“She’s a bad girl?” Cindy wondered while Snapper was coughing out sand.
“Yes, and no,” Daniel clarified. The group looked to him as he watched Star carefully. “Star, when I asked if you wanted to kill, if you enjoyed killing, if being the Bloodcat was who you really are, you said yes and no. You couldn’t give a straight answer. It sounded like the story isn’t so simple about what happened in your past, is it?”
Star shook her head with a quiet meow.
“Star, I’m very tolerant about monsters who follow their nature blindly and make mistakes. I’m as forgiving as I can be, and I hold onto hope that even those that are labeled as evils in this world can truly be kindhearted girls inside. I want to believe you’re not like the monster you claim to be, I want to believe the playful and friendly jinx that’s been with us isn’t a coldhearted killer. So I’m going to let you explain yourself, I’ll give you that chance. No more running, no more hiding your past, Star. Tell us the truth about who you are and what you’ve done.”
Star nodded and looked down with remorse, fearing this is where she would lose Daniel entirely as well as all her new friends. She took a slow breath, preparing herself for whatever may happen to her next, and then started to meow before Kitten held out a hand to stop her.
“You were not seriously going to meow at us to tell your story, are you?” she demanded. Star blinked and looked at her curiously while the cambion groaned in aggravation. “You were about to tell your life story in your own tongue just now, weren’t you? We don’t understand cat, you stupid little-”
“Kitten!” Daniel scolded.
“Sweet, cuddly girl,” Kitten forcibly corrected herself with while having a strained smile on her face. “Anyway, we don’t speak jinx, remember?”
Star looked herself over then shrugged at the group, all of them exchanging worried glances with each other.
“How is she going to tell us the truth about her if she can’t even talk to us?” Alyssa asked.
“She could write it out,” Specca pondered. “Though that could take a long time if her tale is rather great.”
“I can’t translate for her like I can with Squeak,” Falla pointed out. “None of us can.”
Daniel watched Star meowing at him with a sorrowful frown. It was apparent she felt bad about what she had done; she wanted to explain herself and hope he could understand and forgive her just like he had with the other girls. However the language barrier between them blocked what she wanted to convey, and there didn’t appear to be a way for her to speak to anyone in her own defense.
‘There has to be some way of communicating with her, with understanding her. I just know there’s a kindhearted girl standing before us reaching out for help. If only I knew how to take her hand.’
Chapter 14
Star’s Fall
In the world of Eden it could be said that love was a powerful emotion. It could give even the most cowardly soul the courage to fight a lion, it could endow them with the forte to defend those they cared about from any danger, and it could even push their morals to the limit and further beyond. When there was someone in their life they treasured, adored, valued above all else, they would do whatever it took to keep them close. In some extreme cases it could be considered blind love, as it rendered the individual unable to see anything else before them. It didn’t matter what they had to do, no cost was too great if it meant they could stay with their loved one forever.
They would sacrifice anything, even who they were, without a second thought.
*****
Under the night sky that glittered with stars a fiery light was stretched over a small town. Houses crudely made of twigs and leaves, roads paved with small dirt lines, and the loud yowls of a cat coming from a small figure made of sticks and clumps of grass matted onto the top like hair. The very loosely made representation of the Bloodcat of VanEllovan hopped around the village of miniature proportions by the gentle fingers of Star, the girl meowing and moving the small depiction of herself about the diorama she had constructed while knocking over buildings and throwing dirt around in what appeared to be a reenactment of her past.
“I’m just going to stop you right there,” Daniel spoke up, with Star then looking up to see him and the other girls watching her with confusion. “First, I will admit you did an amazing job making that model town in just a few minutes. That definitely shows a creative side to you.”
“However,” Specca continued while adjusting her glasses. “We’re not understanding your story at all here. All we’re seeing is you apparently running around a town destroying everything. How exactly does that defend you from what you’ve done in the past?”
Star looked down to the miniature town and stick figure she had made then back to Daniel with a small shrug and a quiet meow.
“This isn’t really defending yourself too well,” Kroanette said shaking her head.
“Nice detail with the village though,” Luna complimented.
“She even crafted a clock tower using her pocket watch,” Falla mentioned with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s a tiny town,” Cindy marveled while holding Snapper, the swarm chomping on her breast with hungry growls that she paid no mind to. “But how are we going to live there? We can’t fit in those houses.”
Pip flew down and landed in the road of the small village, eyes beholding the stores and houses that Star had crafted in wonder before she giggled and started marching around with arms held high.
“Yay! I’m big now! I like this! Smash!” she cheered before she swatted a house with her hands into pieces. The group watched the little fairy stomp around and knock over a few structures before glancing to one another.
“Well,” Alyssa spoke up. “That answers the question of what Pip would do if she were larger.”
“Smash!” Pip roared as she stomped a hut into the ground.
“Didn’t see that coming,” Clover commented.
“Though it still doesn’t answer our questions about Star,” Specca sighed. “It was a nice try with a visual demonstration, however your words are still being lost. Do you think perhaps you could write out your story for us to read? How’s your penmanship?”
Star held a hand out and wobbled it, suggesting that her writing skills were so-so at best.
“This is going to be difficult,” Kroanette worried. “She can’t write it out for us, she can’t convey it with a cleverly constructed puppet show, and trying to understand her sign language would take who knows how many days to achieve. How are we going to hear her story if we can’t hear her story?”
“Can’t Doku use her spiritwalk magic like she does with Squeak?” Luna suggested while watching Pip terrorizing the little village.
“It doesn’t work on Star,” Specca reminded her. “She tried to use it when Star was going after Daniel, it only cursed her to nearly be crushed by a falling bookcase. Magic can’t be directed towards a jinx, it only causes misfortune to those that try.”
“If Doku tries using her magic on Star again she might be thrown into the fire as a result,” Falla reasoned with a shrug.
“I don’t think I wish to tempt fate with doing so again,” Doku nervously mentioned.
“What other options do we have?” Daniel wondered scratching his head. “How are we supposed to understand her past if she can’t communicate with us at all? The only one who understood her is Reiko and she isn’t here now.”
“You sure about that?” Clover asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I searched the area very carefully earlier,” Kitten boasted. “After all I wanted to make sure she didn’t disturb my master after he ordered her to stay away from us. That soul stealing bitch is long gone from these grounds. I think she got the hint she wasn’t wanted around us when I ‘talked’ to her.”
“Again, you sure about that?” Clover said pointing to something. Everyone turned to Star who was looking at Daniel with a dull expression on her face and a tiny Reiko cuddling her cheek atop her shoulder. T
he harvester appeared to be the same size as a fairy while she hugged the jinx with affectionate giggles.
“I missed you, Star,” she squealed in a tiny voice. “Did you miss me too? Did you?”
“Reiko?” Daniel exclaimed.
“She’s back again?” Alyssa groaned.
“What the hell?” Kitten yelled out. “Where did you come from anyway?”
“Searched the area very carefully did you?” Kroanette flatly questioned her.
Star growled then grabbed Reiko and teleported over to Cindy, holding the harvester out towards Snapper who snapped and growled at the harvester with a hungry smile. Reiko screamed and thrashed around in Star’s grip while she was held at just enough length to avoid losing her head to the youngling’s bite.
“Star, don’t! I thought I was your friend! Don’t feed me to that- hey, wait a minute. Where did that swarm come from? I thought I killed them all.”
“You missed one,” Kitten bitterly replied. “How fitting she would be allowed to avenge her family by devouring the very one that took their lives.”
“Wait, don’t let it eat me, Star!” Reiko cried out.
“Her name is Snapper, not it,” Kroanette quipped.
“That’s such an ironic name! Star, please! I’m your friend! Don’t you care about me at all? Please, Star!”
Star grumbled something to herself as she watched Reiko ducking and dodging Snapper’s teeth then quickly flung the harvester down at the model village. She crashed into a hut with a tiny yelp and laid sprawled on the ground, head snapping back onto her neck that was bent sharply from the impact, then slowly sat up looking around at the all the buildings in puzzlement while Pip watched her curiously.
“What is this?” Reiko asked rising up above the ground. She then noticed Pip and floated over to her. “What is going on here? Where are we?”
“This is a small town Star made and I’m wrecking it now,” Pip explained with a hop. “I’m pretending I’m the Bloodcat of VanEllovan and I’m destroying everything just like she did.”
Star meowed sadly while rubbing her hands down her face and shook her head, seeming to hate the interpretation Pip was getting from her attempted explanation.
“That sounds like fun,” Reiko giggled while clapping. “Can I join you? Destroying an entire town of any size sounds like a joyous time to me.”
“Okay,” Pip agreed. The two started hopping around with tiny shouts, knocking over buildings and throwing twigs about, both rampaging through the little village like two destructive giants while everyone watched them with blank expressions.
“Oh great,” Clover flatly mentioned. “Pip and Reiko are bonding over the town Star wiped out.”
“While destroying a replica of it with apparent glee,” Specca added with a concerned frown.
“Why is she so small now?” Cindy asked while Snapper was still chomping towards the tiny monsters, seeming to like the idea of eating smaller prey. “I thought she was bigger before.”
“It’s all her fault!” Reiko shouted pointing up at Kitten. “Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take me to recover from what you did? Can you even understand how long it will take for my soul stealers to grow back?”
“They grow back?” Kitten dryly asked.
“They do but it takes a long-ass time!” Reiko yelled hopping up and down. “I’m this small now to conserve energy, you think I can just take any form I want without cost? You think it’s easy being what I am? I’m not going to be able to feed now until those limbs grow back, and until then I’m going to be really hungry and a total pain in your ass for doing this to me!”
Kitten blinked then grabbed her sword, unsheathing it only slightly before Daniel held her hand to stop her.
“Why did you come back, Reiko?” he asked while keeping a close eye on her. “I thought it was made clear we didn’t want you in our company.”
“I’m not going anywhere!” Reiko whined waving her arms about in a fit. “I’m Star’s destined lover-”
Star yowled at her with discontent.
“Star’s best friend-”
Star hissed at her.
“Star’s most revered acquaintance-”
Star growled loudly at her.
“I’m with her,” Reiko plainly said pointing to the jinx.
“You’ve only been upsetting Star ever since you crossed our path,” Specca asserted. “Not to mention you nearly killed me earlier!”
“Hee hee, I’m sorry,” Reiko replied with an innocent smile.
“Falla?” Specca asked glancing to the butterfly.
“She’s lying,” Falla flatly replied. “Like you needed me to tell you that.”
“I was just hungry!” Reiko complained hopping up and down. “I need to feed! That’s what I do!”
“Just go away!” Alyssa yelled at her. “We’ve got enough to deal with right now, we don’t need a troublesome soul stealer to add to that. So beat it!”
“I’m never leaving my Star! I’ve waited so long to see her again, nothing will chase me away from her!”
Star meowed at her angrily and waved her off.
“No, I’m not leaving, Star! Why do you keep pushing me away? Can’t you see how much I love you? Why are you so mean to me, Star? Why? Just because I adore you, and wish to keep you forever, and pet you all day long, and sleep under the moon in each other’s arms, and-”
Star yowled loudly while holding her hands over both ears, shaking her head in frustration while everyone watched her and Reiko curiously. The jinx warped over and grabbed Reiko then shook her about furiously, the tiny harvester screaming as she whipped back and forth while Star meowed at her with obvious ire.
“You can’t mean that, Star!” Reiko wailed. “I’ve always been your good friend! From the moment we first fought each other to the time we- okay, stop, Star! I’m getting dizzy! I’m not feeling well, remember? Go easy on me, I’m tiny!”
“Hold it!” Daniel called out. The girls stopped and turned to him while he was watching Reiko carefully, the little monster groaning while rolling her head around as her world was spinning still.
“Reiko, do you know about Star’s past?”
“I know… everything there is to know… about-” Reiko sputtered before she quickly leaned over and threw up black bile past the jinx’s hand. After a moment to collect herself she turned to Daniel and wiped her mouth.
“About Star.”
“And you can understand her, can’t you?”
“Of course I can. I told you before, I hear the souls of those that speak around me, I can understand anyone.”
Daniel looked between the two girls then contemplated his response. Everyone waited as he thought about his request, a while of silence passing before he sighed and turned to Reiko with a dull stare.
“Seeing as how we’re out of options, I’ll just come out and say it. Can you help her explain herself to us? Can you translate for her so we can understand her story?”
“Translate for her?” Reiko questioned. “Wait, what do you mean understand her story? You already know about her. She’s the Bloodcat of VanEllovan.”
“But we want to know how she became the Bloodcat,” Specca clarified. “And why. We want to know why she did the things she did.”
“Not to mention we want to know how she took an arrow to the face and lived earlier,” Clover added.
“What was that?” Alyssa asked.
“I shot an arrow at Reiko and it missed. Ricocheted off a wall and struck Star right through her eye.” The other girls turned to Star in surprise as she slowly nodded with remorse. “Thought I killed her. But then she pulled the arrow out, and her eye grew back. She was perfectly fine afterwards.”
“But… how…” Specca stuttered.
“She took an arrow through the eye and lived?” Falla wondered.
“That doesn’t seem right,” Alyssa said shaking her head.
“That I’m not sure on how to explain,” Reiko confessed. “I wasn’t aware
you were able to recover from such serious injuries like that, Star.”
“None of us were,” Daniel agreed. “That is something we want an explanation of from her as well. So, Reiko, since you’re overly insistent on staying by Star’s side for the time being, could you please translate for her so we can understand how and why all these things came to be?”
“Why should I help any of you?” Reiko snapped at him. “You mutilated my beautiful cutters and nearly killed me! Not to mention you’re keeping my lovely Star from me! Give me one good reason why I should do what you say!”
“If you don’t I’m feeding you to Snapper,” Kitten said pointing to the swarm that was chomping at the tiny harvester. Reiko blinked then smiled nervously and nodded.
“Well, I suppose I could be nice and translate for her. That and I am rather curious to hear how she recovered from a fatal injury the way she did. I do pride myself with knowing everything there is to know about my dear Star after all.”
All eyes turned to Star as she continued to show a worried frown at Daniel, not seeming to be too eager to explain herself. She glanced around at the group then to Reiko as the harvester floated up before her.
“No more running, Star,” Reiko gently said. “If you truly have faith that this human will accept you as you are, that you believe he will forgive you, then lay all your cards on the table and see what fate decides. Though when he inevitably turns his back on you I want you to know I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”
“Reiko,” Daniel scolded.
“Right, enough wasting time,” Reiko declared with a merry spin. She landed down on Star’s shoulder and motioned her on, with the jinx sighing then looking to Daniel with a faint meow. Everyone sat down on their seats while Pip flew over and nestled herself between Kroanette’s breasts, the group watching Star and waiting for her story. Seeing no way out of it or putting it off any longer Star decided to do as Reiko urged, to lay her cards out and await judgment from those she prayed wouldn’t cast her away after they learned the truth. With that she began telling her tale, with Reiko interpreting what she said and the others listening closely to how the Bloodcat of VanEllovan came to be.
Act IX Page 49