#saying that supervisor had been in touch w/ him and that i should submit my application when i'm ready and he'd sort it

[proto-language]

oh also i never told the beloved circle of mutuals who like all my posts bewailing the horrors of my academic life that i have got an mphil offer from my current university!! i need to get a first in my undergrad degree, which is far from a given, and i kind of need to be given at least partial funding too, but it is a first step!!

[myselfinserts]

“I’m restless! I can’t help it!”

Tanith let out an exaggerated sigh. As much as she enjoyed shadowing her mentor, today was a rather quiet day in Elspie Village. Far too quiet. And all they were really doing was walking around the docks on the usual patrol route. A route they’d walked twice that week with L when showing her around. There weren’t even any villain threats around. 

It was boring. Far too boring. 

Please, I just want something interesting to happen!

“Hey Luci?” Tanith asked. “How much longer are we gonna walk around?”

Luci looked at her, expression hidden by their mask. “You and L said you wanted to do some hero work. This is part of that.”

“Y-yeah, but-”

“Smells like fish,” L mumbled. 

“Well, it is a fishing town,” Luci sighed. “Hmh, I still have some ground to cover, but you two can go on ahead back to the town center if you want. We’ll focus more on combat training tomorrow.”

L nodded. “I think that’ll work. I wanted to go to town hall anyway.”

Tanith smiled. “Okay then. We’ll head there.”

Luci reached into one of their pockets, pulling out their wallet and handing Tanith some cash. “It’s almost lunch time. Go get something to eat too, okay?”

“Okay Luci! Let’s go L!”

“Lunch sounds good.” L followed Tanith off the docks, the two of them heading back to the town center at a brisk pace. “Is patrols and combat training all you and Amaryllis do?”

Tanith shook her head. “No, I’m also studying law. Kinda required, ya know? And we also do psychology studies as well because of our quirks affecting emotions.” Her smile wavered slightly. “Mostly, they’re like another sibling for me. Always looking after me and helping raise me. It kinda feels like they don’t want me to go the hero route for some reason.”

L let out a soft hum. “To be honest, I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t want my family becoming heroes in Elspie either.”

“Hehe, yeah, I guess.” She sighed, lightly tugging on one of the curls in her hair. “I guess Elspie’s failed to impress, huh?”

“Elspie failing to impress me? Correct.” A light smile covered her face. “But you? I’d say you’re the most impressive thing about this place.”

Tanith’s face dusted pink. “Oh...th-thank you.” 

L smirked, lightly poking her in the arm. “You move about way too much though.”

“Hey, I’m restless! I can’t help it! It gets boring fast in a town this small...”

“Relax, I’m only teasing.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No worries.” With a gentle hand, L reached up and pat Tanith on the head. “You seem like you’re not used to having a friend tease you.”

Tanith’s stomach sank. “Yeah...I’m sure you’ve noticed already, but-” she glanced over her shoulder, noticing a couple of people whispering while watching them pass by “-I’m not exactly well liked here. Most darkness absorbers aren’t here.”

“Mhm. Perhaps a trip to Estmund is in order then.”

“Estmund?”

L reached into her pocket, holding up a brochure. “It’s a long boat ride from here, but the kingdom is your island’s neighbor. I hear their king has a quirk just like you.”

Tanith’s eyes went wide and she gingerly took the brochure in her hands, looking it over carefully. There were photos of beautiful markets, vast forests, and amazing ships. Wide open fields, a magnificent castle, and cats in every other shot. There was even a segment on castle tours, with a black and white image of King Davis beside it. 

“Someone like that has a quirk like me?” 

“Yep. That’s part of the reason I wanted to go to town hall.” She tapped the brochure, pointing to the segment about the crime rate. “There’s no heroes there, and they only occasionally hire heroes from here, and yet things are prosperous. I want to submit a form to go visit on hero business and learn more.”

“L, that’s fantastic!” Tanith handed her back the brochure. “We should go! I bet there’s all kinds of things we can learn there!” Her excitement dimmed slightly. “But I don’t know if Luci would be allowed to go. Or Marianne. I can’t exactly go without a supervisor...”

L smirked. “I know just the hero to ask to be our escort. No need to fear.”

Without another word on the matter, Tanith smiled, and the two continued their way to town hall. Despite the out of season snow having been mostly cleared away, the chill in the air remained, causing passerby to huff out air in swirling steam. The closer to the building they got, the more side-eyes Tanith felt burning holes into her back. She tried to ignore it. Her penpal didn’t run away, and was funny and kind and genuinely seemed to like her. Nothing could take her down from this high. 

Though it did waver just a little when the security guard stopped them at the door. 

“Sorry,” said the guard. “Town Hall is closed to the public today. Only Heroes and public servants can enter.”

“But I’m in the apprenticeship course,” Tanith said. 

“Then where’s your mentor? You can’t be here without a supervisor.” 

L stared at him, lightly tapping her cane. “And why not? I have a provisional licence.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out the card from her wallet to show the guard. “See?”

The guard sighed. “Okay, you can enter then.” He pointed to Tanith, eyes narrowed in warning. “You have to wait outside.”

“That’s not-”

Tanith put a hand on L’s shoulder, shaking her head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll just wait outside. You go take care of your paperwork.”

“...are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” She smiled fondly. “I’ll be fine. Really.” She glanced around, eventually finding a bench just across the street. “I’ll wait over there. Then we can go get lunch at the Secret Felines. Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll be quick then.”

L hurried inside, and Tanith went over to the bench, letting out a sigh as she saw the guard return to work. As she sat down and looked up at the sky, she saw that the snow was starting to fall again. No doubt from another bout of heroics from the islands ice type users. Tanith didn’t want to admit it, but she was rather jealous. She’d give anything to have a quirk like that. At the very least, it’d make things easier on her family. 

But...L doesn’t seem to mind. Neither do Elmo and Raph. Or my family...is it really okay for me to be a shadow absorber?

Tanith shook her head. No use crying over something she had no control over. What’s done is done, and she had to make the best of it. 

“I wonder what Elmo’s up to right now,” she mumbled. 

“Hey Tan!”

Tanith turned around in her seat, a surge of joy sending her to her feat as she saw the very same pink haired lad running up to her, dressed head to toe in winder wear and carrying a decent sized cardboard box under one arm. She threw her arms around his shoulders briefly, unable to feel anymore sadness. 

“Hey Elmo!” she greeted cheerfully. “How’re you?”

“I’m good. A little chilly, but what else is new on Elspie.” His face was painted with a soft blush, his red eyes gentle and warm. “So, um...how’re things? I heard through the grape vine that Amaryllis got a couple of kids grounded.”

“Oh, that,” Tanith sighed. “Yeah, some of the big kids threw snow balls at me filled with rocks. But it didn’t hurt, really. It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“That’s still not fair.” Elmo grimaced. “If...if I were there, I’d have-”

“You’d have what?”

“Whaaa!?” The boy hid behind Tanith, shaking as she turned to see L, who was holding a folder under one arm. “Wh-who is that?”

“That’s what I was going to ask.” L looked at Tanith, then back to Elmo. “Is this kid bothering you?”

Tanith shook her head. “No, it’s okay. He’s friendly.” She looked at Elmo, trying not to laugh. “And don’t worry, she doesn’t bite.”

“You sure?” Elmo peeked around Tanith’s shoulder. “She’s not gonna...eat me, is she?”

L’s eyebrow quirked up slightly. “Nomnom.”

“Eep!” 

“Relax!” Tanith giggled. “L’s not gonna eat you. You’re too gamy.”

“No you too...”

“It’s okay, Elmo, really.” She stepped aside, moving so L was to her left. “Elmo, this is L, my pen pal. L, this is Elmo Sterling, my best friend from school.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” L said. 

“Y-yeah,” Elmo stammered. “You too.”

“We’re gonna go get lunch,” Tanith said. “You wanna join us?”

Elmo smiled timidly. “S-sure. Uh...where, uh, did you want to go eat?”

“The SF, of course!”

“But...it’s closed right now.”

Tanith’s eyes went wide. “Really? Ceri never closes the SF except for two days in the whole year!”

Elmo shrugged. “He was leaving with that cool looking guy he’s always with, so-”

The girls gave a soft “ah” in unison, nodding approvingly. “His boyfriend,” they said. 

“Yeah. That’s the guy.”

“Mreow!”

Tanith and L’s eyes snap towards the box, Tanith’s eyes practically glowing while L’s expression remained neutral. Elmo chuckled nervously, lightly tapping the box as if to try to quiet it. 

“So,” L said slowly. “What’s in the box, Elmo?”

“Uh, it’s, um. W-well, you see, I...”

“Mrrrow!”

He winced, letting out a sigh and setting the box on the bench so he could open the lid. The girls leaned in, letting out soft gasps at the contents. Inside the box was a fat calico Scottish fold, laying on a fluffy black and blue tartan blanket, wearing a green collar with a small bell on it. She stared up at them with two-colored eyes. One green, one blue. Both bright and shining like stars. She practically started purring when the girls saw her. 

“A baby!” Tanith giggled. 

“Pretty angel,” L agreed. “Where’d you get her?”

“Mom and dad rescued her on a mission and we’ve been looking after her,” Elmo explained. “But we can’t keep her anymore. Raph’s moving in to finish school and his asthma has been acting up, so my parents didn’t want to risk him having an attack. So I have to find someplace for her to stay.”

Tanith reached down a hand, lightly petting the cat, who nuzzled into her touch. “We could take her. My uncle is allergic, but as long as she stays in my room and we don’t say anything-”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll just say it was my idea,” L added. “I want to stay with the kitty a little longer.”

“Then it’s settled!” Tanith smiled brightly. “Kitty will come stay with us.”

Elmo chuckled. “Okay. Oh, uh, she does have a name though.”

“What is it?”

“Meatloaf. Because she stole dad’s meatloaf when we first brought her home.”

L smiled. “Adorable.”

The kids spent the rest of the day buying supplies to take care of Meatloaf, making a quick pit stop at the Rose Dust cafe for some tea and sandwiches. Marianne and Uncle Elbert were out for the day due to a doctor’s appointment. By the time they’d gotten home, the kids had set up the bedroom so that Tanith and L could look after the cat with little to no problems. 

When Tanith went to bed that night, she didn’t think she could feel any happier. 

“Tanith. Tanith wake up.”

Tanith grumbled away, rubbing her eyes as she glanced at the clock. “L? It’s only three in the morning. What’s wrong?”

“Look!”

Tanith followed L over to Meatloaf’s bed, trying not to yawn. It’d been a week since the cat came to live with them. And despite the occasional sneeze from Uncle Elbert, no one seemed suspicious. 

But as she saw what had L all worked up, Tanith knew they wouldn’t be able to hide the cats for much longer. 

There, breathing slightly heavily, was Meatloaf, snuggled up to five adorable kittens. One large, fluffy tabby. A little one with a black coat with white spots. Two that were calico like mama. And the last, the smallest of them all, was a golden blonde tabby. 

“Oh my,” Tanith whispered. “They’re all so cute.”

“They are,” L said fondly. “But...what are we going to do? We can’t hide the kittens. They need to see a doctor.” She reached out her hand, lightly petting the biggest kitten, who seemed to naturally lean into her. 

Tanith nodded. “As much as I don’t wanna risk losing Meatloaf, the kittens come first.” She glanced at the door. “I’ll go get Mari.” 

The rest of the night faded into morning fast. There was some frustration, but none of the adults got mad at them. Soon, everything for the cats were moved into the living room, and Luci went to get the vet, since Meatloaf was insistent on not leaving the house. Breakfast was quiet, but not unpleasant. 

“Well,” Elbert sighed. “At least I know why I’ve been all sneezy now.”

“Still surprised you’re not mad,” L said. 

Elbert shrugged. “I once hid a Newfoundland in my house for a year before my parents realized what was going on. Honestly, I’m just glad you felt okay enough to trust us when the kittens came along.”

“Can’t we keep them, uncle?” Tanith begged. “Please? I know it’ll be a lot of work, but-”

“I’m afraid not, kiddo. At least, not all of them. If you wanna keep Meatloaf, I’ll learn to deal. But financially, we can’t afford to keep all five long term.”

L looked down at her lap. “We have our Estmund trip coming up. And by the time Camilla’s old enough to come back with me, I’ll already be back home. And I don’t know if I could send for her given Elspie’s less than helpful way of doing things.”

“You have a point.” Elbert sighed, lightly tapping his finger on his chin. “It’ll be a bit much but...Let me call Rosine. See if we can pull a couple more strings. It’d be easier to send, uh...” He glanced at the bundle of kittens “which one’s Camilla?”

“The big tabby,” Tanith said. 

“Right. It’d be easier to send her along once old enough if she were in Paris, right?”

Tanith’s eyes went wide. “Are you saying we should send the cats to France with Regi?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Regi needs something to do since he’s got less hero work to do at the moment. Let me work something out.”

“Okay.” Tanith looked at L, who smiled back at her. 

It was all going to be okay.