Finally making up his mind, Firrol said, "It's a deal then," And he stretched out his right paw in front of him, his meaning clear.
Getting the cue, Melvin smiled warmly and shook it. Inside his mind, however, he was thinking of something else, 'Is it really that difficult to ask for my name as well?' But he quickly dismissed such thought from his mind, expecting manners from a cat seemed like too much.
"So..." Firrol asked, his tone slightly uncertain and afraid, "What is this other thing you want my help with?"
Noticing his hesitation, Melvin didn't want to explain what they would be doing this soon as he was certain the feline would be scared off. 'I'll just wait until he has worked enough so that he will just go with the rest. Sunken cost fallacy and all that.'
He thought with a smirk. However, he quickly hid his feelings with a fake cough, and said, "It's nothing serious. But first, you need to help me get out of here."
Melvin then began explaining a thorough plan to the cat of how they should go about saving him. It involved stealing a rope from a certain shop, among other things.
Throughout the whole explanation, Firrol just sat there listening to everything intently, but a faint smile tugged at his lips.
When Melvin finished speaking, he glanced at him and said with a wide grin, "I was just lying previously, there is a door." With that, he stood up and began walking to a passage at the end of the hallway to the left, leaving Melvin's mouth agape.
On his way there, his steps paused as he turned the look and said, "Come, I'll show you where." And continued his graceful walk.
Cursing the cat in his heart, Melvin stood up with difficulty and followed after him. When he turned around he emerged out into a narrow hallway without any rooms and continued his advance. Another sharp turn right, and another left, and he could finally see the outside world through a blocked doorway.
Firrol skillfully jumped through the bricks and squeezed himself out the doorway, and Melvin began removing them, and what followed was probably the most painful experience of his life. 'There is something wrong with my back.' He thought through ragged breath and a forehead filled with beady sweat. As high as his vitality was relative to how it was, the fall from two stories proved to be too difficult to emerge from unscathed.
When he was finally done with that, Firrol had the gal to ask him to put everything back how it used to be. Melvin's reply was a resounding no, there was no way in hell he would go through that again, and continued moving out of the alleyway. The feline followed after him mumbling curses under his breath, talking about how bums would go stay in it if they saw it opened as such.
"Where even is this?" Asked Melvin as he studied the peculiar alleyway he found himself in. It looked very gloomy, dark, and deathly still. He was flanked by broken dilapidated houses from both sides, and he had an odd feeling that someone watching him through them.
Hastening his pace, he nervously walked out of the alleyway and they emerged into a relatively normal side. "Where in the Southern West Side." Answered Firrol.
Glancing down at this huge talking cat that reached to his knees, Melvin was suddenly hit with that intense feeling of otherworldliness once again. A contrasting image of what he was previously done in his old world, and the current image flashed through his mind. An amusing smile soon followed which the feline found rather strange and suspicious, but he didn't pay him any mind.
However, his thoughts were soon captured by something even more serious. The city, and especially this street he was in were deathly still. 'It seems like I've been out of it for a while.' He thought with an agitated state of mind as he walked through the dimly lit streets.
This was his first time navigating the city at night. Yesterday, he was too preoccupied with writing his runes so he didn't bother. Thinking about his runes he instantly remembered his materials, and more so the money he gave the innkeeper. 'That bitch,' He hatefully cursed in his mind, 'I am sure she is the one who reported me to the guards, and she took both my money and materials.'
As he was contemplating whether to go rob her, a hushed voice echoed from the side. "Where are we going?"
Realizing that he had been just thinking and walking aimlessly, his steps halted. He pondered for a while and dismissed going there, there was a strong possibility the guards might still be surveying that place. "Where can I get something to eat?" He asked the feline after straightening out his priorities.
"There is a market in the city that never closes, that's the only place you can find something new," Firrol replied.
"Alright, let's go there first," Melvin said with a nod. Deep down he was hoping he wasn't famous to the degree of being recognized in random shops around the city.
Zigzagging their way through the winding streets of the Southern West Nightmond, the duo quickly found their way to the West main road, their destination the Lunasol Market on the Northern West side.
Along the way, Melvin had indeed noticed some other people walking by, though they were few and far between. What existed in bulk, however, were the guards, much to his dismay.
Whenever he encountered them, he felt like he was standing on a minefield. If he covered his face too much, he would be perceived as suspicious. And if he didn't, there was a chance that they might recognize his face. Thus, whenever he saw some guards, he would just crouch in front of the cat and start whispering some unrelated gibberish to it.
Needless to say, both the guards and feline just saw him as a lunatic, and none of them reacted too much. That is, until when he passed by another group of guards.
Repeating the same pattern, he crouched in front of Firrol, and said, "Let's take another pause, to regain our strength."
"What, again?" Asked the cat with an incredulous expression on his face, "You're not resting at all, you're shaking, flushed, and sweating."
The reason he didn't say the actual reason to this new ally of his, was because the former was still untrustworthy, and from what Melvin observed he was too opportunistic and he didn't want to give him much more leverage in their relationship.
"Hey, you there!" A voice behind shouted, "What are you doing?"
Melvin quickly reacted as most of his attention was on them and said in a very drunken disoriented voice, "I..I am talking with the cat, kitty kitty." Rubbing the deadpanned Firrol's face.
"Stand up, let me see your face." The guard demanded, directly behind Melvin.
His jaws clenched in both hatred and anger, and a deep exhale escaped his nose. From his crouching position, he slightly elevated his body, and with his right leg, he hit the guard squarely in the stomach. Without even wanting to see what would happen, he began to run away with difficulty along the western main road.
Each step sent a torrent of pain into his brain, but he persisted. If he fell her, it would be his last. People have been publicly executed for far too less severe of a crime than his, and so he could see his future if arrested by the guards clearly as he ran, giving him even more motivation.
The other guard didn't even go check up on his friend, the moment that Melvin ran, he followed. Naturally, Firrol followed as well, and of the three he proved to be the fastest, easily overtaking both the guard and Melvin.
"What the hell did you do that for?" He asked from the side.
"I hate the guards," Melvin mumbled with some difficulty. His expression soon turned to one of fear upon realizing that the guard was gradually gaining on him too. "It's your turn." He said, looking at the cat to his side.
"What?" Firrol asked, puzzled.
"You need to go attack him, otherwise he will catch us," Melvin explained, annoyed.
"He will catch you soon." The cat quipped, feeling stupefied by the situation by the situation.
"Are you sure?" Melvin asked with a smile. His meaning was clear, if he was caught then the promised bracelet would vanish just as well.
Firrol huffed when he heard, realizing the importance of making a decision. "I don't like breaking the law." He protested, his voice both serious and solemn which caught Melvin by surprise, but he didn't say anything else.
Noticing that Firrol gritted his teeth and halted his steps, he smiled and continued running.
Firrol slowly turned around, his gaze unwavering as he looked at the incoming guard, tail unmoving and hanging straight down.
His feline features contorted into a menacing visage, lips curled back, revealing sharp teeth glistening under the dim light. His nose wrinkled, accentuating the ferocity in his narrowed eyes.
As the guard approached, a long intimidating growl emanated from the big cat, scaring him out of his wits and causing him to pause dead in his tracks. He could feel a sense of danger from the black cat, and though he wanted to chase after the wanted criminal, he wasn't willing to find out what would happen if he did so.
"Here, kitty, kitty. Let me go through." He said in a gentle comforting voice. Yet, all he got in his return was a long unsettling yowl that made his skin crawl.
A stalemate thus ensued between the two, the cat unwilling to attack, and the guard unwilling to pass through. Melvin, on the other hand, had long disappeared into the sinuous streets of the northern west side.
After a while, the cat's body language relaxed and he began chasing after the human. The guard followed after him, but Firrol's speed proved to be superior as his figure gradually disappeared from the guard's view.
Noticing that, a resolute gleam flashed into the guard's eyes, and moved briskly in a certain direction, with a goal in mind.
Firrol's senses were extremely sharp, especially his nose. Finding a dirty bleeding man who groaned in pain with every step was as easy as finding a fish in an orange garden.
Quickly catching up to him in a particular street, Firrol's expression was strange as he said from said, "I've never done anything that dangerous."
"Never?" Melvin asked as his run morphed into a fast-paced walk after he made sure no one was following behind them anymore. However, when he turned to glance at the cat, he quickly noticed a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"A long time," Firrol said, trying to contain his excitement, "The city is very dangerous, and I only steal small fish to survive."
"Maybe you should do it more often, then," Melvin remarked with a knowing smile.
Shaking his Firrol answered, "No, no, it's too dangerous. I am not as crazy as you are, I just want to live my life in peace."
"Well," Melvin said with a teasing smile, "For someone who wants to live their life in peace, you seem to have enjoyed what happened a little too much."
Firrol's eyes suddenly flashed, but he soon turned normal and said, "I didn't, it was just dangerous so I was feeling a bit nervous. It's normal."
"That foolish smile from before isn't exactly a reflection of nervousness, but what do I know?" Melvin quipped from the side, his eyes no longer studying the feline.
In an attempt to change the subject, Firrol paused and said, "Where are we going?"
Finally making up his mind, Firrol said, "It's a deal then," And he stretched out his right paw in front of him, his meaning clear.
Getting the cue, Melvin smiled warmly and shook it. Inside his mind, however, he was thinking of something else, 'Is it really that difficult to ask for my name as well?' But he quickly dismissed such thought from his mind, expecting manners from a cat seemed like too much.
"So..." Firrol asked, his tone slightly uncertain and afraid, "What is this other thing you want my help with?"
Noticing his hesitation, Melvin didn't want to explain what they would be doing this soon as he was certain the feline would be scared off. 'I'll just wait until he has worked enough so that he will just go with the rest. Sunken cost fallacy and all that.'
He thought with a smirk. However, he quickly hid his feelings with a fake cough, and said, "It's nothing serious. But first, you need to help me get out of here."
Melvin then began explaining a thorough plan to the cat of how they should go about saving him. It involved stealing a rope from a certain shop, among other things.
Throughout the whole explanation, Firrol just sat there listening to everything intently, but a faint smile tugged at his lips.
When Melvin finished speaking, he glanced at him and said with a wide grin, "I was just lying previously, there is a door." With that, he stood up and began walking to a passage at the end of the hallway to the left, leaving Melvin's mouth agape.
On his way there, his steps paused as he turned the look and said, "Come, I'll show you where." And continued his graceful walk.
Cursing the cat in his heart, Melvin stood up with difficulty and followed after him. When he turned around he emerged out into a narrow hallway without any rooms and continued his advance. Another sharp turn right, and another left, and he could finally see the outside world through a blocked doorway.
Firrol skillfully jumped through the bricks and squeezed himself out the doorway, and Melvin began removing them, and what followed was probably the most painful experience of his life. 'There is something wrong with my back.' He thought through ragged breath and a forehead filled with beady sweat. As high as his vitality was relative to how it was, the fall from two stories proved to be too difficult to emerge from unscathed.
When he was finally done with that, Firrol had the gal to ask him to put everything back how it used to be. Melvin's reply was a resounding no, there was no way in hell he would go through that again, and continued moving out of the alleyway. The feline followed after him mumbling curses under his breath, talking about how bums would go stay in it if they saw it opened as such.
"Where even is this?" Asked Melvin as he studied the peculiar alleyway he found himself in. It looked very gloomy, dark, and deathly still. He was flanked by broken dilapidated houses from both sides, and he had an odd feeling that someone watching him through them.
Hastening his pace, he nervously walked out of the alleyway and they emerged into a relatively normal side. "Where in the Southern West Side." Answered Firrol.
Glancing down at this huge talking cat that reached to his knees, Melvin was suddenly hit with that intense feeling of otherworldliness once again. A contrasting image of what he was previously done in his old world, and the current image flashed through his mind. An amusing smile soon followed which the feline found rather strange and suspicious, but he didn't pay him any mind.
However, his thoughts were soon captured by something even more serious. The city, and especially this street he was in were deathly still. 'It seems like I've been out of it for a while.' He thought with an agitated state of mind as he walked through the dimly lit streets.
This was his first time navigating the city at night. Yesterday, he was too preoccupied with writing his runes so he didn't bother. Thinking about his runes he instantly remembered his materials, and more so the money he gave the innkeeper. 'That bitch,' He hatefully cursed in his mind, 'I am sure she is the one who reported me to the guards, and she took both my money and materials.'
As he was contemplating whether to go rob her, a hushed voice echoed from the side. "Where are we going?"
Realizing that he had been just thinking and walking aimlessly, his steps halted. He pondered for a while and dismissed going there, there was a strong possibility the guards might still be surveying that place. "Where can I get something to eat?" He asked the feline after straightening out his priorities.
"There is a market in the city that never closes, that's the only place you can find something new," Firrol replied.
"Alright, let's go there first," Melvin said with a nod. Deep down he was hoping he wasn't famous to the degree of being recognized in random shops around the city.
Zigzagging their way through the winding streets of the Southern West Nightmond, the duo quickly found their way to the West main road, their destination the Lunasol Market on the Northern West side.
Along the way, Melvin had indeed noticed some other people walking by, though they were few and far between. What existed in bulk, however, were the guards, much to his dismay.
Whenever he encountered them, he felt like he was standing on a minefield. If he covered his face too much, he would be perceived as suspicious. And if he didn't, there was a chance that they might recognize his face. Thus, whenever he saw some guards, he would just crouch in front of the cat and start whispering some unrelated gibberish to it.
Needless to say, both the guards and feline just saw him as a lunatic, and none of them reacted too much. That is, until when he passed by another group of guards.
Repeating the same pattern, he crouched in front of Firrol, and said, "Let's take another pause, to regain our strength."
"What, again?" Asked the cat with an incredulous expression on his face, "You're not resting at all, you're shaking, flushed, and sweating."
The reason he didn't say the actual reason to this new ally of his, was because the former was still untrustworthy, and from what Melvin observed he was too opportunistic and he didn't want to give him much more leverage in their relationship.
"Hey, you there!" A voice behind shouted, "What are you doing?"
Melvin quickly reacted as most of his attention was on them and said in a very drunken disoriented voice, "I..I am talking with the cat, kitty kitty." Rubbing the deadpanned Firrol's face.
"Stand up, let me see your face." The guard demanded, directly behind Melvin.
His jaws clenched in both hatred and anger, and a deep exhale escaped his nose. From his crouching position, he slightly elevated his body, and with his right leg, he hit the guard squarely in the stomach. Without even wanting to see what would happen, he began to run away with difficulty along the western main road.
Each step sent a torrent of pain into his brain, but he persisted. If he fell her, it would be his last. People have been publicly executed for far too less severe of a crime than his, and so he could see his future if arrested by the guards clearly as he ran, giving him even more motivation.
The other guard didn't even go check up on his friend, the moment that Melvin ran, he followed. Naturally, Firrol followed as well, and of the three he proved to be the fastest, easily overtaking both the guard and Melvin.
"What the hell did you do that for?" He asked from the side.
"I hate the guards," Melvin mumbled with some difficulty. His expression soon turned to one of fear upon realizing that the guard was gradually gaining on him too. "It's your turn." He said, looking at the cat to his side.
"What?" Firrol asked, puzzled.
"You need to go attack him, otherwise he will catch us," Melvin explained, annoyed.
"He will catch you soon." The cat quipped, feeling stupefied by the situation by the situation.
"Are you sure?" Melvin asked with a smile. His meaning was clear, if he was caught then the promised bracelet would vanish just as well.
Firrol huffed when he heard, realizing the importance of making a decision. "I don't like breaking the law." He protested, his voice both serious and solemn which caught Melvin by surprise, but he didn't say anything else.
Noticing that Firrol gritted his teeth and halted his steps, he smiled and continued running.
Firrol slowly turned around, his gaze unwavering as he looked at the incoming guard, tail unmoving and hanging straight down.
His feline features contorted into a menacing visage, lips curled back, revealing sharp teeth glistening under the dim light. His nose wrinkled, accentuating the ferocity in his narrowed eyes.
As the guard approached, a long intimidating growl emanated from the big cat, scaring him out of his wits and causing him to pause dead in his tracks. He could feel a sense of danger from the black cat, and though he wanted to chase after the wanted criminal, he wasn't willing to find out what would happen if he did so.
"Here, kitty, kitty. Let me go through." He said in a gentle comforting voice. Yet, all he got in his return was a long unsettling yowl that made his skin crawl.
A stalemate thus ensued between the two, the cat unwilling to attack, and the guard unwilling to pass through. Melvin, on the other hand, had long disappeared into the sinuous streets of the northern west side.
After a while, the cat's body language relaxed and he began chasing after the human. The guard followed after him, but Firrol's speed proved to be superior as his figure gradually disappeared from the guard's view.
Noticing that, a resolute gleam flashed into the guard's eyes, and moved briskly in a certain direction, with a goal in mind.
Firrol's senses were extremely sharp, especially his nose. Finding a dirty bleeding man who groaned in pain with every step was as easy as finding a fish in an orange garden.
Quickly catching up to him in a particular street, Firrol's expression was strange as he said from said, "I've never done anything that dangerous."
"Never?" Melvin asked as his run morphed into a fast-paced walk after he made sure no one was following behind them anymore. However, when he turned to glance at the cat, he quickly noticed a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"A long time," Firrol said, trying to contain his excitement, "The city is very dangerous, and I only steal small fish to survive."
"Maybe you should do it more often, then," Melvin remarked with a knowing smile.
Shaking his Firrol answered, "No, no, it's too dangerous. I am not as crazy as you are, I just want to live my life in peace."
"Well," Melvin said with a teasing smile, "For someone who wants to live their life in peace, you seem to have enjoyed what happened a little too much."
Firrol's eyes suddenly flashed, but he soon turned normal and said, "I didn't, it was just dangerous so I was feeling a bit nervous. It's normal."
"That foolish smile from before isn't exactly a reflection of nervousness, but what do I know?" Melvin quipped from the side, his eyes no longer studying the feline.
In an attempt to change the subject, Firrol paused and said, "Where are we going?"
