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The colors in Toon Town were changing to reds, yellows, and browns. The air had a crisp cool feeling all the while still having a gentle warmth from dawn to dusk. Leaves were falling and floating in the breeze, coating the streets and sidewalks of Toon Town. Not that Cup was complaining, he found the weather to be nice and calm during this time of year. The thought that was bugging him was the fact that Halloween was once again around the corner, no more than a week away. It seemed like it wasn’t that long ago when he and the others had the Halloween costume party at the Doc’s. Cussing stars, where the heck did time go? Cup was walking around town, he just wanted to get away from the house to get some fresh air but more importantly he wanted to check for what news was floating around town. After a couple of hours, Cup started making his way back to the house and lit a cigarette. He heard people around town wondering if the events from last year were going to happen again while others were talking about preparations for Halloween. He didn’t blame people taking measures to stay safe, that whole starfallen nonsense messed up the town and people were sent to the hospital. He walked away with only feathers in his head while the others were beaten up pretty good, especially Holly. Cup breathed out a puff of smoke. They needed a break from the quest, even if it was just for one day.
Cup started to wonder about plans for Halloween at the house. The others have been trying to think of ideas for what to do for Halloween this year at the house. No way he was going to wear a dress again. He already had people see him in a dress twice, no need for that to happen a third time. Everyone decided that the party would happen at the house again, but this time, everyone would just go with their own costumes. Mugs had been debating if he should plan a pair costume with him or Cala. Bendy was planning to pull pranks on people this year. Cup smirked at the thought. He wouldn’t mind pulling some pranks with Bends to get at some poor mook, especially Jerry. Holly was interested in pulling pranks along with Bendy, but she wanted to figure out how to use runes to pull them off, safely of course. Boris wanted to go trick-or-treating to collect some candy. He didn’t blame him for the idea, he needed to act like a kid once in a while. Everyone else seemed interested in getting the house decorated or making some sweets for the party. Cup couldn’t help but smile. Just the fact that he had some good news to share about the holiday was putting him into good spirits. He couldn’t believe that he was thinking about this starfallen stuff. If anyone told him over a year ago where he would be now, he would have called the person starfallen crazy. He breathed out another puff of smoke. Cussing hell. Was this his life now?
Suddenly, a loud noise from the nearby alley snapped Cup out of his thoughts. He immediately looked down the alley, his finger ready to shoot. Cussing heck, does there always have to be something happening? Cup looked down the alley but he wasn’t seeing anything. He heard the sound again, something was scratching against a surface. Cup lit his finger and started walking down the alley scanning all over. So far, there was nothing aside from the nearby buildings, trashcans, and trash lining the ground. If someone was following him, he wasn't about to lead the cussing schmuck back to the house. He was going to deal with them accordingly. He heard the sound again coming from his left. He looked down and saw a cardboard box on the ground. The sound happened again and the box shifted slightly. Cup hesitantly stepped forward, kneeled down to the box, and started to lift one of the cardboard flaps. I swear if this is a starfallen im—. Cup lifted the flap and a ball of orange fluff poked out from inside. A big pair of green eyes were staring back at him.
It was an orange furred kitten in the box. Cup was shocked but, eventually, his face went from shock to a small grin. “Hey lil’ guy. How did you get here?” asked Cup. He started petting the kitten and it was already accepting his touch. A small mewl came from the kitten in response and it started purring, Cup’s grin grew to a smile as he gently lifted the kitten out of the box so he could take a closer look at the animal. No signs of any injuries or infection, thank the stars. The kitten was at least healthy but needed some food. He figured out that it was a female. She looked to be no more than a couple of months old and was a lot smaller than Jackpot. There was no collar to indicate that she belonged to anyone. Cup wasn’t sure how long the kitten was in the box for, hopefully not for too long. Did it wander into the box and get stuck? Did someone place the kitten in the box? “Guess you got yourself into a little mess, didn’t ya girl?” Cup asked the kitten. The kitten looked at him with its big green eyes and blinked.
Cup noticed that the sunlight was beginning to fade. He had to get back to the house so he wasn’t late for dinner. He looked back at the kitten, noticed she was shivering a little bit, and brought her closer to his body for warmth. There was no cussing way that he was going to leave the kitten in the box. If the kitten was left there, it probably wouldn’t even survive the night, let alone a week. It was a starfallen miracle she had survived this long. He knew that Mugs would understand, but the others? Debatable. Snowball and the other dandehogs were an exception, but the Doc would probably not like another animal in the house. If Bendy knew, he would never hear the end of it, the demon would call him out for finding a small animal and bringing it home. Cup felt something against his chest. He looked down to see the kitten was nuzzling against him and felt the vibration of her purrs. He sighed. Aw, cuss it. “Well, I’m not going to cussing leave ya here. I’m taking you with me,” Cup told the kitten. She gave a weak mewl in response. He wrapped the kitten in his arms and started walking to the house.
Cup was no more than a block away from the house when he stopped. He didn’t want the others to know about the kitten. He could sneak through the back. He wasn’t even going to attempt to go through a window, considering Red had become more vigilant since the last time the house was broken into. A mewl snapped him out of his thoughts again. He looked down and met the green eyes of the kitten. The kitten let out another small mewl. The kit was hungry, he wasn’t sure how long it had been since she had eaten last. He needed to get her inside and figure out how to sneak some food to her. He looked at the house then at the kitten again. “Don’t suppose you have any ideas?” he asked her. She tilted her head inquisitively in response. Starfallen dammit. The kitten should be safe and hidden in his coat’s secret pocket. He opened his jacket with his free hand then looked the kitten directly in the eyes. “Keep quiet for me and I’ll make sure you have some milk later. Caphice?” The kitten released another soft mewl in response. Cup placed the kitten into the pocket, smoothed out his jacket, and walked to the front door of the house.
Cup opened the door slowly and didn’t notice anyone upon entering. So far, so good. He started making his way towards the stairs. “Cup! There you are!” Cup froze. He recognized the voice, it was Holly.
Cuss! “Hey H.” He greeted casually and turned to where Holly was coming from the living room. From the noises in the kitchen Granny and Red were preparing dinner.
“Where did you get off to?” Holly asked, curiosity clear on her face.
“In town, just walking about. Keeping an ear open for any talk among people,” Cup responded evasively while trying to walk to the stairs, but Holly kept getting in the way.
“What kind of talk? More underground stuff happening?” Holly pulled at Cup’s arm, keeping him in place. Stars, this woman.
“Just checking for any news or somethin’, H. That’s all.” He tried to pull his arm from her grip.
“Well, come on, tell me then,” she insisted.
“Easy Hol, I’ll talk ‘bout it at dinner. Geez, now will you release the death grip on my cussing arm so I can get ready for dinner?” Cup grumped as he finally managed to pull his arm away.
“What kind of news? Cup!” Holly called after him, but he was already heading up the stairs.
The hallway leading to the bedrooms was empty and Cup was heading straight for Mugs’ and his room. A door opened. “Hey Cup!” called Bendy. Cup turned to see the demon and the wolf wave at him in greeting.
“Hey Bends. Hey Boris,” Cup replied as he placed his hand on the door handle.
“We missed you earlier today. We heard that you went into town today from Mugs,” Boris stated as he and Bendy walked up to Cup.
“Yeah, just wanted to get some air and listen for any news floatin’ about.” Cup opened the door to his room.
“What kind of news? Something we should worry about?” asked Bendy.
“Nah, you guys will know at dinner.” Cup heard a muffled mewl and stiffened.
“Hey, did you guys hear that?” Boris asked, his ears perked up. Stars, please don’t make that sound again.
“Me? I didn’t hear anything.” Cup said as he cracked his room door open.
“What is it Boris?” asked Bendy.
“I heard something. I’m not sure, it sounded muffled,” said Boris. He was looking up and down the hallway for the source of the noise.
“It’s probably nothing. Maybe someone movin’ around the house,” Cup suggested. As he opened the door to the room more, there was another muffled mewl. Starfallen dammit, not now!
“There it is again.” Boris’ ears perked again.
“Yeah, that time I heard something. What the cuss was that?” Bendy perked up too and looked around.
Cuss, Cuss, Cuss! “Well . . . I don’t know what you two are hearing but–“
“You seriously didn’t hear that? That actually sounded really near to us,” said Bendy, cutting Cup off.
“It probably came from downstairs. Cuss, I don’t know Bends,” Cup stated as he walked inside the room. He turned around to face the brothers. “All I know is that dinner’s almost ready, and I still need to get ready. I’ll meet you guys downstairs.” Cup shut the door to his room.
Bendy and Boris shared a look and started to walk to the stairs. Bendy had a skeptical look on his face. “What is it Bendy?” asked Boris.
“Hmmm. Cup is the most observant person I know. He had to have heard what we heard at the door,” replied Bendy.
“I don’t know Bendy. Maybe it was the house making noises?” Boris replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Meh, who knows?” Bendy replied, shrugging his shoulders as well. Still, he felt like Cup should have heard it, or rather, he feels like he did. So, what was up with that?
As soon as Cup heard Bendy and Boris walk away from the door, he breathed a sigh of relief. That was too cussing close . Cup walked over to his bed, pulled out the kitten from his pocket, and sat her on his bed. The kitten looked at him with her big green eyes and started looking around curiously. “You almost got me into cussing trouble, I hope you know that,” Cup stated, giving the little fluffball a scolding look. The kitten gave a small happy mewl as it started walking around the bed. Cup took off his jacket, placed it on the bed, and sat down next to it. He felt a nudge against his leg and saw that the kitten was rubbing against him and purring. Cup couldn’t help but smile. He imagined that she was showing her gratitude toward him. “You’re lucky you’re cute.” Cup started petting the kitten. “I got you in. Now I just need to get you some food without the others noticing.” Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside the door.
Ah cuss! Cup glanced around to figure out where to hide the kitten quickly. He grabbed his jacket again and covered the kitten. “Please be quiet, for the love of the moon and stars,” Cup muttered and heard the door open. He looked up to see Mugs walk into the room. Mugs saw Cup and immediately had a smile on his face.
“Cuppy! Didn’t know that you’d come home! How long have you been here?” Mugs asked as he stepped near his bed.
“I got back about ten minutes ago. What were you doing? I didn’t see you when I got back.” Cup kept a light hand on his jacket just to make sure the kitten wouldn’t move.
“I was helping Granny with preparing dinner. How was your walk around town?” Mugs asked.
“Not bad. Pretty quiet as far as I could tell. Listened to buzz from people. Sounds like we don’t have to worry ‘bout anything,” replied Cup with a smirk.
Mugs smiled. “Great! I’m sure the others will be happy to hear that. Did something happen though? You came back later than I expected.“
Cuss . He did tell Mugs that he was only going to take a couple of hours but grabbing the kitten did take some time. “Took longer than expected to get some information. Town didn’t seem to have a whole lot going on.”
“Are you sure? Seriously, did something happen while you were out there?” Mugs asked with concern.
“Mugs, don’t worry about it. It just took a while to—” A muffled mewl escaped from Cup’s jacket. Ah cuss. As he stared at Mugs, the look on Mugs’ face showed that he heard the noise too.
“What was that?” Mugs asked.
“What was what?” Cup replied, trying to play off the noise. Another muffled mewl sounded.
“That. What was that? That sounded like it came from your jacket,” Mugs insisted.
“What? Bro, you must be hearing things ‘cause I don’t hear cussin’ anything,” Cup said. Another mewl and a slight shift from under his jacket.
“Cup. What’s under your jacket?” Mugs asked, a stern questioning look on his face.
Starfallen dammit. Cup sighed. “Okay . . . I was a little sidetracked as I was comin’ back. Just keep your voice down.” Cup started to lift up his jacket.
“Sidetracked? What do you—” Mugs started but stopped as soon as Cup lifted his jacket to reveal a small orange kitten.
Mugs’ eyes went big the moment he saw the kitten. His brother looked at him, at the kitten, and then back at him. Mugs’ face went from shock to a humorous smile. “Cuppy . . .” Mugs muttered with a humorous tone.
“Mugs, don’t look at me like that,” Cup said, a blush starting to form on his cheeks.
“What look? It’s just the fact that my bro brought an animal home again and is wanting to keep it,” replied Mugs with a chuckle. Mugs sat on the bed and started to pet the kitten. Cup heard it purr at Mugs’ touch. Cup felt his face warm, he knew that he was blushing. Cussing hell. Why was he feeling this way? His brother saw him do this years ago, but they were kids. He just didn’t want the others to see him act like this. He was a starfallen tough guy, dammit, not a sunblazin’ soft schmuck.
“Stars, do the others know about this?” Mugs asked.
“No, and it’s going to stay that way,” Cup replied.
“But why? It’s not like the others will mind,” Mugs replied with confusion on his face.
“Because, one, I don’t think the doc would be happy ‘bout having more animals in the house,” Cup stated as he stood up from the bed and walked near the door just to listen for anyone coming near their room.
“So? We have the dandehogs in the house. Why is this kitten any different?” replied Mugs.
“The dandehogs manage to stay out of the way or stay cooped up in their little spots.” Cup gestured to Lil’ Monster’s spot in their room. Cuss! He’d forgotten about that dandehog. He would have to watch it to make sure that the starfallen dandehog doesn’t harm the kitten.
“Cup . . .”
“Two, if the others, especially the pipsqueak, finds out I did this. I’m not going to hear the cussing end of it,” Cup said, cutting him off.
“Cuppy, you’re being silly, you know that right?” chuckled Mugs with a bright look in his eyes.
“Yeah . . . well . . . What could I do? I couldn’t leave her out there!” Cup’s face became more flushed. Cuss! Why was he acting like this! It was ridiculous!
“And there’s nothing wrong with that. But, you need to tell the others about the kitten. You’re being silly keeping it hidden.” Mugs grabbed his scarf and created a little cushion for the kitten.
“No cussing way Mugs.” Cups huffed as he walked over to the bed and sat down again. “The kitten is going to stay hidden a’ight.”
“Cups, come o—” Mugs was cut off by a knock on their door.
“Who’s there?” Cup called out.
“It’s me, Cuppy! What the heck are you both doing? Dinner’s about to be served!” It was Holly’s voice.
Cussing Tree Princess . “We’ll both be down in a moment. Just give us a minute,” Cup called out. Mugs opened his mouth but Cup shook his head no. Mugs closed his mouth.
“Also, what the heck did you hear in town today? I want to know!” Holly called out again.
“For cuss sake, H! I said I was going to tell it at dinner! Can’t you be starfallen patient!” shouted Cup with irritation as he turned his head toward the door.
“Then, get your glass-brained self down here and tell it already!” shouted Holly.
“Cuss! Fine Tree Princess!” Cup shouted back.
“Fine bubble brains!” exclaimed Holly. Cup heard her stomp away from the door. That woman, I cussin’ swear. Cup turned back to look at Mugs and saw that his brother had an unamused look on his face. “What?” Cup asked.
“You are being silly. Just tell them about the kitten,” Mugs stated.
“I . . . Look can we deal with this later? We need to go eat dinner. Now, help me figure out a place to hide the kitten so no one can hear her,” sighed Cup, looking around the room for hiding spots.
“I don’t think you need to worry about hiding her.” Mugs chuckled.
“Why?” Cup turned towards his brother and Mugs pointed to his scarf. Cup looked at the scarf and saw the kitten was curled into a ball, fast asleep.
“It looks like she’ll be quiet for a while, ” said Mugs.
The kitten was deep asleep. Cup figured the kitten might be tired from being out on its own and all alone. She looked like she was going to be asleep for a while. It should be fine, right? Ah, cuss it. He decided to leave the kitten alone to sleep. “Well . . . let’s just go to dinner then.” Cup walked to the door.
“Cup, would you tell—” Mugs started after Cup.
“Mugs, I’m not going to say anything. Let’s just let the kitten sleep while we go eat.” Cup said firmly as he opened the door.
Before Mugs could even respond, Cup was already out the door. Mugs sighed and looked back at the kitten. His brother was acting ridiculous, the others wouldn’t have an issue with the kitten so why was he acting like this? Then again, he knew his brother didn’t like to be seen as soft. Cup has always made sure to never show that side of him. He only showed his rough and tough side to others. Mugs shook his head of the thought, closed the door to the room, and went to go catch up to Cup.
As anticipated, everyone was happy at the news that Cup shared about the status of the town. He certainly was. He could see that it lifted a tension ]from the others. Not that Nightmare Night would happen again, but everyone needed a break from the work they had been doing. After dinner, everyone discussed more ideas for what to do for Halloween. Cup’s mind started to wander back to the kitten. He hoped the kitten was still asleep, but everyone seemed to be downstairs so he figured no one should be up near the rooms. Now, he just had to figure out how to get some food up to his room without anyone noticing. He looked over at Mugs and saw he was talking to Boris. Cup thought about what his brother said about revealing the kitten to the others. There was no way he was going to let the others cussing know about this. He didn’t need any of them poking fun at him for being a “softie” any more than they do now. Cup helped clean around the kitchen just so he could grab some leftover meat from dinner and sneak it up to the room. He minced the meat down so the kitten could eat it then wrapped it in a handkerchief. After he made sure that everyone was busy talking with each other about the party, he made his way upstairs. As soon as he got to the door to his room, he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the cussing stars. He grabbed the door handle but felt someone grab his shoulder from behind.
“Cussing stars!” Cup exclaimed and whipped around to see it was Mugs. “Starfallen dammit Mugs! Don’t do that!” Cup chided as he tried to calm down.
“Oops, sorry.” Mug replied with a sheepish grin.
Cup sighed and opened the door to their room.
“Geez Cuppy, a little jumpy don’t ya think? All because of a kitten you snuck in,” Mugs said with an amused smirk.
Cup opened the door and turned around to face Mugs. “First of all, you snuck up on me. And second, I cannot have anyone seeing what I am doing,” Cup replied.
“Cup . . .” Mugs looked over Cup’s shoulder into the room.
“Mugs, I am not going to tell the others about the kitten and that’s that,” Cup fiercely whispered.
“Um . . . well . . . the others may or may not know already,” Mugs said as he kept his gaze towards their room. Cup noticed that Mugs’ eyes were wide.
“Why?” asked Cup suspiciously.
“Because the kitten is gone.” Mugs pointed into the room. Cup turned around and saw the kitten was no longer on Mugs’ scarf on the bed.
"Oh cuss!" Cup immediately walked into the room, set the handkerchief of meat on the nightstand, and checked under his bed for the kitten. Nothing. Checked under Mugs’ bed. Cussing nothing. He checked Lil’ Monster’s perch. Lil’ Monster growled at Cup as he got near and tried to nip at his fingers. “Oi! I don’t need any starfallen stuff from you right now! Capiche?” He firmly stated to the dandehog. The dandehog gave an irritated meep in response and curled back down into its spot. Still cussing nothing. The kitten was nowhere to be found in the room. Where did it cussing go!? “Did you come back to our room at some point, Mugs?” Cup looked towards his brother who was checking under his jacket.
“No. I have been downstairs ever since dinner. I know I closed the door before I followed you. Calm down Cup. I’m sure she didn’t get too far,” Mugs said as he glanced around.
“How the hell did she get out if the door was shut, Mugs?” Cup asked while gesturing to the door.
“Hey, you guys.” Cup jumped and turned sharply around to see Holly.
“Sweet cussing— H, don’t cussing do that!” Cup sighed, trying to regain his composure.
“Whoa, jumpy much? Are you two okay? I heard noises as I was coming upstairs and saw it was coming from your room.” Holly glanced around the room.
“Well, Cup and I were just—”
“Everything’s fine Tree Princess, we were just talking,” Cup said, cutting Mugs off.
“Okay. Just sounded like a major ruckus in here is all. Oh, if you’re worried that something is missing, I only touched your beds when I came in here earlier,” Holly told Cup.
“Wait what? You came in here earlier?” asked Cup.
“Well yeah. I’m sorry. I was looking for Snowball. I thought she might have snuck into your room, but she wasn’t there,” Holly said sheepishly.
“How long ago was that?” asked Cup.
“About fifteen minutes ago, why?” replied Holly. Oh cussing great! That kitten could be anywhere in the house! There might be a chance of her getting hurt if she hasn’t already. Cup didn’t say anything and walked out of the room and into the hallway. He took a quick glance and saw the other doors were closed. The kitten couldn’t go up the stairs since it was so small. That left down as the only direction for the kitten to go. Cup immediately started walking towards the stairs.
“What’s going on with glassbrains?” Holly asked Mugs.
“Well . . . He's just . . . I need to go after him. Sorry, Holly.” Mugs walked past Holly and followed Cup, leaving Holly with a confused expression on her face.
Cup got downstairs and looked around for the kitten but the others were still in the dining room. Cuss! He didn’t want them to know he was freaking out over a starfallen kitten! Starfallen dammit! This is getting ridiculous. He peeked into the study then checked the bathroom, but no signs of the kitten. By this time, Mugs came down the stairs. Mugs gave him an inquisitive look but Cup shook his head. Mugs tilted his head to gesture toward the dining room. Cup firmly shook his head no. Mugs gave an annoyed look in response. Cup headed to the kitchen next. Everyone was still talking over Halloween plans but Cup figured they wouldn’t notice him. He started opening the cabinets and noticed that Mugs had followed him.
“Cups, will you just tell them about the kitten? They can help us look for it.” Mugs watched him search.
“Shhh. No, we’re not sayin’ anything. Now help me look dammit,” Cup whispered. He opened the door to the oven. Not in there. Thank the sun and moon!
“Cups, come on, you’re being silly about–“
“Oi! What the hell are you two doing?” The boys turned to see Red walking into the kitchen.
“Oh Red, sorry, Cups and I were just looking—“
"And making sure everything was cleaned up properly after dinner. I thought I missed something earlier when I helped,” Cup replied, cutting Mugs off.
“Missed something? More like you were causing a ruckus from the noise you both were making.” Red had her hands on her hips and gave them both a hard stare.
“Yeah. What the heck are you two doing?” Bendy called out from the dining room.
“Exactly as I told Red here, Bends,” said Cup as he walked toward the dining room.
“You sure about that?” Bendy asked, giving Cup a questioning look.
“What? I can’t double-check my work pipsqueak?” Cup looked around the dining room as best he could for the kitten but didn’t notice anything resembling an orange fluff.
“You both making noise in the kitchen doesn’t sound like “double-checking”. And don’t call me that!” growled Bendy.
Cup wasn’t about to check under the table with everyone still around. He would have to check later. He hoped the kitten wasn’t getting stepped on. He knew that animals had good instincts but when it came to younger animals, some instincts were not strong yet. Cup glanced at Mugs who was on the other side of the table, staring at him, and did not have an amused expression on his face. Mugs tilted his head toward the others, his eyes full of intent. Cup gave Mugs a stern look. He still wasn’t going to say anything. Where the starfallen heck was this kitten! There are only so many places he could check, but everyone hanging around was not helping his search go smoothly. Could the kitten have gone outside? Cup didn’t think so but didn’t disregard the possibility.
“Oi, earth to glasshead! Did you hear me?” snapped Bendy. Cup jolted out of his thoughts and looked toward Bendy. Holly was standing beside Bendy, who also had a questioning look.
“Holly says you’re acting weird. You just took off, sayin’ nothing, after asking how long she was in your room. What the heck is going with you?” asked Bendy.
Cup noticed that everyone was growing curious about Bendy’s question. “Oh . . . that. It wasn’t important. Don’t worry ’bout it,” Cup said dismissively.
“That’s a load of moonrocks! Even since you came home, you’ve been acting weird,” remarked Holly.
“I’m fine H. Cussing hell,” Cup huffed and walked into the living room.
“Are you sure? You are acting strangely. Did something happen when you were out in town?” Cala asked with concern.
“Yeah Cups. Is there something else we should know about?” insisted Mugs.
Starfallen dammit Mugs. He was going to do this right cussing now? “You guys are thinkin’ about this too cussin’ much. I’m fine. I just walked around town, listened for the latest buzz, and that was cussing it.” Cup walked near the couch. He looked around for any signs of the kitten. Still nothing. Cussing hell.
“Well, you sure seem to be preoccupied with something. So, what the heck is it?” asked Bendy, he entered the living room with Boris beside him. Mugs also entered with Cala following. The rest were slowly coming into the living room. Don’t these starfallen people know the meaning of leaving someone alone? Then again, these people were starting to know him too cussing well. “Look Cuppy . . .”
“Mugs. I’m fine! Can’t y’all leave me in peace? Cussing hell!” snapped Cup as he sat down on the couch. He knew what Mugs wanted him to say but he wasn’t going to. No sunblazing way!
“We will glassbrains, when you tell us what’s going on.” Bendy gave Cup a hard look. Before Cup could even argue, he heard a loud mewl from behind his head.
Cup immediately leaned right, turned his head toward the noise, and saw the kitten was on top of the couch. Where in the sun, moon, and stars did she come from!? Was this animal a cussin’ zany or somethin’!? He glanced over to the others. They had very confused or shocked expressions on their faces. Well cuss .
“Uh . . . where did that kitten come from?” Holly asked, breaking the silence.
Cup immediately sat back up and faced the others. “What kitten are you seeing Tree Princess?” Cup deadpanned, trying to play off that they all saw the kitten.
“The kitten that is behind your head, glasshead,” replied Bendy.
Cuss, Cuss, Cuss! “I don’t know what you mean pipsqueak,” Cup said and tried to keep cool. Suddenly, he felt a weight on his right shoulder and the kitten rub against his neck. He could feel and hear the kitten purr as she rubbed against him.
“Oh for the love of stars, Cups! Will you just tell them about the kitten already?” Mugs exclaimed and started to chuckle.
Cup looked at Mugs with a shocked expression. Stafallen dammit Mugs! He knew that he was getting enjoyment out of this. He could feel his cheeks warm again.
“Cup, do you have something else to tell us dearie?” asked Granny with a curious smile.
Cup looked over everyone else in the room. Doc, Red, and Cala still had confused expressions. Boris and Granny shared curious smiles. Bendy and Holly both had smirks on their faces. Starfallen cussing sunblazin’ dammit. “There’s nothing to tell! This is cussing nothin’!” Cup yelled, pointing to the kitten.
“I don’t know, the kitten seems to know you,” Holly chuckled, trying to hide her smile. The kitten continued to rub against his neck.
“It looks more like you found a new kitten to bring along with you and keep,” laughed Bendy.
“Shut the cuss up pipsqueak! No one asked you!” Cup felt his cheeks get warmer. He knew that he was blushing now.
“Well, this does explain your weird behavior,” Holly said as she got closer to look at the kitten.
“Where did you find the lil’ guy?” Boris asked, he drew up next to Holly to look at the kitten.
Cup groaned and facepalmed himself. Holly heard mumbling from Cup but couldn’t make out his words. “What was that Cup?” asked Holly.
Cup sighed but kept his hand over his face. “I said that I cussing found her in a starfallen alleyway on my way back from town today!” he said loudly.
“He snuck her inside and was planning to keep her,” added Mugs.
Cup removed his hand from his face and looked right at Mugs. “Mugs!” shouted Cup. Mugs saw that his brother’s face was flushed red now.
Bendy snapped his fingers. “That explains the noise that Boris and I heard earlier. We heard a muffled noise near Cup and Mugs’ room but couldn’t figure out what it was,” said Bendy.
“Why did you sneak her inside though?” Cala asked, she was now standing next to Boris to look at the kitten as well.
“One, he didn’t think Oddswell would allow it. And two—” Mugs crept closer to Cup.
“Mugs!”
“He was worried what you all would think if you knew that he found and adopted a kitten.” Mugs continued with a smile on his face and placed a hand on Cup’s shoulder. Cup just lowered and placed his head into his hands to hide his flushed, red face.
“Now, why would you think something like that, dearie?” Granny asked.
Cup kept his head in his hands, his face warm. Cussing hell! Why!? Stars, this house is getting to me!
“It’s obvious. He’s wanting to play at being a tough guy when he really is a fluff heart!” Bendy laughed, a smile on his face.
Starfallen dammit. He was hating every second of this. Make it end already. “Shut the cuss up pipsqueak,” Cup snapped, still keeping his head down.
“Oh come on, Cups! We already knew that animals have a thing with ya. Sides, Mugs mentioned before that you would sneak small animals home as a kid,” replied Bendy.
“Wait really? He did that? Oh Cuppy,” chuckled Holly.
“I think it’s very sweet that you decided to bring her home with you,” Cala said.
Cup groaned but still didn’t lift his head. Mugs sighed, his brother was being the biggest goofball right now. Mugs knew what needed to be said to get Cup’s attention. “Doc, you don’t mind about all this do you?” Mugs asked. Cup still kept his head down. Cussing great. Now he had to hear what the starfallen doc was going to say. The others, aside from Cup, turned to face Oddswell for his reply.
“The house is pretty filled up as it is. However, I am not one for leaving a defenseless animal out on the street. With that being said, the kitten is welcome to stay,” replied Oddswell.
Cup felt relief wash over him. Cussing stars . Why the cuss was he acting like this? This was absurd. These starfallen people were having an effect on him. These cussors are making me a softie! Cup finally lifted his head. He was met with everyone staring at him with either amused expressions or gentle smiles. He still felt the warmth in his cheeks. “I told you that they weren’t going to mind bro,” said Mugs.
Cup stared at Mugs, who had a smile on his face. “Yeah . . . Well . . . cussing forget ‘bout it.” Cup muttered as he shifted his gaze away.
“Going to be hard to forget it since all this happened because you decided to sneak a kitten here,” laughed Bendy.
Cup was going to say something but stopped when felt the kitten shift on his shoulder. He glanced at the kitten and she started rubbing her head against his cheek. Cup couldn’t help but smile at the kitten. Ah, cuss it. No sense in arguing about it anymore. What’s done is cussing done.
“Does the kitten even have a name?” asked Boris.
“No. She had no tag when I found her.” Cup replied.
“Well, did you think of a name for her? Don’t think it would make sense to keep calling her just “the kitten,” Holly said.
He did think of a name on his way back. He thought it was a good name given the time of the year and he kept seeing the idea at every house he walked past. It was cussing silly now that he thought about it.
“Pumpkin . . . I named her Pumpkin,” muttered Cup. He felt his cheeks warm again.
“Pumpkin?’ asked Boris. Cala and Holly were both giggling. Bendy, Red, and Oddswell had amused smirks on their faces. Mugs and Granny were both still smiling. Starfallen dammit these people.
“Well, I think that’s a fitting name for the little one,” Granny said.
Cup heard a mewl from the kitten and glanced at Pumpkin. “Sounds like she agrees with the name,” remarked Bendy. Pumpkin mewled again, this time she seemed to put more effort into the mewl but it turned into a broken squeal. The others laughed at the sound. Cup also couldn’t help but laugh at Pumpkin’s attempt at a meow.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about plans for Halloween, interacting with Pumpkin, and thinking of costume ideas for her. They found a spare box along with a small pillow and blanket to create a bed for Pumpkin to reside in Cup and Mugs’ room.
“You acted like a total goof, ya know that right?” asked Mugs. Cup looked at his brother, then at Pumpkin. She was currently trying to nibble his fingers as he was trying to rub her belly while she was laying on her back.
“I acted with good reason. ‘Sides, it’s settled now ain’t it?” replied Cups as he looked at his brother with a smirk.
“Sure ya did Cuppy,” Mugs sighed, shaking his head with a smile.
Cup was happy nonetheless, despite the starfallen cussing stuff that happened. Did he act cussing ridiculous? Yes . . . Not that he was going to admit that. Was he a starfallen “softie”? Cuss no. He was a tough guy and they all knew it. The only thing that was different was bringing home this kitten to make it his own. She was now his Lil’ Pumpkin.