Vesna: *So many detours on its path! But who could blame it, acting as a tourist and being drawn to every other interesting thing its eyes landed on? Albeit a tourist in all black and a rather menacing theme going on in it. Maybe an hour after its fight with Thrud, the cat finds itself at the brink of a ruined building* Ssss~ But there is life I smell here.

Poptart: -playing at the edge of the small pond set between the Ruins and Ongaku, both places being her home. Takes a long stick and plays with the thin ice forming a sheet over the top--knows better than to get on the ice herself, but it was oh, so pretty!-

Vesna: *And the snow! It hissed at the chill and drew its cloak closer as it walked. Winter was such a terrible, terrible season - delightful in all the death, yes, but Vesna disliked being out amongst the ice. And with a slightly tattered cloak ! Oh, the woe. It spies a young kitten playing by a frozen pond and watches her* Prod and prod but does not go? Why is this so?

Poptart: -hums an overdue Christmas tune, as Christmastime was when she had been runited with her daddies and momma and she just loved the holidays. As the ice breaks off, the stick drops out of Poptart's grip and floats, just out of reach- Oh poo... -looks around, to make sure she hadn't gotten spied on, only to see a black shadow in a cloak- H-Hello?

Vesna: Hell-o. *the corners of the thing's mask seem to lift a little more, adding to its painted grin* Pity pretty, the stick's too far. Why not take a dip?

Poptart: -bends down, hands on her knees as she peers closer to the stranger, then glances back at the stick- Too cold...but why would you want me to...swim...Ooo...are you a demon? Or maybe the boogeyman?

Vesna: *rattles a chuckle and prods the ground with the bottom of its bone staff* Maybe. The overworld is nasty enough. *It indicates the thinly iced pond and then at the snow about them* What do you alone?

Poptart: -ears pull back at the odd laughter that came from the...thing. So odd... it had a mask over its face and a strange weapon- I'm bored. My siblings are painting, but it didn't sound like fun, so I bundled up and came out here to play! I wanted to ice skate with my boots...but it's too warm. -frowny face- And you? Are you friend or foe?

Vesna: Warm? *makes a curious sound as it prods the ice and the staff goes through easily* So weak! *Turns its head to the kitten* Ssss~ Why miss the colors and come to the cold? A rainbow is not boring.

Poptart: Yes! Exactly... -eyes her stick and then shrugs, pulling her gloved hands back inside her coat sleeves- But not warm enough to swim... -eyes the stranger, then touches her rainbow-streaked hair- But...I don't understand? -head tilt-

Vesna: Not understand what? *copies head tilting motion, which seemed unerring all the more because of the painted grin frozen on its face* A rainbow is many colors, yesssss. Too much for feeble mind?

Poptart: Well... Yes. It is. -ears flick back, uncertain if she should head back to Impulse or not, unsure if this creature means her harm or not. It didn't -seem- dangerous... but...- Are you dangerous? Do you have a name?

Vesna: Ssss~ I do. *tails wavers slowly two and fro, like a cobra* What is yours, stick poker? You smell nervous.

Poptart: -isn't going to admit that the stranger does give her the heebie-jeebies just a -little- I'm not nervous! -puffs chest out- And I do too. I'll tell you mine if you promise to tell me yours -green eyes narrow at the hooded cat..at least she thought it was a cat!-

Vesna: Ssss~ Very well. *makes an elaborate bow with one edge of the cloak in hand* I am Vesna, servant of he who calls himself the devil.

Poptart: -eyes widen in surprise... the devil?- As in...Satan? -takes a sharp intake of breath- I'm Poptart. -small ears flick back- You're not gonna eat my soul...are you?

Vesna: *The cobra-tail flicks amusedly* Ssss-atan? It doesn't know. It follows before its master to its new master, and its new master calls himself a demon. It doesn't care what its new master is. *leans down intently upon the kitten, mask drawn even more in shadow* As for your soul . . . Do you have one?

Poptart: -eyes land on the flicking of Vesna's tail, realizing and rationalizing that this stranger was indeed a cat...which meant it couldn't eat her soul...probably... As Vesna leans down, Poptart squeaks and pulls her hands to her chest, heart beat racing a little- Hehe...you're pretty scary. And yes. I do have a soul. A pretty one! -grin-

Vesna: A pretty soul? *it leans even closer, the painted face mere inches from the kitten's* Ssss~ May I see it? *Even though already its free, clawed hand is slowly moving to touch Poptart*

Poptart: Yes...? I-It's pretty, but it can't be touched! -voice comes out a little fast and shaky as she takes a step backwards, tail curling around one leg nervously- Heh...heh... I think I hear my Poppa calling... -looks towards the Ruins, though the chilly air is silent-

Vesna: Oh? It hears nothing. *The clawed hand touches the kitten's shoulder lightly, drawing a finger down her neck in a gentle line and tapering off just above her clavicle* Would you like to see its soul first? And then it can see yours. *There was something mesmerizing in that touch, something hypnotic in the waving cobra-tail.*

Poptart: -swallows the lump growing in her throat as she glances back towards the Ruins again- Umm... Yeah. He called me. He did. -doesn't sound convincing, as the stranger reached out and touched her shoulder with...oh poo were those claws? Still, there was something...drawing in Vesna's strange voice that made Poptart nod, albeit a little numbly- O-Okay... Like a game of 'show me yours'...

Vesna: Sssss~ *Slowly, achingly slowly, it brings a hand several inches beneath the collar of its body-tight shirt and begins to pull up the mask - and the second its skin is exposed, the nightmare begins. This was not the skin of a healthy person, cat or human. This was a shriveled, pale, and awful parody of pruned skin, only with a different quality and different smell. There was something terribly clean, like bleach, strong and astringent, that pierced through the cat's incense that normally covered it up. But the worst of it was at the end, when Vesna paused the mask pulling at just above its lower lip - or what should have been. Peeled back and rank with foul breath, its teeth were misshapen and discolored if not utterly black, with a wisp of a dried up tongue wiggling like an unforgotten and ancient earthworm; was this a cat at all, or a walking skeleton with stolen flesh? And then, it spoke with sudden violence* SHOW ME YOURS!

Poptart: -leans forwards a little bit, expecting...well NOT THAT! she was fine until she saw its teeth--giving a shriek that her brother would've mocked her for, her hackles rose, hair at the back of her neck spiking up in fear, sheer panic as she backed away very, very quickly- ...I...I...NO! -squeals and turns to dart away, eyes locked on the hulking building of the Ruins, though Ongaku was closer-

Vesna: *Its breath seemed to cling to her long after she had disappeared, and the thing cackles with alarming volume before it slips the mask back all the way on. This had been painful, but well worth the scaring of a child. Now . . . Ah yes, it had to get to its new master post-haste. Two distractions should be enough, no? Possibly . . . It turns away from the ruined area, interest lost, and makes its way onward*

Poptart: -trips and nearly falls, though she's up with a torn knee of her jeans, scrambling for home; her breath comes out in short, ragged gasps and she resists the urge to look behind her -certain- it's following her. Slams through the door and runs right into her Daddy, Impulse's eyes widening as she began to cry- It-...It tried to--it was EVIL! -howls and clings to him. She was never, ever going outside again by herself. Ever.-

{fin}