<strong>Lynx<br/>With Leopnad</strong><br/><br/>Lynx paw rose to touch where Leopnad had poked him.<br/><br/><strong>Don't worry Lynx, I bet you still have a special place in her heart!</strong><br/><br/>His ears shot straight up and his eyes opened wide.<br/>"What? You got it all wrong. She's nothing but a big-breasted mouse!" he replied with an amused sneer.<br/><br/><strong>You go then and I ll pass in the kitchen latter and tell you who win</strong><br/><br/>"Oh boy, I can't wait," he said facetiously. He started back towards the markets. "Who's going to win Tigrus's gag fight? Hm..."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Lynx<br/>Marketplace</strong><br/><br/>The Marketplace was in chaos. Thankfully, some of the shoppers had been drawn to The Orange Howler’s show, but Lynx was still fighting the crowds for the last bit of everything. Having much experience when it came to these situations, the Cat was well-prepared. He had extra baskets that he unfolded, one of them conveniently acting as a cylindrical backpack. Sack cloth bags of potatoes, tomatoes, and other greens were tied and hanging from his hips.<br/><br/>Snatch, snatch, snatch! His hands were at work, moving just as swift as they did when he threw his knives. They were a blur, passing between other cats to return with a clinched bag of flour, seed, herbs, and spices that he tossed into the basket on his back. There was even a time where he had to jump on top of a vendor’s table and kick a loaf of bread into the air. He had then leapt off the table to catch it in its descent and jog onto the next station.<br/><br/>“Woo! Lynx, you’re too awesome,” he self-praised, and then grinned largely as he chuckled at his self-grandeur.<br/><br/>Coming up was a fattened and plucked hen. The butcher had just finished preparing it and set it out on his table. It was a miracle that no other Cats had noticed.<br/><br/>“Ha-ha!” Lynx laughed in triumph. His hands went to his hip to remove a sack as he prepared to bag the bird. Just as he came across the table, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a snow leopard. Their paws were both outstretched toward the hen, and they froze in slight embarrassment.<br/><br/>His blue eyes gazed into her gold and his black ears lowered shyly. She was pretty cute. The snow leopard gazed down at her feet as her cheeks flushed. Her tail curled about her leg and her circular ears pinned back against her head.<br/><br/>Lynx decided to go first. “You know-”<br/><br/>“No, it’s all right. You go ahead,” the snow leopard blurted.<br/><br/>Lynx’s ears slowly rose as a long and fox-like smile stretched across his lips. Well, that was easy. He snatched the hen.<br/><br/>“Thanks!” as he went on his merry way.<br/><br/>The snow leopard was shocked at his selfishness. Her eyes were wide in surprise. What the hell just happened? She wasn’t expecting that. The cute girl’s face contorted into a feral scowl as she turned to glare holes into Lynx’s back.<br/><br/>“Hey, you bastard! You were supposed to give that bird to me!” she snarled.<br/><br/>Lynx blinked in shock.<em>Woah, she wasn’t all that cute after all.</em><br/><br/>His blue eyes appeared like irritable slits over his shoulder.<br/><br/>“Not a chance sister! You may be cute, but not<em>that</em>cute,” he returned.<br/><br/>“You asshole! Reowr!” she roared.<br/><br/>Suddenly, the snow leopard was sprinting after him much like Tigria had done earlier. It made his heart jump with how vicious the girl turned out to be. Keeping a good grip on his sack—in more than one interpretation—Lynx bolted away from his pursuer. Damn, looks like his shopping just got pushed up a notch.<br/><br/><em>Again? Seriously?</em>he thought in panic. Today just wasn’t his day.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><br/><strong>Mysterious Strangers<br/>Alley</strong><br/><br/>The cats were in the bag. Gagged and tied, the twins were forced into an abandoned bakery and into its kitchen. The group of cats came before a large, coal oven that two male cats shoved aside. Behind it, was a hole that revealed a winding staircase. The twins were shoved along, the cats entering the hole single file as the two male cats remained behind to seal it. They then patted coal soot from their paws as they started out of the bakery to resume their watchful activities. They were the lookout and were to report if the king or any soldiers caught wind of the incident.<br/><br/>An older woman removed a torch from her apron. The cloth that wrapped it was soaked in oil and with a piece of flint, she set it alight against the wall. The calico faced the twins and gave them a smile so warm and welcoming that it may have disturbed them to think that this woman, this kidnapper, could have just been any face on the street.<br/><br/>“Mother Tabitha will be so happy to see you. My, you’ve grown since we last seen you.” Her eyes were only on Leona as she spoke. Her hazel eyes glimmered with tears before she wiped them away with the back of her paw. “You look so much like Our Lady. The goddess is reborn!”<br/><br/>“Hail! From the fires of her womb she was brought forth again,” the group of cats returned in unison.<br/><br/>“We must make haste!”<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>The Nine<br/>Catacombs - Beneath the City</strong><br/><br/><br/>The calico led the group down the winding stone stairs into a thick darkness. Once they reached the bottom, there were two figures in black flanking the door. She held the torch toward Leona’s and Leonaar’s faces so the shrouded ones could see.<br/><br/>“We have them!” she happily exclaimed.<br/><br/>The cloaked ones raised their paws, directing them to continue into a corridor already lit with torches. The calico extinguished his torch in a vat of water as the corridor then opened to a grand chamber where several figures wearing the same garb as those at the entrance were seated. They turned their heads to regard the visitors and dramatically, the calico raised her paws to the ceiling and exclaimed—once again with tears sparkling from her eyes, “Hear my cries of joy for the goddess has cometh again. She is amongst us!”<br/><br/>“Hail! From the fires of her womb she was brought forth again!” the congregation chorused.<br/><br/>The calico ran down the aisle and collapsed before the altar where a tall and slender cloak stood.<br/><br/>“Mother Tabitha! She has come. Eternal peace is with us! She is here!” she yelled in hysterical excitement. She then began bawling with joy as the veiled mother descended the small steps to take the calico’s paws in her own. She brushed the tears from her eyes and ran her hand back through her mane tenderly.<br/><br/>“Ssh, my child. Your joy is a beautiful radiance, but it must be saved…”<br/><br/>The mother then stood and pointed down the aisle to Leonaar. “For our goddess has shed her sins in the form of a devil!”<br/><br/>There congregation was filled with angry growls.<br/><br/>“Impure One, it is two days until our goddess takes the throne and reclaims the Sword of Omen. You will not interfere!” the mother bellowed at Leonaar. “Bring them here. The goddess must be cleansed and the Impure One destroyed!”<br/><br/>The cats began shoving the twins down the aisle and toward the altar. As they went, Leona’s binds were removed along with her armor and clothes.