SEVEN BILLION SOULS — MEETING & ORIENTATION [08/03]

[Jiyu Simul Stamus]

Most of the meeting faded together for her, none of it important on its own and very aware she could deconstruct it later in her mind if she needed to. Jiyu perched there letting everything soak in as she kept her optics keenly observing the location. Of course, when Felix locked his gaze to hers the calico grew distracted her empty mismatch gaze staying tied for the moment to his. Distraction was something she didn't have often, frozen as she was, but the grin from him meant a lot, enough to gather her full attention for several moments. It was just enough time, and she'd realize the weakness she had fallen into later. She adored her friends who had grown with her and taught her that she could draw strength from more than just herself, that she was stronger when she let their emotions into her when she had something to fight for.

Something was wrong in the air, this sense of dread creeping up her spine, she had noticed something but for some reason was unaware of whatever small detailed she had seen that told her something was about to go wrong. What had she seen?! Jiyu scanned the room again, checking for anything that could even be slightly out of place, anything that could be a threat to the lives she was supposed to be protecting, even if it was just some part of the mansion suddenly growing weaker. Seconds ticked by, keenly observant yet empty optics taking in everything, yet she seemed to find nothing. Dread crept down her cold spine and the calico felt increasing panic at the fact she couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong. How bad would a threat have to be if she couldn't notice it? Damn Felix and his stupid grin, that must have been when she missed it.

No.

It couldn't be.

There was no way.

Jiyu hurriedly looked around the room again this time her action being somewhat noticeable to someone like Pey who was right beside her but not far beyond that. There was almost no information, but the path of someone late to the meeting pushing their way up to the front without leaving a single piece of mud, dust or tracking anything from anywhere else. Suddenly everything began clicking into place, another breath light as her's finally catching her attention. No.

She couldn't express the sheer wall of emotion that came crashing down on her, body remaining corpse-like as ever, trapping her in place unable to deal with what she was feeling. Empty optics focused in on the swish of that fuzzy brown furred tail tip. Only in the calico's eyes? It was much smaller and fluffier attached to an infant running ahead of her to chase some butterfly instead of a full grown lioness. With each step the tan female took? Jiyu watched the figure grow larger, more scenes flashing behind her eyes. In only a matter of seconds Jiyu watched every single time she had fed that small lion cub, patted her head awkwardly without word when she was upset, each time she told the child they needed to find someone else to patch up their wound, every time she chased away a bully for the small creature until she had become able to do it for herself! Each day when the words 'i love you mom' had been spoken and she had simply nuzzled the cubs head instead of saying it back. As she remembered each time she taught that small lioness something she knew, it was no wonder things had turned out this way, giving so much brutal capability to someone and then never truly teaching them what love was. Not that she didn't love the lioness, but just like right now, it had all stayed inside of her and only showed in her actions. Now grown lioness was using all her own tricks to take away something else she loved.

No.

"SOLA, FELIX, PRES, MOVE SHE'S NOT JOINING!" she would have already known Deborah was here before the meeting if this was anything other than an assination attempt. The calico's words only escaped her as the lioness bent down to drink from the bowl, a second too late for her friends to truly do anything to protect themselves. She had spent every second since she got back trying to protect those three from threat, prepared to fight anything, Jiyu would go through dragons to protect them, she had known that. Could she go through Deborah to protect them?

For the first time what her friends expected her to do failed to happen. Normally? The calico would have sprung regardless of being smaller than the lioness, instantly tried to tear the life from the attacker's throat. However unexpectedly she stood completely still, seemingly locked in place for several moments. It was only when she saw prestige move that her limbs suddenly remembered how they worked. "No!" it was the second pres sprung when the calico realized this was no simple assassination attempt, Deborah was trained far better than something so foolish. If she had really been after taking down just sola, or just the three of them? The lioness would have targeted them when they were alone, not attacked them so publically. "Don't Do It!" She knew because it was what she would do if she could still feel that strongly if she hadn't had most of her emotions crushed as she had. Jiyu very heavily suspected her daughter was going to kill Sola last. After all, such an event was so much more effective if you showed the leader that they were the greatest weakness of their people.

Very likely many would take time to think of how to act, considering the fact Deborah had their leader very much by the throat. However, the calico already knew, this was not a cat in their right mind, nor was this a feline using normal methods to accomplish her goal. She had to protect them all, she had to stop Deborah from doing this, her daughter didn't know what she was doing! Jiyu had been there, done that and the path it set her on allowed for the sheer cliff fall that had violently thrown her into what she now was. Jiyu couldn't lose any of them. This couldn't be happening, but it was.