Avery sighed happily as they walked down the dimly lit streets towards their home. Normally Avery didn't leave this late, usually around sundown to help a bit around the cafe before heading home and feeding Mochi, but they had gotten a little...preoccupied at work.
Most of it was their fault, admittedly. Their relationship with the other work buddies at the cafe was both one of the best, and worst, secrets at the cafe. It wasn't their fault! Everyone was just so cute in their own way!
Landry and his gentle giant nature with a fashion for construction. his caring personality never failed to make Avery feel better.
Hayes with his adorable coffee art and nervous habits that always made Avery want to dote over him like a mama bird.
Reese with his open attitude but who always was the most flustered in the room if they did anything cute or romantic together.
Finley with her fun loving yet caring attitude towards them who and always seemed to permeate a room in energy and playfulness.
And Mason, the strong and quiet chef who could make everybody listen if she had something to say. The buff woman who could bench press two of Avery and not get tired, yet who only used her strength around Avery to have fun with them, or push them into a wall to kiss them.
It was one of the best kept secrets because no one outside of the cafe had any idea it was going on. But it was also one of the worst kept secrets because everyone seemed to be in on it. There was some confusion at first from the others since the others and Avery were more than friends, but not quite dating one on one. Luckily no arguments started and no furniture was thrown (Mason and Landry seemed like the only one who could anyway) by the end of the day. It'd stay in that level of confusion for a few weeks until the others seemed to put it aside in favor of caring for Avery, who had been losing sleep and looking more haggard by the day since they found that book. Now they seemed to be in some odd...web...relationship thing. They weren't dating each other, and none of them were dating Avery, but they all acted way closer than just friends. Cuddles with them had a schedule, and each were unique in their own way.
Sometimes it was nice to be big spoon like with Hayes, Reese and sometimes Finley. And other times it was nice to be the little spoon like when they were with Landry, Mason and again sometimes Finley. They swapped positions at random. They'd cuddle on the couch one on one while the others finished up their daily chores, or were already gone in Mason's case.
Avery hadn't gone for their boss Graves. They weren't exactly enthralled with the older goth nerd, but they liked him, sort of. Not like they liked the others anyway. He had grown on them after the whole Thai dinner thing, but in more of a more familiar way. Not that it mattered, Avery had barely seen him recently besides the rusted bike incident.
The reason, or reasons they had been late leaving tonight was because of the two female workers they had giant crushes on. Normally Mason left before they finished closing, but tonight was their scheduled cuddling time! Avery had made sure to check in with Mason and make sure that she was okay with staying later than normal, but Mason had been fine with it.
Her hands were rough but warm, wrapped around Avery's hands with ease. Avery found that Mason's neck was a wonderful spot to lay their head when cuddling. Mason had rested her head against the back of Avery's and would place little soft kisses against their head or neck making Avery shiver. Cuddling with someone could always put Avery to sleep. The steady breathing could draw them in without fail, but they had been determined to stay awake tonight of all nights after cuddling with Mason for a bit to help Finley with some more of her pretty nail art. She had told Avery that the viewers seemed pretty positive with the last one a little while back so she'd decided another one couldn't hurt, and the setting sun from the large windows would make the viewers feel more content and happy as they watched the video, something that confused Avery but they could agree with. Sunsets were pretty.
"Yeah, sunsets are pretty." Avery had said lamely, setting their hands on the table as Finley got her industrial sized nail polish toolkit out.
"Not as pretty as you." Finley responded as she winked at Avery. They pursed their lips and made a kissy face back at her, trying to keep her attention away from their glowing cheeks. Avery was a sucker for compliments, and being complimented by one of their crushes was not good for Avery's health. Were their friends still crushes? Was Avery...dating them all? Were they in some weird middle ground never seen in recorded history? Eh, who knew.
They watched her work, admiring the little cat patterns and paw prints on one of their fingernails, utilizing her box to use different colors from last time to glaze their nails in a warm mix of red, orange and yellow. A cat here, and a tiny paw there, and before they knew it she had already finished painting and was placing the polish back in the container.
"Thanks for helping me Avery! Couldn't have done it without you! Well, I mean I could but it'd be kinda awkward with one hand."
"No problem Finley. Glad I could give you a helping hand!" They were already pushing their chair in before they suddenly came to a jarring halt.
'Oh no. No. No no no.' Avery turned their head to look at Finley and they could see that devious grin work itself onto her face as she turned away from her box to look at them. What had they done!?
"Wow Avery, I really have to hand it to you! You're getting better at these jokes." Avery groaned and collapsed to their knees with a shattered sounding "Noooo" while burying their head in their hands. They tried in vain to tune out the rest, but there's no way you can tune out Finley.
"I'll have to remember that one, It seems really handy. You okay there Avery? You don't seem able to hand-le this situation!" Avery groaned louder and turned away, trying to find a way out of the situation. Luckily, Finley decided to show mercy on them by interrupting her tirade of puns by giggling madly into her hand and offering the other to Avery.
"Need a hand?"
"Stop." They accepted the hand and stood up, taking a moment to admire the form of Finley giggling and snorting into her hand. Avery turned away for a moment to check the time, only to find the sunset already gone and replaced by a full moon. Pretty. Wait, moon? Crap, they haven't fed Mochi yet! That fat cat was probably going nuts at home!
They turned to Finley and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, taking a moment to enjoy the smell of her perfume.
"Hey, I gotta get going and go feed Mochi. See you tomorrow!" Avery turned away only to feel a hand on their chin turn their head back to face Finley. Who had hooded eyes and that devious grin on her face that made Avery gulp.
"You call that a goodbye kiss? Gimme some real sugar, baby." Avery was only too eager to meet her halfway, immensely enjoying Finley's sugar coated lips pressed against their own. They closed their eyes and wrapped their arms around Finley's neck, taking a moment to savor it while they could.
It seemed to last only a moment until they had to pull away and open their eyes, taking in the sight of Finley's blushing face which they supposed they probably matched. They took a moment to run their thumb along the back of Finley's neck, making her smile.
"See you tomorrow Avery~." They giggled and hugged her again before finally pulling away and jogging down the stairs, eyeing the Mason-less couch in the middle of the room.
'Guess she went to her grandpa's' With the whole being a cat thing still going on, they only talked when he came over for lunch, but it was better than not at all. Avery hadn't had a chance to really try and break the curse with any of them, although they knew Landry and Reese knew something about magic. Maybe they'd meet up sometime soon and try and figure it out? It'd be fun, but for now they had to get home!
Avery jogged to the entrance giving a cleaning Landry a goodbye kiss and hug before heading out. They made sure to turn him around first though to fully enjoy the feeling of having to turn their head almost completely upward to kiss the gentle giant before walking out through the double doors.
As Avery turned the corner, they felt a tense, creeping stiffness crawl up their back. Their steps slowed, each leg feeling like solid lead. They remembered this feeling. The same feeling they had when they ran into that guy in the alley who wouldn't stop staring at them. The feeling of someone standing behind them, reaching over their shoulder was there as well. Was someone behind them!?
They quickly whip around to keep anyone that might be behind them from hiding, but there's nothing. Just an empty street late at night. They turn forward and walk back faster to the apartment, but the feeling only grows with each step towards home. Why were they so nervous? they'd taken this route home dozens of times, why was it so nerve wracking now?
'Oh. Oh no. It's him.'
He stood near the front door, bat resting across his shoulder half turned away as if he hadn't noticed them even though they could feel his gaze on them. Avery froze and tried to take a few deep breathes, trying to ignore the constricting feeling in their chest. Their heart was shaking almost uncontrollably and it felt like it was about to fall out of their chest. Avery couldn't shake the sense of...wrong they felt but couldn't place why.
"Howdy." they jumped at his voice.
"Uh...g-good evening! Good night!" Their voice felt incredibly small, as if it wasn't their own. They tried to speed walk to the door, but the tall man stepped to the side and blocked the way.
"Now, now, why the hurry? Won't ya answer a couple questions, kiddo?" His deep, drawling voice felt like venom to their ears. He smiled at Avery, but that only served to make them more nervous.
"Uh...n-need directions? Y-you seem out of p-place." They could hear their voice shake in fear, as if they couldn't feel it shake like the rest of their body. They winced when he turned up an eyebrow. He noticed.
"Well, ain't you smart! Right to the point. Why yes, I am lost. But I ain't lookin' for a place. Oh, I found that. Looking for a guy, think you can help?" Crap. What was he going to do to them if they couldn't help? He looked like the kind of guy who'd go on a rampage at a moments notice.
"Ah...um, I'm pretty new to the city. I don't know a lot of people." His grin only seemed to grow as he lazed back against the front door and closed his eyes.
"I reckon you can. Suppose I shouldn't mince words. You're a busy person! I'm already feelin' guilty wastin' your time."
'Somehow I'm pretty sure that you are not "feelin' guilty" in the slightest' He finally opened his eyes to stare them down, trapping them where they stood.
"I'm trying to hunt down Graves. You seen him?"
'Graves!?' Was he a friend? No, he couldn't be. It just didn't seem right. What made him think they knew Graves? Had he been following them?
"See. I've been looking all over for my old buddy and it's like he don't exist! Ain't that a shame?"
"Ah...y-yeah. I haven't seen him recently either." Anger flashed over his face like an eclipse making Avery jump, only for it to vanish just as quickly as it had come.
"Tch! Too bad. We got so much to talk about. I suppose his apprentice will do. That'll send the message."
'What!? A-Apprentice!?'
Intent reached their feet before it reached their ears, but it didn't seem to matter. Avery only managed to start running before hearing what sounded like a bat hitting metal. And suddenly their foot got stuck. They didn't know what on, only that when it hit the ground, it didn't get back off. The force they had been building slammed into them and forced them to the pavement. Their ankle twisting in a way that pain shoots up their leg. They wanted to crawl away, but couldn't. Their leg refused to move no matter how hard they pulled.
"I gotta speak to Graves 'bout your manners. Didn't even excuse yourself. What a rude little kitten." Avery shivered as the word "kitten" exited the man's mouth. They didn't like it. They really didn't like it.
Avery turned down to look at their foot only to see it covered in...rust? They look up to see the man moving towards them. He was slow like molasses, like he was going on a stroll through a mountain trail and not towards a person with a foot covered in magical rust. they had to strain their neck to see him, but it was hard at this angle. It hurt to twist their leg anyway they could.
"If you'd been polite we wouldn't need to fight. Didn't wanna hurt you, kitten. I only need a couple answers."
"W-what did you mean "send the message"!?" He raised an eyebrow and his grin only seemed to grow as he stepped closer.
"I needed a way to let Graves know that I'm back. But imagine my surprise when I don't see no hide nor hair of 'im." He stopped barely a foot away from them, tapping their rusted foot with his bat.
"We coulda' dueled, I wouldn'ta complained, but I don't think you can get out of that there rust." He took a step closer until he was close enough that he was almost touching them. Avery couldn't stop shaking. That dreadful feeling was practically slamming into them from everywhere. It felt like they were at the bottom of the ocean, and they were moments away from being crushed.
Avery was almost positive they wouldn't be able to break the rust off without breaking off their entire ankle. No matter how hard they pulled, it wouldn't budge.
'It already feels broken, so halfway there I guess.' They could feel tears well up in their eyes. From the pain or the situation they were in they weren't sure. What could they do!? They could barely use their magic to make trash sculptures, how could they fight back?
They could call for help but all the people that could help were cats right now. Graves was missing. The police would probably get wrecked by this guy.
'I'm doomed.'
The man must've found something funny, because he started chuckling and nudged them with their foot. A rough prod against their stomach that felt almost like stone hitting them. They craned their head and they can see him biting his tongue, the tip sticking out of his mouth like he was trying to stop himself from laughing. Ew. He bended his knees and moved downwards, stopping when his knees almost hit his chest and his bat was resting on his shoulder again. By the time he stopped, he was leering over them, a look of sick excitement dancing in his eyes.
"Say, you look mighty scared, kitten. Don't know why, I ain't gonna hurt ya." It wasn't much of a stretch for Avery not to believe him. The white-haired man leaned forward and grabbed their chin with his free hand, turning their face from side to side as if admiring an art piece from all angles. He seemed to ignore any pathetic attempts from Avery trying to pull away, before bringing his face closer, filling Avery's nose with the smell of iron. They couldn't help but shiver in fear as they felt his nose brush up against their ear.
"You look mighty cute, kitten. Could see why Graves'd keep you 'round."
'is this creep complimenting me!?' The disgust must've shown on their face cause the man just seemed to laugh again.
"Don't be so angry kitten! Just payin' respects." Avery tried pulling their leg free again to no avail. Their ankle wasn't budging. The man seemed to enjoy leaning over them, eyeing them up like some twisted prize at a weird fairground stall.
Suddenly, the hand on Avery's chin moved to the back of their neck and gripped it with enough pressure that Avery couldn't stop themselves from crying out, and suddenly all they can see was the street racing towards to meet them.