I was a bit nervous, I'll admit. It was a strange town, with strange people. When you're walking around alone with cat-ears and a tail, people notice. It had never been too bad when I had been with my teammates, people had stared, but we had been together. Now it seemed like just accumulating the courage to enter this small town was an impossible task.
'And today had started out so well' I thought sarcastically. Not likely. I had woken up to blinding sunlight shining in my face. I had decided to sleep in a tree last night; it was both safer and more comfortable. What I had not counted on was the thin foliage that covered the tree branches, thus being awakened by the rising sun. No cat should ever get up at the crack of dawn.
I had scattered the remains of my fire and buried my tombstone in my now vacant grave, but leaving Nauri there alone seemed so wrong. I couldn't just leave her there forgotten, so I had uprooted a rose bush and replanted it alongside her grave. I felt better, but walking away from her for eternity was a heavy burden on my already weighted soul.
So after walking a few miles north, I managed to stumble upon a road. Well, not really a road, but more of a dirt path, that ran through the woods to who-knows-where. So I had followed it northeast and ended up here, a dinky little town called Marrakech. I was currently lying low on the outskirts of town, waiting for the opportunity to arise for me to sneak in unnoticed, or for night to fall. Which ever came first.
After a while though, it became obvious that my plan had a few flaws. First of all, I was really hungry. It had been almost 2 days since I last ate, and my stomach was growling with protest. Secondly, It was getting dark really fast. Being part cat has its perk. For example, I can see just as well at night as I can during the day. But I really didn't want to spend another night alone in the forest, it was really creepy.
I was considering on whether or not I should try catching something to eat before it got to dark when I saw something white from the corner of my eye. I spun around, still expertly hidden in the trees on the edge of town, hoping that it was a rabbit or something. Instead, I saw a tall guy with glasses and white hair leading a large white mare down the dirt path. Atop the horse, sat a lovely noble lady. I knew she must be a noble, or some one else of importance, because she wore a draping, dark blue, silk robe with gold tassels hanging off. It wrapped around her petit form and complemented her fair skin nicely. Her hair was shorter than mine and whiter than snow, but what caught me off guard were her eyes.
'She's blind' I thought to myself in wonder. They were a faint, but murky, mint green color. I couldn't help but stare; her eyes just seemed to draw me in. I felt the urge to lean toward her from the branch I was sitting on. All of a sudden her head twisted in my direction, and I subconsciously held my breath as she passed. Even though I knew she couldn't see me, I felt like she was looking directly at me. The fading sunlight gave way to the rising moon as she and her companion entered Marrakech. As soon as the mystery woman was out of sight, I exhaled slowly. My sixth sense was telling me to follow her.
'Now's as good a time as any, I guess' I contemplated as I made my way towards the small town. The whole idea was to go in unnoticed; following in the wake of someone like that would definitely help my inconspicuousness. I approached the town from the same way the blind woman had gone, and as soon as I had gotten past the clump of trees just outside the entrance, it was easy to just slink in unobtrusively. It's not like it was guarded or anything. Once inside, I had a new problem, my cat ears and tail would be a dead giveaway. Hiding my tail was easy, but my ears were going to be tricky.
'First things first' I sighed inwardly, as I made my way towards the center of town, 'gotta find a hat or something'. As I got to the center of town via the rooftops, I realized that a disguise was completely unnecessary. There must have been some kind of festival going on because there were tons of people dressed up in weird costumes. I'd fit right in. There were also shops and stands set up all over the town square.
I jumped down from the roof I had been perched on and into a deserted ally, emerging into the crowd of people. I passed by stand after stand, completely unnoticed as being a Felidae. All of the shops seemed to cater to the old world crafts and ancient arts. There were tarot readings all over the place. Groups of people were gathered around crystal balls. Several teashops were scattered here and there. A vender was selling incense to a group of gypsy-looking women. I passed a few palm readers, crystal venders, and even a snake charmer. As I got to the edge of the town square, still looking for a good place to swipe some food, I saw the blind woman again.
She had a small tent set up next to some kind of herb shop. She sat there, looking very elegant, as if she were waiting for someone to come by.
'Well obviously she's waiting for some one' I thought as I read the sign above her tent. Apparently she could see a person's future, her name was Zanzateal. I was about to turn around and head back the way I came when she suddenly turned to face me. I wasn't sure if she had sense me standing there or if she had heard me move, either way, she was now intently gazing in my direction. I felt compelled to go over to her, but I resisted the urge and started to turn around again.
"Your looking in all the wrong places" she said to me, I could barely hear her over the noise of the crowded town square. I turned back once more to look at her. The candlelight from inside her tent was illuminating her pale face, her white hair glowing a faint golden color in the dark.
"What's that supposed to mean, I'm not looking for anything" I replied stubbornly, subconsciously moving closer to her tent.
"No? Then why do you seem so lost?" she asked, her sightless gaze looking right through me. I had that weird feeling that she was looking directly at me again. It was starting to creep me out.
"I'm…not from around here," I answered lamely. What was I supposed to say? I couldn't exactly tell her the truth.
"Come inside, we can talk more over food. I can tell you have an inquisitive soul," she stated, a small smile playing about her lips as she gestured towards the low table surrounded by cushions on the floor of the tent. Well, finding food had been the whole reason I'd come to this town. If I was getting it without having to steal it, then yay for me. I ducked inside her tent as she let the drapes cover the door.