DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF THE DEVIL MAY CRY SERIES. THANK YOU.
Chapter Two: Learning
Kydire, are you hungry, tired?"
Slowly, looked up at her, wiping my tears away, though more threatened to fall. I nodded, my stomache growling at the thought of food. She got a small smile at that, then gestured for me to follow her.
"I can't do anything for your nose nor your ears, but I can definately help with the other two," she told me. "Do you remember anything before you came here?"
I shook my head.
"Not much," I answered. "I remember running away from home... I was so angry... Then nothing. My memory goes blank."
She seemed a bit more confused by that.
"That's it?" she asked. I nodded. "That's not much to go off of, but I will do my best to help you, Kydire. You have to trust me."
"Just call me Kai," I told her. "All my friends do."
"How can you be sure that I am your friend?" she asked. I shrugged.
"I can't," I answered. "But I have to trust someone when I can't even trust myself."
She nodded, then we entered a large room. Here, numerous people in white were sitting at long tables. All of them looked up at us when we entered.
"What is that thing doing in here?" demanded one, his voice so loud it rang through my head. I got a dizzy-spell from it and stumbled, my hands flying to my ears.
"Not so loud, Micah," she said sternly, her voice carrying through the room. "Her ears are sensitive. As to why she is here, that is no concern of yours, is it?"
He looked ready to argue, but then a smell reached my nose. My head snapped up and I was at the food line in seconds, my eyes looking at anything and everything, especially the bacon.
"If your tail wagged any harder, I'd have to put it in a splint," she said. My head snapped up to look at her, confused.
"What tail?" I asked, dreading the answer. She gestured behind me and I looked. Almost immediately, I shreiked, grabbing it. I grabbed it too hard at first and got knocked to my knees because of the pain. I let it go a bit and the pain slowly faded. I was completely horrified. A black furry tail (that looked suspiciously like a cat's) extended from behind me.
"What's wrong with me?" I asked, beginning to hyperventilate. Resa placed her hand on my shoulder and tried to calm me.
"I told you, Kai, I will do my best to find out," she assured me. "For now, you need to eat."
Slowly, I forced my body to calm, though I still shook really, really badly when I rose to my feet again. The entire room was silent, not a single person moving. All of them wore different expressions of disbelief, some were even of pity. I forced myself to ignore them and took the plate Resa offered. Then I went along the line and got foods that I liked. At the end, there was a choice between water, juice, and tea. I gladly took the tea, then followed her to a table. There, I sat down and began to eat. The food was divine, their taste shockingly more potent than ever before.
"Are you all right?" Resa asked, noting some of my faces. I nodded slowly.
"Everything just tastes a little... different," I answered. "I mean... stronger, if that makes any sense."
She nodded, understanding.
"But not unpleasant?" she asked. I shook my head immediately.
"Absolutely divine," I answered her. "My compliments to your cook!"
She smiled and nodded. Soon, a few others joined us at our table. Every time one of them would drag their teeth on their silverware or their silverware would scrape against their plates, I heard it... and cringed at the volume. I also took time to take in the scents around me, trying to sort what was what.
"What are you doing?" Resa asked. "Your tail is all... twitchy..."
"Trying to get used to all these... over-powering smells and sounds," I answered. "I'm trying to pin-point where all of them are coming from, sort through them."
"How's that coming?" she asked. I shrugged.
"Pretty sucky, actually," I answered. "It's frustrating... There's just too much for my mind to handle right now..."
"Then try to focus your senses on me," said the male at my right. "Tell me what I smell like."
I nodded.
"It would be easier to concentrate if you didn't drag your silverware across your teeth during every bite," I told him crossly as he did it again. He paused and looked at me. "Do you have any idea how much that hurts my ears? It's like someone putting a blow-horn next to your ear. It's giving me a headache!"
After that, all of them (at this table at least) tried to keep their teeth and silverware from meeting.
"You smell like pine trees," I answered. "And a crisp breeze... and something I can't place... it's... very potent, almost gag-worthy."
"Perhaps it's my cologne," he offered. I nodded.
"That's possible," I answered.
"So, what all can you hear right now?" asked a female from across the table. So... I listened and answered her.
"I can hear every breath everyone in this room is taking," I answered. "I can hear the mouse underneathe that far table over there crawling across the floor... There's two people over at that table plotting an act that won't be supported by the council..."
I stopped abruptly when I saw all of their eyes widen at that last comment. All of their heads swivelled to the two men. Immediately, Resa stood and walked over to them. I heard her demand to see them in her office and the three left the room. Something was off about them, though.
"Someone, go with her," I warned. "I don't know how I know... but... they're up to something."
The man at my right nodded and followed the three out. I relaxed, trusting him. The others at the table remained silent for a few moments while we simply ate. Then my head snapped up again as I heard gunshots. Mine wasn't the only one and several of the closer tables to the door flew out of their seats to go find the skirmish. I hung my head, feeling guilty for some unfathomable reason.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I should have warned her before she went..."
"Don't blame yourself," said a female, coming to sit next to me. "You gave a warning. Sika is our best warrior. He won't let anything happen to Resa."
I nodded.
"I hope you're right," I answered.
"So, your name is Kai?" she asked. I nodded. "I'm Tyra. I've never met someone like you before. Did you... not know you were a cat-devil before?"
I shook my head.
"I was human, last I knew," I answered, my tone depressed. That caused several of them to take in soft gasps. I felt tears sting my eyes. "I never should have run away from home..."
Tyra quickly pulled me into a hug, comforting me.
"Easy, Kai," she said softly. "Easy... Things aren't all bad... I mean... you have us."
I nodded.
"Yes," I agreed. "Yes, I do... but I need to know what happened to me. I need to know how I came to be... this... I feel like a freak! Granted, I always wondered how Aries saw the world, but I never wanted to literally find out!"
"Who's Aries?" she asked.
"One of my cats," I answered. "I have four: Aries Kevin Michael, Paul William, Dominatrix Marie, and Charlie Ann."
She nodded, letting me eat again. This time, I left nothing on my plate. After a few moments, I smelled Sika and looked up. He just entered the room with Resa, both of them completely unharmed. I relaxed greatly, feeling like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Tyra moved back to her seat across the table, letting the two have their seats back.
"Good call, Kai," Resa said, smiling at me. "If you hadn't warned Sika, I wouldn't be here now."
I smiled back.
"I'm just glad you're both okay," I told her. "I would never have forgiven myself if something had happened to either of you."
"Why not?" asked Sika, surprised. "You don't know us."
"No," I agreed. "But I don't believe in ending a life, whether they are known to me or not, not when I could have done something to prevent it..."
That took a while to sink in, but they slowly nodded and relaxed, eating again.
"I think we'd best do some training after we eat, teaching you how to use your stronger senses," Resa said. I nodded, agreeing.
"Then we should see if you have any more unknown abilities, other than the obvious cat-related ones," Sika added. Again, I nodded.
"So be it," I said. "I could use the knowlege."
