Part 2: Catnip
Artemis leaped up the steps leading to front door of the apartment
where Haruka and Michiru currently lived. Minako and her family had
left this morning. It had been a difficult thing for him to watch her
go. They had never been separated for long since his discovering
her.
He shook himself free of that thought.
With an outreached paw, he scratched lightly upon the door. It was
entirely possible that they wouldn't hear him since they weren't used
to listening for it. If that became the case, he would begin
searching for another way in. It wasn't necessarily polite, but he
couldn't very well reach the doorbell and announce himself.
This problem was averted when Haruka walked outside from the
garage. He made it over to her in a few graceful leaps.
"Ah, good morning, Artemis. Minako is off safely I presume?" She
knelt down to pet him briefly before moving over to the small garden
they maintained. She had with her a spade and a basket.
"I didn't leave the airport until I had seen the plane leave the
ground," he sat down in the grass next to where Haruka was working to
weed the garden.
He wrinkled his nose some as a familiar scent aroused his
instincts. "Why did you choose to plant catnip?" He asked while
resisting the urge to sample the delicate plant.
"This is Michiru's garden, she's the one that decided what was
planted," she answered distractedly as she fought to remove a
stubborn weed, roots and all. She stopped to look over at him when
the tickling at his nose finally was too much to endure and he
sneezed. She quickly realized what the problem was.
"Oh? You find Michiru's catnip irresistible?" She teased lightly
while picking some for him to eat.
"Vile stuff," he commented while rubbing his whiskers in the plant
before him.
"You don't say?" Haruka bit into a crisp bean. She picked some
other assorted vegetables and placed them within her basket. He tried
to hold to as much dignity as he could while satisfying his urges to
bat around the nip before eating it.
Haruka was polite enough not to laugh when it finally got to him
and he bit into the helpless plant. He chewed happily upon the tender
leaves. Perhaps he could convince Minako that a few plants of cat nip
wouldn't hurt when she returned.
Part 3
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