Chapter Text
Sebastian’s mother always told him never to wander off into the forest surrounding the house alone. No matter how enticing they looked, it was always dangerous. Sebastian knew better, however it never stopped him from gazing off into the trees and wondering what could possibly be out in those beautiful woodlands.
He always loved playing in his back garden, playing out there meant being with the thing he loved the most, nature. He would always beg his mother to let him out into the back garden, to go in the dirt and play with the bugs. Sometimes he would be out there just to pause for a moment and stare out into the woods before him. He never dared to step forward into the tall bark, he knew the warnings, but it never ceased his curiosity and desire to venture out.
Sebastian was sitting on the back porch of the garden, drawing patterns into the dirt sniffling and wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. The neighbourhood kids weren’t too kind to him. They thought his love for nature and life was too weird, that the bugs he liked to pick up and call his friends were gross. He didn’t understand it. Even if they didn’t like the things he did, they didn’t have to be so mean to him. Then the sound of soft rustling from the woodlands broke through his sniffling, he shot his head in the direction of the noise.
He thought of running back inside, nothing ever came out of the woods. On occasion he would see a deer in the distance or perhaps a rabbit jumping along, but nothing ever walked out. However, it was something that completely caught him off guard.
A white fluffy ragdoll cat had strolled out of the woods, prancing its way towards him.
Sebastian held still as the cat made its way over to him, he didn’t even dare to breathe to not scare it off. He’s never seen the pet before, at least he believes it’s someone’s pet, why else would it be out here? It looked well fed and had a shiny coat, it had to belong to someone, perhaps one of his neighbours? He didn’t know but he wasn’t going to scare it away.
The cat stopped in front of the kid, staring at him with its icy grey eyes. Sebastian felt a chill shiver through his body as he stared into its eyes, but it was welcoming… It made him feel warm and made him brave enough to stick his hand out for the cat to sniff.
It seemed to stare at his hand for a moment before nudging its head right into Sebastian’s hand. He let out a small breath as he started to scratch the cat behind the ears softly. Immediately it started purring, warming Sebastian even further, making him forget why he was so sad in the first place.
After some time had passed, the cat had ended up in Sebastian’s lap purring quietly as he continued petting it. His mother eventually called him inside for dinner, making him frown as he looked down at the cat in his lap. He debated on just taking the cat inside with him but he didn’t own it, he couldn’t just kidnap it as much as he would like to. The cat seemed to understand and nudged its head into Sebastian’s hand before standing up and stretching. It looked at him for just a moment with those icy grey eyes then hopped down from his lap and walked off, like a small quick goodbye so Sebastian could run off inside.
“Tschüss!” He called out to the cat as he waved.
Sebastian watched it go before scrambling up and running inside to meet his mother in the kitchen, ready to tell her everything about the mysterious neighbourhood cat he befriended.
—
Sebastian saw the ragdoll cat once again while playing in his back garden with his beloved toy cars. It was sunbathing in a patch of grass right near the stone path that led to the side of the house. He smiled when he noticed, taking his toy cars in his tiny hands and proceeded to plop himself right near the cat, playing with his cars on the stone path.
The cat lifted its head to look at Sebastian for a moment before dramatically dropping its head back on the grass, which made Sebastian giggle.
Sebastian spent the rest of his day playing with his cars as the cat stayed right by his side. Sometimes it would swat at the cars on the stones in front of it, sometimes it would stare at Sebastian and nudge its head into his hand asking for pets, but most of the time it slept. It was like having a silent companion and that made Sebastian smile big and wide.
Then his mother would call for him to come inside and the cat would stretch, look at Sebastian for a moment before walking off. He waved once again at the cat, collected his cars and headed inside.
—
It was like routine now. Anytime Sebastian was outside, the fluffy ragdoll cat would be just outside his house. Sometimes sunbathing in the same patch of grass, sometimes sitting on the fence that separated the houses, and sometimes fast asleep on the back porch like it was waiting for Sebastian to step outside.
On occasion the cat would follow him if Sebastian so happened to wander the neighbourhood or follow him if he walked to the bus stop for school. If Sebastian was outside, the cat was either right beside him or right near him, his beloved fluffy companion.
Sebastian finally felt like he had a friend. Well in the body of a very fluffy feline. However, despite his new companion, he still felt a bit lonely at times. He tended to yap the cat’s ear off and he was sure it was listening to him, but he just wished he had an actual human friend. The neighbourhood kids still weren’t the kindest to him and he tried making school friends but they ended up either not living close or simply never hung out outside of school. It made him a bit sad.
He eventually told the cat about it during a sunny day as he pushed his toy car back and forth on the stone while the cat sunbathed right beside him. It’s not like he doesn’t appreciate the cat being his one friend that seemed to listen to him, he thinks, but he just wishes he had a human friend that he can play with. All he got in response was a flick of the cat’s tail on his arm and a side eye, like the cat didn’t appreciate that Sebastian needed a boring human friend. He just shook his head at the reaction and went back to his toy car, not liking the cat’s response. Then the cat started swatting at his hands and he swatted his hands back with a pout on his face.
—
Sebastian always tried to heed his mother’s warning about the woodlands. He really tried. But he wanted out of there and going home hadn’t been an option at the time of his decision when he took off running. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he continued running towards whichever direction was ahead of him. He didn’t know what he did to end up getting cornered like that, he never did anything wrong. He was never mean, he was never rude, he wore his heart on his sleeve and was kind like his mother taught him. He didn’t understand it and he was scared. So he ran the moment he saw an opening and ran right into those woodlands, knowing they wouldn’t follow.
He kept running and running as the tears continued rolling hot and fast down his reddened cheeks. The blurriness of the tears caught up and his shoe got caught on a branch he hadn’t been able to see. He fell fast and hard, scraping his hands and knees, it just made him sob even harder as he curled up on the dirt below him.
A branch snapped to Sebastian’s right and his breath hitched. The realisation set in hard. He was in the forest, alone and lost, anything could be in these woods and suddenly he didn’t want to look to his right. Tears welled up even bigger as he curled in on himself tighter. He was alone and lost. He was so unbelievably lost and scared.
Another snap of a branch to his right made him flinch. It sounded like it was getting closer. Every nerve and warning sign in his body was screaming at him to get up and start running once again, but he felt frozen and paralysed in fear. He just wanted his parents, he just wanted his mother.
The warning sirens were getting louder in his head the longer he continued to stay curled in on himself on the dirt floor. He needed to get up, he needed to continue running and hope he could find his way home. Taking a shuddering breath, Sebastian looked up to lift himself off the ground and froze once again.
Red eyes, staring directly at him. Like he was prey.
Tears welled up once again as Sebastian was frozen in fear. The creature before him was terrifying, it was dark, lean with unnaturally long limbs and towered over him. It stared him down with those unruly bright red eyes, calculating its next move and waiting for how Sebastian would take his next move. A predator waiting to pounce on its prey. That prey was Sebastian and he was so unbelievably scared.
Sebastian slowly tried to scramble his way back, never taking his eyes off the creature. But every time he took a crawl back, it took a step forward. He was sobbing once again as he desperately tried to think of a solution to get away. He should’ve listened to his mother and now he didn’t know if he would ever see her again. It made the tears run faster and his scrambling a lot more frantic until his back hit a tree, making him whimper in fear.
He wants his mom. He wants to go play with his cars in the back garden. He wants to go lay out on the grass with the ragdoll cat that isn’t even his. He just wants to go home.
The creature was about to pounce right at Sebastian, he raised his arms as a last attempt to protect himself but something caught his eye and the air gained a cold chill.
Right before him stood a person. A kid, possibly a handful of years older than Sebastian himself, pale skin with spiky platinum blond hair and icy grey eyes similar to the eyes of his fluffy companion. He stood tall with an arm stretched out in front of Sebastian and the kid’s other hand holding what looked like a blade made out of ice pointed right at the creature. Like he was daring the creature to take another step forward.
Sebastian stared between the slits of his arms with wide eyes. He still hasn’t dared to put his arms down, he didn’t know the kid’s intentions. He didn’t even hear the kid come at all, it was like he appeared out of thin air once the cold chill had settled in the air.
The creature stared the kid down just like it had done with Sebastian and immediately went in for the attack on the kid. Sebastian immediately closed his eyes, too scared to witness the scene in front of him. He was terrified that the kid protecting him would be attacked by the monster and that it would eventually get its way to Sebastian. He kept his arms up and his eyes closed tight as he tried to hold back his sobs.
Except the creature never made its way to Sebastian. He heard a deep pained howl and the thump of something falling. He still didn’t dare to open his eyes, especially when he heard steps walking right towards him. He was so incredibly terrified. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to wake up and have this be just some horrible nightmare.
Sebastian felt cold hands on his arms, he flinched violently but snapped his eyes open just to see the kid from before crouched down before him, his piercing icy grey eyes staring right at Sebastian with nothing but warmth held inside them. His hands were cold but his touch was soft and comforting, making Sebastian slowly lower his arms down from his face.
“Safe.” The kid whispered in a strange accent, still not letting go of Sebastian’s arms.
Sebastian broke. Ugly sobs ripped right out of him as the kid took him softly but a bit awkwardly in his arms and just held Sebastian as he wailed from the encounter.
Once Sebastian had calmed down enough, the kid helped him stand up and took his hand in his own. He gently started to pull Sebastian in a direction, the two of them walking through the woods, never daring to let go once. When Sebastian tried to look back at where the creature once was, the kid just shook his head and pulled Sebastian closer, forcing him to look ahead instead of behind. He knew he shouldn’t trust this random kid, but he did save his life and he was forever grateful but he was still scared and didn’t know where they were headed.
“Where… Where we going?” Sebastian asked, his English still not quite the best but the kid had spoken English before, he had to make an attempt.
“Out.” The kid replied. Short and blunt. It still didn’t explain anything to Sebastian.
“Where? Out where?” He tried again.
“Forest.” The kid said as he continued to pull them in a direction.
Wow, this kid really didn’t speak a whole lot and was not that helpful with explaining anything. Sebastian just nodded his head as he took his focus to the ground.
The pair continued to navigate their way through the forest, still hand in hand and never daring to let go. Sebastian realised he truly didn’t mind it and secretly hoped he didn’t have to let go anytime soon. Despite how cold the kid’s hand was, it still felt warm and comforting to him. It made him calm despite the fear still lingering in the back of his mind, like he knew the kid could protect him at any given moment. It was more than comforting to him and he was incredibly grateful. However, his mind still lingered on the creature. Just what was that thing… It made him sick to think about it and yet, he was still curious.
“What was that thing…?” Sebastian got the courage to ask.
The kid was silent for a good moment, making Sebastian wonder if he would even answer at all. The kid must’ve known what it was if he was able to defeat it to protect Sebastian.
“Gone now, won’t bother us no more.” The kid shrugged.
Sebastian frowned at that answer. While it did relieve him just a tad, it didn’t explain anything. He shook his head and asked again,
“Nien nien. What was it?”
The kid just shrugged again and didn’t respond. What lovely help Sebastian had with him at the moment. He just wanted to understand, possibly get a better idea at what that thing was but instead it felt like he was talking to a brick wall and suddenly talking to the ragdoll cat didn’t seem so bad anymore. He missed his feline companion a lot more now. Seeming like the kid started to pick up on Sebastian’s wallowing, he spoke again,
“Home soon.”
Just two words that instantly made Sebastian perk up. He would be home soon, he would finally get to be home soon. He would finally be able to hug his parents, hug his mother and listen to her words once again. He would finally get to be back in the safety of his own room and back with all his toy cars. He would finally be able to see the ragdoll cat once again. Maybe he can make both the kid and the cat meet, they are quite similar and he thinks they would get along or maybe they would dislike each other because of how similar they were. That made Sebastian quirk a small smile at the thought and made him more antsy to get home.
Once the endless trees started to break away, Sebastian noticed the houses starting to slowly appear in front of him and immediately locked eyes with his mother who was anxiously waiting with a few other adults. His eyes filled up with tears at the sight of her. He turned to the kid and hugged him tightly, immediately catching the kid off guard but he awkwardly hugged Sebastian back.
“Danke, danke schön!” He smiled as he let go of the kid, holding his hand one last time before letting go and sprinting out of the trees to his mother.
“Mama!” Sebastian yelled as he ran towards his mother who gasped in relief and picked up her son, hugging him tightly as she possibly could. Fussing over him as he cried and hugged her back just as tightly.
When Sebastian was put down and wipes his tears with his sleeve, he was about to tell his mother about the kid who helped him only to turn around and see that he was no longer there. It made Sebastian pause as his eyes desperately looked around to see where the kid was, but it was like he was never even there in the first place. He knew the kid was real, he led Sebastian out of the forest when Sebastian himself didn’t even know the way out. He even defeated that monster that was so close to getting to Sebastian. However, the kid was just gone. No trace of him whatsoever and Sebastian never even asked for a name.
His mother picked him up once again and headed home. Sebastian’s eyes couldn’t leave the spot in the forest, wondering just where that strange kid who saved him went. He hoped that he could eventually meet him again.
—
The next day, the ragdoll cat was asleep on the back porch of Sebastian’s back garden. When he stepped out the sliding door to water the flowers for his mother, he spotted the cat and smiled wide.
Once his task was done, the cat was awake and had moved to sunbathe in the grass and Sebastian laid down next to it. He thought about the kid from the forest, it made him wish to see the kid walk out of the forest just like the cat did so he could finally have another friend, despite the brick wall of a kid he was.
“I think you’d like him. Maybe.” Sebastian spoke out loud as he turned his head to the cat. “Both of you are like brick walls.”
All he got in response was an icy side eye and smack in the face with a tail.
“Rude!” He shouted as he swatted the tail away when it came back to smack him again. “You are cold like ice!”
Sebastian stopped the moment the sentence came out of his mouth. He never had a nickname for the cat, he just called it ‘cat’ and that was not a suitable nickname for his companion. A wide smile grew on his lips as he looked back over at the cat. Cold like ice.
“Ice Cube. Your new name.”
Ice Cube side eyed Sebastian once again and immediately smacked him in the face with its tail.
“Stop it!” Sebastian screamed as he swatted at the tail once again.
—
Some years had passed and Sebastian and Ice Cube were still as close as ever. Ice Cube still constantly stuck to the same routine and never really left his side. Sebastian never stepped foot in the forest again but it still never stopped him from staring out into it and he never saw that kid again. Occasionally he would catch a glimpse of what looked like the kid peaking out from the trees but he was gone before Sebastian could ever get a full look. It always disappointed him and desperately made him want to run into the forest to find the kid but he swore to his mother he would never enter the forest again after the incident. Never stopped him from thinking about it however.
But when his mother broke the news that they were moving, Sebastian was heartbroken. Sure, he still never got along with the neighbourhood kids and had quite a few ups and downs but he loved this place with his whole heart. Plus that meant leaving the kid and Ice Cube behind and broke his heart even further. He didn’t want to leave them behind.
Sebastian had sat out in the back garden with his knees drawn up to his chest, tears stained into his cheeks and drawing patterns into the dirt. Just like he did all those years ago when the neighbourhood kids were mean to him.
Ice Cube came prancing up to him, immediately nudging its head right into Sebastian’s arm. It kept nudging its head into his arm until he finally relented and let Ice Cube nudge its way into his lap.
“I’m moving, Ice Cube… I won’t be able to see you anymore.” Sebastian spilled out the moment the cat laid on his lap.
“I can’t bring you with me.”
Ice Cube looked up at Sebastian with those icy grey eyes and just nudged its head into his chest in a sort of comforting expression. Like it understood and was okay with Sebastian moving away, comforting him that it would all be okay. That made the tears return back into his eyes as he scooped his arms around Ice Cube and held the cat gently in his arms as he cried.
He was going to miss his best friend.
—
The day before Sebastian moved away for good, he stepped out into his back garden for the last time. Ice Cube was patiently waiting for him by the sliding door with something in its mouth. Sebastian took a seat on the step next to Ice Cube with a tilt to his head but held out his hand as he asked,
“What do you have?”
Ice Cube dropped the item into Sebastian’s hand with a small “mrrh” and sat next to him with its tail swishing back and forth.
Sebastian inspected the item in his hand and smiled so widely. It was a gorgeous clear and light blue crystal tied to woven thread to make a necklace. The crystal looked like snow and ice, like the entire season of winter was encapsulated into just one small crystal. He held it so carefully in his hand as he admired it.
“It’s beautiful… Danke, Ice Cube.” He smiled so brightly as he looked over at his best friend.
Ice Cube looked as proud as a cat could look and nudged its head into Sebastian’s arm, urging him to possibly put it on.
And Sebastian did just that. He put the necklace over his head and let it sit against his chest with a smile. He picked the crystal back up and just held it between his fingers before letting it fall back down.
“I won’t ever take it off, I’ll take good care of it.”
“Mrrh” Ice Cube mreowed in response which made Sebastian laugh with a big smile.
At least he would have a piece of his best friend with him at all times.
—
Sebastian was sitting on the front porch as he waited for his parents to finish loading up the last items of the house into the car. He was sad to leave this house, his parents promised him he would like the new place they were headed but it wouldn’t be the same. He wouldn’t see the kid who helped him in the forest again and he wouldn’t see his fluffy companion ever again.
Speaking of his fluffy companion, Sebastian hadn’t seen Ice Cube once this entire day. He frowned as he stared at the stone path below him, his fingers ran over the crystal pendant that still hung around his neck. Maybe yesterday was their final goodbye but it no less made him sad. He still would’ve liked to see the cat one last time before he left forever.
By the time his parents were done, Sebastian stood up from his spot and looked at the house one last time. He was going to miss this place but he will never forget it. What he didn’t expect next was for a small fluffy feline to run up at him and jump onto his shoulders to lay around him like a scarf.
“Eiswürfel!”
There laid Ice Cube across his shoulders, nudging its face right into Sebastian’s face and swishing its tail back and forth. Ice Cube seemed content where it was and didn’t seem to want to move anytime soon. It brought a slight smile to Sebastian’s lips but he knew he couldn’t take Ice Cube with him, it was breaking his heart.
“Seb! Liebling! Wir müssen los!” His mother called out for him from the car, making Sebastian frown even further.
“Ice Cube, you have to get down. I have to go or mama will get upset.” Sebastian tried to urge the cat off of him but Ice Cube wouldn’t budge. Instead it curled in further around his neck.
Sebastian sighed as he walked up to his mother waiting by the car. “Mama, die Katze will nicht weggehen.”
His mother crossed her arms with a small frown as she looked at the cat laid across her son’s neck. She knew how much the cat meant to her boy and it broke her heart to have to make him leave his little companion, but she couldn’t just take someone’s cat. It had to belong to someone for how well taken care of it looked constantly. She sighed softly as she placed her hands on Sebastian’s arms.
“Du musst es versuchen, Liebling.” She said softly.
“Kimi!” A voice suddenly called out from down the road. “Kimi! Minne menit?”
Ice Cube perked up its head before nuzzling it back into the crook of Sebastian’s neck. Both him and his mother seemed to notice, prompting his mother to wave down the voice calling out.
Once the man came into view, he spotted the cat around Sebastian’s neck and smiled. “So that’s where you’ve gone all this time, Pikku-Kimi.”
“Ah Mika! Hello, I’m guessing this furry friend is yours?” His mother greeted Mika with a smile.
Mika chuckled as he greeted Sebastian’s mother the same. “Oh no no, Kimi’s not mine. He’s more or so a stray, does whatever he likes. He just uses my home as a sleeping place for the night and steals my food.”
Sebastian looked over at Ice Cube- no, Kimi, who was staring right back at him with those icy grey eyes. It seemed to click into place as Mika and his mother continued talking, the cat he was so sure must’ve belonged to someone seemed to just be a wanderer and somehow had chosen Sebastian as its person. That made his heart warm at the thought and a smile broke out on his face. Kimi just nudged his head into Sebastian’s cheek once again.
“Excuse me, does that mean I can take Kimi with me?” Sebastian looked over at Mika and his mother as he fidgeted with his hands. “Mama, ist dat okay?”
“As long as he wants to go with you and it’s okay with your mother.” Mika said with a smile as he glanced over at Kimi with a knowing look.
Kimi stared back at Mika before curling in further around Sebastian’s neck, purring ever so softly.
“Well I think he does, I believe it’s decided. Thank you, Mika.” Sebastian’s mother replied with a smile. “Natürlich, Seb. Steig zu Kimi ins Auto.”
“Danke! Danke!” Sebastian nodded with a huge smile across his face as he made his way into the car with Kimi now asleep still curled around his neck.
Sebastian couldn’t believe it. He might be leaving the one place he was truly familiar with but at least he got to leave it with his best friend.