Spirited Away and The Cat Returns both belong to Studio Ghibli. My most humble thanks to Miyazaki-sama for not minding us fanatics borrowing.
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Haru was so pleased with herself, she skipped all the way to the Refuge. Yes, skipped, except where she had to climb. Toto flew ahead of her so she wouldn't get lost. This personal bodyguard stuff wasn't so bad! Toto had been marvelous, choosing unobstructive trees to watch Chihiro when Haru couldn't be there, and always staying within sight of the Myth Twins when they were together. Chihiro had even begun to accept the fact she had solid shadows. Well, sort of. Haru winced as she remembered a particularly loud demand to know what the hell was going on, which had been when she dropped Chihiro off at the library with one of her roommates. The roommate had shivered through the stern warning and almost broke her neck nodding in agreement. Haru couldn't rightly explain it, but her instincts were screaming to not tell Chihiro a River God that may or may not be her dragon was searching for her. Those same instincts were also screaming to not reveal Baron's true identity until The Right Time. Haru plopped down in front of Baron's house and knocked on the door with a knuckle.
"Coming!" He called. Haru sat back, grinning. It was so GOOD to visit him again! The door opened and Baron stepped out, smiling. Haru blinked in surprise. Today he was wearing a cream shirt and a green vest with his light grey trousers. No coat, no hat, and his collar was undone, showing off a furry neck. Haru did her best to fight down a blush at such casual attire and almost succeeded. Her eyes went huge when she saw the silver dangling from one hand.
"Thank you for coming, Haru. I have what I need for your communication talismans, but I am going to need something of yours."
"Um, sure, Baron. What do you need?"
"A lock of hair would suffice. Toto! I will need those feathers now!" He called.
"Right!" Toto glided down and landed near Baron. Using his beak, he plucked two small feathers from his chest and dropped them in Baron's hand. The cat-man looked at Haru, who squeaked and started digging through her bag.
"Um, I'm sorry, Baron. I don't have any scissors," She said, pulling her face out of her bag. Baron shook his head gently, smiling.
"It is not a problem, Haru. Muta? Would you be so kind?"
"Yeah, sure," Muta slid out of his chair and waddled over, one paw sporting curved white claws. "Lean down, Chicky." Haru bent towards Muta. The obese cat gently separated a few hairs close to her ear and neatly cut them with his claws. Haru sat up as he handed the hairs to Baron, who nodded.
"Thank you, Haru, Muta. This will work splendidly. Now, please excuse me. The next part is rather delicate. Muta, would you please fetch Haru some tea? I have a fresh batch brewing inside."
Baron slipped back inside, carefully holding the final pieces of the talisman. He ignored Muta complaining about boiled grass and a lack of whipped cream, as well as Toto's taunts that the cat couldn't find whipped cream if his tail was dipped in it. It was all too familiar. What was different was Haru's soft giggle dancing in his ears as he went into his bedroom and firmly shut the door. He couldn't dwell on that now. This kind of magic required complete concentration. Kneeling outside the more elaborate chalk circle on the floor, he carefully laid out the silver dangle earrings next to a half-breastplate with silver wire. Shifting to a cross-legged position, he smoothed the feathers out and left them on his thigh. Fishing out two spools of thread from his pocket, black and brown, he neatly bit off a length of black thread and tied the three strands of Haru's hair together at one end. The cat-man smiled slightly as he braided the hairs together and tied off the bottom with more black thread. The braid was carefully laid in a hollow in the half-breastplate. Toto's feathers were tied to the earrings with brown thread. Dusting his hands, Baron gently fitted a silver dome over the hollow and twisted until it was snug. He rose and held both hands out, palms down.
"Feathers and hair/Ears to ears/Let their words be heard only to each other. With only a thought/an image to guide/Let their words be heard over space and time." He said firmly and slowly. The circle glowed white, the light expanding until it was waist high. Abruptly, the light dove into the silver talismans, making them shine until Baron had to squint. With a final flash, the light disappeared. The earrings and half-breastplate slowly lost their gleam. Baron dropped uncermoniously to his knees, panting. Madame Bifrost had warned him of the effort such magic would take, which was why he had cast the spell in his room. Toto and Muta would have been all over him otherwise.
What about Haru? A little voice in his head asked. He ignored it, as he had been doing for the last three years. Haru was human, destined to live her life with a human male, possibly with children, and would then pass to the Spirit Realm. He was a Creation, an ensouled statue that could not die, and a foot tall cat-man to boot. As long as Haru was happy, he would be content.
Having finally caught his breath, Baron picked up the silver talismans and went back to join his friends, eager to see if it worked.
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"Haru! Haru! Wake up!" The loud and familiar voice sent Haru jacknifing out of bed.
"I'm up! I'm up! I'm...Toto?" Haru turned around bewilderedly, trying to place the now laughing male voice when there was obviously no such male in her room. The covers, heartily offended by her thrashing and spinning, tangled her legs in a fit of pique. Haru went down with a loud crash.
"Haru? You okay?" Two voices chorused, one from downstairs, the other in her ear. Haru whimpered a little.
"Owww. Yes, yes, I'm fine," She assured Mother and Crow. Freeing her legs from the gloating covers, she gave the offending bed dressings a kick before picking her way over to her window. Toto waved from a tree across the street, his silver half-breastplate gleaming in the morning sun. Haru waved back and pulled the curtains. Not that she didn't trust Toto, but one does not change clothes in front of an ensouled Creation with a tendency to report back embarrassing incidents to Baron. Haru bounced around her room, getting dressed and packing for school, pausing every few seconds to admire the earrings gently brushing her skin. Twin feathers were tied to silver chains that stopped just past her jawline, which in turn were attached to rounded silver discs. The earring posts were straight, with a tiny hook at the end to hold them in her ears. Baron had made the hooks himself, after they had performed some tests. Haru blushed crimson, remembering how gentle his fingers had been and the tingles those said fingers had triggered. Shaking her head, she rushed downstairs, waving to her mother. Baron was her friend. She couldn't expect more then that. Not only was he a fraction of her size, he was part cat! She wasn't about to go through THAT again!
Oh, sure. You were ready to turn all cat when you danced with Baron! A little voice whispered in her brain. Haru gripped her fabric-encased bokken tightly. Crazy little voice, when would it STOP?