This little idea came from a comment on tumblr! After CoHF, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more Malcolm Fade.
Dedicated to nephilimrobertlightwood and herdsmanofblackthorns who roleplay as Robert Lightwood and Arthur Blackthorn.
Pet Warlock
Dear Arthur,
Would you and Robert be so kind as to watch Malcolm for a while? He seems to have turned himself into a kitten and it will take me a few days to concoct the antidote and make it out there. He should be pretty harmless though he might wander so keep an eye on him. I'll see you in a couple of days.
-Magnus B.
Arthur Blackthorn looked up from the scrawling cursive and down at the small kitten in front of him. White as a dove with dazzling purple eyes, it was hard to believe the tiny creature was actually the High Warlock of Los Angeles.
"I suppose you're still capable of understanding human speech?" Arthur asked, adjusting his glasses. The kitten meowed. "I'll take that as a yes." He picked Malcolm up and set him on the floor, taking off as soon as his paws hit the floor. Arthur swore under his breath. The last thing he needed to do was lose a High Warlock inside the Institute.
"Malcolm! Come back here!" Arthur called, grabbing his cane and hurrying after the fluffy creature.
"Malcolm? Malcolm Fade, the warlock? Why's he here?" A familiar gruff voice asked from the doorway.
Arthur spun around on the heel of his good leg, quickly taking his glasses off and shoving them in his pocket. "R-Robert! I wasn't expecting you this early."
Robert shrugged. "I finished my business with the Ascension candidates. Now, why is Fade here?" He closed the door behind him and closed the space between them.
Arthur gulped. The Lightwood's steely blue gaze always made him slightly nervous. "He's…uh, well…he's a cat."
One of Robert's eyebrows went up. "A cat?"
"More like a kitten. He accidentally turned himself into a kitten."
"Of course he did." Robert rolled his eyes.
"So are we just going to ignore the fact that we literally have a pet warlock or…?" Emma asked, crossing her arms. She looked at the small white ball of fluff in Dru's arms with amusement.
"I think he's rather cute." Jules reached over to pat Malcolm's head. He purred contently.
"We've never had a pet before! I just love having him around!" Dru chimed, cuddling the kitten. She'd taken immediately to caring for and giving attention to the warlock-kitty.
"I never noticed how purple his eyes were. They're so pretty." Livvy smiled.
Ty looked up from his book briefly. "They're his warlock mark. Like his white hair."
Arthur smiled from the archway of the living room as he watched the herd discussing Malcolm. They'd been uncharacteristically quiet after training and he had grown concerned. He was happy to see his worries were unfounded.
"Performing dark magic on a Shadowhunter…summoning a horde of demons…poisoning a werewolf pack with silver powder…"Robert mumbled to himself as he looked through the various cases he had to see to. Sometimes he questioned why he ever wanted to be Inquisitor. He rested his head in his hands as he leaned forward on the desk in the study.
Sighing, he stood and headed into the Institute's library to grab a book he needed. He came back to the sound of shuffling papers. He looked over to the desk where he'd been working and sure enough there was Malcolm perched on the wood. The teapot Robert had kept on the desk was overturned and several of his papers were coveredin tiny wet pawprints.
Robert yanked the knife out of his boot and sent it flying toward the kitten. It narrowly missed Malcolm, landing with a thunk in the surface of the desk as the feline scrambled for the door. Robert had his fingers on the knife in his wrist sheath when Arthur hurried in from the library.
"What's happened?" His seafoam eyes scanned the damaged desk. "Why is there tea everywhere and a knife in my desk?"
"I am going to murder your cat." Robert ground out.
"Malcolm! Malcolm Fade you bloody warlock, where are you?" Arthur called. His cane made a rhythmic tapping sound on the floor as he peeked into room after room. "Why the bloody hell is it so hard to keep up with one cat?"
"It's ruined!" Jules' voice was clear through his bedroom door.
Arthur went to the door, knocking lightly before letting himself in. "What's ruined, Jules?"
The boy pointed angrily to a pile of paper shreds on the floor. Nestled among the shreds was Malcolm, snoozing. "My painting. I spent days on that!"
Arthur tried to think of something to say. He knew how much Jules' art meant to him. But nothing came to him and he thought it best to just scoop up Malcolm before Jules could do something drastic to him.
"Thank you for watching Malcolm. I'm sorry I couldn't make it out here any sooner." Magnus said, casually pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head. His hair, though still sparkly, was not spiked and fell around his shoulder in a shimmering wave.
"Oh, it was no trouble." Arthur mumbled, fiddling with his cane.
"Bullshit." Robert grumbled. "Hurry up and turn him back, Magnus."
Magnus gave Robert a long look before conjuring up a bowl and setting it on the floor. He uncapped a small bottle and poured the contents into it. Standing, he let out a shrill whistle.
Malcolm came racing around the corner, first to Magnus and then over to the bowl. He stuck his head in and began lapping up the concoction eagerly. After a few seconds, the kitten began to glow. The glowing form grew and shaped to form a person and when the light receded, Malcolm was standing there with a childish grin on his face.
"I'm terribly sorry for any trouble I've caused." Malcolm said. He clapped once and a painting of the sunset over the canyon appeared in his hands. "Give this to Jules."
"Come on. Let's go before you get killed." Magnus dragged Malcolm to the door, noticing the murderous gleam in Robert's icy blue stare. "No more kitten nonsense, alright?"