Hero & Villain

Macer | 1410w

I steady Amelia after Falcon shoves her, my eyes going a bit wide when she tries to march after him. I stand in front of her, blocking her path.

"Amelia it's fine, it's just Falcon," I explain, and her scowl lessens slightly.

"I thought he didn't remember stuff," she states, raising her eyebrows.

"He doesn't. He left himself a note about a kid and... that's a long story. To sum it up, I was told the kid was taken, I went looking for the girl, he went looking for the girl, we teamed up, neither of us could find anything at all, and I thought maybe you could help us. Though if I'm reading the situation right, you already found her."

Amelia scoffs and rolls her eyes. "I took her," she says, planting her hands on her hips. "You and Falcon weren't paying any attention to the innocent child left behind in your chaos, so I decided to help."

It's my turn to roll my eyes. "You kidnapped her and erased any and all records of her existence."

Amelia huffs, but I can tell she isn't really upset at me. "Well what else could I do? I couldn't let her go back into the system, and I couldn't legally take her in myself," she defends.

I cross my arms with a mock stern expression, and she meets my gaze with slightly squinted eyes. Eventually she lets out a chuckle, and I just crack a smile. "Really though Amelia, you could have told me."

She starts toward the living room, where I can hear Falcon and the girl talking. "Don't blame me for this, dear, you're the one who ran off with your boyfriend and remembered little Ellie too late," she scolds.

I grimace slightly. I was too worked up from killing the foster parents, and then I was too distracted by the fact that Calen knew who I was, and I really do feel bad about forgetting. "Sorry. Thank you for uh, taking care of her," I say softly as we round a corner into the living room.

My eyes widen when I see Calen standing, braces on a chair, fluffy ears and a tail very obviously showing. His shocked little gasp is enough to spur me into action, and I start toward him. He shrinks back, seeming to curl in on himself. I blink in confusion, then let out a soft breath when I realize he must have recognized me as Macer. I guess his kitten form didn't know yet.

I coo under my breath as he backs into a corner and I follow slowly, holding out my hands. He hasn't moved, his gaze looking past me, a bit unfocused. I reach out my hands to brush my fingertips over his arms, hopefully to also pull him closer and into my chest until he feels calm.

My plan is interrupted by a muffled scraping, papery sound, that I recognize too late as some sort of blade dragging against the wall.

He swings his arm wildly, and I'm able to get a brief glance at his wicked looking claws before they're raking against my forearm. I jerk my arms back, fighting my natural urge to lash out in return. If it was anyone else, they would already be on fire.

Caleb darts past me, and I turn in time to see Amelia carrying the girl out of the room. I lunge after Calen, tackling him to the ground before he can get to Amelia. He must have realized she's a Villain too, though I'm not sure if he's doing this out of self-defense or to save the girl.

I turn as we fall so he's on top of me, and I grab the arm of a chair to lessen the impact. He lets out a small huff when we hit the floor, but I'm unfazed. It's carpet, and I managed to land in a not comfortable but also not painful way.

I want to just lay back and keep him here on my chest, but he has other ideas as he squirms and tries to scratch my chest with his claws.

I grab his wrists before he can do more than scratch my shirt, flipping is over so I'm straddling him on my knees, his wrists pinned beside him and my ankles hooked over his legs so he can't kick.

"Kitten, be still," I warn when he keeps squirming, and instantly he lays still, except for his noticeable trembling. I sigh and make sure my grip on his wrists isn't too tight, and also make sure I'm not burning him accidentally.

"D-Don't hurt Elli, p-please don't hu-hurt her," he whimpers, and I watch as his claws seem to retract and become normal fingernails again. I'll have to ask him about that later.

For now I just lean down and rest my forehead on his, closing my eyes. "Kitten, I would never hurt a child. And I would never hurt you, either," I reassure.

He sniffles, and when I rub my cheek against his I can feel that it's damp. "But y-you do, I ge-get bruises and c-cuts from you," he stutters, sounding sad and a bit betrayed. "Th-Thought you loved Kitten," he sobs, shudders wracking through him.

I slowly release his wrists, then sit back on my haunches and let him curl up between my legs as I hug him. "I do, Baby. Love you very much," I murmur into his hair, massaging my fingertips against the back of his head. "Your other forms know who I am, Lovely, and they decided it was okay for now. Can you do the same, Kitten?"

I wait, practically holding my breath, as he sniffles and wipes his cheeks. When he nods I suck in a relieved breath, then let out shakily as I press a kiss to his temple. "Even Falcon?" he whispers, peeking up at me.

I nod. "Yes Baby. He didn't seem too surprised, but he was definitely mad at first. And your normal form, or, uh, Calen, kinda freaked out at first but I really think he's okay with it now," I tell him, smiling hopefully.

He nods, smiling back. "O-Okay. Promise you won't hu-hurt Elli?" he asks imploringly, a slight pout on his face. I can't help but chuckle at how different he seems from just a few seconds ago, when he was attacking me.

"Yes Kitten, I promise. And neither will Amelia. I'm fact, she saved Elli," I explain, smiling wider at the way his lips part in surprise. "You know... your old foster parents?" I ask hesitantly, hating the way his lip trembles, but ignoring it when he nods firmly. "Well, you'll never have to worry about them again, I promise. And neither will Elli. She was with them for just a little while, but she's not anymore so Amelia took her in."

He wiggles in my hold until he's facing me and able to snuggle his nose into my shoulder, and a second later he lets a soft purr, voice steady as he says, "Thank you."

I just smile and brush my fingers through his hair. We stay like that until he shifts, his cheek now pressed against my chest, and when his eyes flutter open he gasps loudly.

I look down, startled, to see him staring at the four long gashes running diagonally down my right forearm. "I hurt y-you," he whines, reaching out to ever so gently touch one of them.

As soon as I could concentrate enough to do it, I heated let flames flicker over my unprotected skin and somewhat cauterize the wound, which at least stopped the bleeding. They'll scar, but they're thin and clean enough that I think the scars won't be too bad.

"It's okay Baby, doesn't even hurt," I lie, turning his face away and landing a shirt peck on his nose. I can feel my arm throbbing in protest to every movement, but I can't bring myself to care as my Kitten starts purring again.

"I'll he-help you heal th-them," he promises, voice a soft rumble as he continues to purr. I don't get a chance to wonder what he means.

His purr is it short by Amelia appearing in the doorway, holding Elli in one arm and a backpack in the other. She meets my eyes, expression serious.

"We have to go."