Hey hello you guys. My first fic in english. Hope you like it. If you find any grammatical error, review or ignore it.

Warning: some OOCness (Seth), but it's so hilarious i don't think you will be mad.

Reposted after editing. Content was not changed.

Ailurophobia: the fear of cats

"Seth, are you ready?"

"..."

"Seth, it's not so bad, isn't it?"

Seth lifted his head slowly and looked the innocent looking twins deep in the eyes. Ephraim rose his right eyebrow questioningly. Seth glared at them.

"I don't think this is necessary," he dryly declared. The twins exchanged an amusing glance.

"But, Seth," Ephraim turned back to Seth. He could hardly suppress a snort when he saw an almost sulking Seth with his arms crossed before his chest. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Every human fears something." Eirika couldn't hold a chuckle. Seth scowled at her.

"This whole affair is unnecessary. My - ", he nearly spat the next word out, "- phobia never interfered with fulfilling my duty. There is no reason for worry." Seth stood up from his chair and built himself up in front of the siblings. "Besides, I have the feeling that you two enjoy this situation to the full." Ephraim and Eirika almost couldn't hold their laughter any longer.

Seth spun on his heels and started towards the door when he felt Ephraim´s hand on his shoulder. He stopped and turned his head to the young prince. Ephraim shook his head with fake disappointment.

"Seth, you have to face your fears to overcome them." The two men looked in each other's eyes. Seth glared and Ephraim´s eyes shone with amusement. In the background, they heard Eirika´s low chuckling, which she tried to suppress. Ephraim´s corners of the mouth twitched. Seth rolled his eyes when both siblings started roaring with laughter.

"I'm sorry, Seth," Eirika gasped as she tried to catch her breath. "But you have to admit that it is a ... unusual phobia for someone like you." Ephraim held his stomach and tried to get some air in his lungs. He had clung to the chair to not topple over.

Over the laughter of the twins, Seth didn't notice the figure that slipped through the door behind him. Seth watched angrily the two teens and put his hands to his hips.

"It's enough already. It's not that funny."

Suddenly he felt something smooth against his cheek and heard a male voice behind him. "Say hello to Merle, General."

Seth turned his head and faced a small, grey fur ball with golden eyes.

"Aah!" Seth backed a few steps away. The twins and the blond-haired man burst out laughing. Seth turned in a lovely shade of pink and tried to regain his composure. Seth looked daggers at Forde and the fur ball. When Forde noticed his glare, he had to laugh harder. The fur ball meowed quietly. Eirika was the first to recover.

"Seth, it's just a kitten."

"I know," he hissed.

"Calm down, General. Is this the way you address your liege?" Forde asked mockingly. Seth grunted and kept his eyes on the fur ball named Merle.

Ephraim put his hand on the back of the General. He could feel Seth's tension. "Seth. Today you will overcome your phobia." Seth looked at him with a mixture of anger, fear and disbelief. Ephraim shoved him towards to Forde until they stood in front of him and the evil kitten. Seth´s whole body was tense and was waiting for the order to run. Eirika positioned herself next to the two knights to block the door. Ephraim´s hand was still on Seth´s back to prevent an escape backwards.

"Come on, Seth. Pet it," Eirika said, trying to encourage him. Seth shook his head and held his arms close to his body.

"Come now," Forde said with a broad grin. Seth didn't move one inch and continued to just stare at the kitten. Ephraim sighed. He took Seth´s hands in his and held them in front of him.

"No," Seth wailed quietly. Everyone gawked at Seth. Did the Silver Knight wail right now?

Seth tried to escape from Ephraim´s grasp. His eyes were filled with fear. The three were surprised. They didn't thought it was that serious. Eirika shook her head and put her hand on Seth´s shoulder for reassurance. "Seth. It's just a tiny cat. She can't do anything to you. Why are you so afraid?" The siblings and the knight were agog for his answer.

"I don't know," Seth whispered. The three looked dumbfound.

"Why do you not know the reason for your phobia?" Ephraim asked incredulous. Seth shook his head slowly, not averting his eyes from ´the monster´. Eirika sighed and nodded to Forde. Forde slowly raised the fur ball and placed it on Seth´s hands. Seth instantly shut his eyes tightly. When he felt the fur and movement on his hands, his hackles raised. Forde, Ephraim and Eirika watched his reaction curiously. Seth stood completely still.

"Seth?" Eirika asked gently. "Are you alright?" Seth slowly opened his eyes. Merle looked up at him and meowed. Seth´s face turned white and his eyes widened. He looked like he would faint any second. Eirika looked questioningly at her brother and his retainer. Ephraim waved his hand in front of Seth´s face. "Seth?" He didn't even blink and continued to stare at Merle. At every meow, he winced. Eirika nodded to Forde, who took the kitten out of the shocked General´s hands.

Seth instantly backed away and nearly tripped over the chair. The three giggled but stopped when Seth send them a death glare.

"Calm down, General Seth. We really wanted to help you," Forde ensured, but his broad grin betrayed his words. Seth growled.

"Get out!" he shouted angrily. With a last giggle, the twins and the knight fled out of the room. Seth slammed the door behind them.

A few corridors away from the room they stopped. They looked each other in the eyes and burst out in laughter again. After a few minutes, they regained their composure. "Well, I never thought that the mighty General Seth is afraid of little kittens." Forde breathed heavily.

Author´s Note:

The idea came when I listened to "Dance with somebody" by Mando Diao. I don't know why, but I got the image of a screaming Seth in my mind. I thought, no-one got no fears. And because Seth got no obvious fear, he has a reason to hide it. And I wanted a cute one. Thats the reason it is a little kitten. Please read and review, but no flames. (Thats not nice, you know.)

Additional A/N:

While I feel a bit embarrassed by the content of this fic, it's my first fic in English and looking at it makes me almost feel nostalgic.