A/N: Okay then, Until I can get the last chapter up for Dreams, I figured I'd write this for your entertainment and to buy myself some more time.
Quick Summary: Sage loves Dania, but he is unwilling to admit it to anyone, even himself. When he gets into a discussion with his conscience, he starts asking questions.
Disclaimer: Ronins not mine. However, I would love it if Sage and Cye belonged to me (whimpering and wishing).
KITTY CONSCIENCESetting: Just after the guys went to bed after looking at the sketches Alvina drew for them. Technically, tail end of The Torrent Settles.
There was no way Sage was going to sleep. The little note Alvina wrote to him stuck in his head and went over and over.
'Dear Sage. Give up the act and come out and tell her how you feel. Quit denying it or so help me I'll chop off your hair. It won't matter since Dania would love you no matter how you look.'
"There isn't an act," he mumbled to himself in the darkness. "I just care for her."
"And then some."
Sage sat up straight in his bed. There was a female in his room. The sound of the voice gave it away. He looked around the dark room for the source. When he looked straight ahead, there was a pair of glowing orange eyes. They obviously weren't human by the color, but Sage noticed the pupils were that of a cat.
Sage got up and turned on a light. He looked back to the place where the eyes were only to be startled by his reflection in the vanity mirror. He walked over to it and looked at himself. He shook his head and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, his reflection was gone and in its place was that of a woman. Not any woman though. She had long black hair with orange highlights. Her skin was covered in orange fur w with black stripes across her body and on her cheeks.
Sage stared at the woman in the mirror. She merely smiled, showing her fangs.
"It's not polite to stare," she purred.
"Who are you?" age asked, not listening to her.
"Your conscience." She leaped through the glass, shattering the mirror and landed on his bed. Sage looked at the mirror, seeing that nothing happened to it and then back at the creature on his bed. Her entire body was covered in a tiger pelt. She lounged against his pillows, playing with her tail. Tail?
"Wait. Conscience? How are you my conscience?"
"I show up when someone needs help with something."
"I don't need help."
"Of course you do." She looked at him. She sighed when she saw the look on his face. A look that said I'm going crazy and there's a Cat Lady in my bed.
"Look," she said getting up. "I'm your conscience. I show up when someone needs help. You said you don't need any. It you didn't, I wouldn't be here. Now spill. I need details so I can help you and be on my way. I have a list of others who need my specialty."
"Specialty? What do you mean?"
"You are having considerations about Dania. I'm the Love Conscience. My brothers and sisters help with other aspects."
"Okay, but answer this: Why do you look like…"
"Say Cat Woman and I will scratch the kitty litter out of you," she hissed. "This is the way your mind is making me look. I'm different to different people."
Sage blinked with bewilderment on his face. Unbelievable. There was a woman that looked like a human tiger in his room, eleven at night claiming to be his Love Conscience saying he needed help with Dania. He had to be dreaming. There was something definitely weird going on.
"How do I know you're not an illusion created by Cale?" he asked.
"Because Cale is no longer a threat to you."
"How do I know if your… help… is going to work?"
"Look what happened to Cye and Alvina. That was me. I got Alvina to realize how much she really loved him. Now, it's your turn."
"Dania's just a friend," he said, leaving it at that.
"Bull."
"It's true. I think of her just as a friend. If you have a problem with that, I'm sorry."
"Yes, I do have a problem with that, and no, you are not going to be sorry. You love her."
"As a friend. Nothing more."
"You love her."
"As a friend."
"You love her."
"AHHHH! What is your problem! I love her like a friend. That is it! We don't see each other like that!"
"How sure are you?"
Sage was stuck. He didn't know what to say for that. Suddenly, his legs turned to rubber and he couldn't stay upright. He collapsed to the floor. How sure was he? He didn't know.
"Does she really think that? How can you be sure that's really the way she sees you?"
"I don't know. Have you talked with her?"
"Don't need to. She's not the one who is having this question and answer, or Q&A, as I like to call it. She's made her decision, but you haven't."
"What was her decision?" The tigress looked around the room mindlessly.
"Don't know," she said simply. "What's it to you?"
"I'd like to know if the decision I make would be worth it."
"You can't tell. Even if I did know, I wouldn't say anything. It's not my place. I'm only here to help you make a decision. Whether she accepts it or not is up to fate. I may be the Love Conscience, but I'm not a giver. I just make you think."
Sage looked into his heart. He needed an answer for himself. Did he love Dania? No… as a friend, yes… but… no… he loves her. He loves her…
"Yes," he whispered.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes, I love her," he said more loudly. "I love her. Not as a friend. I love her for who she is." He sighed a breath of relief. It was out. He had it bottled too long.
"Okay then. Tell her."
"What?"
"Are you deaf? I said tell her."
"What if she denies it? What if she doesn't love me in the same way? What if…"
"'What if…? What if…? What if…?'" She made an annoying sigh as she pulled him roughly to his feet. He stared into his eyes for a long moment before kissing him hard on the lips. They parted and she let him go. He stumbled back and put the back of his hand to his mouth.
"What was that for?"
"To prove a point," she said.
"What kind of point?"
"Answer me this: What if you actually liked it?"
Sage looked at her again.
"What if I was Dania? What if you did that to her and she smacked you across the face?"
"I don't understand."
"We're not enemies, right?"
"Right…?"
"Are we now that I did that? Do you hate me?"
"No, not really."
"Okay then. If Dania pushes you away, then nothing should change. I understand that it could be heart breaking, but that doesn't mean you become enemies and stop hanging around with each other. Why would it be any different? See my point?"
Sage nodded. She was right. The worst thing was that Dania would push him away after he told her. But they would still be friends, no harm no foul.
"You're right," he said.
"Of course I am. Now are you gonna tell her or not?"
"I will. Tomorrow morning, I'll tell her everything."
"Good. My work is done. Listen, if you ever need my help again, just mind call my name and I'll be there."
"What's your name?"
"Kitty."
Sage watched as Kitty leaped into the air and smash into the mirror. The force of the crashing glass pushed him backwards and back into bed, knocking him out cold and into a sleep full of hope… and leprechauns.