PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Chapter VIII Part VI

Mitt turned around, pridefully showing their robust features, despite how exhausted and upset they were. "What is it." Mitt's voice was regal but demanding. Despite their similarly unathletic bodies, Dell had no idea how she was going to keep the knife on the cat's neck without something horrible happening.

"It's about Coco." If Dell could distract Mitt without tipping them off to anything suspicious, this plan would work, but Dell knew she was a dead dog if anything went wrong. If she told them about Coco's deeds, it might give her the opening she needed.

Mitt furrowed their brow and brushed some hair out of their eyes. "Tell me."

But frankly, Dell just wanted them to hate Coco, as far of a goal as that might be.

"She's been lying to you. She was the one who killed all the dogs and put this thing in motion. I don't have any hard proof, but I have people who can tell you she did." Dell remained stoic, but condensation was on her brow as she hoped her rambling would give her some kind of opening.

She couldn't see Mitt's wand on their front, so maybe it was hiding in a back pocket where she could slip her paw into and grab it. Dell felt her lungs start hurting, and she reached into her fanny pack for her inhaler, quickly using it before putting it back. The sounds of the zipper provided a background for Mitt's pause.

Mitt deliberated for a moment, taking the words seriously. Their stoic veneer faded alongside their thoughtfulness, and the cat almost looked ashamed. "I... guess that makes sense, yeah." Mitt's disappointment became palpable, and the siamese looked at Dell with what might be considered a pleading gaze. "Just, please- don't bring that up with her, or anyone else. We need to keep level heads right now."

"B-But, doesn't that change anything? She's a murderer! She killed a thousand dogs!" The terrier was taken aback by the cat's nonchalant attitude; the words made her stagger backward.

Mitt stared Dell down, sighing in distaste. "Yes, it does," they hissed, "but no harm, no fowl, so please just keep your eyes on the forest, and we can talk about this later." Mitt frowned, it was clear they were getting angry at the terrier, but that couldn't match the raw fury Dell displayed.

The terrier could hardly believe her ears. "... All you cats really are the same, aren't you?"

Mitt's face looked far more intense at those words, and Dell could see the cat's paws lower to straddle their hip. "Yes, it's bad, I think all those dogs dying is a tragedy, but Coco was the one who convinced me to try and fix them. She did everything she could to mend the situation, and we have a lot more to worry about than past grievances. I'll talk to her about it later, happy?" The siamese began to mirror Dell's anger, whatever empathy the cat had soured as the confrontation grew firey.

Dell's face was warped with disbelief, slowly turning to sheer anger. "Is that it? Do you think dying is that easy to get over? She killed me, she killed Cujo! We're all just nothing to you, huh?! You cold genocidal bitch!"

Dell quickly took her paw out of her pocket, whipping the kitchen knife towards Mitt. The wild swing missed as Mitt instinctively dodged backward and moved to draw their wand, still off-balance from the previous dodge. Dell lunged, using the momentum from her swing to bite the siamese in the arm before they could attack.

Mitt screamed as blood began to trickle down from their upper arm and into Dell's furious maw. Dell didn't take the moment to register what everyone else was doing, but they were calling out Mitt's name and preparing their own actions to stop the scuffle, no doubt. Dell quickly continued with her momentum, nearly barreling over Mitt as she got behind them with the knife around their neck and released her grip on the cat's arm.