“... The main outfitting
office called today. The latest shipment has not yet arrived, and
they’re worried that continued operations may be jeopardized by...” The
tall red-headed assistant shifted his glasses further up his nose, shuffling
papers full of statistics from the company’s operations satellites.
Quatre Raberba Winner
lounged in his chair, back to the other man, eyes intent on the orchard
that lay just outside the giant window. The sun was shining on the leaves,
making them seem almost alive with the lazy shifting shadows of early summer.
Small, colorful birds flitted from tree to another, chirping the music
of the afternoon to whatever happened to pass by.
“... Mr. Winner? Sir!”
The assistant’s crisp voice interrupted his thoughts. Business reports.
They grew so... boring... on days like this. The blonde turned, trying
to draw his mind back to the tasks at hand.
A loud noise from just
outside the window drew his attention again as a few small garden creatures
began fighting over their territorial bounds. He blinked a moment and sighed.
He had absolutely *no* recollection what this report was about. The assistant,
seeing he had regained the young heir’s attention, plunged back into his
report...
Or meant to, anyway.
Quatre stood suddenly, turning back to the window. “It’s such a beautiful
day today, Taka... Come on.” The young blonde was to the door before his
confused associate could make a sound.
“But, Mr. Winner,” he
turned at the sound of his name, a quizzical look over his features. “I...
The report...”
He stamped his foot
impatiently. “So bring it along.”
“Where are we going?”
Taka cast a disapproving glance at the young tycoon. One of these days,
they were going to have to curb these irresponsible desires.
A boyish laugh and Quatre
was out the door, trusting the older man to follow. “To the garden, of
course...”
* * * * *
“... They’re asking
for an increase in the spending budget of two and a half million dollars
this quarter...”
A small, brown nut sailed
through the air, landing with an audible smack on the impressive stack
of papers the redhead was paging through, efficiently forcing him to lose
his place. Quatre looked up from his seat under a large tree, faintly surprised
by the sudden interruption.
Another followed, this
time striking Taka squarely on his upturned forehead, drawing a muffled
curse. His eyes traced the trajectory, lighting on the branches above Quatre’s
head.
“What is it? Do you
see something?” Bright aqua eyes searched the canopy above his head, straining
to see whatever had bothered his normally calm assistant.
Taka shrugged, backing
what he hoped was a safe distance. “No, nothing. As I was saying...” A
rock flew through the air, hitting the side of his head. The older man
growled in annoyance. “Mr. Winner... Surely we may retire inside again...?”
His sentence was cut
short as another small projectile struck the papers. Quatre’s lips twitched.
It was followed closely by a shot to the upper arm and another that rang
sharply against his temple. The blonde’s stifled giggle was reprimanded
by a sharp, annoyed glance from his irate associate.
One more, an acorn this
time, flew through the air, landing squarely between Taka’s eyes. “That
is *QUITE* enough of that!” His angry shout rang through the trees, startling
some of the more timid animals into flight. “If. I. *Ever*. Find. That.
Creature... So help me, I will...”
A soft giggle drew his angry stare from the tree.
Quatre was curled up under its branches, shoulders convulsing in mirth.
He glared at his employer, then back at the tree. “Sir, this is *not* amusing.”
Quatre nodded, eyes wide with
the effort of remaining silent. He opened his mouth to speak... and shut
it quickly.
There, in the tree... He smiled. It was a squirrel...
He blinked twice, squinting to get a better view. No... far too big to
be a squirrel... Standing suddenly, he looked up at his associate’s tormentor.
Bright, serious green eyes stared unblinkingly back at him. “It’s a cat...”
Taka practically growled.
“A... *Cat*?” His eyes narrowed dangerously as he approached the tree.
“Here, kitty, kitty...”
The creature in the tree stared
at him contemptuously from where it was crouched behind a large branch.
One of its eyes was covered by a large shock of hair <...Hair? Quatre’s
mind asked.> that swept forward from the rather large, furry ears that
seemed to cover half of its head. A long, elegant tail swept lazily back
and forth, falling off the branch behind it.
Silently, it grabbed a nut
from its leafy surroundings, carelessly kicking it at the redhead. Quatre
chortled.
“I don’t think he’s going
to come to you... He doesn’t seem to like you very much, Taka.”
The older man carefully set
down his papers, seething. “I will get that... that... cat...” He rolled
up his sleeves, heading toward the tree. “ ... If it is the last thing
I do, I *will* get that cat.”
Quatre stared in silent disbelief
as Taka - calm, serious Taka - tried to climb the tree. Surprisingly, he
was quite good at it, though the blonde had no idea where his assistant
would have ever picked up such a skill. He sighed. Taka had a tendency
to rebuke Quatre every time the young aristocrat tried to do such things.
The sight before him was quite
amusing... his assistant crouching on the limb, one arm stretched toward
the cat, the other holding on for dear life... The animal glaring dispassionately
at him, just out of reach. The blonde laughed from the ground beneath them,
garnering a glare from his assistant and a curious stare from the cat.
Taking advantage of the brief
distraction, Taka’s arm flailed out, grabbing onto the end of the cat’s
tail. It jumped in surprise, quickly squirming out of the unsteady grasp
and jumping to safety...
Right atop Quatre’s head.
The momentum forced the young tycoon to the ground and unbalanced the animal,
which tumbled acrobatically to the ground. Quatre stared at the animal.
It had... green fur? He gently reached out a hand, touching the strangely
colored creature. Not fur... but cloth? A turtleneck, to be exact.
He blinked, puzzled, and brought
his face down level with its own. Now that he was closer... The face was
definitely human... if rather dirty. A cat-boy? A tiny pink tongue darted
out, licking the tip of Quatre’s nose. The aristocrat smiled in return,
turning to talk to his assistant without ever taking his eyes off the creature.
“I think I’m going to keep it.”
Taka practically fell out
of the tree from shock. “But... Sir! It’s a stray! Who knows where that
thing has been?” He glared at the offending creature.
It glanced at him sideways
for a moment, then turned away to brush up against the young blonde, the
picture of feline contentment. Quatre smiled silently. Definitely more
a cat than a human... But there was enough intelligence behind the eyes
to keep life... interesting... for a while. The smile twisted into a smirk.
Especially since Taka apparantly did *not* like cats.
He shrugged as it curled up
on his lap, a noise strangely like a purr issuing from its - his, the blonde
reminded himself - from *his* throat. “Of course I’m keeping it! I think
it likes me.” He smiled at the creature, now fast asleep across his legs.
“I think I’ll call him Trowa...”
*Owari*