Cat, Send-off and Wolf

The walk through the city toward the wall and main gate was peaceful, the weather beautiful. No one paid the couple much attention as they discussed their honeymoon, much to Joash’s relief. Naturally, he was trying to learn as much as he could.

“How do we travel?” he asked.

She shrugged.

“Traditionally, the method of transport is chosen by the leader of the country we depart from. In our case, that would be King Volya.”

Joash shuddered.

“That can’t be good.”

She laughed.

“You read my mind. He’s definitely come up with something extravagant. Honestly, even if I weren’t the last anaruhi, he’d probably do the same.”

He chuckled.

“Any guesses?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a tame dragon waiting outside the gates.”

He laughed too, quietly filing away the fact that dragons apparently existed.

“Well, after we’re given transport, what happens?”

She smiled.

“We leave and head in a straight line toward Koekoe. After visiting a few places there, we’ll head to Taringa, hopefully before winter.”

He blinked.

“What are the seasons like here?”

“Summer, winter, and spring. There’s a short gap between summer and winter called autumn.”

He nodded.

“Same as where I came from. Just… different lengths, I guess.”

She smiled.

“That’s good. Then you’ll know what to expect. We should hit autumn before leaving Koekoe, and that’ll be our signal to move on.”

They were nearing the front gate when Foebe suddenly frowned.

“I wasn’t expecting a crowd.”

Joash looked ahead - and immediately felt his stomach tighten. A large gathering had formed near the gates, completely blocking the way.

He shivered. He hated crowds.

Foebe sighed.

“This is Volya’s doing. I just know it.”

As they reached the outskirts, people began to recognize them. Whispers turned to cheers. Cheers turned to shouting. A gap slowly formed as the crowd whooped and applauded, parting to let them through.

Joash kept his head down. Foebe, notably, refused to smile.

“I’m going to have a talk with him,” she muttered. “I warned him about this before the wedding.”

Joash nodded silently.

The crowd thickened again - then abruptly cleared as they passed through a wall of knights. Joash finally looked up and spotted King Volya, the royal family, Marek, and several others he recognized from the wedding.

Volya waved enthusiastically.

“Ah! You’re here! Perfect timing-”

Foebe snapped.

“You idiot!”

He froze.

“I-”

“You call this dialed down?!”

She gestured sharply at the crowd.

“My husband hates crowds!”

Joash startled. When had he told her that?

She wasn’t done.

“You’ve turned the start of our honeymoon into something he won’t want to remember!”

Joash winced. That wasn’t true - not even close - but he still felt a little bad for Volya.

Foebe growled.

“So please, don’t do anything else you might regret.”

Volya fell silent. When he spoke again, his tone was unusually solemn.

“I understand. Then… I apologize in advance.”

Foebe’s teeth clenched.

“What did you do.”

Volya reached into his pocket and unfolded a parchment. Black ink formed a dense symbol made entirely of words.

“I may have gone a little overboard with your transport.”

Foebe snatched it from him and scanned it quickly. She then waved it in front of Joash’s face with a sigh.

“This is either a dragon,” she said flatly, “or a superweapon.”

Before Joash could get a proper look, the tuhi magic symbol began to glow.

Foebe threw the parchment to the ground.

White, sparkling energy poured upward, forming a four-legged shape in seconds. Lines sharpened. Details filled in. Color bloomed across the construct-

And standing before them, at twice Joash’s height, was a massive, fluffy cat.

That was it.

Just a giant cat.

The kind that looked like it would meow with a posh accent.

Foebe gasped - then seethed.

“Where. The hell. Did you get this.”

Volya shrugged, suddenly looking far too innocent for a king.

“I had it made…”

Foebe could only shake her head.

Joash didn’t really understand the problem. What he did understand was that he liked the look of the cat. Of course, he preferred wolves - he was pretty much required to - but there was something about it. It reminded him of a cat that used to visit him in hospital.

He’d loved that cat.

Foebe noticed the awe on his face.

“Do… do you like it?”

He nodded.

“It looks like a cat I used to know.”

She frowned.

“What’s a cat?”

He pointed at the not-cat.

“In my old world, much smaller versions of these, much smaller, were called cats.”

She giggled.

“That’s a funny name. Well, these big ‘cats’ are called ngeru. They’re friendly, despite their size. And this one’s a summon, so she’s mine.”

Joash glanced down, doing a quick and awkward check.

“She’s a girl? Do you get to name her?”

“Of course. Do you have an idea?”

He nodded, the name of the hospital cat rising to his lips without hesitation.

“Neko-chan.”

Foebe paused, then smiled.

“I don’t know what that means, but it’s cute. Sure.”

She cleared her throat, suddenly very formal.

“Ngeru. From this moment forward, your name is Neko-chan.”

Neko-chan meowed.

The sound was so small and tinny compared to her size that Joash nearly laughed out loud.

Foebe turned back to Volya, hands on her hips.

“You’re forgiven. For now.”

Volya bowed - deeply, and with surprising elegance.

“Thank you.”

Joash’s head hurt. He couldn’t figure out the hierarchy at all. Maybe Foebe’s relationship with the royal family was far more relaxed than he thought. Or maybe being the last of her kind meant no one could touch her even if they wanted to.

Foebe smiled, nodding briefly to Narin and the children before turning back to Joash.

“Alright. Let’s get going.”

He nodded.

Foebe whistled.

Neko-chan padded closer and crouched. Even then, she was taller than Joash, his eyes barely reaching the top of her back. Foebe didn’t hesitate. She stepped onto the ngeru’s paw and vaulted effortlessly onto her back, then reached down.

“Come on. I’ll help you up.”

Ignoring the watching crowd, Joash copied her movements, taking her hand and climbing up in front of her.

She grinned and patted Neko-chan’s fur.

The ngeru stood.

Suddenly, Joash was very aware of how far he would fall if he slipped. He buried his hands in her fur.

Foebe waved at the crowd as overlapping calls of farewell blended into a single roar. Only one voice cut through it.

“Come back soon!” Volya shouted.

Foebe sighed - but she was grinning.

“Absolutely not!”

Volya laughed.

“We’ll see!”

Foebe waved once more, then petted Neko-chan again.

The ngeru meowed, took a few careful steps, and then began to trot away from the city. Despite the slow pace, her height meant every step covered an enormous distance.

Joash looked back - but instead of the city walls, he found Foebe’s face close behind him.

She smiled.

“We’re finally on our way.”

He smiled back.

“I’m excited.”

“Me too.”

She suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. He felt the pressure of her chest against his back, her cheek resting between his shoulder blades.

Then a worrying thought occurred to him.

“H-hey… shouldn’t you be in front?”

She tilted her head.

“How come?”

“B-because…”

He looked down at Neko-chan.

“I don’t know how to drive a ngeru.”

Foebe laughed.

“Don’t worry. She’ll drive herself. I already told her where to go.”

She squeezed him.

“Besides, I couldn’t hug you like this if we were switched.”

He almost said that if they were switched, he’d be the one hugging her - but decided to keep that thought to himself.

Instead, he clenched Neko-chan’s fur as she began to accelerate.

Faster.

Faster.

Until she was galloping down the road - past farmland and houses, past startled travelers and skittish animals - racing beneath a vast, perfect blue sky.