Tarou the Brave

"I'm not obnoooxious," Kaia protested, purposely prolonging the second syllable before continuing.

"I'm brutally honest!"

"It's true, that mouse is different. He smells peculiar too!" she added with conviction.

'I smell better than you!' Tarou thought while skewering the brown mouse in his head. He only held back because it was not his territory.

"Kaia!" the grey mouse cried, reproaching her sister before looking at him apologetically. "Please pardon my sister's behavior. She is not in the best state of mind."

"Believe me Aure, my dear sister, this is one of my better days!" Kaia interjected before pointing one paw at Tarou. "And that mouse, what was that atrocious name again," the brown mouse squeaked offhandedly, "Ta-roo? Yes, that mouse Ta-roo is an odd one."

Aure looked at him again, with almost teary eyes before squeaking more apologies.

"Did you see a cat?"

Tarou directed the question to Aure and ignored Kaia who gave him a critical look.

"Cat? You mean the animal? Cat?" Aure asked with her eyes almost popping out.

Tarou felt the need to clarify while looking at them. "I am looking for a black cat with gold eyes." Looking at Kaia who acted superior he was about to add 'Boss would put you in your place if she was here!'

Tarou planned almost a hundred ways to torture Kaia but his thoughts were disturbed by an abominable squeak laced with disdain.

"This is the capital. The Capital. There are no black cats here," Kaia revealed. Aure quickly supplied more information.

"There are cats here but there are so few of them. There's one in the Morning Palace, one in the Lumina Manor, two in the Grand Palace, and another one at a palace in the north. But none of them are black cats."

"From which part of Artha is the mouse from, Aure? He is completely ignorant. A black cat at the capital! Any human with a black cat will be lucky to have a quick death." Kaia remarked while looking at him.

Tarou could only grit his teeth in frustration. He remembered the young women in the village who are always criticized by their in-laws. He realized that he should have been nicer to them as he gnawed on a paw.

"Stop gnawing! You will go bald! The Horror!" Kaia reprimanded.

Tarou was at his limit and just when he was about to act on his rage, Aure took him aside, distancing him from the brown mouse.

"Is she always like this?" Tarou asked in an irritated voice. Aure gave him another apologetic look before explaining.

"Kaia is not a normal mouse. We lost her when she was a baby. She was raised in captivity by a human. She picked up some anno--er-- human habits. Even my parents were horrified." Aure confessed. "We retrieved her a few nights ago after her human died." After a short pause, she asked Tarou, "Where are you from?"

"Lumen Forest," he responded almost instantly.

"We've never heard of that forest before. It must be somewhere remote!" Kaia remarked while coming closer to Tarou and Aure.

Despite being irked, Tarou ignored Kaia and directed his question to Aure. "Did you see a black cat?"

"There is something wrong with that Tarou's memory. The cats in the capital are" Kaia started again. This time, however, Tarou would have none of her high-handedness.

"No, there is nothing wrong with my memory! I am not looking for a cat in THE capital, Boss arrived with me," he exclaimed, clearly annoyed.

'If this mouse keeps on pestering me I will hack her to pieces with my teeth!'

"You brought ...a cat? That's bold!" came a high pitched squeak clearly impressed. Hearing this, Kaia suddenly retreated behind Aure. Tarou did not correct them, trying to take advantage of the situation. It was better if they thought of him as a brave and daring mouse!

Aure replied stiffly while looking at him cautiously. "We did not see a cat on the way here but a while ago, I saw Nightmare heading to the stable."

"Nightmare?" Tarou asked in confusion.

"Nightmare, that horse lives up to its name," Kaia squeaked before pausing abruptly. She elbowed Aure who continued.

"Nightmare is a black stallion, he is the general's mount."

'Oh, so the horse's name is Nightmare. Maybe Boss is with him.' Finally uncovering a clue on where Boss can be, he quickly asked for directions. After Aure gave the directions to the stables, he rushed towards the door. But before he could squeeze through a narrow opening, Aure called out.

"You should follow the scent of horse dung. Its easier to find the stables with your nose."

Making his way out of the room, he caught a whiff of something sweet and fruity. He scanned the room and saw wooden barrels near him. He popped back in to ask another question.

"Do you live here?" he reluctantly asked Aure. The mouse shook its head.

'What if Boss is not there? What should I do?' Tarou tried to control the anxiety and fear in his voice before asking Aure another question. "Can I look for you if I need help?"

Stunned, Aure reluctantly answered. "We don't live here. We were only surveying the area."

"Aure, stop playing coy. My sister is expecting to see a human called Barca."

Tarou's eyes widened, he wanted to know more but he had other things to take care of. Kaia continued, "She fawns on that human so much, the male mice at the--"

"It's late! You should look for the cat Tarou" she interjected while covering Kaia's mouth with a paw. "If you need help, wait for us at the orange tree tonight."

'That Aure mouse reminds me of wifey,' he smiled while exiting the room with relief. It was nice to have other rodents to rely on, but the duo scared him so much he wanted to give himself a pat on the back.

'Today, I have been a brave mouse!'

When Tarou left, Aure shot the brown mouse with a serious look before squeaking.

"Kaia, we have to inform the elder about this development."

"Yes, we do."