RP:Pilar Encounters Orikahn

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Hanging Corpse Tavern

Orikahn sits on the corner of the hearth with a wineskin in hand, staring down at his boots. The armored cat is splattered with dried gore, and though the upper half of his face lays concealed beneath a hood, his feline snout is plainly visible, saber fangs and all. His striped, bushy tail waves lazily back and forth, and beside him, a tiny gray tabby kitten wobbles along on four paws; clumsily, it swats at the swishing tail.

Pilar had a journey to go on, soon. But her partner was not yet ready to depart, and so once she had her things packed, she stole away to the tavern. She usually played the piano there for tips, and she figured it would be a good idea to get a little more spare cash before leaving. She entered the tavern, cloak lightly dusted with snow. With a nod to Steadmen, she removed the cloak and hung it up on the coat rack by the door. She was dressed in a white blouse underneath a yellow dress, with white stockings and gold-colored shoes. Very bright and cheery for such a dim, dank place. She walked over to the piano, barely giving anyone notice (though she did see the little tabby and almost lost her mind, he was so cute), and sat down. She started to play a slow, morose song, befitting the atmosphere of the city of the dead.

Orikahn pays no attention to the new arrival, people come and go after all, and Kahn doesn't have time to interest himself in the lives of every passing stranger. Instead, he focuses on himself and his own. Kahn dips a hand into his back and pulls out a bit of dried fish to tear some of in his mouth and gnaw at the hard, chewy trail rations. The kitten takes immediate notice and plods over to the massive hunter to, one clinging paw at a time, climb up the side of his thigh and into his lap, mewing urgently. "Ghmmm," Kahn growls through closed lips, but he obligingly reaches a finger into his cheek and pulls out a half chewed glob, which the kitten eagerly consumes. About that time, the piano strikes up. Kahn's first reaction is to flinch. This isn't the first time he's heard the noise-machines sound their horrible cries, presumably of discontent and warning. Whatever people did to the piano, the piano was always quick to wail in protest, Orikahn had observed, but it was never brave enough to claw or bite or gobble the people up. Odd, he muses and bites off another corner of fish, because the piano certainly seems *big* enough to fend them off. After a moment of chewing, he offers another pasty little dollop to the kitten, but, much to the hunter's surprise, nothing licks it off. He looks down to his lap. No kitten. A moment of hurried searching later, he spots it, wobbling up to one of the piano's legs and streeeeetching out to run its tiny, needle-sharp claws down the dark stained wood.

Pilar wasn't THAT bad of a piano player, despite what she herself would tell you. She was actually halfway decent. A few patrons occasionally passed by and left a few coins in her cup. Her keen vampire hearing picked up scratching noise, and she glanced down. Okay, so the little one was technically being naughty, but she couldn't help but smile. He was just sooooo cute! Before Steadmen could see the little kitten's antics and get angry at him ruining the piano, Pilar stopped playing and slowly knelt down. Catching the baby by the scruff of the neck, she placed another hand underneath him and lifted him up. Her prowess with animals would come in handy, here. She rubbed the tiny thing under its chin, cooing affectionately.

Orikahn stands up about the time Pilar grabs the cat, and he hurries to take a step forward. "That one's spoken for," Kahn's deep basso rips across the tavern, and he flings out a clawed hand to point dramatically at the tiny, fuzzy tabby. By now, of course, the kitten is tilting its head back and pulling its eyes shut, leaning into Pilar's rubbing touch in obvious appreciation--an appreciation that the massive hunter does not share. "Don't think you can feed it to your noise box."

Pilar didn't recognize the voice, though part of her felt she'd heard it before. The sight of the huge fangs and the splattered gore worried her somewhat, and she instinctively hugged the kitten protectively. "Feed it to...?" She glanced at the instrument beside her. "You mean, the piano?" There is an obvious foreign accent to her words, though she is careful to speak clearly. She looked down at the kitten. It seemed happy enough right where it was. "Inside a piano is no place for a precious baby like this."

Orikahn tilts his chin up and arrives at the piano's side, towering over Pilar. At this angle, with him standing so close, the woman can see clearly up into Kahn's hood now and see the three eyes pointed down at her, two in their ordinary places and one at the center of the cat's brow, all of them glowing a phosphorescent green. "Then we agree on that much, at least." Demandingly, he holds out an open, pawlike palm for Pilar to return the kitten to him. The tiny tabby, meanwhile, is making a rather aimless attempt to climb out of her arms, apparently completely unconcerned with the dangers of falling. It mews.

Pilar would have gone pale if her blood was still pumping. Those eyes... she would never forget those eyes. "You... You're the one who..." Memories of the Yule Ball come flooding back, and then she knew where she'd heard his voice before. She was face-to-face with the herald of the Savage Queen. She tightened her grip on the kitten and took a step back, nearly tripping over the piano's stool. She was utterly terrified. And not a little angry. He'd gotten Hildegarde killed and Aira imprisoned.

Orikahn recoils momentarily, a split second of confusion flickering through his expression before, ah naturally, he recalls a few reasons why strangers might fear him. Disgusted by the sight of her preylike fear, his thin lips curl in a fanged sneer. Feeling itself so gripped, the kitten only makes a brief struggle. It squirms a moment or two, trying to wriggle free before accepting its fate and snuggling into her hand. "Ah-ah! Kssss!" Kahn warns her with a hiss. "Keep your voice down. Don't look suspicious."

Pilar trembled slightly before him. She had no idea what to say or do. She had half a mind to turn invisible and make a mad dash for the door, but this was no ordinary feline, she knew. She feared what powers the Savage Queen might have gifted him with, and what the repercussions for an escape attempt might have been.

Orikahn hums a low, simple, satisfied hum and reaches out to pluck the kitten up by the scruff of the neck. "Hm! Ah!" He warns Pilar with stern glances. Carefully, tenderly, he extracts the fuzzball and tucks it into the crook of his elbow. "Sh! Hm! Shush now!" He glares menacingly down at the vampire, and Pilar can clearly *feel* the third eye looking at her. Carefully, cautiously, the cat steps backward, backward, then hurriedly turns and rushes out of the tavern, perhaps never to be seen again.

Pilar almost objected to Orikahn's seizing of the kitten, but that eye... Once he was gone, she shakily sat down on the piano stool. She'd been so scared... and that poor kitten! Stuck with that monster! She hoped someone more fitting would rescue the little baby soon.