[Episode] Baterilla at Night - Of Rats and Wolves

The great and mighty Don prowled through the darkly lit streets of his kingdom with much elegance and poise. His cool gaze reflected indifference as the mice scurried away from the mightiest of hunters.

In truth, the grand feline had no need for such filth as his mistress had already prepared him a vast array of the most delicious of foods. Simply reimagining it caused his mouth to water in fond memory of his treat.

Unfortunately, his stomach soon rumbled as hunger clawed mercilessly from within. It demanded to be fed and, as a slave to his hunger, Gato was more than happy to oblige. In fact, while nothing could compare to his mistress’ cuisine, in the end, it did not mean that he had to starve himself for good food.

With a new goal in mind, the god-like being set his sights upon the lesser creatures of the storeroom. He tail twitched in anticipation. Soon, much too soon, they would all fall prey to his superior skills as a hunter.

Lowering himself closer to the ground, the feline remained silent as his delicate ears twitched for any sounds of slight movement. His tail swished as he laid in wait. Then, after a few seconds of patience, he finally heard it.

Latching on to the slight movement of a dark shadow, the great Gato darted towards the direction of what he hoped were the hushed whispers of mice. As the shadow moved, so did he as he darted every which way to keep up.

As he ran, his soft, but mighty paws blessing the very grounds he tread upon as he surveyed the area. He was quick to notice that a human nearby lay sleeping on the ground which, in the end, the great Don decided to ignore. He had much bigger things to pay attention to.

Shadows soon moved quickly which, once again, caught the attention of the god-like creature. Determined to trail it until the end, the feline kept his pace only for the shadows to stop and abruptly disappear.

Confused at the sudden disappearance, Gato emerged slowly from the shadows and sat beside the altar of food the humans liked to pay homage to every now and then. Food he might dig into if nothing else caught his eye.

He soon saw a human pick items from a mysterious box that, unfortunately, was obstructed from his view. Now curious, the mighty Don jumped swiftly upon the altar. Making himself comfortable, he continued to stare at the man.

Unfortunately, the sounds of fiddling lulled the feline to sleep. However, just as his eyes had fully shut, the human turned to look at him. Now, fully alert, the god stared the man down as he watched the human’s next move.

However, as the seconds passed, it seemed that the human was in no hurry to move which allowed the mighty warrior to relax his tensed muscles. Perhaps, the Don thought to himself, he wants to play?

Spotting his most favorite item, the fluffy feline stretched fully and began to paw at it happily. It moved to and fro as it was gently bapped. Don Gato purred as the item teetered dangerously to the edge of the altar.

As he continued to tempt fate, he ignored the slave’s pleas. Unfortunately, the sound of hissing distracted the poor creature. Caught off guard, he pushed a little too hard which caused the object to fall.

The sound of glass breaking immediately spooked the poor god. Without hesitation, the feline rose to his feet and hissed loudly before scurrying away from the scene of the crime. He ran as fast as his sturdy legs could carry him up until he collided against something.

Don Gato hissed. If it was a fight they wanted, he wouldn’t hesitate to claw their eyes out.



“You poor, poor kitty,” Ebony cooed lovingly at the hefty cat as the poor creature slammed against her legs in fright. “What’s got you all spooked up, hrm?” She scooped him up just before the feline had a chance to run away. “You came from there, right?”

Readjusting the Don’s hat, she took a moment to listen closely at the silence. Silence that was unusual considering how a henchman had been stationed nearby. “Good job, boy.” The mafiosa whispered softly as she booped the little one’s nose.

Placing the feline down, the heiress reached towards her handgun and flashlight. Armed with those, she approached the area suspiciously with the lights turned off. If someone was there, she didn’t want to give them a heads up.

Preparing for the worst, she illuminated the area once she had approached the general area her precious feline had run from. Fortunately for her, it seemed she had caught quite the lurker. She couldn’t help but watch amusedly as the trespasser shamelessly attempted to hide the evidence of his crime.

“...It’s not what it looks like.” The man said as he hid the tools behind his back. He looked much like a child who had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Except, this time, the cookie could very well mean his life.

“No?” The mafiosa grinned widely as she bit back a sarcastic laugh. “Here I thought you were the locksmith.” She kept her pistol pointed directly at the man as she approached a few steps closer. “So, Mr. It’s-not-what-it-looks-like. Who sent you, hm?”

It was obvious that he was not a marine nor did it seem that Crow had anything to do with this man. Especially not so soon after Giancarlo’s recent… incapacity to trail her after their last job. She glanced at the suitcase before turning her gaze back towards the petty thief.

“I’m sure we’ve got lots to talk about you and I, no?”

The man, unsurprisingly, proved to be quite the cooperative fellow. Not that he had much of a choice given that his life was on the line. Yet, regardless of the circumstances, she could still appreciate that some people just had common sense.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for all of the low-tiered scum that she had recently encountered. Like gaping fish, they had either taken too long to register what they were doing or they had allowed themselves to drown in the consequences of their own actions. Not that she minded either way.

“But of course. Friends talk and I’d like to believe we can still be friends, despite this little... misunderstanding.”

Ebony snickered at his remark. If there was one thing she gathered about the man, it was that he was a smooth talker. More notably, he had the desire to make it out alive. Traits that she could somewhat respect from someone who had been caught red-handed.

“See, I am an acquisitions specialist. You can call me Sanji.”

The mafiosa remained quiet as the man introduced himself. She made no effort to reply as she, instead, simply opted to listen to him speak. After all, why make the effort of small talk when they both knew he was going to die very soon?

As the man continued to speak, he seemed to become emboldened by her lack of response. Perhaps, in an attempt to play with fate, he began to move slowly towards his belongings. It was an action she did not like and, yet, made no efforts to stop.

Instead, her gaze nor weapon ever left the man as he cautiously made his way towards his briefcase. So long as he was unarmed, however, she doubted he’d try anything foolish. Then again, one could never be too sure.

Boredom began to prickle at the back of her mind as the interaction continued. Yet, before she could come to the conclusion of what she’d like to do next, his following words would turn her growing disinterest into that of brewing amusement.

“This storage unit happens to have something the Steel Cats Family wants, so they sent me to... procure it.”

Had Ebony been eating or drinking, this was the moment she would have choked. Clearly this man had no idea where he was or what he was doing. Odd and, if she were honest, quite sad for a man with an arsenal of his caliber.

“Honestly, I don’t even know whose territory I am currently visiting. In my line of work, you learn not to ask too many questions, you know.”

“Yeah?” Ebony replied back with a grin. Clearly amused, she lowered her weapon as her tone became more friendly and upbeat. “Well, Sanji, my new, new friend. As it turns out, we’re here on a similar job.”

The mafiosa did not approach the man. However, in an effort to appear harmless, she holstered her gun and lowered the flashlight. Yet, one wrong move of his, and she’d be more than happy to introduce him to her armored gloves. “The name’s Kat and you, my acquisition specialist, are at the right spot.”

She leaned against one of the large containers closest to her. “Turns out, though, that they were rummaged through quite recently.” The mafiosa gave the container a few taps so that they could hear its low, metallic nature. “I do, however, have another job if you’re interested?”

She’d give him a moment to reply. If the thief was interested, she’d throw him a bone. It was up to him whether or not he’d jump at the opportunity. “How good are you at galas?” The mafiosa would gauge his reaction before continuing.

“You see, I’ve recently come into possession of some tickets to this wonderful ball the Princeps are throwing. A charity event for the rich and famous. You understand.” She grinned widely. “You just need to help me bypass their… private security and I’ll let you get your pick of whatever is inside.”

Whether or not that man chose to accompany her, it did not matter. All she needed was a distraction and, well, he seemed to be quite the perfect fit for one. However, if he took her offer, then they’d need to do something about that outfit.

“What do you say? Are you in?”