Chapter 54 – Wake Up Call
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Step by step, my heated paws sizzle through the thick snow, aimlessly wandering through the murky darkness threatening to choke my body and soul. This place should be familiar, comforting, just as any walk home should be...yet it’s as though the path there alone had been wiped from the shivering forest’s slate. I know this is the way home, I know this place like the back of my hand, and yet the corridors of looming aspen bark shift, the unwelcoming darkness piercing my heart and pinning me in place. I move, yet go nowhere...the low wailing of heavy howling doesn’t so much mock me as it does chastise me, putting me in my place as this helpless, stray kitten…

...But I know she’s in here. However fruitlessly I act, I’ll continue to wade through this darkness ‘til I find her. I saw her dragged away into the depths of shadow, and I’ll be damned if I don’t burn a hole through that darkness and pull her ass back home. Somehow...somewhere…

 

...Someone is snuggly coiled around me, wings so cloud-like draped over me like a cozy blanket. My arms go up and a stretch wrings a squeaky good morning out of me, eyes fluttering open as the final moments of the night before dawn on me like the morning sun rising to be seen out the window.

“Ngh...g’mornin’ Nia…”

I almost regret letting her in here after all the tussling and teasing that happened thereafter, but her waking face draws my mind elsewhere.

“Mmn, there’s my little ball of sunshine~” she coos, her lower half wriggling and stretching around me in an oddly comforting embrace, keeping her arms slung around me and nuzzling up under my chin. In pulling herself closer, however, I become ever more aware of the squeaking softness between us, Fox looking content as can be squished between Niamh and I.

“Stuff it, you stupid snuggly snake,” I reply, yet my arms remain around her as well. 

Hate this woman. She giggles, of course, so sweet yet obnoxious all the same, finally letting go of me and releasing Fox from her prison of softness.

“Oh~ But I’m your stupid snuggly snake~”

“Not a chance.”

With her wings no longer atop me, I feel the slight sting of winter against my fur. As always nature is being sure to remind me that clothes are a necessity, forcing me to sit up and start getting ready for the day. Before burrowing through my drawers, however, I steal a glance at Niamh, pulling her hooded crop top out of the nightstand on her side of the bed, the smaller wings atop her head flapping then folding forward as she prepares to don her usual purple garment, only to smirk back at me.

“Hadn’t had enough last night, hmm~?”

I nearly hack out a furball, quickly turning away as my tail swishes in irritation.

“You wish. You fuckin’ wish I could stomach any more of you than I already have.”

Her laugh sings and soars through the air as it always does, and I do my best to ignore her as I get dressed, topping off a casual black dress and grey sweatpants combo with the same big coat as before. As I turn back around to grab the hair ties on my nightstand, I find Niamh stretching out her wings and grooming them, now fully dressed. Fox smiles up at me, and I smile back, giving her a lengthy head pat before making my way to the door, my partner trotting along by my side.

“Someone’s in a rush to go nowhere in particular~” Niamh teases, standing up and moving to place one hand on my shoulder and the other on my hip.

“If going nowhere means getting away from you, I’m taking an express ticket to bumfuck Does Not Exist Land.”

Her snooty chuckling worms its way into my mind once more, the snake leaning in with her chest to my back and cheek against my own.

“Sounds like the kind of place two or three girls could have a wonderful time, do keep me posted in that regard~”

Meow.

Before I have a chance to volley another retort the stupidly sapphic snake’s way, my phone dings from within the confines of my coat pocket, getting a sneaky snrk out of Niamh before she releases me to check who the hell is messaging me at this hour--

“Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

 

7:36 - Unknown - [ chu chu Cat Kitten guess who ]

 

The number is unknown, but the sender is anything but.

“I’d say throw those travel plans in the trash, but it seems I’m destined towards the sewers all the same.”

“Aha, is that what this is about~? Such a pity. I’ll have to teach her that there’s only one whore worthy of your irritation, darling~”

I roll my eyes and shove Niamh off, making my way out of the bedroom and into the dining area to take a seat while I work out how exactly I deal with this pest.

 

7:37 - Cat Kitten - [ Fuck off. ]

 

Yeah, that’ll do for now. Phone set to silent.

With a sigh, I stand up, the day quickly becoming exhausting before even beginning. Once I shake the irritation off my face, I find Fox sitting at her seat on the table, staring up at me with a concerned tilt of the head. Heh. Everything she does seems extra cute in this form, and that’s saying something.

“I’ll be fine, hun,” I reassure her with a smirk, then turning to the kitchen space. “And I’ll be extra fine once I whip something tasty up for us. How does breakfast sandwiches sound?”

“Simply divine, darling~” coos the snake, having taken a seat without either of us noticing, as she does. 

This doesn’t stop Fox from salivating at my proposition, so I roll my eyes and get to work whipping something up for everybody.

“Any dietary restrictions, Nia?”

“Oh, hardly. Why restrict the kinds of prey I can set my eyes on when there are so many wonderful and different kinds of morsels to swoon over~”

I shake my head as meat hits the pan with a sizzle, not needing to wait for the stove as I let heat flow through my paw and into the pan in my hand.

“And here I thought ‘eat the rich’ wasn’t to be taken so literally.”

“Darling, don’t get the wrong idea!” she says, pulling a newspaper from a fold in her wing, its contents in a script unknown to human, or Ascended, eyes. “I haven’t eaten anybody since I was more dragon than serpent. That’d be a few thousand years ago, if ye be curious~”

“Thankfully, I’m not.”

With a shrug and a chuckle, Niamh pulls up her paper and begins reading, Fox curiously eyeing the words she cannot understand on the back before her attention is nabbed by the tasty smell of breakfast as I slide a plate over to her side of the table and hurl Niamh’s sandwich directly at her. Of course, she simply catches it in a cloudy baseball glove before taking small bites out of it, taking her sweet ass time despite the size of her maw. Meanwhile, as I start eating mine, Fox devours hers without so much as a second thought. With our bellies full, the day begins in earnest, drawing me towards the door with Fox by my side, only to turn to the snake still peacefully eating at the dining table.

“Need I bother asking what your plans are for the day?”

“Oh, I’ll be out and about the moment I’m needed~ You did say to keep an eye on this town while you’re keeping an eye on everything else, afterall~”

My eye rolling goes ignored as my hand falls upon my hip, shaking my head and turning the doorknob with my free hand.

“Just don’t make too much of a mess.”

Another giggle of snake-like quality fills the air as she bats her hand in my direction, eyes still glued to her reading material.

“I’ll be keeping quiet, worry not. Been quite some time since I’ve sat down to watch human media, taking some time to relax will do me good~”

“Uh huh. See ya later, Nia.”

“Buh-bye, kitten~”

That’s the last I hear of her before closing the door behind me and am invited back into the waking world.

 

Unfortunately, I make the grave mistake of checking my phone as I begin making my way through the woods and into town.

 

7:38 - Unknown - [ so rude~ you’re going to ruin those pretty little lips of yours if you keep contorting them so~ ]

7:38 - Unknown - [ and i need you smiling for your grand reveal tomorrow! ]

7:39 - Unknown - [ maybe you need a lesson or two to wipe off that scowl i know you’re making right now ]

7:39 - Unknown - [ just think about some beautiful folks like me, and let your face do the rest~ ]

 

Following that is a selfie of the rat queen herself, draped in a bathrobe and surrounded by a swath of goons either trying to shove themselves into the photo, or doing something stupid in the background. Y’know, like lighting each other’s hair on fire, or seeing how many idiots can ride a pool table like a boat before it breaks, each rower with a pool cue in hand, either raised high or rowing low. No wonder this bitch ended up like she did.

 

7:40 - Unknown - [ send one back will ya? gotta make sure you’re not fucking it up in some way ]

7:41 - Unknown - [ i know you’re reading these Cat Kitten ] 

7:42 - Unknown - [ Cat Kitten ]

7:42 - Unknown - [ bitch ]

7:43 - Unknown - [ Cat Kitten you’re a mother fucker respond now ]

7:45 - Unknown - [ i know approximately where you live Cat Kitten do not test me ]

7:48 - Unknown - [ Cat? ]

7:50 - Unknown - [ i know this is the right number ]

7:55 - Unknown - [ this is Cat Kitten ]

7:56 - Unknown - [ i am speaking directly into your ear ]

8:00 - Unknown - [ fuck whoever it is on the other end of this number ]

8:10 - Unknown - [ i drink $200 wine for breakfast lunch and dinner where tf you at ]

 

My god, she’s pathetic. And this is the person I’m supposed to trust will have Subterfuge’s best interest in mind?

 

8:16 - Cat Kitten - [ You’re really fucking sad, you know that? ]

 

By the time I’m putting my phone back into my pocket, I find myself on the cusp of Aspen Town, and waiting for me just by the forest’s entrance is none other than the Ascended Stranger themselves, having yet to notice me.

“Yo, Coyote,” I greet them, one hand in pocket and the other waving as I saunter over to the surprised stranger.

“G-gah! Ah, Cat…” they say with a jump and a sigh of relief. “I was hoping to see you. I’d been given directions to your woodland abode, but…”

They seem embarrassed suddenly, a bright green blush visible through the shade of their cloak as they grasp at their hands anxiously.

“Y’ain’t gotta be so tense, Coyo,” I assure them, sliding to their side and resting my paw on their shoulder, though, this seems to only embarrass them more. “You’re home now. We’re all friends here.”

Jam’s ugly mug blazes through my mind like a flash bang.

“...Most of us are friends here.”

“I got lost.”

My eyes fall down to their face and blink before smiling equal parts sympathetically and sheepishly.

“Ahh, the woods aren’t friendly to newcomers. I’m sure you’ll find your way eventually--”

“For an hour.”

Blink.

“...How early do you wake up?”

A staticy sigh leaves Coyotl’s mouth in response to my question. “Early to bed, early to rise. I find myself rather...irritable if I stay up too late or wake too early.”

My lips curl into a smirk as I pat Coyotl’s back, ushering them back into the inner workings of Aspen Town.

“Alright, grump, let’s get the day started before it’s too late. You eat yet?”

 

If the stranger was uncomfortable with me alone, I can only describe their current emotional state as ‘mortified’ as we walk through the lively streets of Aspen Town. Their flickering emerald eyes dart from side to side at the slightest provocation in their peripheral vision, until I tighten my grip on their shoulder, bringing their senses to me.

“No one here is out to get you, you know. If you’re here, it’s because you belong here with everyone.”

They seem to scowl at the very notion of acceptance, however, pulling their cloak on tighter around them like a protective shell.

“How can you truly know that...you don’t know what I’ve been through.”

My eyebrow raises inquisitively before I turn my gaze to soften upon Jasper’s place.

“Why don’tcha tell me then? If you’re comfortable. C’mon, we can talk over brunch.”

Their gaze follows mine before dropping back down to their feet as if the sigh falling from their mouth were an anchor burdening them in place.

“...Don’t make me carry you too. People I pick up have a tendency to fall for me, and I’ve got enough suitors as is. For now.”

“...Wh-what are you going on about? Are you not already betrothed to the wily one…?”

A snort shoots through my little kitty nose, more a squeak than anything.

“Wily one? That’s cute. I’ll have to remember that one,” I half joke with a deep breath, still standing in the middle of the cold with Coyotl. “You’re kinda right, though. Fox and I are a thing, but I’m open to the idea of more, as long as she’s comfortable with it.”

“...That’s preposterous,” Coyotl spits with a harrumph. “How could the sanctity of love be maintained being stretched so thin?”

I shake my head.

“Oh, Coyo, Coyo, Coyo. So much you have to learn. If you’re monogamous, no one’s gonna force you to be otherwise, but others live their own ways. Especially here of all places.”

They don’t seem to have much of a response to that besides an inward looking grimace. I give them one more pat on the back before sauntering over to Jasper’s dining porch, turning back to the stranger with my seat pulled out.

“Maybe we can share. You tell me about yourself, I teach you everything you’ve been missing out on.”

Still as steel, they seem to hesitate before ultimately forcing themselves forward, pulling up a seat opposite to me and sitting in it all too proper-like, despite the following fidgeting displaying how uncomfortable it makes them.

“You can relax here, y’know,” I tell them, the stranger jolting to attention as if they’d thought their discomfort wasn’t obvious. “I know you’re nervous about a lot of things, but at the very least you can be yourself. Loosen up! Trust me when I say I understand how tough it can be forcing yourself to sit still.”

They stare at me for a moment before taking a deep breath and grumbling it back out, pulling their legs up to sit cross legged and leaning over the table while their fingers tap along its surface. A slight smile crosses my face seeing them already visibly more comfortable.

“What do you like to eat anyways? I can order something for you.”

They shake their head at me, however.

“No. I don’t have any money to--”

“Don’t need it. We don’t use capital here.”

Another stare bounces right off me from their baffled glowing eyes.

“Wh-- N-nevermind. Besides, I can take care of myself, I’m not some weak--”

“G-g’mornin’, everybody. Good to see you again, Cat!”

Coyotl freezes up completely as Jasper approaches, unable to turn to even face her.

“G’mornin’, Jasper. This here is Coyotl, they/she, they’re a new friend of mine.”

The stranger appears to want to disagree with me, yet their tail wags slightly harder at the same time.

“Oh! A pleasure to meet you then, Coyotl…!”

Despite Coyotl’s silent grievances, I can’t help but smile hearing Jasper. She was very unsure of herself starting this little diner, even more so having came out so recently, but she’s doing great, and her voice is so sweet to hear.

“Don’t worry about them, they’re just shy.”

Jasper nods at me before I order, chatting it up with her and feeling that familiar light-ness I did just yesterday.

Ah. That’s right.

I put “Meet with Jasper in private” on my crumpled mental notepad before the two of us turn to Coyotl.

“What can I get for you, then, Coyotl…?”

Despite all their talk earlier, they remain uncomfortably silent, prompting me to reach a paw over and place it atop their hand. They finally look me almost in the eyes before sighing and leaning closer to murmur to me.

“J...just, like...a...a burger...or something...n-no tomatoes though. Or onions. O-or pickles!”

My gaze returns to Jasper as I sit back and crane my head in Coyotl’s direction.

“Bunger.”

“Bunger?” the waitress repeats with a tilt of her head.

“No tomato, onions, or pickles,” I specify while nodding, Jasper smiling and nodding in return.

“Coming right up, y’all. If you need anything, give Solaris a hoot, xe’ll give you a hand!” the waitress says with a bow, only for me to catch her attention again as she’s turning around.

“Are you sure you don’t want my help getting xis hand?”

With the weather as cold as it is, I almost expected to see steam billowing from her ears as jolts, looking somewhat embarrassed while I continue smirking at her.

“Wh-what?! I-I have no idea what you’re talking about! U-uhm, I’ll be out with your orders soon!”

And with that, she rushes back off into the building, leaving me to lay back in my seat and turn towards my guest, who appears to be confused by the little interaction.

 

“...Is everyone this chummy here…?”

I shake my head before explaining, “Nah. Maybe? Not me. I’ve just got some history with Jasper. Railsent would’ve been a whole lot nicer if there were more people like her there.”

“Railsent, you say…”

“Mhm! Not sure how much you’ve heard beyond our role in bringing the Ascended back to the world, but Fox and I started off as petty cat burglars who made our home in the dingy little town.”

The stranger raises a glowing eyebrow at me, seeming to tense up somewhat.

“You stole from the people of Railsent? Did you run out of places to burgle before targeting the Inkton Manor?!”

Their accusation makes me snort, then hold up my paw defensively.

“Maybe we stole their time and patience, but never any goods or money,” I explain with a roll of my eyes. “No, it was mainly a base of operations. Also the only place we could afford shelter from…”

Suddenly, Coyotl’s anger seems to fade to a sad, dimly glowing look.

“...You could not find a home anywhere else?”

“Nowhere but the pathetic shack they so graciously offered us in Railsent. Tons of other houses open, but we were outsiders.”

“A shack,” the stranger spits out, seeming to curse themselves under their breath for some reason.

“Ey, nothing you could have done about it, yeah?” I offer with a shrug. “Just another thing I’m hoping can change once Elizabeth makes good on her end of the bargain.”

“...Right. Of course, there was nothing I could do. Still...I’m sorry you ever had to endure such a thing.”

Another shrug before raising my arms and stretching.

“Mmmnya…! Thanks. But hey, now you get a chance to make history and be a part of making this city a better place.”

Coyotl nods somewhat solemnly, staying silent for a good while and keeping their eyes distant by gazing out onto the street.

“...So before you struck the Inkton Manor, what did you steal from?”

A bittersweet smirk finds its way along my face as I reminisce on a grimmer yet simpler time in my life.

“Just about anywhere rich folk live. It wasn’t quite anything so flashy as we do now, we wanted to keep a low profile after all, but the many manors of Monorise gave us lots of opportunities to take back from what the hoarders hoard.”

“...They surely must have worked hard for such wealth--”

But I wave my hand to stop them.

“Look, I could step on my soap box for a bit, but you don’t wanna hear that. They don’t, they hoard all the profits their workers make, and we suffer because of it.”

The stranger’s face remains stoic with a twinge of sadness to it, continuing to avoid eye contact, which I’m totally fine with.

“...Sorry, not a very fun topic to cover. Back on track, though, that’s why it took so long for us to ever take a swing at the Inkton Manor. By the time we were on our feet and stealin’, most of their possessions had been sold, all that was left seemed to make it more of a museum, which...I’m guessing would have been those artefacts, yeah?”

Coyotl finally perks up, the conversation taking a turn in their favour as their glowing eyes brighten.

“Yes! Absolutely fascinating finds they are, from what I read, all constructed either by or with the help of Radiant Beings.”

Their sudden enthusiasm brings a smile to my face as I watch them roll up their sleeves to reveal the cuffs they had been using the day prior.

“These are called ‘Dragon Slayers’...though, its description mentioned how this is somewhat misleading, as more recent history pins them as weapons used to fend off unholy creatures. A more apt name might be ‘Vampire Killers.’”

“Why do I get the feeling Sue-Zee would get a kick out of that,” I chime in with a snort.

“...Ah, Sue-Zee. Human warrior, yes…?

Can’t help but chuckle at them a bit for that.

“Two human warriors, if you wanna refer to them as such. Some of the oddest, most reliable friends I could have ever asked for.”

“Yes...I’d heard of their exploits in the battle against Metatron...fearsome ones indeed…”

For a moment, it almost seems like Coyotl is actually perturbed by the thought of Sue-Zee, so I turn the conversation back a bit.

“So, are those the only artefacts you nabbed?”

The stranger seems much happier to talk about this, lighting up once more.

“No. I grabbed a few more…give me a moment...where did I put the Amazing Mirror...”

While Coyotl rummages through their cloak, I pull out my phone again, grimacing at the rat’s new messages.

 

8:17 - Unknown - [ oh, but you can’t resist me all the same~ ]

8:18 - Unknown - [ now that i have your attention, however ]

8:18 - Unknown - [ i have a job for you~ ]

 

8:30 - Cat Kitten - [ Are you fucking kidding me ]

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