Passionate Purrs

Ferro had taken Anika with him into town for the sake of not running errands by himself. As they stopped by a grocery store and a couple alchemy shops, the two took to a cafe for a break. "Ah crap! I forgot the Red Salamander Tails...Go ahead and order something, Ani, I'll be back."
"Okay!" she said, waving to him as he rushed off. She headed into the cafe, getting some looks from a few men. Even though she wore more clothing than normal, there was still a space under the shirt to show off her navel and her pants didn't exactly hide her rump. Plus, who could miss those cat ears and two cat tails. She ignored the stares and took a seat at a table.

"Ah that looks so tasty... If only I had enough to get one... A free sample!? Oh that is so generous of you! Thank you so much. Oooo, what a generous sample. You are the best, you know that?"

Pash once again had managed to get a drink for free. Well, as long as the boy had a goofy smile on him that would last for a few hours at the end of the transaction, it was a fair trade in her book. She took her drink and walked to an empty chair and sat down.

Just when she was about to take her first sip, she could not help but notice... well, her. And Pash was not the only one noticing. I mean, true, it was rude to stare, but this...ummm... lady? Cat girl? was clearly wanting to be stared at.

Pash could not help but be a little offended at the sight. I mean, when midara were out in about in public, the typically would at least try to cover up the fact that they were midara. Or at the least make an effort not to draw so much attention to themselves. This midara however, made no such efforts. So Pash sat there in her chair, unable to look away, and also totally unaware that she was giving the new comer a look a pure professional disapproval, from one midara to another.

She did not mean to keep staring, especially not with that face she was making, but she could not help it. Pash took pride in being a midara. It did occur to Pash that maybe this was all a trap. Some kind of set up. It was just too hard to look away. No one draws this much attention to themselves if they are not planning something, no? Or maybe she really did just like everyone staring at her.

Either way, Pash was still staring, completely unable to bring herself to look away.

Anika noticed one person in particular staring at her and it didn't take long to process that this chick was a Midara too and she was giving her one hell of a disapproving stare, which kind of stung a bit, Anika averting her eyes from her. As she waited for Ferro to return, she found him taking too long, so she took his word. She got up and walked to the counter and asked, "Excuse me, I'd like to get something? A...Uuuuh, peppermint cappuccino?" After getting an answer, she went back to her table, only to feel her still staring at her.
Her frustrations started to reach a boiling point and she quickly growled, "Take a picture, it'll last longer!"

The cat lady growling at her quickly snapped Pash back to reality. She blushed in embarasment for a bit before regaining her composure.

"Too late to act like it did not happen now," she thought to herself. She got up, took her drink and walked over. It was a good thing that the cafe was so busy and lively right now. Last thing she would want is for people to notice this tension building up beneath the surface.

"Hello, I feel that I might have gotten us off to a bad start," she said while doing her best to smile. "Please let me try again, I'm Pash. Who might you be?"

Sent from Topic'it App

She watched her closely before saying, "Anika..." She wasn't sure why she was so disapproving of her, honestly what she was wearing was much more than she usually wore.

Pash was very much aware of how Anika was not happy with her at the moment. With the hesitation to say her name and the looking her up and down. Yeah, it was pretty obvious. I mean, it is not like Pash did not deserve this, but what could she do at this point?

"Anika eh? That's a nice name. May I please sit down? Thank you very much."

Pash did not even wait for Anika to respond before plopping herself down. She then leaned in and asked in a whisper.

"You are not planning to do anything, oh... what's the word, sensual, yeah, sensual to one of this cafe's many patrons or workers are you? Because I quite like this cafe you know?"

Anika looked back at her, a bit miffed that she just sat down without asking, but was taken aback a bit by her question. It was a reasonable enough question, as she was a Midara and that was pretty clear from her more notable features. "No, I just came into town with a friend. I'm just waiting for him to get here," she assured her. "I haven't messed with any civilians in a long, long time."

Pash went quite for a second, blinked, and the let out a huge sigh of relief.

"*whew* Oh thank goodness," said Pash as she slouched back in her chair. You had me worried there for a second. The way you walked in inviting people to stare at you. Very reminiscent of the typical midara tactic of trying to catch someone's eye in a public place, then lure them to some place more quiet to... well, you know."

"Ah, so you stay away from civilians as well? I can totally respect that. It really is just not right to mess with someone who is just trying to go about their day, no?"

"Wait... waiting for HIM to get here? A midara with a boyfriend? Oh wow, now I'm impressed. Usually girls like us can't make something like that work," said Pash as she nodded in approval, eyes half shut and a small smile, you know, that look says "you go girl, you go."

"Well, no, he's not my boyfriend. I mean, maybe at one point... I have a girlfriend though!" she clarified. She smiled a little as she pictured Xana in her mind, eager to see her again. "He's just a friend."

"O...oh. A girlfriend you say... Hmmmm, well, haha, yeah, that's cool too... I think," said a Pash who was clearly not used to the idea of girls loving girls but doing her best to smile throughout. "I hope you two have lots of..."

Pash stopped to think about her next words.

"Lots of, ... Ah, yes, I hope you two make each other happy. Yeah! That's it. I hope you two are really happy together," said a Pash now beaming with pride for having handled such a awkward situation so smoothly.

She was making it obvious that she grew up in a time very different the present, a long long time ago.

"So wait, you have a boy following you around and doing things for you, a midara... and he is doing these things of his own free will?"

"I don't have him following me around," she said with a slight laugh. "I'll admit, I used to be a bad cat, but I'd never take someone's will away if they're innocent."

"Oh, well then, you are a pretty cool girl if a guy is willing to follow you around... Wait, are you a cat or a girl... Oh geez, I hope that did not come out too blunt..."

"Ah yeah, I've done some things I was, well, not proud of as well when I learned of what I was and was trying to navigate the world with this... well, condition, but I've learned how to live with it peacefully as well."

"I guess we've got something in common then." As her coffee came in, she had an idea. "Hey, why don't you come to the Sanctuary?" She hushed her voice so that no one else but Pash could hear them.

"The Sanctuary?," asked Pash with no idea what that is about. "I have no idea what that is about. What is this sanctuary?"

"The Sanctuary is a place where Humans and Midara can live in peace without risk of casualty, enslavement, abuse, or biggotry." A man with white hair and scuffed up clothing appeared, bending over to whisper to them.
"Ferro, welcome back! What happened?" Anika asked.
"Ran into a few people that knew my name," he said simply, sitting down. "So, who are you?"

"oh really..." said Pash, her voice trailing off. "so places like that do exist after all. You know, I thought they were just rumors but I guess I have been proven wrong on that front..."

Pash noticed she was being addressed by a new commer.

"Oh hi! I'm Pash! You must be Anika's not boyfriend!"

Sent from Topic'it App

"Emphasis on "not". Nice to meet you, Pash," Ferro replied with a slight smile. "There are havens, yeah. Me, Anika, and a number of others have been building up quite a residency."

"Off, emphasising the 'not' so heavily," said Pash with one hand held up to her mouth to hide her not so subtle giggling. "Anika, what did you do to this poor boy?"

"Hmm, but this does raise the question. While it is nice where there are places where midara and humans are living together, the question is why? I mean, what do the humans have to gain? And they have so much to lose in such an arangement... How does it all work?"

"I don't see it that way. This may be hard to believe, since I'm male, but I'm... half-Midara," he told her, whispering the last bit.
"Plus, he has a girlfriend," Anika added.

"A...a male midara..." said Pash, her eyes going wide. "S..so do you like... I don't know, tease girls until they become a blubbering mess?"

"I mean, I suppose it was possible, it's just that...even in all my years...a male midara...."

"And you have a girlfriend...and it all works out..."

"Ah, nothing makes sense today"

His cheeks turn red ever so faintly as he said, "H-Hey, I said Half-Midara. Half-Midara!" Anika couldn't help but giggle to herself as she watched his minor fluster. "I still consider myself more Human than Midara, but I don't reject my other inheritance either."
"Sorry Pash, we've been going on about us," Anika stated. "How about you? What's a girl like you doing here?"

"Oh, it's like that... I see... I think..." said Pash, thinking about what Ferro had just said. "Well, I guess I don't have to worry about you heartlessly seducing poor, unsuspecting girls just for the fun of it if you are blushing at that *giggle*"

"What am I doing here? Well, I'm enjoying this nice latte. You know, I don't really like milk and I don't really like coffee, but put the two together and I can't get enough of it. Well, I have to limit myself, otherwise I get really jittery."

"As more a more big picture answer to your question, nothing in particular. I'm a bit of a wanderer. I go from town to town, always on the move. I'm sure you know that someone like us sticking around in one spot for too long usually ended up, ummm, attracting attention. A bit too much attention."

"I know what that's like," Anika said, nodding and smiling as she looked back on the village she messed with before Ferro found her.
"You could settle down in the Sanctuary, if you wanted," Ferro suggested. "Though, if you simply enjoy travelling, that's fine. I wish you the best of luck and safety..." He seemed to consider something as he said that, giving Anika time to talk.
"So, what kind of places have you been?" she asked eagerly, her two tails waving around in the air. "I'm dying to know!!"

"Ah, well, I really do appreciate the invite, but I'll just stick to traveling for now. It is what I do best after all *giggle*"

"Oh, where have I been?" she asked as she let out a sigh. "I think the better question would be where have I not been. I was just at this really fancy casino not too long ago. Now that I think about it, it does have a bit in common with this Sanctuary place you talk about."

"Not that they were openly advertising it as a place for humans and midara to safely mingle, but it definitely happened there. Kind of on the down low, you know? Those who knew could go in and enjoy one another's company and those who did not know would never really suspect a thing."

"The owner was not a midara, but the lady who did most of the managing, she was, and what a good job she has done with the place. The place is absolute thriving. Then again, I supposed the chance to meet a midara in a safe environment would be quite the draw, let alone just seeing a few walking around in the casino. Pretty girls in a building tend to make people want to go there *giggle*"

"Really?" Anika cheered, "I wanna see it? Can we go, Ferro?"
He seemed perturbed by her energy, but was unsurprised, even giving a slight smirk. "I suppose we could, but only after we drop everything off at the Sanctuary." He looked to Pash and asked, "How good are you in confrontation."