With a Love Sorceress, I’ll Befriend a Cat (Boy)

“Cat boy?” Toren pointed to himself, surprised by the term.

Toren had a pair of tabby-cat brown ears upon his head, with a striped tail waving back and forth below. He was the very picture of a friendly and adventurous young man, a few scratches on his chin, his dusty brown hair cut short but frayed. He couldn’t have been too much younger than myself, perhaps near his twenties in age.

“You mean me?” Toren shook his head and frowned. “I’m just a half-beast. Not that any good comes from that.”

“Not any good?” I mumbled back, still reeling at this newest discovery. If there were cat boys, that meant there was the opportunity for cat girls…

I stopped myself right there, shaking my head and thinking of Mia. I had to stay strong!

“You must not be from around here,” Toren mumbled, glancing around the alleyway we’d found ourselves in. “Half-beasts aren’t exactly considered kindly. For as much as elves are revered, you could say half-beasts are reviled.” The young man kicked a pebble on the ground. “Low wages, dirty looks, you get the idea. By the Great Elves’ advisement, this Kingdom’s granted us citizenship, but it’s still a struggle.” He then chuckled and put on a grin. “That’s why I can’t stand people bad-mouthing elves, or anyone else for that matter!”

Was that what made Toren so angry at the gossipers in the tavern, then?

“Still, don’t worry about me!” Toren waved. “I know all the quiet places in town, I can lay low for awhile. Take care of yourself now!”

The half-beast prepared to scurry away, but I reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Wait!” I really didn’t want to ask this, but… “You know the quiet places in town?”

It seemed like asking a local would be the fastest way to find places to take Mia. I just sort of wished it had been anyone but him.

“Sure do,” Toren shrugged. “But what do you need to know?”

I let out an exasperated breath, somehow embarrassed to admit the truth. “I have a girl I like, but she’s scared of crowded places,” I mumbled. “Do you know anywhere that might be nice to show her, that isn’t too frightening?”

The young man’s mouth curled up in a playful grin. “Oh? A girl?” His eyes spoke of mischief.

“Come on,” I growled back.

“Fine, fine,” the half-beast pouted with a laugh, “out of respect for the fact that you’re a human, and you haven’t insulted me yet, I won’t tease you any further.”

Human? I remembered my hat of illusions from Madam Claire, and realized that Toren didn’t know I was an elf. I figured it was better that way. From what I’d seen so far, if I strolled around town as an elf, I’d probably cause an absolute panic.

“Right!” Toren clapped his hands together. “Since my workplace probably doesn’t want me back, let me show you around town, my new friend!”

The young man waved me along and waltzed through the streets with a stride in his step. He showed me to a less-frequented bakery on the edge of town, that had the tastiest twice-baked cinnamon bread. Then, dipping through a swerving path, he showed off some of the gardens in the half-beast quarter, which weren’t nearly so visited by humans. The gardens had flowers in full bloom, and a few fountains sparkling in the sunlight. I nodded and took notes, trying to remember the complex pathways we took to find these hidden parts of town.

By the time the light lowered to the starting reds of evening, I had a whole slew of ideas of where to bring Mia.

I also stood there, closing out the day eating an otherworldly equivalent of a savory crêpe, with a cat boy.

“Wait,” I lowered my head, mumbling to myself. “Didn’t I kind of just...go on a date with him?”

Toren finished off his food with a big bite. “Thanks for buying the meal,” Toren chuckled. “I always knew doing favors for others would pay off one day!”

I held out a silver coin. Toren stared at it incredulously.

“Here,” I offered, “for being my guide today. You got fired for me, right? You’ll probably need something to hold you over till your next job.”

“You mean it?” His eyes shown with an unexpected appreciation. He took the coin and held it in his fingers, before pocketing the metal. “Thank you, Mister!”

“Name’s Roki,” I told him, feeling weird being called ‘mister’ when I wasn’t much older than the young man himself. I turned away, starting to head down the path. “Anyway, I’ve got to get heading back to Rivasvale before it gets too dark.”

Toren’s ears perked up. “Rivasvale?” He leapt to his feet, following after me. “The Painted Moon Festival is coming up, I was planning on going there soon myself! I know a carriage, if you’d like to save your feet the trouble.”

I’d been hoping this would be a good moment for us to part ways, but I had to admit a horse-drawn carriage sounded better than walking. Caving in, I agreed.

Thus, I found myself in the back of a cart with a few other travelers and Toren, slowly cantering down the dirt road towards Rivasvale. The orchards idled past in the setting light, bringing a lulled close to the busy day.

“Really, Mister Roki,” Toren turned to me. “Thanks.”

I raised an eyebrow questioningly. “What for?”

The young man laughed and leaned against the wooden supports of the cart. “For treating me like a normal person, I suppose, and for the coin.” He rubbed his nose with an embarrassed sniff. “Truth is, I got a girl I like too. I’ve known her since childhood, and I’ve been going from town to town, trying to earn enough coin to stand by her side.”

I felt for the young man, and sent him my silent support.

Toren continued, “I want to be the respectable kind of person she can be proud of, and no one will make fun of me for being a half-beast.” He then let out a frustrated sigh, ruffling his hair and angrily kicking out his feet. “But I’m already failing!”

“Failing?” I wondered aloud. Admittedly, drop-kicking a customer in a tavern today wasn’t exactly great for the young man’s reputation if he wanted to be a ‘respectable’ person.

“Yeah!” He sat forward with conviction in his expression, staring me down. “You heard those jerks in the tavern, they all say an elf is here!”

I wrinkled my brow, unsure what Toren meant.

The half-beast held up a fist to the skies, growling and punching at an imaginary sight, causing the other travelers on the cart to cast annoyed glances his way.

“They all say that an elf proposed to Miss Faralind! And then they keep insulting her family, as if she hasn’t been through enough!” Toren let out a huff and fell back into his seat, arms crossed. “I know I owe the elves for my freedom, but if I ever meet that exact elf, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind! How dare he cause Mia to be brought back up in rumors again?”

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

“...Mia?”

Toren spared me a short glance with his cat-like eyes. “Yeah, her name’s Mia. Only human other than you, Mister Roki, to ever treat me with respect right from the start. I owe her everything.”

The sun lowered in the sky. The cart bumped to a stop, right near the signposts of Rivasvale’s dirt paths.

“Hold on a moment.” I held up a hand. “I need to go commune with the trees.”

“Huh?” Toren watched, utterly baffled, as I flung myself off of the cart and ran towards the nearest tree. Admittedly, the excuse made way less sense when I looked human, but it was the only thing I could think to say.

“Maybe he had to go to the bathroom?” Toren wondered, shrugging.

Ignoring everything, I hid behind a tree trunk and desperately brought out the opal-like stone that I knew would contact Madam Claire. I tapped on its surface, and her shadowy blackbird appeared, its purple little witch hat balancing perfectly upon its head.

“Madam Claire!” I shouted.

“What is it this time?” she said through a yawn. Perhaps I caught her mid-nap. “What’s so urgent that you’re yelling at me?”

I looked at her in despair.

“Why didn’t you tell me Mia had a childhood friend that was a cat boy?” Even more exasperated, I added, “Because I think I just accidentally befriended my own rival!”