[dionysus]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Once again, the tom took a close look at her collar as she lengthened her neck out. It was a beautiful collar, one of the prettiest he had seen, and Barracuda made up his mind that it would be a good thing to take. He could take it back to his housefolk, and they could sell it - make a lot of money off of a collar like that. Personally, the tom was not willing to give up Iris's collar, which was a constant reminder of the one flicker of guilt he'd felt in a while, but he could keep hers anyway. A trophy to show how he had once again tamed the heart of a foolish female who had believed Barracuda was capable of feeling that strong of an emotion. It was HILARIOUS! He was so good at showing it, but hadn't felt it in a very long time. Not since he was quite young and, chances were, all he would ever feel again was lust.

A strong lust that overtook him and made him obsessive and right now, he was obsessed with Bubbles and getting that collar. There was a quite simple way to combine the two. Maybe she had a nice place to stay the night? A comfortable bed somewhere, or indeed, even a whole room to herself upstairs? Mm, if it was nice, maybe he would stay a while before stealing the collar. Forget the shows, right? All that Barracuda cared about was himself, and if he didn't feel like doing something, he wasn't going to do it. He would stay here with his new friend Bubbles. His new target, that was. And if things went wrong, her owners couldn't complain - Barracuda was a purebred cat, the purest of the purebreds - or so he called himself - so even Bubbles wouldn't be able to deny that her kits would be of the most desirable blood.

Though Barracuda wasn't particuarly... choosy about the cats that he had kits with. That was only if things went seriously wrong though, at the moment, the tom's eyes were on the collar and the collar alone. "First of all, a barracuda is a type of fish that rips others apart." The basic origin of his name was unknown, but Barracuda was sure he had been named after the fish. He knew why he was called that now, it was obvious, but why he had been named it in the first place - perhaps his owners' high hopes for him in the world of show cats? "But don't worry, I would never hurt anyone. Especially anyone as lovely as yourself, sweetheart." The tom gave her a wink before curling his tail a little tighter around hers and brushing up against her in a charming manner.

"Anyways, I believe I was named Barracuda because my housefolk wanted me to be tough. Being a show cat can be cutthroat sometimes - you wouldn't believe the sabotages I've heard of. My housefolk probably named me after the fish in hopes of thinking I would be tough enough to survive there." The tom shrugged a little. He had other, more sinister imaginations behind his name, but he wouldn't reveal them to the pretty she cat. Moments passed before he drew away from her, his eyes sparkling mischieviously as he glanced upon her. Play your cards carefully, Barracuda. You've got this. Was he slightly insane? Perhaps, but over the past few moons it seemed his sanity was stabilizing and he was becoming a little more like a normal member of society.

Though not quite. He still didn't care who he hurt or why, but those little flickers of guilt reminded him he was perfectly capable of having emotions. "Say, Bubbles... and may I say, that's a beautiful name you have - do you have a place to stay? See, I'm rather far away from my home at the moment, and... well... I hate to trouble you like this, but if there's any possible way that I could, um - and if your housefolk don't mind, of course - is there a way that I could come and stay with you?" The tom asked, lowering his head sheepishly. He was playing this part perfectly... and a naive cat such as Bubbles had shown herself to be was sure to fall for his plea instantly. Barracuda was certainly an actor - and a good one, if nothing else.

Bubbles formed a smug smile as Barracuda admired her collar once again. She didn't notice the lust in his eyes, and was still blissfully ignorant of his intentions both towards her and her collar. Her housefolk treasured her collar almost as much as she did and it was their favorite too. They usually only put it on her for shows and when they had company, but sometimes, if she mewed particularly loudly, they'd allow her to wear it on regular old days. She preferred to never take it off, but her housefolk had other ideas when it came to the tinkling little thing. She had a whole armoir dedicated to her many collars, which some found odd and extravagant, but Bubbles wouldn't know how to live without one! Usually, her housefolk removed her collar at night since all cat doors were locked and she couldn't get out. Not that she'd want to! The forest was scary at night. But it was far more comfortable to sleep without one.


Bubbles was growing more nervous by the second. It was getting dark and this Barracuda cat was starting to seem as if maybe he didn't have the best intentions... Bubbles didn't like to judge, though, and forced herself not to show that she was afraid of him. The Siamese couldn't help it though! She was afraid of pretty much everything. Bubbles was far too meek for the outside world and every noise and movement frightened her. Having no way to know of Barracuda's dark thoughts, Bubbles forced herself to think the best of him and gave the tom a bright smile, if a somewhat nervous one. Bubbles was a fairly young cat and probably wouldn't even have started thinking about having kits for another couple of years if she wasn't a show cat. But show cats were only good for two things: Winning awards, and producing expensive offspring with other award-winning cats. She had been conditioned to having kits since she was basically a kit herself.



"That's not very nice..." Bubbles murmured at the tom's description, feeling her nerves swell. His next words did calm the Siamese, but she was still on edge. "Oh!" Bubbles exclaimed, "You're housefolk? You're a house cat?" Bubbles nodded along, "Being a show cat can be tough, but no one's ever tried to sabotage me! I don't think any cat could be that rude." Bubbles was hesitant, but felt bad for the poor tom and therefore answered, "Well, I suppose... As long as you're a show cat, I doubt my housefolks would mind. Show cats are always well bred and polite.... You can stay for the night." With that, Bubbles turned to lead the way strutting along towards her house. Perhaps tonight she'd keep her collar on since it made her look so nice.