YOU CAN SKIP MY LITTLE DIALOGUE AND GET TO THE CHAPTER BY SCROLLING DOWN
Hey everyone! Long time no see.
Not expecting this right?
Sooooo….I owe everyone an apology and an explanation.
I SUCCESSFULLY passed my exam in August! (YAY) Despite winning the battle, I haven't won the war though haha.
I have had to work so much to pay for going to university in Japan as I do not have scholarships right now, I'm also studying like crazy in English and Japanese in order to pass the Masters exam. Before was my exam to become a research student, and now this August I will take my master's exam. It's just all so much and I often feel overwhelmed.
I started writing again in January and have a few chapters complete, though they're very rough….My heart just wasn't in it when I started writing again though. It was like "Damn…I'm writing when I should be studying….You're going to fail…." I've been in Japan since August and feel just as dumb as I did when I first returned. (Of course I've learned, but it's a fluctuating thought of me feeling like I'm not trying my best and like I'm destined to fail…I'm human."
SO I am truly sorry for the delay, but do know I'm still coming back to this story. Please forgive me, but I promise after August when I have DEFINITELY passed my exam, I will return with a vengeance.
This isn't why I'm writing this chapter though.
Unfortunately, in early April, I experienced the corona virus symptoms. (I had all but a few of them) Luckily it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I kept thinking about how if something happened to me, and about my parents and how they wouldn't know since I'm just quarantined at my apartment alone and about how they've put a lot of faith in me to succeed here…and all of that would be wasted. I felt more determined to not take care of myself and to focus getting healthy during that time.
But there's a reason why I'm writing this:
1) If you're scared or nervous about the virus and/or have been experiencing symptoms, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TALK WITH ME, I can reassure you and provide you with the tips I'm doing to stay better and healthy.
2)I realized, when thinking about life, regrets, etc (I'm a psychology major, don't judge me lol) this story would be one of my regrets. I really want to finish and I WILL finish. I've known how the story would end since last year/2 years ago haha. So I really hope I can communicate that to everyone else.
I'm going to attempt writing a mini chapter since I want the distraction. It's interesting because I was going to have one filler chapter in the last arc, but I guess now there's two.
Everyone please stay healthy, safe, and spread the love.
I think the reason I'm okay is because I'm constantly finding ways to laugh and enjoy being quarantined despite (previously) feeling symptoms. Make sure to laugh and hopefully this chapter can brighten anyone's day.
The Chapter takes place from Chat's perspective, the very day Marinette released him from the book in chapter 1. Wrote in one day, only checked over it once, sorry for errors~
"Marinette!"
Narrow eyes watched as another girl ran up to the one that had attacked him. He had a good mind to try taking them both on. It was heavy on his mind, but the fatigue he felt was much heavier and weighed down on his body.
He watched them carefully, completely on his guard in case they spotted his location in the tree he had scurried to. He had made sure to stay high up so as to avoid any chance of them finding him. Despite it being dark, he could see clearly as the girl that had been holding the book looked at her friend. The man turned from the girls and looked down as his hands before jumping in surprise.
Claws?
He flexed his hand and watched as the nails curved into his palm.
As the blue haired girl began wailing, he was drawn back to her, more so what was lying next to her than her loud cries.
That grimoire…
A growl naturally rumbled in his chest before he forced himself to quiet down before the girls could hear him. He felt a natural hatred and nervousness at even looking at it but couldn't place why.
"Are you okay? Oh my god you're bleeding." He watched the other girl speak. "Come on, let's get you home."
The bigger of the two girls struggled to help his culprit to her feet. He cringed as she wailed and screamed in pain as she forced herself to walk out of the forest.
He waited for what felt like hours, but with no concept of time could have been much shorter. The man jumped down from where they had been. He pawed around the area before digging his hands into the ground and burying what he had taken from the old book shop in that spot.
Once he was sure it was deep enough in the ground, he stood and examined where the girl's scent lingered. He felt his stomach churn and vile rise to the back of his throat at the intoxicating scent.
Her book….I came from her book?
He grabbed his head as it pounded.
Why can't I….
He looked around the area. He had never been here before.
...remember?
His mind was a blank void, an empty canvas regarding memories of who he was or where he was.
He shivered involuntarily as he felt something snake around his back. With a swiftness, he whipped around, nearly causing himself to fall back in dizziness. His eyes widened before he reached out to grab the furry black tail connected to his body.
A tail?
His heightened senses. The claws, the nails- He quickly gripped his head. Sure enough, there were ears atop his head that allowed him to hear much more than he should have been able to.
What am I?
With the quickening of his heart, he felt that this just wasn't normal. What kind of monster was he to be part animal, part human?
That girl!
He jerked his head in the direction they had taken off in. The bright light he saw before coming out of her book, surely, she could explain it to him. She must have had answers about what he was.
Her reaction to seeing him played back in his head. He had fought his way through the light, grabbing and pinning to pull himself out.
She was terrified of me.
He wouldn't forget the fear in her eyes, the fear as she struggled to close the book and keep him from escaping.
She did not want me to get out of the book.
He slowly began to piece everything together. She had put him in that book, had turned him into whatever it was that he had become. He hissed at the thought that was sure to be true. Somehow, he had broken through and was able to stop her from completely trying to seal him in, that had to be the only explanation.
Only one thing crossed his mind as his clawed nails curled into the mulch beneath him.
Kill her.
He broke into a sprint as he trailed after them. Assuredly, he would see them if he just followed their direction.
He was filled with such rage he could barely work out the blurs that rushed passed him as he jumped over fallen branches. The man could feel it in his bones, her death would be on sight.
His adrenaline pumped through his blood as he bobbed and weaved between the condensed trees. He didn't care what other spell that witch would try to cast, if he could just hurt her a little bit, he would be satisfied.
The strong scent of pine needles that had once burned his nose died into a sweeter scent as mulch turned to gravel, and gravel to payment. He found himself coming to a stop as he found himself in a completely different setting of new sites and hordes of people crowding the streets.
All at once he was hit by a sudden change in scenery, it nearly burned his eyes. He admired everything surrounding him as darkness in the area turned into bright lights of varying colors before him. The cat eared man nearly gave himself whiplash as he forced his head in every direction to look at the sites around him.
His heartbeat quickened at the unfamiliar scenes before him. Not a single ray of familiarity crossed him as he looked every which way. He felt vile bubble is his stomach once again as he became overwhelmed with the brightness and sounds.
Unfamiliar objects honked and screeched around him. Strong mixed scents made him dizzy. His heart pounded against his chest with each new sense that flooded him.
People stopped and stared at him as if he were a monster. He could feel the dampness of his hands as everyone seemed to stare at him in discomfort.
A single woman let out a scream as she pointed at him.
"He's naked!"
That was all it took for the hordes of people to scream all sorts of things at him. It all blurred together as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
Why is he naked?
Someone call the cops!
He's crazy!
He's cosplaying as a cat!
Watch out, he's probably a killer!
Grab him before he touches one of the women!
He covered his ears despite feeling that he could not hear a single person coherently. Without hesitation, he broke out into a sprint away from the people.
"Get him!"
He pushed passed the people on the street without a care for who he knocked down or who got in his way. There was only one thing on his mind.
I must flee.
That thought alone fueled him to run to wherever he could escape to.
He ran into a street ensuing more of the honking as he tried to avoid large speeding objects. Blearing lights came at him all at once as he worked not to get hit. One large object screeched to a haul right before making impact with him.
"Have you lost your damn mind, kid!?"
Green eyes tried to see past the bright headlights at an angry older man that refused to stop yelling at him. He could barely understand as the man expressed his frustrations.
He slowly backed away. He would've fumbled for an apology had one come to mind in that moment.
Before he could even react, a loud screech broke out before a pain he'd never felt before soared through his body. All he could feel was his body rolling on hard material before slamming into the ground with a hard thud.
The wind was completely knocked out of him as he struggled to get enough air to his lungs.
"Oh my god!" The man that had once been screaming ensued to screaming in horror.
It was taking everything in the kitten eared man not to pass out as he struggled to sit up. He grunted as he bit his lip.
More of the large objects stopped around him as eyes landed on his naked body. He squirmed under their gaze as he struggled to calm down.
I-I cannot.
With the little bit of strength he had, he stood and began fleeing the sight. He didn't stop until he was much further from people and was sure he was safe.
A dark alley with little lighting offered much security as darkness felt like home. He grunted as he pressed his back against a lone wired fence.
He looked down at where his ribs were.
Something is broken…
He could only assume so after suffering such a hit with such force. It pained him so much in the area where he was hit that he could barely even breathe properly.
But…I'm alive.
At this point, he wasn't so sure if that was a good or bad thing. A clawed hand slammed against the cement beneath him as it dawned him. Not only had he wandered off to an area he was unfamiliar with, but the scent of the witch that had done this to him was long gone and forgotten. He had smelled so many things, it was near to impossible to remember and distinguish between anything- especially the witch's scent as he had only smelled it briefly before attempting to catch up to her and the other girl.
He dipped his head back as he leaned it against the fence behind him. What was the point of all of this?
The dimly lit area offered slight comfort as he looked to the sky. Aside from the few stars that littered the sky, he was captivated by the moon. No matter how many times he attempted to break gaze with it, his was completely taken in by it for reasons beyond him.
It is all I want to see.
He couldn't place the affixation, though he was grateful for the comfort it brought him. This was the calmest he had felt since coming out of the book. Here he was with no memory, no sense of what to do or where to go- no home. And yet, a sense of relief had managed to flood his system.
I need…sleep.
Fatigue wrapped itself around his broken frame as he curled himself close together against the fence. His tail swiveled across his knee as if to provide slight warmth to the chilled night. He would need to think of a plan after getting some much-needed rest.
He could feel agitation grow within him with each noise.
Footsteps, loud at that, approached in a hurried pace as screaming throughout the area had startled him.
He had tried his hardest to ignore them, but found himself cracking his eyes opened. The moon was still high in the sky, leading him to believe it was still night, much to his relief.
Only an hour…
He felt like he had it in him to sleep for days, so being awake after possibly only an hour of sleeping angered him. His head lolled to the side to look at his perpetrators.
A burly man towered over a young woman as she struggled to free herself. His body was well covered as he wore a cap and dark clothing. The woman was much smaller as her long dark hair flew in every direction as she tried to wriggle free.
"Help me!" A woman screamed.
The kitten eared man watched as the woman was roughly shoved against the wall. He was oddly fascinated by her hair as it was in disarray as she struggled to fight off the man. The two had yet to even notice him as the woman worked to break free. The muscular man had managed to rip her blouse as she clawed at him to get him off of her.
The injured man had no energy or interest in interrupting the two. The only thing he wanted was to sleep and he couldn't do that with the woman screaming and the man trying to shush her. He attempted to close his eyes but was stirred with agitation as the woman continued screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Shut up!" He yelled as he yanked her by the shirt.
Tears flowed down her face as she tried to get away to no avail.
"You wanna' die here!?"
The kitten eared man's tail swiveled, knocking down a can a bit away from him. His eyes were drawn to the can as he watched it roll on the asphalt before hitting the other man's foot.
The man turned to him with irritation before spitting in his direction in disgust.
"Get lost, kid."
The kitten eared man made no sign that he was moving. He just stared at the people, hoping they would leave his presence. He wasn't even sure what 'get lost' meant. He was already lost in the first place, why would he willingly want to 'lose' himself? It made no sense.
"Please help me!" The woman hollered as she looked at him.
Once again, he covered his ears to block out the woman's incessant screeching. Was it so much to ask for wanting to rest a bit? He didn't care for whatever situation she was in and honestly had no intention to interfere in whatever was going on.
"I said get up and get lost!"
The kitten eared man huffed, upset that the attention was now on him. What would it take for him to get some peace and quiet?
"Please!" the woman cried, clearly not willing to stop until he did something to help her.
The man holding her in place crudely grabbed her face before jerking it to look him in the eyes.
"Say one more thing and I'll make sure I knock you out! Then I'll really have some fun with you."
The woman didn't say a single word after that, though her wails as she cried filled the ear.
Sard.
The kitten eared man grabbed onto the fence as he hoisted himself up. He could only stop for a second as he realized his body felt much lighter than it had previously. It was still fairly with fatigue but was much lighter after the little bit of sleep he had received.
"You want a piece of me?" The man snickered at the challenge.
While the man was taller and much bigger than him, the thought of the man being a threat didn't cross the green-eyed man's mind for even a second. If anything, his agitation grew considering he didn't even want to be involved in the first place.
The man all but tossed the woman to the ground with little regard.
With a pointed finger, he said, "You stay put unless you want a knife in your back." With his threat complete, he turned to the kitten eared man.
Without hesitation he charged in the kitten eared man's direction. The kitten eared man easily dodged him as he grabbed him by the hood of his jacket and swung him into the fence. It felt easy to do, though the man flew into the fence with such force that it led the kitten eared man to believe he had much more strength than he had originally thought.
I feel a bit better.
He was still injured and in pain, though it felt more like pain and mild discomfort rather than an irrational pain at this point. It would certainly take a bit of time before he felt 100% better, but this was surely a start.
With ease, he grabbed the man by his throat, digging his claws into his skin as he peered into his eyes. Fear coated the man's features as he dripped in sweat before him, it brought him slight pleasure to know that the man was not only scared of him, but that he could take out some of his pint up aggression on the man for his plans of finding the girl that trapped him in the book and the thought of getting sleep ruined.
The kitten eared man punched the man once, effectively knocking him out before tossing his limp body to the floor. It was hardly enough to kill the man, though he would surely be down for the count.
His comfort was gone, but his heart was at ease as he had done something that brought him what he believed slight joy.
The conscious man turned back to the woman that was cowering on the floor as she had just witnessed him knock a man out cold with one hit. Her clothing was affectively torn as she struggled to cover herself with his intense gaze lingering on her.
He felt nothing as he watched her. It somewhat irked him that she had not left the area when given the chance. He just couldn't pinpoint her motive for staying to witness this. The kitten eared man turned to the man on the floor. He heaved a heavy sigh as he stooped down and stripped the man of his jacket. He carefully approached the woman as she gasped upon being directly in front of him.
He could all but hear her heartbeat pick up as her eyes welled with tears once more. Again, he had absolutely no inclination to comfort her or help her in any way, all he wanted was his peace and quiet and to rest before the morning came. He hunched down once more and outstretched his arm to give her the jacket he had taken from the man.
He couldn't think of why he had even offered it to her in the first place, maybe because he was desperate to be alone. The only reason he could think of for her to be in this place any longer was because she was barely clothed with her ripped shirt. Maybe she would leave if she was a bit more covered like the people he had passed upon coming to this area.
The woman hesitated as she contemplated taking the jacket. Somehow, he became more irritated as he all but shoved it into her arms for her to put on before pointing to the entrance of the dark alleyway.
"You…want me to leave?"
She seemed more or less surprised that he didn't have the same intentions as the currently knocked out man. The kitten eared man said nothing as he clicked his teeth. He hoped that single sound would display his agitation with her. She put on the jacket as she shakily rose to her feet.
She only offered a few glances at the homeless man as she began to leave the alleyway, not wanting anymore trouble.
He could finally sigh in content as the alleyway was silent once more. Of all the things to happen, why this?
But…
He walked back to the unconscious man on the floor before kicking him in the gut to turn him over.
Still unconscious…
He began to strip the man for all he was worth. He put on the outer layers of the man's clothing and frowned.
It is much bigger.
The sweatpants barely fit him no matter how much he tightened them, though the grey shirt was decent after he tucked it into the pants. He didn't like the idea of wearing another man's clothes, somewhat sweaty ones at that, but it was what needed to be done.
He had yet to think of a plan, but a few things were clear after the little exchange he had just had with the woman and man. One being that he needed clothes to wear in order to fit in with everyone else. As he took the man's cap and put it on his head, he felt extreme discomfort at blocking his hearing. The main thing he thought of was that he needed to blend in, which meant hiding his nonhuman like qualities. The last being that he couldn't stay here. He put on the man's shoes before tucking the strings into them.
That woman…
He couldn't risk her coming back. If she brought more people with her or another person was attacked in this alleyway, it would just cause him more unwanted trouble.
He growled as he landed a kick to the man's gut for ruining his sleep. It was all he could think to do at this point to relieve his anger. Without a glance back, he began making his way out of the ally. He didn't know where he would go, he just knew he needed to leave.
His feet carried him to varying alleyways but a slight nagging feeling of being bothered by more people caused him to leave each time. It felt like there was nowhere to go. He turned to the moon in hopes of receiving an answer. That same feeling of comfort entered his system.
The kitten eared man's eyes trailed along a building that rose up to the moon.
If I go up, there are fewer people.
He was sure of it. The building wasn't too high, though he felt he'd be safer on a roof where he couldn't be seen rather than on ground.
There was no way he could get up there with shoes, so he kicked them off before tying the laces together and slinging them around his neck. He gripped onto the divots in the brick of the building before working his way up to the top. It took way more attempts than he was hoping for, but his hand eventually got a good enough grip and he was able to scale the building. As his feet padded against the roof, he felt he could finally relax.
It was just him and there was no way someone could get on the building without more assistance.
I can rest.
With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and let sleep cradle him.
As the sun beamed down on his tired frame, he felt his eyes twitch. He grunted before cracking his eyes open. The moon was long gone and the sun had risen to greet him.
The man sat up with swiftness as a sudden panic filled his system. Something about the sun rubbed him uncomfortably as his heart raced. It took many deep breaths to calm him as he couldn't work out his racing thoughts.
I am alive…
Memories of the night made him feel as if such a revelation wasn't all that surprising. It was already something he knew but…his eyes drifted to the sun once more.
I no longer want to be here.
He put on the shoes before tucking in the laces once more and making his way down the building. Somehow, the morning seemed more peaceful than nighttime, though he much preferred the night as it brought the moon with it. People were out, though weren't in such a frenzy as last night, but they may have been because he was clothed and covering his cat like appendages now.
Despite wearing clothes like these everyday civilians, he tucked his hair under the cap more. Not a single person he passed paid him any attention, but he wanted to avoid a repeat of last night as much as possible.
He could barely remember the way back to where he was, though he did his best to end up in the same area. He hoped his feet remembered more so than he did as he allowed himself to just follow whichever way seemed familiar.
What to do?
He hadn't even the slightest plan on what to do given his predicament. He began digging in the pockets, hoping to find something to give him a sign of what to do.
A knife?
He tossed the sharp object to the floor, finding it unnecessary since he could fend for himself with his fists.
A leather object?
The man opened the flaps and pulled out numerous leaflets of colorful paper and cards.
This is the man from last night…
All sorts of writing in French was written along with the man's picture and signature. Deeming it useless, he tossed any card he took out of the leather flaps to the floor.
5,10,20?
The colorful paper had buildings that he honestly didn't care for either. With a sigh, he threw the paper to the floor, before just completely ridding himself of the leather object. Those were the only two things in the contents of the man's clothes and they had no use for him.
He stopped in his tracks as he felt more eyes on him. He made little eye contact before pulling the cap further down on his head and continuing in a hurried pace to his destination.
He worked his way through the city for what felt like hours. A feeling similar to sadness set in as he looked around him. Why did everything feel so odd to him? It was one thing to feel like he hadn't seen this place before, but….
He watched as a child ran passed him with a circular object on a stick in his hand. What the kitten eared man could only assume was his parent caught up to him and reprimanded him for running on the busy sidewalk. The kid shook the object before giving it a good lick and sighing in content.
Nothing is familiar.
Whatever the child was eating, he didn't even know the name of it. He knew words and they're meaning, but he just couldn't place a name to most of the things around him. He wondered why this was the case.
I blame that evil witch….
He couldn't wait until he got his hands on her. She made him forget everything. He was filled with such anger as he thought of the ugly girl. The first thing on his very short list of things to do was to kill her, though a new problem had arisen.
He placed a single hand to his stomach as it constricted.
Grrrlllllllll
His stomach lout out a loud growl. He was terribly hungry and was running on low energy. His senses had heightened and that same sweet sugary smell from when he had first entered the city came back tenfold as he walked through the city as if to make him suffer.
He could only peer through shop windows at the freshly baked bread and desserts. He stopped at one in particular as the desserts had so many designs on them. Why was he tortured as so? He would do his best to restrain himself for now. He knew he had been standing there for a long time, but he was very fascinated with the designs and the smell. He hoped smelling would be enough to sedate him for the time being. He watched as people in the shop interacted before they exchanged the colorful paper and then food had been given.
Sard.
It had just dawned on him that the paper he had stupidly gotten rid of was currency used in this time. If he had known that, he would have gladly kept it. Trying not to feel like as much of an imbecile, he reminded himself that he didn't want to interact with any of the civilians in the first place. He nodded to himself as he eyed the bread. No matter how many times he repeated it, the howling of his stomach was trying to convince him otherwise.
"You want some?"
The kitten eared man nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden question. He had been so focused on the bread beyond the glass in front of him, that he hadn't even noticed the man that had previously been exchanging the currency with bread peek out the door. The man's olive green eyes peered at him with kindness as the swivel of hair he left in the front dipped to the side as he tilted his head.
"You've been standing there for a while man. Hold that thought."
Hold my thought?
The kitten eared man's eyes trailed after the other man as he grabbed a bag and placed some of the bread in it. He quickly wiped drool from his mouth as he watched eagerly.
"This'll have you right." The man offered out the same bag of bread he had just prepared to the kitten eared man.
The kitten eared man could only stare at the bread as he pulled his cap down to cover more of himself, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the man's gaze on him. For some reason, he was highly aware that as the man leaned out of the door of his store, he was letting out large blows of cool air and the enticing smell of bread.
"Promise we just made it, so it's fresh. You don't have to pay, you look hungry." He urged as he shook the bag.
In a swift movement, the kitten eared man grabbed the bag and began wolfing down one of the pieces of bread. His cheeks instantly tingled as the warm bread filled his mouth.
It is sweet.
A nice custardy taste filled his mouth as he bit into the bread, he could have cried at the savory taste.
He turned to the man who watching him with piqued interest. The calm man waited for the starving man to offer some sign of gratitude of thanks, but none came.
He went to invite the man inside, nothing new for him as he always tried to talk with people that came around the shop, though he didn't get the chance.
"Aliiiiiii," a sweet voice from inside drifted as a woman sung his name. "What are you doing outside? We have customers!"
Sure enough, a line had formed as he had left the register completely unattended.
"Sorry Rose, just talking." He yelled into the shop before turning back to the man. "Gotta go, come in anytime mate." He said with a wink before going back into the bakery.
The man's kindness had rubbed him in the wrong way as he quickly left the area. All the kitten eared man had done was stare at bread and he had earned himself four free loaves. He hadn't done a single thing to earn it, and yet it had just been given to him. In fact, he had given them a dirty window as he had pressed his claws on the glass without any thought to his level of cleanliness. Was that any way to repay the kind man?
He regretted not paying attention to more of the scenery around the shop, he had only focused on the bread and solely that. Most of the shops looked the same and had the similar sweet smell of delicious bread. He had to wonder if the man would offer him more bread if he went back to the bakery.
He continued to munch on the bread as he walked throughout the town. Somehow having a less empty stomach made him feel a bit more optimistic. He didn't know what was going on or where he was, but at least he wasn't starving to death.
The kitten eared man sniffed the air in hopes of remembering the witch's scent, but it was long gone and he had no chance of remembering it.
She will be back….
He was 1000% sure of that. After she realized that she didn't kill him, she'd come back to finish the job. It was just a matter of the waiting game. The only problem was getting back to the area he had previously been in.
He had an inkling that he was in the right area based off of a few familiar buildings, but everything honestly looked the same to him. He went to dip his canines into one of the gooey filled bread before pulling his mouth back with a frown.
There is only two left now.
In his haste he had guzzled down two of the four pieces of bread. He didn't want to eat it too quickly in case he would need it to last for more than one day. He shoved the bag into his pocket before getting back to the task at hand.
It wasn't until the waning moon was back and high in the sky, that the familiar scent infiltrated his senses.
Ahhh, finally.
The same pine scent and mulch, he had made his way back. A sense of relief and fatigue entered him. Had spent all day wandering around town until he had found this place again. His feet tiredly carried him throughout the familiar forest. A sad smile scattered across his face as it felt odd to think of a place he had only spent a couple of hours at as 'familiar'.
It wasn't long before he was back at the old bookshop. In a hurry, he quickly stripped his clothes off. Glad to be alone and able to be completely naked and without a sweaty man's clothes, it felt good to not have to cover his ears and to hear properly.
He scanned the dusty book shop as the floor creaked under his weight, it was like music to his ears.
I must wait.
He decided he wouldn't leave this bookshop if he didn't have to. The two loaves of bread would last him a week if he ate it sparingly, and he certainly wasn't above eating dirt and leaves if it meant that he wouldn't have to leave the bookshop. He just couldn't risk the witch coming back and missing her.
With that thought in mind, he left the remaining bread on one of the empty bookshelves before grabbing a random book and perching himself on top of one of the bookcases.
"The Beast." It was the first time he had said anything since being released from the book. His own voice scared him as it cracked with its lack of use. He did his best to clear his throat before trying once more. "The Beast." It sounded clearer and flowed with ease as he looked at the book.
The book was a nice deep navy blue that had caught his attention from its golden embroidered letters.
He turned the pages and frowned. Some of the words were unfamiliar, though he could easily understand the letters and meaning behind the words.
A bitter smile graced his features as a pain he couldn't quite place set inside him. Even the sound of his own voice was unfamiliar to him. What hope did he have to know who he was after he killed the witch?
It was quite a thought as he was torn between killing her as soon as he saw her or forcing her to give him answers first. Did he want to rationally wait before killing her or not? He knew what the smart thing to do was, but he wasn't too sure how well that plan would work out considering the anger he felt at just thinking about her.
Pushing that thought to the back of his mind he turned the page.
"I gazed out the win-window, day af-ter day, at the fragments peop-le spun together."
He was pleased by himself for being able to read as smoothly as he had with his first try. He wasn't certain if he would like to read given his circumstances, but it was proving to be somewhat enjoyable for the moment.
As he turned the page, he ran a hand over the picture that followed. A picture of a beast on the page glared back at him. The kitten eared man eyed the beast's fangs before pressing a thumb to his own canines. The next picture was of a girl with horns crying as she sat on the floor.
"I cast-st a spell on myself and changed from an u-gly human into a beautiful…beast…."
He couldn't help but stare at the words. What if he had done this to himself? His tail swiveled up and around his shoulder as if to comfort him. Deep in his bones he just knew he wouldn't do this to himself, he couldn't have. Why would he want to turn into this beast?
He looked at the woman on the page as she cried. He guessed she was beautiful but if she was crying, things clearly hadn't turned out the way she wanted it to. Here they were, two beasts with feelings of dissatisfaction for their circumstances. Only based off of the few pages he had read, he felt the need to juxtapose himself with the girl.
He truly had no concept of beauty or ugliness at this point, but as he looked at the scars on his naked body, he could only feel that he must be ugly. He wasn't sure of the circumstances but he was fully aware that he had come out of the book with all sorts of scars covering his body- not that he minded considering they were only superficial marks on his skin.
He was curious though.
Where did these marks come from?
Why am I here?
Why did she make me a beast?
Why?
If you want another filler chapter please leave a review and let me know!
I can either do a filler chapter on the book that Chat was reading or do more chapters from his perspective (as long as it doesn't interfere with the next arc's chapters) (but if you want this, please tell me a chapter/scene you want his perspective on) or on any questions you may have.
Stay home, stay safe.