Welcome to our story! It's a spin-off Quietus, featuring some familiar characters. Hope you enjoy it!
Part I: The Demon Cat
"Hurry up, Angel!" Salt squealed over her shoulder, as the two girls raced down the street. The early evening sky was a dull, ominous grey, and angry clouds were weeping heavy rain.
"Oh my God, how could I forget to pack an umbrella?!" Angel exclaimed, lifting the library book in her hands over her head in a vain attempt to keep her hair dry. It was useless. She could already feel the long locks plastered miserably against her forehead, dripping water in rivulets against her face.
"You said the forecast was sunny!" Her best friend Salt called accusingly. "We're drenched!"
"That's what the app on my phone said!" Angel defended pitifully, blinking against the onslaught of showers the heavens were casting down upon them.
"You better change that app!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
They rushed on, heading toward the bus stop that would take them both home after they'd spent the afternoon together browsing shops, before heading to the library, where Angel had picked up a book for the latest Greek Mythology inspired project she was working on. They had grabbed a bite to eat together after that – and then their pleasant afternoon had been cut short by the bout of terrible weather.
"Almost there!" Salt called, sprinting tirelessly like a marathon runner. Her endurance had always been inhuman in Angel's eyes. How did she go about doing so much, without ever tiring?
Angel could feel her legs slowing down in contrast. Her shoes weren't particularly comfortable. She'd opted for brown sandals with a low wedge heel that made running difficult. Pausing to catch her breath, she was just about to shout out for the energetic Salt to slow down – when a sudden, strange sound met her ears. She turned her head curiously, as people who'd had the sense to carry umbrellas passed her on the sidewalk. Squinting against the falling rain, she didn't find anything amiss, and was about to resume jogging – when the sound drifted in the air again, ringing clearly despite the pitter-patter of rain.
What's that noise? She wondered to herself, looking around a second time – and then, suddenly, she spotted its source.
Huddled against a lamp-post to her far left, was a small, black… cat?
Angel blinked at it in surprise. She loved animals. They were a weakness, and though she had no pets of her own – mostly because she feared losing them after growing attached – she loved interacting with them. She walked over to the creature, to find that it was small and plump – and utterly saturated with rain.
"Huh?" she crouched down, peering at it curiously. "Hey there, little thing. What're you doing out here in this weather, all by yourself?"
The cat looked up at her with dark, mournful eyes. It was uncommon looking, and released a pained mewl. Angel tilted her head. It didn't seem to have a collar. Was it a stray?
"Angel!" Footsteps hit the pavement as Salt ran back to re-join her. "What are you doing? We just missed our bus!"
"Look what I found," Angel pointed to the shivering bundle of soaked black fur. "I think it's lost."
"Oh, no," Salt sighed, pushing her dripping black hair out her face. "You're not taking in another stray! Remember the last injured crow you found in the fields behind your apartment? It almost poked your eye out."
"But it didn't," Angel reminded her. "We got its wing fixed, and it was all healed and happy, and I let it go. No harm done. Maybe this cat is hurt, too?"
"Oh, Angel, you're hopeless." Salt rolled her warm brown eyes affectionately. Then she crouched down beside her friend and peered at the cat. Her warm brown eyes then widened.
"Gods," she sucked in a sharp breath.
"What?" Angel cast her a dubious look. "What's wrong?"
Salt was silent for a long moment. "Uh..." Her best friend finally began awkwardly. "Nothing." Then she said, "Angel. You don't want to pick up this cat."
"Huh?" Angel wiped the rain away from her eyes, frowning at her friend's odd reaction. "Why not?"
"Because…" Salt hesitated, as if she were thinking of an actual plausible reason. "Because it probably has fleas. I mean, if it's a stray."
Angel cast her an incredulous look. "Seriously? That's your best argument? Look at the poor thing. It looks so alone and scared!"
"Angel," Salt attempted again, her voice tight. "You don't know where this cat came from, okay? It could've come from… anywhere." She gestured weakly. She knew that stubborn look in Angel's eyes. Just then her striking hazel irises appeared a dark shade of green-brown in the dimness. She had known her friend long enough to recognise that she was fighting a losing battle.
"I'm taking it home for the night. I can't possibly leave it out here, not like this."
Salt bit her lower lip. Finally she supplied, with great reluctance, "Ugh. Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you when it turns out to be a nightmare." She shook her head, and added in a mumble, "Your death wish."
"Yes!" Angel grinned, disregarding her strange choice of words, and scooped the frightened cat up into her arms. Wrapping her white jacket around the animal to keep it warm, they then continued their walk to the bus-stop, with Angel entirely oblivious to the concerned, surreptitious looks that Salt directed to the cat in her arms the entire way home.
An hour later, after bidding Salt goodnight, Angel was back at her one-bedroom apartment. She'd immediately put her book down, kicked off her sandals and placed her jacket on the drying rack in the bathroom, and then headed straight to the modestly sized kitchen to pour a bowl of milk for the poor animal she'd rescued from the cold.
The cat had meowed (Angel had never heard that tone of mewl before, but figured maybe the cat's voice was injured) and hungrily lunged for the bowl, lapping up the milk so fast that Angel had had to pour another bowl within a minute. Leaving two other bowls out for the cat to drink, she had then left to take a quick shower. After changing into comfortable pyjamas, she flopped down on the floor in her bedroom, and proceeded to blow-dry her hair. It was a medium shade of wavy, chestnut brown and had gotten far too messy and long. Angel had been intending to cut it for ages – but things always got in the way. Lately she'd had more important matters to deal with. Losing loved ones only months prior had taken the joy out of doing everyday things. It was only recently that she had allowed Salt and her other concerned friends to drag her back outside, back to the living world.
Once she'd finished blow-drying her hair, she hastily braided it, and returned to the kitchen – only for her jaw to drop.
The cat stood beside three broken bowls, blinking innocently up at her.
"Hey," Angel placed her hands on her hips, displeased. "I take you in, and you destroy my cutlery? Geeze…"
The cat meowed. Angel knelt down to pick up the broken fragments, muttering in irritation. She'd just lost three perfectly respectable bowls. Maybe Salt had been right about-
"Ouch!" she suddenly yelped, when a shard of glass cut unexpectedly into her finger, dripping blood onto the black kitchen tiles. Angel immediately placed the tip of her index finger into her mouth, scooped up the remainder of the broken pieces with a dish-cloth and tossed them in the bin. Then she ran her hand under the kitchen sink, before fishing around in the drawers for a plaster.
She didn't notice the cat lick at the droplets of blood that had fallen on the floor. At the time she simply forgot about it.
After she'd tended to her injured finger, Angel picked the cat up.
"Are you a boy or girl cat?" she wondered aloud curiously, checking. "Ah. Female. Hmm. Okay. You have a name?"
The cat meowed in response, blinking impossibly large black eyes at her. Angel stared at her. She'd never seen such large, soulful eyes on a feline before. In the light of the kitchen, the animal was cute. But she was also dirty, and in desperate need of a bath.
"Let me eat, and then we'll get you washed up," Angel sighed.
"Alright. Let's get you cleaned up," Angel clapped after she had downed a hasty supper of leftover spaghetti bolognaise. The cat had been eager to share with her, which she'd indulged. She walked to the bathroom and ran a warm bath. Then, rolling up her sleeves, she proceeded to scrub the feline clean. To her surprise, the cat seemed to enjoy the water, and allowed herself to be washed.
"That's a first," Angel laughed. "Don't you cats hate water?"
The feline merely purred in response.
Angel then lifted her out the tub, towel and blow-dried her fur. When she was done, she gasped.
The cat was beautiful. She had rich gleaming soft fur that matched her dark eyes, and a swishing, fluffy tail. Large, adorable ears twitched, as Angel reached out to pet her small head.
"How can something so cute be without an owner?" Angel asked the animal. "You really don't have a name?"
The cat meowed, licking her mouth. Her tongue was more red than pink, Angel noted.
"Hmm." She sat back, lifting a finger thoughtfully to her chin. "Let's see. What shall I call you? Sooty?" She considered. "Onyx? Luna?"
The cat mewled, almost as if in disagreement to all those names.
"Petty?" Angel tried next. "For the time you are my pet. But I can't keep you, you know."
The cat leaned into her outstretched hand, rubbing her head against Angel's palm.
"No, Petty's unoriginal," Angel mused to herself. "How about… Betty? Hmm. Hetty? No… Vetty?"
The cat purred.
"Vetty," Angel repeated. She supposed it kind of had a cute ring to it. And the cat seemed to like it. "Okay. Vetty it is." She scratched the cat under her furry chin, prompting her to purr more deeply. "So what were you doing all alone outside? You must have come from somewhere, right?"
Vetty merely blinked lazily at her in response.
Angel sighed. She guessed she'd never know. She'd check the cat for injuries, let her stay the night, and then if she was fine, would release her again in the morning.
Looking Vetty over, she found nothing about her seemed to be amiss. In fact, judging from the heavy-lidded look of contentment that had passed over the cat, she seemed to be perfectly happy and healthy.
Maybe someone had simply lost their kitty, Angel reasoned. She'd go to the Rescue Centre first thing in the morning and hand the cat in there.
"Let's make you a bed to sleep in," she said. She walked to her bedroom and grabbed two blankets, which she folded into a comfortable pile. Placing it on the fluffy white rug in the centre of her bedroom, she patted it invitingly. "Here. Your bed for the night."
Vetty meowed and slunk to the blanket. She settled into it, and closed her eyes, falling almost immediately asleep. Angel watched her a moment, then grabbed her library book, and settled into bed, admiring the cat from her position.
She really was pretty to look at…
Then she turned her attention to the thick book in her hands. Luckily the leather-bound cover had kept its interior pages dry.
It was entitled: Of Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses.
She needed it for some research she was doing on the story she was presently working on. Opening the book, Angel looked at the contents page. Her eyes skimmed down the list absently, skipping names and letters randomly.
Apollo - Sun
Artemis - Hunt
Athena - Wisdom
Cronus - Chaos
Demeter - Harvest
Hades - Underworld
Hephaestus -
Hypnos - Sleep
Kore - Spring
Nyx - Night
Poseidon – Oceans
Zeus – Olympian King
Her eyes were then suddenly snagged by a word.
Thanatos – Gentle Death
She swallowed. A sadness filled her heart, as she recalled the people she had lost. There was nothing gentle about death, she told herself. It was cruel. It was heartless. It didn't care what suffering it brought upon people, severing their ties to their loved ones. It ripped away people's hopes and dreams and bestowed nothing but misery in its wake.
She pushed the thought away, and turned to the first page of the book.
An hour later, Angel had fallen asleep. The book had fallen open on her stomach, and the nightstand light was still on.
Because Angel was fast asleep, she didn't see Vetty open her eyes. She didn't see the gleam of crimson in the dimness, as the cat leapt gracefully up to her bed, padding noiselessly over to the open book. She tilted her head, inspecting the page, her bushy tail swishing curiously behind her.
It had opened at: Thanatos – Gentle Death.
Vetty purred silently to herself in satisfaction. She had found a new owner, and they had exchanged an irreversible, binding blood contract. The human didn't know it yet. But Vetty did. This human was hers now.
And so, she began her schemes.
Author's note
This story features OCs based on Greek mythical figures and is a Quietus!AU, featuring mainly the Uchiha clan who are still alive in this timeline. Hope you enjoy it!