The Stray Cat brought home

As the breakfast started to disappear into Kaihuas mouth, Hathiya gave a small chuckle, replying, "Oh, you're not going to be any trouble for me. I will do my best for you."

---------------

Hathiya exited the outer gates of the storage zone, and was walking down the path, towering over everything else. It was a beautiful morning, the sun cracking through the clouds, on Prophet Road's musty and weathered streets. There were people walking about; men and women heading to work, opening shops, and some of the sanitation department workers cleaning bits of trash away. Hathiya walked past these shops and restaurants ranging from single small shops to a rather clean and reputable looking restaurant called Beelzebuddies where a bunch of horrific looking obsidian colored insectoids stood in front of the locked doors, turning their head to look at Hathiya and Kaihua before resuming unlocking their doors. The smallest in the group (one standing on their feet and the other hovering in the air with their wings) both waved wildly at the passing wonder.

"Don't be fooled by their appearance, they're very kind and nice folks." Hathiya remarked, guessing their appearance would've unnerved him. She herself waved back at the insectoids, as one of the older looking ones did a "right back atcha" hand motion before all of them disappeared inside their restaurant. Hathiya walked down the road, as her eye travelled over to a sign pointing in the general direction she was going in; it said "Weekend Bazaar."

The tiger felt warm with Hathiya’s gentle response, but wasn’t sure she understood what he meant. The young tiger opened his mouth, but no words came out as Hathiya began to clean up the breakfast dishes and prepare for the trip to the surprise she had for him. His mouth closed as he began to fidget once again, nervous that he didn’t get his desire to help Hathiya across. He couldn’t help but feel frustrated by his lack of a proper vocabulary, and tried to make himself feel better by eating the last of the tender pops. He didn’t want to make Hathiya sad, so he put on a smile as they set out for this mysterious “surprise”.

–

The warm sun poured over the entire city of Tsubar like a nice heat lamp. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky that Kaihua could observe as he followed behind the Earthshaker and curiously peered around at his surroundings. Prophets road looked stunningly different in the bright sun's light. Darkness seemed to breed a scary atmosphere of deep dark alleyways, abandoned streets, and sharp corners where the unknown waited to spring out at whomever passed by. But with night driven away, there was an almost empty comfort that hovered in the air. The street became wide and open, the sound of workers stacking crates and boxes while using heavy machines echoed inside the gated compounds that surrounded Prophets road. It was still early in the morning, but the work was going at a steady pace that implied a rhythm had been in motion for some time. Kaihua could hear it all with his sensitive ears, despite the booming steps of his leader shaking the earth below them. It was interesting, what a change Prophets road could make in a little more than twelve hours or so.

He silently hoped he could make progress like that in such a short amount of time.

Kaihua politely walked behind, and then beside Hathiya for some time. It took some time, but soon the environment changed from tall warehouses and guarded gates to open lots and wooden stalls. People began to walk the streets around them. Different species of creatures ranging from beasts and humans to the strange and indescribable enigma on legs walked around them, though Hathiya seemed to tower over each and everyone of them with ease. It got quite a few glances in her direction, but the regulars of this place all seemed used to the sight of her. As some simply gave a nod in her direction or no attention at all. Kaihua seemed to go completely unnoticed, however. In comparison to his companion, he went completely under the radar. A fact he was secretly grateful for, as he recognized some of the owners of the food stalls that grew more and more numerous with each step. Kaihua had been here once before when he first arrived at Tsubar. He…had taken a bit of food here and there from this place. A fact he hoped no one would remember, or at least attribute to him while with Hathiya.

Hathiya stopped to wave at someone, Kaihua so busy looking around he almost walked into her. Following her eye, he spotted a group of large insectoids staring at the pair of them in front of a slim building. Kaihua flinched as those large bulbous red eyes seemed to stare right through him in a single second. He could see one floating in midair, flying in place with marvelous ease as it waved two of its long and thin arms at Hathiya with such excitement the tiger wondered how they didn’t snap right off. The white tiger had seen this kind of insectoid out in the jungles of Gaia, and they weren’t exactly under pleasant circumstances. His ears lay flat against his head as he grumbled to himself, which the Earthshaker quickly assured him. These were friendly folk, and so Kaihua softened his appearance slightly. His sapphire blue eyes watched them all cautiously, and he sniffed the air. Surprisingly, the insectoids smelled like…well, food. Cooked food, and baked goods. Not the usual smell he knew their species for.

Soon, all of them went inside the flat building, and Hathiya was on her way again. Kaihua tried to read the strange sign on top of the insectoids flat building, but after a few attempts, he gave up and ran after Hathiya. He didn’t want to get separated too far from the Earthshaker. He had seen a few people dressed like the weird lady’s guards back at the SRW, and felt nervous they might try to take him away again.

He ran past the large sign he couldn’t read, and was soon trotting beside Hathiya once again. He could smell all sorts of fresh scents, some artificial, and some natural. Flowers, warm sugars, honey wax and enchanted crystals all filled the air with a warm and pleasing smell that appealed to many in the Bazaar. Almost every stall Kaihua saw had something different inside of it, and a strange creature running the small store. Some took credits, others bartered and traded with each other. For a hunter like Kaihua, it was still a very strange system to not simply take what you could…but with Hathiya next to him, he remained quiet and watchful of anyone who got too close to Hathiya…or the weird lady’s guards that passively patrolled the Bazaar.

Hathiya noticed Kaihua acting a bit nervously and wondered what he was feeling worried about, and her eyes looked about at who was he looking at. To try to soothe him, she let her tail move up to Kaihuas head, to tickle him and give him something to take his mind off of.

As they proceeded down the bazaar, a flash of green caught Hathiyas attention. She wasn't sure at first, and thought maybe it was another goblin. But on squinting and a closer look, she realized....

"Oh my!" Hathiya walked up to the stall in question. Because the stall was run by Gob Gob himself.

Kaihua was careful to keep in Hathiya’s large shadow as though it were a blanket of nightfall that would hide him from the guard’s lazy gaze. While many of the guards who had seen Kaihua thought he was acting suspicious, many only kept a peripheral view of him at best. Even if they weren’t fans of the SRW, they would recognize Hathiya just from her sheer size alone. If the tiger was following her, there was little doubt he would keep his nose clean if only to avoid being punished by the titan. Thinking things through, she would probably punish him harsher than any cell or Warden ever could.

But the white tiger had no clue of the guards apathy, and followed behind the Earthshaker with care. His mind was buzzing with so many things that he didn’t notice her brushing against his face! He was brought back to the present as Hathiya’s tail tickled his nose, and he sneezed quietly behind her. As he rubbed his nose, his head would bounce off of the back of Hathiya’s leg. He blinked up at Hathiya, who was looking at a particular stall…a stall manned by a goblin?

–

Gob Gob:

Gob Gob sat waiting in his makeshift stall, made from spare parts he found discarded around the various warehouses and shops of Tsubar. Due to the shabbiness of the shack, the guards had told him he could only set up his store in the alleyway nearby the shopping plaza. It wasn’t unusual for him to be pushed off to the side, thanks to his ragged looks and home made merchandise. Young Gob Gob had built everything he had through scraps and junk and many other things people simply threw out without a second thought. Goblins were famous for their ingenuity, capable of taking even the most simple of scraps and turning it into almost anything they could imagine. Weapons, toys, even simple gadgets! And Gob Gob was no different! Everything in his stall was something he made, and while his inventory might not have looked as pretty or expensive as the stalls that sat out in the plaza, he could attest to their quality.

However, few species were ever willing to give him the chance. While Goblins were known to be creative, many people had a prejudice against them as being swindlers and thieves. There were some of his kind that only cared about gold and treasures, and while Gob Gob had never truly been interested in such trifling things he still occasionally got a look of disgust or distrust from someone passing by his stall. Thankfully the young goblin was used to it at this point, and those nasty look no mind. Instead, he simply worked on his next pieces of inventory while wondering if he might actually sell anything.

I wonder when Hathiya’s next match is coming up? I’ve been out here trying to sell trinkets for so long, I hope I didn’t miss it! But then again, I don’t think Brat would have let us forget about something like that.

He passively hummed to himself as he screwed the last bolt into his newest piece of inventory! The item looked like a simple lamp, but with some careful rewiring and the guts from an audio system, he had managed to create a gentle night light! Flicking it on to test it out, the gentle bulb inside the darkened lampshade produced a dim shadowy light that was hard to see out in the sunny day, but perfect for the dark alleyway shadows. A tune began to warple from the base of the lamp, but quickly steadied itself into a cheery sweet tune that was as gentle as rain hitting the forest trees of Gaia! The gentle pit pat, pit pat and tink dink of the music played on for several minutes before Gob Gob was satisfied that it worked. He went to flick the lamp off, when suddenly his stall began to shake!

At first, Gob Gob expected the sanitation workers to be standing behind him again. He had gotten complaints before that his disorderly stall and ugly merchandise looked like trash, and a few sanitation workers had been dispatched to clean up the perceived mess. It had taken Gob Gob quite a bit of time to convince them that he was running a proper business, but they still stopped by from time to time to occasionally talk and buy something. But nobody sanitation workers were there, shaking the shop to try and tease the young goblin. Instead, it was someone else! And they were nowhere near his shop!

Within a few seconds, Gob Gob recognized the familiar tremors that shook the earth beneath him! And soon, a familiar face would tower over the plaza crowds. It was Hathiya! The Earthshaker herself, walking right up to his stall! His long pointed ears perked up, almost wiggling with excitement as he excitedly waved her over!

“Hathiya!” He called out in his usual scratchy, cheerful tone! “Believe it or not, I was just thinkin’ about you! What cha’ doing out here? If you’re looking for some good fruits, I saw the stall by the laundry scrubbers got a fresh shipment of crimson bananas from the hot expanse~ I hear they’re the sweetest thing in Gaia right now!”

Hathiya knelt down to try to get closer to Gob's level, flashing him a lovely smile.

"Gob Gob! My little man, I haven't seen you in a while!" her trunk reached out to ruffle his hair, as Hathiya giggled, "I'm glad to meet you here in the market! So you made this stall yourself?"

Hathiya then reached out behind herself, pulling Kaihua to her side in her large arm. "Gob Gob, meet my ward, Kaihua!" Hathiya looked down at Kaihua, "Kaihua, meet Gob Gob! He's the leader of my fanclub."

Most tiny critters would get nervous when something more than five times their size leaned down toward them, but Gob Gob only blushed when Hathiya’s trunk ruffled his hair slightly. The goblin thought of the Earthshaker as an incredibly strong warrior, who was clever in her ingenuity during her various matches. He’d done his homework, and was a founding member of Hathiya’s fanclub…if not one of the only members, at least locally. His egg-yolk colored eyes peered up at the Earthshaker. It was amazing how, even when she squatted down, to try and get to his level, he had to crane his neck a bit to look up into her eyes.

“Yep! I made this stall out of nothing but spare parts and grit! Same thing goes fer my inventory! If you ever need anything whipped up or fixed up, just give me a call and I guarantee I can make somethin’ fer ya within the week! B-but if it's for you, Hathiya then I guarantee it’ll be a whole lot less than that!”

The goblin chuckled nervously, but had his attention suddenly taken away by the white tiger that was pulled out beside Hathiya. The two exchanged an awkward glance. Kaihua’s shimmering bright sapphire eyes met Gob Gob’s yellowish orbs with a questioning gaze while the goblin blinked as he thought he recognized the tiger.

“Ain’t this one of your opponents?” The goblin asked with a tilt of his head.

“Fan…club? What is Fan, and why it has club? Is club not enough to use for hits?”

Gob Gob could only blink at that response. He’d had to answer some strange questions before, especially given his line of work. But even though he had only just met Kaihua, the goblin began to wonder if perhaps Brat was maybe smarter than this white Feline with razor sharp teeth and standing only a few feet away from him.

Hathiya lightly patted Kaihua's back, as her palm gently rubbed the young man. "Oh no, a fanclub is just a group of people who really like something. Ah, I'm sure you've seen Kaihua, Gob Gob, he's one of the Sovereign Reign fighters, but I've taken him under my care! It's not an issue." she said with a wave of her hand, "I'm just showing him the Bazaar today! But I'll remember your stall." Hathiya looked amongst the trinkets and what not that Gob Gob had established. "I'm quite sure you're an honest businessman, and honest businessmen....whats the phrase? Ah, probably 'eat shit' a lot, is that right? Well! If anyone gives you trouble, just call me, and I'll handle it for you." Hathiya pumped a fist over her large bosom. "This I can promise."

She again looked over Gob's items, as she looked at Kaihua. She noticed the small bit of metal chain that he had tucked on his cloth belt. Hathiya raised an eye as she figured a good gift that could work for Kaihua.

"Do you have say, any key chains? Any decor I can use like that?"

The two boys stared at one another for a full minute or two, trying to feel each other out and try to learn about the other through looks and mannerisms. Gob Gob honestly wasn’t sure if Kaihua was truly so naive as to not know what fanclubs were or what shops and marketplaces were. Kaihua was too busy wondering if he could eat the green goblin in front of him, but figuring he probably couldn’t given what he had seen in Tsubar thus far. It was only when Hathiya patted the tiger on his back that the staredown broke between the two critters, both of their attention now on her.

Upon hearing what exactly a fan club was, Kaihua simply tilted his head questioningly.

“Why make pack just for that? If like something, should take it. Keep to yourself and enjoy, let everyone enjoy what like and be happy. Pack for one thing, very hard work.”

“Well, it's a great way to meet new people who share a similar interest as you do. Our fan club is actually for Hathiya…and I’ve already met a few people that turned into fast friends. Plus, we can support Hathiya as a group during her matches from the audience! One of our members is a bit shy, but I think when the rest of us start cheering, they get into it and join in which really makes things exciting!” The goblin smiled, trying to help the tiger understand Hathiya’s meaning.

Unfortunately, Kaihua only responded with a blank stare and a moment of silence. Gob Gob ears drooped a bit as he truly realized just how slow Kaihua was. But after a full minute processing the idea in his head, Kaihua finally managed to grasp the concept. At least partially.

“Ah…like pack…but only little? Come together easy…but split easy?”

“Uh, well…no, not really.”

The two couldn’t get too much further into it. Hathiya would thankfully bring up another subject before the two boys got a headache from each other and asked Gob Gob if he had anything akin to a keychain for sale. The goblin rubbed his chin for a split second as he seemed to go through his entire inventory list in his head.

“Keychains…?” he muttered aloud. As a businessman, he’d learned long ago many species call the same things by different names. In fact, where he came from keychains were referred to as: “Oh, Clip Clasps! Sorry, it’s been months since I’ve heard them called that.”

With hardly any time at all, Gob Gob dug his hands underneath the counter of his stall and pulled out what looked to be a medium sized wooden box in his hands. When he set it on the counter, the distinct sound of metal clinking together came as he pulled the top off of the box. Dozens of trinkets like small cheap jewels, fancy metals, and designs were all attached to various hoops and hooks made specifically to clasp onto someone's belt or purse. While it was clear the goblin did his best to clean and design each keychain, there was no doubt that the materials he used had either been thrown out, previously broken, or found in the wild.

“Feel free to take a look! I tried different designs for all kinds so I’m sure one of them will catch your eye.”

“Yuck…metal hook catch eye? Sounds painful….painful gross.”

“No, it’s a…it’s a thing salespeople say.” Gob Gob groaned, too tired to explain any deeper than that.

The little awkward episode between Gob and Kaihua was something Hathiya found very cute, as she lightly rubbed Kaihuas head. "Oh don't worry, you'll understand in due time." Hathiyas eyes then glanced over the keychains, wondering which one would be best for Kaihua. She thought of maybe giving him a bell chain, but she realized his ears probably wouldn't like the amount of ringing such a keychain would make (and she would get irritated by such a bell fast) until her eyes settled on one particular keychain.

It was a circular bell, but it's shape was rather interesting; it has many holes in it like a porous sponge, a small bit of plastic on top, and when her trunk poked it and spun it, it did make a noise, but instead of high pitched clinking, it sounded hollow and almost melodious. Hathiyas curiosity perked at this. It had a bit of flaked paint, and the metallic sheen has faded, but it was a treasure.

"Ohhhhhh, I like this!" Hathiya said, before her trunk shoved around inside the side of her dress, looking into a pocket, before pulling a purse out. Well actually, calling it a purse would be a stretch; it was actually a large shopping bag folded many times to make a small purse. Hathiya opened it in a methodical way with her trunk, before asking, "How much for this? And don't give me that "it's free for you", stuff, you little stinky," Hathiya said while ruffling Gobs hair, "because you got a business to run. And I'm here to help. Go on, name your price."

Once the transaction would be completed, Hathiya would politely have asked Gobs help in putting the keychain around Kaihuas metallic chain piece on his cloth belt.

Well…he’s sort of a strange one. But nothing I can’t handle.

The small goblin cleared his throat as Hathiya looked through his box of Clip Clasps, trying to distract himself from the tiger man’s strangely persistent gaze. At least Hathiya was browsing his inventory. It made it easier to maintain his businessman persona while being eyed by a predator of the jungle like Kaihua, plus it was a nice change of pace from the usual empty store. Many eyes were resting on his shop now that Hathiya was here, either because she was around the shops or because of her legendary matches in the SRW. But Gob Gob knew better than anyone that curious eyes often brought loose wallets. Perhaps he should establish a sponsorship deal with Hathiya down the line?

His thoughts were interrupted by Hathiya’s smooth voice rising in excitement. It had seemed she had found something to her liking. Gob Gob peered at the Clip Clasp she held in her trunk and gently tilted his head. It seemed a bit…well, scuffed for someone as cool as Hathiya. But as a businessman, he never questioned his customers' tastes. Especially not when the customer was a subject of a fan club he ran.

When Hathiya asked about the price, Gob Gob was already opening his mouth to tell her to take it as a gift from a fan. But the Earthshaker must have predicted he would do that, because she shut the idea down in the same breath. The goblin awkwardly shut his mouth without saying anything, a certain blush growing on his lips as Hathiya managed to read him like a book. Hathiya simply tussled his hair, a subtle way to tell him there was no harm done while she assured him it was for his business and to name his price.

“U-uh…well…”

Gob Gob wasn’t comfortable charging Hathiya…not after everything she’d done for the fan club and its members. The only reason he even had a shop set up was for some passive income to help pay for tickets so everyone in the club could see her matches. His brow furrowed a bit as he tried to think of an appropriate price that wasn’t expensive, but was also enough to satisfy Hathiya.

Suddenly Gob Gob’s eyes widened with excitement!

“How about the cost is a favor then, Hathiya~? I’ll give you that Clip Clasp, and in return, would it be okay if you ask your boss lady if we can get a ticket or two for your next match? The club already has enough for one, but I’d rather we all go together if it’s possible.”

Gob Gob felt a little guilty asking Hathiya for a favor like that. He honestly didn’t know much about how the SRW worked outside of the arena or Hathiya’s relationship to her boss. He had seen marketing material and overheard staff of the facility refer to Hathiya as “Eros’ Champion” but he knew better than most that sometimes employee and employer relationships could be rocky. The more he thought about it, the more nervous Gob Gob became about his selfish request. It didn’t help that at the mention of Hathiya’s boss, Kaihua noticeably glared at Gob Gob like the idea itself was offensive.

“I-its okay if it doesn’t work out! Maybe just a question, or I can write something and you hand it to them? But you don’t havta do that if it makes you uncomfortable.” He chuckled nervously.