The Trojan Cat

4. Clutches

Tho original chapter title was a French expression that translate to "between the claws," where "claw" is specifically like a mammal's.

Personifying Anxiety came with many downsides. Waking up was not the least of them.

Yes, Virgil had a hard time falling asleep. After all, what if something happened to Thomas while he was away? Even so, over the years his sleep management had improved.

But waking up was invariably unpleasant. This moment of vulnerability, with dreams still fogging half of his mind, when he opened his eyes to find... What? A lot of things, bad things, could happen to him in his sleep. Living with the "dark sides" certainly didn't help this problem.

Anger yelled at everyone, in just about any circumstances, but he especially loved to wake the others by shouting at them, his face red and far too close for comfort.

Remus was probably the worst. Virgil had seen his bedroom "redecorated" far too many times (although one would have already been too many). The prize went to the time he had covered every surface of the room with flytrap paper.

Finally, waking up to find, with a start, that Janus was sitting right next to his bed and watching him sleep always gave Virgil a feeling of unease that lingered for days on end (though the glue from the flytrap papers persisted longer).

Which is why, paradoxically, Virgil knew something was out of the ordinary when he woke up feeling warm and comfortable and safe. He shook himself out of his torpor.

The first thing he noticed was that he was still a cat. Which could be an explanation in itself: he had never slept in a feline's skin before, and it could impact his sleep, just like other aspects of his life. But as he woke up, he realized there was more to it. The room was too warm, golden, and comfortable for his large empty bedroom.

"The Felis siltestris catus seems to be out of resting phase. Slept well?"

"Say Lolo, do you think that means he's going to be staying here more often? If he's comfortable enough to sleep?"

Virgil leaped out of Logan's lap. It was still at the Core Sides'; he had fallen asleep there. But how long?

"Are you okay, little guy?"

Virgil avoided both Patton's gaze and his question (damn empathy) and sped into the kitchen, where he slipped out. Bad news: night had indeed fallen. He trotted through the forest, torn between wanting to get home as quickly as possible, to lessen the likes of someone noticing his absence, and delaying the inevitable by taking his time. It was the first time he visited the foggy woods of the subconscious during the night, and he couldn't help but to feel uneasy.

With his paws slowing to a stop, he even considered turning around, and going back to the Core Sides' home, cat-like or not, and staying there. He had noticed the various cat supplies appearing in the house, one after the other, and he had even surprised Roman worrying in a low voice (drama queen) about the "state" in which "the cat" was. Virgil knew for a fact that he would be more than welcome there, at least in his feline form, if only because they all worried about him when he left. Only, Virgil liked being human half the time, and he still didn't get along with Roman, even though their relationship had grown more cordial in the last few weeks. But not to the point where Virgil imagined himself showing up at the Core Sides' unannounced and immediately establishing his quarters there. And he knew full well that, even if Patton and Logan accepted him, it would be out of politeness, and not because they genuinely appreciated his presence.

So his footsteps led him to the decrepit house he still called home. Once there, he climbed the tree that leaned against the building (or maybe it was the building that leaned against the tree, who knows?) to reach the roof. The jump from the gutter to his bedroom window had taken him a few hours to perfect, but now he found himself on the ledge in the blink of an eye.