Lyra Karant
AKA generic cat thread
Let’s talk about cats.
Part of being a brand-new, totally fresh-faced D-rank mage was the fact that you got to go around and do the boring jobs that nobody else wanted to do. It was just a part of life, but also an important one. Serving the communities you were in was an extremely important part of the role, especially when you served a legal guild that claimed to be dedicated to the cause of good. This was exactly why Lyra had signed up for this more than mundane task, because one, she knew that she was a fresh-faced newbie and this was part of the learning experience and two, she knew it needed to be done.
What, you may ask, was the task in question? There was a cat in need of being rescued from a tree. Why was this important? Because this cat was important to the lovely little old lady that it belonged to, and here in Protagonist Town, we don’t ask questions, we just do the job. Jewels? Whatever. Not a problem for the residents of Protag Town. They’re just happy to do the job.
So Lyra stood at the bottom of a birch tree in the middle of town, staring up. Indeed, there was a cat at the top of the tree. It was a beautiful cat, too - a gorgeous short-hair ginger tabby cat, who had nestled up in one of the high branches and seemed to be actually somewhat content up there. It stared down with bright green eyes, looking down at Lyra Karant and her owner.
“So there she is!” the old lady said, pointing up. Yep, that was definitely the cat. “Can you help me?”
”Of course, ma’am! Just give me a few minutes. I’m not great at climbing trees but I’ll sure give it a try!”
Chipper as always, kid, commented Rhett, the voice in the back of Lyra’s head. For sure it was an interesting time when a guy was just in your soul and could talk to you in your mind. It had its benefits. But what was privacy, right?
So. Plan?
”Climb tree, collect cat,” Lyra remarked as she took the first step forward to wrap her hands around the tree’s thin trunk. Birch trees were an interesting thing. They had thin enough trunks that you couldn’t effectively wrap your whole body around them, but not thin enough that it was just a job for the hands. Was magic the solution? Heck no. No burning the tree. This was just going to have to be grit and determination to get through this task.
Her hands were tiny, anyway. Whole body it was.
So, first, both hands around the tree - it almost worked properly. Then, booted feet against the tree, get the legs around, and sort of shuffle her way up bit by bit. This was going to need a hell of a lot of core strength, especially near the top. There was no way the branches were strong enough to support her whole weight, light as she might have been, which meant that just getting the lowest branch and swinging to victory was out of the question.
One pull at a time. Legs around, core on to stabilize, then reach up to pull herself up. Repeat.
”Why on earth did I sign up for this,” Lyra grunted by the time she got halfway up the tree. Dripping in sweat from the exertion, short of breath, she was certainly about halfway to the cat. She looked up at the sweet little thing.
It blinked, its stare incessant.
Thus being the case, she resumed climbing. It was exhausting work. Was it worth the handful of jewels? Well, it was probably worth it for the expression of joy that would inevitably be on the face of the old lady who was currently watching Lyra expectantly. That’d have to do for motivation.
Eventually, she got high enough to a point where the main trunk divided into two, which gave Lyra a bit of a break and a much better foothold. Straddling the split of the tree, she looked over at the cat, which was a little higher than she was and on a far thinner branch than could support her weight. Honestly, it sort of felt like this tree could give at-
Crunch.
Yeah, there it was. Her weight, low as it might have been, was a little too much for the upper branches of a very thin tree. The branch she was sitting on was beginning to give way. As quick as she could, Lyra tried to reposition herself a little lower, getting her legs around the main trunk again for some kind of support, but-- Too late. The tree began to give. One side of the tree began to sag, the wood giving way for just a moment, and Lyra suddenly found herself partly dangling off a breaking birch. The cat, despite being on the broken side, had barely moved, and was just watching the poor girl struggle and flail.
In hindsight, a ladder would have been really handy. Probably would have avoided all this.
So, the bright idea was thus. Grab hold of the tree, try and stabilise it, and try and take that moment to bring it closer to extract the cat. That was the best she could do when her footholds were starting to collapse under her. Lyra took hold of the falling branches, grabbing hold of the nearest one and using what was left of her strength to pull the tree closer and reach out for the cat. It wasn’t moving. The tree wasn’t coming as close as she wanted it to. At this point, her only recourse was to try and swing out and get hold of the cat. That she did, her grip unsteady as the pink haired girl tried to control her breathing and get hold of everything.
She could feel it giving under her. And the cat was just staring. It seemed like it was hopeless, but then--
Crunch.
Only for the tabby cat to jump onto her shoulder, and bound its way down the tree, as if she wasn’t even there. A second later, Lyra felt the entire world give way under her with a sickening snap, and if not for the fact she was holding on to a whole bunch of shrubbery, which cushioned her fall before she hit the concrete.
“Kitty!” the old lady yelled, the tabby cat now squarely in her possession. Job done.
Lyra sat up and took stock of her body. Everything hurt. A lot. Scrapes up and down her arms, legs and chest from the branches, her back was definitely feeling the effect of it, and she was about one hundred percent sure that her butt had taken most of the brunt of that fall. Well, all’s well that ends well, right? Bruises and cuts for the next two weeks and not being able to sit down. The old lady smiled and waved with a thank you, her cat successfully returned to her. She handed over the payment, and left. At that point, Lyra was left on the ground, sitting in the remains of the boughs of a tree, alone with her thoughts.
Your plan was stupid, just so you know, Rhett commented.
”Shush you.”
BIO | MAGIC | BANK
MEL @ WW
