The Trials
Written by yours truly
I got this idea from a tumblr post
"Salem lay in his bed, dozing peacefully, while his witch Nyx prepared to set off in search of mushrooms, bones, and other mystical oddities. Just then, the newest addition to their household, Wildes, the kitten, bounded over.
"Salem! Aren't you coming on tonight's mushroom hunt?" Wildes asked eagerly.
"No. Somebody has to watch the house while you guys are gone," Salem grunted, rolling onto his back and covering his face with a paw.
"Aww, but it's always more fun when you come along, Salem!" groaned Wildes.
"Don't care," yawned Salem.
"C’mon, Salem, why don't you come with us?" Nyx's voice was gentle as she approached, the most lovely witch they knew. Her name was Nyx, but Salem and Wildes often called her Lady Nyx.
"Ughhh... Only because you want me to, M’lady," murmured Salem, rising and stretching. This prompted Wildes to pounce on him, pushing him to the ground before darting away, faster than the older cat could react.
"I'm going to boil you. Nothing hurts more than hot water," growled Salem. Wildes looked genuinely concerned for a second.
"Lady Nyx, please pick me up," Wildes quickly requested, and Nyx obliged.
"Now, quit being a pain in the rump and be nice to him!" Nyx gently scolded Salem.
"My apologies, M’lady... One small question, M’lady... Why don't you just say 'ass' instead of 'rump'? It feels like it would be more effective to keep a serious face in situations," Salem mumbled, briefly bowing his head before straightening up and brushing against Nyx's feet.
"Well, because there's a child around!" Nyx said, covering Wildes' ears. The kitten looked around, clueless.
"And... they grow up fast anyway, might as well teach 'em young," Salem murmured.
"Ugh, Salem, I get that you're 30 in cat years, but that doesn't mean you get to be a bad influence," Nyx softly scolded again.
"Yeah... yeah," Salem sighed. "Shall we go, please? I plan on resuming my nap," he grumbled, and Nyx nodded. She gathered her spell book, satchels, one specifically for a tired kitten, snacks for both human and feline, and her beautiful weaponry—necessary for a woman alone with two cats and a witch at that.
==================================================
An hour into the mushroom hunt, Salem unearthed a large truffle. "Oh? Lady Nyx, do we need any truffles?" he asked, digging around it to prepare to extract it.
"Uhm, yes! Oh boy, I love truffles!" Nyx exclaimed with a smile. Soon, Wildes hopped over and began digging as well. He emerged from the hole and looked at the truffle before taking a big bite. "Mnh-mnahm, fat if fo good!" Wildes exclaimed with a mouthful of truffle, while Salem glared at him.
"Sweetheart, we were supposed to clean that," Nyx said softly as she picked Wildes up, grabbed a small bottle of water, and poured it for him to drink.
"Oh, still good though! Even with dirt!" Wildes smiled.
"Say that to the worms you'll have in your belly that will swim through your bloodstream and attach to your brain and kill you," Salem said coldly. Both Nyx and Wildes rolled their eyes. Nyx put Wildes down, picked up the truffle, and placed it in her satchel. She then looked around, walking specifically to find bones, collecting what she needed, which mainly consisted of bones.
Suddenly, there was a shriek. Salem and Wildes were a considerable distance away, and sounds of a scuffle filled the air. "Wildes, behind me. Now," Salem commanded, his fur bristling as he froze. He couldn't help but recall the last time this had happened with his previous witch. He never saw her again, and given the era, he understood why, but he tried to avoid dwelling on it.
"I... uh..." Salem murmured, reliving it all over again. As Wildes clung to him, just a mere kitten, he had nobody to cling to, unlike Wildes now. The only difference was that Nyx wasn't found dead; she had been taken.
"Uhm... Shit... uh... crap... uhh..." Salem stammered. Wildes looked at him, clinging tightly. "S-Salem...?" he whispered. “Are you even listening to me right now?” Wildes asked, tilting his head.
Salem gulped and nodded. “Yeah… I… uh… we need to hurry back to the house,” he murmured, sounding only half there. He sighed softly, blinking a few times as if just waking up. Quickly, he picked up Wildes by the scruff of his neck and began running back to their hut in the middle of the dense forest.
Climbing up one of the pillars, Salem struggled a little. Being 30 in cat years, it wasn’t easy carrying a kitten up a wooden post. Even with some fitness, age catches up to you. He climbed and climbed until he reached an open window. Hopping through, he dropped the kitten, and they both landed with an “oof.”
“Jeez… aging isn’t pretty,” he groaned.
Wildes looked at Salem, trembling. “What are we gonna do?” he whispered.
“Uh… we’re gonna…” Salem looked at the scared kitten. He didn’t know what to do any more than Wildes did. He was scared, and Salem was still processing everything. “We’re gonna go get her,” he said with a nod. “But we gotta prepare. And fast.”
==================================================
While Salem suited up, he adjusted the little satchels that Nyx had made for him. These were meant for times when they needed to leave quickly or were on an item-hunting mission and required extra storage. He tightened all of them, looking a bit ridiculous, but it was necessary. The satchels were too big for scrawny little Wildes, though there was a tiny backpack that doubled as a harness, which Salem had used when he was younger. His old witch had made it for him because he loved collecting rocks, and now Wildes was wearing it with his favorite stick inside. "God, he's a little too much like me... it's worrying," Salem thought.
The satchel on Salem's left arm was filled with mini maps, and the one on his torso was packed with food. "Oh boy... This isn't going to be easy... at all," he groaned as he saw Wildes stuffing one last item from the hut. It was something beloved by them both: two pendants, one shaped like the sun and the other like the moon. Salem had the moon, and Wildes had the sun. They had protection spells on them.
"Do I need to put you on a leash, or will you be fine by yourself?" asked Salem. Before Wildes could even answer, Salem was already clipping the backpack handle to the satchel on his torso. "Too bad," he grunted before they unlocked the door and left.
As they walked, Salem looked back at their home. "Gee... We're going to be gone for a while," he mumbled. He felt a tug on the leash.
"C'mon, ya old butt-sniffer!" grumbled Wildes.
With an eye roll, Salem resumed walking.
==================================================
“Hey, kit, look—a clump of moss. That means we're near a water source,” said Salem as he crouched next to a large patch of moss. He stood up and continued, “We go this way. If there's a water source, there's prey and humans. And where there are humans, there's our witch.” With a curt nod, he began walking in the direction the moss indicated. After ten minutes of walking, with the moss patches growing larger and the mud becoming wetter, they came across a huge lake that looked more like a sea than a lake.
“Hmmm... We're gonna have to swim. Can you swim, or are you too stupid?” asked Salem.
Wildes glared at him. “Listen here, you old man, I can swim just fine!” he growled.
“I mean in deep, deep water. Water where your paws have zero chance of touching the floor. I know you can swim, but you've only ever swum in water where your paws could touch the bottom. So, let me ask you again—do you think you can swim? If not...” Salem trailed off, looking out at the now rising sun and then to both sides of the lake. It would take too long to go around. “Gee... I really have my work cut out for me,” he thought and groaned. “You can get on my back. There are little islands in the middle of the lake, so we can swim to those, rest, and then swim the other half.”
Wildes looked out at the lake and scooted closer to Salem before nodding.
“Tell me before you get on my back, pipsqueak. Aren't I glad Nyx made waterproof maps...” murmured Salem before he stepped into the lake, feeling a surge of anxiety. He began swimming. “Stay sharp, we don't know what's in here.”
As the two swam, it felt like an eternity. Age was catching up with Salem, and he was only now starting to notice. His joints felt stiff, and he could hear his elbows and knees creaking. “God, now I wish we did go around...” mumbled Salem, spitting out some water that had gotten into his mouth. Wildes was looking straight down, watching his paws appear and disappear in the murky water.
“What if something comes from under us...?” he asked, his voice squeakier than usual.
“What do you mean, squeaker?” asked Salem, his gruff voice sounding more like a growl as his patience wore thin in the water. He had long fur and did not like the feeling of water seeping through his thick coat and touching his skin. Wilde was a shorthair cat, who probably didn’t like it any more, but at least had fewer problems drying off.
“I-I mean, what if a big fish gets me...” he whimpered.
“Then I’ll unclip you and go get Nyx myself,” said Salem, thinking Wildes would understand the joke. But Wildes stopped paddling and looked horrified. “Man, you’re gullible. I was joking. I wouldn’t let that happen,” said Salem coldly but reassuringly.
“Okay...” murmured Wildes.
“Hey, I meant that,” grunted Salem. “Now keep paddling. I’m old, ya know, I can’t do everything myself.” Salem tugged on the leash, pulling Wildes closer as he had gained some distance, which wouldn't be safe out here.
“Sorry...” Wildes murmured again as he resumed paddling.
They had put some distance between the shore and the nearest island, and both were growing very tired. "S-Salem... can I-I get o-on your back...?" Wildes stammered, placing a small paw on Salem's flank.
"Yeah... go ahead, kit," Salem murmured, bracing himself to go underwater as Wildes climbed onto his back. He surfaced with a gasp. "Ugh... Note to self: never EVER offer a ride again," he thought to himself. Wildes draped his body over Salem and laid his head on the nape of his neck.
"How far...?" Wildes asked.
"Not too far, kit. Then we can rest," Salem said uncharacteristically softly as he kept getting dunked with each paddle, accidentally swallowing lake water.
==================================================
They were about a mile away from the shore of the nearest island, and Salem felt a rare sense of joy. The last time he felt this happy was when he ate so much caviar that his belly hurt... or that one time he ate cheese only to discover he was lactose intolerant, which was not a fun experience. Wildes hadn't felt this happy since he found his favorite stick! By now, Wildes had gotten off Salem’s back, still tired but not wanting to make Salem carry him the whole way.
When they reached the first big rock, Wildes was suddenly pulled under by his tail. "AH-!" he yelped as Salem was dunked. Salem quickly dug his claws into a nearby log wedged between the rock and another rock behind it. "OH SHIT- SHIT SHIT SHIT-" he panicked, quickly letting go and turning around, diving swiftly. He saw a huge catfish trying to swallow Wildes whole. "FUCK!" he shouted, bubbles escaping his mouth. He jabbed the catfish in the eyes, causing it to release Wildes. Grabbing the kitten as quickly as his old bones allowed, he pulled them both onto the big rock.
"Are you okay? Hey—kit, listen to me, are you okay?" he panted. Wildes coughed up a bunch of water before clinging to Salem, sobbing.
"Hey—hey, shh," Salem said, not really knowing what to do but copying Nyx, rubbing Wildes' back and awkwardly hugging him. "Y-you’re safe... I got you. I told you I wasn't gonna let that happen, didn't I?" he said with a nervous chuckle.
“I ALMOST DIED!” whimpered Wildes. Salem sighed slightly, looking down at the kitten who was now nuzzling into his chest, tears streaming down his face. “But you’re not...?” he murmured as he patted his head. Wildes looked up at him, sniffling with snot running from his nose, which made Salem cringe internally and want to puke, realizing he probably had snot in his fur.
Wildes thanked him multiple times, and Salem just kept saying, “Kit, shut up. You’re welcome, but shut up,” before immediately regretting it. “Just... I get it. You’re thankful. Now let's dry off and rest,” he said softly, correcting himself. He released Wildes from his embrace, and the kitten shook his body, shaking out all the excess water. He began licking himself but stopped midway, noticing Wildes staring at him, looking as if he had just endured the worst bath of his life—which he had, along with blood staining his belly and back.
“Uh... Those are gonna make some bad—uh, cool... Cool scars,” he corrected himself just before he was about to curse, remembering Nyx’s rule. He shook himself again. “Why are you staring at me...?” he asked.
“Z-zoned out... Sorry,” Wildes stammered.
“Quit saying sorry so much,” Salem thought to himself, feeling a small hint of dread. “God, he is too much like me. It’s disturbing... really, really disturbing,” he thought again before he resumed cleaning himself, with Wildes no longer staring but instead cleaning himself as well.
==================================================
It was now night. They found a small abandoned den on the other side of the lake and decided to rest there. Salem was already half asleep, lying on one side, a little damp from the swim, but luckily Wildes, with his short fur, was completely dry. However, he seemed confused about what to do.
“What are you waiting for? Get over here; we’re gonna die of hypothermia if you don’t,” Salem said, mainly referencing himself but not wanting to sound too selfish. His fur was still damp, and he felt a bit cold.
Wildes hesitantly got up and laid next to him, leaning against Salem, and they both settled down.
“Do you think we're gonna find her?” asked Wildes.
“Of course. Now go to sleep, twerp,” Salem said, putting a paw over Wildes’ mouth. Within thirty minutes, Wildes fell asleep, but Salem remained awake, unwilling to be caught off guard.
“Are we gonna find her?” he thought to himself. Half the night he pondered that question, and the other half he daydreamed about finding a girl, having a family of his dreams, and still living with Nyx, as per usual.
==================================================
As dusk settled, Salem found himself daydreaming once again, imagining the possibility of finding a girl and raising a family of his own kits. But then he quickly snapped out of it, realizing he was just an old, gruff 30-year-old. Technically, he was a single, unbonded father. He looked down at sleeping Wildes, who seemed troubled in his sleep, twitching and kicking. Remembering what his mother used to do for his siblings when they had nightmares, he sighed softly and rolled his eyes. How much he wanted to just—“QUIT MOVING, YOU LITTLE SHIT!”—but he held back. Instead, he sat up, cradled the kit with one arm, and ran his paw up and down Wildes' nose bridge, trailing it around his face.
“You're okay, you're fine. It's just a dream. Nothing can hurt you. I'm here to protect you, forever and always,” he said in a soft, fatherly tone before he realized. “Wait—you aren’t my kid—what the hell?” he thought to himself. Despite this, Wildes seemed to relax more, and Salem gently set him down, resisting the urge to drop him flat. He, too, lay down and kept an eye out.
==================================================
Now both of them were up, but Wildes woke alone. “Ehh..? Salem..?” he murmured as he blinked himself awake and saw Salem walking back, dragging a fairly large rabbit. “Breeheh,” Salem said with his mouth full of rabbit jugular. “Uh..?” Wildes tilted his head and Salem dropped the rabbit. “Breakfast,” grumbled Salem before he started removing fur, and Wildes joined in.
After 45 minutes, because Wildes wouldn't stop talking about Nyx saying they would cramp, they began to head towards the shore to cross to the other side of the lake. “You ready, kid? It's not that far this time,” Salem asked as he looked over at Wildes, who was already walking in. Salem followed. After about three hours of walking and Salem having to carry Wildes multiple times, they came across a town. “Oh, oh thank goodness..” murmured Salem.
