The Loud sisters were standing in a loose half circle around Lincoln, wide eyed stares burning into their brother's unconscious form. Their forms were frozen in shock, jaws dropped, some even trying to work up the words to express their surprise.
The younger sisters then turned their heads to Lori, looking to her for some sort of guidance. But Lori, who was just as shocked and confused as the rest of her sisters, began to sweat and rub her temples in silent panic.
'Oh god, oh fuck, they're all looking at me! What do I do, what do I do? God- What can I do?! It's not like anyone would even be able to do this-!'
A certain four-year-old then crossed her mind, memories of all her insane experiments coming to the forefront. Her anxiety melted into burning anger, face going as a red as a tomato. How dare she do this, and to her own brother, no less!
Lori whipped around to face Lisa, teeth grinding together in fury and hands balled into white-knuckled fists. The small scientist wasn't even looking at her though, too caught up in her shock to pay attention to anything else.
"Lisa Marie Loud!" Lori shouted, taking everyone off guard. They jerked in shock, eyes trailing from Lincoln to Lori. Lisa meanwhile was rubbing her ear, taken aback by the sheer volume in Lori's voice.
"Must I continue to remind you simpletons I have teni-" She grumbled but was cut off by her raging older sisters.
"That doesn't fucking matter, you little shit!" Lori yelled. Her sisters flinched as she dropped the f-bomb and the s-word in the same sentence, by the oldest was way past caring. "What matters is that you turned Lincoln into a cat!"
Lisa blinked several times in shock, eyes wide, and her mouth was open in disbelief. Surely her eldest sister didn't believe she would- or even could- do such a thing!
"Hey, she's right dudes." Luna suddenly said from the back of the crowd. "Didn't Lisa create that time travel thing-a-ma-jig or whatever the hell a while ago? Who's to say she couldn't she do that to our bro?"
"That's not-"
"Don't forget Trashy!" Lana added.
"And what about that thing with tentacles when Lincoln was in charge a few weeks ago?" Luan inquired. Lisa stared at them all in shock for a few seconds, mouth hung open. Then, she sighed and pinched her nose.
"I don't have any sort of machine or chemical that can turn a human being into what appears to be a human cat hybrid. That's not even possible!"
Lynn snorted and marched over to her younger sister, jabbing a finger into her chest.
"Then tell, little miss smarty-pants-" Lynn said, the fury evident in her tone of voice, "What do you think happened here?!"
"I don't know!" Lisa said defensively, jerked herself away from her sporty older sister, "But just because I'm as bewildered as the rest of you doesn't mean I'm responsible!"
"Exactly." Lucy suddenly said from the back of the crowd. Her sisters jolted slightly, but surprisingly enough didn't yell in shock. Lynn whipped her head around to Lucy, looking more annoyed than anything.
"Luce, now's not the time for your spooky mumbo-jumbo!" The pony-tailed brunette scolded.
"Sigh. It's just in my nature. But that's besides the point. I don't think Lisa did this."
"Really?" Lola asked condescendingly, quirking a brow, "Then how about you explain what you think happened here?"
Lucy started to pace as she explained her point. "It had to have been a ghost. You said yourself, science isn't able to do anything like this yet. Besides, it would make sense for some sort of spirit to have been responsible for the strange happenings around our house since we don't have any other explanation. Adding onto that, I've seen a pair of golden eyes peering from the smothering darkness in the dead of night, a bitter, restless presence emanating from it."
Lucy then cast a sad yet wistful gaze onto her brother's now cat-like body. "Sigh. If only he listened to me." She murmured, her voice melancholy.
"Tch, poppycock." Lisa scoffed, "The evidence you provided is circumstantial at most. What you're "feeling" is likely the high moisture level in this basement, and the noises and movements could have been anything else."
"Oh, so you're admitting you did it!" Lynn said, pointing a finger at Lisa. Lisa whirled around; clearly agitated by the way her shoulders tensed and raised her chin.
"I said no such thing!"
"Yeah, right! Why should we trust you?!"
And with those words, a fierce argument broke out, the noise level nearly unbearable. Lori, who had kept out of it, sighed, rubbing her temples. How did they get here again?
Suddenly, a groan made itself known where Lincoln was passed out. Lori whirled around and saw her brother slowly sitting up, looking groggy and not fully aware of what was going on.
Unbeknownst to him, however, his big sister was scanning him up and down, the way his tail and ears moved, the sheen of the fur that made itself known on his body, and even the slightly slit pupils that were attempting to focus. Yet he still had hands, could still sit up, still had a mostly human head. One thought ran through her mind as she stared at her cat brother.
'This is literally the most wrong thing I've ever seen in my life.'
However, Lori quickly snapped her from her thoughts, turning around and yelling, "Guys, he's awake!"
Instantly, the argument paused, silence filling the room as the sisters turned around to face their brother. It seemed like the world itself was waiting in anticipation for Lincoln's next move.
"Wha-why're you-?" Lincoln said with furrowed brows, starting to stand up. Something on his hands caught his eyes though, and he turned his gaze downwards.
His eyes flew open once he caught sight of the thick white fur coating his hand. A quick check on his other hand, arms, and legs confirmed he was covered in hair. But that wasn't all, oh no! He saw his palms and undersides of his fingers were covered in pink paw pads (along with the ball of his foot and the undersides of his toes), a set of large ears on top of his head, a muzzle protruding from his face with whiskers on either side of his lips, and long, fluffy tail that twitched and lashed constantly.
Lincoln's mind was reeling, even though no words came from his mouth. How was this possible?! Why couldn't it have been a dream?! How, why-!
The white-haired boy wasn't cognizant of how he was trembling, or just how empty he suddenly felt, or how his sisters were watching him break down.
After what felt like an eternity, Lori stepped from the crowd, lips in a tight line and a hand slightly outstretched.
"Lincoln, are you okay?" She asked, concerned for her brother.
Lincoln jolted as if he was shaken from a dream, whirling around with wide eyes and eyebrows raised. His lower lip trembled yet no tears came out as he stared at his sisters.
Lori sighed, steepling her fingers to gather her thoughts.
"Look, I get that... whatever this is bad, but we need to know what happened."
Lola scoffed loudly and said haughtily, "Yeah, like we don't already know it's Lisa!"
Lisa whipped around to face her older sister, eyes flashing with dangerous anger.
Lola scoffed loudly and said haughtily, "Yeah, like we don't already know it's Lisa!"
Lisa whipped around to face her older sister, eyes flashing with dangerous anger.
"And what's that supposed to mean?!" She growled, "I'll have you know that I've testified many times for my innocence, yet none of you buffoons believed me!"
While Lincoln was still in shock, he couldn't help but become perplexed by his sister's arguing. And why were they all mad at Lisa? He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by his sisters' bickering.
"It means you're a terrible fucking liar, Lisa!" Lori snapped heatedly. Her younger brother stared at her and once more opened his mouth to voice his questions. But yet again, no one noticed and instead cut him off.
"For the last time..." Lisa growled lowly. Lincoln flinched, not understanding why his sisters were putting so much pressure on the second youngest. "I can't turn a human into a feline-homo sapien amalgamation!"
"But, like, didn't you give me that cream that made my face go all puffy?" Leni pointed out in confusion.
Lisa gnashed her teeth, going red in the face.
"I was upstairs with you guys when Lincoln was transformed into a talking biped feline, and I was at school for the rest of the time! How would I have had a chance to turn Lincoln into a cat?!" She said loudly and defensively, clearly fed up with all these accusations.
Before another argument started however, Lincoln finally got tired of being ignored.
"Hey, what's going on?" He shouted over everyone. His sisters seemed to finally take notice of him and craned their head over to him.
"Lisa turned you into a cat, Lincoln!" Lana explained, pointing at her younger sister. But before Lisa could object once more, Lincoln blinked in surprise and spoke.
"What're you guys talking about?! She didn't do it!" Lincoln said in confusion, much to the shock of his sisters and the relief of Lisa.
As everyone else gaped in surprise, she wore an smug grin on her face as she spoke.
"See? Elder brother confirms I had no part in his transformation." She said almost tauntingly. However, this quickly led to another question.
"Well if Lisa's off the hook, who did it?" Luan pondered aloud, voiced the question bounding around in the sisters' heads. They all turned around slowly to face Lincoln, who looked like he was going to throw up once the question was uttered. He gulped loudly, prepared to lie to save his family from the horrible fate that awaited them at the demon's claws, but all that came out was a low groan. He shivered in fright and breathed rapidly; ears flattened to his head as he attempted to calm down but was failing miserably.
He shouldn't be panicking, he knew, but it was hard not to in this situation.
"Bro? You okay?" Luna asked from the crowd of his sisters. Lincoln, for all his panic, managed to shoot her a deadpan glare. Luna sheepishly rubbed an arm behind her head.
"Ri-right, sorry brah." She said quickly.
Lincoln gulped, both relieved that no one was pressuring him into saying what happened, but also feeling a stone of guilt weighing down his stomach. They were probably so worried about him and wanted to know what happened! But he couldn't tell them... he just hoped they wouldn't get too nosy.
He jumped when someone tapped his shoulder and whipped his head around, eyes wide and terrified. Please don't be that cat thing, please don't be-
Thankfully it was just his older sister Leni. She smiled apologetically and said quietly, "Hey, Linky, everyone else is going upstairs. We're gonna talk about what we're doing next."
Oh, right. This is a pretty big change for his sisters as well.
Lincoln paused before he nodded. His blonde-haired sister guided him forward, giving him a once over.
"You look tired, Linky."
"I-I do?" Lincoln asked. It was true, sure, but he thought she wouldn't notice behind all the... fur...
His big sister nodded. She said, "Uh-huh! How about I get you a juicebox? Maybe it'll cheer you up!"
Lincoln doubted one juicebox would make him feel any better, and while a part of him protested at the thought of being treated like a child, he just wanted to have something to do to take his mind off of what happened.
"Um... sure."
In the living room, the only people who weren't talking amongst themselves were Lori, who was pacing and preparing herself for what she was about to say, and Lincoln for obvious reasons.
"So what'cha think Lori's gonna say?"
"I dunno! This whole thing's just... it doesn't make sense!"
"Yeah... that's true."
"What're we gonna do?!"
"I dunno, Lola, I'm getting the feline that Lori will come up with something!"
"... Seriously Luan? Right now?"
"Hey, don't cat the wrong idea! I'm pawsitively sure Lori will think of something!"
It seemed Lori had enough of these terrible puns, as she threw one of her shoes at Luan's head. The amateur comedienne ducked just in time though, hitting Lana square in the nose. With her other shoe, she banged it against the table and yelled, "Okay, shut up and listen to me!"
The siblings fell silent at her words, watching her silently. Lori sighed and said, "So, first of all, I think we need to tell mom and dad-"
"Wait wait wait, and tell them what? That Lincoln's a friggin' cat?!" Lynn quickly interrupted.
"Yeah, I dunno if mom and pops'll believe ya, Lori." Luna added. Mutterings of agreement rose from the other sisters. Lori huffed in annoyance.
"I'm not telling them that he's a cat!" Lori said with slight annoyance, "Are you crazy?!"
Lori pulled out her phone to emphasize her next words. "I'll just tell them there's an emergency and leave it at that."
The teen then gestured her hand to her brother, choosing her next words carefully. "Also, while I call mom and dad, I want you guys to watch Linc, just to make sure he's not going to do anything dumb."
"Like what?" Leni asked.
"I dunno, ripping his fur off or whatever! My point is, just make sure he's not going to freak out and hurt himself."
"Why?" Lana asked as she rubbed her nose, inclining her head to the side. Lori froze for a few seconds before she blew air out of her nose, pointing at her cat-like brother.
"Look at him! Does he look okay to you?" Lori demanded. Without waiting her younger sister's response, she turned around and strolled into the kitchen. Her siblings felt an awkward, thick silence fall over them, heavy and restrictive. The sisters glanced around the room, unsure of what to say. What could they say? Their brother had turned into a cat, for crying out loud! Surely nothing they could tell him would make him feel any better about what happened!
Lincoln, meanwhile, hadn't spoken since he exited the basement, and while sure, he also didn't know what to say, it also didn't help that his throat was still mildly scratchy.
The tail- no- h-his tail flicked suddenly, sending a ripple of feeling up his spine. He jerked, eyes wide yet refusing to look at it.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong-
He couldn't describe it as anything other than wrong. Everything about this was wrong.
He couldn't face it, especially as he felt his sister's burning stares searing him like hot brands of shame.
Lincoln felt his new ears flatten to show his discontent, yet this only made him more upset and caused his sisters to stare once more.
He felt his face grow warm. With tears or with shame he wasn't sure. He quickly took several sips of the juicebox Leni provided, trying to drown these feelings in the fruit punch flavoring.
The boy wasn't sure if it was the sadness causing it, but the added sugar left a terrible taste in his mouth.
God, why didn't he pay attention? If he was smarter about all of this, if he wasn't caught up in catching a ghost, he could have just ran!
It was too late though. He made a bad choice in choosing to listen to the cat demong thing, and now he looked like some sort of mutant.
He could still feel his sister's stares on him, laced with pity and awkwardness. He could even hear a few whispering to each other. Yet he made no motion to declare he heard them. He just stayed still. He felt all the emotions holding him in place as if they were chaining him to the ground. He couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but think.
But then, like a train crashing into a peaceful retirement home, Luan spoke.
"Man, this situation is just clawful!" She quipped cheerfully, "It's a real catastrophe!". The brace faced girl broke into hysterics, loudly giggling like a drunk hyena. Her sisters groaned in annoyance.
Luna turned her head to the giggled brunette and in a deadpan tone said, "Dude, I don't think he wants to hear that.". The fledgling rockstar gestured to his slumped over little brother for emphasis. Luan gasped in mock-hurt, eyes wide.
"Why Luna, do you really think I'd make light of such an un-fur-tunate situation? That would be paws-itively awful of me!". She broke down into another fit of hysterics, cackling like a madwoman.
"Ugh! I should have known Luan was going to make cat puns!" Lola scoffed. After a beat of silence, Luan grinned mischievously from ear to ear, something that Lola took notice of.
"Luan, I swear to god if you-"
"What's the matter, sis? Are you not feline these puns?" Luan said cheerfully, much to her little sister's anger, "Oh, cat me some slack, will you? I'm trying to cheer our furlorn brother up!". Luan once more broke into a giggling fit, yelling, "Get it?". Her sisters groaned in annoyance and frustration, unable to process why their sister thought this was the perfect time to joke around.
Lincoln obviously had the same thought process, as he was marching over to Luan with a scowl. Once he reached her, she was done with her laughing fit and looked down at him in confusion.
"What?"
"You know what, Luan!" Lincoln said heatedly, "You're joking about... about this!". The boy sharply gestured to his body, his brows furled into a deep V shape and tail lashing in irritation. Luan blinked in shock for a few seconds before rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Uh, I was just trying to cheer-"
"Yeah, I get that!" The white haired cat-boy growled, "But it's not! I don't want to be reminded of this!"
"Oh, geez, uh... Didn't know you felt that strongly about a few cat puns...". Luan and the rest of the sisters flinched when their brother let out a low hissing noise.
Almost as soon as it left his mouth though, his eyes widened in shock and his ears lowered. He stumbled backwards as if he was woken up from a dream, a hand cupped over his mouth. After a few seconds, his shoulders drooped as he trudged back to his spot on the couch.
The room was deathly silent for the rest of the time it took until Lori walked back into the living room.
"Okay, so mom and dad should be home in five-". She trailed off when she saw her sisters shuffling uncomfortably and her baby brother hunched over and covering his face in his hands. "... What the hell happened here?"
"Luan was joking about Lincoln's condition." Lucy spoke up, "So Lincoln was obviously angry, but he hissed."
Lori stood still for a few seconds, her facial expression looking annoyed and frustrated. After a moment, she sighed.
"Okay, Luan, what made you think it was a good idea to make this situation funny?" The blonde teen finally said, her stern gaze turning to her fourteen-year-old sister, "I think it's pretty clear no one wants to hear that right now!"
"I was just wanting to cheer him up! Is that so bad?!" Luan protested. The eldest's icy blue eyes narrowed into dangerous slits of anger.
"It wouldn't be it Lincoln didn't get upset about it.". The oldest simply left the topic at that. Her brother then spoke, hands falling into his lap.
"Sooo... you're off the phone..." He said awkwardly, gazes unable to meet hers. "When are mom and dad gonna be back?"
"About five minutes"
The boy sank back into his seat, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea wash over him. He gulped but nodded otherwise.
"O-oh... o-okay..." He whimpered quietly. Lori didn't seem to think this was odd, as she just sat in her usual spot and pulled out her phone, trying not to stare at her brother.
Oh no, he hadn't even thought about mom and dad! What would they say when they saw him? What could they even say? Would they faint, would they scream, maybe both?!
What if they sent him away? He hadn't even considered the idea, but the very notion made his stomach churn. What if they didn't believe it was him?! What if they sent him to a lab or some weird boarding school?
What if they were angry with him?! What if they were so mad he broke the rule of not going into the basement that they grounded him! What if they blamed him for getting himself turned into a cat?!
All these what if scenarios were making Lincoln dizzy with fear. He snuck a glance at the clock mounted above the fireplace. Four forty-three, just two minutes until his parents came home.
He slowly lowered his head, trying to chase away his paranoid thoughts as he stared at the olive green carpet. Surely mom and dad wouldn't send him away, or blame him, right...Right?
He just can't think about it. Not until-
Finally, the sound of the family Van, nicknamed Vanzilla by the Louds, pulling into the driveway reached his ears. He noted that he shouldn't have heard the rickety engine shutting off or the door opening from the living room, but the fear of knowing his parents were right outside swallowed the boy whole. His sisters all looked over at him in concern upon seeing his panicked look and how he suddenly tensed up.
"Uh, what's up, Linc?" Lynn asked, eyebrows drawing together. Lincoln didn't answer her, however, and instead stood up and tried to run. Lori moved in front of him, a confused expression on her face as he skidded to a halt.
"Hey, hey, Lincoln, what's wrong?" She asked. Lincoln couldn't even move, could barely even speak! He could hear them getting closer!
"I-I can't stay here!" He managed to choke out, hands flying to the sides of his head to fist his hair. "They'll ship me off somewhere, or animal control, or- or-!"
"Lincoln, stop!" Lori said firmly, grabbing his shoulders and shaking her brother, "Listen, mom and dad would never do that! They'll know it's you!"
"But-!"
Suddenly, the front door swung open, revealing the Loud kids parents, Rita and Lynn Sr. The couple's gaze moved to their children, bewildered at their unusual silence. But that confusion only lasted until they caught an eyeful of their only son.
Rita's mouth opened, looking as if she was going to say something, but the only noise that came out was a gasp. Her hands kept gesturing to her kids as she attempted to get the words out of her mouth.
Lynn Sr was as stiff as a statue, eyes wide as saucers as his stare bore into the boy. He looked shaken and utterly caught off guard as he gazed at his son, even a little sad.
Lincoln couldn't move, almost as if he was a deer caught in the headlights of a car. His parents were right there, probably trying to process what they were seeing with their own two eyes... He could feel icy dread snaking its way through his body, the feeling gnawing away at his stomach and chest.
While the other sisters were coughing awkwardly or staring back and forth at their parents and their brother, Lori was rubbing her temples and hoping for the patience and courage to describe the events of this afternoon.
"Look, mom, dad, we can explain!"
These words, while they didn't seem to affect their father, made Rita take
in a deep, shuddering breath and cry, "What happened?!"
"Welcome back, maternal unit." Lisa said, "As for elder brother's... rather unusual appearance, it is a lengthy story, but as Lori said before, we intend to describe what occurred while you were gone."
The small genius cleared her throat before she continued.
"As soon as Lincoln arrived home, he was acting peculiar. So, we followed him and found he was trying to sneak into the basement. After a short interrogation, he revealed that his supernatural spirit hunting television show had influenced him to think there was a ghost down in the lowest level in the house, AKA basement, and that he was going to catch it. Now, we all laughed at such a preposterous idea, yet he did not listen and stormed downstairs."
"Now, the strange part is that the rest of us circled back to the couch to continue watching our favorite recreational dating show, but around 14:15 is when we heard him screaming in the basement. We rushed to the door and tried to open it, but elder brother had locked it earlier. So Leni had to use her cuticle scissors. Yet the lock did not give way until Lincoln's screams had mostly died down. As soon as it opened, we all rushed downstairs."
The brown haired girl jerked her thumb in Lincoln's direction, making the boy flinch.
"We have no idea how he has turned into some sort of human-feline hybrid, nor who did it. All he has confirmed so far is that I wasn't responsible for his sudden transformation."
The parents blinked slowly, looking like they were processing this information about as well as a 1990s computer. Yet they both slowly turned their gazes to Lincoln like they were expecting him to confirm what his younger sister said.
Lincoln's eyes widened as a dozen pairs of eyes turned to him with bated breath. He gulped, jerking as if he was woken from a dream.
"I-it's true. I did go down there..." He quickly said, bracing himself for the lecture that was sure to come. But when the room remained silent enough to hear a pin drop, he opened an eye to peek at his parents' reactions.
To his surprise, they didn't look as angry as he expected them to be. Instead, his mother looked conflicted and lost, while his father took a few steps forward to his son with an anguished expression on his face. Lincoln could barely blink before his father embraced him in a tight hug.
"Lincoln!". His father sniffled, throwing his snowy-haired son for a loop. Was he crying? "Lincoln... son, are you okay?!"
Lincoln couldn't help but get uncomfortable, trying to squirm his way out of his father's arms. He didn't know how to answer his dad's question. Should he be honest and admit that he feels powerless in this situation he was placed in? Should he tell his family he's okay? It was clear as day both his parents were upset, but he didn't know what to tell them.
Lynn Sr finally pulled away from the boy, his eyes watery. His son shuffled his feet beneath his dad's intense gaze.
"I-I... I dunno, dad." He finally said softly, "This... it's all..."
He fell silent, unable to finish the thought.
"... Lincoln, how did this happen?!" Rita finally spoke as she gestured her open palm to her son. Lincoln froze, eyes going as wide as saucers.
Crud, how could he forget?! Of course his mom and dad would ask what happened!
But he couldn't tell them, could he?! That thing, i-it threatened his entire family if he told anyone! The boy didn't realize just how scared he was until he felt pins and needles down his tail, and when he looked back at it, it was bushy and tucked between his legs.
He felt shame burning beneath his fur, surely turning his cheeks red underneath it. He took in a deep breath and finally answered, "I don't know..."
The blonde mother furrowed her brows in bewilderment from his response. She asked, "What do you mean? How can you not know what happened?"
Lincoln felt his stomach drop, unsure how to answer. Yet he steadied himself, repeating that he just needed to tell them fabricated basics, and hopefully they'll stay alive.
God, why did he have to hope his family wouldn't die if he told them a lie about what happened?
Nevertheless, he answered with, "I, uh, I was... walking around down there, and uh, s-something... uh, b-blasted at me..."
He had hoped this answer would sate his family's hunger for answers, but his mother squinted, her eyes searching for something.
"Are you sure, Lincoln?" She asked, "It sounds like something happened after that."
"It... it gets kinda blurry after that...". Lincoln knew this was probably a bad cover, but he couldn't really think of anything else. He flinched when his mom approached him, cocking a brow. As she got closer, she bent down to his eye-level and said softly, "Honey, if something did happen down there, just know that we won't make fun of you."
Lincoln shook his head and replied, "It's not that, Mom, I promise! It's..."
His shoulders slumped as he said, "I just don't really wanna talk about it..."
His gaze fell onto the carpet, unable to look any of his family in the eyes.
"... What?!". Lincoln was taken aback by his mother's angry tone, head snapping back up to his mom. She stood back up and practically towered over him, face turning red. "What do you mean 'you don't want to talk about it'?!"
"Hey, hon, that's not-" Lynn Sr tried to interrupt, worried about how his wife's tone would affect her son's state. Yet she didn't listen, didn't even turn to look at him, and instead continued ranting.
"How are you not able to say three sentences?! Are your vocal chords shot or something, because you seemed to at least speak when you pulled that cover out of your ass!"
"Mom, what the hell?!" Lori yelled from the crowd of wide-eyed sisters. Once more, Rita didn't listen to her family and instead steepled her fingers for a few seconds, nostrils flaring as she blew air out of her nose.
"So, me and your father came home after Lori told us there's an emergency, and we see you looking a cat. We both have no idea what to do, but the one thing that could be helpful to know, and you don't want to say what it is?!"
Lincoln was trembling at this point, although he was unsure whether it was out of fear, frustration, or guilt. Tears were springing from the corners of his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, fearful of his sisters mocking him for it later.
"Rita, you're out of line!" Lynn Sr suddenly shouted, "Honey, I would like to know too, but he should be able to say so on his own time! Clearly this isn't working!"
"He should be able to tell us what happened! I don't understand why he's so jumpy about it!"
"Honey, he just-"
"Well maybe if he said something, we could find the problem and, oh, I dunno, fix it!"
As his parents were arguing, Lincoln was backing away, his thoughts a mess of guilt for causing all of this and hurt by his mom's reaction. He swallowed thickly, hoping the ground would swallow him.
But again, as if some divine being was pissed at the boy today, he felt his sisters' concerned gazes fall on him.
"Lincoln, it's okay-" Lori murmured, breaking from the crowd to approach him. Her hand rested on his shoulder in a soothing motion, and she looked like she was going to give him reassurance. But her younger brother recoiled and swatted her hand away, looking furious.
"Why don't you all go away?!" He screamed, hands clenched into fists and ears laid flat against his head, "None of you are even helping! J-just leave me alone for a few seconds, please!"
With those parting words, Lincoln roughly shoved past his sisters and raced up the stairs, the door to his bedroom slamming shut. This even broke the argument between Rita and Lynn Sr as everyone stared at the stairs in disbelief.
After a minute or so, Lisa broke the silence, pinching the bridge of her nose and saying in the flattest voice she cold muster, "Maybe engaging in a vicious argument in front of our troubled brother wasn't the smartest idea, hm?"
Lincoln raced up the stairs, quickly slamming the door shut. He flinched at the sheer volume of such an action. Good lord, why was everything so loud?!
He cringed as the chatter of his family downstair reached his now highly sensitive and slightly sore ears. The boy groaned but dragged his feet to his bed, falling face first into the warm sheets.
His mind was still racing, yet it was going at a slower pace. He felt like he could just stay here forever as his mind was calming down, just existing, exhausted yet too anxious to sleep.
He slowly became aware of the tail twitching and flicked while wrapped around his legs. He scowled and glared at the fluffy appendage as if that would make it magically disappear. He eventually turned his head away from it and let it fall back onto the bed, trying to ignore all the alien sensations on his body and failing miserably.
Why did he even get out of bed this morning if this was how the day ended?
After what felt like ten or so minutes, he sat up and drew his knees to his chest, his chin coming to rest on his kneecaps. Well, he had time to think now, and without feeling like everyone else was screaming into his ears as a bonus.
His eyes focused on the carpet as he mulled over the events of today.
Why did he go down in the basement? He should have listened to Lucy! He froze as he recalled the glowing golden pupils of that thing, his large, snarling teeth baring at him in his parting words, his black talons digging into his neck as he sneered disdainfully.
Lincoln's eyes unfocused as his mind went to his painful transformation. He shuddered as he recalled the intense, shooting pain permeating throughout his entire body and the horror of what he saw. He mentally kicked himself, wondering why he didn't figure out what he was turning into sooner, but he also knew that the pain and panic had been clouding his mind.
He pondered what his friends and classmates would do if they saw him like this. He was certain they would either faint or scream and run away! And what if the government found out?! He was sure his transformation would be broadcasted everywhere and he would be followed by the paparazzi for the rest of his life!
And how would he be able to ease everyone's worries if he couldn't tell anyone?! He wasn't sure if the demon would really follow through on his grim promise, but there was no way in heck that he was going to test the waters! He couldn't even imagine his whole family d-d-
Lincoln slowly drifted back to reality when he heard a soft knock on the door.
"Linky, can I come in?" Leni asked through the door. Lincoln gulped and hurriedly wiped the tears away with his arm.
"S-sure." He replied in the best non-shaky voice he could muster.
As the door opened and a warm golden light was cast upon the dim room, Lincoln suddenly realized he was curled in an upright fetal position. He quickly uncurled himself as Leni stepped into his room, wanting to disappear into thin air as soon as he saw his big sister's concerned face.
"Are you okay, Lincoln?" She asked worriedly, brows knitted together as she sat down on the bed next to him. Lincoln cast his gaze on the carpet and sighed in defeat.
"No..." He said quietly. Leni's lips pursed, eyes scanning him up and down, appearing even more concerned. The boy felt vulnerable and scooted a few inches away, turning his head away from her.
"Is there anything I can do about it?" The tall blonde asked gently. Her white haired brother paused for a few seconds, brows furrowing and eyes turning thoughtful, before he shook his head.
"I dunno. Unless you can turn back time."
Leni hummed thoughtfully and turned away from him. Her eyes never left him though and instead continued to bore into him with intense concern. Lincoln's gaze briefly glanced at his sister but quickly fell back onto the carpet, trying his best to ignore the tail furling tightly around his ankles, or his ears lowering, or the whisker attach to his muzzle drooping, or-
Lincoln mentally kicked himself when he felt his eyes grow wet. No, not right now. He can't worry his big sis more than she already is. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts hanging over him like a dark cloud.
Leni was beside herself. Her baby brother was clearly very upset, and the ditzy blonde didn't blame him for that. She totes would be the same way if she turned into a kitty!
But a protective, nurturing instinct only a big sister could know was ablaze in her, crying for her to comfort Lincoln and tell him everything will be okay. But while she would normally offer plenty of comfort and kind words, Lincoln clearly didn't seem receptive of that if his outburst just fifteen minutes ago was anything to go by.
But good lord, she would try. She would try anything she could to make Linky feel even the slightest bit better about all that happened today! Even if she couldn't promise him everything was going to be all sunshine and rainbows, she was determined to assure him that he was loved.
"We're talking about what we're going to do downstairs, if you, like, wanna listen!" Leni said, a small smile appearing on her face, "So far-"
"Lemme guess-" Lincoln grumbled, sniffing, "You're gonna send me to a lab or something?"
Leni's jaw dropped at such horrible words coming from her little brother's mouth. How can he say that?!
Said little brother intended it as a bitter joke, but he heard a gasp from his blonde sister, followed by her cupping his furry cheeks in her hands. "Linky, we would never, ever do that to you! We totes love you!" She cried in anguish.
Lincoln jerked his head away from Leni's grasp, mumbling, "I kinda meant it as a joke, Leni."
His sister blinked in surprise. "Oh. But we still wouldn't do that, y'know!"
Lincoln's gaze fell away from her face as he murmured, "I know...". He sniffled as he tried to speak, "I just... It was my fault I got turned into... This..."
Leni didn't make any gesture towards him, instead choosing to give him space. She knew this was a delicate subject and didn't want to accidently upset him. However, she asked in a soothing tone, "Why do think that?"
Lincoln felt the shame burning inside him. He could have run at any point. He should have ran away! It didn't matter to him now if his sisters laughed at him for being scared or didn't believe him when he said there was a large, horrible monster in the basement. Anything would be preferable over his life being ruined and him being unable to explain.
The white haired boy simply muttered, "I did something really dumb down there, Leni. I-I know should have just ran but...". Lincoln swallowed thickly, eyes never meeting his sister's and instead focusing on the carpet.
"I can't... I didn't even think this could happen! I don't know how or why or-!" Lincoln sucked in a deep breath to collect himself. He couldn't cry in front of Leni. Not because he thought she would tease him of course, but she was clearly worried for the boy and he didn't want to add fuel to the fire.
"Hey," Lincoln suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. His new, horribly real fur stood on end at the touch and made him shiver slightly, yet he didn't make any motions to swat her hand away like he did with Lori just a bit ago. "Lincoln, look at me.". Almost as if he body was on autopilot, he lifted his head to her. He shrank back upon seeing her misty gaze, full of sadness and worry, yet her expression looked firm. "I don't know what happened down there, and you don't have to tell me. But I know whatever it was wasn't your fault. So please, don't ever say that."
Lincoln's eyes trailed over to the mirror in his room before he turned his head to get a better look. The boy flinched when he got a good look at what he looked like now. He could barely recognize his own face anymore, his formerly separated nose now a muzzle, his ear now rounded triangles on top of his head, and fur covered his skin. It was all surreal, like some lucid nightmare that wouldn't end.
It was too real to be a dream though. He shouldn't have felt the pain of turning that intensely, or at the very least should have woken up by now. The boy was suddenly forced to confront the truth he had been avoiding, the truth his family had been tip-toeing around.
He looked like a cat human hybrid and his life was basically over.
With that revelation, his resolve to not cry shattered as he hysterically sobbed, warm and fat tears rolling down his face. The boy couldn't help it at this point, all the pent up emotions. the fear, the shame, the hopelessness, the grief, had finally gained an outlet. He turned away from Leni and curled in on himself, hiding his face in his hands.
He stiffened when he felt his sister rub his back, unsure about the touch. But he soon leaned against her, weeping into his hands. Leni stared at him for a long time, unsure how to comfort her hysterical brother verbally. For now, though, she would just try to let him know he was safe through gestures.
Lincoln felt like he would never calm down, but once his hysterical sobbing eventually died down to soft whimpers and hiccups, metaphorically crying himself a river, Leni whispered softly, "Linky, can you take some deep breaths?"
Lincoln didn't have it in him to fight back and sucked in a few deep breaths per her request. Leni didn't speak until Lincoln had mostly calmed down, eventually saying, "Listen, mom and dad don't want you to think this is your fault. You love love like, so so much!"
Lincoln was silent for a very long time, slumped over like a wilted flower and sniffling. He whimpered, "Bu-but, I- what're we gonna do?! I look like a freak!"
Leni eyes flew open in shock. Before Lincoln could react she once more cupped his cheek and turned his face to her. She was starting to look a little teary as well as she cried, "Lincoln, no! You're not a freak! I-it's weird, yes, but you're-". Leni grabbed a handkerchief from a back pocket and dabbed at her eyes, letting go of Lincoln in the process. When she managed to calm herself, she said firmly, "You're still you! You're our brother, Linky, and just because you look different doesn't take that away!"
Lincoln sniffled and slumped over, asking quietly, "Really?"
His ditzy sister smiled widely and replied, "Totes! We love you Lincoln, and yeah, this is really, really surprising, but we'll do our best to make sure you're going to be okay!"
Her little brother paused, staring at the carpet with a twitching, thoughtful tail. Leni almost asked him if he's okay again when he cut her off by wrapping his arms around her midsection in a tight hug.
"...Thank you..." He murmured quietly.
Leni was a little surprised by this gesture but reciprocated gratefully. She was just hoping he wasn't blaming himself anymore.
The brother sister pair eventually broke away as Leni asked, "So, like, do you wanna go downstairs? Mom and dad wanted me to fetch you. But you're a cat, not a dog."
Ignoring the last part of that sentence, Lincoln ever so slightly stiffened at the thought of having to face the rest of his family but forced himself to relax. They probably just wanted to know if he was okay, he told himself.
"Sure." He replied, forcing a tired and small smile to appear.
His big sister grinned, grabbing his hand and saying, "Great! Come on!"