Private Finished Searching for the Purrfect Solution

"Let's see, there's Malara Tor, Harmonia Proxentias..." Natasha said as she jotted down the names of known designers on the island as she walked home from her meeting with Julian Vasile. S he knew that Harmonia wasn't a clothes designer per se, but the woman might be able to help them set up things for the fashion show or be a consultant of sorts. Natasha wasn't one to out rule any possibilities when it came to fundraisers.

And as she walked and jotted down ideas, Natasha lost track of time, and where she was until she stopped and realised that she had, by the looks of the buildings around her, wandered into an area of Manta Carlos that she was not super familiar with .. in other words, Natasha was lost.

"Damn it all. Not again," she sighed deeply and sort of in resignation. Natasha was, and always had been, somewhat directionally challenged, and could get lost anywhere and for no reason at all. Granted, on Manta Carlos, she has been much better, and didn't get lost as often. Though that was of small consolation since at the moment, the only thing she did know is that there had been an alleyway two blocks back that seemed familiar.

@ArcanaFate

Putting her notebook away in her handbag, Natasha begrudgingly made her way back to the alley in hopes that it might provide her with some clue as to where she was. Or at least a street name so she could call a taxi to come to pick her up.

"I don't understand how this could happen," the vampire sighed as she found the alleyway with relative ease and turned to go down it in search of something, anything that might help her find her way back to the city centre.

After a few metres in, Natasha made out a figure slumped against an older brick building and sitting on the ground.

"Hey... Are you okay?" she asked as she approached what appeared to be a young male teenager.

"Ezra?" Natasha stopped in shock when the young man introduced himself to her - his voice and the way he spoke were instantly familiar to her as an image of a smartly dressed cat came to mind.

"You... I... I wouldn't have ever recognized you. You look really good, kinda of stressed, but good overall," she finally got out after her initial shock faded.

"I am well. Sort of lost at the moment if I am honest, but aside from that," she said as she found herself staring at Ezra again, finding the transformation for cat puppet to a young man quite amazing.

Upon hearing Ezra's heartfelt and very earnest request, Natasha looked at him with genuine concern. "Of course, Ezra. I'll do whatever I can to help you with whatever is troubling you," she told him.

"Why don't we get out of here, and you can tell me what the problem is while we're making our way back," she said as she gestured for him to accompany her out of there, and in hopefully the right direction. She highly doubted a poorly lighted back alleyway was the best place to discuss what was obviously bothering Ezra.

Letting Ezra talk as they made their way back to the city centre, Natasha slowly became aware that she might actually know where his friend might be ... maybe. It was not like there were that many bakenekos on the island - and ones that had siblings and were around the age of Ezra (or so Natasha assumed) - probably even less.

"First of all, do you happen to know if your friend, Tadashi, has two sisters?" Natasha asked, wanting to make sure she wasn't confusing her facts before she said anything. She knew her friend's grandfather had adopted three bakeneko siblings last spring, but she wasn't sure if it was Ezra's friend or not.

"Secondly, I don't think your friend regrets caring for you or being friends with you," Natasha started, understanding quite a bit more about human nature than Ezra did, and wanting to reassure him that Tadashi probably didn't really feel that way.

"Although I do think he was probably confused and feeling bad, maybe even worried, because you left without saying anything," she explained.

"He most likely thought you didn't want to be his friend," Natasha added almost as an afterthought as she looked at Ezra and immediately felt bad for him since she knew that was not the case. If Ezra did not care, he'd not be here asking alley cats if they had seen his friend.

"However, now that you are back, and when we can find Tadashi... you can tell him about Miss Asteria and why you couldn't say goodbye, and I'm very sure he'd understand."