I decided after that intense chapter, we all needed a more lighter chapter.
Chapter 10: Ungraceful kitty
The smell of actual eggs and bacon drove Wakko out of bed. While it was weird that Dot came to talk to him, he shrugged it off but knew the situation was serious.
He had promised Dot he wouldn't tell anybody, even Yakko, but even he knew their brother was going to find out eventually. Especially if this 'woman' is targeting all three of them.
The sound of whistling got louder the closer he got to the kitchen. He stepped into the room with the sight that fully awaked him.
Bugs stood with his back to him, whistling the 'Merry go-round broke down' while flipping something on the stove. He turned around to find Wakko looking at him weirdly.
" Morning doc, sleep well?", Bugs asked, setting the pancakes aside.
" Bugs Bunny is standing in the middle of my kitchen wearing a cheesy 'Love the cook' apron, making us breakfast", Wakko said with a blank expression. He slowly raised his hand and pinched his shoulder, causing him to wince," Okay, you're real".
" Of course I am, kiddo, now take the bacon over to da dining room... and DON'T eat it on the way there", Bugs said as he grabbed the pancakes and eggs.
Wakko pouted but reluctantly obeyed, carrying the plate to the dining room. By the time everything was placed on the dining table, Yakko and Dot walked in with tired expressions, messy fur and still in their pajamas.
Yakko yawned and stretched out his body, scratching his back as he went to take his seat next to Wakko.
" Morning Wak", Yakko said tiredly.
" Eh, I'm here too, ya know", Bugs said taking his seat next to a fully-awoken Dot.
" Right. Morning Bugs", Yakko said tiredly, his eyes still half-closed.
Yakko looked around in confusion and said," Wait... where's Ophelia?".
The absence of the toonette was immediately recognized.
" Maybe she's still sleeping", Dot suggested.
" Maybe... I should probably wake her though, I woiked hard on dis breakfast and she ain't missin' it", Bugs said standing up and walking towards Ophelia's room, the Warners curiously followed behind him.
He hadn't knocked but entered her room anyway. Bugs found Ophelia's sleeping form cuddled inside the blanket, her face looked peaceful and contented.
" Aww... she looks so peaceful", Dot cooed.
" It would be very mean of us to disturb her", Yakko said nonchalantly.
" Yeah. We should probably be the better people and let her sleep", Bugs said.
" Yeah", the Warner's said in unison.
Just as they were about to walk out, Bugs stopped and looked towards the readers. He smirked.
" But then again, I'm not the better person so I'm going to wake her up anyway!", Bugs said to the readers as he took out a airhorn," C'mon! You guys know me better than this".
He went back to Ophelia's bed and blasted the airhorn in her ear. Ophelia's eyes shot open as she let out a cat-like shriek and jumped so high that she hit the ceiling and latched onto it with her claws.
The Warners ran back into the room to see the scene before them. They walked closer to Bugs and a hysterical Ophelia latching on the ceiling.
" Okay, that's one way to wake up someone", Dot said pointing at the shaken toon.
Ophelia lost her grip on the ceiling and fell with a thud on the bed. She looked at Bugs who had a large grin on his face.
" Morning kitty!", Bugs said a little too enthusiastically.
" I hate you", Ophelia said groggily.
" Love you too dollface. Now c'mon", Bugs said, yanking Ophelia out of bed," I made breakfast and I wanna eat it hot".
Ophelia didn't move from her place on the floor, instead she stretched out her arms and looked directly at Bugs. The Warners watched with interest as the weird interaction started.
" What?", Bugs said as he looked back at Ophelia.
" Carry me", Ophelia stated.
" Ex-squeeze me?", Bugs said.
" I'm not going anywhere unless you carry me. You disturbed my sleep. This is the only way I'll forgive you", Ophelia said stubbornly.
Bugs stared at Ophelia challengingly. He then walked over and threw her over his shoulder. Ophelia squeaked in surprise.
" Could'a give a girl a warning", Ophelia said.
" Whoops", Bugs said sarcastically.
The Warners watched as the scene unfolded in front of them. They had never seen Bugs look so annoyed. The scene itself made them smirk in delight.
" C'mon, let's go eat breakfast before I throttle this bi- OPHELIA STOP HITTING MY FACE WIT YA TAIL!", Bugs exclaimed.
Ophelia snickered until she let out a small shriek," DON'T YANK MY TAIL".
It was Bugs' turn to snicker, his smirk looked satisfactory and proud. Ophelia pouted slightly and found herself looking at the Warners. She awkwardly waved and smiled grimly at them.
" Morning kids", Ophelia said sheepishly.
" Morning", the Warners replied.
They reached the dining table, the food was luckily still mildly warm so it could still be enjoyed. Bugs roughly threw Ophelia off his shoulders, causing her to miss the chair and land on the floor with her legs dangling in the air.
" Woah careful Bugs, you're gonna see her knickers", Yakko said playfully.
" It doesn't really matter when I've already seen her without her knickers", Bugs said smugly," That was one eventful moment in the bathroom".
Yakko looked towards the readers and blew a kiss saying," G'night everybody!".
" Just because of this, the author could be implying that she's still debating over the platonic or romance thing", Dot whispered to the readers.
" Stupid hare! Don't drop me like that", Ophelia scolded.
" I'd apologise if I felt remorse for that. But I don't", Bugs said leaving the dining room.
Ophelia and the Warners sat quietly around the table. Wakko was the first one to notice Yakko glancing a few times at Ophelia and the look he sent meant he wanted to speak to her. Wakko nudged his brother lightly, gaining his brother's attention.
" Something wrong?", Wakko asked his brother quietly so Ophelia, who looked very engrossed in her breakfast and what Dot was saying, couldn't hear.
Yakko sighed," I feel bad about yesterday".
" You should be. None of that would've happened if you just saw her the way me and Dot did", Wakko whispered," I swear to Walt Disney, the way you acted now is way worse than when you noticed Bugs hanged around us more often".
" Can you really blame me for being paranoid?", Yakko whispered.
" Yes, yes I can! Because of your paranoia and ooc-ness, Dot got hurt and now Ophelia will be blamed for this", Wakko whispered.
" I didn't know that was going to happen, Wak", Yakko argued.
" But you should've known better, Yakko. You're the oldest. Ophelia's trying to help and you're being a butt", Wakko said.
" Alright docs! Here's ya orange juice", Bugs said walking back in with two mugs and three glasses.
Wakko was the first to grab his drink so that he could avoid any further problems with his brother. Yakko and Dot took theirs and sipped lightly, taking breaks to eat their meal.
Bugs walked over to Ophelia and placed a mug right next to her hand.
" Here's ya coffee. Black and bitter... like ya creator's soul", Bugs said.
Ophelia snorted," It's funny that you remembered how I liked my coffee. Like you imprinted it in the back of your head".
Bugs shrugged," Well if you stayed with someone for nearly two decades, the recipe kina sticks".
" If course it does", Ophelia said tiredly.
" You lived together?", Dot said confused.
" Yeah, after Ophelia's studio closed down. She had no where else to go so I foiced her to live with me until she could find another job", Bugs explained.
" Forced?", Wakko said raising his eyebrow.
" He literally dragged me away from the shelter I stayed in and made me live in his mansion of burrow", Ophelia said.
" But she ran away after staying with me for about twenty years", Bugs said.
" Twenty years? You lasted that long with Bugs", Yakko said incredulously.
" And doesn't that mean he kidnapped you?", Wakko said confused.
" Kidnapping ladies was considered 'normal' in Toontown at the time. So Bugs got away with that for two reasons. Reason number one: He had Warner Bros. backing him and reason number two: he was rich", Ophelia said," And yes, I survived long enough to know Bugs on a certain level of everything".
" I guess the humans were less strict back then", Yakko said picking at his food.
" Eh... not really. They actually gave us curfews back then", Bugs said, sipping his coffee.
" True fact. All toons were supposed to be back in Toontown by six o' clock sharp. If a toon disobeyed that rule, their paychecks would be docked by forty cents", Ophelia said.
" And that wouldn't be a smart move by smaller toons. Back then, we were paid by commission", Bugs said.
" Ouch. That must've harsh", Dot winced.
" It was. And we weren't even allowed to work overtime", Bugs said crossing his arms.
" Look who's talking rabbit. You were one of few toons who managed to get a full house at theatres. Meanwhile I was scrapping around for odd jobs while my director goes insane", Ophelia said.
" What happened to your studio anyway? Where are the other toons from there as well?", Wakko asked curiously.
Yakko saw Ophelia froze while the questions were asked. He frowned slightly, eating up the last of his breakfast.
" Well um... my studio was facing... financial problems with the bills not being paid on time. With the war that was going on and animators leaving to join the army, production never got finished on time. So everything was set in stone. The studio was finished and they sent us out into the streets. As for my coworkers... I never saw them again", Ophelia said, looking away.
" Not even Limbo?", Bugs said surprised.
Ophelia shook her head sadly," Not even him".
Everyone around the table was quiet. Yakko glanced at Ophelia's stiff position next to him, feeling almost sorry for her.
" Well... look on the bright side! You got us now! Maybe we can convince Plotz to hire you for a cartoon", Wakko said optimistically.
" Oh no! I couldn't, I'm okay with where I am now", Ophelia said," And besides, I never really did like acting".
" Okay... but I really wish we could see you in action", Wakko said dejectedly.
Ophelia smiled softly," I didn't think you were that enthusiastic about seeing me in a cartoon".
" Well in order for this story to progress, we're going to have to get to know each other. Might as well start now", Dot said.
" Well, I actually don't have any of my cartoons. They were all placed in Toontown's archive", Ophelia said thoughtfully.
Ophelia stood up from her seat and walked to the door," I'm going to get dressed. I'll be back in a couple of minutes".
Bugs and the Warners left to put the dishes in the kitchen. Yakko looked far away into his thoughts until a question popped into his mind.
" Hey Bugs...", Yakko said.
" Yeah doc", Bugs replied.
" Was Ophelia's cartoons... good or bad?", Yakko asked.
Bugs hummed in thought, vigorously scrubbing the dishes in the sink," They were pretty great for a cartoon in the late twenties. Ophelia starred in a couple of the first but I remember her first real solo short".
" What was it called?", Dot asked curiously.
" I think it was 'Shoot him down'. Or 'Queen of Swing'. All I remember was that her first short had her singing the entire time", Bugs said thoughtfully," She usually sang most of the time. She's a great singer and the animators saw that. So her first short was her singing".
" How many cartoons were there of her alone?", Dot asked.
" Hmm... probably... four or five?", Bugs said," It was such a long time ago, I can't even really remember".
Yakko patted Bugs on the back," It's okay Bugs. We get it. You're an old man now. If course you'll have trouble remembering things", he said smugly.
Bugs gently smacked the back of Yakko's head, causing the young toon to snicker mischievously. The four toons headed to the living room and found Ophelia sitting on the couch surfing through channels.
" Hey, what's with the surfboard?", Dot asked.
" I was going to literally surf through channels as a joke until I realised I don't actually remember how to surf", Ophelia said flatly.
" Aww... it would've made a very clever joke though", Yakko said.
" Thanks. The author is seriously giving me a limited skill set here", Ophelia said.
" She's probably afraid people will think you're a Mary Sue. So she's being careful about how she portrays you", Bugs said moving the surfboard aside.
" I can understand that", Ophelia muttered.
The Warners settled into the couch with Bugs and Ophelia. Yakko sat awkwardly next to her, debating on whether to speak to her or turn his attention to somebody else.
Bugs noticed the awkward tension in the room. He thought deeply as to how he can destroy the tension in the room. A lightbulb shined on top of his head as he got an idea. He looked towards Ophelia and smirked.
' This is gonna be fun', Bugs thought.
" Oh Ophelia, my kitten. I can't seem to remember the time you weren't being so graceful", Bugs said.
Ophelia huffed," That's because there wasn't a time when I wasn't graceful. I'm a cat with graceful manners".
The Warners watched the exchange in interest, wondering what was about to happen.
" Is that so", Bugs' smirk grew larger," 'Cause I remember a certain incident that included-", Bugs sinked his hands into his hammerspace and pulled out a thin object that made Ophelia's eyes widened,"-laser pointer".
" You wouldn't", Ophelia hissed lowly.
Ophelia backed away into a wall as Bugs played with the laser in his hand.
" I would", Bugs said as he pointed the laser towards the wall, making a small red dot appear.
Ophelia stared at the light uncomfortably with a rigid stance. She was breathing heavily as of trying to resist something.
" C'mon kitty, chase da light", Bugs cooed playfully.
" NO! I am a cat with manners!", Ophelia exclaimed.
Bugs shook the pointer causing the light to move up and down. Ophelia looked at it, her body shaking and her teeth bared.
" GIMME THAT RED DOT!!!", Ophelia screamed, clawing at the wall to try and catch the light.
The sight of what was happening caused the Yakko and Dot to burst out in laughter while Wakko stared solely on the light.
" I guess she isn't so graceful after all", Yakko said between periods of laughter.
" Yeah, and neither is she sane. OH OPHELIA! SOMEBODY'S GOT SOMETHING FOR YA", Bugs called.
Yakko looked confused until he saw the red light pointing at his chest. He then looked at Ophelia who appeared in a feral state, claws out, fur and hair stood out and foam appearing around her mouth with her shoes off. He gulped as her eyes dilated as she flashed her teeth at him.
" GIMME THAT RED DOT!!!", Ophelia screamed, lunging at Yakko.
" YIKES!", Yakko screamed.
He swifly dodged Ophelia's claws and teeth. Wakko and Dot jumped behind the couch as she landed.
" What the Clampett! BUGS! Watch where you point that thing!", Yakko exclaimed.
" Oops, sorry kiddo. I needed her on the couch for this", Bugs said apologetically.
Ophelia growled and hissed at Bugs as she stood up on her two legs again and looked him in the eye.
" Give me one good reason why I won't DIP that smug face of yours", Ophelia growled.
" Because of this-", Bugs said throwing something green and leafy at Ophelia.
The next thing they all knew, Ophelia was rolling around on the floor, her tongue sticking out and tiny purrs rumbling from inside of her. Her eyes looked larger and sparkled at the leafy substance in her hand.
" Hold on a sec", Yakko said looking at the plant in his nanny's hands.
" Is that-", Wakko looked dumbfounded.
" Catnip?", Dot finished.
" Yep", Bugs said.
" Wait... are you telling me... you randomly keep catnip in your hammerspace", Yakko said.
" Nah. It's mainly for when Sylvester is trying to calm down after a scene with Tweety. Yarns a good alternative too", Bugs said before looking at the readers," Don't do drugs. I starred in 'Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue' for a reason, y'know".
" How long will it take until she's back to normal?", Dot asked.
" Eh, thoirty minutes give or take", Bugs answered.
30 minutes later
" Ugh... my head", Ophelia groaned.
Ophelia looked around finding herself back in her bedroom. She carefully leapt out of bed and walked towards the door. Once she was out of her room, she left to the living room to find Bugs and the kids on the couch. Bugs was the first to notice her presence.
" Mornin' sunshine. How was ya nap?", Bugs asked enthusiastically.
" What happened?", Ophelia asked as she sat on the couch.
" Bugs gave you catnip", Dot said.
" Ugh Bugs why!", Ophelia groaned.
" The author made me do it", Bugs stated," The air was so tense. I had to lighten it up some how. Yakko's been trying to find ways to talk to you".
" Whatever", Ophelia muttered.
They all sat in silence. Yakko glanced awkwardly at Ophelia and sucked in all his pride.
" Ophelia", Yakko started.
" Yes...", Ophelia said hesistantly.
Yakko breathed in and thought,' Here goes nothing'.
" OpheliaIamsosorrypleaseforgiveforbeinganidiotIshouldn'thavebeensomeanbuti'maparanoidfreakwh-", Yakko was silenced as a hand was placed firmly over his mouth.
" Yakko dear", Ophelia said calmly," I know you're a motor mouth but I can't understand a word you're saying".
Yakko sighed," I'm sorry about everything I did. I was horrible and occ. Can you forgive me...".
Ophelia looked at Yakko with an unreadable expression before a small smile appeared on her lips.
" I was never angry in the first place", Ophelia said softly.
" Huh", Yakko said in surprise," But you-".
" I admit. I did look super mad yesterday. But it was more... stress than anger. While I was angry, my anger was towards that so-called woman than you. I was actually more worried about you seeing that. It must've been scarring", Ophelia said.
" I was more suprised than scarred", Yakko mumbled.
" But besides that. I was never angry-OKAY maybe it got a bit annoying somewhere along the line but I was never angry at you. I had fun and it awoken instincts inside of me that were asleep for awhile. So I'm actually thankful", Ophelia said.
Yakko cracked a small smile," Does that mean we're okay".
" Yep", Ophelia said smiling back," Hug?".
" Hug", Yakko said as he wrapped his arms around the toonette's neck.
While in their embrace, Ophelia whispered in Yakko's ear," Now that I'm here... you can be the child you are for as long as you like".
Yakko snuggled into Ophelia's shoulder, everything was finally peaceful-
-Until a odd sound coming from Yakko caused him to pull away from Ophelia and blush beet red and Bugs to fall off the couch out of laughter.
" OH MY FRIZ FRELENG! THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN", Bugs exclaimed, clutching his sides in pain from the laughter.
Yakko looked away sheepishly when he noticed the smile on Ophelia's face and the giggles that are trying to escape her.
" What was that?", Wakko asked confused.
" What did Yakko do?", Dot asked curiously.
" OH MY HAHAHAHA! THIS IS RICH", Bugs said, wiping the tears," YAKKO HEHEHE, JUST HAHAHA PURRED".
A second later Dot and Wakko joined Bugs on the floor in a fit of giggles. Yakko's face grew a shade darker and shrunk back into the arm of the couch.
" Alright you three, I think Yakko's been embarrassed enough for one day", Ophelia said after she calmed down.
" Hehe, sorry kiddo, its just", Bugs tried to suppress a squeal," Dat was da most adorable thing you have done in these last ten chapters".
" And its okay dear. Anybody can purr if they try hard enough. To some it just comes naturally. Embrace it. And besides, you might score a cute girl's number because of that", Ophelia said.
Yakko's eyes lit up at the mention of cute girls," Maybe its not so bad then".
" Glad to hear it", Ophelia said.
" And Ophelia", Yakko said.
" Yeah", she said.
" Thanks", Yakko said smiling.
Ophelia smiled back, the feeling of warmth growing inside of her now that this young boy FINALLY trusts her.
" My pleasure"
End of Chapter 10
Fluffiness everywhere. Yakko and Ophelia are finally seeing eye to eye. The next couple of chapters might just be goofs from the characters and Ophelia meeting other Animaniacs characters. ( I kinda want her and Minerva to be friends and maybe Rita as well). Now if you all will excuse me, I'm going to binge read Bow and Ears and Animaniacs: The Hideaway. See y'all in the next chapter. BYE-BYE