The Alan Kyles Nature Park is approximately one hundred acres of meandering paths and sparse forest that crisscross a natural stream that expands into a decent-sized pond roughly in the park's centre. The primary entrance by the tiny parking lot has a large boulder with a bronze plaque that gives the name of the park and a brief summary of the life of Alan Kyles, an entrepreneur and city councilman in the late 1800s. The secondary entrances tend to merge into the sidewalks of some of the nicer residential areas of the town, while one side has haphazardly placed markers denoting where the park ends and the property of Baneberry Academy begins, although the property line is well away from the school and the trees prevent most people from realizing it's even there.

The weather is warm and there are only a few clouds in the sky.

Kenzie had something of a time explaining where she was going to her cousin Brenna, although she did have some advantages. For one thing, with the sort of company her family kept, it was unusual but not unheard of for an outing to call for high-quality raw meat and sushi. For another, although Kenzie herself didn't realize it, Brenna assumed Kenzie was being oddly vague about her meeting because she had met a boy in town. She also figured that was why Kenzie was willing to go out in public without bringing all her gear along, when that was actually because Kenzie trusted Felicia to keep her safe - although just to be extra cautious she did bring some lighter items.

When Brenna dropped Kenzie off at the park, the younger Rinne was fairly weighed down - she had an insulated food bag under one arm, a cloth-padded metal toolkit under the other, and a heavy backpack. She waved a friendly goodbye to Brenna, then began walking in a slightly stumbling way to the meeting point Felicia had described to her. Kenzie had never been to this park herself, after all.

[Private to Felicia Zamon: The insulated bag smells mostly like raw meat and fish, with some sushi accoutrements mixed in. Both the toolkit and the backpack smell like a mix of metal, fuel, and chemicals.]

 Felicia was at the meeting point as a Black Panther, she picked this area because not a lot of humans came here. As Kenzie walked Felicia would follow but the smell of the bag made her very hungry and Felicia made sure no one was around and she would transform into Hybrid form and walk towards Kenzie.

 Felicia smiled when Kenzie stopped her in her Hybrid form and then she stopped for a second so Kenzie could see it was Felicia, " Hi Kenzie so glad to see you again, I hope it wasn't too hard to get away. " Felicia would hug her and then say," You are carrying a lot should we go somewhere, where you can put all of that down?"

Kenzie's face lit up when Felicia stepped into her view. "Felicia, hi!" she said happily before returning the cat-girl's hug. It was a little bumpy on Felicia's end since Kenzie's hands were full, but Kenzie couldn't help herself, she liked the feeling of Felicia's fur on her skin. "Yeah, I had to be pretty vague with my cousin, I couldn't really tell her who I was meeting, but I didn't want to lie to her either. And she worries about me being out alone, too."

"Going somewhere sounds good, do they have picnic tables or something like that here? I brought a blanket if they don't." She grinned and held the insulated bag up a little higher. "I brought some food for you to try, I hope you like it."

 Felicia was happy to see Kenzie, when she said she had to be vague with her Cousin. Felicia didn't want to get Kenzie in trouble, and when she said she would be alone, Felicia will say," I am sorry you had to do that with your Cousin, yeah she probably wouldn't care for me too much, I am use to that Kenzie. Oh Kenzie you are not alone and I would have to be dead for anything or anyone to hurt you Kenzie, I will not let anything happen to you while you are with me Kenzie I swear that too you. "

 Kenzie would tell she was very serious, and instinctively her claws came out as Felicia said that. Felicia would take a few things off of Kenzie so she wasn't too burdened down. " Yes I picked this area because just down there are tables and a fire pit near the shallow river." Felicia points with her half cat half human hands.

 Felicia was hungry and the smell of the yummy food was really making her mouth water, " Oh yes I can smell it Kenzie smells very yummy, and thank you Kenzie you are so sweet."

"Yeah, probably not. Although she does like cats, if you ever happen to bump into her in cat form," Kenzie agreed. Although Felicia looked very serious after that, Kenzie couldn't help smiling more broadly when Felicia swore to protect her. "I'm sure you wouldn't let anything happen to me, thank you Felicia! I wouldn't want anything to happen to you either though, so I at least brought a few things to help in an emergency. I'll just leave them packed though."

It was a relief for Felicia to help with all her stuff, but she didn't want to just pile everything on her friend either, so Kenzie just handed her the tool kit and carried the rest herself. That alone weighed a fair amount. "Sounds good!" she said as they started heading down toward the dining area. "So... When you eat in this form, do you use cutlery and all, or do you prefer a bowl?" Kenzie had brought both just to be on the safe side.

 Felicia took the tool kit, and then led Kenzie to the river picnic area. " I can bump into her someday as a cat, I like being petted and the center of attention."  Felicia smiles and chuckles and says,"Oh they mess with you I will mess them up. Kenzie I heal from my wounds, but thank you so much for thinking and helping me."

 They get to the picnic area, Felicia puts the tool box down. Felicia answers her question," I don't know if this will upset you, but a bowl and my claws have always worked for me. " It was a beautiful little area and off the beaten path so the changes of being disturbed was low, but Felicia would keep her nose on guard for someone getting close.

 Felicia will help Kenzie putting down her gear and then say," What is all this you have brought?"

"Ooh, what a pretty place! Good choice, Felicia," Kenzie said as they entered the clearing. She took a couple of deep breaths through her nose, enjoying the clean air, then giggled and said "Why would I be upset, silly? I don't expect our kitties at home to eat with a knife and fork."

With Felicia's help, she set down her bags on the bench of one of the tables, then opened up the food bag and began unpacking, starting with a picnic blanket that would serve as a tablecloth. "Besides the food, you mean? Well, in my backpack I have an armored worksuit and a healing kit, and then I brought some tools along in my bag there. Mostly a cutting torch... It's not the most practical weapon but it might scare off an ice elemental, although I'm sure you'd be better at that," she added with a smile. The idea of fending off an ice elemental seemed like a specific concern for Kenzie, rather than just something she'd picked as an example. "Oh, and some camping supplies too. Not, like, a tent or anything, but I brought some skewers in case you wanted to start a fire and try some roasted marshmallows. Or you might like them raw. They're pretty much just sugar, water, and animal parts after all." Kenzie remembered that Felicia could only eat raw meat, but she didn't know if something like a marshmallow would count as "meat" for that purpose.

She'd now finished setting up a bowl on the table for Felicia, and was sorting through the individual bags and boxes in her larger insulated bag. "So, are you hungry now? What would you like to try first? I figured I should bring a lot if you eat as much as a regular panther, so I have beef, goat, duck, and venison, plus sushi - I got a mix of sashimi, sushi, and rolls for you to try, if you want to try it with or without rice and seaweed and all that." Kenzie wasn't sure what Felicia might like best, so she'd brought an eclectic mix of human, housecat, and panther favorites. It was no wonder the bag was so heavy.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:43, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

 Felicia smiled and said," Thank you it is a pretty place and the humans don't come here a lot, and very true cats don't use a fork and knife."

 Felicia was drooling almost with all the delicious food she brought, but when she mentions an Ice Elemental it seemed she was being very specific.
" Kenzie is that what attacked you an Ice Elemental,oh yes I would if another one comes I will turn it into ice cubes."

 When Kenzie mentioned marshmallows she looked at her funny, " I have heard of them but have never tried one, I see a lot of things on the internet but it is hard for me to go into town and do them since I look like this, people would get scared."

 Then she brought out the actual food and Felicia wanted to try it all, she let Kenzie unpack everything and then she said," That all sounds amazing, thank you for bringing all of this you didn't have too Kenzie." Felicia was so happy and then when Kenzie was carrying nothing and she set up everything Felicia would give her another hug and rub her shoulders with her tail.

As Kenzie began sorting the individual dishes and cuts of meat onto the table for Felicia to choose from, she smiled at the idea of her friend cutting an ice elemental into ice cubes, although there was a hint of wistfulness to it. "I'd like to see that - but if it really did happen you should be careful, Felicia. One of them got me right here," she pointed to her face, between her eyes, "and my family couldn't fix me all the way. And they're all really good doctors. It might mess with your healing ability, too." The last thing Kenzie wanted would be for Felicia to get hurt trying to protect her.

She tried to lighten the mood after that. "I can see where shopping would be a problem. If you need anything, I could always order it for you and then give it to you the next time we meet. Marshmallows are actually really gummy and sticky so regular cats aren't supposed to eat them, but I thought you probably could. If you want to, of course."

She grinned when Felicia said that she didn't have to bring food. "I love feeding cute kitties, so it's my pleasure. Especially since I didn't get the chance last time." She was happy when Felicia hugged her again, and hugged her back before giggling when she felt Felicia rub her shoulders with her tail. "Oh, that feels nice."

 Felicia took her hand, her hands where part padded paw and five fingered human hand. Felicia looked at her and said," Oh I am sorry one hurt you Kenzie, Kenzie don't worry about me remember I am immortal I will come back fully healed if something does happen. Bastets are Protectors Kenzie I will protect you no matter what it is what we Bastet's do, a lot of the other humans see us as monsters, but we are protectors."

 Felicia smiled big time when Kenzie said she would shop for her, there where a few tears Felicia was so nice. Tiffany was the same she was so helpful. Felicia liked Tiffany a lot and she was a 'Monster', Kenzie was so nice and sweet but she was a hunter, Felicia shook her head she was just going to live one day at a time love the one you are with is a Bastet motto.

 Felicia picked up a marshmallow and put a claw through it and it was sticky, she then said," I dont want to scare you but not sure if my teeth are designed for marshmallows." She will carefully open her mouth and Kenzie will see a row of very very sharp teeth designed to shred flesh and bone." But I will try to look yummy and smell very sugary, I like sugar but I get very playful on sugar." She was being kind when her parents did give her sugar she would get a sugar high and get very playful and just loves to have fun. Not as bad as Catnip though that stuff was amazing, she would smell the bag too see if she brought Catnip.

 When she said she liked feeding kitties Felicia really smiled and said," You are so sweet Kenzie but I didn't bring anything for you."
The hug felt good and Felicia had a black halter top on that just covered her thinly fur covered female chest, and very small black boy shorts. Felicia didn't want to let Kenzie go from the hug, but she did but she continued to rub her shoulders with her tail, then she would move her tail to tickle Kenzie under her arm.

 The smell of the food was getting to Felicia kenzie would see her mouth watering, " What should I try first Kenzie, how can I ever repay you for this Kenzie."

It had taken Kenzie some time and effort to look on the bright side after her injury, but it came to her pretty naturally now. "Thanks, Felicia," she said warmly when her friend took her hand in her catlike one. "It's not all bad, if it hadn't been for that I wouldn't have moved, and then we wouldn't have met at all."

Kenzie was impressed by Felicia's teeth when she showed them off. "Very nice, you take good care of them," she said. Kenzie was the sort of person that had trouble seeing animals (or part-animals) as dangerous once she was friends with them, even if they were clearly equipped for it. At least to a point, anyways - she hadn't brought any catnip without asking first because, based on what she knew of her own cats and scaling them up to Felicia's size, she thought she might lose a hand by accident. "Should I have brought some cat toys along? I wasn't sure if that would be rude."

Kenzie enjoyed the touches from Felicia's tail until she tickled her, at which point she giggled and playfully batted it away. "You don't have to repay me Felicia, I was happy to do it. Hmm... Maybe you'd like the venison first? I looked up black panther diets and that was on there. I couldn't find any stores with wild boar on short notice, so maybe next time," she added lightly.

 Felicia smiled and then said," Yes very true and I am very happy we met Kenzie."

 Felicia took the comment on her teeth very well and said," Thank you Kenzie I try too, I clean them all the time and keep them sharp, easier to rip flesh from bone." Felicia couldn't help it the smell of the yummy food was getting her mouth very wet and she moved her nose to the food and sniffed it again.

 Felicia laughed and she said," Oh Kenzie no I love cat toys in all forms. In this form I may look more human but I am still a cat where it counts. Plus I could change to my house cat form and have a great time I love that in that form." The only thing that was more important than food was fun and kenzie could tell she was very similar to normal cats who have a short attention span.

 Felicia snickered when Kenzie batted her tail away." Sorry Kenzie I had too, sorry I am a cat." When she says Venison Felicia's face snaps to the container and she has a very hungry look on her face, she shakes her head and says as she lowers her head," Sorry Kenzie didn't mean to react like that but I love Venison, it is one of my favorites. Oh you are amazing you checked what I might really like, wow no one has ever done that for me before, you are truly amazing."

 Felicia moves closer to her and gives her a very big tight long hug and she says," Thank you so much Kenzie no human has ever done this for me before, you are so amazing." She also wraps her tail around Kenzie as well, she really meant the hug and the hug was full of thankfulness, caring and love.

"Good for you!" Kenzie said when Felicia said she took care of her teeth. Admittedly Kenzie wouldn't want to watch that process in action, since she liked cute prey animals too, but she accepted the cycle of life where such things were concerned. "Okay, I'll bring some toys next time. What kind do you like? Maybe today I could use a thin branch or something if you want to play."

Kenzie giggled along with Felicia when she apologized, then said "Oh, that's all right, I'm glad you came hungry." She waved a hand modestly, although inwardly she was quite pleased with the praise Felicia was giving her. Getting hugged again was a slight surprise since Kenzie figured Felicia would dig right in, but it was a pleasant one. She was happy to hug Felicia back in return, and relax and enjoy it. Kenzie wasn't usually a very physical person, other than with her pets, but she was finding she really liked doing this with a friend as well. "What are friends for, right?" she said, her voice slightly muffled.

 Felicia smiled when asked what type of toys she liked," Oh Kenzie I love yarn, chasing feathers, those light things, I love chasing those little lights, I guess anything a normal cat loves. That would be fun Kenzie. "

 Felicia smiled when she said they where friends, Felicia released the hug and went right for the food. She tore into the Venison using her very sharp teeth and sharp claws and then realized Kenzie was watching, she stopped and said," Oh sorry just to warn you I can get a little lets say violent when I eat, I will try amd behave and eat with some manners and slower." Felicia didn't want to scare Kenzie off, she then ate slower and less violently as she finished the Venison. Felicia loved it and said," This is so good and tastes very fresh, thank you again Kenzie. I hope you brought some food for yourself?"

"I'll remember that," Kenzie said with a smile. She watched as Felicia dug into the food, and shook her head when the cat girl apologized. "Oh, I don't mind! I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's not like you're eating a live deer in front of me."

She watched happily as Felicia enjoyed her meal, then answered her question. "I'm glad you like it! I wasn't sure if I should bring food for me, so I had a snack before I left. I know some cats can be territorial about food and I figured I should ask you first." There wasn't any judgment in Kenzie's tone, cats were cats. You couldn't just expect them to behave like little humans. Well, actually maybe you partly could in Felicia's case, but Kenzie was thinking of her as a more intelligent cat, not a human that looked like a cat. "If you want to share, I did bring a lot of sushi. But you can have it all if you want."

 Felicia smiled a very happy smile when Kenzie said she would remember she likes toys. Kenzie was awesome, she has been the nicest human she has ever met. She also sneaked around and talked to the cats around her house and they all love Kenzie, she is great as far as humans go but to Felicia and the stories her Parents told her most humans where horrible to her kind. She is really happy Kenzie and her met, and are good friends.

 Felicia smiled and said," Thank you Kenzie, most humans who have found out about Bastets treat us like Humans with cat features, you treat me like a intelligent humanoid cat which is exactly what I am. Yes we can be very territorial, that is why I had us met and eat here in the park, this is not my territory, but when we do go to my temple I ask you to respect do not eat in front of me without asking or me offering you food, you are very smart Kenzie and you know cats very well."

 It felt nice to be out in a park and being with her friend Kenzie, she was amazing and treated her like a cat. When Kenzie said she could share, and she didn't bring food for herself. " Oh please join me Kenzie if I eat all of this by myself I wont have to eat till tomorrow I could skip dinner. Thank you so much this is amazing I can't wait to show you my Temple, but before we go there you must swear on your life you will never tell another living soul where my Temple is, I don't want to sound mean but I hope you understand the more that know where i live the more chances a Bastet hunter will find me."  Felicia didnt sound mean she was just stating a fact that she had to be very careful on who she showed her home too.

Kenzie blushed slightly when Felicia said she was smart and knew cats very well. "Thank you. Spending time with you is good for my ego." She giggled a little. "It's not a big deal though, I just love cats so I spend a lot of time with them."

"Okay, I'll get the sushi out next then. If you don't like it I still have the duck and the goat." She reached into the bag again and pulled out some plates for the two of them, as well as chopsticks for her, then several large containers of various kinds of sushi. "I brought soy sauce and wasabi if you want the whole experience, but I actually like sushi better plain, they're too strong for me. Anyways, help yourself to anything that you think looks good."

She thought carefully about what Felicia was saying about her temple, then finally said "Actually... I think you're right about how serious it is, I didn't think about it enough before." She shook her head slowly, with obvious regret. "I don't think you should tell me where it is. I'd love to see it, and I wouldn't tell anyone about it on purpose, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I slipped up somehow and you got hurt because of me."

 Felicia loved all the smells as Kenzie took all the food out, the Wasabi smelled amazing to her. Where should Felicia start it ALL looked and smelled amazing!!!!

 Felicia took a piece of seaweed and rice Sushi with her extended claw, dunked it into the soy sauce and then she ate it. Felicia smiled it was amazing she said excitingly " Oh my Kenzie that was so amazing I am not sure about the Wasabi, hot spicy things mess up my sense of smell if I eat to much of them and that smells spicy."

 After Kenzie explained that it would be better if Felicia didn't show her the Temple, she didnt want anything to happen to her. Felicia after she was done eating another piece of amazing Sushi, she said," Kenzie I understand I hope you are not mad at me for saying what i said, I do trust you with my life, but I know there are many I can never trust. Maybe I can find a way to get you there where you can't remember where it is, I really want to show you, you would love it."  Felicia really meant that she thought Kenzie would love a temple dedicated to cats.

 Felicia will not eat all of them, and she will let Kenzie have as many as she can eat.If there are any left Felicia will devour them up in a heart beat. There seems to be no problem with her eating the Sushi.

"Oh, good!" Kenzie said happily. She was glad that Felicia could handle sushi after all, and in fact that she seemed to like it so much. "I'll be sure to bring some next time then. You're right, wasabi is really strong, so if you do try it just use a little bit." Kenzie took a few pieces onto her plate for herself and began eating them slowly as she listened to Felicia. It occurred to her, watching her eat, that if one of her cats at home loved a new food enough to eat it all at once, they might throw up afterwards... Hopefully Felicia's more advanced intellect would keep her from hitting that point.

"Oh no, I'm not mad, I understand completely. I wish things weren't so tangled up, and I wouldn't be a risk. I'm sure I would love it. It would be nice to get there like that somehow, although I have a pretty good memory so it would be tough to pull off." Kenzie smiled, then jokingly added "Just don't hit me over the head and expect me to get amnesia, it doesn't work in real life."

She took a few more pieces of sushi onto her plate, leaving the lion's share (so to speak) for Felicia, then said cheerfully "Would you like the rest?" Kenzie could eat more if it would go begging, but she wasn't that hungry, and Felicia was clearly enjoying it more.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 06:45, Thu 26 Sept 2019.