#blaze the cat my little meow meow

[ravenseeker]

Decided to change my style abit and I’m so happy with this one 🥹🥹 blaze your so pretty and happy!

Timelapse 🔥

[liminalpebble]

Stray (A Lokitty Tale): Part 2

Part 1 link

A/N: Hi all. This began as a prompt suggestion by @mischief2sarawr and has since grown three heads and answers to no one. It's now a multipart, very fluffy, story about Lokitty. I have no idea where I'm going with this except definitely to the comfort district of fluff town...maybe driving through a little traffic jam of angst on the way there.

Synopsis: It's 1971 and you're a single shop girl living in the tumultuous, often damp, city of Seattle, feeling lost and alone. Meanwhile, Loki (under the guise of D.B. Cooper) is on the run from Thor the moment he jumped out of that plane. After crash landing in a dumpster and disguising himself as a stray cat to lay low, he becomes your beloved feline room mate and an unusual friendship begins to grow.

Stray: Part 2

While the human was away, Loki sprawled out his long Asgardian body across your floor, passing the time with your extensive collection of books. It felt good to him, having arms and legs to stretch again, and opposable thumbs to turn the pages. Staying in a conjured form for too long could be taxing, and the breaks would be welcome, especially since he couldn't be sure how long this little arrangement might continue.

The god of mischief smiled a bit to himself, recalling how you had bustled around in your little uniform, getting ready for your day. You were obviously in a hurry, but you still took the time to stroke his fur and scratch under his chin while you talked to him.

“Good morning, little guy. I left some food out for you and the heater on. I'll be home late...hopefully with all the stuff you might need. Please don't pee in my shoes.”

Suddenly you stopped and rolled your eyes, raising up again to hurry out the door. “Jesus Christ, I'm talking to the cat again.”

Loki chuckled at that (well, meowed with amusement) and found, to his horror, that he was actually sad to lose your company for the day. He found he was becoming very curious about you.

Well, come on, he told himself, it's just that you're naturally curious and it's not like you have much else to occupy your time for now. Might as well observe the mortal.

Satisfied with his rationalization, he listened for the door to click shut and your heels to click down the hall. Once he was sure you were gone he returned to his usual body, and busied himself with your bookshelf, running his pale graceful fingers over the spines with delight.

She certainly has eclectic taste, he mused. The little apartment was crowded with books of all kinds; everything from Shakespeare to comic books, and where there weren't books, there were tidy stacks of records (again, a very eclectic assortment). His took it all in with gusto, fascinated by his choices of entertainment.

He blazed through several mystery novels (which were underwhelming as he was always well ahead of the reveal). Seeking the next read, his perceptive eyes landed on an antique volume, Norse Mythology. He smirked as he slid the book into his palm.

Now this should be interesting.

In a predictably self-indulgent move, he looked for an entry about himself, landing unfortunately on a beautifully illustrated page about Thor. He crinkled his nose in disgust and let the book drop to the floor, but as the tome landed with a thunk, it dropped open to the chapter with his name as the title. He lowered himself to the floor, laying on his belly as he read about his glorious self.

The description wasn't the most flattering. It painted the trickster god as a cruel and violent nuisance, but he had to admit that wasn't entirely inaccurate. There was, however, a glorious illustration in the style of an illuminated manuscript. Green and gold calligraphy snaked out the letters of his name and below it was a very handsome illustration highlighting his bright kaleidoscopic eyes and sharp rakish face (although they always got the hair wrong by painting it a garish shade of red). Oh well, what could one expect from foolish mortals.

His musing was suddenly interrupted by the sound of heels clicking down the hallway. In a panic he looked outside and realized it was already dusk. He had lost track of the time. As he heard your jostling and struggling to unlock the door one-handed, he quickly changed back to his feline form. Loki realized, a moment too late, that he hadn't had time to put the books back from where they laid sprawled out on the floor where he had been reading.

You finally shouldered your way inside, huffing and puffing, arms loaded with a heavy shopping bag. You set it down carefully and kicked your heels off forcefully, feeling weirdly satisfied that they smacked against the wall. (You always hated the damn things, and tended to punish them like this for the pain inflicted on your feet each day).

You smiled to where the sleek black cat was laying with his paws crossed delicately over the pages of a book, tail flicking lazily as if this wasn't at all odd. Loki noticed the quizzical expression on your face as you noticed the books on the floor. “Hey, buddy,” you chirped sweetly, “How the hell did you knock these off?”

“Mrrow,” the cat grumbled.

“Okay, okay. Keep your secrets you little magician,” you said, joining him on the floor and collecting the books. When you came to the volume under his paws, he refused to move them. He thought indignantly, I'm not done reading this! Though he was well aware he wouldn't be getting his way.

“Hrmmm,” you hummed, “Loki, the trickster...” as you traced your hand over the gold script. “He was always my favorite of the Norse gods, you know?”

“Meow?”

“Yeah! The tricksters always make life interesting, right?”

“Meroww.”

“See. I knew you'd agree with me.” You put a pensive finger to your lips. “He'd probably be a good namesake for your, huh, you mischievous scamp? I guess it's better than calling you “buddy” or “little guy” all the time.”

I should damn well think so, madam.

Loki watched curiously as you rose you to your feet, digging something out of your kitchen junk drawer. “Aha!” you exclaimed as you pulled out a green leather watchband (the clock was broken then lost long ago). Pulling out a marker you carefully wrote the name “Loki” in clear block letters on the tattered leather, then gently fastened the band around his neck. Smiling and stroking his fur with your warm hand you said, “Okay, Loki. You look very handsome,” you declared massaging his velvety cheeks with your thumbs. In return, you introduced yourself, saying your name and shaking his paw. “Nice to meet you, Loki.”

Loki wanted to protest this patronization, but your affection felt so pleasant, and it gave him a warm feeling to hear you call him “handsome”.

“Oh! I have...uh...stuff. I think this is the right stuff...Here, look, I've got a litter box and a little bed for you and I got a few different kinds of food. I'm not sure which one you might like best.”

You stopped abruptly, saying once again under your breath, “Jesus Christ...talking to the cat again, you lonely weirdo.”

Loki shot a paw out, tapping your arm and then nuzzling into it. And although you knew it couldn't be more than an animal trying to use you as a heating pad, it seemed like he was trying to say thank you, trying to say that he liked you talking to him and doting on him...and that he wanted to be held.

Crazy...I'm going crazy. I'm a crazy lonely cat lady, and I'm gonna die alone here someday and this cat is going to eat my eyeballs.

Still, it tugged your heartstrings as the little tomcat reached out its paws to your shoulders meowing and purring gently as it attempted to climb into your arms...and who were you to deny him?

Hesitantly, you reached out and held him against you, stroking gently and nuzzling your face against him.

You said quietly with a note of grateful awe, “Awww. I didn't expect you to be such an affectionate little guy.”

Neither did I. Loki thought, even more surprised than you were.

@mischief2sarawr @ladyofthestayingpower @acidcasualties @unlucky-number-13 @goblingirlsarah @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokihiddleston @lokischambermaid @lokisgoodgirl @marcotheflychair @smolvenger @alexakeyloveloki @littlespaceyelf @loopsisloops @joyful-enchantress @eleniblue @loz-3 @the-haven-of-fiction @sweetsigyn @muddyorbs @icytrickster17 @holdmytesseract @thenerdyoldersister @thedistractedagglomeration @sailorholly @peachyjinx @coldnique @sarahscribbles @peaches1958 @infinitystoner @mischiefmaker615 @coldnique @jennyggggrrr @tripleyeeet @itsybitchylittlewitchy @mochie85 @huntress-artemiss

[best-fictional-cat]

Welcome! To the official list! Of the Best Fictional Cat competition!!!

Edit: here is the list of who's going up against whom in round 1

Here's our pawsome contestants:

Garfield (Garfield)

Puss in Boots (Puss in Boots / Shrek)

Kitty White / Hello Kitty (Sanrio)

Firestar (Warrior cats)

Khoshekh (Welcome to Night Vale)

Jiji (Kiki's Delivery Service)

Domino (Amphibia)

Ghost (The Owl House)

Cat (Stray)

The Admiral (The Magnus Archives)

Thomas O'Malley + the Aristocats (Aristocats)

Puppycat (Bee and Puppy cat)

Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket)

Mae Borowski (Night in the Woods)

Morgana (Persona 5)

Meowth (Pokémon)

Kitty Softpaws (Puss in Boots)

Salem Saberhagen (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)

Luna (Sailor Moon)

Spot (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

Princess Carolyn (BoJack Horseman)

Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes)

Chi Yamada (Chi's sweet home)

The Cat (Coraline)

Pounce de Leon (Homestuck)

Goose (Marvel comics / MCU)

Plagg (Miraculous)

Catbus (My Neighbor Totoro)

Catra (She-Ra)

Blaze the Cat (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (The Cat Returns)

Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Tom (Tom and Jerry)

Holly leaf (Warrior cats)

Jayfeather (Warrior cats)

Yellowfang (Warrior cats)

Bluestar (Warrior cats)

Miyo Sasaki / Muge / Taro (A whisker away)

Cake (Adventure Time)

Bob (Animal Crossing)

Raymond (Animal Crossing)

Frumpkin (Critical Role)

Maurice (Discworld)

Happy (Fairy Tail)

Cattail (Plants vs Zombies)

Angel Grimalkin (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Pusheen (Pusheen)

Cat (Red Dwarf)

Judd (Splatoon)

Lil' Judd (Splatoon)

Garfield the Deals Warlock (The Adventure Zone: Balance)

Mad Mew Mew (Undertale)

Mothwing (Warrior cats)

Shoe (Ace Attorney)

Blanca (Animal Crossing)

John Blacksad (Blacksad)

Yoruichi Shihoin (Bleach)

Lumi (Cats are Liquid)

Mr. Mistoffelees (Cats the musical)

Gatomon (Digimon)

Pib (Dimension 20 - Never after)

Greebo (Discworld)

You (Discworld)

Felix (Drawtectives)

Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter)

Heathcliff (Heathcliff)

Jaspers (Homestuck)

Sox (Lightyear)

Chat Noir (Miraculous)

Valerie Oberlin (Monster Prom)

Juan The Small Magical Latino Cat (Monster Prom)

Capper (My Little Pony)

Opalescence (My Little Pony)

Nyan Cat (Nyan Cat)

Mewo (Omori)

Bungle the glass cat (Oz)

Kyubey (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Coco Grimalkin (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Felix Munch (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Mittens Wichien (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Shrödinger's cat (you know the one)

Artemis (Sailor Moon)

Chococat (Sanrio)

Big the Cat (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Gary the Snail (Spongebob Squarepants)

Lion (Steven Universe)

Aldwyn (The Familiars)

Simba (The Lion King)

Chairman Meow (The Shadowhunter Chronicles)

Kuroneko-sama (Trigun)

Leona Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland)

Catty (Undertale)

Sandstorm (Warrior cats)

Squirrelflight (Warrior cats)

Tigger (Winnie the Pooh)

Nali (AC: Valhalla)

The Sphinx (Adventures of Puss in Boots)

Leone (Akame ga Kill)

Jonesy (Alien)

Domino 2 (Amphibia)

Ankha (Animal Crossing)

Kabuki (Animal Crossing)

Rosie (Animal Crossing)

Rover (Animal Crossing)

Tangy (Animal Crossing)

Darwin (April and the Extraordinary World)

Miyuki (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Serafina + Wolfie (Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper)

Taokaka (Blazblue)

Grimmjow Jaegerjaques (Bleach)

Kuro (Blue Exorcist)

Periwinkle (Blue's clues)

Catbug (Bravest Warriors)

Atsushi Nakajima (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Natsume Soseki (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Assistacat / Sub-manager (Cardfight!! Vanguard)

Brave Heart Lion (Care Bears)

Midnight (Castle in the Air, Diana Wynne Jones)

Potato (Cat loaf adventures)

CatDog (CatDog)

Skimbleshanks (Cats the musical)

Rum Tum Tugger (Cats the musical)

Jemima (Cats the musical)

Victoria (Cats the musical)

Ember (Cattails)

Lyrus (Cattails)

Mayor (Cattails)

Missy (Cattails)

Sarge (Cattails)

Scout (Cattails)

Nyako / Meowy (Chainsaw Man)

Lucifer (Cinderella)

Arthur (Code Geass)

Constable Whiskers (Cookie Run)

Cool Cat (Cool Cat Saves the Kids)

Mao (Darker than Black)

Catti (Deltarune)

Mingus Crown (Dialtown)

Ortensia the Cat (Disney)

Sisters of Plenitude (Doctor Who)

Jellie (Double Life SMP)

C!Antfrost (Dream SMP)

Izutsumi (Dungeon Meshi)

Yuigadokusonmaru (Durarara)

Thomas (Earwig and the Witch)

Carla (Fairy Tail)

Panther Lily (Fairy Tail)

Felix (Felix cat food mascot)

Felix the cat (Felix the cat (Paramount))

Candy + Cindy (Five Nights at Candy's)

Hiili (Fox Fires (webcomic))

Lucrezia and Meek (Frakk, the Cats' Nightmare)

Heinkel (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Arlene (Garfield)

Nermal (Garfield)

Amanojaku (Ghost Stories)

Cringer / Battlecat (He-man)

808 (Hi-Fi Rush)

Stelmaria (His Dark Materials)

Kirjava (His Dark Materials)

God Cat (Homestuck)

Vodka Mutini / Dr.Meowgon Spangler (Homestuck)

Macskacicó (Hungarian folk tales)

Cheetu (Hunter x Hunter)

Finley / Jelly Donut (Hustle Cat)

Samantha / The Cat (Infinity Train)

Solembum (Inheritance Cycle)

Nameless evil white cat (James Bond)

Jenny Linsky (Jenny Linsky, Esther Averill)

Stray Cat (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Kaspar, Prince of Cats (Kaspar, Prince of Cats, Michael Morporgo)

Mr. Kat (Kid vs. Kat)

Magolor (Kirby series)

Tigress (Kung Fu Panda)

Remlit (Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword)

Mo (Lego Monkie Kid)

Meowthra (Lego Ninjago Movie)

Nyanta (Log Horizon)

Sylvester (Looney Tunes)

Mao Mao Mao (Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart)

Alpine (Marvel comics)

Behemoth (Master and Margarita)

Mog (Mog books, Judith Kerr)

The Cat (Monster Camp)

Ren (Monstress)

Haru (My Roommate is a Cat)

Ghazt (My Singing Monsters)

Pasty (Neko Atsume)

Sakamoto (Nichijou)

Niko (Oneshot)

Eureka the pink kitten (Oz)

Pangur Bán (Pangur Bán (Irish poem, 9th century))

Findus (Pettson and Findus)

Whiskers (Pixel Cat's End)

Pixie (Pixie and Brutus)

Glameow (Pokémon)

Litten (Pokémon)

Meowstic (Pokémon)

Skitty (Pokémon)

Sprigatito (Pokémon)

Jess (Postman Pat)

Tigger Sugden (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Slugcat (Rain World)

Rivulet (Rain World: Downpour)

Shampoo ( Ranma 1/2)

Squanchy (Rick and Morty)

Talking Cat (Rick and Morty)

Blake Belladonna (RWBY)

Diana (Sailor Moon)

Charmmy Kitty (Sanrio)

Khajiit (The Elder Scrolls)

Tabby Slime (Slime Rancher)

Blair (Soul Eater)

Barry Ill ( Sparklecare hospital)

Caroline Coughs (Sparklecare hospital)

Grudge (Star Trek Discovery)

T'Ana (Star Trek: Lower Decks)

Cure Cosmo / Yuni (Star Twinkle Pretty Cure)

Pet cats (Stardew Valley)

Cat Steven (Steven Universe)

Nyanky (Taiko no Tatsujin)

Archie (Tales of Arcadia)

The Kitty (The Bad Guys)

The Black Cat (The Black Cat, E.A.Poe)

The Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat)

Pixel (The Cat Who Walks through Walls, Robert Heinlein)

Amp / Anp / Anpu (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K)

Boo (The Funky Phantom)

Wagahai (Ace Attorney)

Invisible cat (The Invisible Man, H.G.Wells)

Bagheera (The Jungle Book)

Xiaohei (The Legend of Hei)

Nuka (The Lion King 2)

Pippa (The Penumbra Podcast)

Black Cat (The Price, Neil Gaiman)

Church (The Shadowhunter Chronicles)

Tom Kitten (The Tale of Tom Kitten)

Mew (Marvel comics)

Ichigo Momomiya (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Hong (Trash of the Count's Family)

On (Trash of the Count's Family)

Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet)

Thomas Kincade Brannigan ( Doctor Who)

Tumblr lore witch

Luxor (Tutenstein)

Che'nya (Twisted Wonderland)

Cheka Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland)

Grim (Twisted Wonderland)

Burgerpants (Undertale)

Varjak Paw (Varjak Paw, S.F.Said)

Bristlefrost (Warrior cats)

Cinderpelt (Warrior cats)

Graystripe (Warrior cats)

Leopardstar (Warrior cats)

Scourge (Warrior cats)

Spottedleaf (Warrior cats)

Ferncloud (Warrior cats)

Leafpool (Warrior cats)

Mapleshade (Warrior cats)

Sol (Warrior cats)

Tallstar (Warrior cats)

Turtle Tail (Warrior cats)

Tab (Watership Down)

Tabby Von Meow (Webkinz)

Opera (Welcome to demon school Iruma kun!)

Fluffal Cat (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Chester the Cat (Bunnicula)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here, as requested, are Honorable mentions, in no particular order (some less honorable than others), with their reasons for exclusion:

Mikeko (Ace Attorney): Apparently Apollo's cat but as far as I can tell it was only mentioned not shown, you've got other cats in

Any of the playable cats (Catlateral Damage): yeah I'm not even digging into that I mean I tried but naaaah (not to sound lazy but if it doesn't have a good wiki page I'm not doing it sorry I've had this many cats to dig through; I did save the game to check out in my own time tho so cudos for that)

Tasque Manager (Deltarune): not cat enough

Doraemon (Doraemon ): if only this thing had cat ears... or a cat tail... preferably both... I get that it's a robot but it could be a lot of animals honestly

Lizzie (Empires Smp): whomst (if what I found is what was meant then it's a fish not cat)

Kitty Cheshire (Ever After High): not cat enough

Nepeta Lejiom (Homestuck): not sure she's cat at least ENOUGH if at all, don't know enough about homestuck, owner of Pounce who is in anyway (entry said they're sorry lmao)

Schrödinger (Időfutár): "Time-travelling cat" I have failed in finding their picture and it seems too niche to be presented without it even though I am so intrigued and regret I don't know the language of the source material I'd love to give it a read/listen

Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid): Compares himself to ocelots and meows apparently, but no visible cat aesthetic sorry

Raku-chan (Nyan Neko Sugar Girls ): why.

Aisha Clan-Clan (Outlaw Star): not enough cat

Honey the Cat (Sonic the Hedgehog): that's enough cats from sonic (real reason: model so low-poly she would cut her opponents, and before you argue - there's a difference between pixel models and low-poly old games models)

The song pet cheetah twenty one pilots concept album lore: oof yeah um I get what a concept album is kinda buuut it's just a weird entry idk we've got plenty of fandom cats to go around

Gaetan (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt): Witcher from school of cat but he's still well pretty much human (don't come at me about witchers not being the same as humans he's not a CAT and that's all that matters to me)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's next?

Well, I have to make the bracket itself. As you can see, there's a bit more cats than I was intending to have, which means that certain polls in round 1 will have more than just two options. I can already tell you that a lot of the cats from the same fandoms are going to be eliminated in round one. That's why I kept them in. I'm planning on making up the first round match ups based heavily on the similarities between cats and the fandoms they're from. ALSO as you've probably noticed, some cats come in a bundle. That's because they're a family. I'm not doing this to Kitty Softpaws and Puss (at least YET), because even though they also get married in the end, there's a huge gap in their submission numbers. If you're wondering, how big, you may want to know that up to Tigger from Winnie the Pooh (that is, almost the entire first pic) are the cats that got 2+ submissions, in their order of popularity.

Next step - brackets!!! I want to do this well and I hope I don't underestimate certain fandoms!!!

[munson-blurbs]

For 2k celebration.

Argyle, Pizza Van, tiny baby fluffy kitten. Like I cannot express how fluffy this baby kitten should be. Maybe Jonathan is along for the adventure??? Go wild!

I hope you enjoy this, bb! 💚 shoutout to @loveshotzz for inspiring me to make this smutty.

Warnings: smut (18+ only, minors DNI), oral (f! receiving)

WC: 1.7k

--

After a long shift at Surfer Boy Pizza, Argyle is exhausted. He’d usually drive straight back to his place and blaze up a joint, but he has something much more important to do tonight. 

He goes to the Byers house, knocking on the door three times before Jonathan opens it, grinning and holding a fuzzy orange cat in his arms. “Did someone order a kitten to impress their girlfriend?”

“Shut up, man,” Argyle mutters, taking the kitten from his friend. “You know she’s not my girlfriend.”

“But you want her to be,” Jonathan goads, waggling his eyebrows, leaning over to grab the cat carrier. 

“I said shut up!”

Jonathan chuckles. “Dude, you are so in love with her!” He laughs even harder when he sees a blush creep into his friend’s cheeks. “You gotta tell her, bro. Ask her out, kiss her, I don’t know, but you gotta do something besides follow her around like a lost puppy. Or kitten, in this case.”

The long-haired stoner rests his head in his free hand. “Yeah, man, I know. What if she wigs out or somethin’? We’ve been best friends for, like, our whole lives, dude. I can’t just fuckin’ throw that away because of a crush.”

Sensing Argyle’s vulnerability, Jonathan’s expression becomes more serious. “That’s not gonna happen, all right? It’s obvious that she feels the same way; everyone already thinks you’re dating. You just needa go for it. Now,” he places the carrier in front of Argyle, “go deliver a cat to your future wife.”

~

After bringing the litter box, cat food, and toys out from the Byers’ house and loading them into his van, Argyle buckles the carrier into the back seat. “Okay, little dudette,” he says as he pulls out of the parking lot, “hold on to your little cat butt, because we gotta move fast if we wanna make it on time for it to still be her birthday.” He’s doing 50 in a 30, hoping there are no cops around. “I mean, she’s not gonna be mad if we’re late, but it’s the principle of the matter, you know? ‘Course you don’t; you’re a cat. I’m so nervous, I’m having a conversation with a cat.”

He lets out a soft chuckle as he merges onto the parkway. “Anyway, you’re gonna love her. She’s, like, the sweetest person ever, y’know? And super hot, but that’s besides the point.” He drums on the steering wheel and continues. “And Byers keeps telling me to make a move, but what if it ruins everything? It’s like, yeah, we could live happily ever after or whatever, or she could laugh in my face. Or,” he adds, anxiety rising, “we could get together and fall in love, and then break up. And that would really suck.” 

Your exit comes up quickly, and Argyle swerves onto the ramp, still chatting to the kitten in his backseat. “We’re almost there, gatita.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly as he parks in front of your apartment building. “Okay, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna tell her that I wanna take her on a date.” 

Bringing the carrier and the bags to the front door, Argyle rings the bell, fingers trembling.

“Hello?” your voice trills over the speaker.

“Hey, birthday girl,” he drawls. “Can you come down? Got a surprise for you.”

He can practically hear you smile at the sound of his voice. “Args! Of course, just gimme a second.” A few moments later, the door swings open and you’re there, standing in front of him. You’re in your pajamas, but he swears you’ve never looked so beautiful.

“So, what did you get me?” you question, already walking towards the van. As soon as you slide open the front, the kitten pads to the front of the carrier and meows excitedly. “Oh my God, is that…” Your eyes widen and tears blur your vision. “Did you get me a kitten?”

Argyle nods, a grin stretching across his face. “Yeah, you kept talkin’ about how much you wanted one, and my mom’s friend’s cat had babies…figured it was the perfect match.” He watches, lovestruck, as you carefully open the carrier and scoop up the tiny, fuzzy tabby cat.

“She’s so soft,” you muse, pressing small kisses to her head. “Does she have a name?”

“Not yet,” he replies, reaching out to pet underneath the kitten’s chin. “Got any ideas?”

You ponder for a second, taking in the cat’s light coloring and the man who gifted her to you. “How about Pineapple?” you suggest with a giggle. “So she’ll always remind me of my favorite person in the world and his favorite pizza topping.” 

“I’m your favorite person?” he asks incredulously, putting the remaining bags on the floor and shoving his hands in his pockets. He ducks his head, long raven hair falling over his deep brown eyes. “That’s really fuckin’ cool, man, because you’re my favorite person, too.” He forces himself to meet your gaze. “Fuck it, I’m doing this,” he says, though you’re unsure if he’s talking to himself or to you.

“Listen, you’re more than my favorite person. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like…I think about you all the time.”

“Argyle,” you start, but he keeps going.

“And we’ve been best friends since, like, what? Sixth grade or whatever? You’ve always been the one who took me seriously, always looked out for me. Never called me stupid or–”

“Argyle.”

“I don’t wanna fuck up our friendship, but I can’t keep acting like I’m not in love with you–”

“Argyle!” You finally break through his thoughts, grabbing his large hand in your own smaller one, the one that isn’t cradling Pineapple. “Argyle, when you told me that you got me the gift I always wanted, do you know what I thought it was?”

Argyle just shakes his head. 

You take a step towards him, dropping his hand and cupping his cheek. “This.” You press on your tiptoes and kiss him softly and gently, allowing him to register what’s happening and part your lips with his tongue. When you part, the two of you are wearing matching blissed-out smiles. 

“Holy shit,” Argyle murmurs, leaning down for another kiss. “Wanted to do that for so fuckin’ long, and it was better than I imagined.” His gaze drops to the kitten nuzzled into your shoulder. “Pineapple clearly is not entertained.” 

As if responding, she lets out a content purr. You place her back in the carrier resting on the front seat. “Y’know, a kiss wasn’t the only present I was hoping for.” You bring your fingers to the waistband of his pants, running them along the elastic. “Only if you want to, though.”

“Oh, I want to.” If that isn’t the understatement of the century.

You kiss him again, harder and hungrier than before. He lifts you with ease, arms strong from years of kneading dough, and you wrap your legs around his waist. One of his hands supports your ass, while the other is on the back of your neck, holding you impossibly close.

“Inside?” he manages, glancing in the direction of your building.

You sigh in frustration. “Stupid roommate is home.” Biting your lower lip, you try to think quickly. “There’s always the back of your van.”

Argyle laughs. “Princesa,” he tells you, and your heart soars at the nickname, “I am not having our first time together happen in my van.”

“But it’s my birthday!” you pout, making him smile wider. “Pleeeeeease?”

It’s your begging that gets him. He flings open the back door, lowering you tenderly before climbing on top of you and closing the door behind him. “Whatever my birthday girl wants.”

You feel his hand on your wrist, sliding a hair tie off of it and tying back his own mane. “Now, Princesa,” he begins, alternating between speaking and sucking on your neck, “I wanna stay true to my word and sleep with you for the first time somewhere special.”

“But–”

“But, I am not opposed to making you feel good, since it is your birthday and everything.” The van is dark, but you can tell that he’s grinning mischievously as he tugs on your pajama pants, pressing his hard length into your thigh.

“Are you sure?” But he’s already pulling down your panties, which are wet with pleasure. 

Argyle trails kisses down your torso, sending shivers through your body. His middle finger finds your clit easily. “That feel okay?”

“M-More than okay,” you stammer, still in shock that your best friend is about to eat you out.

“Good.” He flattens his tongue against your folds, teasing you for a moment before bringing his lips to your sensitive bundle and sucking lightly. “Put those legs on my shoulders, baby doll,” he instructs you. “That’s my girl.” 

His tongue laps at your pussy, leaving you moaning and gripping the van’s carpet. “Argyle, fuck, right there.” Your voice catches and you feel your eyes well up as he devours you. His fingers dig into the plush of your thighs as you let out a pornographic wail. 

The coil in your belly is dangerously close to snapping, and you buck up your hips involuntarily. “Sorry,” you mumble, embarrassed. 

But Argyle remains pressed to your core, unfazed. “Nothin’ to be sorry for,” he reassures you, adjusting his ponytail. “Take everything you need. Tonight is for you.” With that, he brings his mouth back to your clit and pumps his thick middle finger in and out of your cunt. That’s the final straw, and you cry out his name as you cum. 

“You taste so perfect,” Argyle says, wiping your slick from his chin with the back of his hand. 

You lower your legs and push yourself onto your elbows. “You’re too good at that,” you manage, still catching your breath. “When can we have sex?”

Argyle chuckles. “I wanted to take you out to dinner first!”

“I have a frozen lasagna we can split, and Pineapple can have some kibble.”

“That’ll work.”

--

[cielcreations]

Colorful Scotts - Prompt/Idea

I told you guys, I have a problem-

Anyways, Scott Clones. All are different types of hybrids as a reference to Afterlife SMP. Some are directly from Afterlife (as you will see) but others will be my own idea to fill out the colors.

Scott Clones:

Red - Vampire Scott, material girl, loves blood, confident, has a crush on Solidarity (”You’re gonna take me out? :D”), favorite blood type is Solidarity (just Solidarity)

Orange - Red Panda Scott, loves to sleep, cuddles a lot with the others, shorter than most of them because red panda, will climb in small hidey holes because cute, often with Tango because Tango is warm and red panda likes it

Yellow - Angel Scott, angel of justice, nontraditional angel, you cross him and he’ll make you regret it, has his own rules you should abide by, decorates Tango a lot in glowing jewels because he is more often than not mining for redstone and such, it’s just to help him, he doesn’t have a crush, what’re you talking about-

Green - Mothling Scott, tiny boiiiiiiii, actually hangs out with Vampire Scott the most, loves lanterns, loves Tango a lot because hair glowey like flames and ooooh light-

Teal - Normal/OG Scott, having gay panic because all his clones like Solidarity and he does too but also Solidarity is married to Tango so like what is he suppose to do? little does he know Solidarity and Tango wouldn’t mind a polycule

Blue - Mermaid Scott, underwater, loves to sing, will forget humans can’t breathe underwater because “look at my house :D”, can go on land, but only for a little, has (and will do it again) dragged Tango into the water despite Tango no knowing how to swim, he just wants blaze boy to cuddle with him-

Purple - Ender Dragon Scott, can fly, gets hurt in water, known to hoard things and people (specifically Solidarity), will teleport at random, doesn’t like Overworld food, only lets Solidarity and Tango pet behind his ears

Pink - Fairy Scott, makes flowers when walking in grass, always smiling, loves to flirt with Solidarity because it makes him flush and that’s cute, loves to make flower crowns

White - Cat Scott, obsessed with Solidarity, loves to lay on laps, always tired, purrs and meows, calls himself the “New Norman” as a joke, Solidarity doesn’t mind because loves cats

Black - Demon Scott, incubus to be exact, incubus who feeds off affection in general, doesn’t have to be just sex, physical affection is his love language, feeds off Solidarity and Tango a lot because they have so much love to give and it doesn’t bother them

[fanficshiddles]

The Redbridge Hunts, Chapter 7

Claire didn’t hesitate stepping inside Loki’s home, a wall of warmth hit her as soon as she stepped in.

‘Ahhh.’ She groaned in relief.

She slipped her scarf and jacket off, Loki took them from her and hung them up by the door, he then motioned to the door just off to the left. ‘Go on through, get cosy. I’ll see what I can find in the way of dry trousers for you.’

‘Thanks, Loki.’ Claire headed straight through into the living room, where it was even warmer.

The fireplace was the main focal point of the room, the fire blazed away with large flames. He had a long and tall bookcase off to the side behind a large black velvet sofa, a wooden coffee table in the centre of the room with a large stereo system off to the other side and a TV hung on the wall above the fireplace.

Claire made a beeline straight for the fire and crouched down on front of it to try and dry her legs off. A mere moment later, something black dashed from the corner of the room to behind the sofa, for a split second she panicked, wondering what the hell it could be as her heart started beating faster. Then she heard a welcoming little meow, and the black creature she’d seen jumped up onto the back of the sofa.

The cutest black cat Claire had ever seen.

‘Oh, hello there. Aren’t you a cutie?’ She got down on her knees and rubbed her fingers together. ‘Pspspspsps.’

The cat jumped down off the sofa and headed straight for Claire, purring away before it even reached her. Claire began stroking the cat and it continued purring as it rubbed against her, loving the attention. Its fur felt super soft and silky, clearly a very well cared for cat.

‘You are just the cutest! Loki never said anything about having a pet.’ Claire said softly.

‘Ah, I see you’ve met the boss of the house.’ Loki chuckled as he walked into the room.

‘She’s adorable!’ Claire cooed.

‘How do you know she’s a she?’ Loki queried as he walked over towards them.

‘Well, if she’s the boss of the house then of course she’s a female.’ Claire grinned at him.

Loki threw his head back with laughter. ‘Touche. Her name is, Bat.’

‘Bat? I love that.’ Claire laughed.

As soon as Loki came close enough, Bat rushed over to him and jumped straight up his side, using his clothes to clamber right up onto his shoulder. She started rubbing against his cheek while continuously purring.

‘She is the most adorable cat I’ve ever met. So friendly.’ Claire couldn’t stop smiling as she stood up.

‘She is a wonderful companion.’ Loki said fondly as he scratched under Bat’s chin. ‘Here, try these on. They were my mother’s... They might be a little large, but they will fit better than mine would.’ Loki handed Claire a pair of black trousers.

‘Thanks… You’ve never spoken about your mum. If you don’t mind me asking, is she still around?’ Claire asked softly.

Loki sat down on the sofa and Bat instantly made herself comfortable on his lap, still purring away.

‘I don’t mind at all. My mum was a wonderful woman, she passed away some years ago. Her name is Freya. That’s a picture of her over there.’ Loki pointed to a photo in a frame on the wall next to the book case.

Claire went to take a closer look. It was a picture of Loki with Lucius and Freya. The three of them were smiling on a beach.

‘She’s so pretty.’ Claire smiled and turned back to face him.

‘She was a nurse, I think that played a big part in why my dad set up the hospital. She always did her best to help people, no matter their background. I am yet to meet someone with a kinder heart than hers.’ Loki spoke so fondly about her.

‘She sounds like a brilliant person.’

‘She most certainly was.’ Loki smiled. ‘Now, you best get out of those wet trousers. The bathroom is just at the bottom of the corridor.’

‘Oh, right. Yes!’ Claire rushed out of the room and down to said bathroom. She couldn’t believe that even the bathroom looked nice, pretty modern and had a waterfall shower. Claire didn’t spend too long there as it wasn’t as warm as the living room, but she was just glad to get into dry trousers. They were a tiny bit too big, though comfortable enough.

When Claire went back to the living room, Bat still lay on Loki’s lap.

‘Does she ever stop purring?’ Claire laughed.

‘She stops when she falls asleep. Sounds a bit like she’s on a motorbike, doesn’t she?’ He smirked.

‘It really does.’ Claire agreed.

‘I would offer you a drink, but I dare not disturb her highness.’

‘That’s ok, I’ve taken up too much of your free time as it is.’ Claire dismissed.

‘Not at all, Claire. I enjoy spending time with you.’ Loki admitted. ‘Please, sit down.’

Claire’s stomach did an excited little flip as she took a seat next to him on the sofa. As soon as her bum hit the sofa, Bat made a chirping noise and leapt over onto Claire’s lap instead.

‘Traitor.’ Loki hissed.

‘She’s got good taste.’ Claire laughed as she took over petting her. ‘Plus, it means you can get me that drink you mentioned.’

Loki smirked. ‘That’s true.’ He hopped up from the sofa and disappeared through to the kitchen. Once there, he took a moment to himself to control all of his emotions. Having her in his den so to say, was driving him nuts.

He applied plenty of vaseline before pouring them both a drink and returning back to the living room. Bat had fallen asleep, so was as quiet as a mouse.

‘I’m scared to move an inch in-case I disturb her.’ Claire whispered.

Loki chuckled softly as he carefully sat down next to her and passed one of the drinks to her. ‘Like I said, she rules the place, and unfortunately she thinks she owns you now too, so you’re one of her bitches.’

Claire burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth to not make too much of a noise. ‘She’s a typical demanding cat, then?’

‘Of course. Yelling at four in the morning because she thinks her bowl of dry food is empty, but there’s still plenty in there, she just happens to eat in a way that causes a tiny bit of the bottom of the bowl to become visible.’

Claire gasped mockingly. ‘You dare let her bowl get that empty? That's just cruelty, I'm surprised she hasn't called cat-line!'

‘Hey, don’t you start.’ Loki laughed. ‘She gets the most expensive wet food twice a day too, because she’s far too fussy with anything cheaper.’

‘She sounds like such a diva.’ Claire smiled as she sipped her drink, she couldn’t take her eyes off the beautiful sleeping cat on her lap. There was something so calming and peaceful about a cat choosing to sleep on you, a trust like nothing else.

‘Are you feeling better now?’ Loki asked.

‘Yeah, thank you. It would’ve taken ages to heat up at my place as I don’t have a fire.’ Claire smiled at him.

‘See, it was a good idea coming here first.’ Loki winked at her. ‘And how are you feeling about the river? Are you still disappointed?’

Claire looked down at Bat again and shrugged. ‘A little… though meeting Bat has certainly made up for it.’ She grinned. ‘I don’t know why I felt really down about it, though. I guess I’ve always just been so fascinated about the idea of vampires being real, something exciting in an otherwise boring and dull existence.’

‘Hey, not anymore. It’s only week one you’ve been working at the school, shit can get crazy here, believe me. It’s far from boring.’

‘Yeah, I can tell. It’s been a good week, and I enjoyed the night out last night. There is something I wanted to ask you, actually…’

‘Fire away.’ Loki smiled.

‘There seemed to be a lot of tension between you and Chris, I’ve noticed. What’s going on there? You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to, just tell me to piss off and I will. I’m just curious.’ Claire really hoped she wasn’t over-stepping the line.

Loki tensed up a bit, but he seemed happy to answer. To an extent, anyway.

‘Chris is…’

Bat suddenly woke up and she jumped back over onto Loki’s lap, she started purring again but instead of curling up to sleep she put her front paws up onto his chest and began kneading at him, her face right in his face.

‘Bat… really?’ He huffed a laughed.

Claire giggled at the way Bat acted, far too cute. Claire loved how Loki reacted with her, too. He really seemed to adore Bat, which was really telling of a person, how they were with animals. Especially cats. It made her heart melt, watching them both.

‘She does this often, seems to do it when I’m a little on edge. Such as talking about Chris. She’s very in tune with my emotions.’ Loki said affectionately as he stroked her.

‘Anyway. Now I have my little therapist looking after me… Chris can be difficult. He has views on… various things, that we don’t see eye to eye with at all.’

‘Like what?’ Claire asked curiously.

‘Well… he’s not very lenient at all with the students, we have very different ways of teaching and disciplining them. And we have a lot of history, lots of family issues.’

‘Family issues?’ Claire frowned.

Loki rubbed the back of his head. ‘Chris is my brother.’

Claire’s mouth fell open, her brain seemed to short circuit for a moment, before she found herself just staring at Loki looking rather dumbfounded.

‘Sorry… I wasn’t expecting that. I guess it makes sense though, brothers can be annoying.’ She shrugged.

‘We don’t have a relationship like your average family, at all. I don’t class him as family, it’s just unfortunate I’ve got his blood in my veins.’ Loki growled lowly. ‘I hate him, he hates me. I like to just, stay out of his way as much as I can.’

Claire felt a little sad upon hearing that. She realised there must be a lot more to it than Loki let on, but she didn’t want to pressure him.

‘Well… if it’s any consolation, I get a weird vibe around him. I’m not sure what, just the kind of feeling where I don’t think I’d like to meet him down a dark alley type of feeling.’ She laughed a little. ‘With you, however, I feel super safe.’ She smiled.

Loki couldn’t stop the biggest, goofiest grin forming on his face. His heart fluttered upon hearing that she felt safe with him.

Bat had settled down again on Loki’s lap, her purring slowly eased away as she fell asleep.

‘Well, I better get back home. Thank you for the drink and the trousers, Loki. I’ll get them back to you on Monday.’ Claire said after noticing the time.

‘You’re welcome. I’ll walk you home, give me a second.’ He almost moved Bat, though Claire quickly stopped him.

‘No, no. I’ll be fine, honestly. Don’t disturb her.’

Loki raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you sure?’

Though the decision was taken away as Bat woke up suddenly, she meowed up at Claire then jumped off Loki’s lap and onto the sofa where Claire had been sitting, she curled up there instead and closed her eyes.

Loki and Claire just stared at her, Bat opened one eye and seemed to peep at Loki then at Claire before closing her eye again.

Loki shook his head in disbelief while Claire laughed.

‘I’ll walk you home.’ Loki confirmed as he got up to his feet and they walked through to the front door.

He pulled on his jacket then held Claire’s out for her, once her arms were slipped through the sleeves, Loki let his hands linger for a moment longer than necessary on her shoulders. She zipped up her jacket and out into the cold night they stepped.

‘Oh god, it’s even colder now.’ Claire whined as she pulled her jacket tighter around her.

‘I can’t carry the fire with me, unfortunately.’ Loki chuckled.

‘Damn. And here I was thinking you were a wizard and could do that sort of thing.’ Claire teased and nudged him playfully, she didn’t distance herself from him after doing so. Their arms kept brushing now and then as they walked to Claire’s.

When they arrived at Claire’s building, Loki walked her right up to the door to make sure she got in safely.

‘Thank you for being chaperone tonight.’ She smiled up at him, trying not to think about how arousing it was how he towered over her, and how protective he’d been tonight… Her knees were feeling weak, but she tried to focus on the fact he was her boss.

‘Anytime, darling.’ He purred with a dazzling smile, that certainly didn’t help her inner thoughts.

For a moment, Loki seemed to lean down ever so slightly, he glanced from her eyes to her lips and then back again, it happened so fast that Claire wasn’t sure if she had just imagined it or not.

Loki stood up straighter and cleared his throat. ‘I’ll see you on Monday, Claire… Have a good weekend. Try not to get up to more mischief between now and then, I’m limited on trousers to give you.’ He teased as he began walking backwards down the path.

Claire laughed. ‘I’ll try not to, but no promises.’ She called to him before she slipped inside the building.

Loki couldn’t stop smiling as he walked down the path and headed along the pavement, though he stopped walking when he spotted a cloaked figure stood just a few metres ahead of him, staring at him. Loki abruptly turned across the street, but he heard footsteps following.

‘Nice to see you two bonding out of hours, brother.’

‘Fuck off, Chris.’ Loki snarled at him, his eyes blazed red for a moment as he spun around to glare at Chris.

Chris just smirked in response as Loki turned into a bat and took off away from him.

[epic-arc]

Spider Knight 7: Cat Burglar

Jaune was on top of a roof eating a sandwich while looking at the city until his scroll started to vibrate he would pick it up to see who was calling him he would notice it was nora so he answered the call.

Jaune: Hi Nora, is everything okay there in Beacon?

Nora: Ah yes, everything is fine here, I just called you to see if your night shift is going well and if you're okay.

Jaune: Well yuri told me to be careful because there are a lot of cases of thefts but the only thing I see and did was stop a little lady from being robbed and look, she bought me a sandwich!

Nora: Well, if the city is so calm and safe, why not come back here and rest?

Jaune: Eh, maybe you're right…

While jaune answered he would look and see a schnee brand truck being followed by a car with some suspicious figures inside so he would get up and put on his mask threw his webs on a building and followed the truck and the car.

Spider Knight: So nora I'm going to have to hang up it looks like the ''interesting thing'' is happening.

Nora: Hm ok but if the situation gets complicated you call me and I'll be there as soon as possible to help you!

Spider Knight would answer nora and disconnect the call and follow the two vehicles until they arrived at the vale docks. Spider knight hid in one of the buildings he had nearby and saw the strange car hiding in an alley while the truck entered the docks and went to a shed that had the symbol of the schnee family.

Spider Knight (Mind): Maybe it's members of the white fang or roman's gang who are following that schnee company truck but why are they following them?

Spider knight is looking around until he saw a figure getting out of the car a woman with long black hair who was wearing a mask that hid her eyes along with a tactical black outfit. Spider knight would be curious about such a figure until he notices her coming out of the alley and sneaking into the docks.

Spider Knight (Mind):My night is only getting weirder and more curious…

Jaune would disengage from the building that was supported and would enter the docks stealthily and see the mysterious figure on top of the shed's skylight and he would hide to prevent the figure from seeing him; Blaze cat would pull from his belt a device that would turn off all the electrical devices on the docks, thus turning off the robot guards and the fence gate, being able to let the mysterious car enter the docks; The car would enter and stop right in front of the shed and 3 figures with Xiong Family emblem would get out of the car and go to the shed gate, opening it and seeing that inside the shed there were several crates with the symbol of the schnee family.

Xiong Thug 1: So today is the day that that merchandise that Junior talked about would arrive?

Xiong Thug 2: Yes that's what he said and also the weapon we're looking for is in the biggest crate so look for it!

Xiong Thug 3: And the Girl who helped us what do we do with her?

The leader of that squadron would look at the two members of the Xiong Family and then at the black cat who was on the roof looking at them with a half sadistic smile, she would wave at the three.

Xiong Thug 2: Look, She helped us because of the payment Junior made to that guy Roman, We'll get the weapon and at the right time we'll finish off the human and say she died because of the police, okay?

The other 2 members of the Xiong Family agree with their leader's idea and go looking for the weapon until one of them finds a giant crate and it would open showing an armor reminiscent of a rhinoceros; While one of the members was connecting the armor, the other two were on guard and spider knight noticing that he saw the opportunity and approached until he was pulled by a rope and turned upside down and saw the mysterious figure in front of him.

Blaze Cat: Meow looks like I captured the great vale spider~

Spider Knight: Calm down cat lady I don't fight I'm just protecting private product.

Blaze Cat: The name is blaze cat and cats don't fight spiders~

Spider Knight activates the sword of his gauntlet, freeing himself from the straps and leaning on the wall, noticing that he would give a mortal being on the roof of the shed and spider knight followed the same, staying on top of the roof of the shed.

Blaze Cat: Wow spider, don't you remember the saying that playing with a cat always gets scratched~

Spider Knight: Hey, sorry miss, I'm more of a fan of dogs.

Blaze cat activates claws on his fingertips and goes up to spider knight trying to scratch him but he dodges and one of the dodges he throws his web trapping one of her hands but she breaks free tearing the web with the other claw and would look at him with a smile on her face.

Blaze Cat: I hope you don't get your goo in my hair~

Spider Knight: Don't worry, it comes off with ice or warm water.

He was dodging her blows until she caught one of his punches and brought her face closer to his with a malicious smile.

Blaze Cat: You know spider you have skills that nobody else has why not join me? we can make good money~

Spider Knight: Hmm and interesting but I might lose my superhero discount so no.

She let go of him giving a kick in his belly making him break the skylight and falling into the shed and Blaze fell together but carefully with the debris falling on top of the guard taking off that he was in the armor; Spider knight would look at the armor being turned on and she aimed the two cannons she had on her shoulders at blaze cat and spider knight and would start taking them out and the two dodged and used some crates as a defense.

Spider Knight: I thought these guys were your friends!

Blaze Cat: Well they're more like helpers but it looks like that one over there rebelled.

Spider knight's spider sense make him jump on top of blaze cat making the two get out of the way of rhino who left destroying everything in the shed with the armor.

Rhino: Sorry cat but your payment won't happen I already got what my boss needed haha!

Blaze Cat: Hey spider what do you think quick teamwork you can have the armor and the bad guy I'll just take my money.

Spider knight agreed with the idea of ​​blaze cat and the two go on top of rino dodging his shots; Spider knight would launch his webs on some pieces of wood and throw it hard at rino making him focus on the spider; Blaze cat, seeing the opportunity, would grab some sand from his belt and use his semblance to make a glass bow with 3 heated arrows and shoot it at the armor's legs, causing the metal to melt, hindering his ability to move. Rino would shoot missiles that were attracted by heat and he would go in the direction of spider knight and blaze cat; Spider knight would look at arrows from blaze cat, note the heated tips, ask her to shoot one at him and she would shoot in the direction of spider knight who caught it making the missile focus on the arrow; Spider knight swings towards rino and throws the arrow and blaze cat will do the same. rino saw that laugh but noticed the two missiles hitting the armor in full making him fall in the street calling the attention of the police; A time would pass and rino was arrested and the armor taken to the laboratory of the city and spider knight was on top of a roof with blaze cat.

Spider Knight: You know you did a great heroin job. Why don't you drop those types of people and join the good guys?

Blaze cat heard that and would chuckle and approach spider knight and lift his mask a little and she would kiss his cheek making him blush and she would start running but before jumping to another building she would look at him smiling.

Blaze cat: I'm excited for our next date~

After she said that she would go jumping from building to building. Spider knight would just put his mask back on and go swinging towards the beacon.

Spider Knight (Mind): If I don't tell her what happened to me today, Nora is going to kill me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post Credit

Blaze cat arrived at a shed where mercury emerald neo and roman were planning something she took off her mask showing that she was cinder and leaned on a table showing a group a tablet with a symbol of altas behind.

Cinder Fall: Well colleagues looks tall there are some interesting items that are being sent here because of the vytal tournament and one of them is a possible friend for us.

She would zoom in on a capsule codenamed ''V-635''

[pawsomelestat]

༚༅༚˳ . ♱ . ˳༚༅༚˳ . ♱ . ˳༚༅༚˳ . 1 . ˳༚༅༚˳ . ♱ . ˳༚༅༚˳ . ♱ . ˳༚༅༚

Red flags and long nights

～～～～～～～～～～～

tw ; drugs, swearing, stalking kinda ?

4am. Shit time of night, whole city full of street rats starting fires and yelling. You'd think a loft apartment would get less noise being up so high, but you could still hear the shit covered junkies blowing eachother to bits down below. It was a nice apartment, just a bad part of town, the rent was low due to a past accident that happened so many years ago.

You woke up to a soft meowing and a scratching sound, making you groan as you opened your eyes to face a small white fluffy cat scratching at the base of your bed.

"Ozzy come on."

The sleep in your voice battled with the sound of a movie playing by your bed, a shitty little box tv connected to a vhs player and a super nintendo. An odd pairing, the tv playing a copy of a nightmare on elm street on loop before you sluggishly reached over and turned it off.

The cat then ran to the large circular window at the other end of your room, playfully chirping and swatting at a crow sat outside.

"Ozzy lay it off."

Wearing only a pair of boxers you slipped out of bed with yet another groan, heavy feet dragging tiredly. You scooped your fluffy companion into your arms and held him to your chest, trying to calm him while watching the crow who seemed to be peering into your room.

"You're a pain in my ass you know that"

You said that lovingly, nuzzling your face into his back, walking to a small set of red bowls on the floor. Ozzy was your companion, the keeper of all your secrets and the guy you played tekken 2 with. Cats are shit at co-op, but at least you had a player 2.

"Shit."

You pushed your hair back, noticing the lack of cat food.

"How desperate are you?"

The cat meowed in response, making you groan at the thought that you'd need to go out at this time of night. A baggy band tshirt sat ontop of a black pair of low-rise jeans on the side of your messy bed, the same clothes from yesterday that you'd thrown off in a tired manner. You pulled them on, slipping your feet into a scuffed pair of boots and pushing your messy long hair back.

The streets were a dangerous place during the day, but at this time of night they were a total death wish. All the things you'd do for a cat huh.

Cigarette ash blazing under the dark sky, night air filling your lungs and.. Footsteps. Not yours, someone behind you. You turned, glancing at the man close to your back, not quite taking in his appearance, just making a quick assumption.

"Look man I'm not selling anything tonight, barely got anything for myself."

Continuing to walk after addressing the stranger, you made it to a shitty little corner shop where you could buy a couple tins of cat food. You dropped the cigarette into a puddle, grinding it with your heel to put out the flame.

"Deluxe tuna chunks in a thick gravy. Delicious."

You chuckled slightly at your own sarcasm, reading the tin of cat food in your hand while you walked to the register.

"Shit."

Patting your pockets, there were nothing but loose coins and rolling paper in there. Nothing that could pay for the food. Once again you ran your fingers through you hair, it'd become an anxious habit.

"I've got it"

A low voice from behind you, close to your side and a hand reaching next to you to place a five dollar bill on the counter infront. You looked behind, recognising the same face as earlier while you grabbed the can ready to leave.

"Look man I appreciate it but really I've got nothing, can't buy me out with some shitty dollar store cat food"

You slipped out, thinking to yourself and mumbling about the weirdness of the guy you'd just encountered. Doing what you did was an oddly social job, you'd meet alot of weird people selling shit on the streets. But never someone wearing full clown makeup. Definitely a fucked up individual.

Footsteps behind you. For fucks sake.

"How many times do I have to say I got no-"

His hand against your lips, making you gasp as he pushed you up against the harsh brick wall of the trash lined alley. Your back being bruised as you squirmed under his grip, his dominant hand reaching into your pocket and pulling out a pre-rolled blunt.

"These will kill you, you know."

The man's voice came out in a half chuckle, his face close to yours. With one swift movement you took the tin of food and hit it against the back of his head, making him stumble back and let go of you.

"Touch me again and you're fucking dead you weirdo."

Another chuckle, raising his head slowly while staring deeply into your eyes.

"I already am"

You kicked him back as he edged closer, quickly clutching the tin and preparing your feet to run.

"I have nothing on me you know that, I literally couldn't pay for the damn cat food. There's no point trying to rob me you freak."

He laughed, finding amusement from your alarmed state, the cracks in your voice from fear just fueling his ego.

"I have no intention on robbing you."

Your feet took off, scrambling to run away as fast as you could, not even thinking to look back behind you. Adrenaline filled your lungs, it was a familiar high feeling but this time terrifying. Who knows what that creep wanted for you, the city was full of all sorts of bloodthirsty scum who'd do anything just for kicks.

Seeing your apartment building just before your eyes you stopped, panting and sweating from all that exercise. The cat food was still in your hand, funny how dedicated you were to keep him fed.

You weren't greeted by Ozzy's soft yet annoying meows as you entered through the front door, odd. Maybe he'd actually settled down on your bed for once instead of trying to swat at crows outside.

A soft click ran through the room as you flicked on the light switch, illumination spilling around the room.

A sight you didn't want to see. That same man, standing right in the middle of your apartment holding your cat.

Well tonight was about to get even longer.

[luvring]

BRUH I REALLY WISH I DIDNT ASK FOR MICAH YUJIN IN ANON FKDNXKDNXK Okay anyways HIII I USED TO BE AN ANON HERE BUT NOW I HAVE AN ACC HAHA FEAR ME /j...unLESS-- OK ANYWAYS pls share that discord u talked abt!!! i wanna joinnnnn AND ALSO A PART 2 FOR MICAH OUR KING????? YES P L E A S E

— micah yujin boyfriend hcs 2

don't worry guys this one was not as long. (part 1 here !) also wow. a past anon..wow. heyy 😍 and the discord link is on the official itch.io page i think but !!

https://discord.gg/Smhppc7J :]

always sends you funny posts/videos he finds and makes sure to react to each one you send Him

^ has and will continue to send you videos where the 12 year old kid is matching initials as soulmates and you show up.

sends you pics of skrunkly (and him) basically on a daily basis. always captions it something stupid (/affectionate)

^ combining these two to discuss cat trends that you keep sending him so he goes OH THAT'S A GOOD IDEA

micah loves doing chores with you!! grocery shopping, Laundry And Taxes, etc etc. #QUALITYTIME i get it. you might not be Quick with him around but it's fun so i consider it a win

^ wants to try cooking new meals with you, especially any of your own cultural food ! if you can't cook then he Will offer to teach you

if you give him any jewelry he won't take it off (said by girl who does the same thing)

do(n't) play co-op horror games with him. will go in guns blazing then start yelling and running to you when he inevitably gets in trouble. actually pretty good when he tries but he doesn't try so what do we do now🤨

^ if you're playing a competitive team game and he's on your team,, there's a good chance micah will Sacrifice Himself very dramatically. if you sacrifice yourself he swears on your life to avenge you

would be very much (sends random text at 3am) (you respond) (wow i cant believe you're Awake?)

you must have a build-a-bear date. it is Necessary. personally i'd get sonic and tails together but you guys do you?

trying to get up in the morning w this guy...one of you is definitely not letting go and repeatedly asking for 5 more minutes until you're inevitably in bed for another hour

there's multiple times where you come home and find him hugging something of yours fast asleep. sorry. i am so sad

shakes you violently. do his makeup. sit on his lap and do his makeup. make him sit somewhere and stand in between his legs and do his makeup. do it . do i

micah is very good at knowing when he should be serious . if he knows you've had a bad day he does everything he can to make you comfortable and remind you he loves you — snacks, cuddles, watching the show you guys always watch, rambling so you can just listen, bringing skrunkly over, etc etc o(-(

currently imagining someone performing on the street, micah bowing and offering a hand, and saying "would you offer me this dance, your highness?" like i will burst into tears rn

i think when he hears an animal he repeats the sound. sorry this isn't boyfriend specific but like a bird cawing and him cawing back. meows at stray cats. you stopped walking 3 minutes ago and micah is still crouching on the ground trying to get its attention

he was not kidding about the maid dress thing. the Real trick is to show up in a matching maid dress/butler outfit. is micah frozen in place staring at you,, maybe

you know those stuffy riders. the mall animal rides. i'm not even going to finish this thought you know what you need to do.

grabs your shoulders and says smth like you're my ride or die before going on big carnival rides. like..thank you. makes some kind of competition out of it (who screams the most/least, etc etc)

^ makes little jokes about those couples in lines but would be that couple with you. "we're the exception, obviously."

have you seen that guy's abs. anyways. micah doing the push up kiss thing. you cheering him on because he "gets way stronger" when he knows his angel is there

if you dye your hair to match his/skrunkly he will explode. might cry a little idk

doesn't realize it sometimes but he stands in front of you to block the sun when it's super sunny

if you hurt yourself he kisses wherever it is. goodnight

bites u /affectionate

not to act like some old married couple or anything but he Will ask if you want to watch like, home renovation shows together. which i love btw. he gets very opinionated

uses the reversible octopus plushies

if you're sitting next to each other and micah notices you're tired he'll wordlessly pull your head to lay against his shoulder

would use one of those apps where you can send each other notes/drawings as a widget. will he write a cheesy pun or draw a penis That Is Not Up To Me

[thatmexisaurusrex]

"confession in the rain" for the ficlet prompt thingy? :)

Quick Ficlet List

Oooh 👀 nice choice in prompt, @nine-blogs-in-a-trenchcoat! I actually figured this little ficlet on the MYSU discord, so thank you @runzu and @omegasamwilson for some of the inspiration for this ❤️ I hope you enjoy the ficlet! 🥰

Confession in the Rain

Bucky was at his wits end.

Truly.

It was as if everything and everyone was against him these past several weeks.

Bucky had finally decided to do it. Take the plunge. Say the words. Tell Samuel Thomas Wilson that he loved him. Or maybe liked him.

Would "like" be less scary to hear?

Would Sam freak out if Bucky (crying because Bucky had no idea how he wouldn't get emotional when saying the words) professed his undying love for Sam? That might be a little much, right? Probably too much. Bucky really had to make sure he said "like" instead of "love" when he said the words.

Bucky would need the opportunity to say the words, though. Because, again, the world was against him at the moment.

For weeks - months, really - Bucky had tried. He had tried to get Sam in his office alone, in a hallway, in Sam's bedroom, but every time, Bucky was thwarted.

Mission sirens would blaze at the Avengers' Campus. Joaquín would walk in grinning like he knew what he was doing as he asked Sam to help him train. Yelena would smile faux innocently as she asked Sam to spot her at the Avengers' gym. Monica would smile amused as she asked Sam to look over paperwork with her.

AJ and Cass would knock on the door, asking if Sam would help one of them with science homework, with play lines, with a book report. Sarah would ask Sam to help fix a faucet, would ask him to check on the shed in the back, would ask him to look over some of the bills.

All of them knew.

Bucky wasn't the best at hiding his feelings.

They all had to know.

Even Figaro played innocent as she meowed for Sam to continuously let her in and out of Sam's bedroom during one particular conversation.

They all knew.

Even the goddamn cat.

And they were all having fun watching Bucky squirm and not quite get his words out in time.

Tonight was no better. He had finally got Sam alone. He really had. Sam was in the kitchen grabbing some water and Bucky had him alone.

Until he didn't.

Because they were never alone for long.

Not that Bucky didn't like that about the Wilson household. He usually enjoyed it. He liked seeing AJ and Cass and Sarah. He liked Tommy and Carlos popping in whenever they wanted to chat and check up on everyone. He loved all of that usually.

And he could just see the glances of recognition in AJ and Cass' eyes, in Sarah's glee as they all tumbled out requests.

"Uncle Sam, could you help me with my homework?" asked AJ, holding up his notebook, "I'm having problem with this one geometry question."

"Uncle Sam, could you check on the code for this robot?" asked Cass holding up the wheeling leggo creation, "I'm still having problems with the tape maze and I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"Sam, I need to fix that leak. The one in the hallway," said Sarah as thunder boomed outside (was Thor in on this too?), "Could you start preparing dinner for me?"

Bucky should probably call it quits for today. Maybe try again later.

Bucky stood there as he watched Sam look over the math problem and Sarah left to fix the leak.

And maybe it was because Bucky was running on barely any sleep. Maybe it was because he'd been at this for months. But something in him placed his hand on Sam's arm halfway through chopping a carrot and said, "I need to talk with you."

"Now??" asked Sam, sounding frayed.

Sam looked frayed too.

But Bucky really wasn't thinking clearly and he found himself dragging Sam into the hallway.

Bucky stopped in the middle of the hall, his mind whirling as he found himself suddenly in the position to actually say the words. He had to, right? He needed to.

Was something dripping on his head?

Bucky tried to ignore it, the pitter patter of it, the way it was running down his forehead and into his eye.

"Bucky," said Sam, like he was about to stop whatever was about to happen.

"No. I'm saying this," Bucky said a little deliriously, but then he heard the telltale signs of Sarah opening up a ladder.

"You're under the leak," said Sarah casually.

Bucky made sounds.

So many nonsensical sounds as he found himself gently pulling Sam by the arm through the hallway, the foyer, out the door, off the porch, in the rain. In the heavy rain, laughing, possibly a little unhinged because no one was going to stop Bucky now, right? No one was rushing into the rain to interrupt.

Maybe now he could say the words.

Bucky felt his mouth immediately fill with water the moment he opened it. Droplets blurring his vision as they caught in his eyelashes. Bucky tried to speak, he really did, but the rain was too loud. Bucky couldn't see well, but he could see that Sam wasn't hearing his half-sputtered words.

And he could hear Sam laughing - laughing - at him. Bucky was laughing too. Giggling and shaking along with Sam as they stood bewilderingly in the rain.

Bucky felt Sam grab him by the hand, guiding them over to Sam's truck.

"I'll pay for the detailing. I still owe you for that steering wheel," said Bucky helplessly, not sure why he felt so much shier all of the sudden.

Maybe because sitting in the backseat of Sam's truck made Bucky feel like a teenager. All cozy with a crush.

Sam laughed.

And Bucky lost the thread of what he was doing, turning to see that gap-toothed smile. Sam arching his eyebrow as if to ask what Bucky needed to tell him right that second. What Bucky had been trying to tell Sam for months.

And they were both soaked. In the back of Sam's truck. Staring at each other.

Bucky wasn't sure if there was anyone else other than the two of them in the world now. Not when he got lost in Sam's eyes like this. Smiling at each other.

Bucky wondered if Sam felt that way too.

Sam reached out to Bucky. Bucky leaned into the wet, chilly fingertips. Felt them on his cheek.

Felt Sam poke him, amused. Eyes soft. Eyebrow still arched.

"Bucky," whispered Sam.

Something in Bucky panicked. Because Sam had to know too. Everyone knew.

This was his chance. His moment. To say the words. Love. Like. Something.

"Wanna kiss you real bad!" blurted Bucky.

Sam cackled.

Bucky could die. Right then. Right now. Just kill him. Let him suffer no longer.

But Sam, surprisingly inexplicably, took Bucky's face in his hands.

"Okay," giggled Sam, leaning closer to Bucky, "Let's do that."

And then it was happening. Sam was kissing Bucky. Lips on lips.

Was this always an option? Bucky should have asked Sam months ago. Years, if Bucky was being honest. He found himself taking lead, Sam moaning in his arms.

"I. Um. I also. Like you?" said Bucky abruptly mid-kiss, and why had that come out as a question?

A dazed Sam blinked away his kiss high, snickering.

"Are you asking me if you like me?" asked Sam in a fit of giggles.

"I like you!" blurted Bucky, feeling his face heat up, "Fuck. Finally. I needed to say that for months."

Sam looked absolutely frazzled.

"R-Really?" asked Sam, some mix of confusion and - was that joy?

Was Sam happy about this?

Bucky pulled Sam closer again, peppering him with kisses.

"I do," said Bucky between kisses, "I love you, I love you, I love you, Sam Wilson."

Sam seemed overwhelmed. A little stunned. But he giggled and held onto Bucky close, hiding his face in Bucky's shoulder as he said, "I love you too, you weirdo. You didn't have to drag me out in the rain to say that."

Bucky kept laughing.

And kissing Sam.

Maybe because he was a man finally released from his curse. Maybe because he hadn't had a good night's sleep in months. Maybe because Samuel Thomas Wilson loved him back.

It was probably the third thing.

Bucky was just happy Sam liked him back.

Loved him back.

And dinner needed Sam. And the world needed Sam. And they'd leave the car soon. But Sam seemed to be okay with Bucky holding him right now. So, Bucky kept holding him. Kept holding the man he loved. Who loved him back.

*****

Want me to write a ficlet for you? Check out the prompts and send me an ask!

[grokebaby]

Mewmew and Dark lord Evilicus meet again

(With pictures!)

A strike of thunder shattered the dark skies, rain pouring down on the armour of the now disgraced, beaten dark lord. No longer were they The lord, with a capital D, but a mere shadow of their former frightening self. After hours of trudging through the unforgiving storm, Evilicus collapsed against the nearest rock. This was it. Their glory days were over, and now, only darkness awaits. As from darkness they came; so to darkness they shall return. Evilicus felt their eyes slip closed, slowly, mercifully, as the sting in their side faded away, sound of rain softening into a deep numbness.

Until suddenly.

Warmth enveloping the dark lord lulled them to wakefulness once again, now surrounded not by whipping rain and thunder, but the quiet rumble of an engine and the comforting yet surprising notion that their bleeding side wound had been patched up.

And.. The smell of cat food?

Where the hell am I?

Opening their eyes, Evilicus discovered they'd been set on a soft bed with chunky pillows, in some sort of dimly lit room. From a quick glance, they had no clue where this was. Mostly the figure of an armchair could be detected further in the room. Trying to move, Evilicus sensed a strange pressure upon their feet, and the source of the rumbling sound filling the vicinity.

The dark lord discovered what must've been the fattest, fluffiest cat they'd ever seen, curled up by their footside. It's purr was powerful, rivaling the thundering storm outside.

What sort of crazy cat person has rescued me? They must not know who I am, the peasant fool..

Stiffly attempting to get up, Evilicus slouched forward, feeling the sting of their wounds return through the movement. They groaned huskly, feeling heavy from the rest. The sound alerted the massive feline by their bed, and it lifted it's head, making a soft trilling sound as it woke.

"Oh, neow neow, don't try to get up too soon! Nya must rest for a wittle bit, that looked like a bad booboo! How are nyou feeling?" the cat spoke, to Evilicus' surprise, stunning them to silence for a moment. The voice of the cat was that of a grown adult, yet they still spoke as if addressing a kindergartener. Evilicus felt shame for the foolish creature.

"Where am I? And who are you?" The dark lord asked sternly, not intending to waste time conversing with this simple creature. The cat got up, in no hurry, seeming perfectly at ease with the situation, and hopped off the bed onto two upright paws, like a human person. It stretched and yawned. "Ah well, nyou know meow already, but I shouldn'ta expected nya to recognize mew! Hehe.. Nyou are at my humble little house, I hope the bed is cozycomfy!" the cat meowed with the same levity as before. Evilicus rolled their eyes under the cracked helmet. "I believe I've never met a creature like you in my life. I think I'd remember such.. And cease talking to me like that! It's humiliating.." the tired dark lord replied.

The feline person shook their head in a motherly manner. "Oh Villy, sweet oblivious villy.." their reply set a blaze of fury into the dark lord's soul, and it took only the pain of being wounded to not lunge at the critter and shake em by the scruff for speaking to them that way. "Listen now, you little-"

"Pwease, rewax, that is nyat good for your blood pressure. Let me make mewself a bit meowre clear: My name is Mewmew Agricola, also known as A. Cola, neow does that ring any bells?" the cat spoke calmly, yet again, without the smallest hint of threat. Evilicus took a second to process what they'd heard. Mewmew? They unfortunately recognised the last name, but, it couldn't have been..

"Did you say.. A. Cola? You? Where-how do you have that last name?" as far as Evilicus remembered, their mortal nemesis had never had children, nor many living relatives. Any that were mentioned, at least. To be fair, they were nemeses..

"Nyes! That is mew!" the cat affirmed with a nod.

There was.. A silence. Of hesitant eye contact from Evilicus, being met with the stupid round eyes of this cat creature. Looking into those deep dark orbs, they almost fooled themself into thinking that they greatly resembled those of the dark lord's absent nemesis, M. A. Cola.

"Mya cooked for nyou, I set the plate right there so you can take some healthy snackies when you feel up to it :3" the cat, Mewmew continued nonchalantly after said silence. Evilicus glanced at the plate set on the nightstand. Steamed broccoli and fish filets. They grumbled.

"I.. Hate broccoli.."

Mewmew shook mews head. "Always the same sour lemon, Villy. But they are healthy, and nyou need some snackies now, so gobble up if you can! At least give it a try. You'll never kneow, mew is a purrty good cook!" M exclaimed, annoyingly. "Don't. Call me Villy. If you have the faintest clue who I am, I suggest you show some respect! I may have fallen for now, but I am still the dark lord Evilicus." the dark lord asserted threateningly, patience wearing thin for the frustrating creature. How far they'd fallen, not even being taken seriously by this simplistic animal..

"Calm down neow, I don't think nyou can be called the dark lord anymore, seeing as how I defeated nya, didn't I?" Mewmew tilted ms head, with a grating kind of know-it-all tone of voice. Evilicus couldn't grant this mammalian creature the admittance that m was truly the person m claimed to be. "Do I look like a fool to you? The son of a bitch who defeated me was a mighty, snarky bot, sure, resembling an earthly feline in appearance, but-..." they paused, not wanting to believe it.

"Buuuut?" Mewmew drew out the last word, leaning forward awaitingly.

".. No"

- "Nyes!"

"It couldn't be-"

- "But it can!"

"It's impossible!"

Evilicus' dark empty heart sunk as they all but predicted word for word, that the cat would reply exactly:

"Nyathing is impawsible!"

So it was true. Against all logic and dignity. They hung their head in their hands, defeated. Unable to fathom, that this indeed, was the mighty A. Cola. Mewmew A. Cola.

Mewmew. What the fuck kinda name is that?

"So, will you eat those snackies, or do I have to feed nyou? You're a big dark lord already, mya-" Mewmew continued as if this wasn't the world shattering revelation that it clearly was. Evilicus interrupted m. "What happened to you!? Why are you like this? Did I cause this?" they asked in shock. Mewmew shook ms head. "Neow neow, nothing happened to me. I've always had this in mew! I just nyever showed it. Tank and spaceship weren't mya only forms!". Evilicus wracked their brain thinking about ways it couldn't be so; for that would mean that they, the mighty dark lord, were defeated.

By

This.

Arguably, that alone was worse than any defeat alone.

"And why are you talking like this now?" Evilicus added, head still reeling. Mewmew shook ms head, chuckling lightly. "Oh, I've always had this in mya as well. Of course, I didn't talk like this often, because, if nya remember, Villy - nyou made fun of me for it." m explained. And of course, Evilicus knew it to be true, mind now running back to each time they'd made a snide remark or a mocking imitation of Mewmews speech mannerisms. No wonder, then. "Neow I'm just meowre confident in mewself. That is all. I've settle down. That's what happened."

That's what happened. And Evilicus was left to suffer their empire's downfall, underlings being re-employed, all powerful weapons sealed away where they would never find them again. Allegedly.. Life truly was cruel. The world was a cruel, horrible place. Evilicus sunk back to the bed, resigned. This was it.

"Oh, are nya tired?" Mewmews question fell to deaf ears as the dark lord ideologically refused to even respond anything more. Truly there was no greater punishment than being defeated by this utterly repulsive, cringeworthy creature, only to be left alive, and left to withstand that same creature make a complete fool of the dark lord. Why did m even save them? What was there to gain? Was m hoping they'd turn their life around now that they had nothing left to lose? What a joke.

Despite their exhaustion, the darkest hours of the night granted no rest to Evilicus. Even the all consuming darkness couldn't soothe the dark lord. I mean really, it's even in the name, so it was truly a bad day if even the lightless void couldn't ease their mind. Sigh.

Evilicus was no stranger to misery and suffering, but for the past tens of years, they hadn't often been on the receiving end of it. Sure, brooding was second nature to a dark lord, that was normal, healthy overlord behavior. But this was some truly soul sucking, hopeless numbness. No empire, no authority. Most of their powers were stripped away by - sigh, Mewmew A. Cola, upon defeating Evilicus.

Mewmew.

That beast, which was now holding Evilicus hostage. Sickening. They'd thought, maybe, they could still at least perish with the last scraps of their dignity. But no. Being doted on by your mortal ultimate nemesis. Who turns out to be a walking talking cat. A truly laughable, pathetic creature.

Hopeless.

Worthless.

"Psst. Teddy here might be in need of a wittle cuddles!" Mewmews grating, horrible voice spoke in a whisper, interrupting the dark lord's restless spiraling into apathy. "It heard someone sniffling somewhere in here, hmmm. So it decided that maybe the purrrfect cuddlemate could be riiiiight-"

Placing the worn Teddy bear sitting right on the bedside, Mewmews deep dark eyes glimmered playfully in the emptiness. "Here?"

What?

The stupid Teddy rested against the dark lord's side. It's Button eyes looking empty and cold, just like Mewmews endless facial voids. "Are nyou okay? Can't sleepy-snooze? Do nya want a warm glass of miwk?" the cat spoke, every next word out of ms mouth worse than the last. Evilicus felt sick, and most of all, deeply wrathful. They hadn't been crying, obviously. The notion was insulting, really. Besides, it was nobody's business - least of all their mortal nemesis'. Evilicus slowly sat up, sliding their feet onto the floor, glowing demonic gaze fixed on the cat. It was just a cat. A stupid, little earthlian feline. "Is this some kinda joke?" Evilicus growled under their breath. Mewmew tilted ms head askingly, making a Brrb? Sound.

Slowly standing up, Evilicus - now two thirds taller than Mewmew, stood over m, pulsing with rage. "Is this your idea of a punishment? Or are you just toying with me? You could've just as easily thrown me in prison - would've been less humiliation than this!" they rasped, voice thick with hatred. Mewmew remained as untouched as m had been the entire day, calmly facing upwards to ms mortal nemesis.

"Oh, Villy. I think many would say this is the op-paw-site of a punishment. Besides, the prison system is terribly corrupt, you'd end up being right at home there - and meouch worse for wear! If nyou want to loom in darkness of course, I can keep the lights dim. Are nya eyes sensitive by the way? Is that why-"

"SILENCE!"

Mewmew went silent. While appearing serious, there was no fear in ms presence.

Which frankly, was horribly insulting.

"You really downgraded, you know? You could've been a great hero, enjoyed all your glory and adoration like you're supposed to. But you let me live. And now you continue dragging it out. Were you thinking I'd change? That I'd be swayed by your kindness after everything you've done to me?! I knew you were stupid, but I could've never guessed you had an ego this inflated!" Evilicus spat, head whirring with disgust and hatred towards this small animal standing before them. Mewmews face remained completely serious, and the fact that ms expression was the exact same m'd had so many times during their conflicts - back when anyone could the cat bot seriously, made Evilicus' stomach turn. This truly was the same person. And that was the worst of it.

"Nyeveryone deserves a second chance. Besides, stopping evil isn't simply a matter of killing all the bad people. The answer to no conflict is to simply kill all the ones who nyou deem 'in the wrong'. That is genocide. Nothing more." Mewmew spoke, and despite the awful catlike mannerisms, with the same cadence and composure as all the times before. Evilicus was being lectured by a fucking. Cat. "Oh you think you're so above me, aren't you? You don't think I'm dangerous anymore, is that it? You're just willy nillying through life now that you're a hero, now that everything is okay for you!" Evilicus hissed with a venomous voice. Mewmew looked to the side for a second, mouth cracking into the slightest smirk. "Villy, I uh, at this state, I can't exactly be above you, teehee, as you see, I'm roughly the length of your arm now, hihi.." M replied, with possibly one of the worst things m could've thought to say. A joke. That's what the dark lord was now to em. A fucking joke. "But no, I don't feel threatened by your presence. You're hurt. And nyeed I remind you of your dark meowgic?" Mew continued, more softly.

The cat didn't dodge, nor duck, as the dark lord's armored claws sliced at ms fur. Little velvety hairs were sent floating in the air in a little cloud around them. Upon contact, Evilicus felt the steel of darkness upon their fingers break flesh. Mewmew froze for a moment, a shiver running through ms spine. Widened eyes, white pupils large and round as plates, turned to face Evilicus, after a few seconds of catching breath.

Finally, something familiar. That thick black fuel Mewmew had for blood, drooled out of the cuts. Just as dark as Evilicus had remembered it. Just as dark as they liked. Finally, fear. Fear upon their enemy.

That wasn't.. Animal cruelty, was it?

The little feline stood there, frozen, as if waiting for another blow. But none came, and Evilicus wasn't sure why. Something felt.. Off. The bot that Evilicus had come to know, knew how to block slashes - one of the simplest attacks in fact, considering the dark lord's energy vortex attacks (Which m also knew how to evade).

"Y.. You didn't think I'd lash out?" Evilicus asked, voice an unreadable mixture of surprise and sneering mockery. "Did-did you really think-?"

"Yes."

Both stood still.

"I guess I am a fool, as ny.. As you said. Evilicus." Mewmew replied, voice feeling more hollow, more tired than it had been for a long time. The dark lord wasn't sure what to respond. What they wanted to respond was Good. Finally you got it through your thick skull. Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows - and all the other kinds of retorts Evilicus was used to dishing at A. Cola. None of them made it past their lips.

"You leave after breakfast. Don't return to this town. They deserve to be left alone." Mewmew informed, turning to leave the space, back to the little cat bed in the opposite corner of the living room. Evilicus simply watched m plop into the round little basket, and not move a muscle afterwards. Within a minute, ms side was slowly rising, in sleep. The dark lord wasn't sure what to do with all this, for some reason. Of course they wanted to leave, finally. This was a good thing. Evilicus slowly lowered themself back onto the bed. The person sized one Mewmew had for some reason. They glanced at their armored claw, feeling the cursed steel strengthen at the shedding of blood upon it. Just like Evilicus was used to. Like it had many times before. But that little slash, that little flash of fear in their enemy's eyes

Didn't feel as sweet as it was supposed to.

[ravenseeker]

Can’t forget the girlies 💕💕

[firetreeclans]

Moon 2 - Gathering

Cinderstar wasn’t particularly fond of Gatherings.

As a warrior, he found them so crowded and noisy. But now, as a leader, his main concern was the piddling number of warriors he was leading up the hill to blazing Firetree. He flicked his ears in annoyance, reliving the humiliation he felt under the pitying gaze of Skystar during his first moon as leader, when he announced the casualties of the Great Storm. 

He was always trained to not show weakness at these Gatherings, and now he was leading a weak Clan into one. A weak Clan with a weak leader… a proper Clan has more warriors than this, I should be paralyzed by choice when it comes to selecting who to bring to a Gathering and not be so concerned if there’s enough back at camp to watch the kits… 

Cinderstar shook his head to clear his mind and ignored Roseflight’s concerned gaze as he signaled for his warriors to exit the undergrowth and enter the sandy clearing under the Firetree. He felt his Clanmates' pelts brush against his as they walked past him toward the clearing to mingle with their friends and rivals, and quickly the feeling was replaced with the eyes of the other leaders.

Was it awkward for Palestar as well?

He tried not to let his nerves get the best of him. He had a duty, and a script to follow in his mind. These things are just formalities, no need to be concerned. But still, as he jumped up onto the Highrock to take his place next to the other leaders, he couldn’t help but notice how much older and more experienced they were than him. In fact, both of them were leaders ever since he was born. It was difficult to wrap his mind around being their equals now.

Gullstar was the first to acknowledge him, though subtly. The senior tom nodded his head respectfully, and twitched a dusty-brown ear. Cinderstar still couldn’t bring himself to trust that icy-white gaze; the kit-stories of SnagClan’s fearsome and aggressive warriors still in the back of his mind… Whenever Gullstar looked at you, it felt like he was looking for weakness. And StarClan knows that FogClan isn’t the strongest it’s ever been.

Skystar was next, turning her head to him and nodding in greeting. Cinderstar’s stomach turned. The pity in those ocean blue eyes was still present. Skystar feeling sorry for him felt worse than the calculating stares of the SnagClan leader.

“Would you like to go first?” Skystar mewed softly, nudging Cinderstar. “Hoping to hear good news from you.”

“Ah, I’m afraid I don’t have much to say,” confessed Cinderstar. And he really didn’t.

Skystar chuckled a little, “No news is good news, they say. I’ll go then, if you two don’t mind?”

“Please do.” Gullstar meowed, his eyes focused on the gaggle of cats underneath them.

Skystar started the Gathering with a yowl, and Cinderstar straightened his posture, curling his fluffy black tail over his paws. It still was a strange feeling to have so many cats gathered beneath him, gazing up toward him. Dozens of eyes reflected the lights of the moon, stars, and Firetree back toward Cinderstar and he felt his voice catch in his throat. Thank StarClan that Skystar decided to speak first.

“The forest has finally dried up, and prey is starting to run normally again. Over this past moon, OnionClan has welcomed three new apprentices. Those would be my kits, Sunpaw, Bluepaw, and Ravenpaw.”

Skystar’s kits! Cinderstar had nearly forgotten. He looked around for the new apprentices, and they were easy to spot. A trio of grey and white kits huddled together, who all looked strikingly like Skystar, especially her daughter. To think that Skystar was leading her Clan from the nursery for a few moons, it was just astounding to Cinderstar. She had moved out of the nursery a while before the storm, but it was still incredible to him that Skystar had the strength to lead her Clan while dealing with pregnancy and all that comes after. 

Perhaps that strength she possesses is why she pities me for lacking it so much?

Skystar had sat back down, and Gullstar nodded toward Cinderstar, clearly wishing to speak last himself. Or maybe testing him, making fun of him since he stuttered at the first Gathering he went to as leader– No, just breathe, and speak.

“Prey is still running well in FogClan.” said Cinderstar smoothly. “There’s been less twoleg scent along the shores lately as Greenleaf draws to a close. The apprentices are doing well on their training. As long as they continue to make us proud–and I’m sure they will–I’ll have a new name to share with you at the next Gathering.”

In front of the Highrock, he could see Talonshade’s eyes gleaming with interest, likely trying to figure out which of his former peers would be joining him in the warrior’s den soon…

Gullstar stood up to speak next, twitching his long dusty ears. “Badgers have infiltrated our lands. We are driving them out, but the competition for prey and territory has been difficult on our growing Clan.” the SnagClan leader meowed cooly. Cinderstar bristled a bit at the comment on his Clan’s numbers, but noticed that Skystar’s eyes narrowed as well.

“Driving them out to where?!” yowled a sleek, silver OnionClan cat. 

Cindestar recognized the bristling smoky tom as Cindersmoke, a warrior around his age he always found agreeable. It was rare to see him so riled up at a Gathering. Twitching his whiskers, Cinderstar leaned down to listen closer to the aggravated crowd of cats.

“Off of my territory. Where the badgers go next is not SnagClan’s concern.” spat Gullstar, tail thrashing. He turned his ice-blue eyes to Skystar and continued speaking. “If OnionClan has a badger problem, I wouldn't be aware.”

Cinderstar’s eyes widened as he noticed thick clouds rolling in on the horizon as Gullstar spoke. The crowd of clan cats were growing more and more agitated, Onion and SnagClan warriors glaring at each other with their hackles raised.

“There’s no badger problem in our territory, Gullstar.” growled Skystar, ears twitching in annoyance. “One of our warriors is in the medicine den from a badger wound, but she’s nearly recovered, thanks to Asterleaf’s skillful paws.”

The admission of an injured warrior seemed like it should be an effective way to cool the conversation down, but the clouds grew closer and closer, and Cinderstar started bristling. 

“I suspect our warrior is concerned for their Clanmate,” Skystar continued, eyes narrowing into slits. “As the badger was making its den near the SnagClan border.”

Gullstar hissed at the accusation, his claws unsheathing and scraping into the cracks of the Highrock. “And you think we put it there?!” 

The Gathering grew dim, leaving only the artificial glow of the Firetree above them and Skystar bowed her head. “StarClan has voiced their displeasure. This Gathering is over.” she yowled out to the murmuring crowd.

The elder leaders leapt off the stone, leaving Cinderstar in disbelief. The thick clouds blotted out the moon’s light, and vast swaths of stars were obscured.

What a disaster. And I didn’t even do anything to stop it. 

[best-fictional-cat]

ROUND 1 IS OVER

Believe it or not, but I am also devastated because of some results.

First off, USEFUL LINKS:

All competitor masterlist

Where you can find a spreadsheet with all round 1 poll results

Round 2 match-ups (and poll masterpost)

Here's a visual on the survivors of round one:

Here's the list of our winners (green) and losers (crossed out) (all the 50/50 made it in even if there were decimals involved; I stated that I was going to do this before round 1 because we need extra cats for an even bracket):

Garfield (Garfield) vs Puss in Boots (Puss in Boots / Shrek)

Khoshekh (Welcome to Night Vale) vs The Admiral (The Magnus Archives) vs Pippa (The Penumbra Podcast)

Tom (Tom and Jerry) vs Sylvester (Looney Tunes)

Judd (Splatoon) vs Lil' Judd (Splatoon)

Garfield the Deals Warlock (The Adventure Zone: Balance) vs Pib (Dimension 20 - Neverafter)

Opalescence (My Little Pony) vs Charmmy Kitty (Sanrio)

Slugcat (Rain World) vs Rivulet (Rain World: Downpour)

Cool Cat (Cool Cat Saves the Kids) vs Tabby Von Meow (Webkinz)

Sisters of Plenitude (Doctor Who) vs Thomas Kincade Brannigan ( Doctor Who)

Domino (Amphibia) vs Domino 2 (Amphibia)

Thomas O'Malley + the Aristocats (Aristocats) vs Serafina + Wolfie (Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper)

Hollyleaf (Warrior cats) vs Jayfeather (Warrior cats) vs Yellowfang (Warrior cats) vs Bluestar (Warrior cats)

Bob (Animal Crossing) vs Raymond (Animal Crossing)

Cattail (Plants vs Zombies) vs Stray Cat (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Yoruichi Shihoin (Bleach) vs Grimmjow Jaegerjaques (Bleach)

Greebo (Discworld) vs You (Discworld)

Pusheen (Pusheen) vs Nyan Cat (Nyan Cat)

Felix (Drawtectives) vs Capper (My Little Pony)

Cat (Stray) vs Spot (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Bungle the glass cat (Oz) vs Eureka the pink kitten (Oz)

Squanchy (Rick and Morty) vs Talking Cat (Rick and Morty)

Barry Ill ( Sparklecare hospital) vs Caroline Coughs (Sparklecare hospital)

Shoe (Ace Attorney) vs Wagahai (Ace Attorney) (will carry on as a tag team because you guys are unstoppable apparently)

Alpine (Marvel comics) vs Mew (Marvel comics)

Hong (Trash of the Count's Family) vs On (Trash of the Count's Family) (will carry on as a tag team because separating the siblings was a mistake apparently)

Catra (She-Ra) vs Khajiit (The Elder Scrolls)

Constable Whiskers (Cookie Run) vs Tabby Slime (Slime Rancher)

Arlene (Garfield) vs Nermal (Garfield)

Stelmaria (His Dark Materials) vs Kirjava (His Dark Materials)

Candy + Cindy (Five Nights at Candy's) vs 808 (Hi-Fi Rush)

Carla (Fairy Tail) vs Panther Lily (Fairy Tail)

Jellie (Double Life SMP) vs C!Antfrost (Dream SMP)

Midnight (Castle in the Air, Diana Wynne Jones) vs Thomas (Earwig and the Witch)

Skimbleshanks (Cats the musical) vs Rum Tum Tugger (Cats the musical)

Ortensia the Cat (Disney) vs Felix the cat (Felix the cat (Paramount))

God Cat (Homestuck) vs Vodka Mutini / Dr.Meowgon Spangler (Homestuck)

Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket) vs Miyo Sasaki / Muge / Taro (A whisker away)

Blaze the Cat (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs Big the Cat (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Jiji (Kiki's Delivery Service) vs Luna (Sailor Moon)

Puppycat (Bee and Puppy cat) vs CatDog (CatDog)

Chairman Meow (The Shadowhunter Chronicles) vs Church (The Shadowhunter Chronicles)

Pounce de Leon (Homestuck) vs Jaspers (Homestuck)

Sandstorm (Warrior cats) vs Squirrelflight (Warrior cats)

Mae Borowski (Night in the Woods) vs Princess Carolyn (BoJack Horseman)

Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes) vs Tigger (Winnie the Pooh)

Ankha (Animal Crossing) vs Kabuki (Animal Crossing)

Valerie Oberlin (Monster Prom) vs Juan The Small Magical Latino Cat (Monster Prom)

Coco Grimalkin (Purrfect Apawcalypse) vs Felix Munch (Purrfect Apawcalypse) vs Mittens Wichien (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Catty (Undertale) vs Catti (Deltarune)

Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia) vs Simba (The Lion King)

Ghazt (My Singing Monsters) vs Nyanky (Taiko no Tatsujin)

Nameless evil white cat (James Bond) vs Meowthra (Lego Ninjago Movie)

Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter) vs Behemoth (Master and Margarita)

Macskacicó (Hungarian folk tales) vs Pangur Bán (Pangur Bán (Irish poem, 9th century))

Kuro (Blue Exorcist) vs Grim (Twisted Wonderland)

Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (The Cat Returns) vs Nyanta (Log Horizon)

Lumi (Cats are Liquid) vs Mewo (Omori) vs Pet cats (Stardew Valley)

Leone (Akame ga Kill) vs Blake Belladonna (RWBY)

The Black Cat (The Black Cat, E.A.Poe) vs Black Cat (The Price, Neil Gaiman)

Chi Yamada (Chi's sweet home) vs Happy (Fairy Tail)

Kitty White / Hello Kitty (Sanrio) vs Salem Saberhagen (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)

Firestar (Warrior cats) vs Meowth (Pokémon)

Ghost (The Owl House) vs Morgana (Persona 5)

Kitty Softpaws (Puss in Boots) vs Goose (Marvel comics / MCU)

Catbus (My Neighbor Totoro) vs Cake (Adventure Time)

Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) vs Che'nya (Twisted Wonderland)

Plagg (Miraculous) vs Chat Noir (Miraculous)

Bagheera (The Jungle Book) vs Nuka (The Lion King 2)

Cure Cosmo / Yuni (Star Twinkle Pretty Cure) vs Ichigo Momomiya (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Luxor (Tutenstein) vs Chester the Cat (Bunnicula)

Cat (Red Dwarf) vs T'Ana (Star Trek: Lower Decks)

The Cat (Coraline) vs Mothwing (Warrior cats)

Shampoo ( Ranma 1/2) vs Diana (Sailor Moon)

Frumpkin (Critical Role) vs Archie (Tales of Arcadia)

Periwinkle (Blue's clues) vs Brave Heart Lion (Care Bears)

Catbug (Bravest Warriors) vs Pasty (Neko Atsume)

Atsushi Nakajima (Bungou Stray Dogs) vs Natsume Soseki (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Tigress (Kung Fu Panda) vs Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet)

Pixie (Pixie and Brutus) vs Tumblr lore witch

Lucifer (Cinderella) vs Tab (Watership Down)

Gary the Snail (Spongebob Squarepants) vs Magolor (Kirby series)

Mad Mew Mew (Undertale) vs Mr. Mistoffelees (Cats the musical)

Lucrezia and Meek (Frakk, the Cats' Nightmare) vs Findus (Pettson and Findus)

Leona Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland) vs Cheka Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland)

Maurice (Discworld) vs Heathcliff (Heathcliff)

Cringer / Battlecat (He-man) vs Mr. Kat (Kid vs. Kat)

Angel Grimalkin (Purrfect Apawcalypse) vs Tigger Sugden (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Rosie (Animal Crossing) vs Rover (Animal Crossing)

Blanca (Animal Crossing) vs Tangy (Animal Crossing)

Nali (Assassin's Creed: Valhalla) vs Miyuki (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Chococat (Sanrio) vs Kuroneko-sama (Trigun)

Gatomon (Digimon) vs Kyubey (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Shrödinger's cat (you know the one) vs Felix (Felix cat food mascot)

The Cat (Monster Camp) vs Xiaohei (The Legend of Hei)

Artemis (Sailor Moon) vs Samantha / The Cat (Infinity Train)

John Blacksad (Blacksad) vs Mao Mao Mao (Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart)

Solembum (Inheritance Cycle) vs Ren (Monstress)

Taokaka (Blazblue) vs Niko (Oneshot)

Ember (Cattails) vs Lyrus (Cattails) vs Mayor (Cattails)

Missy (Cattails) vs Sarge (Cattails) vs Scout (Cattails)

Lion (Steven Universe) vs Cat Steven (Steven Universe)

Glameow (Pokémon) vs Litten (Pokémon) vs Meowstic (Pokémon) vs Skitty (Pokémon) vs Sprigatito (Pokémon)

Mog (Mog books, Judith Kerr) vs Tom Kitten (The Tale of Tom Kitten)

Jenny Linsky (Jenny Linsky, Esther Averill) vs Kaspar, Prince of Cats (Kaspar, Prince of Cats, Michael Morpurgo)

Pixel (The Cat Who Walks through Walls, Robert Heinlein) vs Invisible cat (The Invisible Man, H.G.Wells)

Jonesy (Alien) vs Grudge (Star Trek Discovery)

Aldwyn (The Familiars) vs Jess (Postman Pat)

Remlit (Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword) vs Mo (Lego Monkie Kid)

Assistacat / Sub-manager (Cardfight!! Vanguard) vs Haru (My Roommate is a Cat)

Mao (Darker than Black) vs Amanojaku (Ghost Stories)

Izutsumi (Dungeon Meshi) vs Opera (Welcome to demon school Iruma kun!)

Nyako / Meowy (Chainsaw Man) vs Yuigadokusonmaru (Durarara)

Heinkel (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs Cheetu (Hunter x Hunter)

Graystripe (Warrior cats) vs Scourge (Warrior cats) vs Sol (Warrior cats) vs Tallstar (Warrior cats)

Bristlefrost (Warrior cats) vs Cinderpelt (Warrior cats) vs Ferncloud (Warrior cats) vs Turtle Tail (Warrior cats)

Leopardstar (Warrior cats) vs Spottedleaf (Warrior cats) vs Leafpool (Warrior cats) vs Mapleshade (Warrior cats)

Sox (Lightyear) vs The Kitty (The Bad Guys)

The Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat) vs Boo (The Funky Phantom)

The Sphinx (Adventures of Puss in Boots) vs Fluffal Cat (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Hiili (Fox Fires (webcomic)) vs Varjak Paw (Varjak Paw, S.F.Said)

Potato (Cat loaf adventures) vs Whiskers (Pixel Cat's End)

Mingus Crown (Dialtown) vs Burgerpants (Undertale)

Arthur (Code Geass) vs Amp / Anp / Anpu (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K)

Sakamoto (Nichijou) vs Blair (Soul Eater)

Darwin (April and the Extraordinary World) vs Finley / Jelly Donut (Hustle Cat)

Jemima (Cats the musical) vs Victoria (Cats the musical)

Also democracy said we should try randomising the match-ups. See yous in a few days, I have some cats to put on a wheel ;)

[thistledown-au-warriors]

fire and ice - chapter 22

< Chapter 21 || Index || Chapter 23 >

“Good thinking, Fire Heart.” purred White Flower. He had seen Fire Heart pad back into camp with his jaws crammed with catmint.

Fire Heart’s mouth had been watering all the way home, although he was beginning to think he’d be happy never to see another catmint bush again. But he was happier than when he’d left the camp. His sister had safely kitted and his head felt clearer.

He was heading toward the healers' den when Tiger's Claw appeared at his side.

“More catmint?” observed the great tabby, his eyes suspicious. “I wondered where you’d gone. Bracken Leaf can take that to Violet Fang.”

Bracken Leaf was helping to clear away snow nearby, and perked up when he heard his name.

“Come and take this catmint to the healers' den.” Tiger's Claw ordered the apprentice.

Bracken Leaf nodded and bounded over at once.

Fire Heart dropped the bunch of leaves onto the ground. “I wanted to visit Blazing Cinder.” he meowed to Tiger's Claw.

“Later.” growled the deputy. He waited while Bracken Leaf picked up the catmint and carried it off, then turned back to Fire Heart. “I want to know where Gray Stripe has been going.”

Fire Heart felt the heat rising under his fur. “I don’t know.” he replied, holding Tiger's Claw’s gaze. "I'm not his keeper."

Tiger's Claw stared back at him, his eyes cold and hostile. “When you see him.” he hissed, "You can tell him he’s confined to the fallen oak.”

“Violet Fang's old den?” Fire Heart glanced at the tangled branches where the healer had lived when she first came into the ThunderClan camp, when she was still considered a ShadowClan outcast. Sand Storm was there, lying beside Mistle Drop and Swift Bird.

“Cats with whitecough are confined there until they are well again.”

“But Gray Stripe only has a cold.” Fire Heart protested.

“A cold is bad enough, especially when it refuses to heal. He’ll stay at the fallen oak!” Tiger's Claw repeated. “Cats with greencough are to nest with the healers. We must stop this sickness from spreading.” The deputy’s eyes flashed unsympathetically. Fire Heart wondered if he thought of illness as a sign of weakness. “It is for the good of the Clan.” Tiger's Claw added.

“Yes, Tiger's Claw. I’ll tell Gray Stripe.”

“And keep away from Blue Fur.” the deputy warned.

“But the greencough has left her.” Fire Heart objected.

“I am aware of that, but her den still reeks of sickness. I can’t afford to have any of my warriors falling ill. White Flower tells me that RiverClan warriors have been scented even closer to the camp.”

Fire Heart nodded, his pelt prickling with discomfort. His warriors . “May I go and see Blazing Cinder now?”

The deputy looked at him.

“I doubt Violet Fang has put her anywhere near the cats with greencough.” Fire Heart added with a flash of irritation, tail tip twitching. “I won’t get infected.”

“Very well.” Tiger's Claw agreed, and stalked away.

Fire Heart met Bracken Leaf in the middle of the clearing. “Violet Fang was very grateful for the catmint.” Bracken Leaf mewed. His eyes showed worry, and Fire Heart guessed he must have seen his sister.

"I'm glad. Thank you." 

Fire Heart nodded and carried on to the healers' den. He spotted Brindle Face’s poor kits straightaway. They lay quietly in a bracken nest, coughing, their noses and eyes streaming.

Violet Fang greeted him. “Thanks for the catmint, we’re going to need it. Patchy Shade has greencough now.” She gestured with her nose toward another nest in the bracken. Inside, Fire Heart could see the old tom’s matted brown-and-white fur.

“How’s Blazing Cinder?” he asked, looking back at the healer.

Violet Fang sighed. “She was awake earlier, but not for long. She's too weak to be awake for long. Thank StarClan she doesn't have an infection, though.”

Fire Heart peered into the apprentice's nest. The little gray cat was twitching in her sleep, her injured leg twisted awkwardly to one side. He turned back to Violet Fang, and the healer sat with her head low. She looked exhausted.

One of the kits cried out and Violet Fang sprang up. As she passed, Fire Heart leaned forward and gently stroked the old cat’s side with his muzzle. She twitched her ear gratefully at him. Then, filled with sadness, he turned and padded toward the fern tunnel. 

Gray Stripe was back, munching a vole beside the nettle clump.

Fire Heart padded over to him. “Tiger's Claw says you’ve got to move to the fallen oak, with the whitecough cats.” he meowed. With a prickle of resentment, he remembered how the deputy had questioned him about his friend. 

“That won’t be necessary.” replied Gray Stripe cheerfully. “I’m better now. Violet Fang gave me the all-clear this morning.”

Fire Heart looked closely at Gray Stripe. His eyes were certainly bright again, and his runny nose had dried to an unappealing crust. At any other time Fire Heart would have teased him about how much he looked like Wet Nose, the ShadowClan healer. Now he spat crossly. “Tiger's Claw has noticed your disappearances. You should be more careful. Why can’t you stay away from Silver Stream, at least for now?”

Gray Stripe stopped chewing and stared angrily back at Fire Heart. “And why can’t you mind your own business?”

Fire Heart closed his eyes and snorted with frustration. Would he ever get through to his friend? Then he wondered if he even cared anymore.

Fire Heart’s stomach growled to tell him he was hungry. I might as well eat . He took a sparrow from the pile of fresh-kill and carried it away to a deserted corner of the camp to eat alone. 

As he settled down, he thought of Princess, far away in Twolegplace, with her newborn kits. If only she could be here with him…

***

In the following days, Fire Heart struggled against the urge to visit his sister. His yearning to be with his kittypet kin was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable. He kept himself busy hunting in the snowy forests, replenishing the camp store. It was doing little to quell his worries - his dreams were filled with cats exchanging bloody blows, splattering the snow in red. Fire Heart hadn't dreamed like this in a while, and it was frustrating him. After all, what was the point of these dreams coming to him? He was just a warrior, there was nothing he could do.

The morning sky glowed pale that day. As Fire Heart padded to the fresh-kill snow store to get his meal, he heard White Flower, Pale Tail and Dusty Earth talking about some ShadowClan scents they'd found on ThunderClan territory. Ever since Tiger's Claw discovery of ShadowClan hunting in their territory there had been night patrols, and White Flower and the others seemed to have gone last night. 

Paws pricking with concern, Fire Heart dug a chaffinch out of the snow to eat. He noticed that Sand Storm was sitting not far from the old oak, eating a vole. The molly had recovered fast, seemingly forcing herself to eat her share to gain strength to beat the whitecough. Fire Heart padded over to her. 

She looked up at him, eyes flashing. "Don't get too close!" She warned, and Fire Heart stopped dead, confused. Had he offended her somehow? But her expression softened. "Sorry. I'm good to walk around, but my sneezes are still a bit dangerous to healthy cats."

"Ah." Fire Heart sat a couple tail lengths away from her, laying his meal on top of his paws. He tore a chunk of cold flesh out. "... How are you feeling?" He asked after swallowing.

Sand Storm shrugged. "Not healed, but better. Being confined in camp sucks, though."

"I can see that." Fire Heart meowed hesitantly. "I… wasn't talking about the whitecough."

The molly stopped eating. She silently stared at her paws for a long moment, then gave herself a shake. "I… might be ready to talk about it once she wakes up. But not now."

"I understand." Fire Heart meowed gently. Sand Storm seemed grateful that he didn't push her to speak. They both resumed eating in silence.

"I didn't know snow would make everything look so different." The pale ginger warrior commented as she cleaned her muzzle.

Fire Heart looked up from the feathered scraps of his meal, nodding in agreement. "You should see Fourtrees. The great oaks look like they're made of dark ice, with the frost. There's snow everywhere." 

Her eyes gleamed. "Hope I'll get to see that before they thaw."

Suddenly, there was a racket coming from the gorse tunnel. Turning his head, he saw the dawn patrol - Dark Pine, Mouse Fur and Thorn Claw - charging through, heading straight to Tiger's Claw. Fire Heart and Sand Storm sat up, ears pricked, as Blue Fur came to meet them. The leader looked healthy, but there was an air of concern to her even as she held her chin high - no doubt concerned about her grandkits. The patrol and Blue Fur exchanged words excitedly. The gray molly soon seemed to dismiss them, beckoning her deputy and senior warriors to the base of the Highrock. Fire Heart's tail moved to and fro behind him. Whatever the patrol reported, it was big.

Snow crunched as Dusty Earth padded over. "Hey, Sand Storm. Thought I'd rescue you from having kittypets for company." The dark tom looked at Sand Storm expectantly. Fire Heart guessed he was waiting for her to join him or laugh, like she used to, but Sand Storm wasn’t listening. Fire Heart felt a small prickle of satisfaction at the irritated look on Dusty Earth’s face as she called Mouse Fur over.

The dusky brown warrior padded over to them, seeming excited. "We found the river completely frozen!" 

Sand Storm's green eyes gleamed. "Is Blue Fur planning a raid?"

"I think so! We can invade RiverClan’s territory and teach them a lesson about stealing prey from us." Mouse Fur meowed, her teeth showing.

Fire Heart felt a cold chill ripple the fur on his spine. What would Gray Stripe think about that? And could Fire Heart even bring himself to go into battle against the starving RiverClan?

At that moment their leader’s call sounded from the Highrock, and the Clan began to gather in the clearing. The sun had reached its high point, which in leaf-bare meant that it was barely above the treetops.

“The patrol has brought good news. The river is frozen over.” Blue Fur announced. “We will take this opportunity to make a raid on RiverClan’s territory, to remind them that we own Sunningrocks and don't tolerate prey-stealing. Our warriors will track down one of their patrols and give them a warning that they’ll remember for a long time!”

Fire Heart winced as he remembered what Silver Stream had told him about her starving Clan. Around him, the other cats raised their voices in eager yowls. Fire Heart had not heard the Clan this excited for moons.

“Tiger's Claw!” Blue Fur called above the din. “Are our warriors fit enough for a raid on RiverClan?”

Tiger's Claw nodded.

“Excellent.” Blue Fur lifted her tail. “Then we shall leave at sunset.” The Clan yowled with delight. Fire Heart’s paws prickled. Was Blue Fur going too? Surely she wouldn’t risk her last life on a border raid?

Fire Heart looked over his shoulder and managed to see Gray Stripe, sitting not far from the warriors' den. He was staring up at the Highrock, the tip of his tail twitching nervously. As the yowls died away, the gray tom called out. “It feels warmer today. A thaw would make the ice too dangerous to cross.”

Fire Heart held his breath as the other cats turned to look curiously at Gray Stripe.

Tiger's Claw stared down at Gray Stripe, his amber eyes puzzled. “You’re not usually reluctant to fight.” the dark warrior meowed slowly.

Dark Pine, not missing the chance to dig at his half-brother, craned his neck and added. “Yes, Gray Stripe — you’re not afraid of those RiverClan fleabags, are you?”

Gray Stripe fidgeted uncomfortably as the Clan waited for an answer.

“Looks like he’s scared!” hissed Dusty Earth.

Fire Heart’s tail flicked angrily, but he managed to keep his voice light as he called. “Yes, of getting his paws wet! Gray Stripe’s fallen through the ice once this leaf-bare, he’s not keen to do it again.”

The tension in the Clan dissolved into amused purrs. Gray Stripe looked down at the ground, his ears flat. Only Tiger's Claw kept his suspicious frown.

Blue Fur waited until the murmurings had died away. “I must discuss the raid with my senior warriors.” She leaped down from the Highrock, landing so lightly that it was hard to believe that she had been fighting for her lives just days ago. Tiger's Claw, White Flower, Black Leopard and Willow Branch followed her to her den, and the rest of the Clan broke away into groups to discuss the proposed attack.

“I suppose you expect me to thank you for embarrassing me!” Fire Heart heard Gray Stripe’s angry hiss in his ear.

“Not at all.” he snapped. “But you could at least be grateful I’m still covering up for you!” He bounded away to the edge of the clearing, his fur bristling with fury.

Misty Step padded over to him. "Eager for your first battle as a warrior?"

"I suppose." Fire Heart meowed. He couldn’t take his eyes off Gray Stripe. Was he imagining it, or was the gray warrior edging farther and farther toward the nursery? Was Gray Stripe planning on slipping away to warn Silver Stream?

Fire Heart got slowly to his paws and began to pad toward the nursery. Gray Stripe glared at Fire Heart as he approached, but before either warrior could speak, Blue Fur’s call sounded once more from the Highrock. Fire Heart stopped where he was but didn’t take his eyes off Gray Stripe.

“Willow Branch and Black Leopard agree with young Gray Stripe.” Blue Fur declared. “A thaw is on the way.” Gray Stripe lifted his chin and flashed a defiant look at Fire Heart, but Fire Heart didn’t care. Blue Fur was going to call off the raid! Now Gray Stripe wouldn’t have to choose between his Clan and Silver Stream, and Fire Heart wouldn’t have to join a raiding party against a Clan he knew was already suffering.

But the leader hadn’t finished. “So we will attack at once!”

Fire Heart glanced sideways — Gray Stripe’s look of triumph had turned to one of sheer horror.

Blue Fur continued. “We will leave a patrol of warriors here to guard the camp. We have to remember the possible threat from ShadowClan. Five warriors will make the raid. I will remain here.”

Good , thought Fire Heart. She wasn’t planning to risk her final life after all. “Tiger's Claw will lead the raiding party. Dark Pine, Willow Branch, and Pale Tail will go with him. That leaves one more place.”

“Can I go?” Fire Heart burst out. Even though his heart felt heavy at the thought of attacking hungry RiverClan cats, it meant that Gray Stripe wouldn’t have to make a choice.

“Thank you, Fire Heart. You may join the patrol.” Blue Fur was clearly pleased by his eagerness. Tiger's Claw didn’t look so happy. He narrowed his eyes at Fire Heart, gazing at him with undisguised suspicion. “There’s no time to lose!” Blue Fur yowled. “I can smell the warm winds myself. Tiger's Claw will brief you as you travel. Go now!”

Dark Pine, Pale Tail, and Willow Branch sped after Tiger's Claw. Fire Heart followed them as they thundered through the gorse tunnel and headed up the ravine, toward RiverClan territory.

They charged past Sunningrocks and reached the enemy border as the low leaf-bare sun began to dip toward the forest. Fire Heart sniffed the air — Gray Stripe, Willow Branch and Black Leopard had been right. He could smell warmer winds, and rain clouds were already pushing in over the treetops.

As they raced down the slope toward the river, Fire Heart felt a deep sense of disquiet. Silver Stream’s desperate story rang in his ears, and he fought to push away his feelings of sympathy. His dreams then began to fill his mind, making him feel dizzy.

The ThunderClan warriors emerged from the bracken and skidded to a stop at the edge of the river. The sight that greeted them made Fire Heart weak with relief. 

The river was now a rushing flow of cold, black water.

Tiger's Claw turned to his warriors, his amber eyes flashing with frustration. “We’ll have to wait.” he snarled.

The patrol turned and began to trudge home. Fire Heart sent up a wordless prayer of thanks to StarClan, but there was a bitter taste in his throat. Now he would never know if he could have gone through with the raid. It wasn’t only Gray Stripe he didn’t trust - he didn’t even trust himself.

  Fire Heart kept silent all the way home. Every now and then he saw Tiger's Claw flash a glance at him over his massive brown shoulder. It was a slow journey. The light of the short leaf-bare day was fading when they finally reached the top of the ravine. Fire Heart waited for the other warriors to pick their way down first. By the time he padded through the gorse tunnel, Tiger's Claw was already explaining to the disappointed Clan that the river had thawed.

Fire Heart skirted the edge of the clearing, looking for Gray Stripe. He needed to know if his friend had slipped out of the camp. Instinctively he headed for the nursery. As he approached the tangled mass of brambles, he heard a familiar meow. “Fire Heart!”

Fire Heart felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Gray Stripe was actually grateful he had offered to take the final place in the raiding party? He followed his friend’s voice into the shadows behind the nursery.

Fire Heart mewed quietly into the gloom, but he couldn’t see Gray Stripe anywhere. Suddenly something crashed into his side with a mighty thump. Fire Heart spun around, all his senses alert. He saw Gray Stripe with his hackles raised, silhouetted in the dimness.

Gray Stripe lunged again. Fire Heart ducked just in time as the tom swung a wide gray paw at his ear.

“What are you doing?” Fire Heart spluttered.

Gray Stripe flattened his ears and hissed. “You didn’t trust me! You thought I would betray ThunderClan!” He aimed another swipe. This one caught the tip of Fire Heart’s ear.

Pain and fury shot through him. “I just wanted to save you from having to make a choice!” he spat. “Although it’s true that I’m not sure where your loyalties lie right now.”

Gray Stripe flew at him and knocked him backward. The two cats tussled, claws unsheathed. “I make my own choices.” Gray Stripe snarled.

Fire Heart struggled free and leaped onto Gray Stripe’s back. “I was trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting!”

Blinded by anger, Fire Heart dug his claws into Gray Stripe’s pelt, but Gray Stripe flipped Fire Heart over and together they rolled out from behind the nursery.

The cats in the clearing sprang out of the way as the two young warriors bundled into them. Fire Heart yowled with rage as Gray Stripe bit his foreleg. He thrust upward with a claw and raked Gray Stripe above his eye. Gray Stripe retaliated by lunging downward and sinking his teeth into Fire Heart’s hind leg.

“Stop this at once!” Blue Fur’s stern yowl made Fire Heart and Gray Stripe freeze. Fire Heart released his grip on Gray Stripe and shuffled painfully sideways. The gray tom backed away, his fur bristling. Out of the corner of his eye, Fire Heart saw Tiger's Claw sneering with barely suppressed delight, curling his lip back to reveal his teeth.

“Fire Heart, I want to see you in my den — now!” Blue Fur growled, her blue eyes flashing fire. “Gray Stripe, go to your nest and stay there!”

The rest of the Clan melted away into the shadows, White Flower and Willow Branch racing to their son. Fire Heart limped after Blue Fur to her den. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, feeling worn out and confused.

Blue Fur sat down on the sandy floor and stared at Fire Heart in disbelief for a moment. Then she meowed angrily. “What was that all about?”

Fire Heart shook his head. As furious as he was, he could not reveal his friend’s secret.

Blue Fur closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I realize feelings are running high in the camp right now, but I never expected to see you and Gray Stripe fighting. Are you hurt?”

Fire Heart could feel his ear and hind leg stinging, but he shrugged and murmured. “No.”

“Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

Fire Heart met her gaze as steadily as she could. “Blue Fur, I’m sorry. I can’t explain.” At least that much is true , he thought.

“... Very well.” meowed Blue Fur at last. “You two can sort it out on your own. The Clan is facing a difficult time, and I won’t tolerate this sort of infighting. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my Thunder.” Fire Heart answered. “May I go?”

Blue Fur nodded and Fire Heart turned and slunk out of her den. He knew he had let his leader down. But there was no way he could confide in her. Last time he’d done that, about Raven Shadow's accusation against Tiger's Claw, she hadn’t believed him. And if she believed him this time, he would be betraying his best friend.

Feeling sick with worry, Fire Heart crept across the clearing.

"Fire Heart." A meow sounded from behind him. As he turned, the same set of blue eyes stared back at him. Misty Step beckoned him quietly to the side of the gorse tunnel. Fire Heart sighed. Was he about to get scolded by his former mentor too?

The molly sat and stared at him, a steely glint in her eyes. "You know, don't you?" She meowed quietly.

Fire Heart's ears flattened. "What?"

Her chin raised, but her voice remained quiet. "That Gray Stripe is seeing Silver Stream."

[twilights-800-cats]

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Chapter 23

Each step taken towards the camp was heavier than the last. Crowflight could barely feel the intense chill in the morning air over the sense of impending dread that clung to his pelt like balls of ice. Glancing at his Clanmates, he knew they felt the same – each one walked with their head down, the frames of their shoulders sharply drawn up against the wind.

Crowflight glanced at Duskwhisker. The black she-cat looked like she might be sick, even though this was something she had wanted from the start. Crowflight didn’t blame her for being so contradictory – she was worried, same as the rest of them.

“Why are we trusting this RiverClan cat?” Tornear hissed under his breath. “What does he know about WindClan affairs?”

“And who told him?” Emberstep wondered. Her eyes blazed. “He’s probably just trying to stir up trouble!”

Softbreeze bristled between them. “I wanted to claw his arrogant face off!” she huffed. “How dare he speak to me like that!”

Ahead, Mudclaw paused in his stride. The rest stopped awkwardly behind him, Crowflight included. Duskwhisker sighed as Mudclaw swung his muzzle back to his supporters and meowed sternly, “Enough.”

“But shouldn’t we consider what he wants from all this?” Softbreeze protested. Her eyes flashed in the dark. “He’s a RiverClan cat!”

“I don’t care what he wants,” Mudclaw growled stiffly. “He won’t be getting anything he wants – this is a WindClan matter, and WindClan will settle it. All Falcontail has done is push me to do what I should have done from the start of this whole farce.”

Crowflight suppressed a wince. Perhaps Mudclaw was right – if they’d settled this like WindClan cats from the start, with a casting of stones to determine their uncertain leadership, the whole thing might’ve felt a lot better. As it stood now, they were on their way to give the rest of their Clan a very bad morning.

And that’s only if Onewhisker cooperates and tells us the truth, Crowflight thought. If he doesn’t... His stomach turned. Surely Onewhisker wouldn’t be that rabbit-brained? But he’d hidden it all for this long already – that alone wasn’t a good sign.

“Come on,” Mudclaw mewed. “We’re almost home. It’ll be over before you know it, one way or another.”

His words didn’t seem to inspire much more confidence. Emberstep, Tornear, and Softbreeze nodded and ducked their heads again, their eyes still flashing with collective uncertainty. Duskwhisker still seemed swamped with guilt, and all Crowflight could do was push her on.

“It’ll be okay,” he told her. “It’s not your fault.”

Duskwhisker only grunted in response.

Crowflight’s spine prickled. He had no idea what to say to ease his friend – Falcontail had manipulated her, she knew that; yet Duskwhisker seemed to feel as if she was the one responsible for all this. It just wasn't like her to be so cowed.

“Are you really going to let that RiverClan slimeball win?” he coaxed. “Sure, he sweet-talked you, but didn’t you hear Mudclaw? This is still a WindClan matter.” Crowflight nudged Duskwhisker’s cheek with his nose. “We’re settling this our way, and that RiverClan cat is hare-brained to think we’re doing things the way he wants us to.”

That idea seemed to perk her up, just a little. She lifted his muzzle, and touched her nose to Crowflight’s. “Thanks,” she murmured.

“I might not agree with you on everything,” he whispered, his heart feeling lighter, “but you’re still my friend, Duskwhisker.”

She blinked appreciatively, and Crowflight felt something peculiar in his belly. Had he actually helped? He didn’t know, not really; but he certainly preferred seeing that spark of determination in Duskwhisker’s eye over her looking so dejected.

His triumph did not last long, unfortunately – soon enough the rattling branches of the rowan tree appeared in the cloudy gray sky, and the hills that sheltered WindClan’s camp passed into view. That the sight was so familiar now was lost in favor of renewed apprehension as the dark shape that sat upon Lakeview, Smokewillow, turned and spotted them.

Whatever he yowled, it was lost to the tossing wind – but the gray tom slid down the large boulder and hurried down the hill into camp.

“We’re expected,” Mudclaw growled. Squaring his shoulders, he looked back at his followers, his gaze intense. “Let me do the talking.”

Emberstep sighed, “We’re warriors, not kits. How much trouble can we really be in? It’s Onewhisker.”

Softbreeze scoffed in agreement, but Tornear had the sense to seem more concerned. There was no hint of regret in his eye, though, not that Crowflight could see. Duskwhisker pushed herself between the senior warrior and the two she-cats, head held high.

“We’re not going to let him bully us,” she declared. “Right?”

“Of course not!” Softbreeze agreed. Her whiskers twitched. “We deserve the truth!” Tornear nodded, looking more confident. Tails flicked up high, and eyes shone with resolve.  

Crowflight wished for a moment that Duskwhisker had decided against riling them up. As Mudclaw led them into camp, the wind picked up more strength, howling between the rowan’s branches. He thought he heard a voice upon it, a warning of what was to come, and wondered if Tallstar was watching them.

If you are, Crowflight thought, I hope you’re not disappointed in us. In me.

They strode into camp and were met with their Clanmates, huddled together to keep warm in the wind. Most looked like they’d just woken up and were quite unhappy about that, and Robinwing was unwilling to do more than poke her head outside of the nursery. The apprentices were in their den, eyes gleaming from the dark, clearly sensing that they weren’t to interfere.  

Onewhisker sat in the center of the clearing, wide awake with an expression as stormy as the sky above.

Whitetail, flanking her leader, looked satisfied as Mudclaw’s group filed in. “I told you I saw them sneak off!” she mewed.

“And here they are,” Onewhisker meowed, his tone on the edge of hardness.

“Here we are,” Mudclaw rasped, taking a step forward to meet him in the clearing.

Crowflight flattened his ears. Softbreeze, Emberstep, and Tornear had fanned out to face their Clanmates, Duskwhisker out front as if she were ready to lead a charge. Whitetail faced her on the opposite side, with Poppyfoot, Smokewillow, Bramblefur, and Webfoot. With Ashfoot stuck at the back of the camp, only able to watch from the medicine cat’s den with Barkface and Ryewhisper, and the apprentices cowering, Crowflight realized that the warriors were evenly split on both sides.

He met his mother’s gaze, and his horror deepened when she realized where in the crowd he was standing. Her expression looked hopeless, confused. Crowflight’s legs shook. She thinks I’m with Mudclaw!

… Am I?

Onewhisker seemed to be considering what to say as the encroaching dawn turned the clouds silver above. The rowan creaked in the howling wind behind him. His gaze glittered with disappointment as he considered each cat opposite him, and his tail-tip twitched against the frosty grass.

“This is a rather large hunting patrol,” Onewhisker considered, “and you’ve brought back no prey.”

“This wasn’t a hunting patrol,” Mudclaw meowed flatly. “You know that.”

Onewhisker’s eyes flashed. “I know,” he snapped. The fur along his shoulders bristled. “I should be grateful that you’re not bothering to lie to me, I suppose!” He hissed, his claws flexing. Crowflight saw his haunches tense. “If you weren’t hunting, Mudclaw, then what may I ask were all of you up to? What kind of warriors leave in the middle of the night and say nothing of it?”

“Warriors that are concerned about the state of their Clan,” Mudclaw answered. He drew his chin up, eyes blazing. A flake of snow fell in the silence between his words.

Only when Mudclaw was certain that he had every cat’s attention, and he did, did he go on, his voice powerful and loud: “Onewhisker, I call for a casting of stones!”

The entire Clan erupted into shocked mews. Beside Onewhisker, Whitetail bristled. Webfoot stared helplessly at Tornear, who met his friend’s gaze with a stern expression. Bramblefur looked confused, but got no answers from Softbreeze’s cold stare. Poppyfoot’s tail bushed, and she leaned over to whisper something to Smokewillow, glancing at Emberstep as she did.

Onewhisker looked contemptuously at Mudclaw, his lip curled. “To what end?” he demanded. “You can’t just demand something like that!”

Mudclaw lashed his tail, his gaze sweeping over the cats opposing him. A few flakes of snow stuck themselves in his fur. “Each and every cat here deserves to know the truth, Onewhisker – we must know if you’ve made a deal with ThunderClan for power; if all of this was really Tallstar’s final wish!”

He took a step forward. “Since you have refused to tell us, I have decided to take matters into my own paws!”

Onewhisker twitched snow from his whiskers. “This is absurd,” he hissed. “A waste of time, and I’ll hear no more of it!”

“So you refuse to tell us?” Mudclaw spat. “To even consider it?”

“There’s nothing I need to prove to you,” Onewhisker snapped back. He got to his paws, as did Whitetail. “Tallstar named me deputy in your place, and then he died. Nothing more, nothing less! That you think there’s some conspiracy in it is hare-brained!”

“So then tell us what he said!” Duskwhisker demanded, thrusting her muzzle forward. Crowflight saw her claws slide out. “Tell us why ThunderClan cats were permitted to hear the ceremony, but the rest of us weren’t!”

Whitetail met Duskwhisker’s apparent aggression, looking ready to strike out at the black she-cat. “Onewhisker doesn't have to say anything to any of you!” she snarled. “Tallstar named him leader, and by the warrior code a leader’s word is law! Have you all forgotten that?!”

“Not a one of us have,” Tornear meowed, moving to back up Duskwhisker. As he moved, so did Webfoot. The gray tom’s ears were flat to his head. Tornear spared him a wary glance before meowing on: “But until we know exactly what was said and done in that bush on that day, I don’t think any one of us should consider Onewhisker to be our leader.”

“We have a right to know!” yowled Softbreeze. When she stepped forward, Poppyfoot mirrored her movement, looking nervous.

“What’s there to hide?” Emberfoot’s spine bent, and Bramblefur met her glare, though the tabby queen looked very uncertain, now.  

Fear-scent clouded the air. Crowflight’s heart thudded in his ears. “Please, Onewhisker,” he begged, pushing forward, doing his best to entreat the lean tom. “Why won’t you tell us?”

The look in Onewhisker’s eyes cut Crowflight like a claw – a level of disappointment that Crowflight hadn’t seen since he was an apprentice, a look he’d only ever associated with Mudclaw. Crowflight felt as if he were about to be told his warrior ceremony was being delayed again. Onewhisker shook his head.

“Instead of licking your wound and letting it heal,” Onewhisker growled, glaring at Mudclaw, “you’ve decided to let it fester. I thought you were better than that, Mudclaw, but I can see now that I was wrong. I gave you the opportunity to lead by my side and you cast it away, and now you try to divide the Clan against me?”

“All we want is the truth!” Mudclaw roared. His hackles were tense, ready to spring. “Why is it so hard to give us merely that, Onewhisker? This would all be over if you just told us the truth!”

“Tallstar’s words were for me, and me alone!” Onewhisker yowled back. His neck fur stood on its ends, disturbing the layer of snow forming along his spine. The rowan groaned again, as if reacting to the rising tension.

Onewhisker took a step forward, nearly meeting muzzles with the former WindClan deputy. “Back down, Mudclaw!”

“I call for a casting of stones!” Mudclaw howled instead, thrusting himself forward even more. The two were almost muzzle to muzzle.

“Back down!”

The wind howled.

“I call for a casting of stones!”

The rowan tree creaked.

“Cast the stones!” Duskwhisker echoed. “Cast the stones!”

“Cast! The! Stones!” Emberstep and Tornear repeated. Softbreeze joined her voice to theirs, rising the chant over the noise of the storm: “Cast! The! Stones! Cast! The! Stones!”

As they chanted, Whitetail raised her tail and roared, “Back down! Back down! Back down!” Those on her side joined in, their voices carrying through the whirl of snow.

Between them, Onewhisker and Mudclaw had begun to circle one another. Crowflight’s throat went dry – were they really going to fight? Like this? The earth pitched beneath his paws. He felt like he was about to retch, his fur running hot. Was this Shadepaw’s dream come true?

An apprentice wailed in fear. Crowflight saw Ashfoot’s mouth move, but he couldn’t hear what his mother was saying over the crowd and the wind. She tried to get to her paws but fell flat onto her belly before she could take a step, her expression hopelessly pained in the swirling whiteness.

It was Barkface that ended it all.

The old tom emerged from the shadow of the medicine den and yowled, his voice like a crack of thunder: “Enough!”

Both sides of the Clan quieted, lowering their muzzles as Barkface pushed through to the center of the clearing. Onewhisker and Mudclaw still circled one another there, but as Barkface crossed between them they stopped – their claws, however, did not sheathe, and their spines did not unbend.

Snow fell in a torrent around them, each flake pattering against the earth. Barkface’s gaze glowered upon them all, but his disappointment was all for Onewhisker and Mudclaw. The old medicine cat’s whiskers quivered.

“This is madness!” Barkface decreed. His stumpy tail flicked up, towards the heavens. “Do neither of you see it, there in the clouds above? Tallstar is there, looking down upon you, the snow his sorrowful tears! Do neither of you see what you’re doing to this Clan you both claim to love?”

“I see it,” murmured Poppyfoot, her tail trembling, eyes wide to their whites.

“Me, too,” Tornear whispered, his muzzle turned up. “Oh, Tallstar...”

Whitetail’s eyes were wide with shock as she stared up at the clouds, and Duskwhisker had her claws dug into the earth as if it might shift beneath her. Emberstep stepped backward, nearly ramming into Crowflight, her entire body shaking. Smokewillow had run to Robinwing to comfort her, his eyes searching the sky while he sheltered his mate from the scorn of their former leader.

Crowflight looked up. The swirling mass of clouds writhed in the sky, dark and oppressive, hiding the sun. That alone felt ominous, but Crowflight narrowed his eyes, struggling to see any clear shape in the storm. Perhaps Tallstar was not angry with him? Perhaps the visage of their former leader was already gone? He looked down, blinking snow from his eyes.

Barkface narrowed his gaze upon Mudclaw. “Onewhisker was chosen as leader of WindClan, and there will be no casting of stones. Not today.”

Mudclaw returned that scrutinous look, but said nothing, his gaze seething with undisguised rage.

Onewhisker unbent his spine and hissed, “Had I my leader’s name I would exile you for this, Mudclaw, upon penalty of death!”

Mudclaw curled his lip around his fangs. “You can,” he agreed, “but you are Onewhisker still; and thank StarClan for it, if that’s your mind when faced with a thing so simple as telling the truth to your Clanmates.”

Onewhisker bristled from ears to tail, looking to start it up all over again; but Barkface stepped between he and Mudclaw. The old medicine cat growled once more, “Enough.”

Barkface sighed. “I suggest we put this behind us, and go on with our day. WindClan is as it should be, as Tallstar and StarClan have willed it. Not everyone may like it – but not everyone has to.” His gaze leveled upon Mudclaw. “We are bound by the warrior code, by our love for one another and our Clan. The will of our ancestors is not for every cat to question.”

Mudclaw lashed his tail. He spat on the ground but turned and stalked away, heading for the den that had been made for the elders. He slipped inside, disappearing into the darkness without another word.

With him gone, the tension in the air faded. Crowflight’s pelt felt cool, finally. Cats began to awkwardly break apart, murmuring worriedly to one another as cats from one side glanced at cats from the other. Though Barkface had diffused the situation, the lines had been clearly drawn.

Crowflight glanced at Duskwhisker. The black she-cat lowered herself to her pads, and she let out what seemed to be a long-held breath. She didn’t meet Crowflight’s gaze – instead she was promptly surrounded by Tornear and Emberstep, who were muttering under their breath. Softbreeze joined them, her tail bushed and lashing.

Crowflight turned his gaze to Onewhisker. He was talking with Barkface in hushed tones, his eyes still bright with indignation. Barkface snapped something at him that made Onewhisker look like a startled kit – a moment later he was on his paws, barking orders. Whitetail met him briefly, then she called for Smokewillow, who in turn called for Thornpaw.

The apprentice awkwardly crawled out from the den, her eyes alight with fear. Weaselpaw and Thistlepaw were still huddled together inside, out of the snow. Crowflight’s heart ached – what was it like for them, seeing all this turmoil, with their mentors on both sides of the problem? Would they be expected to choose a side, too? Thornpaw seemed haunted as she left the camp, casting a worried look over her shoulder at her denmates.

Crowflight swallowed. Lastly, he picked out his mother at the back of the crowd. Ashfoot’s eyes were pained, and she looked immeasurably tired – but she no longer looked disappointed when she met her son’s gaze. Perhaps there was something in Crowflight’s eyes that he couldn’t see himself.

Perhaps she was beginning to change her own mind.

Crowflight’s entire body shook, suddenly. He struggled to keep himself from falling into the snow that had piled up around his paws as the world seemed to tilt on its side.

Something inside of him longed to be anywhere but here. No cat was watching, not anymore. They were all trying to push on as if the ground hadn’t just cracked beneath their paws.

Crowflight slipped out of camp and ran, as far away and as fast as he could manage.

———————————————————

He passed beneath Lakeview, haring over hill and under. His body moved on sheer instinct alone, the desire to be as far from his camp and his Clan as possible superseding all else. He hardly noticed the storm abating, or the clear moors turning to trees as he ran.

It was only when he heard the sound of water that Crowflight realized where he was: deep in the forest, coming up alongside the river that formed the Divide between ThunderClan and WindClan. He forced himself to a stop, his chest heaving, lungs prickling as sharp cold air entered his body.

Paws sore, he stumbled down towards the lake, where the shoreline of the river was low enough to dip his muzzle in to drink. The cold, clear water electrified him from ears to toes, and he lapped greedily, until he thought he might burst.

Only when he couldn’t possibly drink any more did Crowflight stop, and, woozy, he flopped onto his side. His breath puffed out before him like icy clouds, and he found that all he could focus on were them – he watched them form and drift away as reality began to slowly creep back in.

He closed his eyes, and wished it were all a dream.

“Crowflight?”

His eyes flew open. Everything was so hazy. Shadepaw? Perhaps it was all a dream, then...

“Crowflight, i-is that you? Are you okay?!”

Her voice was coming from across the river. He tried to lift his head, but the weight of it all was pressing down on him like he was buried beneath a stone.

“Crowflight! Hang on!”

He wasn’t sure how long he waited. He could hear the crashing of undergrowth, the crunch of snow – it faded away, eventually. He closed his eyes again, wondering if he could dream a different dream, until the flurry of crunching snow quickly growing closer woke him again.

Shadepaw’s scent drifted over him like a blanket of leaves. Her paws were on his body, pressing and poking, and he even felt the heat of her ear touch his flank. He wasn’t sure what she was doing, not really, but her being there felt nice.

She shoved something before his muzzle. It smelled sharp and tangy.

“Eat it,” Shadepaw instructed. “It’s thyme. A bit withered, but there should still be some healing power in it.”

Crowflight obeyed. The tiny leaves tasted funny against his tongue. He felt her lap against his fur, rubbing it the wrong way like Tribe cats did to keep warm. He thought of those mountain-dwellers and sighed.  

I wonder if Feathertail and Brook are okay...?

The thyme worked, soon enough. The world around Crowflight came into focus, and reality felt real again. He drew in a sharp, cold breath and coughed.

Shadepaw sighed with relief. “Oh, thank StarClan! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat so in shock! What happened?!”

Crowflight lifted his head. His mind felt foggy and befuddled, and it took all his concentration to struggle to his paws. He looked around, suddenly realizing where he was, what he’d done. The world pitched again, and he nearly fell.

Shadepaw caught him, bracing him against her shoulder. “Deep breaths,” she said. “Deep, calm breaths...”

Crowflight listened. Each exhale seemed to draw the world into a more stable place. Shadepaw’s presence helped, too, her comforting scent wreathing around him. He breathed it in, holding it close, until finally it felt like he was in control of his body again.

“Thanks,” he rasped.

“No problem,” Shadepaw mewed. “Can you tell me what happened now?”

Crowflight’s throat tightened. Thinking back to the confrontation in camp almost made the world tilt again, and his stomach churned like the way the river before him spun out into the lake. But he had to say something – a glance at Shadepaw told him she was very, very concerned.

“WindClan is getting bad,” Crowflight whispered. “Worse. I couldn’t stay there. I... had to leave. I needed...” He searched for a word to capture it without alarming her overmuch. He failed, miserably. “I needed air.”

“I’m sorry,” Shadepaw breathed. She touched her nose to his shoulder.

Crowflight closed his eyes. His thoughts swirled like the clouds in the storm that had stopped the fighting. His stomach clenched.

“Shadepaw... can I ask you something?” he mewed, his eyes drifting open. He turned and met her gaze.

“Of course,” she meowed. “Anything! You know that...”

There was no delicate way to ask, so he just did: “Do medicine cats lie about signs from StarClan?”

Shadepaw’s eyes darkened.

“I suppose some might,” she answered, her tone careful. “We’re not perfect, after all. Some cats might just have their own agendas in mind. I don’t know of any way to tell, really.”

Crowflight sighed. “I see.”

Shadepaw’s ear flicked, and she looked awkwardly down at her paws. “Do... Do you think that I lied to you?” she asked.

“No,” Crowflight answered quickly, his voice grating low. “I... I think WindClan is very much in danger.” Very, very much.

Shadepaw curled her tail around her paws. She looked like she wished she had lied.

For a moment, Crowflight wished she had, too.

“I don’t want to go back,” Crowflight whispered.

Shadepaw leaned into his fur. “You don’t have to,” she assured. “You can only take so much. We can stay like this, for as long as you want.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve been dreaming of this river a lot, lately,” Shadepaw murmured. Her gaze was clouded. “I don’t know why. I keep being drawn here... I keep seeing...”

She trailed off. Crowflight didn’t press her. He only rested his muzzle on her head, and looked at the water. It cut so neatly between their territories. The name ‘Divide’ was so proper it hurt.

More than ever before he wished that they were back on their first journey. He wished that they had gotten lost, that StarClan had left them to wander. No Clans to go back to, no obligations but to one another, their little family against the world. No cats threatening to tear one another apart. No disappointment in the eyes of cats you’d always looked up to.

Beyond it all, though, he wished that there didn’t have to be a Divide between he and Shadepaw.