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Everyone's a Catgirl! Ch. 275: Our Creator and Our Destroyer
🕑 Added 2024-08-22 02:39:37 +0000 UTCCeres was surprised that Cailu wished to travel to the next city in the dark hours of twilight. However, as she watched Sir Matt’s expression in the moonlight, she decided that it was for the better.
They shared the second carriage alone. Despite their dwindling numbers, five people were still too many to fit comfortably in a single coach. This would give her time to appeal to Matt’s sense of reason.
Sir Matt rested his elbow on the window and his chin in his palm, eyes fixed on the midnight landscape. Ceres sat across from him, certain it was his memories that held his attention. But they were not hers to touch. She smoothed her skirt over her thighs and searched for the right words to say. It was a…difficult situation she found herself in. Attempting to relate to his emotions was akin to reaching across the ocean’s expanse to touch Shi Island with her tail.
Ever since she was a kitten, she’d grown used to the constant relocation that [Magic Knight] demanded. From her first studies at the Venicia School of Etiquette, then moving to train beneath the Knights of Sorentina, and then finally traveling from town to town on Shi Island to offer her assistance. Each step of her journey required her to leave behind companions and find friendship anew. The sting of missing those closest to her gradually became an excitement for fresh adventures and unfamiliar faces.
Perhaps she could gently encourage Matt to feel the same.
Ceres cleared her throat. “I eagerly await seeing Ronona with you, Sir Matt,” she began. “It has been my dream to walk the streets of the capital for some time.”
“Yeah. Wish we could all see it together,” Matt murmured. His gaze remained outside.
“That day will come, I assure you. However,” she paused and carefully rolled her response on her tongue before she continued, “the days in our past nor our future should not tarnish our present experiences.”
Matt chuckled and dropped his arm from the window. “That’s a really fancy way to say ‘YOLO.’” He leaned his head back against the seat and let his forearms rest against his thighs.
“Forgive me for my unfamiliarity with the term.” Ceres tipped her head in curiosity. It was good to hear him speak more candidly.
“It stands for ‘You only live once.’ Something people said in my last world. Usually when they were about to do something stupid,” he explained.
Ceres giggled. “Was it a term you used often, Sir Matt?” she quipped.
“More than I should have, probably.” His smile caught the moonlight, and Ceres’s tension eased. Her words were reaching him. “I’m sorry, Ceres. I know I haven’t been the greatest person to be around lately.”
“There is no need to apologize. Truly.” She leaned forward and lay her hand on his knee. “Life is filled with meetings and partings. Saying goodbye, if even for a short time, can be a difficult thing.”
“I know, it’s just…” He stared at her hand for a few heartbeats, then took it in his. It was warm and sure. “Everything in my life has felt so damn temporary. If I blink, it’s gone. And I know that sounds stupid. But like you said, this is harder than I expected, I guess.”
Ceres squeezed his hand. “Keke, Cannoli, and Ravyn will be safe. We can send missives to them after we’ve reached Ronona.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced to the side. “Mind showing me how to do that?”
There was so much he still did not know about Nyarlea. Ceres had to remind herself that it had not even been a year since he was born among them. “Of course, Sir Matt.”
He breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Thanks. One less thing for Cailu to scold me for.”
“Sir Cailu uses the same tone with you as my father did with me when I was a kitten.” Ceres laughed, though it was drier than she intended.
“Oh yeah? What was your dad like?”
“Hm.” Ceres ducked her head and moved across the carriage to sit beside him. She found comfort in the heat of his shoulder against hers. Speaking openly of her father had always proven challenging. “He was strong like Sir Cailu. But his teachings were far more brash, and I found myself often scolded.” She touched her braid. “As I have mentioned before, I was not a well-behaved kitten.”
“Yeah, I would have loved to see an unhinged Ceres kitten. It’s hard for me to imagine.”
Ceres blushed. “To be true, I find that side of myself is still well and alive. I silence her often.” She leaned her head against Matt’s arm.
“I’m sure you could let her out just a little bit. I don’t think anyone would mind.”
“You have caught glimpses of her, to be sure.” Ceres hummed. Perhaps due to more drink than she could handle, but she chose to omit that part.
“What made you decide to…well, behave?” Matt asked.
“Learning from Madame Celestia that I was harming my father’s reputation with my misconduct brought me great shame. I wished so desperately, to embody him. To become a daughter he could be proud of, and to serve as a beacon of safety to those who could not help themselves.
“Once I learned that I could be a [Magic Knight] and assist my island as he had, I worked tirelessly to earn his praise. I wanted to show him that I could be just and true.” She paused and fingered the lace at the edge of her skirt. “However, he… He perished before he could see my acceptance into the Knights of Sorentina.”
Matt’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry to hear that, Ceres.”
“‘Tis alright. This was many years ago.” Ceres blinked and swallowed the lump in her throat. How silly it was that she still feared she’d fallen short of his expectations for her.
Matt let go of her hand and put an arm around her shoulders. The gesture was one Ceres had witnessed often between him and Keke, and she was surprised at the ease of his embrace. It felt lovely. “I have no doubt he’d be proud of you. If you ever wanna express how you’re feeling, you can always talk to me, you know.”
“Nonsense. I am the one consoling you, remember?” She leaned into him and found her own gaze moving to the window, recalling the scarce few memories she had left of her father. His image had started to fade, but she could still remember the sensation of his beard on her skin, the rough tone of his voice. She missed him dearly.
“I know.” Matt joined her in looking at the moon passing between the thick canopy of trees. “For what it’s worth, my dad wasn’t around much, either. Sounds pretty similar to yours, actually—a lot of scolding when he did come home.” He sighed. “He wanted to send me to military school, but my mom wouldn’t let him.”
“Military school?” Ceres crinkled her brow.
“Yeah. Just from what you’ve talked about with the [Magic Knight]s, it sounds like a lot of the same stuff. Strict schedules, constant training, things like that.”
“Oh! Yes, quite similar, then.”
“I didn’t want to go. It meant I’d have to leave my friends behind. We moved around a lot when I was a kid already, so moving again would have sucked.” A wry smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. “But maybe military school would have been good for me, after all. I didn’t turn out nearly as well as you.”
“I disagree, Sir Matt. You bear all the qualities of a knight. Bravery, determination, selflessness. You are the kind of man that kittens hear of in fairytales and hope to accompany one day.” Ceres smiled. “In short, you are this catgirl’s dream come true.”
Matt scoffed. “I’m…not sure I agree, but thanks, Ceres.” His words came in a murmur, and heat flowed into his fingers. “Damn. Now I’m blushing. That’s a hell of a compliment from a beautiful girl.”
Ceres’s heart fluttered. The crisp evening air mingled with the spiced scent of Matt’s skin. The excited kitten inside of her stirred, urging her to move closer to him. How often had they been alone together? She could count the occurrences on one hand.
No, this was not the way to comfort him. He’d just coupled with Lily and bid Keke a farewell. He needed a solid presence. Someone he could confide in.
And yet…
She chewed her lower lip as she warred with her instincts. But when Matt turned to meet her gaze, the soft glow of the moon against his gentle expression silenced her chivalrous logic.
Ceres stood just enough to slide herself into Matt’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. She prayed to Saoirse that he was alright with this.
“Is this Ceres the catgirl or the kitten?” Matt asked.
Ceres bit her tongue and considered her response. “The kitten. She wishes to partake in your glow. Feel the contours of your skin. If you would allow it. After all, YOLO. Right, Matt?”
Matt laughed beneath his breath and tipped his forehead against hers. “I’ll allow it. Now come here.” He cradled her cheek in his palm and captured her kiss.
Goosebumps sprinkled her arms and legs when his tongue parted her lips. It had been so long since she’d tasted him, and his reciprocation stoked the fire in her veins. His fingers wandered to the base of her tail and stroked with an experience she hadn’t yet found in their time together. Ceres moaned against his mouth and squirmed in his lap. She moved one hand to his chest, tracing the chiseled lines beneath his top and letting her fingers trail south—
“This will do for the evening. Thank you.” Cailu’s voice caught her ear.
Ceres broke their kiss and gasped. She hadn’t realized they’d stopped. Nor had Matt, if his widened eyes were taken into account. She scrambled back to her seat and shivered, tucking her tail against her thigh as etiquette deemed appropriate.
Cailu appeared at their window with a lantern. Ceres prayed that she did not appear as flush as she felt.
“We will rest here for the evening. Tomorrow, we will continue on to Ronona,” Cailu announced. “Come along.”
“Sure thing.” Matt shrugged, seemingly at ease. “Be right there.”
Cailu departed, the forms of Kirti and Zahra following close behind him. Once he’d disappeared from view, Matt smiled, found Ceres’s hand, and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you, Ceres.”
Still catching her breath, she nodded. “Of course, Sir Matt.”
Ceres followed him as he left the carriage, working hard to silence the salacious demands of the voice inside her. She would need to be patient.
Just for now.
