The Epic of Boss (2)

Walking out into the road from the corn stalks on only its hind feet was the black and white kitten that Boss had tried to rescue.

Boss stepped forward. “You’re—”

“Congrats, you two! Con. Gu. RATS! What a marvelous display!” the kitten poofed into an older version of itself. It walked on its hind legs, wearing sparkling golden jewelry. “I did not expect that twist at the end.” It kissed its fingers like a French chef.

The kitten was in awe of the sight of the cat god. Boss, however, was cautious.

“Stand down, child,” it said. “I do not wish you harm. No! Quite the opposite, in fact. For you see, you have proven yourself to me.”

Boss walked over next to the kitten. “Proven myself?”

“Yes in-deeeeee-duh,” it replied, walking closer to the two. “A defenseless kitten was in danger and YOU, without a care for your own safety, your own well-being, your own life!!! Went out of your way to rescue it. You could have easily ignored it. Most cats do. But you did not. No sir. Not you.”

The cat god looked over to the kitten. “And you, little one. Do not think I missed what you had done. Though you disobeyed, though you went against his actions and ultimately put yourself in danger,” it said, pointing to Boss. “Your intentions were pure and good. You feared for his life. Your heart clenched at the idea of his demise! And at such a young age, to boot! Truly the filth of the world has yet to dirty your spirit!”

“Who are you?” Boss asked, still uneased by the cat god.

The cat god was taken aback before erupting with laughter. “Do your eyes not register that for which it sees? Have I been so completely severed from my children that they cannot recognize their spiritual parent? What a world, what a world. What. A. World! Though I guess that blame lies solely on me and not on you. May you have my forgiveness.”

Suddenly, Boss remembered the conversation he had with Kat. About a cat god who had transformed her from a human into a catgirl.

“Are you… a cat god?”

“THE,” it corrected Boss. “Tee Aitch Ee. The a-Cat a-God. You capitalize the Tee, the See, and the Gee. The. Cat. God. It seems there had been a misunderstanding in communication at some point in history. Once again, so I can make myself perfectly clear. To all those at home. The. Cat. God. A singularity and not a plurality. One. Uno. Eins. Ichi.”

“So you were the one who cursed that human to become part cat, then?”

The Cat God was in shock at the accusation. “C-curse? A curse? A bane? A hex? I've done no such thing! An insult! My doings are that of blessings! I come down from the heavens to spread good fortune to those who deserve it! What I give is gifts!”

“Gifts?!” the kitten beside Boss said excitedly, tapping her front paws.

The Cat God smiled upon the kitten. “That is correct, little one. And from what I can tell, it is your first birthday soon. One entire reee-volution around the Sun upon this bless-ed planet! We must celebrate!”

Numerous party poppers exploded around the three, shooting confetti and sparklers. Fireworks launched into the sky, illuminating the ground in a myriad of colors.

The kitten bounced with excitement over the spectacle of magic.

Boss, however, was still skeptical. With how Kat spoke of The Cat God with wariness, he did not completely trust its words or actions.

“Though it is early, I shall bestow upon you! A gift!” The Cat God said, throwing up its hands into the air.

The kitten suddenly felt the ground escape her as she was lifted into the air. “Whaa!” she yelled in surprise.

Boss looked up in shock. “What are you doing?!” he yelled at The Cat God.

“As a token of our meeting on this wondrous night of nights! To-night! This night! Where you pronounced your selflessness to me! Five days, four hours, twenty-eight minutes, and thirteen seconds before that of the moment of your one-year anniversary of life! I bless you with a gift that is be-yond anything you could have ever dreamed of! So vast in its value that it equates to that of the entirety of existence! So… So… Well, I think my picture has been thoroughly painted for your mind’s eye.”

A cloud of pink-colored smoke burst around the kitten. When it blew away with a gust of wind a moment later, Boss was aghast by what stood before him. He furrowed his brows, glaring at The Cat God. “What have you done?!” he yelled in a fury.

“Impatient, are we?” The Cat God answered. “But fear not! I have not forgotten your actions! You too shall be blessed by my charity!”

Boss became blinded as a similar pink-colored cloud of smoke appeared around him.

Hidden away behind the corn stalks, watching from a safe distance, was Marshmallow. He had returned to retrieve Boss and the kitten, asking another cat to take his place in keeping guard of the entrance to the barn. His arrival coincided with the appearance of The Cat God, where he witnessed the entirety of the spectacle and the disastrous fate that befell both the young kitten and Boss.

Filled with dread and fearing the same would happen to him, he quickly fled back to the barn to escape and alert the others of the tragedy.

***

“Aaaaw yeeeah!” cheered Marco, holding up a jar containing several fireflies like it was a trophy.

Maria carried an exhausted Carlos on her back while the rest of her siblings walked ahead of her, still full of energy from their nightly activity. They had gone to the creek to look at the fireflies, with Marco and the twins bringing jars to capture them and make themselves a night light.

“I’m gonna put these bad boys right by my bedside!” Marco announced, still holding his jar above his head while his other hand swung a flashlight back and forth, shining a beam of light all over the place.

The twins cheered, each holding their own jar containing fireflies, albeit with fewer than Marco’s.

“Tomorrow morning you’re going to take them back to the creek and release them, okay?” Maria said, pulling Carlos higher up on her back.

“Yeah, yeah,” Marco replied flippantly. “I heard ya the first time.”

Maria turned to Veronica. “Would you kindly?”

Veronica swatted Marco in the butt with Maria’s parasol as hard as she could.

“Yeowch!” Marco cried as he dropped the flashlight to juggle the glass jar that almost fell from his grasp. Once he had it secured in the palm of his hands, he let out a sigh of relief. “You almost made me drop it!” he yelled.

“And you disrespected me with that flippant tone of yours,” Maria answered.

Marco rolled his eyes. “Sorry,” he apologized half-heartedly, picking up the flashlight he dropped.

Maria didn’t appreciate how he apologized, but she let it slide since she knew he understood where he went wrong.

Down the road, large fireworks went off, launching high into the sky. They whirled as they climbed upward, before exploding into a magnificent display of lights.

“Huh?” Maria looked on in confusion as her siblings were amazed.

These weren’t ordinary store-bought fireworks. These were ones you’d see at a fireworks show. Their explosions were massive. Sparkles of lights danced around in ways Maria didn’t know could be possibly done. It was as if they were magic. She had never seen anything like it.

Carlos woke up from the sound of the explosions, only to smile at the wonderful sight.

But just as soon as the show started, it soon ceased. The siblings looked on quizzically at the sky, half-expecting the show to continue.

It did not.

“What was that about?” asked Patricia, looking at Maria for answers.

“I don’t know, sweety,” she answered truthfully.

It was a bizarre sight. If it weren’t for the fact everyone else had seen it, Maria would’ve thought she had hallucinated it.

“Let’s hurry home,” she said, wanting to go ask her parents about it.

But when they continued down the road, they suddenly started hearing the cries of a little girl coming from up the road. Once again, they all became confused.

“What’s with that crying?” Marco asked.

Maria placed Carlos on the ground. She took her parasol from Veronica and had her hold Carlos’ hand. “I don’t know. I’m going to find out. You all stay back,” she said before lifting the hem of her dress and running down the road.

“Wait!” Marco yelled, wanting to come with her.

“You’re in charge!”

A light sparkled in his eyes. He was in charge. “Right!” he shouted, saluting Maria with the flashlight as he watched her run off into the darkness.

Something’s not right, Maria thought. The combination of the sudden yet short fireworks display in the middle of nowhere mixed with unexpected crying made her think some sort of accident had occurred. Perhaps someone was shooting off the fireworks when they shouldn’t have. Or maybe they were being transported and suddenly went off for whatever reason.

Regardless, Maria felt the need to check and to see if those involved were alright at the very least. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to call an ambulance.

As she got closer to the source of the crying, she heard the sound of an older man with a deep voice, trying to comfort the child.

“Hey!” Maria called out, seeing two figures in the distance. “Are you okay?!”

One figure stood up, appearing tall and muscular. The other figure, one of a small, petite child, latched onto the other’s leg.

“Get behind me,” said the larger figure, pulling the smaller figure close.

“I’m just coming to see if you two are alright!” Maria yelled. “Was there an accident? Do you need help?”

Maria slowed down as she got closer to the two figures. The tall one was that of a nude, anthropomorphic cat, covered in orange-and-white fur, with a patch atop his head extending farther out. It was styled up like he had gotten it professionally cut at a barber. His frame was large, comparable to that of a bodybuilder. The moonlight made his glaring eyes glow.

Gripping the fur on his legs was another nude anthropomorphic cat, except that of a little girl, which Maria thought was roughly the same age as her youngest brother, Carlos. Her fur was completely white, except a patch of brown over her face that gave the appearance of a mask. Atop her head were long locks of silver hair that glistened under the moonlight, stretching all the way down midway her legs. It split apart where her bushy tail was, which was brushing against the gravel road.

“What on Earth…” Maria said, shocked by the appearance of the pair.

“The human spoke!” the little girl said, popping her head from behind the man.

Boss’ eyes widened. “I can understand you…” he said in disbelief.

Who were these people? Maria wondered.

When Kat transformed into a catgirl, she was still very much easily identifiable as Kat. But she didn’t know the true identities of the two anthropomorphic cats before her. Stranger yet, they were completely nude.

“Did…” Maria managed.

Boss changed his stance, ready to defend himself and the once kitten, now nameless little girl.

“Did you happen to run into a cat god, by any chance?” Maria asked. “My friend Kat has been desperately looking for it. Please, if you have any info, I would appreciate it very much!”

“Wait a sec,” Boss lowered his guard. “You’re a friend of Kat…?”