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"Whoa boy, whoa! There's no need to rush!"

Penelope tugged on the leash in her hand in an attempt to get Minotaur, who was practically dragging her along, to slow down, but it didn't seem to have any effect. The English Bulldog continued to waddle his way along the street, his stub of a tail wriggling in delight as he glanced first to his left and then to his right. Penelope knew that he always got excited walking around Destiny City because there were more people for him to interact with than if she just walked him near her house, but it seemed such a shame not to take a long walk while the weather was this nice.

Penelope looped the end of the leash around her wrist so that she could stretch slightly, enjoying the feeling of sun on her skin and the sight of flowers in full spring bloom around her. School would be out soon, and she already had big plans for the summer session. Trying to establish a debate team was not going to be easy, especially for someone as normally quiet as herself. She had finally managed to convince her parents that it was a fun way to spend her summer vacation and not just school work, but the effort it had taken to do so still left a knot in her stomach. She hadn’t felt nervous at the time… so why bother worrying about the conversation now, when it was too late to change anything?

She was interrupted in her musings by the realization that her dog had stopped moving forward. Minotaur panted for breath and plopped unceremoniously at her feet, looking up at her with what seemed to be a sheepish grin. Penelope could not help but smile back, reaching down to give him a scratch behind his ears, “Uh huh, see what you did? You went so fast that you tired yourself out, didn’t you? Okay, we’ll take a little break, but not here in the middle of the sidewalk. Let’s get to the side so others can pass.”

Minotaur grunted as she pushed him towards the nearby grass, but he did not actively resist the movement. His long tongue protruded from his jowls and left a small trail of drool on the pavement behind him, but as long as he didn’t shake his head and spray anyone else with the salvia, Penelope didn’t mind. No one would bother either of them if they didn’t get in the way.

Sitting down carefully in order to make sure that the skirt of her sun dress didn’t billow up, the teenager couldn’t help but sigh as she gave Minotaur a pat on the head. Why did she have to be the one to try and start this debate team? It wasn’t that she minded the work, but surely there was someone else at Crystal Academy who was better and more experienced. Still, she told herself that just because she organized the club didn’t mean that she would have to be Team Captain or anything—one of the other potential members to show up would surely be a better choice and take over.

Ugh, she didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they did try to make her Team Captain! She brushed her hair behind her ears with her free hand, continuing to give Minotaur the attention he demanded. “Whatever happens, though, you’ll be here for me, right Minotaur? You won’t expect too much from me, right?”

Minotaur turned his large head to give an affectionate lick to her arm before turning his attention back to the sidewalk, happily watching the people and other animals that went by. Penelope decided to follow his example, enjoying the quietness between them now as much as the warmth from the sun.

The first to hear the mewling was, unfortunately, the English Bulldog lazing beside Penelope. Minotaur was up in a flash, his tail once again expressing his excitement as he barked up at the kitty in the tree. He didn't try and jump up, more interested in how to convince the potential animal friend to come down and play with him. Maybe if he barked louder? Yes, clearly he needed to bark louder, and then the kitty would get excited too!

"Now, Minotaur... be nice!" Penelope's command was firm as she got to her feet, and the Bulldog's gruff barks turned into a series of snorts as he pressed up against her leg, his eyes still pinned on the nearby cat. "Can't you see that you're scaring him? Silly dog!"

Penelope peered up at the mewling cat, and she had to admit that it was a pretty little thing, all shades of gray and well-groomed fur. She wasn't sure how the cat had managed to get so close without her noticing, and now she felt somewhat guilty for allowing the poor thing to get itself stuck. The purple belled collar seemed to indicate that she had an owner, though where said owner was Penelope couldn't say. Maybe if she could get the cat down and take a look there would be some contact information?

The teenager stretched her arms up towards the little gray Manx, seeking to soothe her. Penelope was tall enough to reach the cat down, but she didn't want to startle the creature and end up with arms full of scratches. She hadn't seen the cat get stuck in the tree, but she couldn't just leave the poor thing there. "Come on kitty, it's not that far a jump. I'll catch you, and I promise that Minotaur won't hurt you. He's just a little excited."

Penelope was relieved when the Manx jumped readily into her arms. Minotaur instantly reared onto hsi hind legs and placed two beefy white paws on his owner's leg, trying to gain enough to height to sniff at his potential new friend. The teenager gently tugged on her dog's leash until he had all four legs on the ground again and answered his snorts of protest with a simple statement, "Calm down, boy, calm down. Let him get used to us, and then I'll introduce you if he seems okay with it."

She shifted the gray cat into the crook of one arm so that she had the arm with Minotaur's leash attached to it free enough to examine the cat's collar. Penelope ran a finger both over and under the collar to quickly check for some form of tag or identification but could find no adornment, really, other than a pale, almost periwinkle bell that matched the base material of the collar perfectly. A frown crossed her fact as she silently criticized any owner would worry more about making his pet look cute than safe in case it go lost. At least the Manx had a collar and looked generally well cared for, so he wasn't completely abused.

"Well kitty, I don't know how I'm going to figure out where you live, but I'll do my best to get you back where you belong." Penelope slooked down at the Manx in her arms and smiled reassuringly. He was really a charming little thing with those large slate eyes and dappled markings. Most striking, however, was a perfectly formed star-shaped mark in the middle of the cat's forehead. She hadn't noticed it until now, but the mark was so unusual that she felt compelled to reach a finger out and attempt to touch it, completely entranced by how perfectly formed it was.

Penelope could not help but smile in delight as she touched the star-shaped marking, It felt like velvet, soft and textured in ways that she hadn't imagined fur could be. Added into the adoreable mewling sounds, almost in response to her words, she knew that there was something special about this cat... something she couldn't articulate into words, even if someone had asked her to do so. So, she continued to stroke that prominent mark, as if trying to capture forever some part of their meeting.

Penelope's head snapped up suddenly, and she turned to look behind her. It was a brief moment, and the teenager did not even conciously acknowledge it. She did, however, shudder as with the passing of a chill and hold the feline in her arms close even as she pulled Minotaur into motion, "Come on, boys. I think it's time that we move on."

Minotaur let out a grunt, seemingly of agreement, in response to the tug of his leash and toddled along beside his owner as the trio began to move away from the trees.

At first, Penelope had tolerated the squirming of the obviously vocal manx in her arms. She knew, as most people did, that cats and dogs did not behave the same way in any given circumstance, and while the kitty had jumped into her arms willingly it would be understandable for him to be a little nervous when they started moving.

As she walked beside her ever-patient Minotaur, Penelope tried to follow his example and take the situation as it came. Even when that meant claws latched onto her clothing--again, the cat rooting himself during the move, fine. Even when that meant the feline slowly wriggled his way out what the teenager had thought was a nice, supportive hold. Her patience reached an end, however, when the manx had somehow managed to fully turn himself around

Some of her peevishness stretched to her voice as she paused in exasperation, reaching around to try and resecure her gray passenger, "Come on now, kitty... how am I supposed to take you home like this?"

It was a female voice.

That Penelope registered that fact before the fact that the gray feline in her arms had just spoken to her at all showed how her observation of detail was not always dictated by level of importance. She once again paused in her walking, debating what to do now that she had heard the voice.

The teenager frowned in thought. She didn't feel crazy, which probably didn't indicate anything. She was fairly certain she hadn't fallen asleep so that this wasn't a dream. She had also read enough books to know that when animals spoke to you, you probably wanted to listen to what they had to say; conversely, Penelope knew that, in real life, animals didn't talk. Everyone knew that.

Minotaur looked towards her and the manx, his nub of a tail wriggling as though he too had heard another voice, so that was a sort of comfort. Rather than ask the obvious question, then, of whether or not the manx had spoken to her, Penelope settled on seeking more concrete information. If the cat answered, then the cat had in fact spoken to her. If it was nothing but a figment of her imagination, then the cat wouldn't and she'd never tell anyone that she thought it had. "Followed by what?"

Youma. Monster. Whatever the word, Penelope felt a pit beginning to form in the center of her stomach. This was beginning to play out like one of her fantasy stories, but unlike the protagonists in those tales she wasn't going to deny what she knew to be happening in front of her. She had tested whether or not the cat had spoken, the cat had spoken, and she was going to listen to what the cat had to say.

And, apparently, the cat said that they needed to find a bathroom because she wasn't ready to tackle whatever this thing was that was following them. The teenager nervously brushed a lock of black hair away from her forehead as she wracked her brain for a location that would work. she had a cat and a dog with her, and there weren't too many businesses that would allow her to enter with even one of them, much less two.

"A bathroom might be hard to get to at the moment but... what about behind a building?" Penelope indicated a busy cafe, one with a small alley that lead to the back. "It'll be filled with dumpsters, but it should buy us a little time to come up with something else? Plus, my dad knows the owners pretty well, so if they find me they won't ask TOO many questions."

After recieving the affirmation from the manx, Penelope moved to put their "plan" into action. She gently steered Minotaur towards the side street, not an easy task when the friendly pup tried to tug away and greet every person that they passed. She hated to dash his hopes, but she was fairly certain that the fact that a monster - no, a youma, she corrected herself - was near made following the cat's advice more important than hurting Minotaur's feelings.

The move went well; because the teenager carried herself with a (false) air of assurance, no one questioned why she was moving towards the back of the cafe. And, even luckier, no one was lounging around the dumpsters. No one was taking out trash or taking a smoking break, so they were all alone.

Leaning against the wall and content that, for now, they were safe, Penelope felt it was the time to ask some further questions.
"Okay... so, while we have a minute or two before that monster gets here... could you tell me a little more about what's going on and why a monster's following us in the first place?"