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JULES
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Her eyes lit up, and before Jules could respond, an oar smacked him in the face. He shouted a curse. All the loose objects on the sailboat floated in the surrounding air.
“What is this, a racket?” Jules grimaced and rubbed his sore cheek.
“What this is, is two foolish boys, floating adrift at sea, making themselves easy targets—and me, a beautiful young lady—Not. A little. Girl—who's in need, and you’re helping out. Think of it as a rescue. You can twist the story later to make yourselves look better when you tell your friends around the campfire about all your stunted adventures, but for now—Empty all your bags. Go.”
Jules and Cyrus unloaded everything except the bag with the Ryoku Crystals. Jules kicked that bag under the slats next to a snoozing Rukia. Wish I'd kept Isolda's bag right about now.
The robber rummaged through their belongings while levitating them. She created a circle of all their crap around her and shifted them midair by moving them around the arc. She only paused once when she went through Jules’ bag of books, and looked at Jules curiously, then continued her pillaging.
Wonder what book made her stop. Could it have been the Inked Arts? Maybe she knows where that publishing house is.
“You guys really are poor.” She pushed all the objects through the air and pressed Jules and Cyrus back to the stern of the sailboat. “You wouldn’t happen to be aspiring Hunters, would you?”
"Hunters?" Jules asked. "The hell are Hunters?"
“We’re aspiring Scholars, actually,” Cyrus said coolly. “Though we do have some experience as Gamesmen.” Their own crap shoved them back a few more steps, and Jules was now out of reach of the Ryoku Crystals.
A green glint returned to her eyes. Damn, she caught me looking.
“Oh, what have we here?” She reached a lean arm under the slats, pulled out the bag, and emptied it on the deck bench. Her eyes and face dropped. “See, boys, this is exactly what we didn’t want to happen. Holding out on me’s not a great idea.”
“Hey, those are ours—”
“Is that enough to get you off our backs?” Jules asked. Cyrus shot him a dirty look. The girl hummed a happy tune and twirled her long, red, tousled hair. Jules noticed her freckles shift across her face as she bit her lip.
“These are definitely not yours. Which makes me wonder who you got them from. Are they stolen? Could you be the thieves here?" She looked them up and down." Though with you two, you’d probably prefer to say they’re borrowed. Then again—” She brought the floating circular rotation of objects back around to the books. She pulled all but one away from the pack. All alone, floating in front of them, was The Sins of Our Fathers. “You have an interesting collection of volumes here.”
> « Air »
Cyrus' spell launched their belongings even higher, and he lunged for her. He grabbed her, but she shifted to the side. Using his own momentum, she thrust Cyrus into the shallow water. For good measure, she let some books crash down on his head.
Jules read the titles of the volumes that floated around Cyrus. His stomach dropped. All of them Arcanics-related. I need as much distance from this chick as possible.
“The Crystals should be a sufficient bribe.” Jules’ eyes glowed crimson red to add to the threat.
Cyrus waded through the water behind her. Pincer formation. You read my mind.
“You have…such interesting eyes,” she said. “For a Hunter.”
“I don’t think you and I share the same definition of a Hunter. Whatever you think it is, we’re far from it.”
“MEOW.”
A black kitten Jules hadn’t noticed waddled over to them on the beach. Why does she look scared? Is she superstitious?
With nothing short of grace, it pounced onto the boat and stuck its head under the slats where Rukia lay hidden. The kitten tilted its head at her, back-and-forth, back-and-forth. Jules could almost see Rukia sweat as she looked at Jules. Do foxes sweat? Jules had that lump in his throat. Please don’t speak, Rukia. Please don't speak, Rukia. Please don't…
He shook his head at her, slightly enough so only she could see. The kitten glared through narrowed slits of eyes.
“Meow,” it repeated.
Rukia looked to Jules for help.
She looked at the cat.
She looked back at Jules.
She looked at the cat again.
She looked back at Jules. Oh Salvos, no.
Back to the cat—
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“...Meow-meow?” Rukia asked.
The cat leapt back and landed on hind legs. He pointed at her with a single claw extended from his right paw. “Hiss!”
Jules stepped between the two animals. His eyes glowed, and green flames licked their edges. He lightly slapped Rukia on the back of her head. “Foxes don’t say meow." Rukia spread out into a defeated sploot.
Every levitating object crashed down onto the deck and into the water. The girl's jaw dropped. The light from her eyes faded away to their natural emerald. “Whiskers—”
“Katarina, one of these fools is just like you.”
"Oh fuck," Jules said. A talking cat.
Whiskers studied Jules, then Cyrus. “Not this one.” Behind bushy eyebrows, its gaze settled back on Jules. The kitten licked its lips.
Only one way out of this.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Jules said bluntly.
Katarina looked to Whiskers. The cat never took its emerald eyes, which matched hers, off of Jules. Is she seeking guidance, or does he control her? So much I don't know.
“It’s OK,” Whiskers said. “I’m sure the fox speaks.”
Katarina averted her gaze from all of them. She dropped her arms and clasped one wrist in the other hand. Her left hand reached up to her left ear. She ran her fingers through her hair behind it. Jules caught a quick glimpse before her hair covered it again. The lump in Jules’ throat receded.
She hasn’t hurt us yet. Pain radiated across his cheek from the oar's facial slap. Well, she hasn't really hurt me, anyway. Wanna look at Cy, but I can’t take my eyes off of her.
Jules loosened the string on his shirt and revealed his own Seal. This feels weird. Wish she'd stop staring. Guess I can put it away. “Mine stands for—”
“Jules,” Cyrus interrupted, but Jules ignored him.
“—Wrath.”
Katarina blushed and then looked away again.
“It’s nice to meet you—Katarina, was it? My name is Jules Tideshaper. This is my friend Cy. He…recently found out.” The fox huffed. “Oh, and this is Rukia, of course. I just recently found out about her, actually. We were separated at birth, so…”
Cyrus, though still clearly enraged, let his Script, and its light, fade away.
“Katarina, where are your manners?” Whiskers licked a paw.
“Oh. My name—My name is Katarina Waverunner. I am…Envy.”
You say you are Envy. Interesting.
“I’m sorry I attacked you. I saw that book, thought maybe you were Iron Maiden Hunters.”
“Well I’ll be damned,” Cyrus said.
“What a poor choice of words, young man,” Whiskers said.
“Ironic calling me young, coming from a kitten.”
“Heh heh heh, got ‘im.” Rukia laughed at her own joke. Jules pressed on.
“Listen, Katarina—”
“Kat. Only Whiskers here calls me by my full name.” Still a way to avoid a fight.
“Right…Kat. My town just—uh, discovered what I am. Who I am. I’m sure that you can appreciate the situation I’m in.” Beads of sweat dropped down his brow in the open sun.
Katarina sat down on the deck's bench. With one leg crossed, she looked ready to do business. “I understand. I’ll help you hide. But it won’t be for free.” She grabbed the sack of Ryoku Crystals. “This should pay for your stay. For a while.” Our stay?
“That’s fine. But we need to get out of the open. I judge by the sun that it’s still early morning?” Katarina rose and left the sailboat.
“Seems you have at least some navigation sense. Wait here. When I come back,” she gestured at the boat, “I better see nothing but driftwood.”
She ran off toward the dunes and into towering palm trees. Whiskers leapt out of the boat between the two Sins and started affectionately licking his sharpened and extended claws.
Jules and Cyrus hustled to gather their belongings. Cyrus dried off their books as best he could. They whispered to each other with backs turned to the cat. “Do you think we can trust her, Jules?”
“We don’t have a choice. Besides, I’ve seen her somewhere…”
“What, where? You’ve seen another Sin? Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“I don’t know where. In a dream, I think? She wakes me up every night with a bucket of water. She’s one of the few that I’m on friendly terms with, actually.”
“When you say it out loud like that, it sounds even stupider than it must have in your head. But fine. I’ll go along. For now.”
“I trust her, but not that cat,” Rukia said. "Nasty species, cats."
“You!” the boys shouted together.
“You fell asleep!”
“You're never taking night shift again!”
"Aww man…" Rukia shrank into the shadows once more.
Jules scorched part of the boat, careful not to draw attention from too much smoke. Cyrus blew up the mast piece by piece with his Air Rune. Rukia organized their remaining belongings, of which now much fewer remained, and ripped the sails to shreds with her magnificent and sharp claws. After a while, the sailboat was in a dozen pieces. Sorry, Dad.
“Katarina is unruly, really,” Whiskers licked a paw with both eyes closed, “but as trustworthy as they come.” He opened one eye to glare at Jules. “You should be grateful, Wrath. She strikes whom she most likes.”
Jules laughed nervously.
“Guess the Kat’s out of the bag!” Rukia cackled before she finished the joke.
Whiskers pounced near her and hissed. Rukia scurried away behind Jules and hid low.
“Who’s the scaredy cat now?” Cyrus asked. “Well, I, for one, can use a little break, a little good luck. Whiskers, was it?”
“Whiskers the Sage to you. And we haven’t been introduced, but I’ve heard tails about you, Cy.” The cat’s eyes gleamed with a tinge of wisdom and omniscience.
“Really!?” Cyrus smiled widely. "You know my name??"
“No. Of course not. The other buffoon just said your name. I thought we were having a contest of puns and wit. Alas.” Whiskers turned around and licked his own ass, but he still glared at Cyrus.
Cyrus lunged at the cat, scatted and hissed, and the kitten jumped five feet in the air. It landed on all fours with its back arched and hissed back.
“Welcome to Aquilantis…” Jules sighed.
Two barrels rolled down the dunes between the group. Jules and company looked at each other and collectively complained.
"No."
"Nope."
"Nuh-uh."
“They’re for your things, you idiots.” Katarina descended the last dune. “And—Yeah, well, it is for you, Rukia. Here, boys, take these uniforms.”
“No no no no no."
“Uh, for what?” Jules asked, regarding the uniforms.
“No. No. No. Jules!?”
“Shits and giggles," Katarina said. "Do you want to stand out, or blend in, in plain sight?”
“Jules, you’re not even going to defend me here? I’m going to suffocate—”
Jules grabbed a uniform. “Well, aren’t you going to turn around?”
Katarina blushed and spun around. She whistled while the two boys dressed.
“—Swear the last thing all y'all wanna do is piss me off—Anger? Oh, I'll show you anger—”
“Alright. You’re gonna load all your crap onto my cart, then we will go to the inn.”
“—'Cuz then, when I’ve ripped out your throat nice and clean-like, I’ma—I'ma move down to your—”
They loaded their remaining supplies and equipment into the barrels and dragged them through the sand, rolling them whenever possible. Jules had the added weight of Rukia in his barrel, and she continued to threaten them all as she bounced around inside. Her voice shifted direction and tone like a rotating siren. Jules and Cyrus both loaded their barrels onto Katarina’s cart at the roadside.
This piece of crap? Those are the worst wheels I have ever seen in my life. Does she do this every day by herself?
Everyone—except Rukia—remained silent on the trip into town. The cart had only two wheels and two long prongs that stuck out to pull it. Jules and Cyrus alternated duties. Katarina grinned most of the mile-long trip in town.
“Alright, park the cart here,” Katarina ordered.
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24
BONUS CONTENT BELOW
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