Chapter 12

As I crossed the street to the inn, I mulled over my options for getting back up to Emma’s window. I could probably just rest outside, there shouldn’t be any dangers in a city, and if I kept to the courtyard it should be fine. Emma would probably be worried about me if I didn’t come back, though… I could try calling out to her maybe?

‘Oh well, It’ll work out somehow probably…’ I concluded.

Arriving at the front of the inn, I looked up towards the windows, ‘Might as well get a quick peek before I head back,’ I thought. Jumping up to the windowsill was definitely more taxing than it should be with the stamina debuff, and I was glad that it was wide enough to lay down so I could rest while I studied the inside.

The large room on the inside covered almost the entire width of the inn and was mostly filled by tables and chairs. The only non-open area was to my left, towards the street I came from, where a wall covered whatever lay beyond it, with an opening at the inner wall that lead further into that area. Roughly in the middle of the room, an area was closed off by a U-shaped counter. Half of the area behind the counter was taken up by a plain door and a wide opening with a ledge, both of which I assumed led into the kitchen I had seen before. A bar took up the rest of the wall space, its fancifully carved shelves stocked with bottles in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Further along the inner wall, in the corner, was a raised stage. The part of the inner wall that sat behind the stage was covered by a large cloth.

I turned to study the tables and chairs and almost fell off the windowsill as I noticed a pair of eyes staring at me intensely from the darkness. My eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom, and I took a calming breath as I made out the shape of the tall bearded man which the eyes belonged to. He was hunched over on the table as if he had just woken up from sleeping on it, his hand still holding on to a large wooden tankard. His eyes did not betray any tiredness, however, as he followed my every move with an intense gaze. Noticing my scrutiny, he frowned and sat up slowly, letting go of the tankard and brushing out his long grey beard with his other hand with the idle motions of habit.

Suddenly, a spike of fear hit me out of nowhere and my instincts reacted before I could even consciously react, pushing my body to move faster than I thought possible. I was down on the street and bolting towards the street crossing in less than a heartbeat, barely managing to steer myself down the correct street as I reached the crossing. I ran more than half the street before I managed to calm down enough to stop running, slowing down to a walk.

When I got to the alleyway I jumped up on one of the crates and sat down, trying to compose myself and make sense of what had just happened. My instincts were still urging me to run away from the perceived threat, the hairs on my back standing straight up.

‘What the hell was that? Some sort of fear-inducing Skill?’ I thought, still shaken by how strongly I had been affected.

I sat there for a long moment, grooming myself while keeping an eye out towards the other end of the street for any indication that the man would follow me.

‘Why did he do that? Did he think I was some kind of threat? Maybe he’s just a sadist?’

Sighing, I left that train of thought, my mind was still foggy due to my tiredness and now the fear-induced shock I was feeling. I was not prepared to do any deep thinking until I had gotten some rest. With that in mind, I turned back to the alley and started making my way across the various containers.

As I reached the other end, my nose picked up a familiar smell. I recognized the way my instincts were reacting negatively to it, and I realized why when my eyes fell upon the other occupant of the courtyard: Another cat. His coat was thick and light-brown save for the mane of white hair around his neck. He was larger than me, maybe half again my size, and his posture exuded confidence. He was near the middle of the courtyard, between the well and the tree, and he hadn’t noticed me yet.

‘Shit, I can’t deal with this right now, I’m way too tired… maybe if I rush over and get Emma’s attention somehow?’ My tired brain supplied.

Feeling like this was the best I would be able to come up with on short notice, I went with it. I jumped off the barrel I was on and started sprinting across the veranda tiles. The other cat let out a surprised howl which transitioned into a warning hiss as I came closer. I kept running, limbs burning from the exertion. As I reached the half-way point, near the tree, it seemed the other cat had had enough of being ignored and started rushing me instead. An entirely intentional terrified howl left me and I somehow managed to up my pace slightly.

I had almost reached the other side when the other cat bowled into me and we both went flying in a ball of hissing fur. I tried to right myself, but the other cat easily got on top of me and grabbed me by the neck with his jaw, holding me down firmly. My instincts were screaming at me to submit to this obviously superior feline, but I stubbornly held in the submissive growl that was trying to escape from my mouth. I would not lose to some dumb animal, damnit!

In one swift movement, I pulled in my back legs towards my belly while moving my forelegs up in the air, corkscrewing my body slightly. Then, just as abruptly, I used my back legs to sweep the other cat’s legs while moving my front legs back to push the other cat away. That was the idea anyway. What actually happened was that I got halfway through before abruptly stopping as the pressure on my neck increased to painful levels accompanied by a menacing growl from the other cat.

My responding growl was along the lines of “well, fuck…”

Suddenly, I heard a very welcome voice, “Milo!” Emma called out from above.

The other cat reacted to the sound as if struck by lightning, jumping several feet in the air before warily staring up towards the window and letting out a low growl.

“<something something Milo, something something!>” Emma responded threateningly.

Determined to help, I stood up and added my own threatening growl into the mix.

The other cat cast a dismissive look at me before returning his gaze to Emma. After a short moment, he seemed to reach a conclusion and turned, running away with an air of “I have other things to do anyway”.

Emma turned to me and said something before abruptly disappearing back into her room.

‘You know I still can’t understand you, right?’ I griped, settling down to wait for whatever it was she was doing.

After a while, the back door opened and Emma poked her head out. She located me quickly and I barely had time to react before I was promptly picked up and hugged tightly.

“Oh Milo, <something something something>,” She said in a worried tone as she saw the mussed fur around my neck.

I did my best to let out a reassuring meow. It seemed to be enough as she chuckled and said something that had the tones of a mild admonishment. My response was interrupted by a huge yawn as all the excitement of the night caught up to me fully. Emma chuckled slightly again and started heading back inside.

I barely noticed Emma tucking me in beside her, my mind already drifting into sleep.

“Good night, Milo,” she said softly.

“Meao…..” I tried to respond before another yawn robbed my voice.

The soft sound of her laugh carried me gently as I drifted into the darkness of sleep.