Chapter Text
Morning, Subaru's room
Subaru, having spent a good amount of time as a shut-in before being transported to Lugunica, wasn't really a morning person. He could sleep in until late afternoon if he really wanted to. He's done that multiple times before, now that he thinks about it...
But since coming to Lugunica, dying a whole lot, and becoming Emilia's knight, he's made it a habit to get up bright and early to tackle whatever the day held for him, even if that meant going to risk his life... For whatever reason that may be. The constant scenarios he's had to go through multiple times because of the power he held seldom allowed him sleep anyway. He figured he'd make the most of it.
After getting ready for the day, he stepped out of his room in the mansion, glancing up and down the hall before speaking to himself.
"Alright, Subaru. Time for your morning radio calisthenics," He paused, an idea coming to his mind. "I should see if Emilia wants to join again."
He turned and started his trek down the hall, the idea of having Emilia participating in his morning exercise shooting excitement throughout his body. He wondered if he was a little too excited about it. Would Emilia get uncomfortable? Would he seem too eager or pushy?
"Okay, relax, Subaru. No need to be nervous. Just ask."
He didn't actually believe his self-reassurance, despite the fact that he's exercised with his lady on multiple occasions. There was always this voice in his head telling him that she'd be angry with him, even if there wasn't an actual reason for it. He's learned to ignore it, but that didn't mean it would go away.
He arrived at the door to her room, knocking twice and raising his voice slightly. "Emilia? Are you still asleep?"
For a few seconds, only silence greeted him in return. He now felt awkward. Maybe she was still asleep. It was pretty early in the morning, after all. He debated on knocking again, but an unmistakable voice from the other side stopped him.
"C-Coming, Subaru!"
He sighed in relief. At least he didn't disturb her. She actually sounded pretty energetic for the time that it was right now, and maybe a little excited too?
"Don't get your hopes up like that, Subaru," Despite his words, he could feel his face warm up at the thought. "No way that's it!"
The door opened, and he forced a "Casual" smile on his face, though it probably looked more stupid than actually casual. He wasn't good at this at all, despite the amount of false confidence he hid behind.
"Emilia! I just wanted to ask—"
"Uh... What the hell!?"
His brain didn't want to let him finish the sentence because of the sight in front of him. Emilia stood in the doorway, still dawned in her nightwear... But that wasn't what had made Subaru's breath stop. It was...
...It was the pair of cat-like ears that sat atop her head like they had always been there. It didn't look like someone form of accessory (he doubts Lugunica would have something like that anyway), but instead looked completely natural. Like Felix's in a way. They were as white as her hair, and they even twitched slightly.
He could only stare, unable to say anything out of shock. This caused Emilia to tilt her head, her ears pressing against her head.
"Subaru? Is there something wrong, nya?"
"She... She even made the noise!!"
Subaru opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened again, before finally getting the words out. "U-Uh... Emilia? Why... Why do you have ears?"
The half-elf (now half cat??) in question blinked at him a few times, his own confusion seems making herself confused.
"Oh, these? Puck said that their normal, nya." They twitched again. Once. Twice. "They felt weird at first, but I think I like them, nya."
"N-Normal!? Last time I checked, people don't just grow ears!"
"T-They don't??"
"No!!"
Without thinking, he reached his hands into Emilia's hair (and be extension her ears), digging around her soft strands. "Puck!! Come out and explain this right now!"
Emilia in turn let out a wail of surprise. "Subaru, stop it!!"
After a few seconds of... Whatever this was, the Great spirit eventually did peek out, rubbing his eyes and letting out a wide, but quiet yawn.
"Hm? What's up, Subaru?"
"Don't "What's up" me! You know exactly "What's up" you stupid cat!"
Puck snorted, floating up and out of Emilia's hair, before poking him right on his nose. "I'm just as confused as you are, Subaru. She just woke up like this. I'm honestly not sure how she's used to it already."
Subaru narrowed his eyes at him, attempting to see if he was joking. Interaction with this cat was like trying setting fire to his very nerves. But he could see that he wasn't joking this time... He was lucky.
"Relax," He let out another yawn, almost making Subaru want to slap him out of the air. "I'm sure they'll go away soon. Besides, now you can pet me and my beautiful daughter. It's a win-win!"
Well... That did sound like a good deal— "N-No! I'm not gonna pet her! She isn't an animal!"
"You can pet me if you want to, Subaru..."
"Excuse me?"
He looked towards the half-elf (and cat), with widened eyes. Her gaze was pointed downward, and her ears flopped loosely up and down. Subaru couldn't help but find it cute.
"You can pet me," She raised her head to look up at him, a small smile on her face. "Just please don't be as rough as you were before."
To further add to the pure astonishment he felt, she stepped closer, before pressing her head against his hand. Subaru then felt her start to vibrate.
"N-Nya...~"
...She was purring. Emilia was purring, and he had no clue on what he should be doing about it. He was conflicted. On one hand, this was very concerning and definitely needed to be looked at professionally. On the other, this was the best, cutest thing he's ever got to experience.
He could feel something wrap around his leg, and looking down...
"She even has a tail!!"
He tentatively moved his fingers up and down, scratching behind her ears like he did to Puck. Her purrs got louder
Maybe he could hold his concern off for another time...
Dining room
Subaru knew that the rest of the camp would have mixed reactions to Emilia's new look, but that didn't mean he would be ready for them, or that they wouldn't annoy him to no end.
"Barusu has conducted vile experiments on poor Emilia. He should be put to death."
"I did not do that!"
"This is indeed a most cur~ious development..."
"She looks ridiculous, I suppose."
He doesn't know what he was expecting, honestly. No one just... Grew ears seemingly over night, at least he hoped they didn't. The only reason he wasn't still panicking was because he got to pet her just a few minutes prior (and he was still freaking out about that). The reactions of his peers were actually much more tame than he expected them to be.
"S~ooo, she's a half-elf and~ half cat now?" Meili seemed fascinated, and maybe even a little concerned. "We~ll that's super weird."
She reached over, attempting to touch her ears, only for Emilia to swat her hand away immediately, followed by a "Polite" expression.
"Sorry, Meili. I'm only comfortable with Subaru touching these for right now."
The little girl shrugged dismissively, which caused Otto to speak up next. "Should we call someone to come have a look at her?" He squinted his eyes in thought. "Like Felix?"
Subaru shuddered at the thought of having two cat people around him. He could get used to Emilia, but the relentless teasing he'd get from the medic would drive him insane almost immediately. Regardless, it was probably for the best she gets checked out.
"Nya..." Emilia seemed annoyed by the idea. Her ears were sticking upward like rods. "I'm fine, I feel fine, and Puck said I was fine. Why do we need a healer to come?"
Ram answered with no hesitation. "Because you're already a half-elf. What will the Sage's, or even the people of Lugunica, think when they realize that the half-elf they already hated turned out to be a cat demi-human as well?"
"Well..." Her ears dropped downward, her face twisting into a heart-wrenching frown. "I suppose that's true. Plus, Subaru said it wasn't normal either."
"You're trusting the judgement of a Barusu like him?"
"Why am I always being insulted?"
"You are very easy to joke about, Natsuki-san."
"Say's you!"
Subaru could feel annoyance flare up in his chest at the current discussion. He firmly believed that there were much more pressing matters at hand here, like maybe the fact that a Royal candidate had cat ears. And not who was the easiest to joke about.
Meili shrugged once again, completely unbothered by everything. "The Sage's are~ full of idiots anyway... Who in their right mi~nd would put the fate of a kingdom at stake just because they have lo~onger ears?"
Ram once again jumped at the opportunity to insult someone. "Idiots. That's who."
"Is that not what I just said...?"
Roswaal cleared his throat, finally putting an end to the (in Subaru's opinion) pointless conversation. Subaru still didn't really like he clown, but at least he knew how to steer everyone back on topic.
"Our dear~ Ram makes a wonderful point," He crossed his arms over the table, leaning forward. "I will send a message~ to Crusch Karsten's group and see if they can send Blue at the earliest convenience~"
Subaru sighed in relief. At least that took care of that for the time being. He was really glad that this didn't cause a panic or something. He didn't see the need to involve Felix with this and not a regular healer, but he could win them all. He was also glad that it wasn't effecting her negatively—
"Yaaawwwwwn..."
Everyone at the table looked over to the white haired girl with expressions ranging from slight annoyance to complete amusement, with Subaru being the former.
"Sorry, everyone," She rubbed her eyes softly, her head away inside to side as if she were going to fall over. "I'm reeeaaally tired, nya..."
She kept nodding off mid sentence, as if she would pass out at any moment. Subaru wondered if these were things Felix did, though he couldn't really imagine it, with him being a healer, anyway.
"I'll take you back to your room," Subaru stood up swiftly, moving to stand next to his lady with poorly hidden enthusiasm. "There's no point in staying up if you're tired, anyway."
"Barusu is only saying that so he can do perverted things to poor Emilia while they're alone."
"I'm her knight!! This is my job!"
"Excuses."
He let out what sounded like a scoff, but kept silent. He didn't have the energy to argue with the maid any longer.
He felt something warm and soft land on his shoulder. Emilia had nuzzled directly into his arm, letting out satisfied purrs, similar to what she was doing earlier. He could feel his face warm up again, and he had to resist the urge to hug her in sheer delight.
"Nya... Subaru~"
All eyes were on him now, most of them filled with suspicion. He couldn't even attempt to think about how he'd explain this. He liked this new version of Emilia, but it definitely made him feel more than awkward.
He wanted to get out of here, before anyone else said something embarrassing. He could just see he constant teasing and remarks he'd get from a certain someone in this mansion.
He was dreading the arrival Crusch's camp, that he could say for sure.