Fright and aw

I snapped my head around, my heart pounding in my chest like a scared owl. To my surprise, a humanoid cat lady, her features a peculiar mix of feline and human, peered at me from the side door, wearing a frown. "You're supposed to be patrolling around the shopping district," she scolded.

Confusion swirled in my mind as I contemplated her words. "Is she mistaking me for someone else?" I wondered aloud.

Before I could delve deeper into my thoughts, another voice chimed in, interrupting the tense silence. "S-Sorry, Captain. It's just that I can't stop worrying about when the bosses come back," stuttered a figure standing nearby. To my surprise, the being resembled a metallic suit of armor with a dog's head perched on top.

The cat lady's frown deepened, disappointment etched across her face. "Don't. It's that simple. Don't," she admonished. Stepping fully into view, she motioned for the dog knight to leave. "Now off with you," she ordered curtly.

Reluctantly, the dog knight rose to his feet, gripped his spear tightly, and trudged toward the door. As he passed me, he paused, casting a suspicious glance in my general direction. My body tensed involuntarily, and I held my breath, hoping to remain unnoticed.

But before my lungs could scream for oxygen, the cat lady hissed, "GO." With those words, the dog knight shuffled away, leaving only the cat lady behind.

"I can sense your magic," she murmured, her voice low and cutting, like a knife wound slowly bleeding out. She turned around, her gaze fixed on me. "Yet, you've disguised your scent impressively. I can't smell you at all, nor can I spot you. It's as if you're a ghost." A playful smile curled at the corners of her lips. Slowly, she advanced toward me. "How about a deal: if you stop playing this childish game, I'll consider making you into a scout. You'll receive fair pay, training, and the opportunity to become the first non-boss-monster to reach the surface. Your task would be to map it out for us." She halted, standing directly in front of me. "What do you say?"

I wasn't certain if she could hear my answer, but even if she could, she wouldn't receive one. My lips remained sealed, a mixture of uncertainty and fear holding me back.

"If you're wondering why," she continued, frustration lacing her words, "it's because fooling at least two out of six senses of a captain of the royal guard is extremely impressive, and we need such expertise when spying on the humans, whose capabilities we still don't fully understand." Still, no response came from me.

The cat lady's glare intensified as she failed to elicit any reaction. "Fine, if it's going to be like that, then get out," she growled in annoyance.

With a sudden burst of determination, I snatched an ice cream cone from a nearby vendor and sprinted out through the side door. I hurried through a wide corridor, passing a fellow knight, before finally emerging from the exit into the open air.