He could feel her swallow against his palm through the smooth, feathery fur of her neck. A small gurgle emanated from the folds of the cloak, and he loosened his hand enough to free up her vocal cords.
Hn. Just as fragile as the cub.
"Divinity… Royalty," she choked. "You can only claim to be one…Prince Vegeta," she brought her hand up and rested her fingers against his slippery forearm in a placating gesture, "for servant of Ganja, you are not."
Huh? He let her go and stepped back. "Who told you about my heritage?"
She exhaled audibly and sank against the wall. Then to his aggravated surprise, she chuckled. Nervously, albeit, but chuckled nonetheless - as though she'd caught him in a bluff. "Oi," she gasped, "You really scared me there. And to think I was going to ask you how your day was!"
His eyebrow twitched in bafflement.
She cocked her head. "Well, I suppose introductions are in order," she stated as she threw her hood back. "The name's Mo."
Vegeta's eyes widened marginally, drinking up her presence in less than a second. She barely came to his chin in height, her bushy, gray tail swaying behind her like a palm tree in a tempest. Her black, sleek hair flopped down about her shoulders in a careless, youthful fashion, framing an expressive mammalian face. Accessories consisted of small silver hoops adorning her tipped ears, and a blue, metallic headband that complimented the violet hue of her elite robe.
The velvety appearance of the fur on her face was incredibly dynamic, shimmering white streaked with obsidian. He forced his eyes to thin back to slits, his impression of the intruder being…well…there was no other way to put it. The Vicodian was stunning.
"Well, I…" Mo caught her breath, and irises the color of shadow dialated dramatically, as they in turn took in his appearance, trailing his dripping wet bod from head to toe. "You're, uh…not dressed," she swallowed, her eyelids swelling, "at all…"
Stunning, but scatterbrained. Vegeta's lip curled in a nasty snarl. "I asked you a question."
She shook herself. "Right. Well, uh," she winced, trying to keep her eyes on his face. "Your comrade, Radditz. My…mother…was his sheba."
Radditz, you bigmouthed fool, Vegeta thought in disgust. Trumpeting around like a damned soothsayer to your Vicodian prostitutes. "Why are you here?"
She gulped. "I knocked, and no one answered, then I saw the sacred guard coming and," she blinked and her eyes focused on something behind him. "Oh…" she smiled triumphantly, the dim light of the room reflecting off of perfect, even teeth. "I knew it was you."
He frowned and turned around. Peeking around the hallway corner with those same blue eyes that manipulated him into bringing her here, was the sacrifical cub. And she was eyeing the intruder with more threats than the thing could possibly carry out. He bit back a swear word. "I told you to stay put, cricket."
The little one's posture went from attack-mode to worried as her intense gaze rallied between the two. Then with a whimper, she scuttled across the floor, and leapt at Vegeta. He instinctively held his hands out to catch her as he would a ki blast, but she caught his leg and climbed up his back. He winced as her tiny claws dug into his bare shoulder, more perplexed at her behavior than angry.
She hissed and pawed at the air threateningly, perched next to his neck. Vegeta snorted. The cub couldn't intimidate a rodent, let alone defend him from one. It was like a sparrow chirping at a storm cloud to stay away from its tree. He might have laughed had he not needed to project surliness for the occasion...and had he not been so bewildered as to why the cub felt so protective of him.
"Well, I'll be," Mo said, more amused at the cub's ferociousness than put off. "She actually likes you…"
Vegeta glared, and she began to ramble.
"Not that you're not a likeable alien! I-I'm sure you have plenty of friends." Then she held a finger to her chin, and her face scrunched in thought. "Though you do make a living out of murdering innocent people…"
Vegeta gritted his teeth, nonplussed about the liberties Radditz had taken in divulging so much information to a society where they'd agreed to remain enigmatic.
She shrugged. "Anyhow, I was standing next to you at the ceremony when you disappeared." She stopped momentarily as her nose crinkled at the memory. "Your scent was…overwhelming."
He quirked his brow at her.
"Oh! I didn't imply... Well, Ok. Maybe I did.," she stammered, backpedaling. "But it's irrelevant anyhow considering that your pungent odor has been remedied, right?" She flung her hand pointedly at his soaking, bathed form, and then flinched as her eyes were again drawn downwards. "Good Ganja," she huffed in embarrassment. "Are you sure you don't want to put anything on?"
Vegeta's patience was wearing thin. "Why the hell would they send me a sheba who is unaccustomed to nudity!?"
"I'm not a sheba-"
"Besides, I didn't request you--" he paused. "Wha--?"
"Well why would you?" she asked honestly. "I mean, being impotent and all…"
Vegeta choked. "Impotent?!"
"Radditz told my mother that you were-"
"I'M NOT IMPOTENT!" he roared, startling the cub on his shoulder. He pointed at his anatomy which, thanks to her striking appearance, had the typical organic response. "Do I LOOK impotent to you?!" Oh, it was a good thing that Radditz was already dead. He half considered committing suicide right then, just so he could go and kick his comrade's ass in hell. "Do I?!"
He inched closer and her ears flattened. "I…I don't know!"
Vegeta nearly fell over. "What do you mean you don't know? Egads, female. Do I have to prove it to you?"
She squeaked and shook her head emphatically. "No! Nononono--"
"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
"I NEED YOUR HELP!" she countered with equal intensity and then cowered apologetically, lowering her voice nearly to a whisper. "I need your help…"
"What do you think I am? A damn do-gooder?"
"Well, you saved the cub-"
"Perhaps my motives were darker than you assume." Exactly which darker motives, he had no idea…something he tried desperately not to let on.
She glanced from his face to the little black fur ball perched on his shoulder. "Oh, I doubt that, Prince Vegeta," she said, looking at him knowingly. "You were growling, you know. Before you destroyed the temple. I thought the ground was about to start shaking again until I realized the sound was coming from you."
Vegeta was taken aback. I was visibly agitated? Disconcerting, it was. Especially considering that he'd thought himself objectively calm right up until he unwittingly stopped the sacrifice. Regardless, it was none of her business. "So?"
Her expression grew passionate, her hands animating her words. "So you were angry. Furious at the injustice! Vegeta, the mighty servant of Ganja decided to defy the Vicodian god and snatch his sacrifice-"
"I didn't decide to do anything," he snapped, not liking one iota that she'd just hit a sore point dead on. "You analyze too much."
"I do. Part of the reason I need your help." She clasped her hands in front, and bowed her head submissively, with her stormy, pleading eyes locked on his face.
Vegeta shook his head, wondering for the fiftieth time how it was he had gotten himself into this mess. Wondering how it was that she was still alive - and annoying him greatly. "Get out. Leave. And not a single word to anyone about the cub, or I will hunt you down and kill you."
She sighed, her pretty bifurcated lips quivering over unvoiced words. The cub slashed at her for emphasis.
"Oh, come now," she argued, more stubbornly. "You at least have to hear me out."
"Whatever it is, I won't do it. You're wasting your time!"
She exhaled relief, and winked at him. "Good. I'll make it brief." She flicked the tip of her tail at his nose and sauntered over to a cushion, sitting down on her haunches.
"YOU-" his words were silenced as a finely woven robe of purples and blues was tossed at his lower half. He caught it and scowled at her.
"If you don't cover yourself, Prince Vegeta, then I'll have to speak with my eyes closed," she explained matter-of-factly, now attired in just a small, shimmering underslip.
He gawked at her, stupefied by her audacity. Then he shook himself. That's it. She was getting tossed out. Right now. He took a step towards her…
"I'm part of an underground radical movement against Dynast Tweak."
And stopped. Lucky little... He glanced at the cub and then back at her. "Then you know Mohonro Vronesh."
Her brows raised and she looked at him in wonderment. "I do."
"I need to find him."
"Oh. Well, uh…that can be arranged, I suppose."
"Tell me where he is."
She clicked her tongue at him. "Oh sure. Like I'm going to divulge Vicodin's best kept and most coveted secret when I'm not even sure where your loyalties lie."
"You just offered!"
She frowned and tapped her chin with a long, painted nail. "Ah. You're right. I did."
Vegeta fought the urge to smack his forehead with the heel of his hand. He fought the urge to do a lot of things to the Vicodian. Acting on impulse is what had landed him in this mess to begin with.
"Why do you want to see him, anyhow?"
Vegeta thought about giving the cub to this female, but she'd probably take the child to the sacred guard on accident, and tell them exactly who had given the missing sacrifice to her. Screw it, he thought. I'm going direct. "That's not your concern."
She pursed her lips and looked at him as though it was her concern. There was something weird about her demeanor, right then. He might have put his finger on it had she not continued to babble.
"We've been circulating these fliers, trying to open the minds of our people. And one of ours was caught in the act. Dink is his name. They're going to execute him at the Sumdim tomorrow."
His muted scrutiny was interspersed with a quick recollection of the Sumdim - a biannual ceremony held in honor of Ganja where the dynast addressed everyone. Even the Curs. He looked down at her expensive violet cloak balled in his fist as something occurred to him. "You. You're a Chosen."
She hesitated at the change in subject, then nodded.
"Why the hell would you want to undermine the very system that keeps you pampered?" For a split second, he thought he saw something dark flit across her eyes. It was a first, and he wondered how many facets of her personality he hadn't seen yet.
"I have my reasons."
He could respect that. But he didn't have to care. "So you want me to salvage another sacrifice victim? Forget it. It's not my problem."
"Well, it's a little more complicated than that-"
"I've humored you long enough," he said heatedly. "Take me to Vronesh. Now."
Her face creased in a disapproving frown, as though she'd expected something different. From him, no less. It was ludicrous. The Vicodian squared her shoulders, her eyes narrowing to slits. "No."
He growled. "You will."
"I won't!" She stood to her feet, with her hands on her hips. Her tail stood rigidly behind her, flicking angrily when she spoke. "You know, you've got a lot of good deeds ahead of you if you're ever going to make up for destroying 142 civilizations, Prince Vegeta!"
He gawked. Radditz had even bragged about the exact number!? He felt the blood rush to his face. "I don't have to make up for anything!" he yelled. "I am a prince of a-"
"--proud warrior race. Yeah yeah yeah. I know. All that power, and from what I've heard you've done nothing but abuse it. Just like Dynast Tweak."
His lips chewed over unvoiced invective, and the cub whimpered as his ki flared. "Do not compare me to that old fool," he seethed, the words rolling off his tongue like lead weights. "I am nothing like him!"
She approached him, and got so close to his face, he felt her breath on his chin. "Then prove it."
Vegeta gaped, his utter lack of composure only lasting a few seconds. But it was long enough to enable her to snatch her cloak back from him, and storm past, her hypnotic tail swaying in rigid irritation. She spun around as she grabbed the door slipping her robe back on and fastening it in the front. She locked him in her stare.
"I'll be back after you've thought it over," she threatened and then left him there, fuming like a geyser.
It took a moment for a coherent thought to push through the red lining of his incredulity. And when it did, he got dressed and shifted the cub to the nook of his arm. Her wide blue eyes stared at his face, and she blinked.
"G-go?"
He tucked her into the folds of his cloak, out of sight. "We're going, alright," he muttered as he walked out the door and into the night. "She's taking me to Vronesh, whether she likes it or not. And then I can drop you off, and forget this whole thing ever happened!"
