The Collar of The Two Skies Chapter 6

 Chapter 6

Kidnapping a backpack from a coat rack tree is no easy mission, especially when clothes have been piled right on top of it. That morning, in the hallway of the House of the Winds, our furry crew had gathered at the base of the rack, eyeing it up like mountaineers before climbing a major peak.

"So, what do we do now?" the white cat asked.

"That backpack is so buried that we risk being caught in an avalanche if we 'kidnap' it, ma chérie," Mistral replied. "Maybe we should wait for a better moment... Maybe Mrs. Aura will come and tidy up, or maybe it will rain and Anemo will take some of those raincoats..."

"Do you think so?"

"Miss Remi... I mean Bise, now that you have the name of a wind, why don't you take a day off? We could go into the yard, and I could teach you how to hunt... I'm a very good hunter."

Mistral, who had just looked away from the coat rack to admire his perfect claws, chimed in immediately:

"Don't believe him! He’s never hunted anything but his own tail or the shadows of the neighbor's pigeons. You are a braggart, mon petit."

Aeolus, who was tired of staring at the coat rack on an empty stomach, padded softly toward the kitchen.

"I need my coffee bean! Don't count on me before that!"

As if triggered by the exact same need, Anemo appeared out of nowhere, his hair wild, wearing navy blue cotton pajamas covered in sheep... prints of sheep in various poses, ready, of course, to be counted by insomniacs.

Bise bathed him in the blue of her eyes for a few seconds and began to laugh.

"Tell me, please, Sirocco, is this the man I would have gone on a date with if my... transformation hadn't happened?"

Anemo stroked the ginger cat in passing, then Mistral, and finally lingered a little longer on the crown of the white cat's head."She said your name is Bise! It’s like she chose that name specifically for us... I'll take care of you, don't worry, I don't bite, you're in good hands. Come on, let me give you some kibble... Or do Your Majesties prefer liver?"

As if on cue, the whole crew lined up behind their master for breakfast, but Sirocco was muttering, upset by the white cat’s words.

"Anemo is a catch... Uh, how did Aeolus put it? Anemo is actually a very good catch, you shouldn't laugh at him. So what if he has sheep pajamas? He also has fish ones and Garfield ones, if you must know. He has a lot of pajamas, he's rich!"

"Sorry, boys, but I really couldn't help myself... I didn't mean to upset you."

"Yeah, well, now we know why Anemo writes his love poems under a pen name, ma belle, since you are... like that," Mistral added, completing Sirocco's "defense."

"Excuse me?" Bise asked in surprise. "Anemo writes poetry too?"

But no one was paying attention to the white cat anymore, not even Aeolus, who had secured his coffee bean and dashed out into the yard for some fresh air.

*

The crunching of kibble had turned into white noise for Anemo's ears. He was savoring his brew—complete with pink salt and a collar of whipped cream—at the small table in the yard when Fleur appeared on the fence, a sandwich in her hand.

"Good morning, world! Mr. Anemo, give me a hand, please. With one hand full, I can't jump the fence as easily."

"Of course, topknot! Let me just put my mug down. You don't want to taste my little cloud today, do you?"

With two swift movements, Mr. Anemo lifted the girl up and set her on the swing.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school? I thought you had a few days left until vacation."

Fleur took a hearty bite of her sandwich and explained while pumping her legs to get the swing going.

"Yes, but today we’re going to the movies... I’m leaving a bit later. What movie do you think we’re going to watch right there in Blanch? Uh, let's see if you can guess!"

"Well, I suppose it's that animated movie where a topknot like you saves a pigeon from a hawk’s talons..."

Bise, who had just finished her breakfast, leaped onto the swing next to the girl and then boldly curled up right in her lap to be petted. Fleur welcomed her royally, running her sandwich-scented fingers through the cat’s immaculate fur, but she didn't take her eyes off Anemo. She widened her eyes playfully, mimicking cosmic surprise.

"Exactly that one, Mr. Anemo! What a strange coincidence, isn't it?" she snorted, with an irony far too mature for a seven-year-old. 

"Because who else could have written such a masterpiece? A famous, mysterious author... and probably extremely rich, given his collection of sheep pajamas. Mommy says that if the movie is a success, the writer will finally be able to afford some long summer pants."

Anemo nearly choked on his coffee's whippedwhipped cream collar. He stared at the girl for a long moment, while the pink salt at the bottom of his mug suddenly seemed to give him ideas for a new chapter.

"Topknot, you should know your fame is mostly thanks to me. Don't let it go to your head and vanish into thin air like Remi."

Bise let out a deep purr, fixing her blue eyes on Anemo. She seemed to be saying:

 "I'm right here, you dummy, look at me!"

As Fleur stroked the white cat, the Collar of the Two Skies—so well camouflaged by the spotless fur—sent an electric pulse that was felt simultaneously by both the girl and the feline.

"Ouch! Did you shock me, snowy?"

Suddenly, the hum of the neighborhood seemed to gain a clearer voice: Noel's pigeons, two blue dragonflies in the flower bed, and the furballs who seemed very upset with the one being pampered in her arms...

"We wanted to help her, and she’s acting all 'superiority.' That's not nice... Right, Mistral? 

We don't 'empa... empafize' with girls like that!"

"Are you talking about me, Ginger? Are you guys talking?"

 Fleur bristled, looking perplexed at the ginger cat.

From across the fence, at number 47, a man’s voice called out:

"Fleur, we have to go! Leave Mr. Anemo alone! You can talk when you get back!"

The girl stood up immediately, as if snapping out of a daydream.

"Can you give me another hand, sir? And give me a cooler pen too... I might be signing autographs!"

*

"What was that? Did the topknot understand what we were saying?" Sirocco asked, his eyes wide with astonishment and his tail puffed with confusion, looking toward the fence where the girl had just vanished.Mistral lowered his paw, stopping mid-groom, losing his flawless Parisian air for a split second. He narrowed his green eyes, fixing them on Bise, who remained on the swing, elegantly shaking a paw as if nothing had happened.

"Mon Dieu, Sirocco, stop screaming like a kitten scared of the vacuum cleaner!" he huffed, quickly regaining his composure. "Though... I must admit, that girl’s look was not ordinary. She was measuring us up as if she understood every insult directed at our distinguished author."

Bise let out a long, feline sigh and stretched lazily on the swing's cushion. The Collar of the Two Skies, hidden deep beneath her fluffy ruff, had completely stopped its electric pulsing.

"Of course she understood, boys," she spoke with a detachment that drove them crazy. "When you wear a relic that links two worlds around your neck, these kinds of... information leaks happen. You should have watched your words. Now, my little feminist secret has reached the ears of a seven-year-old girl. Not to mention you called me this and that right in front of her."

"But we were just praising Anemo!" Sirocco defended himself, lowering his ears, still offended by the term "Ginger." "Anemo is good. And he writes poems! Even if they are under a pen name."

Aeolus, who had just returned from the house with a fresh coffee bean between his teeth, stopped in the shade of a rogue plantain next to the hydrangea bush and dropped the bean like a heavy burde.

"If the topknot really understands, she could be of real help to us. Let's stop fighting over nonsense!

""What help?" Sirocco grumbled. "Do you believe, Aeolus, in your Zen wisdom, that I’m going to lift another finger for Miss Writer? She can just stay a cat for all I care, it's none of my business."

"Yeah, mine neither!" Sirocco reinforced. "This is a matter of... 'loyity'!"

"Loyalty, kiddo," the white cat corrected him. "Fine, don't help me. I'll manage somehow without you."Then, in a lower voice, mostly to herself:"Hmm... love poems? Why didn't I know anything about this until now?