30 November (1 Hrívë)An Unexpected Addition
Elnara had headed off to the market early that morning, alone, with the thought in mind that she would find some things for the children for winter. It was growing ever closer, after all: this date in her land was winter already. She herself was wearing her warm spider silk cloak on this trip, and would be returning with more for the children so that they could keep playing outside.
She passed a box she hadn’t seen before as she headed towards the section of the market she wanted to see: a thick cardboard box that looked as though there were a cat inside. There were letters on the side of the box, but they had been washed away by the recent rain, and she couldn’t make them out. Shrugging mentally, she passed it by and promptly forgot about it.
She went about her shopping, quickly now that she was used to the way things worked here in Gaia. She bought several bolts of cloth, some sweaters, boots, and scarves, and she was just turning to leave when she heard a shout behind her.
A man was running through the crowd, his face furious, fist raised threateningly as he chased someone – or something. “Get back here, ya maggot!” he hollered angrily. “Get yer filthy paws off my goods!”
It was then that she saw who the man was chasing. There was a silvery white, cat-like creature streaking through the crowds, something pale green in its mouth. As it drew nearer, Elnara could see that it was a child – a neko child, and that it seemed to be carrying some sort of article of clothing as it raced along on all fours.
Instinctively, she knelt and snatched it up as it tried to run past her, and she saw then that it was a little boy. He swiped at her with his hands, trying to scratch her with his long fingernails (little claws?), and she gasped as she felt her cheek open and begin to bleed.
“Calm down,” she murmured, holding his hands still against her arm so that he couldn’t cause any more damage. His yellow eyes were the most cat-like she had ever seen on a neko (and being related to four, she was quite familiar with them), and he was baring his teeth – with fear, she judged. The poor child – for child he was – was shivering, and she saw then that it was a hat in his mouth, a little blue-green fur-lined winter hat shaped for cat-ears.
Her heart broke for him. He was obviously just trying to get warm – and with the weather getting colder every day, he needed it. If, as she suspected, it was he who had been in that cardboard box at the side of the street, it was not likely that he would survive the winter, especially without proper clothes. At the moment, he was wearing nothing but some shredded rags.
“Oi!” The vendor reached them finally, his face red with exertion and fury. “Give me that!” And he reached for the hat, intent on taking it away again.
The little neko held onto it tightly with his teeth, hissing now and clutching at Elnara’s arms for support rather than trying to attack her.
“How much does it cost, sir?” she asked quickly, before the hat could be destroyed.
“It’ll cost this little beast a twenty-piece,” he growled back at her, eyeing her warily. “He’s ruined half my stock this week, trying to take them. No good little-”
“I’ll pay for it,” Elnara said hurriedly, putting one hand in her purse and pulling out a handful of coins. She gave the man two ten-piece coins, and he let go of the hat, albeit reluctantly.
“You’ve no idea what you’re doing,” he told her, pocketing the money. “This one’s wild, he’s nothing more than a thief! And now he’ll think he can get away with it, just you see.”
Elnara’s grip on the neko tightened instinctively and she frowned at the man. “He would freeze to death if everyone was like you,” she replied coldly. “You have your money, now leave the poor child alone.” And with that, she turned and walked away.
She found a quiet corner and sat down so that she could put the hat on the little neko. He squirmed a little, but once the hat was on (unruined, thankfully his teeth hadn’t torn it at all) he began to purr, his entire body vibrating, and rubbed his head against Elnara’s shoulder. Elnara picked him up with both hands and looked at him more closely. He was about the size of a human infant, twice Idhril’s height, and his skin was incredibly pale, nearly white. His hair and fur were a silvery white, and when she turned him around to look at his back, she was amazed to find that he had pure white angel wings.
“An angelic neko?” she smiled. “Interesting. Do you have a name, little one?”
She reached out one finger to tap his nose, but he ducked away from it. Then he sniffed it tentatively, then nibbled a bit on her fingertip, then licked it a bit. Finally, he looked up at Elnara and said, “Mew?”
Elnara had seen a neko like this before, one who meowed instead of speaking … Triton’s daughter, Iris. Well, no wonder he was on his own …
“You need clothes,” she murmured, standing again and holding him close.
Less than an hour later, the little neko was fully clothed in a brand new pair of black pants, a long-sleeved white shirt, and a pale blue overshirt that very nearly matched his hat. He resisted any coat or cloak that Elnara tried to put on him, so she decided to forego that bit. Finally, she couldn’t put off going home any longer.
“Where do you belong?” she asked him softly as he nibbled the tip of her finger again. He was curled up in her arms, holding her hand with both of his and holding her arm in place with both of his feet (cute little furry feet they were) as he nibbled and licked her finger. “You were in that box, weren’t you?”
A lump rose in her throat. “I can’t leave you there … even with your new clothes, you’ll freeze,” she murmured. She smiled and poked his nose gently, causing him to mew and squirm in her arms. “You’ll just have to come home with me, then.”
He blinked and looked up at her, and she was certain that she saw in his eyes an intelligence that belied his inability to speak – and as if in confirmation of her observation, he smiled and closed his eyes and purred.
“You need a name, then,” she laughed, nuzzling his nose and adjusting her grip on him to block him from the wind more effectively. “What about … I don’t know …” She smiled down at him. “Elvish names don’t seem to fit for you … perhaps something … Kaito?”
She’d heard the name somewhere before, and it had sounded like a good name.
The neko kitten purred even louder, and Elnara laughed.
“Kaito it is,” she smiled, scratching him slowly behind the ears. “Well, Kaito, let’s go meet the rest of the family.”
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