Submission (#2251) Approved

The cold, snowy landscape of Strynhalde tended to keep Mizuki’s friends away. It was a fact he’d come to accept--if he wanted to see his LadyBug friends, he’d have to hop on a caravan and seek them out in warmer climates. But he liked the cold. He was built for it. His abundance of fluffy fur about his neck always kept him warm, and it pleased him to nestle himself deep within the snow and do the best he could to blend into it (despite his more colorful sections of fur).

He could be swallowed up by the snow, lost to the world for a time.

It felt rude to think so while he sat in an Iorumund cafe, tiny white paws about a warm drink’s mug. The entire time he’d been there had been spent staring out of the window dreamily, mind swarming about distant friends and cold blankets of snow. Both the waitress and the cafe owner came to check on him once or twice, and he’d give them quiet smiles or a nod in return to let them know he was alright. Inwardly he hoped  they weren’t trying to rush him along. The snow outside was enticing, but in that moment he liked his delicious drink and snacks more.

“... I wonder if Velia will visit…” he mused to himself, though he already knew chances were slim. Her new family more than likely made her free time rare--not that he didn’t think she was sporadic and impulsive as an adult like she’d been as a kittom. Taiki was another story. That kittom-friend-turned-adult he could see visiting sometime during his travels, or declaring an adventurous expedition Mizuki’s way. They never really spent too much time together outside of their ‘guild’ meetings, but Mizuki still considered him close enough to miss.

The kittom closed his eyes, shaking his head thinking about the whole thing.

How were they a guild without any official charters or anything? Eyre had established guilds--official ones--and here Taiki and the others decided to make their own… Was that legal?

Deciding not to dwell too long on whether or not his friends were criminals (and himself by association), he decided to finish off the tart the waitress had left him.

But it wasn’t there.

“Hm?” Mizuki tilted his head, blinking twice as though his treat would decide to materialize if he gave it a moment.

When it didn’t show up, he checked the floor. Under his plate. The neighboring table?

Did the waitress ever even bring it? His plate, speckled with fresh crumbs, told him ‘yes’, which only made him more frustrated. Almost… angry.

He knew for sure he hadn’t eaten it. He would have known if he’d eaten it because he wouldn’t be feeling so peckish, and he would have the delicious aftertaste of a berry tart in his precious little mouth!

Naturally, where his eyes had failed him, it was time to rely on his little snout. Some might have found it rude, but Mizuki began sniffing around his plate and table without any hesitation. It was difficult to pick out the trail of a pastry in a cafe full of them, however. The pastry he found sitting in front of another patron smelled similar but not the same, and he didn’t like the angry look the Elnin shot him when he stuck his face near their plate. 

Another trail led him to the kitchen, but he felt a much larger, older elnin swiftly nudge him back to his rightful side of the swinging ‘employees only’ door. 

“Oh, honey,” he heard from the Elnin at the counter. ”Are you here to pay your bill?”

Mizuki gave her a slow blink, then frowned. “No… I didn’t finish eating.”

She gave a small, warm smile before glancing back toward his seat, lifting an eyebrow as she spied his empty plate from there. Mizuki jumped to his feet immediately, shaking his head. “My plate’s empty, but I didn’t eat my tart, I swear. It went missing!”

Skeptical now, the elnin tilted her head at him, eyelids falling as she regarded him. “Are you sure? Typically my pastries don’t go wandering off on their own unless there’s a ‘nin to help them.”

“Do you think someone stole it?” Mizuki asked hopefully, though he hated the idea of a thief being nearby.

“Ha, no. My bet would be that you ate it, young one.”

“But I didn’t! I swear!” Mizuki barked, shrinking a little as he drew attention. So he tried again, repeating softly, “I didn’t.”

The owner regarded him in silence for what felt like forever, before closing her brightly-colored eyes. With a sigh she padded at the register, “I’ll just charge you for the drink. No sense for you to pay for something you didn’t get to eat, hm?”

Though he wanted to have had a treat, at the very least he could afford to buy another one later. He would have ordered a replacement now, but the shame hanging over him made the idea… unpalatable. 

Quietly he opened his pouch, nudging some coins free to pay for his drink. Tail between his legs he padded out the door into the snow.

The cold felt more welcoming than usual for some reason, as he made haste to get away from the cafe. If there was a thief about, why would they target him? His delicious pastry? They would have had to walk past the counter, where they could have easily ordered their own.

He slowed to a stop in front of a glass window, eyes wide as he identified his thief.

About his snow-colored mouth sat a speckling of crumbs and berry jam, identical to his abandoned plate in the cafe. As his eyes grew wider still, it hit him all at once…

Had he been snacking on his tart while he’d been daydreaming?

A cold feeling shot through him.

Did the owner see all of those crumbs on his face? 

He sank.

And she still only charged him for the drink?

A customer nearly choked on his coffee as Mizuki came barreling  through the door, skidding to a stop, his paws wet with snow. The owner leaned over the counter at him, a deep frown on her face. “Are you alright young o--”

“I’m sorry!” He barked, not caring about the attention this time as he shoved his last few coins onto the counter. “I’m so sorry! I ate the tart! I didn’t think I did… but I did…”

A quiet settled over them, and even a few patrons watched carefully. Mizuki bowed his head, wrenching his eyes shut. “I’m not a thief, I swear. I must have eaten it while I was looking out the window… I normally save it for after… I….”

“It’s OK, young bean.”

Mizuki looked up, willing his tears to climb back into his face. He found the owner’s warm smile waiting for him, “I figured that’s what happened, it’s not the first time a kittom’s spaced out in the warmth of the fire.”

To his surprise though, she used a gentle paw to return his coins to his pouch.

“Keep it,” she chuckled. “Consider the tart a gift, and that you’re welcome here any time. I’d rather you be here with us than out in the snow alone.”

Mizuki carefully took his pouch back, searching her eyes and waiting for her to change her mind. But when she didn’t, he leapt behind the counter and hugged her, not sure if she was amused or protesting with her chuckles. All he knew was that he found where his tart went and he found his new favorite restaurant all in the same day.