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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mroberon1972" data-source="post: 482315" data-attributes="member: 5148">Part 3 (Of Priests and Cats...)Part 3 (Of Priests and Cats...)I was still shaking when Wendy walked in with the CoCaf. She noticed immediately and set the cup down next to me. I tried to straighten my clothes and head in the same action, and failed. I gave up and wrung my hands instead."That bad?" Her voice was as sad as mine had been. I looked at her and made a single harsh bleat of a laugh. "It's dying?" I continued to stare at her, unable to think of what to say. "It was already dead?" Her voice was starting to whine as she began realize that it was somehow worse than dead. "The girl is dying?" I couldn't listen to her anymore. I pointed at the door and nodded for her to walk into the room."Oh. All right." She opened the door tentatively and walked in, looking around. "Hello, sweetheart. I just want to see if there is any..." Her voice suddenly went off like a blaster. The shrill sound of her screech sent my nerves from on edge to near calm. I never have understood why I deal better with stress when others panic, but I do.She came out slamming the door shut behind her. I could hear the little girl scolding her and cooing to her 'kitten'. Wendy's back was against the door, even though it opened into the waiting room and could not be blocked from this side. Her face was pure venom. "I hate you."I smiled weakly and stood up on shaky legs. "Any ideas?""Lots of them. Most deal with strangling you with my bare hands.""Focus. We can't let her leave with that..." My mind fought for something to call it. "Thing! We have to get her away from it.""How about getting it away from us?""Wendy!" My voice was harsh. "That little girl needs our help!"Her face twisted into a snarl. "She needs a cleric, not us.""WENDY!" My voice held awe for a split second before I recovered. "That's a GREAT idea!""Wha?""You get the cryscomm and call a cleric. I'll get the girl to leave the cat here for an hour.""What religion?" Her face looked unsure. Druids were not well liked by clerics. They see us as a religion. As far as they're concerned, we're competition."The Temple of Light. They tend to be good at this kind of thing.""On it." She ran to the office desk and begin looking up the comm code of the closest temple. "Don't forget to ask how much they charge." Clerics can be expensive, especially if they don't like you."Won't..."I took a deep breath, let it out, and opened the door to the waiting room. The little girl looked up and frowned."She scared him." Her voice was scolding, and I smiled in spite of myself."She gets that way around cats... Sometimes. I'm sorry." Her frown lessened some as her hands went back to petting the thing on her lap. It stared at me with those dull yellow eyes. I had the weirdest sensation that it knew what I was going to do."That's all right. He's fine now." She looked down at it happily."Good. We wouldn't want to upset him. Honey, I need to keep him for a few hours for examination. He looks kind of..." The thought, DEAD, screamed in my head. "Sick."She looked at me with a wary look. "You're not going to hurt him, are you?""I can't promise that. I may have to do something he wouldn't like, or may even hurt, in order to help him. Has a minister ever healed you before?""Uh-huh." He head nodded as she though about it. Healing can get fairly painful sometimes, depending on what had to be repaired in the body."Then you understand. What I want you to do for me is to take this money." I handed her five small gold coins. "And go get something to eat.""I'm not hungry." Her face showed stubbornness."I know... But if I have to heal him, I don't want you here in case he gets mad at the people present for it. So if you're not here, he will be glad to see you when it's over.""Oh. Will he be alright?" He face was hopeful. "I don't know, Honey..." I knew what was going to happen to the little monster, but I'll be damned if I was going to tell a 9 year old girl. "I may have to use strong magic if he's really sick." "I understand." She put him on the stainless steel table and walked out with me. Outside the door, she spoke to it. "Be good, and do what the nice lady says."I shut the door and walked her out the front. After telling her to come back in an hour, I went back to the office and sat back down in the chair. Wendy came in and smiled."I hate it when you smile like that. Will a cleric come?""Yup. Better yet, when I told the priest on the phone about it, he said 'I have to see this' and refused to charge me."I groaned. "They're going to make us pay. One way or another, mark my words, it will happen.""You're just being a pessimist.""No, just a realist.""You have no..." She was interrupted by the front door chime. I stood up and walked into the front commons. A young man, about twentish, stood in the doorway wearing a short white cloak. His clothes were conservative, yet comfortable. The most striking thing about him was the medallion he wore of a sunburst with a cross in it. He smiled at me with a look of open friendship that made me worry about what I said before."Greetings, Madam. I am Father Patros." He smiled as the recognition lit in my eyes. "Yes, Patros is the word for 'father' in olde common. It is something of a joke about the temple, or so I hear."I rallied my thoughts and replied with an answering smile. "A proud name, and one that any cleric would envy.""You're kind, and I thank you." He speech was formal, as if reciting from rote."I'm sorry for calling you on such short notice, but we seem to have a problem." I caught my hands fidgeting again, and let them fall to my sides."Ah. This would be about the call I just received. Where is the other lady? The one that advised me of the problem?""Here." She appeared in the office register window. She looked embarrassed about something."It is very nice to meet you. Are you feeling better?" His voice was kind, and yet sounded somehow amused."Yes." She barely seemed to whisper the word."Good, then all is forgotten. Is the child safe?" I nodded. "Very good! If you could allow me to see the creature?"I walked him to the door and opened it. We all three looked in the room at the cat. It looked back."You're right, it IS undead. Who in Creation would do that to a little girl's cat?" He seemed more confused than angry.Wendy piped up. "Someone with a really sick sense of humor?" I looked at her. She figeted and moved toward the back. "I'll get some more CoCaf. Father?""Yes, thank you."We looked at it again. "Madam, since this seems to make you feel so uncomfortable, why don't you wait out here." The look he gave me said it was not a question."All right." He walked in and closed the door behind him.Wendy came back in with three steaming cups. And looked around. "He already in there?""Yes..." I kept looking back at the door. For some reason, worry gnawed at my nerves."How long has he been in there?""About a minute."We waited silently, drinking from our cups. As I moved the cup to my mouth for the tenth time, we heard a scream from the room. I am quite sure it was the priest.I put down my now empty cup and used a cleaning rite to dry my outfit. Looking at Wendy, who was standing with her own cup empty, I gave a tired sigh. “Does our insurance cover undead cats attacking visiting priests, or is this considered an 'Act of the Gods'?”(To be continued...)Mr. Oberon"I hate you."</blockquote>

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