Chapter Text
He savored the sweet dream. The soft warmness on his fur. The gentle massaging of his head. He almost felt like it was entirely real. He blinked open his eyes, realizing he was out on some field. He looked up only to find his vision revealing a blurry figure above him. He nuzzled into the touch, looking up at the figure.
His nose twitched slightly, he felt a feather tickle him. It was a quite soft feather, almost like someone was trying to tickle him awake. He realized his eyes were still shut tightly. He carefully squinted one eye open. The last thing he recalled before the dream was missing that tree by a smidgen.
In front of his nose, he saw a black feather, which was connected to a pair of wings. These wings belonged to the figure on the edge of the bed, facing away from him. He opened his eyes now fully, inspecting the figure. It was a blonde-haired man, what he assumed from the make-up. The figure seemed to be tugging off his clothes that looked sogged with water. He shifted his gaze away from the man instead onto his own fur. It was also damp as if recently washed.
His gaze traveled lower through his damp golden fur, falling onto the ice pack lying on his paw. He realized his leg was numb there. He tried lightly shifting it without alarming the bird. Immediately he was struck with the pain in his foot, he immediately gave up on trying to move it for now. His gaze traveled back to the figure changing. The man had already replaced the wet clothing with a new set of almost identical fabric.
He saw the figure starting to slowly turn. He shut his eyes quickly, leveling his breathing to appear asleep. He felt a warm hand brush his fur before the weight lifted off of the side of the bed the man was on. Where was he? He heard the man call out to someone else in the house before promptly leaving and shutting the front door. Immediately his eyes shot open and he sat up in bed. He stretched across the bed, shifting to get the numbness of relaxation out of his paws. His hind paw still hurt a lot but it's not like he couldn’t use his other three. He realized he was still in his cat form... In a strange house. Did some human,–no scratch that–did some hybrid find him wherever he landed and take him home?
He should definitely be doing his presidential duties but that can wait. He needed to assess the situation first. So he knows there is an older man with black feathers, some bird hybrid perhaps. There must be another person in the house at least judging by the man speaking to someone else. He carefully waddled to the very edge of the bed–it was a huge bed, could fit at least 4 of him on it–and jumped down carefully, making sure to land only on his healthy legs while tucking the sprained one in. He heard a thunk on the wood behind him, he turned his head, spotting the icepack that dropped to the floor. He sighed and grabbed the icepack into his maw, he’d find some way to attach it securely along the way.
He sniffed the air, smelling a mix of different smells. A smell of avocado mixed with the odor of a crow appears that the man was a crow hybrid. He also smelled some other cat scent mixed with another unknown. How many tenants occupied this house? He carefully adjusted the ice pack in his mouth that was numbing his gums making sure his sharp teeth wouldn’t pierce the pack.
He limped his way to the door of the room, turning a final time to look over the entire bedroom. From the door, he stared around. He realized the bed was more like a nest of sorts, the round stick frame gave it the feeling of a real bird nest. There was a lot of greenery around, as well as many habitats with bugs. In the corner a box out of which shiny things spilled out of, it fit a crow. Next to the nest bed was a Nintendo Switch in its charging port, turned off and completely drained of charge. An armor stand stood to the other side of the bed, closer to the large window. On the stand hung up was an armor that looked an obsidian color with a green cloak and a staff. It looked important and royal. Why was there battle armor in such a... cottage-like house? Especially in times of peace, he made sure of that.
He shook the idea off for now and lightly shoved the large rounded wooden door aside with his head. The wooden planks in the bedroom melted into the grass. As he stepped onto the dirt-covered floor he almost had to double check he was still in a house. It looked more like a garden of sorts. His paws felt calmer on the cooling soil, he brushed his tail across the door to shut it again.
There were two beds in the middle of the room, placed very symmetrically along the room. Next to the beds were chests that still stood open, someone must’ve recently removed something from them. Around the room were various work benches and many drawings that looked to be made by children. He strutted up to one of the drawings, tilting his head causing the ice inside the pack to tilt with him.
He heard a light chirp behind him, his ears raised to alert. He jumped back carefully twisting his gaze on the thing that made the noise. It was… a turtle? Inside a house… How interesting. It didn’t smell like a Proteus or a Theria. It was just a normal turtle. He lightly tapped the turtle’s shell with his paw, its limb retracted back into the shell leaving only the tail pocking out. His ears relaxed but stayed up on his head. Guess this family has a bunch of pets. Wait- was he? No, they must've just taken him in to treat him. He left the turtle be, prancing over to a set of chests. He walked past the large globe on the wooden stump center of the room, what a unique accessory.
He placed his paw onto the latch and raised the lid of the chest. Inside were a bunch of other images, all featuring at least one of two dragonoids. There was also a lot of arts and crafts. He grabbed some tape from the chest. He somehow managed to hook it out of the chest with a paw even while standing on one hind leg.
He stared down at the scotch tape. Ugh. He dropped the icepack from his mouth, letting it drop to the floor. Using his teeth he unwrapped a piece of tape and stuck it onto the icepack, trying hard not to touch the sticky side with his fur (which was proven difficult from the length of his fur). He moved the icepack as close to his leg as he could before wrapping the tape around his leg twice. He realized what a horribly uncomfortable position he was standing in while doing this, the faster he tapped it, the better. He clutched onto the tape with his teeth and ripped the remainder off.
This was some shit DIY but now he didn’t need to somehow keep the icepack attached to the skin differently. He shook his leg lightly, he’d have to step on it now with the new weight. Oh well. He continued gazing around the room. Yet again like in the bedroom, plants were everywhere and mostly on the ceiling. Explained why everything smelt so nice.
He trotted over to the armor stand, glancing behind it, into the corner. How odd. There was a..? Trap door? Interesting. Maybe it was a secret. Or just a basement. Or just storage. Who knows? But his interest was piqued.
He jumped onto the trapdoor. It didn’t fly open though and stayed shut. Hm. He glanced around and spotted a button. Ooo! He pressed the button with his paw. The trapdoor flew open from under him and he was sent tumbling down the stairs. To add more injury to injury.
Finally, to the bottom of the stairs, he just lay there for a second, huffing. God, why was he this clumsy? He got up. Nothing felt broken or sprained- well more sprained than before. He stared around the basement.
It had no plants here at all. Just a lot of wood, workbenches thrown around, and a lot of backpacks lining the shelves. What a… secure room just for storage. He was about to consider it as unneeded until he remembered his own vault. He disregarded that and instead sniffed the air.
The air smelled of the crow yet again along with the two other similar-ish scents, he assumed by now they were the draganoids in the photos. Richarlys would probably like more friends. Maybe he could introduce him- only after getting to know them of course. His nose scrunched up when he smelled a faint scent. It was like the smell of death, not in a bad way like rotting but just the smell of something undead. Did someone else live in this house? Hm. It was very stale though, the owner of this smell must be away from this house for a while. Maybe a one-time resident? But the faint scent was still prominent, couldn’t be one time. He shook his fluffy head, the golden fur spreading around him. He’d consider all of this later.
First, he needed to get out of this place and get back to the coziness of that garden bedroom, or maybe the crow’s fluffy room. It’s not like he would stay here long anyway. His recovery would take utmost a month. They probably wouldn’t want an injured animal to deal with for a solid month.
He went back to the staircase and away from the rows of backpacks (even though he smelt food in some of them). Traversing the staircase was easier than falling down it. He made it to the top with the trap door. There was no second button on the inside. He just blinked his reddish eyes, staring around confused. He tried pushing on it with a paw. Huh. The door unlocked slightly before locking down again when he stopped pushing. He got up as close to it as he could and placed both front paws on it, clenching his jaw from the pain in his hind leg that held all of his weight. He pushed on the trapdoor as hard as he could, which with his size would be likely stronger than a few humans.
The trapdoor came open and he quickly rushed through it before it shut under him. He sighed. Finally, he was outta there. For some reason that smell of death was… disturbing him. Maybe even worrying. The crow that helped him- what if he didn’t know about this other person? He’d let him know when he came back… somehow.
But right now his joints were feeling stiff. Especially his human form. It was about time he needed to switch back (being a cool feline also needed some downtime). By now, it was like second nature. Like moving a joint, except it is the rearranging of all the joints and bones and other things in your body. He shut his eyes. It wasn’t painful at all either. Regardless when he opened his eyes again he was back in the human form of the president of Quesedilla Island, Forever. He stretched out his muscles and bones. His golden blonde hair in a loose braid cascaded down his back. His eyes were a brighter red than in cat form. His human ears are ever so slightly pointier.
He continued stretching. How long was he out? It couldn’t have been too long. He wondered when the inhabitants of the house would be back. When he got to stretching his leg, he realized the icepack was still taped onto it. He did register the slight ache in his leg still. Human sprains were different in a way from cat ones. He didn’t know exactly how but oh well.
And then Forever looked down at himself. He wasn’t exactly clothed. As he remembered the after-effects of shifting, the cold finally caught up to him. He needed to get clothes stat. Carefully making sure not to put too much weight onto his leg, he made his way to the crow’s room again. He couldn’t exactly put on the clothes of the dragonoids since they seemed young. He opened the large door, walking into the well-decorated room again.
Immediately going for the closet, ducking under the wide window. Inside he found pairs of clothes that looked exactly the same, except for a pair of loose green flowy pants. He tugged them off of the hanger and dragged them on. Issue averted. He turned back to the bed again and just face-planted into it. Why is this bed so soft? The golden-haired got comfortable in the bed and searched for the blanket. He didn’t see one on the bed but once he looked under one of the nightstands, he found a soft and fluffy blanket. It looked unused for a while. What does that crow use to cover up?
He got back onto the bed with the blanket now, shuffling into it and closing his eyes. This was such a comfortable bed, like a giant cloud. Finally, a bed that could fit his entire body in both forms. He’d have to get one like this or stick around for a while. With his eyes shut and in such a comfortable place, he began to dose off again. And he fell asleep again.
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The blonde crow yawned as he walked back into the house. Tallulah and Chayanne were both happy after their trip to the gallery and after tea time. He chuckled as he watched them scurry around the front yard through the windows. He let them be for now. He glanced towards the kitchen. He didn’t need to cook yet, plus Chayanne would get mad that he didn’t invite him again. He chose to just go through his photo chests. He walked over to one of the chests with an already open cover. He grabbed a few photos from the stack of hundreds and sat back on his chair behind the large globe.
He smiled as he flipped through them. Guess he was feeling extra nostalgic with Will returning soon. Phil suddenly remembered. Missa was coming back before Wilbur. Which means he’ll be back soon. He can’t wait to see that skeleton. He needed to smooth things out after the incident, but all in due time.
After a few minutes of going through the photos, Phil got up from the chair and placed the photos back into the chest, letting the lid smack down and shut.
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Forever jolted awake. He realized he had been drooling while huddled close. The loud noise startled him awake. His gaze flew to the open door into the garden-esque room. Shit. He quickly molded back into his feline form, the loose green pants covering his full body. Ooh- the pants were quite soft on his fur, it felt nice. He purred as he rubbed his head against them. He realized he wasn’t just covered by the pants but by the blanket too.
His ears perked up when he heard the footsteps turn from being on the dirt to being on the wooden boards of the bedroom. He closed his maw realising he was still purring against the soft fabric. Forever heard a giggle above him.
Suddenly the covers are pulled away from over his head and the light seeps slightly through the green pants. He can see the silhouette of the crow above him with his wings. A hand made its way through the waist opening and found the golden fur. Another hand also entered and gently held onto the cat, lightly tugging him out of the pants. Forever, now out of the fabric and in his cat form again, looked up at Phil who was holding him under his armpits.
Forever saw the Crow’s face for the first time. He swore he knew this person. He looked like his ex, Brunim, but he also looked like someone else. He looked like the biggest investor in his government, Philza Minecraft. Was he his biggest supporter? And now he saved him too. Forever realized he was still held with his lower body just hanging below. He got embarrassed and ducked his head. Another laugh sounded from Phil. Forever looked back and saw that bright smile, the black feathers on the edges of Phil's face making a perfect blend of skin to feathers. Forever swore this was the most beautiful thing he had laid his eyes on. The way he giggled was so sweet, and the way he looked at him was so soft. He felt safe. Protected.
Forever snapped out of it when the Crow fell back onto the bed, laying the large feline on top of him. Forever froze. He was now placed on top of this crow, laying on top of him. He swore he could feel his skin redden beneath the fur. Phil would be the death of him. Phil ran a hand through the cat’s fur, letting it linger in between the fluffiness. A purr coursed through Forever’s body, rumbling in his neck. He released some of the tension in his joints and relaxed, letting himself lay comfortably on Phil’s chest. Phil let out another chuckle, Forever felt it through his chest, it was a comforting feeling. He continued purring, just curled up on the Crow’s chest.
While in the warmth and embrace of the wise and rich crow, he heard the front door open and shut. The voices of young children followed and into the room, ran two little draganoids. One seemed older than the other. Phil’s head perked up at the notice of the kids. The brown-haired one stepped closer to Forever than the blonde, staring into his red eyes. Phil laughed again. “Come on Tallulah, try petting him.” he nodded lightly towards the cat still splayed on top of him.
Tallulah stepped closer, lightly placing a hand on Forever’s head. She scratched the cat, another purr. A small smile appeared on her face as she continued petting the cat before her hand caught on something. “I think its fur is knotted.” She said in a small voice, trying to find the knot with her hand again. Phil looked down at Forever.
“Guess we’ll have to give this one a groom.” The blonde crow looked up at the other child who was standing awkwardly to the side, just observing his sibling play with the cat. “Chayanne, could you fetch two brushes and some spray?” The older blonde dragonoid snapped out of his daze at his name and quickly left the room after a nod.
“I wonder how his pretty fur got this knotted” Tallulah said as she continued searching through the golden fur. Forever flinched a bit when she accidentally tugged too hard on a knot. Phil placed a hand on Tallulah’s hands. “How about we wait for the brushes and spray to make sure we brush it out properly.” He gave a comforting smile to his daughter, saying that she might hurt the cat in a better way. Tallulah nodded, instead scratching the cat under the chin.
Chayanne finally came back to the room, two brushes in hand with the spray held by his tail. He walked up to the bed where everyone was and handed the two brushes to Phil, placing the spray onto the bed. “Thank you Chayanne.” Phil smiled at him before picking up a brush and handing it to Tallulah, taking the other brush for himself. “Chayanne, would you mind being the one to spray?” The blonde dragon shook his head and took the spray in hand.
Phil pet Forever again, lightly sliding out from under him, settling him onto the bed gently. He gestured for the kids to climb onto the bed for better angles, and they climbed aboard. “There might be a lot of fur flying, so try not to breathe it in.” The kids nodded. Then the brushing commenced. Chayanne sprayed the fur, and Phil and Tallulah brushed out the knots. Forever held still, trying not to complain too much, a meow there and a hiss there.
Eventually, they bested the knots, brushing them out properly and returning his golden fur to the beauty it usually is. Phil sighed, placing the brush down and running a hand through the soft fur. He looked around, his bed was basically covered in a blanket of fur. “Nice jobs kids, you did great.”
The kids seemed exhausted after that. They placed their equipment down as well. Phil decided he would clean the bed after putting the dragons to bed.
He put the large feline on his head. “You stay here,” Phil swore he saw the cat nod. He dismissed it, noting that he was also tired. He got up, ushering the kids off into the garden-esque room.
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Chayanne took his backpack off and placed it behind his bed, Tallulah following suit. The duck floaty came off and was placed on the edge of the bed. The flute necklace was placed on the nightstand along with the beanie. The two kids settled into their beds. Phil went up to both, planting a fatherly kiss on their foreheads. “Sleep well, and remember,” he paused, “beat the nightmares asses.” That earned a chuckle from Chayanne and a giggle from Tallulah. Phil shut the lights off, giving the globe a couple of spins. “Bedtime story tomorrow kiddos, sweet dreams.” He then left the peaceful and quiet resting place of the dragons.
Phil yawned. He walked into the kitchen. He was so tired, it's been a long day. The dark room, suddenly filled with light from the fridge opening. The crow pulled the cat food out of the fridge, guess it wouldn’t need to wait for Wil to come back to resume its use. Opening a cabinet, he took a bowl out, it was quite deep but he figured the large cat could manage it. He poured the cat food into it, placing it back into the fridge.
Before leaving the kitchen he grabbed another ice pack from the freezer, deciding it was time to switch it out. He tiptoed out of the room, through the garden, and back into his bedroom. The cat was still surprisingly just on the fur-filled bed, waiting patiently. Maybe it used to be someone else’s pet that trained it? Was it actually following Phil’s command? The golden cat perked up as the crow came back into view, it sniffed the air smelling the food.
Phil settled back onto the bed beside the cat, kneeling to grab the medkit with the medicine before letting the cat eat. He took out another pill. He saw the cat already eyeing the food. He placed the pill onto his palm after putting the medkit back. “You gotta swallow this if you want to eat.” The cat's ears shifted, and he sat up from his lying position. It shifted over closer to Phil, begrudgingly licking the pill off of his hand and swallowing it down. Could this cat actually understand human language? How odd.
He gave the cat a scratch before placing the bowl of food in front of him. The cat dug into the food immediately. His gaze traveled to the sprained paw. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. The icepack was… taped? There was scotch tape wrapping the icepack to the foot. He continued just staring at it and blinking. Who- what? Nothing with this cat made sense anyway. As the cat continued munching on the food Phil carefully began peeling off the tape. Somehow not a lot of fur was stuck onto the tape, most of it placed onto the icepack itself. He did have to cut some off, to not have to tear it out.
He finally got the ice pack off along with the tape. He placed the new icepack onto the paw, the cat flinching at the cold but returning to the food. Another yawn left Phil’s mouth as he looked at the clock.
1:30 am
Not too bad of a bedtime. The kitty finished its food and Phil took the empty bowl and placed it on the floor. “Now, bedtime,” he said aloud half to himself and half to the golden cat.
Phil climbed to the center of the bed, the cat to the left of him. He settled onto his side, facing away from the cat and bringing his wings around himself as a blanket. He created a cocoon around himself, warm and cozy. He thought of what to cook with Chayanne tomorrow morning. The avocado toast was without a bargain on the menu. He chuckled to himself before closing his eyes and fading into cozy darkness.
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Forever watched the crow get comfortable and doze off. Maybe he didn’t mind staying just for a bit longer. He still needed to heal regardless. Whether they saw him as a new pet, it didn’t matter. Some more… connections couldn’t hurt. When Forever was sure that the crow was fully asleep, he tapped the big black wings with his paw gently. No reaction. He carefully pawed over to where Phil’s legs were slightly stuck out of the cocoon. The gap was just large enough. The golden cat stuck his head between the wing and Phil, making his way into the warm enclosed cocoon as well. Okay, maybe he underestimated his length because he reached Phil’s head like 2/3 ‘s in with his body. Oh well. It was warm either way. Plus tight spaces are one of the cat’s skills. He ducked his head closer to his body, rolling into a small ball and rotating until his full body was in this wing blanket of sorts.
It was quite warm, he might even fall asleep but after that nap earlier he didn’t feel like it. Right now he wanted to do some bird watching. Or crow-watching in this context. So in this darkness, the red eyes shone slightly focused on the crow, yet still very much cozily cuddled up to him.
Just a newfound favorite activity for Forever.