Tree-ted To A First Meeting

Natalie was, for once, taking a rare day off.

She usually spent most of her time working on some story or another. Part of it was that she simply enjoyed her job, part of it was due to often being more broke than she appeared (she did have very expensive tastes), but today was one of those rare days where she was starting to feel burnt out. Thinking that some peace and quiet might do her some good, she decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the city for the moment and take a visit to the park. She strolled along the path, hands in her pocket, keeping her current investigations from her mind as she-

Snap.

Her sensitive cat ears twitched on her head, Nat had just enough time to step back before something girl shaped dropped out of the air above her and landed in a heap right at her feet.

Nat blinked, eyes wide an alert.

"Uh," She started, before quickly regaining her composure after that surprise. She leaned down, peering at the girl. "Are you ok?"

Nat quirked an eyebrow up as she watched the girl climbed to her feet. If it weren't for the fact that she had similar feline features as her, she might have thought she was speaking like that to make fun of her. She eventually concluded, judging by her behavior, that the girl was likely just younger than she looked. It didn't quite explain her way of speaking, but her excitable attitude would certainly match that.

"Yes, I suppose we are quite similar aren't we?" She said, deciding to humour her with a smile. "There's quite a lot of people like you and I on the island, though I don't think we're quite the same breed of cat."

Nat swayed her pair of twin cat tails behind her for emphasis.

"I'm guessing you must be new to the island?" She asked, taking a moment to actually look her over.

Ah, a Nek0. That certainly explained some of her oddities. The few she'd met so far were much less eccentric, but behaviour like this being programmed into one wasn't completely out of the question. Her cat ears twitched slightly; they often did when something caught her interest.

Well, it looked like that day off would have to be put on hold for the moment. Nat had been trying to make contact with the Nek0's on the island, and now that one was standing right in front of her, it would be a shame to let the opportunity pass by. She regarded Kiyomi with an inquisitive eye, much more collected and composed compared to the young woman, but with the same sort of curiosity.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kiyomi. You can call me Natalie." Nat returned the bow gracefully, before shaking her hand. "I'm what people call a Nekomata. Have you heard of us before?"

Nat's eyebrow remained firmly raised, the amusement clear to see in her expression. Someone was certainly excitable. She found it more endearing than she did annoying.

"No need to worry about that, you're fine." She said, with a good natured chuckle. "I'm a good listener, it's kind of my job, actually."

She rested both her hands in her pockets, safe from the cold, and turned to face along the pathway that she was walking along. One of her tails curled towards her, beckoning Kiyomi to follow.

"I could tell you more about us if you want, if you don't mind letting me do the talking for a change." She said with a friendly smile.

Nat watched Kiyomi out of the corner of her eye as they walked, a small smile on her face at the young girl's enthusiasm.

“I’m a journalist,” She explained. “I’ve written things for the local newspaper, but these days I tend to write for whoever wants to publish me. So, I spend most days asking questions of the people who know things and paying close attention to how they answer.”

Nat was familiar enough with the Nek0 to know that sometimes their mental ages didn’t quite match their physical ages. With the way Kiyomi acted, she wasn’t sure whether she should dumb things down or not. She decided to play it safe for now.

“My job means that I need to keep up with what’s happening on the island,” She continued. “The people need to be informed, and it's my job to inform them. Because of this, I actually know a bit more about Nek0 then most people might, but I am always looking for more info.”

She gave Kiyomi a playful, conspiratorial wink.

“So that’s my job. As for my species…”

Rather than simply explain, Nat decided to have a bit of fun. As they walked, Nat’s body started to shrink, her clothes slowly disappeared, black fur growing out from her body and covering her skin. She sunk down to the ground and gracefully fell on to all fours, padding along as a small, black cat. The only sign she was at all supernatural was her tail, that split into two past the middle.

“Nekomata are cats who’ve lived long enough to transform into Youkai.” She purred, hopping up onto a nearby park bench to be closer to Kiyomi’s eye level, almost looking as if she's posing to give her a good look.