The Missing Stone

Witnesses

"Okay okay before you kill me-"

Maris is interrupted when his face is shoved into Glenn's shoulder. His eyes widen in surprise, and he doesn't quite know what to do with his hands.

"You scared the hell out of me Maris," Glenn mumbles. "Where did you go? I thought- I thought I was going to be left alone again..."

"Oh." Maris frowns, patting Glenn on the back. "I'm back now. I was just taking a stroll in the woods and might have...fallen asleep against a tree." He laughs nervously at the end, knowing Glenn wouldn't fall for such a blatant lie.

"Hmph, whatever," Glenn huffs, drops the subject, simply relieved that his partner has returned. "Claude's probably waiting for us in Deridru now that Nader is there. We should get going." He picks up the note that he dropped when Maris startled him. "What curse?" He waves the note in front of his companion's face.

Maris blinks, remembering why he had written that three months ago. "I'll handle it, don't worry."

"But isn't Mildred's curse already broken now that Cornelia's dead?"

Maris purses his lips, trying to figure out how to word this. "Yeah, I'll- I'll handle it," he insists. "So don't worry about it, okay?" Glenn stares at him with those eyes, the ones that look hurt and he doesn't even know that he's doing them. Maris sighs, ducking his head. "Well, I'll see you at Claude's place." And he warps away.

Glenn furrows his brows, glancing at the note. If not Mildred...then who?

-

"Haha! Good one! I do remember this one time where your mother-"

Nader is cut off when something crashes in the other room, a muffled "ow" seeping through the wood. Claude freezes and nearly chokes on his tea. Mildred pats his back with her paw from her spot on top of the couch.

"Ahem," Claude stands up, and both cat and man notice how he scratches his head nervously, like he's been caught at the scene of a crime. "I-I'll go check-" He runs out of the room before he could finish.

"What's with him?" Nader grumbles, and Mildred doesn't know who he's talking to. She moves her shoulders up and down in a pseudo shrug before padding out into the hallway. Her ears tilt, listening.

"You're late, you know that?"

"Aha...sorry about that-"

"Hmph, good thing the others weren't late!"

The door isn't closed all the way, letting Mildred nudge it open and slip in. Claude looks on the verge of madness, gesturing wildly with his hands. She's surprised to see "Fodlan's most undercover spies" in the room with him.

Or maybe she isn't.

Claude sighs, visibly deflating. "Nader's in the other room." He disappears out the door, passing Mildred on the way. Her tail sways as she pads in, watching the other two. Maris winces when Glenn flicks him in the head, rubbing it slightly.

"Clumsy fool nearly knocked over the whole bookshelf," Glenn scowls, folding his arms over his chest and turning away. Mildred paws at his boots, looking up at him with violet eyes. Maris flinches when he sees her, a flash of fear crossing his face.

"O-oh it's you," he clears his throat awkwardly. He looks at Glenn, shrugs, and moves to sit on the sofa in the room. Glenn glances at him, noticing his movement. "Uh...do the thing."

Mildred cocks her head at him, confused. Glenn is looking now, "What thing?"

"No, the cat," Maris gestures, leaning forward so his elbows rest on his knees. "Do the thing."