I Never Expected This: Live and Let Live Rewrite

Commander Ulysses Feral looked at the piece of paper in his hand, comparing the address scrawled on it to that of the mansion in front of him. He knew he'd be dead, the moment its occupants opened the door to see him there, but at the moment, he didn't rightfully care. It was a necessary evil that he had to do, if only to clear whatever was left of his conscience.

It had been six months since the debacle with Dark Kat - Hardin, he reminded himself, stubbornly - and well into election time for MegaKat City. Unsurprisingly, Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs had won in an unprecedented landslide over Mayor Manx, netting the shekat the position that Hardin had insisted as in the best interest to the city for her to take. With Callie officially the Mayor, the elections for Deputy Mayor were well underway, though he could really care less about who was running.

And then, there was the upcoming election for Enforcer Commander, a position that every scuttlebutt was rumoring he would no doubt run for, and win without much opposition. Naturally, Lieutenant Steele had announced his bid for the position, still delusional in his belief that he was even close to being command material. Ulysses smirked at the thought of whupping the young whelp's tail in the election, with his first order of business afterward being his immediate discommendation from the force. However, with everything that had happened, the past couple of months prior to election time, and the amount of time he had to mull over it all afterward, he couldn't quite bring himself to run again.

Which was why he was here, standing like a cold, wet kitten caught in the rain in front of the new home of Hardin, his mate Jake Clawson, and their friends. Which, of course, included his former callkat, Chance Furlong.

He snarled silently to himself at the memories that name brought to his mind. It was partially his fault, he knew, what happened before. And he knew that any sort of forgiveness from them would be a very long time coming, if at all. After what he had done to them, especially to Chance...he honestly didn't think he could forgive himself. What was worse, was that, in their rage and lust for revenge against him, neither Jake nor Chance seemed to realize exactly WHY he did what he did. Hell, he doubted even Hardin knew the real reason behind his actions, even with the kat's seemingly unlimited resources and connections. If they had even bothered to open their eyes and let him talk...

Well, better now than never, I suppose, he thought to himself, steeling his will before going up to the door and ringing the doorbell.

********

Inside, Jake and Hardin were enjoying a long-awaited break in their individual work schedules, taking the lazy summer's day to snuggle and pamper each other in as many erotic and sensual ways as they could imagine. Jake had gotten the idea of preparing a kat sundae for his love, when they noticed the doorbell go off.

Jake looked at Hardin, curiously. "Did you invite anyone to join us, love?"

Hardin shook his head. "No, I didn't. Maybe it's another door-to-door salesman."

Jake kissed his mate tenderly on the lips, then smiled. "So, should I get the door, or do you want to?"

Hardin just smiled back at the tom. "It's probably nothing, hon, and you've got a dessert to prepare."

Jake grinned as Hardin stood up and put on his robe, giving the tom a quick grope on his rump before standing, himself. "Just no peeking while I cook, love," he smirked, coyly, before heading to the kitchen.

Chuckling to himself, Hardin pulled the robe closed and headed towards the front door, sneaking a peek through the peephole when he got there. What he saw made him frown in anger. Opening the door as quietly yet quickly as he could, he stormed outside and pushed the surprised Feral back a few feet, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing here, Feral?" Hardin asked, accusatory, folding his arms in disdain.

Feral gulped in terror before composing himself, dropping his head a little in shame. "I came here to talk with Chance."

"He's at work, right now," Hardin deadpanned. "And even if he wasn't, you're not welcome here, at the moment. I suggest you leave now, while you have the option of doing so under your own volition."

Feral grimaced a little in mixed rage and pain, but didn't budge. "Still holding a grudge against me, I see. Ungrateful little..."

"From what I remember, Feral," Hardin interrupted, "we have plenty of reason to hold a grudge against you. Or don't you remember what you did to Chance?"

"That's why I'm here, dammit!" Feral snarled, struggling to keep his temper down. "If you'd give me a chance to explain myself..."

Hardin rolled his eyes, unconvinced. "Right. Like you were doing the right thing by forcing Chance to submit to you, every night."

Feral smirked in bitter irony. "Why don't you ask the Syndicate about that? Oh, that's right, you can't. You helped us take them down months ago." His smirk softened into what could have been mistaken for genuine appreciation. "Thanks for the tips, by the way."

Hardin studied the large kat in front of him, his mind racing with conflict. Something wasn't right with this, he could feel it. In fact, he had felt it for quite a while, ever since he learned about Feral's whoring out of Chance. It almost seemed like he was missing something...

"Is Chance still with Alex?" Feral asked suddenly, catching the former Dark Kat by surprise.

"They've been going out for almost a year, now." Hardin's features turned sour once again. "Why do you even care? Want to keep tabs on your former kittens?"

Feral growled at that last part, but surprised Hardin once again by giving a genuine sigh of relief. "Thank Bastet for that."

"Yes..." Hardin drolled, humorlessly, his face twisted in perplexed contemplation. "That's one good thing you've got for you, at least. Really, though, what's this all about?"

"Hon? What's going on?" Jake shouted from the kitchen, his voice considerably muted by the closed door of the mansion.

Feral glanced over towards the building, sighing in defeated exhaustion. "Could we take this inside, please? I'll explain the best I can, I promise."

Hardin stared at Feral for a long minute, considering his options, only to be snapped out of his musings by another call from his mate. "Just a moment, love. I'll be right there." Leveling his gaze to match the Commander's, the tom waggled a cautionary finger in front of Feral's nose. "No tricks, Feral, or else you'll ge the same fate as your alternate universe self." With that, he opened the front door and walked in, holding it open long enough for Feral to follow.

Once inside, Feral whistled in awe at the interior. He knew that Hardin was rich, but he didn't know just how rich. And his taste in furnishings...He almost envied Jake and Chance living with someone who obviously cared so much about their well-being. It made him feel even more ashamed of himself. Being led into the living room, Feral was instructed to sit on the couch while Hardin talked with Jake about him. For several agonizing minutes, he waited, every now and then straining his hearing in a vain attempt to listen in on the couple's conversation. Eventually, though, Haldin returned to the living room, followed by Jake. Neither kat looked happy with whatever decision they decided upon, but to his surprise, they simply sat opposite of him and stared at him.

"Jake's agreed to give you a chance to vindicate yourself," Hardin said, neutrally. "You better have a good goddamned explanation for your actions, Feral."

Nodding in visual relief, Feral cleared his throat, then began. "I'm assuming you know why Chance was made a callkat, right?"

Jake growled, impatiently. "Don't try to play dumb, Feral. Just get to the point."

Feral nodded and grimaced, taking a deep breath. "Well, as you know, Chance was my favorite, ever since he started. I usually made up the bulk of his calls, each night. I know I abused him, and I deeply apologize for that."

"Yeah, right," Jake retorted, rolling his eyes in disbelief. "If you were really sorry for what you did to him, you wouldn't have fucked him, in the first place."

"Hon, please..." Hardin snapped, calmly, trying to halt his mate's verbal rampage. "Let him talk."

Feral winced at Jake's words, but continued. "I won't deny that I like to get rough with my 'pets', but as Chance might've told you, I was nowhere near the worst that he could've had for a Master."

"Chance did mention that you treated him better than some of the people at the clubs you took him to," Hardin confirmed, a slight glint of realization appearing in his eyes. "According to him, it was mainly your past history with him that made him hate you as a Master."

Feral nodded in understanding. "I figured as much. He probably also told you that, while he was under my 'care', I regulated each and every one of his interactions with the locals, only allowing him to play with - or be played with by - someone that I approved."

Jake nodded, despite himself. "He did seem to get most of the punishment during his call nights away from you..." His face suddenly lit up in disgusted realization as it dawned on him what Feral was trying to say. "Oh, sweet Bastet...don't tell me..."

Hardin glanced between Jake and Feral, himself coming to the same conclusion that his love had. "You bastard, Feral! Why didn't you tell us that you knew about Chance's sister's debt to the Syndicate?"

Feral grimaced in controlled rage, feeling half-sick about the whole situation, himself. "You never bothered to ask, what with you so incensed in castrating me for making Chance my bitch and everything." He rubbed the back of his neck, gingerly, teeth gritted in mild frustration. "And, to be perfectly honest, there was nothing I could do, legally, if I had. The Enforcers had zilch on the Syndicate, before you guys gave us the tips we needed to take it down, and I had no legal way to get him or his family into protective custody, without bringing up a lot of questions I was ill-equipped to answer. Making Chance my primary callkat was the best I could come up with to make sure he paid off the Syndicate without them fucking him up. Despite what it may look like, I cared about him and his family, and if I had a choice, I would've busted the Syndicate right then and there without having to force him to pleasure me."

Jake and Hardin looked at each other in confused desperation, not sure to accept Feral's testimony or not. Although he hated to admit it, Jake could believe Feral's story, since first and foremost, the Enforcer Commander hated corruption of any kind, and probably would have done anything in his legal power to keep Chance from having to deal with the Syndicate, in the first place. Hardin, on the other hand, was disturbed by the fact that his contacts hadn't picked up on Feral's true reasons for taking in Chance as one of his pets, even after he learned about it. Perhaps their past history with the Commander really had clouded their judgment to the truth.

"Alright," Jake said, finally, his features a bit less tense than before, but still wary. "So what about Alex? What's he got to do with this?"

Feral smiled, thinly. "I did set them up to meet, yes," he admitted, wringing his hands in mild discomfort. "He's a nice kat, if a bit too willingly submissive for my tastes. I figured Chance ought to have some kind of solace, to keep him sane. Not that I'm accusing you two of not helping him out, of course."

Hardin nodded, understandingly. "What better way to console someone than to team him up with someone who had been through what he had," he mused, smirking a little at Feral's cleverness. "Cute."

"Like I said, I take care of my kittens, despite what it looks like," Feral nodded, smiling. "I thought they'd be a perfect match."

Jake and Hardin nodded, finally coming to grips with what was actually going on. Just then, however, Chance entered the house, half an hour early, and with Alex in tow. Laughing happily as he entered the living room, Chance's mirth died immediately upon seeing Feral sitting with Jake and Hardin, the large tabby stopping dead in his tracks as his mind tried to process the sight before his eyes. Pointing at the MegaKat City Enforcer in stunned silence, Chance stammered for a good ten seconds before finally blurting out, "What in the hell is he doing here?!"

Feral ducked his head down low, trying to avoid as much of Chance's inevitable wrath as possible, while Jake and Hardin tried to calm the tom down. And all the while, Alex stood there in silence, unable to bring himself to say or do anything in light of the situation before him. It took ten minutes to bring Chance down from his ranting fit, explain what Feral had told them, thus far, and convince him to listen to the rest. Chance actually started up again, after he learned of Feral's involvement with his debt to the Syndicate, but calmed down when it was banged into his head that - had Feral not have decided to make him his favorite callkat - he would've most likely been dead, shortly into the debt. He also didn't like how Feral had set up his meeting with Alex, something that Alex himself agreed with, but eventually consolidated in the fact that it was for the better.

"So, you whored me out to protect me from the Syndicate," Chance muttered, still reeling from all the revelations, that day. "I guess that's why you were at the hospital when Patch, my 'brother', was there."

"You mean your alternate-universe self," Feral nodded, correcting Chance. "Hardin told me all about his and Jake's exploits in that hell hole of a dimension." He sighed, shivering in disgust at the thought. "I still can't help thinking what I would do if I was suddenly given free reign of the city's legal system. I probably would've started with the Syndicate, then worked my way to the Omega criminals."

Hardin nodded, something clicking in his head. "That's what I would have gathered, from your profile, and probably the reason why your alternate self went psycho."

"Anyway," Feral continued, frowning. "When I got word that you three were at the Haven hospital, I freaked, even more after I was told you were in critical condition. I...I honestly thought the Syndicate had finally decided they were through with you. That night, I swore to myself and the Syndicate that I wouldn't rest until I brought them down, one way or another. Believe it or not, ever since then, I hadn't touched any of my 'pets', for fear of the Syndicate using them to get to me."

"Okay, fair enough," Chance noted, calmly. "So, why in the fuck did you tell the nurse that you were Patch's mate?"

Feral wrinkled his nose at that, a snarl barely forming on his lips. "I didn't. I told them that I was your lover. They obviously mistook it as mateship."

Chance went to respond, but stopped himself, forcing him to mull over Feral's words. Lover meant different things to different people, and Feral's definition was obviously much looser than that of the nurse. Still, he did show some caring and consideration for his 'pets', so maybe it wasn't as different as he had thought it was.

"So," Feral concluded, his frame slack with exhaustion and worry. "Have I absolved myself in your eyes?"

Jake looked at Chance, a conflicted look in his eyes. "What do you think, Chance? You were on the brunt of his actions."

Chance looked at Feral, contemplatively, then nodded. "I guess, though it hardly matters, anymore. It's over, it's done with, and frankly, I don't want to think about it, anymore."

Feral nodded in agreement. "Likewise. Glad you're enjoying yourself with Alex. I was hoping you'd latch on to him; he's a good kat, and I wanted to make sure you had someone you could relate to to take care of you, off-duty."

Chance just smiled and hugged Alex, appreciatively. "I guess that's three things I've got to thank you for."

Feral looked up at the tabby, inquisitively. "Three things? What do you mean?"

Chance smirked. "One, for protecting my ass when I didn't realize it, two, for hooking me up with an angel of a tom, and three, for forcing me to realize I liked toms, that way."

Feral nodded and smiled, the tension he had now all but dissipated. "No hard feelings?"

Both Chance, Jake, and Hardin looked at each other for a moment, before nodding at once. "We're still pissed off at you for kicking us off the Enforcers, but that's ancient history, right now," Jake replied, smiling widely.

"So, now that that's taken care of," Hardin cut in, glad to see things going back to normal. "I bet you'd like to get going to prepare for the election, Commander."

Feral's disposition immediately turned sour, forcing him to turn away from his renewed friends. "I'm not running," he said simply.

That surprised the group. "Really?" asked Chance, curiously. "Guilt getting you down, Feral?"

"More or less," the tabby replied, somberly. "I had six months to contemplate all that happened with you guys, and Hardin's theory...and I eventually decided to let Felina take the reigns. Despite my reasons behind it, what I did to you was unacceptable and unbecoming of a Commander of the Enforcers. I don't think I could've lived down the guilt, even if I could manage weathering the scandal that would invariably happen, should my actions become public knowledge."

Chance nodded in solemn understanding, slightly amazed at how quickly his perceptions of his former commander and 'master' had changed. It was almost comforting, though one thing still nagged at the back of his mind.

"Do you really get off on being in control, like that?"

The question caught Feral off-guard. Fumbling for words, he eventually sighed in defeat and nodded, simply. "I told you, I like it rough, though I won't do anything that would put anyone in the hospital, even if they want me to."

Alex nodded in agreement, blushing. "I can attest to that." Chance looked at him, a bit surprised, but he continued. "I kept it a secret up till now, since I know it disturbs you, hon, but there's been plenty of times I've wanted to get beaten, bloodied, and fucked raw by Feral, usually after a rough day at work. On some of the really bad days, I kept on trying to push him to hurt me more, to fuck me into unconsciousness and abuse me like the bad kat I felt like, during those times. He never did, though, and although he definitely got very rough with me, he always made sure that whatever injuries he dealt me were superficial and would heal on their own.There were even a few times, afterward, when I wanted to finish the job Feral refused to do, like I deserved to be punished that hard."

That came as a shock to everyone, especially Feral, who didn't know about that last part. Chance wrapped his arms around Alex and calmed him down a bit, petting him soothingly. "But you didn't, did you?"

Alex shook his head. "I had it in my head that my Master was the only one who had the right to punish me, for whatever reason. I secretly hated him for it, but in the end, he probably saved my life, by doing so."

"And I know enough about what goes on at the receiving end of a Master/Pet relationship to try anything that would permanently harm them," Feral continued, smiling humorlessly as his past memories returned. "Cadet training before anti-bullying laws were in effect is a bitch to grow up in."

Chance nodded, still confused over Feral's words. "So, why continue to dominate your pets? Especially that rough?"

Feral shrugged. "It was more of a rush, than anything. It first developed as a defense mechanism against the homophobic bullies and pervert officers in the squad, then grew into a kink when I realized just how much of a kick I got off of forcing a tom over the bench and making them do whatever I wanted. Roughing them up was part of the challenge, and appeal, though I quickly learned responsibility, and when to stop."

"So, you got off on making toms your bitch and whupping on them when they got rowdy," Chance noted, frowning. He did not like where this was going. "So why even bother stopping? Why not go all the way, like the others in the Syndicate did?"

"Fear," Feral mumbled, simply. "Like I said, it started out as a defense mechanism for when I was on the receiving end. I got a lot of experience with how far kats can take things with their 'pets'. I saw innocent toms taken to the hospital half dead, because their 'partner' went too far and didn't stop when they told them to. As an Enforcer, I have to see that kind of thing on the streets, every day. Yeah, I liked the power it gave me to be in that much control, but I learned very quickly to be mindful of what I was doing. I swore to myself, back then, that if I was going to punish someone, as an Enforcer or as a Master, it would only be to the extent of what was deserved."

"And no pet of yours deserved to be brutalized," Chance finished, understanding returning to his features.

"Which is also why I regulate who my pets interact with, and don't bottom, that much; I'm a pretty good judge of character, and I wouldn't share myself or my pets with anyone who wasn't responsible in their dominating, nor would I accept any pet who would continuously want to be brutalized that badly." He turned to Alex, a forgiving smile on his lips. "No offense, Alex, but I only tolerated you during those bouts of yours, because I knew you wouldn't make a habit out of it. if you did..."

Alex nodded, no further explanation needed.

Chance looked at Feral, simply amazed at how much the Commander had spilled his guts out to them, and how easily they accepted it and forgave him. If it wasn't for Hardin, who he knew had a keen knack for telling if someone was being untruthful with him, he probably would've thrown the tom out without a second thought, still pissed at past things. Now, he could almost sympathize with the Commander, and almost wanted to hug him, but something stopped him. Feral's eyes, which for the past hour or so since he arrived seemed to stare right at him, pleadingly, like he was asking for something he couldn't bring himself to voice. Then, it hit him.

"Oh, no. I don't think I'm ready for that, yet," he exclaimed, suddenly, surprising everyone and making Feral blush profusely. Alex just stared at him, not understanding.

"Not ready for what, hon?"

Feral kept his mouth closed, prompting Chance to explain for him. "He's wanting to know if I could be his pet, again."

Feral's ears drooped, cursing silently just how much of a dunce Chance could be. "Not pet," he muttered, barely audible. "Lovers."

Chance snorted, indignant. "Same difference to you, I guess."

Feral shot the tabby a wicked stare. "Not really, no. One, I don't pay for a lover. Two, the sex would be mutual, instead of one-sided. Three, you wouldn't have to do anything that you didn't want, unless you wanted to play that way. And fourth, it wouldn't just be about sex."

Chance contemplated Feral's words carefully. The kat did regain a large modicum of trust from him, but he wasn't sure he was ready to be back under Feral, at the moment, especially after his recent confession. Then again, Alex had been teaching him the finer points of dom/sub relationships and related kinks, when done with a skilled and compassionate master. He had almost convinced Chance a few times to join him down at Warlords, though they eventually settled on a few less-extreme fetish clubs. Plus, it would be fun to give Feral a taste of his own medicine, though he was worried about taking it too far, during his first try, especially right now. He knew that Alex would jump all over the opportunity to rejoin his former master; despite his best efforts, the Tiger couldn't hide his worship of Feral very well, even six months after they met.

"Let me get comfortable with you being a friend, right now, before I decide whether or not to take you up on your offer."

Feral nodded, grinning in relieved glee. "Fair enough. I just hope Patch is as easily placated with this as you were."

Jake shook his head. "I don't think I want to touch that with a ten-foot pole, right now. He's had six months to deal with living in a world with a sane Feral, and he's still highly distrustful of you, not that I could blame him, considering..." He trailed off, waving a hand to indicate what had already transpired. "I don't think he'd break down until you really prove yourself to him."

Feral nodded. "I bet. At least he's got his partner and his world's Hardin to help ease the pain." His face dropped into a serious gaze. "Speaking of which, the Enforcers may have found the origin to our mysterious Chance clone."

Jake frowned, obviously concerned. "Don't tell me: the Syndicate?"

Feral nodded. "We're not exactly sure how, yet, but they somehow used sperm samples from Chance's calls with them to form a series of clones, though only one had been relatively close to being fully developed."

Chance gasped in shock. "An entire series? But why? What for?"

"Torture, what else?" Feral grimaced."They were probably getting ticked that I was taking away their best rental, and why, and decided to drive me away as a customer by making you think I had gone too far in abusing him, and thus, pitting you against me. They probably had plans on using the clones to torture his sister and her kits, as well, after the debt was paid off."

Hardin shook his head, frowning in confused anger. "They wouldn't risk that kind of crud, even if they could ensure that it wouldn't be traced back to them."

"Well, they did, for whatever reason," Feral growled. "We're still looking over all the details, but it looks like the imprinting on Jake and the mindset were meant to be deliberate, to make the ruse seem convincing. I'm not sure, but I think some of the extra clones were going to be used by the Syndicate members as disposable slaves, themselves; fuck them, then snuff them. There's even evidence that they do this with all of their callkats, forcing them to watch themselves get literally fucked and dominated to death over and over, to keep them under their employ."

Hardin still couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No way. Before we took them down, I had contacts within the Syndicate. Most of them were cut long ago, but a few were still valid. They neither have the technology nor the will to do those kinds of atrocities, no matter how cruel they were. Something's not right, here."

Chance looked at Jake, inquisitively. "What about those two guys that Patch saw, when he first got here?"

Feral looked at the former SWAT Kats, confused. "What guys?"

Jake nodded, brow furrowed in concerned thought. "He didn't mention it right away, but apparently, when he first got here looking for our help, he found two guys at your apartment, with Toby on a leash. He was the one who delivered Toby to our doorstep, after he killed the two other guys. He assumed that they were with you."

Feral's eyes widened in shock. "Sweet Bastet. I know who you're talking about, now. I found them in my closet after I first met with Patch. Neither kat looked familiar, and the autopsy reports still can't determine who they are or where they came from. We've compared their DNA to every sample in the Alliance database, and still no match. They were certainly built like normal toms, though; if it wasn't for their DNA and technology, you would've sworn they were from around here."

"What technology?" Hardin asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Nothing that even the Alliance knew about, that's for sure," Feral snarled. "pretty much every bit of tech, including their clothes, looked mundane enough, but were made of some kind of funky material that we've yet to identify. There was similar tech at the Syndicate headquarters and surrounding labs, giving us some kind of link between them. Like I said, we're still searching through all the evidence, trying to make sense of it all."

"I feel sick," Chance groaned, unable to take yet another startling revelation, that day. "So, the Syndicate was apparently working with sadistic aliens, and none of us even knew about it? This is severely fucked."

"Agreed," Feral concurred. "I might have to pull Hardin and Patch in to help with the investigation, since they know more about this kind of stuff than your typical Enforcer does."

Hardin shrugged. "I dunno what help we could be for it, but if you've got evidence that Tony was abused by someone other than you, I'm sure he'd tolerate your presence long enough to help you sniff out the real culprits."

"Especially since all evidence, so far, points to Tony being meant to completely put us at odds with each other. Like it or not, I'm as much of a victim to this whole thing as you guys are, and I don't like myself or anyone else being used in that manner."

"Great, Patch teaming up with Feral to find who wronged him. Oh, he's just going to love that," Jake noted, snarkily.

"Remember the old saying, love," Hardin smiled, comfortingly. "'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'. In this case, it's just too true for Patch to ignore."

"I think the fact that there's the potential for more Chance clones out there being incubated would motivate him, more," Chance pointed out. "You know how he feels about any of his alternates being abused."

"What I find interesting, is how whoever tried to set me up never tried it, again, or something similar," Feral mused, absently. "Either they figured they succeeded with their plans, or realized they failed and didn't want to risk trying, again."

"Well, whatever the reason, that can wait for later," Jake smirked, kindly. "Right now, I'd rather forget about this whole mess and get back to enjoying the rest of the day."

Feral couldn't help but chuckle, poignantly. "I figured that was what you two were doing, when I showed up. I'm sorry I had to intrude, like I did."

Chance humphed, sarcastically, and mock-growled at Feral. "Don't you have to get back to Enforcer Headquarters? Y'know, to help with that case against the Syndicate and stuff?"

To his surprise, Feral shook his head. "Medical leave, six months. I was way overdue for vacation, anyway, and both Callie and Felina agreed that it would be best to let me take the rest of my term off, and not get too involved with the investigation, though I'm legally obligated to be informed of its progress whenever I want. Officially, I'm off due to job-related stress in regards to the recent fallout of Omega criminals. The record mentions increased bouts of depression and outbursts due to psychological trauma, as well as night terrors and insomnia. Pretty much, I've unofficially announced my retirement."

"I see," Chance nodded, clearly debating over something in his mind. "Well, as long as you're here..." He looked to the ceiling and whispered something that Feral barely made out - some sort of prayer to Bastet for forgiveness or something - before resuming with a heavy sigh. "Would you like to join us?"

Feral blinked in surprise at Chance's offer, then grinned slightly. "Only if everyone else doesn't mind."