Music of the Night

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"....And after that, Bill and I were kicked out of there," Arthur finished his story about being captured by the Shishigumi. He sipped a bit of the cardamom tea he brewed, even offering some to his reluctant guest.

The bat kept his fingers close to him, being cautious in case they might be grasps and crushed.

"So Bill was right except he exaggerated some parts," his guest remarked. "So tell me, did they try anything on you?"

Arthur shrugged. "Besides bounding me like a marionette, no. So, how's your stomach? I hope I didn't fracture anything. And, I apologise for feeling you up since I didn't know what kind of animal are you."

"Please, you caught me by surprise but nothing was hurt, thankfully," his guest, Arthur imagined was waving it off. "Anyways, did those lions tell you anything at all?"

Arthur tilted his head in confusion. Why would Louis be interested in the Shishigumi? The Honduran white bat thinks that this deer was stranger than all the mysteries in fictional novels. Where was he going with this conversation?

"No...But they seemed to be fond of their boss. Respect him, from the sound of it."

"I see..."

Arthur was tracing the brim of his cup, waiting for what the deer was about to do to him. He had to think of something because the silence with the presence of Louis in the room was making him uncomfortable. It's not because he is afraid of Louis, but the bat hardly knows him.

"Arthur, what does your father work as?" Louis inquired. 

"An astronomer at the Manticore University," Arthur answered. "It may be exhausting and sleep-depriving but he managed. The planets, galaxies and theories to uncover and research about are his passions. He likes to think of it as communicating with the world beyond the ones we know."

He heard a shift in the seat, the sound of sipping tea made the bat's ears twitch. "My father runs a business conglomerate," Louis told him. "He wants me to take over his organisation once he retires. However, that's not stopping me from wanting to become a Beastars."

Arthur could hear the a small sigh in his tone. "Sounds difficult from the sound of it. But, we just try to make the best of things. Like the sea, the waves will crash or make a maelstrom but in the end things will be calm just like the tides that changed every night. It's how I imagined how things are..."

Louis was silent. He doesn't know what to say about Arthur's enigmatic thoughts. He guessed that it was something he had since the bat was blind and in a sense, this is their perspective of how the world is.

Poor, naive little thing.

"Well, I got what I was looking for," said Louis, the sound of the chair moving indicated that he was standing up. "Don't tear out that stitch."

"I won't." Arthur faced at the sound. Louis was slightly unnerved by those cloudy eyes that stared back at him. It reminded him of a cumulonimbus cloud that was starting to form a thunderstorm, the light kind.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

Louis leaned close to the bat's ear and whispered something which made Arthur covered his mouth in shock. It was something he didn't expect from the deer, let alone the main star of the drama club.

"Louis....Are you serious?"

"Yes. Can I trust you to not tell anyone about this?"

Arthur laughed dryly. "Most animals would already think that I am mad and have descended into the abyss if I say it out loud. Or maybe I'm from the funny farm."