Sons of Mau

The Polyglot of Adh' Mor

Luckily for Miu and Tally, they met a fisher that knew a shortcut to Jumblefuss, so they didn't have to go all the way back to Rye-Pole. Tally did explain to Miu that she'd sent the bomb maker from Anima to give word to Hope that Pim was all right. The kitten still apparently wasn't ready to leave.

Miu didn't have an exact plan of how he was going to go about entering Jumblefuss. Whatever they did, it meant confrontation. Tally was still confused to as to why he was keeping a low profile. They snuck around buildings, heads down, voices lowered. Tally pushed him into a wall.

"Okay, what is your deal here? Bad reputation?"

Miu carefully scanned the area. "This is kinda where I...where I stole the artifact."

Tally's eyes widened. "YOU FOUND IT HERE?!"

"Sshh!! Keep it down!"

Tally quieted.

They found their way lost in a crowd heading to the House of Adh' Mor. Miu looked ahead, surprised. Maneki's assistant wasn't promoting the place like usual. Instead she was turning tourists away. She closed the gate to the shrine and went up the steps into the place. Miu ushered Tally around fleeting visitors.

"Where are we going?"

"I know another way in."

Miu reached the back door. The sound of trickling water rang familiar in his memory. He and Tally quietly entered. No coins were flooding the barrel today. Miu protectively touched his pouch. They meekly looked around. No one seemed to be in sight.

"So you're back."

They both jumped. The assistant was standing there, uninterestedly chewing a biscuit.

Miu's tail twitched. Tally looked ready to run.

She laughed. "Relax. Whatever you took didn't affect my salary." She swallowed the biscuit.

Tally and Miu stared, perplexed. Then a voice echoed down the hallway.

"Nada! Where'd you put last week's quota?" Maneki came down the hall, finally noticing them with shock. "It's you!"

Miu gritted his teeth.

"You thieving little bastard. How dare you show your face-"

"Calm down Maneki." Nada calmly put a paw out to stop him. "Remember what we talked about? Peace is part of the Maneki-Neko's charm."

The male calico seemed to calm down some. "What. Are you doing back here?"

Miu realized that there was no way he was going to get what he wanted holding a pouch of stolen money. "Well, "he said begrudgingly, "I brought this back." He emptied his pouch, currants rolling down the hallway and into the courtyard. Only Hope's package of herbs remained.

Nada looked indifferent. Maneki was confused.

"I spent some of it," Miu blandly admitted.

"And the Relic of Destiny? Have you so decided to bring that back as well?" Maneki forcibly smiled.

"That's kind of a problem."

Maneki frowned. "How so?"

Miu looked around anxiously. "Is there someplace we can talk?"

The Maneki-Neko looked ready to kick them both out, but Nada stepped in, cracking a persuasive smile. "Of course. You can make yourselves comfortable in the tea room. I'll bring refreshments."

Tally and Miu exchanged a look, but they followed the assistant into an isolated room, leaving the owner of the House of Adh' Mor to spasmodically pick up the fallen currants.