Monster (Cartoon Cat x Reader)

Fear and Death

Warning: This chapter contains detailed descriptions of torture, murder, and sadistic behaviors. Not just basic descriptions, intense violence described in detail. Those triggered by any of the above are advised to skip ahead when you see the row of exclamation points. Read at your own discretion.

Cartoon Cat stalked through the halls, the scent of six individual humans filling his nose. The sweet scent of y/n lingered in the ever-shifting hallways, a unique blend of citrusy, smoky, and fresh... with the faintest taint of his own scent underlying the whole thing. She made for a tantalizing first target. But, there were other humans here, too. The young females, for instance. They both carried a remarkably similar scent, fruity and rich like a fine wine. While he couldn't exactly eat his captive - he wanted to play with her for as long as possible, after all - the two young girls would make such a delicious meal.

The boys, too, were viable options. The youngest of the males had a warm coppery smell about him that was easy to distinguish from the dust and overlapping traces of past prey. The next one an earthy woody scent that mingled nicely with the scent of his brother. The pair would make for a hearty, delightful dish. But the third....

He was the oldest of the five newcomers, though still plenty young by human standards. His savory, spicy aroma dominated the surrounding environment, making him laughably easy to track. Such an exotic fragrance, while not quite as intoxicating as... certain scents... was more than enticing enough to start Cartoon Cat in that direction. He hadn't had a meal with such a scent in years. How fortunate, then, that the man had been foolish enough not to heed the warnings.

He stalked silently down the hallways, ears twitching as he listened for the telltale sound of human footsteps, the whisper of human breaths, the call of a human voice. His breathing slowed until he was barely doing so at all. Each move was careful, he wouldn't allow his footsteps to make any noise that might distract him. The darkness didn't bother him, each warm heat signature and cold corner painted in vibrant infrared clarity. The hunt was on.

Cartoon Cat moved through the maze he'd created, paying little attention to the shifting rooms. This was not a casual chase, not this time. The fragrance of his prey filled his nose, steadily getting stronger and blocking out all other scents. An animalistic impulse thrummed through his body, encouraging him to stalk, to kill.... To feed. A low laugh escaped his jaws, echoing down the hallway. The surroundings, most of which were blue in his infrared vision, were showing yellow traces of residual heat. Disturbed dust motes began becoming more frequent, as if something had recently moved past. A cooling heat signature on the wall indicated a warm body had been leaning against it until a little bit ago. He was getting closer.

A faint sound made him pause, tilting his head to the side. Footsteps, far away but close enough for his keen ears to pick up. The stealthy tread of someone in sneakers trying to move carefully, in a room or further down the hallways. His grin widened. That stupid human really couldn't make this any easier for him.

"Hello?! Is someone there?!" With the location of his prey confirmed, he could move on to step two... luring the man into a false sense of security. The footsteps paused, and Cartoon Cat imagine the human looking around for the source of his voice. When a minute passed with no response, he tried again. "Please, I'm lost! I just wanna go home!"

Finally, the footsteps resumed. And based on the sound... they were heading in his direction this time. A smirk crossed his face for a moment, and then his body began to change. Pale human hands replaced his gloved claws. His dark fur smoothed into a wrinkled long-sleeve black sweater and jeans. His cartoonish eyes shrunk and changed shape, becoming the wide and scared black eyes of a young human man. His ears folded backwards and shifted shape, assimilating into the messy black hair atop his now human head. His tail became shorter and shorter, melting into his new form until it looked as if it was never there to begin with. He could still see and hear and smell everything without hinderance, but as far as any onlooker would be concerned... Cartoon Cat was nothing more than a young, attractive, and very scared human.