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It was amazing how ridiculous the cat's requests were becoming these days. They hadn't even been on patrol. No. Ellie and the cat had merely been at the Spectre house, Ellie working on her car in the garage. She thought it was going to be simple. Thought today would be the day she'd get time to work in peace and quiet.

Nope. Ellie was wrong.

"...I'm hungry..."

"Yer always hungry, cat!" the tomboy retorted.

"If you got my cast taken off, I'd be able to go on my own."

"Yer still supposed t'wear that cast fer at least another week, cat. Jus' relax."

This answer wasn't good enough. "Please take me to the baker's?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeeeeease?"

"No."

In the end, after five minutes of this back-and-forth battle of wills, the score was *********: 1, Ellie: -7. The cat had gotten what she wanted just by being persistent. As she glanced down to the cat in her arms, the tomboy couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment at how spoiled this cat was becoming. Whine a bit, and she got what she wanted. As were the cat's instructions, the blonde managed to find her way to the baker's. It was a bit strange that ********* knew how to give directions to this particular baker, but the cat had been known to do stranger things before as well. The bell at the door jingled as the girl pushed her hand in the middle of the glass on the door (leaving an obnoxious handprint behind).

The whole interior of the building smelled like sugar. Rather notably, the girl made a face. Sweets and Ellie got along like oil and water. While attempting to ignore the stench of sweetness in the air, the rather tall girl wandered up to the counter and rang the bell (as were ********* instructions earlier). Thanks to a certain cat's harassment prior to arrival, Ellie wasn't even in the mood to offer a simple wave to the young man also present.

Where as her girl failed to pay attention to the young man, the cat on the other hand almost seemed to have her eyes glued to him the instant they arrived. As Ellie walked past, the tailless feline attempted to shuffle as best as she could so she could keep her pale green eyes on the boy.

It felt like something was poking at her brain. This was the feeling she got when someone was a senshi. However, there was something slightly different about this feeling. There was that slight itchy feeling, which made it feel a bit more uncomfortable. In an effort to make sure this boy didn't get away, ********* did the only thing she could do at the moment thanks to her current cast-wearing leg.

She began to insistently mew out in the boy's direction. Even without using words, it was obvious she was saying "Pay attention to me!"

The blonde quirked up a brow at the sudden noises the bundle of fur in her arms began to make. "********, cat?"

Ellie didn't smile. Rather plainly, she mentioned "Ain't my cat." ********* belonged to nobody, or at least that was the impression she had gotten. Of course, now this guy was probably wondering what the hell she meant by that. However, the tomboy didn't care. She wasn't going to claim something that wasn't hers.

The pale feline seemed to thrive off the simple head pat, naturally leaning her head right into the touch, immediately melting into abundant purrs. The moment the hand moved away, she mewed out a trill of "cutie" cat noises, as if asking why he had stopped.

For not being able to actually speak the language of cats, ********* certainly did a good job faking it.

From the back room, a short young lady with dark hair emerged. As she glanced up towards the new customer, she found a familiar face.

Not in the girl, but in the cat.

"Miss Muffers?" the young lady uttered out before leaning forward and rather easily scratching the feline behind the ears, just as she always liked.

Ellie nearly burst out laughing at the name, but she had sense enough to hold back for now. This was something she could rub in the cat's face later. Instead, her eyes flickered to the woman as she simply asked "I take it ya know th'cat?"

The easy answer was a simple "Yes." However, ********* wouldn't be the one to give that answer. Oh no, she was too busy leaning into ear scratches, purring contently.

The woman behind the counter nodded her head at the blonde girl's question. "Oh yes, Miss Muffers used to be quite the regular here." She paused and gave the cat a scratch under the chin, practically cooing to the feline "Oh yes you were!"

Ellie wanted to roll her eyes.

"Such a strange little cat. She always came to visit on Saturdays, like today." The unmentioned question seemed to reach Ellie as her eyes connected with the dark ones of the woman. "Is this your cat?"

It was probably against any sort of health regulations, but the tomboy lifted the cat up and onto the counter, setting the broken-legged manx down. "Ain't my cat... found'er with that broken leg."

"Oh? That was rather nice of you. Now, what can I help you with?" The woman smiled and grabbed a pad of paper obviously meant to write down orders.

"Eh... I ain't much on th'sweets, lady. Jus' get that cat somethin' that she'd usually eat." She smiled, but it was more of an apologetic one.

The dark-haired woman chuckled. "Irene. My name is Irene. And I take it this cat has been eating you out of house and home." Pausing to clap her hands together, she turned her attentions to the pale spotted cat. "Well, Miss Muffers! Let me go ahead and get you a sugar cookie cake, just like you always liked!"

From her new perch, the feline let out an enthusiastic meowing sound, followed by a pleased trill. Her pale green eyes remained on the woman, despite the fact her mind was insisting upon tending to her duties as a Guardian Cat. Oh, the tough decisions ********* had to make all in the name of food.

Since there was no longer a dialogue going on between Ellie and Irene, Ellie's attention returned to the ash blonde boy. "Th'cat's more trouble than she's worth, if ya ask me... Noel was it?" She grinned. "Ain't interruptin' a damned thing... I can't stand sweets t'be honest." Since he had introduced himself, she figured she could do the exact same, just to be polite. She thrust out her right hand. "Name's Ellie." There was a slight pause before she had to ask something that had come to mind. "...so, how often do ya get Christmas jokes 'bout yer name, eh?"

Noel might have been surprised, but Ellie's grip was just as firm, if not firmer. It almost felt as if he was shaking the hand of a guy. Her head bobbed up and down at a bunch of his comments, but one thing managed to catch her attention which did not receive such a reaction.

"...No... I ain't a fan of bakeries... th'cat jus' started gettin' all kinds of noisy when we were passin'... so I figgered I'd get 'er somethin'..."

Rather suddenly, the feline's ears perked up, and her attentions seemed to go back towards the room which Irene had shuffled off to earlier. There seemed to be no reason for it, however, only the cat could sense what had just happened.

Youma

Once more, she insistently began to mew out, almost as if concerned.

The girl's gold eyes glanced to the cat, quirking an eyebrow at the way the cat was carrying on. "Th'f*ck, cat?" She edged closer to the tailless feline on the counter.

And then there was a scream.

********* mewing + screams in back room = time to get serious. It was one thing for the cat to get fussy, but it was another for her to get fussy with cause, and that scream definitely was a pretty good cause.

Ellie didn't seem to pay attention to the prompting from Noel. No. Instead, she began to firmly give the instructions of "Git out!" There was no explanation, and the girl literally put her hands on their shoulders, and began to forcefully move them towards the door. There was a string of bell tinkles as people shuffled out, wondering what the hell was going on?

The last person she got to was the ash blonde that had been talking to her. She placed her hand on his shoulder and was about to give him the exact same treatment, when a voice firmly gave her instructions.

"Get in the back room and I'll take care of him."

It certainly seemed like that voice came from nowhere, at least for the boy, but the girl stared at the source with a brow lofted. She didn't reply, but instead she literally hopped over the counter and began to make her way into the back room.

"So... Noel, was it?" The cat's pale green eyes fixed upon his pale ones. Her maw opened and shut, and voice came out corresponding to her movements. It was just so painfully obvious she was actually talking.

And as was usual, she gave the warning right away. "This is not a dream."

The cat let out a rather airy giggle at his question. Humorously, she replied "I am the doughnut talking to you... woooOOOOoooooOOoOoooo!" She laughed again. In the face of danger, and the somewhat round cat still found time to find humor in the situation.

With her neck, she gestured by turning her head towards behind the counter.

"Do me a favor and pick me up. Climb over the counter, then pick me up and set me on the ground please." It seemed like a simple enough request. However, it was either this, or she was going to have to literally drop herself off the counter (which may have worried Noel a bit).

Ellie had gone into the back room and once she was certain nobody was able to see her, henshined up into Sailor Iris. She then cautiously began to stalk about the back area. In a cautious tone, she occasionally attempted to coax the baker out of hiding with a simple "Irene? Ya 'round?" The senshi rounded a large pile of boxes, and though she didn't find the woman, she did find a rather interesting sight. Another stack of boxes had been knocked over.

Unless Irene was randomly angry at work, the only other possible explanation was that there was something in the bakery. Most likely a Youma. Narrowing her eyes, the yellow-suited senshi continued to investigate.

When the boy silently picked her up and set her on the ground, she offered a simple "Thank you, Noel" before something strange happened.

After the boy let the cat go and backed up slightly, the cat simply changed into a girl right before his eyes. It wasn't anything fancy or magical with glitter swirling around her. No, she simply was one moment a cat, and within the blink of an eye, was now a silver haired girl (who was definitely much shorter than this boy). Surprisingly, there was no more cast. It had just vanished. Taking off her hat with her left hand and leaning forward, she offered a rather nice performer's bow. With her hat off, her feline ears were rather noticeable. It was also pretty obvious that though the cast was missing, it still seemed to have an effect upon her right arm, which remained a bit limp at her side.

When she was finished with her bow, she stood up straight again, placing her hat back on her head in its proper place. "Now, I have something for you, Noel... so I want you to watch my left hand carefully for a moment." She winked at him and smiled. "It's like a magic trick, so you don't want to miss it."

With that, she held out her left hand, palm open and closed her eyes. As she began to concentrate, there was a faint glow that began to emanate from her palm.

This senshi... is Sailor Boreas... she finally managed to locate the name in her mind. He is the senshi... of... Winter? As her mind finally wrapped upon who this senshi was, a pen with a white base began to magically fade in from where ever it had been, and next to it, a phone of the same color also began to appear.

As she continued to concentrate on her current task, she couldn't help but think of one thing: This one belongs to Zue.

A gloved hand pushed aside some of the toppled boxes, just to make sure nothing was underneath them. Fortunately and unfortunately, she didn't find anything. "Dude, Irene, this ain't funny! Speak up!!" This wasn't a horror movie, and Sailor Iris wasn't scared. In fact, her voice sounded more annoyed than anything. She rounded the pile of boxes, and headed towards what looked like a rack of bread. There were loaves upon loaves. The side that the yellow suited senshi could see didn't look suspicious, but as she walked around it to see what was on the other side, she was a body doubled over. Dark hair was mussed up on the ground, and the body was barely breathing. The rack just above the body was one with cookie cakes on it (no surprise there).

"Son ova' b*tch!" the blonde cursed as she knelt down and began to position the body in a slightly more comfortable manner. Though she was a bit aggravated (to say the least), there was one thing that she mentally acknowledged. If she could kill the Youma fast enough, there'd be a chance to save this lady.

Only problem now was to find the Youma.

(Note: If for some reason Boreas ICly is not supposed to have a senshi phone, then ignore that portion of the post :B )