A Step into the Dark: Iris x Emerald

Iris padded into dingy building, her nose wrinkling as the putrid smell of cat feaces and blood hit her.. Why oh why did she have to 'guard' the cats down here.. She cast her eyes around looking for the hunter she was supposed to be working with tonight. She didn’t know the name of the cat but it should be pretty obvious who it was. The only cat in the place that wasn't behind bar.


"You're early." Emerald came walking out from between some of the cages. The cats inside of them mostly just hissed or turned their backs to the huntress. A few watched from their cages in quiet. To none of the barred cats did the largish female even give the slightest of attention, not even an ear flick in acknowledgement.


It was to the similarly sized cheetah that entered that she directed her words. She stood proud in the doorway and didn't look happy to be there. Emerald looked her up and down with her own proud dimenor. With her head high, ears back, and eyes hooded, the Lynx mix padded closer.
"I assume you are the apprentice sent to aid in guard duty today." The brown she-cat's tone was businesslike. It wasn't totally friendly, but she wasn't being aggressive either.
"Emerald. And you?" Em let her tail wave slowly, waiting for the she-cheetah to answer.


The pale cheetah flicked her ears as a cat emerged from between the cages "I Always do my best to be so" it was true, she just couldn't stand being late, lateness was for those that didn't care about their job. She stood tall as the she cat eyed her up.
As she did the same.
The hunter was definitely older than her by quiet a way but she couldn't work out what species. Hybrid. They seemed to be very common in this city but the idea still made her skin crawl. Surely mixing bloods like that was against Osiris' design? She tried to dispel the thoughts from her head, this cat was her superior and she would show respect where it was due.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Emerald, my name is Iris" she stepped forward so she was out of the doorway, "This is my first time on duty here"


"Then be prepared for disappointment. It isn't a very exciting job. The man by the door is my Master. He is the one we answer to if called." Again, she was curt. She seemed displeased with something. Very displeased.
"If something is bothering you, out with it. I'd rather get it out of the way. Sitting with a distracted guard mate is not ideal." Emerald prompted the apprentice.


Iris nodded as Emerald mentioned her master at the door. She was surprised, her master wouldn't be seen dead in a place like this, he was more of the delicate talking type rather than the get your hands dirty kind of guy. Though that suited him fine in his information gathering cycles.
She was brought back to the present as the cat asked what was distracting her, she knew what she was referring to... that niggerling disgust of the hybrid..
"I er.. it's nothing.. just that where I'm from there are few hybrids, I was surprised.." She tried to phrase it in such a way that it wasn't offensive. A cat couldn't choose their parents..


"Oh. That." She didn't seem surprised. The lions of her army unit had also used this as a means of verbal abuse. "You can thank Sator for that. I am used to stares for my odd pelt. It is 'unnatural' some say, and yet, wild born am I." She shrugged. The cat was still young. At least she hadn't begun a verbal debate.
"So, Egypt? Some of my old squad had the same accent." Her own voice gave away her Greek heritage.


The cheetah nodded quietly as the she cat responded in a cool even tone. She was so calm. Born in the wild she said? Really? She didn't think hybrids ever occurred in the wild, only from the medderlings from humans. She had only been in this city for a month and she was already asking many questions of her beliefs..
"Yeah, I was born in Alexandria. I serve her majesty Cleopatra. But my master was relocated here to act as an ambassador. Whereabouts were you born? Near here?" She settled herself down near the door as the older cay didn't gesture to move through the room and she didn't want to offend her senses anymore than she already had..


"Dear me, no." Emerald jumped up onto a vacant cage near the building's only small window. No cat was going to escape today. It wasn't far from the door either, so she could still see her guard mate sitting there, and be heard. "The forests of Greece far to the east were my cub home. Well until Ignus and Asgadrash did battle in it." It was a scornful reference to the gods that the wildcats paid homage to.
The angular female scanned the resentful eyes of the cats in cages. The humans had moved the black footed forest cat she'd spoken with. "Is this your first time on guard duty here?" It was less musty in the room near the little window and the door, but warmer due to the heat outside. Autumn had yet to come to the city.


"Oh.." Iris didn't really know what to say after that.. she had never really spoken to a wild born cat before. What did one say? She spoke of the fake gods she had heard the escapees worshipped. Heathens.
She relaxed as her companion settled herself down by the small window.. Lord above this place was stuffy.. "Yeah my first time in here.. I was only placed into the training program a month ago so I've done very little. How long have you been a hunter?"


"Two years now. I was active duty soldier four years before this." Her tail waved in the monotony of the room. It was almost always the same, every time she came. The only different things were which cats remained and which were gone.
She almost missed a few of them.


"Very experienced then!" Iris exclaimed, she hoped she would be serving her human for that long.  The cheetah flattened her ears as two cats at the back started bickering, it sounded like one of the hat split their water onto the other...
She looked towards Emerald for guidance. Should she go tell them to shut up and sort out a new bowl or just ignore them?


The former soldier smiled at the praise of experience. She was older than most of the cats here in the city...with the exception of the elites. Some of their number were older. "You get experience from paying attention. Listen to your master and trust his judgement. It should keep you alive as long."
At the disturbance in the background, the mixed cat lifted her head off her paws. She swiveled her ears in their direction and tried to discern who had started it. The wet sound of paws slapping stone, and raised voices from the cats told her someone had spilt a dish of water on another....or stepped in it.
"Ignore them. If you give the high spirited ones any attention they never let go of it." She gave a look of disdain in the direction of the disturbance. "No worry of mine if they shred each other. So long as they don't try to get out or kill each other, there is nothing to do for them. Their own fault being thirsty for tipping the bowl."
The cats that had made the disturbance were young, and needed to vent pent energy. "You may want to scold them, but be gentle. Just don't let them touch you." The first part of the last sentence was said jokingly, but the second a bit more serious. It was up to the cheetah how she would handle rowdy cats.
"If we were in a bar or at the rings you could lend claw to them both, but here, there isn't any real effect from their squabbling. If we were here unofficially, teasing them would be the norm. However, our job is to make sure they don't leave. What is it to us if they are wet?" Her head lay back down on her paws, dismissing them.
"Oh, and you can sit in a more relaxed pose if you like. Staying stiff like that all day will just make your back hurt."
The man at the door didn't move yet. None of the cats in the back had drawn blood from each other yet. It was more of a hissing match.


Iris nodded in response to the older cats wisdom.  She decided to leave the stupid cats to their disagreement. A verbal attack from a cat no bigger or older than them probably wouldn't help. Especially when she was feeling so out of place and uncomfortable. She did relax at Emerald's words though. She was right. Sitting to attention would lend her no strength later if she did need to move. She didn't move much though, choosing to try and keep her paws as clean as possible. There was no need to get them dirty yet.