Soleil’s moment of peace and calm was disrupted by the sound of horrific yowling and screeching somewhere nearby, noises that were unmistakably feline.
“s**t, what was that!?” He cursed under his breath, startled. Was it a big cat? Or
worse, some type of shifter? His eyes widened in alarm, heartbeat and breath quickening. Brave as he was, natural instinct struck the stallion and the urge to flee almost took over.
Almost.
He didn’t have to worry much about the safety of his goat companion. No, Woo! was a hardy creature that would put up a fight in the face of danger, not one to go down without a ton of kicking, biting, and screaming. And Soleil worried very little about himself (...if at all).
No, the one he worried about was his son, unaware of the situation at hand, who could arrive at any moment thanks to their celebratory plans for the New Year.
Seeing little in the dark from his spot on the hilltop, Soleil cautiously began to make his way down in hopes of catching his son before, heaven forbid,
something else did. He kept quiet for the most part, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself, instead choosing to concentrate on scanning the hills for any sign of Clair.
Hissing and spitting. One cat on the verge of pouncing, the other ready to spring right back in retaliation. Agitated tail flicks. One of them was going to snap, but the question was
who...
“Uh.. O-okay then...” Clair de Lune stood at the center of the sibling’s dispute, patient and unmoving as he waited the situation out. From the looks of it, it seemed like they were in the right area - the meeting place was likely somewhere around here. It all felt familiar enough. Night had only fallen only an hour or two ago. Dad could wait a few more minutes (if he was even there yet),
right...?
Okay, so maybe he was just too soft to speak up. He didn’t want to get in the middle of all of
that. Besides, these were the kids of his best friend! She could handle them, right?
“Asagata and Yūrei! Over here, this instant. Right now.” With an authoritative tone akin to that of a drill sergeant, usually calm Vivienne demanded
immediate order from her children.
Uh-oh. She only used that tone when she meant business.
Cowed into silence, the two young adults quickly made their way over to their mother, sitting in front of her. They were a pitiful sight - ears pinned, tails nervously tucked, and both wincing in anticipation of the scolding to come.
With a small smile, Vivienne placed a gentle paw on one of Clair’s hooves, silently acknowledging her friend and apologizing for the behavior of her kids. The smile was then replaced with a scowl of disapproval as she turned to face her children.
“You two! You were so well behaved the entire trip, but when we’re minutes away from our destination,” Viv gestured in the air with a paw,
“that’s when you decide to act like kittens?” She let out a huff, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Clair was kind enough to let us come along on this trip, and the two of you are meeting his father for the first time. Is this really the first impression you want to give? You’re young adults now, and by now you should b-”The crunching of someone else’s steps in the frosted grass drew the group’s attention now, and four sets of glowing eyes peered at the stranger in the dark.
He thought he had recognized that starry pelt, but things like that were never guaranteed, especially in the dark of night and at a distance. Soleil had drawn the other’s attention before he had a chance to get closer -
many others, it seemed. The eerie sight made his heart stop for just a moment before he realized who he was looking at. Or, rather, who was looking at him.
“Clair! Stars above, it’s you! Thank goodness.” The stallion didn’t hesitate any longer once he confirmed that it was indeed his son, making his way over to embrace him in a horse-like hug.
“I heard some fearsome yowling, and then I thought I had heard some familiar voices, but-” Soleil laughed in relief as he pulled away, most of his prior nervousness shaken off.
“Well, looks like it was you and Vivienne! I-” As he turned to address his son’s familiar, he found himself looking at not one, not two, but three cats.
“Oh. Hello there.”He grew quiet, the fact that there were new faces in front of him finally sinking in. Who were they? Friends of his son like dear Viv, or...?
Wait.
Soleil looked at them.
Really looked at them.
“Vivienne! You never told me you had kids! Is this a recent development? Seems you’ve been awfully busy this year, eh?”
