She had been trying to squeeze her way through the throng of people, fighting to get through the crowd to reach her companion. She was determined to "purrservere", however, as Xerxes had a tendency to get into copious amounts of trouble if left unwatched. As she pushed herself through the crowd, she faintly saw someone move out of the corner of her eye--cutting through the large group with ease. Before she could side-step them, the figure had already come to step into her path with almost too much ease. She let out a surprised mewl, already hastening back a few steps, wondering where on earth he had come from.
"Are you looking for something? Do you need help?" The words failed to process for a moment as she was more preoccupied at looking at this... being before her, colorful and rather vivid. It reminded her a little of the tropical forests she had visited once with her tribe but she remembered little of the journey. She bit her lip as she tried to look around him, narrowing her eyes a bit to see into the distance. The jolt of his appearance was steadily fading--becoming replaced by unease.
"M-Meeewr...." She didn't have time to waste on much conversation yet did not want to be rude about it. Shunning strangers who could potentially by buying her wares the next week would not do her business any good. She rubbed at her nose to try to keep Xerxes' scent fresh, as his was starting to creep into her senses. Being rude wasn't the optimal route but she did not have a choice. She was going to have to cut this interaction short--already, the feeling of tension was increasing in the pit of her stomach over what antics her animal companion could be getting into.
"I-I'm furry sorry!" Was all she managed before bending her knees and releasing her body into a pounce. Her feline alignment allowed her jump to arc over the stranger before landing gracefully on the other side of him. She did not pause, running in the direction Xerxes had scampered off to before there could be any more interruptions. She weaved through the crowd, rounding the corner just as her ears picked up a loud shriek. The young woman paused, turning to her right to see a dimming commotion of sorts. Almost immediately, she clammed up, face paling. She could very clearly see her fox, smugly in the arms of a tall, frail-looking woman. That in itself wasn't the problem. It was the amount of people
around her animal companion that were causing her breath to hitch in her throat. So... so many...
She had never been good in such social settings but by the looks of things, she was going to have to step in to retrieve him. There was a primal looking girl positioned between the woman and a man with silver hair. Talking to the woman by herself wouldn't have presented an issue, she could already tell from a distance that she was an Elf. Naturally, she felt at ease around this race, given the kinship that was shared between them and her own tribes. But the other two in the equation were enough to push the summoner over the edge. She bit her bottom lip, almost inclined to turn on her heel. But there was that odd-looking stranger that she had left behind and she had no way of knowing if he would pursue after her (which was a disturbing thought). And there was no way she could leave Xerxes by himself, that was for sure. And what kind of Xiphreim would she be to leave her beloved summon behind?
Forcing the breath past her lips in a bit of a hiss, she made herself take slow steps forwards to approach the individuals. Xerxes had been waiting for her arrival, it seemed. As soon as he caught sight of her, he bounded out of the woman's arms, nonchalantly trotting over to her. He had a red piece of cloth between his teeth. She didn't take long to put it together in her mind. It was evident that this fabric had come from the woman who had just been holding him. He stopped a few inches from her feet and spat out the cloth on the ground, almost as if presenting her with some glorious catch. She frowned but there would be time to reprimand him later. She would have to make amends to that poor woman for the ruckus that he had caused.
Casting a stern gaze at Xerxes that she hoped explicitly told him to "stay purrt", she walked only several more steps so that she came to a halt some feet from the small gathering. Her face was already starting to heat up as she tried to get the words out, unable to focus on any one person in particular and settled for looking at the ground. "I apurrogize... fur any trouble my furmiliar caused you..." She trailed off weakly. How did one even
make amends in the first place...? She glanced back at the fabric that was still on the ground near Xerxes, sliding her magenta orbs towards the woman. From the way she clutched at her arm, he had probably ripped a portion of her sleeve off (though she really couldn't think of how this had happened in the first place...). The only thing she could think to do was somehow pay for the repairs, maybe that would suffice? Reaching into her pouch, she took out two gold crescents and, for extra apologetic measure, also took out one of her potions.
Moving as quickly as she possibly could, she shoved the items into the hands of the woman and bowed to her, turning immediately and running from the entourage. She couldn't even manage any well-wishes, too tongue-tied and light-headed to think properly. Xerxes was fast on the uptake and darted after her as she ran blindly through the streets. She cared not for where she ended up, so long as she was
far away from the group. After several minutes, she finally allowed herself to stop. She leaned against the wall, heaving out a large sigh. Her cheeks were flush with the embarrassment she felt and the nervousness that was slowly dissipating. Now that she was finally alone, she could feel the constriction in her chest beginning to loosen up. Xerxes padded around her ankles casually, yawning as he looked up at her almost innocently.
"Feeling better?" He asked her, the summoner nodding slowly as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"I think so...." She smiled a little shakily at him, unable to fully hide how uncertain she had felt during the prior interactions. She reached out her hands slightly, offering to lift her fox companion up on to her shoulders. Xerxes only wrinkled his nose but complied, jumping into her arms and settling on her shoulders. Surprisingly, he rubbed his cheek against hers, which caused the girl to smile. He always knew how to make her feel better, didn't he? Though now the next order of business was to figure out how exactly she was going to get home... She had no idea where she was in the city any longer, having run without any set destination in mind. And now she stood in what appeared to be a large plaza, blinking her wide eyes as she took in the surroundings. She heard a chuckle near her ear and turned her head a bit to the side to regard Xerxes.
"What is so amewsing?" She questioned, receiving only a motion towards the center of the plaza. She followed his directives, eyes coming to rest...
... Ffffffffnyah?!