"Enough!"
Master Chingon jets between us, a flash of white fast enough to ruffle my fur, his eyes wide with fury. One white paw hangs a whisker from my face, sparks of lightning whispering along tufts of white sprouting out between toe beans. I tense, readying myself for an electric blast that doesn't come. Hesitantly, my eyes wander from the sparking pad up his shoulder, past his piercing eyes, to his other paw. It grips tight around Azura's foreleg, saving me from a painful slash I hadn't seen coming. The tips of her claws, halted half a whisker from my cheek, zip back in. Her eyes shift from predatory to fearful as the moment catches up with her. My chest heaves as I hungrily suck in oxygen. I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath.
Azura pulls back and drops into a low bow, "Master, I—"
"My courtyard…" He mumbles. His eyes sweep across torn moss, tipped boulders, scattered soil, and slashed roots.
"I'm sorry, Master," she says, still bowed. "I shouldn't have let things go so far."
Shouldn't she be apologizing to me? I'm the one with all the cuts and bruises. Then again, I did ask her not to hold back. The battle's gift of adrenaline steadily fades. My legs shake like saplings in an earthquake. Standing is a struggle, bowing is even more difficult, but I will not show dishonor—nor weakness. Back straight, I tilt my head down in apology. A symphony of grunts and a spattering of muscle spasms make it less graceful than intended, but I proceed with my bow regardless.
"My courtyard?!" The anger has caught up with him. It pushes hot air from his nose in great huffs. It makes his paws clench and his claws flex. His eyes pin Azura, then me, then back to Azura.
"The fault is mine, Master. Azura… Well, I pushed her into it." Did I really just say that? "I figured real combat might awaken my Martial Purr," I explain, wincing as the admission flows out of me. I wipe away a stream of blood tickling my brow as Master glares icy daggers through my soul.
"That's what the training ring is for." His paw taps at some ripped moss, trying to press it back into place.
Azura bends into another bow, nearly cracking her skull on the ground. Her eyes dart to me; a small flick of her tail tells me I should do the same. More cramps and plenty of grunts, but quickly I'm folded in half, straining to look as honorable as possible despite the damn shaking.
"We accept whatever punishment you deem necessary," she says sternly.
Wait a second. I'd never shy away from righteous consequence, but I've seen how freely Master doles out zaps for minor offenses… Perhaps negotiating a punishment would be more prudent.
Master looms, eyes narrowed on us, chest still puffed out, tail flicking angrily at the roof, ears pinned back, chewing on his lip, likely sorting through a mental surplus of ways to make us pay for wrecking his cherished courtyard. My trembling legs wobble. I strain to hold the bow, but my muscles give in to the cramps, the soreness, the exhaustion. Like a sack of wet garbage, I flop onto the mutilated moss with a slap.
"Help him up." Master sighs, squeezing at the bridge of his snout. "The courtyard will grow back stronger; you two will see to that… But we'll have to worry about that another day. I have something far more important that needs doing. Something that must be done right away, and as swiftly as possible."
"Then I'll handle it," Azura pounces at the opportunity to regain favor, letting me drop back to the dirt. I shoot her a quick glare, but she is too focused on sucking up to notice.
"No. You'll both be going."
"Master, I'm sure I—"
"Both of you!" He bellows. "This calls for two cats."
Strange, Master has never needed more than one cat for a mission. One could argue that all the missions I've been given could be completed by half a cat, or none at all. "Why—"
"Why?" He snaps, biting off my question. "Because the sun rises each morning and sets each night! Because if one of you dies, the other may continue! Because I said so!" Master's jaw muscles tighten, then relax as he takes a cooling breath. "I need this delivered." He pulls a scroll sealed with a knot of red twine from the inside pocket of his haori.
"A message?" Azura questions.
"One of vital importance," he declares, all of his usual nonchalance nowhere to be found. "You two will deliver this to my old friend, Jellybean. Radu has already corresponded with him about the meeting place; all that's left is to take the scroll."
"Why not have the crow fly the message over?" I wonder aloud.
Master glares for a moment. "Radu may be a good friend, and a trusted ally, but crows are chismoso by nature. There's simply no chance the message would arrive to Jellybean still sealed. Radu just wouldn't be able to help himself. But two loyal and honorable pupils should have no problem keeping their eyes from prying, right?" The threat hisses from his lips, disguised as a question.
"Of course," Azura agrees.
"And why not take it yourself?" I ask at the same time. Azura delivers a subtle kick to my leg.
"I have my reasons," he offers coldly. "Besides, I have a couple of impatient pupils who need better things to do than destroy my peaceful home. Now, enough questions. You will take this scroll to Jellybean without undoing the seal. If it arrives undone, Jellybean has been given instructions to cut you both down for betraying your Master. Understood?"
"Don't worry, Master," Azura bows again. "I won't allow him to fail you."
"I—"
"You will meet under the bridge that crosses the canal to the west. The one guarded by a statue of a dancing woman," Master explains. "On the near bank of the canal below grows a patch of spiralling ferns. You will find Jellybean there at sundown. Once the message is delivered, hurry home. Is that clear?"
"I thought we were to avoid the canal?" Azura questions.
"Not today. This…" Master trails off, apparently thinking it better to keep whatever it is to himself. "If trouble finds you along the way, I need you to prioritize the secrecy of the scroll above all else. This message cannot fall into the wrong paws. Maintaining the integrity of this seal is far more important than adhering to the meeting, so remember: retreat if you must. And, if the need arises, I ask that you protect this scroll with your lives."
"Should we expect trouble?" I ask.
"Expecting trouble is sure to bring it, but preparation makes a smart cat wise. Now go, there's no time to waste."
. . .
"Something's not right…" Azura breaks the long silence as we rush through a shadowy alleyway painted in evening sunlight. "I've never seen Master act like that."
"You think he really told this Jelly-cat to kill us if we read the scroll?"
"Jellybean," Azura corrects. "And I'm not sure. It's not like him to act so…"
"Serious?"
She nods, then adjusts the scroll's rope handle slung over her shoulder. "This way. We're almost there."
I follow her up a stack of boxes and onto a tall, wooden fence. We scamper across the top, leap to the branch of a tree, and cross above a grassy lawn housing a captive dog. It looks up as we slink by, offers us a lazy growl, then resumes its chewing as we jump to the roof. The sun-baked ceramic tiles sting my paw pads as we hurry across.
"Has he ever spoken of Jellybean? Do you have any idea what we're in for?"
"I know they're old friends… From what I've heard, he's way less easy-going than Master." Azura jumps from the roof to another tree. Claws clinging to bark, we shimmy down and cross a wide street. "Hear that?" Azura stops, listening to the breeze.
I focus on the sounds. Human chariots sputter and rumble down concrete. Wind chimes tinkle in the breeze. A massive metal snake screeches through its underground tunnels. Human cubs holler over trifles. Leaves rustle. Then I catch it, hanging in the background: the gentle murmurs of moving water. The canal!
"We're close," I nod, hoping my senses impress Azura. She continues without waiting.
"Is there a reason you usually avoid the canal?" I ask.
"Dogs… But don't worry about that now. Just stay focused."
As we pass through the shade of a large metal box, a stone human forever locked mid-dance reveals herself in the distance. The sound of water amplifies, as does the smell of wet earth and humans. They pass by the statue in massive drones. Hundreds upon hundreds, paying the frozen performer no mind. How strange a creature. What other beast would take the time to turn stone into their likeness, just for it to be left in perpetual disinterest?
Sticking tightly to Azura's tail, we weave our way through the current of meandering humans as they flow from the ground like water from a spring. Some notice us with fleeting interest, but most couldn't be more oblivious if they tried. It is truly a wonder that they have managed to rise to second on the food chain.
"Azura." I point ahead at a human pulled by a fox-like dog with greedy eyes and a spiraled tail. She adjusts our course, looping us far enough out of reach that all the dog can do is whine at its human and tug at the rope holding it back.
The lonely statue watches us stride towards a grassy slope that falls to the canal's bank. Her eyes are as warm as you'd expect from a stone, but her expression surprises me. I see focus in her face, a quality quite unnatural to humans in my experience. I shrug it off and rush to catch up with Azura, who's already working her way down the steep hillside to a gravel path along the canal.
"There," Azura points to a growth of ferns in the shadow of the bridge towering overhead. We bound across the crunching gravel with a final burst of speed.
"Easier than expected," I purr, claiming a cool bit of shade to rest my paws in.
Azura swings the scroll around, double-checking that the twine is still tightly knotted. She pulls it close and eyes a panting human suspiciously as she jogs past, music blaring from strange, magic beads buried in her ears. I roll onto my back, allowing myself a quick moment of rest.
"Don't get too relaxed; this place isn't as peaceful as it seems."
Sun-soaked grass and gravel, clear water gently grumbling along its path, pigeons discussing theology on the bridge railing above, and only an occasional uninterested human in sight—this place doesn't seem dangerous at all.
But then I hear it.
Azura's head jets up, ears at attention, tail puffed.
"Bokuden."
"I know." The sound of not-too-distant barking already has me at the ready, straining to identify the distance. It's close, but I can't see the source. Stinking pack scent wafts down the canal, clinging to the evening breeze like a tick to flesh.
"Two." Azura sniffs. "They're heading this way." Sniff. "No humans with them."
"Strays…" I mutter bitterly. Little is more threatening than a pack of stray dogs. If humans serve one purpose, it is to keep those beasts on short leashes.
"Hide," Azura whispers. We slink, bellies against the ground, deeper into the tall ferns, pressing low and staying silent. The smells and sounds of dogs crescendo.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Large paws dig into gravel.
Crunch. Crunch.
They stop.
Thunderous sniffing sends chills rushing down my spine.
I fight the urge to peek up over the ferns. The beasts are close, far too close for reconnaissance. My chest burns as I hold my breath. Azura motions at me, flicking her tail quietly.
"Smell that?" A snarling voice asks.
"Cattttts," another draws out the word as soft as a cactus.
Azura quietly slips the sling from her shoulder and pushes the scroll towards me. With her tail, she gestures that I should retreat further into the shadows. How does she expect me to do that?
"Shhh. Hear that?" One of the dogs slobbers.
No… Not even she would…
Azura bolts from the ferns.
"Cat!" The dogs howl with ravenous excitement
What is she thinking?!
Like a pitch-black specter, Azura sprints towards the strays as they lick drool from their drooping jowls.
Damn! Strong or not, only a fool would attack two dogs head-on like this.
"Az—" I start to call out to her, but cut myself off, remembering the assignment she gave me. Retreat further into the shadows. A dense shrub huddles halfway up the grassy slope would work. But I can't just abandon her. I won't. I may not be as skilled as she is, but surely any backup would be better than facing two stray dogs on your own. My chest pounds. The relentless throbbing of my heart fills my skull. It builds, bouncing between my ears until its all I can hear. I gulp down a thick ball of anxiety. Just as I start to charge, I skid to a stop as her true plan unfolds.
With her trademark grace, she swiftly dives under a dog's legs, narrowly avoiding snapping jaws. The mutts spin and spiral out of control as she runs in unpredictable patterns beneath the canines. As the ball of confusion intensifies, she breaks free, bolting down the path away from our meeting location with the beasts hot on her tail.
Of course! A diversion!
I rush for the bushes up the slope, the scroll's strap gripped tight in my teeth. Fast! I must be fast. If the dogs happen to look back and spot me, Azura's gambit will be in vain. They will split up, and we'll be forced to face each of them one-on-one. Can't have that.
Faster! I pick up speed despite my aching muscles and heavy bones, leaping into the protective branches as swiftly as my paws can take me. Midair, I feel a tug on the scroll. It yanks free from my grip.
I land, panic already swelling in my chest. Spinning, I find the scroll hanging in the air. Its red twine snagged by a twig. Hooked, it swings like a slow-motion pendulum. Back and forth.
The knot loosens a hair with each swing.
Back and forth.
A gasp leaps from the deepest part of my soul. My body goes ice cold. My paws are instantly slick with clammy nerves.
I rush forward. Must stop the swinging. Must tighten the seal! Paw outstretched, jetting through the air, past rocking twigs and swaying leaves, as fast as I can go. Back and forth. Knot slipping hair by hair. Time paused, breath caught in my throat. I strain for it. Back and—
Just as my paw reaches, the knot comes undone. The edge of the scroll unravels in slow motion. My heart stops as the flap unrolls just enough to reveal two words scratched in cat-code:
ZEI SHO.