My Calling
Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
MAKAI! Seperates Paragraphs
A/N: This was supposed to be an upcoming story arc, but I decided that it wouldn't really work out all that well, so I decided to shorten it up and condense it into a neat, tidy chapter. Originally, I wasn't going to include it as canon to the plot, but I wrote it up anyway, just for a small laugh.
Bonus Chapter 1: Ah, Crap!
Nelius woke up that morning (well, if you can tell the system of night and day in Dimensional Space), an itching sensation originating at the crook of his elbow. Though he had some rather forced awakenings, this time he'd been allowed to sleep in, and was a bit drowsier than normal. Getting out of bed, he shuffled over to the small bathroom each room had been outfitted with, making sure to take a quick look in the full length mirror.
He walked by, taking a quick look at his reflection as he scratched the fur on his arm before heading into the bathroom...
"Wait a moment.." He backed up, taking a closer look. Brown fur had covered his arms from the wrists up to his elbows, and his legs from the ankles to his knees. It took him a moment before it came to him.
MAKAI!
"BRAD!" The way Nelius was pounding on Brad's door, you'd swear the ship was under attack. "Get your furry ass out here, now!" It took about another minute before the Overlord/Guardian opened his door, and was promptly grabbed by the shirt by Nelius. "Explain!" He held up his fur-covered arm for Brad to see.
"Hn, it appears that you have unnatural hair growth on your arms." He replied.
"I can see that, smartass!" Nelius shook the Overlord hard, really waking him up. "How did this happen?!"
"It would seem that you've been given 'the Bite'." His eyes had drifted toward the crook of Nelius' right elbow.
"The Bite? What the hell is that?"
"Some of the Felynn have the ability to pass on some of their traits to those they like through a bite."
"You're saying someone bit me?"
"Well, there are some effects as to receiving this bite."
"Like.."
"Well, it subtly changes your aura, so you won't be recognized by those who can sense it. Also, you'll literally gain a cat's reflexes, so it'll help you in your training."
"That's all well and good, but what about the hair growth?"
"Oh, you'll go through that, and maybe gain the mannerisms of a cat. Don't worry, it usually wears off in about a week, so you'll be back to your old, grouchy, furless self in no time." He grinned, which earned him a fist upside the head.
"Do you even realize what kind of problems this can cause?"
"Hahah, you worry too much."
"OH, do I?" He pointed to behind himself, where the female crew, all of them Felynn, mind you, were just waiting for the moment when Brad closes the door. "Care to guess why they're here?"
"I'd say they're hungry."
"Yeah, and care to guess who's on the menu?"
"Well, good luck." He shut the door, leaving Nelius to pound on it.
"Brad, open up." He spared one glance at the horde of females, who were advancing. "Brad, open up, now!" Either Brad was ignoring him, or he was about to get a good laugh. "BRAD!" It wasn't any use, as the massive horde of felines piled up and around him.
By the way, Brad was, in fact, having a good laugh.
"Well, I did want him to get to know the crew a little better." Via a camera system, he watched on as Nelius was attended to by the female crew. "The more, the merrier, I say."
Nelius, on the other hand, didn't have that kind of outlook. Just as the Felynn were about to pile on him, he made a run for it. Down different hallways he sprinted as appropriate chase music blared through the loudspeakers, the horde of females hot on his tail (or lack thereof). Unfortunately, he hit a dead end, and as he turned around to meet his fate, he literally fell straight through the floor.
"WWHHHHOOOOOOAAAAAA... OOOF!" He hit ground, sitting there dazed for a moment before coming to his senses.
"Oh, sorry about that, man." He heard someone call to him, but this voice was masculine. From around the side of a machine came two male cat demons. One was tall and muscular, his fur light orange, while his companion was lean and limber, his fur much darker. Both of them were wearing stained overalls with white T-shirts underneath. "Never would've thought that floor panel would collapse."
"Eh, you guys actually saved me a great deal of trouble. Anyway, who are you guys?"
"Ah, I'm T-Bone." The lighter of the two said. "And my associate here is Razer. We're Brad's mechanics,working to make sure that this ship stays in traveling condition."
"Huh, never've thought there'd be more male cat demons."
"Actually, you could say we're Infected." Razer added in.
"Infected?"
"Yeah, we were given the bite as well some time after we were signed in. It affected us instantly, and we've been like this ever since." T-Bone took a moment to look Nelius over. "You've been given the bite as well, but you don't seem to be too affected by it."
"There's more than just fur growth?"
"Oh, yeah. There's the changing of your ears and tail, gaining claws on your hands and feet, and a whole bunch of other stuff."
"Anyway, what did you mean when you said we saved you?" Razer asked.
"Eh, I was about to get pounced on by nearly every female member of this ship at once."
T-Bone chuckled. "Most guys I know would kill to be placed in that position."
"If I had a chance, I'd let them. Besides, I've got bigger fish to fry."
"Oh?"
Before Nelius could explain, a video screen on the far wall clicked to life, bringing up an image of Brad.
"Ah, so that's where you disappeared to."
"OK, smartass!" Nelius marched up to the vid screen. "You've got a lot of nerve stranding me out in the hall like that!"
"You're fine, so what's the matter?"
"How in the Hell can you be so calm about this? Look at me!" He gestured to himself. "I can't walk around looking like some kind of messed up cat!"
"You don't have to, then. Take a closer look."
"What?" When Nelius took a closer look at his arms, he noticed that some of the fur was beginning to shed off.
"It seems that my initial guess about you was correct." Brad appeared to write something down. "For your body to be able to heal and reverse the effects of the bite... this proves that you're no ordinary demon. As to what kind of demon you are, though..."
"Huh?"
"Never mind that. Either way, we're hitting our first stop in about 12 hours. I already unlocked the training room for you, Nelius, so feel free to blow away whatever time you want."
"Thanks. Finally, something interesting for me to do." As he headed for the door, he opened it up... and came face to face with the Elbacky from yesterday. "We meet yet again." He deadpanned.
"Oh yeah, nice greeting after I came down here to retrieve you." She quipped. "Come on, you pain in my tail."
"You are such a cruel mistress."
"Thank you."
MAKAI!
"Well, here you are, patchy." She gestured toward the door to the training room.
"Don't call me patchy." He growled.
"Why not? It's cute on you. Besides, it fits your current situation." Most of the fur on Nelius' arms and legs had already fallen off, leaving behind several bald spots. "Though, you did look more handsome with the fur."
"Forget it." He opened the door to the training area, taking the lift upward.
"He's certainly a grouchy one."
"That's how he always seems to be." Brad had been walking by, and decided to talk with the Elbacky. "He's always got his mind set on becoming stronger to take on his former boss, it's like he's lost all humor. Such a shame."
"With the way he carries himself on, you'd think he was raised by a Majin."
"Certainly feels that way. Well, I have to get back to the bridge, so I'll see you." He walked back toward the bridge, but stopped. "Don't forget about that little discussion we had the other day."
"I won't."
MAKAI!
Like I stated, this was mostly here for a small glimpse of what was supposed to be a long story arc, but I decided to shorten it up some. Either way, this also introduced the mechanics for the ship, two characters my friend came up with.
Until next chapter,
Cornell Valentine Gainsborough