Thunderstorms (Fortnite Collection)

A Cat's Nightmare

It's a well-known fact that Kit hates loud noises and simple rain, no matter how much he won't admit it.

~•~

"Kit?" Jules called, slowly pushing the door to the meeting room in. The wind outside The Agency had picked up rather quickly, and at the thunderstorm's telltale sign of a loud crash in the sky, the ten-month-old kitten had jumped out of his father's arms and ran off. Honestly, Jules couldn't blame him. Apollo's thunderstorms were rare ever since the true storm made its appearance, roughly eight years ago. But when they did occur, they were much harsher than what they once were before then.

In light of this storm moving in, Skye and Tina had proposed a movie night, and Midas had promptly told them to "do whatever appeased them" so long as he was left out of it. Not even Jules could bribe him out of his office this time, so for now, it was the three of them plus Kit. Brutus and Maya were busy on a mission of their own, scouting out and dealing with SHADOW. Once they found Kit, Meowscles would head off as well to help them.

Everyday, SHADOW conflicts were becoming more and more, and at this point, they were more annoying than threatening. Sure, she was stuck in the middle of it in all her double agent work, but she could tell her superiors at Steamy Stacks were gradually "forgetting" to tell her of their plans. Each new petty attack was a surprise unless Rue sometimes let something slip in her endless streams of blather about their plans, and she couldn't help but wonder if they were hiding something from her.

For now, though, her focus was on their lost kitten.

"Kit!" She called again, glancing at the corners of the room and taking a glimpse under the table. Finally, she heard a whimper from the other side. She kneeled down and found him curled into a small ball, trembling; he hissed upon feeling her shadow, but calmed instantly at the sight of her.

"Oh, Jules," he said, stretching out his legs and sitting up straight. Jules smiled slightly as he puffed out his chest in an attempt to show he was brave, but she could still tell he was scared of the rising storm. Meowscles had told her he showed a general resentment to the rain, so she wasn't exactly surprised.

"Hey, Kit," she cooed, "you don't like the thunder, do you?"

Whenever she didn't have any crucial projects to work on for SHADOW, and his father was busy, Kit would be entrusted in her care. As a result, he had seen this softer side of her a few times, but her gentle tone was still a surprise when she'd barely crack a smile unless she was alone. It always helped remind him what she had told him: he could confide in her anything he didn't want to admit to anyone else, including his father. "The thunder's too loud," he whined. "And I don't like the rain! It's too wet."

"Yeah, the wind's picking up, too," Jules said. "That's why we're having a night in... if Skye and Tina let us take over, that is."

Kit laughed as she muttered the last part. Before he ran off, he recalled the two girls lounging across the couch they had set up, taking turns playing some level they were struggling to beat in a game on Skye's Switch. They left no room for him or Jules once the latter had finished setting up the screen for the movie.

He hesitated to walk out, but the moment he finally did, he retreated back under. "I can't go out there now...! They just know I'm a big scared-y cat. Skye's gonna tell everyone."

Jules chuckled a bit. "Kit, they won't mind. We've been through worse."

"Exactly!" He continued. "If you guys don't get scared over bullets and grenades and stuff, it's silly that I get scared over rain..."

Jules gave his head a small pat and glanced towards the door. Skye was far better at dealing with situations like this than her, though Kit didn't seem to know that. The two had a rivalry akin to her and Midas's... but maybe he would see reason. "Sit tight for a moment, okay?" She said, setting him on one of the chairs.

Kit watched her peek out into the lounge, but as another ripple of thunder crescendoed through the atmosphere, he retreated back under the table and timidly watched one of the windows high on the wall. Suddenly, Skye sat before him, and he hissed. "No, why did you tell Skye?!"

"What do you mean?" Skye scoffed, placing her hands on her hips with a playful frown. She reached under to pick him up; he swatted at her hand, though it was also playful, and he let her pick him up and hold him in her lap. "Anyway, tell me what? She just said she needed my help."

"He's scared of the storm," Jules said, which prompted an annoyed growl from him at the reveal of his secret.

"Aw, Kit." Skye stroked the top of his head, smiling. "I was scared of storms for a bit when I lived in the woods. They let me stay in the lodge though when they happened so nothing bad happened to me."

"Oh, I forgot you lived in the woods," Kit said, tilting his head. "I never thought you were scared of thunder, though! You said you love it, and the rain."

"Yeah, I was scared, but it was just in the woods, and it was mostly the lightning. One bad strike and the whole thing could get set on fire, but that never happened. Now I'm not scared, but I'm kinda scared of..." She glanced at Jules, ironically afraid to admit a new fear around her. Instead, she whispered into his ear, "clowns. Like Nite Nite and Peekaboo, they're creepy."

Kit stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. "Really? Well, those two are scary..."

Skye nodded, standing up with Kit in her arms. "Come on, let's go watch the movie. If you get scared, we're not gonna leave you."

Kit smiled, nuzzling into her shoulder. There was still thunder and rain, but it was nothing more than background noise to him now. "Okay, but it better not be a scary movie..."

"Trust me, Tina learned her lesson last time we had a movie night."

As their voices faded into the background, Jules stood back for a minute. "Clowns?" She muttered to herself; Skye was never really a quiet whisperer.