1 『Pink-Perky-Poopy-Pumpkin』

Rain plagued the City of Heatherfield, in Southern California, a region centered around an Island sculpted into a major metropolitan area surrounded by a massive suburban residential locality.

The sky was painted a depressive cool bluish-grey as if the world was crying, shedding its tears unto the nameless bystanders and their black umbrellas below. With a spot of lightning, for just a brief moment, the world was lit up so brightly that even the most shallow of beings were granted a sturdy shadow.

Sitting under a City Bench was a black cat, with blazing electric blue eyes, staring out towards the bus that was unloading this route thirty-six's passengers. His name was Jakarion, Lord Jakarion, a being from the mystical world of Meridian, though in this realm of Earth was merely known as Jack Brown.

This Jack Brown was a being capable of shifting from the form of a fork-tailed cat and into a human being, making him most comparable to a Bakeneko from Japanese Mythology.

Letting out a yawn Jack stared at the feet which marched on by, splashing water from the walkway.

"For the past fourteen years, I've been watching these human feet..." He uttered in a soft high pitched, borderline feminine, voice augmented by his form under his whiskers, "For ten long years I've been searching for the Guardians in order to protect Elyon… Yet I find nothing… I'm seventeen now, I should have found an inkling somewhere around here!" A small growl left his throat as his tail swished side to side, absently he brought up and licked his paw. "Nya~"

He tasted the earth under his nails and sticking to the bottoms of his paw. His arbitrary gaze then rested upon a woman who was peering under the bench on one knee and hand.

She had dark hair and olive tanned skin, purplish-black hair, and brown eyes. There was this weird smile on her face as if she had found something she had been looking for and a starry gaze as if she had come up with a dashing new idea.

The more he looked at her the other details began to show themselves. Yellow v-neck sweater, white dress shirt, purple pants, and white running shoes with black soles. She looked like a preppy who went into their late thirties, maybe early forties.

'This can't be good...' Jack didn't move and maintained eye contact with the woman, before noticing she had an umbrella in one hand and she was rubbing her two fingers together.

"Here, kitty kitty kitty~" She called for him, trying to coax him out from behind the bench.

Batting his eyes at her, a sweat drop formed behind his right ear. 'She thinks I'm a stray...' As the cat he was, he lowered his ears behind his head and tilted his head to the side, letting out a curious "Meow~?"

"Come here~ Come here," she continued to chime as she ultimately wasn't giving up.

His eyes glared right through her, almost spiteful-like, wondering why she would think he would even come close to her. 'This woman is mad. Cats do not obey such crude gestures!' Standing up on all fours, the cat shook his fur coat free of the rainwater that masked his scent.

Around his neck was a crystalline ornament, with silvery metals arms on the top and bottom, along with a crescent-shaped decoration.and a reddish-pink orb. It was giving off a faint glow toe closer the woman's outstretched arm was getting to him.

There was no way she was a Guardian.

"Miaow..." He droned lowly as he turned to face her, assuming he could feasibly fight back against her if he didn't like what she had planned, as he smelled the air and found there was something about her scent. There was something about it that he didn't quite understand, it was as if she had contact with someone connected to the Elements.

Just as he was within arms reach, he felt her one arm scoop around his tiny house-cat sized form and hoist him up into her torso.

"Gotcha!" She laughed to herself in triumph as she had 'caught' the cat effortlessly. "You're going to love my daughter! Such a perfect early birthday gift..."

His nose twitched lightly hearing that he was going to be given to some girl as a gift. Part of him was hoping it wasn't some tiny toddler which would pull his ears and a forked tail. That was the last thing he wanted.

It seemed she didn't notice his 'deformity' in the sense that he had a forked tail, but at the same time, it didn't seem as if she cared either. Perhaps she saw him as something unique? His thoughts weren't too centered on her though, mostly thinking of how he was going to escape if he didn't get what he wanted out to this.

Hugged to the grown woman's chest, the cat was surrounded by an almost foreign warmth and softness that he didn't recognize. With his front paws reaching out in front of him, he pressed hind legs against her abdomen.

With the transparent umbrella overhead, he rested his chin on her shoulder and watched as the scene behind her changed from the bus station and into the crowded public transport.

There were plenty of stares, at least one person whipped out their phone and took a picture. It almost made him want to chuckle. If only she knew who she was carrying. His cat form was an internet celebrity, an urban legend, though only popular with those who were into that kind of thing.

Once she was seated, his electric blue eyes darted up towards the woman. She was smiling even more joyously than before, swaying side to side a bit as she hummed. The woman appeared to be a loving mother.

"Oh, my dear Pink-Perky-Poopy-Pumpkin is going to be so excited~!" She hummed these words to a playful tune, "Another friend for her to have after just moving in."

Jack nearly had a hairball, holding back his laughter, at the name she had given out. From his point of view, he could only think to himself, 'Who in their right mind would call their child Pink-Perky-Poopy-Pumpkin?'

"Hm?" She blinked a few times at the cat as if it had given a reaction to what she said. "Are you okay little fella?" She asked as she lightly rubbed her index finger against his cheek.

Following the act of a normal cat, he leaned into her knuckles and closed his eyes. A light purr would emit from his body, his tails stiffly raised and swishing their tips side to side.

For the next forty or so minutes he remained to lay against her shoulder, not caring much for the world, even as he was peering out the window from the corner of his eye. So before he knew it, the bus had stopped and she was on the move. It wasn't until he heard the water hitting hard against the umbrella she raised over her head once again that he registered they were outside once more.

His eyes flickered over to the side, his head turning as he wriggled in her arms.

"Ah, ah. Now, now. We're almost there, don't go running away." She seemed to scold him, thinking he was trying to run away. Of course, he wasn't, at least not for the time being. There was no reason to run, but what he was more curious about was where she was taking him.

Soon enough they were undercover once more, artificial light being taken into his pupils. The glow of the jewel around his neck began to glow even more now, appearing to have been getting closer to its newly chosen wielder.

'Oh?' His head tucked down slightly as his ears perked up, twitching at every sound that was made, like some sort of sonar. Nothing was interesting in the lobby they had entered, just people chatting with one another and some children cursing the rain.

Entering an elevator the ride was a few minutes long, allowing him to judge that they had entered a tall standing building somewhere in the city. Thankfully she hadn't gone too far away from home, he could only imagine the worried expressions of Elyon should he not return home.

Hearing the DING sound emanate from the elevator, the doors slid open and she stepped out into a long corridor before walking to the left. She continued down about six doors and turned right, stopping at the seventh.

When she fished her keys out of her purse, after jiggling the knob to find that it was locked, the Cat watched as she unlocked the door. Then without any further delay, she walked inside and he sprung off her chest, doing a backflip before landing on all fours again, only to sit on his rear.

The woman nearly gasped in surprise, only to giggle to herself.

"Mom, is that you?" A voice seemed to seize his attention immediately, his head turning to hear a pair of bare feet coming into the room from the hallway of the residence, directly behind him.

"I've got you an early birthday gift, my Pink-Perky-Poopy-Pumpkin~! You always wanted a pet, right?" The purple-haired mother seemed to use a babying tone when addressing her daughter further.

"Moooom~! Don't call me thaaat~!" Cried the embarrassed red-haired teenager.

Jack was resting his eyes on her mid-section, she was only dressed in a pink hoodie and a pair of white cotton panties, along with some lemon yellow socks. His little jaw hung open, revealing his pearly white fangs. 'Niiiice~' He thought to himself with an outgoing purr, as he seemingly knew her voice and that hoodie she was wearing. Even more so it was hard for him to mistake that hairdo for anyone else's as there were far too many times where he had threw her glances during their mixed classes.

Her presence had been awfully hard to ignore.

'Will Vandom? She's the new girl from Elyon's table… Right?' Jack swallowed in thought hardly noticed the glow that was blaring from his neck as it was so close to the girl. It was as if he had found a treasure trove. If he knew it was going to be a girl around his age, he could have just walked around the school with the item!

Will's gaze dropped down towards the cat and she blinked, seeing the mystical glowing amulet attached to his collar. She then raised a brow and knelt to the critter.

"He's kinda cute… But doesn't that collar mean he is owned?" Will pointed to the glowing item around his neck, a brow raised towards her mother, "You stole someone's pet."

"Oh?" Her eyes narrowed on the cat for a few seconds before shrugging, "He came with the glowing thing when I got him from the shop." The woman was telling a white lie as she shrugged.

Letting out a sigh, Will squatted down, her hands laid out in front of her for him to approach.

There wasn't a second to waste as he quickly darted forward to her open hands, his mind on the gem, glowing deeply from the closeness to her. He had found the next bearer to the Heart of Kandrakar.

It seemed she didn't squander any of her time either as she quickly tucked her thumbs under his from shoulders and plucked him off the ground in one fell swoop. She had hands like an angel, dainty, and unpainted. Her fiery red hair was cut in a bob and her skin was a soft, pale, olive tone.

His eyes rested on her big eyes as she held him tucked into one arm, her other hand stroking his back, rushing up along his forked tail. She paused seeing this abnormality and smirked a bit to herself, likely thinking it was a cool cat due to the 'mutation' that wasn't normal in earthborn felines.

"Thanks, mom," Will looked towards her quietly with a faint smile replacing the smirk. Turning away, she padded back on over to her room and closed the door behind her. As she flicked he lights on, it revealed the simple wood panel floors, white walls, and the typical furnishings accompanied by a strange collection of frog toys.

He stared at the massive frog chair, the frog blankets, and even the frog-themed pillows. However it wasn't just any frog, it seemed to be a particular one and all of these items were collectibles.

This was something rather interesting to see, holding back a small chuckle, he wondered how Elyon would react to seeing such toys. Though he was sure the future heir of Meridian already knew of her friend's interests in these things, so he didn't pursue further thought on the subject.

Placing him down on the bed, she sat down about a foot away and looked over the rather tame cat who just flopped onto his side, showing her his stomach as a sign of trust.

"So cute," Will giggled at what she perceived as the sheer laziness of the cat and reached over, stroking her hand along his back. From a single touch, she could feel that his fur wasn't super sleek, but it wasn't overly fluffy either. As her fingers reached the end of his back she let her fingers run up along his tail. "You got a name?" She asked, not expecting an answer.

"...Miaow..." Jack retorted monotonously to her question after peering over her, lifting his head from the bed as he did so.

"… Why did you just sound a bit annoyed at that question? Do you get it asked often?" A small giggle left Will's lips as she laid on her side to match his position. Whilst he lay there purring, she lifted her hand to her face as she kept her head propped up with the other hand and sniffed it. "It… Smells like Shampoo?" Blinking several times at the scent, she leaned over and smelled the cat directly.

'You have got to be kidding me!' Jack's entire body tensed as he felt the tip of her nose against the back of his head, she was rubbing her face against the back of his head. 'You haven't even fed me yet! You are already going this far?!'

Shifting on his side, Jack let out a soft cry, "Nya~"

"Oooh~? Hehe, you're pretty tame for a new cat, now all we have to do is think of a name," Will simpered she let her head drop to the frog comforter which decorated her mattress. With the hand she used to give him pets, she gently scooped him up against her chest as she lay there. "Blue eyes… Black hair… You remind me of Elyon's brother, the boy she sits with during lunch. I don't have that many friends..." She lightly shifted her feet along the bed surface.

Jack let out an inquisitive, "Meow?" He had no idea where this one-sided conversation was going. He wasn't the type to have a large number of friends if anything he usually chose to be friends with people who were older than himself. Though there were times when the younger people close to his age caught his attention. So her not having a lot of friends didn't sound all that bad.

"Ah!" She groaned aloud, suddenly wrapping her arms around him into a hug without warning. "I think I'm boy crazy! I can hardly choose between them… Matt Olson or Jack Brown, Gah!" She rolled over, causing Jack's eyes to widen a bit as she was being held close to her chest.

"Mrow?" Jack held out a paw towards a stuffed frog.

"What, you want to choose?" She looked down at him, looping both arms around her new pet.

'You still haven't chosen a name,' Jack thought about saying before pressing the top of his head against her chin, purring thanks to the feeling of affection that she was showing towards the cat.

"I don't get it… Are you choosing Elyon's brother?" The redhead blinked down at the dark cat with the electric blue eyes. Her fingers loosely played with his glowing collar ornament.

"Meow," Jack responded to her question, though to him it was just an ambient sound, to her it was a confirmation. This only made her squeal a bit as she nuzzled the top of his head with her face again, her legs kicking and bucking against the sheets.

"I guess I'll name you Jack too, how does that sound?" Will simpered in her decisive victory.

Jack gave her an ardent sounding, "Mew," in response to her question.

"What do you mean by 'Mew,' you silly cat?" She teased as she blew on the cat's ear, "Is that a yes or a no?"

After several seconds of silence, she leaned her head down a bit and nipped at the cat's ear with her lips, not using her teeth. This sent a tingling sensation through the cat's entire body, his hairs standing on end. "Mrow~!" he cried out.

"So you agree then, good." The tomboy moved to sit up with her in his lap, resting him on her legs carefully, not wanting to get scratched despite toying with the mere moments ago.

Jack himself kept his claws retracted and comfortably lazed in her lap. His teenage mind was going up the wall. Not only had he found the next handler of the heart, the key to the Guardians of the Veil, but also unintentionally centered her attention on his alter-ego human self.

"You like perching yourself there, don't cha?" She giggled as she pets his head, rubbing her knuckles against his cheek and under his chin. "Hmm... Maybe I should get his number…" As heat traveled across her face at the very thought of asking him for his contacts, an eager blush formed over her cheeks. "I wonder what he'd say..."

Stretching across her thighs, the cat just laid there relaxing under her touch, 'I'd say yes, obviously.'