As the blond cat carrying a curious spider in her backpack escapes the city, she’s surrounded by ruins and wastes.
Crumbling, ancient cities surround her, ruined by old wars over political grudges and pointless posturing, and even more recent ones over money and reputation.
Surprising to most who didn’t raise her, she sneaks through them with slow but steady movement. Not easy, nor truly safe of all threats, thanks to the scorching sun and the arid air, but she handles it with skill and experience..
Even the spiders the size of Oraxia, she avoids. She knows the telltale signs of their webs, and to make vibrations on the opposite side to distract them.
Clever skills that only a young life of growing up in such conditions could teach her.
And finally, she reaches the single patch of greenery present.
Luscious deep green trees stretching into the sky, with spider webs protecting the inhabitants from birds of prey that stretch the tree tops, with the air easy to breathe once within.
Which begs the question…
Why hasn't it been destroyed or pillaged for wood?
…Because the people here are so unhinged, so connected to the arcane, even the Queen doesn’t bother with them.
***
Racing in through the door, the house/cafe is empty and silent. I can’t even hear Yuna’s telltale snoring from her room.
Rushing forward, I hear Salka join me in the frantic search.
Opening the door to Yuna’s room, it’s empty, her closet door open and lacking a lot of outfits. Her bedside table as well, lacking the picture of us she’s had since she was with me.
My voice is… terrified. “Yuna… where are you…?”
“Try texting her or searching here, I’ll check nearby.” Salka races off, while I shakily start searching the rooms of the house. And as I do, I send her a message on my holo-deck. The upgrade Sal convinced me to get to make this faster is finally put to use.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
{Where are you?}
If only it really mattered here.
Not getting any response, I check the living room, finding a note on the couch. Grabbing it…
I fall onto my butt, tears starting to fall as I read. {Lulu, Sal, sorry for this. But I’m leaving for home. I… I can’t handle this. It’s not your faults, it’s mine, so don’t blame yourselves.
I even brought Oraxia with me, she’ll be seeing the world she’s never seen before, and even meeting my Mom. And you don’t need to worry about customers seeing her and making drama for you.
I’ll be safe, so don’t worry about me, please. Love you Lumi… Salka… more than you know.}
By the end of it, my voice comes out as a trembling whisper, able to picture Yuna crying and writing this letter where I’m sitting. “...I love you too… Yuna…”
Curling up on myself on the couch, I bawl into my arms, my tail curling around my waist.
After a few minutes, I feel Salka’s arms pull me into her lap, hugging me and patting my back. Her comforting warmth and smell pull me back enough to speak. “S-she-she’s gone.”
Three beats pass before she responds with a quiet voice, barely held back sadness audible. “I know… with Oraxia too… we’ll find her one way or another, alright? I know a lot of people.”
Nodding slightly, I bury my head into her chest, soaking her nice suit, but she doesn’t care.
“W-why… why… why…”
“...I…I have g-guesses but… it doesn’t matter unless we bring her back first.”
Feeling her tail wrap around me, I wrap mine back around her and hug her tight, crying more. “M-my fault, my fault, I-if I paid more attention…”
Sighing, she kisses my forehead. “No… we made a mistake, and so did she… she would be in heat too right?”
After a moment, I nod, and she speaks a second after. “I think she might’ve been in heat from us and couldn’t handle it so much… that’s my only guess…”
Nodding slightly, I hiccup as I speak. “R-right… one’s heat will trigger anothers… and we’ve both been doing it a lot…” …
She’s silent, leaving the statement in the air… but I’m not. Not for long.
… “So it was our fault…”
I feel her tail squeeze around me tighter, before she rubs my back in circles. “Not on purpose… don’t blame yourself…”
I just cry into her for a while, her voice only audible as my crying calms down a bit.
Her head nuzzling against mine, she quietly purrs in an attempt to comfort. “...she should come back when she knows heat is over… right?”
It makes sense… even if something inside of me doesn’t believe it, I want to. “R-right… okay…”
Hugging her a bit tighter, I whisper “L-love you…” being hugged back just as tight “Love you too…”
___
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