Ayichi ~ C is for cute. Takes place after the game. Not one of my best works, but I worked with what I had. ^-^
Curious Cat
~~~~
It stared at her with wide, blue eyes that, to her, were as beautiful as the ocean itself. Its fur was the purest of white, and thick, making her want to run her hands through it. Unfortunately, the poor dear was already eying her uncertainly, and she was sure that if she made a sudden move, she’d lose a finger or two.
A few maids and servants had passed by her already, casting her strange looks. None of them dared to stop and inquire as to what she was doing. They had every reason to be afraid. Even though it had been years since her attack on this place, the near-death experience the world had with the miasma and her brother, the people of this place still had trouble trusting her. Tear Grants didn’t blame them.
Well, at least the Duke and his wife trusted her. That was the only reason she was allowed in this place. At the moment, she was finding it hard to remember why she was here in the first place. Not that it mattered. She was happy to be distracted.
“What are you doing?”
Tear felt a sudden wave of emotions all at once. Excitement, embarrassment, anger ... Anger got the better of her, and she jumped up to her feet, spinning around to face Luke with what she hoped was a stern expression.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” she shrieked. Luke took a quick step back because of her tone, his hands lifting a little in defense.
“S-sorry!” Luke Fon Fabre tried for a smile, but he couldn’t quite mask his fear of her. Tear mentally kicked herself. She had such a terrible habit of doing that, freaking him out when she should’ve been nice.
....Well, it was his own damn fault for sneaking up on her. Still, that thought didn’t keep the heat from creeping up her neck.
“What do you want?” she blurted out.
Luke blinked at her a few times, then shoved a hand through his blood-red hair. “Uhh. . . you’re kinda in my house, Tear.”
That same heat rose higher, up to her face, staining her cheeks. She stuttered, “W-w-well, why don’t you ask what the other dozen people standing around here are doing?”
While she glared at him, Luke took a slow look around at the scattered servants walking around, carrying clothes, cleaning supplies, food, and other things. His eyes fell back on her. “They’re kind of doing their jobs...”
She pointed an accusing finger at him. “Don’t you have anything better to do than to bother me?”
“Not really, in all honesty.”
Tear took a step back from him, nearly tripping on the very thing she’d been trying to hide. A high-pitched meow made Tear shriek, spinning around to examine the damage she’d done.
The kitten shrank back into the rose bush, hiding its paws from the feet that had nearly squished them. Tear’s heart jerked at the sight, and forgetting Luke, she dropped to her knees and held her hands out for it. The stray, thankfully, didn’t attack her. It meowed and shook as she picked it up, but otherwise did nothing. Tear held it close, cooing and coaxing, refusing to look over her shoulder at Luke. Still, she could imagine him staring. She could feel his eyes on her back.
Tear was still blushing vividly, but she supposed he needed an explanation if this mess was going to have a good turn out. “Grandfather...” she said slowly. “He said I needed to get out a little more. Said I was working too hard.”
Damn, she could feel his cocky smile. “So you came to see me?” he asked.
“There was no where else I wanted to go.” That sounded far too personal after a few seconds, so Tear added quickly, “Jade, Anise, and the others have their own business to attend to. I knew you’d be sitting around your precious mansion doing nothing, as usual.”
Instead of getting offended, Luke laughed. The sound of it made her heart do a little pitter-patter ... or maybe the kitten was the cause. She sure hoped that was the case.
“Anyway, I found the kitten on my way to find you,” she said, reaching down to pet it. The shakes were starting to settle, finally. “It must’ve wandered in somehow and gotten separated from its family.”
I couldn’t leave it alone.
She didn’t voice the last part, in fear that it would make her sound vulnerable. She’d worked hard over the years making herself into hard, serious Tear. She couldn’t let Luke see her any other way.
Suddenly, she felt a warm, strong hand on her shoulder and jerked around to see him standing directly behind her, a smile curling his lips and his lovely green eyes making her heart flutter again.
“It would probably want some milk or something, right?”
She looked from him, to the kitten in her arms, and back up again. “Y-yes. I think it would.”
“I’m sure we can find a blanket or something from the servants.”
“That’s ... that’s right. It would like that.”
“After it’s settled, we can look around to see if its family is nearby.”
“That’s a good idea, Luke.”
“And...” He gave her shoulder a tiny squeeze. “If we can’t find them, I’m sure you can come up with a nice name for it.”
Her eyes fell back down to the kitten. “It... it looks like a Snowball.”
“And once it has a name, I... I mean, you... can take it back to Yulia and keep it as a pet.”
“Because there’s no way you would be caught dead taking care of something else, right?” Tear asked, smiling a little bit herself. “Mieu is more than enough to you, isn’t he?”
He made a face, not denying her claim. He pushed her shoulder a little, steering her toward the building. “We should get Snowball inside.”
She gave a stiff nod.
A few hours later, she and Luke were standing in his bedroom over a small little box. The kitten was comfortably curled up in a corner, a small bowl of cream beside her. Tear knelt down to stroke Snowball as she slept, unable to keep a smile off of her face.
Arms crossed, Luke said with a grin, “Someone has a soft spot for kittens.”
Her defenses rose instantly. She glanced up and snapped, “Make yourself useful and search around the area for any more cats. What if they’re hurt?”
Luke rolled his eyes, but turned around without a word.
Her hands went back and forth along Snowball’s back. As the door opened, she called over her shoulder, “Luke.”
The footsteps stopped. “What?”
Tear fought her pride, let out a strained sigh, and stood. She approached Luke quickly, stood on her toes, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Just as quickly, she stalked back over to the kitten, dropping down to her knees. When she looked back, Luke was still standing there, his face flushed.
Pursing her lips, she spat out, “Tell anyone about this and I’ll kill you.”
