Disclaimer: I only own Koxra and anyone in or affiliated with the Witches of the Circle.
"Cria, please stop," Luna begged after being sent flying across the room for the third time. "I'm sorry!"
"You weren't sorry when you were fooling around in Wonderland, were you," said Cria. "I've told you time and time again that I will not tolerate you spacing out." Luna curled up into a ball and covered her head.
"I'll do what I'm supposed to do from now on! Just don't hit me anymore!" Cria scoffed.
"So now you're making promises that we both know you won't keep? Maybe you'd rather I took it out on your brother?" There was suddenly a fire in Luna's eyes.
"Don't you lay a finger on him!" Cria smiled maliciously.
"Either I punish you or I punish him in your place. Since you don't want me to touch your precious little brother, I suggest you stop complaining." Luna shut her eyes and prepared for the next blow.
"Mom, I wish you were still here."
"Finally," said Koxra. "I was afraid I'd have to work up the nerve to ask Saix or Xemnas." Demyx sat his sitar down.
"I understand why you want to avoid bothering them, but why would I be helpful?"
"Well, anyone would do, actually," Koxra replied. "You're just the first person I happened to run into. So, there's something I've been wondering about for a while. Does Xemnas have a problem with pets in the Castle?" Demyx shrugged.
"That would probably be a better question to ask someone who pays attention to most of the rules."
"So, you don't know," Koxra said.
"I've never really heard him say anything about it, actually," Demyx replied. "I guess if the pet didn't cause trouble, he wouldn't have a problem with it. What kind of pet are you talking about anyhow?" Koxra sat down.
"I was thinking of getting a cat."
"Eh, how much trouble could a cat cause," Demyx wondered. Koxra laughed.
"You'd be surprised, actually. My grandma had a cat that wouldn't stop climbing in her washer if she left it open." Demyx gave her a blank look.
"Okay, a cat climbing in a washer is a new one, but I don't see how it's really bad. I think it's kind of funny, actually."
"Well, he also walked on the table and the counters," said Koxra. "It shouldn't be too much trouble if I keep it in my room."
"Isn't one room a little small for a cat to explore?"
"There's also the bathroom and the other bedroom that no one's using."
"What if we get a new member who needs to use it?"
"I guess I'll just hope the new member is a cat person."
"Have you thought about where to get one and where you would find a vet?"
"There's a vet near where I used to work. As for where to get a cat, I have no clue. Do you happen to know where I could find a pet store or animal shelter?" Demyx thought for a while.
"I think I remember passing one in part of this one world called Earth." Koxra's eyes lit up.
"Where was it exactly?" Demyx scratched his head.
"I'm not really that good at giving directions."
"Why don't you trying drawing me a map, then," Koxra suggested. Demyx laughed.
"That won't work. Why do you think Xemnas got mad at Roxas and me when we came back on that mission early?" Koxra face-palmed.
"Oh, right. That slipped my mind. Would you mind showing me where it is, then?" Demyx shrugged.
"Why not? You already interrupted my sitar practice and I can't get back in the zone right now."
"Sorry about that," said Koxra. Demyx waved her off.
"It's about time I took a break anyway."
"What are you looking at, Roxas," asked Xion. Roxas turned to her.
"Oh, I was just wondering how tall this tower is." Axel rolled his eyes.
"You've been coming up here for ice-cream every day for who knows how long and you're just now wondering how tall the tower is?" Demyx leaned back against the wall.
"Actually, he's the first one to bring it up. I've been wondering that since day one." Axel took another bite of his popsicle.
"I guess we'll never know unless we get a member whose element is being able to measure anything."
"That doesn't sound like it would be very helpful," said Xion.
"Let's just hope no one ends up with that element," said Axel. "Because if that ends up being someone's element, Xemnas would probably turn them into a Dusk unless they were good at fighting or something that could benefit him." Demyx shivered.
"Don't even joke about someone getting turned into a Dusk. Back in my early days, I got threatened with that all the time. And every time, I was afraid Saix would make good on the threat." Axel finished his popsicle.
"You know he wouldn't do that unless Xemnas ordered him to. He probably just wanted to scare you into doing more work. As long as you don't hear anything from Xemnas about it, you shouldn't worry. Got it memorized?"
"That makes sense, actually," said Demyx. "But, I was new back then, so I didn't know what to think."
"And sometimes, you still don't," said Axel. Demyx smirked.
"Be nice unless you want it to magically start raining on you." Axel grinned.
"That won't happen before your coat magically catches fire." Roxas sighed.
"Enough with the threats." Demyx bit into his popsicle.
"Well, he started it." Xion rolled her eyes.
"Demyx, you're acting like a child." Roxas groaned.
"Oh, come on! I had that half-eaten." Axel laughed.
"What'd you do, drop it?" Roxas stared at him.
"It's not funny." Demyx laughed.
"I'm just imagining someone walking down there and the ice-cream dropping on them." Axel shook his head.
"Why does that not surprise me?" Roxas decided to try and distract himself from his lost ice cream.
"Hey, Demyx, where were you earlier?"
"When," asked Demyx.
"Well, you usually sit around the Grey Area and play your sitar, but you weren't there when Luxord convinced me to play a couple rounds of Go Fish at noon. We were in there for about an hour, but you didn't show up," said Roxas.
"Oh, that," said Demyx. He explained his earlier conversation with Koxra. Axel stared.
"So, if you just had to show her where the store was, why didn't you come right back?" Demyx scratched his head and looked away. "Wait, let me guess: you got one too, didn't you?"
"You wouldn't get mad if he came in your room, would you," asked Demyx. Axel laughed.
"It's a cat. It's not like you went and got a leopard, is it? I won't torch a cat for messing something up in my room or annoying me."
"Also, if you don't want him in your room, you can just shut the door," said Demyx.
"That wouldn't give the cat very much room to wander around, would it," asked Axel. "If you were that worried about a cat bugging me, why'd you just decide to get one while you were there?" Demyx sighed.
"I don't know. I just decided to go in to look around and he just caught my eye."
"And what exactly did you do when you realized you had no food or litter box for it," Axel asked after a while.
"We picked things up while we were there," Demyx answered. Sensing another question coming, he elaborated. "We made portals to our rooms and put the things through first. Then we went through with the cats." Axel stared.
"I didn't think you tried to carry everything at once."
"Sure looked like you did," said Demyx.
"Pocket," Axel asked, staring at the brown tabby kitten. "You named him Pocket?"
"That's what I just said, isn't it," Demyx replied, stroking the kitten. "Something wrong with it?" Axel shook his head.
"It's just that never in my existence have I heard of naming a cat Pocket. Besides, that name won't really work when he gets bigger, will it?"
"Well, when you adopt a cat, you can name it whatever you want," Demyx retorted.
"What makes you think I'd want to adopt a cat," Axel asked. "I don't really want a pet."
"Forgot who I was talking to, didn't I," said Demyx. Axel got in bed.
"I'm leaving the door open tonight. But if he comes in here and knocks something over, he's not allowed in my room anymore." Demyx shook his head.
"You can excuse him for at least the first week, can't you?" Axel sighed and rolled over.
"Fine. As long as he doesn't break anything important."
"Well, I highly doubt you have anything fragile in your room, so it should be fine."
"What about my movies?"
"They aren't made of glass, are they? And if you're that worried about them, maybe you should consider putting them away instead of stacking them really high on the floor after you watch them."
"I'll do it tomorrow." Demyx laughed.
"Now you and I both know you won't. It's almost like you enjoy having a room that you can only see a quarter of the floor in."
"Right. Says the guy who has staff paper and instruments all over the room."
"The piccolo and harmonica fit in my desk drawer just fine and the violin is under my bed. Also, the staff paper is stacked on my desk and bedside table. None of it's on the floor." Axel snorted.
"Yeah, you're the Master of Neatness who is good about doing his laundry and not having clothes on the floor."
"Now, don't tell me you didn't do your laundry."
"Good night, Demyx."
"Xemnas basically said to see if we can find out more about them and why they're following us," said Xigbar.
"Spying on others is your forte, Xigbar," Luxord replied, shuffling the cards. "I'm surprised that the Superior didn't assign you a mission to track them." Xigbar chuckled.
"I guess he doesn't see them as much of a threat." Zexion studied his cards.
"Hopefully they don't become a threat in the future due to us neglecting to watch them."
"A bunch of random women spying on us," said Xigbar. "Maybe they just like what they see."
Zexion rolled his eyes and shook his head. Playing cards with Numbers Two and Ten wasn't how he expected to spend his Sunday afternoon. However, it wasn't as though he was having a bad time. They had invited him over to the table when he entered the kitchen for a drink. He thought it couldn't hurt since he had been in the library all morning and had earned himself some leisure time.
"I highly doubt these women are looking for what you're implying, Two. Having seen a few of them myself, I have come up with what could be their reason for following us."
"And what's your guess, Bookworm," Xigbar asked.
"They are studying us from a distance," Zexion replied.
"Explain why they haven't tried to capture anyone to study closer," said Luxord. "Assuming that your guess is correct, that is."
"We are still relatively unknown to them," Zexion explained. "They don't know the full extent of our powers, so they are remaining in the background until they do." Luxord smirked.
"That's how you explain them following us around for the past month, is it?"
"They have probably been following us much longer. We only noticed them for the past month because they have been getting overconfident and assumed they would never be noticed."
"How do you know they've been following us longer than a month," asked Xigbar.
"I have been detecting strange scents while on missions for the past two and a half months," said Zexion. "Thirteen, Nine, Fifteen, Axel, and Marluxia have all mentioned that they felt someone following them on missions as well."
"Why didn't you bring it up if you noticed," Xigbar demanded. After a few moments of pondering, Zexion answered.
"I initially thought that it was nothing of importance. When I realized differently, I decided that I'd attempt to solve the riddle on my own before informing the Superior. I didn't believe it was anything that required immediate attention at first."
"And what if you waited too long," asked Xigbar.
"We'll merely have to wait and see as none of us can predict the future," said Zexion. Luxord smirked.
"At least now we will have someone to blame if they get in the way of completing Kingdom Hearts."
"Please, Ten, do you really think I would allow them to ruin our plans," Zexion replied. "If they interfere with the completion of Kingdom Hearts at all, they will have to be eliminated. However, if you feel the need, you can warn the rest of the members to keep watch for them."
"Think Xemmy would be interested in what kinds of things those women get up to," Xigbar asked with a chuckle.
"Even though the Superior hasn't directly ordered you to spy on them, Two, I'm certain he wouldn't object if you saw fit to spend your free time gathering information," said Zexion. Xigbar grinned.
"I was planning to spy on them anyway. Guess I can't resist an opportunity."
"That's just the reaction I expected from you," Zexion said as he looked back down at his cards. "Ten, what is it we're playing again?" Luxord scratched his head and laughed.
"We've been so caught up in talking that I've forgotten."
"What exactly are these supposed to be," asked Luxord, pointing at the plate on the table.
"Those, Ten, would be ribs," said Xaldin, sitting other platters down. Luxord turned away in disgust.
"They smell bloody horrible."
"I take it you do not approve of barbeque, Luxord," said Lexaeus.
"It doesn't taste good and I don't approve of the smell," Luxord replied.
"There is enough of a selection that you don't have to eat them if you find them unappealing," said Xaldin.
"That is a valid point," said Lexaeus. "Still, I can't help but wonder who first decided that ribs would be acceptable to eat." Luxord looked back at the platter in question.
"I'd wager that whoever came up with this particular kind enjoyed spicy food." Zexion sighed and put his head in his hands.
"Long day, Zex," Axel asked.
"Merely symptoms of an overworked brain," Zexion replied. Koxra blinked.
"I didn't think it was possible for you to overwork your brain. I kinda thought you grew used to absorbing lots of information all day." Xigbar smirked.
"Didn't wear you out playing cards yesterday, did it, Bookworm?"
"I'll admit that it was wearing my brain down considering the fact that you and Ten continuously forgot exactly what game we were playing and had to keep changing to a new one each time," Zexion said, picking at his food.
"Sorry I'm late," said Demyx as he walked in and sat down.
"Where have you been, Nine," asked Xemnas. Demyx scratched his head.
"I accidentally fell asleep when I got back."
"I should have expected something like that, considering who I'm talking to," Xemnas replied.
"What's this," asked Roxas. Axel looked.
"It's spinach."
"But what is spinach," asked Roxas. Koxra raised an eyebrow.
"Xaldin never made spinach before? I find it hard to believe that you haven't seen it once in the amount of time you've been here, Roxas." Demyx added some to his plate.
"We've had it before. It's just that Roxas was on missions every time we did." Koxra laughed.
"Makes me wonder if that happened just so Roxas would miss out on spinach." Axel rolled his eyes.
"It's a coincidence. Something like that wouldn't happen." Koxra shrugged.
"I was joking. And here I thought I was being pretty obvious."
"Didn't sound much like a joke," Axel replied. Roxas studied them.
"So, are either of you going to tell me what it is?"
"It's a vegetable. I don't think I can really say much else about it other than most people I know don't like it," said Koxra, reaching across the table.
"Um, what do you think you're doing," Axel asked. Koxra closed her hand over the handle of the gravy boat and brought it toward her.
"Well, I'm not eating mashed potatoes without gravy. It just doesn't seem right."
"So, instead of saying, 'Axel, could you pass the gravy,' you stretch for it even though I can reach it easier," said Axel. "Don't you have any table manners at all?"
"Nope," said Koxra, pouring gravy on her mashed potatoes. "Jeez, Axel, I didn't know you cared about table manners."
"Normally I don't, but seeing someone reach across the table is distracting," Axel explained. "Why haven't I seen you do it before now?"
"Well, most times I'm running late and get stuck down there," said Koxra, jerking her head in Marluxia's direction. "To be honest, I don't like sitting near him at all."
"That's why I'm glad you guys started saving me a seat," said Demyx, helping himself to some spinach. "If someone else was sitting here, odds are I'd be next to Marluxia right now."
"If you think about it, Larxene's one of the only ones who doesn't mind sitting with him," said Axel. "Vexen and Xaldin sometimes sit near him too, but I don't think either of them really care where they sit." Koxra wrinkled her nose at the spinach on Demyx's plate.
"You're seriously gonna eat that?"
"Yeah," said Demyx. "Is it so hard to believe that someone likes spinach?"
"Guess not," said Koxra. "As long as you don't start putting ketchup on it like this friend I had in elementary school. It was so gross that I couldn't sit near him when we had spinach for lunch." She turned her attention back to the plate after Demyx's fork fell to it.
"You're serious?"
"Would I really make it up just to get a reaction out of you," Koxra asked.
"I'm just saying it's hard to believe anyone would do that," said Demyx. Koxra laughed.
"He wasn't exactly what you'd call 'normal'. That and he just loved experimenting with different types of food no matter how strange or gross the combination was."
"I've come across someone that was pretty similar to that," said Axel. "This girl in my town loved putting hot sauce on everything." Demyx shuddered.
"Wouldn't that set her mouth on fire?"
"Apparently, she was immune to the taste," Axel replied.
"With your element being fire, wouldn't that make you immune to the taste as well," Koxra asked.
"Immune to a certain taste? I doubt it. I never tried hot sauce, so I don't know if I like it or not."
"Oh, yeah. I guess the way taste buds work doesn't really have anything to do with body temperature. I was just thinking of some old cartoons I saw when I was little where the characters would breathe fire after eating something spicy."
"Don't know why you thought it would happen in real life."
"Well, I think I was half spacing out when I thought of it."
I should probably answer why Demyx named his cat Pocket. When my family and I went to the S.P.C.A in June 2009 to get our cat, Misty (her name was Felicity before we changed it; four syllables is too much to say in one breath and she responded to Misty better), there was a male, brown-tabby kitten named Pocket. I thought it was so cute, so I used it.