Chapter Text
It had been a quiet week… or at least that’s what Allister would say, if it weren’t for the fact that Baba Chops had been on his tail every single minute. And don’t get him wrong; he thinks she’s a reasonably good leader. It’s just that he appreciates her voice as much as he appreciates migraines.
—Hmp. —The reptile turned over in the thick swamp lake, pushing himself with his scaly tail.
"Allister, you’re too lazy, you piece of shitty lizard. We need you to gather firewood, and you can’t even do that, you lazy ass!"
That’s what Baba had yelled at him early that morning. And, to no one’s surprise, Allister couldn’t have cared less. He dove into his lake with all the dignity of a floating log.
“Let their fucking grandma gather their firewood,” he thought, closing his eyes.
Anyway, who gave a crap about his relationship with the other Nightmare critters? Well… honestly, he did dare to care a little. He didn’t usually hunt or attack, unlike his friends, so he didn’t get food on his own.
But it wasn’t long before he felt footsteps. Heavy ones, but not in the “I dodge neurons and my name is Simon” kind of way, so he lifted his gaze.
—Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me… —He muttered when he saw the purple figure of the cat. “Just what I needed.”
The cat was staring at him. Calm. Way too calm for his liking. A Smiling Critter. The worst kind of visitor, right after Simon—just to be clear.
—You must be pretty bold to dare show up around here. What do you want, huh? I’m busy.
(Doing nothing.)
Dry tone. Cold stare. Translation: Get lost.
The cat seemed to understand. Or not.
He opened his mouth, but it took him a few seconds to say anything.
—Uhh… I’m Catn-
—Let me guess. Catnap, right? —Allister didn’t even bother hiding the yawn that followed. He looked him up and down with a slow, lazy gaze. —Yeah, I know who you are.
Catnap tilted an ear, confused.
—Oh… so, you know me?
Allister nodded, disinterested. Still annoyed and bored. But even he could notice the other’s confusion and sighed.
“Does he even realize how dumb he looks like that?”
—Don’t think you’re special, cat. —He shrugged. —We’ve all heard about you guys. The Smiling Critters. All that cheesy crap, happy team, blah blah.
—Oh… —Catnap scratched the back of his neck, looking a little awkward. His eyes drifted to the lake–or rather, the barrel floating there. —You’re the one that smells like sandalwood, right?
Allister nodded.
—That’d be me. And if you plan to cross, use the buoy. That junk of yours is a floating coffin.
The feline glanced at the buoy… and ignored it.
—I think I’ll pass.
—What, am I scaring you? —The gator tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. —I don’t bite, you know.
Catnap huffed, resigned.
—I’m a cat. I can’t swim and I hate getting wet.
Allister’s dry laugh came fast.
—Brilliant choice of a place to walk, then. What are you doing by a lake?
Catnap opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. What the hell was he doing there? Good question.
—Whatever. —He grumbled. —Didn’t even know you came around here. Leave me alone.
And there he went, dragging the barrel toward himself like his life depended on it. Pride, more like.
—Yeah, good luck with that. —Allister rested his cheek on his claw, entertained as he watched the scene unfold.
Catnap got ready to mount the barrel, his tail wrapped around the edge, fur bristling.
One jump…
SPLASH!
Miraculously, he floated.
—Well, well. —Allister commented, amused by the cat’s precarious situation.
—Are you enjoying this? —Catnap growled, clinging to the barrel like it was his last breath.
—Yeah, a little. —Allister replied shamelessly. —You’re talented at not drowning… so far.
Catnap shot him a withering glare. He dipped his tail in the water, only to shake it off immediately.
—Cold..
—What a shame. —Allister smirked crookedly. —Although, your technique isn’t half bad, cat.
Catnap focused on paddling with his tail, ears pinned back, brow furrowed. Every sarcastic comment from the reptile irritated him.
“So this is how Dogday feels with me,” Catnap thought.
—You know. —Allister went on. —For a Smiling Critter, you’re not like your teammates.
Catnap blinked. The barrel wobbled.
—You aren’t either. —He replied without thinking. He was trying to focus, but that comment affected him more than he wanted to admit.
—Touché. —The gator smiled, genuine for the first time. —Most of mine are a pain. Exhausting.
—I get that. —Catnap sighed.— Sometimes I just want to be… calm. Just be myself without all that energy… without the expectations and–
Silence.
The barrel flipped.
A splash.
PLOP.
Catnap disappeared under the water.
Allister sat up suddenly as the barrel started wobbling. He watched Catnap fall straight into the water with a dramatic splash.
He frowned.
—Oh, for fuck’s sake… —He muttered.
He didn’t know what the hell possessed him, but before he could stop himself, he leaned over the murky water to see if the cat was okay.
Ripples broke the surface before Catnap shot up, coughing like he was about to hack up a lung. The cat was soaked, clinging to the damned treacherous barrel. (?)
Allister clicked his tongue.
—Hey, chill, cat! —Allister reached out toward him. —Stay still, don’t fuck it up more.
That was his way of comforting.
Catnap barely heard him, but when Allister offered his claw, he took it with the expression of someone who’d rather die than accept help… not like he had much choice now. Allister gripped him firmly and dragged him toward the shore without another word.
Once on land, he let go carefully.
—Jeez… nice save. —His voice was low, almost casual, like he hadn’t just pulled someone out of drowning.
Catnap was still panting, his purple fur plastered to his body, tail dripping. He frowned as he shook himself off, his fur puffing up comically.
“Fabulous”, Catnap thought, cursing internally.
The gator simply shrugged in apology.
—Tough luck, cat.
The other sighed, still trembling, but little by little, he relaxed.
—… Thanks… for helping me… uh… why?..
He hesitated.
—Forget it.
Allister glanced sideways at him, resting his elbows on his knees. He spoke then, a bit more thoughtfully.
—It’s not a big deal. —He brushed it off with a vague wave of his claw. —Wasn’t gonna let you drown just like that, I guess.
He shrugged, trying to dismiss his helpful act.
Catnap studied him in silence for a few seconds.
—No, seriously… thanks. —His tone was weird, like it was hard to admit.— I thought the most obvious thing for a Nightmare Critter to do would be to push me into the water at some point. And yet you…
He kept staring at him, waiting for an answer Allister wasn’t in the mood to give.
The gator let out a heavy sigh, turning his gaze toward the lake at Catnap’s question.
—Yeah, we... don’t usually do that —He said at last, not very enthusiastic.
An awkward silence hung between them. He could’ve left it at that, but after a thought and with words at the tip of his tongue, he decided to tell the truth.
—But I don’t know… there’s something about you that makes me curious. You’re not like the other Smiling Critters.
.
.
.
“Damn, is he not gonna say anything or—?”
—Could it be that deep down, the evil and fearsome Allister is… a good guy?
Allister felt a chill.
“Bastard cat, he’s getting back at me for teasing him earlier”, Allister grumbled to himself, feeling trapped.
His expression went from uncomfortable to annoyed in less than a second.
—Shut it, cat.
Great defense.
A defense that only made Catnap’s grin widen.
—Ahh, maybe Allister would rather be part of the Smiling Critters than his own group? —The feline used a playful tone, but it was no less irritating to Allister.
The gator rolled his eyes so hard they nearly flipped.
—Idiot… I don’t even know why I keep answering you.
The silence that followed was short but heavy. Catnap, maybe out of compassion (or because he didn’t want to push his luck), dropped the teasing. He sat beside him on the shore, both of them staring at the calm water.
—But really… —Said the cat, this time more serious and softly. —Thanks.
The smile he gave afterward was simple, with a tangible naturalness. It looked… so genuine.
Allister blinked.
Holy shit.
He felt a little overwhelmed by the tone shift but forced himself to recover quickly. After a moment of silence, he let out a small sigh.
—… You’re welcome, cat. —Finally said, his voice a little lower, almost sincere and confused.
They stayed like that for a while. Allister stared at the water seriously, trying not to look impressed.
“WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THAT SMILE!?”, he thought, frustrated.
Catnap was the first to break the silence as he noticed the sunset.
—Uh… I guess I better go, or Dogday will keep me up all week. —He huffed as he said it, though he didn’t sound annoyed.
He stood, shaking off the remaining dampness.
—It was nice, uhm… Allister?
The gator nodded, half distracted.
—Yeah, sure… See you around, I guess.
The alligator watched him leave, the mud sucking at his steps as the purple figure got smaller and smaller. And then, without meaning to, a thought crept into his mind.
It’s kind of nice being around him…
He brought a hand to his face.
—Shit.
He was definitely gonna need a lobotomy.
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N/A: Heeeeeey, what’s up? :^)
It’s been a while since I wrote, so I’m sorry if anyone reads this mess and finds typos or something. Thanks a lot if you dropped by!