<Chapter 29>
It had been a month since Ethan had stayed at Gridwolf. Today was finally the last session of special writing training.
"Hand it over when you're done."
"Okay..."
Exhausted, I handed the notebook to Ethan and collapsed onto the desk, resting my head.
"What did you do to be so tired?"
"But my tail's cramping up, I think."
"That's because your tail follows your pencil as it moves."
"My brothers think it's cute."
"...Shut up."
While Ethan skimmed through what I had written, I twirled my tail to loosen it up. I couldn't break the habit of tensing up my tail more than my hands when I wrote something long.
Even when I winked at him, trying to tell him to take it easy, Ethan was still a hardass all month. Total scary wolf teacher.
But it's not like I didn't make any progress with the heartless wolf this whole month.
First, Theo and Deon, who always kept their seats during my lessons, no longer appeared. It was because Ethan had suggested it to me.
"Kitty. Your brothers yapping away is annoying... no, scratch that."
"Yes?"
"It'd be easier to teach you how not to act like a cat if your brothers weren't here. What do you think?"
If Theo and Deon, who didn't know I was a cat, were there, I couldn't comfortably talk about cats.
So, I kinda whispered to Theo and Deon.
"Um, guys, you're probably busy, so you don't have to come watch my lessons anymore!"
"Huh?"
I can still totally picture Theo and Deon staring at me, their golden eyes all wide.
"Kitty, are you saying you're gonna have lessons alone with that wolf?"
"Soft Paws, he may be nine, but all men are wolves."
"But I'm a wolf, too, aren't I?"
"Oh, right. Yeah, but..."
"Damn Ethan!"
But my brothers had to give in. Their martial arts and theory classes got way harder.
Now, they only pop in around when my lessons are ending.
‘Why did Ethan laugh then?’
When I told him my brothers wouldn't be coming to the study anymore, Ethan's sharp blue eyes got all soft.
"Yeah, of course. I'm the only one who knows who you really are, right?"
I nodded, and the corners of Ethan's mouth turned up a little. It was weird seeing him smile since he's always so cold, so I totally remember what he looked like.
Also, I started calling Ethan "Teacher."
"Teacher, how is it?"
"Still reading."
Theo and Deon warned me not to get into any special relationship with Ethan...
"But Elliot's called 'Master,' so that makes two, right?"
Since I wasn't uncomfortable, it didn't seem like Ethan was hung up on me or anything. If we get a little closer like this, maybe he'll be nice to me someday?
'If we get close, he'll keep my secret about being a cat forever, you know, as a friend.'
While that was going on, Ethan finished checking what I wrote and raised an eyebrow.
"Not bad."
"Kya—!"
"So, for language, all we gotta do is fix how you talk like a little kid."
"But my lisp will only be fixed when my adult teeth come in."
I opened my mouth wide, saying "Ah—". Soon after I got to Gridwolf, I had that broken tooth pulled, and new ones are growing in little by little.
"They're coming in faster than I thought."
"Once all my teeth are in, I'll be a grown-up, too. Then I can talk right."
"Grown-up, huh."
Ethan rested his chin on his hand and looked at me. I was still lying on the desk, smiling brightly.
"What do you wanna do when you grow up?"
"I'll probably be gone from the Gridwolf place by then."
"..."
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Right when you're grown?"
"Yeah. I heard wolves are adults at nineteen. I'm gonna study hard until then and get revenge on my mom's killer."
"Hmm."
Ethan reached out and fixed my hair. It was something you wouldn't really do unless you were close, so I kinda leaned in closer to him.
I like being petted!
"What about you, Teacher?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. What are you gonna do when you grow up?"
Ethan, who usually just ignores me when I ask dumb questions, actually answered seriously for once.
"I'm gonna get strong."
"But you're strong already, aren't you?"
"You're getting good at sucking up."
"It's 'cause you're a good teacher."
I smiled, and Ethan messed up my hair. Then he fixed it again, bit by bit. It felt all ticklish, and I got sleepy.
"Haaam... Ethan, you're super smart, right? If you get strong, too, you'll be, like, unstoppable."
"You think so?"
"Totally!"
Ethan chuckled and took his hand off my hair. His voice sounded all bitter.
"But being kinda strong and kinda smart isn't enough. If that's all you are, you'll get all scared and throw your life away."
"..."
Ethan's blue eyes had this deep sadness and, like, burning anger all mixed together. Since he got Mrs. Weavis's smarts, I kinda got why Ethan said he wanted to get strong.
‘Mrs. Weavis said she died to protect Ethan.’
Is it kinda like how I'm trying to get strong to get revenge on Jerian?
The study was quiet for a while 'cause neither of us said anything. Then Theo and Deon broke the silence, running in all loud.
"Kitty, is class over?"
"Look at our Soft Paws, she's wiped. Her tail's all droopy."
Deon scooped me right up. Ethan checked his pocket watch and got annoyed at the two of them.
"There are still thirty minutes left."
"But Kitty's all worn out like this."
"Ethan, let's go out for some air, huh?"
My brothers really seem to hate me being alone with Ethan in the study.
Normally, Ethan would've kicked them out, all serious, but today, maybe 'cause I did good on my writing, he actually agreed.
* * *
The three wolves and the cat went to the hill in the Gridwolf mansion to get some air.
Theo turned into a wolf so Kitty, who was all tired out from lessons, could lie down on his comfy, cozy back and get carried.
Ethan, walking next to Theo and Deon, said.
"Kitty. This is part of the lesson, so listen up."
"Okay."
"I got a letter from Father recently. Some young, sneaky leopard took over as head of the Leopid family."
"Leopid, is that the leading family of leopards?"
Kitty, who'd been paying attention in class, answered. Ethan nodded.
"Yes. I heard he became the head of the family at the age of sixteen."
"Wow... he must be very strong."
"Father's worried 'cause he's the type to use his brains and use people. He'll start messing with things outside his territory as soon as he gets the pecking order sorted out with the other leopards."
Kitty tilted her head. Ethan, Theo, and Deon were all looking at her with these worried expressions.
"...Are they gonna come after me?"
"Probably. They'll grab the weakest kid from the wolf family to use as a hostage."
That's me!
Kitty slumped down, all bummed out. Just when she was getting used to the wolf family, the leopards started acting up.
"Why do leopards always gotta fight? Wouldn't it be better if everyone just got along...?"
"Leopards have this huge thing for controlling all the beastmen. They're probably trying to use the Blue Moon's power all they want, which they got after a ton of people died 12 years ago."
Kitty, who'd been a good student in Ethan's lessons, got it right away.
Twelve years ago, this weird jewel suddenly showed up in leopard territory.
It was called Blue Moon. It was one of the things the goddess left on earth. When they saw the jewel's blue light, the leopards went crazy and turned into total animals.
‘That’s why they massacred wolves, bears, and foxes.’
Because of that, the bear beastmen cut themselves off from everyone else, and the fox beastmen were almost wiped out.
'Fox beastmen who weren't hurt by the leopards ended up owing the wolf mansion.'
At Gridwolf, they gave the fox beastmen food, clothes, and a place to stay, and the fox beastmen helped out by using their bodies, which were super sensitive to magic.
Jackal and Caris seemed like they were planning to fight the leopards again when the time was right.
Twelve years ago, the wolf family fought for years and barely managed to kick the leopards out, but it was a huge mess. Mrs. Weavis died in a fight with the leopards four years ago, too.
Leopards were everyone's enemy.
"...A leopard bit my tail four years ago, too. Luckily, only the tip got cut off."
"Ah... I see."
Deon gently stroked Kitty's tail where the tip was missing. Ethan looked at my tail for a sec and kept talking.
"The crazy stuff the leopards did four years ago was different from twelve years ago. People said they seemed to only go crazy as much as they needed to, to get what they wanted."
Kitty, who had been listening to the story quietly, tilted her head.
'They can control being crazy? How's that even possible?'
The wolves were trying to figure out how the leopards were controlling and using their craziness.
Ethan, who was thinking the same thing as Kitty, added in a quiet voice.
"Father said it looks like they have helpers from other races. We'll have to look into it more to find out the details."
They were having this heavy conversation, and before they knew it, they were at the highest point of the hill. The three wolves all looked over at the opposite hill in the distance.
You could see the memorial stones in the distance, with the names of the wolves who died because of the leopards.
"The leopards will probably attack the mansion soon. If we can't stop them, we'll have to put up more memorial stones."
"..."
Theo and Deon, who were always goofing around, had serious faces for once, too.
Because of two big battles, everyone at Gridwolf saw leopards as the enemy.
Since they were getting intel on the enemy ahead of time and getting ready to fight, they had to win if they fought them again.
"Even if they attack right now, they probably won't be able to get inside the mansion."
"That's right. Mom and Dad took care of it."
"Special measures?"
Ethan asked back. Theo and Deon said in voices full of pride.
"They planted a lot of catnip on the hills around the mansion so that leopards can't invade."
"It's not poison, but cats go crazy just from smelling it... wait a sec."
The three wolves got the chills and looked around. For some reason, the little furball that should've been right next to them was gone.
