Fire Emblem Awakening: August Prompts

Swimming

Sometime during the Great CATastrophe. Chrom

It's not every day your best friend turns into a cat.

Lissa thought that it was a good idea to make a potion, then accidentally throw it at Anna. What was the result? Anna is now a cat. My tactician has become my catician.

It's been...an interesting experience. I don't trust Anna to be off on her own because I don't want her getting hurt, so I make sure she never leaves my side. I don't even know why I'm bothering to strategize with her. All she can really do it point to the map with one of her blue paws and meow. She's also a lot more distracted than usual. Any sudden noise or movement is enough to get her riled up.

I've been trying my best to care for Anna, but I have no idea how. I've never owned a cat. I have a few dogs back at the castle, but no cats. Lissa was always the cat lover in the family. She's volunteered multiple times to care for Anna, but seeing as that she's the one who got Anna into this mess...

So in short: the inexperienced cat owner now has to take care of a cat.

Lissa lectured me on all types of different ways to care for a cat, but I always ignored her. Just because Anna's a cat doesn't mean she's any different than her human self!

...Or is she? I'm honestly not sure. I expected her tastes to change a bit, but not too drastically! Just last night, Stahl made a chocolate cake for dessert - one of Anna's favorite desserts - and she paid no mind to it! The Anna I know would've scarfed that thing down like she's never eaten food before! The moment Anna starts ignoring desserts is when I get worried.

Still...I shouldn't get too riled up about this, Anna wouldn't want it. She's already having a really rough time adjusting to things, and I don't want to stress her out even more. She's not able to do things that calm her down like baking, sparing, or even read!

That brings me to where we are right now. We were relaxing in my tent and waiting for the rain to pass over. She was curled up at my side as I read her one of her favorite books; she seemed to like it. I scratched behind her ears, making her purr. I guess this isn't too bad...

Just as I was about to turn a page in the book, Lissa poked her head into the tent. "Hey, Chrom," she said. "How are you two doing?"

I rolled my eyes and set the book down. "Lissa, could you not barge into people's tents without warning?" I sighed.

"Whatever!" She threw her hands up in annoyance. "Anyway, I came in to tell you the rain stopped."

Anna stretched out her body and let out a quiet meow. I smiled at her and stroked her soft blue fur. "I see. Thanks, Liss."

"Aww! She's so cute!!!" Lissa rushed over and began petting Anna. "I think we should keep her as a cat! She's soooo much cuter!!!" Anna flicked Lissa with her tail in response. I smirked at her. There's that sass!  "Geez! I'm sorry! Gods, why can't I have a cat, Chrom?!"

"Because reasons. And that's something you need to talk to Emm about, not me." I chuckled.

Lissa crossed her arms and pouted. "No fair! You have like, seven dogs, and I'm not even allowed to have one cat!" she complained.

You can't have a pet because you don't even know how to take care of yourself, let alone an animal! "First of all: I have three dogs, not seven!" I stated. "And they're castle dogs and specially trained! They can do things like track and hunt! Cats can't do anything!" Anna let out an angry yowl and bit my arm. "Ow! Sorry! Sorry! Some cats can't do anything!"

Lissa giggled and patted Anna's head. "They are cute and cuddly and give you affection! What else could you want?" she asked.

"Dogs can do that too, you know."

"Ah, yes. They can," she said. "In fact, I remember that your dogs did nothing but maul you when you first got them."

I shuddered at the memory. "Yes. Every single day was nothing but an attack of fur," I said. "They still do that, but not often."

Lissa continued to pet Anna. "Well, I should get going," she sighed, getting up. "I promised Maribelle that I would help her clean the medics tent." She began to walk away but she stopped at the exit. "Oh! And I wouldn't take Anna outside for at least an hour or so! Let the land dry a bit; cat's don't handle water that well."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the book. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." I shared a look with Anna. "Is that even true?" Anna meowed as if saying, "I don't know." I sighed and began to read again. "Where was I? Oh, right. Jason fell onto the ground, his sword out of reach. He looked up and spat out some blood. 'I can't die! Not when so much is at risk!'..."

I continued to read to Anna for a few minutes, then I noticed that she fell asleep. "Of course..." I set the book down on my bedside table and laid down, stroking Anna's soft fur. "Cats do sleep a lot for some reason..." I tried my best to rest my eyes and take a nap, but one thought was nagging me in the back of my mind. Will Anna REALLY hate water? I mean, her human self loves water, so will she be any different as a cat? I opened my eyes and looked at Anna. Well...I guess there's only one way to find out... I picked Anna up as gently as I could and exited the tent.

She was still asleep when we came upon the lake. I walked to the end of the dock and looked at Anna one more time. "Well, sorry, Anna! But this is for science!" I dropped Anna into the water.

She immediately started yowling and hissing, but she was swimming. "Huh, cats CAN swim! Neat!"

Anna didn't care. She kept yowling and splashing in the water. "Oh, I should get you out," I said, reaching down and picking up the soaked catician. "So, how was it?" Anna gave me a look that said, "I'm going to kill you in your sleep, tonight."

I chuckled nervously and undid my cape, wrapping Anna up and taking her into my arms. "I'm really sorry, Anna, but I was really curious!" She hissed and swiped at my nose with her paw. "Ow! I said I'm sorry!" She stuck her tongue out at me. I sighed. "That's fair... Well, c'mon, let's get you dried up!"

Anna let out a low growl and turned away from me. She probably won't talk with me for the rest of the day... Oh well, I guess I deserve it... "Hey, Anna, at least my curiosity didn't kill the cat!"

Anna growled louder and swiped at my head. "IT WAS WORTH IT!!!"

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...This is what happens when I take inspiration for stories from conversations with the Stress Squad Sisterhood XD. Yeah, no cat Anna's were harmed in the making of this story XD. I need to stop :P. Good news! I have a new computer, so I'll be able to produce new works at my normal speed again! Yay! Thank you so much for reading, and look forward to reading more!

Next Prompt: August 22nd, Read

Currently listening to: Midnight Radio: Cacti