Why… Why does Freya have to keep looking back at me like that!

“Say Alice, you could have invited Beryl to go gathering with us today,” she said with a dangerously smug grin. “Did something ‘happen’ between you two? You were out for a long time last night.”

“H-Huh?! We just did some, uh, practicing. Beryl taught me a new spell, and stuff…”

“Oh, really? ‘Practicing?’ Then why were you both blushing at each other so hard this morning?”

How am I supposed to answer that when I can feel myself blushing now?!

Freya laughed. “You know I’m just playing with you,” she said with a pat on my shoulder. “But seriously, let me know if you ever want some ‘practicing’ advice!”

Bad kitty!

It was already overwhelming that I got all dizzy and excited whenever I thought about what happened last night… with Beryl. This was the fourth day Freya and I had headed out to gather herbs, and she was already making this the most awkward!

After a deep breath, I thought that maybe that was okay. This might be the last day I get to spend with my friendly snow leopard spirit like this, so I want to remember it!

I loved hiking with Freya and her kitties, so I didn’t mind if it took an hour or more to get where she wanted to take us for gathering. The journey was never boring; with her leading the way, I often got to watch her from behind.

Freya was still wearing that oversized shirt Titania gave her. Actually, that was still the only thing she was wearing. And with the way her long snowy tail lifted up the back of it… a little bit of her cute butt was always showing! It was even cuter that she didn’t seem to mind. I would have run up and hugged her if I didn’t already have my hands full.

“Sasha, you’re being such a good kitty today!” I said.

Freya’s feistier kitten finally let me carry her on our walk and snuggle with her thick fur. Hmm… or was it his thick fur?

“Freya, is Sasha a boy or a girl?” I asked.

She scratched her head. “Sometimes I’m not really sure…”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

It wouldn’t take long to ‘sneak a peek’ and find out, but that wouldn’t feel right!

“Hey Sasha, how do you feel right now?”

The big snowy kitty glanced at the ground and made an adorable whining sound.

I couldn’t help giggling. “You know you’ll get tired if you walk on your little legs the whole way! I’ll put you down, but first, let me give you one more hug~.”

***

After what felt like a couple hours, Freya finally brought us to our destination: a grassy patch on the mountainside with a breathtaking view of the forested landscape around us. I was kind of used to the beautiful green scenery by now, but I still had to stop and stare every now and then!

“This is one of the farthest places we’ve been to, but I knew we’d find these!” Freya said proudly. “I’ve gone out hunting in this area before and saw some growing here.”

My heart skipped a beat when she gestured at all the tall, prickly plants and their inky flowers.

“More murkthistle!” I cheered. “And they’re huge!”

I ran over to the biggest herb in sight. Most of the murkthistle flowers I had harvested before didn’t reach any higher than my chest, but this one practically towered over my head!

“You have to be careful around the big ones like this,” Freya noted. “Those giant spiky leaves can cut sharper than daggers. Here, I’ll get this one!”

Before I could stop her, she flexed her claws on each snowy fur-covered hand and pounced. Freya leapt through the air and swiped at the head of the plant.

“Freya, nooo!” I cried. “Not the flower!”

“Don’t worry!” she said, offering me the inky-black flower. “Winter is coming. These will all be wilting soon anyway, and you just need to collect the seeds, right? You can replant some of them if you really want.”

I stared at the freshly decapitated plant and the beautiful, torn-off flower in my hands. “But… But…! Well, alright…”

After I got to work, I watched Arwen and Sasha chase each other and wrestle in the grass, making cute kitty noises. Even though they were both as big as full-grown alley cats, they were still adorable kitties at heart!

When Freya’s two cubs got all tuckered out from playing, I caught Arwen staring back at me.

I knelt down on the ground. “Arwen, come here!”

I was actually a little surprised when she got up, sauntered over and sat down in front of me.

“Good girl!”

After a quick pat on her soft furry head, I tore off a piece of dried meat from my rucksack and offered it. I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear while I watched her gobble it up.

When she was done, the kitty stared at me again, but it felt like she wasn’t just begging for more food.

Freya stared down at Arwen, frowning. “Just what has Beryl been teaching her…”

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Can you tell what Arwen is thinking? Or ‘saying?’”

She sighed. “Arwen thinks that you’re her big sister now.”

“Really?! Yay!”

I scooped up the kitty in my arms and hugged her against my chest. When Arwen started licking my cheek, I couldn’t help squealing with joy.

Ahh, fluffing her soft kitty fur makes my heart sing! You can always be my little sister!

When I set Arwen down again, I looked for her other sibling.

“What is Sasha saying?” I asked Freya with a glance at her second, aloof kitty.

Freya chewed on her lip. “Sasha doesn’t say much.”

Hmm… we’ll see about that!

I reached into my rucksack and pulled out my weapon of choice.

Freya leapt back. “Wh-Why do you have that thing?!” she shouted.

“You know I always carry my hair brush with me!” I said with a laugh. “Do you want me to groom your tail again?”

Her cheeks turned red, and she hugged her long snow leopard tail defensively. Freya reminded me of Beryl when she was like this.

I tried resisting the urge to run up and hug her… but she was just too cute!

Freya blushed even harder when I wrapped my arms around her. “Well, maybe later,” she mumbled.

When I finally pulled away to kneel down and start brushing the kitty, Sasha loved the attention too much to protest. Freya had been taking good care of her kitties’ spotted grey fur, but they always got a little dirty again after playing so much!

After a minute, Arwen sauntered up to me and mewed.

“I know, I didn’t forget about you! Roll over and I’ll give you some belly rubs.”

Arwen still didn’t know what ‘roll over’ meant, but eventually she lay down and let me pet her soft furry underside.

With one hand I used my brush to groom Sasha’s fur, with the other I pet Arwen’s white belly fluff until she purred. Ohh, this is like a dream come true! I wish we could stay like this forever…

Actually, it was hard to concentrate on giving each kitty an equal amount of love. If I focused too long on brushing Sasha properly, Arwen would start to sit up and mew at me. When I made sure I was rubbing Arwen’s belly just the way she wanted me to, Sasha began to stir and whine for my attention.

This is their kitty sibling rivalry…? Oh, don’t be jealous, you two! I’m giving you my love as fast as I can!

It was at times like this that I really wished I could ‘talk’ to these kitties like Freya and Beryl could…

Freya bent down in front of us and smiled while she watched. “It makes me feel a little easier taking them out like this with you here,” she said.

We had really come a long way since the day I met her and her kitties, physically and emotionally. I even got to play with Sasha and Arwen back then, but I might have gotten a little carried away brushing naked Freya that night… I just couldn’t help it!¹Arc 4 Ch. 2: Kitty Strikes Back (15+)

“Are you sure you don’t want me to brush your tail again?” I asked her. “I’ll be gentle this time!”

“That doesn't sound any better!” she huffed, looking away and blushing again. “But… maybe you can, just a little…”

When her kitties scampered off to go play again, I sat beside Freya and started gently brushing her tail. I started working my brush’s soft bristles from the base of her long tail, humming while slowly working my way to the fluffy tip. Freya’s tail was almost as long as her legs—the top of it had snowy grey fur with big dark spots, and the underside was all white fluff like Arwen’s belly.

My chest felt all warm and fuzzy when I saw the contented expression on Freya’s face, just like she was purring inside.

“You’re really not like the others,” Freya said all of a sudden.

“…Huh?”

She sat up and faced me head-on. “I’ve been thinking that you’re different from the rest of the party. You have a real sense of adventure like me, an insatiable urge to discover the unknown! That’s why you like the wilderness and plants so much, isn’t it?”

“Oh, that’s what you meant? Um… Well, there’s another reason, but maybe you’re right. I did travel a long way from home to get here.”

“Home?” Freya tilted her head. “That’s right, you never told me where your home is. Beryl and Titania are from the same world, and I know where that fox came from… But you’re from this world, right?”

Oops, I shouldn’t have mentioned that last part…

“I don’t really like talking about my past.”

“Why?” Freya asked.

When I didn’t respond at first, she stood up and grabbed me by my shoulders.

“Wait, what are you—”

“What are you hiding from us?”

A shiver ran down my spine at the way her fierce, grey eyes stared into mine. Instinctively, I used ‘that.’

The reflection of her emotions blossomed into my mind’s eye. Freya’s emotions were sharp and purposeful, like polished steel glinting in the sunlight, but not directed at me in a hostile way. She wasn’t suspicious—just curious… like a kitty.

That bad kitty! She is just 'playing' with me again!

“Hey, don’t scare me like that,” I pouted. “If you wanted to know, you could have just asked normally!”

Freya sighed and sat back down next to me. “There’s no fooling you, is there? I still don’t know how you do it!”

She leaned closer and gently put her arm around my shoulder.

“After all the days we’ve spent out like this, it’s made me realize something,” she said. “I never really thought it could be this much fun traveling with humans. None of you are like the things I’ve heard. Well, maybe a little bit—but that’s not the point! Basically, what I’m trying to say is that you… y-you’re… important to me.” She had to take a deep breath before finishing. “I don’t know if I can help, but if you ever want to talk about anything, I’ll listen.”

“Freya…”

I wrapped my arms around her one more time, smiling when she hugged me back. With my head resting on her shoulder, I noticed that she was about the same height as me—shorter than the other three in our party. As I held her a little tighter, I watched her long snowy tail curling up and down, brushing against the grass… just like she was a happy kitty acting on reflex.

Oh my God! I just cleaned her tail, and it’s going to get all dirty again!

“Anyways, it’s been a long time since we last ate,” Freya eventually said after gently pulling away. “Why don’t we have lunch now? Unless there was anything you, uh, wanted to talk about.”

My mind raced through a hundred different possibilities. If I talked about my feelings for Beryl, and… how I couldn’t tell what she was feeling anymore… I wondered if Freya would just tease me again. No, she wouldn’t do that, but—

“Let me guess: is it about Beryl?”

“H-Huh?! I mean, maybe a tiny bit…”

Freya smiled and gently put her hand over mine. “You don’t have to push yourself.”

“Well… Actually, there was something else.”

I didn’t think she would understand if I told her about my past, but I had never really tried telling anyone else before. I knew I could trust her—and she was kind of right earlier about that one thing…

“Freya, can you keep a secret?”