Chapter Text
Darkness fell over the Boon County. The moon is high in the sky, which means It's time for a hunt. Fenrir's paws silently stomped against the ground as he walked through an alley, avoiding shattered glass and any other cats he saw. He had always considered himself a lone wolf, someone who was all by himself, preferred solitude, and could do everything by himself, without a group.
He wasn't that strong or swift enough to chase the rats like all the cats do. Being honest, he was quite ashamed for how physically weak he was, but he would never admit it or search for help. Instead, he gone smart. He invented his own way of hunting, where he wouldn't need to pursue the rats all over the street.
Near junkyard, Fenrir was lucky to find old bear traps and decided to try using them for hunting, without hoping for the best, but to his surprise the bear traps showed themselves to be far more useful than he thought, and since then, he used them on the daily basis. With them, all the cat needed was tall grass to lie low and patience. Lots of it.
Fenrir set and masked his traps around the alley. To attract rats, he rummaged through the piles of trash to find food scraps and place them in the middle of the sharp toothed mechanisms. Once his perfect 'mine field' was ready, all Fenrir had to do was hide in the grass, his patched fur making a perfect camouflage, and wait for the prey to catch itself.
Fenrir got in the tall grass and pressed his body down to the ground, a pleased smirk appearing on his face. How the saying goes?… "Work smarter, not harder." That was the motto he proudly worn. With anticipation, he awaited for the signal of the bear trap triggering and closing around his game, ears perked up and twitching. Any moment now, any second… his claws digged in the soil as-
Yes! That was it, the trap was triggered. His first catch and meal for tonight. Fenrir leaped out of the tall grass with a low-pitched meow, landing on his paws and looking down… only to see a scarred cat, whose paw got stuck in the bear trap.
"Hey, you!" The trapped cat with red fur and a metal chain around his neck growled as he noticed him, but Fenrir barely listened as his ears pressed back against his head in disappointment. He was so excited, and for what?
"You hear me?!" The cat repeated, pulling Fenrir out of his thoughts and making him actually pay attention to this unlucky feline. "Is this your paws doing?" The scarred cat asked as he held up his trapped paw, wincing in pain.
"Yes." Fenrir replied with a deadpan expression on his face, rolling his eye. "Those bear traps are mine." The answer only seemed to enrage the trapped cat, as his short red fur stood up on the ends and he arched his back. "Then could you be so kind and get it off me!" The cat hissed, scowling at Fenrir.
With a grumble, Fenrir came up closer to the cat and reached forward with his paws to unlock the trap. The red cat winced as his paws neared him, and Fenrir had to let out a sigh before continuing. "Don't move."
Fenrir's paws pushed down on the two level springs on opposite sides of the trap, making the metal jaws open widely enough for the scarred cat to pull his paw out. As the cat was free, he backed down with a hiss and began to lick his injured paw while glancing sideways at Fenrir.
"Bear traps, huh? What an interesting way to hunt… I have never seen you in the alley before." The scarred cat spoke, sitting up straight.
"Good. It means I'm good at hiding" Fenrir replied, taking an equally regal sitting position in front of him.
"Hiding?" The red cat sneered with a wide smile. "What kind of cat hides like a prey when he is a predator?"
Fenrir huffed, lifting up his chin pridefully. "Careful, watchful one. The kind who doesn't get caught in a bear trap and immobilized like some kind of… rodent."
The scarred cat flicked an ear before furrowing his eyebrows and leaning forward, arching his back again. "Are you comparing me to a rat?" The cat growled, whipping his tail.
Fenrir scoffed, turning his head away. "If I were a little more desperate for food, I'd take you instead of a rat for dinner." It was a mere threat, nothing serious, yet the scarred cat seemed to take it seriously, judging by how his scowl instantly vanished.
The red cat's expression turned dumbfounded, and he immediately straightened his posture and shook his head. "Wait, we can go without turning to cannibalism… Both of us are hungry, angry cats. What if we combined our strengths to make sure both of us won't starve tonight, hm? What do you say, uhh…"
"Fenrir." One-eyed cat quickly prompted.
"Fenrir. I'm Magnus. So, let's team up?" Magnus suggested, holding his paw out.
Fenrir felt conflicted. He was a lone wolf by nature. He didn't need anyone's help! He had his bear traps to catch rats, even though it could take hours, or, if he was really unlucky, have no catch at all, and then he would had to suffer the nagging pain of an empty stomach… Maybe he could try the so-called 'team work', as he got an opportunity.
"Fine." Fenrir replied after a short pause, holding up his paw. "Let's team up… for tonight."
Magnus' ears perked up at Fenrir's agreement, and a wide toothy grin appeared on his face. "Great! We'll whack all the rats on this street!" Magnus' paw gripped Fenrir's tightly. Too tightly for his own comfort, but thankfully, it lasted only a few seconds, and Magnus pulled away and walked past him.
"Follow me, Fenrir. I know these streets like my own scars and know where the best game in the whole county!"
"Here." Magnus stopped by a tall wooden fence, cluttered with front-load dumpster, empty cardboard boxes, and trash, and in the blink of an eye, darted forward, jumping on the tall dumpster and then on the fence. He looked down at Fenrir, flicking his tail. "Get on. There are fatter rats over the fence."
"Easier said than done." Thought Fenrir with a grumble, lowering his body and wiggling before jumping on one of the boxes, then on the tall container, but instead of landing on the top of it like Magnus did he only got his front paws on the lid. Fenrir pulled himself up with the help of his hind legs and, as he was on the top, bent over, breathing heavily.
Magnus watched the clumsy display with amusement and slight irritation. How hard can jumping for someone be? They're cats, they supposed to be dexterous. Maybe this is why Fenrir uses those nasty bear traps instead of hunting normally? "Catch up." Magnus called down and jumped off the fence to the other side of the alley, looking around.
As Fenrir joined Magnus on the other side, the scarred cat couldn't miss an opportunity to poke at his newfound ally, smirking and glancing back at the one-eyed cat. "Don't tell me you're already feeling exhausted." Magnus teased, bumping Fenrir with his shoulder. "We didn't even begin."
Fenrir looked down and shook his head, deciding to change the topic. He didn't wanted to admit that getting over the fence has actually taken a lot of his energy. "And… where are those 'fatter rats' you mentioned?"
Magnus snorted, walking around Fenrir and bumping him on the opposite shoulder. "What? You expect them to come out and bow before our might? As if we were the kings of cats?"
Magnus walked in front of Fenrir with a cackle and then leaned into him. "They're hiding, and we will make them leave their cozy hideouts. And this is how we will do it." Magnus sat back and pulled Fenrir closer, huddling up as he spoke in low whisper. "Let's try this: You set your traps, and I will drive the rats right into them."
The plan sounded… doubtful. Make the rats run right into the traps? It was his passive way of hunting, but accelerated. Technically, it could work, but there were one thing that bothered him. "And if you'll forget where the traps are?"
"I won't!" Magnus protested, and then added, flicking an ear. "I'll try not to. You have to believe in me."
Well, if he had to. With a nod, Fenrir pulled away to inspect the territory and chose the spots to place his bear traps. As he placed each of them, Magnus followed him to remember where are they… and get some hints from Fenrir on how to locate them.
As the scene was set, Fenrir, as usual, found a patch of tall grass to hide in, but now his eye was focused on Magnus as he was walking around, wrecking anything he sees with low-pitched meows.
As Magnus knocked over a trash bin, he spilled out garbage, and out of the pile, a gray rat darted out with a squeak. Magnus' ears perked up, and with a hiss he bolted right after it.
Engrossed in the thrill of hunt, he nearly forgot about the set traps, and only remembered about them in the back of his mind, changing the objective of catching the rat to leading it into them.
He changed the rat's direction by blocking its way with his paw, and as he altered it once again, the rat ran, and suddenly, the metal jaws snapped around it, taking away its life in an instant.
Magnus halted in front of the triggered trap, huffing and puffing as he stared down at the pierced bloody body. At the same time, Fenrir peeked out of the bushes, ears perked up and nose twitching at the smell of blood. Their plan was actually working!
"Hey, looks like our plan is beginning to bear the fruit." Fenrir spoke up with a smile, making Magnus sharply turn his head to him, but instead of seeing the shared joy he was met with a scowl.
"Sit back down!" Magnus roughly commanded, and it was so sudden that it made Fenrir press his ears back against his head and instantly lay low, watching as Magnus continued on his destruction spree. Fenrir had to admit, that was… terrifying, and thank the creator that he was with this cat and not against him.
Magnus only calmed down when all the traps were triggered. He slowly approached the tall grass and moved it away with a paw to reveal Fenrir. He looked down at the one-eyed cat with a small smirk, nodding behind himself.
"There is nothing more for us to hunt here. Come out, have a bite, and then we'll be moving further." Magnus stepped back and walked to one of the four bear traps, opening it to get the fresh meat out.
"Further?" Fenrir asked, flicking an ear as he sat next to Magnus, while the scarred cat began to feast, making grotesque noises as he chewed.
"Well, duh." Magnus replied, pulling back from the rat to glance at Fenrir and licking the blood off his maw. "Will you feel sated from only two rats? Me - definitely not."
Fenrir wasn't sure himself. He didn't get to choose how many rats he would eat. It all depended on how lucky he was. Sometimes, it was more than two, sometimes less. But if he had a choice in the matter? "No. I wouldn't." Fenrir replied as he walked off to a nearby trap, getting the rat out for himself.
Magnus nodded approvingly. "Exactly. So, once we are done here, we will move a different alley. The rats there are no worse than the ones we have just caught." Magnus moved to the next trap without a second thought, while his words made Fenrir stop mid-bite.
"We." Who would have thought that a simple "we" would make his heart clench tightly. Without dwelling further on it, Fenrir continued to eat to catch up with Magnus, and as they were done, collected his bear traps and followed after him in the next alley.
All the other cats of the county could hear distant furious meowing and harsh slamming of metal jaws as Fenrir and Magnus progressed with their hunt, proving the success of their teamwork with each caught and eaten rat.
The hunt came to an end only four more alleys later. Only then the cats felt like they had enough. Fenrir didn't simply felt sated. He felt full for all nine lives ahead. Magnus seemed to be sharing the same opinion as he imposingly reclined on his back next to Fenrir, stretching with a lazy groan.
"It was the most successful hunt of my life. Can't remember the last time I ate this much in one evening." Magnus turned his head to Fenrir, grinning. "Guess who deserves the credit?" Without waiting for an answer, Magnus' smile grew wider and he patted Fenrir on the shoulder. "You. You do."
Fenrir snorted and rolled his eye. "Don't exaggerate it… It was the most successful hunt for me as well."
"Maybe we should go out together like this more often?… To hunt, I mean." Magnus flicked an ear as he felt uncomfortable all of sudden, glancing away in embarrassment. "Since we're making such a great team and all."
Fenrir pulled himself up to glance at Magnus and smirked, lying back down and looking up at the sky. "Why not. We should repeat it some time."
Magnus' ears perked up in surprise at Fenrir's fast agreement, but his words also helped him to fell less awkward. With a nod, Magnus settled comfortably on his back again and closed his eyes.
Fenrir looked at Magnus one last time before turning his gaze back to the sky. He still considered himself a lone wolf, but it happens that sometimes even the loners like him could use some company once in a while.