Day 1
Notes: Yes I am aware XS OC awareness week was last week. No, I did not have time to write things for my Morty during that week. So, I’m doing it now. Make of that what you will.
An Utterly Unremarkable Animal
“…and Azrael, patrol the north border along the river,” he said, pointing to the map. The lion nodded and ran off to follow orders.
Chase stared at the map a few minutes more, tracing the outlines of his new lands. He would eventually need to install better security measures, but for now his followers would do. He moved some markers around the map, then satisfied that Azrael, Flavia, Ngozi, and the others would do their jobs, he left the study.
His own schedule today was lax, but he hadn’t hunted in a while and the headaches were getting worse. Still, he had some pressing responsibilities, and the sooner he finished, the sooner he could hunt.
As he descended the steps to the entry hall, he considered asking the cats to hunt for him, but he didn’t trust them to return the kill intact. So, he would finish training, then strike out at nightfall for the hunting grounds. Just as he was contemplating making a little more time to investigate rumors of new monks at the temple, he stopped dead in his tracks.
A black jaguar lounged on the rocks overlooking the pond. It stretched and rolled over, its ears brushing the water. Chase stared at it, unsure of whether to be angry that it had ignored his orders or that it had outright neglected to attend the meeting.
He couldn’t remember seeing the jaguar earlier, but there were other jaguars. As he stood on the steps, he wracked his brain to try and remember anything about this cat. The animal wasn’t big, he wasn’t small either. He was dark, but so were some of the other jaguars. He didn’t look strong, but appearances were deceiving. He had no notched ears or notable features to speak of. He was an altogether unremarkable, forgettable creature.
He descended the stairs, trying to remember who he was and how he’d defeated him, but he couldn’t remember seeing the jaguar around the citadel before. For a second, he paused and the spell to force the cat into human form hummed across his fingertips.
Then, almost as if the cat sensed his gaze, he opened one eye and stared at him. He still could not remember the unremarkable brown eye.
His unease with this strange and utterly normal animal made him think better of forcing him to change shape. Instead, the magic dissipated as he strode towards the cat. As he got closer, the one eye remained fixed on him, the jaguar’s expression unafraid, unconcerned, maybe even a little amused.
“You missed the meeting earlier,” he said, standing barely two paces from the cat. His muscles tensed and he clenched his hands as the cat cocked his head to the side again and rolled back onto his belly.
The uneasy feeling in his stomach grew as he realized that the cat was not half-awake as he’d thought. While the right eye was a clear, if unremarkable, brown, the left was scarred so deeply it couldn’t be opened if the jaguar wanted to.
“I’m sorry,” he said. His voice was low and smooth, but he still couldn’t place it. “I must have been distracted by the antelope at breakfast.” He licked his lips in the memory.
A threat lingered in Chase’s throat, but it died as he still could not remember the blasted animal’s identity. Instead, he merely snarled, “You were assigned to patrol the northern border with Azrael. Do not make this mistake again.”
“Of course,” he replied, quickly getting to his feet. “Mort will not disappoint.”
As the jaguar left the cave, Chase felt the pangs of another migraine and the stirring of his bones as they longed for change, and he decided that he had better uses for his time than inquiring after lazy cats.
