Legend of Ransera

The snort he loud was anything but gracious. Him - kind? It come off as that, he supposed. But this was not kindness. This was curiosity. The old saying went that it killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. So far, he would say that it had been true for this interaction. Fawn was interesting in the way a mouse was interesting to a hungry cat. He merely hadn't decided if she'd lost that edge of interesting to eat her yet. Figuratively, of course. He shuddered at the thought of one of his...siblings finding her with that analogy in mind.

"Assets." He echoed the word with a nod of his head. "There's a lot of nonsense words they like to throw around, but it's mostly number work I do. Keep track of them and all." He tapped his temple, shrugged. Probably more than he ought to divulge, but he still hadn't actually explained anything. It was harder to get that he might be a thief for a noble family that had kidnapped him at a young age. Along with hundreds of others. He blinked, ears twitching once more. He turned his head to the mouth of the alley, watched a couple stroll past as they remarked on the look of the night. It would seem Fawn wasn't the only one concerned with the stars.

"Best parts of the city?" Well. The best parts for him weren't generally accessibly by a human. No, that required a frame the other didn't possess. Namely, that of a feline. Though, he could probably think of one or two places that were bipedal-creature friendly. "The best parts...." His eyes narrowed and his ears twitched again. He sat, still as a statue for a moment before he was moving again. "All the best places I know aren't exactly for someone like yourself." She didn't have the stench that people on the seedy side of town had. He might prefer that she remain that way.

He watched as Pumpkin adjusted herself, stretched closer to Fawn to sniff at her face for a moment before plopping back down with a mewl. "Pumpkin might be able to show you all the best food stalls in the city, though."

She wanted to know what was different about her? For one, she was human. Or, he assumed she was. She didn't smell like a Rathari and she didn't have the ears of the Hytori. She certainly didn't have the signs of the Fae'ethalan. That, and she reeked of innocence. Just the question alone was innocent. His lips pursed as he pet Pumpkin, fingers raking through her fur.

The sounds of the city in full swing were welcome. They were soothing at best, and while he wouldn't mind walking through them once more - there was something else. Something that he had very little control of. He pushed his glasses up onto his forehead, bangs pushed back from his face. He blinked down at her, brow raised as he swung his leg over.

In the back of his mind, sweet as honey, was her voice. "You've got work to do, kitten." A full body shudder hit him. He scooped up Pumpkin before pushing off, landing on the balls of his feet in a crouch. He set the cat down before standing upright and stretching. The friendly demeanor he'd worn before no longer served him, and thus it was discarded.

Down on the same level footing, he noted he had a few inches on Fawn. Enough that he could lean forward slightly, grin in place but much less amicable. "I would join you, but. Assets to see to." A shrug, as if it was entirely out of his control. It certainly was. Like the tug of an invisible leash, he found himself wandering toward the mouth of the alley. Gaze sweeping over the crowd that milled by, he wondered for a moment if the Lady Blue wasn't hidden somewhere in there. He wouldn't be surprised if at least one of her color-coordinated assistants were present.

It would make the work a lot easier, go by faster if they were. He turned on his heels to look back at Fawn, hands sliding into his pockets. "It was a pleasure getting to know you, Your Majesty Brisbane of the Alley." One more bow, just as mocking as the first, but deeper. "Are you in need of an escort home?" His ears twitched once, twice, thrice; still no signal, but he could feel it coming.

"Don't be late."

The signal itself was almost hard to miss — almost. But Mino was the type of person that made it near impossible. That, and he'd been trained well enough to never miss it. Imperceptible to those with lesser hearing capabilities at this distance. His smile faltered for just a second as he caught sight of Berry in the crowd. Her usual blue attire made her stand out in the dull tones, even if the color itself weren't far off in darkness. She tipped her head forward, gaze steady on him.

Pulling himself from his stupor, he turned back to Fawn at her soft exclamation with widened eyes. Sort of cat-like? An understatement. He blinked, big and owlish, before his eyes were forced shut with the force of his grin. "An astute observation." He turned on his heel, waving as he stepped into the crowd.

"She looked fun." Berry was at his side at once, the two of them moving with the flow of the crowd. He let his glasses drop back into place on his nose. She lifted the great flopping hat in her hands to her head, looped her arm through his.

"I had time to waste." It wasn't much of an admission, but Berry's eye on him was enough to know that she discerned something from his words.

Rather than remark on it, though, she sighed. "Yes, well. Now, you have work to do. As always." Her tone was sullen, and she looked every bit like the girl of sixteen that she was. "You remember what Mother told you, right?"

If she noticed the way he tensed, she said nothing. He offered his usual smile in lieu of an answer, pat her hand on his arm as they walked.