"I don't mind looking after this little one," Katherine said, her voice softening as the kitten nuzzled against her cheek, its purring vibrating against her skin. She couldn't help but smile at its instant affection, gently stroking its back with one finger.
Lumine watched with a slight frown as Hope - the traitorous furball - completely abandoned her for Katherine's pampering.
"There's just one issue," Katherine continued, carefully cradling the kitten. "My work requires some... delicate experiments. While not as overtly dangerous as your battles, the lab environment would be far from ideal for such a small creature."
Cassian and Lumine exchanged uneasy glances. Beyond Katherine, they truly had no one else they could trust with the kitten's care. Lumine mentally ran through her contacts - mostly just people she'd helped on cases, not personal friends. And now every capable fighter had been deployed, leaving only high-ranking officers like Commandant Sher - hardly appropriate candidates for pet-sitting.
Their dilemma was interrupted when Ravees spoke up: "I can look after her, my lady."
Before Katherine could voice any objections, Cassian jumped in with a grateful smile. "That would be perfect, Miss Ravees."
Katherine studied the hopeful faces before her, then glanced down at the purring kitten curled contentedly in her palm. 'Well, she is adorable...' With a small sigh, she relented. "Fine, I'll keep her. But when exactly are you two coming back?"
Cassian shifted uncomfortably, exchanging a glance with the equally hesitant Lumine. "That's... complicated," he admitted. "It's confidential - we can't even disclose our destination. But I'll try to return within a month. Two at most."
Katherine's hand stilled on the kitten's back. "Two months?" The words came out sharper than intended. Still in her bathrobe, she straightened slightly, the fabric slipping off one shoulder. "That's quite the pet-sitting commitment. And unless you've forgotten—" her gaze locked onto Cassian, "—you have other obligations to attend to as well. Or did those suddenly disappear?"
Lumine's eyebrows rose. What could possibly be more pressing than war duties? She opened her mouth to ask when Cassian turned to her, his expression unreadable.
"Lumine," he said quietly, "I need to speak with Lady Katherine privately. Would you and Miss Ravees mind waiting outside?"
The dismissal was polite but firm. Lumine hesitated—this was clearly about whatever "obligation" Katherine had referenced—but after a beat, she nodded and followed Ravees out, casting one last curious glance at Cassian over her shoulder.
Once outside, Ravees studied Lumine's troubled expression. "So... are you two just friends, or is there more to it?" she asked bluntly.
Lumine's cheeks flushed instantly. Ravees' eyes widened—she'd assumed Cassian was exclusively involved with Lady Katherine, but that reaction suggested otherwise. The realization left her both shocked and irritated.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Cassian laid out the confidential details of their mission to Karemn Earldom. Katherine listened intently, her fingers absently stroking the kitten as she processed the implications. If the Cult fully occupied even one territory bordering the Ancient Forest, it would give them a direct staging ground to launch attacks into human heartlands. Their current infiltration was troubling enough—but a full-scale occupation would be catastrophic. Magisteria City itself could become a frontline target.
Katherine nodded slowly, her brow furrowed in thought as she absently scratched behind the kitten's ears. "I understand the stakes," she said, "but why send you?" The question came out sharper than she intended. "Any competent mage or high-circle warrior can identify clones. What makes this your responsibility?"
Cassian settled beside her, the kitten immediately leaping from Katherine's lap to his. He ran a hand down its back as he spoke. "Could be they'd never suspect a first-circle warrior to be spying on them."
Katherine exhaled sharply. It was a valid point, but that didn't make it any less dangerous. Part of her wanted to protest—he was supposed to gain experience protecting her, not throwing himself into enemy territory. Yet the determined set of his jaw told her arguing would be pointless.
"Fine," she relented, scooping the kitten back into her arms. "I'll look after this one while you're gone." Her fingers stilled on its fur as she added with pointed casualness, "Just try not to collect any more pretty traveling companions out there."
Cassian blinked. "It's not like that with Lumine," he said a beat too quickly. "We're just—"
"Friends. Yes, I can see that." Katherine held the kitten up between them, its wide eyes blinking innocently as if to underscore her sarcasm. "Such obvious friends."
Cassian chuckled helplessly, though internally he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd feared Katherine might react poorly to Lumine—not just as a friend, but as something more. Yet her teasing suggested she didn't mind him having other women in his life... for now.
Closing the distance between them, he slid a hand around Katherine's waist, pulling her close enough that the kitten trapped between them let out an indignant mrrp!
"Well then," he murmured, thumb brushing the dip of her spine through the silk robe, "how about a proper goodbye kiss, my lady?"
Katherine arched an eyebrow, but didn't pull away. The kitten squirmed in protest as she tilted her chin up. "You think you've earned that after bringing another woman to my doorstep?"
Cassian grinned. "I'll earn it twice over when I return."
Then he kissed her anyway—thoroughly enough to make the kitten finally wriggle free in disgust, leaving them properly alone.
Moments later, Cassian stepped out, shutting the door behind him to find Lumine and Ravees watching him with twin expressions of curiosity. Ravees' gaze was knowing—she'd served Katherine long enough to guess what might have transpired—but Lumine's eyes held pure, open intrigue.
Yet any questions died on their lips when they saw Cassian's relaxed smile, and Katherine lingering in the doorway behind him, the kitten—Hope—now cradled possessively in her arms. The sight alone was answer enough: he'd convinced her.
Lumine felt a pang of wistfulness as she eyed the tiny creature, its paws kneading contentedly against Katherine's sleeve. A battlefield was no place for something so fragile. Still, the tightness in her chest eased. At least Hope would be safe here.