Chapter Text
Soft rays of the early sunlight flooded through the window curtains, a sweet aroma and light humming filled the air inside of the cozy home atop a hill, tucked away inside the forest.
Vinestaff stood above a large boiling pot, stirring it thoroughly. Her grip on the ladle was quite low, almost touching the soup she was preparing, not having any nerves on her accursed arm was quite useful for stuff like this.
After another good stir or so she raised the ladle up to her mouth, blowing on it a little to not burn herself before taking a sip. The taste test was a success! Being sufficiently proud of her work, with a smile on her face, she plopped the ladle back into the pot and turned her back to it, putting a hand to her hip and resting the other on the counter top.
"Tana! Shuri! Breakfast's re-" cutting herself off, she placed a palm on her cheek, shaking her head lightly.
""Right, I have to stop forgetting about the whole 'adult ceremony' thing.""
A few days ago was Shuriken's 18th birthday, an incredible day for any other person, but one he was dreading for a long time. As part of Katanas traditions, when a person turns 18 they must prove themselves worthy of adulthood by passing the trials set by their parent figure.
Katana basically had to drag Shuriken all the way up the mountain. Not that Vine blamed her brother for being so against the idea, being a year older than her brother, she had already passed the ceremony, and it. was. agonising.
Weeks of harrowing exercises in the harsh conditions of the cold mountain, it was horrible! Katana was a sweet and loving guardian, but when it came to discipline he pulled no punches, in this case literally.
Well, this is a lot of soup she was going to have to eat by herself. She wasn't feeling very hungry at the moment so she picked up the pot and opened the fridge to-
Wow. She didn't remember it being this empty, oh well, morning grocery run it is. She placed the pot inside and shut the door with her leg as she reached for a pen and paper from the counter to write down what she was going to get.
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Harsh sunlight seeped into the alleys of the crossroads most central area, the stench of trash, paint and dead rodents filled the air. Curled up into a corner, a shivering blue feline-like demon rested.
The warm sensation hitting her eyelids was the last thing she wanted to feel. Immediately upon waking up, the hard concrete she was resting upon and the chill winter breeze cutting through her exposed fur would not let her rest for another second.
Her eyelids heavy, body trembling and her empty stomach making itself known. Standing up was a chore, but she knew she had to. She didn't know how much longer she could keep going, she was going to have to get a good haul, and soon.
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The treck from thieves den to crossroads was quite a long one, but not one she wasnt used to. The flower demon took her time humming to herself as she approached the city that connected the four factions
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She made her way through the shadows, hopping from alleyway to alleyway. Praying to any sfoth that would listen as she closed in on the shopping district. Let illumina bless her with good luck.
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""Now where was the..... ah, there we go!"" Vinestaff picked up a carton of eggs and placed it inside her shopping cart. ""That should be everything!""
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She stayed in the darkness, scoping out the streets while remaining hidden. Her stomach was practically screaming at her, she had to find a target, and fast.
Middle aged dude, not a lot of stuff, and he looked pretty built. Not worth the effort.
A short guy, maybe in his early 30s or something? Stacked with goods, but.. he had friends with him. Bad idea.
Old guy in a wheelchair... he had a decent amount of food but she'd feel awful stealing from someone like that, even now.
Young lady, three bags overflowing with valuables, her arm was kinda weird but she didnt look that strong either! Bingo.
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""Hm, I wonder if shuri still likes broccoli, I haven't seen him eat any since, well.... since forever!"" Vinestaff made her way through the street, not entirely paying attention to her surroundings.
""Maybe when they get back I can cook up a nice plate of-""
*THUD*
Her eyes went blank, but only for a moment, when she readjusted she was on the floor, the back of her head was sore and pain was shooting down her spine. No doubt, she had just been attacked.
She struggled to open her eyes for a moment, but she couldnt just let this happen. If someone wanted to pick a fight with her, it was a fight there where going to get. Besides, she'd taken harder hits before, this wasnt anything she couldnt handle.
She curled the hand of her cursed arm into a fist and used it as support to lift herself off the ground. She turned her head to get a good look at her attacker, they where putting things that fell out of her shopping bags back into them since most of her things scattered all over the sidewalk when she fell over.
They noticed her sudden movements and locked eyes with her, they seemed shocked. Vinestaff was about to say something, but before she could even open her mouth the thief was already booking it down the alleyway.
"HEY!" she yelled, getting up as fast as she could, giving chase to the stranger.
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""ShitshitshitshitshitSHIT! How is she still conscious??? I've knocked out guys twice her size before! Am I losing my touch? Or is she some kind of monster?? I really fucked up this time.""
Thoughts raced through her head, almost as fast as she was running to escape, which wasn't actually as fast as she would have wanted it to be, but being weighed down by bags full of stuff and the fatigue of hunger didn't help her out much.
Her train of thought was cut off short, as she noticed tons of.... leaves? Whizzing past her and grazing her sides. Looking over her shoulder slightly revealed.. her pursuer was firing petals at her with the use of her staff.
""Great! She's a gear demon too, can this day get any worse??"" She would have loved to return fire with her own gear, but her hands where a bit preoccupied at the moment. So she tried her hardest to just dodge the storm of leaves, which actually wasn't as hard as she expected, but it slowed her down considerably
She put all her focus Into her legs to keep them from collapsing while she ran as fast as she could. So much focus infact, that she hadn't even noticed that the petals had stopped,
A loud thud broke her out of her trance, looking back once again she noticed the woman had stopped moving, her staff planted firmly on the ground. The cement around it cracking and fracturing. The cracks quickly approached her and caught up to her with ease. They kept going though, a decent distance infront of her before roots and vines quickly emerged from the ground, blocking her way forward.
This was it, she'd gotten caught. But she couldnt give up, she NEEDED this. She turned around, breathing heavily, watching as the woman made her way towards her while fanning herself with her hand.
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"Got..... ya" she said, breathing heavily as she approached the thief.
"Now, you scoundrel, give me back my.... huh?" She finally had a chance to get a good look at who she had been chasing that entire time and well, it wasn't exactly what she expected.
Muggings and the like where pretty common back in thieves den (go figure) but pretty much all the thieves there where greedy little shits who didn't think what they already had was enough, people who may even rob people for the fun of it. This one on the other hand.... they looked terrible!
All their clothes where filthy and ripped everywhere, their hair and fur was dirty and unkempt, even through that fur she could practically see their ribs! Poor thing was trembling, ugly scowl plastered on their face revealing their fangs, clutching onto her stolen stuff like their life depended on it, and it be fair, it probably did.
Her expression quickly changed from one of anger to one of worry.
"Oh my gods... you poor thing...." she reached out a hand on instinct but was met with growling coming from the cat-like demon, quickly recalling her arm back to her side as she pondered for a moment.
"H-hey, calm down. I don't want to hurt you" her voice was soothing and tender. This confused the feline, their frown wavering a little.
"If all you wanted was food then you could have just asked... I know! Why don't you come over by my place and I can whip something up for you?" She clasped her hands together and a warm smile appeared on her face, awaiting a response.
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""WHAAAAT?????, is this woman out of her mind????"" She was beyond shocked. She was inviting her over for diner?? Like nothing just happened? She couldnt wrap her head around it, This had to be a trap or something.
Then again, if she wanted to harm her in any sort of way she would could done so already. And she did seem sincere enough....
With a heavy sigh she relaxed her stance and nodded while looking at the floor in shame.
"Great! Now, do you mind giving me the bags? I would let you carry them if that's what you wanted but it's a long way back and you look like you're about to faint dear"
""Dear? You can't be serious."" she quietly handed the bags over, half expecting the woman to just run away but, she didn't.
As they walked backwards through the way they came, the pink demon made sure to pick up any items that had been dropped during the chase. It made her feel even worse about the whole thing.
She wasnt lying, the way back sure was a long one. It was a silent walk aswell, although the atmosphere was still decently soothing because of the woman's humming of a relaxing tune that she was almost sure she had heard somewhere else before....
"My names Vinestaff by the way!" The sudden noise caught her off guard, she looked towards Vine, who was looking over her shoulder to face the feline with a warm smile. No response came out of her though, not that Vinestaff was expecting one, she turned to face forward again and continued leading the way.
After an agonising walk they had finally made it, a beautiful home resting atop a small hill, hidden away in the forest. With a click, Vinestaff unlocked the door and walked inside, tooking off her boots.
The inside of the house was even more gorgeous somehow, potted plants where carefully placed all over, filling the air with a sweet aroma and making the house look even more inviting. The place was incredibly well kept, there wasn't a spec of dust or dirt in sight! Well... except her of course.
Vinestaff noticed her admiration of the interior, she giggled a bit.
"The kitchen is this way, I'm sure you're famished by now!" She said, motioning to the back of the house.
The blue demon prepared to take a step forward... but she hesitated for a bit, the wooden flooring of the house was pristine! Walking on it with her dirt filled paws felt like a sin.
"Don't be shy dear!" Vinestaff said with an inviting tone, holding out a hand with a smile on her face. She grabbed on to her outstretched hand, which.... was made out of wood? She never noticed until now but yeah, Vine's arm was entirely wooden.
And it had quite the grip too, it almost squeezed the life out of her while they made their way to the kitchen. She didn't entirely dislike the feeling though.
At the back of the house, next to the staircase and the entrance to the backyard, was a moderate kitchen. Nothing too interesting or unique about it, not to her at least.
She pulled out a chair to sit in from the diner table while Vinestaff opened the fridge to put in all of the items from the supermarket. When she was done resupplying it, she pulled out a large pot, and firmly plopped it on the stove.
"This shouldn't take too long." Turning on the stove. After a few minutes or so she turned the stove off.
"Hope you like chicken soup!"
Taking a plate out of a cupboard and a spoon out a drawer, she prepared a delicious dish of chicken soup. Even the smell of it alone was enough to get the feline to drool. Vinestaff placed the plate infront of her, she took a deep breath, savoring the sweet aroma that filled her nostrils.
She picked up the spoon and took a sip. Heaven. That was all she could think, it was like illumina himself had come down from the heights to give her 1000 gifts, it was simply divine. She could feel tears build up behind her eyes, she was no stranger to crying every once in a while, but this was different.
Within minutes she wolfed down the entire thing. It was amazing, she hadn't eaten a meal like this since... Well, forever!
"Hope you enjoyed it dear." Vinestaff picked up the plate infront of her while she nodded slightly.
"Slingshot."
"Oh?" Vinestaff was a bit surprised to hear the blue demon speak, but she expected it to happen sooner or later.
"My n-name. Is Slingshot" she looked down at her lap, like she was embarrassed to say her own name.
Vinestaff giggled a little
"Well Slingshot, care for a refill?" She had quite a lot of soup to get rid off anyway.
Slingshot's eyes lit up as she nodded profusely, admittedly... she was still starving, even after a full meal. She ate her second plate just as fast as the first one, and the third, and the forth, and the fifth.... At some point Vinestaff just gave her the entire pot, and she cleaned it out entirely.
"W-wow you must really love my cooking huh?" Vinestaff was a bit flabbergasted, but at the same time, she probably should have seen this coming from someone who looked like they hadn't eaten a proper meal in years. Slingshot nodded once again, with a small "mhm!" Vine swore she heard a faint purr.
"Well, it's getting pretty late, and excuse me for assuming but, you don't have a place to stay, do you?" Vine placed a hand on Sling's shoulder. She recoiled at the sudden touch, but quickly relaxed. Vinestaff had a sweet smile on her face, it was reassuring, and familiar somehow.
Slingshot shook her head. The only semblance of a "home" she's ever had was her favourite dumpster behind that rib place.
"So... how would you feel about staying here for the time being? You can leave when you get back on your feet if you'd like."
Slingshot couldnt believe it, not only did this woman invite her over to diner, but now she's offering her a place to stay? After she tried to rob her??? Sling nodded for a third time, she could feel herself tearing up again.
Vinestaff's smile grew wider as she moved her hand from Sling's shoulder to her head, petting her a little bit. She could definitely hear purring this time.
"In that case, follow me! I'll show you to the guest room." Vinestaff grabbed Sling's hand and lead her to the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a hallway with 4 doors along it and a single door at the very end of it.
"This is the guest room," Vine pointed to the second door on the right. "so make yourself at home! Oh and the bathroom is at the end of the hallway, I figured you might want to take a bath or something." Now that she mentioned it, a bath did sound nice right about now.
"This is my room, if you need anything do let me know ok? Don't be shy dear!" She said just before entering the first door on the left of the hallway.
Slingshot entered the bathroom, it was surprisingly colourful. She took off her ragged clothes and stepped inside the bath, on the counter was a wide assortment of bottles and containers. She didnt know what any of them where for but they looked fancy.
One caught her attention though ""men's 13 in 1, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant...."" Yeah, maybe not.
She turned the knob, the sensation of warm water running through her fur was definitely strange to say the least, but oh so satisfying. She scrubbed her fur and hair until all of the dirt and grime was completely gone. It took a while but her hair was finally silky smooth once again, it felt liberating.
Taking a step out of the bath she noticed a set of towels and a kimono layed where she had left her clothes, with a note on top of them. The kimono was a bright green, definitely didn't seem like something Vinestaff would wear.
She picked up the note. ""Hey sling! I forgot to give these to you when you went inside, but here's some towels and clean clothes for you to wear! Sorry I couldn't find anything that would fit you, hopefully these will do for now. How about we go clothe shopping sometime soon hm? -Vinestaff <3""
""Why is this lady so damn nice??"" She dried herself off with the towels, and slipped into the kimono. It was a bit big for her but she didnt mind it being a little oversized.
She exited the bathroom and went inside of the guest room. Gods, even this place was well decorated. The bedsheets emitted a relaxing aroma of lavender, it tingled her nostrils.
She wormed her way under the covers of the bed. It felt heavenly, like she was laying on the clouds, drifting off into the endless night. A single tear rolled off the side of her face. This was it. Maybe her struggles where finally over. As she succumbed to her tiredness, she thanked the gods, and she also thanked Vinestaff, for they had both truly blessed her that night.