A special treatment…was indeed, a special treatment.
And that meant getting away with light consequences for trashing an entire room and the entirety of its furniture. The commander went inside with a full poker face, glanced at the mess one time before immediately working it out quietly with the innkeeper. Of course, the tone of his voice and the not-so-subtle twitch of his fingers meant that he was in the first stage of denial, or more likely the first stage away from a full-blown breakdown that will probably not only explode on his face but the rest of Team Friendship as well.
Until, of course, Perrito had the brilliant idea of blaming it on a surprise attack and then workshopping it around to Puss, now slash Venom, to being a paranoid schizophrenic, and unleashing hell to what they thought was an intruder.
"He's been a bit jumpy these last few days!" The dog reasoned nervously, motioning with his eyes toward the symbiote aggressively squashing a spider on the floor. "Of course, there were those animal abuser kids back in the dark woods, the fire recently, the shape-shifting guy—Oh! Did I mention that he had Puss poisoned?"
"...he doesn't look poisoned to me," The commander replied skeptically, watching Venom in perfect health as they leaped from the floor and onto the chandelier. It swayed unsteadily with their weight as they played on it for a while before jumping on top of a cabinet and sliding down gracefully back on the floor.
In the kitchen, Kitty stopped cooking their chicken broth just to glance at the symbiote and reprimanded them in Spanish.
The commander tried not to get invested in whatever was going on and focused his attention back on the dog when a spatula soared in the air.
"...there was also that time when the three of us went on a quest together! At first, Kitty and I thought Puss was being metaphorical when he said that death was after him. Well, it turns out that the literal embodiment of Death was really actually after him! What a turn of events!"
"Wait," The commander interrupted, suddenly feeling nauseous and dizzy. "The afterlife is real?"
"I mean, I guess? Most likely!" The expression the man had quickly worried Perrito. "Why do you ask?"
"...I suppose I should repent while I'm still alive." He muttered quietly and told the dog to not break any more furniture and to keep an eye on their friend's episode. He left much sooner than expected.
"Perrito!" Kitty called out after him with three steaming bowls of chicken broth ready at the table. "Breakfast—No, lunch? Or is it dinner?" She shakes her head, unable to tell what meal time they were on based on their hectic schedule. "Food's ready!"
The dog happily skipped and took a seat between Kitty and Venom. The chicken was already boiled for them by one of the workers in the inn and Kitty magnified the flavor of the broth with a secret ingredient she wasn't sharing with them and especially not with anyone. Perrito noticed that Venom's bowl had more meat in it, and while it looked savory than his, it was understandable due to their incredibly wide diet.
It was a bit of a surprise when the symbiote only glared at the food and shuddered.
"What is it now?" Kitty sighed.
"This is dead," Venom spat, pushing their bowl away in disgust. "We are not eating dead meat."
"The chicken you ate earlier was dead, wasn't it?" Kitty was referring to the old hysterical man that tried to get them arrested, her hold on the spoon tightening. "What's the difference with this one?"
"You are feeding us a nasty piece of a corpse!" Venom leaned back on their chair and propped his boots on the table. "The meat is most delicious when it's still fresh with a beating heart! This is what savages eat."
"If you want to eat food alive, feel free to go hunt some mice and chipmunks just lying around the corner," The cat slammed a paw on the table then, their broths sloshing inside the bowl from impact. "And you could have said something sooner when I was preparing us something to eat!"
"Boiled chicken doesn't taste so bad!" Perrito piped up, taking a swig of the broth before munching a slab of meat. "I think you should try some before judging it, Venom. It's very delicious!"
"No," The symbiote was threatening to spill their bowl until Kitty stood from her chair and dragged their portion to her side.
"Fine! Go ahead and starve! But I'm not letting you waste this food just because it doesn't have a beating heart anymore!"
"Okay—Okay—Let's all calm down," Perrito butts in before the two could clash again. "We're a little short on live chickens considering that they were," He made a sign of the cross and whispered a prayer. "May they rest in peace—butchered per the commander's orders."
"And we shall have his head in exchange!" Venom rose from their seat and pulled their sword into existence from their camouflaged skin.
"Or," Perrito was fast enough to catch up with them, stopping in their front and blocking them away from the door. "We could ask room service for what else they have in store! Let's try not to get violent for a little while."
He gave Venom a nervous smile.
"Room service?" They sounded confused.
"Just take them, Perrito!" Kitty was too busy moving Venom's meat portions to her own bowl. "I can't handle babysitting them 24/7! Just be back before your broth gets cold."
Death was making an effort to get better, at the very least. His sickness was at a point where his muscles were sore and whenever he would move, he felt tired. The clogging in his nose wasn't bad as before but his throat was the one to suffer in exchange. It felt like there was something stuck down there and it was becoming bothersome to talk continuously.
He couldn't engage in longer forms of conversation due to his throat acting up and his mouth swiftly feeling parched.
Life had placed him somewhere where the sun was always shining. The grass wasn't such an overgrown plantation and the shade of trees was providing the right amount of breeze to help wash away his cold.
He feels the light brush of Famine's feather in an attempt to soothe him. The embodiment of starvation was the only one so far who had visited in his time of need. Ironic how the news of his sickness meant that he was dying. He was Death, straight up. But from the way things are going, he may or may not end up in a casket.
Straight.
Up.
"On the bright side, you're not trembling so much anymore," Famine tried to assure him, petting his fur gently on his head.
"...how bad…is it out there?" He croaked quietly. "...the souls…I couldn't pick up?"
"Don't think about that right now," The harpy cringes, holding back sensitive and important information from him. "You just need to focus on getting better."
"Yeah," Death rubs affectionately on her wing and Famine was more than happy to oblige. "Tell me…when Life is done…crafting magical medicine…for immortals."
"Wait, are they?" She perked up shortly only to be met by Death's deadpan stare. "Why would you word it like that?! You know I can't detect sarcasm!"
He tried to avoid accidentally swallowing a few feathers and making their way into his mouth after the harpy ruffled her wings in agitation.
"Context…clues…Famine," The wolf coughed out, trying to at least hide the pitiful sounds as best as he could.
The other Eternal obviously cared for him, no doubt, but whenever he was choking up with a rabbit-quality sneeze or be it a flurry of coughs, she would immediately flap her wings and hop several feet away from him until the moment he calmed down. She waited patiently when he would lie on his side motionless, exhausted from the way his immortal infected lungs had acted before hesitantly inching back.
"...how do you feel now?"
"Better," He smiled at her with tired eyes.
"That's great!" Famine nodded.
"I lied…still terrible."
"I hate you."
The wolf gathered enough strength to stand on his feet and the harpy quickly went after him the second he wobbled in his steps.
"I don't believe you have enough strength to walk yet! You're only going to injure yourself," She let his left arm rest across her neck while she had one wing occupying to balance him on his back, her free one flapping beside her to match the wolf in height. "Are you going to the spring?" She tried not to judge his musky and sickly smell due to his unexpected condition. "A hot bath will do you good."
"No…" Death leaned on Famine for support as he walked on shaky legs. "I…can hear them."
She knew that he was referring to all the souls he failed to pick up recently.
"There's nothing else you can do right now—"
"La mierda," The wolf spat, his eyes popping white in the sea of red. "My dignity…everything that I am…will…not go down…like this. I refuse…to go down…like this." He gritted his teeth, summoning the remaining bits of his power and imagining a place to manifest. Death could feel Famine's sharp beak grazing his head reprimandingly.
"Stop that!" She barked. "You'll only exhaust yourself. Are you even sure your abilities would work properly?"
"Help me…then," Death huffed, his breathing ragged. "If you care…about me…then help me."
"Life would see us sneaking away. Gods," Famine was checking for the higher life form whether they had their eyes set on them. She was glancing at the way the wind, the sky and even the sun were acting. It's all about the subtlety of the environment around them, but recently, even Life has been unusually quiet and it bothered the eternal to an extent of borderline paranoia and anxiety. "You are not suitable to pick up souls in your current condition."
"I…want to visit someone," Death explained carefully. "They were near…when it first…happened."
"I'm sure Pestilence will take care of it."
The wolf glared at her then. "And you trust Pestilence?"
Famine swallowed.
"You…know what she's like," Death said uneasily. They all knew what their brethren were like. When even the literal embodiment of war, who was a total nutcase of his own making, deems Pestilence as not only another total nutcase but also a complete psycho, was very telling of her unbalanced and deranged nature.
"Yes," The winged eternal remembered her sister's thirst for carnage and she immediately shuddered. "But you know she gets things done effectively."
"Define…effectively," They both shared a look of grim understanding. "The souls I have to pick up from her…the mess she made…"
"Look, there's a slight chance she may not even get sick if she's exposed to it—"
"I…know her targets," There was a serious look on the wolf's face that Famine hadn't seen for a while. Death was often…sentimental towards a few mortals. It was very apparent back then when he first came into existence but it was eventually limited when he was exposed to separating loved ones on a daily basis.
"What do they matter to you anyway?" Famine tried to study his expression.
"...I met them," He looked away for a while. "I know one…or well, two…in particular."
The other immortal sighed.
"I asked Life…to spare one before," Death claimed quietly, adjusting his stance so he could continue walking and while Famine didn't approve, she had very little choice but to help him unless she wanted the wolf to stumble and fall head first to the ground. "Back then…I mean."
"I was aware," She gave him a look that said you weren't very subtle. Early Death was either squeamish in reaping a soul whose lifeline expired too early and future Death was more dead set on hunting one down when they particularly annoyed him. There was no in-between. Famine was more of a go-with-the-flow kind of immortal and had less dramatic episodes. That was what Life liked about her.
"We should stay put until War arrives, at least."
The wolf couldn't help but scoff.
"That oaf…will do anything…but arrive on time."
"Last I heard, he's stoking up a fight between Captain Falcon and Hydra."
"Ah," The image of a heroic falcon taking after the mantle of the late yellow, honey-furred bear super soldier who sacrificed himself against the problematic and evil serpentine creatures came quickly to his mind. "Mister Freedom and Team Genocide...you mean."
Famine relented to tell him that the leader of said genocide team mutated into something horrendous after failing to die in battle. His soul, was unable to pass on. The wolf certainly doesn't need that in his conscience for the time being.
"I think it's unwise to get in the way of Pestilence's mission…" She waited for him to take another step, but the face he had clearly meant that he didn't care about their sister's reaction. "You're fast to judge her when you, yourself, are eager to go on a wild cat chase simply because some overconfident feline wasn't afraid of dying."
"That gato wasted eight lives! EIGHT!" Death bared his teeth, his energy and spirit instantly spiking. Famine was impressed by how continuously he managed to speak without pausing. "You weren't there when he was foolishly throwing them away like candy!"
"Enough! If you talk about him more I'm afraid you'll only have severe blood pressure," Famine responded with a roll of her eyes.
"Wow," Death breathed out. "Did…you just joke?"
"I am still against you leaving." She tried to change the subject.
"It's either I tire myself like a tonto…or you help a brother out," He reasoned as he tried to soften his gaze for her to give in. "La Hambruna…por favor."
For a second, the harpy was aghast.
"Since—Since when were you able to do that?!"
Death shrugged. "What? You…don't think old dogs…can't learn new tricks?"
She ruffled her feathers at the wolf's audacity.
"I hate you for this!"
"...is that a yes, then?"
DING—DING—DING!
Perrito was happily abusing the bell at the counter until a black tendril slapped his paw away. He turned to look at Venom desperately pulling down Puss' sombrero while their face was trapped in frozen agony.
"What's wrong, bud?" The dog asked worriedly.
"What's wrong is you massacring our ears! Must you press that forsaken tool so many times?!" The symbiote cried out, their right eye twitching.
"Oh my gosh!" Perrito jumped in realization. "You're sensitive to sound!"
Venom distances themselves away from the canine with a huff.
"I'm so sorry, Venom! I didn't know that."
"Obviously," They glared at him for good measure, crossing their arms in their chest.
The attendant came wearily to their view then, his anxiety apparent.
"Uhm…yes?"
Unbeknownst to the two, the poor intern was hiding for a while after realizing who the troubled guests were. He eyed the one known as the fearless hero. The cat whose fur burned like fire and wasn't afraid to gamble his life to get a taste of adventure. People were saying he was dashing and charismatic, but from the way, their venomous green eyes turned to meet him all he wanted to do was run in terror.
If looks could kill…
From what he heard and what little he saw from their former room, the guy was a psycho! He managed to take a glimpse when he was massacring a spider with two swords. He may or may not have also heard him threatening to eat someone's brains out loud. All he could deduce was that the poor guy must be suffering from post-traumatic stress and paranoia.
"Is—Is there something I can help you with?" He gulped nervously, making sure to shift his eyes to the unproblematic dog who looked like he was ready to give him the most wonderful hug after his stressful day.
"First off! I would like to thank you for boiling those chickens for us!" Perrito chirped brightly. "They were very tender and we appreciate how they taste phenomenally in our broth!"
"You're—You're welcome?"
He was startled when the dog's companion slammed a fist on the counter, denting the wooden structure in one swift action.
"We, however, do not," The legend growled.
He could easily imagine his bones being snapped just by saying the wrong thing. The intern trembled.
"Oh, God…please don't kill me! I have no meaningful aspirations and the guys in charge don't even pay me when doing overtime!"
"They're joking!" Perrito skittishly replied. "They're just joking! Ha-ha! They could be so…intense sometimes!" He bit the symbiote's cloak, pulling them back and away from the counter as best as he could. "They're completely harmless!"
A tendril quickly shot past to grab the intern by the collar.
"You are room service! Are you not?" Venom loudly declared, ripping their cloak from Perrito's teeth before turning to face the poor lad that's been shaking like a leaf. "You are not servicing us correctly!"
"I'm sorry! I—Look—I'll do anything! Please, just spare me!" The man begged, hanging on the counter for dear life. "There are some tablea packets that we keep! You can heat those as much as you want! Free chocolate—it's in the house!"
The tugging on his collar stopped.
"Chocolate?"
Perrito watches how their eyes broadened at the mention of a delicacy.
"You have chocolate?" Venom's mouth quickly salivates and the intern tries not to sob too loudly.
"We do—We do! If you just let me go, I'll give it to you!" The tendril finally receded, but he found himself barely able to breathe after such an encounter. It wasn't technically over yet, per se, the legend in boots was crossing their arms and tapping their feet impatiently.
"Well? Bring it to us." Venom snapped and the intern quickly got to his feet.
"It's—It's in the employee's room! We—We make some for ourselves sometimes! Especially when b-business isn't—"
They stamped their sword on the ground, scaring the intern even further. Venom leaned on one arm on top of the hilt, their glare poisonous as ever.
"I—I'll go fetch it right now!" He stumbled on his way, escaping the threatening emerald gaze that trailed after him like a predator.
"Hey, Venom?" Perrito quietly sat beside them, a disapproving look on his face after the poor intern disappeared behind the ajar door. "I don't really appreciate you scaring him like that. I mean, he was just doing his job. Even worse," the dog gasped, pawing over his mouth. "He wasn't even being paid!"
"So? That's not our problem."
"I'm pretty sure the counter you just broke makes it kind of our problem," Perrito winced, looking at the abused wooden structure where the front desk should have been. Now it was like someone had dropped an anvil on top of it. "I know it's not really coming from our pockets, but we should consider the commander's feelings over this!" He distinctly remembered the guard's expression after witnessing the state of their room. It was like he was rethinking his purpose of existence at that moment. "He wasn't too glad after the pillow fight, after all."
"It was a declaration of war!" Venom answered with a fist raised dramatically. "Maybe next time you should rethink your decision to announce a fight if you can't handle it."
Perrito can only chuckle over their brutal concept of a tame fight between friends during sleepovers.
"I suppose you don't have pillow fights from where you're from, huh?"
"We do not even have pillows on Klyntar," The symbiote explained, resting their chin and hands gingerly on the handle of Puss' sword. "Such a soft and useless thing for symbiotes to have."
"Yeah, I didn't have pillows to sleep on back then either!" Perrito claimed. "I was…sort of a stray before Team Friendship was formed, you know?"
"...you were alone?" Venom partly sounded shocked at this.
"I had a family and my litter mates back then," The dog explained shyly. "It was a long time ago, though. I had to sleep on lonely alleyways, under the bridge…" Venom peered at him curiously, wondering why he didn't have a home all of a sudden despite the mention of having a family.
"...and then I pretended to be a cat and I got adopted by this nice old lady!" He beamed at them. "It's how I met Puss for the first time!"
The symbiote only stared at him for a while.
"...what happened to your former family?"
The tortuous game of hide and seek and never being found flashed coldly to his mind, just like the biting freeze of water affecting his skin within the sock he was trapped in.
"Oh, you know!" Perrito waved them off with an awkward laugh. "They liked picking on the little guy! Those gremlins didn't like how I kept winning Hide and Seek and stuffed me inside this sock!" He tugs on his collar for emphasis, winking at the symbiote lightheartedly. "Of course, I bit through it, and eventually—Ta-da! I got a nice sweater in return! Isn't it lovely?"
Venom gives him a weird look. A very weird look.
"...are they still alive?"
What?
"What?" Perrito blinked.
"Are they still around? Breathing?" They pried their sword from the floor and slashed the air an inch away from the dog's face. Perrito froze when they leveled their dark steel below his chin, tilting him to look up. "If they are, why are you not exacting vengeance!"
"You…" The dog gently taps the end of the sword down. "...want me to take revenge?"
"Exactly!" Venom grinned maliciously. "You should be sniffing them out! Strategizing the most elaborate plan to get back at them! You have Boots and Softpaws on your side!"
"...I don't think Puss and Kitty would want to see them," Perrito said squeamishly. "I mean, it feels like an awkward family reunion kind of thing, and I don't know—"
"Those low lives deserve to get their skin peeled from their muscles! Their bones picked apart by predators and souls be sent to eternal damnation!"
"Eternal damnation?!" Perrito covers his mouth in horror. "But that's too much!"
"More like too little!"
"Maybe if I could confront them without any of that stuff?" The dog hesitantly suggested. "Like…forgiveness and acceptance!"
"Blegh!" The symbiote shuddered at the idea of peacefully handling problems without at least decapitating an individual out of revenge. "That's the worst plan you can come up with!"
"But it'll be my own thing! You know?" Perrito skipped on his feet and elaborated on how the power of love and redemption was the true key to happiness. By the time he had finished, the symbiote's own thirst for bloodshed and enthusiastic spirit had faded away. "...and that's how I'll do it! ZING!"
"Why did we even bother giving you fantastic advice? Your plan didn't even have one of them dying," They sulked childishly but Perrito only beamed at them.
"You know what, Venom? This was a good talk," He chirped and the symbiote only glowered more. "With or without bloodshed! You have very creative ideas, nonetheless! Have you ever considered becoming a therapist?"
"Therapy is for losers," They hissed out. "No one would be able to do that to us without consequences."
"You mean bloody consequences," Perrito jokes. "Am I right?"
The employee door nervously opened with the intern peeking at them.
"I—I have them with me," He croaked out, arms heavy with tablea packets. "The packets I mean. Do—Do you still want—"
The number of tendrils coming at him made him drop all the packaged sweets out of terror.
"Sorry—Sorry! They don't mean to do that!" Perrito ran to the intern hoping to comfort him. He watches from the corner of his eyes as Venom happily tore through the packets like presents on Christmas morning before whispering quietly to the shaken lad. "I know they're a bit scary right now but I'm working on a character chart in assessing their behavior."
"...what?" The intern tried not to sob all over again.
"They're from space," Perrito told him casually as if it was enough to explain the psychotic encounter with the symbiote. "Different customs and all. Their social skills are kind of a nightmare! But nothing an optimistic therapy dog couldn't fix! Don't worry!"
"There are cats…in space?" The intern repeated dumbly.
"Oh, right," The dog realized too late, getting an understanding of what he meant. "Because you think he's—" He shakes his head, trying not to slip too much information about Venom and Puss in case the Terror Four might target the poor unpaid intern. "All you need to know is that they got their heart in the right place!"
The man stared at him hopelessly.
"And we're truly sorry about the inconvenience!" Perrito swiftly added.
"…that, I can get by."
"Would it be alright to borrow your bell?"
"...bell?"
"Yeah! The one on the front desk!"
The intern had no idea what he would need a bell for but all he cared about is them leaving him alone so he nodded eagerly.
"Yes—Yes—Just take it!"
After another quick and genuine apology, Perrito hides the bell away from Venom's view before tapping them on the shoulder.
"If there are some left, I could probably make you some steamy hot chocolate!" The dog offered happily with a wag of his tail.
"This is already chocolate." Venom deadpanned, a packet in between their teeth.
"Well, we could melt some in hot water and I could add some marshmallows to your liking!"
"Marshmallows?" They tilt their head curiously and Perrito nodded in response, guiding them back to their room but not before sending the intern a wink.
"We have some spare since we didn't really get to toast them back at the dark forest. I'm sure you'll like it! It goes well with chocolate!"
"The only other thing we like are human brains."
"That aside! What do you think about a character chart?"
AN: Yellow! I made a drawing for the chart and if you guys want to take a look at Puss' outfit...go visit this link: .