Chapter Eighteen: Thick and Thin
A true friend sticks with you through thick and thin no matter what.
-Anonymous
xxXxx
That day was particularly blustery, despite the fact that it was just past the season for it. The wind roared unusually loud, but Baron could hardly tell.
Haru? Trying to kill herself? Was it because she was thinking of Renny a scarce few nights before, while they were making the boat designs?
Despite the fact that Lune was physically fit, and clearly running as fast as he could, it still felt like centuries until he reached the sea shore, where a sizable crowd had gathered.
A number of them quickly made room for the prince and the baron near the front, right next to an exasperated Yuki.
"I already told you, highness; she's not trying to kill herself!" the maid nearly snapped at him.
"Then how do you explain that?" Lune demanded while attempting to catch his breath, pointing out to sea as he set the little kitten down.
Baron couldn't take his eyes off the waves, shocked at what he was seeing.
Haru was in pants again, and had bound her hair up in the style that made it seem like she had a tail growing from the back of her head. That in itself he would have been able to adjust to, since he had seen her like that before. But he could still see why Lune would think that she was trying to kill herself.
After designing the new boats with him, Haru had asked if she could have one of the partially made rafts, and he saw no reason to say no. What she had planned to do with it was beyond him, but now he could see why she wanted it.
She had modified the raft so that it was surprisingly slim, and had even built a framework onto it that was even taller than herself. She had stretched a huge piece of canvas across it to make a stiff sail like she had depicted in her drawings. But there was another piece of wood about chest level to her, one that she was using to hang on as the blustery winds made her tiny craft shoot across the water's surface as fast as an arrow. There wasn't even room on the thing for her to sit, but she didn't seem to mind having to stand.
Baron was nearly awed at her almost casual manipulation of both the wind and the waves. Was this the mysterious 'surfing' she had won a competition for?
"Baron, please stop her before she hurts herself," Lune begged, shaking the kitten's shoulders frantically. "She actually listens to you!"
That managed to shake Baron to his senses. "Lune, she's just playing. She's perfectly in control of the situation."
"Ha, told you," Toto told the prince cheerfully. "Besides, can't you tell she's enjoying herself for once?"
A vague shriek of glee came from the human as she managed to make the craft briefly airborne, just long enough for her to turn completely in the opposite direction before hitting the water again.
"Please make her stop," Lune insisted, still hysterical.
"But she's so good at it," Richard protested. "Even if she were to fall, doesn't the girl swim like a fish?"
"Quite nearly. Lune, will you please calm down? Haru's not in any danger," Baron tried to console his friend.
"What will happen when she gets tired?"
"She will come to shore, naturally. She's not stupid, Lune."
"Baron; get her to stop!" the prince demanded, since it was apparent that pleading wouldn't do any good.
The tawny kitten looked up at his friend with sad eyes. "Is that a royal command?" he asked softly.
Lune looked back at him, stiffly nodding his head.
Baron sighed in exasperation, checking his pocket watch as he walked to Toto. "I'll tell her it's time for lunch; that will keep her out of the water for perhaps two hours."
"Why two?" Yuki couldn't help but ask.
"One in which to eat and converse, and another for the food to work through her system. She's informed me that one gets cramps if they try to swim after eating. Shall we, Toto?"
"We might as well," Toto sighed, giving the prince a disapproving glare as the kitten eased onto his back once more. "You'll have to do a bit of shouting though; the wind's a bit strong for me to think about getting too close to the water."
"Agreeable." 'Thank heaven my hat and cane are still back in my study. I wouldn't want to lose them out to sea; there are no friendly turtles out here.'
The ride out to sea was turbulent, and Toto had some difficulty catching up to Haru, who was blissfully oblivious to everything but maneuvering her water craft across the choppy waves.
"Haru!" Baron called at the top of his lungs, but she couldn't hear him.
"Haru!" Toto yelled, but she still didn't notice them.
"Get a little closer," Baron implored as the wind threatened to put even more distance between them and the half-human.
Toto gave a barely audible grunt of displeasure, but started fighting against the wind to move closer. It was exhausting for both of them, since the wind kept trying to tear the tawny kitten from his friend's back.
After what felt like eternity, Haru actually looked up before they could try to command her attention. Faintly, Baron could see her concentrated expression turn to shock, and she started shouting something desperately.
Unfortunately the wind carried her voice away in the opposite direction, so Baron couldn't hear her. But he was more than certain that she would be able to hear him.
"Haru-" he started to yell, waving one arm around to make sure that she was paying attention.
He very quickly learned that holding onto Toto with one arm under such ill conditions had consequences.
Just as he was waving around one arm, a particularly strong burst of wind sent Toto for a violent spin. One that was so violent, that Baron was thrown clear from the crow's back.
He barely even had time to scream before his body hit the salty water.
Baron didn't remember what happened after that. All he knew was that it was dark and cold. The longer the darkness remained, the less he seemed to remember of anything else.
Distantly, he almost felt a bit of warmth around him. It was strangely comforting, even as he tried to figure out what it was.
Suddenly, the warmth was focused on his lips, forcing warmer air to penetrate his already water-logged lungs. Then something began pounding on his chest, directly over his heart.
Again warmth to the lips, followed by more pounding.
His eyes snapped open as salty water gushed out of his mouth and nostrils. He coughed and retched, dimly realizing that he was soaked from head to toe.
The very first thing he saw was Haru's wet face, full of relieved concern as she gently rolled him onto his side. "That's right, Baron; cough it all out."
He was all too happy to oblige her. An alarming amount of salt water gushed out of his lungs and stomach, until the white sand was quite drenched.
"… Was that human magic?" Richard asked in shock, leaning close to make sure that his lord was alive.
"If humans have magic, I'm not aware of it," Haru replied casually, helping the stunted cat to sit up. "How are you feeling, Baron?"
He looked up at her in tired astonishment, remembering the strange warmth from the dark limbo. "Did you kiss me?" he weakly blurted before he could control his tongue.
Haru blanched. "That wasn't a real kiss," she said quickly. "That was just CPR."
"CP what?" Lune choked out; over Baron's near death experience or the impropriety was anyone's guess.
"It's what humans call that exercise to save drowning victims; no magic's involved whatsoever. If there were any fisher cats present, I'm not providing a second demonstration! How are you feeling, Baron?" she asked yet again, keeping one hand on his back to steady him.
"… Dizzy," Baron sighed tiredly as she and the crowd around them seemed to sway in his vision. "Very dizzy."
"I thought so. We'd better get you back to the castle pronto," Haru said as she picked him up before standing. "But what made you and Toto try something so stupid in this kind of weather?" she asked as the wind howled again, chilling the little kitten to the core.
Baron started to say, but was interrupted by a sneeze. Heavens; that wind was freezing, now that he was wet!
However, his eyes still trailed to Lune of their own will. Haru slowly looked up at the prince, the reddish tint returning to her eyes with a vengeance as she glared at him.
Lune immediately backed away from her, his expression beyond horror as all the cats that caught the look gasped in fear.
Haru said something to the prince in a low snarl. It was a single sentence, but the words that fell from her mouth were unlike anything Baron had ever heard before.
Whatever it was she said, he was certain he was better off not knowing as Haru turned her back on the prince, and started marching down the beach to the familiar path that would take them to his castle.
"… can't believe… arrogant… son of a…" she muttered under her breath, recognizable words pouring out between the strange language that turned her normal accent into something more fluid, almost poetic.
Baron stared at her in shock. "So that's what Yuki meant," he whispered.
Haru looked down at him, breaking off the strange mutterings. "Yuki meant what, that I have a temper about lives? You already knew that."
Her accent was still strange from the new tongue, but Baron found that he immediately preferred it.
"No, not that. Back when Yuki first spoke of you, she mentioned that you sometimes speak music."
Haru gave him an incredulous look. "Is that what she called it?"
"Yes. I hope it sounds better when you're not aggravated at someone," he added, strangely unable to keep the words from his mouth.
The human girl sighed, but nodded; her anger still directed at the prince. "It does." Then she launched into another muttered tirade, but it lacked the venom of the first one.
"Um, Haru. Haru," he tried to say in an effort to regain her attention. "What are you saying, precisely?"
That question made her stop dead in her tracks. "You mean… you can't understand me?" she asked in shock.
"Not a word, although your tone indicates that you're less than pleased."
She stared at him, shaking her head slowly. "This doesn't make any sense. Cats have always understood me before."
"Can Yuki understand that tongue?"
"Perfectly. I guess this means I'll have to scold Lune in English," Haru concluded sadly as she started jogging again. "Dang it, it's more fun to yell in Japanese."
"Wait… you mean you only promised to scold him?"
"After I make sure you're taken care of, yes. It's high time his highness got a nice, old-fashioned chewing out for risking your life like that."
"It sounded like you were offering to do something rather violent to his person."
"Tempting, but no. It's a little hard to maim someone after saving his life."
Baron nodded, curling up a bit in her arms. The wind was still blowing harshly, but for some unfathomable reason, Haru was warm, and he intended to savor it. "Speaking of which, Haru… thank you for saving me."
She managed a weak smile, and held him just a shade closer. "You're welcome. It shouldn't have needed to happen, but… nice guys are hard enough to come by without thinning their ranks with stupid accidents."
That made a different warmth flow through his body, one that he didn't get very often.
For some strange reason, he was starting to associate the feeling with Haru.
"I could carry him the rest of the way," Toto offered, having finally caught up to the two from doing who knew what.
"He's dizzy, and the wind is still blowing pretty hard; let's not chance it," Haru disagreed, jogging at a comfortable pace.
But she came to a sudden halt as Toto landed right in front of her, and leaned as close to the ground as possible.
"Then you climb on, too. All this wind isn't good for Baron's health, especially when he's soaking wet."
The kitten in question made to say something, but only a sneeze escaped his mouth.
Haru looked down at him worriedly. "… Are you sure about this, Toto?"
"Of course. The sooner we get Baron warm and dry, the better."
"It's really quite enjoyable, Haru," the little lord informed her through another shiver. "If you thought what you were doing earlier was fun, you'll love riding Toto."
Haru bit her lip, but approached the crow hesitantly, and grabbed a big fistful of his feathers to climb on.
Baron gasped in horror as her cut and bleeding arm came into his view; the sleeve freshly torn. "What happened to you?"
"Don't worry about my arm, Baron. Toto didn't mean to do it." She adjusted herself on the large crow, one arm still firmly around the kitten.
"She was having a hard time swimming in those rough waters with you in tow, so I grabbed her arm to carry you both the rest of the way. Squeeze with your legs, Haru; Baron does that to lock his position."
"Check," she reported, leaning her body close to Toto's while holding onto the lord as best she could.
Baron was pressed even harder against her chest, so he could feel the beat of her heart against one shoulder as Toto took off. He could feel her swift intake of breath as the ground became further and further from them.
For a minute, he thought that she was going to panic. But the slight fear in her eyes gave away to wonder as Toto fought to keep his flight as steady as possible against the tumultuous wind. Haru kept a firm grip, both on the crow and on himself to make sure that they wouldn't fall off.
Baron coughed, and tried to fight back another sneeze. 'I wish her first flight wasn't in this kind of weather.'
Hold on… first flight? Who said that she would be riding Toto after this?
Before too long, the crow was tugging on the long rope outside Baron's window, making it fly open for a short while.
Toto landed inside the large circular room with a gasp of relief. "That was exhausting!"
"I'm sorry if I was too heavy," Haru apologized as she carefully slid off him and set Baron down.
He immediately stumbled, but she was right there to catch him again.
"What, are you kidding? I could carry five of you, but when the wind blows like that…" Toto trailed off, walking closer to the bed before nestling on the cold stone floor.
"Oh. Yeah, that would be exhausting," she replied sheepishly, keeping a grip on Baron as she gently led him over to his bed, and made him lie down on it. "I'll see if I can find someone to help you get out of those wet clothes; you're shaking like a leaf."
"I can undress myself," he protested. "Please, I don't need help."
She looked at him with a sad smile, but gave him a small curtsy before walking towards the door.
Such a move proved that he was making progress with her education.
"I'll send someone up anyway, just to be on the safe side. You'll want a fire up and going soon, if nothing else. Thanks for the ride, Toto; it was fun."
ooOoo
It was approximately three hours later that Lune paid a call on him. Judging from his horrified expression and his somewhat choppy movements, Haru had just finished 'chewing him out'.
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Baron slyly asked from his favorite chair, close to a warmly glowing fireplace. He was perfectly dry now, but Richard had insisted on him wearing a thick robe over his fresh clothes. He had been reading another of his human books for further insight concerning Haru, but since it wasn't really helping, he set the book aside for now.
"… I… I… owe you an apology," Lune stammered as he collapsed into the other high back chair close to the fireplace. "She… was in control, and… I wasn't. I should have just trusted your judgment."
"Not to mention Yuki's?" Baron asked with a small smile.
"And Yuki's." Lune gave a heavy sigh, and leaned forward to hold his head between his hands in agony. "You could have died, and it would have been my fault."
"Thankfully, Haru knew an exercise to revive drowning victims. A trifle unorthodox, I'll freely admit, but greatly preferable to being dead."
Lune choked on his own breath, clearly fighting back the urge to cry. "She said it was something Father would have done."
"Without thinking twice of it," Baron agreed, stretching a bit while suppressing a yawn. "Hopefully he never will, but you know how your father is."
Lune nodded, although the action was shaky. "She said if I didn't 'get over myself', I might cause your death later, or even turn into my father."
Baron flinched in horror. "I would appreciate it if you avoided both of those options, my friend. They are equally unpleasant."
Lune looked at him through his fingers, and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry about almost causing your death, Baron. Next time you or she tells me she knows what she's doing, I'll believe one of you."
"Thank you, and apology accepted. But it's still strange that only Yuki can understand her when she speaks Japanese," he mused out loud, tapping the book on his lap with one finger. "The only hints I can find that make any sense, is the fact that for each dialect that humans have, they have a different way of speaking."
Lune nodded. "Yuki was surprised that she was the only one, too. I was about to run away and hide when she said Haru wasn't going to lay a finger on me."
"Wise decision. She'd have found you anyway."
Lune groaned his agreement, sitting back in his chair. But after a few moments of peaceable silence, he started laughing for no good reason.
"What's so funny?" Baron asked suspiciously.
"I-I'm sorry!" the prince gasped. "But, think about it; whether I like it or not, Haru's my betrothed, and yet who did she kiss first?"
"It wasn't a real kiss!" Baron protested.
"A kiss is when a boy and girl touch lips at the very least, is it not?" Lune asked slyly.
"It didn't count, she even said so!"
"Tell me; is she a good kisser?"
"I am not answering that, Lune!"
"I thought we shared everything, Baron!"
"That one's off limits."
The crown prince whistled teasingly. "She's that good?"
"Lune," Baron growled, nearing the end of his rope as a headache threatened to resurface. "Today has been exhausting for me. Why don't you go and prepare for supper?"
Lune blinked and looked at the clock in the corner. "How strange; time flies by when a human's verbally assaulting you," he muttered as he stood up. "Are you coming down?"
"No, Richard's making me stay here for the rest of the day. I'll be back to my regular schedule tomorrow."
Lune nodded and made his way out of the tower room. "Try to keep your lips to yourself from now on; Father wouldn't be very happy if he ever found out about what happened today."
"Must you?" Baron demanded, but the laughing prince was already closing the door behind him.
The little kitten growled as he settled back into the chair, and watched the glowing embers in the hearth. 'Of course the king wouldn't be happy, if he found out. He'd personally remove my head with a butter knife, or perhaps a pair of sewing shears. Besides, it's not like Haru wanted to do it."
But now that he was alone, and probably would be until Marisa came up with his supper, he dared to let his mind wander back to that afternoon. Slowly, one of his tiny hands came up to his face, and pressed two fingers against his furry lips in wonder.
'I'm not certain which thought is more shocking; the fact that my first kiss was stolen by a human… or the fact that I liked it.'