The Neko's Tail - 39. The Egaro's Advice

Artemis woke up enveloped in Elias’ arms. He was stunned at the neko’s boldness. The cat must be desperate for him to be willingly holding onto Artemis. But as soon as the tiger gave any indication that he might be waking up, Elias’ arms were withdrawn from his body, the neko rolling over silently.

“Morning kitten,” Artemis mumbled sleepily.

Elias didn’t answer, but then Artemis didn’t expect him to. The neko’s silence was no excuse to ignore him though, or treat him as less of a person.

Artemis sat up slowly, looking at Elias laying beside him. The neko looked exhausted and Artemis wondered how well he was sleeping. The tiger brushed a hand over Elias’ cheek and the cat flinched away. The stress of Elias’ silence was finally starting to wear on Artemis, the endless guessing game of what did the neko want; what would make the neko happy?

He had his appointment with Aegle today. Hopefully, she could help him figure Elias out. Reinard had been Artemis’ friend too, and while his relationship with Elias had been much closer, the tiger felt like the neko should at least be trying to get over the Faro.

But even as he thought that Artemis felt horrible for it. He had mourned bitterly for his parents years ago. What made Elias’ loss any different?

“I want to go for a morning swim,” he said, getting out of bed. “Are you going to be okay in here?”

Elias nodded, and Artemis pulled off his sleeping pants. He scratched his butt absently as he walked out of the room, feeling Elias’ eyes on him.

His feet beat a trail to the basement, turning on the light before heading down the stairs. He hadn’t been swimming in ages, and with the early morning light, the tiger just knew the ocean would be gorgeous right now.

Coming up to the last stair, Artemis stepped carefully into the water, his eyes searching for the dropoff. His tail flicking in anticipation, Artemis leapt gracefully off the platform and into the cold waters of the sea.

He felt himself relax in the water, taking in his surroundings. Fish of all colours and shapes swam around the island, through tunnels in the stone. Waves disturbed the water around him, but he rode them out, enjoying the motion. This. This was what Elias was missing with his fear of water. The planet above him was lacking in this life. There was nothing but Egaro above the waves.

Kicking upward, Artemis aimed for the neon yellow bar that ran over the edge of the glass room in his basement. He grabbed the glass, following it up until he broke the surface of the water.

Swimming toward the dropoff, Artemis froze at the sight of Elias standing shirtless and shivering on the steps.

“Kitten, what are you doing down here?” he asked, pulling himself out of the water.

He shook briefly, ridding himself of excess water as he walked. Elias backed away from him, nearly tripping up the stairs.

“You don’t know how to swim. I don’t want you to drown,” Artemis said.

The neko pointed silently and Artemis turned, spotting a large shape swimming slowly around the room. A large eye stared through the glass, tentacles pushing the body through the water.

Artemis shivered as he came face to face with one of the largest predators of the Egara oceans. If he hadn’t gotten out of the water when he had, the tiger might be nothing more than fish food.

“It looks like I’m done swimming for the morning,” he said calmly.

Walking toward the stairs, he shooed Elias up them, following the neko closely.

Elias pushed the stick on the game controller, staring at the screen in front of him. He was a little wary of the screen after the simulator, but Artemis promised he would enjoy this game. So far it seemed peaceful, some kind of exploration game. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the game other than himself, lost in the middle of an island city.

He could hear Artemis enter the room, dressed for the day.

“Hey kitten, I have to see Scholar Aegle. I need you to stay here, okay?”

Elias frowned, looking up at Artemis. He rose fluidly to his feet, setting the controller down carefully. Artemis stiffened slightly as Elias approached him, uncertainty playing across his face until Elias’ arms wrapped around him in a hug. The tiger’s breath left his body in a rush as he stroked Elias’ hair.

“I’ll be back in an hour and we can go explore a bit. How does that sound?” Artemis asked.

Elias nodded, turning back to the screen.

“Huh, you made it to Ayen Village already. You’re pretty good at that,” the tiger added with a look at the screen.

The neko shrugged. He was just exploring the game, not really sure what he was supposed to do. But apparently what he was doing now was good enough for Artemis.

A minute later, he heard the door close, Artemis leaving the house. Instantly a knot formed in the neko’s gut. Every time he was apart from the tiger something happened. But Artemis didn’t want Elias to follow him, and the neko knew he had to stay in the house.

Suddenly the screen didn’t seem quite so fun. Setting the controller aside again, Elias stood up, walking to the bedroom. He would wait for Artemis, and sleep always made time go by faster.

Aegle scribbled on her notepad, Artemis scratching at his arm nervously. He wasn’t sure if the scribbling was good or bad. Who knew what would happen if he said the wrong thing? Would Elias be taken away? Would he lose his rank in the Fleets?

“Relax Artemis,” Aegle smiled slightly. “This is all to help you, not to hurt you.”

“You scare me a little,” the tiger admitted.

Aegle arched an eyebrow.

“Really? Why is that?”

Artemis shrugged helplessly.

“I keep thinking that I could get myself or Elias in trouble with something I say.”

Aegle hummed quietly for a moment.

“Tell me Artemis, what would be the worst thing to come from therapy for you?”

Another shrug. Fuck, he was starting to feel like Elias. He hoped the neko was doing okay on his own.

“Honestly, I’m afraid you might take Elias away. I don’t think I could handle that. I don’t think he could handle that either. He’s already lost so much.”

“In what way? His planet? His old life?”

Artemis shook his head.

“No, I know he’s happy to be gone from his old life. But his new life hasn’t exactly been easy either. He… well, both of us actually… we lost someone close to us less than a month ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that,” Aegle sympathised.

“Now he won’t talk to me. He was crying a few days ago. It’s the first time I’ve heard his voice since Reinard’s death. I want to help him, but I don’t know how.”

“He spoke before the death of his friend?”

Artemis nodded.

“He’s always been quiet, but now he doesn’t speak at all. I had him learn sign language because he doesn’t seem comfortable actually talking with anyone other than me.”

Aegle smiled slightly.

“That is possibly one of the best things you could have done for him.”

“I feel like a lot of this is my fault. I stole him from his world. I botched that up in itself and nearly lost him because he saw space before I could explain what happened. Then I left him on a station and he was kidnapped. I was lucky to get him back.”

“But you did get him back safely. It is obvious you care for him and he knows it. What I saw last week, his reluctance to leave you, Elias is comfortable around you. He may not say it, but he certainly shows it.”

Artemis sighed quietly, not reassured. He looked at the plant in its pot, trunk thin but proud. Leaves spread out along wire-thin branches, but the tree seemed designed for the weight of the leaves, the branches staying strong.

“I don’t know Scholar. I’m getting more and more frustrated with the constant guessing games. I don’t know what he wants or what he needs, and every time I try to do something with him, he ends up terrified.”

“Can you give me an example of the things you do with him?”

“Well, like I’m trying to get him used to taking showers. Apparently the world he’s from does not appreciate the value of a shower. It’s become a sort of mutual punishment thing for us. He’ll take a shower as long as I take one with him. But now he seems afraid of being naked around me. He never really seemed self-conscious before; probably as a by-product of his childhood. I don’t know why he’s started now.”

“It could be he is experiencing an attraction to you and it is making him judge his own body compared to yours. Or perhaps he has learned of heats and he fears you might take advantage of him,” Aegle suggested.

“He has already experienced my heat. We had a slight… mix up with it. I read signs that weren’t there but apologised after. But that was months ago.”

“There are some questions that can only be answered by asking the person involved,” Aegle said.

“But if he won’t talk to me-”

“It might not be that he won’t. Maybe Elias physically can not speak. He gets choked up and the words won’t come. I suggest you let him know that it is okay to talk to you out loud but make sure he knows you won’t force him to speak. As for the frustration, make sure you take time for yourself. Elias is a big boy and he can take care of himself. I noticed he didn’t come with you today. Give him a chance to do his own thing, discover things he enjoys doing. It will help both of you.”

Aegle stood up with a smile.

“Well, that’s all the time I have for today,” she said, Artemis rising with her.

“Thank you for your help,” the tiger said.

“It’s only natural to be worried about Elias. But take care of yourself too and you’ll find yourself better prepared to help him.”

They left the room, Artemis directing his feet to the door. He could hear the pankratiasts working on their drills, the cats practising every day to stay in shape. Maybe he could get Elias involved in that. If nothing else, it would help the neko defend himself.

Raising his hand in farewell to Aegle, Artemis left the office, hurrying to get back to the neko waiting at home.