LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter Forty-Seven
Today I opted for cereal. Indigo was thrilled. The cat, not so much.
“What is this?” the cat asked.
“It's cereal in milk,” I answered. “Cats like milk, I figured this would be up your alley.” I poured the cinnamon cereal into my own bowl all the way to the top. The cat and Indigo had smaller bowls in front of each of them, with lower rims. I poured milk into my bowl and then sat down on the stool.
“Are you okay?” asked the cat, after staring at the bowl then back at me.
I nodded. “Yeah, just had some weird dreams.” I shrugged and dug my spoon into the cinnamon-crunchy goodness. Cereal was a treat for me, since it felt like you could never have enough, which meant you’d start with a bowl of reasonable size, and then the next thing you knew the box was empty. The little squares soaked up the milk, and I ate with glee.
The cat finally started eating the pieces, and he nodded. “This isn’t bad, not as sweet as I thought it’d be.”
Indigo chirped in reply, standing in the center of her bowl.
I blinked at the scene but didn’t say anything. She was feeding herself, and I could always rinse her off in the sink later.
“So, what did you dream about?” asked the cat. Somehow his bowl was completely empty in the time it took me to look at Indigo. No Milk, nothing left, like it’d been licked clean.
“Uh,” I started. “Something about dragons, and my brother, plus the sunflower seeds I got in that box yesterday.”
Indigo started frantically chirping and knocked her bowl over. I quickly righted it before milk went everywhere and she sheepishly gave me a smile.
“Eat first, then words.” I looked at the cat. “She asked what kind of dragons, right?”
The cat nodded with a grin. “See you're learning how to speak dragon.”
“Maybe Indigo-speak,” I mumbled before shoving another spoonful into my mouth. I let the conversation pause as both Indigo and I finished our cereal. Part of me wondered if I should have made something with a little more protein for her, but I just didn’t have the energy. Hopefully, she would be fine with a carb-heavy morning. Lunch would be something better.
The cat moved across the island toward the doorway.
“All I remember about the dragons is that there was a red one and a blue one. The red one was bigger.” I explained to Indigo.
The cat froze. Then he slowly turned to face me. “Red and blue, you say?”
“Yep, but that’s all I remember.” I stretched upward and gathered the bowls into the sink. “Is that important?” I turned back, and the cat was gone. Indigo stayed on the counter, milk gathering under the spot where she sat as it dripped down her body. “Let me rinse you off quickly before you grab your MP3 player.”
She nodded. I picked her up and brought her over to the sink, which was already empty. The water was warm as I ran her under it. It didn’t take long for her to be clean again and I dried her off with a hand towel.
Indigo chirped her thanks then jumped into the air to glide to where I had set the player on the counter, away from breakfast. The milk puddle was already gone from the counter. The cat was on point today with the magic. I smiled, looking around the clean kitchen before heading towards the storefront. Making coffee was the next order of business. I had opted for sugar before coffee this morning because I’d woken up starving, hence the cereal.
I yanked my mug out from beneath the counter and started grinding beans. The cat sat next to the register looking thoughtful. His tail moved about randomly, twitching this way and that, which usually meant he was thinking hard about things. I pulled his teacup out as well, and decided to go with a basic vanilla latte today, with extra foam.
I frothed the milk with the syrup and smiled as the warm hints of vanilla filled the space. Once both cups were filled, I topped them off with the shots of espresso. Only one in the cat’s and three in mine. No designs this time. I moved the cup closer to the cat, then took a sip of my own.
It was on point. “This is way too tasty,” I whispered to myself.
The cat stood up and tried his coffee from the teacup. “It is good today.” He hesitated and glanced at me. “You might want to make two more in teacups.”
“Oh, what’s on the schedule today?” I asked, moving back to Betty.
“Lady Borsal is visiting with a friend.”
My stomach dropped. It had to be an update on Indigo, maybe she’d even found her family. I nibbled on my lip as I pulled out two more teacups and started the process of making more milk. What if today was Indigo’s last day in the shop?
Indigo glided across the room from the bookshelves on the wall. She had claimed a small area near the door that gave her a fantastic view of everything. She had a small fuzzy pillow and a vase that she could hide behind if whoever was visiting wasn’t from a magical world. Her headphones dangled around her neck, and her little claws clutched the MP3 player as she made her way over to the counter.
“It sounds like you have visitors today,” I said, forcing myself to smile.
She held up the MP3 player and chirped something that I took to mean she was going to show it off.
That made me relax a little as I pulled the espresso shots.
“Are you ready?” asked the cat.
“Yep, let’s do this.”
The door unlocked and I finished up the two drinks just as the bell rang.
“Welcome to Meow,” I called out, catching sight of Lady Borsal. Pink scales flickered into my vision for a second before her pink robes came into view. Her orange eyes glowed as she smiled at me. She noticed the teacups, and Indigo sitting on the counter. “Just the ones I was looking for.”
Behind her was an older man. His hair was white, and he had bright blue eyes. He was slightly shorter than Lady Borsal, and walked with a cane. Despite that, his face wasn’t heavily wrinkled, but he still felt old, carrying a weight of centuries through the door with him. He slowly made his way after Lady Borsal, who approached the counter.
She reached out for Indigo, who instead held up the MP3 player, chirping rapidly. The Lady’s face softened, and she nodded along to whatever Indigo was saying before replying in more chirps. The cat shifted uneasily next to the register, and I moved a little closer to him.
The old man approached Indigo with a smile, then a small frown. “She isn’t the one,” his voice was soft, and he sounded hurt. “But it was worth a try.” He noticed my gaze. “My name is Lord Bennit.”
“I am Sable, the Shopkeeper, and this is The Cat.” I motioned to him. “It is nice to meet you. Though, I’m sorry Indigo isn’t the one you are looking for.”
He nodded softly. “It was a long shot as it’s been many years since we lost my daughter.”
“Don’t let your coffee get cold,” I motioned to one of the cups. “It will help warm you at least.” I assumed he was a dragon and probably never got cold, but still, good manners were important.
He chuckled, watching Lady Borsal chat with Indigo. “Did you design the machine she uses to listen to books?”
“I used something that exists in my world, and just made it fit her a little better,” I said, blushing.
“Something like that would be useful to my kind. I’d like to order several of them for my clan.” He studied the device in Indigo’s hands. “The older ones could make a project out of it.”
“I was just talking about it with Indigo,” said Lady Borsal. “It would be useful to record some of our stories in our language, to make sure we don’t lose them with time.”
I could never have guessed this was going to turn in this direction; I had just wanted to make sure she had enough reading material when I slept. “Yeah, we can order more,” I said, turning to look at The Cat.
He nodded. “That should be fine, it will take a few days.”
I relayed the information, then added, “Any updates on her family?”
Lady Borsal frowned. “I’d hoped that Lord Bennit would have some insight. He tracks all disappearances of our kind, and has for centuries.”
“Don’t worry, we will find her mother,” said Lord Bennit. “I am calling a conclave of the Clan of Lore. It is time we all met and took a roll call of new members. This is just giving me a push to bring everyone together. It will take some time, though.”
I swallowed. “Should Indigo go?” Fear crept through me, thinking about her leaving the shop. I couldn’t go with her, since I couldn’t step outside the door.
Lord Bennit glanced at Lady Borsal. “That shouldn’t be necessary, you are doing a fantastic job protecting the little one. She is growing at a good rate and learning what she needs to.” His gaze landed on me, and it felt like a light pressure gathered around me. “The Clan of Lore offers you friendship. If you need us, we will come.” His gaze turned to the Cat and the pressure vanished. “No matter what.”
The Cat didn’t move, just stared back, his green eyes glowing.