Don't Mind Me

[Ari]

Pillar Steppes, a beautiful city with a mixture of three domains of the earth; stone, steel, and flora.
You'd think that a beautiful place such as this wouldn't have its flaws right? Well tell that to some of the more shadier parts of this city, along with its... less than desirable residents.

But lets not focus on that, instead set your gaze upon the small feline that's roaming the streets right now.

Small white-tipped paws trekked on the sidewalk, bobbing through several humans in order to not get stepped on. This little kitty had a mission, and that was to get some food from some unsuspecting sucker. All she had to do was up the charm a bit, widen her eyes and flutter 'em a little, and some fool will be putty in her paws. Now, who's gonna be the sucker today? Cool, pink eyes sharpened noticing a group of young woman having lunch outside. Jackpot.

Trotting up to the group of four, she plopped down next to their table and mewed to get their attention. The group paused their conversation to look down and began to coo at her. Ugh, how degrading but necessary.

"Aww, whatta cutie!" "Such cute big eyes~!" "Look at how small it is!" "Oh, my heart can't take such cuteness~!" The group made ridiculous sounds at her, treating her as if she was a baby or something. Time to act! 
Raising herself to sit upon her hind legs, the little kitten began to make pitiful sounds, hoping that the girls would get the hint and give her something. Thankfully, they seemed to understand her plea and began to give her some scraps of food. Not as much as she was hoping, but she'll still take it. If she's still hungry later on, she drop by one of the bakeries and see if they threw out some products. 

Scarfing down the various scraps the group gave her, she mewed happily and purred before stalking away. The group called out their goodbyes behind her as she turned into an empty alleyway. Trekking further into the alley, she made sure no one was around her before she began shifting into a different form. 
The small feline began to grow as fur began to...disappear? No, the fur was sinking back into pale skin and was replaced with clothing. The tail went back into the spine, as if it was never there and the folded over ears were traded for human ones. Paws quickly became hands and feet.
The only tells that remained that was of the cat was the hair color and the eyes of this new individual.

Pushing herself up to stand on her feet, she brushed herself off and made her way deeper into the alley, a satisfied look on her face.

[Ari]

Nova

After making her escape from the women she tricked, she made her way deeper into the alley, ignoring all the other inhabitants that were either making deals with one another or doing something that was probably illegal. She was heading towards her 'home' to relax for a bit before her next act of thievery. 
Bobbing and weaving through the tight alleyways, plus various sharp turns, eventually she made it back home. If you consider home to be a rundown, decrepit building with rotting boards covering the windows. 

Making her way towards the back of the building after making sure that nobody was watching her, she went through the secret back entrance, which was a hole big enough for her cat form to crawl through. Quickly transforming into her smaller feline form, she entered through her secret entrance and exited into her home. 
The building itself was only had two floors, the first floor which was her living space/bedroom and the upstairs area which was only used to get to higher ground. The building was formerly a small office firm, but once the office was relocated elsewhere, nobody really bothered to remodel it or destroy the building. Well, lucky her that she has a roof over her head.

Changing back into human form, she strides over to her little nook of the room where a couple of old, ratty blankets and a filthy pillow laid. The area was surrounded by old food wrappers from when she obtained snacks from vending machines using money she stole, but minor details. Plopping down onto the old blankets, she laid down and stared up at the old ceiling. It was still bright out, so she might as well nap until night time, then she'll go back out.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    In the light of the setting sun, eyes would fall upon an unusual sight. While the streets were far from dark, thanks to the many glowing crystals that kept them alight, a much brighter beam cut through the growing dark. Mechanical sounds of a home-built motor revved and growled. In perhaps one of his longest delivery runs to date, Cayde finally arrived at Pillar steps. It was a much quicker journey than by foot or by carriage, but for Cayde, the half-day long journey was quite time consuming. The cool air beat against the boy's face, slipped around his goggles, the gray eyes looking out from behind the lenses counting street numbers. "Ah, here we are."

    The scooter came to a halt, engine cutting just outside of the run down dump that cat called a home, but that wasn't today's destination. Instead, a small shop was. Cayde hummed and climbed off the machine, heavy boots clunking down. Gloved hands gripped onto the handles of a large crate, stocked full of a variety of treasures. Spices, herbs, vegetables, dried spiced meats, high quality foods with a powerful aroma. 
    
    "Knock knock! Delivery!" A voice a sweet as honey and bright as the sun called out as the shop's door swung open. A face of surprise would meet Cayde as the young pilot and part time delivery man set down the massive crate- surprisingly effortlessly given his build. Those farm boys out in the periphery sure are built durable. Or maybe it was the dumb ones that always had the power?

    Could also be he was a mechanic constantly hefting massive pieces of machinery, but that was too logical an answer for it to make any sense. 

    Stupid-Strength it was.

    "Already? It's barely been a day!" The shop keeper looked bewildered, checking the delivery quality. 

    "I know it took a while, but I pride myself on keeping my deliveries as prompt as possible and in the best shape I can!" Cheerful he may be, the young man was completely oblivious to what the shop-keep actually meant. "I hope the shipment quality is to your liking!"

    "U-uh... r-right. It's, perfect actually. And you live in the periphery?" 

    "Yessir!" 

    The old man blinked his eyes, shook his head, and nodded slowly. Cayde waited patiently as the man collected the boy's pay, thumping down a hefty pouch. It was the young man's turn to be shocked, but before he could even open his mouth to argue, the old man raised a hand and waved it. "Added a bonus for the quality assurance and speedy delivery. You deserve it." 

    Cayde simply smiled and nodded his thanks, picking up the pouch and tossing it up and down a few times. It was a good pound or so of gold coins, and they jingled audibly. It was certainly enough to treat himself. Stuffing it away in one of his jacket pockets, the courier returned outside, boots clunking against the stone streets and gold jingling in his pocket. A long journey, but a good day all in all. He sat down on the scooter's seat and unwrapped a hearty meal, the scents of all the herbs and spices that had gone into the roasted meat flowing outwards tantalizingly. The blond haired pilot smiled and practically drooled over the meal.

    A nice roasted steak sandwich, covered in melted cheese and roasted veggies on a toasted bun. Wrapped in tinfoil and kept nice and warm in a compartment above the engine. Can't forget the small baggie of kettle cooked chips either. It was the perfect meal after a long journey. The young man needed to gas up before he hit the road again, after all.

[Ari]

The sun was beginning to set, and as the sun's final rays filtered through the windows, Nova began to stir. The lilac haired girl stretched until she heard her back pop, getting up with a yawn and made her way to her secret entrance. Transforming into her cat form to exit through the unsuspecting hole, Nova made sure to cover the hole back up as she exited. Now that she's had her nap, it was time to trick some unsuspecting fool!

The small girl turned feline walked out from behind her home and onto the sidewalk, making her way down the street towards that bakery that always threw out somewhat fresh bread. The kitten walked through the legs of the people that crowded on the sidewalk, taking extra caution to not be stepped on. As she neared her destination, she heard people talking about some strange contraption, a 'scooter', that landed outside one of the shops, a young man making a delivery and other stuff that didn't matter to her. She blocked out the remnants of the conversation, not wanting to be distracted from her mission. 

It didn't take long for her to get to the bakery, already seeing that dumpster was already opened, meaning they just put the bread in! Bolting towards her destination, she didn't notice the bakery employee until she was picked up by the scruff of her neck. Yowling in surprise, she was soon face to face with the employee.
"Aha! I found our little dumpster diver! Look here runt, you can't go rummaging through our trash!" He growled out, shaking cat Nova a bit. Her claws became unsheathed as she tried to scratch at the person holding her so roughly, it's not as if they were using that bread anyhow! They always threw out products that weren't sold, so who cares who took what? "I don't care if you're upset ya got caught, if you go through the trash one more time, I'm getting animal control!" Roughly dropping her to the ground, not even caring if she got hurt, the bakery employee went back inside, slamming the door behind him. He's lucky that cats land on their feet or he'd really feel her wrath. 

The petite feline, scoffed with her tail raised in the air as she stalked away from the bakery. Hmph, she'll go rummage through someone else's trash then. Maybe sucker a few people. Her stomach began to rumble, but she ignored it for the time being. Can't let hunger distract you right now Nova, just push through it.
As she looked for another dumpster to raid for food, she noticed something strange sitting outside a nearby shop. It looked like... some sort of vehicle? But she can't really tell, she didn't know much about vehicles besides bikes and even then she didn't know much about those either. She walked up to the vehicle, getting a closer look at it. It kinda looked like a bike, but it had more complex parts to it. What even is this thing?
As she kept inspecting the ride, she didn't seem to notice or care about the blonde pilot looking guy that seemed to own it.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    The sandwich was delicious, and everything he needed to gather the energy to travel home. Just as the young man was about to stow away the leftover's, however, he would notice a small furry friend pacing about the scooter. With a cheerful squeal the young man lifted up the tiny kitten, gently holding the furry feline out and getting a good look at her. His smile was wide and full of pure glee and unending wholesome energy. 

    "Look at how tiny you are! You're a cute little softy now aren't you?" The chipper blond pulled the kitten closer, tucking the small form in one arm  while the other hand caressed it's head. "Aww, what a cutie. I don't see a collar on you though? I wonder if you're a stray. Poor dear. I bet you must be absolutely famished." 

    With an mechanical click, Cayde popped open the rear storage, set just behind the seat. It was a small compartment just above the engine and was still slightly warm, but with a few more clicks, the sides popped down, forming a small platform. A nice little nook for larger packages or a large quantity, but for now it was going to be the kittens own little spot. The young pilot hooked his gloved hand back under the kitten's tiny form and carefully set her down on her tiny little paws. In front of her, a savory smelling pack of tin foil was set, which you courier would waste no time unwrapping.

    "Here we go. Just gotta..." He pulled the gloves off and reached out with calloused, but clean, hands pulling off the bread and some of the veggies, leaving a pile of roasted meat for the kitten to dig into. "Wait right here little one, just gotta grab one more thing for ya!" 

    In he went, with a clatter of hurried footsteps as the blond vanished within the shop. A few words were exchanged between him and the shop keep, but soon he would come back out with a tiny bowl and a glass bottle of milk. Any one could see where this was going. Next to the pile of food, the young man set a bowl of fresh milk.

    "There you go sweet-pea. A nice fresh meal for ya." The man cooed, stroking the soft fur of the kitten's back ever so gently with his knuckles. She was so tiny and small. "You're very inquisitive for a stray. Heh, maybe I should bring you home! Oh Ava would be so shocked. A little furry bean like you she'd have a fit. Oh but I bet she'd love you all the same. Would keep you off the street to, give you a nice warm bed."

    Cayde was, if it wasn't already obvious, an animal person through and through. Dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, he'd begged and begged his parents for all manner of pets, snuck many into the home, but Ava was the only one that had managed to stick around. Part of that came down to the fact that Ava was self sufficient. The other was that it wasn't like anyone could tell Ava what to do, what with those gleaming talons of hers and that sharp beak. But, Cayde was happy all the same to have an animal companion. 

    All worked out in the end. 

    "We'll have to take a flea comb to you. Make sure we get out any ticks or nibblers that might be clinging to your pelt, though it doesn't look like that'd be much of a worry. Better to be safe than sorry though, don't need you gettin' your blood drained out like you're some sorta' capri-sun pack! Or have you all overly itchy and scratchin' yourself half to death, you poor dear. Don't think you'd need a bath though." If the kitten wasn't too overly busy eating, Cayde would pick her back up, carefully looking the small floof over with a critical gaze, though it wasn't easy to see behind the goggles. "Poor thing, being left alone on the streets like this. I wonder what happened to your momma... can't have you fending for yourself and going hungry forever. Don't worry, we'll be sure to fix that right up." 

[Ari]

She meowed, somewhat startled, when she was lifted into the air and came face to face with a large grin. 'Was this the owner of the strange vehicle? Wait what's he doin- oh that feels nice~.' She purred as the blond rubbed and scratched at her furry head, meowing in delight. She was too into the pampering that she didn't notice him putting her into some sort of compartment that was a part of his ride. 
As soon as she was put inside she began sniffing around until she was hit by the aroma of food, not just any food though, it was meat. Her stomach grumbled again when it was confronted with the food in front of her, she was practically drooling at this point. Then the blond man began unwrapping the food, taking away the bread and vegetables leaving only the meat, allowing her to scarf down the meal. She was so busy tearing into the steak that she didn't see him leave into a store only to come back with some milk. When she pulled away from the steak, she saw the bowl of milk beside her and began to lap it up. Ah, once again her cute looks came in handy.

Once again picked up by this stranger, she listened in as he spoke about someone named Ava and how they would love to have her around. Hm, on one hand, she doesn't wanna pretend to be someone's pet. On the other hand though, it meant getting free meals and a warm place to stay. 
Making her decision, she purred at him, trying to show that she wanted to go with him. Hey, even if she didn't wanna be a pet, it's better than living out on the streets.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "Adorable. Alright. That settles it, you're not part of the family!" Cayde smiled and cleaned up the compartment, closing it up and setting the tiny kitten inside. He rubbed his chin, humming as he thought. "No, that will be too uncomfortable for too long. Here." 

    Hands wrapped around and lifted Nova up, setting her on the boy's shoulder. "There. Let's go pick up some blankets and pillows and other cat stuff first, then we'll see about sticking you in there once it's all comfy."  
    
    Gloves back on and goggles readjusted, Cayde revved the engine and got the scooter up and running again. Of course, with a little kitten on his shoulder he had to drive a little slower than normal, but it still beat walking. Specially on those tiny little pawsy-wawsy's. Er... Ehem. Moving along...

    The air rushing past was cool and crisp, blowing against the pilot's unphased expression. No doubt, poor nova was going to get a bit of a shock, as though a gust of wind was cranked up and set to batter her almost constantly. Sure, Cayde might not have been going super fast, but one must think of how the equivalent would effect something so teeny tiny. Thankfully, Nova wouldn't have to suffer that for too long, as the young pilot steered them along, stopping by another small shop. It wasn't exactly a pet store by any means, but it had a whole bunch of soft pillows and blankets, which was just as good in Cayde's opinion. 

    The boy had a mindset of letting animals be self dependent most of the time, so giving the kitten their own choice of big ol' bed stuff to grow into wasn't too far out of scope. Besides, she might grow out of any cat bed he might get her right now. No telling how big of a cat she'll get in the future! 

    "Alright little one, let's see if there's anything here that you'll like." Giving a small hum, Cayde set the cat onto her paws. The shop keep seemed mildly amused by the scene, a soft smile on their lips as they watched Cayde wander about, looking for the perfect bed for his new friend. 

    "What's it's name?" They asked as the blond started prodding at a hefty comforter. Perking up at the question, the young courier laughed and scratched his chin awkwardly.  
    
    "Oh, uh, I haven't gotten that far yet. I guess she doesn't exactly have one yet. I thought I'd settle that once I got home though. Once she was all settled in and what not. Eheh..." With a laugh, the shop keep waved the boy along, letting him get back to it. A tad embarrassed, Cayde smiled and gave a chuckle, returning to his search. 

[Ari]

As he placed her onto his shoulder, she cuddled herself close to his neck, making it seem like she wanted to be close, but really she just wanted to be secure. She heard something that sounded like a roar coming from the vehicle as it came to life! Was this some sort of creature she didn't know about? 
Before she could think more of it, they started moving down the road as the young man drove towards wherever they were headed. 
The drive may have been slow, but she still felt that wind push against her small body, so she kept herself pressed against the young man. Soon enough, they arrived at some sort of store and she was carried inside. Being placed down on the floor, she looked up at the blond man before trotting off to look around. 

Whoa, the pillows and blankets here looked way softer than the ones she used to own! While her new 'owner' was talking with the shop keep, she saw a large, fluffy pillow that looked perfect to sleep on. Crouched low and wagging her little tail, she pounced onto the pillow, sighing at how soft it felt. Cayde she wants this pillow! Get this pillow please?

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Upon noticing Nova plopping onto a big soft pillow, Cayde smiled and let out a bit of hearty laughter. His boots clacked over towards the kitten, and the young man crouched low to pat on the head. "I see you've found one you liked. Alright, let's grab up some blankets and check out then." 

    After grabbing up a few fuzzy blankets and Nova's new pillow, the pilot picked the kitten back up and set her on his shoulder. The added charm of a bubbly ray of sunshine and a tiny ball of fluff may have had a minor affect on the shop keep, who may or may not have lowered the price somewhat significantly. Cayde still offered up a few extra pieces, but that was besides the point. See, Nova's not the only one who knows how to turn up the charm. Whether or not that was actually intentional was another question entirely.

    Hm.

    The sun had finally fully set once the duo were outside. The stars twinkled and shimmered in the night sky, each beautiful in their own right. It was nights like these that Cayde liked to lay in the grassy fields and gaze up towards the stars. Without all the clutter of the city, the view was always more beautiful. Cayde opened up the rear compartment and set the bedding down, topping the blanket cake with the pillow that the kitten had picked out. The soft material would serve to dampen the vibration of the engine on their journey. 

    Cayde set the kitten down inside and locked the compartment open slightly, allowing her some fresh air and the all important freedom of not being locked within a dark enclosed space. "There you go sweet-pea, all nice and cozy. Don't go hoppin' out once we start moving, you could hurt yourself, or worse- some big ol' hungry wolf could catch a whiff of you out there." 

    With that said, the blond haired courier sat down on the scooter and once more revved the engines, kicking it into full gear. It was much faster than before. Which should have been a given now that he doesn't have to worry about a little furball flying away in the wind and getting hurt. Whether or not Nova had ever been out in the periphery would dictate how she would react to the new scenery as the big, bustling city transformed into an endless ocean of grass and trees. The nighttime world was much calmer and more peaceful, the only sound coming from the rhythmic growl of the scooter engine. 
    
    Free of the city's light pollution, the night sky only seemed to glisten more. Many different colors began to show, like spots of colored ink staining the usual black. The stars were glitter thrown into the mix, and they shimmered and shone like tiny gemstones.

    It was like a whole different world had opened up outside the city walls.  

    Deep in the woods alongside the road, animals could occasionally be seen. They ranged from smaller beasts- like common raccoons, rabbits, foxes- all the way up to larger beings- Deer, coyotes, wolves, even a few... reptilian looking creatures. The periphery was certainly full of life, even at night. Buckle up, Nova, it'll be a bit of a ride.

[Ari]

She was placed back onto her spot on his shoulder, watching as he paid for her new pillow and blankets. She meowed her own little goodbye at the shop keep as Cayde and her went back to his ride.
He fixed up her little compartment with her pillow and blankets, placing her gently onto the plush surface. She kneaded the pillow's surface, making it even more cozy for herself, before laying down and cuddling deep into it.
She then felt the vehicle begin with a roar once more, signaling that it was time to ride again, so she kept still in her spot as Cayde began to drive down the road.

The longer they rode down the road, the bigger the contrast between city and country became. Whereas the city had tall, flashy buildings and loud sounds, the country was open and free with rolling fields and the subtle sounds of nature. Peeking her head up, wide eyes drank in the sights before them, trying to sear the images within her mind.
Never before has she seen so much green, and don't even get her started on the clear night sky! Due to the fact that she kept inside whenever it was night she never got to experience the euphoric feeling of seeing a night sky full of stars.
So many twinkling stars in the sky, she couldn't even begin to imagine how many there were! 

After a while, she managed to tear her eyes away from the sky, yawning and began to settle into her pillow, already having seen enough. This long drive was making her sleepy, so she'll do what all cats do and take herself a nice nap.