Chapter 8
While Anemo and Arcibald were in the kitchen discussing how... completely untraceable she was, Remi, Bise crept stealthily toward the coat rack tree. It was loaded even more heavily than a Christmas tree, and she needed to map out an attack plan. The backpack wasn't even visible anymore... actually, only a strap could be seen, a tiny piece of a strap. But that was enough for the sharp eyes of an Angora cat.
"To free the backpack, I need to get up there! To get up there, right above the coat rack tree, I have to make a daring leap. I'll get a running start, like this, get a running start... I'll go up the stairs, and from there, I'll definitely reach the top. Thank Heaven I can still find a way!"
Elegant and agile like a true feline, Remi climbed about seven steps. She practiced the leap a few times just in her mind, then gathered momentum and, with one single bound, landed right on top of the coat rack tree, making it wobble, but only a little.
"Oh, I landed safely. Let me catch my breath first. But look at all the junk the 'God of Poetry' stuffed up here. It's obvious Lady Aura hasn't been around for an inspection! I'll take them one by one."
The white cat began using her clawed paws to hurl all the clothes blocking her path into the space between the front door and the coat rack tree. Two jackets, an oversized cape, a cap, an umbrella, and a mile-long scarf. Only after she cleared the scarf did the backpack finally become accessible. She caught her breath once more and, with one final effort, used both paws to lift the backpack, planning to throw it onto the floor too. But this time, the coat rack tree began to sway—much more violently than before—and ultimately lost its balance completely. The crash was now inevitable, but Bise leaped into the air first, landing right on top of the coat rack tree, which was still piled with clothes but now flat on the floor. She stuck the landing like a skilled surfer on a board, or a witch on her own broomstick.
"There! Cats always land on their feet!"
A loud crash was heard in the kitchen, sounding as if the roof had collapsed or an elephant... a mammoth, something massive, had fallen out of the sky.
"What is that, Gale? Is it an earthquake? Is your house falling down?" Arbalest asked, shocked by the bang, instantly throwing open the door between the hallway and the kitchen. The white cat looked back at him serenely, as if she were already planning to take off or ride away on the fallen coat rack tree.
The other furries had also shown up to see what kind of cataclysm was striking the House of Winds, arriving just in time to see the sharp-edged Arcibald Peter Stone scoop the white cat into his arms and stroke her with unexpected gentleness.
"Mon Dieu, I almost had a heart attack," Mistral muttered. "Look at that, kiddo. Look what Arbalest is doing. Did you ever expect the Boulder to be so..."
"What did you just call me? Arbalest? Anemo, my boy, I think you're getting awfully tired of having teeth in your mouth!"
"Me? I didn't even open my mouth. What's wrong with you, Arci?" Mistral gave a knowing look to Aeolus, who had turned himself into a sticker on the baseboard again—this time under the hallway radiator—but said nothing more. He then looked at Bise and silently signaled her to jump out of Arcibald's arms. She didn't need a second sign; she leaped immediately, breaking free from his grip.
"Sirocco, snatch the backpack while I distract them!" Bise whispered, and then, completely forgetting their arguments and grudges, all the furries vanished into thin air.
*
"Ah, we have the backpack, Miss Remi! I hid it behind the armchair where Aeolus hides his 'intellectualistic' stuff," Sirocco whispered to the furry crew out in the yard.
"You're a genius, kiddo... except the word is intellectual, not intellectualistic," Aeolus gently corrected him. Then, clearing his throat, he grew not just dead serious, but deeply worried. "Were you guys paying attention too? Arcibald heard Mistral, and he understood what he said."
"I noticed it too, boys! This definitely has something to do with my collar. It activates when someone pets me... I think. That person can understand what we're saying... I can't tell yet if they understand just cats or other animals too, but it's extraordinary."
"Do you think so, ma chérie? Once we see what's inside the backpack, we'll know if we need Anemo's help or not..."
Suddenly, an argument broke out in Noel's yard between the pigeons and Skye.
"If someone were to pet you right now, Remi, we would find out if the collar is a bridge of understanding to all animals or just to cats," Aeolus mused out loud.
"Your friend Gogo has such an ugly mouth... listen to how he's taunting Skye. How can you have friends like that, Sirocco?"
"I don't, Mistral... Gogo isn't my friend anymore."
"Was he the one the tufted one saved? I must admit, mon ami, I can't tell them apart. They all look the same to me."
"It wasn't Gogo she saved. That one still has a scar under his wing."
"Ha! Did you hear the nerve on him, telling the poor pup to kiss his you-know-what... If I didn't have a sensitive stomach, I swear I'd eat him. That is no way to speak to a radiant being like Skye!"
"I think he's a thief too. I saw him with something yellow in his beak. He definitely stole from the pup's 'spare sun'!"
"Just between you and me, kid, I don't think Skye bought her collection from a store either..."
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