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Sucrose could already hear the commotion within the Cat's Tail from outside the door. She took a deep breath as she gripped the door handle and pushed it open.
Her eyes went wide as she saw how many people were packed into the tavern. Each table had a Genius Invokation TCG match going with spectators crowded around. Sucrose could barely hear herself think as conversations and laughter echoed throughout the building.
She knew how popular Genius Invokation had become in Mondstadt, being one of the many people who got swept up in the craze. However, she didn't think the tournament would have this many attendees. The sea of people around the tavern was enough for her to drown in.
Sucrose's stomach twisted into knots as she stood frozen by the door. Anxiety wrapped around her heart like vines, constricting her chest as she struggled to breathe.
She nearly became consumed by the pounding in her head before the wooden door hit her back, unaware she was still blocking the entrance. Sucrose whipped herself around at the stranger who was trying to get inside.
"I-I'm sorry!" Sucrose stammered, barely able to look the person in the eye as they squeezed through the doorway and walked to one of the tables.
Letting out a defeated sigh, she walked over to the bar and sat on one of the empty stools. She ran her hand over the pack of cards she kept in her pocket, too embarrassed to even take them out. Sucrose stared down at the bar's wooden surface when she heard a familiar voice.
"Oh hey, Sucrose," Diona said as she stood at the other side of the counter. She held a cocktail shaker in her hand and shook it vigorously, the sound of ice clinking against the metal container. "You here for the TCG tournament?"
"Yes, I am. But…" Sucrose lifted her head, yet was unable to look Diona in the eye.
"But?" Diona said as she set her shaker down, tilting her head to the side. "You don't look so good… are you alright?"
"I'm f-fine , I'm just… overwhelmed. I should probably go-" Sucrose turned herself around on the stool, placing her feet on the ground. She was heading for the door when she was stopped dead in her tracks.
"Wait!"
Diona came out from behind the bar and stood beside Sucrose. She made sure the alchemist had ample personal space, as she didn't want to make her even more uneasy. "You don’t have to leave, you already came all this way!"
As Diona thought of a way to alleviate Sucrose's anxiety, she felt one of the tavern's cats come rub up against her leg. She looked down at the purring cat, her eyes lighting up as she was struck with an idea.
"How about I take you to the back where it's quieter?" Diona suggested. "We have a room where most of the cats hang out. Maybe we can relax there for a while?"
Before Sucrose even had a moment to think she was already being dragged by her sleeve through the tavern. Diona was never afraid to take initiative in situations like this, yet she held onto Sucrose's sleeve gently in case she did want to leave. However, Sucrose gave little resistance, following behind the young bartender.
"We? Aren't you supposed to be serving drinks? I wouldn't want to interrupt your work," Sucrose asked with a look of concern.
Diona stopped in her tracks and turned her head back, giving a little smirk. "Oh please, I'd rather be doing anything besides serving those boozehounds."
Once she made it to the back of the tavern, Diona pushed open one of the doors. Once the two of them were inside she shut it closed behind her.
The room was bigger than one would expect. A couple of cat towers stood tall with a soft couch pushed up against the wall. There were a few cat toys scattered across the floor with a few cat beds placed in various spots. One wall was lined with multiple food bowls and water dishes, allowing the cats to come and eat as they pleased. There was a small closet with its doors wide open, empty besides about three litter boxes lined up next to each other.
It looked like a cat's paradise, one that several of the cats inside seemed to be fully enjoying. From the calico cat curled up in a cat bed on the floor to the black and white cat who stretched out on the top of the cat tower. Sucrose's attention was quickly drawn to a soft ticklish feeling along her leg. She looked down and saw an orange cat rubbing itself against her leg while purring loudly.
"Aww, I think Nelson likes you!" Diona said as she sat down on the couch. "You should be honored, he tends to be picky when it comes to who he shows affection. Especially if you don't have any food to give him."
"Really?" Sucrose's eyes lit up as she crouched down, holding her hand out. Nelson took a moment to sniff her hand before rubbing his head against it, purring even louder. "Hey there, I guess you do like me…"
Sucrose sat down on the floor beside the cat, sitting in a kneeling position. Nelson wasted no time stretching himself over her lap and closing his eyes. She looked down at him for a while before smoothing her hand over Nelson's head and running it down his back. Sucrose could feel how soft his fur was, even through her gloves.
Diona leaned forward a bit as she sat on the edge of the couch, watching Nelson snuggle up in Sucrose's lap. Suddenly she saw something soft and gray from the corner of her eye.
"Oh, hey Roger," Diona said as she turned and reached a hand out to him, scratching under his chin. "I'm surprised you're not out with the customers. Or maybe they were too busy playing Genius Invokation to pay attention to you?"
Roger began to purr as he leaned forward, squinting his eyes as he enjoyed the sensation of his chin being scratched. Once Diona pulled her hand away he curled himself up on the couch, making sure his body was pressed against her leg.
Sucrose could immediately feel her worries start to melt away as she continued to caress Nelson's fur. The sound of him purring was able to drown out the constant noise in her head. She even noticed that her breathing was starting to match Nelson's as he was drifting off to sleep.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of how relaxing the life of a house cat must be. They could sleep whenever they wanted, they always had food and shelter. And of course, they always had someone to love and receive affection from. There were no responsibilities, no bills, and no stress. It was a life full of coziness and leisure.
As Diona watched Nelson curl up in Sucrose’s lap, she caught something in the corner of her eye. She looked over towards the other side of the room, where two cats stood in front of each other. One of the cats resembled a lion from the long blonde fur that covered his body, his eyes as fierce as a predator. The other cat was small yet his poofy gray fur made him look as big as the first cat. This was something the small cat took to its advantage, not afraid to sit before the blonde cat and hold its paw up in the air tauntingly.
“Psst, Sucrose,” Diona whispered as she leaned forward to nudge Sucrose on the shoulder. “Look over there but don’t make it too obvious. Paisley is trying to start a fight with Finnick.”
“A fight?” Sucrose’s eyes went wide. “Are they going to hurt each other?”
“Nah, that’s just how they play. They do this all the time, Paisley always tries to pick on Finnick until he fights back, just watch.”
Paisley raised his paw higher in the air, letting it linger like it was going to come down at any moment. However, Finnick remained unamused, his eyes shooting daggers at the smaller cat. The tension between the two cats remained thick in the air as they waited for each other to make the first move.
“It’s almost as if Finnick is saying ‘go ahead, do it… I DARE you!’” Diona giggled.
“It’s so strange how Paisley still won’t back down,” Sucrose said. “This is my first time seeing these two cats and even I can tell he’s at a disadvantage.”
“What he lacks in size he makes up for in guts, I tell ya…”
“Fascinating…”
Finally, Paisley went in for the assault. He was only able to get one smack in before Finnick raised his paw and barraged the smaller cat with a flurry of swats. Paisley waved his paw around in a frenzy, trying but failing to land another hit. Sucrose held a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter from the spectacle before her.
Finnick stood and took a couple of slow calculated steps forward. The way he stretched his legs out with every step made his figure look even bigger. Paisley arched his back slightly and jumped back as his playmate got closer. Little Paisley was the definition of all bark and no bite, evident in the way he suddenly sprinted across the room. But like a predator chasing his prey, Finnick followed close behind, chasing Paisley out of the room through the cat door, and into the main part of the tavern.
“Those two better not cause any trouble out there,” Diona playfully pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Last time a cat bolted into the tavern like that one of the boozehounds got spooked and was knocked to the ground-”
“HEY!” a voice from the tavern called out, followed by a loud thud.
The sound was loud enough to wake Nelson from his spot on Sucrose’s lap, causing him to jump off and make a beeline for under the couch. All the commotion from outside the closed door came to a standstill, silent enough to hear the sound of dice clinking against the wooden tables.
The two girls immediately turned to look at each other in surprise. It took everything within Sucrose for her to contain her laughter, her lower lip quivering as she forced down a smile. However, Diona saw right through her. Seeing the meek alchemist struggle to contain her composure only pushed Diona over the edge, causing her to burst into a fit of laughter. Sucrose soon followed suit, her soft chuckles drowned out by Diona’s hysterics. Surely the people within the tavern must have heard them through the closed door, but they were having too much fun to care.
As Sucrose continued to laugh it felt like she was letting out all the anxiety that was built up inside her. Her smile was not only one of amusement but also of relief.
It took a few moments for Diona to calm back down, letting out a content sigh as her laughter came to a stop. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed Sucrose staring at her. "Whatcha looking at? Do I have something on my face?"
"O-oh! No, you don't. I just…" Sucrose's voice trailed off as she saw something soft and furry in the corner of her eye. Nelson slowly walked back over to her, rubbing his head against Sucrose's arm before making himself at home on her lap again. "...feel a lot better now. I can see why the cats would enjoy having a room to relax in like this"
"See, I knew this would help! Sometimes when the boozehounds really get on my nerves I come here to cool down for a bit.” Diona admitted shyly, averting her gaze as her ears twitched slightly. “You know, if you ever need somewhere quiet, you’re always welcome here… only if you want to of course.”
“That's very thoughtful of you, Diona… I'd like that.”
“Hehe, And I’m sure Nelson would appreciate you coming back too!”
Nelson lifted his head slightly and let out a meow in response. His eyes looked as though they were nearly closed, his green irises peeking out from his slitted eyelids. He blinked slowly up at Sucrose as if he were telling her how safe he felt in her lap. She couldn’t help but giggle as she leaned forward slightly, looking into the cat’s eyes as she scratched behind his ear. “Of course. Don’t worry little guy, I’ll be sure to make time to come see you again…”
Diona’s mind began to wander as the room fell silent once again. Suddenly her face lit up with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh! Sucrose, you’re an alchemist, right? I was wondering if you could use your alchemy to help me tweak some of my cocktail recipes.”
“Yes, I am. How exactly did you want to modify them? Although I’m not a big fan of alcoholic drinks, I’m sure I can help you make-”
“Make the worst cocktail scientifically possible?!”
Diona swayed her tail back and forth in excitement, her eyes sparkling with determination. It was a look of pure childish hope that Sucrose couldn’t ignore. She had done a fair share of experiments in bioengineering food and other edible products, trying to positively enhance their taste. So the idea of intentionally creating something that tasted disgusting sounded like a fun challenge. Besides, when else would she be able to find someone so genuinely interested in her alchemy research?
“I-I think I can. Actually, I might have some notes on me…” Sucrose said as she slipped a notepad from her pocket and flipped through the pages.
Sucrose spent the next couple of hours explaining her research in bioengineering to Diona, making sure it was simple enough for a child to understand. Even through all the scientific jargon, Diona was on the edge of her seat, her mind racing with possibilities for new horrible cocktails. All the while Nelson remained snuggled up in Sucrose’s lap as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Soon the commotion from within the bar began to die down. The patrons were wrapping up their last rounds of TCG, with Margaret busy cleaning a pile of empty glasses after everyone finished their drinks. Diona peeked up from the pages of Sucrose’s notebook with her ears twitching in interest.
“Oh! The tournament must be ending,” Diona exclaimed as she looked up at Sucrose apologetically. “I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to play…”
Sucrose would be lying if she said she didn’t feel somewhat guilty for missing out on the tournament, it's the reason she came here after all. But despite that, she wouldn’t have wanted tonight to have gone any other way. She gave Diona a reassuring smile. “That’s alright, I’m sure there will be more tournaments in the future, I can try again then. It’ll also give me more time to practice and refine my deck.”
“That's true,” Diona replied, letting her shoulders relax in relief. She watched as Sucrose gently nudged Nelson off her lap before standing up from the ground.
“I should get going though, I need to take notes on some ongoing experiments before it gets too late. T-thank you again, Diona, for helping me.” Sucrose said as she brushed off the cat fur that clung to her chest.
“Yeah, Margaret is gonna kill me if I don’t get back out there and help her clean up,” Diona sighed as she stood up and stretched out her arms, her back arching slightly. “And don’t mention it! I had fun, I’ll see ya around!”
“Good-bye…” Sucrose waved before turning around and heading out the door.
As she walked through the tavern there were still plenty of people crowded around. However this time she made her way through with ease, no longer bound by the anxiety that consumed her when she arrived. Sucrose was about to push open the front door to the Cat’s tail when she felt something rub up against her leg. Her eyes softened as she saw Nelson peeking up at her expectedly.
“And good-bye to you too, Nelson…” Sucrose cooed as she bent down to scratch him behind the ear. “I’ll see if I can synthesize some treats for me to bring next time I stop by.”
Nelson purred in satisfaction and leaned his head towards her touch. He sat down on the ground as he watched Sucrose turn around and exit the Tavern, the cool evening breeze blowing inside before the door shut behind her.