KuliKuli began to shuffle in her bed, running her paw around the mattress and nuzzling into her pillow with a smile. It had been several months since she and Felix found each other and he decided to let her stay, she recalled back then that the concept of sleeping on a bed with a thin sheet or blanket wrapped around her body was weird to her. Sleeping was never seen as a luxury but rather a necessity when living in the wild, often done in a group and taking turns watching each other in short naps should there any threats nearby. It felt unnatural and unnecessary, animals didn't need such things for rest.
But as she buried her face deeper into her pillow, she purred gently as she relished in the soft comfort it provided for her. Goodness, pillows were not needed but they by far felt like it spoiled her. She could never go back to sleeping in a curled up ball anymore.
Her pink lips parted as she exhaled, her jaws beginning to stretch once a morning yawn snuck in. When she turned her body around, her eyes opened up and were met with a pair of beautiful brown eyes belonging to her-
One of those eyes were red.
She shot up from her bed, her paws leaning on his chest. Felix flinched from her sudden reaction, awkwardly holding still as she leaned in, her nose nearly touching his, while she stared eerily into his eye.
"Felix, your eye is bleeding." She pulled away, caressing his bruised face. "You're hurting."
Felix held her paw, his thumb stroking its fur as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back to rest. "No kidding. My side feels sore and my face is pulsing as if it were to burst. I don't feel any blood on me though."
"No, your eye is red. On this side." She explained, leaning in to kiss his cheek and pat his chest. "Stay here."
When she rose, her knees felt a hard pain when she was met with a realization that they hadn't slept in bed, but rather they chose to rest on the living room floor. She scurried out from his sight and slipped into the bedroom, making a noisy commotion of rummaging through dressers and cabinets while he rubbed his aching head and covered his ears. It wasn't that the noise contributed heavily to his pain, but he felt like somehow it made it more tolerable. It wasn't long when KuliKuli returned with a strange looking cloth in her teeth. She slipped her paws behind him, carefully guiding him to sit up before spat the roll of white cloth on his lap.
"Peel it for me." She asked.
He questioned her intent but did so, exploring the strange fabric material before spotting a piece sticking out like a tongue. He gave it a tug and stretched the piece of white fabric out.
"That's good." She swiped it from his hand, sticking her tongue out from her lips as she raised it to his face. He was instructed to hold still while she looked at him as if he were the strangest creature she had recently came upon for the first time in her life. Around and around, the gauze was wrapped over his head and cheek, covering his eye in the process.
"What is this?" He asked now that she sank her teeth into the gauze and tore it from the roll.
"Jay-Jay calls it a gauze, it's for bad cuts and bruises." She explained, carefully tucking in the loose end of the gauze into place so that it didn't fall apart. "I think it's like magic because it helps with healing. Pretty neat!"
"I don't think that's how it works." He picked at the gauze covering a part of his face when she slapped his hand away.
"No picking!"
"Fine, but it feels like fabric to me. I don't feel any different, are you sure it's magic?"
She nodded with a reassuring smile. "Uh-huh, I know so! Or I think so, Jay said it helps."
He frowned. "I don't feel any magic around me."
"Maybe it's on the inside?" She asked with a shrug. "Just keep it on. Maybe keeping your eye closed will help it go back to normal."
When he tried to roll his eyes from her advice, he wince and held the side of his face. Apparently, even moving his eyes around caused him a bit of pain on the his bleeding pupil. Closing both eyes helped him ease some of the pain he experienced, it was then that he noticed that sunlight somehow made his pain even worse which further led to him keeping both eyes shut. Now he was wondering if he should wrap that gauze around his head like a blindfold to help him feel better, or perhaps wrap it around his head to prevent it from bursting out.
KuliKuli lowered her head as she watched him coping with his pain, doing her best to maintain a hopeful smile. She hoped her behaving as if today were any other day would produce a good start, that perhaps it would lead to him playing along and the two would go back to doing their normal boring routine of chores in and around the farm. But it hurt her to see him in this state and feel helpless. When she saw how red his eye had turned, it felt like someone had punched her in the stomach as she felt breathless from shock. Seeing him still in recovery served as a reminder of last night's activities with the circus, being attacked, and the fight they had with each other. Going to sleep felt awful, she couldn't enjoy it and instead succumbed to the night from the sheer exhaustion she felt after so much happened that day, and she suspected that the feeling is mutual for him.
She rubbed her eyes and frowned as anger began to seep in and take root. No, she can't be feeling sorry or thinking about their fight today. She wasn't ready to talk about it, and neither was he, or so she hoped. But she felt it was impossible for them to talk to each other, both laying in ignorance and choosing never to speak of that night again. It wasn't just about his bruised, but the words they had said to each other left a lot for her to think about. No matter, she knew it would do them no good if she showed her true expression now. She needed to be strong, she needed to confront this matter but at a time when she is ready. Like she had said in their argument, she had grown tired of running from danger and she meant it. They will discuss that, but not yet.
KuliKuli looked out of the window as the early rooster sang its morning song. It seems they awoke just in time to start their day again. She knelt down and reached for Felix's arm, helping him up as he looked to her with confusion.
"I have no trouble with walking." He said as she led them into the bedroom.
"I know, but you need to rest today." She said as she helped him sit down before bringing in the pillow and blankets from the living room. "You're hurting still and it won't help your body heal if you push yourself."
"I don't need to sit down or sleep, just let me get started. The sooner I begin, the sooner I can finish." He paused when she placed her paws around him and leaned forward to confront him.
She frowned but moved in to kiss his forehead. "You don't need to prove to me that you're strong."
Felix sighed, moving his hand over her paw. "Can I at least feed the chickens and water the garden? I don't want to feel useless being cooped up in here."
KuliKuli didn't answer back, instead stepping in and wrapping her arms to cradle his head. He held her back, closing his eye and feeling his muscles relax against the warmth of her body. He felt her kiss his head and hold him still, the two of them keeping this way for as long as they needed it. After all the events that happened, just this one hug was enough to comfort the two. Yes, he too was aware that what was said was said, and those were not words that they can take back, nor did he want to. There will be a moment, a time of day when the two would be ready to nip this in the butt and be away with this. But that moment can wait, for just the comfort of her body against his was enough to remove the pain.
"Rest, just for a little while." She said in a soft, nurturing voice while running her paw down his back. "I'll make breakfast this time, let me do that knowing that you're here. I want you to be strong again, I want to wake up in the morning and gaze into those brown eyes and to hold your face without worrying if it hurts. I'll be here for you just like you were for me."
He nodded and kissed her chest, feeling her pull away as he adjusted himself in bed. His movements were difficult to navigate through his hand-eye coordination being off, but he managed to pull the blanket over his legs before laying back.
KuliKuli stepped into the kitchen and began to stretch while facing the window, feeling the warm early sunlight coat her chest as if she were being blessed. She peered in when she caught the sound of a carriage approaching them from meters away with her acute hearing. Stepping out of the door, she stood and waited with a small smile, recognizing that sound and look as the carriage slowly came into view. She waited for a quick minute while her friend stopped next to her, dressed in her familiar dress and blouse, the same she wore when they first met at her shop.
Her smile dropped when she realized that Janette came in alone, opening the carriage only to pull out a basket.
"Reta didn't come with you?" She asked as her cat ears dropped in sadness.
Janette shook her head, holding the basket in front of her. "She's with her friend, said they have a lot to talk about. I wanted to drop this here and pay a quick visit before I went to open up this morning."
"Is she doing okay, is her friend doing well? Did they say anything?" KuliKuli asked.
Janette sighed. "I don't know a word they're saying, they're talking in a different language. Probably to avoid any eavesdropping, I guess I understand that. How is he?"
"Hm?" Her ears shot up. "Oh! Not too good, he looks the same except..."
Janette raised her eyebrow. "Yes?"
She stuttered and held her arm in discomfort, responding to her friend in a low voice while walking her away from the door. "This morning his eye is all red, I think it was bleeding."
"Bleeding, like actual blood? Was it leaking like a loose faucet?" Janette asked with wide eyes and a pale face. "Was it all red?"
"No, it was just the white on his eye that looks as red as blood. It was scary, but I wrapped his face in that gauze you gave him. How long does it take until the magic kicks in?"
"Huh?" Janette made a funny face, seemingly lost.
"The magic, you said it helps heal cuts and bruises. Does it work overnight?"
Janette stared at her friend and sighed. "No, it's not magic silly. It just covers the wound and helps you recover with a low likely of an infection, assuming you cleaned the wound first. But that's not exactly the right thing to use for his eye. It helps, just not in that way. I'll go see if they sell any eyepatches at the Den, but I doubt it when we are days away from the nearest coast."
"Oh." KuliKuli turned her head away to hide the hurt expression from her friend.
"You helped him, that's what matters. I brought you two some food... and I wanted to apologize for my part in this."
"What part?" The Nekomata asked with a look of concern.
Janette averted her eyes and hung her head. "For pushing you guys into that stupid place. I wanted to take you out for a night of wonder and excitement, but instead I put your lives at risk. Well, our lives. Look, I'm terribly sorry, and-and I understand if you want no part with me in your life anymore."
"No, no no we're not mad at you." KuliKuli replied, putting the basket away and comforting her friend. "Lots of things went wrong but some things did go right. We found that mean girl who knows Reta, that was good right?"
Janette said nothing, holding that pained expression on her. She didn't look up until KuliKuli repeated herself. "Right?"
"I-I guess so." She answered back, "I didn't sleep the best, and you don't look too good either."
Now it was her turn to be silent, her optimistic façade slowly falling apart when Janette held a concerned look toward her.
"Oh my goodness, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." She instinctively answered back, only for Janette to slowly approach her with a hug, her second hug that morning. She melted into her arms and buried her face into her shoulder, feeling the burden lift from her as it the weight was shared between them.
"I need to go," Her friend whispered to her. "But I'll come back in a few days and I'll bring them with me, okay?"
She nodded back, painfully releasing her and wiping her eyes. "Thank you, so much."
Janette smiled and climbed back up on her carriage, giving her cat friend a long look. The guilt was still there, but like a boiling pot it felt like they had calmed down the fire so that in time the water would cool down. It would be a lengthy process, but as they shared one more look she realized just how similar the two are. She rode off back in the same route she came from, thinking back to her notes before dismissing the thought. Not everything needed to be studied, this was a personal experience she wanted to keep in her heart.
KuliKuli waved goodbye, her tails picking up the basket before she entered the cabin again to surprise Felix with a quick meal. She paused when she saw him sleeping in bed, bending over and kissing him in the forehead. She left the door open and breathed in, feeling her stomach growl to remind her of its natural demands.
Maybe one little snack wouldn't hurt, she thought to herself as she began eyeing the basket. Just a quick bite and then she would get started on work for today. The chickens would need to be fed as on schedule, but she could leave the garden for him when he awakens.
KuliKuli began to shuffle in her bed, running her paw around the mattress and nuzzling into her pillow with a smile. It had been several months since she and Felix found each other and he decided to let her stay, she recalled back then that the concept of sleeping on a bed with a thin sheet or blanket wrapped around her body was weird to her. Sleeping was never seen as a luxury but rather a necessity when living in the wild, often done in a group and taking turns watching each other in short naps should there any threats nearby. It felt unnatural and unnecessary, animals didn't need such things for rest.
But as she buried her face deeper into her pillow, she purred gently as she relished in the soft comfort it provided for her. Goodness, pillows were not needed but they by far felt like it spoiled her. She could never go back to sleeping in a curled up ball anymore.
Her pink lips parted as she exhaled, her jaws beginning to stretch once a morning yawn snuck in. When she turned her body around, her eyes opened up and were met with a pair of beautiful brown eyes belonging to her-
One of those eyes were red.
She shot up from her bed, her paws leaning on his chest. Felix flinched from her sudden reaction, awkwardly holding still as she leaned in, her nose nearly touching his, while she stared eerily into his eye.
"Felix, your eye is bleeding." She pulled away, caressing his bruised face. "You're hurting."
Felix held her paw, his thumb stroking its fur as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back to rest. "No kidding. My side feels sore and my face is pulsing as if it were to burst. I don't feel any blood on me though."
"No, your eye is red. On this side." She explained, leaning in to kiss his cheek and pat his chest. "Stay here."
When she rose, her knees felt a hard pain when she was met with a realization that they hadn't slept in bed, but rather they chose to rest on the living room floor. She scurried out from his sight and slipped into the bedroom, making a noisy commotion of rummaging through dressers and cabinets while he rubbed his aching head and covered his ears. It wasn't that the noise contributed heavily to his pain, but he felt like somehow it made it more tolerable. It wasn't long when KuliKuli returned with a strange looking cloth in her teeth. She slipped her paws behind him, carefully guiding him to sit up before spat the roll of white cloth on his lap.
"Peel it for me." She asked.
He questioned her intent but did so, exploring the strange fabric material before spotting a piece sticking out like a tongue. He gave it a tug and stretched the piece of white fabric out.
"That's good." She swiped it from his hand, sticking her tongue out from her lips as she raised it to his face. He was instructed to hold still while she looked at him as if he were the strangest creature she had recently came upon for the first time in her life. Around and around, the gauze was wrapped over his head and cheek, covering his eye in the process.
"What is this?" He asked now that she sank her teeth into the gauze and tore it from the roll.
"Jay-Jay calls it a gauze, it's for bad cuts and bruises." She explained, carefully tucking in the loose end of the gauze into place so that it didn't fall apart. "I think it's like magic because it helps with healing. Pretty neat!"
"I don't think that's how it works." He picked at the gauze covering a part of his face when she slapped his hand away.
"No picking!"
"Fine, but it feels like fabric to me. I don't feel any different, are you sure it's magic?"
She nodded with a reassuring smile. "Uh-huh, I know so! Or I think so, Jay said it helps."
He frowned. "I don't feel any magic around me."
"Maybe it's on the inside?" She asked with a shrug. "Just keep it on. Maybe keeping your eye closed will help it go back to normal."
When he tried to roll his eyes from her advice, he wince and held the side of his face. Apparently, even moving his eyes around caused him a bit of pain on the his bleeding pupil. Closing both eyes helped him ease some of the pain he experienced, it was then that he noticed that sunlight somehow made his pain even worse which further led to him keeping both eyes shut. Now he was wondering if he should wrap that gauze around his head like a blindfold to help him feel better, or perhaps wrap it around his head to prevent it from bursting out.
KuliKuli lowered her head as she watched him coping with his pain, doing her best to maintain a hopeful smile. She hoped her behaving as if today were any other day would produce a good start, that perhaps it would lead to him playing along and the two would go back to doing their normal boring routine of chores in and around the farm. But it hurt her to see him in this state and feel helpless. When she saw how red his eye had turned, it felt like someone had punched her in the stomach as she felt breathless from shock. Seeing him still in recovery served as a reminder of last night's activities with the circus, being attacked, and the fight they had with each other. Going to sleep felt awful, she couldn't enjoy it and instead succumbed to the night from the sheer exhaustion she felt after so much happened that day, and she suspected that the feeling is mutual for him.
She rubbed her eyes and frowned as anger began to seep in and take root. No, she can't be feeling sorry or thinking about their fight today. She wasn't ready to talk about it, and neither was he, or so she hoped. But she felt it was impossible for them to talk to each other, both laying in ignorance and choosing never to speak of that night again. It wasn't just about his bruised, but the words they had said to each other left a lot for her to think about. No matter, she knew it would do them no good if she showed her true expression now. She needed to be strong, she needed to confront this matter but at a time when she is ready. Like she had said in their argument, she had grown tired of running from danger and she meant it. They will discuss that, but not yet.
KuliKuli looked out of the window as the early rooster sang its morning song. It seems they awoke just in time to start their day again. She knelt down and reached for Felix's arm, helping him up as he looked to her with confusion.
"I have no trouble with walking." He said as she led them into the bedroom.
"I know, but you need to rest today." She said as she helped him sit down before bringing in the pillow and blankets from the living room. "You're hurting still and it won't help your body heal if you push yourself."
"I don't need to sit down or sleep, just let me get started. The sooner I begin, the sooner I can finish." He paused when she placed her paws around him and leaned forward to confront him.
She frowned but moved in to kiss his forehead. "You don't need to prove to me that you're strong."
Felix sighed, moving his hand over her paw. "Can I at least feed the chickens and water the garden? I don't want to feel useless being cooped up in here."
KuliKuli didn't answer back, instead stepping in and wrapping her arms to cradle his head. He held her back, closing his eye and feeling his muscles relax against the warmth of her body. He felt her kiss his head and hold him still, the two of them keeping this way for as long as they needed it. After all the events that happened, just this one hug was enough to comfort the two. Yes, he too was aware that what was said was said, and those were not words that they can take back, nor did he want to. There will be a moment, a time of day when the two would be ready to nip this in the butt and be away with this. But that moment can wait, for just the comfort of her body against his was enough to remove the pain.
"Rest, just for a little while." She said in a soft, nurturing voice while running her paw down his back. "I'll make breakfast this time, let me do that knowing that you're here. I want you to be strong again, I want to wake up in the morning and gaze into those brown eyes and to hold your face without worrying if it hurts. I'll be here for you just like you were for me."
He nodded and kissed her chest, feeling her pull away as he adjusted himself in bed. His movements were difficult to navigate through his hand-eye coordination being off, but he managed to pull the blanket over his legs before laying back.
KuliKuli stepped into the kitchen and began to stretch while facing the window, feeling the warm early sunlight coat her chest as if she were being blessed. She peered in when she caught the sound of a carriage approaching them from meters away with her acute hearing. Stepping out of the door, she stood and waited with a small smile, recognizing that sound and look as the carriage slowly came into view. She waited for a quick minute while her friend stopped next to her, dressed in her familiar dress and blouse, the same she wore when they first met at her shop.
Her smile dropped when she realized that Janette came in alone, opening the carriage only to pull out a basket.
"Reta didn't come with you?" She asked as her cat ears dropped in sadness.
Janette shook her head, holding the basket in front of her. "She's with her friend, said they have a lot to talk about. I wanted to drop this here and pay a quick visit before I went to open up this morning."
"Is she doing okay, is her friend doing well? Did they say anything?" KuliKuli asked.
Janette sighed. "I don't know a word they're saying, they're talking in a different language. Probably to avoid any eavesdropping, I guess I understand that. How is he?"
"Hm?" Her ears shot up. "Oh! Not too good, he looks the same except..."
Janette raised her eyebrow. "Yes?"
She stuttered and held her arm in discomfort, responding to her friend in a low voice while walking her away from the door. "This morning his eye is all red, I think it was bleeding."
"Bleeding, like actual blood? Was it leaking like a loose faucet?" Janette asked with wide eyes and a pale face. "Was it all red?"
"No, it was just the white on his eye that looks as red as blood. It was scary, but I wrapped his face in that gauze you gave him. How long does it take until the magic kicks in?"
"Huh?" Janette made a funny face, seemingly lost.
"The magic, you said it helps heal cuts and bruises. Does it work overnight?"
Janette stared at her friend and sighed. "No, it's not magic silly. It just covers the wound and helps you recover with a low likely of an infection, assuming you cleaned the wound first. But that's not exactly the right thing to use for his eye. It helps, just not in that way. I'll go see if they sell any eyepatches at the Den, but I doubt it when we are days away from the nearest coast."
"Oh." KuliKuli turned her head away to hide the hurt expression from her friend.
"You helped him, that's what matters. I brought you two some food... and I wanted to apologize for my part in this."
"What part?" The Nekomata asked with a look of concern.
Janette averted her eyes and hung her head. "For pushing you guys into that stupid place. I wanted to take you out for a night of wonder and excitement, but instead I put your lives at risk. Well, our lives. Look, I'm terribly sorry, and-and I understand if you want no part with me in your life anymore."
"No, no no we're not mad at you." KuliKuli replied, putting the basket away and comforting her friend. "Lots of things went wrong but some things did go right. We found that mean girl who knows Reta, that was good right?"
Janette said nothing, holding that pained expression on her. She didn't look up until KuliKuli repeated herself. "Right?"
"I-I guess so." She answered back, "I didn't sleep the best, and you don't look too good either."
Now it was her turn to be silent, her optimistic façade slowly falling apart when Janette held a concerned look toward her.
"Oh my goodness, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." She instinctively answered back, only for Janette to slowly approach her with a hug, her second hug that morning. She melted into her arms and buried her face into her shoulder, feeling the burden lift from her as it the weight was shared between them.
"I need to go," Her friend whispered to her. "But I'll come back in a few days and I'll bring them with me, okay?"
She nodded back, painfully releasing her and wiping her eyes. "Thank you, so much."
Janette smiled and climbed back up on her carriage, giving her cat friend a long look. The guilt was still there, but like a boiling pot it felt like they had calmed down the fire so that in time the water would cool down. It would be a lengthy process, but as they shared one more look she realized just how similar the two are. She rode off back in the same route she came from, thinking back to her notes before dismissing the thought. Not everything needed to be studied, this was a personal experience she wanted to keep in her heart.
KuliKuli waved goodbye, her tails picking up the basket before she entered the cabin again to surprise Felix with a quick meal. She paused when she saw him sleeping in bed, bending over and kissing him in the forehead. She left the door open and breathed in, feeling her stomach growl to remind her of its natural demands.
Maybe one little snack wouldn't hurt, she thought to herself as she began eyeing the basket. Just a quick bite and then she would get started on work for today. The chickens would need to be fed as on schedule, but she could leave the garden for him when he awakens.
