How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 48: Chapter 48

The cat—technically a Ghost Feline, a monster said to have only a single confirmed sighting and information that was entirely unknown—draped its paws over Kaden's head, toying with the stray strands that hung over his face.
The cat was finally registered under his name as a tamed beast, decidedly not to harm him or pose any risk despite its mysteries.
As soon as Kaden knocked on Professor Alexander's door, the cat had sprung from the desk it lounged, purposely kicking a few sheets of paper to protest its week of custody, and launched itself into Kaden's arms.
He caught the cat, stumbling back in surprise, and couldn't help but laugh at its antics. A prideful, spoiled and noble cat, it was.
Alexander's hair was disheveled, and he adjusted the glasses perched on his nose, dark bags under his eyes. "Take the beast and leave me. I've had enough of looking at that arrogant feline for the rest of my life."
The properly dressed Professor, never a hair out of place and his tie set in a perfect line down his chest, appeared incredibly distressed.
He walked over to gather the papers on the ground, his white sleeves rolled up, his tie frayed and loose from what Kaden suspected to be another part of the cat's sharp claws.
"I would apologize for the mess, however, it was you who brought that creature in. And while I enjoy the studies and behaviour of most beasts, you seem to have found the sole exception."
Kaden smiled wryly as the cat twisted in his arms, stretching lazily out to slink around his neck. "I apologize, Professor. Thank you for taking good care of it."
Alexander waved, leaning forward on his desk to reorganize the papers that had been scattered. "If you notice any particular observations, please inform me. Any information about rare species are welcomed."
"I'll do that."
Kaden nodded, walking away to leave Alexander to the mess left in his office as the cat found its way to his head. He toyed with its hanging paws as it stretched and retracted its claws.
"I'll need a name for you, won't I?" Kaden frowned in thought as he roamed the halls. "Brown? Chestnut? Hazel?"
The cat smacked him, and he winced. "Isn't that the colour of your fur? Would you prefer something elegant, like Prince? Your Majesty?"
Actually, he wasn't certain of the gender of the cat, but according to Alexander's comments prior to Kaden's coming, the feline was an androgynous species, appearing neither male or female. Alexander had wondered if the creature was a hermaphrodite, or had other biology, but he'd decided against investigating when the feline meowed noisily in complaint.
The cat purred, sending vibrations through Kaden's skull to show its satisfaction. Kaden chuckled softly as its tail brushed his neck.
"Your Majesty?"
Another deep purr of delight, and Kaden felt the weight roll around his hair.
"I see you've taken a new friend in arms." A curious voice spoke, forged of honey and sugar, but carved of iron and steel. The sort of voice that made one compelled to listen—there seemed to be many of those in the Academy.
Of course, Noah's simmering voice that matched the moonlight's observing quiet, both rich and comforting, was Kaden's preference.
This voice belonged to a particular, irritable person.
Lux twirled the cat's tail around his finger, and it hissed viciously. He wasn't bothered, laughing as the tail swatted him away.
He sauntered around Kaden, cutting him off in his path. The latter raised his cold stare, sarcasm dripping in his expression.
"What a surprise, Lux." smiled Kaden with a cruel twist of his lips. "Do you need something?"
"I think it's you that needs a lesson in manners to your friends."
"I believe friendship must be a two-way agreement."
"You wound me, Kaden." A twinkle of amusement sparked in the deep velvet gaze. "Then what about respect, as a senior in their third year?"
Kaden sneered. "Haven't you heard? Respect is something to be earned, not given. I'm respecting you by not turning away right this moment."
"Noted. Thank you for your admirable traits."
"You're welcome." Kaden bent his head forward so the cat could jump from his head, into his arms, melting in his hold. "And if all you wanted was a chat, then I'll be off. I'm busy."
"With what?"
"Anything but talking to you."
"Your attitude to me is greatly different than to your friends, or even to your classmates. Even to the other seniors, you'd at least not insult them."
"I treat you as I treat Reed. And I treat my friends as I treat my friends. Anything else you need cleared up?"
Lux's smile twitched at being placed on the same horrendous level as Reed. He wasn't a good person himself, and he knew how irritable he was being, but Reed—that Prince was the devil wearing human skin.
If Kaden wasn't entangled with the Crown Prince in such a manner, Lux would've found it entertaining to properly befriend the man.
From the first time Kaden glared at him, Lux had the odd compulsion to give him food, or to speak to him. And it wasn't anything ridiculous like love or affection. It wasn't anything he could describe, really.
Lux was a man that acted before he thought, but Kaden was off-limits. Kaden was a pawn, and being another chess piece himself, Lux knew better than to befriend another.
At the end of the day, he would betray Kaden, if it meant obeying Reed.
And Kaden would have his life if Reed demanded it.
There was no other option.
Kaden was yanked in the opposite direction, grabbing onto the cat before it could fling out of his grasp. Panting heavily, loud battered breaths that almost seemed purposeful, Niklas grinned brightly, clutching onto Kaden's arm.
Kaden froze in surprise, feeling the layer of fabric between and relaxing. Had it been any other person, he would've reacted more violently.
"My dearest friend, Kaden. How wonderful it is to see you."
"...what do you want from me?"
"Nothing more than your attention." winked Niklas, and Kaden wondered if women would still swoon over his charms in his pathetic athletic state. "Your sole attention that is—no offense, Lux... that was your name, correct?"
The tall, deadly man tilted his head with a dangerous curve of his lips. "Correct. I believe you are Kaden's friend, Niklas?"
"What a sinner I am to be popular by men and women alike." exaggerated Niklas, smiling. "All jokes aside, if you'll let us pass, I have an exciting trip planned that I'd like to discus with my friend."
"A trip?" Kaden frowned as the cat's small nose sniffed at Niklas, and the latter smiled while poking its horns in return.
"Yes, a trip. This weekend. We'll all have some family bonding time."
"And I agreed when?"
"I never said you had a choice." Niklas curved his eyes, silly, and knew Kaden wouldn't be able to refuse him. No matter what, Niklas always won with his persistence.
Lux wasn't bothered and glanced at the pair thoughtfully. "A trip? And what would it take for me to be invited?"
"Juniors only, I'm afraid. Only the young and beautiful."
"And you're implying...?"
"Not at all. You're very young and beautiful." reassured Niklas. "But I mean beautiful in catering to my tastes, and unfortunately, you're not my type."
Hearing Niklas go off in a rampant of nonsense that made less and less sense the more he spoke, Kaden furrowed his eyebrows, deliberating whether to laugh at Lux's blank expression, or to remind Niklas to speak like a human.
He couldn't really be bothered doing anything, and remained still like a doll, allowing his mind to wander off as Lux and Niklas continued to exchange disagreements.
If it was a trip, then Noah would likely attend. Their last conversation had ended sour, and it was more Kaden's fault than the other's. But really, Kaden had only been insisting on the dragon's safety—why couldn't he understand?
Why couldn't Noah just obediently nod, bury the books of research that could drag him into danger, and happily enjoy life until tragedy struck?
And Kaden couldn't really apologize, because he wouldn't mean it.
He still wanted Noah to stay a clear distance away from the dangers around Kaden. He didn't want his problems to burden Noah.
He wasn't worth that.
Then his mind wandered further as Your Majesty snuggled into his neck, bored of poking at Niklas' hand. A trip with friends...
What was the etiquette of that? The last trip he went on was to the bars during their mini investigation, which had turned up some depressing news and had been less enjoyable, and more tense.
Was the trip a day tip or an overnight trip?
It wasn't the same as taking Arlo to the capital—then, Kaden had behaved as a guardian to the little boy, a tour guide of sorts.
Did he have to buy gifts or food to share? He wouldn't mind, but he'd drained much of his savings, and he still hadn't set out to complete the tasks he'd been paid to... he would have to start gathering the ingredients soon.
There was the matter of building his reputation in the underground in order to eventually become filthy rich and bathe in gold.
That was a little unrealistic, of course. But he'd have more money than he currently did. And as one knew, money ran the world.
Money was reputation, beauty and relationship. Money was a materialistic thing, a pure penny given worth by humans, but with more value in its name than it's material. There were many who would claim that money didn't matter to them.
Kaden wasn't one of them. He needed money to eat, to travel long distances, to provide for others. He needed money for a roof over his house, to wear clothes that weren't covered in grime.
He flipped the gold coin in his pocket, dazed. When he was younger, gold was the thing he dreamed about and hallucinated.
The gold coin, he wondered who'd given it to him? Wasn't it a mocking gift by Reed, or did his memory fail to conjure in his mind correctly?
He was getting distracted.
Supposing he needed to bring gifts, what would be perfect? Food or sweets? Tea? Noah and Niklas seemed to enjoy eating, so he couldn't go wrong with edible items, right? But then he'd have to consider allergies, likes and dislikes, preferences.
Suddenly, he felt a little anxious.
If he performed badly during this trip, would they never invite him again?
Sure, their friendship had a deadline, and he wasn't very hopeful in how long it would last. It was hard to trust in relationships, when they were always so fleeting.
Despite that, he didn't want it to be his first and last trip with friends. Imagine how pathetic that would be? An entire second life cycle—technically third, though his modern life had been short and lonely—and he still couldn't hold onto friends.
"Kaden, are you listening? Come on, I went through all the effort to chase away that dangerous fellow, and now your spirit has chased after him?"
Niklas shook his friend who'd gone pale, lost in his thoughts. He wasn't sure what Kaden was thinking, but he had an inkling that it was some exaggerated over-thinking about the trip.
It was amusing, the contrast between the coldness or snarkiness of Kaden's character, to the awkwardness in his friendships that carried out with clumsy actions.
He was clearly a person inept at social interaction.
And by which, Niklas thought, did not refer to interaction when threatening or mocking other people, but genuine and wholesome connections.
He repeated, wholesome.
Kaden blinked. "Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"I knew it. To think I mean so little to you that you'd ignore me."
"I'm glad you understand."
"...no, this is the part you proclaim your undying and unwavering respect and love for me, as a friend of course, and beg for forgiveness."
Kaden shot him a look of disgust. "You want me to beg you?"
"I take it back, it sounds dirty when you say it. Keep your begging for Noah."
It was Kaden's turn to fall speechless, and suddenly all his worries were gone. Even if it was manners to bring a gift, did Niklas really deserve a gift?
Absolutely not.
Niklas could almost read the inner insults, grinning. "Listen Kaden, we're going on a trip, it's going to be a fun time. I ask for nothing but your presence, if you'll grace me with it. Although again, you don't have a choice."
Kaden leaned against the wall, catching the feline that behaved more like a slippery eel, sliding around. It peeked up at him and meowed happily.
"How'd you know?"
"I'm always watching you, it's basically my hobby."
"Can you try not sounding creepy?"
At the scrunched expression, a ring of laughter escaped Niklas, sea-blue eyes gleaming. "My mother always told me to be kind, which I obviously am. She liked charity, you know. She liked giving and giving, though she had an eye for seeing people for what they were worth."
It was rare for Niklas to speak about his mother, and Kaden knew that she'd died a long time ago, but nothing more. He felt the warmth woven into his friend's speech, the love he had for the deceased.
Niklas trailed off, staring distantly outside. Kaden followed his gaze, watching the fluttering wings of a butterfly past the glass panes.
It continued, and then circled back to land gently on the window.
A corner of the rounded wings wedged along the edge, and the cheerful man watched quietly as its wing tore; a small rip that gradually ran further down, a crevice, a scar across its beauty.
Niklas turned his head, smiling faintly. "Butterflies, Kaden, survive tattered wings, no matter how many holes or rips. They continue surviving, even if their wing is torn off. Resilient things, aren't they?"
The crawling insect reflected in the pale greens of Kaden's eyes. "Butterflies can't feel pain, can they? If something is numb to feeling, surviving because they don't know what else to do, is that really admirable?"
"Surviving is admirable." Niklas closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun lap over his face.
His voice softened, quieter in the empty hallway. "Living is a goal. It's a goal with no finish line, a goal that continues to expand ceaselessly as the meaning of living becomes more than just surviving. But in the end, surviving's the first step."
A sigh left Kaden, a delicate smile curving his lips. "That's not a bad thought to have."
"Naturally, I know everything, Kaden. Niklas knows best."
"...please tell me you don't intend to refer to yourself in third-person from now on."
"I didn't, but since you've asked so nicely, I may consider it."
Niklas grinned cheekily as Kaden shook his head with exasperation. Behind the two men, the injured insect continued to crawl by their silhouettes. It's wings flapped, the tear spreading further with every futile movement.
It seemed to be preparing to take flight.
As the frail wing hung together by a sliver of attachment, the butterfly let go.