Heyo! This is my entry for Resbang 2015 and it was cowritten with the wonderful senwe. Hope ya'll like it!
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Of course Mother, I double checked," Maka answered dutifully, fighting down the urge to fidget from excitement.
"Toothbrush, clothes, money, spellbook, everything?" the woman asked anyway, expression solemn as she brushed non-existent dust off Maka's indigo dress. At the girl's nod, Kami sighed and led the way outside.
"You're finally here, thank goodness. Your weird father keeps looking at me funny," hissed Soul, leaping from his perch on the counter to the top of the bag slung over Maka's shoulder.
She shushed him instead, warning her familiar to stay quiet and somber to match the gravity of the ceremony. Soul rolled his eyes but stayed silent, mostly relieved to not have to be alone in the same room as Spirit anymore. He was further pushed into sitting up straight and attempting to look regal by Kami's frown, though the scowl never quite left his face. The quartet stepped into the night air, the wet scent of spring only making the pair more excited, though Maka hid it much better. Sitting on her broom, freshly made that morning, Maka glanced back at her parents one more time, her father wearing an embarrassingly sappy expression, while Kami's face was borderline formal. Maka took in one last deep breath and kicked off, shooting into the air.
All the tears and goodbyes had been exchanged yesterday, and despite her goal of having the most proper departure possible, Maka couldn't help but wish someone would crack a smile. Or, more accurately, someone she could stand, Maka revised, hearing her father start to howl far below.
"Good riddance, I'm not missing him," snorted Soul, glancing back. At the look she shot him, the cat raised his eyebrow and remarked snarkily, "Oh sorry, am I not allowed to talk yet? I'll just sit here and keep my trap shut then."
"Are you sure you know how?" his witch muttered darkly under her breath, startled as she heard her name. Looking down, she saw some of her friends on the ground far below, racing to keep up with the broom.
"Good luck and have fun Maka!" called Tsugumi, nearly tripped over her own feet as she raced down the path, Anya and Meme right behind her. "You can do it!" Grinning, Maka waved to them, the trio falling behind as the broom pulled ahead.
"Thank you," the witch yelled, a bright smile on her face as she and Soul flew into the distance.
"Where are we going again?" he asked after a moment or two, licking his paw lazily.
"Munich, Germany, remember?" sighed Maka. "You know, you're my familiar, shouldn't you at least try to remember stuff like this?"
"Why bother when I know you will?" Soul replied, smirking as he observed the fields below fade into water. "Lucky you live near the coast, huh? We won't need to fly as far."
"Don't you mean 'we live near the coast'?"
"Nah, I just go wherever the wind takes me," drawled Soul, curling up against Maka's side, only his claws, sunken deep into the bag's fabric, betraying his fear of falling.
"More like wherever your stomach takes you," snickered Maka, ignoring his annoyed glare and letting the moment fade into silence.
Stars twinkled far above, diamonds among the black satin sky and gauzy clouds. As the pair flew over the channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, Soul questioned randomly, "Why Germany anyway?"
"I learned German in school, so it makes sense," Maka answered, shrugging as she leaned forward on the broom and increased their speed. "It's also more dangerous and tricky there, since there are more werewolves and vampires and other, unrespectable types - that way I'd really be proving myself during my trial."
Soul shot her a strange look, but remained silent and chose to focus on hanging on in the increasing wind. "Some would avoid Germany, thinking that," he grumbled, "but no, my witch wants to go to the hard places."
"You know you love me," Maka retorted, chuckling at his complaining.
As they flew further away from the coast, the turbulence increased enough that Maka had to concentrate solely on flying. After Soul's constant badgering, she slowed down too, which made controlling the broom significantly easier, thankfully.
"If you fall now we'll drown."
"We're not going to drown, Soul."
"Yeah, you're right. We'll be eaten by sharks!"
"Soul."
"Or get hypothermia from the cold water."
"Soul."
"Get picked up by pirates."
"Soul."
"What?"
"Be quiet." The sheer coldness with which Maka said it silenced the grumpy cat.
…..
"Steve!"
"Becky!"
Maka sat up with alarm when the voices from the next room finally filtered through her dreams, bewildered as to what was going on. Slowly, she recognized the dark room - Soul and she had stopped at a motel at four in the morning after flying for four hours. Groaning, the girl dragged a hand through her messy hair, glancing fondly at the cat curled up on the other pillow as she counted out how far behind they were. She had planned to fly for six hours, but at the end of four she was listing and Soul had insisted on stopping for the night, lest they crash. Looking at the grimy clock on the bedside table, Maka gasped loudly from horror.
"Soul! It's three in the afternoon!"
"Wha-" he asked, waking up slowly while Maka jumped out of bed. By the time he was fully alert, she had pushed everything back into her bag and pulled her hair up into pigtails, as well as gotten dressed.
"Come on, we slept for eleven hours. Now we're going to be even more behind!" explained Maka, putting him on top of her bag and grabbing the broom on the way out as strange noises starting emanating from the room next door.
"Humans who sleep grow more," Soul drawled. "Either way, I wouldn't want to stay and listen to that."
"Soul!"
"What? We were both thinking it."
"That doesn't mean you have to say it," scolded Maka as they walked out the door of the trashy motel.
"No, don't pull out your wallet, we'll get mugged," Soul hissed as she started to open the bag.
Nodding, Maka waited until they had gotten to the better-looking part of town to pull out her money. As she counted it, her face darkened with annoyance. "I can't believe we only have this much left," she grumbled under her breath, slowing to a standstill.
"Are we going to die? Are we poor? Are we going to die poor?"
"No, we're not going to die," groaned Maka, tired of his constant worrying and exaggeration. "Look, we have enough money for breakfast… Ugh, it's not even lunch anymore." Shaking her head as if to chase away the gloomy thoughts, Maka forced a smile and said optimistically, "We have money for an early dinner and another cheap night at a motel. So we'll eat and then fly again for another four hours. We'll stop around then, stay the night, and then work all day tomorrow. That should help us make up for the money we spent here. What do you think, Soul?"
Silence greeted her question, pulling Maka up short. "Soul? Soul, where are you?" she called worriedly, seeing he was gone from his perch on top of her bag. Spinning around, Maka ran back down the street, searching for her white cat. "Soul!" When the witch saw him sitting in front of a fish stall, ruby eyes pleadingly wide as he gazed up at the uncomfortable vendor adoringly, Maka scowled furiously. "Soul, don't do that! It's not fair," she scolded him, picking him up and holding him tightly as she marched back up the street after apologizing to the seller.
"But Maka," he whined, "I'm hungry and you've got no money and it's not like I was using magic!"
"Still," sighed Maka, "It's not fair when you use your cuteness against them."
She could practically feel him smirking, even though his face was hidden from her. "So you think I'm cute?"
"Really Soul? You're a cat. You guys are universally cute."
Soul pouted and grumbled under his breath, his tail tapping her arm as he whipped it through the air in agitation.
Shaking her head, Maka gently stroked his back. "You're adorable, don't worry." His tail curled around her arm and Soul seemed to relax, leaning against her more as she carried him.
…
The wind raked its fingers through Maka's pigtails as she leaned low over her broom, aiming for the town below. Flying once around the clock tower, the witch landed on a random roof, surveying the people below. "What do you think of it, Soul?"
He shrugged and said, "Could be worse. Doesn't look like anything special, at any rate. Do you think you'll be able to find work here?"
"It can't be too hard to sell some potions or fix some things for cheap," answered Maka, scanning the city. "Oh look! Someone has a broken fence," she exclaimed, hopping back onto her broom and shooting down. The pair flew around buildings, the thrill of it bringing a smile to both of their faces. As Maka soared up from under an arch to orient herself, she realized that she had no idea where the person had gone. All the lights from the buildings and storefronts made it difficult to see much of anything down below, and the endless noise from the cars and trams wasn't helping. "Where did she go?" Maka whispered, trailing off as the chaos started to become overwhelming.
A gentle pair of paws kneaded her side, drawing her gaze to Soul. "Look, there's a hotel down there," he said, pointing with his tail. "We can stay here tomorrow and work, ok? The only jobs you'd find now are probably the unsavory kind anyway."
Nodding, but still disappointed, Maka dropped down beside the place he had pointed out. It was small, but what she could see through the windows and glass door seemed very warm and welcoming. Yellow light spilled out onto the street as she stepped inside, a small bell signaling her entrance. A pair of green armchairs and small couch were scattered across the lobby, matched by pale mint curtains. Glancing down, Maka could see her reflection in the polished wooden floors. She looked pale and worried, and Soul's drooping tail and half-closed eyes belied his tiredness and hunger.
"Can I help you dear?"
Maka flinched with surprise, but turned and smiled slightly at the kind-faced woman behind the counter. "Yes, are there any rooms available?"
Her eyebrows rose, but she remained mostly neutral and said, "Yes, we do. How long will you be staying for?"
"I will be staying two nights," Maka answered, watching as the woman rang up the price and handed over the keys.
"We serve a complimentary breakfast and if you need anything, just ask me or whoever is behind the counter," the woman said gently, her slight frown as Maka turned away showing her concern for the young girl.
"You should've just told her you were with me," sighed Soul quietly as they walked out of the lobby and into their corridor, catching the woman's look.
"Then she'd think I'm insane as well as alone," Maka said, opening the door to her room. "Come on, let's just go to sleep."
Catching the tail ends of her mood, Soul quieted down and curled up on the second pillow like always while Maka cleaned herself up in the bathroom. By the time she came out, his breaths were even and slow, though just a little too heavy to be truly convincing.
Lying in the darkness, Maka curled up on her side, almost nose to nose with Soul, his expression nevertheless hidden from her by his tail. "Hey, Soul?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we'll be alright?"
Silence stretched out painfully, the small size of the room crowding in on Maka as her thoughts bounced around worriedly. "We'll be fine," Soul drawled, tailing lifting so he could see her. "Don't worry, your brain and my cuteness will get us through anything."
Chuckling, she smiled at him and stroked the top of his head. "Thank you, Soul."
"No problem, Tiny. Now let me sleep." Rolling her eyes at his insistence to have the last word, Maka got comfortable in the nice bed and fell asleep quickly, her worries at least slightly soothed.
