Notes: For those of you (if any) that didn't recognize The Digimon and/or The Light last time, it'll be cleared up here. Although shame on you if you didn't. Sorry, but I have to use American names for them. And this will be short, most likely.
Chapter 4: Sally's Pet Human
Ken had told the nurses that he was going out, and nothing more.
Repeated, desperate inquiries as to where 'out' was had proved fruitless, and he was very much bent on going. Worried about his condition and how he might worsen it, one of the larger nurses had gone so far as to block the door.
Ken had even begun to consider popping a wheelie and running her down.
And then, Sally had resolved the whole mess by throwing, quite literally, a fierce hissy fit. At the time, Ken had been quite proud of how fast she'd cleared the room, and had even stopped by the gift shop to buy her a dazzling, dark blue ribbon of silk for a collar. She would probably tear it to shreds later on, but for a while, at least, she'd be the most presentable kitten in town.
He had decided that she was most definitely a Good Kitty, and told her so quite often. Whether she understood or not, she purred happily whenever he rubbed her head or scratched behind her ears, and that was enough.
In truth, Ken hadn't really decided on a particular place to go, so they merely wheeled around town for a few hours, with Sally either riding in his lap or padding along, silently and loyally, by his side.
Eventually, they found their way to a park. Ken could recall faintly having a soccer game there once, and thought Sally might find the tire swings interesting. Or maybe just the thought of his precious little kitten spinning in circles and yowling dizzily was mildly amusing.
* * * * *
The way Sally understood it, she was playing a game.
In theory, all she had to do was keep Blue Boy company, make him smile whenever she felt he wasn't, and be nasty to anyone who might upset him.
So far, it had been fairly easy.
Generally, the only one who upset Blue Boy seemed to be himself, and that was quickly taken care of with a chin lick. She had been wary of the White Women all along, and just as she'd suspected, they'd tried to cause trouble earlier. Sally had considered Getting Bigger on them, then decided that was best to save for later. So she'd Hissed and Scratched and Spat until they'd all backed off. No one was going to upset HER Blue Boy while she had something to say about it.
Blue Boy had been pleased, so that was good.
Apparently, he didn't like too many other Not-Digimon, and that was fine, too. Too many scents got confusing very quickly. It was much easier when it was just she and her Blue Boy.
Although he had been much happier when they were with Pink Girl, White Sister, and Black Sister. But then, they were very interesting, with their curious smells and curious eyes.
Sally hoped they might visit soon.
* * * * *
"Silk or satin?" Kari asked.
"Silk," DarkGatomon said at once.
"Satin," disagreed Gatomon.
DarkGatomon arched an eyebrow. "Wrestle you for it."
Without a word, Gatomon leaped.
There was a brief tussle, in which the two cats tumbled off the bed and to the floor, and Gatomon found herself quickly pinned.
"Give up?" DarkGatomon purred.
"NEVER! I like SATIN!!!"
"Fine." DarkGatomon leaned down and licked the ticklish spot just under Gatomon's chin.
"Ah! AAAAAGGGGHHH!!! STOP THAT!"
DarkGatomon grinned and paused in her torment. "Silk, then?"
"Never!"
DarkGatomon leaned forward again.
"Okay, OKAY! SILK!"
Kari turned back to her laptop and clicked on the silk blankets with smiling kitty prints. "Silk it is. Although I really wish you two would find another way to settle disputes."
"But this way is so much fun!" DarkGatomon protested.
"You CAN let me up now," Gatomon hissed.
"Maybe later," DarkGatomon purred seductively, her eyes half-closing with mischievous intent.
They were interrupted by a rather large thump against the window.
Kari turned to see a huge, white…thing staring back at her.
"Um…we should probably kill it now," DarkGatomon suggested halfheartedly, helping Gatomon up.
"Oh. Sure." Gatomon blinked. "But…HOW?"
DarkGatomon bit her lip. "Mmm. I'll get back to you on that…"
* * * * *
The Light had seen cats before, but couldn't remember exactly what they were called. It decided they would be Furry Thingees until it came up with something better.
This particular cat was odd, though. It smelled like Home and Loyalty and Light. There was also a boy in a Spinny Chair with it, although at the moment, he was just sitting there, watching the cat clean itself.
Well, that was no fun, The Light decided.
* * * * *
Sally was not overly familiar with the Real World, but even she knew when something was odd. The Not-Digimon tended to stare and gape and point at things like that.
There were certainly plenty of lights in the Real World, and while some of them did dance, none of them played hopscotch in mid-air.
She became wary at once, crouching protectively in front of Blue Boy and hissing a warning.
The light paused, clearly surprised, and then touched down in front of her. In surprisingly good Cat (for a light, anyway), it asked how fast Blue Boy could go in his Spinny Chair.
Sally blinked at that. She didn't know, and had no plans to let anyone find out.
The light relented and asked why she stayed this small, as there were lots of Big Bad Things out there that might try to chase the Spinny Chair, and wouldn't she rather Grow Bigger?
Sally replied that she was fine the way she was, and that Blue Boy hadn't complained about her size.
He was too nice, the light pointed out, and anyway, it was usually the Big Bad Things that came from Home to the Real World.
Sally realized that it was right, and asked what she should do about it. Of course, she had to protect Blue Boy, there was no question about that.
The light agreed, and said that if they held hands, she would probably Grow Bigger, and if not, well then, they could always say that one of them was sick.
Sally knew SHE wasn't sick, but decided not to mention it as they held hands.
* * * * *
The Digimon had not expected its Queen to be so small and fragile, or even human for that matter. But there was little it could do about that.
The Queen did not understand why he'd come to her, but seemed to be pleased by his visit all the same. She patted his nose, stroked his fur, and took his picture.
The Little Ones were nervous, though. He supposed he was a bit intimidating, but he had no desire to de-digivolve. Anyway, his other form wasn't as good at flying.
At some point, he realized The Light had gone missing.
* * * * *
Ken had fallen asleep.
When he woke up, Sally was sitting at his feet, playing with his shoes. She still had her ribbon, although it seemed a bit stretched.
After a while, he decided they would go back to the hospital, before one of the nurses had a heart attack.
Sally hopped into his lap, and they rolled off.
If Ken heard the frantic reports of several people claiming they'd seen a huge, pink monster-beast wearing a dark blue ribbon within the hour, he either didn't pay attention, or didn't make the connection.
Meanwhile, Sally curled up in his lap and went to sleep, glad to have made a new friend.
* * * * *
When The Light finally arrived, Kari knew what it was at once. She brought it in through the window and set it on her pillow.
Gatomon eyed it with curiosity, and DarkGatomon stayed away, not liking the way it radiated happiness.
"What is it?" Gatomon finally asked.
"The Light," said the Digimon at once.
"And you are?" DarkGatomon asked.
"…does it matter?"
The Digimon finally admitted to not having a proper name, and The Light didn't want to be overlooked, so long as they were handing them out.
"We'll call you Calumon," Kari announced after a moment, petting The Light.
"How'd you get that?" DarkGatomon asked.
"Charity And Love."
"So where'd you get the u?"
"It wandered in by itself. Where did you think it came from?"
"But he's not a Digimon," Gatomon noted.
"Isn't he?" Kari asked.
And so he was. No one dared to ask how he'd gotten that way, either.
"Now for you," Kari said, turning to The Digimon. "Azure," she murmured after a moment. "Doesn't he kind of glow azure?"
"He's long," Gatomon offered.
"Azulongmon."
Everyone looked at DarkGatomon.
"What?! I'd like to see any of you do any better!"
No one could.
* * * * *
Tai was not in a habit of spying on his sister. He trusted her to take care of herself now, and so far, she'd proven him right in that.
But Tai was a big brother, and therefore entitled to a mandatory peek. These could only be used late at night, when the subject of the peek had to be asleep and preferably in another room, so that if anything went wrong with the peek, it could easily be passed off as sleepwalking, insomnia, or going to get a glass of water.
And so he peeked.
Kari was asleep, as he'd suspected. He could see Gatomon curled up on her chest, and a black paw thrown carelessly into Kari's hair.
Tai sucked his teeth and slipped in, carefully removing the offending paw and smoothing out his sister's hair. The very instant he put the paw down, it messed up the hair again.
Tai frowned and poked the paw.
"She's MY human, and I say she sleeps messy."
Tai relented and let the hair stay the way it was. However, he leaned down and kissed Kari's forehead, then settled the blanket firmly around her shoulders, making sure Gatomon wouldn't get cold.
"…thanks," said a small, somewhat apologetic voice.
Tai rubbed the paw good-naturedly, then slipped out.
"Rats. I think they're trying to domesticate me. I must be getting soft."
"Getting?"
"Go back to sleep, kitten."
Kari shifted slightly under the blanket. "Night, Gato. Night, Violet."
"…night, Kari."
"Don't you mean, 'Night, human', Violet?" asked a sarcastic voice.
"I said go to sleep, kitten. Don't make me come over there."
"Gonna mess my hair, too?"
"Shut up."