He missed the simplicity of it, sometimes. Everyone made mention of his sharp eyes, nearly feral in their ferocity, but only one woman knew the truth of it—and she had the good grace not to speak of it.

She had offered him a position retraining the Royal Guards and he accepted, having seen firsthand their overall uselessness. With no threat present, the guards made a pretty sight: marching in formation throughout the city, standing at crisp attention; but give them an actual adversary (not that he considered a nonviolent animal to be an adversary) and they fell apart.

It all got to be too much, sometimes. Days when the Guard were worse than usual, days when his fans from the STAR game were too overbearing. Then there were the special events: the festivals and parades Zelda arranged, events that required an official appearance by the Princess and the Hero.

He became a frequent guest at Telma's bar, where he knew he could get some quiet: the bar was out of the way, and Telma herself had a limited tolerance for fawning. He could sit in a quiet little corner at the bar, with only his close companions to occupy him. Louise would come by (or she wouldn't) and he would give her a properly reverential chin scratch before she left, her tail swishing the tip of his nose as she did.

When even that was too much for him, he took refuge at Jovani's small yard, where no one ever went. There, it was just him and the cats. No one trying to get out of training or get a date with him; no one trying to curry favor with him, no fending off nobles of all ranks and machinations so Zelda could focus on the important things. All the cats wanted was to chase their ball and be carried. But even that wasn't quite enough.

He missed talking to them.

Just another thing he lost when she left.


I am incapable of writing anything connected to Twilight Princess without being upset over Midna.