"Look, it'll be an hour, tops," Kat whispered to the unusually large snow leopard. Hel gave a snort. He didn't like it when she went into towns without him. He butted her head with his snout and Kat rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself, okay? Just stay here. If I run into something I can't handle, I'll give a yell." Honestly, for a giant man-killing carnivore, Hel was worse than a mother hen. 

Turning away from his watchful stare, Kat left her companion hidden in the forest outside of the small village of Toruka. As far as villages went, it looked fairly normal: small buildings that had fallen into varying states of disrepair, beggars littering the streets, an eerie quiet that spoke of distrust and suspicion… just another village that had suffered in the depression. As her steps cut through the night's silence, she couldn't help but think of what would've happened had Hel accompanied her like he wanted to. She couldn't imagine the villagers would appreciate a giant snow leopard parading through their streets.

Kat ignored the few people she passed on her way to the tavern – though they certainly didn't ignore her. Even without Hel by her side, she attracted attention. The one-armed girl with dark skin and silver hair… she was used to the stares she received, and thanked her luck that no one actually tried to [i]talk[/i] to her. The tavern finally coming into view, Kat heard an old church bell ring, and counted out nine ringing notes. She was right on time, then.

Raising her hand, she pushed open the old tavern's door and walked inside, head held high. She knew what she would look like, signing up for a job like this. If she didn't at least walk with purpose, she'd never be taken seriously. Glancing around, she saw the one occupied table in the room and made her way over to it. She stood above the various people sitting down and leaned her right side against the wall, putting her hand on her hip. Kat ignored the boy who had spoken – he looked like one of the beggars she had passed on her way in – and glanced around at the other patrons. After evaluating everyone, she turned to who she assumed was the one who had put out the offer.

"You've got a job for us, then?" she asked the dwarf.