Shen Yuan is something like a Bengal cat, in theory. He has the athletic build and round face. But his tail has longer fur than the rest of his body, and he doesn't have the typical markings of a leopard cat, being completely white. His eyes are also a quite bright and vibrant green.
So, in essence, he can't be a natural, domestic cat. There has to be some sort of mixed blood in him. Who knew what he was? He was just "cat".
This strange bastard cat was the only creature that somehow shoved its way into Shen Qingqiu's life.
Shen Jiu arrived on Cang Qiong with Shen Yuan, back then simply called Pest.
He'd met Pest a few times. First time, as a kitten, a few days after he burned down the Qiu household. He was already being trained by Wu Yanzi by then, so he had no time for dumb creatures, and he ignored it.
He saw Pest on and off a few times during those years.
The cat was usually hunting or staring at plants with an unnatural amount of focus. But time after time, the cat would also stare at him.
Then, one day, he made the mistake of leaving a small morsel for Pest during winter, when the snow was particularly thick and the cat looked thinner and scraggly.
He woke later to see the cat crouched, staring at him. They watched each other cautiously, and then, Pest crawled his way to Shen Jiu's stomach and curled himself up nice and tight.
Then, the little bastard had the audacity to start purring!! As if there was a single thing to purr about! Stupid creature.
He gave into his desire to pet it a few minutes in, then fell into the first bit of calm sleep he had in a long while.
After that, Pest trailed after them, carefully hiding away from Wu Yanzi, as though he knew the demonic cultivator would likely do something nasty to him. Even on days Shen Jiu felt particularly irritated and cruel, calling the cat rude names and cursing him and his mother, Pest stayed like else was watching something interesting. Then, after he calmed, the dumb beast would come up to him, all purring and slow blinks.
Shen Jiu wasn't sure the exact day Pest became "his cat," but surely it happened some time as he was dragged along by Wu Yanzi. Perhaps it happened with his first qi deviation, awakening to find Pest balled against him, mewling pitifully, his fur in disarray, blood from Shen Jiu's seven orfices clumping spots together.
He later saw Pest limping a little, as much as the cat hid it. He must've hurt him during the deviation, but Pest didn't leave his side...
Yes. Yeah. That was when Pest became his cat for sure.
And Pest became a constant trail behind him, always following. He even followed him all the way up to Cang Qiong, slipping into the woodshed Shen Jiu chose to sleep in your stay away from the wretched boys of the peak.
Pets weren't allowed on the peak, so he told Pest to stay hidden, time and time again. Of course, Pest was eventually found, having been caught sniffing around the kitchens.
Some brat ran up to the Qing Jing Peak Lord with a scratched hand after trying to pet Pest. Shen Jiu severely doubted that petting was all they tried to do—Pest, the idiot, was not quick to swipe or bite. He'd seen a small child grab at and pull his ears, and all it brought out was a plaintative whine of a meow before he scrambled away.
When the brat suggested capturing the cat and using it to test his sword, Shen Jiu pounced on him then and there and beat the shit out of him. For that moment, he gave up any semblance of elegance he tried to emulate from his Shizun and brought back every street rat instinct he had.
He would not loose his Pest, especially not to some snot-nosed, affluent little troglodyte.
This got Shen Jiu whipped, but he didn't care. And when his Shizun set up a battle between him and the boy to determine Pest's fate, he managed to win despite having a weaker cultivation base, using Plucking Leaves, Flying Flowers in a surprisingly offensive way.
The day after, their Shizun names him the head disciple, and both his and Pest's positions were solidified.
The day Shen Jiu was named Shen Qingqiu, Shen Qingqiu changed Pest to Shen Yuan and tied a silky green hair ribbon around his neck.
Shen Yuan, before his thoughts became advertised to anyone who listened, was already a very expressive cat. Much more expressive than one would expect of such cool-hearted creatures.
For one, when chewing on something hard, he would squint his eyes, furl his nose, and crunch as hard as he could. He looked like a little gremlin each time, all that prettiness fading away for a moment to reveal the true menace underneath. Sometimes, Shen Jiu would give him crunchy fish snacks just to watch him squint up. That habit didn't change even after he became Shen Qingqiu.
Secondly, as soon as they were around something soft, Shen Yuan would sit on it like a person.
As Pest, when Shen Jiu visited the Warm Red Pavilion, the girls there had squealed in delight. When he looked over, sure enough, Pest had absolutely terrible, scrunched posture, with his tail between his legs, his legs stretched out and open. After a yawn, he began licking one of his front paws and grooming, tail flicking leisurely.
Shen Jiu had been absolutely flabbergasted seeing such a thing. He'd never once seen a cat sit like that.
And he found he didn't see such a thing again unless they were in the Warm Red Pavilion, or, once they moved in, the bamboo house. Otherwise, Shen Yuan's sitting posture was prim and proper lest he was sunbathing.
Among his many little oddities, Shen Yuan has no interest in mating.
Once, during their visit to the Pavilion, one of the girls brought a female cat in case Pest wanted to mate. He was a male cat, after all, and it would be a shame to let Pest's good genes go to waste. Although unsure, Shen Jiu agreed, so they left them in a room together.
A bit later, hearing a cat yowl, they thought perhaps they had finished...but the cries continued. Eventually, they returned when the cries still didn't stop. They found the female cat presenting to Shen Yuan, backing up toward him with her tail to the side... But he himself was pressed tightly into a corner, tail wrapped around himself, eyes blown wide and yowling like he was in agony.
The instant he saw Shen Jiu, he jumped upward, kicked off the wall, and scrambled over to him, climbing up his clothes.
Some of the girls actually cried laughing, and Shen Jiu's cheeks hurt with how much he did his best to not join in.
They never tried to see if he would mate with any cat ever again. Whevever he remembers this, Shen Qingqiu desperately wishes he knew what Shen Yuan was saying.
Lastly, after several years of being together, Shen Qingqiu found that Shen Yuan would go comfortably limp in his hands.
He would completely ragdoll, as though surrendering utterly to gravity and his trust in Shen Qingqiu. Honestly, he'd never seen a cat do that, and for a while, he thought maybe he was sick or something. But after a while, he realized he just liked being held like a supported sack.
"Lazy beast. Utterly improper."
If anyone hurts Shen Yuan, he will kill them and everyone in their bloodline.
