The moment Pardofelis stepped into the nursing home, the cats in the yard caught her eye.
The big orange cat in Elysia's arms drew her in most of all, stirring a strange sense of warmth and kinship. Yet a hint of doubt crossed her face. She couldn't recall ever knowing an orange cat like that.
She followed her heart and stepped closer, looking up at Elysia. "Elysia, where'd this cat come from? And all those others?"
Elysia's lips curved into a smile at the question. Then she placed the orange cat in Pardofelis's arms, despite its feeble struggles and the sheepish look on its face.
This was the third lovely young woman whose arms it'd ended up in, but this time, the orange cat wasn't happy about it. After all, it'd spent years trying to keep its distance from this girl. Now they'd brought it right to her.
At last, it understood why the blonde and pink-haired humans had come looking for it. This child with the light brown hair was the reason. Much as it wanted to resist, it no longer had the strength, so it lay in Pardofelis's arms with a look of utter defeat.
Seeing that Pardofelis still looked lost, Eden prompted her. "Isn't this the one you asked me to find yesterday? The one who took care of you? Though..."
She faltered, then took yesterday's sketch from Elysia and studied the black cat in the drawing beside the orange one before her.
At last, she nodded. "Yes, this is the cat who raised you. As for its fur, I suppose it never had a bath while it lived on the streets, which must be why it looked like that."
Between Eden's words and the feeling in her heart, Pardofelis was certain at last. This big orange cat was the same "black cat" that'd raised her.
She bowed her head and stared at it without blinking, until large, hot tears began to fall onto its aged face.
"Meow..."
The orange cat looked up at her with helpless affection. With great effort, it reached out a paw, as though hoping to wipe the tears from the face of the girl it'd all but watched grow up with its soft, plump paw pad. But its leg was too short, and halfway up, its strength gave out. All it could do was let a trace of dismay cross its face.
Why had it left without a word once Pardofelis was old enough to feed herself? Why had it even gone out of its way to hide from her? The answer lay in that failed reach of its paw.
It didn't want this tenderhearted child to watch it grow weaker with each passing day, until its life came to an end. Cats and humans couldn't walk the same path forever.
In its eyes, Pardofelis had barely reached her youth, while it had already entered its twilight years.
It wanted her to remember the proud figure that'd always walked ahead of her, fighting other stray cats and dogs for food to bring back.
It didn't want her to see this frail old creature that could barely shift its body without using all its strength. If Durandal hadn't promised to take it somewhere for surgery to extend its life, it'd have felt even worse.
Pardofelis kept her head bowed as her tears pattered down. Eden and Elysia had expected this, and they took their places on either side of her, patting her back to soothe her.
After what felt like ages, Pardofelis raised her head. She cradled the orange cat in one arm and scrubbed at her eyes with her free hand until she could see again.
Then she broke into a grin. "These are happy tears! After all these years, I've finally found my family again."
She turned to Eden and Elysia, her face full of thanks. "Eden, Elysia... Without you, I might never have seen my family again. I don't even know what to say... I... I..."
Then, as though she'd made up her mind, Pardofelis set her jaw and turned to Eden. "Eden, I'll join Schicksal! I want to stay with you and learn!"
--+--
Pardofelis had finally agreed, and Eden didn't tell her to calm down and think it over, even though the choice seemed driven by a sudden urge to repay her kindness. Eden was already staying in Pardofelis's home.
Even if she gave the girl all the time she needed, the scales in her heart would likely keep tipping toward Eden.
Besides, Schicksal was the only place where the orange cat could live beyond its natural lifespan. No matter how things played out, Pardofelis was bound to join.
So Eden just nodded and smiled at her. "Then let me be the first to congratulate you, Felis. Once we're home, you can tell me what changes you'd like to your uniform. I'll finish the design soon, so you can pick it up from Logistics as soon as we reach Schicksal Headquarters."
"As for a weapon, you can tell me what you've got in mind, too. I'll pass it on to Vill-V, and you can collect it with your uniform."
Pardofelis could only stare as Eden rattled off her plans. She must've gone over this in her head more times than anyone could count. How else could she have laid it all out so fast?
Still, Pardofelis had no plans to take back her word. She just gave a dazed nod, looking as meek as could be.
Eden couldn't help patting her head at the sight. At once, the orange cat in Pardofelis's arms let out a displeased cry.
"Meow!"
It sounded as though it were saying, 'Who does this human think she is, touching my little one's head? Did she ask my permission?'
Having lived with the cat for years, Pardofelis knew just how well it understood people. She stroked its back and coaxed it in a soft voice. "Mama Cat, don't be like that. Eden's been so good to me. Apart from you, she's treated me better than anyone."
She pressed her lips together, then added, "And there's Nia, Elysia, and Dudu, too. Anyway, Mama Cat, let's all get along, okay?"
Beside her, Elysia felt the urge to speak up. Pardofelis really hadn't needed to tack on that last bit just to squeeze her, Durandal, and Aponia into the list.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL