Alley Encounter

She gingerly touched the wound on her shoulder, whincing as it stung sharply with the contact.

Nabi sat in the corner of an alleyway with her bag on the ground at her side, the surrounding boxes and garbage hiding her from sight from many angles. That fact was a great relief to the girl, considering she'd only just managed to escape a rather hostile chachaoong who'd been pursuing her. She honestly couldn't remember why, the whole thing was a blur, but she didn't care. It was over, and she was safe for the time being.

Well, safe, but injured, she noted, looking at the red coloring her fingers and staining the shoulder of her dress. That guy had gotten in a good hit before she'd managed to get away. She didn't want to imagine the results if he'd gotten in a better one...

Man, why did some chachaoongs have to be so mean and violent? Why couldn't they just be nice instead of trying to kill each other? Constantly fighting, running, and trying to either avoid or cause trouble was so exhausting. There were better things they could be doing too. It was so unnecessary, it annoyed the girl to no end.

Nabi's thoughts began to trail off as she glanced over to her shoulder, inspecting the damage she'd taken from that encounter. "Ugh." she sighed almost inaudibly. "This was such a nice dress too..." And it really was. The material felt just right, it was just the right size, and it was a nice shade of dark blue. Granted, she had others just like it at home, but still.

Her attention shifted yet again as her wound throbbed. Deciding it'd be unwise to just sit there and let herself bleed, she set to work tending to her injury. One hand was placed over the wounded shoulder, earning another whince from the girl. She then began to focus, feeling an energy flow through her and to her hand, where it left in the form of a faintly glowing aura that made her hand tingle like it was near static. Gradually, bleeding stopped, and the wound began to heal. Soon, there was nothing left of the injury save for the blood on her arm and shoulder, and the tear in the cloth of her dress.

That healing didn't come without a consequence however. Once the job was done, Nabi felt her head begin to spin, like she'd stretched too hard and gotten lightheaded from the action. It was good she was on the ground already, she thought. If she hadn't been, she might have lost her balance and fallen onto it instead. As moments passed however, the feeling passed as well, and she sighed, brushing strands of blond from her face with the hand that didn't have blood on it.

For a few minutes, she just sat there, not really wanting to move after all the running she'd had to do just a short while before. The scent of old trash hung in the air, the sounds of people going about their daily business could be heard in the distance, and a cool breeze blew by every so often like the alleyway was breathing. Her eyes wandered boredly from her surroundings to the overcast sky above and back again. This went on for some time before Nabi's stomach decided to file a complaint, growling loudly. Wiping off her hands onto her dress, she reached for the bag at her side and began rummaging through it.

No... No... Aha! She smiled a little as she located a granola bar she'd picked up from the nearby store. Unwrapping it, she immediately took a bite, enjoying the snack. These things were always nice to have on the go, especially the chocolate ones. Though she enjoyed sweet flavors, she couldn't help but adore spicy foods. Something about the heat and the taste and just everything, it was just so good! As she chewed, she briefly began to wonder if there was some place in the world that made spicy candy bars. What place would make something like that? How would that even taste? So many questions...

Nabi's thoughts were interupted by a sudden noise, the sound of something being knocked over. Her chewing haulted and she went still as a statue before she began glancing around, looking for the source. She really hoped it wasn't that chachaoong from before again. She really didn't want another close call or injury. She highly doubted a second encounter would be much more fun than the first.

"Mrow?"

A small furry head poked into view from around one of the boxes and was met by anxious brown eyes. The anxiety in them gradually ebbed away though upon seeing the feline. It was just a cat, she thought with relief. A cute little cat.

"Mrow." The cat began to approach Nabi curiously, looking up at her with a friendly gaze. With a free hand, the girl reached out and started petting it. In response, it moved closer while purring happily, earning a widening smile from her.

"H-hey there," she said softly, shyly, her heart still pounding from the little scare from only a couple seconds prior. "Hey~"

"Mroww." came the reply from the cat, which was now situating itself in Nabi's lap. Its light-brown fur felt nice and soft under her hand, its body soothingly warm, its purring filling the silence Nabi hadn't quite realised had been there before.

"D-do you like me?" she questioned in a cooing tone, smile growing even more. "Do you want to be friends? Are we friends now? Huh~?"

The feline didn't answer with more than purring as it nuzzled into her. Nabi decided to take that as a yes, letting out a quiet giggle in reply. It was then the girl remembered the snack in her hand, which was being clutched tighter than she even realised. With that, she eagerly began finishing it off. There was no way she'd waste that.

Well, this trip had started off tiring and rather panicky, but if there was anything that made that sort of day better, it was a snack and the company of a sweet little animal. At least that's how Nabi felt about it. Especially the cat. You just couldn't beat cute friendly kitties.

She'd have to leave soon, she thought to herself. She was tired and dirty from this whole day, and going home sounded pretty nice right now.

...

It couldn't hurt to spend just a little more time with her new kitty friend though, she decided, holding the feline just a little closer to her.