[TEAM ONE]

[oath_breaker]

kh, 1k~, sorivani

 

 

 

“Yours,” Aqua stated incredulously. Sora had never seen her eyes so wide and it was honestly a little unnerving that she seemed that stunned. Had none of them ever brought a stray home? 

The cat was damned smart, or he understood them somehow, because he issued a very dire warning in the form of a growl at Sora, so he cleared his throat. “Well, not exactly. I just found him!” The cat seemed to find that acceptable, because the growling stopped and his flickering tail curled to rest on top of his paws where he sat, the tip still irritably twitching. It was kind of cute, really, how honest the expression was. 

“What do you mean you found him?” Aqua demanded. “If you found him near the town—”

And then followed a confused back and forth where Sora explained that no, he’d been nowhere near town, and in fact was confused himself on how exactly the cat had ended up on this island. Aqua seemed as if she trusted the animal as far as she could throw him — or, less even, given it barely cleared ten pounds and Aqua had a mean set of biceps. 

She sighed lengthily, with the kind of expression Sora was very familiar with. It was the you’re challenging me but I like you a lot so I don’t actually mind and I find this disconcerting in and of itself. He saw it often. Riku liked to wear it 90% of the time he was around Sora. The cat made a sound that could’ve been snickering, but Sora didn’t think cats could laugh.

“Sora,” Aqua began beseechingly, “I don’t even think this is an animal you can domesticate, let alone keep.” Sora didn’t know what domesticate meant, but clearly the cat by his feet did, because it issued a yowling sort of warning again. Aqua visibly startled and looked down at it with a strange look in her gaze. “Sora, I don’t think that cat is normal.”

For being an insult, the cat seemed to preen at that instead. Maybe he didn’t understand people after all and it was all tone of voice? He sniffed, crossed his arms, and stuck his chin out. “I think he’d make a great castle pet.”

It took thirty minutes, two separate uses of his best puppy dog eyes impression and Riku unwittingly backing him up, and the cat accidentally sneezing with the most adorable expression on his face afterwards for Aqua to give. She had a lot of rules, like Sora was responsible for its care and if he couldn’t do that, she’d send the cat to a person who would properly mind it, and whatnot, but Sora was too high off of the euphoria of keeping him that he wasn’t too fussed by it. 

“They should send me on diplomacy missions,” Sora bragged, arms crossed behind his head as he strolled towards his room, cute kitty dogging his trail. Riku was a foot behind, leaving room for the cat. “I’d be great.”

Riku snorted that mean, sarcastic laugh of his. “You’d annoy them into giving you everything, I can see it now.”

“Charm!” Sora corrected, “I’d charm them, and they’d give me a castle, and make me king, and probably give me a really nice scepter.” 

“Long live the king,” Riku drolled with such a dry note of sarcasm, Sora was positive whatever joke Riku’d just made had actually flown over Sora’s head. He wasn’t too bothered by it, even though the cat was making that same snickering sound again, an empty kind of sharp exhale. He sensed rather than saw Riku quicken his step, keeping up with Sora with the cat doing his damndest to trot between them. He would’ve picked him up, the poor thing, but the back of his hand was still smarting from the reminder that no, this cat did not want to be touched. “Sora, are you really keeping him?”

Riku yelped then, and Sora blinked and stopped, concern on the tip of his tongue melting into an amused laugh when he realized the cat had thoroughly swatted Riku’s shin, right in the little space between boot and pant. Riku hissed sharply, bent over and rubbing the offended skin. “Ow,” he said, dramatically and irritated. If Sora let them, he had the feeling they’d have a staring contest until their eyes dried out. Sora wasn’t even positive the cat would win, because there was stubborn, and then there was Riku. 

“Aw, c’mon Riku, you probably just got too close to him,” Sora said, sliding his palm along the underside of Riku’s forearm to encourage him to stand straight. Riku allowed it, even as he glared mutinously at the cat. He tugged on Riku, giving him that charming grin that would win him castles and sovereignty and pretty scepters, and begrudgingly Riku let it go. Now, what was that saying about cats and grudges…

“Seriously,” Riku moped, “you’re keeping— I’m watching you, you ass—” Riku hissed as the cat tried another swipe, but with an impressive and fluid sort of movement, Riku dodged it. “Sora, what is it about people and animals that always have a bad attitude around you?” He demanded, as if Sora was responsible for this.

“Are you including yourself in that?” Sora asked, laughing at Riku’s incensed Sora! “Honestly Riku, I think he can understand us.”

“Don’t be silly, Sora,” Riku huffed, because he always had the final say on all things true and scientific, and cats obviously couldn’t understand human language. “Seriously are you—er—” because the cat had a truly dangerous glint in his eye now, “is he staying here?” Riku tried. 

“It’s his home, too!”