Wealthier priests of other faiths who were arriving for the Greater Convocation often came by boats on the river if they could afford to, because it gave them the opportunity to be seen and heard in all their finery in one of the most open expanses in Tel-Bastet. Unfortunately, “if they could afford to” rarely applied to Upaja’s mendicants, who were known for never using coin. So Hira stopped at the riversidewikalajust to be certain she hadn’t missed her guess, and she bribed the catfolk at the doors to send word to her cousin Menna if any of Upaja’s mendicants happened to stop in with a company of wealthier priests.
And then she sighed, resigned herself, and headed over the roofs to the sunny rooftop cat-lounge of her cousin Israa’s favorite taverna.
Israa knew her well enough to know something was up by the droop of Hira’s whiskers.
“Yessssssss,”Israa exulted. “Look at who’s dragged her tail out of that soap-reeking water-pit and come to ask us a favor! Hira, any time you want arealjob…”
“Weren’t you just telling me I was too lazy and domesticated last week?”
“That’s what nepotism isgoodfor, honey.” Israa stretched luxuriantly and rolled over to sun the other side of her lush gray fur. Her green eyes gleamed in the sunlight. “So what are you here for? Thievery? Pouncing? Larceny? Mating? Mischief? Wanton destruction? Because if you’re here about your domesticated number-buggery, you have the wrong pride.”
Hira thought about it for a minute. “Mischief.”
Astounded, Israa sat bolt upright. “Do my ears deceive me?”
“Mischiefandmating.Andgossip.”
“HIRA!”Israa pounced on her eagerly and started licking her fur into a disheveled kitten-mess, just to aggravate her. Purring so loudly she couldn’t have spoken over it if she’d wanted to, Israa yowled into her head,I’m SO PROUD! Our prodigal kitten has come home to the pride at last! I KNEW under all that revolting humanity, there was a cat in there somewhere!
“NYAOWRRRRRRR—”
Let her go, Israa,cousin Menna yowled into both their heads.If you irritate her too much, she’s going to stalk off with all the gossip still stuffed between her ears. And what a waste that would be.
Hrrmpf,Israa said, and let Hira go. Menna leaned in to smooth Hira’s rumpled fur with a pleasantly raspy tongue.
There, dear, we all know Israa’s got the sensible maturity of an eight week old alley kitten. Now, about that mischief…?
“If you see any of the fat god’s priests who aren’t Bastet’s own, the ones coming in from out of town for the Convocation? Tell me where to find them,” Hira said.
“Why?” Israa pouted.
“You’ll have to tell me where they are to find that out.”
Even Menna’s pleasant grooming stopped short.
“Butwhyyyyyyyy?”Israa wailed. “You’re obsessed with those jingly shiny human coins! They don’t have any!Hiiira?—”
“Find me some fat priests in white wraps if you want to know any more.”
“But the sunbeam is PERFECTright now! Hiiiraaaa?—”
Menna said, “You’re devilishly clever, you know. Even I’m tempted.”
“WHAAAAAAT?”Israa yowled at the top of her lungs.
“She said mischief, Israa,” Menna pointed out, grooming her paw in some agitation. “Humans are often mischief-impaired. And priests are usually even more mischief-impaired than ordinary humans. So she’s playing the mischief?—”
“—on theCATS?”
“I knew you would appreciate it more,” Hira said smugly.
“NYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—”
“See you later, Menna,” Hira said, squirming away from Israa’s outraged grab. “Let me know when you find some Upaja-priests.”
By the time Hira made it back across the river to the Catsprowl side, the cat gossip network had spread ahead of her. Four assortedly brown, similarly round, and suitably white-draped mendicants she didn’t recognize were pinned to their seats in the food market by dozens of vigorously purring kittens. The kittens were making it very,veryclear that the only acceptable option was to continue making soft laps and pettings and highly personal cat-toys for the neediest of tiny creatures who had never been fed ever.
The priests were clearly both charmed and bewildered, because the kittens were not paying such avid attention to the other marketgoers. But anyone who was a priest of Upaja had to be accustomed to the general notion that a creature who wanted to be fed would find them worth wheedling, even if they were more usually sought out near their shrines’ cauldrons. The human market-cooks were a bit bemused by it all, but one of them was filling a thali with both human-suited and kitten-suited nibbles.
