26 Tarou the Brave (1/2)
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”I'm not obnoooxious,” Kaia protested, purposely prolonging the second syllable before continuing.
”I'm brutally honest!”
”It's true, that mouse is different. He smells peculiar too!” she added with conviction.
'I smell better than you!' Tarou thought while skewering the brown mouse in his head. He only held back because it was not his territory.
”Kaia!” the grey mouse cried, reproaching her sister before looking at him apologetically. ”Please pardon my sister's behavior. She is not in the best state of mind.”
”Believe me Aure, my dear sister, this is one of my better days!” Kaia interjected before pointing one paw at Tarou. ”And that mouse, what was that atrocious name again,” the brown mouse squeaked offhandedly, ”Ta-roo? Yes, that mouse Ta-roo is an odd one.”
Aure looked at him again, with almost teary eyes before squeaking more apologies.
”Did you see a cat?”
Tarou directed the question to Aure and ignored Kaia who gave him a critical look.
”Cat? You mean the animal? Cat?” Aure asked with her eyes almost popping out.
Tarou felt the need to clarify while looking at them. ”I am looking for a black cat with gold eyes.” Looking at Kaia who acted superior he was about to add 'Boss would put you in your place if she was here!'
Tarou planned almost a hundred ways to torture Kaia but his thoughts were disturbed by an abominable squeak laced with disdain.
”This is the capital. The Capital. There are no black cats here,” Kaia revealed. Aure quickly supplied more information.
”There are cats here but there are so few of them. There's one in the Morning Palace, one in the Lumina Manor, two in the Grand Palace, and another one at a palace in the north. But none of them are black cats.”
”From which part of Artha is the mouse from, Aure? He is completely ignorant. A black cat at the capital! Any human with a black cat will be lucky to have a quick death.” Kaia remarked while looking at him.
Tarou could only grit his teeth in frustration. He remembered the young women in the village who are always criticized by their in-laws. He realized that he should have been nicer to them as he gnawed on a paw.
”Stop gnawing! You will go bald! The Horror!” Kaia reprimanded.
Tarou was at his limit and just when he was about to act on his rage, Aure took him aside, distancing him from the brown mouse.
”Is she always like this?” Tarou asked in an irritated voice. Aure gave him another apologetic look before explaining.
”Kaia is not a normal mouse. We lost her when she was a baby. She was raised in captivity by a human. She picked up some anno--er-- human habits. Even my parents were horrified.” Aure confessed. ”We retrieved her a few nights ago after her human died.” After a short pause, she asked Tarou, ”Where are you from?”
”Lumen Forest,” he responded almost instantly.
”We've never heard of that forest before. It must be somewhere remote!” Kaia remarked while coming closer to Tarou and Aure.