Chapter Text
He had no idea how it happened. When he woke up, early in the morning, he felt a sudden, weird sensation, that soon turned into pure horror when he got up from bed and... landed on the floor with four, soft paws.
It had to be a nightmare, he was sure. He was warily walking in the alleys of West Stave, struggling to not peek at his own reflection, the reflection of a black, limping cat, on the shop windows.
Sometimes, someone bent down, trying to pat him, but he hissed and ran away.
“How did I get into this... this?” he angrily thought. “I need help... I need...”
He reached the building where his flat was and looked up.
“Inej!”
He jumped on a balcony at the first floor, almost surprised by his own agility, then he pounced on a window at the second floor of the neighboring building. From that position, he could see the open window of his studio and, somehow, he could feel a presence inside. Her presence.
One more jump. A sudden pang of pain on his posterior leg.
He reached the stool, almost loosing his balance, and, with a loud “meow!” he clawed the frame, struggling not to fall.
Two tiny, gentle hands caught him, taking him inside the room.
“Hey, who are you, Little One?”
Kaz, at first, shivered, and struggled to get free but, when Inej gently put him on the floor, he realized he wasn't feeling too bad. His black, soft fur protected him a bit from direct physical touch.
The young woman knelt before him, smiling: “I've never seen you before. Your fur is soft and clean, you cannot be a stray. Where is your family?”
“Here!” he instinctively tried to scream, but all he managed to say was just “Meow!”
Inej gave him a gentle pat (it wasn't bad at all, he had to admit) and looked him closer.
“You know...” she murmured. “There's something familiar in your eyes...”
“Yes, Inej, yes, it's me, Kaz!” he wanted to scream. But he knew she couldn't understand him, so he had to find another way to tell her the truth.
He jumped on the desk, checking the documents he had collected the night before. Inej reached him.
“No, kitty, you can't play with Kaz's documents!”
She stretched her hands towards him, but she stopped when he started to tap his paw on his own signature, in the lower corner of the first document.
“What are you doing?” the girl frowned.
He tapped the signature again, then, his name, printed on another sheet. Before she could do anything, he jumped down the desk and reached his cane, that rested against the wall.
Inej slowly approached him: “What... what are you trying to tell me?”
He touched the cane, letting it fall to the floor. When Inej knelt to put it at its place, Kaz placed his paw on her hand. He shivered a bit, his pads weren't protected by his fur, but he tried to resist, counting to ten.
Inej's eyes widened. He took some moments to regularize his breath, then, he touched her hand again, for ten seconds.
She gasped, her free hand ran to cover her mouth.
“Saints...”
She approached her face to the feline's muzzle, her eyes two beautiful, brown gems.
“Kaz?”
The cat raised on his posterior legs and briefly touched her nose with his. Inej's jaw dropped, she tried to stand up but her legs were trembling, so she sat on the floor, shaking her head.
“Saints.... what happened to you?”
There was a moment, while they were sitting on the sofa in the little living room, waiting for the others to arrive, when Kaz almost thought it wasn't too bad, being a cat. He was crouched next to Inej, his head rested on her leg and, she sometimes gave him a gentle pat.
Maybe the reason was they rarely had moments like that... or maybe Inej had the power to make everything, even the worst situation, better.
Of course, the beautiful spell broke when their friends arrived.
“Hello, little sister,” Jesper smiled, showing the unmistakable pink and white bag from their favourite pastry shop. “We brought you waffles! Oooh, look, who's this lovely little cutie?”
“Uhm...” Inej hesitated, exchanging a quick glance with the cat. “Guys... we need to talk...”
“Are you okay? What happened?” Wylan asked.
“Where is Kaz?” Nina echoed.
Inej opened her mouth to reply, but she was distracted by Little Aenya, who, held in Matthias' arms, happily screamed: “Aunt Inej!”
“Look, love,” the Fjerdan said, in that weird, squeaky voice he had when he talked to his daughter. “Aunt Inej has a kitty!” he gently put her down. “Do you want to give the kitty a kiss?”
Before Kaz could do anything, Aenya ran to him, cupped his head with her little hands and pressed a kiss on his nose.
“Meow!” he protested, rubbing his muzzle with his paw.
“Oh, oh, the kitty is a bit sullen,” Nina laughed. “He's grumpy like Uncle Kaz.”
“Well...” Inej cleared her throat: “Actually... he is Kaz...”
Silence fell in the room.
Kaz sat up, angrily looking at his friends, one by one. Jesper took a step ahead: “Wha-what do you mean?”
“I know it's hard to believe, but... it's him. This cat is Kaz. I don't know why nor how he became a cat, but...”
Matthias knelt in front of him, frowning. His blue eyes widened: “Djel, his glance, his eyes! That demon attitude!”
“Kaz, how did it happened?” Wylan asked.
The cat raised his eyes to the ceiling. He had no idea how it happened and, if he had, he wouldn't have been able to explain.
“This is...” Nina sat next to Inej, sitting Aenya on her own lap. “Absurd. Impossible.”
“Improbable?” Jesper answered, imitating Nikolai's voice. He was trying to appear cheerful and relaxed, but Kaz could feel he was shocked and worried like the others.
“Does anyone know stories about... I don't know, people who have been turned into animals?” Wylan asked. “Maybe we can send a letter to Kuwei...”
“We can also try to analyze Kaz's actions yesterday to find a clue,” Jes suggested. “Kaz, one ' meow' for 'yes' and two for 'no', okay?”
The feline sighed inside, but he nodded. “Meow”.
“Fine. First of all, did you just wake up as a cat this morning?”
“Meow”.
“Did you meet anyone suspect, yesterday?” Inej asked. “Did you argue with anyone?”
“Meow meow”.
“Did you touch or eat something unusual?” Matthias echoed.
“Meow meow”.
“It will be harder than expected...” Nina sighed.
“Meow”.
Wylan opened his mouth to add something, when he looked at Jesper, frowning: “Hey, Jes, are you okay?”
The young sharpshooter struggled to hide a grin: “I... sorry, my mind just started to suggest me stuff like... Cat Brekker... Dirtypaws... the Bastard of the Purrel...”
The others widened their eyes, then, they all burst into laughs. All but Kaz.
Cat Brekker?
The situation was already a mess and Kaz's tolerance level had been exceeded by the moment he woke up with four paws. Cat Brekker was too much to bear.
With a furious meow he jumped down the sofa and climbed on Jesper's long leg, clawing and biting it.
“Hey, Kaz stop!” the Fabrikator said, jumping on his free leg and trying to get free from the angry feline. “Stop! Bad kitty! Bad kitty!”
Two huge, strong, warm hands caught the enraged ball of fur, parting him from Jesper's leg.
“Shhh, bad Demjin ,” Matthias murmured, visibly amused, blocking the feline's movements and gently pressing him against his large chest. Kaz furiously growled, but there was nothing he could do, except for waiting to be released. Somehow, the Fjerdan giant was managing to held him without touching his pads and, despite his rage, Kaz felt a pinch of gratitude for this.
“Bad kitty!” Aenya scolded him. “Don't hurt Uncle Jes!”
“I'm sure the kitty won't do it anymore, once he'll get free,” Inej said, slightly threatening. “Right, Kaz?”
The Bastard of the Barrel let out a meow that sounded like a half growl. It was going to be a very long day...