Kaden, last of his line, Navajo witch, skin-walker. He was riding in the back of a bus that clearly didn't have air conditioning, was filled with various ornery people -- and quite frankly smelled funny. Considering what he was, his life was hardly glamorous, and was filled with less intrigue than one might expect. He was on the return trip, currently. He'd gone up to one of England's national parks, for his biweekly trip. It was the one thing he could appreciate about being a skin-walker, he had an affinity for being out in nature. That said, England was a bit scarce on "nature." The island nation was running low on it.

Being part Navajo, obviously his lineage hadn't started in England, but considering the crazy, vile things witches tended to do, he had a feeling they had run out their welcome. Why they'd chosen England, he'd never know, but that's where he'd been born. At least the entire island hadn't been paved over yet.

He'd had to learn to get used to a more urban way of life though, especially after finding The Abandoned Bar. He knew he'd never find another place like it, a place where what he was wasn't something to be kept secret. At best, the average person would think he was a sociopath, at worst he'd be killed on the spot.

[2 Years Ago]

A large, tiger-striped, Siberian cat was padding through the streets, leaving snowy footprints in its wake. It jumped up on a nearby stone wall to avoid some passing pedestrians. What one couldn't see through the thick, glorious fur were emaciated ribs. If one looked closely though, one would be able to see how the cat's pelt hung loosely over its shoulders, with not fat to keep its skin taught. 

The cat caught the eye of a passerby, who flinched and began walking faster. It was the same story every time. It made sense of course, that the cat would strike fear into people, it wasn't natural. It had eyes that pierced the soul and looked too human. It had eyes that no cat, no beast should have.

That cat was Kaden, borrowing the warmth of its fur to make it through the winter without frostbite. He had no home, currently. He'd lost it, again. He couldn't keep steady work, at least nothing good enough to live on. He was stuck living on the street, and he didn't get to eat very often.

Catden walked into a nearby alley that he knew included the back entrance to a restaurant. They threw out their unwanted food into the alley, and he could get at it sometimes. His tail swished in frustration when he found that all the garbage was sealed up tight, nothing he could get at as a cat. He used his cat senses to double check that the alley was clear, and returned to being human so he could shift through the trash. 

He found some old spaghetti, but it was mixed up with something nasty, so he decided against that. Finally, he found some bread that looked safe. However, before he could attempt to "enjoy" his meal, he heard someone coming. Making sure no one could see him yet, he quickly shifted forms again, this time into a dog; a large, black Akita.

"Doggy!" It was a little girl. He growled, but still the little thing ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He couldn't do it, he couldn't continue to feign being vicious. He wasn't into terrorizing small children. "Isn't this beneath you?" Suddenly she whispered in his ear.

Startled, he pulled away, baring his teeth and snarling at her. What the hell was this?

"Rifling through the trash to live like a common hobo? That's no good!" she wagged a finger at him, as if to chastise him. "Aren't you above that? I mean, look at you."

Kaden shifted back to being human, and leaned against a nearby dumpster, arms crossed over his chest defensively. 

"Above what, exactly?" Kaden asked, his voice raspy and weak.

"Scavenging, hiding, humanity? Take your pick!" she grinned at him creepily. 

"I don't like that last part, it bothers me. Understand?" Kaden narrowed his eyes. "The last people who spoke to me like that... it didn't end well."

"Are you threatening me? In your condition?" She jumped atop the dumpster next to him with inhuman agility and poked his cheeks, which were sunken in. He recoiled and backed away. "Well, I guess not everyone thinks the same way. Not a bad thing, really. Well, I guess I've worn out my welcome already. I'm quite bad at this apparently." She shook her head, but with an amuse smile on her face. "Here, take this. It'll help you out, I promise; abnormal to abnormal. Just give it a shot." He held out a folded piece of paper to him. He took in, nervously, but in truth he was desperate.

Besides, this girl wasn't normal. Abnormal to abnormal, right? Maybe she could be trusted. One way or another, perhaps his struggle was over. He looked up from the paper, but the girl was gone.

He opened it and read it. It's contents weren't particularly lengthy, it was an address. 

[i]To: Someone Lost,
You're humbly invited to The Abandoned Bar.
Love,
Lilith[/i]

"Worth a shot, right?" he muttered to himself. That was the day a certain cat dragged itself into a certain bar.

[The Present]

Kaden exited the bus, back in the city of London. First stop, the bar, then he'd head back to his shoddy little apartment to make sure he hadn't been robbed while he was gone... again. He supposed thieves occasionally preferred easy targets over valuable ones. It didn't matter, he didn't have much worth stealing, but it was still annoying. The worst part was that being able to turn into various animals that could easily hunt down a thief meant having to restrain himself from actually doing so. It could get him into too much trouble.

He stepped into the bar, and headed for his usual seat near the back. He found it was taken. He sighed. Well, as long as that was the worst case of thievery he had to deal with today, he'd be fine. Instead, he took the first empty seat he saw, which was a fair bit closer to the door than usual.

He sighed, not sure why he was there. He wasn't much for drinking or anything, and neither was he much for conversation. Well, the bar had pulled him out of the gutter; he supposed it just felt right to check in regularly.