Flash Fiction #577 -- Neko's Vacation/3

 They had drawn attention, of course.  Colin took care of it with magic so  no one came near.  

"I've gotten too used to talking to people," Neko said.  "I'm sorry."

"There is more going on here than being startled by a talking cat.  I suspect our friend here has seen a few odd things of her own."

"Yes," she whispered.  Her eyes opened, and she looked around, relaxing as she found herself still in the park and on the bench.  "I don't know who you are --"

"What I am," Colin corrected.  "You are a fortune teller with a true gift.  That's rare.  I'm a fae who happens to like living in the human world.  It makes me useful."

"And the cat talks."

Neko looked at Colin and said nothing at all.  Colin laughed.  "Say something, Neko."

"I don't like to scare people."

"What a nice cat!"  She started to pet him and stopped.  "He is really a cat, right?"

"I am," Neko said and jumped up on the bench.

"We could feel your power for some distance," Colin explained.  He watched as the annoying guy looked around, did not spot them behind the magic, and limped out of the park.

"My power can be felt?  I felt a tingle when you knocked Lyle down.  I had never felt anything like that before.  And now I feel like I am in a protective bubble."

"You know that guy?"

"Local gang scum," she snarled but then looked worried.  "I have to get away from here.  The gang leader knows I am legit.  He wants me."

"Come on.  I can give you a ride."

She frowned.  "Should I trust you?"

"Yes."

She held out her hand, and he took it.  Neko felt an odd rush of magic around them, but she looked relieved.

"Fae." She tilted her head.  "I find no lies in you at all."

"They are impossible for fae," he replied.  "Except when a fae has lied so well to himself that he believes some fundamental untruth and builds on that foundation.  You don't want to meet one of those."

She gave a nod as though she totally understood.  "I am Luna," she said.

"Colin and Neko." Colin swept Neko up in his arms.  "We don't have far to go to the car.  Where can we take you?"

"Anywhere away from here," she said and pulled a backpack out from under the bench.

"No home?" Colin asked as the three started away.

"None that is safe," she admitted.

"We're going across on the ferry.  Does New London sound good to you?"

"I don't have the fare --"

"Fae," he said.  "Money is the last thing we worry about."

Luna gave a tentative nod, but Neko suspected she still didn't trust them enough to go on the ferry.

She took the backseat, much to Neko's surprise.  Luna was asleep before they had gone far.

"Ocean!" Neko suddenly shouted despite himself.  He leaped onto the dashboard and plastered his face to the window.  "I saw ocean!"

"What?  You didn't believe me when I said that was where we were going?" Colin asked.

"Yes, of course.  But I saw it!"

Luna laughed.

"Oh.  Sorry.  I woke you."

"It was delightful.  Have you never seen the ocean before?"

"Not for several centuries," Neko replied.  Then he sighed.  "That sounds odd, even to me."

"Neko used to be the familiar for a particularly bad-tempered witch.  She's no longer with us."

"I tripped her on the stairs.  I did not expect her to break her neck."

"That was good luck," Colin added.  "She had gotten through my shields."

"More ocean," Luna pointed.

Neko pushed the thought of Maude out of his brain and leaped from the dashboard to the seat and back again.  Luna laughed with delight. Neko had the feeling she didn't laugh very often.

They had a pleasant ride out to Orient Point.  Luna didn't want to stay alone in the car and gladly carried Neko as they headed along the shore, Colin testing various spots with a whisper of magic.

"May I ask what you are doing?" Luna asked at last.

"The fae have found some growing magical trouble spots in the continental US.    We want to find out what is happening before something unfortunate occurs.  I am doing an initial reading, and then Neko and I will drive across country to find as many of the locations as we can."

"Across country?" she said in surprise.  They were finally heading down to the water.  She still carried Neko, and the cat felt the sudden rush of her heartbeat and even saw the start of a smile before she forced it away.  "How far?"

"All the way," Colin replied.  Neko could tell he was busy with his readings and had not noted Luna's reaction.

"To California?" she asked.  

Colin caught the tone this time and looked her way.  Luna glanced aside in haste and watched the slight ocean waves with the same intensity that Neko felt, although for her own reasons.

Colin took an hour or more getting readings from various spots.  Neko got down and chased a few gulls, even daring the edge of the water.

"Come on Neko," Colin shouted.  "We don't want to miss the ferry, unless you want to swim across the sound."

One of the gulls swept across the water and straight at Neko, but the cat flipped over, caught a few feathers, and sent the bird raging on.

"Well done!" Luna praised and scooped him up, seawater, sand, feathers, and all.

"Considering Neko had been trapped in a building for centuries, I am quite pleased to see how well he is doing," Colin added.

"I used to go up in the attic and pretend to be out in the wild.  I have a good imagination.  I always wondered if that flip would work."

They all three laughed, but Neko kept an eye on the enraged gull that tagged after them.

They barely made it to the ferry on time.