I wanted to explain, in Battle Scars when Aramis was telling his story, how Serge found out Aramis' cat Jean Jr. was female. Also what she had done to Marsac to make him so angry he wanted to murder her. I got carried away and thought some mini stories about JJ, Marsac and Aramis would be fun to write... so here we are.
The order for these stories would be Battle Scars, JJ Interludes, Of Birthdays Forgotten and then Following the Leader.
I am going to mark this story complete, but can always add chapters when inspiration strikes or when/if people have suggestions on adventures they could have.
So without further ado, and keeping in mind I own nothing except the animals... here we go.
How Serge figured out JJ was female.
Marsac and Aramis were seated amongst their fellow comrades at the table in the garrison, enjoying goblets of wine and sharing various stories of their soldering years. They were being quite loud and boisterous in their tales, enough so that even their Captain, Treville, had wandered out of his office to see what was going on.
Aramis had just stood up to tell the tale of his and Marsac's first meeting when shouting, followed by a clattering of dishes and spoons and whatnot came from the kitchen. Instantly the men got to their feet and raced towards the garrison's kitchens in worry for their cook, Serge.
Aramis and Marsac were the first to reach the room and their eyes widened at the scene before them. Pots, pans, bowls and spoons lay everywhere but on the shelves where they normally resided. The rather large cauldron of soup that Serge had been preparing was still pouring out onto the ground, thankfully mostly missing the man, as he lay prone on the ground staring up at the once white cat sitting on his forehead.
"Serge! Are you alright?" Marsac asked. He moved to help the man up but stepped back swiftly as Aramis's cat, JJ, growled at him.
"I'm fine Marsac. It's the cat I am worried about; she decided to taste the soup and fell in. I scrambled to grab her and tripped, knocking over the cauldron instead."
Aramis reached forward and grasped his soup drenched cat, snuggling her in close, getting soup all over his doublet. "Oh, my poor JJ! Are you alright? Wait! She?" He looked at Serge, puzzled.
"When she sat on my forehead I didn't see any dangly bits… makes her a girl aye?"
"Oh, my sweet Princess!" Aramis cooed. "Let's get my darling a bath shall we?"
*meow*
"Oh, I know JJ! Those mean men got you all dirty!"
"He's an idiot," replied Marsac as Aramis walked out of the kitchens murmuring the most loving things to JJ. "Make sure you take a bath as well Aramis!"
"Aye, but he's our idiot," Serge confirmed. He held up his hand and Marsac yanked him up to stand. "Now help me clean this up."
"No fair! It was Aramis' cat that made this mess!"
Serge didn't respond, just handed Marsac a broom.
What JJ did to Marsac that caused Marsac to want to destroy her in Battle Scars.
It had been a long mission, two weeks, and it hadn't ended well. He was exhausted from trying to support Aramis emotionally through the harrowing trip back. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into his bed and sleep for the remainder of the year. No, a century.
Marsac wandered off to his rooms, ignoring the panic in his best friend's voice. Aramis couldn't locate JJ, and while that was unusual and concerning, Marsac just really couldn't find it in him to care all that much. He despised that she-devil of a feline and if her being missing meant a couple of hours of peaceful rest, he was going to grasp that silver lining and keep holding onto for as long as he could.
He trudged to his rooms, dragging his feet with every step, and once he unlocked the door, he flopped down on his bed face first, clothing and all. He sighed in relief and snuggled his pillow for a moment, before getting back up and beginning to remove his belts and weaponry.
Once done he spared a glance around the room, noticing for the first time that it smelled quite strongly of urine. He was shocked to see that his room looked as though a dust storm had gone through it. There was gunpowder all over the table and floor, his extra leather jacket was shredded, papers and books all over the floor and more than a few suspicious yellow stains on his pillow… the same pillow he had just rubbed his face in.
And there, perched gracefully, at the top of his shelf two ice blue eyes stared at him. JJ. With a howl most unbecoming of a twenty-something-year-old musketeer, Marsac lunged for JJ, missing by mere inches. The cat flew yowling and hissing all the way to the ground landing perfectly on her feet as Marsac scrambled for purchase knocking over the shelf.
He advanced towards the cat, smirking as she backed herself into a corner. "Come here JJ. Marsac has a special treat for you!" He said it in a singsong voice. He jumped towards her hoping to grab her and ended up in a crumpled heap in the corner of his room, JJ standing behind him. Marsac would swear later that she was grinning as she backed up, tail swaying back and forth taunting.
Marsac growled and jumped up, laughing when JJ hissed and lunged forward for her again.
"ARAMIS!" He bellowed chasing after the white devil as she bolted towards the opened window.