A Dance with a Devil - RPLOG
Participants
Date
26/7/478
Log
A rapt knock on the door of Terry's room, a soft rumble, and a flick of Katrina's tail. "Terry? I suggest you make yourself decent. You have thirty seconds," the she-cat notes, beginning to count in her head, before flicking her ears and smiling lightly to herself.
Terry rises with a jolt. The small ocelot had slept in, following a restless night filled with thoughts of the previous day. He gasps as he recognizes the voice and rolls out of bed, quickly dashing in front of the door while combing his hair with his fingers. "O-okay!" He says, before remembering he's currently topless. The ocelot darts back towards the bed, snatches his shirt and slips it on quickly, then turns around to face the door.
Soon, the handle turns, and Terry is once again greeted by Katrina's form, clad in the skin-tight leather outfit, while she simply gestures for the short ocelot to follow. "Lesson number three. A gentleman is never late, and never early. A gentleman arrives on time. We're going to the tailor first," the she-cat rumbles with a smile, another tailflick as she moves, once more swaying her hips. "And remember what I said about staring. It still applies."
Terry can't help but stare when it's pointed out, of course, but quickly looks away as that embarrassed flush to his cheek returns. "Y-yes 'maam." He follows her in a hurried pace until he catches up to walk alongside her. "A tailor, 'maam? There's no need to spend so many scepters on my account, I can make do with little..." He says as he looks up at her.
"Who said -I- was paying? You still have your thirty scepters, don't you?" the she-cat notes with a faint smile. "Relax, the tailor we're going to has a rather... Fair rate for members of our little organization... I wager fiteen, maybe twenty scepters'll do for an acceptable outfit in your size... And after that, it's time for a bit of... Practice."
Terry gasps at her words. More of his money spent by her. Clothes this time! He tries to mount a counter-argument, but stammers and nods. "Y-yes 'maam, as you say." He walks alongside her looking somewhat defeated, slumping his back. He perks up and looks at her. "Practice? It would be good to... uhm... earn some more scepters."
"No money today. Food and drink is far more important when starting out, and I'm going to show you how to steal it without stealing," the she-cat rumbles. "A true thief knows how to hide without hiding, and how to steal without stealing. That is our focus for today. For the first, you need clothes that match the occassion... For the second, you need a... Particular set of skills," the she-cat notes, before gesturing at a small, out of the way tailor, whose clothes nevertheless look rather expensive. "We have... An agreement with this tailor."
Terry shows the confusion in his features, looking up at the taller pantheress with a tilted head. "Steal without stealing? Hide without hiding?" This makes no sense for the poor ocelot, who simply follows along to the tailor shop, entering just behind her. This, of course, gives him another clear glimpse at her rear, which renews his blush and awkward glance away.
A smile, a soft rumble, and another tailflick as Katrina taps her staff on the ground. "Eduard. A client for you. Don't keep him waiting, hmm?" she rumbles, before an elderly tortoise appears from the back, seemingly rather... Hurried. "Now then... Little Terry here needs a suit. I trust twenty scepters will do?"
'Eduard' simply nods lightly, before gesturing Terry along to the measurement-booth, giving Katrina a rather forced smile...
Terry follows along obediently, sharing a look with the turtle as he steps onto the stool inside the booth, letting the turtle begin to measure him. He looks around, trying to figure what the usual price for a suit is here, and how much this pantheress is fleecing him for exactly. She seems to have a hold on quite a lot of beings... including himself, he notes with a blush.
As the tortoise continues measuring, around the arms, waist, legs and everywhere else relevant, Terry can quickly see that he's getting at least a fifty percent discount, if not more, on his suit. Most of these suits start at forty scepters, and some go up to several crown for the more extravagant suits and dresses ... Or the larger ones, of course... Seems she is, actually, getting him quite the discount.
Terry smiles down at the tortoise being in as friendly a manner as he can manage given the circumstances, but otherwise stands very stil as the measurements are taken. He instead takes to wondering about the pantheress, imagining her in his mind's eye now that he can't quite see her from inside the booth. He looks down at Eduard. "Thank you sir. Very.. uhm.. very kind of you." He offers with a weak smile.
Eduard offers Terry that same faint, forced smile as he finishes measuring, disappearing behind the curtain, before returning with a few suits that aren't quite Terry's size, but close enough to be adjusted, offering the ocelot the choice of which one he wants...
Terry looks over the options, tail flicking uncertainly to reflect his thoughts. He peers at Eduard before reaching to inspect one of them. It is a three-piece suit consisting of a waistcoat, a frock coat that goes down to about mid-thigh, and of course trousers. The frock and trousers are made of an elegant dark blue cotton fabric, with a discrete plaid pattern to it. The waistcoat is is made of plain wool, dyed brown to provide contrast with any shirt worn underneath. He nods, making his selection. "This one, please, Sir."
Again, Eduard nods, before gesturing for Terry to don the outfit, so that he can make the adjustments proper. His steps take him outside of the measuring room for a moment, as he gathers up a few tools to mark and adjust Terry's outfit to fit...
Terry stands very straight as he lets the tortoise work, especially after that waistcoat is tightened around him. He glances around the room, looking for a mirror to inspect himself in, and like in any tailor's shop there are plenty to be found, in various directions. His gaze stops at one where he can also see the pantheress, offering her a brief smile before he returns to focusing on standing still and straight.
Soon enough, the outfit is marked, then adjusted, and Terry is guided back to the front room, now wearing the rather stylish suit. The panthress herself smiles softly, before gesturing at Eduard. "Now, Terry. Don't forget to pay the man for his services," she notes, taking a moment to turn around and leave the store... "As I said before, a true thief knows how to steal without stealing... So lets get ourselves some breakfast, hmmm?" the cat rumbles moments after Terry exits the tailor, before taking a moment to look over her shoulder. "Should you need any new clothes, Eduard is your guy. He's quite... Generous with his discounts."
Terry hands over the twenty scepters to Eduard, pocketing the remaining ten into the pocket on his new trousers. Suits have a way to giving their wearers a straighter posture and more refined gait simply by the way they hug the wearer's frame, and Terry finds himself to be no exception to the rule as he follows after the pantheress with a much improved bearing. He nods at her words. "Yes 'mam, I will." He peers back at Eduard's store briefly, before returning his attention to the beautiful feline in front of him. "What exactly do you mean by 'steal without stealing'?" He asks, rather directly and with genuine curiosity.
"You'll see," the she-cat rumbles with a smile, before gesturing at a small inn to the side of the road. "A sharp-dressed being is more likely to get what they want, no matter how they go about things," she rumbles, before pushing open the door to the establishment, and striding in. A short glance follows, as she spots her mark. A being, already slightly buzzed at the bar, a male leopard, by the looks of things. "Observe. Hiding without hiding, and stealing without stealing... In that order. I only expect you to attempt the latter, for now. Never push your luck when you have no back-up options. Lesson four."
With her tell-tale gait, she moves, sways her hips, and strides through the establishment, tripping up an absent-minded fox along the way with her tail and effortlessly making it seem like the nearby lion is to blame... While swiping the latter's glass of wine in the process. Everything seems almost orchestrated as she takes a sip, sets the glass back down besides another unattentive being and moving towards her mark. Everything so fluidly, it's hard to believe, really.
Finally, she arrives at her intended seat, moving up besides the leopard. "Morning, handsome... I don't suppose you'd want to buy a girl a drink and a bite?" she rumbles, tone of voice suggesting a deeper-lying offer. One that doen't exist, of course. Even so, he's quick to summon the barman, and soon enough, Katrina has a breakfast and another glass of wine in front of her...
Terry observes the entire scene with unreserved jealousy. The pantheress is clearly in control of the entire situation, and seemingly effortlessly tricks every other being she engaged with. He clears his throat as he peers around the Inn, looking for a suitable 'mark', someone who would be impressed by his outfit, that he could do.. whatever it was that the pantheress did just then. Maybe a lonely female being, having breakfast on her own, or a patron that looks particularly wealthy by the bar counter somewhere.
As far as lone beings go, the inn almost seems like a goldmine. While several groups of beings are obviously present, such as the lion and a lupine friend of his, now quarreling with the poor armadillo Katrina planted his drink on, there's at least three or four single beings around as well. A young vixen, seated by herself to the side and an elderly puma-lady close to the bar, for example. Neither too excessively dressed, though evidently not without money either, based on the quality of their clothes. Furthermore, a male tiger seats himself close to the door, glancing around occasionally, and finally, a feminine polecat wearing rags is enjoying a loaf of bread in the center of the room.
Terry peers around at all the possibilities, and finally makes his choice. He walks towards the bar, making his way towards the elderly puma being. He approaches the stool next to her, but doesn't climb atop it right away. Instead the small ocelot looks up at the other being and asks with a smile. "Excuse me Miss, may I sit here or is this seat taken?" His tail flits curiously behind him, the ocelot trying to play up his childlike size in front of the elderly being.
"Of course, dearie. Seat's free," the puma offers with a genuine smile, a sip of her own drink, and a soft, relaxed purr as she looks Terry over with a smile. "Look at you. Dressed up all nice like that... Going to a posh party somewhere?"
Terry smiles brightly. "Thank you!" He slides up onto the seat, and shakes his head at her words. "No 'maam, I wish it were! Just having a quick meal before heading up to work is all." He smiles at her, then flags the barkeep and orders for himself a modest-looking breakfast, or at least what he figures is one - the day's porridge, some fruit and some juice. He looks back at the puma after ordering. "How about yourself miss?" He shuffles nervously. He had thought of making a pass at her, but decided against it at the last second.
A smile on the puma's lips, a nod as she looks back to Terry with a flick of her tail. "Work, huh? You a courtier, then?" she offers after a moment, before looking up. "Merchant? Something else?" she contemplates, staring off into the distance for a while...
Terry chuckles. "I suppose courtier is a good description." He's going to have to ask the pantheress what exactly a 'courtier' is later. "How about yourself miss? A lady of such obvious good bearing, you must be a noble." He pauses as his food is delivered, and he reaches into his pocket to retrieve.. nothing. He starts to fish around his empty pocket, as if trying to dig out a last scepter that was not there to be found.
"Psh. A noble? Hardly!" the puma rumbles with a friendly smile, before shaking her head. "Just a well-off merchant... Well, ex-merchant. I've retired by now, of course. Still do some minor trading just to keep busy, but hardly something I'd still call a job," the puma explains with a smile on her lips, before shaking her head. "Having trouble finding your coin, dearie?"
Terry continues to dig into his empty pocket, and switches to the other one. "N-no, I could have sworn I still had a few scepters left.." He looks up at the barkeep, and pushes his bowl of oatmeal porridge back. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can afford this right now.."
The puma smiles for a moment, before pulling out a few scepters of her own. "Here 'ya go. Can't have you starve now, hmm? I'm sure you've got important work to do today, helping the nobles in the courts and all that."
Terry blinks, then gives the puma a grateful smile. "Oh, thank you! He takes the bowl back, then shyly nods at her. "I.. I suppose so. My mentor says I'll eventually catch up on it all and actually start, you know... being someone." He quickly scoops up some of the porridge after mixing in a bit of fruit. "I will repay your kindness one day, I promise!" He says up to her. "If there's anything I could do for you, that is. I doubt you would need anything from the likes of me.." He helps himself to some more food, still not quite believing that this worked.
A smile on the puma's lips, and a shake of her head. "You eat up, and listen to your mentor. I'm sure you'll do just fine, dearie. And make sure to bring some coin to eat, next time, hmm? Can't always rely on the kindness of strangers, after all."
