Cassie supposed Nolian was right, but that didn't stop her from worrying. Because, well, that was what she did most of the time. It was basically a habit now. Atleast she was pretty sure that Nolian wouldn't leave her alone in this mess. That was plus, at the very least.

.

But what would happen after he got her home? What would happen when she came to work tomorrow? Could she even do that, considering she now had cat ears and tail? Was there a way to reserve this... curse? Was the cat necklace the thing that made her like this? What was going on?

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Cassie's thoughts were interrupted as Nolian came rushing back. He came back at just the right time, though, considering she had been about to start panicking again. This whole situation was beyond messed up.

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"That was fast." She muttered under her breath, genuinely surprised. Why was Nolian going through all this trouble for someone who he hadn't even really talked to before? More than that, for someone who had practically been avoiding him?

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Nolian's reassurance was hollow to the young woman as she took the bottle he offered. Too lazy to get some water, she just swallowed it dry, a little trick she learned from her brother. "I walked, unfortunately. I'm guessing you did the same?" Cassie asked, setting the bottle to the side before standing up.

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While Nolian sat down, Cassie went over to where she had dropped the necklace. She bent down, hesitated for a moment, before picking it up. The cat had chipped a little, but otherwise the necklace was fine. "I turned into... this, the moment I touched it." She murmured, mostly to herself than to Nolian. "Do you think... this was really the cause?" She asked, turning to adress Nolian directly this time.

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Cassie was aware this was probably the most she had talked to Nolian in one sitting, but she was truly grateful for his presence. Plus, she couldn't just ignore him after all he had done and was going to do for her. "If it is... it might not be safe for you or anyone eles to touch it. I think I'll buy it just to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone eles."

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After saying those words and estimating how much it would cost, she got out her money. She planned to put the money in the cash register as they were leaving. As for the necklace itself, with a look of slight disgust, she put it in her purse.

The young man shrugged, lopsidedly. "I walked, yeah. But it's less dangerous for me to go wandering around out there," he confirmed with a short nod. His hands settled into his lap, taking in a few deep breaths. Mostly to calm himself down. This was not exactly the most normal of times.

He followed her with his gaze as she picked up the necklace. He shrugged loosely and without much thought, took the necklace from her hands to study it. The surface was scratched and one ear was slightly chipped. Otherwise, it didn't look too bad. Unlike the poor ceramic figurine that had met an untimely demise."I mean, I can't rule it out. But something like that--if it is a talisman or something of the sort--I would assume only has enough ability for it to work once. It's like a cursed object. It will only curse one person at a time. It's like... those old movies," Nolian handed it back to her.

He paused for a moment or two. Nolian tilted his head back and forth before nodding and giving her a warmer smile. "I think I'm okay," he shrugged loosely and stood up to follow her out to the front of the store.

Sure enough, Bonnie and Alma had already left for the day. The lights were off, the store dim and odd. He stepped over and pulled out his card, letting it punch in and out. He did the same for Cassie. At the sound of money, Nolian turned his head and shook his head lightly to stop her from touching the till.

"They've already counted cash for the day, just leave it on the counter and we'll count it for tomorrow," Nolian responded loosely as he opened the door for her. "Otherwise, we'll throw off the entire till for tomorrow."

Cassie's eyes widened in panic when Nolian took the necklace from her hands. Ah, now he was going to turn part cat too! When he ended up not doing so, she let out a relieved breath. He really shouldn't be so careless...

.

"Oh, true..." Cassie murmured to herself when Nolian corrected her, feeling slightly foolish. She did as he said and put the money on the counter before following him over to the door. When it came time to actually go outside, the young woman hesitated. What if someone saw her? Unlike Nolian, most people would probably freak out. Still, she had to get home somehow.

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As Cassie's feet touched the sidewalk, she managed to control her ears and tail enough to get them in a position that was the least likely to get seen. Thinking back to what Nolian had said earlier, she turned to glance at him. Should she... talk to him? It would probably make him happy, since he seemed to like to talk. And the least Cassie could do was atleast try to make him feel at ease, even if it made her a bit uncomfortable.

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"I don't really do movies, so... I guess I wouldn't know. Still, what would've happened if you were wrong?" Cassie said, ultimately deciding to bring up what he had said before. But then she started doubting her words, so she ended up trying to cover her tracks. "I mean, I guess it doesn't matter. You're obviously fine."

.

After a beat of silence, Cassie managed to make herself speak up again. She decided on a topic that would hopefully keep them both comfortable. "Hey, I heard you say earlier that you do ranching. Do you, uh, work with horses, by chance?" As they talked, she stayed alert, leading the way to her apartment.

Nolian's eyes glittered. "I mean, yeah. It's better to make sure there's at least an established pattern so that we can rule it out first."

He led her into the alleyway and offered his jacket for her to wear. "Here, you can tie this around your waist to hide the tail at least. But I don't know how we can hide the ears just yet," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Unless we can pass it off as a costume...?"

He shook his head and waved his hands. "Ah, that's if we come to it. I have my doubts."

Nolian led the way along the back roads after getting the directions. "I do work with horses," he chuckled warmly, eager to ramble on. "I usually work on helping the wild horses break in and be okay with us. There's only so much space for the wild horses to roam out in the wild. But we have room in our pastures and they love farm work," he gladly rambled on.

His eyes flicked toward Cassie once again. "You live on the north side of town, right? I think that's what you said ... ages ago..." he shook his head. "My memory isn't always the best."

He smiled fondly, shrugging one shoulder. "You ever get experience with horses? I'd love to take you to the ranch sometime, I still visit."

Now that she had something of Nolian's around her waste, Cassie realized her senses had been strengthed, judging by the way she could smell Nolian's scent even though his jacket wasn't close to her nose. And if she really thought about it, she realized she could hear better as well. She supposed that made sense, considering she was now apparently part cat. That fact didn't really make this whole situation cool like you think it would, though.

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As Nolian spoke about the horses, Cassie whole heartedly listened, intrigued about what he had to say. Just the fact that he did indeed work with horses got her curious. But wild horses? That seemed exhilarating yet scary. I mean, they were wild, unruly. No wonder he wasn't scared of by this whole scenario. If he could work with untamed beasts, she was sure it took alot to scare him.

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"Oh, yeah, that's right. I'm surprised you remembered, though." Cassie answered, trying her best to be a good conversationalist for Nolian's sake. But of course, though she looked calm on the outside, she was secretly worrying over each sentence she said, hoping she didn't say anything weird or wrong.

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Upon hearing Nolian's second question, Cassie practically lit up despite her best efforts at neutrality. "I would really love to go! But, yes, I have a little experience with tame horses. Back in middle school I took a few riding lessons. Of course, It's been a while and even back then, I wasn't very good." Cassie answered, making sure to put emphasis on the 'tame' part, hoping Nolian would get the gist that she wanted nothing to do with the wild horses.

Nolian smiled back at her, his eyes full of a slightly strained warmth. This was a lot, even for him, but the more he panicked the less that they could actually get done. It was taking everything in him to not panic right at the moment.

He let out a warm noise, almost chuckling. "Oh you wouldn't have to worry about wild horses. Only those of us who were dumb enough to get on the back of them would even dare. We have a lot of tamer horses--even some that we ride when we're getting the ones out in the wild."

He turned his head back to their surroundings, studying everything out of the corner of his eye. "It just takes practice and confidence," he explained and moved his hands as he spoke. "The more confidence you have comes with getting to know the horse you have in specific."

One hand pushed through his hair. "I had a fiery Knabstrupper. He just wasn't that good at dressage or anything of that sort but goodness gracious could he run down an unruly wild."

The young man shook his head. "Sometimes, I miss him. Just a little bit though. Not a whole lot. I had been eyeing a colt before I left, we got him fairly young and I'm not entirely sure what he was. I didn't get to ask. He had the most beautiful coat color."

He let out a slow whistle. "If he's still there, I'll show you."

Nolian glanced upward and around, pausing at a corner. "Which way?"

Cassie listened to Nolian, yet her eyes were scanning their surroundings warily. It was exhausting being on alert, being terrified about this whole situation and being excited about horses all at once. At times like this, where she was stressed beyond belief, was when the young woman most missed her brother. When Adam was around, she always knew things would be okay, but alone, everything seemed uncertain.

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Cassie supposed she wasn't totally alone, but now that she thought about it, what if Nolian was just putting on a brave face? What if he was secretly terrified as well?

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"That sounds wonderful." Cassie replied, addressing basically everything Nolian had said. Though, how he could miss his horse only a little bit baffled her. If she were in his shoes, she would be dying to get back to her horse. But she didn't see how that was relevant, so she didn't say anything.

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When they got to a corner, Cassie instinctively kept going, forgetting Nolian had no idea where they were going. "Oh, my place is just down this way and to the right. We'll be there in a couple minutes." She replied, waiting for him to catch up. She then started walking again, fidgeting with the sleeve of Nolian's jacket.

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Suddenly, Cassie picked up the faint sound of talking. Glancing at Nolian, it was clear he hadn't heard anything. So, she did have enhanced hearing now. Fun. "Someone's coming." She muttered, abruptly turning down an alleyway to keep from being seen. Atleast, that was her plan, anyway, to not get seen and all.

Nolian held back as she kept walking onward, before she paused. Her directions were easy to follow and he hurried to catch up with her. Once they continued the pace, Nolian turned his eyes back to their surroundings. The darkness of the street was hardly broken by the light of an orange street light.

He was admiring it briefly when she turned abruptly down another alleyway. The light from the street didn't touch the alleyway at all. It was shrouded in darkness. Dark enough that Nolian stumbled on his feet awkwardly and hurried to follow after the young woman. He stumbled over a few broken bottles and other trash, things left behind in the alleyway itself. "Oh--oh," he said softly, pressing himself to the back of a building.

The building was tall enough to be considered at least three stories. But the brickwork was on the older side of things. The type of brick that clung to his vest and hair occasionally.

It took a few moments before the sound of talking came close to his range of hearing. But it was soft and subtle.

He took in a deep breath, holding it ever so slightly as they drew nearer. It would be fine. They wouldn't even be able to see into the dark of the alleyway anyways.

Right?

Nolian winced ever so slightly, feeling a twinge in his back as he leaned against the brick behind him. That wasn't a good feeling... but he'd ignore it for time being. They had more important things to focus on.

Better eyesight, too, Cassie noted. While Nolian stumbled, she was able to see well enough to step over each bottle and pile of trash. She wouldn't say she could see clearly in the pitch blackness, but she could see the outline of things, and that's what kept her from stumbling.

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Once they were far enough in, Cassie crouched down, just to make herself less of a target. It would be fine if they saw Nolian. They would probably just presume he was a drunk or something. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than them seeing Cassie.

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With Nolian being so close, Cassie could hear his rapid heartbeat. It was painfully loud to her, but it wouldn't give away their hiding spot, considering normal humans wouldn't be able to hear it unless they were super close.

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Luckily, the people passed the duo without pausing. Awesome, they had managed to get hidden in time and in a good spot.

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Standing up, Cassie strained her senses. It didn't seem like anyone eles was around, so she guessed it was safe to get going again. "Here. This curse gives me the abilities of a cat. I can see better than you can." Cassie murmured quietly, grabbing Nolian's wrist. She wasn't about to let him fall if she could prevent it. Still, the action was a bit weird to her.

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"Just a little farther..."

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As soon as they had exited the alleyway, Cassie let go of Nolian and stepped back. As bad as she hated to say it, she knew it would be better for Nolian if he just... left. This was way too tedious for someone unrelated to have to go through. Besides, Cassie could probably move faster on her own.

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"I can take it from here. I'm almost home anyway. You should head back before it gets any later." Cassie said as she masked her fear, pretending as if she wasn't terrified of being alone in this state.

Nolian watched the small group wander on by, clearly involved in the conversation that they were having. Something about roommates? Eh, he couldn't really tell what they were talking about.

The breath he had been holding slid out in a relieved sigh as he took in another deep breath to try and figure out how to get out of the alleyway. That was about the time when Cassie grabbed a hold of his wrist.

He didn't say much, focusing on following her out of the alleyway without any incident this time. He flashed her a lopsided smile. "Thank you," he commented briefly and turned to keep going.

Nolian paused for a moment as he registered her last sentence. "As much as I understand that, Cassie, I would feel much better if I knew--for a fact--that you had gotten home safely. I'd feel far more assured if I see you go in myself than trust on my anxieties to try and soothe me."

He tipped his head, not bothering to argue and began continuing the way she had initially directed. "We're almost there, it's not like it's going to be that much farther for me. It's a simple walk. I'm a guy, too, nobody's going to mess with me and even if they do?"

Nolian let out a weary laugh. "... well, they won't enjoy it. But ah well, that's a rather large if. Come on," he gestured for her to follow him. "Less time standing 'round and more time walking."