Chapter Text
Dutch asked Arthur to find Micah; regretfully, he agreed. He's walked around camp three times now with no trace of him. Arthur even asked everyone in camp if they'd seen him. No one saw him or knew if he left camp that day. “Great.” Arthur thought to himself.
There were a lot of hiding places in Shady Belle. Arthur spins around. He checked all the places that mangy cat liked to laze around. Micah wasn't sitting at the wood tables, watching gators at the shoreline of the swamp, sharpening his claws at the scout campfire, hiding in the old shack, smoking in the woods, or stalking behind Dutch's tent. Arthur's eyes searched the flat corale of the campsite, when he saw something that caught his attention. The big tree, he didn't check there.
Arthur has never seen Micah sleep, which is weird because cat people love sleeping. If there was a place for him to hide, it was there.
Arthur hummed to himself; he was sure Micah was in there. He propped two boxes at the base of the tree he looked into the branch basket in the center of the trunk.
Disappointingly there was no Micah. However, there were signs of Micah. A few empty tins of canned fish and salted meat casings littered the bowl of the tree like a rotten bird's nest. There were also some random coats and a beaten up, torn in half bedroll stuffed on the bottom. It was a ratty little den that desperately needed cleaning.
Arthur's nose flared. Gross. He climbed back down and took his boxes with him. Arthur didn't need Micah to know he found his lair.
Rubbing his temples, Arthur thought about what cats and cat people liked to do. He walked towards the shack again. “Hmm, oh I'm Micah, I'm a sour puss, I like harassing Arthur Morgan and Cain the dog, meow. -where would I be?”
In his cat mode Arthur wandered around again. “If I were Micah I'd be…” Arthur blinked, looking towards the swamp. Something caught Arthur's attention. By the narrow wooden walkways behind the house he saw something flash in the sun.
Arthur trudges over; it's a gar. The fish's bony scales caught the sun. It has a single human-like bite mark on its side. The teeth are too dull to puncture the gar’s scales.
There's spots where its scales had been torn off, making its military green back patchy. Definitely evidence of Micah.
The gar is still alive, it wriggled angrily as Arthur picked it up. “Sorry old buddy” Arthur said to the fish as he released it. The fish splashed loudly in the water, disappearing into the murky water. Micah must not have liked the taste of it, Arthur thought.
That was when an idea popped into his head. He rummaged around in his satchel and produced a wrapped bag of predator bait. He threw it in an empty cracker tin as well as half a can of salmon for good measure.
Arthur marches back to the center of camp.
Shkshkshkshkshkshk
The tin of soggy fishy meat sloshed loudly. The sound is loud enough for other camp members to hear and turn their heads.
“What is that Arthur?” Lenny asked, putting his book down.
“It's…. Well… I thought this might attract Micah,” Arthur said, realizing how ridiculous his idea was. “I thought he might be hungry…”
“Why would shaking food make him come?”
“I….”
Before Arthur can answer he sees him, Micah. From the sun rays of early morning light, Micah comes speed walking out of the bushes toward them. His ears are pointing straight up from holes in his hat like two mountains. Behind him is his yellow panther-like tail, swishing back and forth excitedly.
“Did Pearson go to the store?” Micah panted, now standing between them.
“No he didn't.” Arthur answered.
“Oh- Well then what was-” Micah saw the tin in Arthur's hand.
“Here. Just take it.”
Micah snatches the biscuit tin and opens it. Arthur and Lenny can see drool on his lower lip, making it shiny. When the lid pops open, Micah's eager expression turns dour. “What's that?”
“Oh, it's canned salmon and… uh… predator bait” Arthur explained.
“Predator bait made of…?”
“Raspberries”
Micah looked at him expectantly.
“And catfish--”
Micah's face wrinkled. He dropped the tin onto the ground. The contents sadly sloshed out. The grass is wet with fish juice. “Ugh… catfish…” He cringed, turning to leave.
Arthur blinked. When Micah's back was to him and Lenny, he spoke up. “Wait, wait, before you go, Dutch wanted me to find you. -And I have the other half of the salmon. You can have it if you come to Dutch with me.”
Micah sniffed, his tail flicked in annoyance. “No… I've lost my appetite. Find me later, Morgan. I’ve got business to attend to.”
Arthur just looked at Lenny. Lenny shrugged his shoulders not believing the man either. Arthur shook his head then quickly grabbed Micah.
The catman (catboy) hissed angrily. Wrapping his arms around Micah's upper arms and chest, Arthur was able to prevent himself from being mauled by Micah's claws.
“No you don't! We're going to Dutch!” Arthur growled.
“You bastard, Morgan!” Micah yowled, ears pressed flat on his skull.
“Calm down Mr. Bell!” Lenny cried.
“Shut up! Get off of me!!”
Unfortunately for Micah, Arthur was stronger than him. Arthur and him awkwardly shuffle walked with the other man in his arms toward Dutch's tent. Occasionally Micah would whip his head back to try to break Arthur's nose.
“Stay still you bastard! I- I'll tell Pearson and Dutch to stop buying fish if you keep this up!”
Micah thrashed wildly and then stilled. Arthur wasn't serious… was he?
“If you stay calm, I'll give you the rest of the tin and one of my unopened ones.”
Micah's ears slowly lifted off his head as he processed his deal. “Really?”
“Yes, you moron.”
“Okay”
“Thank God.” Arthur lets go of Micah. They walk the rest of the way without problem.
When the meeting with Dutch was adjourned, the second Arthur stepped out of the tent Micah was blocking him. As promised he gave Micah his cans of fish.
Arthur shielded his eyes. Micah started slurping the meat out of the tin like he hadn't eaten in days. When he was done, he threw the tin on the ground, then opened the second can. Arthur sidestepped him and left.
Unfortunately with his deal, Arthur didn't realize it, but Micah now saw him as a target. He saw Arthur as a provider of food. The next morning Micah shook Arthur awake asking him if he had any more tins of salmon left.