Small game hunting; big time decisions (Isette)

[Utsu]

James laughed in a boyish way as he nodded at Isette "Heh, alright! Alright! deal. Your not a cat and I am the Lhavitian reigning champ in archery okay?" He grinned as they made their way back into town. The afternoon just about to end as they made their way into town, telling each other about themselves. "Yep and I've never got involved with gambling again" he said as he looked at her up and down. "Um Kitten...tck* sorry. What was your name again? he said extending his hand. "I'm Utsu by the way. Anyways, Kittah we should go to the clothes store before heading deeper in," he said pointing at a nearby vendor. The stall itself wasn't to shabby as they went around the store. A man was at the stand as he watched Darren rifle through the clothing. He picked out a few sets of clothes for her, mostly linen attire that she can alternate in between a shirt,blouse, breeches, and skirt, an extra wool cloak, a decent looking dress, and a fur hat which he propped on top of her head. "Alright! Try these!" he said clapping his hands. "Make sure you do some smexy poses when your done putting them on" he said guiding her through a few poses. He as he ran his finger down the material shyly before he turned to let her dress up. "Alright so after this where do you wanna go to next?"

[Isette]

Isette’s joke was rewarded with a laugh. She grinned in response, pleased by this man’s easygoing nature. “Deal!” Isette replied happily. The two headed back towards civilization, talking all the while. It was nice to have someone to talk to and this man was funny. He made her feel less shy. It was a while before either one of them noticed they’d skimmed right over introductions. “Oh! I am Isette.” She shook his hand. “It is a pleasure to greet you, Utsu.” Eventually, he brought her to a clothing vendor. Isette was surprised when he started picking things out of her to try on. In shock, she went along with it. Trying things on, arranging her body to fit the poses he described…It was all very strange. But oddly fun. She got a shirt, breeches, a skirt, a cloak, a dress, and even a furry hat! This was great! “Do I get to keep these things?” she asked, unable to believe that this was all for her. And apparently there was more! Her eyed widened when he asked her where to go next. …You mean they weren’t even done? Isette was at a loss. What more could one person do for her? At that moment, her stomach growled. Apparently her body wanted to answer for her.

[Utsu]

Utsu turned around as and saw Isette pose and put on the clothing. "Hehe looks good, looks good" he said clapping his hands as she put some enthusiasm into the poses. He turned to see some of the other shoppers look to see the weird scene at the market but he didn't mind. "Hehe, that's why I love Nonlhavitans the most, so exotic" he grinned as he cheered her on as she twirled around in her dress, "Whoo Hoo! Work it! Hehe" Isette went on for a bit as she tried on the different set of clothes, with much enthusiasm on Utsu's part. But finally it came the time where they had to pay for the clothes. He then heard Isette ask a particularly peculiar question at him. Darren shot back a nod as he looked some of the things over. "Yea. Let's keep...the dress, the skirt, the shirt and the furry hat if you want it." He said as he paid the storekeeper and took Isette around with a grin. "Well as long as you don't leave them just lying around they can actually last quite awhile if you keep them clean" he said admiring the flowing dress on her, "Isette, you don't want to be seen around without clothes in places like this Isette. People will treat you differently, and possibly be very mean to you." He looked a bit worried as the thought of her being alone in the city of Lhavit. "Aww well in any case let's get out of here and do something," he said point outside the market. “Alright so after this where do you wanna go next?” His question got answered by a bodily noise, Utsu silently chuckled at this. "Heh looks like we are hungry aren't we?" he said as they walked around Lhavit for a bit, "don't worry I'll treat you to the shooting star inn. Great place, they have beds there serve you good food just...don't mind the stares towards me" he said as he go closer to Isette, looking straight at her. "Say have you ever tried the cat nip brew they have?" he said as they came up to the inn.

[Isette]

Well this really was a good day. Isette made a new friend and got herself some clothes. And a hat! Isette really liked her hat. And the dress had such pretty sleeves! This was fun. Utsu seemed to think clothes were very important. And he was probably right. Isette didn’t see what the big deal was, but she did notice how much people seemed to stare when she didn’t have them. Usually she kept her clothes nearby, but this was a special case. Isette had not planned on traveling Lhavit as a human that day. Her plan had been to eat and return home. Oh. The Shooting Star Inn. Everything wonderful about the kelvic’s day suddenly came to a screeching halt. She froze and stared back at the man. For a second, she thought he was joking. Trying to hurt her. But that was impossible. How could he know that Isette had spent her first birthday there? How could he know that was the last place she had shared a meal with her parents? Isette had not been back to the inn since that day. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go back now. A flurry of emotions whipped across her face; anger, uncertainty, pain…and fear. “Yes,” she murmured softly, “I have tasted their catnip brew.” For a moment, Isette wanted to suggest going somewhere else. What was the point of going back there? It was not a part of her world anymore. Her lips parted, the words were on the tip of her tongue. They never came. Isette closed her mouth and determination flashed across her eyes. “We should go there,” she said. It would be good for her to face old demons. It was just an inn. There was nothing to keep her away. Nothing but a memory.

[Utsu]

Utsu watched Isette's expressions a myriad of swirling emotions on her face before she answered him. "Isette..." he said concerned as he took her hands pulling her close in an attempt to reassure her, "I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me." He thought the mention of alcohol might have set her on guard. But a sudden change of heart caused his heart a jump as he looked at her. He nodded and then gave her a reassuring smile as he tried for a full on hug before they entered. They were greeted by a waiter as they looked to see a long line of white tables and fluffy pillows on the chairs. "Here we are my dear" he said playfully at Isette holding the seat out in front of her. They ordered diner and drinks, Utsu nearly incapable of taking his eyes off of Isette during the whole ordeal a happy expression on his face. Darren ordered a catnip brew alongside a malt at Isette's recommendation for her while he sipped on some cheap wine. Somewhat tipsy and enjoying the evening with his new friend started asking Isette an assortment of questions. "So how's your impression of Lhavit so far? Thinking about staying here permantly maybe? I can show you around some more. Speaking of which, I hope you've liked me leading you around, I like you." he grinned as he got slightly embarrassed how tipsy he was. "Oh! Would you like to sleep here together tonight? I'm not really too good with sleeping arrangements, eheheh...I have a tent" he finally explained as he looked for Isette's reaction.

[Isette]

It was funny that he mentioned trust. That had been the farthest thing from her mind. Whether or not she could trust this man was irrelevant. Trust took time. It needed to be built. It was not something she generally worried about during a first meeting. Either way, her assessment of his trustworthiness would be unaffected by any reassurance he could possibly give her. Of course he would say that. Nobody had ever told Isette not to trust them. His reassurance did have one positive effect, however. It helped focus her mind away from her past and into the present. At least until they sat down. Isette managed to order dinner and drinks, but her body was way too tense. She felt rigid. Like a statue. Unmovable. This was probably a good thing. If she had the chance, she would bolt. But no. Isette would get through this meal. She would teach herself that there was nothing to be afraid of. There was no reason to avoid this place. She would drink her drinks, and then some more. And maybe even some more. And more. Drink until the past no longer haunted her. Her body was a little numb. Isette had never been drunk before. The man talked a lot. That was her first observation. Then, it suddenly hit her. He thought she was a foreigner! Isette snorted. “Utsu, I live in Lhavit. I was born here.” She wondered what made him think otherwise. Maybe it was her strange name. Or maybe it was the fact that her Lhavitian had an awkward flow to it and she could only speak simplistically. She laughed good naturedly at the error, but the smile soon left her face when he mentioned sleeping with her. Isette tilted her head and gave him a serious look. “Do you want to buy my body?” It was very blunt, but Isette’s language skills were not developed enough to offer anything with more finesse. Generally, if a male mentioned sleeping with her then that was what they meant.

[Utsu]

"Oh?" He said a bit disturbed by the deception, taking his hands off the wine as he squinted at Isette. "That just can't be right..." he stammered as he clutched his head a little. Oh no... this woman has tricked me? But...why? I...what is this? Ohh no... this is making my head hurt he thought obviously disturbed by the change of events. He took started massaging his head as he tried to catch up and react to this. "Uh Isette why didn't you say so? I mean it's fine and all but you could have told me, instead of leading me around. Even though I admit I enjoyed myself with you today. Even as he said such nice things a somewhat worried and wary look appeared on his face as he regarded his new friend with a bit of caution. Which leads me to asking...why did I find you naked in the peaks then? Don't you have like...regular clothes and a home in the city?" he asked. He looked a bit disheartened as he tried to keep it civil and bring it back to the atmosphere it was earlier. Hmm... everything took a turn to the worse right when we got here. What happened to her and this place? he thought as he smiled along with Isette who didn't seem to enjoy herself here either a apologetic gaze on his face as they continued dinner. "Wait what?" he asked looking even more confused from before as she asked her question. This was starting to annoy Utsu, his tolerance was going to get tested as he continued to give Isette the benefit of the doubt. "No Isette, I was just wondering if you wanted to just rest...eh never mind." He had a worried expression on his face as he ran his hand through his hair trying his best to keep the new relationship between going. He gave her a somewhat disheartened smile, "Um...are you bothered by this place Isette? We can leave if we want to," by then he recovered his true smile. "Alright...Yea! Let's go. Take the drinks and let's go. You can explain yourself to me" he said with a look of empathy. He stood up nearly stumbling over himself, he really had one too much of last year's cheap wine.

[Isette]

He seemed taken aback by the truth she gave him. Isette was perplexed. “I am sorry, Utsu. I did not realize you believed I was foreign. Forgive me. I was naked because I was hunting.” She did not understand why he acted as though she did something wrong. Isette never pretended to be anything other than what she was. Was he only being nice to her because he thought she was from somewhere else? Of course. Because she was Shimobe. It would be silly to expect that sort of treatment from a local. Her gaze darkened. Wasn’t this just typical? Isette’s head was spinning. Maybe it was the alcohol. She wasn’t sure. Isette had never been drunk before. Was she drunk now? “I do not want to rest,” she said, “And I do not want to leave. I want to eat my food. And I want my head to stop turning.” The feline fixed her steady, honest gaze upon the person before her. “I feel strange,” she told him. Part of her was panicking. She wanted to run away. “I came here for my birthday. It was good. I was different. It was my last memory before I left my home.” Things were bad. Why were things bad? Everything had been fun a while ago. “You do not like me now, Utsu? I am Lhavitian. I am Shimobe. I am not worth a dinner and clothes.” She felt oddly out of control. She didn’t like it. “I cannot stop talking. Why?” Pretty much everything she was thinking was coming out of her mouth whether she wanted it to or not. “I want to be silent.” There were too many people around to see her like this. They would all see her vulnerable. Weak. Uncontrolled. That was not okay. Instinct kicked in. Isette took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she felt stronger. “I have changed my mind. I do not want to stay here.” What should she do? Finish eating, pretend everything was okay? Or run away? If she stayed, who knew what she would say or how she would act? Which decision would make her appear weaker? Isette was at a loss. This situation was new to her. All she wanted was to have fun. Now she felt frustrated and unhappy. Was this the effect of alcohol or were there other forces at work?

[Utsu]

Darren stood there for a bit as he watched Isette talk to him. A bit of him wanted to forget everything and we can start anew, this friendship to him seemed genuine and something that he would happily enjoy everytime she was with him. ...Yet another part if him wanted to yell at her for tricking him from the onset, what else could she possibly have lied to him about? I mean I went all out of my comfort zone and bought her clothes and even treated her to an establishment while he himself enjoyed, but somewhat hated himself since he was being so showy and now she's didn't want to go with him anymore. The two conflicted with each other neither winning. So he just stood there and stared, he looked at her while see looked back at him his will finally wavering when he heard that this was the place that she went to before she left home. He felt a wave of regret and sorrow for snapping at her now that she showed that she didn't want this nice meeting to end badly. "Of course! No! I'm still am fond of you dear Isette, don't.... I don't care! Stop. Please... no don't say that Isette" he replied back. He started getting teary eyed as he saw what he just caused for his outburst and lack of faith in Isette. He moved to comfort her as she kept talking, she started to look withdrawn, almost broken compared to the happy bright woman he saw earlier. He placed his hands on her shoulders as she finally agreed with him to leave the area. "Alright,it's fine now. Come on let's go. I'm here for you Isette" he said as she helped her out and led her out pulling on her hand softly as he slowly maneuvered through the crowd until they were the nearing the outskirts of town. He kept quiet as he now was focused on making this work-no! Make this be better then work! He wanted this relationship to be so good that it will make people turn and look with their friendship. Finally they made it to a relative safe looking street he regularly sleeps, his dogs already falling asleep were quiet in the background. He turned around and put his finger on Isette's mouth. "Shh! Let me talk..." He said as he took in a deep breath starting to sober up a little. "Isette, you by far are the most amazing and interesting person I've met in a long while," He started with a serious face unashamed to speak freely. "With that said next time you might want to try looking like a normal Lhavitian" he said motioning at her clothes "Next time when your meeting someone new or in public be sure to have clothes or they might think your a prostite or something silly," he shot her a reassuring smile. "Which brings me to the next point, what you do to survive or make money is...none of my business. However I will NOT think any less of you dear. The amazing part of Isette isn't defined by class the great thing about you is that your you and I'm me." He didn't want to face her as he started his last speech. He hugged her softly his head buried in her hair as he spoke "I'm sorry that I made you enter that horrible place. I didn't know that you and your parents are detached with you parents. Mine aren't with me either he said as tears starting forming on his face since he hated to talk about the ordeal. He pulled away keeping her away but still holding her hands gingerly. He smiled his best teary smile as he took in another good breath. "Now...let's see if we can still make this night fun! I have here... a special blend of the best catnip in town and when we are done we can sleep in my tent together. Not to use your body, mind you but I think it's warm and safe enough." he said grinning now that he was finally out of his drunken stupor, "This place will always be open to you. Just always remember that Isette..."

[Isette]

Oh great, now he was crying. How was she supposed to react to this? Isette was not accustomed to dealing with strong emotions. In her family, crying was seen as a weakness. It was something to be hidden. Isette didn’t know how to handle such open displays of emotion. He had upset her and she had upset him and this was all very bad. Everything was spinning out of control and she didn’t like it, not one bit. She wanted her control back. Isette felt like she was grasping at air. She was never going to get drunk again. Never. Eventually, he led her out of the inn. Her face flushed as she felt people staring at her. What if someone recognized her? This was mortifying. And his hand…Isette didn’t want to be touched, but she was afraid of what would happen if she pulled away. She was sick. Not physically, but emotionally unwell. And all she wanted was to go home and sleep it off. Maybe things would be good when she woke up. Isette could pretend like this day never happened and start everything over again. She would not go back to that place and she would not try the alcohol. Suddenly, he was touching her differently. His finger on her mouth. She listened to him speak, but grew increasingly frustrated. This man didn’t understand. “You do not understand…” Once again she seemed to speak her thoughts as they came into her mind. She was almost certain that was a bad thing. “I am a cat. Clothes are not important. I did not think I would meet you. I did not think I would meet anyone. I was not prepared for this! I apologize for this…this bad time. I want it to stop. I want to go home. Please.” Her tongue fumbled on the human speech as she attempted to remember the words. It was all so complicated. So confusing. Everything would be fine if she could just curl up on her cot and fall asleep. Let the dizziness go away. Then tomorrow she could think clearly and make sense out of everything. Yes. That was what she wanted. The only thing that could make this okay. Isette wasn’t sure if she could trust this man, or even if she liked him. She wasn’t sure of anything. But tomorrow she would know. Tomorrow, everything would be okay again. She would feel safe.