Chapter Text
“Puss! Catch!” Perrito yelled, muffled through the sack that was actively leaving his mouth.
Puss caught it, stumbling a bit under its weight as they ran. “Did it really need to be this heavy?” he complained, panting.
“Just a little further!” Perrito responded, running alongside him. “There’s the clearing!”
They screeched to a halt, sunlight now reaching them unhindered. Puss gasped as Perrito tripped face-first into a mud puddle.
“Perrito!” Puss dropped the sack in his haste to get to his side.
Deep menacing chuckles boomed from behind them as he pulled Perrito out of the mud. “Oh, how sad, little puppy. How very sad.”
Puss growled, stepping in front of Perrito to shield him. “Fine. You caught us. What happens now?”
The Jackrabbit shook his head, towering over them. “Nothing. Nothing happens now, little kittycat. You’ve already lost.” He jerked his chin to the side, where his crew of regular sized rabbits were taking the sack away. “You thought you were clever, didn’t you?”
“How so?” Puss asked, resting a paw on the hilt of his sword.
“Oh, you know. Sneaking in a day early, scoping the place out ahead of time, thinking you wouldn’t be caught. You’re not slick.” The Jackrabbit swung a pocket watch around in a loop. “We were waiting for you to return. Your heist was doomed from the start."
Perrito whimpered.
“Fine! You caught us! Now let us go, please!” Puss begged, his voice cracking.
The Jackrabbit rolled his eyes. “What, after we chased you all the way out here? Have you really learnt your lesson so easily?"
Perrito nodded aggressively. Puss cradled his head in his paws, moaning "What have I done?!"
"Fine, fine. You’re not worth my time. Whatever. Off with you.”
Puss helped Perrito up, and they retreated backwards with increasing speed.
“Hey, boss, wasn’t there a second cat earlier?” one of the rabbits asked. "Also, this sack is just full of normal rocks."
“Go!” Puss whispered, and he and Perrito bolted.
It was just the pounding of their feet against the mushy forest floor and the air rushing past their ears. They wove through the trees like spiders knitting a sweater. No heavy sacks holding them down. Just pure running.
“There!” Perrito shouted, and Puss nodded, recognising the odd rock formation they had established as a landmark. They slowed to a stop, panting heavily. They listened.
It was silent.
From there, they turned right and calmly walked away, eventually emerging from the woods and reaching a path so well trodden that their footsteps couldn’t be singled out, although it wasn’t quite a road.
That’s where they had hidden the getaway vehicle. A beautiful yet shabby chariot, pulled by one horse. It was too rickety and unstable for human passengers, but that’s exactly what put it in the flea market for just one single coin. It was perfect for two cats and one chihuahua.
“Hey, girl.” Puss cooed, hopping onto the horse’s back and petting her neck. She whinnied.
“That was fun!” Perrito cheered, hopping into the chariot while wagging his tail furiously. “Running that fast through a forest is definitely something we should do again someday!”
Puss nodded, turning around to face him. He laughed. “Ay, Perrito! The chariot is covered in mud now!”
“Whoops!” Perrito winced, although still smiling.
They kept waiting.
Puss sighed.
“I’m sure she’s almost here, Puss.” Perrito said instantly, as if he had been waiting for it.
“Thank you, Perrito.” Puss began braiding the horse’s mane, just to do something with his hands. “I am also sure, but… I cannot help but worry.”
Just then, a wild whoop rang out from the woods.
“That’s her!” Perrito exclaimed.
“Get ready!” Puss said to the horse, who got into position.
Kitty dashed out of the woods, leaping into the chariot with the sack of opals, the real one this time. She then proceeded to slip off of the muddy seat and land on her back.
The horse started running, and they were off, cheering as they left.
Kitty laughed, looking at the state of the chariot and Perrito. “What happened to you?”
“I did a stage fall!” Perrito beamed with pride.
“It looked very real.” Puss teased from the back of the horse.
“It looks like you faceplanted.” Kitty smiled, wiping mud away from Perrito’s eyes.
“I did! And it worked! He was all, ‘Oh, poor puppy!’” Perrito reenacted the scene. “And then Puss was like ‘Please let us go!’”
“Hey!” Puss chuckled. “I did not sound like that!”
“Your voice cracked with raw desperation!” Perrito retorted.
“That was on purpose!” Puss responded, crossing his arms and looking away unconvincingly.
Kitty snorted laughing.
They quickly exchanged the opals for three full coin purses with the buyer they had arranged with without a hitch, and then rode on to the inn of the next town over. They bought dinner, then carried it to their room, giggling as they ate right on the bed.
Kitty sighed contently. “I can’t believe that worked!”
“Yeah! I can’t believe they saw us holding a sack and looking suspicious, and then sent all of their guards after us!” Perrito snickered.
Puss nodded. “It is just like wearing a yellow vest to sneak into construction sites, but the opposite!”
Kitty stretched, pushing her empty dishes to the side. “Well, we’re set on money for a while. What should we do next?”
Puss leaned back, letting his full weight sink into the mattress. He yawned. “Here is an idea. We sleep.”
“That sounds like a plan! But we should probably clear these dishes first.” Perrito carefully picked one up in his mouth, eyeing the drop from the bed to the floor.
Kitty helped him get to the floor without breaking the plate. “Yeah, we don’t need a repeat of the pottery night incident.”
“Can we not speak of that?” Puss whined, but he couldn’t help but crack a smile. He pushed himself up and helped with the dishes.
“It should be a peaceful night. Jackrabbit hadn’t heard of you somehow, so he probably won’t be able to track us down so quickly.” Kitty said, bending over the sink. She passed Puss a plate to rinse.
He hummed.
“You okay, Puss?” Perrito asked.
Puss blinked, realizing he had been staring out into space again. “I am fine. Just tired.”
Kitty nuzzled her head against his.
Puss leaned against her.
“Wow.” Perrito shook his head in disbelief. “I will never get over how you two can make even washing dishes romantic.”
They laughed.
With the dishes dried and put back under the counter of their little room, they curled up in bed. Perrito at the foot end, since he tended to roll around in his sleep, and Puss and Kitty snuggled together at the pillow end. All was right with the world.
“Hey.” Kitty whispered.
Puss blinked his eyes back open. “Hey.” he whispered back.
“How are you doing?” Kitty caressed his face. “You seemed a little gloomy today.”
Puss leaned into her paw. “Better, now that we are all together again.”
“We don’t have to keep doing heists, you know.”
“But what would be the fun in that?” Puss teased.
Kitty huffed a puff of air in his face.
“Really, I am alright.” Puss looked into her eyes with a soft smile on his face. “We are set for at least three weeks, the Jackrabbit doesn’t have the opals anymore, and we are safe and comfortable in one of the better inns that we have visited. Things are looking up.”
Kitty kissed him on the forehead, and with quiet purrs, they fell asleep.
They were rudely awoken just a few hours later by loud incessant knocking on the door.
Kitty bolted out of bed, grabbing her sword and peeking through the keyhole before Puss could even process what was happening.
“Is it a rabbit?” Perrito whispered.
“It’s just some guy. No weapons.” Kitty returned, a disgruntled look on her face.
Puss took a deep breath, easing himself out of the startled state he had flinched into. “Is—”
He was drowned out by more knocking.
“Is there anyone behind him?” he asked.
Kitty shook her head. “He seems pretty stubborn. I think I should let him in.”
Perrito and Puss dashed to the other side of the door, where they would be close enough to jump in if needed but were also out of sight.
Kitty opened the door.
“It’s about time!” the guy muttered under his breath, reaching into a large bag on his shoulder and fishing out a yellow envelope. “Is there a Puss in Boots here?”
“Who’s asking?” Kitty responded, raising an eyebrow.
“The mailman.” he stated, unamused.
There was a pause.
“Say yes.” Puss whispered.
“Yeah, he’s here.” Kitty said, pretending like the mailman hadn’t obviously heard him and wasn’t rolling his eyes. She sheathed her sword.
“This letter was marked so incredibly high priority that they paid me triple to give it directly to him, but nobody knew where he lived, and so I had to do a horrible wild goose chase that I was not paid enough for, thank you very little.” The mailman shoved the envelope into Kitty’s hands. “Make sure he reads the darn thing. I have to walk two leagues now to get back to my normal route.”
“That’s pretty rough. Isn’t the whole point of a postal system so you don’t have to do that?” Kitty frowned.
“Yeah, yeah.” He was already leaving.
Kitty shut the door.
“What is it? What is it?” Perrito yipped excitedly as Kitty passed Puss the envelope.
Puss tensed.
“What is it?” Perrito said for the third time, but now in a gentle manner.
“It’s from Del Luz.”
“You’ve been there?” Kitty guessed.
“Four day fiesta.” Puss mumbled, slitting the envelope open with a claw. He held the letter down low so Perrito could read it at the same time as them.
“Dear Mr. Boots,” Perrito read out loud. “A horrible monstrosity has been plaig—playgooey—what’s this word?”
“That’s ‘plaguing’.” Kitty responded, pointing at each syllable of the word as she said it. As it turned out, Perrito didn’t have very much experience with reading. He was quickly getting better at it, though. He also didn’t let it keep him from plowing through the DSM-5, one word at a time.
“Plaguing our town! Dozens of adventurers have tried to conquer it, but none succeeded. The beast is taller than the mast of a—frigate?”
Puss nodded.
“...and emerges from the sea every half moon to trample our crops and buildings. We would be humbled if you would come save us from this massive monster! Obviously it would be quick work for someone with your skill. We would also gladly host you as lavishly as you prefer.” Perrito gasped. “And then it’s signed by at least forty people, and none of them are the mayor.”
Puss handed the letter to Kitty and started pacing back and forth in the room, paws on his head.
“...Did something happen in Del Luz?” Kitty asked, unsure.
“No!” Puss cried out. “Nothing I have not done a hundred times before! But that was the legend! They are asking for the legend! I—” His voice cracked, and he swallowed. “They are going to expect me to—to be—” He gestured with his paws.
Kitty rested a paw on his shoulder, and he stopped pacing. “It sounds like they’re asking for help, more than anything. You might not be able to give them the legend, but we can still help them.”
“Yeah! Unless you really don’t want to go back.” Perrito added. “We could send other adventurers instead.”
Puss swallowed again. “They will be so disappointed.”
“Then let them be!” Kitty slung her arm over his shoulders. “When have you cared what they thought of you?”
Puss looked at her with wide eyes.
Kitty winced. “Yeah, okay, I take that one back. But it will probably happen sooner or later, anyways.”
Puss looked away, opening and closing his paws like he was kneading the air. It was a nervous habit of his, and he didn’t seem to notice he did it. Kitty and Perrito were deliberately not telling him about it. If he knew, he would try to stop, and there would be one fewer way to tell how he was doing when he forgot himself and started bottling things up out of habit.
“Besides, I think the new Puss in Boots is pretty cool!” Perrito said. “Maybe they will, too!”
“True, that!” Kitty nodded. “There have to be some people who never liked the legend.”
Puss felt very conflicted about that statement.
Kitty rubbed his shoulders. “It’s up to you, Puss.”
“Yeah! We’re okay either way.” Perrito leaned against his side.
Puss took a deep breath.
“You also don’t need to decide right this second.” Perrito interjected.
“They need help, and we can help them.” Puss said, slumping his shoulders forward. “We should at least try.”
“Okay.” Kitty leaned her forehead on his.
Perrito yawned. “We support you!” He jumped back up onto the bed, curling up where he had been laying before. It was still warm. Puss and Kitty jumped up soon after.
Puss laid awake, staring at the ceiling.
Kitty laid awake by his side, listening to Puss’s very much awake breathing and wondering if there was any way she could help.
“Kitty, are you still awake?” Puss whispered.
“Yes.” Kitty whispered back. What perfect timing!
Puss rolled to face her, and she mirrored him.
“If I begin to act like the legend again, would you…” Puss trailed off. He was blinking hard.
“I’ll slap it out of you.” Kitty joked.
“Promise?”
Oh. He meant it. “If that’s what you want?”
Puss nodded, and closed his eyes, finally at peace enough to relax.
It was reassuring that he was this worried about returning to his old ways, but Kitty couldn’t help but feel for him anyways. She almost wished she could just handle Del Luz without him, letting him rest easy, but he needed to do this. For himself.
And she’d be right beside him the entire way.