I do not own Storm Hawks!
Wow, has time flown. I'll be done with my first year of college in a few more days, and so hopefully time for writing and posting will be easier.
Also, I have shamelessly become addicted to the Durarara! anime series. But I haven't left the SH fandom. So here's the fifth chapter of Here kitty, kitty.
On with the story!
They had finally finished their research. Well, the written research. And the radio was broken, so they couldn't tell anyone what had happened. And when Stork fixed the radio, the Winter Spell had moved in. They were doomed.
Dove was still a kitten.
It was the start of the dreaded Winter Spell, and it was shaping up to be monumental and last out of season.
The mayor, who was barely letting them stay, hated cats.
Hence why they were doomed. Stork had managed to get lodgings away from the mayor, but the man insisted that they 'dispose of' the cat. Stork really wanted to sic some mind worms on him, except that led to the rational idea that mind worms were out to get them in the first place.
Junko was in a terrible position. Wallops ate a lot, and if he couldn't eat in the colder temperatures, he would enter hibernation in order to survive. Radarr just grew a thicker coat.
Dove, on the other hand, was displaying signs that she knew full well what was going on around her. On an idea, Stork wrote yes, no on the ground.
Then he asked her yes or no questions.
Dove answered them correctly, even trick questions.
So Dove could understand them. And she was coherent of her true self. But there were no clear instructions on how to change her back.
Pacing the hallway of the three room house they were in, Stork kept mumbling over the dilemma. The Condor was sealed up to handle the cold. He checked each day, and several times each day, but the Condor remained fine.
No one was flying in this weather.
Muttering to himself, Stork could hear the Mayor drawing closer to the door, no doubt to tell them how unwanted the 'furball' was. Frankly, Stork wanted to hurt the man. Dove may be an animal now, but she was alive, a part of the family, and the man couldn't order them to kill Dove.
They belonged to a Sky Knight squadron, and did not belong to any Terra. The only person the Mayor could lodge a formal complaint against was Aerrow, and he was currently indisposed. As they were still somewhat recognized as Sky Knights, and had arrived with Starling, the Mayor gave them lodgings.
Stork had hoped the long walk would discourage the man from bothering them every day.
At least Dove knew to stay indoors if she didn't want to die.
*knock*
Stork rolled his eyes and went to answer the door.
"Good day, Mayor."
If Stork had learned anything it from Finn, it was lying through his teeth.
"Good day, Storm Hawk. I wanted to be sure that the brave protectors of Atmos are weathering this Winter Spell in our best accommodations. If you only removed that furball, you would find even better accommodations."
Don't stare at him like he insulted the Condor.
"I'm afraid the furball is as important as Radarr to the team. Not to worry, the accommodations are fine. Would you like some tea after the walk?" Stork measured his step back so that he wasn't completely blocking the entrance.
"Ah, no. Perhaps another time. Good day."
"Good day." That slimy bastard keeps insisting we kill Dove.
Stork closed the door gently, although slamming it and blaming the wind and vents and pressures would have been so satisfying. They were trapped for six months, maybe even longer, and Junko was starting to get sluggish.
Thankfully, there was a year supply of Merb Cabbages that he had bought and stored. Stork returned to his pacing.
Somehow, some way, they had to help Dove return to her original form. But how? They couldn't change her back. The books and scrolls said nothing about them being able to change her back.
The crystal had refused to charge after shocking Dove, and no matter how they waved it over her, or let her play with it, she didn't find an off switch.
One of the scribes suggested that exposure to the crystal was prolonging her stay as a kitten. The crystal remained at the library, and so far, no suddenly human Dove.
Something wound around his feet in what Dove thought was an affectionate manner.
Stork nearly killed himself, or her, falling over.
"Dove, please. None of that today."
Dove purred and crawled over him, nestling into his shoulder. Stork stood up, and Dove stubbornly held on. A normal cat would have leapt off from all the jostling.
Stork resumed pacing.
Dark Ace groaned and settled into his bath. It was nice to see the Talons actually have time to train and become a real fighting force. If this kept up, they would actually defeat the Storm Hawks.
Even if the Storm Hawks trained during the Winter Spell, they would find themselves evenly matched against the Talons now.
There was an accident something-or-other that Snipe was handling, and handling very well. Some of the Talons were sent to take their leave, and many of the Talons were signing up either for vacation, visiting family by Warp Crystals, or more training.
Tomorrow would be graduation day. Dark Ace smiled just thinking about the sixty Talons who had earned their station now. Just this morning he heard a Talon say, "The heck was I thinking before? That was flashy and unnecessary."
"Yeah, you think the Storm Hawks' marksman is flashy, and then he shoots you down. It's all just distraction techniques. I mean, I took him out, and then the girl on the heliscooter took me out. And two other guys who were zeroing in on the sharpshooter. Kid's a freak for putting himself in danger to win the battle."
"Dude, that's 'taking one for the team'."
The Talons then started discussing battle scenarios and what it actually would take out the Storm Hawks.
They were thinking as a unit.
Dark Ace felt his muscles relax as he sank further into the bath. Finn had yowled and whined and look at him cutely when he was bathed earlier, but Dark Ace just told him to get used to it.
"That's right Finn. I want you used to bathing. It'll help with your thick fur and health. A lot of cats back on Cyclonia actually have two coats, and need to be bathed regularly, and have actual full baths every six months or so."
On the sink ledge, drying out on his hot pad, Finn cracked an eye and mew'd as though to say, "As if I'll ever get used to it, buddy. You have a fight on your hands."
Dark Ace chuckled and stretched out.
Ravess and Snipe eyed the Temple's markings.
"If this is what I think it is, Snipe, you've just secured Cyclonia's victory. Congratulations, dear brother."
Snipe grunted. "Think I can retire and open a sandwich shop after the war?"
Ravess snorted. "I'll even play for you on weeknights if you want more clientele."
Cyclonis was reading reports. Again. Dark Ace had received the supplies to build up the fort. The slaves had settled down, and now had a social hour with their lunch, actual floor beds, access to wash rooms and laundry.
They were also allowed to sing while they worked.
Cyclonis rolled her eyes. Dark Ace and his quirks. Still, if the slaves realized that they could work their way out of the factory and into citizenship, they might change loyalties. Who cared who ruled so long as they had basic rights?
No, they couldn't vote her out of power.
Master Cyclonis put her hand over the arm rest and petted Piper's head. The kitten had grown. She was nearly as big as Cyclonis now. Master Cyclonis was surprised at the growth rate, but put it down to Piper being a mixed breed. It wasn't unusual to find pets that actually served as protectors.
What was scary was that Piper and Bolt actually seem to understand her. A week after she had brought them back, there was an incident. She was moments from pitching a fit because she couldn't find her favorite heat slippers to wear across the freezing stones from her bath to her bed. After resolving to her feet getting numbed and cramped in the morning, Piper came in with one slipper, and Bolt came in after her with the other one.
All she had done was mutter about where the blasted slippers were.
Turns out, a helpful servant had put them in the closet. Cyclonis decided that the same helpful servant had also left the closet door open. After all, it was an elegant handle that opened the door, and no way could Piper have figured that out.
Then again, she did watch Cyclonis get ready for the day before the sun rose.
Bolt, on the other hand, was very big. He had to sleep on the floor, because Master Cyclonis couldn't have both of her cats snuggled against her. They warmed her up to the point where she ordered one of them off so she could cool down and sleep.
Bolt had rumbled at Piper, and then slunk off to the floor.
When Cyclonis woke up, she wondered if it was a dream.
Bolt's red fur and emerald eyes were rarely seen. He was always in the corner of her eye, or off exploring.
But every assassin sent after her had definitely seen his teeth before they were killed. Torturing the two from her stay at Dark Ace's fortress had told her that they were lying in wait. They didn't know who paid them; neither had the one Dark Ace killed.
They were approached by a middle man, and paid half up-front with more promised later. They hadn't counted on the kittens being there.
Was there something important about the kittens? She demanded to know.
They had died instead of answering.
Cyclonis petted Piper for a few more minutes.
"Catching up on the back log of papers, re-reading treatise and plotting world domination. Not quite the relaxing Winter Spell, but the break in the war still gives up progress." Master Cyclonis gave the papers an aloof appraisal that she gave any important document.
She could re-write most of them from memory, and include all of their fancy hoopla.
Piper nuzzled her hand some more. Cyclonis rubbed her ears, and then trailed down her back. Piper leaned into the touch, going so far as to stand up and let Cyclonis trail down her whole back.
Master Cyclonis smiled, giving Piper her full attention for a few minutes. Then Bolt sauntered in, closing the door with a pointed look. Cyclonis straightened up, and sped through the last three paragraphs, before starting to assemble her opinion on the rough draft for energy efficiency in their armada's fleet.
The improvements from Bolt's discovery were going to knock Atmosian defenders out when they realized that they couldn't count on attacking the bigger ships when they were refueling.
A marksman like Finn could still take out the engines, but if the engines were close to the ship's body, they would over heat and fail. Perhaps a forward shielding crystal to cover attacks, but still let heat escape would be the solution.
She finished off her opinion, and the request to be brought anything on the engines structure.
A knock at the door alerted her to why Bolt warned her.
It was the Council's messenger boy.
Stork grumbled as he sank under the covers.
"Goodnight, Dove. If you can turn back into a human, any day now would be great."
"I've been trying!"
Stork shot out of the bed, and when he came back, he handed clothes over to the mortified Dove. Turning into a nude in front of the Merb was highly uncomfortable.
"So, the reason we can't change you back, is because you decide when to change back?"
"Well," Dove commented, struggling into the shirt, "I've been wanting to turn back for the past three days, and only know do I change back. I guess you really just want to be something other than a cat to turn back."
Stork nodded. Then he paled.
"Well, what if Piper, Aerrow, and Finn are so happy as kittens that they never turn back into humans?"
Dove rolled her eyes. "That won't happen. They'll just stay cats until we rescue them, is all. I mean, you did notice how after the Mayor started harassing me I stopped growing, right? Any bigger, I'd have to ride on Junko's shoulders. I was not risking a sneeze."
"So, you can control what happens to your body at will. Could you change back into a cat?"
Dove frowned. Then she closed her eyes. After several strained moments, she opened them again.
"It's there. It's in my head. The crystal actually downloads a part of itself into you. However, I have no idea how to control it, or what to do with it, or if it comes with an instruction manual."
Stork sighed and went to build a spare bed for himself. It was too late to charge the library and find out more information that would no doubt be in a separate category.
They were doomed, because they were trapped on a Terra, with a psychotic Mayor, who would want the details of what happened to the kitten, and why there was girl he hadn't authorized with them. A girl who was wondering if she could transfer the information to other humans and either enhance her own senses or grow real cat ears.
Perhaps they could hide Dove in the library.
Thinking over how to lead the squadron, Stork rolled off to dreamland.
A/N: Okay, this chapter is not just weird; it's giving off filler vibes like whoa. But then again, under what condition would Bolt and Aerrow want to be human?