Life in the City (mature... male, please)

Hotaru had washed windshields for tips all that afternoon. She'd made only a few dollars and she hoped that was enough for a small meal. She sighed. Life on the streets was tough. She stood on the rail of a lookout point that had a great view of the harbor. Sea gulls were following fishing vessels just coming in with their catch. She could also smell seafood cooking from a nearby restaurant. The cat in her loved fish... and cheese... and chicken... etc. But the fistful of coins wasn't gonna get her any of those fancier meals.
There was an unfriendly voice behind her. "Hey, kitty... how about some fun, eh?"
Hotaru turned around and saw three gruff looking human men standing around with lewd smiles on their faces.
Hotaru had yet to know the touch of a male... but she wasn't about to start with these three.
"Go away," she said quietly.
"Naw... that's no way to speak to a superior life form!" said one of the other men who then lunged for her.
Hotaru leapt up and over, landing on a nearby bench.
"Nekos... they all should be on leashes," said the third. "Look, kitten... we can do this easy way or the hard way."

David had just left the seafood restaraunt nearby. His sensetive ears easily picking up the specific word neko, easily. It had been a while since he had seen his own kind, particularly in this city. He had just recently arrived in the area, in hunt of reported lycan surges.
He immedietly took off running in the direction from where he had heard hte indistinct conversation, finding it quickly. He stood behind a dark corner, tipping his smooth black tophat low to do his best to keep hidden until he saw the situation more clearly. He heard the men's voices, easily telling they were none too friendly, and he took off running at the third man, before jumping up silently and aiming a well placed foot at his jaw.

The orange glow of the sunset on the water lit the scene. Hotaru had no wish to fight these men, preferring to flee. But it was unsafe to turn her back to them yet.
And then everything was a blur as a black form slammed into one of the men. The other two turned to see what had happened to their companion.

David landed onto his feet silently. He turned, looking at the men, his eyes meeting theirs instantly. "Oi, you lot... Now, you best leave this miss alone...", he said, in a deep tone, trying to be threatening and polite at the same time.He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small trinket. "I don't want any trouble, and neither does she... leave us alone...", he said, keeping a solid stance as he held the trinket in his hand still, while a bright blure glow emenated from it, a scythe grew from his enclosed hand. He raised a curious eyebrow to see what the men would do, casting a glance to Hotaru.

The men backed away at the sight of a weapon in this male Neko's hand. A large weapon, too.
Even Hotaru jumped up to land on top of a nearby lamp post, out of its reach she hoped. Her gaze met his glance.
The two men were picking up their fallen companion. "C'mon... this ain't fun anymore," one said as they had to carry the third away.

David kept his eyes trained on the men as he watched them pick up their friend, who was out cold, possibly with a broken jaw. The scythe shrunk back down into his hand, and he put the trinket from before back into his pocket, before he stood up straight anddusted off his clothes, before looking up at Hotaru with a small smile. "Come on down, my dear... I won't bite...", he said politely, giving a small bow. "Now, why were those men after you?", he asked, surveying her for a moment.

Hotaru looked down at David from her perch on the street lamp. She understood that he'd interviewed to help her out. What she didn't know was why. Did he want something?
She leapt down, did a flip and landed lightly on her feet on the ground a few yards away from him. "I'm a neko. Apparently that's reason enough for some humans to give you grief. Especially the men. They wanted.... fun," her tone went flat when she said 'fun' so it was kinda clear what the men had in mind for her. Nothing pleasant.

His ears, which were poking through the rim of his top hat gave a small twitch, and moved his black spikey hair, as they did so. "Well, I can see from your less than pleased reaction, that you are suspicious of me... I heard someone mention neko, and I hadn't seen one of our kind since I arrived here...", he said with a smile, giving a small bow. "My name is David, my dear, and I was merely curious, not looking for any of the... fun... those men were planning...", he said with a small polite smile as he removed his top hat from his head and held onto it with one hand, and reaching out another to shake her hand. "Pleased to meet your aquaintence?", he half asked and half said, waiting for her to shake his hand.

She watched the tom as he spoke. She replied, "around here, caution keeps you alive. Yeah, i'm a little weary of anyone that has a magical weapon that looks like he borrowed it from the Grim Reaper. You just arrived here then? This city can be kinda rough but it's not all bad."
His manners had her a little off balance. She looked at his hand and took it timidly.

"Most cities are like that, and it is actually quite sad...", he said softly, thinking for a moment. He gave a small smile. "Scythes have a knack for making an impression...", he said, shaking her hand gently before releasing it. "Most cities are about the same... Do you want me to accompany you home to make sure you get there ok?", he asked as he placed his top hat back onto his head, before giving a small smile. "You haven't told me your name, I have noticed...", he said casually, still keeping a polite tone as he did so.

She took her hand back slowly. "My name is Hotaru," she said and then shrugged. She figures her name'll be forgotten tomorrow. Her ears twitched when he offered to walk her home and she winced at the idea of anyone seeing where she lived. Then again. "I suppose I owe you for helping me out. Do you need a place to stay?" she asked.

"Nice to meet you, Hotaru...", he said gently and politely. "Oh, my... no. I have a place to stay, of course, but with the trouble you have already had, I wanted to see you home ok... I mean, if you don't want me to, that is fine, I just wanted to ensure that a lady such as yourself is no further bothered...", he said, blushing a little, but keeping his smooth composure. He was doing this completely out of maners, and had no alterior motives, but would leave her alone if she wished. He would love to get to know her better, and a walk home could be a good way to get to know her.

Hotaru twitched her ears. Her ears, hair and tail were all calico colored. A lady? Her? She didn't think so.
She looked at him. "Well, no one knows where I live. It's a secret," she told him. Besides, I was on my way to maybe get something to eat before heading home." She kinda wanted to invite him along but she wasn't even sure she'd earned enough to feed herself let alone 2. Maybe a convenient store burrito or chili dog.
"I'm in no hurry, though. I mean... home is just where I sleep really."

He looked her over, once. She did look hungry, but seemed worry about something. "What are you hungry for?", he asked softly. He was largely supported by his parents, and through his hunt for lycans, so he always had more than enough money, and he would like to take Hotaru out for something to eat. "Well I just want to make sure you're ok." He wasn't sure if she was shaken at all from those men, but would like to stick around, since she was the first neko he had seen since he had arrived. "Of course, I can leave if you want me to... your choice."

She was hungry. She was usually lucky if she at once a day. She looked at him and answered, "It usually doesn't matter what I'm hungry for. I have to settle for what I can pay for," she explained.
She looked away from him... as if reflective. "I think I'm okay. As okay as a street neko can be," she said in a quiet tone. "You don't have to leave. I don't see many of our kind, either. There's a few in this city. They either have owners or are out on their own like me."
What happened with those men was nothing new to her. It's her luck thusfar that no one's really gotten farther than words with her. On days when she felt... different... heated... she never came out.

He raised an eyebrow, hearing that money was an issue, and him, being himself, couldn't stand by and let a woman starve. He placed a gentle, caring hand on her shoulder. He gave a small sigh, but with a smile. "Dinner, on me. You choose the place.", he said softly. "Since you are the first I have seen of our kind, and you seem to have it rough, the least I can do is treat you to a dinner you deserve from having to deal with those men.", he said as he took his hand from her shoulder and let it rest at his side.

Hotaru looked up at him. Her eyes softened a little. She wasn't sure how to answer him. She wasn't used to hand outs or hand ups. She had no family or anything... no one cared about her.
She pointed to the seafood place down towards the wharf. "I smell that place everyday when I go by. I can smell the lobster, tuna filets and crab legs. It's hard for a neko to resist seafood," she says. "But... you don't have to take me to dinner." She looked at the male neko. She kind of liked him and of course, she was intrigued.

He looked down towards where she pointed and he smiled caringly. "Well, tell you what, I wouldn't mind some seafood myself, and don't worry about it. My parents are well off, and I would absolutely love to know that I helped you out.", he said softly, his yellow eyes meeting hers. "And I insist.", he said, putting out a gentle hand, for her to take as he turned to the restaraunt. "And if you see fit, maybe we can learn a little more about each other.", he said assuringly.

She smiled at him softly. A full stomach would be nice, for a change.
"Alright," she said quietly and gently took his hand. "I'd like that. It's not often I have anyone to talk to for more than three minutes."

He took off walking towards the restaraunt, hearing the caws of seagulls overhead. His stride was logn and proud, as he looked over at her with a gentle smile. "So do you have any idea of what you want?", he asked as he was starting to smell it's scent flowing through the air, and his pace quickened. They were there in a minute or two, and he openned the door for her like a gentleman like himself should, the smell wafting through the air was making his stomach grumble softly. He looked around the restaraunt, finding that it wasn't very busy, and a waiter quickly seated them in a booth, which was tucked away in the corner of the restaraunt.

She walked with him. She liked to chase seagulls, actually. Sometimes she'd chase them on the beach.
As they entered the restaurant, she blushed when he got the door. She shivered, too. She'd actually tried to get a job as a hostess here once... but was turned down. Guessing a neko is a bad thing to have in a seafood restaurant.
She sat down an looked at the menu. "No, not yet. It all looks so good. I can smell it, too," she answered. The smell of fish, herbs and melted butter was thick to her sense of smell. Crab legs, she thought.... but that was higher priced entrees.
Tilapia... hmmm... maybe. Baked flounder... better.
"It's hard to choose," she said. The unfinished part of her sentence was 'and not seem greedy'.

He saw her shiver as she had walked in and he raised a curious eyebrow. "You ok?", he asked as he walked in behind her and sat down across from her as he looked through the menu while he studied her. He gave a brief sniff of the air, inhaling the essence of the food which could distinctly be heard sizzling away in the kitchen. "Now you can have anything you want on the menu. Price is no object to me.", he said, placing a hand to his chest before he removed his tophat, revealing his black spikey hair. "Well just say the first thing that comes to mind... I am sure that at a place like this, there is no wrong answer...", he said with a chuckle as he placed his tophat on the side of the table near the wall while he thumbed through the menu himself, easily finding crab legs and having his mind set. The waiter walked up, politely asking what they wanted to drink. "I will have whatever the lady here will have."

Hotaru said to him... "I'm okay. I tried to get a job here before and was turned down."
She looked at the menu... all the pages of possibilities. And she was very hungry. Her own form was a bit on the thin side. Then he told her to get whatever she wanted. She blushed and her ears drooped a bit.
"Maybe not to you... but on this side of the table I see sticker shock next to pretty pictures of seafood," she replies.
When the server came to get their drink order, she asked for milk. She didn't often drink soda, not that she had much opportunity.
She found a lovely looking possibility of a steamed lobster tail paired with a 6 oz filet and seasonal vegetables.
She said to him, "Do you like shrimp? They have a fried shrimp basket appetizer. Also a sampler... it's all so tempting." Indeed the sampler had fried shrimp, oysters, calamari and steamed mussels.

He raised a curious eyebrow. "Turned down? I wonder why...", he said softly. He surveyed her reaction, and he gave a reassuring smile. "Anything you want, I will get you....", he said softly. He hadn't anticipated her to get milk, but gave a shrug. "Oh, sure... I am pretty game for most any seafood.", he said with a smile. He wasn't sure why but the only thing that sounded strange was the mussels. The Calamari was something he actually enjoyed. It tasted like chewy mozerella sticks. "As for my meal, I am going to have the crab legs... Have you decided yet?"

"I don't know. It would have been.... something... ya know?" she said. "I mean jobwise... honest and okay work."
She wanted the milk because it was something she rarely had and it was added nutrition. She asked for the sampler platter appetizer and then asked for the lobster & steak entree, cooked medium rare for the steak for her main meal.
Mussels would be similar to clams and she liked them.