silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
Kiko turned her head. She gave Kat another look. The girl had blue eyes, bright cobalt eyes, why hadn't she noticed that before?
You don't know where you born?
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
Kiko studied the girl beside her for several moments. She was envious, and sad at the same time. Sad because Kat had no foundation, no knowledge of where she came from, no stories to link her to her ancestors and her heritage. On the other hand, envy came due to the fact that she did not know anything about them.
Kiko had often wished she could get away from the stigma of her family name. She spoke before she really thought about what to say, too.
I'm sorry, Kat.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
Kat glanced away for a second, turning her face from Kiko. When she looked back she waved it away. "No need to be sorry for me. I do not remember them. I might wish I did sometimes, but reality is what it is. That Chaz, he's not the same species as me, but it's close enough. There are enough in this world that are close enough."
Kiko nodded. She had no desire to upset the girl. Kiko plucked one of the leaves from the elm tree and followed the outline of it with her fingertip. She wasn't sure how to carry the conversation from here. She wasn't sure how they got to this point, either.
So, if you do not know your parents who raised you?
It was the only thing she could think of to say.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
"When I was a cub? I spent most of my time in the trees, when I wasn't looking for food. My first memories I would be... I think about four years of age? I learned what was good to eat and what wasn't through trial, error and explosive vomitting. When I was a little older..."
She trailed off and closed her eyes for a second, her features looking pinched and less alluringly cute than usual. She did not start talking again.
Kiko dropped the leaf in her hand and watched it spin off down into the fog. Strange. She had to do much the same thing, once. Though, she had been a damn sight older than the cat girl.
She looked back around when Kat went silent. She should say something to sooth, right? Make her feel better? It was her fault that she had gone quiet. Kaminari, she wished for the Wolf's ability to banter with people.
What type of trees?
Bad, Kiko. You can't think of anything else?
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
"Sycamore. Oak. I only learned all of this afterwards. I did not even speak this language until I was about eight years of age, I think? I knew things," and she tapped at her breastbone. "But I did not know them," and then her temple.
Kiko nodded at her, and some of the tension slipped away. She did not talk. It was something she never considered a failing, either. She did not want to talk to people. But, after what had happened at home and her subsequent journey to this continent she had needed to learn. She battled both a language barrier and her reticence at the same time.
Mercs were a loud lot, for the most part. But, thank gods they didn't ask too many questions.
I understand.
She did understand. It make her more sympathetic to the other girl, too.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
"I was taken in by a group of city thieves. They took pity on me. Clothed me, educated me. Gave me something of a career, you might say. I took to it like a vaytzlz to alcvorz. In return, I made them rich. I never wanted it for myself. It was just survival to me."
Kiko's mouth twisted. More than likely they used her for their own selfish ends. Still, she didn't contradict Kat. This girl was gaining her admiration very quickly. Kat was a survivor, though, Kiko could identify.
Educated you?
Kiko was trying not to pry, in truth she only wanted the cat girl to keep talking. She was much better at listening.
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
"Reading, writing, speaking. Mathematics. Fighting, picking locks and pockets. How to find fences and who to avoid. How to escape -- I liked those lessons the most. Some of them taught me... other skills that have come in useful, but they're not strictly necessary for survival."
Kiko had to smile at the last one, vague as it was. Reading and writing were not required for survival, either. But, her father had insisted she learn those skills, much to the dismay of her grandfather.
The fog was starting to drift downward. Before long the ground below them would be cold, and the air just a bit too chilly to remain up in the tree. Kiko glanced up toward the sky. The sun had dropped below the clouds, and the world was turning purple instead of gray.
Come on Kat, how about we get under some better shelter? Hm?
Eternity
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
silverdust [M:0:0:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=ci&action=display&thread=314]Mess with the panther, and you get the dagger in your throat.
Kat does look very briefly confused by this, as she had slept in trees in worse weather than this. A sunny little smile spreads on her face, "yes. Let us."