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At the sudden uproar, Neko jumped to his feet as well and followed the others to the back to see what was going on. When he got to the door and saw the cause of the ruckus his nose crinkled to his dissatisfaction of seeing a dog in their village. “Mangy mutt!”

Having finally snatched another chicken, though Mitsu barely managed to hold on to it, she froze at the sudden sound of a male’s voice. Looking up she caught sight of the three standing there looking at her, two of which looked far from happy. Unsure of what to do, Mitsu hesitated to move though she knew without a doubt that she needed to run. Finally finding her legs again she took off in a dead run, chicken still firmly clutched in her hands as she jumped over a neighboring fence without to much trouble and headed back to the streets for a quick get away to the woods.

“s**t she’s getting away!” Neko took off in a run after the girl, jumping over the same fence in pursuit.

Not having much energy left from lack of food, Mitsu just barely managed to keep ahead of the two males. Clutching the chicken close to her she ran out into the street and skidded in the dirt as she turned to go a different direction. As soon as she was in the street her eyes grew wide with panic, there were people everywhere though few paid her little mind. The few that did let out discontented hisses as she ran past them to continue her escape.

Coming to a stop once in the street he caught sight of Mitsu running through the crowd and not getting a very positive response over it. Looking from side to side he caught sight of a small vase by a doorstop and picked it up as he continued on his way.

“The chicken can either be hurt or be eaten, I think Hitsu would rather it be hurt.” Stopping in his run he swung the vase up into a firmer hold and pulled his arm back and launched it. It went soaring over the crowd and as it finally began to descend it made direct contact with the back of Mitsu’s skull, shattering against it. Being knocked out cold from the instant it hit, Mitsu dropped the chicken and fell face first into the ground. Neko seemed rather proud of himself as he jogged toward the girl, making sure to quickly secure her hands behind her. “Do you have anything to tie her hands up with?” He asked Yuki.

“Hey, I have excellent aim I’ll have you know.” Neko commented. Making sure the bindings where secure he nodded to Yuki to go catch the chicken as he dragged the girl up and threw her over his shoulder. “I’m not sure. Should we dump her somewhere? Or should we….you know..” He brought his hand up and made a slicing gesture at his throat to avoid saying anything in front of the now growing crowd around them. Glancing at them oddly Neko slowly made his way off the street and into an alleyway and waited for Yuki to follow.

If Inu had been an uninvited guess, than what was the title of his trespass?

The underbrush whispered at his steps as the slender shadow stepped across the foliage like a dancer. Eyes as colorless as sand swept over the trees ahead of him, taking in the dips and curves of the plants that lined the forest floor; they narrowed minutely, and he pressed forward, working a dark glove from his hand as he went. And what was this? The last dying note, anxious to be heard? Oh, how the fading songbird had a listener!

He knelt and touched the dried and broken twigs, fingers kissing the bent saplings as if to capture the figure of the person who had passed here last. He bent his head and inhaled past the scent of rotting leaves and damp soil – yes, beyond all of that was a smell as distinct and familiar as his own, though what mingled with it made his nose curl. A delicate movement; he drew back.

A smile caught his lips and the scars across his face deepened like a child’s dimples. He was getting closer.

____

“C’mon, bit higher than that! ‘Bout killed myself hauling this load in!” a wiry youth cried. He shook his net for emphasis.

“They’re goldfish!” laughed a larger man, the butcher. “What’m I supposed to give for fish smaller’n my pinky?”

“But look how many there are!”

“Quality, not quantity, son!”

The little tête-à-tête was interrupted by a quiet ‘Excuse me’ and a touch on the forearm of the smaller feline. He turned mid-yell and nearly leapt out of his skin when his eyes met that of his questioner; when had this fella’ have time to approach? His spine tingled and a vague notion of fear crept into his tail – this man…his eyes. Something was off about his eyes.

“Y-y—“ he cleared his throat. “Yeah? What is it? M’doin’ somethin’ here, can’t you see?”

A miniscule incline of his head gave way to understanding, “I do. A quick question and I will be out of your hair.”

The feline noticed the older man had yet to blink. He shot a wary look at the butcher, but he had long since turned away.

“Uh, yeah, shoot.”

“Have you seen – smelt – anything out of the ordinary today?”

“We’re in the market – yeah, I’ve seen and smelt weird stuff all day!”

The elegantly dressed visitor offered a tight-lipped smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. The young man swallowed his words and started over.

“Well, I mean…there was this big dude who came running through cater-waulin’ a bit earlier, if that’s what you mean. ‘Bout twice your size, and three times my ma’s girth – ya know?” He laughed, albeit weakly. “I think he went somewhere thatta’wa—“

“No, no. Thank you.” The stranger appeared to lose interest in him immediately, his gaze elsewhere. Soon, his footsteps followed his line of sight and he was lost amidst the crowds.

The young feline stared in his wake, the fine hair on his tail rising to attention, “Creepy….”

Once back to the house, Yuki took the chicken back to it's proper place, and locked up the group in their coup. Might as well be safe, who knew if other dogs were lurking around somewhere looking for an easy meal. If only he knew how close that thought was. As Yuki stepped back into the house, Hitsu was apparently unhappy about something. Once he listened for a moment, he learned what that was.

"She's just a child! What if you've seriously hurt her?" She was going on, in a tone that made Yuki linger at the doorway so he could at least pretend he had nothing to do with it. "It's things like this that just cause more anger between the tribes. Do you really want that to happen, Neko?"

Hitsu had only stood with her arms crossed sternly as Neko spoke. Sure, she was listening to him, but his words were just going in one ear and out the other. She was indeed rather ignorant of the subject, as she'd never seen it first hand. Her kindness usually managed to win against judging someone by species alone, and she personally thought that there had to be some good in everyone. It wasn't fair to be hated just because you were born a dog, or a cat, or anything else for that matter. She did look a bit nervous when Mitsu started to stir, unsure on what would happen. She gave a bit of a start when the girl screamed, backing away a couple of paces as she watched her seek an escape route. Once she'd practically dove underneath the table, Hitsu frowned and gave Neko a small glare and addressed him in a very sarcastic tone. "Oh yeah. She's sure bloodthirsty. Better watch yourself."

Ignoring Neko's complaint, Hitsu kneeled down as well from where she was standing to look under the table. "That's good, frighten her even more."

"He's right, you know." Yuki said, moving in close to the table to block escape on the opposite side of Neko. "She might attack since she feels trapped."