Welcome to Gaia! ::

Pendour was out walking along as usual, hoping that she'd maybe find someone to talk to again. If not, at least she'd get a pleasant walk out of it. She walked into an alleyway, which seemed like the kind of place where magical people might be found, and which was also a shortcut to the next street over, when she heard a voice. More specifically, it was a threat.

"Well, hello, then," she replied, her brow furrowing as she looked from side to side for whoever might be around. This was a war, she'd been warned, there were people who would want to hurt her, but there weren't any auras and she didn't see anyone. That was, until she looked down and spotted a pair of golden eyes glinting up at her, and a puff of fabric.

"Um, sir? You're..." she paused, squinting at him to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Now she could make out furry ears and a tail. "You're a cat," she said.

Pendour had been hearing rumors of monsters for years, and she'd known for sure about the magical side of the city for months. None of her prior knowledge or her inferences or even the advice she'd gotten from other knights had prepared her for such a small cat not only talking but being so loud.


She just stood there with a baffled squint for several long seconds.

"I don't think that is the best way to advertise your Negaverse," she said once her mind had managed to at least process his words. "No thank you. So, that leaves the beating, if I'm not mistaken." His little hopping dance was much cuter than it was scary, but Pendour was still wary. She had no idea what she was up against, only that he was clearly both magical and angry.

After another second of staring, she tried to step over him to get out of his way.

Calling it a beating was perhaps a bit of a hyperbole, but a cat that was trying to hurt you was a lot different from a cat that was only swiping at you in play or irritation.

Pendour's shoes held up surprisingly well but her hose shredded in an instant. She got scratched, she got very, very scratched. Her lower legs were a crisscross of angry red lines in a matter of seconds. She gave a little pitiful yelp.

Wincing as he started chewing on her ankle, she tried to think of her options. She didn't want to hurt him, and she also didn't want to just stand here and get very slowly eaten by a very small cat.

Reaching down, she tried to scoop him up. That would maybe give her a bit more control over the situation, or if he dodged it at least give her a second of peace.

Pendour was not a fighter. She did not have a high pain tolerance or a large amount of restraint. She was not expecting his little cat teeth to puncture straight through her glove and a good amount of the flesh beneath it, but that was what happened. Stabbing pain shot through her palm and up her arm.

She screamed. It wasn't the loudest or the longest scream, but it was very much a scream.

He was talking to her. Well, then. It seemed like maybe he was trying to be insulting, but her throbbing hand and her feet that weren't in much better shape were telling her that he had very much earned that right. She could only be grateful that he was clawing up her skirt and not her skin at the moment.

"I am," she said. "I would appreciate some mercy."

In the likely chance that he chose not to abide by the rules of honorable combat, Pendour took off into a full sprint while he was just hanging on to fabric in the hopes that it would loosen his grip.

Pendour ran.

She was tall and built for it, anyway, and the powers had her sprinting faster than she possibly could have otherwise. The tiny but terrifying black kitten that was, at first, right on her heels, was what gave her the motivation to keep it up even when her breath started to catch.

That metaphor about cat's feet being silent had to be an exaggeration. She could hear him coming after her, and she grimaced, then took a look around. She'd gotten turned off her original path, but the bright green of a dumpster caught her eye, and she sprinted towards it, then leaped, using it as a bit of a vault to get to the roof beyond. Hopefully vertical distance would be of use.

Then, she finally stopped to catch her breath. She doubled over as she turned back around to get a glimpse of him, her tattered skirts and stockings getting caught in the breeze and whipping around her legs.

"I chose not to join the Negaverse, and you gave me a beating," she said to the alleyway below. "Does that conclude things?" She really hoped so, but if no, she supposed she could run more.

Pendour took another few seconds to peer down at the cat, feeling much better now that she had the literal high ground. The coward insult stung a bit, especially as she was really trying to be nice, but it was something she would have to get used to. She got a sinking feeling that she would be hearing it quite a bit.

She rubbed at the bite on her hand and shook her head. "It could also be over if I hurt you," she pointed out. "I will not, but some of my friends may try to. I really do think that it would be better for you to try other recruiting techniques. It would be better if you stopped completely, but do what you must."

She shrugged. Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly wish him success in his endeavors. "Anyway, the beating is over. Goodbye."

She took off across the rooftops before he could find a way up to her.