TWC - 3,594

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A day that started as any other; Rhapsody had recently found herself on a visit to East city, and as such, had taken to visiting Zerori’s home, or “apartment” as the woman had called it. The dawn had only just barely begun to break over the horizon, so the city was rather quiet as those who had finished their late nights of partying had finally gone off to the realm of dreams, while those who were about to begin their day had yet to even awaken. It was likely the most tranquil time of the day, a time unlike any other time where the hustle and bustle was at an absolute stand still. A realization would occur to Rhapsody as she took in the serene atmosphere; with the city so quiet and enraptured in sleep, it was likely the same could be said of Zerori. It may have been a bad time for a visit, but with no other alternatives so early in the morning and the trip already made, Rhapsody would take to proceeding with her intended visit regardless, just with a bit more soft steps and tact.

After a brisk flight and the enjoyment of the fresh morning air, Rhapsody would finally be upon Zerori’s apartment. The dreaded box of anti-equilibrium was a no go for Rhapsody however; having experienced the effect of using the terrible “alleviator” once before, Rhapsody had sworn to never do so again. With that in mind, Rhapsody would take to the window to the apartment, the very same window she had used in past visits as well.

Down upon the streets below, a mother and son had taken to an early morning walk; the dawn had broken through the towering buildings and signaled the start of the new day, and as such, it was the perfect time to get groceries before the markets became a bit too busy. As a treat, the son had been awarded an ice cream in a cone for his good behavior, however it would be a quickly lost reward as the boy glanced up towards Zerori’s apartment building upon taking notice of a shadow that sped quickly along the ground. As Rhapsody opening the window to Zerori’s home and snuck not so subtly within, the boy would be awestruck by the sight and trip, dropping his ice cream in an unfortunate display, and much to the disheartened and somewhat annoyed sigh of his mother who knew she would have to deal with the child’s upcoming cries at his own failings.

Being on such a high floor, the windows were hardly ever locked; such was to great convenience to Rhapsody as she made her visits. There was no need to linger outside the window, waiting to be let in, and there was even less need to use the dreaded alleviator as she had done before. She had been shown the stairs by Zerori once, but entering the building just to use those to make her way up to yet another door seemed incredibly inconvenient when she could instead just take the most direct route. Today was no different either, the window was unlatched as it had always been and Rhapsody was about to make her way within without any issue.

The window was a bit cramped, especially when being used as means of entry and exit; as such, even when fully opened it was a bit of a trial to squeeze her wings through. With only a slight bit of struggle however, Rhapsody would pop her way within, this time only knocking over a potted plant rather than the television and Twilights scratching post, a device the cat spent much more time sleeping on than scratching. As she entered however, a peculiar feeling would come over her as she took notice of a simple fact.

“No one’s home?” Rhapsody would question as she slid the rest of her body in through the window, crawling along the floor until she had clear the gap and was left with little chance of knocking anything else down, “I don’t sense Miss Zerori-'' She would say curiously, rising to her feet and glazing around the living room, “-hellllooooooo, I’ve come to visit!” Rhapsody would cheer excitedly as she awaited a response. A response would be quick to come, however the response wouldn’t be from the currently missing Zerori.

“Really!?” A familiar voice would hiss as the sleek, black furred body of Twilight sauntered in from the kitchen, “You’re making this kind of racket, THIS early in the morning?” He would growl as he moseyed on over to his scratching post and proceeded to climb atop it, glaring down at Rhapsody from above with a clear cat like expression of disdain.


“Twilight! Hi there, how are you doing this morning?” Rhapsody would cheer happily as she approached Twilights scratching post, prompting the cat to hiss in response.

“Don’t you “hi twilight” me! Do you have any idea what time it is?” He would yell.

“But… that’s not what I said-” Rhapsody would say with a bit of confusion, “And it’s morning, I said that-” she would continue before being cut off by Twilight quickly.

“It’s SLEEP time, do you understand? Has that fact sunk into that unnecessarily brightly furred head of yours?” Twilight would remark before beginning to groom himself, “And here I am, rudely awakened, forced to endure your horrid scent.” he would say, expressing his aggression to the situation as rudely as he could.

“My scent?” Rhapsody would question defensively as she sniffed at her arms and wings, “But I just came from my ship, I had a bubble bath…” she would remark in annoyance before taking to stroke her hair, “And this isn’t fur, this is my hair! I told you before, I’m a human, not a cat!” she would affirm, prompting Twilight to return a smug, snide expression to Rhapsody in exchange.

As the two continued to argue, there would suddenly be a bang on the wall, a wall that connected directly to an adjacent neighbor. Unlike the many who were now beginning their day, the neighbor was of the opposite class of people who took instead to living their days in the dead of night. From a late afternoon of working, to a brief morning of partying; the individual who lived next door had returned home not too long before Rhapsody’s arrival, and was ready to call it an end to their night. They had taken to sleep, and sought the typical silence of the day that they had usually enjoyed; with Zerori usually being gone often, there was hardly ever a disturbance as there was now; yet even when Zerori was around, never had things gotten so loud. Here and now however, the loud sounds of a woman's voice wouldn’t cease as she seemingly argued with a cat of all things, and the neighbor simply couldn’t take any more than they already had. With several bangs on the wall, and a shout that sounded more like a shriek, Rhapsody and Twilight would fall silent as they ceased their bickering, both equally startled by the sudden noise.

“Would you look at that?” Twilight would begin, breaking the silence as he spoke, “Even the neighbors are displeased by your presence, how could the woman STAND you coming here so often when no one else does?”

“Hey! That’s mean!” Rhapsody would cry out, prompting her to quickly cover her mouth as her ears picked up on a desperate and angered sigh coming from the neighboring apartment.

“You really don’t learn, do you!?” Twilight would exclaim, laughing as he curled up on his scratching post.

“That’s not fair!” Rhapsody would respond in an aggressive whisper, “I didn’t cause anything, and you’re just being mean!” She would say with a huff, before giving a sigh and crossing her arms as she looked up at the cat, “Could you please just tell me where Zerori has gone? I don’t sense her anywhere in the building.” Rhapsody would assert with a clear expression of worry on her face.

The interaction between the two would continue as it had, before Twilight would finally explain the situation, his insistent teasing finally having come to an end. From his explanation, Rhapsody was able to learn even more about the life that Zerori lived; she had learned once before that the woman was a mercenary, but hadn’t been entirely sure as to what that implied. Twilight’s shed light on the occupation, and it certainly wasn’t something that Rhapsody could approve of. Between drinking that terrible poison, harming people without a care, and taking to vices with the potential to harm Zerori herself, Rhapsody found her morals in the matter in question. Zerori was her own woman however, and wasn’t a resident of the forest; while Rhapsody could leave suggestions for the woman, it was impossible to control her life, and it wasn’t something Rhapsody would want to force regardless.

The conversation between Twilight and Rhapsody would continue, with more than a few heated moments popping up over and over throughout the discussion. The neighbor who previously expressed annoyance would rouse once again with yet another bang on the wall; this time however, Rhapsody would take responsibility for the situation and exit the apartment to visit Zerori’s neighbor, hoping to give a proper apology. Twilight had advised against it, he knew how Zerori would act if the neighbor had such manners against her after all, and thought it would have been funny to wait until Zerori returned so she could confront the neighbor for them. Rhapsody however, was heavily against causing such trouble, and would exit from the front of the apartment to take to the neighbors door.

While Rhapsody took to mending the situation, hoping the neighbor wouldn’t be too angry, Twilight would wait within the apartment, simply grooming himself as he laid atop his scratching post. That is, until he took notice of the wide open front door; he would berate Rhapsody’s negligence as he leapt down from his perch and meandered over to the door. Suddenly, a delicious scent would assault Twilight’s senses; without hesitation, Twilight would bolt silently out the door and down the stairs. Following his nose, Twilight would make his way all the way down the stairs and to the reception room of the apartment complex before coming upon the front doors to the building. The scent led him to the doors, his one barricade, but one that was easily felled as a resident made their way within; with the door opened, Twilight would bolt out in an instant and be upon the sidewalk in the bright sunny day.

“Ooookay!” Rhapsody would call out as she returned to the apartment, walking within and returning to Twilight’s scratching post, “I apologized, they actually seemed much nicer than they sounded from the other side of the wall.” she would remark, looking around for Twilight, “They said they didn’t realize who I was, then actually apologized to me… I don’t really get it, but…” she would explain, cutting herself off as she realized she was alone, “Twilight? Hello?” she would call out, looking around the apartment as she tried to sense his energy.

“OHHHHH!! Aren’t you the most ADORABLE thing!” A shrill voice would call out, attracting Rhapsody’s attention and drawing her to the window.

“Who the hell-!? Let go of me, woman!!” Twilight’s voice would sound out in protest.

“Twilight!?” Rhapsody would exclaim, reaching the window just in time to peer out and witness Twilight being picked up by a strange woman and taken into a car which would then proceed to immediately speed off, “GYAAAAAHHHH!!!! TWILIGHT!!!!”

Her wings would spread wide, knocking over several things in Zerori’s room before Rhapsody would suddenly burst through the window, shattering the glass with the wind pressure she exerted before taking high into the air. The carpet would be torn upwards and the blinds above the window would be ripped apart; in an instant, Rhapsody was gone.

Soaring through the high skies above at full speed, Rhapsody would reach her senses out in an attempt to pick up on Twilight’s presence. Being a cat however, there was hardly any energy to sense; rather than search via her ability to sense energy, Rhapsody would change her tactic and use her magic to amplify her own natural senses. Her nose and ears would twitch as she sorted through all the noises and smells that assaulted her, before suddenly, she would recognize Twilight’s scent, and pick up on his protests within the woman's arms. With a powerful beat of her wings, Rhapsody would give chase, piercing through the skies above and towards the city outskirts.

The car she was after had already made its way out of the city and onto a road that led into the forest. Within mere minutes, the car had reached its destination, a large villa within the forest; well maintained and owned by a clearly wealthy individual. Rhapsody would arrive not too long after the car had, but would take notice of the lack of Twilight and the catnappers. Whomever they were, they moved rather quickly, though it was likely less due to any form of skill and more due to simple excitement. Rather than enter through the front and draw attention, Rhapsody took to sneaking into the building, locating Twilight's scent and quickly making her way to his location.

“Twilight?” Rhapsody would whisper as she opened the door to a rather large room.

“Well look what the cat dragged in, herself!” Twilight would respond with a laugh, immediately drawing Rhapsody’s attention.

“Twilight! You’re safe!” Rhapsody would exclaim as she took notice of Twilight laying upon a rather large bed, “I’m here to rescue you, let’s get you back home.” she would say kindly, giving a smile as she offered a hand to Twilight.

“Paaaaaass.” Twilight would respond, rolling over and dipping his paw into a bowl of food upon the bed, “Why return to that drab place only to starve when I’m living the life of luxury here?” he would say with a laugh.

“B-b-but Zerori-!”

“That woman will be fine without me!” Twilight would hiss, splaying his ears back as he licked the food off his paw, “I can’t be bothered to live with someone so incompetent that she forgets to feed me, I have needs you know.”

Rhapsody was at an impasse, Twilight showed no signs of wanting to leave, and she certainly didn’t want to force him; yet at the same time, she couldn’t just leave him here, especially knowing how sad it might make Zerori. The two seemed to bicker, even if Zerori couldn’t actually understand his words, yet Rhapsody could feel the love that Zerori held for Twilight.

“If you don’t wish to leave, then I won’t force you…” Rhapsody would say lowly.

“Good, because I don’t, now get out of here so my food doesn’t spoil.” Twilight would respond, purring as he enjoyed his meal.

“I will, it’s just… I feel so bad for Zerori-” Rhapsody would sigh.

“I told you, she’ll be fine!”

“Will she though?” Rhapsody would quickly interject, “After all, she can be so forgetful, without your reminders she fails to awaken, fails to procure food, fails to clean things up. She’ll be so lost without you, she might forget to even feed herself!” Rhapsody would begin to tell in a dramatic fashion, “Ohhh, poor Zerori, so aimless and lost without your guidance, forgetting to even return home sometimes! It won’t be long until…”

“Until…?”

“You know…” Rhapsody would finish, placing her hands together in a praying gesture as she looked upwards somberly.

Twilight would suddenly jump to his feet, his expression giving away the racing of his thoughts. He was unaware of how he was being manipulated, but the fact remained that he was. All the complaints he would always made about Zerori were now being turned around and used against him, and the worry of Zerori’s impending doom began to weigh heavily on his mind.

“Grrrr, you can’t just lay a bombshell like that you mangey thing!” Twilight would hiss, “What the hell are you waiting for? We have to get back! Return me to my castle immediately!”

“Hehe, certainly!” Rhapsody would exclaim, scooping Twilight up into her arms before rushing out through the window.

The two would begin their travel back towards the city; unfortunately, Rhapsody found herself more than just a bit lost. she would intended to remain low so as to not be spotted during the escape, and had even thought to leave from the back of the estate grounds. Avoiding the roads however made things a bit challenging, and it wasn’t long until Rhapsody and Twilight found themselves even deeper in the woods. Arguments were quick to ensue, but listening to the sounds of nature, Rhapsody would be quick to get her bearings. It wasn’t the city that she would find however, but her own ship!

Using her ship as a landmark, it was now easy to return to the city should she wanted to; the day had been a long one however, and so Rhapsody opted for the two to rest in her ship for the night before returning to Zerori’s home in the morning. Twilight was apprehensive at first, but was quick to accept once more food was offered. The cleaning drones however weren't too happy about the new, furry mess that had entered the ship, and Twilight didn’t seem any more happy about them. With a minor altercation resolved between the two entities, Rhapsody would leave Twilight in the kitchen with his food before taking to her training room as she often did.

Setting the gravity to a rather high one hundred and seventeen times earth gravity, Rhapsody would activate the training drones and begin her usual routine. Her speed and strength had dramatically improved from all her subsequent training; along with her improved senses, she now found herself easily rushing the training drones and dodging the combat bots with ease. Knowing she had a guest however, she wouldn’t allow her training to go on for the usual amount of time. Once more the size of both the training drones and training bots made the room feel incredibly cramped, but it was something that Rhapsody had quickly grown accustomed to thanks to enduring such training over and over. As before, Rhapsody would refrain from allowing more than ten in total to be released, and with the even further increased gravity, it was more than enough to spice up her training a great deal. She enjoyed that heavy intensity like what she had felt back when she first found her ship had returned to her. The large, spherical training bots would all charge at once, and Rhapsody would take to focusing on her concentration, dodging effortlessly. She would have been lying if she said she did not enjoy the imposed condition forced by the training, choosing not to attack the training bots, and to focus solely on attacking the training drones always made for an interesting challenge under such gravity constraints.

After only a couple hours of training, she would emerge, only to be greeted with a somehow even hungrier Twilight who had nothing but complaints, even in spite of Rhapsody's apologies and explanation. Such drivel hardly mattered to Twilight however, who saw desires in only two things, sleep and food. With that in mind, Rhapsody and Twilight would take to the kitchen where Rhapsody would prepare a much finer meal than before as a proper apology. Much to the smug desire of Twilight, who was always more than happy to receive a lavish meal it seemed.

The two would share a conversation as they enjoyed their respective meals; once finished, Twilight was quick to take to Rhapsody’s quarters and immediately made himself comfortable upon her bed. As per her usual routine, Rhapsody would enjoy a nice long bath; she would offered for Twilight to join her, only to be berated for her strange choice. She didn’t mind, the silence after a rather excitable day was much nicer than further excitement. Once her bath was finished, she would take to her bed, making herself as comfortable as she could without disturbing Twilight too much. With dinner had, and a nice bath after, Rhapsody would finish her day out and go to sleep; to her surprise, despite the how Twilight seemed to treat her, once the two had gotten comfortable, Twilight would snuggle up within the blankets against her chest, and the two would enjoy a peaceful rest.

Morning would come upon them, and Rhapsody would take to a brief routine of exercise Rhapsody would battle her affectionately named training dummies, for a decent amount of time, waking herself up in the process before calling it early in order to start the day off with Twilight properly.before awakening Twilight and having a meal. Once the two were finished, Rhapsody would make due on her promise and return to the city with Twilight in tow. It was a brisk, and enjoyable flight, though Twilight did well to complain throughout the majority of the flight. Eventually, the two would be upon the city regardless, and Twilight would finally be returned to his home properly. It was an interesting and sudden adventure for the tow for sure, but while the end was finally in sight, there was one final obstacle for the two to endure, the boss monster of the dungeon, Zerori, and her “annoyance” at the state of how her apartment had been left in.