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aheckinmess · 1 month

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A Girl Worth Fighting For [Enji] (Fluff)

(One-Shot 5/? in a collection of My Hero Academia one-shots posted regularly on Saturdays.)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Enji x OC, Endeavor x OC, Enji Todoroki, Endeavor, Enji Being a Good Papa, Expecting OC, Expectant Parents, OC Cleans the House and Rocks Out, Also There's Cat in This Story

Word Count: 1,142 words

Summary: After a long day of cleaning and taking care of the Todoroki estate, Ichijiku falls asleep. When Enji returns home, she finds that he’s brought her inside so she doesn’t get sunburnt.

Author's Note: From what I've seen, Enji isn't exactly a favorite among the fandom, but I'm a sucker for a redemption/atonement arc so he's one of my favorites. Of course I had to write some cute fanfiction for him! I hope it's as fun for you to read as it was for me to write it!

Ichijiku (Tigress)

Imagine Dragons blasts through the speakers as I dance through the kitchen with my broom. With the house to myself, I don't have the fear of being judged for the way I twirl around and wiggle my hips to the rhythm.

"You are my Monday, you're the best day of the week..." I belt the lyrics, not even caring that I mess up half of them as I grab a few snack wrappers from the counter to toss.

The soft sound of my cat's indignant chirp interrupts my singing session as Fauna hops on the dining mat. Her orange eyes blink up at me expectantly.

"Beaaan! You know the rules. Come on, off the mat." I set my broom aside and shoo her away. "Are you hungry? Huh? Is that it?" I could have sworn I just filled her food bowl.

Sure enough, when I reach her food bowl, it's nearly full. I crinkle my nose at her and pick her up, giggling at her unimpressed expression as I pet her back.

"You silly baby, you still have food and water!" I smother her in kisses, inciting her to flick her tail around. "You brought this on yourself, you know. I don't know what you want! Would you like a treat? Do you want to play?"

She just mewls and wriggles, trying to escape. Thus sure she doesn't want cuddles, I offer her a treat before setting her down and then pulling out her favorite string toy.

After a few rounds of unleashing my inner creature of prey for my cat's entertainment and we're both pooped. I giggle and scratch her ears before leaving her to sleep in favor of brainstorming a plan for what needs cleaning next. In the meantime, I send Enji a text.

I miss youuuu! It reads.

I pocket my phone, looking impatiently at the front door. He's never early on Thursdays, but a wife can dream. I wait a moment or two before sighing and turning my attention to the window looking into our massive backyard. Everything seems clean at least. I don't know that there's anything else to do for today except to start dinner whenever Enji replies.

Outside, sunlight paints our Pagoda tree in heavenly light. Our two Sakura trees arch up in a protective shroud around the water fountain and bird bath. Flower blossoms, vibrant and lively, reach up to the sky for their energy and nourishment. With my ice quirk, feeling the warmth of the sun in the garden is the closest I get to Enji when I miss him.

I smile, padding into the bedroom to grab my most recent book. After stopping by the closet to get my eno, I head outside and string it up. As expected, the sun shrouds me in the warmth I miss from my husband as my phone vibrates in my pocket.

I'll be home soon. Is Enji's response, making me grin and tuck further into my hammock, now able to more fully focus on the story in my hands.

I make it through two chapters before I yawn in the summer heat. Slipping a bookmark between the pages, I turn on my side and close my eyes. Just a little relaxation and hopefully it'll be time for Enji to head home.

. . . . .

Warmth still blankets me when I open my eyes again, but instead of laying in my hammock, Enji cradles me in his arms. I blink and yawn up at him, noticing his damp hair and blue eyes first and foremost while my dreams skirt the edge of my mind and flutter away.

"I'm sorry you found out this way." I whimper involuntarily, before realizing I've said it and rubbing my eyes to hide my blush.

"I've returned home, Ichan. Did you rest well?" He leans over and kisses my forehead, thankfully dismissing my sleepy outburst.

I relax my arms and shut my eyes again, sighing as peace lightens the sleepiness in my chest.

"It was so nice." I purr, wrapping my arms around his neck to pull my ear closer to his beating heart. "I'm sorry I didn't get dinner ready. I meant to start preparing it before you headed home so it would be ready when you got here."

"No need to apologize, Ichan." He chuckles. "You've got reason to sleep. You've got our child growing in your womb. That takes energy." His hand rubs up and down over my belly.

Awe and happiness flood me again, even though we've been expecting the new addition for a couple months now. I place my hand over his and move in tandem, soaking up the intimate moment. Probably won't get times like this as often when the baby comes.

"I know." I hum. "But I still feel bad."

"Don't. In fact, I'd have let you stay asleep out there longer, but with your sensitivity to heat I was worried you'd get sunburnt."

"Well aren't you a softie?" I giggle.

"Only for you." He smirks, before sitting up a little more against the couch arm. He's quiet for a bit before he speaks up again. "Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"

"Mm, I don't know. According to my college bio professor, there's a 51% chance it'll be a boy. So the odds are slightly more in his favor." I smile. "Do you have a preference, Enchan?"

"I don't mind so long as they have both of our quirks." He comments.

"Aw, come on. That can't be all you have a preference for. I know your ambitions, but I know you'll love him or her regardless of their quirk."

"Of course I will." He agrees.

"Then, if you could choose, would you rather it be a boy or a girl?"

He's quiet for a while, hand still steadily caressing my belly.

"I'd prefer both for different reasons." He says. "I'd enjoy having a boy that I can relate to and teach things that my dad never got to teach me. And honestly, I hope they have your feisty attitude for a challenge."

"My feisty attitude?" I laugh. "Just mine?"

"Our feisty attitude then." He rolls his eyes, but grins. "And honestly, I would love having a little girl just like you to dote on...remind me what I'm fighting for. What about you?"

"I hope whatever they are, they have your eyes." I state simply. "You might think it's silly or simple, but it's one of my favorite features about you. It captures most of your personality and reminds me of everything I love about you. I want to look at my kids and be reminded that you're mine, and they're the physical evidence of that."

He doesn't say anything, but instead shifts around a bit. When he's finally settled, it's with his head on my belly and his arms wrapped around my waist.

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marlynnofmany · 1 year

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Small joys on Tumblr:

When your notes make a perfect cat

#meow #life on tumblr #the two ear peaks were that story I just posted #the head was the ever-popular Heckin Wimdy post #a fine combination #pattern recognition #for spotting predators and also friendly cats

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planefood · 9 months

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warriored cats

#art #digital art #warrior cats #theres something so funny to me abt a hairless bluestar #if there was any cat id happily accept as being hairless in the story as a silly hc it would be her #I know she obviously isn't but idk its silly #imagine hairless stormtail as a bonus too #also I know a lot of people draw firestar as short furred but I kinda like the fluffy interpretation cause it reminds me more of flames

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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 5 months

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Bonus 8: How met your mother (CSSR design by @qourmet!)

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #cangse sanren #wei changze #jiang fengmian #It was important to me that WCZ had the hereditary mole. I will die on this hill.#I have been *waiting* for the day to finally arrive when I could finally make this comic. It's been marinating for months.#My mission is to redraw all of qour's character designs one day. They are just *that* good.#CSSR has the vibes of a wandering menace who shows up in towns like a stray cat arriving at a new doorstep for treats. 10/10.#While YZY strongly leads us to believe that JFM was in love with CSSR and that's his whole motivation behind taking wwx in-#-I do think this is (once again) rumour being presented as reality. It's the juicer story to tell after all.#It is still possible that he did love her! But I think that story undercuts the relationship he also had with WCZ.#Yall ever think about how JC and WWX parallel their fathers? How Wei Changze also left the Jiang Leader's side? I do.#Unlike JC though It is far more hilarious and plausible to imagine JFM begging to be CSSR and WCZ's third. You know he would.#My wild headcanon is that JFM and YZY are in a mlm and wlw arranged marriage situation. Deeply unhappy as partners. Better as friends.#they care for each other and I'll admit that there is a beautiful tragedy in them having romantic feelings for each other the whole time.#But I am also here for the gaffs. Let them be unfulfilled homosexuals together.#Meanwhile cssr and wcz are having incredible hetrosexual sex in a bisexual way that WILL leave him pregnant by the end of it.

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cappycodeart · 5 months

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CONCEPT DOODLES for an AU I dabbled in with a few friends after the winter king episode but kinda forgot about after the Fionna and Cake finale... I decided to revisit it and explore a little more after coming to terms with everything LOL... So, it's another "Winter King doesn't die immediately after his crown gets nuked" AU, but THIS TIME he's just dying really slowly (like Simon in the Betty episode) and ALSO joins Fionna, Cake, and Simon on their search for magic crowns. There's no logic behind this tbh, we just wanted to put him through The Horrors. And make them all friends. But mostly The Horrors. :) (he only gets to live as a treat, because I think he's funny).

Bonus (old screenshot), because this is still funny to me:

#adventure time #atimers #fionna and cake #winter king #simon petrikov #fionna campbell #cake the cat #shared custody au #winter stowaway au #fan art #digital art #flat color #2023 #this is my blog so whatevers man... ima just post what I want now... and what I want rn is silly simon AUs LOL...#so expect more of me releasing my stash tomorrow #this AU makes the story like 500x more messy but it's fine it's funny that's the point don't think too hard about it #this is their fault for killing him now I gotta make up scenarios where he is alive #his design is inspired by some doodles my friend crayon did #ALSO I wanted to keep some of his features different from default simon so they're easier to tell apart...#like YEAH they're the same character... but also I just think it'd be fun... if they had subtle differences... because alternate universes #ALSO HE'S PALE BECAUSE HE'S DYING. JUST MAKING THAT DISCLAIMER... HIS SKIN TONE IS KINDA CLOSE TO DYING SIMON IN THE BETTY EP #BUT IN NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES HE'D BE CLOSER TO SIMON'S COLORS

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andthebeanstalk · 9 months

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Me: hm, I want something to put on the TV as background noise... Huh. Looks like YouTube is recommending something called The Last Unicorn. That's perfect, it's probably some old shitty animation that has aged poorly! I can watch it ironically!

Me, 2 hours later as the credits roll: *crying, cheering, buying the book, composing the songs*

Me, 2 weeks later: So I have compiled all of the quotes from the book that I think could make good tattoos, and also, HOW HAVE I NEVER LEARNED ABOUT HOW THE LAST UNICORN FUCKING SLAPS??? This gay-ass little fairytale fed my soul! Watered my crops! Transed my gender! Can't believe I heard of this story from youtube recommendations, of all places!!

#original #the last unicorn #tlu #peter s beagle #molly gru #schmendrick #schmendrick the magician #two of my favorite characters in anything right there in the center of the story! and I'm glad I saw the film first!#my reading ability has diminished due to trauma disability etc. but it seems like having a visual reference actually really helped!#no wonder i only ever want to read fan fic! turns out reading is not actually Superior to other types of Storytelling. it's just different.#to say otherwise is snobbishness I have been eminently guilty of in my life!#but like it is easier for me to consume tv and movies and that is fine actually. also that's why I'm doing a graphic novel lol #because i wanted to make something i would actually be able to read if i found it at a library. altho the audio book IS gonna be bomb #the audiobook is for visually impaired readers and anyone who wants or needs it! accessible stories for everyone! yeah!!#my gender was already transed but now I've gained an ADDITIONAL gender! which one? I'll never tell 😘#i am so powerful i have so much fuckin gender. my wife has no gender. and she is equally as powerful.#and also she has STUDIED THE BLADE #mostly zoro's blades from One Piece #normally YouTube recommends me shit movies like idiocracy or smth this is like if every day ur cat brought you a piece of rotten food and #then one day it brings you a BEAUTIFULLY ANIMATED TALE FEATURING MY BELOVED TWINK FUCK-UP WIZARD FRIEND AND MY ALL-TIME HOMEGIRL MOLLY GRU #and also it's soft and beautiful and funny and fucking weird!! i wrote melodies to the songs in the books on my ukulele

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unproduciblesmackdown · 1 year

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Lackadaisy Enrichment

#in our enclosures!!#video linked as source; which i'm glad to see already has a million views and is trending. That's Right #lackadaisy #WHICH i have been reading since at least '07 when i was thirteen my god b/c this animation is based on the ongoing webcomic #like does its influence show up Directly in some Discrete way i can point to in my art? not very easily probably. And Yet.#the inspiration....i wasn't able to be Regularly Only for at least another year / art done Nonprofessionally Online was novel to me #like wow ppl can make & post fanart of w/e they love huh....didn't know webcomics were a thing & i never really read that many since but.#good god the quality of Lackadaisy at its onset is like this is superb?? this person putting in all their talent and effort???#and Then you get years & years more art and i don't even know what superlatives to throw out abt its quality as it evolves. obsessed w/it..#if i see a new lackadaisy comic page i Will be acting out. obviously this animation is a delight & also stunning. and fascinating to also #juxtapose as a Translation / Interpretation of the comic in a different medium & standalone snippet of Story #and that we're not even quite there in the comic timeline; Taking Notes abt character info we get distilledly here....genuinely love like #take it back to '07 i'm like oh boy can't wait for the dream team to assemble. then a decade later when it did? Oh Boy. that is payoff lol #namely hooray for stitches and mudbug at the field office for every passing gangster. killing one marigold associate but not the other #which seems like a promising start to shootouts w/the other dream team triumvirate. i adore that in canon so far mordecai freckle & rocky #have met but only over a nice brunch. re: all intentions anyways. anyways i'm like Gifs Must Be Made while i'm also so riled afresh abt the #comic that i've been sooo hype for for over fifteen yrs now babeyyy Deservedly. i've done a couple of rereads & ought to do another....#For Interest it'd probably take a few sittings to catch up from the start but there is much to be engaged over....this ongoing story that's #historical fiction prohibition bootlegging cats with plenty of focus on characters & several Mysteries. which i'm better at parsing now lol #like one of the more recent rereads like Oh Of Course x (probably) accidentally killed his y & z took the fall & that's a binding secret...#Not [oh of course] abt the circumstances surrounding a's death & how b & c were involved. nor the ''what's marigold's damage'' mystery #which is great. love to not know things. love that we can readily follow all the emergent drama everyone's wading in nowadays. hell yeah #anyways admire my organized approach to gifs here. four shots each Expressions Atmosphere Action Groupshots #sure might've muddled through gifmaking for this anyways but fr being a huge lackadaisy comic enjoyer for now most of my life helps #and its very Overall Inspiration like. just really getting the [you can really just draw stuff out here] going. fr the art's detail & skill #and that enrichment like i'm gonna have a great time following this. And I Have #you don't expect a crowdfunded indie animation in the mix back then but hell yeah fellas #SIGH ok removing a 4th gif that's broken / not displayed despite reuploading then entirely remaking it. if it's a bug i'll try again later

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egophiliac · 9 months

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I've always wanted a plush of the cat from Ghost Trick! so when the Switch port was announced, I decided to go ahead and make one for myself! ...and then didn't think to post it until now, for some reason! I modified BeeZee Art's sitting kitty pattern to get the right shapes; he was made with many mistakes, but also much love. 🐈‍⬛

(everybody go play Ghost Trick, it is my favorite video game of all time! if you like unique puzzles and a really fun mystery, then you will probably also enjoy it! and as you can see, it has a cat!)

(it was very hard to get a picture with Niko that didn't look like this:)

#ghost trick #toys #cat #sewing #it also has a dog!#describing ghost trick as 'it has a cat and a dog' feels like the biggest understatement of all time though #honestly the best pet characters in video game history #i feel confident making this statement #but i will say no more because ghost trick is 10000% better if you go in spoiler-free #the twists are SO good #the story is SO good #please play ghost trick

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foldingfittedsheets · 2 months

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My mom has this awful friend, Cynthia. My loathing goes deep enough that I’m not even going to change her name. If she ever finds this she knows what she did.

On multiple occasions my mom asked this horrible irresponsible chicken brained woman to watch after our animals while we were away. I don’t know why once wasn’t enough, because the first failure was so spectacular that anyone in their right mind would know she couldn’t be trusted with any level of responsibility or direction following.

You might be thinking to yourself, FFS, this level of antipathy is surely unwarranted! But you’d be wrong.

To set the scene, we were living in downstairs of our house when I was about fifteen. My mom has always wanted more animals than can reasonably be kept indoors which is how we ended up with three cats. When she wanted to kick them all outside I protested, and so all three cats lived in my bedroom with no access to the rest of the house.

That really wasn’t great, so in an attempt to give them options we made a window cutout with a cat door in it to give them access to the outdoors. Looking back on this as an environmentally conscious adult it’s wretched, cats should be indoor only, but at the time I was desperate to give them some freedom because one bedroom is too small for three cats.

So my parents and I went on a week long trip to visit family out of state. We told Cynthia to come feed and water the cats, and to scoop the litter box. Most importantly, don’t lock the handle of the door, because we only have the key to the deadbolt.

I’m sure you can see where this is going.

Cynthia locked us out. We arrived home after 12 hours on the road, desperate for the comfort of our own beds. We were met with an unyielding door. With a sigh I volunteered, “I can punch in the cat door and climb in the window.”

I slipped behind the bamboo outside my window and pushed in the cutout. A horrible insidious reek wafted out at me. I paused, prickling with foreboding. But I had a job to do, and by god I’d see it through. I hefted myself up into the window and my hand immediately landed in something wet.

Skin crawling, I pulled myself up and surveyed the darkened room as a miserable odor of decay and suffering poured out of the room around me. I could see dark shapes littering the carpet and it didn’t take a genius to guess that the cats had taken up hunting in a big way during my absence.

I pulled my hand out of the pile of vomit it had landed in and dropped into my onetime bedroom turned now into a hellpit of decomposing wretchedness. I turned on the light. I wished I had not turned on the light.

My eyes scanned across the floor, tallying as they went. Two dead birds, a dead baby rabbit, five dead mice, and one dead snake. I paused on my alarm clock, perplexed to see a stain of white on it. I stepped closer and saw a furtive movement.

The tally suddenly contained also: one live bird that had shit in several places, probably in pure terror to find itself trapped in a room littered with decomposing woodland creatures, which honestly, fair. I coaxed it out the window and finished the survey with five discrete piles of vomit.

I unlocked the door and let my parents in. They exclaimed in disgust at the horrible smell. We stood together in my doorway floored by the magnitude of neglect. The unscooped litter box was a subtle footnote in the tangible reek my living space. I disposed of the parade of ecological disaster, cleaned vomit, and scooped the box after a brutally long day on the road. The cats were fine, and happy to see me. They had a huge dish or food and water so Cynthia’s neglect at least hadn’t harmed them.

Then I slept on the couch while my bedroom aired out, the windows flung wide to dispel the uneasy ghosts of the hunted. I spent the whole night cursing Cynthia’s name for this evil she’d visited upon me. When my mom asked her, "Cynthia, didn't you see the dead animals?"

Cynthia responded, "Yes, they smelled so bad, I just ran in and out as fast as I could." I fully don't believe she did any caretaking, and I'm personally of the opinion that she locked herself out on the first day and never came back.

The next day my room had returned to a habitable level of smellscape and I gratefully crawled into my bed that night. I stretched out and froze as my foot brushed something cold and wet?

The final indignity: one last dead snake, inside my very sheets.

Fucking Cynthia.

#ramblies #story #ffs foibles #keep your cats inside #but also looking back like why didn't I change my sheets #I did not have good bed hygiene instilled in me from my parents #later that lady would go on to leave a huge metal dish of dog food in the middle of the yard #despite the fact that we told her over and over not to feed the dog because he was on a diet #and I knew not to trust her so my friend was coming twice a day to feed him his portioned out meals #he gained like ten pounds in the week we were gone eating rained on mushy dog food #that fucking woman was a menace

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nimrism · 2 months

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constantly thinking about the PERFECT setup supergirl season 1 had to make kara queer;

"oh my god, you're a lesbian" – winn to kara, in the very FIRST episode.

"hell, i wanna date her" – kara, about lucy lane.

"she does kinda give off a sapphic vibe, with that big old butch S chestplate" – leslie willis (livewire) about supergirl.

there were so many other instances in s1 alone, let alone in later seasons when lena showed up (recounting every queer-coded supercorp interaction would require a whole podcast). it was the PERFECT pretext to make her even just a little bit fruity, but the cw just couldn't handle it i guess

#QUEER kara danvers #because i said so #i'm rewatching s1 rn and it's insane how much queer coding they had weaved into the show's core #only for the cw to take it and do absolutely nothing with it #this is my villain origin story #i'm a supercorp shipper first and foremost but i really can't resist a good supercat or supergirl x livewire fic #the sapphicism was just perfect in s1 #cat grant owner of catco also known as owner of my ass #i get the appeal behind the supercat ship i really do #cw supergirl #supergirl #supercorp #kara danvers #kara zor el

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ducktracy · 6 months

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a short placing heavy emphasis on Hungarian Rhapsody No. II is a rite of passage for golden age cartoons. Bugs Bunny did it! Tom and Jerry did it! Daffy and Donald! but one thing Woody Woodpecker has above the competition is that he is held hostage by a group of gangsters and is forced to entertain, lest he get executed. amazing

#fans of Mickey's Trailer will note the similarities at the beginning of the moving van stretching out the fence--that's because #this was directed by Don Patterson who animated that absolutely BIZARRE cut in Trailer #please look it up if you haven't because it is some of the best animation you will ever see. it is insane #i'm so sad i didn't know this short existed until yesterday because i love it. i love musical cartoons and the story/hook of this one #genuinely made me laugh. and Daws Butler voices the gangsters and cop!#Hungarian Rhapsody No. II... gangster is named Mugsy... it's almost a Friz Freleng short! almost #Hugh Harman did write this one though which is bizarre to me. yes that Hugh Harman who established and ran the first 3 years of the Warner #studio with Rudy Ising #(and Herman Cohen animates on this who of course was a longtime WB animator!)#i love cartoons #ww #convict concerto #patterson #vid #also i am team Rhapsody Rabbit on the RR vs Cat Concerto debate i'm sorry Tom (and Jerry)#but one short has Bugs Bunny killing a man in cold blood and the other doesn't

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clanborn · 5 months

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Origins of the Bay Clans: Stone and the Lynx (Part 2)

The tracks led inland, further than the cats of Stone’s little clan had yet dared to travel. She followed the river upstream, skirting the thrashing current as it threw itself against the banks. The forest grew denser, the hemlocks thicker, the sharp peaks of the mountains taller, casting the valley in deep shadow. All was silent but the river, and the sound of strange, buzzing bird calls that rang eerily through the trees. Though her heart trembled, Stone trekked on, her pawsteps guided by purpose and the tracks that still sat unmistakable in the mud.

Stone had never followed a river to its origin, had never even thought of it as a possibility. Water–rivers, oceans, rains–lived outside the boundaries of a lifespan, within birth and death. Rivers weren’t something that just began, or ended, they simply cycled–at least, that’s what she had believed.

After hours spent unceasingly hiking through the valley, Stone emerged from the edge of the treeline. The pebbled ground spread flat in front of her, before abruptly spiking upward to form the range of mountains. Two peaks pierced the sky, and nestled between them was a landform unlike anything Stone had ever seen. The river rushed forward from the base of a giant white slope, a crystalline mass carved deep with blue crevices.

The wall shone like a piece of the moon itself, bleeding into the valley, its essence spilling into the forest before winding its way to the Bay. As Stone drew closer, she realized with a shock that the structure was made of ice, frozen solid despite the warmth of late spring.

She halted at the river’s edge, looking upon the structure in wonder. Was the moon made of ice? Had a shard of it fallen from the heavens upon the mountains? What else could create a fortress so massive, so imposing yet nurturing, whose icy waters fed the land and the bay?

These questions swam through her mind, but she tossed them to the side with a flick of her ears. For now, the answers were unknowable, and she must remain focused on her task.

She shook out her pelt and continued her path: the ground now had turned to gravel, and she tracked by scent instead of footprints. The slope turned steep, then rocky, a gray mountain face broken only by patches of unmelted snow and determined shrubs. Below her, the mass of ice gleamed, stretching out beyond the peaks like a blinding white sea.

As she continued along the mountainside, she noticed an opening in the cliff face, a dark entrance where the ice field met the mountain. She quickened her pace until she reached the cave entrance, standing on the barrier of darkness. Here, the scent she was tracking hung in the air, strong as ever, leading her into the blackness. She slipped into the cave without a second thought

Inside was a large cave, and she quickly crossed the open stretch of ground to the back, where a darker shadow lay. A tunnel.

Curiosity drove her forward, driving away any fear she might have felt. Down into the tunnel she tread, deeper and deeper into the veins of the mountain. For ages she was guided by scent alone, and the narrow tunnel walls pressing on all sides. An eternity of darkness.

Finally, Stone saw light, a blue glow that softly spilled into the end of the tunnel. Her footsteps quickened, and the cat entered into a cavern. Her breath hitched as she stepped into the light, awed by the sight before her. A medium sized cave rose around her, walls of smooth, layered stone arcing above her. The stone was washed with blue, for one wall was made not of rock, but entirely of ice. It was a deep, rich blue, as sunlight filtered down into the fragment of icy moon.

Within the ice wall’s bubbles and cracks hung an even stranger sight. A giant skeleton, ancient and fragmented, was trapped frozen in the ice, the remains of a creature Stone had never seen before. Though it’s thick bones and long, curved fangs were utterly unfamiliar, something in Stone knew it had once called itself catkin. A forgotten ancestor.

In front of the ice, sitting still and gray as the rocks around it, was a towering feline silhouette, its tufted ears outlined by the cold light. Stone’s fellow, wild catkin cousin. The Lynx.

The Lynx turned its gaze towards her slowly, expectantly, like it had known about her presence even before she did. Stone approached it, wary.

“I admire your tenacity, cat” Its voice was a gravelly purr. “I thought you’d stop at the treeline.”

Stone skirted the wall carefully, keeping several pawsteps of distance between her and the creature. “Why did you assume that?”

The Lynx wrinkled its nose in a wry smirk. “Well, look at you. You’re an imitation of a cat. This wilderness is unfit for your kind.”

Stone flattened her ears, attempting to keep her voice level. “What exactly do you mean?”

“You call yourselves ‘cats’, yet your kind feeds by human hands. You have grown small and thin-furred, distant from your nobler origins. You can only survive in little packs, reliant on the work of others, unable to face nature with your own merit—A true ‘cat’ walks in solitude, you know nothing of the sort.”

Stone looked beyond the Lynx to the ice wall behind it, where the massive bones of their great ancestor lay suspended in time. “You say my kind has fallen, but have yours not? Have you not also grown smaller than this god, your fangs short, your bones thin? It too lived in solitude, yet here it lies, dead, its life unremembered by its catkin. You mock my community, but we have lived this long despite this lands’ harshness, and will continue to do so.”

The Lynx’s smug expression faded, and its gaze grew intense as it stared at Stone. “Even gods die, housecat. The only thing life guarantees is an ending.” It curled its lip. “Your ‘community’ is not exempt from this.”

Stone met its eyes, unwavering. “If we are catkin, what bars me from the same powers you possess? Surely I can learn to survive by your means, surely I can find access to your blessings.”

The Lynx almost laughed, but the scoff caught in its throat. It narrowed its eyes, suddenly thoughtful, the smirk creeping back up its muzzle.

“Maybe I can offer you a taste of godhood, little cat. The lives of my predecessors run through me, from the tip of my tail through all ten of my claws.” The deity sat back on its haunches and held up its massive paws in demonstration. For a brief moment, its claws twinkled with a faint light, like stars plucked straight from the sky.

“One of these is mine, of course. But I have nine to spare.” It tilted its head down at her, its fangs gleaming in the blue cavern light. “Provided I deem you worthy of them.”

Stone raised her head in challenge. “What would make me worthy?”

The Lynx paused to consider, eyeing her up and down.

“To you alone I will grant these lives, thus you alone must face me.” The lynx narrowed its eyes. “Prove to me your will and strength, and defeat me in battle. If I submit, I grant you these lives, and the chance to explore this bay with greater distance between death and yourself.”

“Your loss, of course, will cost you your life.” It dipped its head towards her. “Is it a deal?”

Stone paused, hesitant, her heart fluttering in her chest. How could she face this creature in her state, small in stature, weary from her climb, completely alone? Despite her apprehension, her curiosity was stronger. There was only one chance for an opportunity like this, and even if she declined, what would stop the Lynx from killing her anyway?.

She nodded once. “I accept your terms.”

The lynx nodded back. Its fangs flashed. It stretched its claws.

They leapt into battle.

Stone was swift, but the Lynx was strong and skilled. It battered her with massive paws, slamming her into the cold rocky floor. Stone dodged and weaved through its attacks, but the cavern was small, and every leap Stone made seemed to send her into another faceful of claws.

Her opponent threw a powerful swipe, tossing her against the ice wall with a thud. Back against the blue glow, Stone crouched low, struggling to catch her breath. Her strength was waning, and Stone knew with every moment her chances of victory grew slimmer. Her paws shook slightly. The Lynx had noticed her waver, and began to pad towards with calm, sure steps. It smiled–it was eager to finish her off. How could she win this?

She thought of the cats–the clan–she had left behind, who likely waited anxiously for their wayward leader’s return. Would they falter without her guidance? Would the glimmer of hope she had lit in their hearts snuff out with fear? If only she could lead them to the majestic moon glacier, show them the ethereal ancient glow of the blue cave, renew their spirits with wonder at the wilderness they were trapped in. Stone suddenly stiffened, steeling herself as she lifted her gaze back toward her foe. Though she fought alone in the cavern, her mind conjured the presence of her clan behind her. She would not die here. She would die among the cats she had befriended, who had banded together in their time of need. The cats she needed, who needed her to return alive.

With a burst of vigor, Stone launched herself toward the lynx’s head, her weight and confidence catching it off guard. She clung to its face, slashing its ears, her momentum sending it crashing hard into the floor. It flailed its huge paws, but Stone stood steadfast upon its chest, pressing her own paws down forcefully against its throat. Her claws dug in, blood welled up around her toes. The lynx grew more panicked, struggling wildly, its breath stuttering in strangled gasps. Stone pressed harder.

“St–Sto-”

Stone leaned close into its face. “Do you yield?”

The Lynx thrashed its head, attempting to nod frantically. “Yg-Yes!”

Stone slowly lifted her paws, releasing pressure off the creature’s throat. It gasped for air, then shoved her off its chest, throwing her to the floor. She scrambled to her paws, watching the Lynx heave. After it had caught its breath, the Lynx pressed its paw deep into the stone floor. It did so with strange power, impressing into the rock like it was mud, leaving the crisp outline of its giant pawprint. It beckoned her over. Its breath was hoarse. “Come.”

Stone approached the Lynx. She eyed it warily, nervous that it would decide to ignore the deal and kill her anyway. But it didn’t move as she stood above it, her paws settling on the edge of its pawprint, which seemed to sparkle slightly in the dim, cold light.

The Lynx glared up at her, its cool demeanor vanished, its eyes blazing with controlled fury. “Touch your nose to the floor,” it growled. “You will receive your reward.”

Carefully, Stone dipped her head down, until her nose brushed against the floor’s icy chill. For a brief moment, all was still.

Suddenly, she was blinded by overwhelming light. The force of the glare threw her head back, and her vision was assaulted by an oppressive blur of color and noise. Images flashed in her mind, landscapes, memories, creatures she has never seen before. Each streaked by, too fast for her to fully process the scenes. Waves of emotion crashed in her, sending her reeling, thrown into a raging sea of grief and joy and fear and wonder. She felt all of time as it had crept by, millions of years of the past and future stretched out infinitely, lived all at once in a single instant. She felt everything. She felt nothing. It was the most agonizing pain she had ever experienced, swept in a flood of sheer euphoria. She knew places and beasts and times she had no name for, all lived through and known by the catkin before her. It was the longest moment of her life, but as she crouched, trembling, blinking her eyes back to the sight of the blue cavern, she realized only seconds had passed.

The Lynx had stood, and had begun moving toward the cave’s exit. It turned to look down at her, and Stone returned its gaze, panting heavily, her fur on end and buzzing with strange energy.

It was silent for a moment. “You now have eight more lives to live along with your own. More than any little cat has had before. Your blessing and your curse.” It lulled thoughtfully, its expression had settled back into its neutral stare.

Its voice was cold, though laced with an undertone of contempt–and perhaps, Stone thought, respect. “Do not treat this victory lightly, Stone. Every day you live here will be another test, another gamble with your life. Living here is a game with no winners, and you and your fellows can only stall the march of nature for so long.”

The lynx turned, padding toward the exit. “The gods here will meddle where they like, and though you have bested me, I can not guarantee my kin will be deterred from entertaining themselves with playthings like you.”

The god stopped in the entrance, then glanced back toward her, its face in shadow.

“Good luck, Stone. You will need it.”

It disappeared.

For a moment, Stone stood alone in the blue cavern.

She was not Stone anymore. Something had changed within her, the Lynx’s stars sat heavy in her chest, glittered on her whiskers. Just as an icy piece of the moon had fallen to the earth and become one with it, fragments of the stars had melded with her being. She was Stonestar, and her pelt glowed with the new (old?) lives that settled under her fur.

And she was alive. More than she had ever been before.

And it was time to return to her clan.

#oops wrong blocg #this one is more of a written story #im more of a visual storyteller than an author so hopefully it reads ok #oh also this is the version of the story that’s been passed down through the clans #so it’s been embellished and should not necessarily be taken at face value #since stonestar was the only one there and this was many decades ago #lore #stone #stonestar #my art #the lynx #warrior cats #alaska clans

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