The alleyway Snow leads
to is just as good as any other in this wretched city in that it’s no good at all. It slls, there are bloodstains in a few choice spots, and it wouldn’t be Dewhurst if there weren’t evidence of illegal mana crystal usage, so there’s so of that sprinkled around, too.
Indeed, it’s the perfect setting for either a romantic confession or a dramatic goodbye. Ti to find out which one we’re heading toward.
Once she and I enter together, Snow drops her polite posture and drags a breath of air. “You sure took your ti,”
“My apologies. I slept till six.” A breathy sigh escapes , and I rub my eyes, still feeling tiredness in the back of my mind.
“Lucky,” She raises an eyebrow at , crossing her arms. “I haven’t gotten to sleep at all, nyaa. I’ve been busy overseeing ergency packing asures and in calls with the elders. Our current Stone of Farspeech is getting old and starting to lose connection, too... damn old assholes back ho are hard enough to listen to as it is.”
“Where exactly is ho, might I ask? I must admit, I don’t know where the Breeding Tribe is permanently situated.”
“The Breeding Grounds are up in Echora, nyaa. Slightly southwest of Hunniho...”
“I had a feeling it’d be around there, what with all the farmland and pastures.”
“Indeed,” Snow sighs and gives
a dirty look. “That’s not important, though. I have to ask you not to try stalling this out longer than it has to be, Guild Myaster.”
“...And what exactly am I stalling, Snow?” I ask, grim yet determined.
“You’re stalling out our goodbye.” The head maid utters without a whiff of hesitance. “I’m giving you a brief chance for us respectfully bow out of each other’s lives and pretend all this flirting non-sense never happened. You have enough mates as it is, and I am needed elsewhere, nyaa.”
I knew this wouldn’t be easy, so perhaps it’d be best to start on the business talks before moving to personal matters. “Very well. Did you get to speak with the Elders of your tribe regarding the matter of my credit?”
“I did. They agreed to your terms, skipping the trial period and all. They’ve very grateful for the service you’ve done the tribe, and as we both agreed, you’re to be given one million gold’s worth of credit towards future adoptions- once you are no longer in open conflict with the self-titled Duke of Dewhurst. I had to omit that part, nyaa.”
“Bad kitty. Although... I did tell you to lie to make
look good, didn’t I?”
“You did. At any rate, you’re welco...” The maid sighs, brushing so of her bangs out of her face and turning away from . Silence fills the alley as we both struggle with transitioning into the next part of the conversation.
“So the tribe is leaving tomorrow, then?”
“Yes, we are,” Snow says with particular emphasis on the ‘we’. “I assu you’re here to make your last appeal to
and convince
to co ho with you like I were a stray kitten, correct?”
“Of course not. You’re much too pretty and well-grood to be a stray.” I smirk, hoping to break the ice.
“Cute,” She responds, eyeing
over with coldness.
“Joking aside, yes. I’m here to change your mind.”
“Of course you are. Let’s get this over with, nyaa.” Snow lowers her head, avoiding eye contact and crossing her arms defensively. Her long, fluffy tail droops behind her.
“For the record, that Doctor of yours... Gods, she wouldn’t stop interviewing ... Peri and Cherry kept trying to convince
to stay throughout the day, too...”
“I assure you I didn’t tell them to do that,”
“I know, Guild Myaster, just letting you know that it didn’t help... quite the opposite, in fact.”
I decide to ignore her statent and press on with a question. “Are you really that important to the Breeding Tribe?”
“...Yes. I’m one of the Pet Shop managers on the road, and when we’re at ho, I instruct the art of housekeeping to the young ones.”
“So you help run the store, and you’re a teacher. Those don’t sound all that irreplaceable in the grand sche of things, you know.”
“So says the outsider.”
“Really, though. If you left the Breeding Tribe, what would happen? Would everything fall apart at the seams just because their best maid left to chase her own happiness, or would they be inconvenienced for a mont until inevitably replacing you?”
She blushes, looking away down further into the depressing alley. “Instead of answering you, I want to say sothing in response.”
“I’m listening,”
“...Guild Myaster, you may be the single most arrogant, selfish, egotistical man I’ve ever had the pleasure of eting, nyaa.”
“How kind of you to admit it’s a pleasure to know .”
“Very funny, but that only adds to my point. You’re surrounded by girls who love and care for you, and yet still you want more, and more, and more. You’ve let your desires beco such a big part of you that they affect the way you look at the world as a whole, nyaa. You’re so self-absorbed that you think the only way for
to find happiness is to give up everything and be with YOU. Do you think I can’t be happy if it’s not with you, Guild Myaster?”
“Maybe, maybe not. All I know is you can’t be happy if you stay here, Snow.” Perhaps I push a little too far, but I take a step toward Snow. I don’t pin her against the alley wall, but I could very well do so from this position if I wanted to... if she weren’t several tis stronger than , anyway.
The Catfolk maid narrows her eyes with suspicion. “...What made you this way? Why do you want the world and everything in it? Moreover, why do you refuse to take no for an answer, nyaa?”
“Because all my life I’ve only ever been told no. ‘No, you can’t run an Adventurer’s Guild, you’re too young,’... ‘No, I won’t go out with you, aren’t you that creepy kid who killed his grandpa?’... ‘No, I don’t need any quests. I’m just stopping by on my way to Perlshaw’... It’s always been no, no, no. I got to a point where I was like you. Unhappy, at the end of my rope, nowhere else to go... but soone saved , and I promised her I’d not limit myself any longer. I told her that if I want sothing, I’ll do everything in my power to get it. You’re right about . I AM arrogant, and selfish, and yes, even egotistical. My goal is to create the greatest Adventurer’s Guild in all the realms, and as I want you... no, I NEED you to be a part of it- both as the Guild’s head maid and as my woman.”
For the first ti in this conversation, Snowball pauses. Her striking, yellow eyes fill with cloudy hesitation. The woman now doubts herself. She weighs a life of servitude to the Breeding Tribe against a vision of what life might be like by my side. She sees herself taking care of adventurers, ensuring they always have hearth and ho, and her heart beats with warmth when she pictures the smile on their faces.
“This is my final offer, Snow. I’ve made my case, and if after everything we’ve been through, you choose to continue on with your life, leave town, and forget about ... then... I hope I was wrong about everything and that you can truly find happiness with your lot in life. If nothing else, you’ll always have this to rember
by.”
I present the blue and white diamond-studded collar to the Catfolk and watch as her eyes stare in open amazent at the brilliant twinkling jewels. She gazes into the diamonds before briefly tearing her gaze away to look back at , then back into the diamonds.
“What... what the fuck is that...?” Snow’s voice cracks.
“Do you not rember?”
“Yes, I rember... I just... you... you actually...?” As she stutters her way through her words, Snow’s mouth begins to gape. She covers it with her paws.
“Of course I did. You said you wanted a collar made from those diamonds we stole, didn’t you? A pretty feline like you deserves absolutely everything she could ever want, especially jewels.”
“It... it was a fucking joke, you...”
“Would you allow
to fasten this joke to your neck, then?” I undo the clasp and glide the brilliant jewelry towards her. Snow closes her eyes, takes a sharp inhale through her pink, cat-like nose, and bites down on her lip.
She pushes
away before the collar can touch the delicate, pink skin of her neck.
“No...” Snow looks at
straight in the eyes, sad and despondent. Shaking her head, she pushes herself to say, “Keep it. You’re going to need it.”
I put my foot down and take a step toward her once more, undeterred. “No, I won’t- It’s yours!”
The white-furred, elegant maid leaves the alleyway faster than I can chase her. Without turning back, she says, “...Peri and Cherry will be waiting for you at the entrance to the Pet Shop. Please leave before you get too close. I don’t want any of the other females to know you were here, nyaa.”
“Snow... don’t go... please...” I grit my teeth, clenching the collar harder in my hand. “PLEASE!”
Not a word is spoken by the fleeing feline as she sprints away, forever out of my grasp.
Snowball is gone before I can do anything about it, leaving
in the dirty Dewhurst alley with nothing but my own despair and dissatisfaction. Part of
says I should learn sothing from this whole affair. As much as I promised Sam that I would do what I want, and as much as Luxy gifted
with the capacity to love and be loved by won, I am not infallible.
The world and everything in it can’t be mine just because I want it more than anyone else...
Sure, seeing Snow go hurts, but I won’t let it defeat . Neither will I mope forever about the one who got away. I’ll forge my path forward with the ones by my side and be thankful for them every mont of every day... though I suppose this would all sound much more convincing if I actually ant it. I’ll be upset for a while, sure, but I won’t let it get to .
I take in the disgusting air of the conflicted city and prepare to take the first step on with my life, only for a window to open up a few buildings down from . The sound of violent retching is heard, and bright green vomit hurtles out from the wooden fixture, splattering the already disgusting cobblestone with yet another layer of bile.
A one-ard man in a stained, white tank top steadies himself on the rickety railing before he looks down and notices . His puke-covered face lifts up into a bright smile that, for the life of , I can’t look at on account of my eyes. Much too many details and my stomach churns at the sight of him.
“KIDDO!” The drunkard raises his glass. “You gotta get in here and have a drink,”
“Niall, I don’t think there could possibly be a worse ti in all the Realms-”
“Guess who just got elected mayor of Dewhurst?!”
Behind him, I hear the familiar voice of a Catfolk boy hissing. “The ballots were rigged. I want a recount, nyaa!” Niall ignores Milly, rolling his eyes.
“Shut the fuck up, you slut!” Niall shouts at the catboy, throwing his empty tankard of ale at his pink-haired political adversary. “We already did three recounts!”
“RIGGED!” Milly hisses.
I cradle my aching head. “I’ll be ho all day tomorrow doing paperwork, just fucking stop by if you want to talk, I’m busy at the mont-”
“Sounds fuckin’ aweso to m-” Niall gives
a thumbs up and stops midsentence, puking all over the exit to the alleyway...
I want to go back to bed.
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