Chương 7: Episode Two Hundred and Fifty-One: Cat’s Rhythms

I quickly came to one conclusion. The Cat did not answer email on any known timeline, or with any rhyme or reason. My handwriting filled the first page of my notepad completely, all with things I needed to ask the Cat about. Things that I hadn't realized he'd taken care of sporadically. Like these emails, or the message board of magical items. I knew, in an abstract way, that the things in here existed, they just hadn't been as important as where Betty showed up each day.

But now that wasn't as true, and some of these had to be important. Learning which ones were, and which ones were not, was the problem. I rubbed between my eyes and Indigo's tail tapped on my other arm. She stared at me.

"You okay?"

"Yep, just trying to make sense of some of this." I motioned to the list.

"Knowing what's important is hard." Indigo blinked as her tail curled around her body.

"Can't you use your magic?" My mouth opened, but no words came out. I closed it, then stared at the notepad and the tablet. Could I? Would it work that way? Without trying to think about it too hard, I sent a pulse of golden magic across the room. Threads rose from me and Indigo, but didn't touch anything inside the shop. Instead, they all stretched to the closed door, except for one from each of us that went to the balcony above our heads. Another faded into the counter under my hand. This wasn't what I needed.

Threads worked well for physical things in front of me, and connections between people. I needed to know what messages were important. Which ones connected to Betty, which were the ones that Betty needed.

"Betty," I whispered. Warmth pulsed under my hand in response.

"I'm going to try something…" Then I focused on the shop itself, the bond inside me, and the list on the notepad.

"What items are important?" I asked, before grabbing a hold of the power inside my chest and pushing it at the paper. Several of the questions and items glittered with a golden light, but just for a moment. Then my power flickered with the strain. I dropped the focus and quickly made a small dash next to each of the items that had shimmered, before taking a deep breath. Indigo wordlessly chirpped.

"I'm okay. It just isn't easy," I said carefully, rubbing the center of my chest. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Lady Twilight says that practice makes using your magic easier." She pressed her lips together.

"But practice is never easier." I chuckled.

"That's for sure. Practice takes work, a lot of work." I swallowed hard before sipping on my latte. The sweetness washed away the flicker of concern. It'd been doable, but took a good amount of magic. I wasn't sure how long it would take for me to recover from it. Still, there were enough dashes on the notepad that I had a path forward. Now, I needed to search for a message where the Cat answered, and figure out how the items were sent to us. Like, an address or something.

Otherwise, how did things show up, besides us actually showing up where they were? A sizzle of energy flashed above us, then the connection with Betty increased. Again, not really the connection, the drain on my magic. Which was not a good thing. Not at this moment. The Cat's head appeared, poking between the banisters from above as I took a deep breath. A sudden burst of green washed down from above, and the drain vanished.

"Are you okay?" He asked, appearing on the counter next to Indigo, whose head snapped around to stare at him.

"Better, what did you do?" I asked, taking a deep breath. The connection between Betty and I remained, but the drain had stopped completely.

"I blocked Betty from draining you, and I'm letting the shop borrow some power." He nudged my arm, and I dropped it from where I held it against my chest.

"You need to learn to manage the connection between the two of you."

"It wasn't a problem before, but I just used a bit more of my magic then anticipated trying to figure out some next steps."

"You came back," said Indigo in a burst, completely ignoring the conversation between the two of us. One second she was near him, and the next she pressed up against him almost like a hug.

"I missed you. Are you okay?"

"I am doing okay." The Cat blinked at her twice before nodding.

"And my people will slowly heal, over time." That caused a soft smile to come across my face. I hoped that his children would be alright. Not that they weren't centuries older than me, but still, he cared deeply about them. That made them family for me, too, in a way. He hesitated, and glanced back at me.

"We need to work on your connection with the shop."

"First, I have a list of questions," I said, holding up my notepad.

"There is a list of items that we need, but I don't know how to reply to the people offering the goods up, or the messages to you on the register." The Cat let out a sigh.

"I hate answering those…"

"Obviously, but how do I get the items in the shop?" I asked, waiting for him to respond.

"Either you go pick them up, or they can send them… it really depends on what world they are on."

"Send them how?" I asked, with a confused look.

"Courtior service, like the delivery guy," said the Cat, staring at me.

"But to what address?" I added. The Cat opened his mouth, and then shut it.

"Well, there are a few…" he trailed off. The tablet still laid on the counter, and he tried to hit a button. It didn't do anything. He glared at it. I hit the button for him.

"Scroll down," he said with his head right over the tablet, basically blocking my view. I resisted chuckling, and he slowly walked me through the correct steps to get to the various addresses that they could send things too.

"So these are addresses for Betty?" The Cat chuckled.

"Not really. They are to drop off points that Betty reaches out to."

"But these are consistent places we go to…" My voice trailed off slowly as I scrolled down the list, but even as I watched a few greyed out and vanished.

"The list is changing."

"That can happen, based on local conditions," he said. It almost sounded rueful. This didn't really help me connect with the list of items being offered for sale.

"How is this helpful?" I asked, to no one in particular, as I pressed the frustration down inside.

"Exactly." The Cat said with a clearer note of snark.

"Add in not being able to hit the buttons, and that's why I hate dealing with this."