Hunter and Prey

Chapter 7: Tough Decisions

Kimata smiled at Rose as she blushed shyly and cutely. He watched her as she tried her best to avoid his gaze. He smirked softly and kept massaging her shoulders gently as she stayed sitting on the stool chair. Rose's ears slowly lowered as he massaged. Kimata's attention fixated on her as he suddenly felt her starting to vibrate almost. Was she... Shivering? He now noticed Rose's body was completely tense at his touch, feeling her twitching and shivering at every motion as he massaged her shoulders. How cute, he thought. What a poor, shy little child... He grinned and slowly stopped massaging and stood over her from behind, keeping his hands on her shoulders as if holding her still. He felt her shudder heavily as he did, and he grinned more. It was true, he would not harm her, and would protect her from any who tried... But she didn't know that. It wasn't like he couldn't have any fun along the way. He leaned down slowly from behind, leveling his head with hers, bringing his face next to hers just to the side. His warm breath washed over her cheek and he smirked as he watched her shudder more and wince, partly closing her eyes. "Cute~..." His voice sly as he whispered the words softly in her ear. She shuddered again and closed her eyes tightly, ears flat down against her head as she turned her head away slightly. He could feel her fear flowing off of her in waves now. Kimata inched closer and parted his lips next to Rose's cheek, grinning slyly as his tongue slips out, giving her bright red cheek a soft warm lick, leaving a small wet spot on her fur and smiling gently. He immediately felt the heat rise off her fur, watching her whole face turn bright red and he smiled. "W-what're you d-doing?..." Rose's voice quivered unsteadily as she tried to pull away, frozen in fear. Kimata smiled and finally pulled away, giving her space as he turned away to fiddle with some of the trinkets on her shelves. "Pardon me, lass..." Kimata chuckled softly and turned back towards her as she faced him, smiling softly at her brightly blushing countenance. "I'm a very playful soul, I apologize~..." He smiled gently and walked back over to her, softly running a finger over her hot cheek, eyes soft and kind as his gaze locked with hers. "But as playful as I am, still no harm shall come to you... Not while I'm around, lass." He smiled reassuringly and leaned forward, gently kissing the top of her forehead. He watched as her as her face turned bright tomato red, eyes wide, seeming to sway softly and he steadied her with a hand on her shoulder. "Heh... Sorry lass, didn't mean to flatter you THAT much~..." She looked up at him with a completed flustered expression and he giggled. God her face was priceless... Kimata kneeled down and smiled up at her softly but looking more serious now. "Rose... As you might've thought about earlier, my contract was to kill you... Now, you know I won't, but the person who hired me will know I didn't complete the deed if you're still walking around this area alive and well... We have to leave this area, sometime very soon. The sooner, the better. Do you understand?" Rose shuddered and her blushing died down to a soft rosy pink, looking caught off guard by the question. She had thought about it and about how it would affect him, but... It affected her now too, now that he promised to protect her. She didn't think she'd have to leave though... But she agreed, it would be suicide to stay. If Kimata failed to complete his contract, that meant there'd be someone else to come finish the job. Her ears went down a bit as she nodded slowly in agreement. "I understand..." Her voice trailed off and she looked away. Kimata smiled and gently rubbed her back. "I'm sorry... We'll leave at nightfall..." Rose's eyes widened at his words, ears down more. "W-what? Tonight?!" Kimata's ears went down softly as he watched her upset reaction. For the first time, Rose caught a glimpse of pity in his eyes. "I am sorry, Rose... But we need to cover as much distance possible without anyone seeing you or me, in as short of time as we can... Today we'll gather supplies for the journey, okay? Bring what you have to, and we'll leave as soon as the sun goes down..." Rose shuddered and stared at the ground as she tried to absorb it all. Of course she was used to moving around a lot to different towns so she wasn't caught, but... She usually traveled alone... For the first time, she was going to be traveling with someone else, and frankly, someone she most definitely didn't trust yet. Who knows what he might do to her... Then again, she knew what awaited her if she stayed around town much longer. Surely someone would come to carry out the contract, and that was surely worse than anything Kimata might do... Right?... Rose's brain swam with different possibilities and horrors that might become of her. But she knew one thing. With or without Kimata, she had to leave town, and soon... She sighed heavily and nodded again to the white wolfs plan. She stood up slowly and walked towards the entrance of the hollow, grabbing her satchel and glancing back at the wolf as he stay kneeled next to the table. "Just collect some food supplies that'll last for a few weeks. I'll wait here and pack up what's in the hollow until you get back." He smiled reassuringly and starting to sift through the items around the room, putting various goods and appliances into a travel bag he kept with him. Rose smiled back half-heartedly and turned back to the entrance, climbing down the tree and heading off to the village to round up supplies. Maybe it's time she experienced some adventure, Rose thought... It might be good for her, who knows, right?... Rose smiled softly, her spirits lightening up a bit. Things had certainly been more interesting in the past 24 hours than the past several years of living and thieving alone. This could be fun! Rose smiled more, starting to purr softly as she trotted off towards the town more happily than before, feeling much lighter. Indeed... This adventure would most definitely be exciting!