CHAPTER 114

They fell off the counter and crashed onto the floor. Kisa rolled on top of Tink, her hands squeezing the goblin by the throat. There was an unlabeled rage now powering her, and she smacked the goblin's head onto the floor repeatedly.

Tink just laughed. This made Kisa mad enough that she picked up a nearby can and smashed it into the goblin's head.

"What the absolute fuck is going on in here?"

The temperature of the room dropped dramatically as Yuki stepped into the kitchen. She was covered in fresh paint and crystalline shards of ice spun in circles around her outstretched hands. Her eyes were wide open, and circles of frost had formed along her cheeks.

Kisa froze in place, then looked down at the goblin. She had just attacked a member of the house for no good reason. Granted, Tink had pushed her first, but she could only imagine how the others might see it. The anger from before melted out of her, and she let go of Tink's hair.

A feeling of dread filled her chest, and she moved back from the goblin, afraid that Yuki might attack her.

"Tink helping dumb cat find snack in pantry," the goblin declared. "We climb too high, fall off shelves, big mess." She sat up and wiped some sauce off of Kisa's face, then licked her thumb. "Still taste good."

"Are you sure?" Yuki's eyes narrowed at both of them. "I thought the house was under attack with all that noise!"

"Tink step on dumb cat tail when fall. Make big sound. Misunderstanding is all." She stood up and looked around, a forlorn expression on her face. "Big misunderstanding."

Yuki looked back and forth between the two of them and then sighed. "Here. Let me help you two clean up." She walked to the nearby closet and pulled out a broom and a dustpan.

The three of them swept up the food and broken glass, and then mopped up the sauce. Kisa said nothing, but Tink grumbled the whole time. Once they were done, Yuki cast a suspicious gaze over both of them before departing.

"Why—" Kisa began, but Tink put a hand over her mouth and shook her head, then beckoned her to follow.

She led Kisa down the stairs to the basement—a place that Kisa hated. It was like a giant concrete coffin, and for some reason, the freezer filled her with a sense of dread.

"Fox have good ears," Tink whispered. "We talk now."

"Why did you stick up for me?" Kisa rubbed her arms with her hands, her body filled with a phantom chill. "I was going to beat your ass."

Tink rolled her eyes. "Good joke, but no. Tink no worried, much better fighter than stupid cat. Not important, though." She sat down on the floor and yawned again. "Tink no want cat to get in trouble and have to leave."

"Why though? You and I don't get along."

"So? Tink not always get along with others. For long time, Tink get along with nobody. Learn how to fix everything, maybe everyone love Tink, maybe not, but had to try." The goblin pulled her goggles off her head and stared at the lenses as if lost in a memory. "Tink make much trouble, get grief from everyone. So Tink be quiet, hope nobody notice, still trouble. Things work out, but Tink still lonely. Then husband come, make everything worth it."

Kisa scrunched up her face. "That doesn't answer my question in the slightest."

The goblin groaned. "Dumb cat like Tink. Not know place yet, not even know self. Lonely, like Tink was."

"I like being alone."

"No." She shook her head firmly. "Difference between alone and lonely. Right now, dumb cat is both. Maybe hate Tink, but that's okay. Maybe if wait, dumb cat will make friends like Tink, find purpose. Husband say to give dumb cat a chance, so Tink keep mouth shut."

Kisa frowned. "So, what, you're gonna be nice to me because Mike said so?"

"Yep." Tink slid the goggles back over her head. "Doll try to kill husband, now friends. Fox try to kill husband, also friends. Demon lady, too. Give extra chance, make best decision. Tink give extra chance, also make best decision." She stood and stretched, her tail flicking behind her like a whip before giving Kisa a knowing look. "Especially because dumb cat broken in head. Tink know all about that."

Dumbfounded, Kisa watched as the goblin walked up the stairs.

"But doesn't mean Tink always nice," she shouted down the stairs, then turned off the light with a laugh and closed the door.

Though it was dark, there was enough light coming in through the basement door that Kisa could still see plenty. She chuckled at how juvenile turning off the light was and waited a couple of minutes for the goblin to clear out.

She sat on the bottom step, her tail curling around her feet. Ever since the day she had arrived, she had felt lost. Her entire history was missing from her, but why?

What hurt more was that Tink had been right about her being lazy. The few times she had given any thought to attempting to remember anything, she had been filled with fear. It was almost like she didn't want to remember, but why would that be? She barely spoke to the others, and they had given her plenty of space as a result.

But did she need that space? Was Tink right? Was she lonely?

"A second chance," she said, her eyes on the opposite wall.

The freezer hummed, and the fur on her back and neck stood up, the room now closing in on her.

"A second chance," said the old man, holding a dark collar in his hand. It was made of some type of dark fabric and had a silver bell on it. His face was twisted up as if in pain as he sat across from her in their apartment. "Something leftover from the old country. It may fix you, Kisa, but it will change you."

She pulled her hair up and tilted her head back, revealing her throat.