First, some questions

"Where's Reta?" Felix asked before taking her seat. Both Syri and Dimyri went quiet as their ears flicked and began to eavesdrop.

"She mentioned going out for the morning. It's a bit complicated so I'd rather explain in private." Janette blew a few hair strands away from her vision, reaching for her knife and fork. "Though I do owe her big time for the food though."

"How do we-" Syri was cut off once KuliKuli dunk her head into the plate, pulling back with seasoning stuck to her cheeks and chin. Humming in delight, she swallowed before going in for more. Thanks to the bib, any mess would land right there and away from staining the polished floor underneath. "Hm, nevermind."

Dimyri looked on as Syri mimicked her older sibling, gobbling up a mouthful of fish meat. Noting the absent reaction from the others, she shrugged before imitating them as well. Her mother on the other hand sat there smiling as her eyes scanned the young man drinking from his cup. Gulping down his drink, he reached for his knife before noticing the older Nekomata tilting her head with a sly smirk. "Not hungry?"

"Oh, pardon me. Just enjoying the company." She answered with a wide smile revealing her cute dimples. Age did not affect this woman's charm. Feeling awkward, Felix went back to eating but unable to shake off his peripheral vision of her catching his every move. Like a mouse caught under a snakes stare.

---

"Thank you so much for the food, Jay!"

"It was super yummy, thank you Jay!"

"How can we ever repay you?" Both sisters added in perfect synchronization.

Janette stared at the two before shaking her head and collecting the rest of the plates. "Just don't mention it. We kind of have other things to do right now."

"Syri, Dimyri, why don't you two spend some catching up with Nityri?" Emyri asked.

"Oh, can we?" They pleaded with their paws pressed together while on their knees. Feeling on the spot, KuliKuli glanced at her mate who calmly shook his head in confirmation followed by a thumbs up.

"Sure, why not?"

"Yay!!" They sang before leaping up and trapping her in between like tuna in a sandwich. Na'Vi checked with Emyri in a similar form before following behind the trio. Off they went out the front door to do who knows what in who knows where, leaving a farmhand, a market owner, and a Cat mother of three under the same roof.

"Now, I believe we have something to discuss about?" She began. "What do we do about the hunter?"

"Alright, first thing is why is there a hunter after you?" Asked Janette.

She paused focusing on her response, careful not to say the wrong words. "That would be pure misfortune. Something awful happened, my daughter Nityri was hurt, and by then the people we were close to took notice of our true forms."

Matching Felix's glance, she continued.

"Where we lived, there was a village not to farr off and some of the little ones would visit that place as stray cats. A kind boy would often feed them scraps and leftovers unbeknownst to his mother. I tried to convince them not to go, I made the mistake of not pressing that issue. I often look back at those days before we were on the run. Before I lost Nityri."

"Okay, well you mentioned there was a pack of you guys. Where are they now?" He asked. She stood silent.

"And feeding off of scraps, how many of you were there? Did the boy know about your kind, did he blow the whistle?"

"Never." She answered quickly. "He wouldn't do such a thing, he cared about us too much."

"So he did know." Said Janette with her hands to her waist.

"Eventually, yes. He was no whistle-blower, he was the kindest soul who wanted to know more about us. It was not that I did not trust him, it was the village I was doubtful of. And I'm afraid my fears were proven to be true."

Felix hesitated to ask, noting the hurt in Emyri's eyes. "W-where is he now?"

"He is gone now, someone in the village discovered us and now we are being hunted." She spoke in a softer tone, sniffling and looking up at them with the sweetest smile.

"Was he your mate?"

"No. That title belongs to another."

Janette leaned forward. "And is he... still around? What happened to the father?"

Emyri paused, thinking deeply and hanging her head. "Their father is a strange man, he and I do not have the most uplifting tale of how we came to cross paths. In fact, some of my clutter disapproved of our pairing. I know my mother did. He was strong, brave, handsome, and an incredibly skilled fighter. He saved my life even, and I had the fortune of saving him back. Even though it was wrong, I wanted him and he wanted me. But he's trapped in his own world, something I tried to save him from. I admit I could have done better, maybe listened to him more. We were both stubborn, too stubborn to admit when we were wrong. I had a clutter to look after, and soon three daughters to raise. And he had his own missions, his own objective. We tried to make it work, but it was too much. He feared there would be conflict with his presence, that we would find ourselves in trouble if we were not careful."

Emyri snickered, eyes gazing at the floor. "And he was right."

The room stayed quiet, the young man and woman looking to each other unsure of what to ask next. Feeling the need to continue, Felix sighed and sat beside the cat mother and reached for her paw. "I'm sorry, I'm sure he was a great man."

Feeling his hand over her paw brought a chuckle from her. "You remind me of him a lot. You have the same confident stature in you, and the love you have for Nityri is true. I had lost my world, I'm sorry if we lose yours."

"We won't."

Janette shifted over to sit opposite the two. "Where does Na'Vi come in? She's not a sibling right?"

"Not by blood, she is Nityri's close friend. We had more among us after all, but the night it happened there was a terrible storm and we got lost. It was a miracle we managed to find her, really."

"So your plan after finding her was to run?"

"Yes, we are not fighters less it is to protect our loved ones."

"How many hunters?" Felix asked.

"Uh, just one."

Janette looked over at him, catching on his look of concentration and seriousness. He was pondering, no he was fixated on the next step. But she wasn't sure if it was the right course of action, she had doubts.

"Maybe the trick isn't to run, maybe you should fight back. It's one guy, yea? What's the big deal versus one guy when there are so many of us?" He smirked.

Enyri blushed, he really did act like her beloved.