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It sure was quiet out there.
Not much really happened at this hour, but it was weird to hear basically nothing. Well, nothing except the smallest sound of snoring from the two other members of “Team Friendship”. A stupid name, sure, but Puss was getting used to it.
After quite a long day of traveling, the team of three had agreed to stop and set up camp somewhere in the forest. Setting up camp was easy, albeit tiring, but that didn’t stop Puss from volunteering to keep guard for the night. Him and Kitty were taking turns, and this time it was his. They couldn’t ask Perrito of course, mostly because they needed him during the day just to energize the two, and he needed his beauty sleep.
It was boring keeping guard, but it was for the team. He wasn’t going to allow somebody to steal from them; he wouldn’t even allow a squirrel to get anywhere close to the two sleeping. It was all for his team of friends, and he couldn’t be happier to protect them.
Puss sat on a the stump of a tree he found nearby, and sharpened a piece of wood he had found with his sword. At least it was something to pass the time, but he honestly didn’t know what he was going to make. Maybe a spear? A sculpture? Some sort of abstract piece? Puss didn’t really know, he’s not really an art guy.
Suddenly, there was a nearby bush that broke the silence. Puss at first thought it was the wind, but it kept moving. Strange. He stood up from his spot and left his wooden block on the stump, and walked over to the bush, sword in hand. He pointed it towards the bush. “If there is some sort of bird or squirrel in there, get lost.”
“Puss in Boots.” Puss heard the voice from another side of the forest. It was deep and creepy, much like some smokers he’s met in all of his nine lives. “You can either surrender now and I can accept my bounty, or we can do this the hard way.”
Puss still did not see the man, or woman, he’s been wrong before, but he knew exactly why they were there. He chuckled a bit and pointed his sword where the voice was last heard. “Ah, so you are a bounty hunter? You will find that your reward will not come so easily to you.”
“I’ll give you one last chance to give yourself up, or I’ll take you in, forcefully.” The voice had came from around the area he was sitting, so he flipped around and pointed his sword towards that area. Nothing was there, but his wooden block he had left had vanished.
“You want to act all tough to me, then come on! Show yourself.” Puss was not scared to face this bounty hunter, even if he was on his last life.
“Fine, if you insist.” Puss heard the voice from behind him and turned around. They took a second to appear, but out of the shadows emerged a white wolf in a black suit and tie, with two daggers on his hips, and most prominently to Puss, his red eyes.
The bounty hunter left Puss at a loss for words. His breathing began to quicken as the memories of death flashed in his mind. He felt the pain of the scar on his forehead begin to appear. He couldn’t stop shaking.
“Wow, I’ve never seen someone so scared of me before. This’ll be easier than I thought.” He pulled his two daggers out and pointed them towards the orange cat.
Puss’ vision began to be covered with his tears, and as he fell down to the ground, his sword dropped from his hand. His hands shook as he crawled backwards, but was met with a tree blocking him from going back any further. “Please… please… I- my- my life.” There was this lump in his throat that kept him from speaking anything else.
The wolf made this clicking sound that would’ve been a cat’s dream to hear, but to Puss was the sounds of a nightmare. “Oh, Chupacabra, you aren’t living up to the legend. I’ll do you a favor and end it for you. Right. Now.” The bounty hunter raised one of his daggers in the air.
This was it. This is how he would die. He would die afraid, without anyone but his quickened breathing and his tears. Puss couldn’t see anything that was happening because of his clouded vision, so he closed his eyes, accepting and waiting for the impact of the sword.
After a few moments, nothing happened. He was too much in shock to quite understand why he hadn’t felt the slash of a knife. He tried to focus on his breathing, but it was too much to handle. His heart beat a million times per second, or at least that’s what it felt like. He didn’t know what to do. Everything was too mu-
Puss felt a small amount of pressure on his stomach, it felt oddly familiar, but he didn’t remember quite where it was from. He tried opening his eyes to see where he was, and behind his clouded eyes, he saw the dark surroundings. Looking down, Puss saw Perrito looking up at him with his blue eyes, a much warmer color of eyes that comforted him. His hands began moving up to pet Perrito, as his breathing began to slow down.
On his other side, he saw a black and white figure kneel down and put their paw on his shoulder. It was Kitty, and she started rubbing back and forth to comfort him. The final tears began rolling down his face as his breathing was at a steady pace.
All of his friends were there for him, but he began to feel bad about waking them up over a stupid bounty hunter, people that he’s dealt with for years. After a few moments of silence, Puss spoke up.
“I am sorry. I-“ He took a second to think about the right word. “Froze.” He wiped the tears off his face.
Perrito lifted his head off and spoke. “Puss, please don’t feel bad. It happens.”
“It shouldn’t happen! I- I defeated death, there is no reason be scared of him anymore. I can’t believe I just froze-“
“Puss!” Kitty’s voice shook Puss out of his rambling, and their eyes met. “It’s okay to be scared of something, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I know I still get scared of things.”
Puss looked at her, confused. “Like what?”
“Well, I don’t like it when people touch my paws without permission. I get scared that I’ll get declawed again, even though the claws aren’t there.”
After Kitty, Perrito speaks up. “And I also still get scared that I’ll be treated like a burden like before.” Puss looks over at Perrito. “But, now that I have you both, I don’t think that’ll ever happen. You both are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I hope that you think the same, Puss.”
Puss stares off for a second, and a small smile begins to form on his face. It’s small, but it means a lot to the both of them. “I do feel the same.” Puss grabs the both of them and pulls them into a hug. “I love you both.”
Team Friendship were now offered in a group hug, and they all accepted the offer.
“Come on, Puss, you go to sleep. I’ll keep guard. I got enough slee for tomorrow.” Kitty spoke up as she broke from the hug. Puss didn’t want to make her stay up.
“No way, I won’t make you do that.” Puss was determined to stay up and complete his night.
“Puss, it’s fine.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“I’ll keep guard.” Perrito spoke up before the two argued about it more than they already had. The two cats stared at him.
“No, Perrito, we agreed that we would keep guard, not you.” Puss was not about to let Perrito stay up, let alone Kitty.
“I want to give it a shot, you both never get to sleep the amount of time you need to. I’ll be fine.”
The two cats looked at each other and they both considered the offer. Kitty turned to look at Perrito. “Are you sure?”
“Please, I insist. You both get some sleep, okay?”
Both cats agreed. “Okay, thank you, Perrito.” The two cats walked together towards their sleeping quarters.
“Have a good sleep, alright.”
The two laid down in their makeshift tent they had made for the area. Puss laid down first, and was relieved to be able to relax and get some sleep. That was until Kitty put her arms around him and cuddled up with Puss. “Have a good night, okay?”
And for the first time in forever, Puss purred. It was silent and sweet. He accepted the embrace and began to drift off. “I will.”