Requiem felt like Illumin had it out for her at times. Her name was a reference to the dead, her magic was supposedly given to man by the archangel of death, and she was going to speak to a dead woman about her cats. So a bit of paranoia was in order.

She finally reached the spot where the old woman's ghost was and looked around, "lost dearie?" Requiem glanced down and only a habit born from years of practice kept her from screaming as she realized the woman was floating up from under herself and of course Requiem chose to wear a skirt today instead of pants. She partially stopped herself from blushing, "If I had known the dead were perverted I wouldn't have come." The ghost looked shocked, "I'm sorry dearie, I didn't mean anything by it. Just that I'm still not used to being dead and all so I keep popping up in strange places. Anyway child, since you're here, does that mean you're going to help me with my problem?"

Requiem nodded, she had been visiting her home when she learned about the Carnival of the Undead and was surprised to learn just how stupid the dead could be at times. She shokugeki he thought away, "Is there anyone in particular that you want to have taking care of the kittens? Or are you hoping for them to be adopted?"

"Adoption would be nice, dearie, but there are quite a few of them so it would probably help your sanity and your lifestyle to simply find someone who can take care of them and find loving homes themselves." The spirit gestured to the girl's right hand. Requiem nodded, fair enough, she thought, "Can you lead me to your home?"
"I can do one better, we're right outside my house dearie."

Requiem wanted to know how she had missed the fact that the cottage style house was right in front of her. She never did drugs and hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since finding out that she had absolutely no tolerance for the stuff and had a habit of trying to strip while wasted. The assassin walked to the door and watched with amusement as dozens of cats and kittens came out a small door next to the front door, "They're so adorable. I wish I could take them with me but we can't have animals in the barracks."

Requiem found the door was unlocked and entered into a surprisingly well-kept house. The cats meowed and brushed up against her lovingly, "are you hungry? Is that what you're trying to tell me? Or do you just want some loving?" She pet the cats and counted them. Thirty cats and kittens in total, not as many as Requiem feared would be.

She walked up the stairs and saw two rooms branching off the top. One leading to a bedroom and the other to what seemed to be a playroom for the cats. She went back downstairs and into the kitchen where there was quite a bit of food for the cats, they were loved a lot. She was reminded of her father and nodded with a determined look on her face, if I'm going to be a holy knight, then I have to do this perfectly.

Requiem left the house and started towards the center of town. She wasn't quite sure what to do at the moment but at least there was a clear cut end goal. Very unlike that sadistic bastard drill instructor she had to deal with in training. She stood off to the side of the bustling streets and simply watched, looking for something, anything, that would give her a clue as to what needed to be done next. Orchidia probably wasn't the kind of place she could just call out and expect a decent person to magically show up.

After a few minutes, Requiem decided to walk about and see if Illumin would give her a sign. She had walked all the way to the castle proper and she stood outside for a moment before dismissing the idea of asking around there. She had heard about how exclusive the noble was but had written it off as exaggeration. The guards outside the gate looked at her like she was a cross between steak and a serial killer. If only they knew, she thought to herself as she headed back towards the town. Her thoughts soured as she dejectidly walked back into town towards the old woman's cottage. She passed the Orchidia apartments, but didn't even hesitate to cross that off her list after taking two steps inside.

She had spent the better part of the morning searching for a place for the cats without success and decided to go back to the cottage and check on the animals. The little fuzzbutts rubbed up against her as she made her way to the kitchen and gave them more food and water. With that out of the way, Requiem sat on the floor as the felines played around her. She picked up a small kitten and cuddled it as she tried to think of other places where the animals would be well cared for. She paced about, holding the kitten and muttered to herself, "need to find the right person, someone who loves to show affection on the less fortunate and is able to care for them.
Need to find like a shelter or an orphanage." She stopped in her tracks. Orchidia had a church and some places had churches that served more than one purpose. In a quick moment, Requiem put the cat down and ran for the Orchidia church and hurriedly looked about.

The priest was directing some acolytes as they prepared for the All Hallows Eve service in a couple days. The man noticed her and motioned for the others to go about their tasks, "What can I help you with child?" Requiem bowed, "there is a spirit of an old woman who is worried that her cats won't be cared for and loved. I was hoping you knew someone who could take them in." The priest nodded, "I know just the man.
Jan! " A wild looking young man with a dog ran up, "go with this young woman to help with Amanda's cats." The young man nodded and motioned for Requiem to lead the way.

After a very silent walk to the cottage, Requiem showed Jan what she had found. Her concern that the cats wouldn't like the dog smelling man were put to rest as the dog lay down and let the cats play on top of him, "It will be a day or so, but I can have a space for them ready if you want to spend the night here." The Rune Knight in training nodded, "I'll need a place to stay" He pointed down the street,
" The Singing Pig is a decent place for people lacking in funds.
I'll take you there and put in a good word. "

The next morning, Requiem was back at the cottage and playing with the cats again, "you little fuzzbutts are going to have a new home now. Hopefully this'll help that woman pass into the next life."

Thank you dearie, I always knew there were good people in the world." The ghost woman's voice seemed to echo and fade away. Requiem rubbed her face and started to wonder if this was all a bizarre dream. Jan showed up in the afternoon with a couple other men and loaded the cats and their supplies onto a wagon and took them to the church.

Requiem gave the cats a last farewell and then left to get back to Era Town. She looked at the cottage where the woman had lived and could've sworn she saw her standing there with a peaceful look and then fade away.

1417/1000 words