Encounters of the strange and interesting.

[Lox]

In the coastal city of Medea the towns people were in full festive swing as literally every street of the large port city was packed with party goers drinking, actors dancing, fighting, displaying various feats and hawkers called out to the crowds something new and exotic for purchase. It was the summer equinox festival, and the city had been doing extremely well with commerce fueling the already rowdy party to higher and over indulgent ends. And while most were wrapped up in their own enjoyment with groups and foreigners weren't uncommon there were quite a few people who stopped what they were doing as instinct dictated that when lots of people were looking at something they should look as well. Lox was walking down the busiest street that led directly towards the castle of the royal family, and while he was still far enough where ever he passed people turned to look at the curious sight before them. He wasn't hard to miss due to his height, standing six feet and six inches he had a good head and shoulder over most of the crowd and wore a strange stark red scarf that trailed slightly behind him with his brisk pace, that and the large conical straw hat made him extremely easy to spot anyways. He was muscled, but had an odd grace to his step that belied the clumsiness usually associated with the heavily muscled and odder still was the long white tail that trailed out behind him.

This too was what drew a hushed silence over the crowd because neko's weren't very common, and were always referred as being small and petite in stature. Even if most people turned to look because everyone else was the sound coming from him caught a lot of peoples attention as well, and though people looked they also cleared a path for him as he walked. Attached to his tail was a strange device that covered nearly two feet of a long four foot white furred tail, and with every movement a series of bells rang from a portion of the device. The effect was obvious if someone were to stare at it long enough because his tail constantly moved in a hypnotic fashion and gave off a strange and eerily soothing sound that seemed to take none of his attention as he walked along. The music being played along the street even stopped to listen more closely to the song made from each distinct flick and curl of his tail, but it looked as though Lox himself wasn't paying any attention to what his tail was doing. Truth be told he was examining the crowd just as closely as they were looking him over underneath the cover of his lowered hat. There were small horizontal slits made within the hat itself before his eyes, and while people couldn't see where he was looking his eyes roved the many faces that stared at him.

He had just departed the ship that carried him to this new country, and though he knew quite a few tongues including the standard human language this city spoke he was most likely half way around the world from where he grew up making everything here new to him. The sites, smells, and party goers were making him almost giddy with excitement and he wanted to try a few things himself but first he needed currency easily exchanged with the locals. He carried gold but not an incredible amount and didn't know the exchange rate so instead he looked for some easy money and soon found it in the form of a street show. Coming up to an open market place where a huge area had been left bare for entertainment Lox watched a display of skill that had a group of men fighting with wooden swords for the chance to compete with a champion. There was quite a bit of the local currency piled onto a table and included gold and silver from the competitors, but it was obviously rigged for the champion. Those in the brawl tired themselves out before getting to the big guy, who finished them in a blur even with a wooden sword leaving quite a few in the crowd hungry for their own chance at the money. A smile crossed Lox's lips as he made a straight line for the event and waited patiently for the group of defeated to exit the makeshift ring and allow other competitors to enter.

Lox waited for the more rowdy to enter first, and just before the gates closed he himself entered and dropped three oddly shaped and marked golden coins into the pile before smiling gently at all the angry faces in front of him. All had picked up a wooden sword but him, and he could ear the hawker of the show yelling at him to pick the last one at his feet up or he'd start without it. That and a lot of guards in mail were gathering around the edges of the fence with their hands on their swords in case he drew his own blade but he only smiled. A loud horn sounded and the three closest to him rushed to take him out first but Lox only smiled as he waited... Then his chance came and his left fist smashed into a surprisingly lax jaw as the man's eyes rolled back and left two still rushing. The second made a grab for his long bright red scarf, proving it's purpose because if he had been paying attention to his fists he might have seen his right hand just before it sank horribly into his gut and deprived him of air. The third could only stare at the second man falling before the first was properly on the ground, at least before Lox's left elbow met his jaw, and he too left the land of wakefulness. Three down, and six to go with a very nervous looking champion watching as he walked towards the other competitors with his tail still flicking and swaying.

 

[Lox]

Lox was smiling with a devilish glee as the last wooden sword whistled dangerously close and nicked the straw hat that had been covering most of the top portion of his head which was just enough to knock it loose and reveal his face. The man froze as large pert white ears flickered and perked up after being squished down for so long as dark crimson eyes glinted fiendishly before snapping his right fist into the mans sternum and flooring the ninth contestant and leaving him all alone with the champion. The man looked terribly pale as he stepped off of the raised podium and slowly circled around Lox, and with a curl of his tail he removed the delicate instrument away to give the man proper respects and all of his attention. His tail swayed and curled around him as he followed the mans movements and smiled even more as he hopped back as the sword brushed past his arm with surprising speed. The champion wasn't so for nothing it seemed, he almost got him a few more times as he slipped pasted and away before he came dangerously close to the boundary. Lox chose this time to flick his left hand out in what looked like an odd gesture and seemed to only tap the mans right wrist and tried to memorize the look of horror as his hand went flaccid.

The sword skittered away, and Lox leaned forward as he twisted his body weight behind his right fist and into his gut. The champion fell limp into him, and Lox turned his limp body around to lay him on the ground as he stood and collected his fallen hat and made for the exit with the hawker looking far more grim and pale than before. With a smile Lox patted the man on the shoulder and murmured softly enough so that those who were silently watching couldn't hear. "A fair game would say I take everything, but I doubt you could recover from that kind of loss. Divide the money by half and return the gold I entered into the pot. I'll leave you what's left to try again, but I think I've earned at least that much." The man's eyes widened with disbelief before he himself went to the table and divided the money himself before sweeping Lox's share into a large leather pouch that he handed over without question. Before he turned away he asked where might he find a tavern for the rest of the day and evening, and with an animated display of enthusiasm he pointed out a place right across the open entertainment area called the Forge and Fortress. He told him that Reiner referred him for a room, and with that Lox left with a smile on his face and a flicker of his tail. He had plenty of money to last him past the festival and now the only thing on his mind was finding some food and drink.

If he had been given his own space before the little display, now it seemed that there was a good four feet given specifically for him but and a lot more were staring and pointing at him now. The thing that did catch his eye was how more than a few girls were eying him in a... hungry kind of way and he wondered mildly what might the woman of this land feel but then again he wasn't really looking for that sort of company... for now. When he did get into the tavern it was almost as bustling as the street outside but he found a corner of the bar easy enough and talked to the bar keep to get some wine and stew. That with a loaf of fresh baked rye bread had him content enough at the moment, even if things quieted down and a murmur about strange foreign neko's started wafting through the air. His ears flickered and twitched at the easily heard whispers, wondering when exactly someone would realize the things weren't for decoration alone.

 

[Lox]

As Lox enjoyed his meal the very fine hairs on the back of his neck prickled and some instinctual urge brushed his mind with such an intensity he stopped moving completely and tried to determine what exactly was wrong with him. Nothing in the area showed signs of danger, or malicious intent and yet he couldn't shake off the desire to "find" the thing that his instincts demanded him to pay attention to. With a tired sigh Lox fiddled with a small charm that was one of his most prized possessions, a seal that blunted his sensitive nose to the point that he wouldn't be crippled by the sheer stench the city must had. Even with it on he found it barely adequate but couldn't imagine how many times he would have been sick during his travels if he had been without it. He couldn't see or hear anything that might have been a threat but with his sense of smell fully restored he could put the pesky instinct to rest and convince himself there wasn't anything to worry about or be bothered with. With the complex knot untied he slipped the charm off and was assaulted by the foulest scents imaginable in his mind, and this was one of the cleaner bars he had passed but as his stomach squirmed in protest of the smell and the half eaten meal everything in his head was suddenly and forcefully shoved aside to acknowledge his urge.

For Lox it seemed like the world had broken momentarily as his ears felt like they didn't feel like working anymore with utter silence reigning around him. Turning his head Lox looked directly at the source of his instinctual urge, but he couldn't understand what it was his baser self was trying to tell him and merely gazed at the woman all of his senses were focusing on. Her cloths told him nothing of the figure underneath, and with the scarf covering the lower half of her face he couldn't tell what exactly she was though the exotic shape of her eyes suggested something besides just human... With their eyes locked together Lox would have taken quite a bit of time examining the woman who seemed to rile every nerve and instinct within his being but as he glanced ever so slightly to the side he found that his ears hadn't been broken after all. The entire common room and every single soul within was silent, and they were all either staring at him or the woman he that he was so very fascinated with for one very simple reason. All people of all races who have encountered anything of feline decent or persuasion knew one thing about the creatures even if they didn't deal with them on a normal basis. A cats tail puffs up and out either because it's very scared or extremely pissed off, and for the most part that wasn't very far from the truth but Lox wasn't pissed or scared... just very interested.

Regardless of his feelings he was capable of drawing attention by himself by doing nothing, and he was getting a lot more because of the contest that just occurred outside, but looking behind him he found every inch of his four foot long tail pointed straight back and slightly up towards the ceiling. It didn't help that his tail was pure white and easy to spot like this, but the thing had fluffed out to three times it's normal size and basically telling everyone within viewing distance something was seriously fucking with him. Turning his head towards the large bar mirror he found his once round pupils had narrowed to vicious slits, blinking owlishly he grabbed the base of his tail and curled it around him in a futile attempt to pat the fur down before looking back at the woman who caught his attention. Some of the bar patrons started to whisper very softly and soon the bar was filled with the sound of people murmuring abate far quieter than even before. This left Lox wondering if there was any chance of talking to that lady now that she was the center of attention, and he felt bad for putting her into the spotlight via his tail having a spastic fit. stroking his hand down the length one last time and watching the fur fluff out again he sighed deeply and left money and tip on the bar before stepping outside for a moment with the very tip of his tail flicking madly about in an excited manner.