"So you really turned into a... cat... but still human..."
"As if that couldn't be any more obvious..! Ahaha-hahaha-hahaha..."
She whispered in fear, puffing up her tail.
After Sucrose laughed in a way that concerned Albedo, she felt like crying but she was too scared to even let tears drop, even though she felt her eyes be slightly puffy.
"W-what happens if I don't turn normal..?"
Sucrose asked in a frightened tone.
"I-I... I'm not quite sure..."
Sucrose turned back into the mirror and brushed her teeth, slowly.
"I shouldn't have drank that potion Lisa gave me. I'm so stupid."
Sucrose said in an aggressive tone while brushing her teeth which made her sentence barely audible.
Her ears went back up halfway and her tail went straight up and was still puffed. Albedo was sitting down on the bed, thinking when he noticed from the corner of his eye, that Sucrose's ears and tail made a different expression.
"Do you perhaps.. use your ears and tail to express your emotions?"
Sucrose washed her mouth and spat out the water, when she was done, she answered Albedo's question.
"Hmm... Well, I sounded aggressive and I saw my tail and ears go in a different expression or something.. maybe..."
"Do you wanna ask Diona, the bartender in cats tail about this? She is also half human half cat."
Her ears went back all the way down and her tail became fluffy while facing down again, she didn't like the idea of going to see Diona for 2 reasons.
1. She didn't want to go outside and let everyone see her in her form right now because she was terrified
2. She didn't feel like talking to a cat-like child.
"I don't wanna... I'm too scared to go out and let people see me. And I'm not in the mood to talk to her."
Sucrose closed the bathroom door to take a shower but when Albedo spoke, he was barely heard.
"But you can at least learn how cats work by talking to her. Maybe I can even translate the emotions you're feeling with your ears and tail if I cannot read the emotions portrayed in your face."
"Hmm.. you do have a point. But I'm too anxious to even go out because what if people will talk about me? Rumors and gossip spread faster than true news. What if people will bully me for being like this? If they would, I would have to hide them.. just like my normal ears before... Besides, I don't even think this form I am in will last more than 2 weeks or more."
Albedo released a sigh of slight frustration.
"As long as you're with me, you're not gonna feel those. I have a coat, you can hide your tail with that, and you have a hat, you can hide your ears. And I'm just praying to the Archons that Lisa makes the antidote soon."
"Right..."
Sucrose turned on the water and it was hot. She went underneath the running water and she screamed.
"Sucrose? What happened?!"
He shouted then placed an ear against the door.
"Why is the water so cold?! It's steaming yet it feels so cold!"
Albedo had no words coming out of his mouth. He then remembered that cats don't like bathing in water because it feels uncomfortable for them.
"Oh. Cats don't like bathing in water."
Albedo stated blankly.
"Seriously?! I'll have to endure the coldness once I get used to it I guess..."
Sucrose spoke before going underneath the running water.
She was shivering, but as seconds pass by, she got used to it and it felt so warm to let droplets of warm water run through her body. She was silent and sighed of relaxation because of the warm water, she grabbed her conditioner and shampoo and rubbed them on her scalp.
"I'll cook breakfast."
Albedo said, getting up from the position that he was in and going to the kitchen.
"What's for breakfast?"
Before Albedo could even leave the bedroom, he was stopped by a questioning voice.
"Pancakes."
"You're making my stomach grumble..!"
"Everyone gets up hungry in the morning."
Albedo laughed and proceeded to prepare and cook.
10 minutes had passed by and Sucrose was done showering.
"Ahh! Feels so good to shower!"
Sucrose stretched.
She closed the bedroom door and the curtains and went to her wardrobe for her pair of clothes. The usual, stunning, classic alchemist outfit for the young lady, please. Sucrose wore her complete outfit and brushed and tied her hair. But something was really bothering her but she couldn't put her finger on it. By the sense of touch, she felt her tail, stuck between her clothing and back. It irritated her because she had to cut a hole just for her tail to not be a pain inside. Sucrose grabbed a pair of scissors from her drawer and removed her outfit, cutting a hole to where her tail was at. Once she was done, she put away her scissors and put on her full outfit and she felt much better.
"That's much better."
Sucrose closed the wardrobe door, opened the curtains, and fixed the bed. Once she was done, she was about to leave when she suddenly forgot something.
"Oh! My glasses. I almost forgot."
She then rushed to the bedside table and grabbed her glasses, wearing them. Then, she went to the kitchen and saw Albedo flipping pancakes. Her ears pointed up and curved outwards and her tail looked like a hook, she was happy and relaxed to see Albedo.
"Breakfast will be ready in less than 8 minutes."
Sucrose hugged him from behind and placed her head on Albedo's shoulder, she started purring and Albedo heard her purr loud and clear. He thought it was really cute but he felt flustered by it because she was purring loudly. But he knew that Sucrose felt comfortable.
"Sucrose, I haven't taken a shower yet. Why are you hugging me? And your purring is very loud too."
"You can take a bath after we eat."
Sucrose replied back, her tail was wagging like an excited puppy but it was slow.
A short silence occurred, Albedo was done cooking the pancakes and they sure do look delicious. Perfectly cooked golden pancakes, drizzled with glazing sticky syrup, a square cut golden yellow butter, laid in the middle of the top pancake, melting, and a side of fresh berries and a minty leaf as garnish. Sucrose's eyes lit up from the breakfast that she saw with her very two eyes. Albedo's cooking really made Sucrose hungry. Albedo served the pancakes and both of them dug in. Sucrose still ate like a normal person, with good manners and etiquette.
"I really love your cooking, Albedo!"
"I'm glad you like it."
They were halfway through finishing the pancakes when suddenly Albedo asks a question to Sucrose.
"Say Sucrose... How is it like being in that form?"
One of her ears stuck out and the other went down a bit, in response to a "hm?" expression.
"I'm not sure if I like it or not... It feels wrong and surreal that I am a half-cat or something."
Sucrose replied, unsure of her tone and her ears went back down all the way again.
And she luckily finished her breakfast and so does Albedo. They both went to the kitchen to place their dirty dishes, Sucrose washed the dishes while Albedo cleared the dining table.
"I'm not even sure if I should get mad at Lisa for this. My emotions are really getting mixed..."
She said, washing the dishes.
"If this was Lisa's plan all along, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do next."
"Me neither."
They both pictured Lisa laughing evilly, after imagining it, they had unreadable expressions on their face. They decided to shrug it off because it was best for them to not picture it.
"Although... you do look cute when you're a cat."
Albedo flirted, sneaking up behind Sucrose and letting out a mischievous short giggle.
"W-what makes you think that?!"
Sucrose didn't know what to express, besides her face. So her ears and tail went to a standard expression.
"You were cute before, now you're a lot cuter."
Albedo flirted pinching Sucrose's cheek softly.
"Eh?!"
Albedo laughed. But in all seriousness, he really thinks Sucrose is very adorable.
"If I go back to my normal self, will I still be cuter..."
Sucrose murmured.
"Come again?"
"N-nothing!"
"If you say so.. I'll go take a bath now."
Sucrose let out a small "mhm" of agreement and continues washing the dishes, rinsing them, and storing them.
Meanwhile with Albedo...
Albedo closed the bedroom door. Once he did that, he went to his knees and clenched his left chest.
She's too adorable to handle now! She's giving me a heart attack, I swear.
It took him several minutes to... I guess calm down from his state. He then went to the bathroom to take a shower but he closed the door first and then he removed his hair tie, fluffing his hair using his hand. Albedo then removed his clothes and— okay, you don't need to know that. He stepped into the shower and turned the faucet shower head to warm water. Once the area started to steam and warm water was pouring, he stepped underneath the shower head and lots of thoughts were on his head while the warm steaming water slid on his body.
What will happen if Sucrose doesn't change back?
Will she forever be a cat?
Dreams and Nightmares...
Why did she even accept the potion from Lisa even though things are gonna happen?
How long will Lisa make the antidote?
Does Sucrose feel better now?
Albedo quietly gasped when he thought about his last question, since yesterday, Sucrose was sick. But he even thought about the nightmare that Sucrose had earlier, he knew that you can get nightmares when you're fever is high but when she talked about her dreams, she was normal, but that was the stage where she was turning into a cat. It really confused him and the more he thinks about this, he'd feel like his head would explode by the amount of thinking he's done in the shower. Credits to Shower thoughts. Albedo leaves the shower and brushes his teeth, after a few minutes, he washed his mouth and went to his case for his clothing. He still has the same old clothing, but he always looks fine. After Albedo gets dressed, he went out of the bedroom to see Sucrose reading a book on the couch.
"Let's get going shall we?"
Albedo said, fixing his gloves.
"Yeah, okay... Wait, what?!"
Her ears went all the way down and her tail fluffed up, facing straight upward.
"I can't be seen in this!"
Sucrose realized she was shouting at the greatest alchemist himself, so she cleared her throat and tried to refresh her sentence and tone.
"I-I mean... I really can't be seen in this form..."
Sucrose nervously spoke.
As she attempted to open her mouth to speak, Albedo stopped her.
"Remember, you have a hat and my coat."
"...Right."
Another sign of fright was when her tail went back to its normal fluff and goes between her legs, but her ears were faced down on the sides
"By the way, how do you feel now Sucrose?"
"Huh?"
"You're temperature. Are you still sick?"
"My temperature?"
Albedo nodded and placed his backhand on Sucrose's neck and forehead, she wasn't sick anymore.
"I feel fine now, Albedo. There's no need to worry."
Sucrose smiled, lightly grabbing Albedo's hand and placing his hand on her cheek.
Her ears pointed out and curved outwards and wagged her tail in a low, curved, slow-paced way.
"That's good to hear."
Albedo whispered, leaning in close and cupping both of her cheeks.
"It's been a while since I've seen that smile of yours."
Sucrose felt her cheeks heat up, and her heart was racing, she didn't know how to express this emotion she was feeling but she was very happy to feel this feeling. Though her tail went into a very curvy hook-like shape, looking like an incomplete half heart. Albedo leaned in closer, letting their lips meet. Sucrose placed her hand on Albedo's chest, Albedo slid his hand from Sucrose's cheek to her waist, pulling her closer to his grasp. Who knows how long they've been kissing? They needed to catch a breath and they finally let go. Albedo looked at Sucrose, and she looked like she wanted more.
"Do you want more?"
Sucrose nodded while wagging her tail, still at a slow pace. She missed that feeling of those warm lips of his, ever since she got traumatized by that nightmare of hers.
"Well, you're gonna have to wait because we have a lot of work to do."
Sucrose's ears and tail suddenly went down, and even her facial expression changed. Talk about a sudden mood change.
"Looks who's impatient."
Albedo teased, pinching her cheek again.
"I just wanna kiss you a lot because I miss that feeling..."
"Ever since you got that nightmare?"
"Mhm..."
Sucrose agreed, her tone sounded upset.
She clenched Albedo's clothing in a weak force. Albedo sighed and kissed her suddenly. Sucrose's eyes widened but then she started to close her eyes. Once more, they felt the warm feeling of their lips touching. Sucrose felt warmth being lit up, Albedo lit up her candle that was somewhere lost in her heart, slowly losing its flames too. The emotional shock that was still lingering inside her mind finally decimated, no longer lingering in her heart. Though it seemed that it was an eternity, looking for this type of warmth, it was only hours. Once they both let go, Sucrose peck kissed Albedo on his lips.
"I love you."
Sucrose spoke, smiling sweetly, which made Albedo's heart melt.
"I love you too."
They took a moment of silence to embrace each other in their arms. Sucrose buried her face on Albedo's chest, her ears went down in the "frightened" position but the tip curved, meaning she was happy to cuddle with Albedo. Her purring kept growing louder. Sucrose stopped hugging Albedo and her mood was boosted.
"I'm guessing cats like cuddles, it felt like an eternity hugging you."
"Hey, I like cuddles and hugs, is there a problem with that?"
"Look who's getting bold."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Sucrose's ears went down and so was her tail, she wasn't frightened but sad she talked back to Albedo like that. But...
"It's nice seeing you with different sides."
Albedo responded back, cupping her cheeks.
He had no problem with the boldness of Sucrose. Albedo let go of his soft grip, cupping Sucrose's cheeks and dusting off his coat before removing it. Once he removed his coat, he put it on Sucrose's back, covering her tail and rearranging her hat to cover her ears.
"Let's go out now, shall we?"
Albedo said, opening the front door, while Sucrose was catching up.
Sucrose didn't feel comfortable with her hat covering her ears but she had to deal with it to hide the form she was in right now. Albedo escorted Sucrose outside and a few people were staring at them. That made Sucrose feel anxious while Albedo, just had no problem.
"Where do you wanna go first?"
"Canwepleasegototheheadquartersnow?"
Sucrose anxiously replied in haste.
"I'm sorry what?"
"I-I mean.. can we please go to the headquarters faster?"
"You could've said so from the beginning."
"I did. But it was just fast.."
The two continued powerwalked their way up the stairs and walked to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. After a couple of minutes, they reached inside the headquarters and the first thing Sucrose does was go immediately to her office. Albedo decided to follow her to see if she was okay. When Sucrose reached her office, she removed the coat in joy and rearranged her hat.
"Ah! Feels so good to show my ears and tail in private!"
Sucrose ran up to the couch and jumped, and sat down. She was moving her ears and tail to adjust her position. Albedo followed behind.
"Why don't we tell Lisa about this?"
"Sure."
Sucrose jumped out of the couch and followed Albedo outside, but when she reached the doorway, she stopped. Albedo noticed her stopping and turned around to look at Sucrose.
"Why'd you stop so suddenly?"
"What if Lisa is in Grand Master Jean's office and the Knights are there and they see me in this?"
Sucrose's voice was mildly shaking.
And her ears and tail went to a frightened expression, except her tail wasn't fluffed up but lowered itself very low. Albedo moved close to Sucrose, patting her head as a sign that everything will be okay.
"Even if they're in Master Jean's office and the others see you, they won't leave a weird expression on you, or rather they'd be interested in you in that form of yours. So try not to think about it too much."
"Okay."
They both proceeded to walk to Jean's office. They both notice that the guards weren't around, but Sucrose was glad about that. Albedo first knocked before entering.
"Come in!"
Jean responded.
This made Sucrose mildly scared because Jean was there, and she was thinking if the other Knights will be there. Albedo opened the door and they both went inside, Sucrose was hiding behind Albedo.
"Is Lisa here by chance—"
"Are you looking for me, dear?"
"Ah, Lisa."
"How's Sucrose— oh.. my..."
Sucrose's ears went all the way down and her tail fluffed up immediately. Jean even noticed Sucrose's form too.
"What happened to Sucrose?"
Jean said, getting up from her desk.
"Uh.. long story short but..."
Albedo told Jean about the situation...
"And that's what happened. Lisa is working on the antidote."
"Hmm..."
Jean investigated Sucrose, the more Jean was curious about her tail and ears, the more she hid behind Albedo. She was clenching Albedo's blue sleeveless shirt.
"She does act like a cat when a cat is scared of another person besides its owner."
Jean stated.
"Oh yeah, she does!"
Lisa exclaimed.
"Could you guys stop scaring her?"
Albedo said, with an annoyed look on his face.
"Oh, my apologies."
Jean apologized, as she stepped back.
Sucrose went out from hiding behind Albedo. She felt her anxiety rise as she fiddled her fingers and her ears and tail went down.
"I'll be back for a second, I need to get my coat from the other room."
Albedo said, leaving the office to grab his coat.
Sucrose tried to stop him by grabbing his shirt, but he was already out of her sight and the door closed slowly, creaking every second and echoing throughout.
"Miss your lover already?"
Lisa teased.
"N-no... it's just that I'm scared that people will see me in this form I am in, is all..."
"Sucrose, it's just us. You don't have to be afraid of anything."
Jean spoke, going to her desk and leaning on her desk while crossing her arms.
Sucrose didn't say anything and tilted her head down. She heard footsteps coming even though it was faint, one of her ears pointed out and the other, still facing down. She titled her head upward. And just when the door creaked open, her eyes widened.
"I'm back—"
"Albedo!"
Sucrose ran up to Albedo and instantly hugged the surprised Alchemist. Her ears went into the "cuddle" expression and her tail went straight upward, she was very happy to see Albedo. Albedo almost lost his balance.
"Woah, what happened? Why hug me so suddenly?"
Albedo asked in concern, petting her head as Sucrose buried her face deeper into Albedo's chest.
"Did something happen? What did you guys do?"
"Nothing. I bet she just missed you, is all."
Lisa replied.
"Oh, okay."
She's really getting clingy ever since she turned into what she is now.
Albedo went to the middle of the room to talk to Lisa, but he was interrupted by the sound of a door opening, Sucrose heard it and jumped, releasing her grasp from Albedo. It was Klee, she came back from her work.
"Welcome back Klee!"
Lisa welcomed the tired child.
"Is Kaeya here?"
The child asked.
"No, he's out doing his work—"
Jean said.
"Woah! Sucrose is that you?"
Jean got interrupted by Klee getting excited for Sucrose.
"O-oh.. hi Klee.."
"Sucrose looks so pretty and cute! Is that a real cat tail and cat ears?"
Sucrose felt happy all of a sudden, she kneeled down to see Klee at the same eye level. Somehow, Klee didn't feel that tired anymore just by seeing Sucrose, probably because she was curious and excited.
"Yeah."
"May I touch?"
"Go ahead, but please be gentle."
"Mhm!"
Klee touched Sucrose's ears and tail, to the child's surprise, it was real and she really thought it was super cool. Sucrose couldn't resist Klee's soft caress and when Klee lightly scratched the back of Sucrose's ears — she purred and tilted her head to the side. Klee gasped and giggled, knowing she hit the right spot to pet Sucrose.
"Looks like those two will be busy playing with each other."
Lisa giggled.
"That's so cool! How did you get that anyway..?"
Klee asked, removing her hand.
"Well.. you can say Lisa cursed me into this."
"Wha?!"
Lisa exhaled in disbelief.
"Well, she does look evil, and she's a witch too! She cursed a princess like you!"
Klee pointed out
"Hey!"
Klee, Albedo, Sucrose, and Jean laughed. Even though this was a very serious matter, Klee treated it as a cool thing which made Sucrose happy.
"But I'm no princess."
Sucrose said.
"Well, you are now! And you have a prince like Big Brother Albedo!"
Sucrose's eyes widened and she felt a hot sensation burning on her cheeks, her face went slightly red. She looked at Albedo and he was covering his mouth while looking away, she can see his face turn red. I mean, he did mention that he is a charming prince after all.
This is reminding me of the story called "The Princess and the Frog" all over again.
Sucrose thought.
"Well... He's my prince that'll save me from this curse."
Sucrose whispered, covering one side of her mouth with her hand, the usual way of whispering when you don't want someone to hear.
Klee's eyes lit up and her gasp sounded very shocked.
"So he is your prince!"
Klee whispered back, though it wasn't very quiet.
Albedo giggled as he couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation. He tried not to show that he was laughing and being entertained because he thought it was unprofessional of him, but it seems he was defeated by the power of entertainment and humor.
"Do you think a True Love's Kiss will reverse the curse?"
Klee whispered.
Sucrose actually thought about it when Klee said that, though she just shrugged it off and thought of it as a joke. Lisa immediately went through her spell and potion book and flipped through the pages when Klee said that.
"Hm... Maybe."
Klee's mouth was open in shock. Sucrose giggled and she enjoys a conversation with a playful yet troublesome child-like Klee. She has her ups and downs but most of the part, she's really sweet and nice. You can't change my mind about Klee.
"Tell me more!"
"Of course, but let's talk privately, shall we?"
Sucrose smiled, standing up and holding Klee's hand so she can walk with her.
Klee agreed and they went to Sucrose's office to chit chat and tell stories. As the three heard the doors shut in the office, they finally sighed and laughed.
"My, my. Klee is really interested in Sucrose."
Jean exclaimed.
An awkward silence went by when Jean and Albedo noticed Lisa being serious about reading her spell and potion book, floating while she read.
"Why are you so serious about that book Lisa?"
Jean asked in a concerned tone.
Lisa gasped and facepalmed her forehead, which made the others confused and concerned at the same time.
"Now I remember! Forgive me, Albedo for this one but I accidentally gave the wrong potion to Sucrose. Because I had two potions that look identically the same but had different results, I accidentally gave Sucrose the cat one while the other one was just an experiment test potion. And now I'm trying to find the page for the cat potion I just made..."
Albedo was speechless, his face, how his mouth was open but no words coming out, he had nothing to say at all. Jean was just looking back and forth at the two. After a couple of seconds, Lisa found the page.
"There, I found the page."
"And?"
Albedo crossed his arms.
"Hmm.. it said that you need to make a potion to reverse the effect, witch style. I have the ingredients for this potion..."
Lisa read the age in silence. But she read every word, step, and warning, and she came across a notice. She gasped and the other two were clueless and curious.
"What did you find?"
Jean asked.
"If this potion does one but miss,
Only a True Love's Kiss
Can revive your bliss."
Lisa read aloud.
A shocked silence went by. It wasn't awkward but the area was filled with surprised energy.
"I guess Klee knows best..."
Albedo murmured, looking away.
Lisa continued reading but she found something.
"It said here that you need a special flower that the cursed one loves."
Albedo gasped,
"Windwheel Aster!"
then snapped his fingers.
"You do know best for Sucrose."
Jean giggled.
"I'll need your help for the making of the antidote."
Lisa told Albedo.
"Of course."
Lisa nodded and exited the office with Albedo following her, but he stopped at his tracks and wanted to check on Sucrose. Albedo went to Sucrose's door. He placed his ear near the door to hear inside, it was quiet. He didn't bother knocking but instead opened the door slightly. Once he peeked inside, he saw Klee and Sucrose sleeping peacefully on the couch. Albedo couldn't help but smile, it was adorable. Albedo found a blanket and placed it over the slumbering sweetie and the child. Albedo heard Sucrose purring softly and faintly. He went up to the sleeping girls and both give them forehead kisses, before he could leave, he closed the curtains. He finally walks to the doorway, made a final glance, and showed a small grin. He then closed the door gently and quietly as he can as he leaves the room.
I guess I can only see her cat form once.
End of Chapter 12
Authors note: it had been 3 days since I haven't published a new chapter. I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME THIS TOOK ME FOREVER BECAUSE I HAD TO THINK THROUGH ABOUT THIS! Also, I'm sorry if this chapter isn't that crazy or exciting, lots of things and scenes are popping up in my head for the next chapter. I think that's all I have to say for this author's note.
Until we meet again.
Rewritten and edited May 17, 2022, 4:16 pm.