Disclaimer: I own naughtin', dood. You prolly dun either. You can't sue me, 'cuz I'm not making any money offa this. Muhaha! Ah yes...this chapter is more mature than the other ones, dood! Both in a funny and serious way. Nothing actually 'happens', though. (Unless you count a "talk" of sorts.)Little ones, proceed with caution. O.o
Colette twitched. Where am I? I'm at the entrance of Flanoir again...
She shivered, even if she couldn't feel the cold. She couldn't feel temperature anymore; she'd lost that this morning. She could only watch in fear as her senses deteriorated before her eyes. First, she lost her appetite, and then she couldn't feel any heat.
I still need sleep, though. That's odd. I thought it went hunger, sleep, touch and then voice. It won't be long until I lose that...
Colette got up and looked around. There's something wrong...I don't know what, but something tragic has happened. Footprints? They're leading somewhere...
She followed them, unsure. Why was I near the entrance again? I remember watching Zelos and Sheena play tag...and then it's all blank. As if I didn't exist at that time...
She stopped. Wait...as if I didn't exist? Could it be...
A frail whine brought her back to reality.
"Mitsmuzz?" Colette approached the puppy carefully. No...
Mitsmuzz was covered in slashes, some so deep the bone showed. It was the monster all right, with its signature one slash. Colette couldn't even tell what color she was anymore, she was so bathed in blood.
Colette held the puppy close. I'm so sorry...
Mitsmuzz whined again, wheezing. Colette wondered if she could wake Raine up and see if she could patch her up. Looking at where Mitsmuzz used to lay, Colette saw a sight that made her start.
My chakrams? No, it can't be...
Stuck in the snow where her two chakrams, covered in the same crimson substance that was splashed on Mitsmuzz. Colette picked one up and carefully made a slice on the snow.
It's the same as all the monster's slashes...so there is no monster...just someone using my chakrams!
Colette felt Mitsmuzz's body go limp. That means...I'm too late...
She shook uncontrollably. What is this feeling inside of me...? It's like anger and grief and sadness and helplessness and...
A cry exploded out of her. It wasn't a scream; it wasn't a howl, but something akin to it. Anyone who was awake then would have assumed it was a terrible beast and locked themselves up. A shower of pearly feathers drifted to the ground.
Someone...help...
Noishe sniffed the air.
(Huff huff.)
He opened the inn door with his teeth and went upstairs.
(Whine.)
Noishe sniffed each door, trying to find Lloyd.
(Sniff sniff...sniff...sniff? Sniff...sniffsniff...) a dustbunny went up his nose. (Bark! Barkbarkbark)
Lloyd came out of his room, yawning. "Noishe, be quiet. We're trying to sleep."
Noishe was fighting a losing battle with the dustbunny. (Whine...)
Lloyd walked over to him. "What's wrong, Noishe?"
Noishe grabbed Lloyd by the shirt collar and dragged him outside.
"Noishe! Put me down!"
(Huff huff. Woof.)
Lloyd relented, sighing. "Where are you taking me?"
(Whine...)
A shrill cry pierced the silence.
(Bark!)
Noishe trekked through the snow, looking for something. Dropping Lloyd, he put his nose to the ground.
(Sniff...sniffsniff...snorf...whine. Ktchuu!) he finally sneezed the dustbunny out.
Lloyd followed him as he tracked something. A white feather blew into his face. "What's this?"
The feather was quite like your classic bird plume, but it was very large and slightly grayish.
An angel feather? Why would there be one here? Lloyd fiddled with the feather. It doesn't look like Remiel's...and he's the only angel other than the ones at Derris-Kharlan I can think of with feathery wings.
Noishe grabbed him again and led him to a small alley. (Woof.)
"Ow! Okay! Stop dragging me!"
The alley was littered with the white feathers. "Is anyone there?" Lloyd called, his voice echoing.
Something twitched. A sound, which sounded a bit like a creaking door, came from it.
"Who's there?" Lloyd inquired, coming closer. "Col...ette?"
Colette was on her knees, clutching the limp form of Mitsmuzz in her hands. A pair of ivory wings grew out of her back, folding around her. She looked up, croaking.
Lloyd put a finger on her lips. "If you can't talk, don't."
(Lloyd...I'm so sorry...)
"What's there to be sorry about?"
(You...can hear me?)
"Yeah. What happened?"
(I don't know, Mitsmuzz is dead...)
(Whine.)
"It's the monster..."
(Lloyd...)
"What?"
(Never mind...)
"Can you walk?"
(Yes, but...)
"But?"
(Please wait...)
Colette buried Mitsmuzz under the snow.
(I'm ready to go now.)
"She meant a lot to you, didn't she?" Lloyd asked.
Colette hung her head and said nothing.
Raine studied the wings extensively. "So...they just appeared?"
(Yes...)
"Did you feel anything?" the Professor continued, flexing a wing. "pain, weirdness, anything?"
(Ow, Professor, that hurts...)
"Sorry about that. But did it hurt then?"
(Yes, a little bit...)
Raine examined a feather shaft. "This is odd. These are nothing like your other wings. Speaking of which, where did they go?"
(I don't know. Please stop, you're making me uncomfortable.)
"Colette! This is for the sake of science!"
(I don't care! Just stop!) she shoved the Professor away with a wing hastily. (I'm sorry, but I don't want anyone around me for a while. Just leave me alone!) Colette ran away to her room and locked herself in. Does everyone care only about these new wings? I'd rather stick with the other ones, 'cuz I could hide them. Now I itch in places I can't reach anymore.
She could hear a soft singing from a corner.
"You know you want to...pull the trigger...Make yer head go boom, ba-doom..." It came from a fish-shaped pot, singing in a lonely, melancholy tone.
(Byruu? Is that you? What are you doing here?)
The half-Katz jumped out of the pot. "Oh! I didn't know you would come in, mew. I'll leave if you want to..."
(No...it's okay, I guess...)
"What's up, mew? There's something wrong. And I don't mean the fact that you've got new wings and you thought-speak, mewl. What's the tragedy? You look as if your puppy got runned over."
There was silence.
"Ah...bull's eye?"
Colette sighed. (She died last night. You can have the milk bottle back.)
Byruu found it near her bed and pocketed it. "Here's your 4000 gald back, mew." She tossed a bag to Colette.
(Uh, you didn't have to...it's yours...)
"I'm not a greedy fool, mewl. Even the lowest Katz have a sense of pride. I can't bring your puppy to life, so it's the least I can do. Mew."
(Thanks...by the way, you have a nice singing voice.)
Byruu glowed. "Ah, no I don't, mew. You're just saying that, mew."
(No, I mean it. Do you know any other songs?)
Byruu mused for a minute. "Yes...there was this one that my mam sang to me when I was a kit. If I can remember..." She chewed on a claw while trying to recollect the words. "Ah yes. It goes like this...
There is in all the stories a hero to be
Sworn to protect the seed of the great Kharlan Tree
Time remains a number as useless as age
But did you know
That when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can't be seen.
That's all I remember, mewl..."
Colette and Byruu pondered for a while.
(A number as useless as age?)
"Yeah, mew. Like, uh...guess how old I am."
(I dunno...twelve? Thirteen?)
"No. Guess again."
(Eleven? Fourteen? I don't know...)
"I'm actually turning 164 in a few days."
Colette looked at Byruu in silent admiration and a bit of fear. (You're 163? You look hardly older than Genis.)
"Age is just a number, mew. Heck, I still feel like I'm thirteen. Have you ever wondered how old your friend what's-her-name...Presea, is?"
Colette nibbled on a feather that had fallen a few minutes ago. (No...not really...if she wants to tell us, she will. It's no use asking about it if she doesn't want to talk about it, right?)
Byruu smiled her kittenish smile. "Huh, I thought you'd say something like that, mew. Anyway, you should be getting to sleep now. It's terribly late, mewl."
(You sound like the Professor, Byruu.)
"Hey, at least I can cook and I'm not hitting you, am I? Mewl."
(I didn't mean it in a bad way!)
"I know, I'm just kidding, mew." Byruu crawled back into the fish-shaped pot, humming random snippets of songs. Colette yawned and settled herself on her bed.
These wings are bothering me. I can't cover myself with a blanket, because then they'd get tangled, but I can't afford not to, 'cuz then I'd freeze! she curled up, folding her wings around her. That's better.
She felt herself fall asleep. Byruu suddenly burst into song.
"You know you wan' oo...pull the trigger! Make yer head go boom, ba-doom! (ba doom ba doom ba doom da doo doom)... When yer head's on the floor (ba doom da doom doo doo doom) and yer brain's on the wall (ba doom da doom doo doo doom) When yer head goes boom!"
(Byruu, stop that!)
"Eheheh...sorry!"
Lloyd woke up on the floor. What the...
He scrambled onto his bed and tried to fall asleep again. Something's missing...
He felt around for his pillow. It's not here! Grumbling, he got up and trudged to Colette's room.
I have a feeling that she's got it...
Colette stretched awake. I'm sore...in places I didn't even know I had...and in some places I never had before...
She rolled over, sighing. (Wait...how come I have two pillows?)
Byruu was poking around the room, exploring. "You got up in the middle of the night and came back with it, mew."
There was a knock at the door. Byruu yelped and jumped back into her pot. Colette hid the pillow.
"Colette, can I come in?" Lloyd's voice asked from behind the door.
(Yes, the door should be open...)
Lloyd entered. "Hey, Colette. Are you okay now?"
(What? Oh...yesterday...I'm sorry I got mad.)
"The Professor can get annoying sometimes. Anyway, I was wondering if you knew where my pillow went?"
Byruu peered out of the pot, listening.
Colette flapped her wings in thought. (No, I haven't. Maybe Genis took it?)
Lloyd thanked her and left.
"Why'd you lie, mew?"
(I did?)
"The extra pillow is Lloyd's!"
(Is it really? Oh well. It's mine now!) she hugged it. (Mineminemine!)
"It's just a pillow, mew!"
Colette had alread fallen asleep while holding her new pillow. Byruu bit her lip, but said nothing else. She crawled back into the fish-shaped pot and sighed.
"Why don't you just get a new one?" Raine sighed, looking up from her book.
"Wait. One last time," Lloyd gasped, getting up. "I'm sure that it's in Colette's room, but she said it wasn't..."
"Look again," the Professor snorted in a 'look-past-your-own-nose-for-once-in-your-life,-you-dumbutt' tone.
Lloyd knocked on her door again. "Colette?"
(Come...in...!)
"Colette? What's wrong?" Lloyd worried, entering.
She was sitting up, trying to reach behind a wing. Lloyd noticed that there were some feathers pointing the wrong way, which was probably causing her acute discomfort. He tweaked them so that they faced the other way. Apparently, that wasn't what she was trying to do, because she made a whining noise and flapped her wings impatiently.
"What is it?"
(I can't scratch...!)
Lloyd scratched at the places where he guessed were irritating her.
(I'm so glad you came right then...you know where all the itchy spots are.)
"I came to ask if you found my pillow."
(It's mine now!)
"What?"
Colette hugged it and covered herself with her wings. (It's mine!)
Lloyd pounced on her. "Give it back!"
(Ow! Stop!)
"Give it!"
(I told you, it's mine now!)
Lloyd tickled her belly. "Fine! You leave me no choice!"
Colette froze. A tingly feeling crawled up his hand. At first it was a soft, ignorable sensation, but then it grew into something that screamed to be noticed. It was a kaleidoscope of feelings-a shy, innocent happiness, a sleepy calm, a dizzying giddiness, and-something that made Lloyd take his hand away-a nostalgic loneliness.
Colette looked up. (Lloyd, what's wrong?) she asked, unaware of what she was doing to him.
Lloyd shook his head. "Uh...nothing."
(Don't stop then! It feels so nice!) She put his hand on her stomach again. Lloyd sighed and continued. Colette let out a happy gurgle and fell asleep with a soft smile on her face.
"What was that about...?"
He tried to take the pillow away from her, but she had an iron grip on it.
"Give up. She has it and you can't do scratch, mew. She loffs it, she does."
He turned to see Byruu up and about. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for summat...aha, here it is, mew." She pulled out a bag of coins from under the bed. "You're the one that paid for the milk, right? Here's your refund."
Lloyd looked at her funny. "A generous Katz! I learn something new every day!"
"I ain't a Katz, mew! HALF-KATZ!" she spat.
"Say it, don't spray it," Lloyd said, wiping spittle off his suit.
"Get it right. If you don't, I'll sharpen my claws on your leg or some other body part," she hissed.
"You're proud to be a Halfling?"
"Well, yeah, mew! Being totally human means I have no tail, and I love my tail. Being totally Katz means I have to report to the Katz' Village every two months to see if the mayor wants me to work. I've got the best of both worlds, mewl."
Lloyd scratched his head. "They have to go there every two months?"
"Yeppers, mew. But I'm a half-Katz, so no one really pays attention to what I do. I can do whatever I want, basically!" she leaped back into the fish-shaped pot, singing 'Pull the Trigger' ((I'm too lazy to write it out, dood, and you're probably sick of reading it.))
Lloyd exited the room. Should I tell the others about this?
"So, you just rubbed her tummy and she fell asleep?" Raine asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Lloyd blew on his coffee to cool it.
"And you say she's been acting weird lately?"
"That too."
Everyone thought (or just didn't care at the moment) for a bit.
Raine chewed on her spoon. "Could it be...?"
"What?"
"I'm not sure, but...she might be pregnant?"
There was silence for an eternity.
"It wasn't me!" Zelos yelped, jumping into Sheena's arms. However, she was not prepared and they ended up in a heap.
Genis glomped Presea, who chewed on a brownie, oblivious.
Regal looked up from the soup he was tending to.
Lloyd whimpered and tried to flee, but his legs rooted him to the spot.
"So...Lloyd...was it you?"
Zelos opened his mouth to say something, but Sheena elbowed him sharply.
Lloyd shuffled uneasily.
"Go on, spit it out..."
"I might of thought about it once, but I didn't do it!" Lloyd blurted.
There was a collective gasp from everyone. Lloyd clapped his hands over his mouth.
"For shame, Lloyd! You're not supposed to say that out loud!" Zelos scolded.
"Men," Sheena snorted. "they can't go fifteen seconds without having a dirty thought."
Genis hugged Presea tightly. "I don't think about it every fifteen seconds!"
There was another collective gasp. Presea and Genis blushed a deep scarlet and she bolted the brownie.
"Genis! Big no-no!"
Presea hid her face behind the cookie tin. "What makes you think that, Professor?"
Raine chewed on her spoon again. "I'm just guessing. I know if you stroke the abdominal region of an expectant mother, it's supposed to be extremely relaxing for her. As for the whole holding Lloyd's pillow hostage bit, I've heard of animals taking objects and pretending that they're cubs or pups during the last few stages of pregnancy."
Sheena tried to shove Zelos off her. "But if it's so late, why didn't she show any signs?"
A faint rattling sound brought everyone's attention. It came from a bird-shaped jar.
Lloyd examined it. "Byruu?"
On cue, the half-Katz appeared out of the jar. "Two words: False Pregnancy. Mew."
"Isn't that three words?"
Byruu did a jig of annoyance. "Ah, you know what I'm talking about, mewl!"
Genis looked at Byruu. "You're not a Katz, are you?"
Byruu tweaked his nose. "Half-Katz. You could say we're alike, mew."
Genis sniffled and held his nose, which hurt quite a bit.
Raine held Byruu by the tail. "Interesting! A half-Katz? I didn't know they existed!"
"Ouch! The tail isn't strictly ornamental, mew!"
Raine let her go. "How did you know?"
"Well, it's only just my tail!"
"No, about Colette."
Byruu gobbled the rest of the contents of the cookie tin. "Can't tell you. Farewell!" she spun and vanished.
"Come back here! I wanted a biscuit!"
Byruu poked Colette. "Wakey wakey!"
Colette groaned and shifted.
"Hrmmm...Ah!" Byruu positioned herself beside her ear. "Ahem...
YOU KNOW YOU WAN' OO...PULL THE TRIGGER!"
(Waiiii! What was that?)
"Trying to wake you up, mew."
(Why? You woke me up from a nice dream.)
"Well, you have to get up eventually, you lazy bum. And you need to eat, too."
(Well, I don't need to eat anymore. Thanks for caring, though. Oh, and...Byruu?)
"Wut?"
(You're a half-Katz, right?)
"Yes, that's right..."
(How...does...that work?)
Byruu was still and silent. The only thing that betrayed her thoughts was her tail, which wriggled with great energy. "Ooooh! You want to know how my mam and sire got together, right?"
(Well...yes?)
"Um, I don't know all the details, but it went a little like this, according to my mam. Okay, so, she's in the Meltokio sewers, right? Why I dunno, mew. And then she gets surrounded by a whole hoard of sewer rats. And then, out of the blue, her knight in shining armor arrives! Well, uh, slick, silky fur."
(I wish my knight would come and save me like that...) Colette sighed.
Byruu smiled her kittenish smile. "And then he went and eated up all them rats. It was love at first sight."
(Eat all the rats? Gruesome...)
"Hey, it's either that or kill 'em, right?"
(I don't know, the mental image of this 'knight in shining armor' works best if he's surrounded by his fallen enemies, not having those enemies in his stomach...?)
Someone knocked on the door. "Colette? Are you awake?"
Byruu opened the door, staying behind it.
(What is it, Professor?)
"Yeah, what she said, mew!"
Raine turned to look at the speaker. A mysterious glint shined in her eye.
(Byruu, run!)
"Mew?"
"It's the half-Katz!" the Professor squealed, pinning Byruu down. "to think you were in her room all this time...how come I didn't notice?"
Byruu flailed about. "Nuuu! I dun wanna be a research specimen, mewl!"
"Too bad!"
(Professor! Bad!) Colette thought-shouted, prying them away from each other. (she's my friend!)
Raine stepped away. "Sorry about that. Can't contain my scholarly inquisitiveness. Anyway, I have to tell you something, Colette..."
Author's notes, dood (aka you listen or else!)
Anyone who guessed I had fun writing this chapter, you get a point.
TerreSynn: o.o ..., ...!
Urby: Wut?
TerreSynn: (points to the reviews) o.O ...! ...? .-.
Urby: So's I got reviews. Big whoop. (yes it is, in fact. Me loffs reviews!)
TerreSynn: (points frantically to Green Mage's review) O.O !!! ..., ?
Urby: Gasp! Okay, anyone who guessed Colette was the monster gets half a point. Why? It's not Colette. But you're as close as you can get with what you know so far.
TerreSynn: ...!
Urby: You know the drill-read, review, and make me a happy camper. Waiiii!