Part 3
yveschanceux:
Yves sat still for a while after Dahlia climbed the stairs - with ease, he duly noted, something he struggled with even now - it seems as though the antidote had worked thoroughly. Tiredly, he stared at the envelope with his name scrawled across the back with a deft hand. It felt like hours before he moved to open it. Grabbing a drink and settling down on the front porch, he finally breaks the dramatic wax seal and opens the letter contained. Yves had known a handful of professional calligraphers in his life and had grown used to seeing his own name written out in lavish cursive, but that was as far as he’d get with the letter. The whole thing was looped and curled and written in a small hand to fit the whole contents on one page. He could only sus out that it was some sort of contract based on his own name followed by a signature line at the bottom. Unable to fathom what kind of document Dahlia could possibly want him to sign, after everything they’d been through, Yves was at a loss. Namir did eventually scrunch back into view, licking his chops. He seemed calmer now that no one was sobbing on the ground. “Dahlia’s fine, in bed.”Yves grunts as the cat climbs the stoop. “Can you read this to me?” He holds out the letter and envelope, still in his hand.
Namir lumbered up the steps, the forest smells fresh on his fur. Yves held out the letter toward him and the feline gave a massive stretch and a yawn. First, he arched backward with his front paws out and then heaved himself forward and stretched out his back legs. He stood up straight with all his weight even on his paws-eys and shook out his fur. Finally, he tipped his head down at the letter Yves held down for him. Namir’s large round eyes skimmed the writing, his head bobbed from side to side as he glanced it over. His ears perked up with interest and the tip of his tail swayed from side to side. He tore his gaze away from the paper and looked up at Yves, paused, then tipped his nose up in the air dramatically. “Hmm. Yes. There are a lot of big words in this. Of course you need my help. Yes of course.” Namir raised his paw up and pushed the paper down from Yves’s grip so it laid flat on the ground in front of the feline. The cat gathered his legs under him and hunched down comfortably and began to read the words out loud to Yves. It was an official-sounding contract which invited Yves to travel with Dahlia and Namir. The feline put a lot of emphasis on his own name. The duties Yves would have and the goals they had together as a party were left pretty vague, laced with complex wording and fluff to keep it general yet professional sounding. There was also a paragraph discussing how loot would be divided as well as payment for Yves. Lastly, there was a small paragraph offering Yves the ability to learn under Dahlia. What he would learn was again pretty unspecific. Overall, it sounded like a job offer or an invitation to a guild, listing the benefits and warnings. The cat kept glancing up at Yves while reading to catch his reaction. Of course, Namir knew about this letter. The two of them had spoken about it briefly. The red-haired mage surely wouldn’t invite Yves to travel without first discussing it with her very important and much better first traveling partner; Namir. The cat had watched Dahlia write it, seal it, and then hide it among her piles of papers. She had been unsure about it but he was glad to see Yves got it. Namir liked Yves. Even if he was too stupid to read his own letters. The feline finished the last line “By signing bellow you agree to the terms above.” Namir stood up and stretched a paw out to the giant X and the line. “See. This X is where you’re supposed to sign.” He tapped his paw on it, getting a little smudge on the paper. “And Dahlia signs here.” Namir lifted his paw and pressed it down on the empty line underneath. “And...” Namir slid his paw down to another long line at the bottom of the letter “Aanndd...” Namir’s eyes got real wide and his ears fell back. He looked at Yves, opened his mouth, and let out a high pitched wail. The feline danced in place for a moment before he scrambled from the porch, jumped down all three stairs and landed in a muddy puddle. He spun around quickly and bound back up to Yves and slid to a halt in front of the letter. The feline proudly stamped his muddied paw on the bottom line. “Obviously...” Namir whispered to himself like the extra line he had so proudly signed wasn’t supposed to signify the end of the letter.
