Edwin is gone – gone gone gone, and now he doesn’t just not like Monty, he hates him, and he’s probably gonna get vanished by Esther’s monster fungus anyway, and she’s gonna be so pissed when he tells her, and he just wishes he could still get up in the air and actually see where he was going–
“That is such a waste,” he heard the ever sultry voice of the Cat King as he surfaced from the shadows. “She’ll end you, you know. Your little witch.”
Monty shivered at the sight of him but tried not to show it, squaring his shoulders and tightening his arms around himself.
“You’ve done enough.”
“You’re really gonna go back to her,” the Cat King said with a strange horror in his voice that still managed to sound disinterested. “What ties you to that… insufferable bitch?”
Monty stopped in his tracks and furrowed his brow, looking at the Cat King like he’d sprouted a second head. “I’m her familiar”
“Familiar,” he sneered, “I’ve lost too many good cats to that old song.”
“I can’t just leave her!”
“Monty,” the Cat King sighed patiently, “you are an animal. Don’t forget that. We’re not bound to their rules.” Without touching, his hand traced over Monty’s face. “Besides, what have humans done but hurt you?”
“Well, you’ve done an amazing job of that yourself,” he turned his face away from the hand, but quickly snapped back once he realised he was using his shoulder to touch his lips. That cat’s kiss didn’t matter, it–
“I have my own scores to settle, yes. For what it’s worth, I am sorry you got caught in the crossfire.” The Cat King gently lifted Monty’s face and left a tingling sensation behind where his fingers touched Monty’s chin. “No, Monty. I will not let you go to waste.”
The warehouse was huge and scattered with cats, but it was clean and, weirdly enough, warm.
The Cat King gestured grandly to the wide space with a Cheshire grin on his face.
“Welcome to my territory, Monty. She can’t reach you here.”
Monty eyed every single cat suspiciously. He didn’t really have any good memories of cats. But it had been nice, to be whisked away from the middle of it all – he could feel his heartbeat going down by the second. He still wished he could puff up. Oh, Esther would be so mad. His hand flew to the base of his neck under his hair, a bad habit that started whenever he felt that nervous need to prune, and had started to leave scabs on his scalp.
“I’m only staying until things blow over with Esther.”
The Cat King’s face turned dead serious then.
“I can only reach so far, little crow. My protection has limits. For you sake, do not test them.”
Monty gulped, but nodded. The Cat King raised his arms above his head for a big lazy stretch and yawned into his next words.
“Come now, then. Let’s find you somewhere to sleep.”