Chapter 38: Tales of Marcellus Severan (3)

Marcellus set his bucket full of fishes beside him. More than Leopold’s two combined, sorted almost without thinking once.

He glanced over, unable to keep satisfied smile.

"How long have you been here for?" he asked.

"Since morning," Leopold answered.

"Ha," Marcellus let out a short laugh, and pushed himself to his feet.

He stretched once, rolled his shoulders, then turned to face the old man properly.

"All day," he said. "And I filled one in under an hour, I’m going to be insufferable about this for at least a week...whenever I find you at least," he said.

"Yeah Yeah, whatever kid," Leopold waved his hand in dismissal.

"Jokes aside. Thank you. Intent...is yet another aspect of force I just learned from you. I don’t get taught things very often anymore," he said.

Leopold tipped his hat in acknowledgement, and went back to watching the reflection of moonlight on the river.

Marcellus looked downstream, then toward the dark shape of the main tower rising against the night sky, lit up in streak lights that reached the top of the skies.

"Main tower from here?" he pointed in the direction of tower.

"Follow the river until the second footbridge, cross it, path climbs straight into service levels. It’s a shortcut," He said.

Marcellus nodded, gave a short nod, wiped his hands on the least muddy part of his trousers, and started walking.

"Oh, and...wire the money you make from my part of the bucket," he snapped his finger without turning around and left.

"Insufferable bastard. He’s a heir and wants my fish money," Leopold growled under his breath, and glanced once into the direction Marcellus had disappeared to.

---

He followed the river exactly as instructed.

’Second footbridge,’ he thought.

’Cross it,’

’Climb the path,’

And so he did.

Path climbed toward what should have been the service levels of the main tower. The lights of the upper floors were visible through the trees.

’Finally, I’m on the right path,’ he thought.

Then the path curved, the stone underfoot changed, and the air turned...foul.

He slowed, and smelled the air.

He stepped through a low service gate and found himself in a narrow open yard at the rear of a single story building.

Rows of shallow rectangular trays lined the wall, each was filled with pale sand

A hose coiled neatly beside a drain, and the building’s gate stood half-open.

"This isn’t the main tower," he murmured. "Looks more like a backside of some building."

He looked at the trays, and frowned.

’...Why does It smell like shit?’ he thought.

Then, a soft sound caught his attention.

In the nearest tray, a grey cat was in the middle of taking shit. Hindquarters lowered, tail up, expression that reflected pure focused commitment.

Mid-business it turned its head and locked eyes with Marcellus.

The look was pure offended dignity that screamed ’You’re in my personal space!’

"...Definitely not the main tower," he murmured.

The cat finished, scratched once, and began moving into deeper parts of the building.

Marcellus, curious as usual, followed.

The cat disappeared through a half-opened door, and Marcellus stepped inside.

But...he stopped.

Cats...were everywhere.

White, black, striped, fat, tiny, orange. One was sleeping in a basket, another was sitting on top of a cabinet, staring at him, one walked between his legs without the slightest concern, as Marcellus looked down.

"Ok...I’ve never actually touched a cat before," he murmured.

The nearest one looked up at him. He crouched down, and slowly extended a hand.

The cat sniffed his fingers and just walked away.

He stood up straight, and kept walking with careful steps.

Just when he was moving with careful steps, walking like a thief who had entered uninvited, a woman in a veterinary coat stood in the doorway, holding a medical tray.

She looked at him, and then the cats that deliberately got in his way because they thought he was playing.

"...What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Eh?" Marcellus turned around.

"Oh me?" he then pointed at himself. "I’m headed to the main tower."

The woman stared at him for a moment. She had dark, tanned skin, a mass of short curly hair tied loosely behind her head.

Her eyes moved past him, and three cats were sitting directly behind his leg just to make him trip.

"I see," she said.

"But...why are they scratching my shoes? Do they want me to fall?" he asked looking at the trio of cats trying to scratch his shoes.

"They like you," She said.

"...Interesting love language," he murmured, and looked at the cat staring back at him. He slowly reached down, and touched its head. The cat immediately leaned against his hand.

"Oh..." his expression softened.

"Amina Ajayi," the woman introduced herself with a smile.

"Marcellus Severan," he replied.

"...If you don’t want to tell your name, then just say so," she said.

"...?" Marcellus was confused, but then he remembered he was way too shabby to be a heir.

A faint mechanical sound came from deeper into the vet facility, and Amina’s smile disappeared.

She walked through another door, and Marcellus followed.

He stopped steps behind her as they entered a small rehabilitation room.

A grey cat was strapped into a support harness attached to a low mobility frame. It’s hind legs hung uselessly beneath it.

Amina crouched beside it.

"Come on, Nala," she gestured the cat to walk.

The cat pushed with its front paws, and the frame rolled forward, as its back legs dragged behind.

The cat looked exhausted, so, Amina adjusted the harness.

She sensed Marcellus standing at the door, while other cats still scratched his shoes.

"Both hind legs were fractured, somehow she’s not able to use her legs even when the surgery went well," Amina said.

He crouched down beside her, and looked at the cat.

"May I?" he asked.

Amina glanced at him.

"Do you know rehabilitation?" she asked.

"Something like that," he answered and moved closer.

The cat looked at him with ears slightly lowered. Marcellus placed two fingers against her back, and two on her head.

[Axiom]

’Rafe was healed without any issues because recovery was done in his vegetative state. But a conscious being can suffer a pain so strong that they might pass out just from it,’ he thought.

’I need to cut off the signal from pain receptors,’ he thought.

[Executing: Force Mapping.]

He mapped the brain of the cat, its nerves, the anatomy of its body, in a very detailed state.

[Observation Recorded: Nociceptors Override]

[Executing: Nociceptors Override.]

[Executing: Cellular Repair Acceleration.]

[Current Capacity: ~91%]

[Current Capacity: ~89%]

[Current Capacity: ~85%]

The cat’s body jerked once, and Amina’s eyes widened.

"Nala?" she called out but the cat went still.

"Easy little one," Marcellus placed his palm over the cat’s head.

A faint tremor passed through the cat’s hind legs.

Then, one began moving.

"What...?" Amina caught her breath.

The second leg twitched, and the cat tried to push itself forward.

This time, both hind legs moved with it, and the mobility frame rolled several inches away from the kick of its hind legs.

Amina stared...she didn’t know what she had just witnessed.

Marcellus slowly withdrew his hand, and the cat stood there, shaking, but it took steps carefully.

"She..." Amina opened her mouth.

"Oh well, she’ll recover by tomorrow, I also altered her nociceptors, so she’ll feel numb for a long while, I don’t think she’ll want to walk right now," he said and stood up straight.

"..." Amine covered her mouth as tears welled up in the corner of her eyes.

"So where’s the main tow---I dare you all, scratch me again, and I’ll drop you off to that old fisherman," he looked down at the trio who was still trying to make him trip and fall.

On his words, all three retracted their claws and just started licking their paws.

"That’s better," he nodded, and left the room.

"Oh Nala!" Amina hugged her pet cat, and looked around when she had calmed down.

But, Marcellus was gone.

The trio of cats still kept licking their paws.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Leopold was packing the last of his fishing equipment into a worn canvas bag when footsteps approached from behind.

He turned and saw a blue-haired young man standing at the edge of river path.

"Another one?" Leopold murmured.

"Another what? Sir," Brody asked.

"Pillar. You’re a Pillar."

Brody blinked and vaguely pointed toward the direction Marcellus had gone.

"That makes two today, I’m honored," Leopold said.

"Uh...he went that way, Sir?" Brody asked.

"Yes," Leopold replied.

"Are you sure?" Brody asked.

"...First you ask me where your friend went, and now you question if I’m even sure about that?" Leopold asked.

"Oh, no...it’s just...he’s lost," Brody said.

"Lost?" Leopold raised his brows.

"He’s not a child!" he added.

"Oh well...you could say that," Brody walked past the old man, bowed once. "But, I’ll still go look for him. Thank you for your help."

"...Weird. These guys are pillars Union is rooting for?" Leopold murmured as he saw Brody disappear in the same direction as Marcellus.