The rapid thump of his heartbeat throbbed in his ears. The thunderous crunch of dirt under boots thudding against cobblestone composed a chorus with his laboured breathing. Green eyes narrowed in on their target as she leaped and ran briskly through the streets and alleys, scurrying from her pursuer. His agility paled in comparison to hers-- graceful, effortless, and fluid like water. He might have been envious if not for the preoccupation of his conscious thought being firmly settled on the pursuit of his quarry.

In a single elegant stride, she leaped from the street to a vegetable vendor’s cart, and from the cart to a rooftop, without even the slightest hint of disturbing the vendor’s work. Hard pressed to follow, he attempted the same. Yet when his boot came in contact with the bi-wheeled cart, it merely tipped under his weight, and he fell forward into the woven baskets of cabbage and lettuce, while various other vegetables were catapulted across the street. Understandably, the vendor and several customers whose wares were strewn about the cobbled roads of Iwagakure shouted angrily at him while he stumbled back to his feet.

“Sorry, sorry! My bad! I’m in a hurry, sorry!” He apologizing profusely as he scurried up the roof after his target. Their cries of distress faded in the distance as he clambered to the peak. From his perch atop the building, his emerald eyes scanned the other buildings thoroughly, trying to pick out the subject of his pursuit from the monotone greys and browns. Watchful eyes caught sight of her lazy stride along another roof a few buildings away, and he excitedly resumed his pursuit. He slid down the roof, taking several of the fragile clay tiles with him, which earned him further chastising at the hands of the homeowner who leaned from her window to shout at him. More hurried apologizing ensued as he clumsily jumped from one roof to the next, scurrying up their vaulted angles and thusly creating a symphony of complaints from disgruntled homeowners, complemented by his fleeting attempts at diffusing the situation while remaining en route.

His quarry caught wind of the rekindled pursuit and took off, making rapid headway northbound. It was a much more difficult process to follow her along the canopy of Iwagakure’s neighborhoods, but his determination and sheer block-headed stubbornness kept him going. Within minutes, both he and his agile target reached the footholds of the northern cliffs. While he struggled to keep his pace, she nimbly ascended the vertical cliff face. Rather than exhausting himself with the monumental climb, he defeatedly took the roads that wound up and around to the peak, hurriedly pushing through small crowds and groups of people who were utilizing the same pathways.

Now at the peak of the cliff and properly exhausted, Ryōta clung to a nearby railing to keep his fatigued legs from collapsing.
Ryōta reached the peak despite the plethora of obstacles in his way, and nearly collapsed against a nearby railing. The burn in his legs had quickly turned into general weakness, each step feeling like the muscles would give in at any moment. The railing provided temporary solace from such unpleasant sensations.

“Okay, I’m good, just… Whew..! I really should start jogging again... ” A hand wiped away beads of sweat that formed along his forehead, and then ran through his hair. He cast a long, sweeping gaze over the plateau. He noted the presence of people dotting the various vantage points that looked over the village, but his target was nowhere to be seen. Willing himself forward, Ryōta inhaled deeply and pushed off the railing.

“Cloe! Come on out!” He called out with hands cupped over his mouth, briefly garnering the attention of some nearby peak-goers that were curious about the commotion, although they were quick to avert their gazes and return to sightseeing.

Ryōta sauntered about Waterfall Point, calling the same name in an attempt to beckon her out, but to no avail. It wasn’t until his eyes lay upon a seated figure in front of a small creek, surrounded by lush green vegetation and smaller trees that provided shade from the mid-day sun. Yet it was not necessarily this figure that had caught his attention, but the Bengal-patterned mass of fur that sauntered up beside her and into her lap in typical feline cavalier form. The small, three-month-old kitten had been effortlessly evading every attempt at being caught, up until now.

“There you are, Cloe!” Ryōta exclaimed excitedly as his light jog came to stop near the seated figure and the coiled kitten, happy that he hadn’t properly lost her.

“Ah… Sorry about my friend there. She just got away from me, and I’ve been having a bit of trouble catching up.” He explained, the faintest hints of breathlessness were quite clear in his voice. His emerald eyes briefly glanced at the woman, and then to the activity that seemingly brought her to the cliff peaks.

“Oh, geez… She didn’t bother you, did she?”

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A smile pulled at his cheeks as emerald orbs settled upon the bengal-patterned kitten in her lap. To see her finally at rest after the destructive chase the pair-- himself more so than the innocent feline-- had inflicted upon the unsuspecting streets of Iwagakure brought him to his own sense of ease. The race was over, and he could rest at last. At some point, he would have to go back and apologize to the poor souls whose day he interrupted with his high-octane cat chasing hijinks, but for now, he was content with taking a few moments to properly catch his breath.

”Aw, I know, isn't she? She's so tiny, I thought I'd lost her for sure!” The excited tone of his voice betrayed the exhaustion of his body, which felt liable to collapse at any moment. Despite the looming threat of fatigue, the warmth in his smile persisted, and his eyes were left to wander over her in curious examination. Raven-black hair framed soft, sun-kissed features decorated with a healthy dotting of freckles, and complemented by a bright pair of doe-like hazel brown eyes. She was dressed in nice clothes to top it all off; like a beautiful vase for a beautiful flower. For a brief moment, it was like looking at a piece of art that he couldn’t quite avert his gaze from, until the realization that perhaps staring might have been rude dawned on him. In contrast to her, his red plaid, black underclothes, and casual footwear made the pair look as though they were dressed for two very different occasions.

Her words brought him a sense of comfort and ease, knowing that the mischievous youngling hadn’t caused her distress in her intrusive appearance.

“I’m glad! I was worried she might have messed up your painting there. It looks really nice, by the way. Your painting, I mean.” Ryōta gestured toward the parchment stained with ink as he helped himself to a seat beside her. His hand carefully reached over and lightly scratched behind the ears of the small kitten, his gaze briefly faltering from the furry scamp to fall upon the object of her study. A beautiful lily just shy of the brook danced in the gentle afternoon breeze, in perfect contrast to the green vegetation and the arid brown of the landscape. Her inquiry broke him from his mindless trance and returned the wandering emerald orbs to her visage.

“Well, funny story, really! She isn’t actually my kitten, she’s my neighbor’s, y’see. My neighbor’s a bit old and sometimes she forgets that she leaves the doors or windows open, and Cloe here just loves to take the opportunity to run off and explore the village.” A light fit of laughter bled into the tail end of his explanation, clearly entertained by the situation. “This is the third time this week. I think she already knows the streets better than I do, ‘cause it’s getting harder to catch her every time. Honestly, I think I end causing more trouble chasing her than she does when she gets out.”

Ryōta leaned back and caught his weight with his hands. Even though it had been mere moments, the sensation of finally being off his feet after his pursuit of the young feline felt euphoric. A breath traveled from his lungs to his lips, escaping in the form of a content sigh. His head rolled to the shoulder closest to Tamae afterward and shared his attention between the kitten and her newly adoptive mother she was coddled against. He could hardly blame the kitten for her preference, though that was a wordless, mental musing that best be left unvoiced.

“She sure does seem to have taken a liking to you. I’ll admit, I’m a little envious!” He said, the smile that had briefly faltered during his yawn returning in force. Perhaps the young kitten merely thought that the entire chase was a game they played, and Ryōta was merely entertaining her. Being the object of the kitten’s affection would certainly help catch her when she got loose, but Ryōta would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he enjoyed running after her at least a little bit. It was a fun excuse to jump between buildings akin to the stories of action heroes he recalled from his childhood.

Finally, moments after their first interaction, the realization that introductions had yet to be exchanged had dawned on him. It didn’t seem as though it had bothered her, although it was a bit early to say; perhaps she was still getting over the shock of his brazen approach. He blamed his overtly casual tendencies for the lack of manners and gave himself a thorough mental berating before he spoke up again.

“Ahh-- I should probably introduce myself!” He said, his words accompanied by an earnest attempt at diffusing their informal meeting in the form of warm laughter. “My name’s Ryōta, but my friends usually call me Ryō. You’re welcome to as well if you’d like! And I think I’ve already said her name a few times, but this here is Cloe.” Far from perfect, yet an adequate enough introduction. Ryōta extended his right hand to her after rubbing the dirt from his palm off on his slacks. “It’s very nice to meet you!”

With introductions out of the way and a sudden eagerness to continue their conversation festering in his gut, Ryōta took the lead in their idle chit-chat. “So you’re an artist, aren’tcha?” He asked curiously, leaning toward her slightly to take another look at the drawing upon the parchment.

“That kind of flower is my favourite. You don’t usually see too many in the Earth Country, but they grow all over the place up here.” His idle commentary ended with his gaze shifting from her artwork to her face. “Do you only paint flowers?”

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Perhaps it was his naiveté, or perhaps it was willful indifference, but operating on expression alone would suggest that her timid speech patterns were neither an issue nor a deterrent for him. The brief tidbits of their conversation thus-far had left him eager to continue their interaction. Emerald eyes settled upon the warm hues that began to colour her cheeks, turning them from their sun-kissed grandeur to deep sanguine. His head tilted-- was she feeling unwell? Perhaps she had taken ill from sitting in the sun.

“Are you feeling okay?” He asked in blissful ignorance, leaning in her direction to examine the colour of her face just a tad closer. Years of medical schooling had left him instinctively interested in investigating the causation of the discolouration of her face.

“Your face is really red. Maybe you’ve been out in the sun for too long?” The concerned tone of his voice had lead him to lean in just a bit more, having already penetrated well past what would have been considered a normal person’s personal space. His gaze and closeness lingered for a moment before he pulled away and straightened his back again, just in time to accept the poor kitten that was offered to him. The playful nature of their relationship became evident when the feline displayed precious little interest in remaining in his lap, and instead leaped to his shoulder and took up an unsteady perch overlooking the pair.

“H-hey!” Ryōta muttered aloud, verbally contesting the kitten’s choice of perch, but ultimately helping to balance her. With his head cocked in her direction and emerald eyes stealing a sidelong glance, a soft chuckle rumbled in his throat.

“I’m startin’ to think that she might just be like this toward me for some reason.”

Ryōta huffed as his hand rose and idly scratched the cat's ears. He reaffirmed his attention on Tamae, who complimented his smile, bringing an even wider toothy grin onto his face as a result. He wasn’t given much of a chance to respond right away before she pushed past and continued, her volume growing a bit as she introduced herself. The smile she brought to his face faltered just a bit at the mention of Sunagakure, and instead turned more to a sympathetic gesture.

“Aw, man... That’s rough…” Ryōta’s voice shifted to a more dulcet tone upon hearing the circumstances of the event that brought her to Iwagakure. “It’s not much of a consolation, but I’m real sorry about what happened down there. Nobody deserved that.”

Drawing in a long breath that escaped his lungs as a sigh, Ryōta’s gaze was briefly pried away from the woman beside him. “Well… Oooon the bright side, I got to meet you! So… doesn’t really… make the whole… any... better… mm…” His hand lifted to his nose and rubbed just above his lip as he sniffed as his voice gradually trailed off. “Foot, meet mouth.” He commented, and immediately followed it up with clearing his throat as an attempt to diffuse his momentary embarrassment.

“So, uhm, how are you liking the village then?” It seemed like a safe question to ask coming off the heels of his verbal blunder. Moving past it quickly seemed like the best course of action, just in case he might have offended her. Perhaps it could be recovered yet!

His response to her answer was interrupted by the distressed squeak she chirped, causing him to jump slightly with surprise. The kitten on his shoulder leapt from his shoulder after her perch moved and wobbled, and began to wander while the pair was distracted. Ryōta watched with a tilted head as she readjusted the placement of her utensils and moved over to the brook.

“Hey, no worries. Did you need any help?” He asked, idly moving the inkwell she had sat nearby to be just a tad farther from the parchment, lest it tip and stain her work. He moved to sit beside her by the creek, this time in the opposite direction as her. His gaze fell to the lily as her’s did, and a half-smile lingered on his face as he fell silent and listened.

“My mum used to tell my brother and I this story about the elves that were tasked to watch over the red spider lily. Manju guarded the flower and Saka guarded the leaves. One day, they defied their orders to watch the lily and met with one another. They fell in love, but the Gods were upset that they defied their orders and put a curse on them, keeping the leaves of Saka from ever meeting the flowers of Manju. When they passed away and met in the otherworld, they promised to meet again in the next life.” Ryōta’s words were laced with childlike wonder as he effortlessly recounted the tale that his mother had told him countless times when he was younger. His hand rose to scratch at his cheek as a smile grew and a laugh festered in his chest.

“It was always my favourite story, so that’s why I like the lilies up here. But my favourites are definitely the white ones, ‘cause the orange ones symbolize revenge and hatred. They’re pretty, but I don’t like the symbolism as much. Cloe likes them though, righ-..” When Ryōta turned his head to address the kitten he was expecting to still be upon his shoulder, a pit opened in his stomach. She was nowhere to be found.

“Cloe?” He called out again, briefly clinging to the hope that she might have lingered nearby. But as his gaze swept from one side to the next, the small kitten was nowhere to be found.

Ryōta clambered to his feet and lifted his hands to his head in animated panic. “Not again! Agh, dang it!” He whined, emerald eyes darting in every direction out of desperation.

“She couldn’t have gotten that far… Uhm-- Tamae!” He quickly turned toward the winsome girl. “I’m super sorry to ask, but do you think you might be willing to help me find her? I mean, if you don’t mind taking a break from your painting, I mean. If you do it’s totally fine! I just-- uhm… She seems to like you, so…”

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