And Off We Go

Isabelle watched them go tension thrumming through her body. "Y'know if we stop to investigate every weird thing we see we'll never get there!" she called.

The light winked back on again, lower to the ground this time and buzzed around like a bee first this way and then that.

Hex hissed and immediately jumped from Doc's shoulder before he could get a grasp on her. She shook herself after hitting the ground, glanced back and the group for a split second, and then darted after the now-close glowing ball of light like it was a mouse. Claws out, she pounced.

Lilybeth agreed. "This seems...possibly not good," she murmured.

"The light, the light!" Riesy shouted, probably too loud but worried about shiz cat. S/he grabbed Tanner's arm and pointed the maglite under the branches so Hex didn't get stripped.

Tanner flinched when his name was called, realizing belatedly that maybe a little caution in proceeding was a good idea, and he hesitated long enough for Riesy to catch up, offering a slightly guilty look at her complaint.

“Sorry,” he said, not entirely sure if she meant the moving ahead, or the- whatever it was his music was doing to her, but either way he’d apparently caused discomfort.

He hunched his shoulders against the additional reprimand, but he was curious, now, and he didn’t want to back down- not when he was still smarting from Lilybeth’s not-entirely-unfair question.  He could be useful, here, he could- help, somehow.  Even if it was only making sure the light wasn’t dangerous, or if it was, making sure it didn’t hurt anybody else.

And then the cat leaped forward, and he made a strangled noise of alarm, because it was still dark under the trees.

"Careful!"

GM POST

The Light struggled under the weight of the cat's paws, shimmering angrily at the indignity of being squashed. It tried as hard as it could to break free from Hex's grip but could only send glimmers of itself out from around the paws.

With Riesy keeping a flashlight pointed into the shadows, and the cat apparently none the worse for wear, Tanner took another step forward, reaching down to gather the cat up.

“Hey, kitty, easy- don’t grab things we don’t know what they are, you’ll get hurt,” he said, lifting the cat- carefully- away from the light.

Which was- really, how had the cat managed to get paws on it, anyway? It didn’t look solid, it was just- light. Pretty, and flashy, but light all the same.

He turned, offering the cat over to Riesy, who it seemed to like well enough- it'd been riding her shoulder, anyway. "Here, can you?"

"Damn right I can," Riesy said, scooping the cat up the right way so that his back was supported, the way Tanner hadn't. "What ails you, y'arse, that could have made you radioactive, you don't know where that's been!"

Hex twisted and struggled inTanner's grasp, yowling to be put down! What is this disrespect of dignity! She may land a scratch or two to anyone involved!

As soon as Riesy had her, she hissed and twisted out of shiz looser grasp and onto the ground again, darting out of reach of these grabby humans.

"Could you guys get back out from under the damn trees!" Isabelle demanded, toes on the edge of the road, barely restraining herself from going in there and dragging them out by the ear.

Riesy spluttered and ignored the way the scratches tasted like inhaled bug spray, kneeling slow enough to put the cat down right. She tugged Tanner's sleeve on her way back upright and headed back to the road.

Tanner handed the cat off to Riesy, biting his lip around a curse as claws found skin, and took a step back. The light flared and moved, zipping upwards- he tried to dodge out of the way, but it followed his movement. Sharp notes of alarm rang in his ears as he ducked back a few steps, but the light persisted, following closely. He scrambled back up toward the road, trying to obey the instructions he’d been given, and still trying to get away from the light, the music ringing louder.

“What, what do you want?” he demanded, as the light followed his wobbling backwards movement, holding his hands up in an effort to ward it off. He stumbled as he did, resulting in an accidental and entirely inefficient swipe right through the glow- it was warm, but not hot, and it didn’t appear to have any mass at all. Nor did it seem put off by being touched; it went stunningly bright, for a second, and then shifted to hover just slightly off of his shoulder, within his line of sight but only barely.

He turned, trying to get it in front of him again, and it drifted with him, holding position neatly.

“Um. Does- does anyone- know what this is?” he asked, the question entirely too thin for dignity.

Doc frowned down at the little cat.  "Th'fuck were you thinking?  Don't you know the dark kills?"

"Uhh, Tinkerbell wants to take you away to Neverland?" Lilybeth quipped, not entirely sure she was joking.

Hex snorted at Doc's reprimand, flicking one ear in annoyance. <Maybe if I was still a human it would kill me> she thought back at him scathing. <But I haven't got the luck for that, have I? No. Stuck as a goddamn cat, of all the useless creatures on God's green earth, getting pet and picked up like an animal.> She sighed and looked away, thoughts going quieter. <Let it go, they don't know any better, Eve.>

Riesy kept one eye on the cat, but watched Tanner's dance with the bulb. "What'd it feel like?" S/he did not miss the irony of being the one to ask that question.

Tanner shot a slightly wild-eyed look at Lilybeth, not sure, immediately, if her words were a joke, or a taunt- a completely different shudder of alarm swept over him before he could tell himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong, he couldn’t possibly have given anything away, she couldn’t possibly know.  Joke or not, it was about the light, nothing more.  And the light was enough to worry about, honestly.  It continued to hover at his shoulder, and had settled into a steady glow, putting off less light than Riesy’s flashlight had.

It didn’t seem to be trying to get any closer, at least- he reached out, cautiously, and it once again ignored him putting his hand through it.  Nothing hurt, or burned, or electrocuted him for the attempt, and he forced himself to calm down, because he was- making a scene.  And he didn’t make scenes.  He knew better.

"It-" he started, trying to keep his voice steady, "it's warm. Not- a lot. But just- warm. Nothing else, really, it's- like sunlight."

"Wondered about that," Doc told Hex.  "Didn't figure you for a real cat."

S/he reached out with a "May I?" hand hovering near the light. But then Doc spoke. "What!" s/he squawked, turning to look at Hex. "Not a cat?!"

Evarea's eyes went wide at Doc's response, her ears flicking up hopefully. She meowed in answer, hoping he understood she was agreeing. <Someone figured it out! Oh bless, maybe they can help me fix this when we get back. I wonder how he could tell though?> She tipped her head at him, little bent tail twitching.

Doc shook his head.  "Human.  Stuck like that."  To the cat, he said.  "I talk to animals.  Seems you're close enough."

Riesy pointed a finger at Hex. "I knew you weren't picky enough to be a normal cat. What's your name? What's his name, Doc?"

Lilybeth looked over at Tanner, "Well, you haven't been carried off to a mystical realm yet, so far so good."

Evarea jumped to her feet in excitement. <Wait, so you can hear me?? Oh you have no idea how much good news that is. My name is Eve!>