116 Missing (11)

The retrieval at the shelter was swift, and Kyro soon went to his parents, bringing Queen back to them. The princess was a bit worse for the wear, her pristine coat no longer snow white, but that was it. Upon seeing him, she acted like nothing had happened and ignored him like always.

He couldn't really understand what his mom saw in this prideful creature. Since they got her, she refused following most of the commands and acted like her attention was worth millions. It was almost impossible to be noticed by her. Mom was the only one who was sometimes favored with it, and only because she was the one who spoiled Queen.

When he reached home, mom ran out with tears in her eyes. She instantly went for the backseat where the white princess lounged. The two's reunion was mostly one-sided, but mom didn't seem to mind. Without a word for her son, she brought Queen out, talking to her like a long lost daughter, and took her away to get a bath.

Kyro in the meantime went to chat with dad. They talked for a bit, mentioning mother's antics and how good it was that Queen was back, and separated. There was little to talk when only half of the family had returned.

Only Kyro himself knew how much Lucy meant to him, so he didn't sit around watching his parents' happiness. It was painful, even if he was happy for them.

"Tell us if there's any news. We'll help in any way we can," dad said, and Kyro smiled at him.

"It's fine, I can take care of it myself. Better worry for Queen, mom might smother her from joy."

They said their goodbyes then, and Kyro made his way back home. When he entered the apartment, his eyes instantly went down, expecting to see a little fennec welcoming him back. But there was nothing by his feet.

He shook his head and took off his boots. The backrest was empty of Lucy, and his face fell in disappointment. Even if he knew that the cat was missing, he could almost see it napping there. The moment he came closer, Lucy would lift his head, nod in acknowledgment, and close his eyes once more.

There was rarely any commotion in the house, yet the silence now had a bleakness to it. He couldn't resist looking around, searching for life that was no longer here. Wherever his gaze landed, he saw Lucy sleeping or walking around. In a few other places, he saw the fennec playing about.

"Agh, I've been focusing too much on this," he groaned and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the shadows dancing about the room were gone.

There was no point in thinking about the past when only the future held any value. If he wanted something, he had to fight for it. And use whatever tools he had under his disposal.

Swiftly, he found the number of the detective he'd used once before and gave him a call. "I need to know everything there's to know about this girl," he said to the man while sending him a picture of the girl's face. "Real name or alias, Iris."

…

Once evening came and the streets became slightly emptier after everyone returned home, Iris got up. Her body ached like crazy—every muscle sore and bruised while her tailbone was most likely broken—and she didn't feel like she'd slept any, but it was time to move. No matter how long she rested, she wasn't going to become any better. Only worse.

They set off into the direction she thought led to Kyro's home and walked for a long time, passing one street after another. When they reached another map, Iris was horrified to see how little progress they had made. It was already night time, so at least a couple hours must have passed, yet they had barely moved in the map since yesterday's fight.

'And I'm already barely standing,' she thought dismally. She'd used up more energy yesterday than she did in a month normally, and she'd had almost no food to regain it. Her throat felt like a desert, no longer even remembering what water tasted like.

'We'll never make it like this.'

A bus stopped by them, and Iris saw a couple people walking out. None of them paid any attention to the two pets hiding in a corner, which was for the better. 'Should we try our luck with transportation?'

It was a dangerous move since there would be no escape in the confines of the bus, but if nobody noticed them, they could make a lot of headway really fast. 'We need to risk it; otherwise, our only chance will be looking for a pet shelter and hoping Lucy has a chip.'

The next bus had people sitting in the back, so Iris didn't make a move. Their best chance was to wait for an almost empty one. Only then it would be worth the risk.

Two more passed by, and then, when the fourth one came, the backseats were finally empty. "Let's go!" Iris whisper-shouted to Lucifer and jumped up the couple steps into the bus.

The extensive movement made Iris wince, but she ignored the pain and swiftly hid under the seats. When she settled down and didn't see Lucifer, she suddenly feared that he might not have followed after her and was ready to jump back out before the bus left, but then the cat showed up.

He walked over to her with a disapproving expression, looking around with disgust. Still, he lay down by her side.

'Thanks,' she murmured to him, bumping her nose against his, and relaxed on the ground.

On the screen in the middle of the bus, she could see a lot of station names that meant nothing to her, but she was certain that passing them would bring Lucifer and her closer to Kyro.

'We'll be there, by his apartment, in no time. For sure,' she told herself in an encouraging voice as exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep while leaning against the fluffy cat.