He was but a simple priest, following the lord's teachings despite the world being wrecked with poverty and the plague; when life failed him, his faith did not. He had always supposed himself to be a man of God, and had dedicated himself to the chur...
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_ 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟶𝟽 ; 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜 _
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐃, 𝐑𝐔𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 (𝐘/𝐍)'𝐒 open palm and stepping over her lap. Its blue eyes formed happy crescents, its whiskers jutting outwards like fireworks. The cat was exceptionally friendly for a mere stray, and its black fur was also quite well-groomed, with a soft, silky texture foreign to most outdoor cats.
The beautiful, refined creature was like putty in her (S/C) hands, turning and flopping around, from its back to its sides, exposing its tender stomach in a rather submissive yet lovable manner. (Y/N)'s hand went to caress the vital area, however, the cat leaned its head over and gently bit her, as if scolding her for touching the soft expanse of fur from which beneath held its vitals.
"Ah..." She quietly mumbled, as the cat tightly held her hand between its two black paws dotted with pink paw pads and outstretched, dangerous claws. The talon-like nails threatened to puncture her thin skin should she move, so she stayed bent over, letting the small cat lick and rub its face against her palm.
Despite the rather loving manner in which the feline conducted itself, (Y/N) could tell it was hiding its neck and stomach from her hands, as if a sign of distrust.
The cat's tongue was like sandpaper, grating and scratching at her skin. She grimaced, and soon, a similarly grating voice filled her ears.
"That's Noire. She's rather affectionate, isn't she?"
A woman with silky blonde hair and cat-like blue eyes appeared within (Y/N)'s vision, wearing humble nun garbs, her hair tied to the side of her neck in a low ponytail. A humble yet charming grin was placed upon her face, which held enviously clear, glass-like white skin, free from blemishes or blackheads. Despite this, she had a rather humble look, her face devoid of makeup and her fingernails long yet unpainted nor chipped.
She looked like a princess, and yet she clearly was a nun...
"Ah, certainly..." (Y/N) murmured in response, her eyes still focused on the doting yet subtly violent cat beneath her hand. "Are you raising it, perhaps?"
"You guessed rather quickly," she said, with a small nod. She crouched down to the cat's level, and it immediately relinquished control of (Y/N)'s hand and instead began rubbing against the nun's legs, as it let out a small meow. "I just can't ignore such a cute little cat, you know? Everyone else here is superstitious--they ignored her because of her black fur..."
Almost immediately, the cat flopped onto its back, and the nun's hand stroked and rubbed its black belly. A strange feeling of jealousy nipped at (Y/N).
"It trusts you," (Y/N) commented. "How long have you been raising it?"
"Not very long--perhaps a month at most..." Her voice trailed off, before she offered another humble smile. "I haven't been a nun here for very long. I was disowned, you see."
"Amanda Langlais, is it?"
Amanda let out a small sigh, blushing sheepishly. "It's just Amanda now. I've grown more mature since all of that happened, so hopefully the rumors concerning me don't sway your thoughts of me too heavily."
"I don't participate in high society very readily. Those rumors, I'm sure there's little truth to them, sister." (Y/N)'s small smile was mostly obscured by the veil she wore, but a hint of warmth was present on her features. "You seem rather kind, taking care of this cat that no one else would, after all."
"The rumors about you must also be false as well--after all, no bad person likes animals, right?" Amanda replied, removing her hand from the cat's stomach upon seeing that it had fallen asleep on its side.
"Yes, those rumors... they're all false. In their entirety." A certain shakiness accompanied her words, like she was trying to hide her franticness. Then again, such was typical when concerned with such vile rumors...
"Y... Yeah. False," Amanda said, a small bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. "You know--in some ways, at least--I feel that you and I are similar."
"Do you believe that to be so...? On what grounds?"
"Well, for one... we're wearing the same perfume. Échoué's retour collection, right?" She rested her head on the back of her hand. "And we both like cats; that's two. And for three--we're both the subject of rumors. We just met, and we already have three things in common!"
"Most of those aren't necessarily things you want to have in common with people, no?"
"Maybe in high society, but this is a church. It's a lot less stuffy than you'd think here... ah," she said, scowling. "I mean that the people are more, uh, accepting here. Especially me, I'm one of the gentler, more kindhearted nuns."
"You are strange." (Y/N) frowned, a bit befuddled at the woman's behavior. "People used to call you bratty and uptight all of the time just a few mere months ago, and yet here you are, accepting your life as a nun without any hesitance? You used to wear the most luxurious of attires, and yet now you wear nun garbs and lack makeup..."
"I'm not vain, you know? Expensive clothes, jewelry, makeup, they're all just luxuries in the end, nothing more and nothing less. My life is just as complete without them; I do not miss them in the slightest. Although I live humbly nowadays, I feel as joyful as ever."
Hesitantly, (Y/N) let out a sigh. She couldn't help but be envious of the nun's carefree and confident outlook. (Y/N) knew that if she lost her entire fortune, she wouldn't be as calm as Amanda was presenting herself as...
"I suppose though, if I had to name a thing I missed, it would be hanging out with girls around my age," Amanda added. "Most of the nuns here are on the older side, after all..."
(Y/N) hadn't really considered it prior to this interaction, but she supposed she faced a similar dilemma to Amanda's--just another similarity to add to that list--which would be being lonely. Even if she had grown used to it, the sting of being ostracized still hurt.
With a large grin on her face, Amanda stood up and looked at (Y/N), offering her a hand as if to suggest a deal. "So, how about this: we be friends?"
"W... What?" Admittedly, (Y/N) was incredibly surprised at the nun's suggestion.
"Do you not wish to be friends with me?"
"N-No, it's just that--"
"Then shake my hand already," Amanda said, cutting her off. "It's not that big of a deal..."
"Oh, um..." Feeling herself get a bit swept up into Amanda's flow, (Y/N) let out a sigh and nodded, shaking Amanda's hand. "Okay."
