Reality's Strange

Flashback (Andromeda's P.o.V)

I'm currently in a staring competition with the cat. Neither of us will back down - well, that's what I think, at first. But, after a bit, the cat wavers, and he steps back. He looks anywhere but the glass. As he should be. Looks like he either thinks he was in the wrong, or he remembers that a mouse - or a rat - will not always be afraid of the big, bad cat.

I start to remember, like a flashback in a book. I never told the others of the experience - and nobody would dare ask me. Even if Hilda's the captain, I'm still in charge to a certain point, at least.

~ ~ ~

The rat sat there in front of the warm fire, arms crossed. Why? Well, Hilda actually agreed with Melody when she suggested camping. And then Midnight - traitor - also agreed, and suggested a large, woody island that she'd been to with her family on a camping trip, once. And, no, Andromeda hadn't enjoyed that trip, either. And then Hilda just had to add that maybe, to add an extra challenge, they should all have separate spots to camp in.

God damn that Melody, Andromeda thought, seething. She didn't really mean it, but thoughts have a habit of happening. They also have a habit of getting carried away.

Okay, fine, she admitted it. The flames were nice. They made her feel warm and sleepy. They made her want to just lie flat on her stomach and have a nice, long nap. It IS getting late... she thought, still fairly grumpy. After a brief internal quarrel, she began putting out the fire. Malicious pirates might take that as an invitation to take any money she had and slit her throat. Nasty but true - that was something she thought often. The rat crawled into her tent-thing, heavy with exhaustion, and looked at her bag.

She froze.

It had been broken into.

All that was missing was some of the food, and a lot of water. Whoever had stolen from her didn't seem to be interested in any money - her purse hadn't been moved at all, and neither had the money inside.

She scanned the ground quickly. Cat footprints - coming from the wood, then hastily running away. She sniffed the air, too. A cat, who was probably panicked.

The rat slowly padded in the direction the cat had run. She kept her ears open, partially to check and see if she could possibly be heard. Eventually, she came upon a young, ginger feline, eating quickly. He matched the footprints.

A spiteful idea crossed her mind. She privately grinned - in a nasty way.

The rodent reached out - and grabbed the cat's tail, giving it a small tug.

It had an immediate reaction.

"YEOW!" the cat yelped, twisting around and dropping the food he'd pilfered. She noticed that he had an eye-patch - one that you'd find in a gift shop by the sea or something. Well, if he was a pirate, he wasn't a very good one - she HAD come across worse, but that was more 'dropping your knife on your foot in the middle of a battle and then ignoring your enemy while you try to stop the bleeding' than 'ignoring the money and grabbing food as well as stealing a pretend eye-patch'. Or, she guessed he'd stolen it.

"What'd ya do THAT for?!" he snapped, rubbing his tail where she'd grabbed it. Well, he certainly didn't seem to be armed.

"Are you a pirate?" she growled, making sure to really 'spit' the word 'pirate' out.

"Of course- I mean, no- yarrgh!" the cat replied, sounding frustrated. Andromeda eyed him. Nowhere to store even a small knife - and, if he had it in his mouth somehow, it'd be even more stupid, trying to talk.

The words finally nudged the rat's mind. Her eyes widened to their fullest extent, which creates a rather creepy effect when you have such large eyes as hers. She pointed a claw at the cat's throat. She wasn't sure if she was aiming at the right place, but a slash there was sure to do some damage, anyway.

"Tell me, pirate," she whispered in his ear, "where is your crew, and did you see my fire?"

"Yes- no- I 'ave no crew- I- uh- yes- I mean- NO!" He hit the back of her leg with his tail, but the effect was rather diminished by the fact that Andromeda was expecting it, and jumped back.

"A lone pirate? Nothing as pathetic as a lone pirate in the world. Lost your crew? Did they abandon you? Maybe you're not even a real pirate?" she squeaked, voice becoming higher and higher as she got angrier and angrier.

"M-me grandfather was a lone pirate!" the cat replied, miniature tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. Looked like Andromeda had struck a nerve without thinking.

"Yes, but he was your GRANDfather," she growled, and almost regretted it. Her mouth had followed that particular line of thought without consulting the rest of her. The 'pirate' gave a mix between a hiss, a yowl and a sob, and struck her.

She hadn't been expecting this.

What she'd been expecting was an argument - she thought the cat would back down. But it seemed like he thought himself a proper pirate. And that had led to a fight.

The rat raised a paw to her shoulder, and felt the injury. It wasn't bad physically - he'd torn off the entire arm, emotionally and mentally. Angry tears stained the fur around her eyes, mimicking him.

"How dare you?" she said, and gave a noise that was half chuckle, half sob, "Didn't you learn to never hit a lady?"

That was when the fight really began.

It wasn't bloody until the end - and, even then, it wasn't much. The small scar on her mind would stay there forever, though.

She swiped at his right ear, and nicked it. Andromeda paused, shocked at herself.

The cat lashed out as well, taking off the tip of her tail.

He also paused.

With his nervousness back, the 'pirate' cleared his throat, and muttered loud enough for her to hear, "I'll- I'll just, err-rrrr, get back to- uh- me own camp."

And then he fled.

Still grasping her scarred tail, Andromeda watched him flee.

She regretted right about everything, at that moment.

A.N.: Don't you hate it when your stories write themselves? D: Poor Kwazii. He was hungry, and thirsty! Well, I guess both sides were in the wrong, but Andromeda more so. And, for those of you looking for clichés and pointing at the 'said without thinking' part, haven't you accidentally replied to something, and said something you never wanted to say to that person? Happens to everyone.