Donner Sa Langue Au Chat [JT / NDE / R / Closed]

[Catty Noir ♦]

Some time had passed since their first encounter. Calling Luke out here today was both exciting and terrifying as she considered what it was like to see him in that hospital room after she'd been brutally beaten. Shockingly enough, he was right in that it only took a couple of weeks for her to heal. That much surprised her seeing as, unbeknownst to her, she'd been practically the equivalent of a normal human up until then. She never needed to heal herself and never got into situations bad enough that required more significant work from her body. She didn't think this accelerated healing factor really existed and fully intended to be at the hospital for longer before recovering.

But he'd visited her. He made sure she was okay. Catty saw Luke as a danger, but couldn't force herself to stay away from him. He'd brought out her first Doll, Amon, and even carried the headband that he transformed into so he could give it to her. If Luke hadn't done that, who knows what would have happened to Catty's Doll? He would have just stayed there at the old club, probably cold and afraid since his mother wasn't coming back to get him. She wouldn't have known he'd even existed in that form, anyway. How would she have thought to find him? So when Luke offered just that much as a gesture, Catty felt relieved.

You would have found me, Mère. I would have called to you until you did.

Reading my thoughts, mon petit chaton?

Only the important ones.

So only the ones that involve you?

Oui.

Catty chuckled. Having someone with her at all times was both relieving and a bit scary. For example, every single ones of her thoughts was completely open for him to hear. But that also meant she never fully felt alone. To anyone who didn't understand, she'd probably seem like a psych ward patient who needed to be treated for having multiple personalities, but the truth of it was that Amon was entirely his own person. He just lived rent-free inside Catty's head unless she summoned him properly, and that made things kind of funny for her. The two of them never really had any secrets between each other this way.

Sitting at a bar that was conveniently open all hours of the night in a speak-easy style underground location, Catty listened as an old clock that was hanging up on the wall behind her chimed. Counting the number of bell rings she heard, she realized without even looking at her phone that it was midnight. The bartender, a young and average-looking man with light brown hair and near-black eyes, came back over for probably the fifth or sixth time within fifteen minutes to offer the patron another drink despite the fact that she was still working on her first. She waved the man off and rolled her eyes, adjusting the cat ear headband to sit more comfortably atop her head.

He wasn't the man she wanted to see. She had no interest in entertaining him, but did eventually call him back to bring her a glass of water. Once he'd walked away, she very quickly gulped the water down and held her hand against her throat, realizing she was still completely parched. That had been her third water since arriving, and she was still sipping on only her first glass of red wine. Nothing was working. She'd been thirsty for so long since she and Luke first met and nothing at all worked. All she felt was this insatiable urge to find powerful people, and that craving clawed at her relentlessly despite her lack of understanding why.

She never even thought to call her parents after her initial Doll discovery. Well, she did call them one time and didn't want to worry them over her strange cravings. They'd never brought this up before so it made Catty feel like she was being a bit dramatic. And despite Amon's constant reassurance, none of that mattered. The only thing that helped the woman that came from that call was that her parents reviewed a few special techniques that their race apparently had, so Catty had practiced them as much as she could. She didn't have a large wallet full of options, but she had something, and that was enough for now.

As she ran her hand through her hair starting from just behind her headband, Catty sighed and glanced at her phone. They'd exchanged numbers but she assumed he would be more cognizant of the time seeing as he was so quick to wake her up first thing in the morning for training. Still, she was trying to be patient despite the nagging flame that burned her throat, threatening to destroy her from the inside if she didn't do anything about it. She found it so hard to focus properly. Still clutching at her throat, she leaned over the bar's counter and tried to hide the pain that was on her face while listening to Amon's soft words in the depths of her mind.

A sudden footstep that sounded different from the other patrons stood out to her, ripping her away from her mild suffering as she looked up and examined the door leading to the stairs that went outside. Her heartbeat started quickening without her consent, though she desperately attempted to hide the panic that had taken over. No matter how much time had come and gone, Catty still felt her flight response grow strong in Luke's presence. That, and the completely irrational heat that she felt grow on her cheeks in the same moment. For every ounce of power Luke had that scared her, Catty lusted after it tenfold.

"It was about time you showed up, Lucas," Catty said, trying to hide the fact that she'd been clutching at her throat by instead gripping the neck of her black sweater, acting as if she'd been adjusting it. "I had almost given up on you."

[Luke Clyburn]

Satoshi thought, "What a weird person!" It was even weirder that nobody else noticed them standing in the doorway. While his mom was busy shopping around the convenience store, Satoshi decided to preoccupy himself by reading the newest weekly manga. But as he was readying, eyes focused on the drawings and panels, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Lifting his head from the manga Satoshi looked towards the electronic sliding doors. They’d slide open, revealing the evening city street view, before closing again. But then they’d open again. What was immediately apparent was nobody coming through the doors. But while an employee complained to the register worker about it, Satoshi was staring at a shape he saw peaking at him from the side of the doorway. It was a person, for sure, but something about them didn’t see right. Like something was wrong with them.

”Little boy… you can see me?”

The figure asked. Wearing a dirty white dress with impossibly long black hair that hid most of its facial features, the figure stared at Satoshi and asked him the question again. Satoshi looked around the store, confused, before looking back at the figure and pointing at himself. “Me?” He asked. He could have sworn he saw the figure make a smile that couldn’t be described as inviting. ”Come… here… come… help me…” he heard the figure say as the doors closed again. Satoshi didn’t move from his spot or put the manga down. He’d look to see where his mom was. She was still busy shopping and not paying much attention. Maybe this person needed some help. Satoshi was always taught to be a helpful kid. Maybe mom would buy them some food or medicine?

Putting the manga down and heading to the door, Satoshi would step through the sliding doors into the evening air. He watched though, as he got closer to the figure, as the eyes in its head seemed as though they rolled up into the back of its skull. It was yanked away from the wall it peering around. Time seemed to slow down for Satoshi as, from the left side of his vision, he only saw teeth suddenly rushing towards him. A hungry, slobbery, mouth full of razor-sharp teeth reached for him and an inhuman growl gurgled out from the dark purple throat. He hadn’t known that the figure he had seen was a lure, like an anglerfish’s antenna, meant to bait him out.

”Whoa there.”

Everything seemed to freeze in that instant. Satoshi’s growing fear and panic suddenly subsided for some reason. The monster was suddenly crushed into the ground and flattened by an invisible force that didn’t affect the boy or anything else around it. Satoshi came to a stop, looking at the horrible half frog half fish looking monster, before turning to see where the source of that voice had come from. A lone man approached the pair from up the sidewalk. Wearing a black suit with a partly unbuttoned white undershirt without a tie as well as a brown business coat, wearing sunglasses despite it being night, and sporting a head of black and white hair was a man who Satoshi just knew was the one who did this.

”That was close.”

Luke would comment, coming to a stop in front of the boy, before crouching down to get at his height. ”You can see that thing, huh?” Luke would ask, leaning his head rather heavily to the right as he peered at the seemingly spiritually aware child. Satoshi nodded but didn’t verbally answer. Luke smiled, reaching up and taking off his sunglasses revealing partly glowing amber eyes. ”Here. Keep these. Those things will leave you alone if they don’t know you can see them.” Luke would say, grabbing Satoshi’s hand and dropping his rather expensive pair of sunglasses into the kid's hand.

The Hollow behind the kid suddenly began to stir, lifting itself up to try and get one more chance at the boy. But it never succeeded. Something suddenly yanked the Hollow violently away. A loud impact was heard alongside a very wet splash. When Satoshi turned to look, Luke quickly moved his hand in the way of the kid's eyes. ”No looking.” Luke would say again, before standing up and urging the kid to go back to his mom. Shaking his head, the Bount would look over his shoulder at the massive bloody splash that coated the side of a building like someone exploded an tanker truck of purple paint all over it. ”Didn’t I tell you to learn some restraint, Jäger?”

—--------------------------

”Yeah yeah whatever you say.” Luke would shoot back as he stepped through the doorway of the bar. ”Some of us actually have jobs.” he’d finish with, taking his coat off and hanging it up on a coatrack left by the interest. Rubbing the back of his neck as he approached, Luke would look Catty up and down. ”Well looks like you healed up nicely.” Luke would comment with a nicer tone as he took a seat next to her at the bar. The bartender would approach him, asking what Luke would like, so the man decided to order some indistinct whiskey on the rocks. If he was here he might as well have a drink at the end of the work day. Besides, if Catty was the one calling him out he knew he might need a drink or two.

”Sorry I’m late though. Got held up by a few things. It’s good to see you again though. You look… good.” Luke would comment.

[Catty Noir ♦]

Luke was dressed nicely. Nicer than when they'd first met, anyway. Granted, it wasn't as if he didn't look good then. This style of clothing was just a bit more sophisticated, maybe. It suited him and she couldn't help but grin at the thought that he intentionally put all of this on just to meet her. That, or perhaps he recently came into quite a bit of money and was hoping to show it off. Either option seemed like something he would do, so she didn't have an easy time picking just one. In her mind, she preferred the notion that this was all planned with purpose. She wasn't wearing anything nearly as nice, but she put a bit of effort into her clothes.

The black sweater Catty wore was a turtleneck with long sleeves, woven with an intricate touch that only someone's grandmother could master after years of knitting. The fabric was soft, relieving any opportunity for itchiness or discomfort. It reached down to just below her waist, being a bit shorter than normal sweaters, but this was also clearly styled with purpose. The denim jeans she partnered with it were high-waisted, so they made her look curvy with how they sat above her hips. The sweater covered just the top of the pants a bit loosely to give the appearance that she was even thinner than she already had been, but in a very feminine way.

As she turned on her seat to greet the man she'd invited out, he'd see that her jeans formed nicely against her leg and had small, stylish cuts and scrapes to show a distressed look. These were intentionally done and she favored how they looked on her body. Finally, she wore a pair of black strappy heels that increased her height by about four inches. They were easy to walk in since the heel was a bit thicker than usual and the shoes had thick fabric on the back since they were styled somewhat like booties. Though rather than completely hiding her feet, the straps had an open, ornate lattice pattern to hold them firmly inside.

The last bit of detail that she, along with virtually anyone else, appreciated the most was that the sweater she wore had an ovular opening right at her mid-chest and cleavage. Catty, though she never thought about it much, was somewhat busty. She'd seen girls who were definitely more blessed than she was, and the reverse was also true, but the amount of muscle she had on her body accentuated her femininity more so than making her appear more masculine as it did with many other women. This could be attributed to her spiritual abilities granting her enhanced strength with lessened effort, or perhaps she was just lucky.

So, yes. She looked good.

"Oui. I healed up nicely, but no thanks to you. The hospital did not wish to discharge me until I had completed some physical therapy and I had forgotten to act hurt. Someone there must be like us, though. I was excused and allowed to go home with some handwaving."

Not realizing she had been gripping the edge of the bar or the fact that the bartender had brought her another glass of water, Catty relaxed and released her hold, frowning at the mild indentations she saw within the dark polished wood. They wouldn't be that noticeable unless someone sat in her seat, but it made her sigh anyway. She had to get a hold of herself and figure out what was going on. At the same time, she was embarrassed. She took a few sips of water and ignored her wine that she still had, realizing that she didn't want to talk to Luke about this stuff. It just felt like she didn't have anyone else to turn to. He was basically the only person she really knew in Karakura Town because she didn't get much of a chance to meet anyone else. Well, not completely.

"Et... merci. For the compliment." The woman looked away from Luke to hide her rosy cheeks. He was sitting way too close. "I have not felt myself in such a way that deserves it recently."

She felt tired. Sick. Maybe she didn't look like it, but she was exhausted. This unquenchable thirst kept her awake every night as she clutched at her pillows, hoping her tears would be enough to make her body calm down since those were fluid, at least. She craved something but knew not what it was. She didn't want to call her parents because if they thought she was too ill, they would demand that she return to France. They were so protective of her and only allowed this move because they sensed the same thing she did that started the whole thing. They just had no reason to leave home. She did.

The ever-attentive bartender, now notably jealous at Luke's arrival, returned to Catty to offer her some more water. "Miss, I know you've already had four glasses, but would you like some more?" He held the pitcher up slightly to punctuate his question.

"Hmm..."

Catty pondered for a moment as she rested her chest against the edge of the bar, crossing her arms on top of the wood and resting her chin against them. Freeing one hand, she smiled and lightly teased the lip of the class that was still half full with her perfectly-manicured index finger, staring at it when she decided to be a bit playful while also giving the bartender something else to do. She grew tired of his interruptions, and she could tell he didn't appreciate the fact that there was another man around when she took note of his pointed glances towards Luke.

Glancing back up to the bartender with a smile and sultry gaze, she flicked her finger and sent the glass sliding off the top of the bar and into the floor with a sudden shatter. "Yes. Another."

Despite the action, the bartender's face grew red as he looked back at Catty and he gulped hard. "R-right away, Miss!"

As he left to grab a broom and mop, along with fulfilling her drink request, the woman folded her arms once again and rested her head against them with her face pointed in Luke's direction. Even this wasn't enough to entertain her to the point where she'd forget about whatever was wrong with her. This was going to consume her mind until she had nothing left and she already knew that. Groaning, she looked at her guest and finally decided she had to say something else. Without lifting her head much at all, Catty simply buried her face within her arms again and spoke, knowing her voice would be a bit muffled. They might be at a bar, but it wasn't super busy yet.

"I do not know what this body wants. I have had so much water I could drown. I have tried alcohol. Nothing works." Lifting herself up again, she lightly grabbed her wine glass and finished it off. "This is not enough, Lucas."

The bartender returned with his cleaning supplies and took no time to clean the mess that Catty had made while also giving her yet another glass of water. She gave him a soft smile in return and tilted her head a bit, making eye contact with the man. He blushed again before distracting himself with his duties, finishing up with sweeping all the broken glass into a bucket, mopping up the water, and disappearing once again behind the massive wall of bottles and beverages. Catty giggled quietly. It didn't matter that this couldn't get her mind off what she was going through. It was fun anyway.

[Luke Clyburn]

Sitting down beside her Luke got a pretty good look at how Catty put herself together. The scratched jeans made a good combo with her sweater. Luke wouldn’t let himself get caught looking though, especially at her sweater window, quickly averting his eyes after paying her that compliment. But what had Luke’s interest more than her wardrobe was the feeling of her reiatsu. Even now the tendrils of his energy sensory capabilities were working her over and searching her. Peering as deeply into her as he could. Luke didn’t possess the same level of Energy Sensory that his Doll Windstarke did, but Luke was better at it than the average person at least. Luke could tell, even with the level he was at, that Catherine wasn’t quite the same woman as the one he had left at the hospital. The hunches he had previously were right on the money.

Her reiatsu felt stronger. Not in the same way that his was that would indicate that she was a reiatsu output type, but instead that the quality of her reiatsu had improved. It seemed like awakening her Doll had broken down whatever wall was blocking her growth after all. It was enough to make Luke smile a little, hiding that expression behind the glasses lip he lifted to his mouth as he took a drink. Luke didn’t want to say “I told you so” but he was a entitled to feeling just a little bit smug. He told her that she’d heal faster than she thought she would. He told her she was stronger than she thought she was. Luke knew Catherine was a well of untapped potential, so seeing her current state only reaffirmed those feelings.

What she had to say peaked his interest though. Lowering the glass of whiskey back down to the table, Luke leaned forward on his arms as he looked over at Catherine with some confusion. ”What do you mean?” He’d ask in response, immediately wondering if something didn’t heal right. No, if she had any organ damage that would have been way more apparent. Luke’s amber eyes looked at the woman who in turn didn’t look at him. The bartender would approach her, offering her some more water, only for Catherine to do one of the most puzzling things Luke had ever seen. The girl flicked her glass to the floor, the shatter reaching Luke’s ears, only to tell him to get her another glass.

”Why?”

Luke would ask while also giving her a look that could only be described as “what the fuck”. He’d look at the broken glass, to a smug looking Catherine, then back to the glass. The girl pouted on the bar, resting her head in her arms, before hiding her face from Luke. What was wrong with her tonight? If she was so miserable then why did she call him out? While it was muffled Luke could hear her voice when she finally decided to speak to him again. Complaining about how something didn’t feel right. That her body didn’t know what it wanted and that no matter how much she drank she wasn’t feeling satisfied. Luke blinked, taking a moment to digest her words as he thought about what she might have meant.

”Ah.” Luke would mutter after a few moments of quiet while Catty flirted with the bartender, coming to a conclusion about what it might have been she meant. So, she was having that problem. Luke would lean back from the bar, keeping one hand on the glass of whiskey and tap his finger against it, as he found himself mentally cursing how little Catherine’s parents did for her. ”Well… sooner or later it was gonna happen.” Luke would comment, gripping the glass and chugging the rest of his drink in one gulp. Letting out a grunt after swallowing, Luke shook his head to the side real fast. Bitter drink and real strong. ”You would have figured your parents would have prepared you for this part… but I guess you were sheltered after all.” Luke would comment, clicking his tongue.

”No point in beating around the bush. Your powers are waking up and that means the other half of what it means to be a Bount is coming into play now as well. I figured we would have more time but I guess with how quickly you’ve progressed it stands to reason your needs would also show up sooner.” Luke explained, spotting the bartender and snapping his fingers at him. Getting the mans attention, who immediately glared at him, Luke would motion for his glass and look at the man expectantly. The Bount had noticed how this guy had been looking at him, so Luke was responding with the same energy he was being given. With another glass of whiskey, Luke would take a drink.

”What do you actually know about being a Bount?” Luke would ask after his drink, looking at the amber liquid in the glass in his hand as he asked the question.

[Catty Noir ♦]

It was suddenly clear to Catty that Luke didn't find the same things quite as entertaining as she did. Messing with the bartender was a method of distracting herself that she was completely okay with regardless of his judgmental nature towards her. What he didn't see was the very physical reaction that the boy had in response to all of Catty's teasing that he desperately tried to hide and failed miserably. She may not be as good as some detectives out there, but as a woman, she was very good at reading men. And she really liked to play. It was probably the only thing about her that she was completely confident in.

"Because it is funny, no?" A smirk crept up on Catty's face as she glanced back at Luke to answer his question. "He has a degradation kink, Lucas. I am simply giving him what he wants."

It didn't take long from that for her to continue on, trying to explain to Luke that she was feeling strange and couldn't seem to shake it. There was no guarantee that he was going to understand what she was going through seeing as he didn't seem to have the same problems. Well, she never saw any hint that he had any of the same problems, anyway. He was the type who was always very well-put together. He carried this confidence with him that was unparalleled. His entire persona exuded this attitude that screamed "Listen to me." And she wanted to. So since he was available, it only made sense to ask for help. Maybe they could figure it out together even if he didn't know what was wrong-

”Well… sooner or later it was gonna happen.”

Catty's eyes darted back towards his eyes, locking him in her sight. "Que viens-tu de dire..?"

”You would have figured your parents would have prepared you for this part… but I guess you were sheltered after all.”

He knew..? He wasn't even trying to hide it at this point. He knew what was wrong with her. Worse yet, her parents likely knew but never said anything. They never even once mentioned that any of this would happen. They neglected to say anything about the horrendous craving that made her consider killing people because the only instinct she had was on red-alert every time she came into contact with just about any spiritual being. It was the feeling that kept her up at night. It made her mad. Crazy. Belligerent. Catty balled her hands into fists and stared at the wooden bar as she tried to process the fact that everyone was in on this except her.

Catty's stomach felt like it was getting tied in knots. She was only half-listening to Luke as he explained more about her powers and needs not being met. She could have guessed that but hated herself for not coming up with that theory on her own. Her parents never showed any signs of needing such a thing throughout her life so it wasn't as if that ever came up in casual conversation. And Catty didn't even get her first Doll until she was almost 30! How was she supposed to know any of this was a problem? She was practically a normal human up until, like, a month ago. This was a lot to take in. She was so distracted by her own thoughts that she didn't notice the bartender had refilled her wine glass until she looked up at it.

The woman had a large sip of her drink before answering Luke's next question. "Not much, apparently. Both of my parents are still in France. Paris, actually. They own a bakery and sell delicious pastries every day. My father had a single Doll and my mother had a single Doll who acted as guardians of our shop, though they were unnecessary. No one would have ever thought to do anything bad to us. We lived in a safe place."

Mére, should you be sharing so much with him?

He may be able to help us, mon petit chaton. I do not want to struggle. You must be feeling weak yourself, yes?

I am fine. I do not feel weakness.

S'il te plaît, ne me mens pas.

Even Catty could hear Amon's grumble. ... Oui.

Luke may have recognized the look Catty had as she glanced off to the side to focus on her Doll within her mind, but it was over very quickly as she redirected her attention back to the man sitting beside her. She was so embarrassed. She couldn't even hide the redness in her face anymore. She felt like she was speaking with some kind of prodigy and she was nothing but a newbie, kind of like when playing a sport for the first time and the person teaching you is an Olympic athlete. She didn't want to look like a fool in front of him but clearly did. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, she took her glass of wine and finished it in about three gulps, praying to whoever listened that she could use some of the liquid courage properly to finish this conversation.

"What I am trying to say, mon chéri, is that you are right. I was sheltered. I did not have a reason to worry about such effects. I just..." Wanted to fit in.

This was impossible. And to make it worse, the horrendous burning returned. She had a nice distraction playing with the boy behind the bar and talking to Luke, but that wasn't enough anymore to stop the pain she felt. Clutching at her throat, she groaned in discomfort and attempted to instead grab on to her turtleneck once again. If anyone had been watching her, which she doubted, she didn't want to come across as some lunatic dealing with an illness while out in public. It was so strange. She had no other way of describing the sensation she was experiencing. It certainly felt as if she were thirsty, but there was an equally intense hunger that she didn't feel coming from her stomach. It was as if that came from her entire body.

"I am too ashamed to tell my parents about this even if it is something they are familiar with. I told them I would come here to learn more about our kind and try to grow stronger. I cannot imagine the disappointment they would feel if I went back to them now."

[Luke Clyburn]

Was that envy Luke suddenly felt? It caught him by surprise too. As Catherine gave him her life story, mentioning her still living parents, Luke suddenly felt a mixture of very strange feelings. His mind immediately went to his own parents. Faces that he could barely remember anymore. Luke didn’t think about them much, which was a bit sad, but the man still held a large amount of resentment towards the both of them. Less towards his father. His father died early on, and from what Luke remembered of him Luke was certain he would have wanted to tell Luke the truth. Most of the anger Luke felt was towards his mother who abandoned him without any warning. Hearing from Catherines own mouth that she still had parents, who loved her, caused Luke to feel jealous. He did his best to hide it, focusing on taking a drink from his glass, but it was hard to hide the expression in his eyes.

He was better than this. Luke decided to man up and choke those feelings down as he continued listening to Catherine talk. ”Sounds cozy.” Luke replied back when she finished, imagining the sight of her parents bakery in his mind. Imagining Catherine working in a bakery was a cute thought as well. There was a moment of silence between them that came out of nowhere. Luke looked at her and as soon as he did he understood why she had gone quiet. She was staring off at nothing, a thousand yard stare in her eyes, undoubtedly talking to her newly born Doll. If that was what was going on, then that meant that the relationship between them was still good and strong.

She was struggling. That much was obvious. She was grabbing at her throat, red faced, and clearly uncomfortable. Luke looked at her with a unblinking gaze. The Bount let out a long sigh as he turned his gaze away from her and looked at some random part of the bar. Why did he have to be the one to deal with this? Why couldn’t her parents have actually done their jobs? That was the point of having parents. They were supposed to prepare their children for the ordeals of the world. Catherine’s parents had failed her through their laziness of not preparing her for what it meant to be a Bount. Picking his glass back up and rocking the ice inside of it back and forth, Luke looked to see if the bartender was back before scowling. He got up from his seat and made his way to the other side of the bar and filled his own refill, giving Catherine a shrug when she’d inevitably look at him with confusion.

Returning to the other side of the bar and sitting back down, Luke started to feel a bit fuzzy. ”Not much at all apparently.” Luke commented back before taking a breath. How did he approach this subject? ”Well, if what you’re going through is what I think it is… alright, well. I don’t know why you think your parents would be disappointed in you for going to them for help, unless they’re assholes, but since you’re coming to me with this I’ll tell it to you straight.” Luke explained, trying to find the right words to navigate this conversation. This was a subject he still wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with.

”You said you don’t know much about being a Bount. But now that you’ve awakened your Doll, your other abilities are going to start waking up as well. But alongside your powers is the other side of being a Bount.” Luke explained, looking at her from the sides of his eyes to gauge her expression, before closing his eyes and sighing. ”What’s happening to your body is something that every Bount has to live with. A thirst that we all deal with. It’s what happens when our Dolls manifest. The price that comes with that power. Catherine, you should already know what’s happening to you. Considering how vampire stories were inspired by our ancestors, what do you think it is your body is wanting?” Luke asked, looking at her and waiting for the realization to hit her like a ton of bricks.

[Catty Noir ♦]

Luke had this strange sense of confidence surrounding him that Catty couldn't help but feel insecure about. She didn't have that same depth that he did when it came to this. He wasn't making fun of her by any means, yet she still felt as if she should shrivel up into a ball and hide. This was awkward enough. Then, when the bartender failed to return, he had gotten up and poured his own drink. With a shrug returning her look of confusion, she suddenly understood why he didn't seem to think her breaking the glass earlier was quite as funny. Differences of opinion, she supposed. Though he may feel comfortable enough to get his own beverage, that was something she lacked. Call it manners. So her 'manners' from before didn't match his own.

As Luke spoke, Catty listened intently but scowled a bit when he referred to her parents as assholes. They were the complete opposite. They cared for her very much and tried to not let any harm come to her, which was probably why it took so long for her to manifest a Doll. It also made her curious as to how her parents were able to do such a thing if it was difficult for their own daughter. But the look she was giving Luke diverted when she caught the gaze of another woman sitting at a table in the back corner, undoubtedly paying more attention to Luke than she was her own date. It seemed his movement out of his stool at the bar was enough to make her lock on to him. That made Catty shift uncomfortably in her seat.

”You said you don’t know much about being a Bount. But now that you’ve awakened your Doll, your other abilities are going to start waking up as well. But alongside your powers is the other side of being a Bount.” The man's words sparked her attention once more as she tore her eyes away from the other woman and back to him. What’s happening to your body is something that every Bount has to live with. A thirst that we all deal with. It’s what happens when our Dolls manifest. The price that comes with that power. Catherine-"

"Catty," she interrupted, rolling her eyes as he kept on.

"You should already know what’s happening to you. Considering how vampire stories were inspired by our ancestors, what do you think it is your body is wanting?”

Catty's eyes shifted once again to that of the woman she'd been spying on. She didn't return the look, though. Her emerald green eyes looked through auburn bangs straight at the man who sat beside Catty. She adjusted her hair in such a way that Catty now saw how long it was, coming down to the center of her back despite it being curled and styled to perfection. She was wearing a beautiful, candied apple red dress with a slit that reached up to the middle of her thigh and was distracting enough on its own, but was complemented only by her black pumps with heels significantly higher than the ones Catty wore.

Interestingly enough, her date was lost in his phone and from the way he was sitting, the Bount could see everything. He was on some dating app scrolling through other women who weren't nearly as striking as this one, but perhaps he felt as though their night wasn't going how he'd want it. And, judging by her body language, it was possible that she wanted her night to go very differently with another man entirely. It was near impossible to fight down whatever possessive feeling was coming over Catty as she slid herself a bit closer to Luke, making it appear to him as if she wanted to stay hushed. To any other woman, on the other hand, it would be as if she were saying 'Mine.'

"You are being admired by a stranger, Lucas," she'd whisper, making sure her voice didn't go above the volume of the background music. "It appears American men catch the eye of Japanese women more often than I realized."

She didn't understand it much herself, why she was acting this way. She and Luke weren't even... Well, were they friends? He was something of a mentor to her, but even being this close to him sent her body into an undeniable flight response that she had to actively fight. She may have been unconscious during their fight, but Amon's memories had become part of her own. She knew how she looked as she lay beaten and broken. But despite this, she didn't want any normal human to even look at him. Especially not when he all but called her own to this country himself. Catty understood that this was the curse of being a fit male, and suddenly felt very guilty over her flirting with the bartender.

Still, ignoring her incredibly unjustified possessiveness was easy enough, so she accepted the warning her mind gave her to keep somewhat of a safe distance and slid back in her seat. The auburn-haired stranger carried on with conversations with her date but that didn't stop her from sneaking glances at Luke as often as she could. Catty started growing somewhat irritated. Again, for a reason she couldn't even fathom. She obviously understood the fascination with Luke and wouldn't deny him that compliment, but Catty completely understood that she was just a problematic student for him over absolutely anything else. And she viewed him as a rather dangerous teacher. So why did she care?

"Ugh..." Groaning in response to her own stupid thoughts and Amon's quiet chuckles, she attempted to make sense of Luke's point from earlier. "I had heard of the stories before. My parents referred to our kind as vampires, as well. You see, 'Bount' does not translate well in French. We use that term and vampire interchangeably. But, I suppose there was one thing that did stick with me..."

It was as if a montage of scenes from every form of media known to man flashed a single thing in the forefront of her mind. What was it that vampires craved? Blood. Why did they crave it? Because it was what helped them survive and give them power. To her limited knowledge, it wasn't the blood that Bounts needed, though that was just the easiest way for them to get a hold of something from within their prey that gave them the strength they needed. Even her parents, though she'd never seen them do anything more than this, would occasionally bite each other's neck as a form of affection. But why would they do that? Was it not just cultural? Did it serve a purpose?

"Lucas, are you saying I have to drain someone of their spiritual energy just to keep my child and I alive? Does my body not simply produce its own?"

Her cheeks flushed as she quickly lowered her gaze down towards the ground. Non! Absolutely not. No way. I could never. That is... I am not... But it made sense. Something she didn't notice before was that she was already looking around the room at people and gauging them with some level of interest. Even she could tell that they were all normal humans so they didn't ignite any sparks of excitement within her until Luke walked in the room. It all made sense now, too. She wasn't possessive for romantic reasons. She was trying to claim him because her instincts told her that he was the strongest person in the room and, therefore, an excellent choice for prey.

"I have never done such a thing!" Her face felt warm and she knew she had turned red. She redirected her body to face towards the back of the bar again so that she didn't have to look at him in the eyes. "I could not! Or maybe I would not. It is not if I can, just that I would not. But I could... But I never have!"

Caught within a spiral, Catty kept going back and forth between if she felt she was capable of draining someone like that. Truthfully, she didn't even consider the possibility that they would get hurt. That's not what this was about. Instead, she was more thinking about how she remembered being told by her parents that biting someone like that was an incredibly intimate thing and should only be done under specific circumstances. Unfortunately, Catty never questioned what those circumstances were. Maybe they were trying to deter her from going after literally anyone back when she was younger if her instincts ever kicked in a bit too hard. So what had originally been their method of keeping her safe turned into her never learning why to begin with.

[Luke Clyburn]

”It’s Luke.”

As he expected, this would not be the simplest of conversations. He did find it interesting that Bount didn’t translate very well in French. At least she had come to expect that the vampire label would apply to her. But as Luke watched her begin to descend down the spiral of denialism, the man suddenly remembered some of his own struggles with coming to terms with what he was. He and Catty weren’t that different at all. She may have had a informational headstart on everything, and also a damn good teacher, but she was still just a girl raised to be fairly normal. It reminded him of himself. How lost, conflicted, and confused he was. And how that rejection of what he truly was caused some many problems with the relationships he tried to build.

Catty would feel his hand on the small of her back. Rubbing her back up and down to comfort and try to calm her down, Luke pulled his hand away a two or so moments later and focused his attention back on the glass in his hand. ”I didn’t explain it well enough so, let me clarify. If reiatsu, the spiritual energies we possess, was all we needed then as you said our bodies would produce more than enough. It isn’t reiatsu that we’re after as Bount though. Here, look at this.” Luke would explain before lifting the glass of whiskey he had up a little bit for her to see. ”Think of the glass as the body, the drink as reiatsu, and the ice as the soul. The body contains the soul and the reiatsu to produces. Like how ice melts into water to fill the glass.” Luke would elaborate on with a hushed tone of voice, mindful of the audience in the bar and the fact that attention was on them.

His conversation was cut short though as the bartender reappeared. He approached the pair, giving Catty a look, before Luke motioned for his drink to be refilled. Watching as the dark liquid was poured into his glass and handed back to him, Luke reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. Sliding ten thousand yen onto the counter, catching the bartender by surprise, Luke would simply look at him and lock eyes with the man. ”Close shop and take a break for an hour.” the Bounts eyes would flash yellow for a split second, different from their normal amber hues, and the bartenders eyes would flash that same color. ”Yeah alright.” the guy would reply. ”The rest of you? Leave as well. Bars closed.” Luke would suddenly announce rather loudly, his eyes flashing again, followed by every other patreon in the bar also having their eyes flash. They uniformly all stood up, making small talk, and left the establishment. The only one who wouldn’t, of course, was Miss Catherine Catty Noir. She’d be entirely unaffected.

Once everyone was gone, Luke just sighed. ”This is a difficult conversation. I don’t want eavesdroppers. Back to the point though.” Luke took another drink, letting out an exaggerated grunt, before looking to Catty before looking to the glass. ”Like I said, it’s not the drink that our bodies want. It’s the ice.” slipping his fingers into the glass, Luke pulled one of the ice cubes out and held it between his two fingers. He’d then pop it into his mouth with a loud crunch. ”If it was just the reiatsu we needed, then it wouldn’t be a difficult problem. It’s souls that you’re hungry for, Cat. Pure life energy. Not blood, not reiatsu, these things are just vectors, but for the soul itself.” Luke explained, giving her a moment to digest what he just said.

”Your powers-” he’d continue ”-are waking up fast. No doubt because you were always on the edge just waiting for the correct stimuli to trigger them to wake up. But it’s also because you’re hanging around me, living in that apartment building, and are here in Karakura Town. The reiatsu in this city, because it’s so thick and rich, prompts the growth of our powers. I’m not the only powerhouse living in our apartment building. There’s a few others as well. So all your training, your natural talent, and just being around us is speeding your progress up. But there’s also your natural talent at play. But the real reason you’re feeling this thirst now, is because of your Doll.” Luke would explain, finishing up his drink.

”Go find one.” Luke would murmur to himself as a cold chill would pass through the restaurant, like a winter breeze, before suddenly being gone. ”Our Dolls need to eat too. We as Bounts feed on souls to maintain and sustain our Dolls. It’s the calories they need. It’s how they heal from injuries between fights as well. But there’s more to it than that. Once we start feeding there’s a secondary effect that comes with it. I don’t know all the details, I’ve just picked up on things here and there, but we aren’t a natural species. I mean as Bount. There’s a point in time where our kind didn’t exist and then suddenly it did. But as a result of this, when we feed on souls, we also achieve immortality. We can live for thousands and thousands of years. Sickness and injury can still kill us, but age never will.” Luke would continue to explain.

”Before you get any ideas though, no I am not over a hundred years old. I’m only thirty. But I know a few who have been around a long time. But once we start feeding, it begins a cycle. We need to feed to maintain our Dolls, and then our own powers, as well as our lives. Once age starts catching up to us we have to feed to stave it off. But we also need to satisfy our hunger for life force to maintain our own powers, as well as our Dolls. It's a cycle that we can't escape unless we never once awaken any of our Dolls. That's when it starts.”

[Catty Noir ♦]

The smile and snicker that followed Luke trying to correct Catty's nickname for him, despite it being a proper name in and of itself, was absolutely unavoidable, to say the least. Something about his reactions to her teasing him was just too entertaining to ignore which was why she did it so often. Still, despite her behavior, he was patient with her. Feeling his hand against her back, she noted how large it felt and tossed that up to him being a man. With his height, that made sense, but she still acknowledged it. The pressure calmed her down pretty quickly even though the gesture was over almost as quickly as it started, and Catty couldn't help but feel a bit sad at the fact.

As he reached for his glass and picked it up once again, Catty listened intently to his new explanation. Despite learning English from a young age, the use of physical objects to help explain what he was talking about helped her immensely. Listening to the ice clink within the glass, the woman pinched her chin a bit between her index finger and her thumb as she focused on every word Luke said. Staring at the dark amber-colored drink, she tried to make sense of it all but felt a bit like an athlete learning about some tabletop role-play game. She nodded along once or twice only to be interrupted by the bartender once again, though she returned his look with a sweet smile and a wave that made him blush.

The sudden movement from Luke caught Catty's attention as she watched him pull out way more money than she had in her pocket at the moment and slap it on the table. Her eyes went wide with surprise since she was planning on paying for her own stuff, but that was more than enough money to cover everything. Despite the fact that he just paid for her, that wasn't even what caught her off-guard the most. She observed the interaction between Luke and the bartender as he politely yet forcefully instructed the guy to close up the bar. Catty's eyes shifted between the two men and she caught what looked like a sudden yellow flash within the bartender's gaze. She raised a brow at his sudden compliance.

Then he ordered everyone else to leave, as well. Some invisible force provided the compulsion needed for the other patrons to suddenly get up and get out, though Catty didn't feel such a thing. Her head whipped around once or twice as she looked to see who all got up, and that included the auburn-haired woman who had been eyeing Luke moments before. Dazed, they all retreated. How odd, Catty thought to herself, silently trying to figure out what happened. It must've been some ability of his to be able to command others to do things. It wasn't something she was aware of how to do on her own, anyway. So that meant it was a special power that only belonged to Luke, right?

"What did you do?"

Even with her question, Luke's only answer was that he didn't want any eavesdropping. That made enough sense that Catty decided to let it go for now. The display with the ice to further his explanation made everything click a bit more, and she finally understood what was going on. If it was the soul she needed, then maybe she could talk to her parents about this after all. They both had a Doll, so they needed to figure all of this out before meeting each other. Perhaps it wouldn't be as embarrassing as she thought, and she wouldn't have to bother Luke quite as much anymore. There was no way he enjoyed coming out here, anyway. She got this weird feeling that he didn't care for her much.

But then she was reminded of something he said. It went by quickly, and she would have missed it. She almost did, at first. Her mind brought her back to the moment he actually called her something other than 'Catherine.' He gave her a new nickname. It wasn't her proper name, and it wasn't 'Catty,' either. He called her 'Cat.' Short and sweet. The realization made her cheeks burn a bit, and she averted her gaze to the back of the bar as she stared at the colorful bottles. Reveling in the fact that she'd earned a nickname from him despite questioning where she stood seconds prior, Catty's hands both cupped her cheeks as she rested her arms on the bar's counter. She figured it'd be best to just not look at him while he finished speaking.

Still, if he was right, then this could be a problem for her. The hunger she felt was painful. Amon had even complained off an on about it, which meant he felt it in his own way, too. So if this was going to continue being so tremendously uncomfortable, she had to fix it. Fast. Catty sighed. She turned her attention back to Luke and was about to ask him a question when she heard him speak softly under his breath. A shiver went down her spine, though it wasn't because of something like reflex or fear. She felt a literal chill that had come and gone. Did he send something out there to find whatever it was he was asking for, or did he expect her to go?

She almost considered getting out of her seat and hunting for whatever it was he was thinking of. Her assumption was that she'd have to find some unsuspecting person and figure out how to feed properly. Her instincts were screaming at her, but she wasn't very good at listening, apparently. She couldn't tell what it was, exactly, that she was supposed to do. She guessed it was as simple as touching someone, like putting her hand on their shoulder or something. Or it absolutely had to do with biting. She had no idea. Catty knew well enough about the legends of their kind and why they're referred to as vampires, so if it had to do with biting, that made the most sense.

And the anti-aging. She was aware that she'd have a long life, interestingly enough. It was the only fun fact she was made aware of at a young age because her parents warned her that she'd likely have to move around a lot just as they had. At her age, she and her parents look incredibly similar. They probably have something like thirty or so years on her, and she knew they were older in terms of human years when they had her, so that was one of the first conversations she ever received. She'd have to protect herself at all costs. Her family gets by running the bakery by claiming good genetics, and they actually wore makeup to age themselves up a bit rather than the reverse. It was fascinating.

"I see. I suppose that makes sense, then. I do not know well every single piece of the puzzle for our kind, but this helps greatly." Catty stood up from the bar stool and fixed her outfit a bit. "It also explains why you seem so old-fashioned, like paying for a woman's meal when they are not yet well-acquainted. You may not be ancient, but you truly are old."

Another snicker escaped from Catty's lips as she started to walk towards the door, then paused for a moment right behind Luke. She raised her hand and placed it against his back between his shoulder blades, though she knew all he'd be able to feel was pressure because of the clothes he was wearing. Checking her nails out of habit to make sure they still looked nice, she rubbed only her thumb up and down on the fabric and pressed hard enough that he'd be able to feel it. This was her thanks to him for taking the time to truly explain things to her, and despite Amon's hesitation at her gesture in the back of her mind, she gave herself just this moment anyway.

"At the bright young age of twenty-nine, I am but a child compared to you. In some cultures, you could be a grandparent by now. I can already see your wrinkles. Right... here."

Twisting around from behind Luke, she leaned against the bar on the opposite side of where she'd been sitting and raised her hand to brush some of the loose white strands of hair away from his forehead. She had flinched at first, still fighting the horrible feeling that he could hurt her again at any second as she tried to convince herself that he wasn't going to. She knew why he'd done that in the first place and didn't want to hold it against him, but her body wasn't as forgiving. Her mind wasn't as forgiving. But as she powered through that feeling, she realized how soft his hair was and how kind his eyes looked. That kindness made her want to tease him more, maybe annoy him so much that she'd double over in pain from laughing, but instead she just gently slid her fingers back behind his ear and lowered her hand.

"And perhaps some crows feet." He didn't have any of those. "Maybe some age spots." He didn't have any of those either. "Or maybe you find it difficult to become excited in the be-" Catty felt someone in the back of her mind mentally slap her before she could finish her sentence, causing her to pause for just a second before giggling to herself. "I am only joking, mon petit chaton. But, okay. I'll ask him." Redirecting her attention back to Luke after her brief pause to respond to Amon, she finally questioned him. "So what is it you said to go find?"

[Luke Clyburn]

”Something you’ll be able to do at some point.”

Luke watched her for her reactions. Well, maybe not watched. It wasn’t like he was staring at her. But from the corner of his eyes he would watch to see how she took to the information he was providing her. He wondered to himself how she would react. Was she going to shrug the information and be fine with it or would she reject this reality in a way like he did when he first found out? Luke wondered if it would be the former given that she still had her parents. But he also wasn’t confident that they would have given her any guidance on this just based on the sparse bits and pieces she had told him so far about how much actual help they had given her regarding this side of her life. Maybe Luke was just being too harsh on them. Maybe it was born out of jealousy. Could he really judge them for how they chose to raise their daughter? No, maybe not, but he was going to.

”So you’re say there’s no manners in France or that the men ain’t shit? Feel free to pay me back then.” Luke would reply in turn, closing his eyes in annoyance as he lifted his glass to his lips and tilted his head back gulping the dark liquid down in one gulp. Listening to her footsteps get further away from him after she stood up from her seat, Luke let out a confused grunt as he looked over his shoulder at her to see what she was doing. Her reaction hadn’t quite been what he was expecting, he’d give her that. She’s taking it well. Luke thought to himself. ”Better than the crybaby routine you performed.” he’d suddenly hear inside his head. They’d been so quiet up until this point. How about you go back to sleep.

”No.”

The strongest Bount in the world would suddenly flinch when he felt a hand on his back. Catty would certainly feel the man jump ever so slightly, his eyes now returning to her as he peered across his shoulder at her. Confusion and interest reflected back at her from those amber hues. What made the man jump was suddenly being touched by someone who, from what he had seen from her, could probably pull a car tire apart if she wanted to. Luke had to be careful of people like that. It wasn’t like he believed Cat would do anything to him, no he believed they were on good terms, but for a second he didn’t like the fact that he lowered his guard. Actually, he didn’t like the fact he jumped at her touch at all. They weren’t friends or anything, more like unwilling master and unappreciative apprentice, but he should have been fairly comfortable around her.

The woman's thumb traced back and forth across his back as she placed her hand there. Luke relaxed. His eyes followed her as she maneuvered herself back against the bar opposite of the side she had been sitting prior. Luke scoffed and rolled his eyes at her joke. She didn’t realize that she may have actually been physically older than him by a few years on account of how he had passed the last three. ”No, I’m good at keeping it in my pants.” Luke would respond back to her, chuckling at the thought of how some people didn’t know how to use a rubber or pull out and thus fucked up their lives completely. The Bount closed his eyes for a moment before suddenly feeling her touch.

Fingers gliding through his hair. He opened his eyes back up and looked at her, confused and surprised, but mostly confused. And quiet. Luke remained like that as she made her joke and brushed her fingers behind his ear. The slight touch caused his back to tingle just a little. Amber hues remained locked on her. He realized that she looked… good in this lighting. The soft lights of the bar helped bring out how cute she was. Luke furrowed his brow a tad and averted her gaze, looking away from her and tightening his lips together. With a grumble he moved his face away from her a bit, but couldn’t fully hide the slight hint of red that grew on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Fuck. She was so funny. Girl thought she was a comedian making a joke about what he was like in the bedroom when she had no idea he’d have her unable to move till the next morning.

Her jokes aside, she asked a question that he was shocked she asked. Luke looked at her, before looking at his phone, and mentally debated something. ”C’mon. Let’s go for a walk. I wanna work these drinks off.” he’d say to her, getting up from his own chair and leading the way to the door. Opening it for her, Luke motioned for her to go first before he’d follow after her. He wasn’t in any rush, so for now he would just walk with Catty. Even if she pestered him for a straight answer or where they were going he’d avoid answering. It wasn’t that cold of a night either.

”Hey. Tell me what it was like for you. Growing up, I mean. What your life’s been like before you decided to start stalking me.”

[Catty Noir ♦]

So it wasn't purely a Luke-exclusive thing. By the sound of it, the compulsion he forced upon everyone in that bar was actually universally used by Bount. That's fascinating in its own way, especially because she never noticed any time when her parents may have used such an ability. Then again, their high amounts of sales even from people who claimed to just be browsing the pastries suddenly made sense. That thought was humorous to the woman. She supposed every race had their own versions of cheat codes, so in reality this probably wasn't all that strange. It was certainly useful, though. Catty wanted to make sure she remembered this.

Once Luke had paid and Catty made her sarcastic comment to him, he responded with something a bit shocking. ”So you’re say there’s no manners in France or that the men ain’t shit? Feel free to pay me back then.”

Catty's eyes easily reflected the immediate regret she felt saying anything about him paying. "Non! You already offered! I cannot allow you to go back on your word if it means it would make you less of a man!"

She didn't want to pay him back. She was actively jobless and could only afford rent because of her parents sending an allowance each month, but that was only going to last her for her first three months in the country. They had made it abundantly clear that they weren't going to fund her entire extended stay and that she'd have to find a job soon enough, so allowing Luke the honor of paying for her drinks was the least she could do to help them both out. She could keep her own money and Luke could feel like he made himself look good just by covering the bill. It was a win-win, and she didn't want to argue it further.

It took a lot of strength to hold back any other comments when Luke said he was good at keeping it in his pants as a response to Catty claiming he could be a grandparent. If he was a virgin, too, then that would explain a lot of the awkwardness he had around her. But that could also mean it might be embarrassing for her to bring anything up, even in the form of a joke. She did have a lot of spoken confidence, but that immediately went away the second she was ever alone with a man. Perhaps that was why she never pursued long-term relationships with anyone. Well, that, and her parents constantly reminding her that things were too complicated for her kind.

Soon enough, without realizing it, Luke's eyes opening back up made Catty uncomfortably aware of how close she had gotten to his face with her own. She could feel every rise and fall of her ribcage as she took shortened breaths. Whether she should think this way about him or not, she'd never deny that Luke was a handsome man. She'd thought it before, but it was in passing and she didn't want to dwell on it. This time, she felt as if she didn't have much of a choice but to consider it. Their gazes were locked for what felt like an eternity, and she could have sworn she felt herself try to inch closer to him until he purposely looked away and grumbled. The small tint of pink appearing on his cheeks mimicked her own.

Catty quickly lowered her hand and also tried to look absolutely anywhere else while she attempted to blink whatever was going on with her away. Luke dodged her question, probably hoping she wouldn't notice despite the fact that she very much did, and instead offered for the two of them to go on a walk. She watched him get up from his chair and walk towards the door, following him closely. He invited her to exit first, still trying to be a gentleman, though she didn't make a comment about it this time. Instead, she looked at him and smiled genuinely, brushing a bit of hair away from her eyes.

It only took a few steps for the two of them to be out of the bar and back on the streets of Karakura Town, but it had gotten late. Catty didn't realize how much time had passed and she was shocked to see that anything was still open. Evidently, this town bustled even at crazy hours of the night when it was entirely normal for Bount like Luke and Catty to be roaming. It smelled like a city as cars passed by the two of them, mixed with a bit of cigarette smoke and gasoline. Actually, it reminded her of Paris. A lot of people smoked there so it wasn't uncommon to smell such a thing, and she'd heard that New York is very much the same way. Must be a city thing, she thought to herself before Luke asked his surprising question.

Keeping her pace matched with his so they could walk next to each other, she didn't dare look at him in the eyes and kept her attention straight ahead. "First of all, Lucas, I did not stalk you. I tracked you down based on your energy signature, found where you were, and bothered you until you broke my body."

She paused, stopped walking, and bit her lip as her face changed to a quizzical look. Is that stalking? Oh, well. Catty caught back up to Luke quickly and continued. "I grew up normal, like any child. I suppose a large difference was that my parents told me what we were from a young age. I was born in Paris, raised around humans, and helped my parents with their boulangerie. They make bread every day, and even sweet croissants. I used to bring some to my school friends when I was in collége, which for Americans is the same as middle school, I think."

A car passed by the two of them, filling some silence with the sound of its wheels hitting the pavement. "My maman and papa each have a single Doll who helps around the boulangerie, but are in constant disguise. They are both sweet. I learned humans can see Dolls because of them, which does not always seem to be the case. Humans cannot see Hollows the way we can. Or, at least, not all of them can see. It has been quite the learning curve. I found that I had to ignore the spiritual world for much of my life while around normal Humans." She paused for a moment to make sure Luke was still paying attention since he had a habit of leaving her in random places.

"As for my childhood, I went to school, played, and learned like any regular human child. At home, my parents trained me in hopes I would manifest my own Doll. I never did until now, though. So all I had gotten out of that training was strength. I was never taught any intricacies. Perhaps they felt it unnecessary since I did not have Amon yet."

Had she ever said Amon's name in front of Luke before? She didn't know. Actually, she wasn't sure who any of his Dolls were, either. A brief memory flashed within her mind of a massive reptilian creature from back when they fought, but everything was so crazy and dusty, and she had been in so much pain. She didn't remember anything clearly. All she had were Amon's memories mixing with her own, so it was tough to say what was real and what wasn't. Unfortunately, she couldn't think about it much more because the insatiable hunger she thought she had staved off returned, causing her to clutch at her throat again.

"My apologies, mon cher. I know you wished to 'work off the drinks,' as you said, but I am not in the best condition. Perhaps you can tell me a bit about yourself to distract me? And maybe include where we are going? Since you are such a gentleman, it is only natural for you to indulge your significantly younger female friend's curiosity."

[Luke Clyburn]

As Catty surmised, unknowingly to Luke, a lot of things were still open even with how late in the evening it was. Karakura Town had a fairly bustling night life on account of late work hours and the sudden rise in people who spent their evenings outside. Some of them normal humans and the other half people like the couple walking together. Luke remembered thinking to himself that the nightlife had become more bustling in Karakura compared to what it had been three years ago. Obviously there were districts and parts of the city where that was the focus, something like Tokyo’s Shibuya or Shinjuku, but what Luke noticed was an increase in general. More people had moved to the city while he was gone which was crazy to him. With Karakura’s reputation Luke was certain people would stop moving here. Nationally, the average number of unexplained deaths and missing persons exceeded ten thousand annually. And Karakura Town was where the majority of that number came from.

It made Luke think about his favorite restaurant. It wasn’t the ramen shop that he had met Shizuka, believe it or not, but was actually a unnamed seater seater that Luke had found one night in the Mashiba District. He hadn’t even realized it was a restaurant when he found it, thinking it was a bar, just wandering around the city on one particularly bad night a few years ago. There was no menu and the owner didn’t go by a name. If you asked for it, and he had the ingredients or you provided it, he’d cook it. Open from midnight to seven in the morning. A place for night owls and recluses to come together and share their stories. Luke didn’t share this though, not fully. Luke chuckled slightly at what Cat had said in response to him. She had a smart tongue he’d give her that. ”Saying I broke your body without proper context makes it sound like I did something completely different, yknow?” Luke asked abc at her, peering over his shoulder at her and smirking a bit. She was easy to talk to.

He listened to her story with obvious interest. He hadn’t asked her just for them to make small talk. No, if Luke was going to be training this woman and had to be around her often then he wanted to make a genuine effort to get to know her better. Sure, she was a bit annoying. Kind of a bitch at times too, but so could he. But she seemed like a good person. ”College isn’t the same as middle school… wait, what?” Luke would ask before realizing he was getting language barriered. He grumbled, realizing she was speaking French and mixing it into her english sentences, before continuing to listen.

If Luke didn’t know she was a Bount, or could feel her reiatsu, Cat would have been completely indistinguishable from a normal human. Nothing about her screamed Bount. She was just a perfectly normal woman who happened to have a monster at her beck and call. Her parents did a good job raising her for sure. Whether it was to help her blend in or so that she could live a legitimately normal life Luke wasn’t sure. But, regardless, she was pleasant to be around despite her attitude. It didn’t shake the annoyance that Luke felt, though, when he remembered that her parents had also completely failed when it came to actually raising her as a Bount. And now he was having to do what they hadn’t done. Luke didn’t want to be a mentor, it brought back uncomfortable memories.

But at the same time, those memories might have been why Luke continued to mentor Cat. He wasn’t pushing her off on someone else. He didn’t want her to stumble down the same pitfalls he did. He didn’t want to make the same mistakes with her that he made with someone else. What’s more, he wanted to protect her. Looking over his shoulder at the yapping french woman, Luke saw someone else standing in her place for a second in his mind before he had to brush them aside. Windstarke told him from time to time that he was actually pretty good at the being a mentor thing. Luke wasn’t sure he agreed yet, but he could tell that Cat had gotten stronger as a Bount because of his lessons. But tonight was going to be a lesson that left him uncomfortable. One that was going to change this girls life forever. There was nothing he could do about it either. The gears were already turning. Once Cat had awakened her Doll the chance to be a normal human was lost. She shut the door that couldn’t ever be opened again. Now Luke had to direct her down a path he felt was going to be the best for her.

”Amon huh? That’s not a bad name.”

Luke would comment as they walked, stopping at a street corner to wait for the crosswalk sign to turn green so they could cross the street. Cars came and went as they waited, Luke listening to Cat the entire time. His attention was drawn back to her though when he noticed from the corner of his eye her grabbing at her throat. An expression of discomfort flashed on her face for a moment. ”You alright?” he’d ask rhetorically, knowing exactly what was wrong and what the actual answer would be. ”Please, you’re like late twenties at most and I’m only thirty.” Luke would respond back to her joke. Poor girl didn’t realize that she might actually be physically older than Luke since his age had become frozen at twenty seven. Not just from the dirt nap he had taken but from his feedings on both souls and Shizuka’s life force.

”Don’t think guys who only talk about themselves are popular with women, but, I don’t know my life isn’t a very exciting story. My parents didn’t tell me shit about what they were or what I was. We moved a lot. All the time. Never stayed in one place for too long. Maybe they weren’t the best at feeding, I don’t know, or they were running from something. But wasn’t able to have many friends as a kid and other children just sort of knew I wasn’t quite like them. Instincts I guess. Like sheep knowing a wolf was amongst them in a way, maybe. But I don’t have a lot of memories of my folks. I can’t even remember what my dad looked or sounded like. He passed away early in my life. Car accident I was told, and my mom ditched me at his parents before she just disappeared forever.” he told her, leaving many details out. But one thing was clear. His voice had acquired quite a bit of venom when he was talking about his mom abandoning him.

There was always a thought that existed in Luke’s head. His grandparents weren’t Bount. They were normal humans. And Luke remembered thinking it was odd he had never seen any family pictures with all of them together. ”To answer your question though, you’ll know when we get there.” he’d say with a smirk. Something pinged in his mind. Cat would notice the sudden surprised look on Luke’s face before he turned his attention away from her and towards a random part of the city. ”Sooner than I thought too.” he commented, before motioning for Cat to follow him. ”Tonight I’m going to teach you what it means to be a Bount. What it really means though. Being a Bount isn’t about our Dolls. It’s not the power. It’s not about the vampire romanticism either. It’s about our responsibility to those around us and the weight of our lives. Tonight, I’m going to teach you about our world.”

Luke was cryptic and vague for a reason. Leading Cat through the city, it didn’t take long at all to find what they were looking for. Leading her through the business sector of the city where a variety of offices were operating out of, Luke led the girl down a back alley after assuring her everything would be alright. Unlike American cities, the Japanese alleyways weren’t that dirty and covered in graffiti. Escaping the lights of the city and entering into the darkness behind buildings, Luke turned the flashlight on his phone on and led the way. The shadows were thick. Luke’s light did absolutely nothing to get rid of the shadows around them. The Bount led the girl to a dead end of the alley, where what they were looking for was waiting for them. A corpse.

Someones body lay slumped against the wall. Face bruised, beaten, and hardly recognizable. Luke crouched down, keeping some distance, and gave it a look over. ”Yakuza did this.” he’d say, noticing nothing abnormal at all about the corpse. No reiatsu, no weird wounds, just beaten to death. ”But we’re not here for this. Go find him.” Luke would say as he suddenly turned to Cat. ”And by him I don’t mean the body. The chain is already broken. If he’s not here that means he’s not bound to his body or the alley. Or he might be, don’t know, but the first thing you need to do is go find his spirit.” Luke explained, looking down at Catherine expectantly.

[Catty Noir ♦]

Something within Catty started to sink quicker than a rock thrown into a lake. Hearing that Luke didn't have quite the same kind of support that she did growing up made her sad for him. She reached up as he spoke, and even though he didn't sound particularly sad outside of the occasional hint of anger towards his mom, she felt compelled to place her hand against his back and gently rub it for a few seconds. She didn't know why she did it. Comfort, maybe? Perhaps she wanted him to know she was there and still listening. And maybe she didn't want him to feel so alone amongst his own kind. She didn't even know if he actually felt that way or not.

His strained relationship with his mother concerned Catty, honestly. She hadn't known Bounts to just abandon their children the way his mother had, but she also couldn't say she knew very many outside of her family. Still, the stories her own mother and father shared told her that they were highly community-oriented, enjoying each other's company more than any other type of person out there. They were something like a flock of birds, or maybe bats. The more time they spent with each other, the more they started to be like one another. If Luke needed to have more family time because his own family sucked, that could probably be arranged. That is, of course, if he considered friendships like family.

She wanted to be able to respond to him, but she wasn't sure what to say. Catty's sky-blue eyes looked up at Luke's amber-colored ones and she swore she saw her entire reflection. Suddenly unable to look him in the face, she redirected her gaze, giving him a chance to continue to lead her to wherever they were going. She simultaneously cursed herself for being utterly incapable of coming up with anything useful to say to the man. Lowering her hand once again and denying herself the attempt at having anything to say, she instead just listened to Luke as he introduced the next phase of their night.

She had to follow him. She'd already been doing so, but this seemed a bit more dangerous somehow. Catty looked around the streets as they became significantly more empty, pressing her body instinctively closer to Luke since he was the strongest between the two of them and she unconsciously sought protection. The shadows grew thicker and Catty's feline-like pupils grew larger in an attempt to accommodate for the lack of light, though she found herself more scared than anything else. She wasn't yet at the point in her life where she was the most dangerous thing out there. She knew she could be killed.

"Lucas, where are you taking me? I do not see the benefit in you dragging a young lady behind a dumpster just to prove a poi-"

Decay. The sent of a fresh kill lingered in the air, surprising Catty since she didn't realize she could even smell such a thing. Blood and the slight smell of iron filled her nose as her eyes locked on to something she never imagined she'd see in her own lifetime; a dead body. Catty's breath grew quicker and became labored. She didn't blink. She didn't look away. She simply stared at the dead man on the street at the end of the alley with a blank face, wholly incapable of processing any type of emotion that would benefit her in the moment. Luke said this was because of the yakuza. She believed him.

”But we’re not here for this. Go find him. And by him I don’t mean the body. The chain is already broken. If he’s not here that means he’s not bound to his body or the alley. Or he might be, don’t know, but the first thing you need to do is go find his spirit.”

"The soul."

Souls had scents. They smelled similar to their dead body so long as they were fresh kills. The longer a soul was away from its body, the less they smelled alike and it started blending in more with surrounding nature. Catty's eyes, wide but focused, would have matched Luke's vision perfectly if it weren't for the fact that she may as well have been looking straight through him. She was concentrating as much as she could on where the scent traveled, realizing the soul had already gone quite a bit of distance away. She'd have to track it, which could take a bit of time. Was Luke going to just follow her?

And why did she even care?

Her mind changed so suddenly, from being absolutely horrified at the sight to actually feeling almost obligated to find this guy. She didn't understand what happened to bring this about. She didn't even know why she felt the need to do as he said. It was as if there was some kind of light that had been out for years, like the bulb had reached its end and no one bothered to replace it until Luke finally brought a new bulb. Eyes darted from side to side as she tried to smell the air in a subtle way, turning her body in response to where she could potentially pick up on this trail. When she finally found a lead, she looked back to Luke for only a moment before turning around and running off.

He hadn't gone far, and she was thankful. In fact, this soul seemed to wander from place to place and stick around for a few moments before leaving. Because of his apparent curiosity, that slowed down his travel and made him easier to find. Catty would stop tracking him just to end up at a street lamp or something, take a quick whiff, and keep going. She was also moving at her own top speed rather than just a quick walk or even a casual run. She was on a mission and Luke was looking for results. If she were going to avoid what happened to her last time, she thought maybe this was the best way to do it. Like playing fetch.

"He is not far. He likes alcohol. Why would the yakuza beat up an old drunk man?" A valid question, though she stopped running for a second, turned around, and hoped Luke was still following her when she asked, "And why are we hunting him?"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Catty's Stats}

Strength - [250] = 375 Points

Speed - 200 Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] = 375 Points

Reiatsu Strength - [200] - 140 Points

Light Aura - 50 Points

Dark Aura - 50 Points

Instinct - [225] = 169 Points

Senses - 225 Points

Energy Sensory - 0 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1400 Points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Catty's Skills}

[Battle Analysis] {2}

[Illusion Resist] {2}

[Strength of Will] {2}

[Analyzing] {2}

[Martial Arts: MMA] {2}

[Imitation] {2}

[Pain Tolerance] {1}

[Heat Tolerance] {1}

[Acrobatics] {1}

[Luke Clyburn]

She was remarkably quick when it came to adapting to situations. Luke half expected her to start screaming like a stereotypical girl upon discovering the body. She did seem to start to panic a bit based on what her breathing suddenly started to sound like, but that was seemingly quickly abated by Luke just saying something to her. It was actually rather surprising. He, again, had expected her to panic a bit. But she handled it well enough. She even managed to guess what it was he had been referring to correctly. ”Ten points.” Luke commented to himself after her answer, standing straight from where he had been crouching. He watched her. After giving him the correct answer Catherine almost immediately began getting to work trying to find the soul they were looking for. She started sniffing at the air like a dog, peaking Luke’s interest a tad bit.

What was she a dog? It’s different for everyone. Luke thought to himself as he watched Cat work. How someone went about detecting reiatsu seemed to be different for each person. To Luke, his ability to sense energy was best described as him feeling the “flame” within everyone. Everyone had this “fire” inside them but those with reiatsu and spiritual power burned brighter than the candle-like flickers within normal people. The strength, size, and heat of that flame dictated to Luke how powerful their souls were. Cat was a fairly sizable fire but her heat wasn’t anything extraordinary yet. She was already stronger than ninety percent of the planet, now that Luke thought about it, but was still a fairly small fish in the big pond called Karakura Town.

But this is strong enough, isn’t it?

Luke suddenly found himself asking. All Cat wanted was to unlock her Doll and Luke wanted to help her get strong enough to defend herself if she was ever in danger. She had insane amounts of talent, but Luke wondered if it was all right for him to help her realize it. As usual, he was worrying about things more than he should have. But part of him didn’t want this woman to get involved in the spiritual conflicts that were going on. He’d have preferred it if she had gone back to France after getting her Doll, but, here we were. Luke couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head when he watched her look back at him before darting off to go find the soul they were looking for. ”More like a dog than a cat.” he said to himself, hiding his hands and letting her go. Luke would turn around to look at the body that was left behind.

Crouching back down, Luke reached out and rummaged around the guys clothes until he found the wallet he was looking for. No money and the bank cards were all gone. But the Yakuza were generous enough to leave behind a driver's license. Or sloppy enough. ”Sorry this happened to you.” Luke would murmur before tossing the guys wallet onto his lap. ”Could you get rid of him, please?” Luke would then ask before the body shifted slightly. There was a scrapping and dragging sound, but Luke didn’t stay to watch what would happen as he stood back up and turned his back on the scene. He figured he’d follow after Catty.

”Because I told you too.” the Bount would answer, though if Catty was expecting him to be behind her she’d be surprised to hear the answer come from up above her. Dangling his feet over the side, Luke was sitting on the rooftop edge of a first-story building that Catty was walking by. How did he get up there so fast? When did he do it? Bount magic obviously. Resting his chin in his hand and watching her, Luke smirked like he was proud of the not answer he had given her. ”It’ll make sense when you find him. Go on then.” he’d say, motioning with his head to indicate he wanted her to keep going.

[Catty Noir ♦]

Catty watched Luke's feet dangle from the side of the building once his voice carried and grabbed her attention. She smiled and watched them sway every so slightly, his heels occasionally kicking against the brick without him even noticing. She fought the intense urge to jump up and grab on to his shoes, tearing them off his feet and throwing them elsewhere for him to go fetch. It was a tough moment for her. She didn't realize how awful intrusive thoughts could be until she started having ones like this. Or perhaps it was just an excuse to do something - anything - to wipe that smug smirk off his face. She couldn't tell if she was annoyed with him or just ready to get this over with.

The tilt of his head told her everything she needed to know, and Catty looked back down the street. People were still walking around, which was crazy, given the time. Karakura had a bustling night life. In the distance, she heard glasses clink together as people called out cheers for each other with alcohol. Karaoke was gaining participants by the second as several people walked down some steps into a karaoke bar. The smell of cigarette smoke was everywhere, too. It made her a bit jealous. Not so much the cigarettes, though those reminded her fiercely of home. Really, it was that everyone had a group they were with. People who were their friends.

Catty's eyes dropped to the street as she stopped for a moment, not caring if Luke was following her or not. She rubbed her forearm against her eyes to stop the threat of tears. Was she feeling homesick? She had tons of friends back in Paris, and her time spent in Japan, though not bad by any means, limited her to the types of friendships she could make. She'd been training with Luke, trying to figure out where she belonged, hospitalized, staying home... That didn't leave much time for her to focus on finding her own group of people. She didn't even need them to be other Bount. She was fine if they were human-y.

Do not fret. You are not alone. You never will be again.

A soft smile formed upon Catty's lips as she mentally hugged her Doll, his words comforting and warm to hear within her mind. After giving the lacy cat ears atop her head a quick pet, she tried her best to focus again on the task set in front of her. Luke was trying to get her to hunt for something. She wasn't a bad hunter. She just needed to focus and spend time figuring out the direction the soul went. So, again, she listened. She drowned out all of the ambient noise around her and silenced the bustling world she drowned in. She ignored the smell of cigarettes and focused on the scent of alcohol. Before long, her small amount of meditation seemed to work in her favor.

Picking back up on her trail, she realized the soul actually didn't travel very far. She picked up her pace and lightly jogged another few hundred feet to maybe about half a mile down the street. Ignoring the chatter of those around her, unable to fully understand the Japanese they spoke anyway, Catty continued on her journey until she came to a park with several benches and paths. This seemed to be quite a popular place judging by the people still roaming about, which was enough concern for her to start. What really got her nervous, though, was the fact that the soul was approaching a young man who was sitting on one of the benches, minding his own business.

It became clear early on that this guy didn't notice the soul at all, and the soul wasn't entirely sure about that. The behavior was strange, too. Did he know he was dead? Maybe he didn't yet. Although, it was possible he was still in shock from the whole situation and figured he could have been hallucinating. Whatever the case may be, Catty knew she had to separate the two of them. She just wasn't sure exactly what would be the best way to do that. So she observed briefly and thought about something she'd never admit out loud; what would Luke do? How would he react in this type of situation?

"Excuse me," Catty said, her Japanese at the level of Kindergarten, at best. "Can I borrow this bench for a moment? There seems to be, uh... ehm..." Comment tu dis... "Mold. There seems to be mold."

Catty's phone was out in her hand as she looked up the phrase she wanted to say in Japanese. Thankfully, technology was a bit more advanced these days and whatever she was saying was good enough to make sense to the guy who had been sitting down. His face turned red as he stood up, brushed himself off, and kept walking. The soul stared at Catty, and she dared to stare back. She wanted to reach out and grab him, but there were still too many people around for that to not cause a scene. For now, she did her best to try to not let him leave her sight while she waited for Luke to say something snarky helpful.