Chapter Text
The humans were being strange again.
That's nothing new, they were strange a lot of the time. Caitlyn assured her it was nothing to be worried about, and Powder? Powder took every change in the house as a new adventure and puzzle to be deciphered.
It had started a few weeks before. The house had slowly started having strange objects being added to it. Giant, orange, bulbous fruits, with strange faces carved into them had been the first thing to arrive. Then there'd been the spider webs.
Vi was an excellent hunter, she prided herself on it. In fact, now she was officially one of the owners of this giant house, she took it upon herself to be the chief hunter of their family. She was very fond of Caitlyn, she really was, but honestly, the larger cat had been awful at keeping pests out of her home. The show cat was getting good practice at hunting now that she didn't need to concern herself with those strange gatherings or competitions anymore, but she still wasn't to Vi's level yet.
But yes. Spider-webs.
Vi knew she was keeping the spider population down. She was certain of it. But for some reason after the orange things had arrived, soon so did spider-webs. It would have taken thousands of spiders months to make as many as were suddenly decorating the house, and no matter how much she tried, Vi couldn't find them! It didn't help that Caitlyn was no help at all, merely sitting back and watching, looking amused. Just rude.
And then came the not-bats. Strings of them, hanging from every door way of the house, and never moving! Vi had spent an afternoon just watching them, waiting for them to twitch first, so she could pounce. And they never moved! Once, one fell from the group, fluttering down to the floor, but it wasn't even a bat. Just a thin piece of material that tasted horrid.
The strangeness had continued for several weeks, before all the cats had been given special treats and shut in a room for a night. The house had gotten very loud but after enjoying a few toys filled with the mysterious green stuff, none of the three cats had cared. And the next day? Everything was gone.
The bats, the webs, even the strange, giant, orange things. All gone. She'd been willing to put it down to weird human things. A lot of what they did in this house could be labelled as such. They were very nice humans, Vi may even admit they were as nice as the Giant one day, and much nicer than the Orange Eyed one who kidnapped Powder. But they were strange sometimes.
This, however, was getting ridiculous.
"That's a tree." She mrrped, glaring up at it. Caitlyn padded over to sit next to her.
"I do believe you're right." Vi shot her bonded a withering look.
"Trees don't belong inside." Caitlyn nuzzled the side of Vi's head, leaning up to start licking one of the red cat's ears.
"There are plenty of plants inside." It was very hard to get frustrated with Caitlyn when she was grooming her. It just wasn't fair. Not that she would ask the ex-show cat to stop.
"That's not the same thing and you know it." Vi shot her a look, only to receive a slow, loving blink back from the larger cat. "Trees don't grow inside, and that definitely wasn't there yesterday."
"Are you sure?" There was a teasing lilt to Caitlyn's tone as she worried slightly at a tuft of non-pristine fur above Vi's left eye.
"I would have noticed it growing, Caitlyn!" She meowed in protest, settling down into a sulking loaf. She didn't like this game. She was learning a lot about being an inside cat, and it was a lot better than the streets had been, but every so often it got a bit much, too much to understand and she didn't like not knowing. It made her feel unsafe.
With a sigh, Caitlyn flopped into a loaf next to her, leaning her larger blue-black body against the smaller cat. Vi was still a little miffed with her companion, but that comforting warmth and pressure helped forgive her.
"Sorry, Darling." Caitlyn purred, lifting her head to bump it against Vi's. "You're right, of course. The tree is something new." Vi settled into a satisfied harumph. She knew it was new.
"What is it?" Caitlyn looked up at the tree.
"It's a thing humans do. When the outside gets coldest, they bring a special tree inside to keep it warm, then they let it out when things get warmer, and it takes that warmth with them to the other trees outside."
"So.. like they did with me?" Vi asked, a thought starting to form in her head that she didn't like. Was that what the humans were doing with her and Powder? Letting them get warm before they would go back to the streets? She caught Caitlyn looking at her with an expression of infinite fondness.
"Except you're never getting put back out. You're mine." Caitlyn growled playfully, lunging in a half hug, half pounce as she wrapped her larger body around Vi's. Usually a playfight would be a fun way to spend an afternoon, but right now, Vi's heart wasn't in it. She was content to simply let herself be grappled, looking up at the tree, even while pinned by her companion.
After realising her attempt at distracting the ginger-red cat hadn't worked, Caitlyn returned to grooming her companion, licking her rough tongue along the fur at Vi's chest, making sure Vi felt cared for.
"I mean it. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. Ever. This is your home as much as mine." Vi's chest slowly rumbled into a loud purr as she lifted her nose to press it against Caitlyn's.
"Nowhere else I'd want to be." She mewed quietly, enjoying the wrestling hold and closeness it brought to her cat. "So that's it? They just bring a tree in from the outside to keep it warm? No other weirdness." She closed her eyes to enjoy the grooming, only opening one after a few moments when Cait was suspiciously quiet. "That's it?"
"That's not exactly it." Caitlyn had the good grace to look somewhat embarrassed.
"Cait," Vi meowed, narrowing her eyes.
"They also start hanging things on the tree." Vi looked back at the tree. They had a few things in the trees outside, small wooden houses for birds that Vi had yet to work out how to break into.
"Like those small hiding spots for birds?" This was sounding better actually. If the birds came inside, to use those houses, Vi would have a much better chance of catching them. They couldn't just fly away into the sky. Cait was being suspiciously quiet again and Vi reached out a paw to gently bat the larger cat on the nose.
"They put strings in it. And sparkly things, and hanging shiny things!" Caitlyn's mew was almost a squeak, her eyes were bright with delight and excitement. "And when it gets dark, out they do something and the whole thing shines and twinkles. It's amazing." Cait's purr was deep and heavy, like this was something she looked forward to all year.
"To keep the tree warm?" Vi asked. Sounded daft. Why decorate a tree to keep it warm. They'd tried that with Vi once, to put a coat on her and Vi had not felt warm at all. She'd felt ridiculous. Caitlyn shifted uncomfortably.
"I haven't worked out why yet. It's very distracting when it's up!" She gave a little yeowl before shuffling her head deeper into Vi's chest fluff, sounding almost embarrassed. Vi beamed down at her companion. She was besotted with the larger cat, she would give her anything, one amusing thing about her was that Caitlyn liked having answers. The blue cat loathed not being able to explain anything, or not being an expert in anything she put her mind to. Even admitting not understanding why humans did the strange things they did frustrated her.
Gently, Vi leaned her head down to start grooming the larger cat, dragging her rough tongue over Caitlyn's forehead in long, reassuring licks. Of course, Caitlyn didn't need Vi to make sure she was clean and well groomed. The ex-show cat was still meticulous, rarely even leaving the room that was designated as the cat's personal sleeping area until she was sure that she looked in show condition. That didn't mean Vi would stop grooming her.
Prior to living here, the only cat that Vi had ever groomed was Powder. And that was mostly because the small kitten was usually too distracted by everything around them to make sure that her grey-blue fur was in good condition. As much as their sisterly grooming sessions were about closeness, they were functional too.
Caitlyn was the first cat that Vi had ever groomed who hadn't really needed it. At least she didn't need it to look good or make sure her fur was in place. Whether or not Caitlyn needed it as a means of assurance was another matter entirely. Vi was very good at spotting when her partner was feeling blue and needed a little attention, and was always happy to provide a pick me up.
The larger blue-black cat nuzzled her chest against Vi's chest fluff, paws still wrapped around the ex-street cat in a half hug, half grapple. Vi continued grooming her, paying special attention to the spot behind Caitlyn's ears that always made the other cat's purr get deeper and louder. Once satisfied that her companion was no longer feeling frustrated, Vi asked her next question.
"So what other things do the humans do?" She asked, grey eyes peering down at the larger cat in her paws. Blue eyes looked back.
"Well, there'll be decorations, sometimes they bring more trees inside to keep warm. There may be another human gathering. Several in fact." Vi hissed slightly in displeasure.
It wasn't that she didn't like the times they were shut in their room for an evening. The night before the pumpkins disappearance, she'd thoroughly enjoyed herself with a generous amount of green stuff and a cuddle pile with her and Caitlyn sandwiching a slightly loopy Powder between them. No. The problem was that the next night, the house was filled with smells, and Vi couldn't work out where any of them had come from or what made them.
Sensing her companion's displeasure, Caitlyn leaned up to press her nose against Vi's. "I didn't get shut away last year, so we may get to move around more." Vi's growl faded away, satisfied. At least she'd get to explore. "And Jayce may be in a silly outfit again." Vi's hiss half returned.
She didn't mind Jayce, the great brown and white oaf had been beginning to be tolerable in their visits and she was starting to see the pleasure in tricking him. But then his visits had become more frequent. All of the animals had been confused by that, but Caitlyn, Jayce and, surprisingly, Powder, had been quite happy with the arrangement.
Then the unthinkable happened. Vi had been patrolling her territory outside, walking the fence that separated her garden from the next huge space of land, when there had been a thunderous bark and a giant brown and white shape slamming into the fence, almost knocking Vi down! For reasons she couldn't yet be sure of, Jayce was now living next door. It was very confusing and sometimes when patrolling, Vi could see Jayce's human in the back garden too. Vi would be the last to admit it but she had found pleasure in the games of tag she now played with Jayce in his territory but still.. he was so so loud! Even when he came over to visit their territory.
"How silly?" She grumbled to Caitlyn.
"He had an entire coat and hat last time." There was a short burst of purrs from the larger cat. Vi let out a sigh.
"Fine, we'll make do then." Caitlyn smiled at her and gave her an affectionate head bump.
"I haven't even told you the best part." Vi looked down at the cat in her paws and tilted her head.
"Go on then." Caitlyn's purr deepened, happy to once more be the source of information and expertise.
"Near the end of the tree inside time, they have a special day, with boxes, so many boxes, all covered in shiny paper." Vi blinked in surprise. Boxes had become one of her favourite things since moving into the house. That did sound pretty amazing. Especially if they were shiny boxes.
"And inside some of the boxes are new toys for us. Or special treats." Caitlyn's eyes were bright.
"What.. what sort of toys?" Vi asked, hopefully.
"Well, once, I got this mouse thing that was attached to a ball, and it was so much fun to chase, no matter what I did, it was always able to keep ahead of me. Well, almost always." Cait smiled proudly.
"You caught it within a day, didn't you?"
"But of course, Darling." Caitlyn preened, looking very proud of herself. "And, there's the food." Vi's head shot up, finding a very pleased looking Caitlyn waiting for her excited gaze.
"Food?" She liked toys just fine. They kept her sharp, kept her on the top of the game as the top predator she was. But food? Now Caitlyn had Vi's attention. Vi tried to temper her excitement, lifting a paw to her mouth and cleaning it idly, anything to not show how curious she was.
"Well if you're not interested," Caitlyn mused, starting to disentangle herself from her companion. Ginger-red paws latched tight around the larger blue cat's torso and held on tight.
"I never said that!" Vi mewed indignantly, only to growl when she saw Caitlyn settling down with a very satisfied expression on her face. "So annoying." Vi mrrped with a scowl. Caitlyn merely leaned up to press her nose against Vi's for a moment before giving her a very slow, very lingering blink.
"I'm sorry, Darling" Vi clutched her tighter and rubbed her head against Caitlyn's, scent marking her all over again. This show cat could be so frustrating, but there was nowhere Vi would rather be, no one she'd rather be with. "Would you like to hear about the food?" Vi purred in response, closing her eyes as she nuzzled her face into the smooth fur on Cait's chest. Caitlyn let out a little huff of delight before continuing. "At this time of year, especially around the extra toys part, the humans eat a lot more meat than normal, they have these huge feasts, and usually make an extra effort for our meals as well."
Vi was having a hard time picturing that. The food they ate most days was something she could have never imagined when living outside. The Giant had given them food from those small round objects and that had been pretty good, definitely better than anything Vi had found on her own. But here?
Caitlyn's father seemed to take it as a special challenge to find new and interesting things for the three cats to eat. She herself had never been allowed into the food preparing room, something about the fact she'd once taken some fish from a guest to their house's plate when they'd left it unattended. Powder on the other hand, had been allowed in and had often regaled Vi with tales of the different foods stored within. When Vi had suggested sneaking in to get some, it was one of the only times Powder had ever hissed at her. (which was fine. It wasn't like she really wanted to go in anyway)
"That does sound pretty good." She murmured, feeling a little sleepy just from thinking about as much food as Caitlyn promised. She felt a nuzzle to her head and cuddled closer, letting out a little sigh. "So it won't be like the orange fruit time? Lots of fake bats and invisible spiders?" She murmured quietly. A rough tongue started dragging itself along the top of Vi's head. Long, comforting licks and little nibbles of Caitlyn's teeth to get Vi's fur to sit just so.
"No. It's a much nicer time of year. It's beautiful, it's much quieter and calmer, with good food, gifts and friends. And this year will be the best one yet." Vi lifted her head from its comfy resting place in Caitlyn's chest fluff and peered up at her companion.
"What makes this one special?" She mrrped, tilting her head curiously. Caitlyn just looked back at her, not saying a word, just an expression of pure contentment on her face. Vi watched her for a while, tilting her head curiously. Then it hit her. This was the first tree season where Caitlyn wasn't alone in the house. She obviously had her parents, that was a given, but this would be the first year that Caitlyn wouldn't be the only cat. The first year she could share it. "Oh. Shut up." Vi said, her whiskers bristling in embarrassment as she hid her face in Caitlyn's fur one more.
"This one is special because my new family is with me. My adorable, mischievous Powder, and my handsome, fearsome, beautiful Vi." A large, sleek body wrapped almost entirely around Vi. Their size difference wasn't that big, but it did make Vi feel a peculiar kind of safety when Caitlyn completely surrounded her like this. The blue-black cat had even started extending her tail to add to the width of the circle, to completely encircle her partner. "Mine." Caitlyn growled, nibbling gently on Vi's ear.
Vi's purr was loud enough she was sure that the humans could hear it wherever they were in the vast house which Caitlyn let them stay in. She felt Caitlyn's purr join her's and they rested like that, in a sunbeam of the winter sun, basking in the warmth and the togetherness they both had. They snoozed happily until one of Vi's ears twitched at a sound. One grey eye opened and looked upwards.
"Caitlyn?" She mrrped quietly. A grumbling growl answered her. "Caitlyn?" She asked again.
"What?" The show cat was always grumpy if someone else woke her up.
"You know the tree your humans bring in from outside." There was a huge, rumbling sigh from the blue cat.
"The one we've been talking about before this lovely nap that you woke me from."
"Yes, that one." Vi's eyes were both open now, staring up at the source of the sound that awoke her. "Are we allowed to climb it, like the ones outside?" Caitlyn lifted her head and blinked sleepily, a slight frown on her features.
"No, the inside tree is special, you mustn't climb it." Vi nodded. She thought there'd be a strange reason or rule like that.
"Got it. One more question though, then I'll let you sleep." Caitlyn's whiskers twitched as she glared at Vi.
"Well?"
"Did anyone tell Powder not to climb it?" The glare on Cait's face quickly changed to confusion.
"No, Why would I need to..." She followed Vi's gaze, to the small, grey blue kitten that had made her way up to the wooden platform above where humans caged fire. She'd grown in the months in the home, but Powder would never reach the size of Caitlyn, not even of Vi. Powder was crouched down, eyes glued to the tree, her hips high and wiggling as she readied her leap at the tree.
"Powder! No!" Caitlyn yeowled, desperately trying to disentangle herself from the cuddle pile with Vi.
Powder didn't listen.