[Okami pov]
"Come along."
I yawned. My maw stretched wider and wider. Until I could barely see the morning sun, whose rays peaked through the closed curtains.
And when I opened my eyes once more, it was to the sight of Delphine, a small smile on her face as she gently picked me up from the bottom of my chest.
Placed me next to her shoulder and stood gently against the counter. Where I jumped off and let my paws rest over that marbled surface.
Food was prepared, and soon after scarfed down.
"What's that?" I questioned, my head tilted slightly to convey my curiosity.
"A permission. For the library."
"Then you'll be gone the day… again?"
She bobbed her head.
An action that led my own to sink down. As it meant that I would be stuck within this confined box for even longer.
I could already see the silver hair that seemed to pile up in certain spots around the house. A sign that I had overstayed my welcome, by a lot.
Out. I wanted out.
Though when I looked up. From that pout of mine.
She did not frown and confirm my fears. She merely smiled. Her hand curled so that the back of her fingers touched against the side of my head. A touch that seemed to only draw out purs from my mouth.
"No, I have read the bylaws…"
She paused, and so did my mind. As she seemed to rub further, my leg kicked unintentionally, like some sort of domesticated animal.
Both she and I stopped, gazed at the phenomenon before I leaped from the counter and towards the ground.
"Nope~" Delphine sang, that same tone of hers - that scary tone she had used the other day - it was back.
"You are to come with me, there is nothing forbidding a beast, as long as they are tamed. And you will behave. Right~?"
Frantically I nodded my head, instincts told me to do so. And I would obey.
"Good."
And with that she sat, placed stockings over her legs and shoes over those. Then with slight movements, reached the door and departed from the house.
As for me, I sat over her neck and acted like a neck warmer for the frigid morning air.
"Oh- before I forget…" I tilted my head and looked towards her, "Don't speak, they can't know that, but otherwise, you can do what you want."
I nodded my head, bobbed it up and down before resting it against her neck once more. My gaze set to the slowly cresting sun.
…
"Is that her…"
"It must be…"
"I heard that she…"
There was a ruckus. One that only grew with each billowing robe, that seemed to stretch and pull within the confines of the wind. Their condescending whispers and jeers seemed to only become harsher and harsher the closer we came to the peak of this mountain.
And when we crested the last set of stairs, Delphine clenched her hand, tight against her side, the other one grabbed me. My fur roughed down against her angered fist.
I could only yip, push into her touch and try to comfort her, however much that would help.
But there was one thing I knew for sure, and that was that these other… humans, yes, these humans were idiots. They saw not the gaze and poise of Delphine, not the power within the very breath that she breathed into the world.
Only I.
"Delphine, come again for some…"
I turned away, jumped atop her shoulder and bit her ear. Before she could even finish her sentence.
That was enough.
My yips turned into jeering laughter, raucous so that all could hear the pain that I had wrought with but a tiny bite.
The tears within the girl's eyes as she bitterly tried to grab my fur. Yet all that was left was a pure white strain of fur. One that floated down and onto her head. A sneeze that echoed just as loud as her jeers had.
"Yo- You!" She yelled, and I didn't even bother to retaliate, as within the moment that the girl had reached for me.
I was already back on Delphine's shoulder.
And as such it was tough luck for that girl. Her hand was caught by another. Delphine, with a smile hidden under her other sleeve, had pushed the girl to the ground.
"Don't." She warned. Her voice came out much harsher than I had seen it before. Even those playful songs she had used her voice for, they were nothing compared to the bloodlust I felt emanate from her.
"And if I do…" She growled right back, the hand that had subdued her to the floor was divested of with but a flick of her wrist, her other hand immediately descended towards the sword held at her waist.
"What could a talentless like you do against me?"
There was a genuine question within her tone. As if she believed herself completely and utterly.
Though I snickered again, my face hidden behind Delphine's neck.
"I shall tell you what I did the last. Are you sure? I will treat you as an enemy."
"Hah~" She just laughed, like the threat was nothing to her. And to her eyes it most probably was. But to mine, it was a real threat. I hadn't seen what the other had done nor the battle. But I knew the outcome.
And it was not kind to the opposing side.
But great too was my curiosity. It guided me towards that conflict. A want to know more about the one I had decided to ally myself with.
Only there was none, as the girl, she looked around and into the surroundings. At the disturbance she had caused. The silent whispers that seemed to echo heavily in her ears.
"I will let you go this time. But don't think that this means you have been let off."
She huffed away in a mess, her eyes seemingly held back tears of pain.
"What was that…"
There still was amusement within Delphine's voice but another tone told something else. True curiosity.
I shook my head.
'This mystery keeps on getting bigger'