Architects are a thing right?

[Deleted]

Kano was cold and tired and very very unhappy with the amount of dust all over her and her cat. "Whoever built that house fails at making rooftops." The grumbling and muttering of the girl as she sat up in the alleyway was drowned out by the industrial powerhouses around her and her quick attention to how her cat was doing. The owner of the blue pair of feline eyes had been luckier when it came to coming out of the collapse of the side of the building and sat with its fur puffy and tail twitching. The roof of the abandoned house had collapsed under them quite suddenly, but as near as they were to the places that constantly made noise the clatter and scramble to avoid injury was mostly unheard.

When they had left the seaside town Bill had said something about looking for some book and headed towards a town located on one of the maps. It had been very vague but the shifter couldn't follow to find out more as at the time her tools were mostly eaten by the air and use and her cat had been left with some old lady. A red eyed glance from side to side held down by the glittering feline eyes of Tuono found that no one had noticed the occurrence save for a sleek black cat that was very curious. The cat that was not hers was clearly friendly

There was a very distinct clinking sound as she turned to meet its gaze. It seemed that one of her small bottles of oil had shattered when she slammed into the wall trying to scramble back up before everything fell apart. This meant two things, she now had one less bottle of oil, and that there was broken glass in one of her pockets. The air held a snap to it that was unpleasant and only served to sharpen the pain of falling from as high as she did with things landing on top of her. Kano huffed and laid back down waiting for the adrenaline and stinging feeling to go away. The cats mrrd at each-other and eventually settled on either side of the girl, content sharing warmth in the bitter evening. The cats weren't entirely sure if the girl had fallen asleep in the alleyway between the factories and some abandoned buildings, and being cat's didn't really care as she was warm and right there.

((Looking at it it wasn't very vauge except at the end, were it had been intentional because I didn't want to power over your skill in setting the place. Is the problem that I don't actually describe the fall but start with the aftermath? I understand things like that can be off putting.))

[Red_Tower]

The moon's faint glow shone through the large factory windows, illuminating the overseers office. A shadow darted like an arrow in the night through the room, stopping in front of the large chestnut desk, stained and littered with papers. The room smelled of oil of sweat, signs of workers coming into the office. Under the desk was a small metal box with a combination and key lock. Bill went about making quick work of the locks, cracking them open in about a minute. The mage pulled several sealed documents out and stuffed them in his already over-filled bag. "Guess playing with her clocks did help..." Bill thought, standing up, ready to leave. Just in time he realized, as he heard shouting from the factory floor below. He lifted the hood of his black coat and charged towards the window. As several armed men were rushing into the office, Bill crashed through the window, flying towards the alley below.

Blink.

A moment later he disappeared into shadow, reappearing on the ground below, safely on his feet. Bill shouted several crude comments up at the window before whipping around corners, speeding like a wolf through the backstreets and alleyways. Only by the soft russell of his coat, the patter of his foot on the street, or the shifting of the shadows as he passed did anyone see him run by. From time to time he would mutter what sounded like gibberish to himself. He stopped for a minute to rest in a small alley intersection, closing his eyes as he raised his head to the moon, hood falling back off his head.

((Sorry for the delay, like I've said I've been really busy, but for the next few days I'm not, so besides hanging out with people I should be able to post a considerable amount more. Hopefully my writing isn't too bad either. Also, after reading your post again, I think I might have just missed or misread some stuff, so sorry.))

[Deleted]

A warning from the stray cat made Kano very certain not to move. From the way the felines on top of her had bristled and the change of the gentle wind that indicated cloth moving could she tell someone was there. So did she open her eyes and hope to lie her way out? No, that wouldn't work, she'd have to move the rubble and dislodge the cats, both of which kept her nicely concealed at the moment.

All this and the girl was still only barely awake. The aftermath of her previous adrenaline made it hard to hit a second wind for oh, the third? Yes the third time, that wouldn't work. There wasn't any rush from the falling anymore, now it was just sting and tiredness against the cold air and the brushing of fur and slow wind. It was quite stupid now for her to have thought the alleyways would remain empty, there was always something. Though maybe that something had been the cat at first but now...

It should be remembered there was broken glass somewhere in her coat as well. The clockmaker would just have to wait out the stranger in the alley, and hopefully stay awake. Tuono wasn't responding as violently as the inky colored cat and was simply a little tense. That was odd, considering how usually he was an excellent alarm system and notified her if people were fighting anywhere near her or if he just didn't like someone's attitude.

((Ah that makes sense, it's easy to do that when you're preoccupied.))

[Red_Tower]

Bill noticed the movement of the stray cat and started shuffling through his bag until he found one of his catnip bars. "Psst, come here little guy, I've got a treat for you." He paused when he noticed Tuono, although didn't recognize the cat at first. "It's alright, I've got something for you too." Walking over a little closer, he knelt down and held out the food to them. "You look like a cat I know, but I'm just too hopeful." Bill muttered to Tuono.

((Gah, short post, sorry!))

[Deleted]

At the sound of Bill talking to her cat she started laughing, to think she had been worried. It stung, and the cold air was harsh as she shifted out from under the felines though the clink of glass made her decide against sitting up entirely. The black feline growled and moved backwards trying to hide her again. Tuono mrred as he so often does and took the treat pausing to watch Kano try to finish waking up while she laughed. The dust in his fur and on her coat had hid them well enough before she realized how funny this was.

The inky cat tried to place its paws on her face to make her stop and remained a ball of fluff. "Okay, I get it he can see me! That is not a problem." The confused and frustrated cat then stood 'threateningly' in front of her hoping to ward off the man.

((Allllll isss well. Let the words be words.))

[Red_Tower]

Bill made a sudden movement towards the defensive feline in an attempt to startle it away from Kano. "I really shouldn't be surprised to run into you, should I?" Bill muttered to her, walking closer and holding out his hand, offering it to help her stand. There was a grin on his lips, but it looked forced, that much was plain to see. He had several cuts, scrapes, and scratches on his face, both fresh and aged, but new since she had last seen him. His eyes had heavy shadows under them. Although it would be hard to see with the lighting and the color of his coat, if someone looked closely they would be able to see that his clothes had become stained with splotches of dark red and brown, likely blood. If it was his or someone else's however, was impossible to say.

"Anyways, what brings you to this particular and particularly unnerving backstreet at this ungodly hour in this specific section of this exact town?" Bill asked her.

[Deleted]

"I suppose if you're going to be in towns with machinery no you really shouldn't be." Kano stood and wile for a moment she thought on calling him out on what she saw but decided against it. "The whole dust everywhere thing is my fault. That's why I'm still in this particular backstreet, I was out this late because people don't like it when you're on their rooftops during the middle of the day and I'm in the town because I chose to be." There had been a bit of clinking as she stood but the clockmaker had been careful enough to make sure the shards of glass didn't do anything.

At this point it could be said she was awake though the girl wasn't particularly attentive at the moment. It wasn't a bad thing that Bill had been the one there it just meant she had to bite back some anxiety laughter and keep herself awake. The inky cat hadn't moved when he had tried to startle it,instead it just started growling as loudly as it could. The feline was still going even after Kano spoke and was now pulling very incessantly at her pant leg. She looked down at it but didn't respond further, hoping that instead it would just stop.

[Red_Tower]

Bill nodded at her response, seemingly satisfied for now with her answer. If he even had an actual point behind it is beyond guessing, but either way, he didn't pry further. The moonlight cast odd shadows over his face, giving him a much darker, more intimidating look than normal. However he seemed to be fairly friendly, despite the tired look on his face. "Are you quite alright? You don't look your best." The mage asked her, his weak grin doing nothing in the way to reassure her.

More so, his unexplained presence here was bizarre. He seemed eager enough to question her on reason for being here, but hadn't offered anything in the same way. He had seemed in a rush entering the alley, and despite his calm demeanor he still seemed to be fidgeting, his fingers motioning like he were playing the flute. "Care for an escort to your next destination?"

[Deleted]

Kano didn't really want to answer either question while fishing broken glass carefully out of one of her pockets but after a short pause and a handful of glass being removed and placed carefully down she did, "Well if you'd like to come you can." The incessant pulling of the feline was a good enough excuse for not answering the first question asked, though it was likely that her explanation of the dust could be easily be traced to the way she was standing and the glass and oil the girl had placed to the side. Tuono hopped to the clockmakers shoulder and mrred at the other feline. Being that she was not entirely awake, cold, and usually not having buildings collapsing under her the cats were a good thing to have keeping her looking around.

"Where did you plan on going? It's likely I can keep to that general direction." The black cat at her heels hissed in the opposite direction it had been growling, Tuono sat tensely and all the girl could do was give a very done look to Bill as she had no idea what was going on with the two. There was probably a reason, but such could be said about most occurrences involving animals.

[Red_Tower]

Fingers still twitching, Bill realized he wasn't quite sure where he was going. "Probably the way that cat just went, or at the very least, anywhere that isn't the opposite direction." The mage said, glancing around at Kano. He could tell something was up with her, but wasn't quite sure what. He knew she was good at concealing things, but he had a bit of hope they were still on decent enough terms she would be more open with him. "Not that I deserve any real level of trust. Not with what I've been up to..." Bill thought to himself, staring off into space, getting distracted again.

[Deleted]

Turning carefully to look in the mentioned direction Kano spent a moment glaring at the broken wall before facing Bill again, remembering to keep herself awake. "Okay then..." A moment to late she realized that there was an energy he was probably expecting her to speak with not there. Scooping up the felines the girl darted on hoping the distraction of moving quickly would be enough to cover the sting and idea that at this point she should just lie down. 'I hope that he doesn't realize I was asleep in an alley after falling from a building with only a couple cats. It'd probably scare him.. Well maybe not, but that probably would make him look me over more closely at least.' She glanced back too see if her not feline company had taken to following, well aware that her eyes flickered gently with what they could do were it not for the circumstances of her traveling.

[Red_Tower]

When she glanced back Bill was keeping pace right behind her. "Away we go then!" The alchemist said, rather excitedly. He was still suspicious of something not being right with her, but he still couldn't place it. Her voice didn't carry quite the same energy as usual, but she darted off quickly. He took a sniff as he traveled behind her, noting oil, and possibly blood, but it could be what was on his coat. Whatever the case, they seemed to be on their way now.

[Deleted]

Kano swung herself around a corner with practiced precision and pulled herself up the ledge in the new divide between buildings. It was much smaller than most alleyways and was only frequented by cats and overly desperate dogs. The clockmaker now knew the path for the next few minutes or so just in order to get away from all the machinery and to somewhere more open. This would be a somewhat repetitive action between the narrow spaces but it would do well for speed. "If this gets confusing tell me." She spoke while prying open a metal gate and continuing the winding path.

'Left, left, and swing right. Up over the crates! Oops can't loose the cats, under that big metal thing; I know what that is don't I? Lets see left here and then keep going around until the wall...' Spinning off balance and then leaning on the wall after this part her chaotic zigzag through the inbetweens of the industry area three pairs of feline eyes met carefully as the girl waited expectantly for him to catch up past this pause. It occurred to her that maybe this stop had little to do with making sure Bill was still there. She shook her head slightly and waited for anything to tell her it was okay to continue going.