The Cat and The Blade (SilverRain and Vena Sera IV)

[SilverRain]

As they approached the town, Kita opened one eye followed by the other. She took note of her surroundings. The high walls weren't a problem for a cat like her, but she did wonder if there were any hunters around. She would have to remain in her cat form for now - and not speak either. Kita sat up on the horse's back and placed her paws on it's head as she stretched forward to see more. Hmm... nothing too interesting, save the scents of food being cooked in a few homes. Kita let out a small meow to see if there were any other cats around that she could talk to, but for now there was no response.

The kitty looked up at Raiden and mewed. He seemed to be searching for a place to stay for the night. Her kind could simply just sleep in the cold or just under some hay, thought Raiden would need more comfortable surroundings. As for dinner, it could possibly be scavenged or begged for even. Kita then noticed a small church in the distance. She gently pawed at Raiden before pointing to the church with her nose. Another mew.

[Vena Sera IV]

It was an oddly quiet town, not too many people were out despite the weather being pleasant. Then again, it was later in the evening, most families were likely settling down for supper right about now. The occasional person hurrying home, or guard walking by would make an appearance, but otherwise the blacksmith and cat were mostly alone. Raiden glanced down as he was pawed at, frowning confused at his companion's gestures. When Kita directed him towards the church he could only nod a bit, figuring she must smell something inside. Or perhaps she wanted shelter there, either way he might as well oblige her. They needed a place to rest, and at least if they hid out in the church no one would potentially recognize them. An inn after all would seem like a sensible place for him to go, so they would do well to avoid it then. There was likely some sleeping quarters, surely he could borrow one of the rooms for the evening, he doubted anyone would mind. How bothersome though, reduced to a man on the run.

Setting the horse up beside the church, Raiden didn't bother to tie it down. If the animal wished to run off than so be it, it wasn't his anyways. With Kita cradled in his arms, the blacksmith pushed open the large oak door, slipping inside the building before closing it behind him again. The main hall of the church was faintly lit with candles, and it certainly didn't look like a comfortable place to rest his head for the night. Setting down Kita on the floor, he began to wander about the room, trying to find a door that would lead them to some proper sleeping arrangements, or at least something preferable to the wooden benches that adorned the main hall.

[SilverRain]

After Raiden hopped off the horse (named Sunday apparently), it wandered about the streets before it found a cart of hay that was left outside a barn. Standing close to the fence so that it could reach over with it's snout, Sunday began to chomp away at the hay. Well that was until it was started by a soldier on patrol. The soldier gave chase but he was no match for the horse, who sped off into the night. The horse reached a river and leapt about in the cool waters.

Back in the church, Kita quietly padded towards the back of the room, where an exit lead to the kitchen area. Her black fur hid her quite well in the shadows. Peeking in through the door, she noticed a few Sisters cooking something. A few food items were hung on strings and that made Kita wonder if she should jump up and nab them. But she decided against that as she had a better idea. Kita meowed.

One of the Sisters turned around to see Kita and made a 'dawww' sound. She leaned down to give the cat a little pet and a scratch before searching the kitchen for a bowl. She later came back to the cat and placed the bowl in front of it before filling it up with milk. "Meow?" went Kita as she looked at the saucer of milk. It... wasn't exactly what she was wanting. The ham was much tastier. Oh well, it was food anyway. Slim pickings for now. And she could always raid the kitchen later. Oh, she almost forgot about Raiden. Did he need food as well? Kita turned to face the general direction which she thought Raiden was in and then meowed a little louder in the hopes of getting his attention (yay free food!). After that she went back to lapping up the saucer of milk.

[Vena Sera IV]

Raiden wasn't too thrilled to be in the church, though it wasn't as if they could go to an inn. Still, he wasn't an overly religious individual, and the buildings always came off as hypocritical to him. Why should you be forced to worship, or pay to worship? It seemed odd to him, hence the reason he never truly became a devout follower of any kind of sect. Watching as Kita padded off, he could only guess she was after some food. He realized he was rather hungry too, so perhaps he would go after some food of his own in a moment. Searching the adjoining rooms, he could only find storage, no sleeping quarters. It was a bit annoying, there had to be somewhere he could sleep besides the damn wooden benches. Maybe someone was still in the building, he could always ask them.

Hearing Kita mewing, the blacksmith could only wonder what on earth she had gotten herself into. Sighing softly, Raiden moved along towards the back kitchen, half figuring someone had grabbed her now. Hurrying to the back room, he was surprised to find the cat-girl lapping up milk, a Sister standing over her. He wasn't too pleased to have to deal with a member of the church, but perhaps she would allow him to use a room. Smiling kindly he knelt down, gently scratching Kita behind her ears for show, looking up to the woman. "Thank you Sister, I've been trying to find where my cat wandered off to. I don't suppose she was much of a hassle?"

[SilverRain]

Kita meowed and nuzzled Raiden's hand, playfully circling a bit before she sat down and looked up at the Sister. She also eyed the food behind them as it had been a long time since she ate. By sitting down, she pretended to show that she was tired. The Sister noticed this and spoke to Raiden. "Poor thing must be tired. I don't think I have seen you before, so you must be from out of town. I must warn you to not go to any of the inns on the south side as there are quite a number of bandits there. We have had travellers who had been robbed by then" The Sister saw the blade that Raiden was carrying. "But it looks to me that you will be quite safe, swordsman". The church did not exactly approve of bloodshed, but the Sister was in no position to judge as she was supposed to treat everyone equally.

(Ugh, writer's block... Running out of events for this...)

[Vena Sera IV]

"Bandits...?" Raiden repeated, almost absentmindedly as he reached down to stroke Kita. Being so close to the capitol, it was rare to see bandits even while living out in the country. Here though, it seemed like they were bold enough to attack, or at the very least inhabit a town. The idea of thugs stealing from travelers made his blood boil, and thoughts that really should not be expressed in a church crossed his mind. Instead he bit his tongue, only nodding silently as he ran his fingertips along the cat's spine lazily. He would go look into it of course, there wasn't any chance he could rest easy knowing there were brutes like that terrorizing innocent townsfolk. Bandits to him were much like Niko and his guards, they acted without impunity and didn't care who they hurt doing it. It was a despicable way to act, and he'd see to it that they were taught a lesson for doing that. As hungry as he and Kita were, he would deal with that first.

"I'll keep that in mind Sister, and thank you." Raiden said politely, gently lifting up Kita and cradling her in his arms. With a faint bow the blacksmith turned and left the church, disregarding the warning almost immediately and heading towards the inns. He was already a wanted man, killing someone, even bandits, in a tavern wasn't likely to win him any favors. It was a bit confusing that the guards would allow these men to sit inside the very town they were terrorizing, but he wouldn't question it. As they walked along the near empty cobblestone streets, Raiden kept an eye out for anything suspicious, wondering if anyone might know who he is or why he was in town. "Kita...?" he whispered, not looking down to address her. "Listen, we're going to do something about the bandits, all right? If you can help it, don't change this time."

[SilverRain]

Kita stretched as Raiden ran his hand along her spine. She then walked around in circles and nuzzled his warm hand. But what came as a surprise to her was that he picked her up and they simply walked away from the church. Kita meowed in protest and reached out with her paws towards the saucer of milk. If humans could understand meows, she would be saying "Noooo.... the milk and food!". But alas, all that happened was that the Sister thought that Kita was meowing 'goodbye' to her. Where were they going?

Kita curled up and made herself comfortable in Raiden's arms. The leather he wore was a little cold, but it was better than being buffeted by the cold wind. She looked at his sword for a while, wondering about it. It felt like ti was a very important thing to him. A bit like her own swords she supposed. She would have to ask him more about it later. Kita was about to drift off into quick nap when Raiden spoke to her again.

"Change? Nah, I can remain in this form. It's a bit hard not having opposable thumbs though. What are we going to do to the bandits? Main? Kill? Rob?" asked Kita as she looked up from Raiden's arms. She noticed that there were one or two clusters of shady looking humans and a guard was walking away from them with a coin bag in his hand. "So the guards are corrupted..." commented Kita. "Time to cause some chaos then"

Kita went quiet again as they entered the bandit's turf. Two gruff and bulky men stomped up to Raiden. They weren't in the mood for guests tonight. "What's yer business 'ere peasant? Ya selling the sword or the cat? Could make a nice roast" Upon hearing this Kita tensed up. Was it true that bandits and other dire humans ate cats for food?!

The ringleader of the bandits was in one of the rooms above, looking down at the wandering swordsman.

[Vena Sera IV]

"I'd rather not do too much more killing, if it's all the same." Raiden answered, giving a faintly amused smile. He wasn't particularly opposed to killing bandits, though he certainly derived no joy from taking a life. It was necessary sometimes, whether it be self defense, or dealing with less than favorable people. He hoped to be able to perhaps threaten the bandits into leaving, a fight could be rather problematic at the moment. If Kita was looking towards a more violent method though, he was a bit concerned she might get involved in the situation. Watching the guard walk away from the bandit post, the blacksmith could only roll his eyes. Of course even the men out here let morals aside for some petty metals, it was despicable.

Being stopped by two burly men was typically a bit threatening to most people. Raiden had dealt with enough people in his life to hardly be intimidated though, he knew these types well. All brawn, no brain, probably hired muscle for the ringleader of this operation. Not all too worried then despite their size, the blacksmith looked up indifferently, keeping Kita well against his person for protection. At the mention of selling Minerva too, he shifted slightly to keep the blade away from their grasp. Should either go for their weapon, or more idiotically, their own, he'd take the offending hand off immediately.

"No, I'm actually here on different business." Raiden smiled faintly amused, turning and setting Kita down before facing the men once more, looking up at them with a smirk. "This seems like a nice town, sans you lunkheads of course. The guards might be in your pocket, but I'm not. And I'm far more of an issue than some petty guards." Looking past the men, he spotted a cart with various food items on it. His stomach grumbled in response to the sight, making him shift faintly in his spot. If he could deal with these idiots quickly, perhaps he could grab a bite to eat. After all, stealing from thieves was hardly immoral. "Before I go on, don't even think about touching that cat. She's mine, got it?" He wouldn't put it past the imbeciles to try roasting Kita, not that he thought they would be able to. He could almost imagine the shock on their face as she would transform, only to be probably killed by their meal a moment later.

"The way I see this, you've two options. I'll go over them really slow, since you two don't seem too bright," Raiden taunted, looking up cheekily. "Since I'm sure you buffoons won't just leave, you can waste your time fighting me, then leave with your manhood tucked between your legs. Or..." he pause, placing a hand on the hilt of Minerva, smirking smugly. "You can refuse to leave at all. If that happens, well... I'll just kill you. Your choice boys." With his cards on the table now, the blacksmith wondered exactly how many men he was up against. Easily a dozen, he would reason, otherwise it was unlikely the guard would fall under the bandit's thumb. Maybe the guards here were just that corrupt, perhaps only a few bandits made camp in the town. Not that he had to wonder about it for too long, now that he'd run his mouth, it was only a matter of time until he found out. Hopefully these morons would be wise enough to just leave, thought he doubted that greatly.