Wrong Side of Town [End]

[Bee]

Mnem approached the large apartment building with as much reluctance as relief. It was always nice to be home and see Minh and even make sure the brat was still alive, but no sooner did she arrive than she wanted to get the hell out again and go do things that did not involve messes and bandersnatches and Corvies. She sighed in annoyance. At least there would be alcohol in the house. She was pretty sure. Unless Minh used it in an experiment.

In which case, she was pretty sure that Minh was going to have to die.

But homicide plans could wait until her fears were confirmed. In the meantime, she was pretty sure that she had everything she needed for the visit. The small amount of Court work she was taking with her, a couple of the plant projects she was working on, and a box of cookies she was going to give Thalia to give the impression that she felt guilty about hardly ever seeing her youngest spawn.

All in place. Damn. No use putting off the inevitable, then.

[Kitty]

Brokat had been out taking his little friend for a walk. He'd had the striped male for a little while now and he'd noticed that, unlike his Mother's bander, Raanan stuck to his side and didn't let him go many places without him. Tavor had told him it was a good sign but he wasn't sure ... especially when the male had threatened bite papa last time he tried to play with him. He didn't want to play, it wasn't his type of thing, but still ... Raanan needed some manners. And this was something he was proving today more then any other day.

Raanan had seen something, or smelt something, and took off, pulling the leashed from his master's beak and jingling his way down the street. The triple-breed gasped and instantly took off after the little thing, his feet making odd thud-clicking sounds one the sidewalk. He tucked his wings in close to his sides in an attempt to make himself more aerodynamic ... but Banders sure were fast! The green male stopped suddenly and bristled himself up, growling at a woman who had gotten in his path and far to close to Brokat for his liking.

The lowlander came to a screeching halt and fell on his rear with an 'oof' in the process. He peered apologetically up at the woman with olive eyes Before he noticed her hair ... and his fur stood on end a bit ... looking rather funny because of the feathers along his shoulders and spine.

What was on her head? Hair?

[Bee]

Something, she became aware, was growling at her. Mnem's first impulse was to turn around and dropkick whatever the damn thing was. She settled for turning and glaring viciously at it. A green bandersnatch. With a leash dangling from it's collar, so some idiot had lost track of it. She bared her teeth and issued a small warning growl of her own. She had Monty for a..."pet"; she feared no bandersnatch.

Then she saw its owner. An obscenely awkward, ugly little thing. Though to the little beast's credit, it was not quite as off-putting as the other Lowlanders to make her acquaintance.

Fantastic. She had wanted a distraction and the universe had seen fit to provide her with...a child. Why did all of her wishes have to be granted in the worst possible way?

She raised an eyebrow. "This little beast belong to you?"

[Kitty]

Raanan, knock it off.

The bandersnatch sneezed once before he turned and stepped over to his master and sat by his side, but he never took his beady little black eyes off the woman. If she tried to touch his lowland companion he wouldn't think twice about biting her ... and that's precisely what Brokat was worried about. he'd wanted a little guardian, and a friend ... but he hadn't been prepared for, well ... this level of those.

He peered back up at the woman and flipped his ears back and down as he lower his head a bit in a rather submissive posture ... he didn't want any trouble, and she looked like the type that would give him trouble ... and she was addressing him now. He hugged himself with his wings as he mentally fumbled for words, but he already knew that no matter what he said it would come out with a pathetic little stutter.

Y-yes ... I'm ... s-sorry...

[Bee]

Mnem felt her level of annoyance spike a bit as the child stuttered out a response. On one hand, she felt that he should be apologetic; his bandersnatch clearly had a death wish. On the other...meek little child was almost more irritating than your standard garden variety child. She sighed in exasperation, and considered offering him a cookie to make him go away. Perhaps she could hold that as her trump card.

"Shouldn't your mommy be missing you about now?"

This was quite a strange place for an ankle-biter to go roaming. The area was filthy, crime-infested, and generally unpleasant. Mnem liked it for its threatening atmosphere and the fact that police pretty much gave it a wide berth, which left her complete freedom to do whatever the hell she wanted. People here ate kids like the Littlest Rotting Birdie for breakfast; other kids ate kids like the Littlest Rotting Birdie for breakfast.

[Kitty]

His little rounded rat ears drooped down to the sides of his head as he peered up at her with olive eyes that held a little bit of fear still in them as well as a lingering bit of apology. She still seemed rather ... annoyed, but he wasn't sure why. Most people who had no intentions of talking ot him usually made some sort of disgusted sound before then either turned and started rattling off a myriad of insults he'd already heard, or made a move to kick him or something else unpleasant before storming off... but she was lingering... and it confused him.

I told him I was going to take Raanan for a walk ... b-but I ... don't know ... where he brought me too.

He lowered his head a bit more and slumped his shoulders and his wings, the realization that he was well and truly lost finally hit home. He'd been os concerned with following the bander and not letting it out of his sight that he hadn't bothered to memorize any 'landmarks' along the way like he did when he followed his brother all around the Capitol. However, Casanova had never dragged him out here, wherever here was.

[Bee]

Mnem considered this for a moment. A lost little Lowlander child all on his own. The meek sort, by the look of it. Would anyone really miss him? Even the kid's mommy? Mnem knew she wouldn't miss any of her kids. Perhaps she could give him to Minh as a present...She was always looking for new test subjects, after all, and it had been a while since she had brought home any more than food for the loopy mother of her...spaciest child.

And of course, the apartment was likely a horrific mess, as it usually was...so she could get some use out of the kid before Minh started in on him.

Pleased, she allowed a smile to briefly flicker to life.

She eyed the child. "Well, this is a lousy place to be, dear. There are all sorts of dangerous ruffians running about...Why don't you come inside? You can eat some cookies and tell me where I might be able to find your mother."

[Kitty]

The sudden switch in the woman's personality made him a little suspicious ... and it showed ... he still wasn't able to keep his inner feelings from making their way into his expression. But .... she was offering to find mama for him and he couldn't help but be attracted to the offer. If he could just get home ... everything would be alright. Well, he'd probably get a worried scolding from his paranoid parental unit... but that was a small thing.

O-ok ... I ... w-would really... like to get home. Mama won't... like it if... I'm out to late.

He flipped one of his little rat ears forward and waited for her to let him in. This probably wasn't his brightest idea but ... home was such a tempting offer and this.. .this part of town was scary and he wanted nothing more to do with it.

[Bee]

Mnem considered making herself appear sensitive by offering some kind of reassuring pat on the head or a similar gesture, but decided that she really didn't want to touch the kid. She set the cookies down. Hopefully Thalia wouldn't sniff them out too soon; she didn't want her youngest and most excitable hellspawn to rush in at an inconvenient moment.

"We'll see what we can do," she said with a nod. "Now, personally," she continued, reasonably, "I wouldn't go back outside if I were you. If you get lost even more and night falls, things will likely go...quite poorly. So. Why don't you tell me where to find your mother, and either me or my roommate shall fetch...him for you while the other keeps you entertained here."

She glanced around and wrinkled her nose. Damn, this place needed a cleaning. She smiled to herself. Magical charisma, always a good complement to a naturally persuasive personality. "And if you wanted to help clean up around here to keep yourself occupied, I'm sure your efforts would not go unappreciated."

[Kitty]

He was still suspicious, but she was going to get mother for him.... right? People didn't lie about that sort of thing, did they? She didn't seem that bad now, perhaps he'd just caught her by surprise? He gave a tentative little wag of his tail as he made his way into the.... rather cluttered looking place, tassels bouncing as he moved and Raanan right on his heels. The green bander even gave the woman another little growl and a cough, obviously displeased with her.

As she started speaking again olive eyes widened... he hadn't thought about what might happen if he was caught out here at night! Mama had warned him that some parts of town he shouldn't be caught out in and this woman, well, she was definitely back up those suspicions. Tassled rat ears flipped down and he shuffled his paws nervously, wings even drooping a bit.

I... s-suppose... you're... r-right.

And then he told her exactly where he lived and what his mother's name was and what he looked liked. Afterward, when she mentioned the cleaning... well, he didn't want to do it... but it would be a nice way to pay her back for her kindness, right? He gave another few soft wags of his bushy tail before wandering off to hop to it.