Chapter Text
Over steaming cups of coffee and pastries atop pastel vintage plates sat a trio of unlikely friends. They were squashed into the corner of a rustic coffee shop that didn’t get much foot traffic and were known to the staff by their names as well as their special nicknames picked up during the first few weeks they had frequented the place.
Ragnor, or Grumpy, was the tallest of the bunch and always had a scowl that rivaled the shortest, Raphael, or Sulker. In bright contrast to both of them was Catarina, Cat, or Blue Sky. She always had a smile on her face along with the kindest voice though this morning, her brows were pinched together and her mouth twisted into a thoughtful frown.
“I don’t get why you’re so interested about a cat, Cat.” Ragnor huffed as he chewed on his biscuit. “Magnus has always been fond of cats. I don’t see what’s so special about it.”
Cat rolled her eyes and sighed in obvious frustration. It was clear that she had been trying and failing to explain her fascination for the past half hour. “Are you daft, Rags? Have you seen Magnus pick up a stray and bring them home with him in the years we’ve known him?”
“I hate to say that I agree.” Raphael said tonelessly. “Magnus may have his idiotic moments but he’s smart enough to know that bringing in a stray that could very well be a shifter would only cause problems. And despite his love for drama, he hates problems.”
Ragnor threw his hand up in the air and finished off his cookie with ill-grace.
“Exactly, Raph.” Cat said, completely ignoring the halfhearted glare Raphael sent her. “At first, I didn’t think much of it. But after the first few times I saw the cat at Magnus’ home, he started to bring the cat everywhere with him. I only got truly suspicious when we went on a trip to the Maldives and he only agreed to go after he checked with the hotel that pets were allowed. He even booked himself his own room! We’ve always shared!”
Ragnor hummed. “Well, that is strange. But not stranger than when I started bringing up ideas to help him arrange his friend’s bachelorette party and suggested male strip clubs only to have the cat violently attack me. I ended up with a scratched face that didn’t completely heal over until after a week!
“Needless to say, I told Magnus that I won’t be gracing his home with my presence unless he keeps that wretched cat locked in the bedroom far away from me.”
“And did he?” Cat pressed.
“Well,” Ragnor stroked his scarf. “No… In fact, he hasn’t bothered inviting me over since… That right git.” He said lastly with an enlightened face as if he had only then realised that Cat was on about something. “You may just be right, Cat. I refuse to believe he chose a cat over me so it had better be a shifter or I’ll give him white fur jeans for Christmas!”
Raphael recoiled in disgust. “I’m offended and I haven’t even seen it.”
“What about you then?” Ragnor continued with Cat nodding in agreement.
Raphael looked between both of them with a raised brow. “I barely see him. We connect over the phone but yes, I suppose, the few times I’ve met up with him that infernal cat was with him. Though I’m not entirely sure why, if the cat is a shifter, they wouldn’t just shift into a human being.”
“Perhaps the shifter likes being a cat.” Cat shrugged. “If I were a shifter, I’d shift all the time.”
Ragnor rolled his eyes. “You could shift. There are potions for that.”
“I know, I know.” Cat waved the suggestion away. “Have you forgotten that I’m a nurse? I’ve seen those potions do irreversible damage. I wouldn’t touch them with a seventy-foot pole.”
“Still, why wouldn’t the shifter shift? Not once?” Raphael questioned, sounding more eager about the topic than he had with anything else in the past month. “Going to the Maldives as a cat seems like a poor way to spend a vacation.”
Cat hummed. “Now you mention it… Magnus didn’t do any of the activities without the cat. He refused the spa, the hot herbal pool, scuba diving - literally every activity that couldn’t involve a cat.” She sighed. “It’s why I started wondering. He left me alone so much that I felt a bit neglected for a cat.”
“That’s how I feel now that I’ve had to think about that ungrateful sod choosing the cat over me.” Ragnor crossed his arms. “It had better be a shifter.” He threatened again.
Raphael rolled his eyes. “We’re going to have to coax the cat to shift if we want to find out since, if the previous encounters were any indication, Magnus won’t be keen on introducing us to the shifter.”
“And that, Raphael, is why we’re here today.” Cat rubbed her palms together, an unholy grin stretched on her angelic face.