| パシャッ | tiny ripples of liquid
Neko gazes at the green fluid quivering after tapping the vial with her nail, "this does nyot look like the Masking Potion in any way" she thinks to herself as she curiously stares.
"Is neow a good time to try this?" She wonders, taking a brief look at the collection of clouds forming outside her window. "It is the perfect condition for Shika-chan to fly" the thought of her Parakeet housemate swoops through her mind as she twists the vial of green liquid back & forth with her index finger & thumb, "I kyan't believe I didn't get to meet her nee-san"
Neko: "Nyah"
Giving a subtle cry of frustration, she gives herself a gentle facepalm with her empty left hand. "I need to decide whether to go through with this" as frustration builds a thick sensation in her chest grows, restricting her normal rate of breathing & ability to make sense of her choices. "Nya is this really worth losing my present from Kurausu for?" She asks herself, tightly holding the vial close to her chest as if it weighs down on her sanity. Even as she sits on her coral bed cover, she contemplates opening this vial to take a short sip
| スポン | cork being pulled out
Finally, deciding to pluck the cork off the top & expose this emerald elixir to the air in her room. Suddenly her nostrils recoil once the potion's acrid odour travels out of the vial & into the clear air of her room
Neko: "Nyuck!"
She whines, flaring her cheeks & tensing her lips enough to reveal her razor-sharp teeth. "The Masking Potion I take never smells this bad" the stench fills the room like a rotten fart so she forces the vial shut in hopes of preventing this ghastly odour from spreading. Immediately after the cork was lodged into the tiny bottle the odour vanished allowing Neko to take a deep breath, she stretched her arm out to create more distance between this vial & her nose. "I'd throw up if I hyad to drink that" the fur on her frozen tail becomes big & puffy like afro hair, her eyes avert from the vial as she stretches her arm to push it further away
Neko: "_"
Her averted eyes notice on the roof of her cupboards a short Spider-plant growing from soil tucked in a stone pot "I might try this on the plant" feeling repelled after conceptualising a plan to test this potion she hesitantly tiptoes to her little room pet. As it is the only other living thing visible Neko believes it can be a worthy candidate for her experiment, its long grass-like vines twisting & curling like the locks of a supermodel she feels slight remorse building.
She holds a strong grip on her breath before twisting the cork off the vial, her nostrils remain closed so this brief moment is crucial to be conducted quickly lest she inhales more of that ghastly odour. She raises her wrist until the open vial hovers above the vines of the plant, "I'm sorry, Plant-san" her eyes eagerly stare at this plant before she gently tips a few drops onto one of the stems. As the droplets drift down the tiny mast-like stem Neko shoves the cork back in
Neko: *aggressive breathing*
Letting go of her throat she opens her mouth to breathe, as air rushes into her lungs she pulls herself away. "Wait!? Plants & Nekyomimis are tyotally different creatures!" Only realising after the deed is done, she keeps her eyes on the plant hoping for some change.
It took very little time for change to show, her eyes noticed a subtle shift in the plant's lush green surface. The dazzling shades of green phase into a dull tapestry of yellow & amber then colourless flaxen, in a short 5 seconds this plant went from a vibrant living organism to a shrivelling carcass of decay right in front of Neko's very eyes
Neko: "Nyah! What is this?"
Fright gets the better of her, she shuts the vial before aggressively placing it on the desk. She stands in the middle of her room, what is meant to be her safe space has now become a chamber of solitary confinement stained by what she just did & the stench of that deadly green potion. This room has no longer become safe for her, the Catgirl stands in the middle of the room with her ears & tail sticking out. A sharp pressure starts building in her chest, this happens as her arms coil in until she crosses them. Despite the Sun still shining through the curtains the top layer of her epidermis carries a freezing sensation all over her arms & cheeks, "What am I gyonna do now?" she asks herself. Pleading for answers as she sluggishly slithers to her bed & hides under the covers, she continues to breathe rapidly as her shoulders shake. "Those brutes sold me poison, they skyammed me" she concludes while burying her face into her pink pillow
Neko: *sniffling*
With the initial height of her fear descending a valley, her heartbeat lessens slightly & with her eyes shut she pictures her options.
"Shouldn't I gyo after them nya?" is her first thought, "they could hyave killed me!" With her mind in distress, she does circles around her room with a tight frame & stiff arms.
"I should forget this ever hyappened, that poison is a sign to leave it" eventually rationality prevails at least for a brief moment, but this is only able to quench her anxiety shortly for a third thought infiltrates her mind. "Nyah they have Kurausu's sash, his present to me" this predicament cannot continue as a torrent of bitterness towards the fraudster in possession Klaus' present to her, that pink sash, the symbol of her love for him & desire to become part of Human society. To this Nekomimi there is no further debate, she is to go & get her sash back. "& the myoney too nya"
--
Neko: [I'm kyoncerned about something]
Taku: [What are your kyoncerns?]
Neko: [I tried a few drops of the green Masking Potion you sold to me but it's not hyaving any effect]
Taku: [That's impyossible]
Neko: [Kyan I meet you guys again to check]
Taku: [Meet us in the same place at xx:xx]
With their text history displayed on his phone, Taku scrolls up examining with great investment. Wracking his brain at how she could exhibit no effect as a result of taking the potion, "even a single drop should do syomething" he affirms.
The glaring light from the rectangular screen completely shuts off leaving darkness & gloom to calmly settle like a black ash. Taku, the daintiest of the Feline Gangsters rubs his eye with his slender wrist as he standing beside the stone wall in his grey leather jacket & silver chains glistening in the light coming from the downlight. "there's no way she could survive drinking that elixir" this thought & other thoughts like it fills his mind as he faces down the entrance of the alley with his right shoulder perched on the wall, his long slim tail drifting from side to side like a leaves in a light breeze
Taku: "Uroi-sama, kyould the pyoison have already killed her?"
Uroi: "If she's nyot lying then maybe"
Taku's ears prick up when Uroi answers in his deep & commanding voice, he turns to see his handsome & muscular boss standing with a straight back & gazing at the full moon in awe. The slender Catboy puts further attention on his boss's gingerbread eyes as the moonlight pours down like a gush of water dying his pupils a bright shade of white, Taku notices the same thing happening to his thick hair gradually being dyed white as well. This corresponds with Uroi's wide beefy shoulders swelling up revealing his dense muscles, enough to make the slender Catboy's heart skip a beat & drop his gaze somewhat. Hiding the red blushing cheeks he aims his purple eyes at Danto who's just sitting alone in the corner with his single eye closed & a short O Tanto katana resting on his right knee, fully sheathed but still lethal as the cyclops Sumo wrestler calmly breaths with his pointy blue cat ears acting as radar dishes. "he always thinks there's a fight approaching" Taku realizes after making this observation.
The Catboy brings his attention back to Uroi only to see his long gingerbread brown tail splitting in two, the fluffy ends begin to glow like his hair as Uroi's thick tail becomes two
Taku: "It's been a long time since you did that"
He points out after seeing the changes in Uroi's appearance, most notably his two tails which lure his eyes like magnets dangling over a pile of metal.
Just a few seconds of exposure to the light from the moon has turned Uroi into a Bakeneko
Uroi: "There's nyo point in hiding, Nene-chan. So kyome out & say hi"
Uroi demands, turning away from the moon & letting his voice echo through the alleyway, this causes Taku to ball his fists & instantly pivot in the direction his boss faces. At the end of the stone path is the entrance of the alley, completely open with not a single person in view. Regardless, these two pairs of eyes observe like predators in the wild until something catches their attention.
| サクサク | stepping on soft stone
Stepping from the right & revealing herself, the pink Catgirl who inquired about a longer-lasting potion makes her debut wearing the same pink checkered jacket she wore last time. Even from a distance of a dozen meters her quivering & unease are obvious to the Feline Gangsters who watch on with awe & anticipation for what she's going to say
Uroi: "Hyahya you took the potion, right?"
Laughing as she haltingly gets closer with her arms gripping her handbag. "A fragile girl like her kyould never survive drinking that" Taku's eyes pursue the encroaching Catgirl with strong suspicion, lightly curling his fingers to elongate his knuckles as if preparing for some confrontation
Uroi: "Nyo need to worry Nene-chan, we all knyow each other"
The boss raises his arms in the direction of his accomplices situated on each side of him. Despite the rhetoric, Neko's emotions do not stabilise, that domineering pose Uroi is doing only serves to bolster her fright. Her pace slows to a halt, her arms stick to her torso & her neck retreats like a turtle. Even her sight becomes unstable as her cat's eyes turn their focus away from Uroi
Uroi: "Tsk"
He shakes his head while making a frustrating clicking noise with his tongue, regardless of how friendly they appear to this Catgirl she still views them as strangers. A dangerous group of strangers who watch her like panthers in the wild, Neko drops her face & hides her eyes behind her equally pink hair
Uroi: "Heow kyan we help you if you dyon't shyow yourself?"
The boss says, his smile gradually disappears, eyebrows begin to point downwards & become fixed in place. His white cat ears as his pupils dilate,
Taku: "Kyome on! Out with it girl!"
Stepping from behind, Taku passes his master to become the centre of Neko's view. He stands straight with arms tightly crossed in a disciplinary manner while his master towers from the rear
Neko: "Sorry"
She whispers, heavily contrasting Taku's emphatic roar. However, she follows this small mumble with the sounds of rustling as she searches through her handbag briefly. She pulls out a short glass vial, the very same vial that was given to her by the Feline Gangsters still containing a considerable amount of green water-like fluid. With her left hand she holds it out for the three street cats to see, with her right hand she parts her pink hair away from her sharpening eyes
Neko: "I drank almyost a third of this pyotion & nyothing hyappened!"
Suddenly her timid persona dissipated like steam, in its place is the fiery rage of this bitter house cat looking for answers. Taku hisses as he pulls his right leg back to create some extra distance from the resentful Catgirl
Taku: "…"
He opens his mouth to speak but before doing so a miniscule orange dot moving in the majestic night sky catches his attention for a few seconds, "fyocus Taku" he tells himself as he turns his purple eyes back to Neko
Taku: "What are you here for nya? A refund?"
His shoulders begin to relax
Taku: "You're here for that sash? aren't you nya. Are business doesn't allow refunds dyon't you knyow"
He steps a little closer, confidence builds as he toys with the Catgirl. He places both hands in the pockets of his leather jacket & grins like an immature clown
Neko: "That is exactly what I want, my sash & money back"
Her demand is accompanied by a changing of her posture, she grips the bottle even harder & assumes a defensive stance with her feet shoulder length apart from each other. Legs forming a strong frame with a straightened back & arms out
Taku & Uroi: *start laughing*
Taku drops his head, laughing loudly while his master snickers. Uroi looks away, taking his mighty hand up to cover his mouth. Danto, the cyclopes Nekomimi remains seated on the ground completely silent
Taku: "Are you seriously thinking of fighting us fyor your belyoved sash? Let me laugh even louder"
He chuckles as he speaks, "this brat is even denser than I kyould imagine"
Neko: "I dyon't want it to kyome to that but I do want my stuff back"
She exits her stance by bringing her feet together & pulling her arms in, with dilated eyes she fixates on the emerald elixir slushing inside the glass vial
Neko: "I guess I hyave nyo choice"
She remarks with quivering lips as she brings the vial up, as she breathes in she takes in as much oxygen as she can before grabbing the cork tightly sealing the liquid inside.
The attitude of the Feline Gangsters, once amused now abominable as their brows drop & cheeks begin to sink
Taku: "What are…"
Neko: "I will shyow you then"
She says, pulling the cork straight out & waving the vial around to let the fluid shake. The odour from within rushes out like a poison gas, before it can reach her nostrils she clogs her throat to restrict the flow of air.
Seeing this behaviour, the leader of the Feline Gangsters switches up his stance & grips his nose shut
Uroi: "You're a brave girl nya"
He comments, taking a step back to increase the distance between him & the Catgirl as she wields that fluid as if it were acid
Neko: "If you want to keep the myoney, that's fine. But I'm not leaving without that sash"
She defiantly demands, forcing her voice to an even lower pitch & bringing her eyebrows together to make an enraged frown. Uroi stepping back causes Neko to follow suit by advancing on him with her arm stretched out, decreasing the distance between him & the tiny bottle tightly held in her smooth bare hand
Uroi: "Waw"
He says in his deep voice, smiling at the astonishing sight of the Catgirl wielding the courage to stand up for herself. With his eyes on her, Uroi gradually steps back & extends his right arm to build a defensive barrier for Taku with his outstretched arm covering much of the lanky Catboy's body.
"What is really in that elixir nya?" He behaves with tightened caution as he sees his master's arms tense up
However, beyond the Catgirl there is one other thing that takes his attention like a hook. Situated above her in the clear night sky are two orange dots, too offbeat to be regular stars & their sharp movements lead him to ponder. "Nya is that a drone? Are we being watched?!" This suspicion creeps into Taku as he shifts closer to his master while keeping his eyes on those floating dots, he starts to gently pull on Uroi's top
Taku: "Anyo Uroi-sama…"
| カン | stone being smashed
From above, a small boulder falls into the space between the Gangsters & the Catgirl like a meteorite, smashing up the dirt & stone path to which they stand on. The heavy impact of this block causes the scene to fill with a dusty cloud tall enough to reach their nostrils
| カッカッ | coughing
The three Nekomimis engaging with each other start coughing up tiny puffs of dust as the smoke clears, left in the wake of that miniscule calamity the grey stone boulder sits in a spider's web of cracks branching in every direction.
Uroi & Taku are left stunned by the shock of seeing such a thing occur so close at their feet, each of their faces paint the picture of disbelief as their jaws drop & the voltage of the blood in their veins increase. Contrasting their reaction is the pink Catgirl who's eyes display both agitation & fear at what is about to happen, or more accurately who is about to descend from the sky
Neko: "Oh nyo"
She faintly whispers, lowering her head as much as she can hoping to avoid looking up or being recognised by floating orange eyes. The Nekomimis in opposition to her take their eyes straight up assuming to find the origin of this boulder or to dodge a potential barrage of mineral hail stones. However, what they find instead is a petite child seamlessly hovering in the sky just over the Catgirl's head, floating orange dots becoming the large eyes of this frowning juvenile who crosses her arms above them like a dismayed teacher
Taku: "_"
The Gangsters are left speechless by the sudden appearance of this seemingly innocent child smoothly descending to the ground in front of the silent Catgirl like a hot air balloon
Uroi: *loud laughter* "Hya hya hya hya!"
The loud chuckles of amusement from Uroi attract Taku's eyes as even in this situation, the boss maintains a cheerful attitude & nonchalant aura disregarding the clear dangers to his life. Taking comfort in this irrational behaviour is Taku who stands close to his master, "Uroi-sama always hyas a scheme in his mind, even that tiny witch kyannot stop him nyah",
Instead of cowering Uroi gives a victor's grin to this Esper as he stands opposed to her like a stone wall with his hands resting on his hips & wide chest out to display his mighty dominance
Uroi: "Nyah…who's this?"
Widening his eyes & pivoting slightly to the back, Uroi's curiosity is triggered by the arrival of this glowing adolescent. Becoming both intrigued & fearful the head of the Gangsters gives a mighty grin, rivaling this surprise with modest excitement.
"Nyah! Uroi-sama what are we gyonna do?" Taku's head frantically asks as he stands behind his master with wide, purple eyes fixed on any move of his to deter this menace
Hoshi: "The last person you will every seeth lest you're not careful"
The outspoken little girl clenches her fists & stares daggers at Uroi with her glowing eyes. This second attempt to threaten this mountain of a Feline is all but naught as Uroi matches this malice by stepping closer & descending onto this Esper
Uroi: "There's a lyot of anger in you nya, kyonfidence too. I bet you kyan send my head flying with the snyap of your fingers"
He grins at the thought. Meanwhile, several steps behind him is Taku holding onto his jacket for dear life. His rapid breathing gradually slows down & his thumping heart begins to silence, "this is the strength of Uroi-sama"
Hoshi: "Yond can be arranged"
Snapping back with a voice too deep & loud for a girl her age to speak, echoing through the alleyway as it almost forces the Gangsters to retreat a few steps. Uroi is even taken aback by the power in her voice & intensity of her glowing eyes, he takes a short gulp before tilting his head in Taku's direction.
"What's Myaster Uroi planning nya?" Taku asks himself, his eye periodically bouncing between his two-tailed master & the fearsome Esper opposing him. With the fright building, he clutches the pockets of his leather jacket as he moves to face the Catgirl standing behind the powerful child
Taku: "Nene, are ya really gyonna let your little sister tear us apyart over a cheap sash nya?"
Despite being too afraid to move, he proceeds to grill the weakest link in the chain. The pink Catgirl twitches her ears after hearing him address her directly
Neko: "I…didn't…intend for this to hyappen"
She mumbles, hesitating to speak knowing the Esper is right in front of her & such a foul mood. Any action from the Catgirl will be registered by the Cosmic Esper & brought up in their inevitable clash after this
Uroi: "Nyah I never thought you'd be so cruel & kyallous to let such a powerful child do your dirty work. Tsk tsk tsk"
He briefly scolds her while sending minuscule clicks their way, he shakes his head in disappointment
Hoshi: "I doth not desire to knoweth what this sash hast to do with this but we shall taketh our leaveth anon, dareth to follow us & thee shall payeth in more than thee wage"
She raises her right arm & spreads her fingers out, demanding they vacate but the Gangsters don't budge. The leader stands perplexed by such use of archaic words coming from what looks to be a child no older than 10, his sidekick shivers beside him while the third one in the back who was practically motionless until now stands from the ground & sheaths the O Tanto blade
Uroi: "Tsk tsk you talk like you're from the early Edo period, you'll be smyart enough to understand"
He comments on her antique speech pattern, clicking his tongue & twitching his head in the direction of the Catgirl
Uroi: "Nene-chan here reached out to us, we dyon't plan on kyoming for her. She was looking for a potion that kyuould keep her in Hyuman form & we obliged"
Now. After hearing a version of the truth from a deceitful Nekomata such as this one who takes a couple of tiny glowing bottles from his pocket & twirls them in front of his face. The animus in his glowing white eyes clashes with the Esper's heated orange ones as she keeps quiet, assessing the validity of his argument. She tilts her head back enough to just about get the Catgirl to enter her periphery, giving this pink Feline a disenchanted stare for a few seconds before recoiling to the gang leader
| シュー | whoosh
The vial flies out of the Catgirl's collapsed palm & into the Esper's open hand, she carries it up slightly to have a closer look. As her glowing eyes reflect on the glass she scans the green liquid inside & her crossed eyebrows become more vexed. She lightly clutches the tiny bottle in her equally tiny hands before turning her face back to the Gangsters with heightened fury as they're about to leave
Hoshi: "Thee did plan to make her drinketh Prasinos compound!?"
The decibels of her voice increase after every word until she returns to silence with a ferocious glare, her eyes aiming at the leader like the sights of a rifle. to which he simply turns his back to her, commencing his exit from the scene by indicating to his sidekick to follow
Uroi: "Kyome on, guys"
He murmurs, completely turning his back to the Esper & swiftly disassociating from this intervention. "Are we gyoing to get outta here?" Taku asked in his head as he looked to his master for instructions, in return he saw Uroi's strong cheekbones & glowing silver eyes flinching as if directing him the other way. He nods in return before gradually turning around while at the back Danto is all but consumed by black as he shuffles further away from the shining downlight
Hoshi: "I decreeth yond thee not receiveth hence with what thee have done" (You won't get away with this)
Proclaiming to the con artists, Hoshi with a firm stance & menacingly glowing eyes, maliciously glares at this small clowder. Said clowder giving not a single response to her incredibly archaic dialect, instead they shifted their bodies to face elsewhere. With the vial of green poison in hand she raises her arm to forcefully throw it to the ground, flinging her wrist & causing the tiny bottle to fly. Spiralling through the air until it viciously hits the pebbly cobblestone path
| ガシャーン | glass cracking
The bottle shatters & the elixir inside spills over like a torrent of murky water, seeping into the cracks to make a spectacle resembling a green spider's web in the stone. Despite its acidic nature the cobblestone seems unharmed minus a slight discolouration
Hoshi: "So it's not corrosive"
Thinking aloud, she watches over the small green puddle on the ground. However, the time to linger is fleeting as the Gangsters openly devise their escape, she immediately zeroes in on the leader with her bold eyes
Hoshi: "How couldst thee fain giveth yond to someone?"
She asks, flaring her nostrils in anger
Uroi: "I wonder that myself"
He mumbles as he shrugs his shoulders & nonchalantly flicks his wrists
Uroi: "Nyah we're just kyats doing some byackdoor business, Nene here is only the latest youngster nyot to knyow any better"
He turns his head to the Esper to give this response, his glowing white eyes scowling with sharp intensity at not just the Esper but also the Catgirl standing behind like a nervous bay cat. His response however, causes hesitation in her as she drops her gaze to ponder that reasoning leaving the moment open for a move. Situated at Uroi's side, Taku catches his master quickly feeding his concealed right hand into his tight pocket in pursuit of that rectangular-shaped item creating a bulge in his jeans. "He's gyonna use the Silver Pyanacea nya!" Taku realizes.
Uroi's mighty hand lifts a tiny glass bottle out of his tight pocket, filled to the brim within this vial is a cloudy grey liquid so murky his fingers aren't visible behind the glass. "Alright, I understand neow. We're escaping" with that directive in mind, Taku applies strength to his legs like he's about to pounce, "Danto hyas already gyone so it's our turn". He looks at his master & waits for the sign to leave
Uroi: "Pleasure doing business nya"
Speaking with a grin big enough to flash his white fangs & with a wink he pulls the grey vial out, stretching his arm like a baseballer. He launches the vial into the space between them, "Neow's our chance nya!" Taku pounces in the other direction just as the glass hits the cobblestone path
| ガシャ |
The glass bottle shatters into tiny shards allowing the contents to spread like a torrent, following this grey liquid is a thick grey mist swiftly expanding & carrying with it the sound of wind. This sudden hefty breeze gushed in all directions, flapping both the Esper & the Catgirl's hair until it fully engulfed them leaving their vision completely shrowded in a somber grey sheet
| 指パッチン |
The dense cloud starts to twist like a coil once the Esper clicks her fingers & the misty fog swiftly rises allowing the periphery of both girls to clear up. Eventually, this cloud cleared up until the figure of a little girl with her right arm shot up as if commanding the mist to disband. Situated under the downlight, she commits to her power pose with her feet firmly planted into the ground & a stern expression.
When the smoke clears she gradually lowers her arm before turning to face the Catgirl located slightly nearby, standing & staring in utter shock at the Esper's inclusion in her shadowy deal with an unsavory trio. Her frightened pink eyes meet the Esper's resolute orange ones
--
The coast was completely clear of smoke & Gangsters, standing in the middle of the alleyway is the millennia-old Esper scanning her surroundings like a radar. "I seeth nay sign of those Felines", she concludes at the site of a dark cobblestone path with houses to the left & a tall metal fence leading concealing a green park. Not a single red dot is visible to her from this stage thus she takes a deep breath, calmly inhaling with her eyes shut before letting out all that stress as well as pressure on her shoulders
Neko: "Heow much of this are you gyoing to tell Hyaru-san?"
The Catgirl asks softly, facing the ground with static insecure eyes while her tail hangs between her legs. Anxiously anticipating the Esper's response
Hoshi: "I don't planeth on telling her much, best not worry lady. Understood?"
Responding to this cat's whisper, she sends a sharp glance to Neko with her tiny golden eyebrows forced together. Her displeasure is further indicated by the sharpness of her head as it turns to Neko.
Without a word, the Catgirl faintly nods. Her large pink eyes stare attentively
Hoshi: "Hmph"
She distastefully releases a small whiff of air from her tiny nostrils while adding to her stormy demeanour
Hoshi: "This was't very reckless of thee, I'm ashamed"
She staunchly points out. Once more she swiftly turns to the Catgirl only to see several tears flowing down her blushing cheeks, her pink eyes swelling & the agony she feels reflecting in her watery eyes but they are not aimed at Hoshi. Rather, she stared at the cobblestone path lined with pebbles & cracks matching the chink in her armour. The fractures in her self-confidence, psyche, reputation, moral compass
"What did she bethink she was doing?" Hoshi asks herself while conceiving some words to comfort her, regardless of the Catgirl's stupid behaviour she opts instead to offer a way out of this pit of madness
Hoshi: "You're still a young Feline, making mistakes is part of thy journey. Please heareth me, cometh home & we can forget this ever hath happened"
She brings to Neko this ultimatum, to return with Hoshi to her home, to her bed & her normal life so long as the event of tonight never be brought up nor repeated. She even lifts her feet off the ground to hover, extending her arm to the Catgirl as she drifts closer. Such an act accompanied by warmth from her usual blank face is only met with denial from Neko as her poignant expression hardly acknowledges the floating Child of Light in front of her offering a lifeline of sorts
Neko: "I kyan't do that"
She murmurs, unphased by the question she presents a deadpan expression to the Esper. Answering with an uncharacteristically soft & toneless voice
Hoshi: "What did thy sayeth?"
To this, the Esper brings her right eye closer as she struggles to wrap her brain around what a foolish thing she just said.
In a state of silence, the Esper beckons her to repeat with a slight nod causing her chin to rise somewhat
Neko: "I said I kyan't nyah!"
Neko forces the words out of her mouth, her lips quivering as her fists begin to clench & shake. Keeping her eyes from the Esper who hovers closely like a looming phantom,
stunned, Hoshi can hardly formulate a reason for her to refuse such an enticing way out of this mess, she shuts her lips & glares at the Catgirl with her orange eyes glowing brighter by the second
Neko: "I just want to be kyaccepted in a hyostile World"
She admits, taking a quick look at the Esper before returning to her avoidant attitude.
Hoshi only responds with a look, a clear look of shock in her eclipsing eyes & rising eyebrows along with a sharp recoil in her stance. "She's going through such torment"
Hoshi: "I shouldst has't known thee felt this way, I did fail thee"
She says, stepping closer to Neko with a warmer expression
Hoshi: "But we can overcome this, thee only needeth to asketh Haru-san or Shika-chan to borrow some. We can speaketh of stockpiling potions again, how doest that soundeth?"
Coming at Neko with this wave of hospitality & reassurance that this arduous period won't have to be so gloomy, the Esper extends her right arm out as a display of fraternity & the promise of aid from others. However, Neko does not reach out to hold her tiny hand
Neko: "That won't syolve anything though"
She responds softly. This rebuttal creates confusion in Hoshi who feels she had done everything to reassure this Catgirl, she offered a convenient safety net from the situation without getting the stern Oni involved & even proposed a short plan going forward. It seems perfect, "but how cometh Neko-san isn't choosing it?" that is the question running through her head
Hoshi: "What!?"
She croaks out, desperately fishing for a reason
Neko: "Taking Pyotion all the time is nyot gonna syolve anything, that's just hiding nyah"
Her voice gradually raises as it grows into an outcry with each word & as well as making her stand with her speech she tenses her legs as if pushing her feet into the ground. She pushes her chest up & strengthens her bottom lip creating a display of defiance that even carries to her tail which sticks up like an antenna & fluffs up like a long pompom
Neko: "I'm sick of hiding nyah"
She remarks in a derogatory manner with the lowest pitch her typically sanguine voice could produce, raising her chin slightly & looking down at the Esper with piercing eyes showing mild disgust at the notion being presented.
"How longeth hast she hath felt such anger?" Hoshi asks herself, all while taking this rhetoric to heart with her sinking lips & eyebrows pulling closer
Hoshi: "Where does this cometh from?"
Neko: "From living a life isolated"
She states, evoking all those moments where her life was hindered by the Masking Potion or lack thereof. While speaking her mind her feet pivot away from the Esper who stays situated in the middle of the alleyway with the glistening light from the lamp post separating them from each other
Hoshi: "Yond's not true, I sayeth"
Hoshi rejects such a cynical impression of life as a Monster yet she cannot bring herself to dispute her at this time, "prithee Neko-san, cometh home so we can speak of this". In her mind, constructs a fair request but before she's able to express this the Catgirl twists her hips & pounces away
Neko: "You wouldn't understand what I'm going through nyah!"
Crying as she sprints down the alley before swiftly exiting via the stone wall to her right, like a Snow Leopard she scales this obstacle with great endurance leaving Hoshi alone in the middle of the secluded stone path
Hoshi: "Neko-san!"
She immediately calls out but it's futile since by now the Catgirl is in full pursuit of privacy, as the seconds tick on Neko's rapid steps get more muffled before becoming too far to be heard. At this moment, there are a few easy maneuvers Hoshi could do about Neko's desertion, it's within the powers of this little girl to use her telekinesis to freeze the Catgirl in place so she can't run away, she could follow her until the sprint turns into a slow walk or take the events of what happened tonight to the Oni Homeowner. "However, yond is something I don't wanteth to do", she continues this train of thought while taking flight. "Based on the levels of stress Neko-san hast been displaying the young lady wilt be in some serious troubleth, all I couldst doth at this moment is offer aid". On the other hand, Hoshi thinks a little further, "This young lady is now an adult so haply giving her some space to make sense of all this & taketh responsibility wouldst beest benefit, this couldst be a big learning experience". This logic is what causes her to cease the idea of persuing Neko at this time, with that she gradually flies home with one thought in mind.
"I just desire the Feline won't doth something reckless once more, I wouldn't wanteth Haru-san to get involved"