Cat Stevenson wandered down a crowded street. Nothing seemed familiar to her and she could not read the signs. 'Damn. Lost again. Oh well I guess I have to ask someone.' She thought to her self, before approaching a tall woman in a business suit. Cat cleared her throught and Begin to speak hesitantly in her horrible Japanese.
"Excuse me? I hate to bother you, but can you tell me where we are? And how to get from here to the.. Little Miss Kittens Flower Shop?" The woman turned and regarded Cat through her designer sunglasses. She smiled and spoke, not in Japanese but in French. "For you, ma petit chat" Cat stepped back. "I will take you there myself." A slender hand then took of the sunglasses and Cat found herself looking at a very familiar face.
"Manx!!!" She cried and threw herself into the open arms of Manx. The two women hugged to the surprise of the people who were walking around them. "Yes yes. Now it certainly took you long enough to get here. Now if you come with me, we'll get you settled in with the boys." Manx looked down at the ground next to Cat's feet. "Only a carry on? I'm surprised, last time I saw your luggage, you had at least three suitcases." They began walking. "Yeah well, my folks kicked me out, all I have is some money and some other stuff." They turned left and went down a twisting alley.
"So Cat, where is your sister? The offer was to the both of you, and what do you mean by your folks kicked you out?" Manx looked down at Cat in the dark light, unable to notice any difference in the girl. Cat sighed.
"Slowly please, my Japanese is bad. Its better than before, but its still bad, and as to the rest can we wait until morning? I am very tired, and hungry. I will explain every thing. It's just that it is a long story, and better told inside, when we are both comfortable." They exited the alley and were now walking along a quiet well-lit street. They passed a restaurant, delicious smells now filling the air. Cat sniffed and her stomach growled rather loudly.
"That bad is it? Well from the circumstances of our first meeting, I'm guessing that you're in a delicate condition…" Manx said softly, then seeing Cat face tighten. "Ah I see. I thought as much. Now that would be the reason you father kicked you out?" A small nod. "So how then did you get here? And why is your sister not here?" Cat looked away. "My mom and my Grandparents gave me some money, and I had a lot put away for college. And as for my sister, she here somewhere, Crawford picked her up at the airport. She went off with him and that one eyed freak. They wanted me to come with 'em, said that I was like them, even if I didn't know it yet. I politely declined…."
"You politely declined???? And they just let you walk away? What did you do?" Manx was taken aback. They turned left yet again. A group of schoolgirls, most holding flowers passed them. "I hit Crawford and ran. That was just after they tried to insist that I join them. The one eyed freak was following me, but he ran into a big man and they got into a fight. That was a few hours ago." They stopped in front of a small flower shop. The sign in the window said 'CLOSED'. "Manx, its closed we can't go in" Cat protested as Manx pulled the door open. They stepped inside the shop, surrounded by the fragrant smells of flowers. A tall boy was at the counter bent over the cash.
"We're closed" He said voice flat. Manx grinned down at Cat, Motioning for Cat to step behind her.
"Your… closed?" She asked, faking surprise. Then her voice changed. "Closed.. Even for me… Abyssian?" Cat was now face to face with the back of Manx's stylish jacket and could not see the boys' face. She heard him open a door and quietly call out three names. Footsteps came closer and closer, clattering down stairs.
Three voices chattering that stopped as each boy stepped into the room. There was a long and awkward silence, before a lighter voice asked. "New mission Manx?" Manx shook her head. The voice went on, growing stronger. "What then? I highly doubt that this is just you stopping by because you were in the neighborhood." Manx shifted slightly and Cat got a glimpse of the four boys through Manx's hair, no not boys, men, definitely men.