The Protector and the Peacemaker

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

(Tick)

"Tick, it's time to wake up."

There was a burning sensation in Tick's chest as he began to regain consciousness, and it only grew worse as he woke up, turning from an unpleasant tingle to genuine pain. With a moan, he opened his eyes.

He had expected it to be Porter standing over him, and so he was startled to see the white cat-thing from before there instead.

"How do you feel?" it asked with a surprising amount of concern in its voice.

"My chest hurts," he answered hesitantly.

The cat closed its eyes and nodded solemnly. "You were struck point blank by a fireball spell. You're lucky to be alive."

Tick looked around without sitting up. "Where's Porter?"

"I took you away from him," it answered. "I'll be the one taking care of you from now on."

Alarm flooded Tick's mind, and he sat up. He immediately regretted this when chest flared with pain, but he forced himself to ignore it.

"Why?" he demanded, glaring at his new abductor.

"Because Porter put you into far too much danger," it answered. A flash of anger appeared on its face, but Tick wasn't sure whether it was directed at him or Porter.

"He kept me safe from the danger!" Tick shot back.

The cat shook its head. "If he really cared about you, he would never have brought you into those kinds of situations."

Tick felt his face turn red with anger. "Who are you to take me away from him in the first place?"

"I... uh..." the cat's voice trailed off, as if second guessing itself. It hesitated, and took a step backwards. Tick wasn't going to let it off the hook that easily, though. He wanted a proper explanation.

"Well?" he demanded.

"I'm..." the cat began again. It took a calming breath and then said, "I'm your father."

All at once, Tick's anger melted away, and was replaced with shock. "My... father?" he echoed, staring at the massive six-legged wildcat.

The cat nodded. "My name is Gwinn. Your mother must have mentioned me at some point."

"She told me your name," Tick confirmed. "But she never told me you were a... a..."

"A wampus cat?" it finished for him.

"Yeah, one of those."

The cat-thing, Gwinn, sighed and sat down.

"I wouldn't have expected her too," it explained. "She never saw me like this."

It looked at Tick expectantly, as if waiting for him to ask what it meant, but the little chimera had so many questions right then that he couldn't decide which one to ask first. When Tick didn't speak, the cat began to explain on its own.

"I was born human, Tick, and so were you. It wasn't until after you were born that we became what we are now."

Gwinn gestured at his own body, and then motioned towards Tick's tail. Tick self-consciously hid it behind his back.

For the next twenty minutes, Gwinn told Tick about the corporation and what they had done to him, and how that, in turn, had affected Tick. Finally, with a downcast look on his face, he explained why he had never returned to his wife, Tick's mother, leaving them to fend for themselves.