xp_logs | Log: Sharon and Clea

xp_clea posting in

Clea goes looking for Sharon and shares her experiences with Bloodstone. It goes...well, it could have been better, but it could have been much worse.

With a plate of raw salmon, Clea followed Cata on the path that led to the lake. She had asked her friend where they might find Sharon, and Cata set off. It didn't take long before the pair arrived to see a familiar purple feline nearby. Cata had run off to announce their presence so not to startle the woman. Cata stopped nearby and set down the plate, "Hi, Sharon. We brought a gift. And we both are worried and wanted to check in on you."

Being ankle-deep in the lake meant Sharon's flinch had an audible component. The great cat had been trying to catch fish with her hands as Liam had taught her, but her focus was off, and the younger boy was still too injured to be any more than basically mobile. The endeavor had become increasingly frustrating, and the fact it had caused her to miss both Cata, then Clea's entry somehow made it even worse. Ready to bolt, she sloshed back -- and then fully registered Cata's presence.

The plate of salmon was an afterthought. Calm and regal, the fae cat had seated herself and was gazing at Sharon with knowing eyes. It was a look that said while Sharon could run if she wished, she could be found at any time and in any place, should the looker so choose.

Sharon hesitated.

Clea watched Sharon's interaction with Cata and waited a beat before speaking. "It is okay, Sharon. I won't run after you if you choose, but Cata might." She moved the plate forward towards the water's edge. "You know. I found Cata when I was 8, along with Stephen. We befriended her and grew close to her for a long time. We always visited when we went to summer camp. Then, one year, just before coming here, when I was about fifteen years old, Ulysses Bloodstone came looking for Cata. At the time, he was a reality star hunting the most exotic animals, and then he learned about a fae cat that was as big as a car, I guess an animal from myth was too good to resist. So we did what any magical teenager would do. We shrunk her, and she hasn't grown since."

Cata continued to watch Sharon, lifting her paw up and then setting it back down before a rare meow was heard. "She understands," Clea said out loud.

Whiskers jerked as the skin around Sharon's nose twitched in shock. Then, suddenly, her lips pulled back in a snarl.

"He lives still." Sharon's voice was hoarse from misuse. There had been a few words here and there, but barely. Now, though, they came to her again, and they were full of anger. "He hunted Cata, and now her form is lost to her. You did not kill him. Why?"

Clea sighed and looked out at the lake. "I was a sheltered little girl who knew nothing of the true horrors of the world. And he was just a reality star who fell into ruin after the stunt we pulled. His show was canceled, and he faded away from the limelight. I never thought he would come back in such a way that he did. If Cata was truly upset with me for not killing him right then and there, I don't think she would be with me at this moment. Now, if I see him again, I would react differently. I am sure Cata would, too." Looking back at Cata who hadn't moved.

"Because you did nothing we were hunted. Us, and others also." The words were spat, stronger now. The fact Sharon had not even seen the man herself -- would not, in fact, have even known what the man had looked like had she not begun obsessively googling him once she could think straight again -- meant nothing. If not for him, Liam would not have been hurt, and Sharon would not have learned how useless she truly was.

It was unreasonable to blame a fifteen year old for failing to anticipate and avert the eventual threat posed by Bloodstone, and not one atom of her cared. Clea had encountered him, and Clea had not stopped him. And, unlike Bloodstone, Clea was right in front of her.

"It is alright to be angry. You can be mad at the world and you can yell at me for doing nothing as a teen. What was done to you was wrong and people like him and the ones that partook in such an event deserve a much worse punishment than a quick death." Clea said as she leaned forward and looked at Sharon. "I am sorry Sharon." She said sincerely.

Sharon hissed. "Sorry does not help Liam. Does not help girl who was maimed. Whose ear was taken as trophy!" The memory of Kyle's teeth flashing against the guard's face came back to her. Humiliating as having to be rescued had been, seeing the older feral exact an ear for an ear had felt good. It felt like justice. She was grateful, and somehow that emotional debt only made her angrier.

Clea sighed, "If you must blame me, then do so. I'd rather that than some other poor bloke here at the mansion. But Sharon, I'll leave you with this: who are you truly angry at?" She stood up and dusted herself off. "The salmon is for you. Cata caught it herself. She'll stay with you until you send her away."

Sharon glared after the redhead, a heartbeat away from another hiss, but swallowed it when she became aware of Cata's scrutiny. The fae cat's expression was unreadable. Her eyes were trained on Sharon, so green they were almost luminous. The girl wasn't sure how old she was, but it didn't matter: in more ways than one, Cata was a queen. Under her patient gaze Sharon's hackles slowly settled.

Finally, anger withering, Sharon settled over the salmon and began to eat. It was only polite.