Sulvill
21th December, 2023

Butter waited by the door. He craved a break from Sulvill as much as his mistress, Pepper, did. With her meager salary as an assistant to the magistrate- in charge of keeping a check on all magic folk in their district lest their existence get exposed- there wasn't much more than their one bedroom apartment she could afford despite her superior skills and talents.

As far as Butter was concerned, the pale gray, lackluster walls, defective air-con, and worn furniture that the humble dwelling boasted of were (absolutely) not worthy of his mistress. But there was not much he could do about it, being as he was but a kitten.

Pepper was turning twenty-five soon...sooner than Butter would have liked. His green-rimmed irises moved from the front door to the calendar. His mistress had brought it from work almost a year ago.

"Two more days, Butter. Hang on for just two more days," he said, licking his paws. It was one of those yucky habits he had picked up to get along with others, to blend in with his peers, the real felines, all those centuries ago.

Polpom was not kind to witches and wizards. Luckily, the world had moved on. Now, humans had better things to do than catching and apprehending mostly innocent magical folk. Even the magical community had organized themselves into strong units, ready to defend their families. Of course, that was just a rumor, a relatively-new wives tale, if you will.

"Where is Pepper?" he said, glancing at the old grandfather clock standing un-aesthetically next to the coat rack. The hour hand was almost at five. "I hope her day wasn't terrible," he mused, mapping the tiny porch like a worried parent. For all intents and purposes, he was one. Who said that parents and children had to be the same species? Not Butter, that's who.

The truth was that Pepper was a super-duper, hard-working witch. Butter, in his terribly long life, had outlived twenty-four Woodgrips. Pepper was the twenty-fifth. Butter hoped she would live a long, happy life even when he wasn't around.

Butter was ready to say his goodbyes. He had been since his first mistress, Patty Woodgrip, had breathed her last.

"Are you thinking about how you can kick the bucket?"

The kitten stopped prancing around; his gaze followed the bubbly voice. "My friend, glad to see you are up and about." He jumped up and into the waiting arms of the easy chair next to the coffee table. "How are you doing?"

"Better. The pH of the water was the issue, after all. Thanks for letting Pepper know. I appreciate it." The veil-tailed pink betta fish, aptly named Betta, swam towards Butter. "Do not try to change the subject, Khun Butter. Are you thinking about the inauspicious thing again?"

"The Saviour of Woodgrips is ready to meet his maker," he announced to the betta fish.

"Tsk. Tsk. Stop it, or you will manifest it, Khun," the Asian fellow said. Pepper had brought the fish a month ago to keep her familiar company. The two had hit it off right away.

"Fine, I will not think about it anymore...today. Happy?"

"I will take what I can get, Khun," Betta replied, swimming to the top of the bowl. "I was wondering how you ended up with the Woodgrips. Care to share?"

"Right..." The blond kitten immersed his paw into the fish tank, creating ripples on the surface. "Want me to pet you?"

"You know, I am not the prying kind. You can refuse. And yes, I would love to be pet. Thank you."

"Thanks, buddy," Butter said, stroking the top of his friend's head, making sure his claws were retracted. "I haven't been the best familiar, my friend. It has occurred to me that I have been slacking off. There's-"

"Chu chu. Chu chu. Chuuuu," a cuckoo bird chirped, peaked and then fluttered out of her abode inside the old clock. "Where's Pepper?" she asked, peeking into the hallway past the kitchen.

Vroo. Vroooo. Vroooooom.

All heads turned towards the vacuum cleaner. The three friends shared a knowing look, and Birdie retired to her space.

Butter's brows knit together. "I wonder who got on her nerves today."

"Probably the magistrate or that fellow who keeps causing more trouble than he is worth." Betta offered, making himself comfortable on his seat: a food-grade plastic leaf attached three inches under the water level of his tank.

"I reckon it's the latter. Pepper vacuums the place only when she has the urge to hit someone. I have met the magistrate; he can be unreasonable sometimes, but she has learned how to deal with him."

As the vacuum cleaner got busy in the kitchen, a steel pot floated down from the kitchen shelf and landed on the cooktop. Not a moment too soon, blue flames started dancing under its bottom.

"Definitely the latter," Butter said, leaving the armchair and sitting in his usual spot looking like a gentleman...no, gentlekitten, ready to welcome his mistress. His ears perked up at the familiar sound of the motorbike engine being killed.

Two minutes later, Pepper entered her apartment. Her kohl-colored eyes lowered and smiled at her familiar, "Hey, B! How was your day?"

"My lady, welcome back." Butter bowed with his front limbs stretched out. "I think I should be one to ask you that."

Pepper scooped up the golden furball in her arms and scratched his head the way he liked.

Butter purred. "That bad, hum?"

"No, worse." She left a long-suffering breath. "I don't know what's wrong with these witches and wizards."

"Tell me everything, my lady. Get it off your chest. Is it that jerk again? That shameless womanizer?"

"Who else can it be but"-sitting the kitten on the kitchen counter, Pepper plastered a plastic smile on her oval countenance-"the one and only, Salvador Hart! The ruler of hearts." She brought her hands to her chest and made a heart. A split second later, her hands fell back at her sides, and her shoulders slumped, "Remember that assignment we did a week ago?"

"The keep-your-words-to-yourself one?"

"Yaaa." She sighed, pouring herself a cup of tea and taking her spot on the other side of Butter's bed.

Butter could almost hear exasperation spilling out of her in liters. "I thought that one was a success. We got them all informed and warned before the meet and greet."

"That's what I thought. But guess what?"

"What?"

"This time, he picked a man for Get-to-know-your-Sal-better night. It just happened to be a wizard."

"Doesn't he always pick women?" Butter was beyond surprised. He hadn't pegged the man as bi.

"I guess he lives by the 'there is a first time for everything' rule."

Butter had nothing to add to that; his mistress looked disappointed. There was nothing else he could do but hop into her lap and stare out the window while she sipped her tea, pampering him with a neck rub.

"It feels like I have been working overtime forever!" Pepper whined.

She had. It had been months since they had, just the two of them, taken a stroll in the park. Even today, when she was supposed to return home for lunch, she had overstayed at work.

"Do you want to skip shopping and stay home?" Butter suggested, but he already knew the answer.

"No, can't do, B. I will keep thinking about him if I stay home. The word on the street is that Hart's planning something... something big."

Darn it!

"Well, you don't have to think about him anymore. Your vacation starts in two days. He is Darma's problem now."

"You're right. I need to think about myself for once!" Pepper gestured to Butter to get off her lap and snapped her fingers. "Boots and socks."

Butter made way for the items as they scurried toward the witch's feet. With another snap, she summoned her purse, and within minutes, the witch and her companion were out the door.

By the time the team of two returned home with only essentials, it was half past eight.

After Pepper had zombied her way to her bed, Butter settled into his; he was about to close his eyes when he heard a 'Psst.' and turned to face the fish tank.

"Khun, are you too tired to speak?"

"Not at all, what is it?"

"Earlier today, it seemed like you were going to say something when Birdie interrupted us."

"Oh, that."

"Yes."

Butter's bright yellow ears flattened, and his whiskers dropped, plastering themselves to his face, "There is something I have to do," he said, staring at the cerulean door, "something that completely fell out of my kitten-sized brain."

"You mean there is something left for you to do before you do what you said you wanted to do? The thing we will not mention today at the risk of manifesting it?"

"Yep."

"And what's that?" asked the curious fish.

Butter turned his head to glance back at Betta over his shoulder. "I have to find a match for mistress. The forever kind."

Chapter word count: 1544
Word count so far: 3160

Glossary:
Khun: A term used to address senior members in Thai language.

2k milestone reached!
I would love your feedback and thoughts on how you are liking the story so far.
And if you have enjoyed it, consider voting for Butter ❤