cut short when he notices the somewhat concealed snare awaiting the girl as she leapt away from him, and his eyes widened as his paws moved into action, suddenly bridging the distance between them completely in a bound* Oi, look out! *moves to scoop the girl up and jump away from the snare, but mistimes his leap and ends up with both feet landing squarely on the trigger as he grabs her. In an instant the snare snaps tight around him and jerks him back, causing him to drop the burmese girl and writhe in irritation* Damnit!
Elarinya: *Upon hitting the ground, she goes into shock, staring at him with dinner plate eyes swimming with fear, seemingly rooted to the ground. The sight of the imprisoned cat seemingly eaten alive by the gleaming silver metal frightens her, and she half-screams, half-yelps as she gets to her feet* Wh-What is that?!
Ikuto: *working at the snare around his legs with his hands to no avail. It wasn't biting into his skin, but it was still tight enough to keep him imprisoned* This is what I was warning you about. Humans have traps like this set up all around this area, they want to catch naive cats like you and do all kinds of experiments on you. *growls nervously when all of his struggling only proves to make the snare tighter* Nngh.... Listen you, The Ruins Territory is back that way, go find a cat named Tempo and let him know what happened. And keep your eyes open for any more of these things... *his tail whips the air before thumping against the ground again, a look of immense displeasure over his face*
Elarinya: Oh- . . . Okay. *Shakily nods, biting her lip when she tries to reach out and attempt to maybe – as if she had any knowledge of these things! – undo somehow the metal bars . . . But Ikuto’s imperative tone compels her onward* Just . . . don’t suffocate in there, okay? D-Don’t move, I’ll be back as s-soon as possible! *Right. Like he was going to go anywhere. But surely the humans would not be watching these traps in the dead of night, right? Alright, to this Tempo . . . Keeping her eyes sharp for any more silver gleams, Ella runs off in the direction she was pointed to*
