finalbows | ic inbox - Pasture / Sheep Game

... Are you mocking me, Ranker? It would be foolish for anyone to travel these parts without means of detecting motion.

[ he's bullshitting; it was absolutely his feline senses that gave you away. still, you sense three invisible objects floating around him, forming a transparent barrier around his person, not unlike Protect. the objects feel like Blood Fiend's lighthouse, strengthened by tenfold. even the most basic of lighthouses in the Tower make pasture equipment look like child's toys. ]

Oh, my. Is the kitty cat worried the mean, mysterious "Ranker" will hurt him?

[ his mouth twists in (misdirected) contempt. ]

You wouldn't dare. Rules are rules. You know that as well as I do.

Whatever you're offering, I'm not interested.

[ you feel the invisible barrier strengthen. adjusting his pack, the kitten turns to walk away. ]

Well. If rules are rules.

_{[ sounds terribly amused, as the kitten stalks off.

waits ten seconds. starts floating along to follow him. ]}

[ STARTS WALKING FASTER. (this is not very fast. you can catch up easily.) ]

_{[ starts gliding faster. keeping a perfectly exact amount of distance between them. ]}

[ to his credit, the kitten's trying to appear at ease. but he's not Blood Fiend, he's not even a millennia old, and he just got abandoned by his Ipsen. the tension in his gait is obvious.

without stopping: ]

If it's money you're looking for, try someone else.

_{[ titter. ]} Do I look destitute to you, stray cat? I killed someone for all the Gil I could ever want in my life YEARS ago. I'm just here to observe. You're interesting. It's not effortless, for you. But you've still got that spark, anyway, don't you?

That reason you're alive, and those bodies you and the dog tried to change aren't.

[ he stops, back turned, tail thrashing angrily as he hisses ]

Have you been spying on us?

Hm, hm~. I know aaaaaaall about your little experiments. Including...

What the missing piece is.

Edited 2023-09-05 17:32 (UTC)

[ it's tempting, it really is. but even stray kittens know that the only way to win something like this is not to play.

through gritted teeth ]

I told you already, I'm not interested.

...

Neither is he.

[ starts walking again!! ]

_{[ an unholy light starts up in his eyes. ]}

Oho~? "Neither is he," he says. Are you one hundred percent certain about that? After all... Such an ability, properly realized...

...would make a wonderful gift to lay before the feet of a cherished master, wouldn't it?

Edited 2023-09-05 17:55 (UTC)

[ spins around, cheeks flushed and eyes glistening. ]

I'm certain because he's my servant and has been for the past few centuries, so unless you've been stalking us that whole time, you have no idea what you're talking about.

He'll come round. He doesn't need some stick-wielding creep telling him what to do. What's with that thing, anyway? It looks ridiculous.

Centuries, huh? Kids sure grow up slow these days...

The crook's not exactly... suiting to my angelic guise, it's true... yet! 'Tis still a mark of my station. Don't tell me you've never seen a Ranker Shepherd, before, kitty cat?

Edited 2023-09-05 18:19 (UTC)

...

[ bursts out laughing ]

Are you just making up names now?

Careful, brat. I might turn you into a particularly interesting sheep.

_{[ waggles crook threateningly ]}

... You're not even a Ranker, are you...?

You're a sorcerer.

I could be both. I contain multitudes.

Great.

[ the three lighthouses materialize: one green, one pink, one blue. that's all you see before you go blind. ]

Bye!

[ the blind only lasts for a few seconds. some of the effect can be blocked if you're fast enough, so you may see the blue lighthouse grow to the size of a small table as the other two release the flash. (you would have felt them channeling the flash while the kitten threw his minor tantrum. these are basic ass lighthouses, after all.)

the kitten leaps on top of the blue cube, his own eyes squeezed shut as the lighthouse whizzes away.

it's still slower than you. ]

Edited 2023-09-05 18:50 (UTC)

Tch! Cute.

_{[ if you couldn't stand a little lightshow like that, your master would never have let you loose on Gaia.

You can feel the way that rosebud's ran.
You fly after with an Actual feeling of the wind on your skin. A decent chase is really fun, honestly-- when was the last time you--? ]}

Edited 2023-09-05 19:13 (UTC)

_{[ (you feel the dirt under your paws.)

(a lean predator sprints toward a flicker of vulnerable motion, every step a bound)

suddenly, you're not having fun anymore.
You pull to a stop. ]}

[ the bells on your staff jingle as you stop. you hear a yelp from ahead; a red band snaps around the kitten's upper arm, its own bell jingling in harmony with yours. the cuff yanks him to a halt, forcing him off the still-whizzing lighthouse. he crashes to the ground. ]

What the hell—

[ his eyes meet yours and you witness his terror for the first and last time. white light fills the area. you pass out. ]

[ when you open your eyes... you're in an underground obstacle course, with a somewhat Queen of Hearts aesthetic. propped up against one of the hedges is a rose-patterned couch. the kitten — hair slightly longer than you remember, baby fat fading but not completely gone from his cheeks — lounges on it, tossing and catching an apple in one hand, upper arm still cuffed with that annoying red band. ]

— Rosebell? Hello?

[ he spares you a glance, then goes back to staring absently at the ceiling ]

Did all that floating finally get to your head?

[ you're floating, naturally. you have all your powers; why wouldn't you? your crook rests against a hedge beside you. all these years, and you haven't changed at all. you're even wearing the same outfit. ]

Edited 2023-09-05 19:35 (UTC)

_{[ you're floating. you're not touching the ground. there's no mist-swollen earth rending beneath your steps, anymore.

your crinkle your brow, looking at that red band. your free hand strays to your throat. no bell collar. ]}

...I merely found my mind straying to other times, a while. But I'm here now, cat.

[ chuckles ]

Daydreaming about bullying more strays with your Ranker act?

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