“Sir!” The blonde man snapped to attention, his arm raising in a crisp salute. “Yes, sir!”

‘Well done, guardsman,” The grizzled captain replied, returning the salute. “At ease.”

“The soldier is showing his belly,” Sayuri explained to Sora, petting her gently as she sat on the pitched roof of a cobbler’s shop overlooking the center square of Arkbridge. “If you say the ‘sir’ word it is a sign of respect. The elder acknowledges the greeting and returns it so the younger knows he can eat well that evening without fear of being driven out.”

“Mew,” Sora replied, licking Sayuri’s finger with her rough tongue. The dusky kitten bunted Sayuri gently with her head, the silver metal attached to the new leather collar Sayuri had given her winking in the westering sun.

“Should Sayuri and Sora go catch fishes for dinner?” Sayuri purred, rubbing her cheek gently on Sora’s head. “Would Sora like fishes for dinner?”

“Mew!”

“Very well! Let’s go to the river!” Sayuri bounded happily along the rooftops, Sora cradled snugly and safely in her arms. The kitten yawned and blinked up at the white-haired woman briefly as Sayuri leapt from one rooftop to another easily but otherwise seemed content to be carried. Though it had been several weeks, and her leg was mostly healed, Sayuri insisted on carrying her when they went on a trip of any length. At first the collar had been difficult for Sora to get used to as it dangled tantalizingly on her chest and flashed distractedly whenever the sun struck it just right, but she had quickly gotten used to it.

Sayuri grunted slightly as she landed deftly on the ground near the bank of the river meandering its way through Arkbridge. She had chosen a quiet, shady spot far from the bridges where the majority of humans tended to congregate. The river here was slow and lazy as it flowed along the shallow banks, swirling eddies formed around flat rocks and the grass grew thick along the edges. Sayuri set Sora down gently in the tall grass and feigned pulling up imaginary sleeves as she’d seen humans building stalls in the marketplace she was forbidden from visiting do and grinned down at the kitten staring up at her with big green eyes.

“Sayuri will find us nice plump fishes to eat for dinner!” Sayuri proclaimed proudly. She bounded easily onto a rock 5 meters or so into the stream and crouched down, staring intently into the water. “Sayuri is a fine fisher. She once caught a very fat fish indeed and brought it to the marketplace. The humans were very impressed with her…” Sayuri trailed off sheepishly, as if caught in a lie. “Well, no, they weren’t. They took her fish and did not give any jingly coins like they did when others brought fishes. But they did say Sayuri had caught a whopper of a fish before telling her she could not come back because she was a freak.” Sayuri stared intently into the water swirling in small whirlpools around the edges of the rock she crouched on.

“She is not sure what a whopper or freak is but she thinks whopper is good and freak is bad,” Sayuri mused. “Sayuri wonders if a whopper freak fish is good or bad. Could it be both at the same time? Maybe it is gad? Or bood? Are those words?” Sayuri shrugged, blinking slowly. She had no mind for words, especially for making up words of her own. “Sayuri would like to catch a whopper freak fish for Sora and her to eat for supper.” Sayuri giggled to herself, her white hair dancing with the movement of her shoulders. “Supper is a silly word, isn’t it, Sora? It is funny. Sayuri likes funny words. Another funny word is ‘blubber’! Sayuri has heard the meat seller say her husband has lots of blubber. It sounds funny like supper, but Sayuri is certain they do not mean the same thing. Humans say strange things, do they not?”

Sayuri prattled on, tail wrapped around her waist to keep it from getting wet and eyes focused on the water below her perch. Sora stared at her for quite some time before the heat of the late afternoon sun began to seep into her fur and she grew sleepy. The light breeze of midsummer played among the tall grass whispered to her of pleasant dreams and Sora quickly found herself nodding off.

“Hai!” Sayuri yelped triumphantly some time later, startling Sora awake. Sayuri’s hand plunged into the water and re-emerged quickly, a wriggling, flopping silvery fish clutched tight in her grasp. Sayuri looked over at Sora and grinned broadly, standing quickly. The fish, however, launched into a fresh fit of rebellion and began slapping its tail vigorously back and forth. Sayuri lost momentary control of the desperate creature and the tail struck her hard across the face. She staggered backward awkwardly; the surprise of getting smacked only heightened when her foot found only water rather than the solid rock she’d just been crouched on. Sayuri pinwheeled her arms wildly, still holding onto the fish but losing the battle against gravity. With a yelp of panic and fear Sayuri plunged into the torpid flow of the river.

“Sayuri cannot swim!” She called desperately. Sora bounded to the river’s edge in a panic, Sayuri’s head dropped below the water, only her arm still holding the fish and the tips of her ears visible for a long moment. Sayuri burst from the surface of the water once again, wailing miserably. “Sayuri will drown! Sayuri does not wish to…huh?” She scrambled to her feet to find the water curling around her waist. Sayuri glanced around and sagged, looking bedraggled and miserable she trudged through the now muddy water to the shore.

“Mew,” Sora cocked her head to the side.

“Sayuri is ok, friend, thank you for asking,” Sayuri’s hair had fallen into her face and her tail was a sadly deflated version of its normally full and silky self. “Sayuri does not like water, now.” She held the fish up triumphantly. “But she has caught a fish for us for- “The fish gave one last desperate flop and managed to break free, falling back into the water and darting back into the deeper reaches of the river. Sayuri stared morosely into the water after the fish and hung her head in defeat.

“…oh.” She finished sadly.