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[The cat licks her paws and rubs at her face calmly, only the twitching of her tail betraying her. This is a cat trying very hard to pretend all is well, nothing to see here.]

[Oni pulled a face, sucking her teeth noisily. Cats. In her esteemed opinion, cats were good only for pissing on everything you love ~~and then sleeping with your ex-husband~~-- Especially cats who smelled entirely too much like the Wyld and looked... vaguely... familiar.]

Look, y'may have everybody else fooled with th'Shy Little Kitten act, but not me, comprenez-vous?

Ugh. [She made a disgusted noise, mainly at herself, but still left the remainder of her styrofoam boxed-lunch for the cat to polish off when she was done prettying herself up.]

[The cat gives a soft mrrrp? and sniffs at the box. She daintily pulls a bit out to bite at, but loses interest and jumps up to stare more directly at Oni. She reaches up, balancing on Oni's arm, and sniffs Oni experimentally. Then, she sneezes, ears pinning back in disgust. She gives Oni a whap with her paw for good measure. Then, she turns and begins to lick her paws in earnest now.]

[She scowled, looking only slightly alarmed when the cat decided to get Up Close and Personal with the she-wolf.

Evidently she was judged and found wanting. Oni sputtered in wordless indignation, hopping up out of her chair.] Y'know what? This is why. This is why.

I don't have t'take this from th'likes of you, ok? [She spat, well aware that she was a grown-ass woman having a one-sided argument with a cat.]

[The cat hopped down and abruptly, there was not a cat standing there at all, but instead a silvery-haired human woman. Thankfully, clothed in a loose dress. And glasses, which she used as a prop to look down her nose at the she-wolf.]

You smell. Not just wolf smell.

[Congratulations, Oni, you found a feline-breed Bastet. At least she talks.]

[Oni looked like she was about to have a stroke, and it had nothing to do with the fact that the Fera had just changed shapes in front of her, ~~and was a good deal taller than her, besides. Oh, the unfairness~~.]

I knew it! And lemme tell ya somethin', chatte diable, you don't exactly smell like roses, neither!

I know I smell like dead things. So do you.

[She may be in human form, but she still has a cat-who-ate-the-canary smile.]

Quoi? [Oni narrowed her eyes in confusion.] It's called chicken teriyaki, connasse, and it's usually dead before y'eat it.

You smell like Asura. Not chicken. Not just chicken. And the sauce could use more flavor.

Do I look like I cooked it? And what d'you mean "Asura?" What is Asura? [She asks, surreptitiously bringing her wrist closer to her face and giving herself a whiff.]

Asura is rot. It is... [She waves the glasses, looking for the word.] It is the unmaker. You smell like the walking dead. The ones greedy for human blood.

[Vampires. Oni flinched as if she'd been slapped, half-stepping away from the Fera.] I--! No, that's... That's not possible.

[Her hand reflexively rose to her neck. She was bitten, but she didn't drink. Unless... There was that last kiss from Alessandro, that woke her up. She assumed the blood she tasted was her own.]

[Those fingers flew from her throat to cover her mouth. Anything you don't want, he'd said, You have my word. What utter bullshit. And she'd been stupid enough to believe it. Oni started laughing-- a bitter, mirthless sound that grew louder and louder.] Il faut appeler un chat un chat. That son of a bitch.

[The Bastet watched, curious of the she-wolf's reaction. Well, well. That was interesting. Anger. A touch to the throat. Hmm. She watched Oni like the cat she was, trying to unravel the riddle.]

Most are trouble, yes. More than trouble. Death. You weren't hunted. You still have your hide. Betrayed?

Something like that. [Her laughs quieted down to chuckles, hands impatiently wiping away the furious tears that were gathering in the corners of her eyes.]

Betrayal implies there was ever a reason t'trust.

[She sighs, and closes her eyes a moment to search for the right words.] Only kittens think the world is neatly black and white. Everyone thinks they're the hero of the story. No one thinks they're the villain. Not even the dead. They used to be human, and sometimes they remember.

[She moves to put an arm around Oni.]

Worse things stalk the darkness than the dead.

Sometimes they forget. [ Especially two thousand year old methuselahs.

Look. She gets it. Even among the Garou, other tribes weren't terribly thrilled to get dragged into the ages-old grudge match Silent Striders had against vampires.

But that didn't mean they sanctioned getting into bed with one, either. Oni sighed, letting herself get half-hugged by the Bastet-- Lord, it must be a blue moon coming. ]

Sure, there are worse things. And... Listen. I'm livid, but what did I expect? I let my guard down, and for chrissakes I'm smarter than that.

So. Is that what happened t'you? Somebody slip you some blood while you weren't looking?

No. I stay with them of my own free will. I grew tired of running, and the things that hunt me are worse. I would rather live with dead things than be a slave to things beyond. Dead things are reliably territorial about what's theirs.

[She smiles sadly at Oni.]

They like the ship's cat. I haven't told them more.

... Y'know. A month or so ago, you and I would've had a serious disagreement over your "living arrangements."

What's hunting you?

[ And did she say ship? That was a coincidence. That had to be a coincidence. ] Giovanni's, or...?

The Sidhe of Arcadia. I was a slave there. I escaped. I have worn many faces since, but ship's cat suits me. Daniel likes his cat and dead things are not easily intimidated by Fae. They also don't trust Fae. Useful when trying to hide.

(( ooc: should she recognize his name? ))

[ Oni groaned. The Fianna were proof that the Garou didn't mind getting to know the Fair Folk in a biblical sense; case in point, she herself was on friendly terms with a couple different Fae heads-of-state or whatever, and yet even she had to admit that certain other courts were Absolute Dicks about Everything. ]

D'accord, I can see why you couldn't go to th'Nation with this. But what about th'Ahadi? Hell, even th'Hengeyokai? I mean, Jesus, everyone thinks you've gone extinct...

Edited 2020-02-28 21:25 (UTC)

((ooc: She definitely could. The sailors on board the ship would have been talking about him.))

No one could stop the Faeries the first time. They won't be able to keep one lone cat safe. Or willing. I can hide easier among dead things. Anonymity is a good thing.

As you like it.

Don't worry about me blabbin' yer secret t'anybody. They wouldn't believe me, even if I tried. But answer one more question for me. That ship you were playin' pet on... Wouldn't happen t'be the Spectre, would it?

Something like that, yes. Daniel sometimes takes me to a tall building in black and gold, as well. I've been there for several weeks. The basement has mice to chase and Asura relics to figure out.

[ She schools her features into a neutral mask but, internally? She's having a five-alarm meltdown. So much for being undetected, should she want to give a certain Lasombra a piece of her mind. ]

Mice, eh? Well, it's not all bad then, I guess.

I think I've heard of your Daniel. He's just an itty bitty baby vampire, comin' up in th'world... So t'speak.

[A small world. She narrows her eyes. If the Garou is involved with her unwitting protectors in some way, it could come back to bite her later.]

Yes, he was human when we met. Lost to the ancient one he called master, but still human. Now, he's not. Lucky me. His kind hates giving blood except to slaves or the strong. Never to animals. I am spared that horror.