"I knew nothing good would come of this!"
Bastet's four little black paws were moving so fast they left afterimages, her tail held high as she panted heavily.
After doing her best to catch up with Mori Tsukisa, she leaped high, grabbed the girl's shoulder, wagged her tail as she rubbed against her a few times, her tone full of exasperation.
"If only I weren't a god, I could find some unlucky soul to pray for me!"
"Mori Tsukisa!"
"Can't you just behave for once, even for just one night!"
"It's already the next day, Bastet." Mori Tsukisa shouted as she pulled Nagini along, the wind whistling past her ears!
I... am free?
Nagini stumbled after them—a talking black cat, a palm-sized little person, a strange and beautiful girl, a ridiculous night, loose hair, and the wind in her face.
She had been saved.
The young woman didn't realize she was already smiling broadly. She tilted her head back and opened her mouth, the brilliant band of stars above her and the cool, fresh night breeze on her cheeks. She squeezed Mori Tsukisa's hand and spread her other arm wide, wantonly embracing the ethereal yet tangible reward in the middle of the night.
Freedom.
"Is there something wrong with this woman?" Bastet whispered into Mori Tsukisa's ear.
Her green eyes looked back—the woman in the revealing (forgive the old deity's rigid conservatism) purple gauze dress, head held high, mouth open as if drinking the wind, arms wide... she must be a fool.
"She's happy, Arrietty knows." The Little Sprite sat steadily atop her Queen's head. Looking at Nagini, she was reminded of herself.
Ten years of waiting, an impossible story, a fabricated past, a deceased Grandpa.
Then, Mori Tsukisa appeared in her life, stepping upon dark green vines.
Was I that foolish back then?
"Hmm, you were a bit more 'extroverted' than her." Mori Tsukisa laughed as she ran, mimicking a voice: "'I belong to you! Your Majesty!' That's what you said then, Arrietty."
The Little Sprite blushed, a rare sight.
"That was... because I was too excited..."
The black cat looked at Nagini, then at Arrietty, truly unable to understand the charm of a Planeswalker: Do Attendants always love their Masters this much?
Or... maybe it wasn't the charm of a Planeswalker at all.
But Mori Tsukisa's.
The group easily escaped the hail of magic spell fireworks and the pursuit, returning the same way they had come.
After squeezing through the brownish-yellow adobe wall, before the black cat could speak, Mori Tsukisa raised her leg and gave the corner of the wall a hard kick.
Thud!
Crack... snap!
Boom!!
The wall leading to the Wizarding World collapsed with a crash!
"I knew it..." The black cat squinted. "Quite clever, aren't you, Ball Mage."
"Of course, Baldy Cat."
Great, another new nickname... Bastet did not follow them to Mori Tsukisa's residence.
This awkward deity intended to wait for them at the last stop before entering the desert, leaving behind words that were either a warning to her or herself: 'Until then, I will never take Mori Tsukisa anywhere again.'
"Why be angry? She clearly had a lot of fun too."
Mumbling, Mori Tsukisa brought up a cup of steaming black tea and handed it to the still-shaken Nagini on the sofa.
"Do you like black tea?"
Nagini liked everything; usually, she only had a choice between "a small piece of dry bread" and "a large piece of moldy bread."
That counts as a choice, right?
'Beasts don't need to eat such good things. Do you think food is free?'
'Oh, you've been in the forest too long. Do you think everything you swallow is yours?'
'If you weren't female, you wouldn't even have moldy bread!'
Nagini had no objection to Skender calling her a 'female Beast': she was indeed female, and indeed a Beast. She was different from humans; they could walk openly on the street and draw their wands without being too scrutinized.
But if she so much as moved, countless wands would be pointed at her throat.
Did a 'female Beast' have any other use besides performing?
Yes. Once the value of the 'Beast' was exhausted, the value of the 'female' would emerge. Skender said that when her blood curse reached its final stage and she could no longer transform at will, he would give her freedom—
By finding a gentleman or some man and letting her fully exercise her 'female' side.
Nagini really didn't care; her end had been decided long ago... and then.
Something went wrong.
Thinking this, the woman looked up, her gaze sweeping over the girl before her: she was probably... fifteen? Sixteen? At that age, her thick black hair flowed like slow-moving ink.
Her bored expression just now had been a bit frightening, like black jade in ice and snow, cold and tinged with contempt—yet the look she gave Nagini became excited and high-spirited, like glowing red pebbles in magma rolling and spreading within her dark pupils, raising a blazing fire that scorched the heavens.
What kind of person was she?
A strange, neurotic, overly curious minor?
I... Suddenly, Nagini remembered the blood curse on her body, and the excitement of gaining freedom was extinguished with a 'hiss' like water on fire.
"I'm sorry..."
She set down her teacup, hugging her arms, not daring to look at Mori Tsukisa.
"I'm so sorry. You saved me, but I can't repay you..." She clenched her hands tighter. "I am a Blood-Cursed Beastman, an irreversibly cursed being. Before long, I will truly become a mindless animal..."
Was it worth all that effort and offending Mr. Skender?
Mori Tsukisa squatted on the sofa, hugging her knees. She was about to speak when she found... it was a bit cramped.
Well, a sofa isn't like flat ground or a hard chair where one can stretch out at will—the sofa itself is soft, and it bunches up whoever is curled inside it.
More bunched up, more cramped.
Mori Tsukisa couldn't rest her chin on her knees... The girl huffed and stretched out her legs, crossing them on the coffee table. She had been back for a while and had long since changed out of her dress into pajamas.
"Turning into an animal." Mori Tsukisa thought for a moment, her hands facing each other. "Is it that python I saw?"
Nagini nodded sorrowfully, then quickly composed herself to avoid appearing too pitiable.
She had already gained enough. At least before the end came, she could live freely for a while with this... not-so-kind little girl.
Not so kind. Nagini considered this a compliment. Whether it was the effect of the blood curse or something innate or shaped by her experiences, the woman didn't think being too kind was a good thing.
She was very satisfied with Mori Tsukisa: powerful enough to dodge spells with ease; having one (at least one) loyal Attendant; wealthy (the house); tasteful (clothing); and noble and elegant (speech).
Except for the girl's occasional sudden bouts of craziness... Nagini was truly willing to spend her final days with her, even as her Attendant—at least to repay the kindness of being saved.
However, Mori Tsukisa didn't care about that.
"I like you, and I like the python you turn into. That's all." The girl took a small sip from her printed blue cup, set it down, and stood up. "I won't force anything else on you, and there's nothing you can help me with anyway."
She moved behind the sofa and placed her hands on Nagini's shoulders—Mori Tsukisa could feel her stiffen for a second before deliberately relaxing.
Her small hands moved up the neck, higher... gently untying the leather cord and pulling out the black wooden hairpin.
The black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, spreading a faint scent of freesia or camphor soap.
Mori Tsukisa's fingers ran through the black waterfall like a comb, gently brushing from top to bottom, again and again.
"I'll comb yours into something prettier first, and then you can help me, okay?" Mori Tsukisa leaned gently toward Nagini, sniffing the floral scent.
Nagini felt a bit shy as Mori Tsukisa touched her neck and hair.
She didn't know what to say and managed a raspy response from her throat.
"Mm..."
The light in the room gradually dimmed.
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