A/N: This chapter is dedicated to LalaithCat. Thanks for faithful reviewing and support, Lali!
Mistakes: Chapter 7
Disclaimer: It would take forever to list everything that's not mine. So I'll list everything that is: Cat. That's it. Nothing more.
Shout-Outs:
Nightbug08: I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for reading!
Boogalaga: Your wish is my command! Not really, but hey...
Umbra the Dark: Thank you! I'm just a different sort of person, I guess...
SawCyn-WroteSin: Thanks again! I'm feeling rather repetitive today... Well, shout-out writing block is much better than the normal type...
lioness78: Thanks for your opinion! I'm afraid I have no plans to make Hellboy fall in love with the toothfairy; I hope you're not terribly disappointed. And I agree with your fanfiction approach to romance... I personally don't get rabid about anything like that; I tend to be fine with pretty much anything.
theshadowcat: I'm so sorry, but my muses do what they will... They are most definitely out of control. Very out of control.
epalladino: Thank you! .:blushes:. You like my fluff? I tend not to be fluffy, so I was wondering about that...
LalaithCat: Yellow fabrics? As in the brownish ones that won't be rolling hills? Heh. Equal amusement. Thanks for your review, Lali!
Let there be fic... and there was:
The next day's dawn rose above Cat, who was out gardening. She dug her shovel in with a cheery smile at no one in particular, muttering slightly to herself. "Weed, weed, weed, worth saving, seeds worth saving, weed, old trowel, weed, tree root, weed, old garden plant. Great!"
She slowly worked her way over a rather impressive area, clearing it steadily. By the time midmorning broke she was covered in dirt and sweat. In short, she was ready for a break. She gathered up her tools, stuck some salvaged plants into a few assorted pots and headed in for a shower.
Reaching her room, the door still a tree, she walked in and stripped off her clothes, leaving a trail behind her as she headed for her attached bathroom. Walking into her small and utilitarian shower she turned on the hot water, soaking under it happily. After a while of sheer relaxation she washed her hair and body, rinsing herself off as she luxuriated in the miracle of hot water.
Wrapping a towel loosely around her waist she walked into her bedroom, flopping down onto the bed with a sigh. She looked around at her surroundings; whitish walls, small window, bed, desk and chair. A single shelf, looking rather morose with only a few small personal belongings to hold. That was pretty much it, except for the closet, which held all her gardening supplies. All in all, it was rather depressing.
Cat looked down at her hands. They had dirt ingrained into them, something no amount of water would remove. There were also a few odd bruises where she had whacked something hard or pulled a muscle and a couple of scratches from blackberries and some old raspberries completed the lovely picture.
She looked closer. Faint green striping could be seen; she looked more carefully. Striping over her whole body, the jagged-edged stripes she got when she was really angry, winding over her. The color was slowly darkening, the edges becoming clearer and the color less and less her brownish skin tone.
Getting up to look in her mirror she looked at her eyes; the white was taking on a greenish tint and the green in her hazel eyes was strengthening. Her iris was lengthening, no longer circular but not the cat-eye slit of her panicked or power-using form, instead somewhere in-between.
Cat took a deep breath, than another, breathing in slowly and carefully. She wasn't panicked. She wasn't angry. She hadn't grown anything, changed any plant in any way. She hadn't been showing high emotion of any sort; maybe some mild depression, but nothing major. She wasn't even hugely happy before her shower. She had been experiencing day-to-day emotions.
Closing her eyes Cat took several more deep breaths, calming herself. She looked back at her arms. Still striped.
Slowly she got dressed, then walked over to the door, placing each foot deliberately, with great care. She walked down the hallway, feeling the beginnings of panic stirring inside of her. She didn't like it when her body did new things without telling her beforehand…
Professor Broom looked up as a knock sounded on his door.
"Come in," he called.
The door swung open, revealing what looked like a furious Cat: she had stripes, all-green eyes with slit pupils and fangs. Her face, however, looked somewhere between forcedly calm and panicked.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm not angry, I'm not scared, I'm not much of anything except panicked, which I wasn't when this happened," said Cat, gesturing at her appearance. "This has never happened before. I wasn't messing with plants, I wasn't even particularly happy, but my body decides to get all defensive on me… I'm scared. There are no threats, no reason at all for my body to do this, but it is. And it hasn't told me why."
"Maybe the doctors will be able to say more?" suggested the Professor. "It may be a medical thing… maybe your powdery mildew triggered it?"
"I've had powdery mildew before, along with most of the common gardening ailments, and this has never happened. Never."
"Come on, then, let's go see a professional…"
An hour later found her eating her lunch, slightly shaky.
"What's with you?" asked Liz, sitting down next to her. "You don't look that angry, more slightly startled, which doesn't explain the stripes. And fangs. And eyes."
"Turns out that I'm going to look like this 24/7," said Cat gloomily. "I guess I developed far enough that now it's just who I am… the doctor said something about hormones and development. I just got out of there before he started doing the 'changing bodies' speech."
"Really? That's different. What do you think?"
"I don't know what to think! I'm fine with it, I think, I mean, I was like this some of the time before, but I don't like it when things just… happen! One minute I'm boringly average Cat and the next I'm demonic plant lady Cat! And I didn't even get a memo!"
"Ohhh…" breathed Liz, leaning over to give her a comforting hug. "It's not all that bad…"
Cat stifled a small sob then said, voice muffled, "I know, and that's almost the worst bit. I shouldn't be this… this… sniffly about it—I'm downright whingey—but I just… can't seem… to help it!"
A few slightly wet minutes later Cat spoke again. "It's mostly just the shock, I think…"
"A quick question?" asked Abe, who had come in a little while ago and had been unnoticed. "What's with 'whingey'?"
Cat flushed slightly. "I tend to use made-up words when I'm upset."
"Ah."
A/N: That pretty periwinkle button in the corner will be lonely if you don't click it... be friendly with it and it will deliver reviews unto you as well! Assuming you write...
