Short Story: The Feline Fiesta

“Now, let’s celebrate our reunion!”

“Cheers to that!” yelled all the cats in unison. They clinked their glasses together and chugged down the refreshing drinks. The cats were drinking the finest matatabi sake, infused with properties similar to catnip. Though, to be fair, calling them cats wasn’t quite accurate. They were Cat Siths, faefolk summoned by humans. Though they were varied in size and shape, they were actually all old friends from the same homeland.

“Hmhm… So you say that our mission is to protect this town?”

“Verily so, my furry friend! The knight order may patrol, but the underbelly of this town relies on our purrfect espionage! We must protect, serve, track, and trace!” Mr. Mittens spoke proudly in response to Athos’ question. He was truly proud of the authority he had earned in Brunhild and had even reached the point where knights listened to his orders.

In short, the cat knights were the other side of the knight order. They were the ones that handled the harder-to-find, dirtier work.

Athos nodded along before speaking up again, “I see, I see… This is quite a serious responsibility we have. We’ll strive to keep the peace here, then.”

Athos was a particularly intellectual Cat Sith. He was a master of strategy and had a focus on tactical thinking. He sought to manipulate all his assets like extensions of himself, and use them to achieve victory.

“Come now, fellows! This is no time to discuss work! I’m quite interested in the little honeys I’ve seen around town… A lot of pretty little cat ladies in these parts!” Aramis tipped his hat as he sipped at his drink, grinning as a sly cat would. Aramis was a little different from Athos in that, while he was intelligent, he was more of a charmer and a ladies’ man. He wasn’t serious or studious like Athos was and instead preferred to take things in stride. Of the four cat musketeers, he was surely the most adept at swordplay.

“Oh man, this stuff is great! The booze goes really good with the teriyaki chicken, aw man!” Porthos, the fattest cat at the table, greedily shoveled chicken into his mouth. The sheer power behind his motions was something to behold. In case it wasn’t clear, he was the physically strongest of the four cats, as well as the largest.

“I must say, I pawsed in shock and relief when you two appeared… I was pushing the limits of my strength alone, so I’m thankful for your help!”

Mr. Mittens laughed as he knocked back some more of his drink. Athos smiled back in turn, then shrugged. “Is the country really that unsafe? It seemed fine to me.”

“My friend, there are adventurers from all over the world gathering in this place. It’s only safe because of my efforts! If many people from many places come together, they might get into fights! It’s our job to end that.”

“Hmm? We’re taking out problems as they show up, then?” Aramis tilted his head. He folded his arms together and heaved a small, grumbling sigh.

“Well,” said Mr. Mittens, “We just need to keep an eye on the place, basically. No need to get involved unless it’s serious. Otherwise, we just need to inform the knights.”

“And strike down the enemy, right?”

“That’s right! We’ll strike them meowtta here!” Mr. Mittens raised his glass, clinking it against Porthos’. There were a lot of different adventurers that came into town, some respectful and some not. It was pretty difficult for Mr. Mittens to keep track of them all. Some of them treated the cats in town poorly, so they had to be dealt with appropriately as well.

“Thanks to you guys showing up, I can focus on being there for my most esteemed master’s mother. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. One must be there for their friends!”

“Indeed, I’m quite happy to meet the beauties in town as well…”

“Gahaha! If all the food’s gonna be like this, it ain’t gonna be an issue at all!” The four Cat Siths held their glasses up in the air at the same time.

“One for all, and all for one! Cheers to that!”

The cats partied on, sounds of their friendship echoing out into the city streets all through the night.