Closed [The Welcome Home] Pulling the Tail [Kreig]

[Barn]

83rd of Summer, 513 AV 10th Bell It wasn't a particularly hot day, but it rarely was in Syliras. Summer days were always mild, especially nearing the end of the season. A nice, cool breeze wove its way through the districts. It wasn't humid, either, thank goodness. The Knights would've been cooked in their armor. Down by the Welcome Home, though, a certain cat felt as though she'd be cooked in her fur. Barn always felt that way, like her oil-black coat was akin to a permanent suit of armor. She stretched in the shade, purring. She was pleased, certainly. The orphans were playing with Blizzard, the resident white pony. Petting him, even riding him around. Barn's eyes were almost gold, hints of orange swirling about and keeping them from turning into some other color. Her tongue rasped against a paw gently, which was dragged over her ear and repeated a few times. Grooming was a good relaxer, the rythm of lick-drag-lick-drag-lick-drag soothing. It wasn't long before the orphans noticed her and immediately ran over, offering their hands. She stretched her head out, carefully sniffing each of the children. When she was done, they began to pet her. Getting their scent all over her preciously-cleaned fur. They didn't know that, so she forgave them. Her purring grew louder, and she nuzzled a few knuckles, marking them as hers. A few scraps were offered to the cat, which she smelled but didn't eat. Barn liked the orphans.

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig found himself visiting the Welcome Home quite often these days…. One reason for such visits was to see how the children were doing, especially Clair; a little girl whom he had saved her and her family from a drunkard of a father. Kreig would never tell this to the remainder of the children but out of all, he favored Clair…. She was a mischievous child to an extent yet was also a little lady who was quite adorable. If Kreig wasn’t mistaken, the older children were out and about for their apprenticeships, with Clair’s older brother acting as an errand boy at the mines, to work off a crime.

He knocked the door a few times a little loudly, considering the size of the welcome home was a bit on the large side, he worried that Lady Aenys wouldn’t here him. It didn’t take for her to open the door however, as she greeted him with a kind smile.

“Oh, Kreig, here for the children again I believe?”

“Yes my Lady, I had the time and I thought it worth a visit” Kreig said with a small grin as he scratched the back of his head, accidently tilting his head forward but straightened it soon after.

“ Well you chose a right time, they’re out in the back playing with a horse we’ve brought as a live ” She said opening the door wider for him to get in, the closed it behind him “ Now follow me please” he said and motioned for him, Kreig nodded as he followed behind and made their way to the backyard, only to see most of the children gathering around a black cat “ Oh, it seems they have a little friend as well”

Amongst the children was Clair, however as soon as she her uncle Kreig, she made her way to hug the brawler
“ Eheh~ Uncle Kreig, are you here to play with us?”

Kreig smiled as he carried the little lady “Sure am honey, are you doing okay?” She nodded as Kreig gently set her down, then place his hat on her head and followed her to see that cat.


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[Barn]

A man had arrived, one of the children running to hug him. She called him her uncle, and apparently his name was Kreig. Barn hadn't seen him before. He placed his hat on the girl's head and came towards the cat. She stood, trotting over to him and sniffing his ankle. He smelled content, happy even. Safe, too. The Kelvic rubbed her face against his calf, purring. She liked him already, considering the fact that he had treated the little girl nicely. Barn placed both front paws on his shin and stood up, nose twitching and whiskers accompanying the movement. The snow-colored hairs on her nose seemed brighter too. She pushed off and sat down, staring up at him with now-vivid orange eyes. There was no doubt as to their color, a fiery amber that pierced one's soul and stripped away any concealment to reveal their core. Her eyes didn't actually do that, however, but she liked to think they did. Barn's tail curled around her paws, and she meowed, ears swiveling. One of the children had followed her, not just the one that Kreig had hugged. She smelled the child without turning her head, one of the dark-haired boys. The caretaker had gone away, leaving them to play with the cat. With only the man to save the cat from any trouble, and he seemed too nice to intervene, she would be at a disadvantage if one of them decided to injure her. They'd see it as play, but it would be painful to the poor feline.

[Kreig Messer]

It was an interesting looking cat, it was rather social for one of its own kind… then again Kreig was no animal expert. Still, it seemed to take an interest in Kreig as it brushed its face against his leg. It seemed to be a simple black cat with orange eyes, but closer inspection revealed the small patch of white fur on its nose ‘Is that sugar?’ He asked himself, but if it were he was certain it would lick it off once it smelled it. Nonetheless, the children seemed to be enjoying its presence and that’s all Kreig could ask for. Of all the bad things that happened in this season, he was glad that there were still good things.


One of the other children, a dark haired and mischievous child, perhaps no older than Claire, had approached the cat… then another child, and another and finally the entire horde had approached that cat. ‘Oh dear…’ Kreig knew where this was going, and groaned as the small army, including Clair, all wanted to pounce and play on this Kitty. Knowing it was best to remove the cat from harm’s way before it gets pulled apart, and the reverse if the cat ends up agitated and harms one of the children, Kreig lifted the cat before the horde could do anything… and he was met with the disappointed ‘aws’ of the children.

“Now children, don’t crowd the cat, it needs its space like everything else…. And you have a horse, I’m sure it needs your attention as well’ The children then seemed to have a look of shock, suddenly remembering the horse in their backyard. Kreig then looked at the cat, his brown eyes meeting its piercing orange “Now, lets see about getting you something to eat, shall we?” He then adjusted his hold on the cat, making sure that instead of holding it, he would be lifting it on one of his arms while the other would freely pet it as he made his way back inside and searched for the kitchen.

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[Barn]

A pair of warm hands wrapped around Barn's midriff, lifting her into the air. She let out a startled, half-angry meow. It was the man, Kreig. He had 'rescued' her from the small army of orphans. Her tail twitched grumpily, thumping against his ribcage. The cat's claws had dug into his shirt, keeping her from falling if he suddenly let go of her. At least he knew animals needed their space. The children had run off to play with the pony. He mentioned food, and Barn's ears perked up. Her eyes widened a little bit. She was shifted so that she wasn't being held awkwardly, but perched on Kreig's arm. The feline carefully sheathed her claws, purring to calm herself. His other hand pet her gently, and the calming purr changed to a pleased purr. Food sounded good. Her tail had stopped twitched too, and she rubbed her face against his fingers. She liked him already. Someone who would actually feed her and pet her. Barn tried to remember the last time she'd met someone like this, and failed.

[Kreig Messer]

The cat seemed to calm a bit as Kreig perched her on his arms, responding positively to the way he petted its head, its head moving against his fingers in response. He looked around, trying to determine which door led to the kitchen, but the smell of food did that for him. Indeed the time of day required of such, as lunch time drew only two or three bells away and there were plenty of children to feed. He entered through the kitchen door and saw Lady Aenys with a couple of the older children, moving about and preparing various foods for lunch.

“ Ah, Kreig… I see you brought the cat inside”Lady Aenys noted, her hair in a mess with her sleeves rolled

“Yes, I was hoping to procure something to feed the cat. Um… I hope that’s alright?” Lady Aenys simply nodded with a smile, as she went to the pantry to receive something… Kreig simply waited as he pet the cat “Lucky kitty, looks like youll be getting a free meal”

She soon returned with a large fish, too large for the kitty to eat, that was for certain. She then placed it on a cutting board and cut it to pieces, grabbed a small plate and placed a decent sized chunk for the cat. One of the older children grabbed the cutting board with the fish bits on it, and placed it into a large bubbling cauldron.

“ good timing, we’re going to have stew as one of the meals for lunch. A small chunk shall not be missed” Kreig simply chuckled as grabbed the plate, the cat still perched on his arms and made his way to the dining room.

“it seems your one charmed cat” Kreig chucked as he place the plate on the table, then waited for the cat to jump off his arm so he could pull back a chair and watch it eat.

Moments later, Clair entered with his hat still on the little girls head “[b] Uncle Kreig, are you feeding the kitty? Can I sit with you?[b]”

“Of course my little lady” Kreig chuckled as he lifted the little girl and sat her on his lap. Content on watching the kitten eat.

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[Barn]

The caretaker lady was in the kitchen with some older orphans. She looked like she was preparing food. 'Procure.' That's a new word, and one Barn stored away for later use. The cat simply purred louder as more petting was recieved. She was going to get fish!? Her eyes were wide and focused directly on the chunk of fish. It was the first time she'd been pampered like this in what seemed years, and she felt like a kitten. A plate was placed on a table, which Barn jumped down to from Kreig's arm. He sat down, and the little girl from before asked to sit with them. The cat crouched down and began eating the chunk of fish. Very nice taste and color. Flaky, like most fish meat, and overall just perfect to settle Barn's growling stomach. After it was devoured by the hungry Kelvic, she sat back on her haunches and looked at the little girl and Kreig. Her tail went around her paws, looking very regal.

[Kreig Messer]

“ Uncle Kreig, are you gonna keep the kitty?” Claire suddenly asked him, Kreig suddenly felt a frown forming at the back of his mind, hiding it so that Claire would not see.

“Hmm.. why do you ask that sweety?”

“Weeeell~ the kitty obviously likes you, and I don’t think it has a home. Wouldn’t it be bad if the kitty didn’t have one?” She said and Kreig felt himself being played, he didn’t know the orphanages policy on keeping pets, to be fair with this many children there was the possibility some of them had allergies to the poor thing. He wasn’t sure if the cat was homeless either as it sat before them regally, somehow demanding attention from them, she didn’t smell like a stray… infact despite the fact the cat had eaten fish, it smelled like an odd mix of perfumes. He turned his head back to Claire, who gave him big doe eyes, eyes pleading for him to take care of the kitty….

“I suppose your right sweety…” he sighed in defeat ‘perhaps I could find its owner?’ Kreig thought, still he was now certain that Clair expected him to visit with the cat as often as he could. He lifted “…still, the cat may have a home of its own, if it doesn’t I promise I’ll keep it, ok?” Somehow Clair was quite alright with that, was she certain the cat had no owner? Kreig sighed again as he picked up his hat from her head, lifted the little girl from his feet, set her to the ground and handed her the plate “Please take this to the kitchen little lady, I’m going to ask around the city” With that he lifted the cat and looked at it straight in the eyes “Now, lets see if I can someone who lost a black cat’ Kreig said as perched the cat gently on his arms and petted…somehow he doubted he’d have much luck finding this cats owner, and if he knew the true nature of the cat…. Well, he’ll be in for quite the shock..again.

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[Barn]

Barn perked up again and meowed. Maybe she'd finally have a home! She began to groom her chest fur, also taking care of her headfur. The cat stared at Kreig with big orange eyes, trying to tell him that no, she didn't have a home, nor an owner. She was placed back on his arm, and purred. Barn really hoped that nobody would come looking for her, thinking that she was theirs. The little girl trundled off to the kitchen, and the Kelvic rubbed her cheek against Kreig's knuckles. "I don't have a home, human." All that he could hear, though, was a meow. If he had a stronger nose he could smell what she was trying to say, but nope. Humans were lucky, since Syliras smelled horrible. But she didn't exactly have anywhere else to go. It was dangerous for a cat out in the wild, which is why she stayed no longer than a day out there.

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig roamed the city for a while, asking almost everyone he came across in the various districts. However no matter where he asked, people either didn’t own the cat or didn’t know who owned the cat. Some expressed interest… but Kreig found them either too incompetent to own one, or didn’t trust due to suspicious behavior, a taxidermist being a prime example. He went to the Nettle district, the docks, the bazaar… everywhere he could think of, but he had no luck.


So at the end of the day, seeing no other choice, he snuck the cat into the dormitory, his good natured heart and the thought of a certain little girl prevented him from letting it roam. Tomorrow, he would try and ask his patron if he could keep the cat… though considering Fallon had Orvin, he had the feeling his patron would not deny his request. In the end Kreig was goint to be a proud owner of a black cat…. Gods help him once he finds out the truth.

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