The Cat's Tail-Chapter 35: Instances 2

On Callisto's very first day off, she and her coworker, Josephine, just go out of the jeepney in Marikina city and was about to head over to the mall when...

"Dudurian Bomb!"

A squad of young vagrants came out of an alley nearby, one of them was carrying what seemed to be a durian fruit. They threw it right next to the two and other people walking by the sidewalk.

Crash!

As soon as the fruit struck the ground, its foul smell quickly infiltrated the nostrils of those who were nearby.

"D-Disgusting..." Callisto uttered, her expression sour just like everyone around her.

Then, she noticed the young vagrants escaping with their tails between their legs.

"Those kids..."

No matter how hard she tried to pinch her nose, the foul smell proved to be too strong and overwhelming like rotten meat. She could even feel it enter her mouth, making her feel like puking.

"Callisto!" Josephine called desparately, covering both her nose and mouth. "Let's go!"

Callisto watched the raven-haired lady move forward and followed immediately.

At that moment, the only thing in Callisto's mind was to get as far away from the source of the foul smell as she could. But then...

Gleam!

"Ah..."

Once again, the color of her eyes turned from sky-blue to gold. The moment it did, Callisto suddenly fell on her knees.

"The smell... it's stronger... I can't..."

Josephine turned around, only to find Callisto incapacitated by the stench. A gasp escaped her lips that was muffled by her hand.

"Callisto!" She called as she rushed to the young lady's side. "Are you okay?!"

The silver-haired girl couldn't speak, clearly overwhelmed by the smell more than the others.

"I got you, Calli."

Josephine uncovered her face, holding her breath as she put Callisto's arm over her shoulder, pulling her up as she tried to get both of them far from the durian fruit.

Eventually, they reached a distance far enough that the raven-haired girl could now breathe unrestrainted. However, in Callisto's case, she could still smell the rotten-meat-like scent coming off of the durian fruit as if she was still standing in front of it.

Callisto fell on her knees once again.

"Calli," Josephine tugged at the silver-haired girl's hoodie from behind, a glint of worry in her eyes. "Callisto, it's okay now! Hey!"

In an attempt to get Callisto to respond, Josephine's hand scrambled inside her small bag over her shoulder and pulled out a rose-scented perfume.

Without wasting a second, Josephine sprayed the perfume all around them.

Sniff, sniff...

It didn't take long for the young lady to pick up the smell of roses.

While it didn't get rid of the durian's smell as a whole, the perfume helped Callisto breathe a little better, her golden eyes finally reverted to their natural color.

"Callisto," Josephine called once again, the look of concern never leaving her features. "How are you feeling? Should I take you to the hospital?"

The young lady smiled back. "I-I'm all right. I just need some fresh air."

Finally, Josephine was able to exhale in relief, her body relaxing upon hearing Callisto respond. "I'm glad. I thought I'd get in trouble for inviting you to come with me today."

Callisto chuckled softly. "I'm sorry."

Josephine waved her arms at the young lady, turning down her apology. "Don't be sorry. It's those kids who are at fault. Anyway, can you walk?"

"Yes," she replied, helping herself back on her feet.

"Wait. Just to make sure we can cover the durian's scent stuck on our clothes..."

Spray, spray!

"Thank you, Josephine."

"No worries. We came here to buy a new perfume anyway."

*

*

*

One day, while she was on her way home after a studying session with Hinata and Elesis...

"Macaron! Macaron!"

Callisto encountered a young boy who seemed to be looking for someone or something called Macaron, a troubled expression visible on his features.

Out of curiosity, the young lady looked around them. However, there was no sign of anyone or anything alive nearby. If anything, it was just Callisto and the young boy in that street.

And a white van driving by.

"Macaron! Where are you?!"

The distress in the young boy's expression and voice was all it took for Callisto to stop right in front of him.

"Hey, kid," Callisto called, attracting the boy's attention. "What's the matter?"

The boy seemed at a loss for words for a moment as he looked at the pretty young lady before him.

Remembering what he was doing outside alone, he answered the young lady's question.

"M-Macaron! I lost my cat! I don't know where she went!"

"I see." She looked around one more time, but there was not a single hint of the cat nearby. "I'll help you look for her, okay?"

The boy's face lit up at the young lady's words. "Y-Yes!"

He followed Callisto down the street, calling his cat's name from time to time.

"Macaron! Macaron! Where are you?"

They eventually reached an intersection. However, there was no sign of Macaron at all.

"Where could Macaron have gone?" The boy asked in worry, his eyes darting from one turn to another, unsure which path to take. "Where should we go?"

"Let's see..."

Callisto couldn't admit it to the boy, but she also had no idea where to go. Even so, she really wanted to help the boy find Macaron.

Gleam!

For the third time, Callisto's eyes turned golden.

Sound, smell, and vibrations caused by movement in the air. She could sense them all.

After the first two instances, Callisto understood that whenever she entered this state, her senses were enhanced. However, she still hadn't grasp what was triggering it.

Even so, she realized that with this, she could certainly find what she and the boy were looking for.

"Miss..." The boy uttered in wonder and confusion. "Your eyes. They turned gold."

"Huh?"

This was the first time she learned about the change of color in her eyes everytime she entered this mysterious state. But right now, it didn't matter.

She focused on listening to the sounds she was picking up.

Vroooom!

"Mama! Lil-sis took my toy!"

Chirp, chirp!

Callisto could not pick up a sound coming from a cat. Trying to find Macaron through smell alone wasn't plausible either.

However, she sensed a particular movement in the air. It was gentle, tiny movements as if sneaking around, and not too far from their left.

If it wasn't any other animal, then surely it would be the movements of a cat.

"Let's go here," Callisto commanded, taking a left turn from the intersection.

"Yes."

The boy followed silently, his mind clogged with wonder. Not just because if the path they took was the same path Macaron went, but also because of Callisto's mysterious change.

It was already quite intriguing that she had cat ears and silver hair. So to see that golden glow in her eyes made the boy even more intrigued about Callisto. Though of course, he also found her quite pretty.

Meow!

"...!"

Before long, they reached an empty lot. And just as she heard the meowing, she looked up at the tree before them and found the cat walking slowly on a tree branch.

The golden color disappeared from her normally sky-blue marbles.

The boy followed her gaze, a shocked gasp leaving his lips. "Macaron!"