#haru *ten minutes into meeting the family* *already struggling to keep the ruse up*

[catsafarithewriter]

A/N: Part 12! Yes, I am still writing, tumblr hasn't blessed me with polls yet 😭

x

Haru wasn't entirely sure they managed to persuade her parents-in-laws that their wedding hadn't been a shotgun affair, but there was only so much they could stutter otherwise before it became a matter of the lady doth protest too much.

Eventually, their only course of action was to move the conversation along, namely onto the rest of the introductions, and Haru discovered that the remainder of the onlookers comprised of Baron's cousins.

"So this is the archaeologist, huh?" Muta interrupted when it came to Hunter. He eyed the gangly feline. Hunter (or Huntley Wolfgang von Gikkingen, as he was formally introduced) bore more than a passing resemblance to his cousin, with fur only a shade lighter than Baron's, and a similar stature that he still didn't seem entirely grown into. Muta glanced back at Haru. "Yer sure you wanna go with the tea maker? It ain't like there's much difference."

He received a sharp elbow for that.

"And who, may we ask, are you?" queried Hunter's older brother, Hugo. His appearance made it quite clear they were from Baron's paternal side of the family, with dark fur and blue eyes echoing that of Baron's father. Neither cousin bore the darker markings that Baron possessed, implying those were something possibly inherited from his mother's side.

"Me?" Muta replied. "I'm her uncle, that's who. So it matters to me if she's made her best match."

Haru nearly snorted at that, but somehow managed to keep a straight face.

"Uncle how?" Hunter asked.

"It's complicated, kid."

"Well, I think it's admirable that a Cat should care so much for a niece that he would accompany them to this corner of the Kingdom," said Elora, in a voice which somehow conveyed 'manners, boys' without uttering any such syllable. "Haru..." She faltered politely as she came to the natural place where the 'uncle's' name would rest.

"Muta."

"Haru, Muta, may I introduce my brother, Toto Morrigan."

The last of the Cats stepped forward and Haru was suddenly acutely aware that this Cat was the only one who knew of their deception. She bobbed once more (she really should be getting better a curtsies after the practice of the last five minutes, she lamented) and attempted her most innocent smile at the Cat. "Pleasure."

Baron's uncle looked down at her (Bastet, why was Baron's family all so tall?) and ducked his head in return. He had dark eyes, which were measuring her with all the full force of their shared secret, and dark fur with white markings almost reminiscent of a magpie. He held himself in a slightly hunched way – further bringing corvids to Haru's mind – as if he was used to being the tallest in the room. "The pleasure is all mine, Mrs Haru. I can only hope your family is as overjoyed by the news as we are."

He smiled, and there was far too much intelligence in the gaze.

Haru smiled back. "Of course, Toto. My mother was ecstatic."

There was a dubious pause.

"And the rest of your family?" Edmund prompted.

"I... that's it." And when this seemed to have stunned the collective von Gikkingen braincell into silence, Haru added, "It's just me and my mum."

"And your uncle," Baron added tactfully.

"Yes, of course," Haru amended. "And Uncle Muta."

There were some meaningful looks passed between the von Gikkingens. Haru decided not to ask.