Work Text:
The sun was still shining quite brightly at this time of the year: some trees’ leaves’ colours were already fading, but warm sunbeams still warmed the skin.
Freshmen of Night Raven College were mostly studying basics — the history of magic, simple spellcasting and brewing of the most common potions. Some lessons were striking, lifting Floyd’s mood and getting him into his hyperfocus state — then he would achieve some great results and really impress his teachers. But, on the other hand, some lessons were totally boring (or at least seemed like ones due to Floyd's another one mood swing). And today was exactly such a lesson.
Floyd wasn't a fan of magic history on his best day, but today's lesson couldn't suck more. He saw the opportunity to slack off and gratefully took it. Moreover, the weather was just amazing — warm and sunny, perfect for napping in the college courtyard. The tree was a great shield against direct sunlight, since his skin still wasn’t accustomed to the heat after spending so many years in the deep sea. His eyes slowly closed, and his mind began to think on its own — a whirlwind of thoughts wasn't something he could stop even if he really wanted (and then teachers would scold him for zoning out! How can't they just get him?). He couldn't believe it was only 2 months since he'd come to land — felt like an eternity, for sure. Floyd loved it way more here — so many things were catching his interest, and he felt way less bored than at home. It was like he had already discovered every interesting corner or creature of the Coral Sea…
He might have fallen asleep just like that if it weren't for the soft, high-pitched sound that caught his sensitive ears. Floyd thought he might ignore it, but it repeated louder this time — and he simply could not help but get curious. How could he ignore something interesting and intriguing!
Floyd opened his eyes and looked around, though he hadn't seen anyone – or anything – that might be the source of the sound… Then he heard it again and identified it as something coming from the empty exterior hallway but still couldn't see what was being so loud and begging.
He got up from the ground and approached the hallway — and then he saw it.
A small ball of fur!
He remembered the coaching that he, as well as Jade and Azul, got in Land Boot Camp. Before enrolling in Night Raven College directly, they were taking a month of studying there, where they were taught a couple of different things essentially important for living on land: such as walking, breathing, cooking, and of course the whole diversity of land's animals! The camp even arranged the whole visit to the zoo, where future Octavinelle boys could “test” their new knowledge in practice and try to distinguish all different kinds of animals. But at the end of the day, they messed up most of them, calling every furry animal on four legs “a dog”.
Now, when Floyd looks at this little adorable creature, it truly could be a dog! It's fluffy, has four legs and a thin tail. The whiskers on both cheeks of the muzzle were long and translucent and reminded him of a catfish he had seen back home… Wait, talking about catfish!
“Meow,” — this creature made a sound again, and Floyd was finally enlightened by knowledge that stood way higher on the pedestal than that ancient spell that he mastered on a random Tuesday.
“Ah, it must be a cat, it's meowing! It's not a dog. Oh, Jade absolutely wouldn't figure it out as quickly as me, hehe.”
Floyd crouched down and approached kitty gently, not wanting to scare this little thing. This small animal is so cute he might even give it a nickname!
“Catfish will you be. Why are you meowing so loudly on such a sunny morning? Aren't you happy to swim in sunbeams like me?”
Cat remained silent and left Floyd without an answer — how rude. The teen tried reaching out to this ginger fur ball but heard another new sound to him: hissing. The next creature's move was to release its claws and lightly scratch quickly-taken away-after hand.
“Ouch, you're naughty!” — Floyd pressed the skin in the area of the scratch to his lips, hissing quietly and licking it then. In a few days, when he will recall the events of this day, he will find his cat-like behavior boundlessly amusing.
But for now his eyes were focused on the little thing that attacked him, but didn't run away, though. When something captures his interest, nothing else will occupy his mind — of course, till he's bored.
What could be the reason behind such behaviour? Though they learnt different animals back in the Land Boot Camp, they didn't dig deeply into their behaviour habits; and the college's animal linguistics course hasn’t started yet. So, due to a lack of land knowledge, Floyd started recalling his hometown, the Coral Sea. What marine creatures were back then?
He hummed, being buried deeply in his reflections, when the thought popped in his mind.
“Ah! You must be hungry, aren't you? I also get moody on an empty stomach…”
Floyd rummaged through the pockets on his jacket, ending up finding nothing but a few thaumarks and his student card. He sighed in frustration and thought about what he could do, or, more clearly stating, where he could get something to eat for the cat? What does it even eat?! He could just go to the cafeteria, but he was afraid that when he returned here the kitty would already vanish in the air.
No matter how hard he thought, no greater idea came to his mind. He gave up and sighed, standing up by straightening his long legs — he didn't get shaky but still got the phantom feeling that he might.
“Listed here, Catfish. I swear to all Sevens that I will return as soon as possible and we will share the meal! Imma just go to the cafeteria so don't disappear," — he pointed a finger at the kitty, as if it could understand every word. Animal linguistics would help him so much right now — why must all interesting subjects start later? It sucks in his view.
***
It really didn't take him long to grab food in the cafeteria. It wasn't entirely empty, but way less crowded than usual: it wasn't lunchtime yet, so mostly there were upperclassmen without morning classes who were taking their so-long-desired late breakfasts. Why must the schedule even be more flexible for them? This place clearly has discrimination towards freshmen!
Taking food wasn't a hard job, though some guy gifted Floyd with the most weirded out look on their face when a teen wrapped a piece of fish in a napkin and put it in his jacket's pocket.
Now Floyd returned to the empty hallway in the courtyard and didn't see the kitty anywhere…. Ah, that sucks.
But he won't give up so easily. Floyd sat on the ground, leaning against a cold wall. He placed his own plastic plate with an oily fish in herbs here too, and took the piece of fish from his pocket. He noticed how its cloth got kinda messed up with an oil stain. It didn't really bother him, at least for now, but he could already hear Azul's voice nagging at his ear in a dramatic manner: “Ah, Floyd, we came to land from the sea and need to remain a great image! Getting our reputation stained just like this jacket can affect us in future, and I can't allow it,” (Floyd couldn't grasp all of the big plans that Azul was already building for himself and twins included, but it was interesting to observe. And till he remains entertained by his octo-friend? He's happy to indulge in it).
He left a fish piece beside him and relaxed, taking his own time nabbing on grilled fish. Herbs really were changing the taste of it — though he never minded eating raw fish back home, the land cookers really knew their job.
He almost got bored chewing on his meal when his ears picked up the sound of small, soft steps. One short "meow" was followed by licking sounds — Floyd turned his head and saw that kitty returned to eat the food he brought him! What a smart creature; it really hunted its prey by its own cuteness…
“Ah, Catfish, I was right! I'm glad you like fish just like I do,” — Floyd smiled softly and couldn't help but adore the way such a small, helpless at first sight creature could chew fish no worse than him with sharp, pointed fangs.
They both quickly finished their improvised meal; the first period of classes would end soon, and a bunch of students would fill the courtyard. The next lesson is physical education and Floyd felt like going there — learning how to fly was definitely a unique experience for a newly arrived merman, and Floyd liked the feeling of hanging on the broom upside down in the air. He probably would fall several more times, again and again, but it didn't scare him, unlike Azul, who was scared to even float right above the ground (though he does not admit it, obviously).
Floyd was already going to get up and take a quick trip to his Octavinelle dorm to exchange into his sports uniform, but once more was disturbed by an absolutely new sound caught by his ear.
Kitty, who had finished the whole fish, now came closer to Floyd and was rubbing its head against his lap. This thing was vibrating, he could tell! What a weird creation. It reminded him of damsel fish and the sounds they made, which he had met once or twice in the southern parts of Coral Sea when he was wandering around there as a kid. Well, judging by the cat's behaviour, it seemed happy now, and this “purring” thing had some kind of soothing effect on him.
“Catfish, now I gotta go, but you better be here again tomorrow — I will treat you with something.”
And like this, he went away.
***
That day’s evening Floyd spent completely in the library — Jade didn't ask him anything, assuming that Floyd may be wanting to catch up with what he missed on previous lessons; but what Jade didn't know was that, in fact, Floyd was rummaging through all encyclopedias and zoology textbooks he could find here. In one of the thickest books he found, there was a chapter called “Felidae family, also known as cats.” Ah, it must be it! There were so many pictures of big fluffy animals, one more impressive than the other: tiger, cougar, lynx… oh, the lion — it looks kinda similar to the kitty he saw earlier! Soft-looking ginger fur, thin tail and hungry stare. Yeah, it must be it. The kitty is so small now, but is it going to grow into such a big animal he once saw in the zoo? Fabulous! Oh, but to grow big and healthy, it must eat just like this — Floyd could already imagine how much food he would have to feed this greedy little thing!
His mind was swirling with a jumble of thoughts. Now, when he thinks about it, he never saw such a big animal, or any animal for that matter besides horses in a stable on the campus territory. How come such a huge animal as a lion ended up here, even if it's so small now? It’s just a baby now, but it will definitely become so dangerous and frightening in future. But little risk was what really intrigued Floyd — if he managed to befriend this little thing now when it's still a baby, it won’t hurt him in future! And if he gets a whole lion as a pet, he could even ride it, which sounded way more exciting than today’s flight practice!
Oh, he sees his future and it's bright. Now when he’s so excited he won’t back down from this idea — he’s going to take good care of Catfish and make sure it grows big and strong.
***
A month has passed. Now all the leaves finally faded and turned brown and orange instead; some trees were starting “getting bald”, as Floyd described it.
This whole time he would visit the hallway in the courtyard and bring kitty the food from the cafeteria. Eventually he realised what the cat eats and what not, and on the days when there was nothing to put in the kitty's plate, he would go to Sam’s Mystery Shop and buy some cat food. But what Catfish loved the most was the fish they shared the very first day! They really had a lot in between. Floyd can’t help but wonder if kitty will love takoyaki as much as him too…
But though their friendship bond grew stronger with weeks, kitty wasn’t really growing up. Well, no, of course, obviously he grew up a little: its sides had gotten thicker, the kitty seemed slightly bigger in general, but it was not nearly as big as a lion in textbook pictures.
Floyd couldn’t help but was getting more and more worried every day. What if he treats the cat somehow poorly, or he does something wrong? Perhaps he should have brought him some other food.… He also couldn’t stand the nagging annoyance in his chest: he grew fond of the small future lion, but was getting frustrated with it not matching his previous expectations.
At first he thought to show the kitty to the nurse in the school infirmary, but then gave up on this idea — bringing a cat who lives on the streets of college in the same room with ill and injured students sounded like something he could have gotten scolded for hard enough. And if he could, he would like to avoid it (he still remembers how he was forced to clean up the laboratory after his potion exploded at their first lesson afterwards… and he didn't like it in the slightest).
But he desperately needed to figure out what’s wrong with his cat and new friend, and why it’s not growing!
That’s why he ended up in the library again, but for a whole different reason. In front of him was the open encyclopedia with pictures of lions at different milestones of their life; and on his knees was the cat hidden under his jacket. From what he had noticed, it was usually quiet when it was fed, so now he was waiting till the moment when there was no one except him here; then he would bring the cat out into the light and compare it meticulously to the pictures in the book.
Floyd was impatiently tapping his fingers on the table, randomly recalling how he used to play drums in the sea — they almost started a band together with Jade and Azul! Ah, it really brings some funny memories; he needs to check if there are any musician clubs to apply to–
“Floyd! It’s almost curfew time — why aren’t you back at your dorm yet?”
Floyd got startled by an army-general-like authoritative voice and almost dropped the cat from his knees — but then, when he realised whom this voice belonged to, his lips stretched into a smirk, revealing a row of his sharp teeth.
“Ah, Goldfishie! What a great surprise,” — Floyd really wished he ended up in class with Riddle instead of Jade; he really did enjoy teasing and playing around the smaller strict guy: “I have a greater question — why aren’t you in your dorm yet?”
“I’m a housewarden of Heartslabyul, and I do have a special pass. And one of my duties as a housewarden and a true follower of a Queen of Hearts herself, is making sure there are no rule breakers on the territory of campus!” — Taking the place of a housewarden in his first week here was something truly impressive. Floyd remembered how Azul got to know it and eventually started rumbling about “urgent need to become one too” and how appealing this boy’s spell appeared to be. Floyd’s headache didn’t go away until the next morning after his friend’s absurdly long tirade: “Though, I must admit I haven’t expected you of all people to stay up late in the library to study.”
“Oh, Goldfishie, as insightful as you may be, you misunderstood me! If we shared more classes together you’d know that I love and am capable of studying — but only when I want to.”
“What a shocking lack of discipline,” — Riddle sighed heavily.
“Life is way funnier this way! You should try it too, Goldfishie, you might end up liking it!”
Floyd giggled and was ready to tease Riddle a little more, but was interrupted by another creature in this big room.
“Meow.”
“Ah.”
“What is IT? Was that a cat?”
“No, what a cat would forget here!” — even Floyd had known about “no pets rules” and that in a few minutes he would be off with his head. Ah, how embarrassing it would be to explain to Jade later.
The cat crawled out from under the jacket and jumped with its soft pink paws right onto the open textbook. Oh crap.
“Floyd, you brought a STRAY cat to the LIBRARY?!” — Riddle’s face turned red from the anger, and it managed to make Floyd laugh as hard as ever.
“Ha-ha-ha, look at you, Goldfishie, you're all red and small!”
“I’ve told you to stop calling me this strange nickname— WHAT is more important: what a cat is doing here?”
“Ah… I could tell if you won’t make a fuss. Otherwise, I would squeeze you so hard that nobody would hear your screams,” — Floyd wasn’t threatening him on purpose, really, and was more just intimidating in nature when the situation or his wishes required it. Riddle recoiled and his face was getting redder and redder with each second, ready to explode with anger at his peer; but eventually, he instead let out a triumphant sigh.
“Alright. Tell me the story, and then we figure out what to do together.”
“You’re willing to spend more time with me, little Goldfishie? Ah, I’m just so lucky!”
“You make me regret every interaction I’m forced to have with you.”
***
Floyd told Riddle everything about how he found and started taking care of kitty, occasionally getting distracted by something else.
“Ah, how could I forget — I named it Catfish, since it has whiskers similar to it!”
“Uhm, I believe it’s actually the other way around. People called the catfish this way because it has whiskers similar to a cat's.”
“Ah, really? Didn’t know.”
“But that’s not what’s really bothering me. You keep insisting that this cat doesn't grow well and must be bigger, but I don’t see any problem with this cat’s size…” — Riddle observes a ginger cat which is occupied with licking its own paw now, its thick sides and soft belly: “I would even say that it’s a little bit overweight for its age.”
“Huh?! But look at these pictures, my cute Catfish is not nearly as big as them!”
Floyd pulls the book closer to them and points at its pictures.
“Ah?... Lions?”
“Yeah! I read in this book about all different kinds of cats, and my Catfish seems to be the lion. Well, a veryyyy small one, but still a lion… But it doesn’t grow! You see the problem now?”
Riddle stared at him in pure shock and disbelief for a few moments, but then couldn’t help and bursted in laughter. Seeing this boy’s genuine laughter — loud and clear — made some new things to Floyd, which he would call awkwardness.
“What? I don’t get what’s so funny, Goldfishie…” — Floyd pouted when Riddle left him without answers for one more minute.
“You mermen say the most obscure things I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“Imma squeeze you in three, two–”
“W-wait, I am telling you, I am telling. Floyd, the thing is… This cat is not the lion. You’ve confused big wild cats — what lions are — with house domestic cats — like this little cute thing.”
Floyd stared at him with his mouth hanging open and sulked.
“So Catfish isn’t going to grow as big as a lion?”
“It isn’t”
“And I won’t be able to ride it?”
“Where does it even come from? But, absolutely, you will not. You’d crush this poor cat!”
Now his dreams about riding a lion around school were shuttered in an ocean of small, sharp pieces. And the exciting idea of boasting about it to his mother when they return to Coral Sea at the holidays…
And though it should have been incredibly upsetting to him, for some reason he was only a little frustrated and perhaps even amused by his own silly mistake. After all, he still needs to learn to tell animals apart better, and he’s no better than Jade, who keeps claiming every animal he sees as a dog.
That’s why he ended up giggling, and he was so lost in it that he didn’t even notice that Riddle gently joined him in this shared silly moment. School isn’t that bad after all, he will think later, remembering this wholesome moment with his so-beloved peer.
“Ah, well. But I still like the Catfish, even if it remains as small as now. After all, we share so much in between!”
Riddle shook his head and smiled softly. He picked up the cat and looked it over a few times.
“It’s a boy. We don’t really use it for animals once they become our pets and we give them names. So now you can stop doing it too.”
“Ah, really? It’s so interesting, I still have so much to learn! He’s a boy then. Have you heard, Catfish? It’s another thing that we share in between.”
“But Floyd. You do know that there are no pets allowed in dorms? Don’t even try to keep him there!”
“Ahh…” — he pouted and asked: “But one single kitty won’t hurt anybody, right? At least he must be allowed to live in the college’s courtyard without any risk. Catfish won't hurt anybody.”
Riddle thought for a bit. He always followed rules and was making sure that everyone else did too. But he truly could not remember any rule of Queen of Hearts or college in general that would prohibit the presence of small animals on campus…
“Alright. I guess letting in one small kitty could be acceptable,” — Riddle stated and petted the cat.
“Ahh, you’re the best, Riddle!”
“But I’m making a request to the veterinarian tomorrow. Before letting the cat officially stay here, we must make sure he’s not infected with anything and gets all the necessary vaccinations.”
“Of course! So reasonable, just as expected from a boy who managed to become a housewarden at the age of 16!” — Riddle blushed slightly and excused it in his mind by a growing sense of irritation with Floyd rather than a new warm feeling blooming in his chest.
“...But if I see you around campus near curfew next time, it’s off with your head, Floyd.”
“Alright, Goldfishie, thank yaaa!”
“And stop calling me by this nickname!”