CK (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nyandereneko) wrote2020-06-22 08:00 am
nyandereneko) wrote2020-06-22 08:00 am
Entry tags:
Cat Fight
Word Count: 980
Summary: Dealing with petty squabbles comes with the territory of wrangling an eclectic group of misfits, and apparently so does being fed up with always having to be the voice of reason for your troubled teammates.
Author’s Note: This summary fhesilfhes I’m so sorry. I didn’t really know how to make “Nova and Mao squabble but it’s just an excuse for me to have Hei scruff them” into a legitimate summary…I guess that basic sentence would be as good as any, but I like to make my summaries vague and at least somewhat artful. Anywho, short, sweet, and to the point. This is a hc I came up with pretty early on and I just wanted to write something for it! Thank you for reading!
It was, quite literally, a cat fight. As in, a heated exchange between two disgruntled felines who shouldn’t have been able to do much more than hiss. They did plenty of that, to be sure, but what stood out even more than the agitated ridges on their backs were the human insults they were lobbing at each other in lieu of unsheathing their claws.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t--!”
“That was so stupid, what were you thinking--!”
“Why couldn’t you just--!”
“You know you’re not supposed to--!”
“It’s not my fault!”
The influence of their aggravation was potent, irritating in its own right, and that same feeling was starting to get under their masked companion’s skin as well. He was usually quite adept at keeping up appearances. That was a notable, even central part of his position; the role he played in this seemingly incompatible ragtag team of misfits. Peeking over at the practically inanimate fourth member of their current ensemble as she, too, observed the verbal scuffle playing out before them, Hei knew that Yin had nothing to say on the matter. And so, the responsibility of taming his riled up teammates inevitably fell on his shoulders once again.
“Like you’re any better? You just--!”
“Me? Oh, don’t even get me started on--!”
“Enough!”
The fed up man didn’t give the distracted cats a chance to react as he snatched them up by the scruff, dangling them directly above the spots where they’d just been standing. It wasn’t exactly the same as the sensation of being choked, but the uncomfortable weight of being jostled around by nothing more than the modest extra bit of skin bundled between their shoulder blades wasn’t particularly pleasant. Trying not to wind up in a worse position than she already was, Nova couldn’t help kicking and swiping in defiance of his sudden interference.
“Our job tonight is over, finished. So try acting like it and quit arguing like a couple of tantrum throwing toddlers.”
“But he started--!”
“But she started--!”
Even with his mask in place, both Nova and Mao could sense the look of supreme displeasure that Hei somehow bore into them without even having to make eye contact. “Do I look like I care who started it?”
Both cats considered making a quip about the current state of his appearance, but luckily thought better of it before they had a chance to convert their impulsive thoughts to words.
“You’re supposed to be reliable, elite agents recruited by an organization to deal with dangerous, unpredictable Contractors. Two rogue cats hurling insults at each other with real, distinguishable words in the middle of a bustling metropolis isn’t exactly discreet or advised. By our employers or in general.”
Ignoring the fact that Nova was not, in fact, an elite agent recruited by any organization to deal with Contractors in any way, shape, or form, both she and Mao were more than well aware that their temporary captor’s aggravation was justified. Relinquishing his hold without warning, they both landed with a thud on all four paws as predictably as any cat would. Mao defaulted to grooming his coat back into place, an involuntary reaction that just came with the territory of being a human consciousness trapped in a feline body. Nova simply reverted to her human form, a luxury that Mao found himself envying from time to time ever since her induction into their fold.
“And you should be more careful where you choose to transform,” Hei added hastily as she stood and brushed herself off. “Especially after drawing attention to yourself.” Honestly, at this point he was kind of surprised they hadn’t been ambushed or assaulted a second time.
“I’m sorry,” she offered sheepishly, following his lead as he swiftly and silently withdrew from the area. “I’m just really new to this…I mean, I know that’s not an excuse, but--”
“You don’t have to be,” he replied stiffly, his words subtly piercing her pride. “You don’t have to get yourself involved in this kind of work, or with any of us. As long as you can keep your mouth shut--”
“If I end up being nothing more than a hindrance, I’ll bow out,” she surrendered softly, and his heart twisted at the sound of her dejection. She stuttered out the rest between rapidly shortening breaths as they picked up the pace of their retreat, “I won’t cause you more trouble than it’s worth. I know this stuff is dangerous, risky, life threatening. It’s not a game. But that’s all the more reason why I want to help if I can. I mean, I figure things ended up this way for a reason. At least, that’s what I choose to believe. I may not be a Contractor, but I’m not a normal human, either. As long as I’m straddling that line, I feel like that means I should do what I can to help…if I can. In the case of a cause I support, that is.”
Well, it sounded like her mind was pretty made up, but Hei still wasn’t entirely convinced any of this was a good idea. The feelings that’d been warring in his chest about whether or not to let her get this close to things hadn’t been very effective at preventing her involvement thus far. Perhaps they would continue to prove insufficient, or perhaps he was just the one allowing things to progress this far, consciously or not. But facing that weakness, that potential longing he didn’t understand, didn’t want to acknowledge…he would rather risk taking responsibility for her life and wellbeing over deciding to shut her out for good. Another ill-advised decision, one fueled by emotions he wasn’t supposed to feel, and desires he wasn’t supposed to have. But it seemed that his heart wasn’t interested in keeping him from indulging such careless whims, anyway.
Summary: Dealing with petty squabbles comes with the territory of wrangling an eclectic group of misfits, and apparently so does being fed up with always having to be the voice of reason for your troubled teammates.
Author’s Note: This summary fhesilfhes I’m so sorry. I didn’t really know how to make “Nova and Mao squabble but it’s just an excuse for me to have Hei scruff them” into a legitimate summary…I guess that basic sentence would be as good as any, but I like to make my summaries vague and at least somewhat artful. Anywho, short, sweet, and to the point. This is a hc I came up with pretty early on and I just wanted to write something for it! Thank you for reading!
_____
It was, quite literally, a cat fight. As in, a heated exchange between two disgruntled felines who shouldn’t have been able to do much more than hiss. They did plenty of that, to be sure, but what stood out even more than the agitated ridges on their backs were the human insults they were lobbing at each other in lieu of unsheathing their claws.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t--!”
“That was so stupid, what were you thinking--!”
“Why couldn’t you just--!”
“You know you’re not supposed to--!”
“It’s not my fault!”
The influence of their aggravation was potent, irritating in its own right, and that same feeling was starting to get under their masked companion’s skin as well. He was usually quite adept at keeping up appearances. That was a notable, even central part of his position; the role he played in this seemingly incompatible ragtag team of misfits. Peeking over at the practically inanimate fourth member of their current ensemble as she, too, observed the verbal scuffle playing out before them, Hei knew that Yin had nothing to say on the matter. And so, the responsibility of taming his riled up teammates inevitably fell on his shoulders once again.
“Like you’re any better? You just--!”
“Me? Oh, don’t even get me started on--!”
“Enough!”
The fed up man didn’t give the distracted cats a chance to react as he snatched them up by the scruff, dangling them directly above the spots where they’d just been standing. It wasn’t exactly the same as the sensation of being choked, but the uncomfortable weight of being jostled around by nothing more than the modest extra bit of skin bundled between their shoulder blades wasn’t particularly pleasant. Trying not to wind up in a worse position than she already was, Nova couldn’t help kicking and swiping in defiance of his sudden interference.
“Our job tonight is over, finished. So try acting like it and quit arguing like a couple of tantrum throwing toddlers.”
“But he started--!”
“But she started--!”
Even with his mask in place, both Nova and Mao could sense the look of supreme displeasure that Hei somehow bore into them without even having to make eye contact. “Do I look like I care who started it?”
Both cats considered making a quip about the current state of his appearance, but luckily thought better of it before they had a chance to convert their impulsive thoughts to words.
“You’re supposed to be reliable, elite agents recruited by an organization to deal with dangerous, unpredictable Contractors. Two rogue cats hurling insults at each other with real, distinguishable words in the middle of a bustling metropolis isn’t exactly discreet or advised. By our employers or in general.”
Ignoring the fact that Nova was not, in fact, an elite agent recruited by any organization to deal with Contractors in any way, shape, or form, both she and Mao were more than well aware that their temporary captor’s aggravation was justified. Relinquishing his hold without warning, they both landed with a thud on all four paws as predictably as any cat would. Mao defaulted to grooming his coat back into place, an involuntary reaction that just came with the territory of being a human consciousness trapped in a feline body. Nova simply reverted to her human form, a luxury that Mao found himself envying from time to time ever since her induction into their fold.
“And you should be more careful where you choose to transform,” Hei added hastily as she stood and brushed herself off. “Especially after drawing attention to yourself.” Honestly, at this point he was kind of surprised they hadn’t been ambushed or assaulted a second time.
“I’m sorry,” she offered sheepishly, following his lead as he swiftly and silently withdrew from the area. “I’m just really new to this…I mean, I know that’s not an excuse, but--”
“You don’t have to be,” he replied stiffly, his words subtly piercing her pride. “You don’t have to get yourself involved in this kind of work, or with any of us. As long as you can keep your mouth shut--”
“If I end up being nothing more than a hindrance, I’ll bow out,” she surrendered softly, and his heart twisted at the sound of her dejection. She stuttered out the rest between rapidly shortening breaths as they picked up the pace of their retreat, “I won’t cause you more trouble than it’s worth. I know this stuff is dangerous, risky, life threatening. It’s not a game. But that’s all the more reason why I want to help if I can. I mean, I figure things ended up this way for a reason. At least, that’s what I choose to believe. I may not be a Contractor, but I’m not a normal human, either. As long as I’m straddling that line, I feel like that means I should do what I can to help…if I can. In the case of a cause I support, that is.”
Well, it sounded like her mind was pretty made up, but Hei still wasn’t entirely convinced any of this was a good idea. The feelings that’d been warring in his chest about whether or not to let her get this close to things hadn’t been very effective at preventing her involvement thus far. Perhaps they would continue to prove insufficient, or perhaps he was just the one allowing things to progress this far, consciously or not. But facing that weakness, that potential longing he didn’t understand, didn’t want to acknowledge…he would rather risk taking responsibility for her life and wellbeing over deciding to shut her out for good. Another ill-advised decision, one fueled by emotions he wasn’t supposed to feel, and desires he wasn’t supposed to have. But it seemed that his heart wasn’t interested in keeping him from indulging such careless whims, anyway.
no subject
also I just love the writing here??
"Both cats considered making a quip about the current state of his appearance..."
"Relinquishing his hold without warning, they both landed with a thud on all four paws as predictably as any cat would. Mao defaulted to grooming his coat back into place, an involuntary reaction that just came with the territory of being a human consciousness trapped in a feline body. Nova simply reverted to her human form, a luxury that Mao found himself envying from time to time ever since her induction into their fold."