Big Book Of Sjips One Shots

A Strange Package (S)

TW: Feline!Sjin,  Fluff

It had been around 5 years ago when Sips had been lain in bed, unable to sleep due to the pounding rain and the cracks of lightning illuminating the sky with every crash of thunder. He got out of bed, swinging his legs over the side and standing up, his bare feet against the cool wood floor. Suddenly, there was a frantic knocking at the door, followed by another sound, a mewling, like a crying child but somehow a little more feline. Sips was in two minds as whether to open it, a knock on the door in the middle of the night? Seemed more than a little suspicious. He was about to return to bed when the mewling started again, and even Sips couldn't ignore it. He tentatively opened the door, surprised at the sight that met him. A small cardboard box, inside was a blanket and what at a glance seemed to be an infant. Sips looked around, and could have sworn he saw a flash of a cloak disappear around the corner, but he couldn't be sure and besides, it was cold, and dark, and kids don't get left on doorsteps by accident. He picked up the box and carefully carried it inside, flicking on the light. The sudden brightness startled the 'child', causing it to thrash and cry. Sips stood, examining it carefully. There was no mistaking; it was an infant, wrapped in a blanket with only its face exposed. Taking it carefully out of the box and holding it in his arms, it chortled a little and wriggled within the blanket, clearly keen to be out and able to move, so Sips carefully unwrapped it, gasping at the tiny body in his arms. The face, clearly human, had longish wavy brunette hair, soft and shiny, from which two cat-like ears protruded, covered in soft, velvety fur, twitching and moving slightly, honing in on every little noise. The face was very similar to that of a small child, except for the nose which again, was more cat-like and had a light sprinkling of soft, short fur. Sips gasped and stepped back from the table, the creature wriggling its way out of the rest of the blanket to reveal a slender tail. Despite its feline appendages, the other aspects of the child seemed relatively human. It's body seemed human, except slightly more slender than a usual infant. It tiny hands reached towards him, brown eyes big, imploring him to come closer. He picked it up and held it in his arms once more, the small creature snuggling against him. Despite the cold outside it felt warm as its body touched his own, before it wrapped its tail around itself and went to sleep. Sips put it gently back in the box, covering it with the blanket and putting it on the floor beside his bed.

The next day, Sips took the child to see Dr Trott. At 19 he had very little experience with children, especially the half-cat kind, and was scared that something could be wrong and he wouldn't know what to do. The walrus looked surprised to see the spaceman at his door, anxious that there was something wrong. Sips shook his head and leant forward, showing the doctor the child in his arms. He gasped and looked at Sips, before beckoning him inside. Sips handed the child over to the doctor, who weighed him, examined him and looked in his eyes, mouth and ears. 'Well Sips, what you have here is very rare, in laymans terms, he is 'half a Halfling'. When a halfling mates with a human, this is what is produced. A creature that is very much human but is blessed –Or cursed- with some features of the Halfling, in this case, feline ears, a feline nose, and a tail. The creature-' 'Sjin.' Sips interrupted. He had already become rather attached to him, and wasn't keen on it being referred to as a 'creature'. 'Okay, well Sjin is of a healthy weight for an infant his age, despite being more slender in gait, and seems healthy in all other aspects. I would say he is around, perhaps, 3-4 weeks old.' '3-4 weeks?' Sips gasped. Despite being slimmer, he had rated Sjin around 6 months old, not merely weeks. 'Well yes, that's the other thing about this kind. They –Like cats- tend to age and grow rather rapidly.' Trott replied. 'Does that mean... Does that mean he's only going to live for a few years?' Sips whispered, horrified at the thought that Sjin may only live a fraction of his lifetime. 'Well, no, actually, Sjin will live a lifespan similar to yours. He will age rapidly until maturity and will then age at a rate similar to that of a human.' 'Oh... Okay...' Sips replied, relieved. 'So... how human is he going to be?' Sips asked, unsure of how to phrase his question. Doctor Trott laughed. 'That will depend on the surroundings in which he is raised. For example if he is allowed to think like a cat, he will become rather feline in persona. However, if he is raised around humans and encouraged to become a young man as opposed to a tom cat, then he will, in turn, become more human in thought.' The doctor explained. 'So what you're saying is... If in theory, I, was allowed to raise him, he would become like a human son?' Sips asked tentatively. 'Unfortunately, no. In the same way that kittens, once mature, don't stay with their parents, he wouldn't become like a son, however more like a... I don't know, friend?' Trott suggested. 'So... Would it be practical for me to raise him?' Sips asked, embarrassed at the suggestion. 'Why, of course Sips! Like a human baby, he will require feeding, changing and will be completely dependent on you for the next, I don't know, 2-3 months? And then he will start to, I don't know how to phrase it... well, become a man I suppose!' The doctor chuckled, his blubber wobbling. With that, Sips beamed, picked up Sjin in his arms and thanked the doctor before returning home, content in the knowlege that he would be alone no more.

Chapter Two:

Looking back, Sips had never really registered how much that one day would change him, how the little life left on his doorstep would ultimately alter the path of his life for the better. A man surrounded by solitude in many ways found help in little Sjin, and as he grew rapidly from day to day Sips loved him more and more. The infant became a toddler, a complete menace as his oddly strong limbs and cat-reflexes meant he was awfully good at hide and seek, and this combined with a cat's strange curiosity to climb to the highest possible place and then not be able to get down undoubtedly kept Sips on his toes. In a matter of weeks the toddler became a child, and then a teenager. As it turns out, a normal teenager is enough of a handful without tom-cat hormones mixed in, and this combination meant that Sjin was usually in an awful mood. Despite this, Sips took pleasure in the fact that Sjin didn't treat Sips as a father; he treated him like a close friend as Dr Trott had predicted, confiding in him and trusting him.
It was around 3 months after he had been left on his doorstep that Sips realised that they must be around the same age now. Sjin was no longer a teenager, but a young man, tall and slender with wavy, brown hair and a hint of stubble on his jawline. Whether it was to do with being raised around humans, or whether it was just chance, but Sjin was clearly more human that cat. Other than the ears, nose and tail, every other physical aspect of Sjin was human, as was his persona. He laughed and cried like any other, the only thing to give him away was the animalistic yelps and mewls he gave when surprised or angry, other than that he could speak as any other, with a mysterious accent. His tail came in pretty useful, and was as important to Sjin as one of his hands. Sips hated to admit it, because he really didn't like it, but Sjin was pretty hot, as guys go. He was tall and slender but by no means weedy, and his deep-set brown eyes were almost beautiful.

It seemed weird to think that Sjin was barely 3 months old, still a baby by many people's reckonings, and yet was probably around 24 years old, by Doctor Trotts reckoning. Despite his 'age', Sjin lacked experience of the world, and was on top of this very impulsive, a combination which made his main characteristic 'Reckless'. It was a warm summer morning when Sips heard a loud noise outside, somewhere between a yelp and a scream. He ran outside to find Sjin clinging to the top of a high wall, his legs scrabbling as he tried to find traction and grip on the surface, his fingers burning as they rubbed against the brick, holding his whole weight on just his fingertips.
'Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiips!' Sjin yelled, making a noise that was a jumble of a yowl and a squeal of fear as one of his hands slipped. Sips got to the wall just as he fell, his scream filling the air as his arms and legs flailed, until he hit what he thought was the ground with a soft thump. However, it wasn't the ground he hit. Sips, in a millisecond had positioned himself under Sjin, breaking his fall.

Sips opened his eyes, the grass at eye level from his position on the ground. He moaned slightly as he felt the pain in his head, the back of his skull tender from where he'd hit the ground. He sat up slowly and blinked hard until the stars stopped bursting in front of his eyes, and then suddenly remembered how he'd come to be there.
'Sjin?!' Sips called anxiously, turning around to see the limp body of the Halfling layed on the floor behind him, his eyes firmly shut. Crawling over to him, he was unsure of what to do. He felt his chest- he was still breathing, and his pulse was quick but apparent. He gently shook his shoulder, trying to rouse him. Panic spread through him as he got no reply, tears falling as cursed, terrified that Sjin wouldn't wake up, terrified that he'd wake up and not be the same. Over the months he had raised him, Sips had grown to love him, not in the way he'd expected, affectionately, but more as though he had fallen in love, his heart skipping beats when Sjin flicked his hair out of his eyes, his breath hitching as he brushed past him. He was brought back to the present with a bump as Sjin moaned, a hint of a purr in his voice as he opened his eyes and saw Sips.
'Sips... What happened?' He asked, his voice wobbling a little. 'My... my head hurts!' he said, frowning.
'Sjin! You... you fell! You tried to climb the wall and fell' Sips replied, nearly crying with relief as Sjin sat up and blinked hard.
'That... That wall? I can't of... I should've died!' Sjin mewled, shaking.
'No, no Sjin it's okay, I broke your fall, it's fine, you're fine!' Sips tried desperately to reassure him, scared that he'd panicked him. Sips picked Sjin up in his arms and carefully carried him inside, setting him down on the sofa.
'Hey! Don't leave me!' Sjin said indignantly as Sips turned to walk away.
'What? You never want me to stay with you, you big babby?' Sips asked jokingly, chuckling as Sjin folded his arms and furrowed his eyebrows, his nose screwing up. Sips sat down beside him, Sjin curling up with his head on his lap. Sips ran his hand through his hair, rubbing gently behind his protruding ears. Sjin only purred in reply, the soft noise continuing even after he fell asleep.

Credit to orphan_account on Ao3