Chapter 65. Bitten On Something Personal
“We have to leave a note or something,” Fek said, looking at the small bump in the middle of Minnelil’s bed. “If she doesn’t realize there’s an undead cat skeleton under there, she’s going to get bitten on something personal.”
“Fek!” Grit said.
My face flushed bright red. “Uhm, where is she? Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, when she came to pick up some books. She told me a bit what happened. Said she’d be working on the skeleton through the night, so she’s probably at the workshop.”
“Hmm,” I said.
“You’re going to go see her?” Grit asked. “You could take her dinner? I bet she’ll skip eating otherwise. And thanks for bringing something for me earlier! I was really hungry when I woke up.”
“You did the same for me,” I said idly. I could go see her. There was nothing stopping me. Taking her dinner would be a perfect excuse.
“Did I?” Grit asked.
“After the first night I was here,” I said, thinking about what I would say. Sorry might be a good start.
“I guess?” Grit said. “Well, we’re even now, hah.”
That startled me. My mind latched onto the words, so familiar but spoken with so little care and seriousness. Was it for show? It felt like the Null was spiking inside my mind, nudging my thoughts into a pattern of doubt and malice they knew. I pressed my lips together and held my breath for a moment before letting it out. “We’re not,” I said.
The smile fell off Grit’s face and she frowned, bringing her bare brows together.
I recognized the feelings for what they were and chose to ignore them. “I don’t do that anymore. You don’t owe me. If you need help, I’ll do it.”
“I was confused for a moment, but yeah, that’s the way it works,” she said. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. The single word left me out of breath. What would a couple more friends matter considering that all I wanted was to go make sure Minnelil was okay? I was through being a dog biting everyone. I had a cat to do that for me.
I opened my arms for Grit. She smiled and stepped into the hug. Her hand patted my back.
“Can I get a hug too?” Fek asked.
“No, piss off,” I said.
“Haha, you’re the best,” he said, wrapping his arms around us both from the side.
“Clickens, bite him!” I shouted.
“I never knew you could teach cats tricks,” Grit said.
“I didn’t either,” I said. “Maybe skeleton cats are different?”
“I’m just happy you called it off me,” Fek said. “I was a bit scared for a moment there.”
Grit chuckled, but I wondered about it. I had pushed a lot of Null into the bones and the metal. As much as I had managed. Ferne had looked impressed.
How strong had the cat become? It was small and light, but that didn’t necessarily matter with the Null. What could be heavier than the stillness beyond light?
Clickens sat in my lap. It padded my thighs, tendering me to be more comfortable to sit on, perhaps. The claws were needle-sharp, but it could slide them to sit them against its feet bones. I really should try to learn all the names for the bits. Falar would keep rolling his eyes at me if I kept calling things bits and knobs and bones and such.
He would keep rolling his eyes at me, no matter what I did. The bastard.
Fek pushed a finger through the hole in his robe. “This was my better robe. I wonder if I can mend it?”
“It really did tear it to ribbons. Didn’t you, Clickens?” Grit said in a funny voice, petting its back. Her palm made a clacking noise as she ran it along its spine.
Clickens curved its back and the metal wires vibrated a low ringing noise. It felt funny against my lap.
“You think that’s it purring?” Grit asked.
“It’s probably pleased about ruining my robe,” Fek said.
“Enough. Come on, Clickens,” I said, lifting the thing into my arms. “Don’t mind those people. We’re going to dinner and to fetch something for Minnelil unless she’s there.”
She still hadn’t shown up. I wasn’t too worried this time. Frederik had said he had sorted it out, and I had probably scared Fahn enough for him to behave.
Those rich kids didn’t impress me. Well, Lombarte scared me a bit. Just thinking about him made the fire crackle and my skin feel cold. I sniffed, pressing Clickens tighter against my chest. That was all the power Lombarte had. Fahn didn’t have even that.
My lungs felt raw, but it would pass. I was hungry. The promise of food made me feel alive. Good to remember that every once in a while. In Tenorsbridge I hadn’t always been certain. I looked at the skeleton walking the concrete platform, white against the featureless black walls. Outside of the Academy, everything I could see were rocks and snow.
Being alive, heh. Someone had to, even here. For the first time in a long while, the thought didn’t feel like a curse.
I hadn’t thought if pets were allowed in the Dinner Hall. No one else had pets and I wasn’t sure if a skeleton cat would count as a pet, anyway. Clickens screeched at anyone coming close. It had to screech quite a lot, as everyone did. Fahn sat in the far corner of the hall in one of the smaller tables. He didn’t notice me or pretended not to. That meant Minnelil would be alone. I grabbed two plates from the skeletons. Didn’t even look what was on them.
I knocked this time. Clickens reached out a paw from my shoulder and scratched at the door.
“Come in,” Minnelil called from the inside.
No one else was in, just her crouching next to the skeleton. Its skull had a large crack in the middle with a fragment of bone missing. Minnelil had managed to put one of the hands on the skeleton already. She held a bunch of small bones and was peering at them up close.
“Hi,” I said. “I brought you dinner, if you want some.”
“I have to admit I am hungry,” she said, smiling, but still squinting at the bones. There were shadows below her eyes, but she looked calm, better than the time I had seen her in here with Fahn and Lorn.
I put the tray down on the ground and grabbed the forks and knives from my pocket. “How is it going?”
“Figuring out which finger is which is always challenging,” she said, holding two small bones up for me. “Which one do you think is the ring finger?”
“Aren’t they all the same shape and size? Does it matter?”
“I think the left one,” she said, placing one of the bones on the skeleton’s hand. It snapped and attached itself to it. “Getting them in the wrong order makes the skeleton less dextrous. How would you feel if your fingers were in the wrong order in your hand?”
I looked at my hand, wiggling my fingers. What a weird question. “Haven’t really thought about it. Always had them the same order. Fek almost needed to get his stitched back on, though.”
“What?” she asked, frowning and finally turning to look at me. Her eyes widened. “And what is that?”
I glanced at skeleton cat sitting on my shoulder. “It’s Mr. Clickens. I told you I was reanimating a cat at the lunch.”
“I thought that was a joke!” she said, her eyes crinkled. “What an awful name, though.”
Clickens opened its tiny jaws wide at her. I didn’t know a thing made of bones could tense, but it did. The metal wire pulled taut and made an angry screeching noise.
“Careful with the claws,” I said, patting it lightly.
“Now I understand what the weird sound at the door was,” Minnelil said. She bowed her head at the skeleton cat. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
Clickens relaxed and jumped off my shoulder. It went to rub itself against the shins of the skeleton. Its spine rattled against the bones and the skeleton shuddered.
“It almost bit off Fek’s finger, but I’m sure you’ll get along,” I said.
Minnelil frowned at the cat bumping its head against the skeleton’s leg. “As long as it doesn’t topple what I’ve spent the whole day building.”
The dome had kept the food warm. Chunks of meat swimming in clear stock with potatoes and small onions. Not my favorite, so I wasn’t too sad some of the taste had bled out.
I ate silently, making the food last. We sat on the floor with our backs leaned against the wall, facing the room. Minnelil sat on my right and followed Clickens with her gaze, making sure it didn’t try to climb onto her skeleton.
“So,” I said after I ran out of food. “How is it going?”
She swallowed and smiled her small smile at me. “You asked me that already.”
I looked at my platter, but it was still empty.
“The skeleton is going well. As for other things, I’m still trying to figure that out. What do you think?” Minnelil said.
I sighed. “I hoped you’d tell me.”
“I can help you with channeling, and maybe I can help you with this as well, but both are things you need to figure out for yourself.”
“I’m getting pretty good with channeling,” I muttered.
“You really are, aren’t you?” she said. “Keep practicing.”
“And about the other stuff…”
Minnelil put down her platter and put it on the floor next to her. She pulled her legs closer to her body and leaned her chin on her knees, waiting for me to continue.
“I don’t know about the other stuff. I don’t have a lot of experience learning to know someone. Sitting down and talking like this.”
She nodded, eyes still following Clickens as it padded around the room, tiny feet clicking against the stone floor.
“I never had the opportunity before. Not since I was a kid. I haven’t been a kid for a long time,” I said. “Not for a long time.”
“I feel like a kid most of the time,” she said.
I scoffed. “You’re old as dirt. You don’t look it, though. I like how your mouth is so wide.”
She smiled then, and the corner of her mouth reached up to her ear.
I reached for her hand and she gave it to me. I squeezed it and she squeezed back.
Hey, I haven’t been doing many notes (I don’t really know the culture here about this), but now I wanted to ask: if you have enjoyed the story, please rate it 🙏 I have just five ratings and it might be fun to get more.Also remember there’s 20 advance chapters on Patreon (plus smutty bonus stories set in The Academy)!