The God of War

“Apollo? Is that you? As I live and breathe. Never thought I’d see you again.” The large nekomimi approached us with a big smile on his face. “A bit overdressed for this weather, don’t you think?” In contrast to our more formal wear, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with black khaki pants.

“Ares, you washed-up old rat.” Apollo stepped forward and embraced the man in a hug. “Thought I was rid of you for good. What’re you doin’ here? Figured you’d still be out there playin’ soldier.”

“No way! I got out not long after you. But I could ask you the same question. What’s with the suit?”

“Can’t ya tell? I’m a big-time investor now.”

Ares wheezed with laughter and slapped Apollo on the back. “You expect me to believe that? You don’t even know basic math.”

“He doesn’t have to.” Oliver stepped up to Ares and fixed him with an inquisitive stare. “He just has to look tough during negotiations.”

Ares glanced down at Oliver with an expression that showed he was unimpressed by him. “And you are?”

“The brains of the operation.”

“I see. And that must make Lea the beauty of the operation. Nice to see you again.” Pushing Oliver gently aside, Ares took Lea’s hand in his own and gently licked it. Before letting go, he took a whiff. “You seem to be in… I could take care of you at my place. How does that sound?”

“Like a cold bath in mustard.”

Despite the insult, the smile didn’t fade from Ares’s face. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“But I can blame him for bein’ a pest,” Lea said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be late for an important meeting.”

“Sure, sure.” Ares stepped aside to allow us to pass. “Hey, Apollo, call me when you close the deal. We’ll celebrate.”

“Don’t have a phone,” Apollo said.

“What kinda person doesn’t— Fine, just ask around for me. Everyone knows me in these parts.”

As we walked away, I could feel his gaze follow us for blocks. My feline instincts screamed at me to turn around and face him, that I shouldn’t show my back to a predator, but my human side kept control. If we showed him that we were worried about him, we’d only pique his curiosity. After tailing us for a few blocks, we heard him turn a corner and go in a different direction.

“Who’s the master of deception now?” Apollo asked as we boarded the next tram. He honestly looked proud of himself.

I leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh. “Not you. If anything, you only made him suspicious. Who was he, anyway?”

“My brother from another mother,” Apollo answered. “Haven’t seen him since we—”

“Sprout,” Lea interrupted. “Apollo and I weren’t born in the village. We… were raised by the group that’s after us now. It’s a long story.”

I was so surprised that I lost my footing and was forced to sit down. All this time, they had been hiding it from me? Apollo, who was so simple that he couldn’t fool a child, had kept that secret? Lea, who was closer to me than my own family, hadn’t trusted me with it? That hurt. “Seems to me we’ve got time. This dome is bigger than the last.”

Lea said nothing, so Apollo broke the silence. “Our parents came from the Federation. They were part of a group that resented livin’ as second-class citizens among humans, so they joined a commune of humans unhappy with peace. We were raised as child soldiers, trained to fight for nekomimi liberation. But then the humans betrayed our parents. Don’t really know why.”

“They were victims in a power struggle,” Lea explained. “Commune attracted former soldiers from both sides, temporarily united in their mission to restart the war. But they hated each other and fought for dominance. Never cared a whit about nekomimi rights, so when a new group took power, they iced our folks and tried to use us as soldiers in their struggle. First chance we got, me an’ Apollo split.”

“Ares was too scared to come with us,” Apollo finished. “Until today, we had no idea what happened to him.”

I shook my head, trying to make sense of it all. “So you knew they were out there this whole time and you never told anyone? You could have prevented all of this!”

“No, Sprout.” Lea tried to put a hand on my shoulder but I pushed her away. “They were just a group of violent thugs. It was only a matter of time before they killed each other or the miasma took ‘em. They couldn’t have pulled off somethin’ like…” She gestured to the suitcase. “Someone else must have taken over after we left.”

“Whatever.” I crossed my arms and looked away. Didn’t have any reason to doubt her, but I was still torn up about the fact that she never told me. “Can’t do nothin’ about it now.”

“Can’t do anything about it now,” Oliver corrected. “You’ve been letting your accent slip, Sprout.”

“So what?” Lea asked. “That’s who she really is. Human or cat, she’s from the village.”

Oliver smiled and leaned forward in his seat. “Deception, remember? If we can hide that we’re from the village, we’ll make it harder for them to track us. Besides, Sprout’s been practicing her city dialect for years now. I know she can do it.”

“It’s just…” Lea looked from Oliver to me. “You’re a good egg, Sprout. The other villagers couldn’t appreciate you for who you are, but you didn’t force yourself to change for them. Why are you forcin’ yourself to change for people you’ve never even met? First you started talkin’ like you’re from the city; now you’re callin’ yourself human. Why can’t you just be yourself?”

“Because this is who I am, Lea.” I shouted so loudly that the others flinched. “It’s who I’ve always wanted to be. I never made an effort to fit in in the village because they never liked me, and frankly, the feeling’s mutual.”

“And you think the city folk are gonna like you just because you put on airs and talk like them?” Lea shot back.

“I don’t know,” I admitted in a softer voice, “but I do know that if I don’t fit in in the city, there will be nowhere left for me, so I have to maximize my chances. I don’t want to keep being lonely forever.”

Lea opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by the ringing of Oliver’s phone. He pulled it from his pocket and held it to his ear. “Hello?”

Even over the noise of the tram, we were close enough to Oliver that we could all hear the voice coming from the phone’s speaker. “Hello again, Mr. Cat.” It was the voice of the guard from the border gate. “Thought you might want to know that some pissed-off looking guys just came through here asking about you.”