Tiari: "Oh come on! Where is it?!"

Kay: "…"

The scene in the room was fairly unusual by most standards. By Kay’s, it was more awkward than anything else. The main reason for that lied in the fact that she had been sitting in silence for the last half hour or so on a large bed in a spacious suite. It is a well known law of nature that the bigger the room, the more awkward is the silence in it; and this room was very, very big.

On the flipside it didn’t seem to bother her feline companion, as she was too busy frantically rummaging through the huge suitcase taking up most of the space on top of the other bed.

For lack of better things to do, Kay was wordlessly observing the place. She would have been the first to concede that she knew little of the facility she was staying at, mostly because she spent all her time in the infirmary, but the size and lavishness of the bedroom was the last thing she would have expected from the place.

While the air in the room was slightly stale, a testament of its sporadic use, it was clean and well-maintained. The colonial-style wooden furniture stood in sharp contrast with the white walls and dark hardwood floor, both dressed in a soft yellow light by the two large standing lamps in the far corners. One side of the large room was dedicated to a wooden coffee-table surrounded by a set of padded armchairs while the other side was dominated by the two large beds, their oaken frame polished and waxed to the point of mirror shine.

Of course Kay wasn’t exactly well-versed in interior decoration, so the minute details boiled down to two easy to grasp facts in her mind.

Number one: the room was something even an Order Cardinal would have a hard time scoffing at, and if she had learned anything during her interactions with the various prelates of the Order is that scoffing at things was their bread and butter. She even wondered if it was part of the job description.

Number two: the bed she was sitting on was the softest thing she ever touched in her life. Not only that, it was bouncy too! So bouncy in fact that she repeatedly had to fight down the urge to hop onto it and start jumping up and down in glee lest she would offend the owner of the room. Speaking of her…

Tiari: "It was supposed to be here!"

Kay shrunk back a little as the catgirl grumbled. The situation was awkward but nothing she couldn’t bear. Thankfully the pain in her arm where the infusion was attached has already faded to a tiny itch and she actually felt really refreshed. It seemed like this viridia-infusion, as Pabloc called it, was actually working. All things considered she was all right. On the other hand…

Tiari: "Argh! I have been looking for this for weeks and I find it when I don’t need it anymore! Typical!"

…the strange girl with the cat-ears whom she was hastily introduced to was just in the middle of throwing away a small plastic bottle while furiously mumbling to herself under her breath.

By this time Kay had already observed her emptying, scattering, recollecting, repacking and then once again emptying the contents of her briefcase at least three times in a row for no apparent avail. She was silently watching her all this time, though not by choice. She just didn’t have a single clue on how to start a conversation.

Truth be told, she had little to no experience when it came to casual chats. Or conversing with girls around her age. Or older ones. Or any girls at all. Now that she actually thought about it for a second, she had absolutely no idea how to approach anyone. The more she thought about, the clearer it became that she only interacted with Soketsu in the past few years. Him, and a few of the scribes of the cathedral’s library, but those old men were not exactly known for being overly talkative.

Yet, as the silence became more and more grating with every single passing second, Kay finally steeled her nerves and decided to strike up a conversation, sink or swim.

Kay: "E-Excuse me? Tiari?"

Tiari: "Huh?"

The catgirl’s face slowly rose up from behind the heap of clothes in surprise while slightly cocking her head to the side. She looked at Kay, her huge green eyes seemingly sparkling with interest. For a few seconds Kay simply stared back at her, then suddenly she remembered that she was the one who started the conversation and hastily added:

Kay: "What… are you looking for?"

This time Tiari cocked her head to the other side with a slight frown that was mostly about surprise and maybe a bit of irritation aimed at herself. Not that Kay knew that, shrinking back a little in response.

Tiari: "I… didn’t tell you, did I?"

Kay: "No…"

The catgirl stood up and made a circle with her thumb and index fingers as she was explaining.

Tiari: "It’s a small, blue orb of this size. It’s kind of like a pearl or a marble, and it glows in the dark a little. We need that if I want to show you around the city."

Kay: "Um… Why?"

Tiari: "It’s a pass needed for people like me."

While saying so Tiari returned to the heap and started rummaging once again. Kay on the other hand cautiously sat a little closer and leaned forward with a curious expression.

Kay: "People like you…?" The catgirl either didn’t hear that or didn’t pay attention, but Tiari didn’t answer. She was apparently too engrossed with her search, so after a few seconds of consideration Kay raised her voice again. "Excuse me? I don’t want to be rude, but… What are you?"

Just like mere seconds ago, Tiari rose from behind the heap and faced the green-haired girl with a cocked head, a questioning look plastered on her face.

Tiari: "What do you mean?"

Kay: "I mean… You know…" After a bit of fidgeting Kay timidly pointed the catgirl’s head and awkwardly added, "The ears and the tail?"

A few moments of slightly awkward silence followed as Tiari’s eyes opened wider and wider. Then, without any warning, she suddenly flashed a toothy smile that somehow seemed almost too big for her face. For Kay this was unexpected to the point that she actually had to consciously force herself not to jump back and hide under the bed. In the end she managed to overcome the gut reaction and just blinked at the catgirl with a dopey expression instead. It was a little embarrassing but still better than the alternative.

Tiari: "Ah, sorry for being shocked for a moment," Tiari spoke in a friendly tone and slumped back onto the bed. "It’s been a while since someone asked me that question. I kind of blanked out for a moment."

Kay: "I see…"

Kay managed to nod in response, albeit her movements seemed a little stanzaic, like a poorly oiled machine. Tiari apparently didn’t mind it much; in fact she seemed quite amused by her reactions.

Tiari: "You see, I’m a familiar."

Kay: "’Familiar’?" Kay slowly repeated the word like she was tasting it. "What’s that?"

Tiari: "Oh, well…"

Tiari shoved the heap of clothes aside as she moved to the other side of the bed and sat face to face with the green-haired girl. Her expression was calm, even a little absent-minded and nothing like the annoyed scowl she wore for most of the time of their acquaintanceship. For a second or two the feline girl tapped on her knees while in thought then spoke in a slow, deliberate manner.

Tiari: "How should I put this…? You see, I am just like any other flesh and blood person, except I am really not." Suddenly she paused and hastily added, "Not that I am implying that I have no flesh or blood or something silly like that. It’s just that I wasn’t born from another human but… well, I was artificially created in... Ugh… You see, even I don’t know exactly how I was created, but…"

Now it was the green-haired girl’s turn to cock her head to the side in mirror image of Tiari.

Kay: "You don’t know?"

Tiari: "It has something to do with Soul Cores and Image Cores and stuff like that, but I never really understood the whole thing," Tiari said while waving her hand in from of her face. "Think of me as… the extension of someone’s imagination taken form. That’s roughly the explanation the crazy bastard gave me, sans the fake scientific gobbledygook."

Finally noticing Kay’s increasingly confused expression; Tiari shook her head in apology and let out a small sigh as she crossed her arms.

Tiari: "Sorry, I know I’m not exactly clear on the matter, but if you are really curious then just ask our resident mad scientist. Or better yet, ask Pabloc. Better for your sanity. Be careful though, give them too much leeway and they will talk your ears off."

She finished her sentence with a little wink and Kay couldn’t help but involuntarily smile in response. It didn’t feel bad. She had a hard time smiling while Soketsu was bedridden, so deep down she was a little glad for Tiari’s efforts. However, there was another thing left unanswered.

Kay: "But why the cat-ears?"

Tiari: "Oh, you mean these?"

She causally reached for her ears and scratched them, immediately putting a sour expression onto her face

Kay: "Is it a personal matter?" Kay prodded apologetically.

Tiari: "Ah, no, not really. It’s just—" The catgirl paused for a moment and crossed her arms again. "You see, I was made… or rather I came into existence as I was imagined. I have always been like this because my creator. He said he thought having cat-ears was cute."

Kay: "I… think they are. Kind of…"

Once again, Tiari bobbed her head to the side as if it was the strangest thing she ever heard, but then she suddenly burst out laughing as she was looking at Kay’s blushing face.

Tiari: "Hehe… Thanks kid, you are really nice."

Even though Tiari only seemed a couple years older than her by appearance, Kay couldn’t help but feel like the age gap between the two of them was much, much larger than appearances would have indicated. But then again, if there was anyone out there who was aware of how deceptive appearances could be, it was her, so she wasn’t all that surprised.

For a few seconds Tiari absent-mindedly observed Kay while smiling pleasantly. In the end she drew one huge breath and she stood up once again.

Tiari: "Well then, I better get back to the search or I will never be able to show you around."

Kay: "Can I help?"

Tiari: "Oh, no, you don’t have to. The guest’s job is to stay back and relax." She said with another wink. "Now, then… It must be here somewhere; it’s only a matter of time before I find it."

Kay: "Maybe it fell out of the bag? Have you tried looking under the bed?"

Tiari: "Nah, I don’t think it would be there. We only came back about three hours ago and I didn’t have the time to pack my things away yet. I barely even had the time to take a quick shower. Not even a bath!"

Kay: "Have you been… traveling?" Kay awkwardly inquired, trying to keep the conversation rolling as best as she could.

Tiari: "Yeah, we went out two weeks ago, set some of Ahaz’s long term plans into motion and whatnot, then came back travelling through the desert and I couldn’t even take a proper bath!" Tiari fumed with her ears standing tall. "It’s criminal, I tell you!"

Kay: "Ahaz? You mean the man from the infirmary?"

Tiari: "Yeah, it’s him," Tiari answered while searching through the clothes one last time, absentmindedly throwing a pair of panties into the air without even a bit of hesitation and added, "He’s my master."

Kay: "Master…?"

Suddenly realizing the word she just blurted out Tiari spun around on the bed and raised her hands in protest, thought by that time Kay was already cocking her head to the side with an embarrassed smile.

Tiari: "Wait! Don’t get any strange ideas!"

Kay: "Strange ideas…? You mean… like…?"

Tiari: "It’s terminology!" Tiari protested with arms flailing.

Kay: "Terminology?"

The catgirl let out a big sigh and Kay could most certainly hear some mumbling concerning someone’s ‘big mouth’ under her breath, but in the end Tiari gave her a businesslike smile with an equally businesslike voice.

Tiari: "I told you that I’m a familiar, right? I’m his familiar, so he is my master. As I said, terminology."

Kay: "Oh, I see… So you are not in that kind of relationship…"

Tiari’s tail was quietly twitching, but she answered in a calm manner.

Tiari: "I don’t know what kind of relationship you are thinking about, but we are more like…" For a moment she seemed to hesitate as if she was pondering just how much information she was revealing of herself, but in the end she just shrugged and continued. "We are family. That’s how long-term master-familiar relationships work most of the time."

Kay: "You mean there are others like you?"

Tiari: "Errr… Not that I know of, no."

Kay: "Then how do you know these relationships are supposed to work?"

Tiari’s eyebrows involuntarily knit in displeasure as her smile began to crack up.

Tiari: "I just do, okay?" If Kay’s eyes were any indication, she wasn’t convinced at all. In response Tiari decided that a change in topics was in order. "If we are talking about relationships, what about you and Soketsu?"

Kay spent the next few seconds stiffened up like a marionette until she finally broke out of her daze and meekly spoke up.

Kay: "Excuse me?"

Tiari: "You and Soketsu?" Seeing that the green haired girl still seemed completely baffled, Tiari lightly cleared her throat and added. "I mean, I’ve heard that you came here with him and I was just curious about how you are related. I mean, are you related? Like siblings?"

Kay sharply shook her head, prompting further speculations from the catgirl.

Tiari: "Is he your guardian then? Or, like, a mentor or something."

Still stiff and looking increasingly uncomfortable, Kay shook her head once again.

Kay: "It’s… complicated."

Tiari paused for a moment and began eyeing the girl with clear suspicion.

Tiari: "Wait, you are not in that kind of relationship, are you?!" She asked incredulously, which met with another blank, confused stare. "I mean… Sure, I was always suspicious about the guy, but I didn’t think he had that kind of a taste..."

After several seconds of befuddled confusion Kay finally figured out what the catgirl was getting at and her face was quickly taken over by a cartoonishly bright blush. Naturally she vehemently shook her head at the notion.

Kay: "No, we are not!" She declared with a volume that was only a single notch below shouting. Realizing this she immediately shrunk back and continued with a bit more reserved voice. "It’s not like that. It’s just… complicated."

Tiari kept eyeing her for a little longer and finally she let out a sigh seemingly too big for her lithe frame.

Tiari: "Fine, fine. Sorry for poking my nose where it doesn’t belong, I was just curious." She said while waving her hand apologetically. "It was just really weird imagining that battle-maniac with a girl, that’s all."

Kay froze up again, but this time she seemed more puzzled than embarrassed.

Kay: "What do you mean by ‘battle maniac’?"

For a moment the question caught Tiari flat-footed.

Tiari: "Well…" She awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "You know… Looking for fights? Training all the time? Declaring that his ancient super secret martial art is the strongest there is?" The catgirl struck a mock karate stance and did a few chops in the air for demonstration. "You know, stuff like that."

After a brief pause Kay cocked her head to the side while contemplating.

Kay: "Are there actually people like that?"

Tiari: "Wait, isn’t he like that?" Tiari asked back with equal amounts of shock and curiosity.

Kay: "Not really, no."

Tiari: "That’s weird," The catgirl murmured mirroring Kay’s musing expression, but then her eyes suddenly flashed open once again. "Wait, we are getting off-topic here. You still haven’t told me exactly what’s going on with you two."

Kay was hesitant for a moment or two, but taken that the catgirl had already shared her own odd circumstances with her she thought holding out at this point would have been ungrateful. Not to mention she had a feeling that not doing so now would only lead to even more embarrassing misunderstandings in the future.

Kay: "I’m… his weapon," She finally stated as levelly as she could and Tiari instantly raised a brow after hearing the word.

Tiari: "Wait, what?" She blinked in shock and then her face suddenly lit up with revelation. "You mean, you are an Alternate?!" She raised her voice before burying her forehead in her palm. "Dammit, why doesn’t anyone tell me about these things?!"

Now it were Kay’s brows that rose in mild surprise as she slowly tasted the word in her mouth.

Kay: "Alternate? What is that…?"

Tiari: "Uhh… It’s… You know?" Tiari scratched the base of her neck again while looking for words. "Guys turning into other things. Are you like that?"

Kay nodded, though it could have been called anything but a confident one.

Kay: "Yes, I suppose."

Tiari: "Wow…" The catgirl exhaled, apparently both impressed and relieved at the same time, but then her expression turned sour just as quickly. "Wait, you are telling me you didn’t know you were an Alternate?"

Kay: "I don’t think I have even heard the word before…"

Tiari: "But then what did people call you?”

Kay: "Ummm…" The girl hesitated for a moment and then innocently said, "’Kay’…?"

Tiari’s mouth slowly opened, only to close without a sound. She repeated the process a few more times, and at last she just buried her face in her palm.

Tiari: "Okay, I admit I worded that pretty badly. How about this; how did they call you when they wanted to refer to you being an Alternate?"

Kay: "They didn’t. No one knew aside Soketsu and the cardinal."

Tiari: "Ooookay…" The catgirl spoke grumpily, "Then what did the cardinal call you?"

Kay: "…"

Tiari: "Wait, let me guess…" Tiari interrupted wearily before Kay could speak. "’Kay’, right?"

The girl nodded, prompting Tiari to bury her head in her hands again with a groan.

Tiari: "Would you please stop messing with me? I’m starting to feel stupid…"

Kay: "But they didn’t call me anything special. I swear."

The catgirl looked over the girl with incredulous eyes and dropped her shoulders in defeat and began fishing for a different topic. "So you are his weapon, you say? What kind?"

Kay: "… A halberd?” The girl answered uncertainly, imbalanced by the rapid change in the conversation. Tiari on the other hand just blinked in surprise.

Tiari: "You mean… a polearm? Like, an axe on a long shaft kind of deal?" Kay nodded, but it only served to make Tiari furrow her brows even harder. "Huh. That is pretty much the last thing I would have guessed. Well, beside a gun."

Kay: "What do you mean?"

Tiari: "Well…" The catgirl once again paused with a thoughtful expression. "It’s just that the Soketsu I knew was always fighting with his fists, so I figured he would stick to that."

Kay: "He does that too, but then we cannot fight together," Kay interjected.

Tiari: "I see…" To Kay’s surprise, she noticed a bit of a wistful light in the catgirl’s eyes as she was talking. "So you are fighting together, huh? I suppose it must be nice." Realizing her own non-sequitur even without glancing at the green-haired girl’s expression, Tiari paused again while looking for the right words, hear tail nervously twitching at her side. "Being able to rely on each other like that, I mean…"

Kay: "I… suppose."

It was probably because she had already used up all her allotted energy, but Kay simply couldn’t muster herself to be embarrassed by Tiari’s words anymore. The catgirl on the other hand seemed to be deep in her own thoughts and spoke with a soft, longing voice.

Tiari: "You see, I’m not exactly a fighter myself. I do scouting and other small tasks, but when it comes to an actual confrontation I’m always left at the rear. Waiting at the sidelines like that when your partner is putting himself in danger… It’s hard."

When she looked at Tiari’s eyes Kay couldn’t help but understand at least part of her frustration, and so the question was more than apparent when it left her lips.

Kay: "You are not just master and familiar, are you?"

Instead of answering the catgirl gave Kay an impish smile.

Tiari: "You two aren’t just weapon and wielder either, are you?" Stumped by the swift riposte, Kay lowered her head and shrunk back. Tiari then playfully added, "Complicated?"

Kay: "Yes," Kay gave a huge nod. "Very much so."

The catgirls crossed her arms in front of her chest and chuckled.

Tiari: "Come on kid, don’t look so down. Sure, the age difference looks big now, but give it a few years..." Tiari paused for a moment and looked over the girl. "Or maybe a couple… A decade, I guess? … How old are you anyways? Ten? Eleven?"

The silence following the question felt downright ominous, and Tiari recognized it on the spot. The catgirl’s ears twitched uncertainly as she tried to figure out what the problem was, but before she could ask the other girl opened her mouth and spoke a single word.

Tiari: "… Excuse me, I couldn’t hear that. Could you…"

Kay: "I’m seventeen." The green-haired girl repeated in a low voice that almost sounded like a moan.

Tiari: "… Seriously?" She hopped off the bed and stepped up to Kay to take a better look, but no matter how hard she looked she didn’t seem a day older than thirteen. "Does it have something to do with you being an Alternate?"

Kay: "Maybe." Kay answered hesitantly. "I haven’t been aging since I first transformed."

Tiari: "That’s not just a maybe then…" Tiari let out a sigh and plopped down onto the bed again. "That’s though. I mean, I am kind of in the same boat, but you have it way worse…"

Kay: "The same boat? Are you…?" Kay inquired uncertainly.

Tiari: "Yeah." She nodded enthusiastically. "I am a Familiar, so I don’t age. It’s not a big deal for me since my body is old enough for—" The catgirl abruptly coughed and forced a smile onto her face. "For a normal relationship." Seeing the green-haired girl’s conflicted reaction, she leaned closer and said, "Not that I am saying there is anything wrong with your body, or that you would…"

She paused again, uncertain how to continue. In the end she shook her head and decided to drop the subject of ‘normal relationships’.

Tiari: "Can’t you transform into an older form?"

Kay thought for a moment but ultimately she shook her head.

Kay: "No. I can only turn into a weapon and back."

The catgirl clicked her tongue and crossed her legs, resting one elbow on her knees and her chin on her knuckle.

Tiari: "That is a problem. You should really ask one of the science guys, they might be able to help you out."

Kay: "You… think so?" Came the hopeful question from Kay’s lips.

Tiari: "I don’t know, but as long as it is not impossible, I am sure they can do at least something about it." ‘And if it’s that guy, maybe even if it is impossible,’ she wanted to add, but refrained. While she had confidence in them, giving the girl hope in this situation only to be shot down later would have been just too cruel. At last she shook her head, flashed a bold smile and gave a thumbs up to the girl.

Tiari: "Dammit kid, you have it though. I have a feeling you could really use some girl-talk over some tea and cookies."

Kay: "You mean, right now?"

Tiari: "Well…" Looking at the scattered clothes and lingerie in the room made the catgirl drop her shoulders in resignation. "I would love to, but I was supposed to show you around the town, but without that damn pass even I won’t be able to get in…"

Kay: "Shouldn’t we go back to the infirmary and ask for a spare?" Kay inquired, trying to make herself useful.

Tiari: "No way. There is no spare, and even if there were, they must be doing some boring recollection session to bring back Soketsu’s memories right now so they would probably kick us out the moment we enter."

Kay’s eyebrows raced up her forehead in alarm in the fraction of a second.

Kay: "Memories?"

Tiari: "Oh yes. You know how I mentioned that I remember Soketsu being a battle-maniac? I’m sure you don’t know that, but Soketsu is sort of a reincarnation of another Soketsu who lived about three centuries ago, and I was talking about that one, and now they are trying to make him remember too… Or something." Tiari shrugged her shoulders. "Weird and complicated stuff."

It took Kay about five seconds to digest the new information, but then her eyes popped open in something that could best be described as abject horror as she tried to speak. Tiari was faster.

Tiari: "I know what you want to ask, and no, it won’t really change him. Much. At least they didn’t really change Ahaz when it happened to him. It’s just a bunch of memories that they want to unlock, not a separate personality." Though he was pretty much the same as before from the beginning, she added in a whisper too soft for Kay to hear.

Kay: "Are you sure?"

Tiari: "Yeah. Well, mostly. Make it ninety percent. The madman talked my ears off about the process, so I’m pretty sure it’s harmless."

Kay raised her brows for a second, thinking, then let out a sigh that was still tense but infinitely more relieved than before. Tiari involuntarily lapsed into a smile seeing her expression.

Tiari: "… You really care about him, don’t you?"

Kay fell silent and averted her gaze. Tiari was just about to speak up again before things would turn awkward when the green haired girl raised her eyes upon again her with a surprisingly calm expression.

Kay: "You know… I’ve been bullied a lot in the Order… before I got assigned to Soketsu…"

Tiari: "Really?"

Kay: "Yes. With my hair like this," She picked out a tuft of her green hair and curled it around her finger. "I always stood out. That’s why I have a hard time when it comes to talking with people… but you probably already noticed that." Kay paused for a moment and the added in an earnest voice, "He was my first friend and the best thing that ever happened to me since I was born."

Tiari: "Oh…" Tiari looked over the girl with thoughtful eyes and gave her a genuine smile. When they started talking she figured the green-haired girl might have had one of those adorable prepubescent crushes on her partner, but even this short discussion convinced her that her feelings ran much deeper. "So that’s a yes, I gather?"

Kay meekly nodded, prompting Tiari’s smile to widen even further.

Tiari: "So, you say you have no other friends? That won’t do!" Kay glanced back at her again with a puzzled look. "I mean, I cannot leave you like this!"

Kay: "Umm… Meaning…?"

Tiari: "I mean that I will be your second friend, and then we can start looking for others!" The catgirl enthusiastically declared, flashing another toothy smile. This time it didn’t make Kay jump, though later she did wonder the logistics of fitting all that teeth into a single mouth.

Kay: "Ummm… Is that how making friends work?" She asked meekly.

Tiari: "Yup! If you have any problems, either with the guys or with anything else, just call me and I will help. I see you also have it tough with Soketsu, so if you need relationship advice, I will support you! What do you say?"

Kay: "I… would appreciate that. Thank you very much."

Tiari: "Don’t even mention it." Tiari declared grandly. "We girls have to stick together, right?"

The green haired girl nodded with more enthusiasm than what Tiari had ever seen in her.

Tiari: "Good. Now that we—"

????: "Tia-chaaaaan~!!!"

Tiari’s words were cut short quite unexpectedly and even more abruptly by the quiet sliding of the automatic door and the childish voice coming from the other side.

With a sudden leap and a high-pitched hiss, Tiari jumped right behind Kay, shoving her before herself like a living shield. In the meantime the owner of the voice cheerfully wandered into the room, her long golden hair swaying behind her while politely refusing to obey the laws of gravity.

Lily: "Oh! Hi Kay-chan~!"

It only took Kay a long moment to recognize her. It was Lily, the emissary of the su’blolis, or at least that’s what Pabloc insisted on. In the past few days she had only a few encounters with the girl, and even then she seemed quite aloof and was usually too preoccupied with Pabloc to engage in anything deeper than the appropriate greetings.

This time Lily was wearing a sky-blue dress with dozens of small frills and ribbons, and even though Kay was quite intrigued by it, she had little time to concentrate thanks to Tiari’s shuddering behind her in rhythm of the blonde girl’s fluffy steps.

Kay: "T-Tiari?"

Tiari: "Don’t let her come close to me! She is a demon! A monster! A fiend!"

Lily: "Nyuuu… You are mean, Tia-chan…!"

Tiari: "Hiss—!"

Completely dumbfounded by the weird development of events, Kay’s eyes kept uncomprehendingly jumping back and forth between the obliviously smiling Lily and the quietly hissing Tiari, whose tail was twitching like it was being electrocuted.

Kay: "What’s going on?"

Tiari: "Don’t move! You are the only thing that can keep me away from her!"

Kay: "But…"

Lily: "Don’t be mean, Tia-chan!"

Tiari: "I told you my name is Tiari, not Tia-chan!"

Kay: "Ummm…"

Seeing that the catgirl was refusing to come into the open, Lily puffed her cheeks as she turned to Kay.

Lily: "Kay-chan~! Tia-chan is mean to me!"

Tiari: "Don’t try to convert her! She is with me!" The catgirl said between two hisses.

Lily: "But Tia-chan~! We haven’t seen each other in such a long time…"

Tiari: "Not long enough, if you ask me!"

Kay: "Seriously! What’s going on?" Kay asked once again, this time with a bit more vigor and much more confusion.

Lily: "Tia-chan is avoiding me for no reason," Lily stated with a pout.

Tiari: "No reason!? You tried to eat me!" The catgirl countered in a shrill voice racked by anger.

Lily: "But I couldn’t help it! You look so delicious~!"

Tiari: "Nyaaa!!! Don’t come any closer!"

Just a moment before Lily reached them Tiari jumped out of Kay’s shadow and started running.

Lily: "I’m going to catch you~!"

Tiari: "No! Leave me alone!"

In the spacious room the completely panicked catgirl kept running from one corner to another with blinding speed while Lily could only follow her with small, clumsy steps and a beautiful, bright smile on her face. At first glance they looked like they were playing tag, and the game didn’t look like it would end any time soon.

Then, just as suddenly as the first time, the soft sound of the sliding door whistled through the room as someone else entered the fray. The man looked over the situation and muttered to himself with barely hidden exasperation.

Gabe: "What kind of fresh hell is this?"

At first Tiari’s eyes opened wide in surprise, but a split-second later she quickly darted through the room and hid herself behind Gabe’s back instead.

Gabe: "What the…?" He yelped at the sudden development before sending a decidedly annoyed glance at the girl.

Tiari: "I hate to do this, but please save me!" Tiari sputtered. "She’s going to devour me!"

The mad scientist first looked over the catgirl hiding behind him, then at the blonde girl bouncing towards the doorway they were standing in.

Lily: "It’s not true!" Lily pouted. "I just want to have a little taster!"

Gabe: "Stop." Gabe’s voice wasn’t all that loud, yet it immediately stopped everyone dead on their tracks like he just bellowed from the top of his lungs, thrusting the room into silence. Once even the echoes of the racket were gone he raised a hand and pointed a commanding finger to the floor in front of him.

Gabe: "All three of you of you. Here. Now!"

In less than a second all three girls were standing in front of him in a straight line, with Kay in the middle. Lily was shrunk like any normal girl if she was about to be scolded while Tiari was rapidly glancing between her and the angry man with her tail twitching. As for Kay, she was only scratching her head at the strange turn of events.

Gabe: "Okay, now explain what you were doing."

The girls shuddered for a moment, not expecting the harsh tone in the man’s voice. It was Tiari who spoke first with a voice oddly reminiscent of a peevish child that didn’t know why she was scolded for something she had no control over.

Tiari: "Lily wanted to eat me again."

The man sent a sharp look at Lily and tapped his feet against the floor.

Gabe: "Lily…?"

Lily: "I was just joking, Gabe-sama…"

Gabe: "You know it’s not something you should joke about. Apologize to Tiari…"

Lily: "Sorry~"

Gabe: "… Properly."

Lily: "Errr… Sorry Tia-chan, I’m not going to joke about eating you ever again."

Gabe: "Don’t try to eat her for real either."

Lily: "Hai Gabe-sama~~!"

Done with that particular topic, the man let out a groan, obviously made loud enough so that the girls could hear it, and turned to Kay.

Gabe: "And what are you two doing here? Weren’t you supposed to go and look around the city?"

The two girls looked at each other and Tiari stood forth to answer.

Tiari: "Well, we wanted to, but I… kind of…" She fidgeted for a moment, then swallowed hard before quickly saying, "… lost my pass and I’ve been looking for it in my pack."

Gabe: "And?" Gabe pressed on, one eyebrow dangerously rising.

Tiari: "I… couldn’t find it…"

Gabe: "Oh for the love of…!" The man groaned while massaging his temple. "This is the fourth time. The. Fourth. Time."

Tiari: "I know, sorry…"

Kay couldn’t help but be amazed by the change in the man’s very presence. She had talked with him in the infirmary a few times while she was waiting for Soketsu to wake up, but he seemed more of a strange, goofy character back then. In fact she actually had a relatively good opinion on him, as she could feel the effort the man put into trying to cheer her up during her stay in the infirmary.

At the moment though his gaze was downright piercing and his voice echoed like the booming of an artillery shell. After a few moments of pondering she also had to conclude one more thing. The scientist felt, for a lack of better words older.

Not in terms of apparent age but in some other, less obvious way. It was like an invisible quality belonging to the very air around them man. When he looked at his face she didn’t see the goofy mad scientist but a tired man whose features just started to reflect the sharpened mind hidden behind his eyes. It was a sobering experience.

In the meantime Tiari was nervously fidgeting on her side under Gabe’s gaze, wrecking her brain to somehow claw her way out of the situation.

Tiari: "Errr… By the way, how did the memory thing go?"

The scientist raised a brow at the obvious attempt at changing the subject, but answered nevertheless.

Gabe: "Everything is fine. I was just about to get back to my room since the others don’t need me anymore."

Tiari: "Really?"

Gabe: "Yes, really. And about your pass..."

He took a step towards them and with a lightning-quick motion he plucked a single, long strand of hair from the top of the catgirl’s head.

Tiari: "Nya!? Hey!"

He quickly reeled the piece of hair around his index-finger and took a half step back to the door.

Gabe: "I’m going to make you a new pass. Meet me at the city gate in about an hour. Keep the idiocy to the minimum until then. Did I make myself clear?"

The three girls looked at each other and nodded in unison.

Gabe: "Good. Don’t forget to clean up the room or Ahaz will be mad."

Now that Gabe was at a reasonable distance away, the catgirl finally found her courage to voice her distaste as she turned her back on the scientist and grabbed the suitcase off the bed.

Tiari: "Yeah, yeah. You don’t need to tell—"

!crack!

Tiari: "… me?"

Everyone looked around with confused eyes as Tiari started laughing with an awkward voice.

Gabe: "Was that…?"

The catgirl slowly raised the travel case she just threw at the side of the bed, only to reveal a handful of blue fragments of something that looked like a broken marble. Tiari’s face was beyond shocked as the realization slowly seeped in.

Tiari: "I… think I found my pass…"

Gabe: "Found?" Gabe spoke with a deadpan voice Ahazkun would have been proud of. "I think you mean ‘broke’."

Kay: "He… hehe… Oops."

The man let out a sigh, apparently draining some of the tension from him in the process and shook his head.

Gabe: "This is so… you…" He mused as he crossed his arms and shook his head. "Breaking the very thing you were looking for, in plain sight… Classic Tiari, right there."

Tiari: "Well, technically I broke it because I didn’t see it, so it wasn’t in plain sight…" The catgirl protested.

The man’s eyes slowly narrowed with annoyance as he forcefully cleared his throat.

Gabe: "Yeah, sure. Technically. Just as technically I’ve forbidden Lily to eat you but technically that would not stop her from biting you without chewing or swallowing..."

Tiari: "Wait, what…?!" For a moment Tiari could only blink at the non-sequitur and before she could even have the chance to answer, a sudden yell cut her short.

Lily: "Ah!!! Wakattaaaaa~!!!!!"

Tiari: "NYAAAAAA!!!"

She barely managed to evade Lily’s pounce by hiding behind the baffled Kay yet again.

Tiari: "You bastard!" She shrieked. "You said that on purpose!"

Gabe: "Technically? No." The man suddenly flashed a smile much more in line with his usual persona and added, "Practically? No comment."

Lily: "Here I come Tia-chaaaan~!"

The voice, cute as it might have been, sounded like the howl of a banshee to the catgirl who immediately jumped away, but altogether too late. The small hands of Lily grasped her like iron bindings and the two fell onto the ground with a light thud drowned out by a mix of giggling and stifled screams.

Lily: "I got you Tia-chan~~!"

Tiari: "Someone save meeee!!!"

The two, tangled in a heap of limps, began rolling back and forth on the floor and it was really hard to tell just how serious the situation was, especially since, by all intents and purposes, they looked a little kid horsing around with her big sister. In the meantime Gabe was massaging his eyes while whispering.

Gabe: "What a waste of time..."

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, a small hand reached for the scientist’s sleeve.

Kay: "E-Excuse me?"

Gabe promptly opened his eyes and he could see Kay in front of him, looking at him with a pleading expression.

Kay: "Is Soketsu all right?"

For a few moments there was no answer. In a matter of fact Gabe appeared so taken aback by the question that he honestly didn’t know how to answer it. After a little struggling the man finally broke into a clumsy yet warm smile as he patted the small hand on his sleeve.

Gabe: "Don’t worry, he is fine. He might be a little disoriented in the next few days because of the new memories, and I think he will be quite mad at me, but there should be no lasting ill effects. Would you mind looking after him?"

Kay nodded enthusiastically.

Kay: "Yes, I will try."

Gabe smiled at her once again, but this time his smile seemed somewhat sad.

Kay: "Are you… all right?"

The question more or less only slipped out of the girl’s mouth without much thinking, though in retrospect she felt quite embarrassed about it. At first the man only raised an eyebrow, but his surprised expression quickly turned back into his usual smile.

Gabe: "I’m fine. I think the nostalgia hit me a little too hard."

Kay: "Yes, but… When you came in…"

Finally, after much struggle, the man managed to flash an actually genuine smile to the girl, which soon after turned into a soft chuckle.

Gabe: "You are a really sweet kid. Thanks for your concern, but you really shouldn’t waste your worries on me."

Kay didn’t answer, only stared at the face of the scientist and couldn’t help but feel like there was something melancholic hiding under even his most genuine smile. She didn’t have much time to contemplate on this though, as the man suddenly glanced back into the room.

Gabe: "Speaking of concerns…"

Tiari: "Nyaaaa!!!"

Lily: "Ah, Tia-chan! Stop moving!"

Tiari: "You heard that! She wants me to stop moving! She wants to kill me! You are an accomplice in attempted murder, you hear me!?"

Kay and Gabe looked upon the wrestling girls, who have somehow gotten onto a bed by this point and neither of them could help but raise their brows at the silly display of the ‘something’ that was either a very vigorous show of affection, a fight to the death or anything inbetween. At last the mad scientist shrugged his shoulder and turned back to the green haired girl.

Gabe: "Say, why don’t we leave these two to play by themselves? I wanted to go back to the city this afternoon anyway so I might as well show you around myself."

Kay: "Umm… I don’t know. I feel sorry for Tiari…"

Gabe: "Don’t worry, they are just playing. It’s not like Lily would really hurt her, and that bad kitten needs to be punished for breaking her pass again anyways."

Even though she wanted to protest, Kay just couldn’t bring herself to argue with the man. At last she just nodded to him, although she didn’t quite manage to look him in the eyes while doing so.

Gabe: "All right then! This way."

A bit reluctantly but Kay followed him through the door. However, as she finally left the room she decided to ask something that has been bugging her for a while by then.

Kay: "Excuse me, but … Where is this town you are talking about?"

Gabe: "Hm? What do you mean?"

Kay: "Well…. We didn’t move that far underground," Kay stuttered for a moment, "And there is only the desert around here, so—"

Before she could finish what she wanted to say, Gabe raised his hand, then put his index-finger to his mouth.

Gabe: "Psst. It’s a secret."

Kay: "…?"

The man let out a small chuckle at the girl’s reaction and gestured her to follow him.

Gabe: "Trust me, it will be much cooler if I won’t spoil the surprise. This way."

And with that they started walking down the quiet corridor, leaving the ruckus of the suite room behind, and Kay couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit excited about the prospect of the ‘town’ she was about to see…