[Mekatra]

The evening was crisp with the beginnings of a winter chill causing Joane's breath to leave little smokey wisps in the air with each breath. Her lantern creaked slightly with each step as she prowled through the noble district. Rumors of a burglar and a few scattered reports of valuables going missing in the night had lead to the captain of the guard requesting her assistance with patrolling the area. As it neared midnight she was beginning to regret agreeing to help her old friend. Hadn't she found better things to do with her time than slip through alleyways keeping an eye out for what was undoubtedly the imagination of the paranoid.

She was just about ready to give up and return to the guard house to fill her belly with warm food when she saw movement in the shadows of a dark alley. Regardless of if there actually was a thief in the quarter, there was someone moving around that shouldn't have been. "HOLD THERE!" She barked out, her voice booming and echoing in the otherwise silent cobblestone streets. Just as the words left her a claxon of alarm bells started up from several streets over.

[Crystalkitsune85]

He had been good long run of spending his nights climbing through windows and taking things from unsuspecting victims. His name was Trevor. He was brandishing a pair of black cat ears and a long tail swishing behind him. However, during the day these things disappeared.

He was stealthier at night and more quiet and cunning. He had been cursed since birth with a curse, that caused him to acquire cat parts at sundown. He stayed away from people during the night and nobody knew if his "ailment."

He was currently trying to get through a window when he heard a noise. Normally he was able to hide in the shadows but there was a light coming forward and he had nowhere to run. He was cornered. He couldn't help but hiss like an alley cat though.

[Mekatra]

Joane stormed into the alleyway, cursing profusely under breath at the silver she had just lost on a bet if there actually was anything out here, but paused at the hiss. She could clearly see the outline of a man, but the possibility of an animal helping them wasn't lost on her. With her sword in her hand her confidence returned. "I said HOLD." Her blade point found Trevor's throat and she growled softly.

The dancing fire light of her lantern made her falter. "An...actual cat burglar?" She had to stifle her giggle at the sheer silliness of it. Before he could find a way to worm away she snatched him up by the wrist. "This city gets stranger and stranger... damn wizards..."

[Crystalkitsune85]

Trevor was literally in a corner. There was a brick wall behind him, the alleyway ending right at a brick wall, so with the guard approaching, he literally had nowhere to run. Not that he didn't try to run past her with her bewilderment at him being an actual cat boy. He was wearing a black pair of trousers, and a shirt but no shoes. Shoes kept him from gaining traction on certain surfaces.

As he tried to run past her, he was met with some resistance and he faulted and flailed to try and get away. "Lemme go wench!" he hissed again. "I did nothin'."

[Mekatra]

Any sense of wonder Joane had about the actual cat man snapped from her mind the moment he tried to run. Running was without a doubt the closest thing he could have done to an open admission of guilt in her mind. She used his momentum to yank his wrist up to the middle of his back, forcing his shoulder into an awkward position. "Walk." She demanded and pushed him forward. "I assume you know where the North guardhouse is. Keep your mind on your feet or you will fall. I don't intend to kill you unless you attempt to run."

She sheathed her sword with her free hand in favor of digging through her pouch to find a small clay ball. A hard throw onto the ground activated the spell inside and sent colorful sparks shooting up into the air where they stayed, flashing to call attention to their location. "Think that stealing is easier than working, I suppose?"

[Crystalkitsune85]

Trevor growled when his hand was wrenched up behind him and held there firm. "I did nothing! Search me I have nothing on me!" Which was true. To a point. Sure he had a lock picking kit but he had nothing stolen on him. Nothing of value.

When she activated the magic beacon he flinched and ground his teeth silently. He was usually very careful not to get caught and now some woman guard had captured him and was going to send him go jail. His ears were laid flat to his head to show his anger.

[Mekatra]

Joane didn't loosen her hold on him for even a moment despite his squirming around. She had no qualms about delivering him into the hands of the guard captain. He could howl whatever protests he liked to the guard watching over his cell. Once they reached the guard station she called out for the captain. Captain Cooper was a swarthy man with shoulders twice as broad as Trevor was. "My debt to you is paid, Coop." The knight snapped as she shoved the feline into his grip. "He was coming out of Lord Brighton's window. He says he didn't take anything, but I'll leave it up to your people to find out what he was supposedly doing there."

She leaned against the bars of his cell as he was searched and let out an ugly laugh when they found the lock picks. "I suppose those are for cleaning your teeth then?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. "Right... I don't suppose Brighton will be vouching for you."

[Crystalkitsune85]

Trevor was unceremoniously thrust into the arms of another guard and carried away. It wasn't long before he found himself in a damp, dirty cage. What they referred to as a "Cell". He felt hands pawing at all of his pockets and turning out his lock pick set. "They are used by locksmiths too, ya stupid bitch." he hissed out. "I could be an apprentice for all YOU know. You have nothing else on me.You can't keep me here just because I came from a window and had nothing stolen on my person."

[Mekatra]

"As soon as the courier arrives with the statement from Lord Brighton they will have good reason to hold you." Joane pointed out. "And since you tried to run and resisted when I called for you to halt, that's a very good reason for suspicion." She raised a brow at his squalling. "You're not really making a very good case for yourself at the moment either. Frantically demanding that you've done nothing wrong instead of simply stating what you WERE doing in someone else's window is, to be honest, rather damning."

The guard captain waved his hand at her. "Lady Joane, as you stated, your debt to me is paid. You are welcome to leave if you please."

[Crystalkitsune85]

Trevor just sat there, a low growl in his throat as his tail swished behind him in irritation and his ears were flat against his head. "So what will ya do with me then? Keep me here until I rot?" he asked through clenched teeth. "Just bread and water for my meals." he continued. "At least it's food," he muttered to himself.

[Mekatra]

"That's up to the Lord Justiciar." Joane shrugged at his impetuousness. "If Lord Brighton claims you have stolen or harmed something in his house you might be strung up tomorrow or taken down to a labor camp along the Southern border." She clicked her tongue against her teeth. "You made a bad decision, now you have to live with the consequences of that."

She watched impassively as the courier handed a missive over to Cooper. The guard captain read it over a few times before he shook his head. "This can't be right... Lord Brighton says he bought this "oddity" at auction as a gift for the king..."

[Crystalkitsune85]

Trevor's head snapped up. What? That was a lie but if it got him out of the cell, he'd go along with it. "Shore, I was just getting some fresh air..." he said "Us cat boys love to climb out windows...I just had the lockpicks because...as I said, locksmith...apprentice." he got out finally. "So you can jes unlock this lil cage and send me off to whomever." he said.

[Mekatra]

Cooper handed the missive over to Joane and she scowled at the message. "It says here that I am to deliver you to his Majesty and oversee your training." Her jaw clenched as she spoke, her words getting tighter. "We'll see.. oh and also if you attempt to escape I am to kill you and bring your hide to Lord Brighton." The corner of her mouth turned up a bit at that. "I knew I should have taken a squire and left on some kind of adventure this season... instead I get to skin a cat."

[Crystalkitsune85]

Trevor heard the words "training" and his ears flickered. "Training? Fer what?" he asked. "I ain't gonna be no house cat. Or some rulers' plaything."He balked at that notion. He wasn't about to be a kept pet, even since he wasn't always a cat boy...only at night. "wha exactly does that paper say about me being 'trained'? he asked.

[Mekatra]

"It simply says I am to deliver you to His Majesty and oversee your training. I assume His Majesty will give me further instructions." The knight's eyes narrowed. "You don't exactly get a lot of choice in the matter, do you? Would you prefer to stay here in your jail cell?" She nodded to Cooper and he unlocked the cell. "I hope you understand, I will actually kill you if you try to run."

She pocketed his lock picking set. "You won't be needing this. I'll just hold onto it until your "locksmith" master can come pick them up. You probably barely know how to use them anyway."

[Crystalkitsune85]

Trevor didn't like being insulted that he didn't know how to pick a lock. He had unlocked many doors and stole a lot of stuff that she didn't know about. Of course, there were only a few places he can sell them back to, and pay was a bit shitty but money was money and it paid for meals. Maybe this gig at Kingdom wasn't that bad. Hopefully, it included meals. "Fine....let's go already. I'm sure you're eager to get me wherever it is I need ta go."