Skill: Orator 1/5

Jaxxon

It's embarrassing, to let herself get caught.

She did evade it, slipping out of the badger's claws and up a tree, but the cuts along her hind leg are likely to kill her. Starvation is the slow killer, infection the middle option, and devouring by a faster predator the most likely. Clumsy. Stupid. She should have let herself die there, made it quick and let her death go to use in the great cycle. She's only on her second life. She has seven left. What makes this one so special?

Ah, the fact that death hurts. She knew that being crushed beneath the wheels of a two-by-four, where the content of her guts had nowhere to go but up her throat. The memory of the taste has left her with a deep respect for cars-- though there are none here, are there? No, a different sort of threat. She sighs and takes her seat on the forest floor, looking down at the scabbing wounds and knowing this is going to be the last of her.

"Death, thou art my stalwart companion." She must say the words. She didn't have a chance last time. "Death, I welcome thee with open arms. Into the bastions I will come. Thou art the great equalizer, the reminder that even the mighty feline cannot resist. Three, three, and three shall be my lot, and three, three, and three I shall welcome thee."

There's someone approaching. She hears them, smells the scent of dog.

"This is thy mercy," she finishes, as she sees the dog through the gloom.

Wolf, rather, though the distinctions are minimal. And yet she recognizes this one. This time, she's in view of his jaws. He's much bigger here on the forest floor. His teeth could snap her spine in a single accurate motion, and she supposes that could be blessedly short. He had been friendly last time, but she can't account for a beast's hunger.

"If you have aspirations of ending my life," she comments, her eyes narrowing, "I ask that you do it with swiftness. I would like my second death to have some measure of dignity."

Skill:

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Mullock

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On his way home he was. He'd had a very interesting encounter with Freya recently, one that left his head spinning... It was merely a schoolboy crush that could be easily pushed past and with time would dissipate, but for now it left his brain twisting and turning with cute thoughts of futures that would never happen... Especially with Jada... But that was okay, an ever after with his Amour would be enough for him...

As he wandered, lost in thought, though the forest he hears a voice calling out through the trees. Stopping Jaxxon pulled his head back a bit with curiosity and peers through half lidded eyes as the man raised an eyebrow over whiskey glasses to scan across the area to try and pinpoint the source. It didn't take him long to lay eyes upon a poor injured kitty lying on the ground a few feet away.

The poor female called out about causing her a swift death... Jaxxon softened his features as he trotted over to the feline and stopped at her side. He recognized her immediately, he was the only cat Jaxxon had met here in the lands he'd come to and he sighed with a small smile.

Hey... Remember me...? Jaxxon... He said softly, his tones low and comforting as the male came to lie on his belly next to Mullock. He attempted to try and relax himself, though he himself felt pain for her injuries were not great though not small. We met a while back... He continued as he attempted to coax her memories and try to relax her a bit. He'd take her home to Freya and El and they'd get her right... Right...?

Her gaze remains alert, ears swiveling slightly. He's close, on his belly now, and if there were to be some predator moving from the mist, he would be vulnerable as well. She supposes it is a sign of trust, or desiring it, and she supposes she hasn't many options now. Her short tail twitches. "Jaxxon. The kind one, yes. Should your jaws deliver my final moments of this second life, I would not protest much. You seem a good sort."

She puts one tiny paw on his muzzle, measuring her strength against his. It would not be an even match in the slightest. "I have been deluded into believing myself the exception to the ancient laws. But fear not: death is evermore kind to the feline. Three times three I will live, and this is considerably better than taking the way out by car." That had been her last life, a black-coat. "The sable fur was unfortunate, but it had not been the cause of my demise. Alas! it is the risk that being alive takes."

Her paw draws back and she smiles, surprisingly calm in the imagined face of the reaper. "After all, it shall be misery to hunt upon this torn leg."

Skill:

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Mullock

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Poetry was spouted from those little lips of hers, Jaxxon smiled weakly at her as he hated to see her in pain. I'm not going to kill you... I'll take you back to my home and we'll fix you right up... He promised her with a dip of his large head.

One of them would help... El or Frey... They had to it was their job... He'd punish anyone who disagreed...

Can you move at all...? Can you climb onto my back...? He questioned the small cat, resisting the urge to nudge her with his large nose. Jaxxon squinted as he looked upwards towards the falling rain, the pitter patter on the tree's around him a soothing sound that could have lulled him into sleep. If Mullock couldn't move Jaxxon would figure out a way to gently drag her onto his back to carry her back to the mountains...

No kitty left behind...

She gives him a curious look, her eyes gleaming softly. "What you ask is no small matter," she states. "There is a code among the feline: that such an offer is only made by the Chosen. Would you take on such a task?" She limps slightly closer. "As I am a feline of no parallel, I will take only full dedication from my Chosen. Trust that I do not consider this lightly."

Around his front now, then to the side. He's not so large that she cannot climb atop him, though her claws might dig into the skin slightly. She does not mean it, but simply needs to find a way to get her balance. "This is now your last moment to opt out, Jaxxon. This is a bond that will be forged for life. Know what you take on."

And truth be told, she's never had a Chosen herself. She has always been an outdoor cat, loved by a few but never given the grace of someone's true warmth. "Traditionally they are human... But I will make an exception for you, if you choose it."

Skill:

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Mullock

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Mullock explained he would become a "Chosen" and explained what that meant... Was he ready for that? Shit yeah... He'd been a "chosen" before to Merlin, his baby boy when he was alive, such a sweet cat, he fucking loved that cat...

She gave him one last chance to back out as she climbed up his back. He felt small pinpricks of claws against his skin but did nothing more than bit his lip a little as he didn't feel it very much thanks to his thick winter coat and the toughness of his skin.

Mullock explained the "Chosen" were usually human and Jaxx chuckled, turning his head to look at her over his shoulder. I used to be human... Does that count...? He winked with a warm smile. I'm not backing out... I got you Mullock... He reassured her before slowly slipping into a standing position, doing it ploddingly so as not to hurt her as he stood. If you're good with it I'm good with it... I'll take you home, get you patched up and shit... Good as new and you can roam the mountains, Won't let anybody hurt you, just gotta call me and I'll be there... He would stay close to the cat for a while while she got her bearings in the lands and he wouldn't roam away until he was sure she was safe and comfortable in The Saints territory...

He wouldn't let anybody touch his Mullock...

His thick winter coat seems like it'd be a good place to sleep. It's been too long since she's had companions, frankly. A stray, she's lived a lone life on the campus streets, watching as her friends and family branch out or be claimed or die. Death has always surrounded her, and she fears it not. But, she admits, this is an honorable recourse. A Chosen is the alternative that isn't foolish.

"I suppose it counts for my purposes," she says with a wave of her paw, settling down for more comfort. "What I demand of a Chosen is protection, of course, and food, and then presence. I take it you would not be offended by my using you as a bed." Because honestly, he is very warm. She wouldn't mind hearing the sound of his heart beating, frankly. It is an intimacy she has been told of, but as a loner, has never felt.

It changes now, she supposes.

"Take me to your home. I would see this place that is to mine now."

Skill:

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Mullock

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I will do whatever you need... I am at your service... He smirked, holding back a chuckle at his formal way of talking suddenly. He wanted to bow but he knew if he did he would send the poor beast rolling to the floor, so instead he turned amber eyes to the cat and smiled before slowly standing. He slipped one leg carefully in front of the other before raising hindquarters upwards in a slow movemnt... Damn he wasn't used to moving this slow... into a standing position before he sighed.

Hold on, I'll go slow... He promise before he started back towards the mountains. He now had a pet, a kitty cat, a companion he'd lacked for so long... He briefly thought of Merlin and their time together with a small sad smile out towards the painting on the horizon before them. Eyes trained forward and muscles holding back full potential as they headed home.

--Fade Jaxxon-