Apocrypha: Swords and Dragons

[Kitty On Rails]

"So...hooooot..."


As the season moved into the midst of summer, the glaring sun grew stronger by each passing day. Not even the shading provided by lush greeneries in the region helped quelling the obnoxious heat that burns travelers treading along the path of the main Imperial Road. It is in such days that one would prefer to travel by cart, or horse. These two were not so lucky. Due to their budget restraint, which means having no coins at all, they were forced to literally walk down the path, even below the unforgiving sun. Well, for one of them anyway. The other one was hanging on the shoulder with an everlasting content expression, eyes closed as if sleeping. His companion made an envious glance at him and then sighed.


She was a girl clad in eastern clothing, something rarely seen in the region. What was weird about her was not the clothes, but rather the two things protruding on the top of her head, as well as something else coming out from beneath her skirt. Those were ears, and tails. To be precise, they were ears and tail similar to the ones owned by cats. They didn't look fake; from time to time the ears would perk up when she heard the forest moved and shifted around, then drooped down again due to intense heat.


On her shoulder was the hanging companion, a cat. Real cat this time. He was also clad in eastern garb similar to hers, although more masculine-looking. When he heard her sighing, the cat jumped down from her shoulder and...stood upright on his two feet. From inside the sleeve of his clothes, he pulled out a salmon, which he then proceed to use for slapping the girl's leg, seemingly to scold her for the sloppy attitude. It didn't hurt one bit, as expected, but she understood what he wanted to say.


"I know, Master...but who would not be famished by this intense heat? I'm so tired of this..." She fell down sitting on the soft grass beside the Imperial Road, scooting closer beneath a tree. The cool shade helped alleviating the heat, even if just for a bit. "Let's take a break. Just for a bit, please?"


The cat shook his head in disapproval, but he put back the salmon back into his sleeve nonetheless. It is certainly better to just rest for a while rather than going onward in self-torture below the hot summer sun. He leaped into the girl's lap, curled up like a cat wont to do, then let out a content purr before falling into a nap. The girl giggled while gently stroking the cat's fur.

 

[SoraHikari]

'Head to the Capital, take out the target, collect the reward,' Kenta thought to himself. Pretty simple and straight forward. Nothing out of the ordinary for him at all. Well, except for the fact that he ended up drawing a lot more attention to himself than he had previously intended. Being an elite assassin usually meant dealing with jobs such as assassinations with a bit of finesse and stealth. Something he would usually have in spades, but as he turned around and saw the rather large squadron of guards all chasing him on horseback, he couldn't help but feel as if he was having an off day.


"And to top it all off, it's hot as hell today," he said as he continued riding down the Main Imperial Road. The wind sped through his dark brown hair, and the Eastern clothes he wore danced with breeze. His sword, firmly attached to his side. Kenta turned around once more to look at the guards following him, it had looked like a few had gone off in another direction in an attempt to cut him off a little later down the road. Kenta sighed at that thought, it wouldn't bode well for him if that was the case.


He counted several guards on his tail now. To him, that wouldn't be a problem. Being the kind of person he was, when needed, he could slaughter hundreds of men in an instant. There have been times when superiors had ordered him to do just that. But today was not one of similar instance. His direct orders were to simply take out the target with no other casualties.


'Damn,' Kenta cursed under his breath as he spurred his horse to go faster 'why don't they just understand i'm on their side,' he thought as he unconsciously looked down at his sword.


Kenta, is one of the few in the world with the skills and expertise to be honored the title of Blade Wielder. Unfortunately for him though, unlike some other Blade Wielders who are showered with praise and glory in the Capital of the Imperial State due to their ranks and skill within the main army and the overall public eye, Kenta was brought in from the East to be apart of the Imperial Armies Assassination Squad. It's because of this very reason that jobs he undertakes within the Capital tend to become tiresome because, well, the usual guards just don't understand that he's on the same team. Then again, they're not really allowed to know that either.


Kenta saw the other riders that had peeled off from the group come into view. He cursed at his luck once again as one of the riders drew up closer towards him. They tried swiping at his reins but Kenta managed to avoid them. They were flanking him from all sides and things were not looking the best for him.


'Damn it!' he thought to himself. His piercing eyes looked to the rider in front of him.


'No choice,' he thought to himself.


"I didn't want to have to get violent but you started it!" he shouted. With that said, he stood up on his saddle and lunged at the rider in front of him effectively knocking him off of his horse. The rider that was on his right had sped up to try and get Kenta whilst he was off balance but as the man reached out for him, Kenta grabbed his arm and pulled him off of his horse as well. He looked back and saw that the rider on his left was still pursuing and that the larger group from before were catching up.


Kenta was getting frustrated. He just wanted his stupid assignment to finish. He sighed.


'Whatever,' he thought as we resolved himself to just deal with the situation. He spurred the horse he was currently on so that it was even further away from the pack. Once again he stood on the horse saddle, but this time he turned around to face his pursuers. With a clap of his hands and a mumble of words, he watches as the road behind him start to rumble and within a moment became nothing but boulders, causing the horses and their riders chasing him to lose balance and fall off.


Kenta took this opportunity to speed off but he did so with a frown.


"I'm going to be in so much trouble," he said to himself. "I wasn't meant to use any kind of Ninjutsu during this assignment. Damn. Master is going to be pissed."


Kenta traveled a little while longer, and waited until he was sure his followers had stopped following him before he stopped to have a rest. He sat down on the side of the road under the scorching sun to have a drink. However, it wasn't long until he saw a figure walking down the same road he was riding on. By the looks of things it was a girl, wearing Eastern clothing as well and...a cat?

 

[Kitty On Rails]

Kyouka enjoyed the cool shades protecting her from the sun. Now that the temperature around her had went down, the wind felt more comfortable than before. Just like the cat on her lap, she was starting to doze off, her head bobbing up and down in a haze. They still have a long road ahead of them. Beyond the next town. Beyond the Imperial border. Keep on following the Main Imperial Road until they reach their destination. How many days...how many weeks would they need to go through without rides? She hoped that they could get enough money to ride on a traveling cart in the next town. But for now...a nap would be nice...


...


Just when she hit the border of consciousness, the cat on her lap suddenly sat upright with ears perked up, eyes glaring toward a point on the distance. She was a bit late to follow him, but she could see something over there. Or was it someone? That silhouette looked like a horse...before she could gather her thoughts, the cat jumped away toward the mysterious figure.


"Ah, Master, wait for meeee!" She scrambled to get up and chase the bolting cat, although the difference of speed between them made the task close to impossible. Before she could move away from the shades, the cat had closed the distance and come toward the stranger. Before giving him a chance to react, the cat leapt up to his shoulder, then going around to his head, and finally jumped to the top of his horse. The cat's tail swung left and right as he gave the stranger an inquisitive glare. After a while, the girl finally caught up. She was panting heavily from the long run.


"Master...please...wait...seriously...why did you just run off like that..." she pulled the cat into her embrace. Only then did she realize the presence of the horse and its owner. "Aah, aah, so-sorry, did my Master do something to you guys? Ah, ah...sorry," she frantically apologized, flashes of red creeping up to her face.

 

[SoraHikari]

Kenta couldn't help but notice the little bull of fluff rushing over to him at a breathtaking speed. He wasn't sure whether or not it was coming at him with good or bad intentions but the speed alone was rather intimidating. All the battle experience that Kenta had instinctively made him tense up and brace for some kind of impact. He had seen some weird things attack him in the past, so he wouldn't put it past a cat to ferociously attack him either.


However, that was not to be the case. The speedy figure had instead, climbed up his body, sat on his shoulder, and then hopped up onto his horse to apparently look down on him. Kenta looked at the cat with a curious gaze. The cat looked back down at him with an intense glare. Kenta couldn't help but feel somewhat intimidated. It was as if his own master was looking down at him after he did something wrong.


'Man,' Kenta thought, 'What's up with this cat?'


Kenta, breaking away from the cats gaze, finally took in its complete appearance. Just like him, it wore clothes from the East as well. That alone sent alarm bells.


'OK, so I'm almost certain cats aren't meant to wear clothes. Just what is that thing?' he asked himself in his head.


Just then, he heard the apologetic cries of a girl that was running up to them and wearing similar clothing as the cat and himself. Kenta couldn't really make out the words she was saying as she ran up to them but he did hear 'sorry' and 'master,' which just ended up confusing him even more. The girl finally stopped running once she had caught up to her feline companion. Kenta took a good look at her and realised that she had...cat ears? That was definitely new for him. It was then did he realize he had yet to reply to her.


"Oh, uh, that's fine," he said as he looked towards her just as curiously as he had looked to the cat that currently stood on his horse. He paused for a moment, giving her a once over again and then continued to speak.


"Was there something I could help you with?"

 

[Kitty On Rails]

She shuddered a bit when he gave her a look, the cat ears protruding atop her head drooped down due to her embarrassment. He must've thought that she was weird. When she stole a glance at him, though, she could see that the stranger wore the same type of garb as her and her Master. She wondered whether he had some connection with the cat she hugged on her chest.


"Um, no, i-it's fine. We were on our way along the Imperial Road when my Master suddenly jolted at you. I'm sorry..." she felt the cat shifting on her arms. He had ignored the girl and just stared at the stranger. "A-anyway we're sorry for disturbing you. Ah..."


She yelped. The cat had slipped out from her arms and resumed his position atop the stranger's horse. This time he was standing straight atop the beast of burden on his two feet, just like a human.


"Master, why..." the girl wanted to pull him away again, but decided not to. He would just slip away again if she did. "I'm sorry, it seems that my Master had taken a liking on you," she gave the stranger a nervous smile.

 

[SoraHikari]

Kenta watched the interaction between the girl and the cat with mild fascination and an overall sense of confusion. He just wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing. It was definitely a situation he had never been in before.


'OK,' he thought to himself 'so the girl with the cat ears is talking to cat dressed in clothes that can supposedly stand on two feet and she is referring to it as master.' he recited in his head just to make sure he had every clear and straightened out. But, even though he did have everything all in order, it still didn't make sense to him.


'Maybe I got caught and they hit my head a little too hard and now I'm having a weird dream. Or, maybe master put me under one of his illusions again. I'm just really confused at the moment,' Kenta thought to himself but kept his actual expression unreadable.


'Why is the cat her master again? Damnit I don't have time for this I need to get back!' he thought.


The girl then said something that caught his attention.


'Why would they be heading down the Imperial Road,' he wondered 'or even more alarming, she could potentially tip off the guards that I left in the dust earlier.'


He eyed her and the cat once more.


'I could just knock them out and leave but that's not really my style. Damn, let's see what else she has to say,' he thought. It wasn't really what he wanted to hear.


"Um, that's nice," he said after she had told him that the cat had apparently taking a liking to him.


"Look," he began as he started standing up slowly.


"I don't mean to sound rude but you see, you're actually talking to a ridiculously talented assassin," he said to her. Kenta, despite being trained in stealth and deceit couldn't help but boast about his abilities. It often got him into trouble. "And you see little miss, I also happen to be one of the very few blade wielders in the continent. So, to be honest, I couldn't care less if your cat liked me or not."


He grabbed said feline from his horse and put it on the ground before mounting his horse.


"So, if you know what's good for you, you'll stick away from the Imperial City. They don't take well to foreigners. Especially from the East."


Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and he couldn't help but feel as if he was a little harsh with his words. He felt like it wasn't really polite to leave someone he had just met who hadn't really done anything wrong by him in such a rude way.


"I like the ears though...they're cute."

 

[Kitty On Rails]

The girl shuddered a bit when he mentioned his occupation. An assassin...experts in the art of killing. Many tales, most if not all ended in spilled blood, tell of their exploits. It is already a public secret that the Kingdoms employed these men to do things outside of public eyes, things that were often dirty. They were dangerous people, even someone like her know that. She could only watched in uncomfortable silent as she watched him grabbed the cat away from atop his horse. The feline let out an annoyed growl, but it didn't seem to deter him in the slightest.


When he mentioned about being a Bladewielder, though, her ears perked up with interest. So he was...as she watched him going away after giving a stern warning, she couldn't help but pondering upon that fact. A Bladewielder...perhaps that was why her Master took a liking on him? She felt a bit disappointed that he left. There are more that she wanted to ask him. Especially about staying away from the Imperial City. Was there any danger over there? Should they change destination before it's too late...?


"Master...what do you think we should do?" she turned toward the cat, waiting for him to reply. But there were none coming. In fact, the cat was no longer where the stranger had put him before. Her eyes widened in shock and fear. He...couldn't...be...


"M-master!"


She nearly screamed upon seeing the spectacle. The cat had sprung out fast, keeping up with the stranger's horse. There was still some time before the horse could reach his maximum speed, which was his intention. With a strong leap the cat managed to pass the horse for a few moments. That was all that he need. While letting out a somehow rhythmical purr, the cat clapped his paws together and then quickly spread them out followed by a loud mew.


With a sudden poof and a cloud of smoke, a giant, fat cat as tall as a tree appeared in front of the stranger's path, completely blocking the way.

 

[SoraHikari]

Kenta had been hoping to put the bizarre interaction with the cat-eared girl and her supposedly feline master behind him. He had had one ridiculous day filled with mistakes, mishaps and a lot of troublesome situations that he would have preferred to have been in at all. Honestly, there were times when he couldn't distinguish himself from an assassin and that of a straight out warrior with the amount of times he ended up just having to fight his way out of things. It wasn't even his fault, it was as if there was some kind of divine deity getting the kicks out of making Kenta's life more difficult than it needed to be.


But now that he had out run the guards, rested and finally done with what he had hoped to be the last weird thing he had to deal with on that day, things were looking up. Or well, so he had thought. Within an instant, the same shadowy figure he had seen run up to him, had dashed by the side of his horse before over taking it and then standing in front of his path. After hearing the girl from before shout out 'Master!' he knew straight away it was the same cat from before as well much to his dismay. He was about to say something before the clothes wearing cat let out an might meow and then an even bigger cat appeared in front of him and his horse from what appeared to be smoke.


'This is not my day,' he just thought to himself. 'First stupid people in the Imperial City and now Giant Cat things!'

 

[Kitty On Rails]

It took Kyouka quite a while before she could catch up with the two. When she finally arrived, she nearly fainted from the sight of gigantic cat lying casually in the middle of the road. There could be no one else who would resort on doing something so absurd other than her master. And as she had feared, the weird cat had leapt up once more toward the stranger's horse. He stubbornly clung on the horse's back, his eyes sporting a vicious glare as if challenging the stranger. Was it because the stranger is a Bladewielder? She couldn't think of any good reason that made the cat become this hostile toward someone.


She felt her stomach churning a bit as she got closer. Neither her Master nor the stranger looked like the right person to speak to at this moment, but her decision landed on the latter. Mainly because she know how stubborn her Master could become. "Umm..." she called sheepishly. What to say? She didn't have the energy to think of any good excuse for this situation. "So-sorry..." she wondered how many times she had apologized to this man again. Felt like hundreds times already. She glanced toward the cat. His glare weren't as vicious as before, but they still showed those stubborn glimmer. It seems that he was dead set on clinging to the horse no matter what happened.

 

[SoraHikari]

((Sorry it took so long! I lost the RP!))


The clothed cat once again found itself on his horse, and once again Kenta found himself in a hard stare down with a feline. He had stared down far greater people, far more intimidating people and definitely far scarier people and won. But, he had never stared a cat down before, so this was kind of new to him. But he'd be damned if he let a cat beat him. He heard the girl run up to him and offer words of apology again but he said nothing. Instead, he continued his staring contest with the whiskered face animal. The two glared at each other for what felt like an age before Kenta lost it at the thought of the absurdity of the situation he found himself in.


'Unbelievable! A prestigious Bladewielder falling to the likes of competing with a magical cat in a staring contest! Oh the shame!' he thought dramatically.


He looked back up at the cat after visibly face faulting and noticed what appeared to be an annoying kind of victory smirk.


'I'll cut it,' he thought sinisterly to himself as his hand unknowingly reached for the handle of his sword. He couldn't help it. The cat was pissing him off. However, he sighed and calmed himself down. He gave the cat another glare and simply decided to reason with it.


"OK," he started "what do you want?"