Alameda Rail Yard shiren || ordeal

There was a series of events.

It had started with a dream he'd had. About being back home, with faces Usui used to know, in an office he had spent so many, many hours in. At first it had been familiar, welcome. But slowly it had devolved, and he could not leave the building and no one would speak in a language that made sense to him. Then he'd clawed his way out of the window and had begun to scale the building for reasons that had made sense in the dream, but...

Then he'd had paws.

This had not woken him in the best mood, which was unfortunate as he was meant to go to the DMV today to get his learner's permit going. He had not actually driven much in his life, inclined toward public transport, but in moving here he had found the bus system to be... lacking. Anxious about this step in his life, he had only managed a small breakfast before he had gone out. On... the bus, predictably, as he had not wanted to bother any of his friends with the task of driving him around like he was a child.

He'd gone to find his wireless earbuds for the trip only to find one missing, and did not have time to look for it.

And then the bus had been late, putting him behind. And someone had urinated in the back corner at some point, disgustingly, and the whole bus reeked. Especially to a sensitive nose. This, then combined with some older man coming in on the cursed bus trip. He apparently was having quite a bad day as well, and yelled at several individuals--Usui could not discern what about--before he'd turned his sights on the man who had been trying to hide behind his single earbud and pretend he wasn't here.

Somewhere between angry to be singled out for no reason and alarmed at what might happen, the specifics hardly mattered when you could turn into a very fluffy wild cat about your feelings. He hated this bus line.

He'd hastened off the bus at the next stop, trying to control himself. Staggered out onto the cool sidewalk outside the railyard, the bus pulled away as he lost himself, not even having the cognizance to be offended that no one seemed to care what became of him.

It was only a few minutes from there that he fled further into the railyard on four paws, aching, starving, confused. He did not aim for stealth as he ran down the length of the nearest empty train, broad paws hitting gravel with every stride. There were people about at this hour, but plenty of places to hide.

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outfit

Fit

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Blair was eating an ice cream; she was just walking and just decompressing after dealing with some stressful things that had suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. She'd been happy and content for too long, it was bound to happen but that didn't mean she enjoyed it in the slightest.

She scooped the vanilla caramel swirl on the spoon and took a bit as she saw a flash of white and spots bolt on by making her hesitate a little before following further into the rail yard until she came up behind them.

Oh no, this wasn't a great spot to suddenly shift.

Slowly, she crouched down, "Hi friend, shhh I'm like you, " she called out, Blair keeping her voice calm and easy as she looked around and saw no one around yet but she knew that could change fast in this place. Nerves jangled through her as she wondered if she should call Frank but if this snow leopard person seemed to understand she wasn't a threat then maybe she could help them out of danger.

He heard her, but only just. It made him dart sideways, to duck behind a train wheel. Not realizing what she's said, nor getting the sense of her kinship in any way from here, he sank into the shadows with a muted rumble of unease.

Being spotted did not feel good. Even thought the call out had been a soft one, his tail lashed, uneasy.

He peered out, trying to spot the source of the voice, too aware of other movement behind and to the sides throughout the yard.

Blair pressed her lips together some, this was not the place for a were to be. It wasn't safe and there were so many people around that could get hurt accidentally if he was scared.

From how he hopped about and his tail lashed, she got the memo that he was not a happy cat.

Very slowly, she scooted closer, staying low to the ground as she tried to get close to the same cart he was hiding under, "Hey...hey look at me...come on, please...let me know someones in there, " she asked, speaking calmly even while her heart pounded in her chest. She kept peeking around to be sure they were the only pair here for the moment but the anxiety of someone freaking over a massive cat made her nervous.

He could see her more clearly now, as she came closer. Her words were low, careful. Some of them easily understood in a way that would have surprised him if he'd been thinking more clearly. But he'd been running on stressed paws and now he stood there with a tight chest and an uneasy buzz.

What he did notice that was particularly new was the fact that she did not feel unfamiliar. More than that, she was a cat.

He went still, watching her intently.

Blair held her hand out, offering him to get more of her scent. She wasn't a snow leopard but she was a feline as well and hoped that would be helpful enough for him to want to offer some sort of trust to her- even the tiniest bit.

"Can you understand me? " she asked, speaking very slowly for hopefully the human in the cat brain to notice her some, "I can take you someplace safe, " Blair told him, promising him so that she could lead him somewhere safe. They weren't too far from the river and then to Opal or she could bring him to her place which was just five minutes away but that might freak him out worse.

Worry made her chew her lip, he couldn't just be running around on four paws around the city during the day- Opal might be better?

He did understand her. Or at least, he understood that question. The next words felt less clear to him, his own wavering vocabulary and a cat's ability to process words acting against him.

But he slowly sank to a lower posture, breathing heavily. He did not come toward her, but also would not pull away as she came closer.

Perhaps he might have kept running, had there been anywhere to run to. But he'd stranded himself here, and it was better her than one of the man other low voices he could hear in the near distance.

Progress, this was good. She kept low to the ground, not moving fast as she approached the snow leopard until they were rather close. Slowly, she sat down nearby, her own ears picking up faint sounds in the distance but nothing too close.

"Bad day? " she asked gently, looking at her vanilla ice cream as she took a final bite before keeping the spoon and placing it close to the snow leopard. It was a cool sweet treat; maybe something that would help? She wasn't sure but she was trying to help calm him down some.

Bad day.

Yes, bad day. That seemed right. He could not recall the specifics at the moment, but as he calmed down he could remember the trapped feeling on the bus, and then slowly evaporating from his human body and mind.

She put something in front of him, and he sniffed closer. First to her hand--definitely cat, something... different and similar to himself in the same instant. His tail moved in a slow wave behind himself as he then nosed at the cup.

Lick. One eye on her at all times.

Blair kept her hand out for him to smell, the jaguar was incredibly curious having never met a snow leopard before but by all that is art he was stunning.

She offered a tentative smile at him as he tasted it and kept an eye on her as she slowly retracted her hand so as not to startle him.

" It's alright. I'll keep an eye out, " she promised him; even if that didn't fully help him relax, she just didn't want him bouncing off or at her at a single sound.