Chapter Nine: Brunette's Thoughts
When Haru entered the gypsies' circle, the place was abuzz with chatter. The brunette smiled grimly, and wrapped her cloak a little tighter around her, heading for the tent that she shared with her cousin. Hiromi intercepted her, and grabbed an arm.
"Haru! Did you see the cat creature?"
She nodded numbly, patting her friend's arm in a comforting manner.
"Spoke to him, too. He's a nice guy."
Hiromi gasped disbelievingly.
"But you saw how he nearly broke Tsuge's wrist!"
The half-gypsy laughed.
"Hiromi, if Tsuge ever grabbed my ear the way he had Baron's, I would deck him without mercy. I'm not going to condemn Baron for defending himself." She hugged her friend affectionately before disappearing within her tent, Hiromi still staring at her disbelievingly.
Louise was curled up on the ground with a sturdy blanket wrapped around her in the area that they slept in. For once, her eyes weren't radiating joy. Haru felt a little guilty for this, but for some reason, seeing her cousin so scared gave her a bit of pleasure. The blonde dancer had always been so sure of herself, it was good for her to experience doubt once in a while.
Haru swung her cloak off, and neatly folded it.
"I think this festival was one of the better ones. Not too many end with a cat chase."
Louise shuddered.
"I'm going to have nightmares for a month, at least."
Haru quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh come on, he wasn't that ugly."
She shuddered again.
"It's not so much the ugliness factor as it's the fact that cats shouldn't be as tall as humans, or walk and talk like humans."
Haru sighed gratingly, and lay down next to her cousin to claim part of the blanket.
"He's a nice guy, Louise. He didn't make you kiss him, did he?"
"Well, no."
"He's a fan of yours, too." Haru curled up to quell the abyss inside her. "You're lucky that he's such a gentleman, to not claim what you promised when he had the chance to."
"Humph. If he's impressed you that much, how about I just send him your way?!"
Haru giggled, and let sleep slowly claim her.
"Thanks for the thought, but I doubt we'll see him again. People everywhere are going to be keeping an eye out for him. Good night Louise." She had a lot of fish to catch in the morning, to repay the alley cats for helping Baron.
She just hoped that her contribution on the orange cat's behalf had counted for something.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sunday was a bit on the rainy side, but Haru didn't mind all that much. Her cloak was thick and warm, and the sturdy boots were keeping her feet dry.
The priest at the entrance of the church gave his signature sniff of disdain as she came in from the rain, since Father Hashio had long been her advocate inside the stone walls. She took the hood off in respect, and stood in her customary place in the back of the church, so that people wouldn't raise a fuss about having to sit next to a gypsy. She leaned against the comforting firmness of the stone wall, and played her customary game of finding Father Hashio among all the priests.
There! He had already spotted her, and was smiling comfortingly.
He blinked twice, making her nod in acknowledgement. The priest wished to talk to her after the services. Did his mysterious friend get the message to him?
Struggling to maintain her focus on the sermon, she studied the priest delivering it. He was a younger priest than Father Hashio, but still older than her father would have been, if he was still alive. His black eyes seemed to shoot fire at the congregation, more specifically at the dark gypsy girl, as the fire in his soul erupted.
"… and that, dear brethren, is why we must exorcise the demon within ourselves, lest we fall prey to it…"
Haru groaned, realizing that the priest had prepared his sermon with her in mind. He usually did, but the brunette couldn't help but hope he would find someone new to pick on.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Haru slipped behind a column as people began to leave the pews, and venture outside into the damp world. She pressed herself against the pillar; grateful that her cloak was the same color as the cold stone. The slim brunette knew that her ability to become invisible was a useful one, considering her predicament, but there were days…
A firm hand gripped her slender shoulder, making the girl turn around. It was the 'fire and brimstone' preacher. He glared at her.
"And what would you be doing here?"
She smiled politely, like she had been taught to.
"Waiting for Father Hashio, Friar Nashi. How has your day been?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but the elder priest appeared from behind him.
"Ah, Haru! How have you been, my child?"
She beamed at her old friend, and bowed respectfully low.
"Fair, Father. And you?"
"Oh, better than I was." The priest turned to the younger. "If you'll excuse us, Friar Nashi?"
The graying priest glowered at him, but allowed the man to walk off with the young girl. The father looked at her from the corner of his eye, as they walked down a corridor.
"I hear that the festival got an unexpected event this year."
The slim brunette giggled.
"Yes, but he was harmless, Father. I don't see what the big deal is."
His mouth opened a little in surprise.
"I was under the belief that the man was a partial feline."
Haru nodded firmly.
"He is, but he's nice enough, when you actually talk to him. Did your friend deliver the message?"
The old priest blinked, but then nodded slowly.
"That you would be coming today? Yes."
She smiled softly.
"Just out of curiosity, Father, who was he? He must be pretty close to you, to be able to imitate your voice so flawlessly."
He nodded, grinning a little.
"Very close. He's quite impressed that you could tell that he wasn't me."
She rolled her eyes.
"He asked me to refresh his memory when I told him I was having the old problems, and I knew you wouldn't forget me so easily."
He laughed, and patted her shoulder.
"That's my girl. Would you like to actually meet him?"
Haru bit her lip, wondering…
"I think we already did. He knew my name without being told."
"You did. He's a rather hard fellow to forget." His eyes lit up with mirth. "Very tall with a solid build, fairly short golden hair and green eyes…" the priest waited for her to connect the dots.
'Goes 'meow'?!' Her mouth dropped open a little, and she gulped."Baron?"
He nodded. She stared at him, but then faced a window, her head hung low as her face steadily turned red.
"I think I'm going to curl up and die from embarrassment now."