Masked Hearts

3

Olive made it to a small community on the outside of Apollo's city. It was a quite town, full of life. Friends laughed and talked, unburdened by the life other, like herself had to love every day. A never ending nightmare some would say. She wasn't sure if she agreed. Some aspects of her life weren't pleasant but even if it wasn't honest work, it was work.
She saw a flower cart and couldn't help but smirk. The she-cat running it seemed older. She had a tired look about her. "Hi there, i'm Violet. I want to settle in the city and was wondering if you would mind naming a price for your flower cart?" She asked the older cat, forcing her tone to be more upbeat then her usual monotone voice. She tried to be blunt. Violet didn't have a care in the world, she was some small town cat with big dreams. Naive was what she was. The brown she-cat had gray furs on her muzzle and light green eyes. She looked Olive up and down before shaking her head.
"I'm Maggie. No, I doubt you've taken care of a flower for a day in your life," Maggie told her with a swish of her tail. Olive felt a muscle in her jaw twitch with annoyance. Why couldn't old cats be more agreeable?
Olive ducked her head. "Your right, maybe you could teach me? I don't have too long though, i'm going to the city to live out my dreams!" She informed Maggie with a faked wistful tone.
Maggie hesitated, usure of what to say. She finally nodded slightly. "If you have a good amount i'll sell you my cart and flowers and teach you a few things, but you have to listen, im too old to repeat myself" Olive nodded happily, she pulled her coin pouch out, holding it between her teeth. She gave Maggie enough, not too much so she didn't raise suspicion, but enough to satisfy the old cat. Maggie ran her paw over the coins, running her tongue over her lip slowly.
Maggie told her things, like how to cut the leaves off of flowers with her claws. Olive had never done this before and thought it might be useful to have another skill in her toolbox. She payed close attention. She wondered how Maggie would react if she knew the truth, how her job wasn't to sell flowers in a large city, but to give Rodger Apollo's head on a silver platter. Would the old cat care that she was aiding Olive in some other cats murder, even though he had most certainly done something horrible at one time?
She spent the whole day following Maggie around and learning how to do what the older cat loved so. When the sun began to set parted ways with Maggie and took her leave to the city. Apollo's city. She typically didn't care for traveling at night but she could set up that morning.
The walk to the city should have only taken ten minutes but with the extra weight of pushing the cart the trip was doubled, not that it made that much of a difference to Olive. It was dark out. She found somewhere to lock her cart up for the night out of fear someone might try to steal it.
She felt eyes stalking her, watching her every move. She knew better than to let her guard down, especially in a city this large at night. No matter how strong and skilled she was there was always danger, for everyone, it didn't go away just because you were also dangerous. Instead of cowering like her instincts told her to, she strolled the dark streets confidently, looking for her target. She met the staring eyes with her own looks. She stalked the city herself, making sure every cat knew she wasn't the easy target she looked like she was.
Her eyes scanned the crowd of cats as she looked around. She spotted several black cats, but they weren't of the right description, a she-cat, he has yellow eyes, he did not have any stripes. None of those were right. The information she knew about Apollo ran through her head hundreds of times. She doubted she'd even see him the first night but no waste in looking. Apollo, a few months older thank myself, black with light gray markings and different gray stripes, he had bright green eyes. The words were on repeat in her brain, a mind reader would think she was obsessed with him, in a way she was. She was obsessed with hunting him down and getting the whole mission over with. She was slightly disappointed about having to learn about this strange cats past. It was not the best idea to learn about your targets. Disassociate. It was harder when you knew them. But this is what she was trained for.
She finally went to look for an apartment to purchase a room in while she stayed. She had to make it look as permanent as she could. While walking into a building she saw a shadow leaning against a wall. A black cat with gray stripes and green eyes. Bingo. He was rolling a cigarette through his pointed teeth. He spit it out and nodded at her, catching her gaze.
What would Violet do? She gave him a wary smile as he walked up to her.
"Hi there," She whispered softly. She shook her fur, swishing her long fur to the side. She kept walking at a steady pace. "Can i do anything for you?" She asked him politely as he walked close by her.
"Oh nothing just thought it wasn't smart for a she-cat, such as yourself to be walking around a city like this by herself. Not exactly safe," He told her teasingly. She felt her muzzle twitch as she resisted the urge to spit in his face and tell him she could take care of herself.
"That's very kind of you but i'm sure i'll be fine," She yawned, looking over at him. "No need for you to play hero. You could be a friend though, i'm Violet, Im new to town," She grinned over at him, Violet was great at making friends and being kind and caring.
He ducked his head to hide a laugh, she looked at him confused. "Ok Violet, maybe you shouldn't tell strangers your whereabouts."
She looked away, faking embrasement and discomfort. Of course Olive knew that but Violet didn't. She was naïve. "But, i'm Apollo and i'm not planning on hurting you, would you like me to leave?" He mewed, sensing her fake discomfort.
"Thats good to know and no it's fine, if i'm being frank it's kinda scary to be here alone," She said, giving him a fake laugh. He nodded in agreement. She saw him study her out of the corner of his eye. Whatever his past, he had similar training to her own, an average cat wouldn't be able to sense how his eyes traveled her as she walked next to him, or how he slightly tended up every time there was a sudden movement or sound anywhere around them. Good thing she wasn't an average cat and good thing he was less discreet then her.
"i understand that. So.. what brings you to the city?" He asked.
She watched him breathe out, his breath visible in the cool air around them both. She shivered before responding. "I thought you said it wasn't smart to tell a stranger your plans?"
"You catch on fast, but i also said i wasn't planning on hurting you" He offered with a warm grin, she couldn't help but smile back.
"Well, i always had dreamed up selling flowers in the city so i brought my cart and flowers and well i did it!" She explained, her eyes shining as if she actually felt every word she was saying. Maybe she was getting too good at pretending to be other cats. "Anyway, i'm going to get an apartment here and set up in the morning, any suggestions at a place?"
He studied her for a moment. He looked like he was actually thinking about her words and a response. She had to hold in a laugh, it was clear he didn't really know what he was doing. Whatever training he'd done, wasn't as polished as hers. "Maybe my apartment building? Sorry that was random. Anyway, it's one of the safer places in town and as your first friend itd make me feel better if you didn't live in the most dangerous area in the city" He joked and she nodded.
"Well then Apollo, show me the way" She told him and he nodded to the building and began walking in the direction after him. She followed in suit behind him. She watched him from the back, examining his movements. His left ear twitched when someone talked even if the sound was coming from his other side, making her think his right ear might be weaker than the left. She filed the theory away.
When they got to the building Apollo stopped and waited for her to catch up. She pretended she wasn't paying attention and purposely ran into him. "Oh sorry!" She exclaimed, hoping he'd think she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. He shook his head and chuckled and walked into the building. "This is a stupid question but i'm going to ask anyway, why's your name Apollo?"
He hesitated for only a moment. "Well my grandfather had been named it and my mother liked the name," He told her shrugging it off. She wasn't quite sure the reason, she could guess though, but he was lying. She saw his tongue press to the roof of his mouth and how his eyes drifted from her face after he told her. She pretended not to notice the small details.
"Oh that's so cool! i wish my parents had named me after something like that, but no i'm just Violet because of my eyes" She told him, she did not make the same mistakes he did.
She checked into the apartment, giving the landlord a few coins, she saw Apollo narrow his eyes at her coin pouch and wondered if he was only a common thief. She hoped so.
She dipped her head in his direction when he stopped at her new home. "Well thank you, i appreciate your help."
"Anytime my fair lady," He teased as Olive rolled her eyes. She saw his tongue run over the edge of her teeth. She gave him one last sheepish smile and slipped into the small room through the lockable flap. It was a bit bigger then the den she lived in back home. It was empty besides a small round nest made of ferns and moss, freshly cleaned and floor level shelves. She walked the length of the apartment, making sure it wasn't bugged. Once she was sure the room was clear she set her coin pouch and weapons on the shelf.
She sat in front of the window that stretched from ceiling to floor. There were thin, beige curtains tied to the side. She looked over the city from her three floor advantage. It was huge, large buildings and cats roaming the streets even in the dark. She shivered at the thought of getting lost in the city at night. She'd have to use tomorrow to find her way through the maze of strange structures. She shook her head and pulled the curtains closed with her teeth. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the pitch black of the room and she curled up in the nest. She thought of Apollo, trying to keep track of anything she found peculiar about him. With a tired yawn she let herself fall into the light sleep that she was always in, she didn't think she'd ever sleep deeply again. Then she dimly wondered how she had found Apollo so quickly.