No one but River noticed Prawns sneak off the ship, tail so low it was almost touching the ground. "Going to save them. Help them." River whispered. "Bye Prawns."
Prawns mewed a farewell and left Serenity. The people of Rowany's capital were used to seeing cats around, so Prawns found it easy to sneak through the city unnoticed. What made it difficult was the sheer size of the city and the bright mirrored buildings that rose higher than the trees of the other towns. The light reflected off them, shining into her eyes. It was difficult to imagine that this was the capital of a forest planet where most houses were giant trees. She had just found the estate when…
"GOTCHA!" A net fell over Prawns' head and she struggled to escape. "Ever since my old cat died I've been looking for a new cat to enter. And you look like quite a fighter." The man picked up the net and tipped her into a sack. After tying the bag shut, he walked away and whistled a little tune. She couldn't see where he was taking her, but she knew it was away from where she wanted to go.
Suddenly, she was tipped out into a land full of spotlights shining on her and illuminating an arena. She looked around, hissing. She shut her mouth as the light turned away from her and onto a gate. The gate opened, and a massive tomcat emerged, large and fierce. Stripes rolled down his back. He resembled a small tiger, with his sharp teeth and claws and the orange, black-striped pelt. "Here, kitty kitty." He snarled. "I don't bite." Prawns dived out of the way as the tom lunged for her. He hissed and swiped at her, his claws almost hitting her side. They would have if she hadn't dodged. "Coward," He hissed. He sprung toward her and she rolled out of the way. He snarled and crept toward her. He waited, watching her eyes dart to the left. He sprung and she bolted to the right. His eyes followed her sprinting and after she slowed, he crouched. Her eyes seemed to check her right. He sprung and she bolted to the left, as he had expected. He had leapt to the left and landed beside her, knocking her to the ground with a single swipe of his paw. "Dodging can only get you so far." He lifted his clawed paw to deliver the final blow.
"Stupidhead," She replied. She chomped down on his throat, killing him. The small crowd cheered. She smiled, panting as she pulled herself out from under him. She placed a paw on his side and whispered, "Brute force can only get you so far."
The man picked her up. "I knew you were a fighter!" He said. Seeing her chance, Prawns pulled out of his grip and ran away, escaping the fighting arena and getting back to the estate. It was at this moment she was surprised that she had found it difficult to find the estate.
The central building was the tallest building in the city. One side of it was rounded and covered in windows but the other was flat and made of marble. How had she struggled to find the one building that wasn't painful to look at? She had no clue.
Prawns found a gap in the side of the building, an air vent and climbed through the building. After hours of a long climb through the vents she found the room she was looking for: the main man's office. She saw a large collection of keys hanging from a single keychain, and decided this was her target. She leapt from the ceiling and grabbed the keys on her way down. After pulling herself into another air vent, keys in mouth, she grinned to herself. Jack MacLean can suck it, she thought. I'm a real cat burglar.
