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Black.
All Dogday could see was black.
He felt cold.
He smelled nothing.
He could hear nothing.
He could taste nothing.
All 5 of his senses are sensing the same thing.
Nothing.
Then, he sits up, opening his eyes.
Then, he could see, feel, smell, hear, and taste everything.
Looking around, he could see he was in some sort of magical void, that was a deep indigo-blue at the top of the sky and slowly transitioned to a purplish, and then a white gradient at the floor.
There were a few waterfalls of sparkles from here to there.
Dogday rubs his head, trying to remember what just happened.
The last thing he could remember was running alongside an ocean cliffside through a storm, trying to get home.
All the others were ahead of him, hurrying to keep up with one another so none of them got lost.
Then Dogday tripped on something, screaming as he fell into the black waters below.
The others tried to reach down and catch him, but it was too late.
He was gone.
Now, Dogday was in this weird void.
He slowly gets up, looking around.
“Hello…?”
He didn’t expect anyone to answer… but someone did.
“Hello Dogday.”
Says a strangely familiar voice.
He turns around, seeing someone about his size, wearing a hooded robe that covers their face and holding a purple and black scythe.
Dogday jumps. “Who.. who are you…?”
The figure steps closer. “You know me, Dogday.”
Dogday thinks. Where had he heard that voice before…?
“I… I do…?” He says.
“I recognize your voice, but…”
He looks confused. “I don’t know from where…”
The figure sighs. “I figured…” it says.
Then it slowly takes off its hood, revealing its face.
Dogday gasps, his eyes going wide.
That’s where he’d recognized the voice from.
It was a voice he hadn’t heard and a face he hadn’t seen in almost 5 years.
“C-....Catnap….?”
The purple cat’s eyes go wide as well, tearing up.
“You DO remember me!”
He whispers happily.
Dogday tears up as well, running over and hugging him super tightly.
“Of course I remember you!” he says. “How could I ever forget my best friend…?”
Catnap puts down the scythe, hugging him back and purring.
Then Dogday realizes something.
“W-wait…”
He pulls back. “Catnap…” He says, looking in his eyes.
“I-I thought you died!” He says.
He still remembers the day Catnap died of scarlet fever.
It was the worst day of his life.
Catnap nods. “I did,” he says.
He gestures to Dogday. “And if you haven’t figured it out yet, so did you.”
Dogday’s mind goes blank and his heart drops. “R-really…?”
Catnap nods. “You didn’t survive the tumble off that cliff… unfortunately…”
Dogday stares into space.
“Wow…”
He says quietly.
Catnap nods. “It might take a while to adjust…”
Dogday nods. “Okay…”
Then he realizes something else.
“B-but Catnap…” he says, gesturing to the scythe. “Y-you’re a reaper now…?”
Catnap smiles and nods. “Indeed,” he says. “When I died, the last grim reaper offered me a chance to be her assistant.”
He adjusted his robe. “I said yes, and over time, I got promoted to full reaper once she decided to retire.”
He giggles. “So now I'm the new death.”
Dogday smiled a bit. “Well good for you.” he said.
He then frowns, stepping back a bit.
“But Catnap… I, I’m not ready to die yet!”
He says. “C-can’t you send me back…?”
Catnap thinks about this. “Hmm…” he says.
“Normally, I'm not allowed to give souls second chances… but…”
He pulls a little book out of nowhere and looks through it.
“Let’s see… near-death experiences… death rattles, aha! Second chances.” he says.
He clears his throat and starts to read.
“Each reaper is allowed one soul to give a second chance at life if said soul promises to become the reaper’s assistant upon their final death.” He reads. “Each reaper is only allowed ONE second chance card upon their service term as a reaper.”
Dogday picked up what he was putting down.
“Okay, I think I got it.” he says.
“Once I die again, hopefully in a long time…” he says. “I’m gonna become your assistant…? Like you were to the last reaper?”
Catnap nods. “Yep.” he says, putting the book away. “So, are you up for it?”
Dogday nods. “Absolutely.” he says with a smile.
“I’ll feel better knowing that if I die, you’ll be there waiting for me.”
Catnap smiles back, hugging him gently.
Dogday hugs back, his tail wagging.
“Okay then…” Catnap says, pulling out a silver card and handing it to him. “Alright, all you gotta do is rip this in half, and you’ll be on your way back to the realm of the living.”
Dogday looks at the card for a second, then looks back to Catnap with a soft smile.
“Thanks.”
He says gently before stepping a safe distance back, ripping the card in half.
Silver mist swirls around Dogday as Catnap waves goodbye to him, him waving back with a sad smile.
“Goodbye, Catnap, and thank you again…”
He says softly.
“You’re welcome.” Catnap says, teary-eyed.
“I’ll see you again one day.”
~~~
After seeing nothing but black again, Dogday hears some muffled voices, and the faint beeping of something.
When he opens his eyes, he sees some blobs of color standing near him, hearing someone gasp, followed by several others.
He sits up, opening his eyes and rubbing his head as his vision and hearing clear up.
He looks around, seeing he was in a hospital bed, surrounded by the worried and happy faces of his friends.
“DOGDAY!”
Bobby says, going to hug him gently. “You’re alive!”
Dogday smiles, hugging back. “Barely.” He whispers.
Crafty’s the next one to hug him, crying a little.
“W-we all thought you didn’t make it!”
Dogday hugs her softly. “Me either…” He said. “I don’t even know how I survived.”
Bubba smiles, gently patting his head. “It’s a miracle…”
After more hugs and encouraging words, the rest of the critters went home, assured that Dogday was alive and okay.
After they were all gone and Dogday was given some food, which he happily ate, he noticed something while he was eating.
On his finger, he was wearing a silver ring with a skull shaped amethyst.
It was beautiful, but where did it come from….? Dogday didn’t own a ring like this.
He shrugs it off.
‘Maybe Bobby made it for me as a death gift.’ He thinks.
That night, when Dogday falls asleep, he drifts away into dreamland again.
He finds himself in a sunny field, happily prancing around and chasing some butterflies.
Then suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.
“Hey Dogday…”
Dogday jumps, turning around.
Indeed, the voice matched the person he was seeing.
“C-catnap…?”
Dogday says.
Catnap smiles, waving.
Dogday steps forward.
“Is it… really you…?”
Catnap nods. “Yup, it’s me.” He says. “In the dream-ghost flesh.”
Dogday smiles, then goes to hug him.
“How… how are you here?”
Catnap hugs back, then gently takes Dogday’s hand. “Take a look.”
Dogday looks at his ring, seeing Catnap was wearing a matching one.
“Woah…”
He says, his eyes sparkling. “What does it mean?”
Catnap giggles. “Well, since you agreed to become my assistant upon death, it means that our souls are now linked,” he says. “Thus why I can enter and see you in your dreams.”
Dogday nods. “Ah, that makes sense.”
Catnap blushes, looking away.
“I-it’s kinda like we are engaged now…”
Dogday blushes. “W-WHAT?!”
Catnap’s eyes go wide.
“O-of course, it doesn’t HAVE to be like that if you don’t want it to be!” He says, nervous. “It can just be a platonic thing!”
Dogday processes this for a bit, looking at his ring.
He then looks Catnap in the eye.
“Well, what do YOU want it to be…?”
He says.
Catnap remains quiet for a minute, then gently takes Dogday’s hands.
“Dogday… when I was alive… I…”
He squeezes his eyes shut.
“I… I loved you… much more than just a friend.”
He sighs sadly. “But… I never got to tell you how I felt before I died…”
Dogday was shocked, his heart beating faster than a bass drum.
Catnap opened his eyes.
“So, if you wanted to be my lover… then I'd be happy to, but…”
He looks down. “If you don’t… our partnership can be a professional business thing and we can just remain friends.”
Dogday things for a minute or two before hugging Catnap again.
“You silly cat.” he says softly. “Of course I want to be with you.”
Catnap hugs back. “R-really…?”
Dogday nods. “Catnap… the day I lost you was the worst day of my life…”
He says. “Without you… my life just felt empty.”
He nuzzles him. “I had the same feelings as you, so I tried to move on after you died but… I just couldn’t…”
He smiles gently. “And then when I saw you again after I died for the first time… everything came flooding back…”
Catnap hugs him back, purring loudly.
He kisses his cheek. “So if being soul-linked to you means we can spend eternity together when I eventually die again, then yes, of course I'll be with you.”
Catnap hugs him tighter. “Oh Dogday… I love you so much…”
Dogday giggles. “I love you too.”
He pulls back to kiss Catnap on the lips, making him jump a bit but happily reciprocate.
After a few moments of bliss, they pull back, looking deeply into each other’s eyes.
“I’ll always see you in my dreams, right?” Dogday asks. “Since I can’t see you in the mortal realm.”
Catnap nods. “I’ll come see you as often as I can.” He says softly.
Dogday smiles softly.
“Thank you, Catnap.” He says.
“I’ll always wait for you.”
~Many many years later~
It had been a very long time since Dogday made that promise to Catnap, so many years ago.
He was now a very old and wise Dog, with greying fur and wrinkled skin, living out his days mostly by himself or with his many grandchildren.
Over the years, he’s adopted many young children and raised them like they were his own as a single father. And in turn, they had children when they were old enough, who then took care of him when he was no longer able to.
But all good things must come to an end, and his life was no exception.
So now he was lying in his bed, surrounded by his friends, children, and grandchildren.
Looking around, seeing all their crying faces and sad smiles, he almost wished he could live a little longer, but…
He knew his love was waiting for him on the other side.
His youngest granddaughter, Lily who was only 5, walked up to him.
“Grandpa?”
She asks.
He turns his head to her. “Mhm?”
Lily gently takes him by the hand. “Can you tell grandfather Catnap that we all love him, and thank him for giving you another chance?”
Dogday just smiles softly.
“I’m sure he already knows, little flower.”
Lily smiles gently. “Okay.” She says softly.
She steps a little closer.
“Goodbye grandpa… I love you.”
She says as tears fill her eyes.
Dogday softly smiles.
“I love you too, dear…”
He looks around at all of them again.
“All of you.”
And with that, his vision goes black.
~~~
Dogday feels a feeling that’s strangely familiar to him as he opens his eyes.
“Well hey there, look who finally decided to show up.”
Catnap’s voice says.
Dogday smiles, looking up.
Indeed, he had fallen directly into Catnap’s arms upon death.
“Well hello there, angel.”
He says softly.
Catnap smiles. “Hi.”
Dogday sits up, hugging him happily.
“I guess it’s over now, huh?”
Catnap nods. “Indeed.”
He helps him stand up.
“Take a look at yourself.”
Dogday looks down at his body.
He looked exactly the same as he did when he was younger… when he’d made that promise to Catnap.
“Wow, Cool!” He says. “I’m young and handsome again!”
Catnap giggles, “You were always handsome, sweetheart.”
Dogday’s tail wags happily as he kisses Catnap, probably the first real kiss they’d had.
After he pulls back, Catnap offers Dogday his hand, which he happily takes.
Hand in hand, the two walked off into the darkness, knowing that they would now be together until the end of eternity.