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Life had been peaceful.
Well, about as peaceful as it could be when they were still trapped underground in a never changing landscape that Catnap had helped to make eerily silent.
It was roughly two weeks since Dogday’s initial revival and about a week since the last time he’d fully left his body for any reason. The pair had fallen into a decent rhythm since that last gut wrenching apology to the friends who were no longer here and this, all things considered, was good.
“Come on Catnap! You have to get up before the lights turn back on, remember? We’re trying to keep up appearances here!” Dogday exclaimed, doing his best impression of jumping up and down with the bit of pipe Catnap had scavenged for him to use as a new walking stick. The larger purple feline groaned and curled further into his ball but was quickly rewarded with the smaller dog grabbing his tail and yanking on it as hard as he could.
It wasn’t all that hard, but it was just annoying enough to make Catnap sit up, blinking blearily. “Up…I’m up…”
His whispered voice was barely loud enough to be heard, but he was sitting up and that was all that mattered to the small pup. “Come on come on! ” You’re so slow I swear!” Without really thinking about it Catnap wrapped his tail around Dogdays middle and lifted him into his arms, gently patting the tiny leaders head in a half-awake attempt to make him calm down and stop yelling.
In the week or so that it’s been since the larger feline's grand apology to those he’d wronged, alive and dead, Dogday had begun to thrive and it made the lankier of them happier than he had been in the two decades since The Hour of Joy. Longer, since he’d been fueled almost purely by anger and worship for The Prototype before The Hour.
Speaking of, that's what Dogday was currently complaining about.
Catnap had never technically denounced his god aloud or, well, at least not where he could see the only appendage that anyone ever saw of The Prototype. Because of this, it was safer to keep pretending he was a follower rather than risk getting jumped by a semi-human hand at some point and leaving Dogday to fend for himself in a factory that would absolutely eat him alive.
Literally.
Dogday was smiling more now, laughing like he hadn’t in years. His limping steps held a bounce whenever they could and he was more willing to tell the taller of them what to do without the words choking him into silence. With his help, the air in Playcare had lightened and it no longer felt like you would be suffocated just standing in the former orphanage.
Pictures now littered whatever wall they would attach to, the duck pond saw little watery footprints leading away from it and even the buildings didn’t seem quite so shrouded in fear and dread. There were still small creatures that Catnap would hunt down for himself (thank whatever god was listening that Dogday apparently no longer had the need to eat so anything the violent cat caught was his to keep) but he’d always do it away from where the mini leader could see.
The knowledge of this was there, but it was necessary if Catnap was to survive so Dogday only sent up prayers for whoever was caught and little more.
“Come on!” They exclaimed without putting up a struggle.
They no longer feared being held by the larger cat and that was amazing. Since the two were trapped in the one area and Catnap was the only way Dogday could get anywhere or do most things, fears that should have lingered for months or years were overcome much quicker than that and so they felt no fear as they complained loudly in the cat's grasp.
“Alright, alright. We’re going. Get in the bag.” Catnap remarked, putting the pup carefully on his feet. “You’re just going to fall asleep on the trip anyway.”
Dogday stuck their tongue out at him. “Nuh uh! I went to bed early last night, remember? I’ll be as bright as the sun for today!”
Catnap chuckled lowly as he hitched the small bag to his bony back and hopped down.
This is what they did. Every “morning” before the lights came on the larger would carry the smaller on his patrols outside and inside the Playcare, the little taking immense joy in seeing things that Catnap had long since grown used to seeing. Afterward they’d go to one of the buildings and see what could be tidied up before playing around until lights out.
Being trapped underground in agony makes you appreciate the little things, apparently.
The small backpack scavenged from the school became Dogdays perch so he could see everything. The poppy gas had long since dissipated after The Angel moved on, so now all the buildings could be traversed without having to worry about suffocating them. With this newfound safety, Dogday had taken it upon himself (and by that it of course meant Catnap) to clean up the destroyed Playcare to the best of their abilities. Fixing beds in Home Sweet Home, straightening desks in the school as well as sending up a prayer for Miss Delight, who had died trying to murder The Angel, and seeing if they could make the bloodstained toys in the Toy Store look presentable.
The only one they didn’t go into much was the counselors office. Too many memories of seeing the kids that went in there disappearing soon after as they were selected for toy experiments made it so neither of them was interested in cleaning it up. Let the space formerly controlled by the cowards who made them rot.
But other than that it made the little dog happy to see order returning to this empty place, even if the only ones around to enjoy it were themselves. It made them feel good and that was all the bigger body needed to do it without question or complaint.
It also gave Catnap a chance to hunt while Dogday scavenged whatever he wanted or whatever he needed from the surrounding buildings. The mini leader was becoming quite handy with the things he found. He made a makeshift backpack for himself, he was able to make what counted as a knife he could use to defend himself if the need arose, there was even a time he’d made a crude mask to protect himself from the gas while it still hung in the air.
He still couldn’t stand the dark much, hiding in the bag as Catnap traversed the dimly lit cave outside the dome, or the long abandoned and long dark labs that would have his little breath hitching and his little paw-hands shaking, but by now he felt safe enough with his larger counterpart that there was more comfort to be found in being close than fear.
Thank whatever god for that.
Finally roused enough, Catnap went looking for nothing because the only intruder that had come here had been Poppy’s Angel and they were long gone by now. Dead or alive, it didn’t really matter at this point. They clearly weren’t coming back for them.
Food was getting harder and harder to come by, but the smaller toys from the upper levels often came down here thinking they could get away from being hunted so all was not lost yet.
If things didn’t change Catnap knew they’d have to leave, either to the upper levels or try their luck at escaping the factory itself again. With The Prototype thoroughly distracted down lower there was a real chance they could do it, though that was still being treated as a last resort in case it turned out more dangerous than just staying.
Anything to keep Dogday safe.
…
He had a couple more years worth of smaller creatures to devour before that became a problem.
It's fine.
True to the cat's predictions, Dogday was quickly asleep as they walked past the same stuff they see everyday. The little one may have gone to bed early last night, but they both found that riding around like this was actually rather soothing for the little so he often fell asleep at the start of the journey before waking up later on. It made Catnap smile inside and out, knowing that he felt safe enough to sleep on his back as he traversed dangerous areas.
Once patrols were done they went to Home Sweet Home where Catnap promptly left Dogday to struggle in pulling pillows the size of himself toward the beds that the larger cat was currently moving to be straight again. Most of them weren’t too askew, abandoned as they were, but a good few of them had been knocked aside by either humans trying to hide that day, toys trying to find them that day, or by Catnap himself in the intervening years because he couldn’t care less.
He also took this opportunity to catch and eat a random Bunzo toy that was unfortunate enough to think that sleeping on one of the newly made beds meant that he was hidden from predators.
Fed as much as he was willing to be since he refused to leave the smaller of them alone too long, Catnap returned and actually helped his struggling leader, laughing softly the whole time.
They worked and they played and when the lights finally went out Dogday was quick to leap into his arms to be taken back to their little nest in the middle of the giant center statue. Cuddling into the blankets for warmth, Dogday leaned his head against Catnaps chest, feeling his moon pendant resting right behind one of his ears.
“Goodnight Catnap.” They mumbled as sleep took them.
“Goodnight Dogday.” The bigger whispered in return.
But of course, not everything was peaceful all the time.
Catnap's eyes snapped open as he felt a small lump trying to worm its way close to his neck, his pendant grinding against the stone of the statue in a very obnoxious manner. It took a moment for his bleary mind to realize that the small lump was Dogday, digging himself into the larger cat's neck like he was trying to split open the skin and live there.
“Dog-”
With that oh so quiet word Dogday let out a yelp and leapt away, only being stopped because Catnap had wrapped his long arms around the blanket pile before sleeping and his numb legs tripped him up too much to try and climb over the twig like appendages.
Whenever the smaller of them was scared it was like his mind forgot that he was no longer ripped in half and hanging from the wall. His legs lost all feeling and would drag behind him whenever he tried to move and only calming down would bring feeling back to them. Or worse, they would hurt instead of going numb and send the pup spiraling much harder than usual.
While yes Dogdays mind hadn’t left him behind for about a week now, that didn’t mean that he was completely fine. There were still plenty of nights where the fear and pain of everything that happened before would come piling on top of him all at once and he’d panic. The terror kept his mind from running, but it wasn’t like that was better than just not registering whatever was scaring him.
The poor pup had curled himself into a ball at this point, his little arms covering his head as he hid behind his knees, their legs twitching as phantom pains coursed through them. “I-I-I’m so-sorry! It hurts it hurts it hurts please stop! Please! ” The little pleaded aloud, terror forcing his voice into a pitch that was probably far from comfortable. Catnap didn’t move, knowing that sitting up and towering over them wouldn’t help at all.
Neither would gassing them. All that would do was send him into violent nightmares he couldn’t escape from until they finally woke up and panicked all over again.
No, there was a way to help him calm down but it also involved scaring him more. Still though, Catnap readied himself before reaching out with one paw and gently dragging the small leader close again, tucking him firmly against his neck again.
He could feel Dogdays warm breath heaving just above his collar, could feel how the little one tried desperately to push back, to free himself from the grasp of someone he thought was going to hurt him again.
“No! Nonononono! Please I’m sorry don’t hurt me I’m sorry I’m sorry!” Dogday cried, tears falling warm down his little face. “Please don’t not again please I’m sorry Catnap don’t-” Their panicked pleas dissolved into a fit of coughing all while Catnap gently but firmly held him in place.
“Shhhhh.” The larger one lightly shushed. It didn’t matter what he actually said now, Dogday would only hear the growls and snarls of the beast that once hurt him in the name of a fraud of a god.
Dogday fell silent except for sobs and hiccups, not because he was soothed by the sound but because he was terrified of what would happen if he disobeyed. In this state of mind, anything and everything he did was grounds to be hurt, especially as his legs burned with pain that wasn’t there anymore. He was still violently shaking as Catnap started purring, bracing himself for what he was about to do.
Oh how he hated hearing his friend cry like this.
How he hated knowing that it was his fault that these fears were there to begin with.
And oh how he loathed knowing that the best way to break these terrible thoughts from his mind was to pretend to become that torturer again.
Dogday huffed, resting his tiny chin on the bigger experiments collarbone as he tried desperately to follow a command that wasn’t actually given.
“Please…don’t…” He whimpered, just barely loud enough to be heard.
Catnap silently wondered if the others were looking down on them now, and if they were as afraid for Dogday as they had been for themselves. He wondered if they saw him holding their friend and would remember how he held some of them much less kindly as they pleaded in the same fashion for their friend to release them, for him to let them live because they loved him. He wondered if they could only see the monster Dogday was now seeing too.
He hoped not.
He also hoped that they wouldn’t misconstrue what he was about to do as intentionally hurting the little one, something he’d blatantly promised not to do when he groveled for forgiveness.
Slowly, knowing that it didn’t matter if he did it quickly or slowly since Dogday would react the same way regardless, the larger cat reached his other hand over and placed his paw just above the little one's hips, the same place he’d been torn in two all those years ago. Dogday whimpered and whined, trying to use their arms to push away to freedom but Catnap wouldn’t let them.
One paw pressed firmly on his upper back kept his arms and head pinned, almost immobile and his phantom pain wouldn’t let him move his legs beyond the twitching they were still doing. The other paw now let its claws out, resting just barely against his leader's skin. Their tiny puff of a tail was stiff and straight behind the pup, brushing against the giant paw as the claws retracted and popped out again, ever so gently kneading the area that hurt the most.
Pained, terrified cries fell from the little one's mouth, begging without words to be let go so they could escape, but Catnap didn’t let them go. Just pinned his ears back and kept going, purring the entire time.
Dogday thought he was going to tear them in two again.
Dogday thought they were going to feel blood flowing onto the stone of the statue.
Dogday thought he was going to be tortured again.
So Catnap had to show him he was wrong.
Sharp, metal claws never once even nicked the skin as he moved, ignoring the desperate cries of the person who suffered because of his mistakes.
Catnap knew that it hurt. Or at least, that it felt like it hurt. He knew that doing this while Dogday was out of his mind with terror was painful for the little one as, to them, his legs were gone and the larger experiment was just violently tearing away at their already flayed body. But Catnap also knew that their legs were still there. That he wasn’t ripped in half and that he wasn’t using enough force to actually hurt him so the painful cries were just in his mind, nothing more.
Didn’t stop the feline from hating the sound.
From hating how he could feel the pup flinching with each touch, could feel how his body tried its best to twist away from the same claws that had once truly hurt him. How he could still hear the near silent pleas for mercy the cat had ignored all those years ago when they had been shouted so much louder.
But it was okay, because he wouldn't hurt them ever again.
God he hoped the others didn’t think he was enjoying hearing the pup cry.
After a few minutes of crying the whining and whimpering died down. Still though, the bigger of them continued. Eventually, Dogdays arms stopped pushing and they let themselves fall limply against the other, their shallow breaths deepening every once in a while. Catnap let the hand holding their shoulders relax, claws coming out of that one to join the first in their little job. Dogday let in a shaky breath, an equally shaky exhale leaving a moment after. His shaking eased, the tears slowed and stopped. Pleading words stopped falling from his mouth.
After a good ten minutes of kneading Catnap suddenly heard,
“C-Catnap?”
“I’m here.”
Little arms now draped themselves across his bony neck, a small chest heaving where it lay against him.
His claws continued to knead.
“Breathe Dogday. Shhhh, I have you now.” Catnap remarked, almost too quietly to be heard. But Dogday heard him and drew in another shaky breath, this one much deeper than the first few.
“I’m sorry…I forgot…” The mini leader said, his voice ragged and raw.
Catnap curled up more, his shoulders coming forward to help surround his little friend as they sniffled. “I reminded you. It’s okay, just breathe. I won’t hurt you, you’re safe with me. I promise.”
Their back arched for a moment as a shot of false agony stole their breath away again, pain trying to drag them back into the fear and terrible memories.
“Easy now.”
The spasm calmed after a moment and Dogday let out a sigh tinged with exhaustion.
“I’m sorry you have to do this. I know…you’re not really going to…hurt me, it's just, I-I have a nightmare and then I forget it's a nightmare and then you-” They stopped. “I know you’re not going to hurt me when you do this. And I like that this makes it stop hurting faster, even though I know nothings actually there to hurt but…it still hurts so bad and…and I can’t…”
“Shhhh. I told you I’d show you a thousand times over if I need to. Does it still hurt? Do you want me to stop?”
The pups legs had long since relaxed, their twitching gone. Their little tail swished intermittently back and forth, showing that they actually have feeling in their lower half again. Or at least, that they were aware they had feeling in their lower half again. They were breathing better again though tears still dampened the back of the bigger feline's neck and the little one stayed draped over him.
“Please, don’t stop. It doesn’t hurt anymore but I can feel the fog…it wants to take me away. You doing… you doing this makes me feel safer.” They sighed, relaxing for the first time since they woke up. “Thank you for doing this. I know you don’t like hearing me cry.”
“I’d like leaving you to deal with it alone less. I know you don’t think I’ll hurt you normally, but it’s okay to be scared of that still, even when you don’t have a nightmare. I’ll always show you you’re safe. I promise.”
And he meant it. It was okay if Dogday couldn’t remember that the feline was his friend again. It was okay that he was woken up in the night because the pup was in agony and his mind was playing terrible, scary tricks on him. It was okay that they still flinched sometimes when Catnap came up behind them.
It was okay because at the end of the day, or the start of the morning, he always remembered Catnaps promise. He always came to realize he was safe, even if in the past he wasn’t. They knew it was okay now, even if it didn’t seem like it at the moment.
Catnap would never hurt them again.
Since Dogday was now more aware of his surroundings (and considerably more relaxed than before) Catnap pressed a little harder with his claws, still never once breaking the skin as he worked to massage the ghosts of past injuries away. Back into the darkness from whence they came. The now smaller leader let out a deep sigh and went completely boneless as relief took the place of agony.
It wasn’t long after that their breathing became deep and even, free from any shaking or hitching. The larger of the pair took a moment to readjust him, wrapping half of him up in the blanket nest and holding them close to his chest. Their little head rested softly on the bones there, not caring at all when the cat slipped one oversized paw around them and the other back on his hips.
“Goodnight Dogday. Sweet dreams.” He remarked quietly. Dogday shifted to hold the paw wrapped around him, leaving the other to its work. Not a hint of fear anywhere to be seen anymore.
Catnap kneaded away well into the night. He didn’t get a lot of sleep, which was fine. They’d curl up like this again to nap in the day if it came down to it.
All that mattered was that his friend was alright and so he continued until the lights came back on to signal the start of the day.