A few weeks had passed since the 'incident' and Eteri in her typical Eteri fashion came and left as she pleased. Nevin had been right in the assumption that the less-than-stellar cat-lady would feel better having a piece of him around with her. It did make her feel strangely at ease. Parts of her thrummed with delight. Of course, those parts were also Pode, and when a fragment of a dead forgotten one is thrumming with delight within your chest you are probably going to be in for a bit of a bad time.

But, if a segment of Pode were to be in anyone, the safest place it could possibly be in is a wandering, carefree catgirl who has no home, no worries, and no soul of her own.

Wait, that last part is probably important, isn't it?

Regardless, let's continue....

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I was walking through the town of Radasanth, late evening. It was that time of day where the sun was almost set but not quite. One of my favourite times of the day. The sky was a brilliant shade of orange and everything was bathed in a nice warm glow. It was...nice.

"Miss."

I kept on walking.


"Miss! Miss! Excuse me Miss!"


Oh wow, those flowers were pretty, I paused to look at them. I wondered if Nevin liked flowers, I reached out and swiped one - shoving it in my mouth. Bleh. Bitter. (What, sometimes I can't help basic instincts.)

"Miss!" I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. Pollen splattered around my mouth as I was chewing on the remaining petals. "mmm?"

A rather well-to-do looking woman gave me a look that as somewhere between aghast and petrified. She wore what I assumed to be high fashion clothing, I base my assumption on this with how gosh down floofy her gown was. I could fit under that thing. My tail twitched.... I wanted to try and fit under that thing. I took a step forward ready to do so.

"Are you alright?" A second girl asked. Oh crap! There were two more of them, I almost didn't see the other two girls (who were in my opinion dressed far more appropriately, still fancy but not so floofy.)

I looked up. "Et tu?" I didn't understand the question, I glanced at my right hand. "Yes. Am Right hand." They proceeded to laugh at me, the poofiest one, I'll call her poof did so behind a fan she hid her mouth behind. Wow. Like in the pictures you see. I huffed, feeling frustrated. "What? What funny?"

"Nothing, darling. I assure you." Said Poof. "We have seen you... " She paused as her eyes danced up and down my figure. "Gahlavahnting around these parts recently, and you often visit that redheaded man's home. Do you live there, perchance?"

Well.. that was a weird question. I didn't really have any home. The two closest things I did have was Nevin's place, and Barchie's place. "No. Just visit."

More giggling.

Poof continued with the questions. "Oh, so you visit him mostly at night...how daring of you. Forgive me for asking such an uncouth question but...have you slept with him?"

This time it was my turn to laugh, I gave a snort. What a ridiculous question. "Of course Eteri have!" I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Many sleep. First time was...on kitchen floor, then in bed. Then Eteri do so much Eteri get own little bed."

Their faces had gone quite red, and they stopped talking to me to mumble discreetly between themselves. I tilted my head to the side, not understanding. Hell I didn't understand what the word uncouth was.

"So...miss...?"

"Eteri!" I said. "I am the Eteri."

"Quite. So Miss Eteri, would you call yourself, a woman of the night?"

I blinked. Did she mean I like the night time? "Yes?"

"Oh my...you're so bold and brave to state such things without a care for your reputation. Of course..." She gave me a dark look. "You don't exactly have one do you? You just wander the streets to do as you please, sticking your nose in all sorts of things don't you?"

I have no idea why she said it with such distaste, all of that sounded great. "Yes! Is fun!" I exclaimed.

"Essie, don't be so mean. Let's just go." One of the other girls finally spoke up, tugging on poofs long sleeve (Or Essie, I guess but I prefer the name poof)

"Tch. Fine." 'Essie' gave me a dirty look. "You're done in this town, harlot." She muttered as she turned away. The girl who tried to get her to leave shot me an apologetic look and said sorry.

Thing is, I had no idea what just happened. I wiped my mouth onto the back of my hand, removing any pollen residue. What was a harlot? I'd have to ask Nevin... but first... oh yes first... I turned back to the flower stand, there wasn't anyone around. I confidently picked up a group of large, red flowers, (They were Tiger Lilly, I know it was cause my sister said she didn't like them, how can you not like something with TIGER in its name!) But it wasn't for me it was for Nevin.

I held the things in my hand and proudly headed to Nevins shop. I neared the front, turned down the side street and shoved the stem off the flower in my mouth so I could climb up and into his window. Their leaves tickled my nose and I tried so very very hard not to sneeze. Now in his room I placed the flowers on his bed. Not before ripping off a couple petals and trying them. hmm, these ones tasted much worse than the other, sort of bite-y.

"There." That would be a nice surprise for him. I said as I hid the one flower I had eaten a few petals from underneath the others. He would never know.

Normally...I'd go say hello to him but I knew he was tinkering and working with all sorts of things. He got so gosh darn obsessive with them and I knew how it'd go. He'd greet me then get all 'Eteri you're in the way! Eteri don't drink that! Eteri your tail just knocked over a MONTHS worth of work!

Besides... I had another surprise I was working on for him.

I headed to the other side of the room which had been partitioned with a hastily hung up thick velvet curtain. Midnight blue, practically nailed into the beams that ran across the ceiling. This side was small but it was my side, and it was actually kinda nice. Clothes, cloth, sheets and blankets along with many pillows were strewn across the floor I sat myself down and pulled a large vial out from the satchel that held my souls. Every so often, I'd leave it here. It was the one thing I'd never have leave my side, so it was.. strange... that I felt safe enough to leave it here. I pulled out the one that contained Nevin's soul and let it waft out in front of me and began my work.

It was...tedious to say the least. This wasn't like a normal soul, where you'd pull a few loose threads and womp womp! Done, this was two souls trying to merge itself into one....over the past week I had painstakingly separated them and now I was weaving them back together, strand by strand so they would evenly interlace. So far....I was only about 1/4 done but I was making progress. You could see the progress now. The hue of the parts I had woven together were...

well the were pretty. Luminescent red with strands of violet and dark hues of blue, the threads colouring bled together harmoniously. This is what his soul should look like. I wanted to show him that I, Eteri, Could fix it, and with this little piece he coudl see how it feels and if he didn't like it...I'd simply not do the rest.

I mean... I have to admit, I was selfish, and kept a small part of his soul the way it was before for myself. That was safe, that was always with me.


A few hours had passed and I was feeling a tad light headed.Actually, I wasn't feeling too good. My mouth felt a little swollen and it was sooo itchy. I glanced at my hands...they were all splotchy, I sighed. My fingers were beginning to swell up and that wasn't good for work. So I carefully guided the soul back into the vial. Before I was able to put it away a thought occurred to me... it, it wasn't that Ayaka didn't like them... it was that she said they were poisonous.. oops...

Well! I wasn't too scared, I was worried but not scared. I was in Nevin's place and he made all sorts of antidotes! I bet he could make me a really nice and sweet one, one that tasted like candy. I coughed, and heaved. Oh .. Oh crap I just threw up all over my bed...Looks like I'd be sleeping on Nevins again tonight. I threw some blankets over the vomit to hide it. haha! There, none the wiser.

Sleep...

yeh.. I need that right now. I shifted away from the vomit and curled up into a ball, shielding and hiding myself with more pillows and blankets (not the ones that were covering the vomit mind you) My sides sorta hurt...so I'd sleep off the pain and get an antidote from Nevin after dinner. Yeh. That would be good...