[b]Kucing- City Outskirts.[/b]

There was something magical about rain, it bought life and that alone was magical but further than that simple action and perhaps more mundane than most people cared to contemplate it bought things [i]alive[/i]. The city at night in the rain smelled almost clean, almost like a rocky mountain, the garbage and sewage scents buried beneath natures own bouquet. Day rain was different in the city, it seemed to accentuate the rot from within, but it was almost evening and she was not in the city. She could, if she looked, still see it behind her, the shapes of the buildings, the arches and trees she'd grown to recognise. The woods smelled wonderful in night rain, the fresh scent of the leaves, the flowers, even the dirt, it called to her in a way Avalon's perfumes would never mimic, it was the scent of nature, of home and family.

Without another thought the powerful beast leapt from the tree limb it had been resting on and travelled on swift limbs between the tree's roots and scrub, the rain on her fur felt cleansing, though she knew only too well it would not penetrate the top layer of silver white downy fur. Her coat was thick, meant for the cold snows and frozen rains of the tundra, a person who was granted to stroke her could easily half loose their fingers in the thick fur, it felt as soft as silk to the touch, which made it highly sought after in more ways than one. Though right now it clung to the water droplets, holding them like fine clear crystals, even her ears were lined with soft downy fur, allowing no water to enter there and through the huntress off balance. This was how she was supposed to be, claws in the dirt, tail braced behind her and every muscle rippling as she ran wild and free, she didn't care what Avalon said, he was wrong.

He wanted her to believe that gangly, half blind, half deaf, slow, clumsy, bald bi-ped was how she was [i]suppose[/i] to be. How could that even be possible? It felt strange, uncomfortable, Avalon took this to be a lack of control, it wasn't, it was lack of desire but she saw no need to correct his assumptions. pointless unpleasantness needed to be avoided with an Alpha, especially if she ever hoped to see home again. Avalon asked relatively little of her, though what he did ask was usually difficult to comply with, don't eat the palace fish, don't kill people, never go out with fur, never go out with naked human skin, don't go hunting. Such was domesticated creatures lives but she was not domestic, she hunted her food, she wasn't given it on dishes, humans were enemies that tried to hurt you, her fur was her comfort and human clothes were awkward and uncomfortable. Though Avalon had been good enough to choose her favourite colour; as if he'd always known it. and make it both simple to wear and loose enough not to offend her. The lower garment simply tied in place at her hip and the upper fixed behind her neck and at her ribs. Even then they were tight and restricting compared with her usual attire.

There was talk of her, at months end when the big feast was planned, being at the Kings side to be shown off and paraded about like meat. Avalon wasn't comfortable with the idea yet, though he was Alpha so she'd do as asked regardless, again though she had not said as much too him, it was unnecessary to her mind. As mind turned to the Alpha it inevitably fell on the others, Empie was the Omega to be sure, Sel was... just a fringe element and Gideon, he wasn't really part of the pack in her eyes. Too unstable, potentially dangerous to the pack, in her tribe such unknown elements soon became lone elements, it was only a matter of time before the alpha killed or banished him. Empie seemed to be there to keep spirits raised, surrounded by severe and serious characters she seemed to get more excitable the more melancholy people became. As for Sel, she wasn't sure what to make of him, he'd be a good beta perhaps but she'd thought little more on him than that. They were her pack now, her family and she didn't need to approve of them, just protect them.

The rain and evening wore on, as it grew truly dark she turned for the silly wood and stone hut they called home, it was nothing like she was used to, flat and straight with strange soft sleeping areas. You couldn't see the stars, feel the wind or the sun, it felt like another cage and for that reason alone she disliked it, she'd had enough of cages for one lifetime and she'd already warned Avalon what she'd do to him should he ever try to put her back in one. It of course had not been a threat, she didn't threaten people after all, it was a pointless waste of ones amenities. He was a respectful alpha and had promised no more cages or crates, he'd told her about the Kings wish to have her at the feast rather than simply order to attend.

As she walked through the now softening dirt beneath her, breathing soft wisps of condensation into the night air the leopardess contemplated the first few days with the new alpha. They'd spent a long time after he found her asking about Kings and Queens, who hired her and where she was from, what her purpose was and what she was being paid. All these were new words to her and he spent more time answering her questions than getting answers to his own. He didn't seem to trust her words at first but after a few days he seemed to at least believe the innocence on her side of the situation. Honestly, who would really want to leave their lovely snowy home to come live in metal bars for a silly little man with a pointy hat who looked ridiculous and wanted her to do tricks for him?

Hopping smoothly from branch to higher branch her claws raking the bark she slipped to the slanted roof of their strange cave, as she shook down her fur keen eyes caught a fleck of silver, knowing the alpha would be angry if she were not inside when he returned she slipped quietly through the strangled entrance and through the dark shadows until she was stationed somewhere near the back, she'd briefly watched as Empie got angry with some wooden shapes but paid it no real mind. With another shake she forced herself into the silly bi-ped form and brushed nails through her black hair, her body damp and spotted with water droplets that clung as they had to her fur, her hair lay slick in tendril patterns across her body. Slinking from the shadows, a leaf in her hair she squinted against the bright light, eyes looking narrowed as she guarded them from the light, she seemed to have no perception of shame so made no attempt to cover her nudity, simply stood and listened, when Avalon had said his piece and his good nights she stretched her human muscles, ready for sleep and the upcoming mission.