Catgirl System

As a cat, I maintained the right to do sneaky things without telling anybody.

I’d already started to use it (and possibly abuse it) earlier, between my spirit board hangout with Chora and the fried fish dinner. Wandering around the second floor, I did all the exploring I could without opening a single closed door. (Doorknobs and handles are hard when your human hands aren’t great with tensile strength.)

This cabin wasn’t as big as I’d envisioned seeing it from the outside. The upstairs hallways were narrow, the rooms apparently limited to bedrooms, bathrooms, a hall closet, and a closed place that could technically have been anything. There was another ceiling hatch leading to some attic…or maybe to a fancy telescope room? I dunno, it’s fun to dream.

In fairness, the first floor also had a tiny guest room that, minus the fact that it was dustless, looked like it hadn’t been used in half a century. An ornate ornamental vase filled with perfumed flowers (also replaced recently) stood beside a tiny marble table and high-backed regal chairs.

And right outside, I’d always noticed a locked hatch in the dirt, one no doubt leading to some cool basement…or food storage.

Now I woke up in the still-dark cabin, asking myself if the place was worth another exploration. But what would that lead to? More unreadable books? More strange, cow-tool-esque objects I couldn’t ask about without feeling nervous and inadvertently letting people know that yes I snuck around? After which it ceases to be sneaking around?

No!

Early morning was not my favorite wake-up time, but it was perfect for leaving home unseen…and starting the hunt for the magpies’ treasure.

Nudging the covers off myself with my nose, I crawled free of the sofa bed, did a pretty careless job of making the bed again with more nudging, and then set my sights on the snacks in the kitchen.

…Snf snf.

My ears flicked and swiveled.

Aw, come on. Chora was up already?

Yes, it was true. I heard her moving around in her room. The vibrations through the floorboards were faint, but definitely not an illusion. It shamed me, somehow, to not be the earliest riser of the bunch.

With any luck, I could get out my snacks and get out the door before—

“You can’t eat that without reheating it!”

She’d caught me.

The refrigerator door hung open, and so did a crate full of fish that I’d nearly turned on its side. Chora, looking oddly enraged, had stopped me just a moment too late—a fried koi was already in my mouth.

I didn’t spit it out, just kept chewing.

She didn’t have a response prepared for that. “Fine…but you know about germs, I hope,” she said. “You’re taking a risk with your health.”

Sure, but…most animals didn’t cook anything in the first place…

Now that she knew I was awake and setting off, Chora insisted on seeing me off. At least she was tactful enough to stay quiet about it. Carrying an unlit candlestick—totally ineffective for whatever ritual she was up to, but at least it wouldn’t tip off Bayce or Reed—she opened the door for me. She also left me with some parting tips. Admittedly, I probably needed those.

“They’re fierce animals, playful and fierce,” she said. “You’ll know them by their black-and-white feathers and their deep, gurgly cries. Sometimes they attack one by one. Sometimes in swarms. And when it’s mating season, it’s worse.”

“Meow?”

“No, it comes in the fall, lucky for you.”

“Meow.” I bowed my head to thank her.

“Safe travels.” With a perfunctory wave, Chora shut the door. And then, as I heard through the door, she tromped up the stairs with alarming speed to start her exercise routine.

Morning was dawning. The rim of the sky was turning teal, sign of a new day. Though the air was still chilly, my blood was pumping and I felt more than ready to race ahead.

To the west!

I pulled up my Map…

…and found absolutely nothing unusual, though I wondered if I could add a marker for approximately where I was going. Chora said it was basically a straight line away, though. That made it easy.

But why hadn’t I gotten a thorough tutorial for such a basic function, huuuuuh?

(You exaggerate things to get people’s attention.)

Message from Sierra, the Goddess of Nekomata
It worked. Good point. But thorough tutorials bore me to tears, so I try not to inflict them on others.

That’s not even worth an eyeroll! You’ve inflicted so much bullcrap on me already. Too many times to count!

Let me put a nice, pretty, presentable marker on square A3 of my Map!!

Aren’t you overlooking something? Something Treasure-shaped that’s floating way down in square A5, rather than close to the cabin as expected?

You’re dodging the question!

Why even have a new marker? You don’t need it.

Sure, b-but it’s not always about need!

Well, they do say one thing that separates humans from the rest is their tireless search for truth and beauty. I commend you, Taipha. But not enough to help.

Um, thanks but no thanks.

Anytime.

D’urr…looking at the Map again, I did notice a tiny Treasure thingy floating in some uncharted southern land. Was that the thing I’d gotten notified about a few nights ago? Apparently yes.

But my thoughts on it now were the same as my thoughts on it then: “whatever, I can get it whenever.” Now instead of being too close to feel pressing, it was too far to be pressing. Maybe I would go further south to find it. Maybe not. Not like Treasures had time limits.

Sometimes the real Treasure’s the goal you make yourself! (In service of a Quest somebody else gave you.)

Putting my full attention back on today’s goal instead, I walked on. It was a nice morning with a touch of mist in the air, and I felt suddenly that I wanted to make the most of it by taking an easy stroll until it got brighter.

Yeah! Nice. Tranquil, the way a human garden was supposed to be. I almost felt impervious walking here, as if the human-ness of my tall friends had rubbed off on me. Birds and squirrels chittered but kept their distance. And their fur sparkled in the newborn sun as it began to rise.

…Was it just me, or was there an animal not far behind me, matching my footsteps?

Uh, yep. It was true. With every step I took, a similar footfall happened just a split second later, sort of diagonal from me—and when I looked back to see who, without breaking my pace, I only saw shady trees.

I sped up. Not much, just to test this foe. Get a better sense of their speed and size and wits.

Within seconds I was—and I was sure about this—being followed by a gang of five.

Now I started to trot—run—gallop. The five began to multiply, and then they gave up all pretense of sneaking up on me, exploding into a run to match mine. No, they were gaining! And I didn’t dare look back anymore. I just kept galloping, my legs hoping to Sierra that my brain would use this time to think of something other than OH NO, WHY ARE VENCIAN MAGPIES SO BIG.

No no—calm down—

Okay, that’s no longer possible, but think, Taipha, put the facts together.

As the creatures got closer, I stole half a glance back at them by turning my head to the side. From the corner of my eye, I got it: a gray mass of—mammals! Biggish mammals. Big in comparison to me, not you.

Which wasn’t a relief at all.

OH CRAP OH NO! I thought, even more desperate.

Now they were starting to snarl! And no doubt foaming at their toothy little mouths, since they were running so hard. What Level were they, even?! It might’ve been a mercy that I didn’t know.

Oh no, they were literally right on my tail… Just kill me now.

Coming to my senses a tiny tiny bit, I Leaped forth, then Leaped forward again.

The raccoons must have matched that with their own, mightier Leaps, because the moment I did that, they pounced all over me as if I’d stopped instead of accelerated.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

The one time I didn’t wanna get randomly ambushed by raccoons, I got randomly ambushed by raccoons. At the same time, a no-holds-barred brawl was pretty much what I’d wished for. Just desserts… I would’ve sighed heavily if it weren’t for the twenty-plus bodies piling onto me and digging into my flesh.