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All he could feel was pain but still he kept moving. Even as his feet began to blister and bleed, even as his muscles ached and cramped from overuse he kept running. He ran fast and far with all that he had left, never once looking back until today. It had been a year since his confrontation with Red, a year since he had been chased from the lands he once called home, and a year since Cat had been murdered by their closest friend because of him.
Maybe that’s why he felt the need to do something as stupid as to return a year later for the anniversary of Cat’s death. Guilt for causing their death. Sure, even without helping him Cat probably would have been killed at some point for opposing Red. However, that doesn't erase the fact that Cat could have lived just a little bit longer. Knowing Cat, they could've used that extra time to prepare and escape like he did.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Goongus ran towards Cat’s cathedral. He had to be quick about this if he didn’t want to get caught by Red and their group. As Goongus ran he felt droplets of water fall onto his skin, it had started to rain. That was a good thing for him since the rain should help cover his scent. Making it harder for any dogs to track him. As the minutes passed the rain came down harder, turning the dry ground into a muddy mess.
Stepping on a slippery part of grass, Goongus fell to the ground hard. Landing on a leafy shrub. The brunette laid there for a second, dazed ,feeling nothing but the rain and the stinging of fresh scratches. Slowly, he pushed himself up and examined the arm he landed on. Seeing nothing but a few scratches and cuts Goongus wiped off some mud and started moving again. This time much slower to avoid falling again.
After several hours of walking through muddy fields in the rain, Goongus finally spotted the main SMP. Taking an invisibility potion out of his inventory, he brought it to his lips and downed it in one go. Feeling the potion take effect the brunette put the empty bottle in his inventory, and started walking in the direction of the Cathedral. Halfway there Goongus started to feel a slight itch on his scratched arm.
He brushed the feeling off as he continued walking, only for the itch to get worse by the minute. Unable to bear the itchiness any longer, Goongus moved his other hand to scratch it. Fingertips met dry skin as he began scratching his arm like a mad man. No matter how much the brunette scratched, the feeling of itchiness didn't go away if anything it seemed to worsen. Goongus scratched harder in an attempt to relieve himself. Only to stop upon feeling his skin scrape under his fingernails. Looking at his arm Goongus saw a nasty rash and cracked peeling skin.
“Poison Ivy…” Goongus mumbled, realizing what kind of shrub he fell on earlier. Immediately the brunette stopped scratching, biting the inside of his cheek to distract himself from the itch as he continued walking in the rain.
He began to shiver from the cold, as he made the last trek of his journey. A few feet away from the cathedral’s entrance, Goongus looked down at a big puddle. Seeing himself clearly for the first time in a long while. The brunette was so shocked by what he had become he had stopped moving. To put it plainly, he looked awful. Aside from the fact he looked like a wet cat from the rain, his skin was so dry it looked like scales. The rain water made his skin start to flake away. His lips were dried, and cracked. To the point where they blistered and peeled. His eyes were gaunt and his skin was so pale, you could hardly tell it was two different colors instead of one.
What would Cat think if they saw him now he wondered. All the time and effort they put into making sure he took care of himself was wasted. Although he could barely remember the sound of their voice, he could still faintly imagine them giving him a self care talk. He could imagine them telling him that everything would be fine. That he’d heal and return to normal in time.
Finally, Goongus managed to tear his gaze from the puddle. Continuing to walk to the Cathedral’s entrance. He pulled out another invisibility potion, taking a drink as he opened the cathedral’s door. Goongus felt his stomach lurch and heart drop at the sight that greeted him. He dropped the potion with a loud crash as he stared in shock and disgust. On the Cathedral’s floor lay Cat’s decaying corpse.
The sight filled him with a myriad of emotions. Regret for not returning sooner, disgust at Red and the others for not properly laying them to rest, anger for the lack of care for Cat, and guilt for being the one to cause this.
Slowly, Goongus moved towards Cat’s body dazed. Bending down he carefully pulled off their rusted armor to get a better view of the corpse’s state. It was a bit difficult since they had already gone through rigor mortis but the brunette managed. Goongus was by no means prepared to see what lied underneath the armor. Half of Cat’s face was nothing but bone with most of their hair gone. The rest of their body was in different stages of decay, one arm had maggots, the other perfectly fine other than being a bit bony. The right leg was nothing but muscle tissue, and the left from the toes to the lower thigh were nothing but bone.
Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Goongus carefully lifted Cat off the ground and walked out of the cathedral towards the cemetery. If the others couldn’t be bothered to bury Cat, then he would do it himself. Consequences of being caught be damned.