I’m glad I didn’t eat every crumpet on Niall’s oh-so-tempting plate, because the aty, hearty, spicy sll of sausage and peppers makes my stomach growl.
Demos drools, and I don’t bother teasing him about it. Gussie, however, tries to get him to keep his slobber to a minimum. [You’re in public.] She sounds like a boss bird. A Generalissimo.
It is an obstacle course getting through the flock of villagers flitting around the market square, but Niall’s cottage isn’t far from the sausage and pepper vendor. Unfortunately, everyone in the village has the exact sa hankering for Piro Ramaki’s sausage and pepper sandwiches.
"We’ll be late." Kaline’s head is on a swivel and her neck curving every which way as she tries to see around the line of villagers. "Oh, we shouldn’t have stayed so long at the cottage..."
"It can’t be helped." Vedette thrusts several gold pieces into Kaline’s hands. "Here, you stay in line and I’ll have a look around and see if I can’t spot our friend."
Gussie takes flight, circling over the general area of the sausage and pepper stand. Not to be outdone, Demos and I use our noses, but we don’t sll anything as fancy as the scent Hans Lamrmoor was wearing. Then it hits .
[Lightning!]
I cry out, and wait of her to respond. Rather forward of , but ti is of the essence.
Then, I hear it. The sweetest sound in all the word.
[BLAZE! Where are you?]
Finally!
Growling, Demos pokes with his paw, jolting out of my enraptured state. [Move it. I want sausage and peppers, or I’m going to jump on the stand and eat everything.]
[Hungry as a bear?]
Demos huffs. [You...are..impossible!]
I hear my stomach’s urgent ssages. [Lightning? Where are you?]
Her sweet voice echoes in my mind. [Over here at the table! My tar bought lunch for everyone! Lots of sausage and peppers, and hot spiced cider.]
I stand on my hind legs and nudge Kaline, tugging at her sleeve. Luckily, it’s long.
"Blaze!" She sounds very proper. "We can’t jump ahead in line, no matter how hungry you are."
ARGH!
[Demos, tell Vedette!]
Demos growls. [What do you take for? She’s coming!]
[Oh, I just can’t wait until I get Telepathy!]
A human hurricane, Vedette sweeps in. "Kaline! Our friend is saving seats for us! Co on if you want sausage and pepper sandwiches and hot spiced cider! Don’t be a slimy slow slug."
She doesn’t have to tell Kaline or twice!
Leaving the line, much to the gratitude of the famished villagers, we make it to a wooden table nearby. An elf stands up, his elegant pointed ears hidden beneath a broad-brimd straw hat, and his lordly personage concealed by a common laborer’s green jerkin and brown breeches. It’s a real Robin Hood visual here.
"Have a seat, friends," he says in a modest voice.
Lightning rushes up and rubs noses with . [You ca!]
Demos coughs loudly, while Gussie’s flapping wings could fan us all.
[Of course I ca.] I don’t want Lightning to get the idea that I’m pleased by her attention. Besides, I’m not. She’s nice enough.
So why do I suddenly feel warm all over?
Enough! I am a tiger cub, and tiger cubs aren’t interested in girlfriends.
[Of course I ca.] I lift my head proudly. [Our house was attacked. Our house was injured. My tar was upset. My Mistress worries--]
[YOU were taken.] Lightning rubs noses with again. [You were such an idiot! Self-sacrificing. Not letting us help you. Don’t ever do that again!]
Gussie whistles and squawks, "Careful!"
Hans pauses, looking at her quizzically. "What do I need to be careful about?"
Kaline tucks her hair back behind her ears. "Blaze and Demos trying to steal our lunches even though they have their own." She scoops up and holds in her lap.
Hey! Suddenly Lightning seems too far below . Who said I wanted to be picked up?
Kaline mistakes my strange irritation for impatience. "Blaze, your food is right here." She moves a piping hot sausage draped in peppers within easy reach of my claws and jaws.
Ahhh. The first bite of the hearty fare makes purr with my mouth full. I hear Lightning purr joyfully as well, and Demos makes a satisfied growl. For several minutes, we devote ourselves to our als.
Hans lowers his voice while devouring his own sandwich. "I would have written to you, Kaline, but you beat to it. Very daring."
Kaline blushes. "I’ve never been so bold, or defied my parents. Not that they forbade from talking to you--"
"They didn’t have to," Vedette interrupts. "We just knew. And Kaline is being modest. She’s no stranger to being sneaky. Neither am I."
Hans’ sparkling gemlike elf eyes fix on Kaline. "A kindred spirit. Willing to brave the tides of fate. To sail the rough seas of risk and adventure."
"I am feeling particularly bold today," declares Kaline. "You see, Hans--"
He glances around, his eyes darting warily around, as if the villagers might sohow recognize him as the Young Master of the House of Lamrmoor.
"It’s a common na," Vedette hisses. "Half the n in this village are nad Hans--"
"That must get confusing," Hans remarks.
Kaline abandons her sausage and pepper sandwich, hyper focused on her mission. And oh, does it ever sll like pure temptation even though I just ate. Self-control, Blaze. Self-control.
"HANS. There is sothing serious going on in your ho. SOONE in your ho is not trustworthy. I an one of the laborers...one of your family." Her intensity is a flickering fla. "How else could the theft of such a precious...object happen?"
Hans chokes on the last bite of his sandwich and swallows the wrong way, coughing, desperate for water. He drinks hot spiced cider, which does the job just as well.
[I have never seen him that startled before.] Lightning seems more fascinated than anything else. [Your Young Miss has a strange effect on him.]
I focus on her instead of being a selfish glutton and stealing Kaline’s al. [I think it’s more the idea that a Lamrmoor servant let be kidnapped. And worked with the stinky human to help kidnap !]
[But she does have a strange effect on him.] Demos, as usual, cannot resist gossiping. [It’s mutual. Oh, the talks she has had with Vedette about him...]
"Are you quite well, Hans?" Vedette asks.
"(Cough) Just in shock, and at a loss for words." Hans recovers, reaching his elegant long fingers out, seeking Kaline’s hand.
Contact! They are holding hands.
Gussie loses a few feathers when she sees the open handholding. Vedette casually glances around to gauge whether anyone in the village recognizes Kaline and notices her holding the hand of an unknown young male.
A glow surrounds them both, but Vedette doesn’t seem to notice. Lightning’s jaw drops open, and she makes a sound I can’t decipher. Gussie watches the whole thing, while Demos lets out an "ufff" that says he knew this. Whatever it is.
Yoo hoo, System? What is happening?
[Soul Bond between Kaline and Hans.]
That’s right! There are soul bonds in the ga. They affect beasts. The beasts share the tars’ soul bonds. And their beasts might also be connected...
Oh.
Hmmm.
That explains this weird thing with Lightning. This strong pull. Two magnets pushing together.
Kaline and Hans have a Soul Bond. Maybe Lightning and I...
I could ask the System.
No. Not today. Right now, I really, really want to know what Hans thinks about a traitor in his house. Co on, can we hear more about that? Enough with this romance stuff already.
Hans continues. "I cannot believe that anyone in my ho, including my helper who is friends with your Tomas Willems, would do sothing so dishonorable, so cowardly, so disgraceful, so...so...I have no words to describe what they did. The beast world is still reeling. Our family has been blacklisted. There is talk, even, of banning us from competing in the Beast Taming Elimination Tournant. And I say we deserve it. Mother--"
He breaks off, his lip curling in revulsion.
Demos gives his soul bear growl, supporting Hans as best he can. Gussie is silent, watchful.
Kaline squeezes his hand. "No one blas YOU, Hans. It’s not right that you should suffer because of sothing you didn’t do. You’re honorable, the way most elves are."
Hans squeezes her hand in return. "And I will be honorable when others cannot. I will do the right thing. And I will turn my ho inside out and upside down, scouring every corner, uncovering every secret. The traitor will taste my displeasure and face justice."
Vedette whistles, impressed. "We could use your help. But you don’t have to do this alone. We will do whatever it takes to find out who is behind this."
Kaline agrees, her eyes shining.
Satisfied, I purr. The Beast Detective Agency has a new case.
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