Cat's Out of the Hat

by mew_meow

Summary:

A fic where everything is the same until post-canon where Siffrin just so happens to turn into a cat.

Spoilers for the Two Hats ending

I haven't written many fics, and none for this fandom. I don't know when this'll update next, so please be patient. I hope you like catfrin!

Chapter 1

The day the party had had, gearing up to face the king only to end up facing their friend (a giant, looming version, emitting a strange shade), was a long one to say the least. And they had only experienced it once! For Siffrin, who had experienced it over and over again, well, let's just say the party wasn’t surprised when they saw them passed out near the Favor Tree.

Isabeau saw them first, “Hey, guys? I found Sif, and he’s passed out over here. I think I’m going to take them back to the Clocktower.”

Odile answered, “Yes, that might be for the best.”

“You know, I might head back with you,” Mirabelle said, a little anxiously, “Everyone trying to make me take all these things for free is…” She made a face of discomfort.

“It is getting a bit much out here, that much is obvious. We should all head back, just because the king is gone doesn’t mean there aren’t sadnesses to worry about.” Odile said.

Bonnie perked up, nodding rapidly in agreement, “Oh! I can make dinner!”

“That’s a great idea, Bonbon! Sif will probably be hungry if they wake up later, some food from the Snack Leader is just what the doctor ordered!” Isabeau agreed, leaning down to where Siffrin laid.

Isabeau picked Siffrin up from where he was lying against the tree, ready to carry him back to the Clocktower. He leaned down to pick Siffrin up, and when he touched them, he noticed that they were warmer than usual. “Whoa! Uhh, Sif is burning up. I think they have a fever,” Isa alerted the others.

“I would suspect it’s from craft overuse,” Odile stated, bringing a hand to her chin as she pondered, “The best we can do for him right now is get him to bed.”

“Can’t I use healing craft on them?” Mira asked.

“I’d suggest not. It won’t help them if you’re sick too.”

“We should get moving then. Bedtime for Sif, but not against a tree!” Isa exclaimed, quieter than he usually would because of Siffrin in his arms.

Since they’d agreed, they moved to head back to the Clocktower so they could care for Siffrin. While they were on the way, Isabeau was very focused, and didn’t fully realize who he was carrying until they were nearing the path that led to the Clocktower. He glanced down at Siffrin, whose head was leaning on Isabeau’s chest. Almost getting flustered, he shakes his head and refocuses on getting Siffrin to bed.

They wandered back over the bridge, jumping over the gap, up the winding stairs of the clocktower, and arrived at the room they had solemnly slept in the night before. Isabeau gently laid Siffrin down on their bed, tucking them in. Siffrin’s face scrunched up in discomfort for a second, before becoming neutral again as they subconsciously relaxed.

Eventually Bonnie came up with food, initial excitement evident as they proudly showed off the tray they had made for Siffrin to eat if they were awake. Their enthusiasm slightly draining as they saw they were still asleep. The others were sure to praise Bonnies food like never before, and after a meal of extravagant exclamations and several puns (all of which were playfully boo’d) that tried to fill the absence of the one who couldn’t be at the table with them, they headed off to bed. They all shot glances at Siffrin, worried about them not having woken up, but Odile assured them that it was healthy for him after what they just went through.

Odile, Mirabelle, and Bonnie settled down for bed and fell asleep quickly, but Isabeau was too worried to fall asleep that fast. After making sure the others were asleep, he whispered as quietly as he could, “Heal up quickly, Sif.” Soon after, he follows the others into sleep.

Late in the night, Siffrin awoke. Some time in the night, they had turned over on their side, leaving them facing Isabeau. But wait, something wasn't right. They’ve spent so many days in this exact spot, staring at Isa over and over an– They take a deep breath. Point being, amongst the many things Siffrin could be considered an expert at after experiencing them so often, facing a sleeping Isabeau in the clocktower was one of them. And if there was one thing Siffrin was sure of, it was that Isa wasn’t so giant last time they saw him. Confused, Siffrin went to stand up, and noticed he was on all fours.

Huh???

Siffrin was freaking out in his head, not because of the fact that he’s a cat now, but the fact that any one of the party could wake up and see them like this.

There was nothing that brought Siffrin as much comfort as his party, but when they were like this, so small, helpless, and dependent. Hadn’t they bothered their friends enough for one day? The rush of their frantic thoughts triggered something inside of them, and without much thought, he ran up to the window. This window had a latch just easy enough that someone without thumbs could open it relatively easily. And with a little push Siffrin was out of the Clocktower and into the night.

He has no idea where he was running to, they just had to get away. They didn’t want the party seeing him like this.

The lightless shade of night grew even darker as Siffrin aimlessly ran far into the woods surrounding Dormont. Adrenaline fading, Siffrin began to slow down as their exhaustion from everything started seeping back into them. Slowly stumbling, Siffrin walked until their foot–paw?--hit something soft. Flinching, Siffrin looked up to see a strange white blob of fabric. It looked somewhat worn and in rough condi–hey wait, that was their hat!

Lacking any other option, they decided to climb under it, and passed out, not realizing how exhausted he actually was until it fully crashed into them. They end up staying there, hidden under their surprisingly cozy spontaneous hat-bed, for much longer than intended.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

The next morning, the rest of the party woke up to find their sick friend missing. Isabeau was the first to wake up, and since he was facing the side where Siffrin usually sleeps, it had been him who noticed first. Siffrin hadn’t been doing too hot the day before, Isabeau knew craft exhaustion was tough on the body, and that lots of rest was necessary, but knowing the logistics behind Siffrins state was of little comfort. So, when Isabeau had woken up, he'd hoped to see Siffrin awake, but he’d settle for seeing them doing even slightly better.

What he hadn't accounted for was the possibility of Siffrin not being there at all. Sitting up, alarmed with the discovery of Siffrins absence, Isabeau’s thoughts were scattered. The last time Siffrin was missing, they’d gone to fight the king themselves and almost died doing so. And that was when they were in top form! None of them had seen Siffrin fight, but as they ascended the house the remnants of destruction they found were telling. Carvings in the walls and floors spoke of strong slashes, reckless in all but the desire to destroy. The party had worried for Siffrin for a number of reasons as they chased after them, but as each new carving grew deeper and deeper, concern over their ability to hold their own against the sadnesses within the house faded.

Before, while Siffrin wasn't safe, they could defend themselves, But now? Weary and likely weak, it was worrying to think about them being on their own. Just because the king was defeated didn’t mean the danger was gone. Isabeau tried to calm himself by telling himself that the rogue had just gotten up and somehow dragged themselves to the bathroom, even in their probable exhausted state, but the sinking feeling in his stomach found little comfort in the idea.

He needed to go check that theory. Isabeau got up from the bed and walked towards the door that led to the bathroom, only to see the lights off and the door open. That was definitely a blow to the bathroom theory, Isabeau thought, speeding up his approach and quickly whipping his head around to face the door leading to the hallway. It was closed, but that didn’t mean Siffrin didn’t go that way. He turned to wake the others in the party, but when he looked over, his heart froze. The window was open. While it wasn’t uncommon to leave the window open, the weather had been getting colder recently. Cold enough that no one would be leaving the window open, lest they earn the collective ire of their frozen party members.

That was when Isabeau started panicking. “Guys, wake up, Sif’s gone, they left. I think through the window.” Isabeau had meant for his words to mainly raise the other adults in the party, but it was Bonnie who woke up first, and groggily shook Mirabelle awake. A beat later, Odile slowly sat up as well, something that in lighter circumstances might have prompted a quip about her age making her a beat late to rise, shaking her head in a mix of concern and exasperation, like an owner watching their cat get stuck somewhere they told it not to go.

“We’re going to go look for him, right?” Bonnie asked, already getting up to put on day clothes and their shoes while the others were still processing the news.

“We are. Boniface, we’ll need you to stay here,” Odile said, also getting up. Mirabelle followed.

“I want to look for Frin too! Why do I have to stay!?” Bonnie huffed, their face scrunched up in concern. Mirabelle looked over to Bonnie while she fixed her hair, moving faster than she normally would to try and minimize their time spent not searching for Siffrin.

“What if Siffrin comes back? He’ll just leave again if no one’s here waiting. And you can try to make them food again! Since he’s surely awake now, they’ll definitely want some.” Mirabelle smiled, it was a fragile thing, but it seemed to bring Bonnie some comfort all the same.

“Mirabelle is right. Siffrin might think we left if no one’s here. He’ll appreciate you being here,” Odile added. Bonnie pouted a little bit, but agreed.

Everyone finished getting dressed and headed downstairs together, Bonnie splitting away from the group and heading to the kitchen. Isabeau, Mirabelle, Odile emerged from the clocktower, ready to locate their missing friend. They took stock of their situation, debating whether to stay together, before ultimately deciding it was best to split up to cover as much ground as quickly as possible. Going alone could be dangerous to them, but whatever danger they were in was a fraction of what Siffrin would be in given their state.

Odile told the other two that she assumed they would still be rather sick from craft exhaustion, considering they’d only seen a tiny fraction of the amount of craft they’d used and even that was a lot. The memory of how they found Siffrin unconscious still fresh in their minds, Siffrin needed them, there was no time to waste. They went their separate directions and headed into the quickly brightening dawn.

After a little while, Isabeau had ended up in the forest surrounding Dormont. Seeing something very clearly darkless, his heart lightened with relief when he thought he’d found Siffrin. Running over, his excitement dampened when he noticed it was just Siffrin’s hat. Isabeau went to pick it up, Siffrin might like it back, they were fond of hiding their cute–ah, he meant normal, expressions under its brim. Isabeau began lifting it up, but as it slowly left the ground he saw some creature hidden under it and dropped it back down in shock.

“Whoa!” Isabeau wasn't one to shy away from a furry friend, but he was on a super important mission, he couldn't exactly come to Siffrin’s aid if he was busy dealing with an agitated forest critter. When whatever was hidden away underneath didn’t move, Isabeau cautiously lifted the hat back up and saw the most perfect and precious creature underneath. It was a positively tiny cat!. The cat was unhealthily small, Isabeau noted. Was it the runt of its litter? It’s darkless fur, broken up by bits of lightless tufts on its short tail and head, was a bit dirty, a sign of it potentially being on its own for a while. It was also missing an eye, the same eye as Siffrin.

Isabeau felt it tug at his heartstrings, the poor thing, it was so small and all alone. He didn’t have time to fully stop though, Siffrin was still missing and while he could optimistically hope that M’dame and Mira had found them by now, he couldn’t in good conscious abandon his own search without knowing they were ok. But ah, he didn’t want to leave the poor critter alone either. Laughing a little to himself, Isabeau calls them Catfrin in his head because of the similarity to his friend.

Catfrin was breathing weird, and when Isabeau hesitantly went to pet them, they didn’t react. Isabeau frowned, while he didn’t want to upset the critter, the fact that it had no reaction at all was alarming. Could it be sick? Gently picking up the far too light cat, Isa gently cradled his new little buddy as he sped off to look for Siffrin. After, he told himself, after Siffrin was found, he’d look for someone to check on the cat. Maybe Mira could heal it?

Holding them securely in his arms made Isabeau all the more aware of just how extremely thin and light they were, Isabeau could even feel all of their ribs. Isabeau looked around the area he was in and noticed that it was slowly getting darker, had he been out here all day? He decided to head back now, especially with the fact that he hadn’t gone back to eat all day. Isabeau also didn’t want to have Catfrin be out in the cold any longer, he hoped that when he got back, Siffrin would be there.

Mirabelle and Odile were already back at the Clocktower, having headed back earlier than Isabeau for food. When Isabeau walked into their room with the cat, Mirabelle couldn’t hold back a small squeal of delight seeing the cat. She basically jumped off the bed to get closer and pet them but noticed now bad they looked. “Where’d you find them? They look so hungry!” Mirabelle exclaimed. Isabeau holds the hat in his other hand up, “I saw Sif’s hat in the distance, thinking it could be them, but when I got closer, I saw it was just his hat. Picked up the hat, and there this little fella was!”

There was a somber feeling to the air as they were all reminded of Siffrin’s absence, and their inability to locate them. Later, they would need to reconvene to discuss what their plan was, but for now the small scraggly creature cuddled in Isabeaus arms needed help. Odile motioned for Isabeau to come closer. Looking at the sad state of the cat, she sighed, lifting a hand to pet it slowly on the head once or twice. Mirabelle had come over as well, “I could probably take care of them, I took a class on animal care once. Let me go tell Bonnie in the kitchen to make something for them.”

“I’m sure Catfrin will be pretty hungry if they wake up!” Isabeau said, walking over to his bed and setting Catfrin down. Odile shook her head, but Isabeau could see a small smile on her face, and Mirabelle turned towards the door to hold back a laugh.

When Mirabelle had been gone a minute, and Isabeau was just looking at the cat, Odile tells him that they couldn’t find a trace of Siffrin anywhere they’d looked. Isabeau said that he didn't have any better luck. It had gotten too dark by now to try to look again, so they agreed to continue looking tomorrow. Odile had gotten a map from somewhere in town and started marking where she and Mirabelle had covered in their own searches, and then adding Isabeau’s own coverage as he outlined the route he had taken.

After telling her, and seeing all the places they hadn’t looked, Isabeau tried to get up and go looking again. It was one thing to know the forests around Dormont were large, but to see it so clearly laid out had been a shock to the system. So many places Siffrin could be, weak or hurt, and their only hope was waiting on one of them to find them. Odile stopped him, making sure he knew that they wouldn’t be able to find him exhausted and in the dark.

“We don’t need to be trying to rescue two of you.” She had stated. They were all worried for him, but they had to rest to make sure they could find him. And find them they would, and as their group headed to bed once more, Isabeau vowed he’d do whatever it took to bring Siffrin back home.

Notes:

hehe writing it is like a birthday present to myself, i love seeing everyone's comments :3

Chapter 3

Nobody slept very well that night, all except Catfrin it seemed, but the party assumed that was because the poor little thing was sick. However, contrary to the parties expectations (and Catfrin's cute relaxed sleeping face), Siffrin did not actually sleep well that night, being exhausted from running that day and being sick. The day had been so stressful, both for Siffrin and his party, and during the night whenever Siffrin would just barely return to consciousness, they hoped that tomorrow would be less stressful. The universe, however, had other plans. The party woke up quite early, refreshed and more determined than ever to find Siffrin that day. While they were getting ready to head back out to search, Siffrin woke up.

Opening their eyes, everything was a little blurry, and a little shaky, no wait, he was just dizzy. They did not stand up, still too tired and subconsciously not trusting their new cat legs to lift them without also toppling them over, opting instead to look around to see what was going on. He was only awake long enough as a cat to run into the forest, so when they went to ask where everyone was going, a small meow came out. Siffrin jumped a little, remembering what had happened, and everyone had stopped to look at them.

“Oh, Catfrin’s awake!” Mirabelle exclaimed, hands clasped together in glee as she walked over to them. The name startled Siffrin so badly that he did stand up, only to fall back down. Instead, they backed up from where they were curled up as much as they could, which admittedly wasn’t much seeing as he could barely move. “Was I being too loud? I’m sorry little kitty,” Mirabelle said in a significantly quieter voice than before, frowning in concern.

Siffin was still laying on the bed, but they curled up as tight as his tired limbs could manage. They know. They know, they knowtheyknow.

Bonnie was the second closest Siffrin could see, jumping up from where they'd been sitting on the bed making a face the party had quickly learned meant they were thinking about cooking, “I’ll go make something for them!”

They raced out of the room much to the amusement of all noncat members of the party, cat members of the party were too preoccupied with panicking. Mirabelle decided to wait a little bit before heading out, telling Isabeau and Odile to go ahead, “We can’t stop looking for them, but someone needs to stay back for a bit to help Bonnie with Catfrin.”

They agreed, and the two headed out with their map to search the places they hadn’t gotten to yesterday. When they left, Siffin settled back down a bit. Mirabelle had said that they were still searching for him, so the party didn’t know that the cat was him. But then why the name? Maybe he looked similar to himself as a cat? He didn’t remember, and there was a tragic lack of any floor mirrors around for them to check.

Mirabelle sat down on the bed next to him and reached out. A giant hand approaching was surprisingly ominous, what was she-ohh was she trying to pet him? When her hand touched his back, he jumped a little, and she pulled her hand back a bit. “Oh! You don’t like to be touched, just like Siffrin! That’s funny we’ve named you that, hehe,” Mirabelle said to him, smiling warmly.

Siffrin was glad she didn’t seem frightened by his initial flinch, but then her words registered. No! No! Siffrin didn’t want her to think that he didn’t want to be touched, so he stood up for a second to hit his head against her hand.

“Oh! Bonk! You do want to be pet?” Mirabelle looked elated, and Siffrin felt something warm build in their chest as they sat back down, Mirabelle’s hand following to pet him. The warm feeling kept growing, and they started purring, causing Mirabelle to squeal a little bit. Siffrin faded off to sleep little by little as Mirabelle was petting him, a warm feeling flowing all throughout him. He felt warm and bright, like something they couldn’t name but felt like home.

Bonnie came back with some fish for them, only to see them asleep. They made a disappointed face, walking further into the room to set the bowl on the bedside table.

“For when Catfrin wakes up” They said a bit glumly, looking disappointed that they wouldn’t get to see the cat enjoy their food.

“You can pet them if you want,” Mirabelle told them quietly as to not wake Catfrin. “They’re still not feeling the best, but they were purring when they were awake and I was petting them,” Mirabelle added as Bonnie smiled and ran up to get on the bed with them.

They sat close to Catfrin and calmly placed their hand on his back. Bonnie’s smile grew wider as they started to pet the cat and the purrs started up again.

After a while of petting, it seemed Catfrin wouldn’t be waking up any time soon, with a quiet goodbye to Bonnie Mirabelle left to help the others look for Siffrin.

Nothing much happened the rest of the day, Siffrin was not found to the party’s collective disappointment and increasing worry. The party came back to the clocktower discouraged. Spirits were low, however when they walked into the room, they were greeted with a little surprise.

Catfrin was laying on Bonnie’s lap, belly facing up and head hanging slightly off their leg. “Hey, guys! They woke up and ate! And they are so soft,” Bonnie said excitedly.

They could hear Catfrin purring from across the room. “Are they awake now?” Isabeau asked. As he did, Catfrin opened his eyes and was looking directly at Isabeau.

“Oh, did you hear me?” Isabeau said in a baby voice, walking closer to Catfrin. He sat on the bed next to Bonnie and Catfrin, going to pet Catfrin’s head. Before he reached them, though, Catfrin rolled over so he was upright.

‘Soft’ was all Isabeau could think when his hand reached the top of the cat’s head. Catfrin, already purring impressively loud, started purring even louder, shocking the party and making most of it’s members giggle a little bit.

“Boniface, did you have any extra food for them? They are probably still hungry since they’ve been asleep,” As Odile said this, Catfrin opened their eyes wide and looked at her.

“Oh, yeah! I did, let me go get it! I’ll make dinner too,” Bonnie yelled excitedly. Catfrin’s ears went down a little bit at the loud noise, but they did nothing to move.

“Alright, time to get up, Catfrin,” Isabeau said as he scooped up the cat from Bonnie’s lap quickly and set them down on his own.

Siffrin was shocked a little bit and became a little tense, but as Isabeau started petting him slowly again, he relaxed into the touch so much he didn’t even notice Bonnie leaving.

Eventually Bonnie came charging back into the room with food for everyone, something with fish in it so “it’s like we’re having the same thing as Catfrin!” They had exclaimed. They then quickly followed that up with asserting that theirs was seasoned more though, to the unspoken relief of the others.

When Bonnie set down a plate in front of Siffrin again, Siffrin quickly started eating, noticing with a bit of shock how hungry he really was. Before, Bonnie had been petting them, so they’d been distracted from the hunger, but now it felt like something was clawing in their stomach from how hungry he was.

As they were eating, Mirabelle noticed Catfrin trying to crawl their way to someone else’s plate. They were glancing back and forth from Isabeau and Bonnie’s plates.

“I think Catfrin might want more,” Mirabelle laughed a little looking towards the cat. Siffrin didn’t even notice her talking. His body was so exhausted from trying to move and so honed in on picking which plate to nab a bite from.

Bonnie turned to look at Catfrin, who had decided to head to them, and held their plate up in the air. Drats! Foiled by air jail.

“I’ll go get them more. Did you have any left over, Bonnie?” Isabeau said, chuckling a bit at the intense staring contest Bonnie and Catfrin were having and getting up to fulfill his promise.

“Odile said that they were probably realllyyy hungry, so I made extra in case. I think I left it in the fridge,” said Bonnie around a bite of food, tragically losing the staring contest as they focused on Isabeau.

Isabeau set his food down on the bed Mirabelle and Bonnie shared, away from Catfrin so they couldn’t make their way over to it, and left to get the leftovers. He was quickly back with the rest of the fish Bonnie had prepared, putting about half of the plate into Catfrin’s bowl and placing it in front of them.

Catfrin started eating quickly, finishing half the plate before Isabeau had even sat down to continue his. Isabeau saw Catfrin eating so quickly that they weren’t even chewing, “Whoa, hey! Slow down, little fella, you’re gonna choke!” This didn’t stop Siffrin, they weren’t even listening.

Siffrin was starting to feel the pangs of hunger lessen, and noticed Odile was looking at him strangely. He started looking at her (still eating his food). It was strange, while he’d never been one to ignore others when they were talking to them, something about being in this body demanded he make complete eye contact. He didn’t feel unsafe, but rather like a spring wound up, ready to run if needed. She squinted a little at him, but turned back to her food, though not before writing something down in her notebook.

Siffrin was nervous about that, but was soon distracted by the fish again (It was so good! They were powerless to resist. It's a siren song!). He finished the second plate around the time everyone else had finished their first, he meowed a bit to see if they’d give him the rest.

Isabeau laughed a little, but gave them the rest after Siffrin pawed at his bowl a little. He ate this bowl slower than the rest, but still finished it relatively quickly, only distracted when someone giggled a little at how much they’d eaten or someone started petting him. Warm and full, Siffrin felt gravity tugging their eyes closed once again, feeling more at home than they could even remember being.

Notes:

listen, i can make crafted fridges if i want to, idk bro

Chapter 4

Eventually, everyone finished their meal, even Catfrin, though it took them a few minutes longer than the rest. Maybe it was the craft exhaustion demanding they give their body sustenance, but as soon as they had awoken from their nap they went right back to dragging themselves towards someone else’s near empty plate. Finding nothing worth the struggle, he settled back down, getting even more comfortable when someone started petting him. An indeterminable time passed, Catfrin being so cozy that he didn’t notice how long it had been. He hadn’t bothered to look to see who was petting him either, but honestly he was so cozy either way that it didn’t matter. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Bonnie hopping off the bed he shared with Isabeau, presumably to go get ready for bed. Everyone else had already started to do the same. Welp, they might as well do the same. One upside to being a cat was that their nightly routine was much simpler, though admittedly his human routine wasn’t much more complex (something the beauty alliance had bemoaned to him about). He was near the end of the bed, and while the rest of the party was busy, they pulled themselves up and moved to lay on the pillow that they used in human form.

When Isabeau got back to their bed, he seemed pleasantly surprised to see Catfrin there. “What did I do to have the honor of having Catfrin sleeping on my bed?”

Shortly after he said that, there was the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps as Bonnie ran back into the room upon hearing that, “I want Catfrin to sleep with me!”

Aw! Bonnie was such a sweet kid, Siffrin decided that they’d have to sleep with Bonnie if he was still a cat tomorrow night.

After this thought, Siffrin slowly faded to sleep listening to the comforting sound of his party chatting quietly and settling down for bed.

This same basic routine repeated for the next week or so. Siffrin was still too exhausted to move much, so when the others headed out to look for him. he stayed back at the Clocktower with Bonnie. Siffrin felt guilty each time they left, knowing that they were looking in vain, knowing that he was right here under their noses. He tended to sleep for most of the day, waking up every once in a while when, usually Bonnie, is petting them and to eat food sometimes. He tried not to linger on the sad faces his party made as they headed out each day.

He painfully watches as everyday the party gets back they get more and more distraught about the fact that they can’t find him.

By the eighth day of this, they couldn’t just sit there watching them anymore. When everyone was about to leave, Catfrin walked to the edge of the bed and jumped onto Isabeau’s shoulder and laid down, curling their tail around Isabeau’s neck.

Isabeau jumped a little, shocked at the sudden pressure on his shoulder, but quickly relaxed when he realized it’s just Catfrin. He laughed, “Buddy, do you wanna come with me to look for Sif?”

Catfrin didn’t move, so the party took that as a sign that they’re coming with. Everyone, their new search member included, moved to head out and start looking for Sif, before a small body interrupted their path.

“No fair! Even Catfrin gets to help? I want to help look for Siffrin too! I can help!”

Looking at Bonnie, Siffrin felt the guilt they’d pushed down rise once again. The way Bonnie was standing there spoke of frustration, but in their eyes, Siffrin could see tears starting to bead.

It was Isa who moved forward, kneeling down to put a hand on their shoulder, “I know it's been tough, BonBon, Siffrin, Siffrin’s been absent for a bit, and it's really scary isn't it? We’re doing our best to find him, and that’s why we need you to stay here. So that if Siffrin comes back, they know we haven’t left them behind. Can you guard the fort for us, oh wise Snack Leader?”

Bonnie nodded, sniffling a bit as they wiped their eyes. “Ok, but you better find them soon! They have to come back so they can meet Nille!”

Isabeau smiled, and while the rest of the party headed out in slightly higher spirits, Siffrin felt like their heart was made of lead. Even as the sunlight temporarily blinded them as Isa stepped outside, they couldn’t shake the guilt they felt for making Bonnie sad. If the party had known he’d been there the whole time, they’d surely hate him for making Bonnie cry. This cat form was nothing but a curse.

Today's search, though new to Catfrin, was familiar to the rest of the party. It consisted of revisiting old search spots, since there weren't many other places to look.

While they were looking, Isabeau started talking to Catfrin, letting out how much he’s worried about Siffrin, “What if he died? I don’t know how we’d break the news to Bonnie. I don’t even know how I’d move on. They’re so important to me, and to Mira and M’dame Odile and Bonnie.”

Isabeau wentis quiet for a couple minutes after saying that, making Catfrin feel even worse. First, they make Bonnie cry, and now they’re worrying Isabeau. They’d never seen him this pensive before. It was unsettling. “Alright! We can’t think about that! Sif’s alive! There’s no way someone like him would be able to go through all they’ve been through and not make it through something like this!”

Siffrin got even more saddened hearing that (he’d turn back if he could) but they’d been trying every day to turn back to no avail.

After double checking some of the spots where Siffrin could be, Isabeau (narrating aloud for his audience of one) started thinking about where was left that Siffrin could be. One place they hadn’t looked was the Favor Tree, which in retrospect, Isabeau mentioned, was probably a mistake. That’s where they found Siffrin in the first place! So that was where they’d go.

When they got there, Catfrin jumped down from Isabeau’s shoulder and onto the root they used to sit on while talking to Loop. They stared at the spot where Loop used to sit, hoping that Loop was somewhere nice, and that they’d get to see each other again.

Just as they were about to hop back onto Isabeau’s shoulder to move on to another spot, Siffrin heard a rustling up in the Favor Tree’s leaves. It sounded bigger than any birds they’d seen around Dormont, so they assumed it could be a sadness. They felt their hackles raise, their claws beginning to peak out as a hiss began building in their throat.

Catfrin jumped onto Isabeau’s shoulder, using him as a stepping stone to then launch themselves up into the branches of the Favor Tree. Isabeau yelled after them, worried they could still be weak, but Siffrin ignored him. At the top, they saw a mostly lightless figure. They leamed, ready to carve the sadness into ribbons even without their trusty blade. When their paws hit an equally soft mass instead, Siffrin was shocked, and the force of his pounce knocked both of them right off the branch.

They hit the ground, harder than expected. While they were down, Isabeau ran over to them, thinking that Catfrin could be hurt from that height. Siffrin slowly lifted his body up from the ground, facing the other creature with fur raised and claws out. They stopped in their tracks when the creature lifted itself from the ground and faced them, an unmistakable darkless star sitting on their chest.

Notes:

if anyone notices the very obvious spelling error that me and my beta decided to leave there since we were laughing so hard, you get a cookie

Chapter 5

Notes:

Sorry guys! My beta reader was in finals hell, and couldn't edit the fic. They've been released now, so we're back! I'm sure it was a cliffhanger!

Siffrin knew the other cat had to be Loop. What other person, cat or not, would have a star like that? Who else would be a cat?

After they dropped to the ground from the tree, Catfrin and Loop-cat (newly dubbed as such) froze again in shock as they stared at one another. Siffrin felt so many emotions as they stared at their other half, relief at seeing them again, shock that they had reappeared at all, and a bit of adoration at how cute Loop looked as a cat.

It felt like time itself was standing still, a worrying thought given past events, but in reality only a few minutes had passed. Engaged in their fluffy mirror images as they were, the two seemingly forgot their spectator. Isabeau looked at the two ridiculously adorable cats and decided that it was time to intervene, they had been standing there for a bit now after all.

“Hey! Catfrin! And uh, Catfrin’s friend? I think it’s time we head out! Buddy, can you say bye to your friend for now?”

His voice broke both of the cats out of their trance, and they actually started seeing each other. Not much happened as a result of their newfound awareness though, as Isabeau walked over and leaned down to pick Catfrin up. Catfrin tried evading his grasp though, and jumped towards Loop-cat, putting his short cat limbs around them. He’d lost them once, they wouldn't lose them again.

Isabeau grabbed Catfrin just as he did that and jumped a little. “Oh, buddy, do you wanna bring your cat friend with us? I’m sure the others won’t mind.”

Isabeau smiled gently at the new cat, and, with his other hand, scooped Loop-cat up. The contact made them squirm a lot, trying to get free of the warm hand around them.

Siffrin, not thinking, called out to Loop in his mind, “Stay calm! Isa is just picking you up to bring you with us! Loop!” Loop-cat whipped their head around to face Catfrin, staring at him with eyes wide with panic, but gradually calming down as his words seemed to register.

“…Wait.”

Catfrin jumped a little at the sudden movement, “Can…can you hear me, Loop?”

Loop-cat just nodded their small head, seemingly too shocked that they still had that connection to do much else, that they’d seen Siffrin again.

Isabeau, not noticing the interaction going on between the cats in his hands, plopped Catfrin down on one shoulder, and set Loop-cat gently on the other. Loop-cat immediately shifted, moving to the other shoulder, settling down, with Catfrin between them and Isabeau’s head.

The sides of their bodies were touching, they were so close.

Isabeau took a minute to adjust to two cats on one shoulder, their paws feeling surprisingly heavy for their size. After this, he declared out loud that they should head back to the clocktower, definitely not because his shoulder was starting to hurt, even after such a short time.

As they were walking back, Siffrin couldn't help himself from talking Loop’s ear off.

“Loop, I’m so glad I found you again! I’ve missed you. We were in the loops together for so long… It was hard to be apart… but now we don’t have to be!”

“I…missed you too,” Loop said, almost in a whisper.

“Ohhh, Loop, I thought you hated me?”

“Shut up.”

They talked all the way back to the clocktower, unbeknownst to Isabeau, who was just thinking about how dark it had gotten without him noticing. Frustration was brewing in his chest; it had been 10 days since Siffrin vanished, and they were still no closer to finding them. If something bad had happened, they might be far too late to save him. They were apparently the last ones to get back, as when he walked into their room of the clocktower, everyone was waiting for them.

“How did you find another cat!” Bonnie yelled excitedly, jumping up from the bed they were sitting on.

“The real question is, when will the cat distribution system find me,” Mirabelle sighed deeply.

Odile just shook her head while watching the interaction. Bonnie ran up to Isabeau, nearly bowling him over in their excitement, making grabby hands for Catfrin.

Siffrin went to jump down into Bonnie’s hands, but Loop put their paw on Siffrin’s to stop him. Siffrin looked at Loop and saw that they didn't want him to leave them.

“We can jump down to the bed together?” Siffrin asked. Loop just nodded their head.

As soon as they got the confirmation, Siffrin motioned for Loop to jump down first. Loop did, with Siffrin just behind them.

Bonnie went to pet the closest cat, which just so happened to be Loop-cat. But as they went to pet them, Loop-cat’s fur raised, and they quickly darted away to hide behind Catfrin. Catfrin, noticing Bonnie looked disappointed, went and bumped his head against Bonnie’s hand.

Bonnie started petting Catfrin, and he curled up into a loaf. Loop-cat loafed up too, still hiding behind Siffrin.

“Some cats don’t want to be pet, Boniface. You have to be content with petting Catfrin,” Odile comforted.

“Yeah, okay…” Bonnie sighed, still petting Catfrin.

“Do you know a lot about cats, Odile?” Mirabelle asked.

Isabeau laughed and asked, “Catology?”

“No, I do not study ‘catology’. I just had a few as a child, especially as they are a popular pet back in Ka Bue,” Odile remarked. “These two seem like they have a similar bond to my childhood cats, something called a bonded pair. They get very depressed when separated, and some even get sick without the other.”

“AWWW!!” both Mirabelle and Isabeau all but yelled. “It’s like they’re bonded!” “They’d look so cute with matching collars!”

Catfrin puts his head between his paws in embarrassment. They could try and block out their party’s embarrassing remarks, but they could still hear Loop cackling in his head.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

After Mirabelle and Isabeau calmed down from cooing at the two cats and the cuteness of their bond (and some talking about what matching collars they could give the two felines), they all got ready for bed. Odile sat on her bed, deep in thought as she waited for everyone to get back.

She decided that they needed to have a serious talk, Bonnie included. She knew the others wouldn’t like it, but while Siffrin was important, there were other priorities they couldn’t afford to push off anymore.

“It brings me no joy, but we may have to face the fact that we might not find Siffrin. If they do not want to be found, we will not be able to find them.” She sighed, “If he wanted to leave, we couldn’t stop him. We don’t have the luxury of a frozen world stalling things anymore, we need to reunite Boniface with their sister.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, caught between wanting to rebuke Odile's suggestion that they leave Siffrin behind, but also aware of the need to reunite Bonnie with their guardian. Eventually, just as the uncomfortable silence turned suffocating, Isabeau spoke up, “Sif just went through the worst experience I think anyone could go through, something we can’t even imagine! They wouldn’t just leave, would he?”

“But it’s been so long, and we’ve looked everywhere in Dormont,” Odile said in a resigned voice.

The bed that Siffrin was on suddenly felt less comfortable as Siffrin watched the effect their absence was having on the party.

Frozen in place and unable to bring themselves to interrupt the conversation, Siffrin was left wallowing in a guilt so strong it felt like they could drown in it. But besides that feeling there was also a steadily rising anxiety.

Siffrin knew that they could have brought their ability to shapeshift up with the party before they got stuck.

Knew he could’ve tried to communicate to them that the cat before them and the friend they were missing was one and the same.

Knew that the suffering they were witnessing in front of them was born of their own silence, and yet that didn’t stop the anxiety from clawing away at them over the chance of being left behind.

The party might bring Catfrin with them, but they’d be leaving the idea of Siffrin out in Dormount’s forests, they’d be left behind.

And the part of Siffrin that was small and scared of being alone, had been scared ever since they were small and on a boat with no memories of where they’d come from or who they were, screamed at the idea of being left alone again.

Besides them, as Siffrin's thoughts and anxieties rose like waves that threatened to drag them down, Loop sat, a silent witness to the panic Siffrin was unknowingly broadcasting.

Mirabelle interjected, “We can’t stop looking! They’re still out there! You know how exhausted they were, what if they’re injured somewhere, waiting for us? We can’t leave them behind, not if they’re counting on us!”

“Yeah! I still don’t get what Frin went through, but they want to stay with us!” Bonnie exclaimed. Their brave expression quickly crumpling as they said, holding back tears, “We can’t leave him behind! We don’t leave family behind!”

It went unsaid, but to the rest of the party it was clear that they were thinking of Nille.

After a brief silence, Odile sighed in acquiescence, “Alright, we’ll keep looking, but we may have to start looking farther than Dormont. If Siffrin is hurt perhaps they tried seeking help, and got turned around while doing so.”

Odile’s statement was met with a round of cheers and smiles from the rest of the party, before a small blur shot themselves in her direction and hugged her with all their might. Odile stumbled from the sudden addition of Bonnie’s hug, but recovered soon enough, giving their smallest party member (well, the smallest they were currently aware of) a pat on the head.

With the matter resolved, everyone settled down and prepared to go to sleep.

Siffrin thought that, since there’s two of them now, they should move away from Bonnie and Mirabelle’s bed, so that they all could have more room.

Siffrin looked to Loop, “I think we should move to Isa’s bed, since there’s more room.”

“Why not move to Odile’s?” Loop countered.

Siffrin shrugged, and with no good counterpoint to that, got up to go to Odile’s bed, Loop not far behind them.

“I’ve been chosen tonight,” Odile announced with a smile, to the collective jealousy of everyone else. Bonnie pouted, fitting for a child, and the adults did too, less fitting.

Odile just started silently petting Catfrin, since he’s closer, and the other cat doesn’t like to be pet anyways. If she enjoyed tormenting her party members with her cat victory, that was no one else’s business but her own.

Odile heard a quiet giggle from the other side of the room. “And you said it wasn’t catology?” Isabeau whispered, still laughing quietly, with Mirabelle and Bonnie joining in the amusement.

“Can I not pet a cat? Is that so wrong?” Odile said back.

“Touche.”

Slowly, they all fell asleep, at least, all except for the two cats.

Motivated by a desire to ease the parties worries, and to assuage the fear that he’d be left behind, Siffrin kept trying to turn back into a human. However, as most things in the rogue's life, their efforts were met with failure. They continued trying, struggling when it continued to not work, and mentally explained what they were doing to a confused Loop.

It was a good thing that they were both near the edge of the bed because right after Siffrin finished explaining to Loop what they were trying to do, they found themselves suddenly getting much larger as their limbs contorted to fit their new build.

Or, more accurately, their old build.

‘Ah, the transformation worked this time,’ Siffrin thought, on the floor and dazed (from falling on said floor).They were just glad they didn’t hit Odile on the way down.

Everyone woke up, startled by the bang, and Isabeau hurried to turn on the light. Everyone looks to where they heard the sound, and there, illuminated by the light in all their disheveled glory lay Siffrin on the floor.

The party, sans Odile, jumped up from their respective beds to hug him.

“Where were you! We were so worried!” Mirabelle cried out. The others just nodded, continuing to cry and hug him.

Siffrin looked up from the floor, now dazed from the sheer intensity of their party's relief, turned their gaze to Loop, “I’m going to tell them. You can too, if you want.” Siffrin turned away, not needing a response.

“I’m scared you’ll hate me if I tell you” Siffrin said quietly.

Odile sighed again, “Siffrin, at this point, you should know that nothing you tell us will make us hate you. Especially after your previous stunt.”

The others vocalized their support, having mostly stopped crying but continuing to sit on the floor with Siffrin, not willing to let him go lest he vanish again..

Siffrin looked down, still anxious but knowing the party deserved the truth, and whispered, “I was the cat you called Catfrin…”

Everyone was completely silent for a second, and then chaos erupted, the three sitting on the floor with him yelling all at once.

“Quiet down! Do you think they can hear all of you?” Odile exclaimed.

Thoroughly scolded, though no less shocked and curious, the others waited silently as Isabeau spoke first, “Why do you think we’d hate you for being a cute little kitty cat?” The others nodded in agreement.

Odile shook her head, and Isabeau looked up to question her about it. “I’d sort of suspected something like this. A suspiciously Siffrin-looking cat comes in, acting just as sick as he was when he left?”

The connection clicked in everyone’s brain at once.

“Wait, so you heard us this entire time? What about the other cat?” Isabeau turned towards Loop, reeling at the revelation that they’d been talking about Siffrin with Siffrin here to hear them.

Loop was curled up on the far bottom corner of Odile’s bed, idly watching the chaos that had erupted, but when they all looked at them, their ears folded back. Siffrin frowned at Loop’s reaction, they seemed scared.

“You could tell them now, it’s alright,” Siffrin told Loop. “Especially since I’m not letting you leave again.”

Loop sighed in response, and without another word elegantly jumped to the floor, transforming into their human form, on the way.

The party’s shock was expected, but Siffrin’s was not. “What, you all literally just saw Stardust as a cat?”

“You should go look in the mirror,” Siffrin managed to say.

Loop shot them all another confused look, but did go to the mirror that was in the bathroom. They came back more shocked than the others had looked.

When they’d regained their human form, Loop had expected to be greeted with the return of their blinding star head. To be greeted with an actual human face was an unexpected departure from the norm, but a welcomed one.

Siffrin just went over to Loop and grabbed their hand. They turned to the party and said, “So, guys, this is Loop.”

“I thought I recognized the voice,” Odile commented, before Bonnie interrupted, exclaiming, “But I thought you were a star?”

“Well, I was, but now I’m not, the Universe does as it pleases,” Loop said.

Isabeau hadn’t talked for a minute; his mind drifting back to the conversations the party had in front of the two cats. Specifically, he was thinking about the fact that they had been talking about bonding, “You two heard us talking about bonded pairs?”

“Yeah, and what of it, Fighter?” Loop airily replied.

Isa, blushing, hurriedly said, “Nothing, nothing!”

Siffrin just hid his face in his cloak, “Can we please talk about something else?”

“So why didn’t you turn back from a cat before this?” Odile questioned after a few seconds of silence.

Siffrin thought about it for a moment, “I think I was stuck for some reason? I tried every day, but nothing worked.”

“You did have craft exhaustion, so that might have been a factor. Something else to consider is the fact that you were away from the other half of your bonded pair,” Odile contemplated.

Siffrin, blushing a little from the frank delivery of that last sentence, nodded their head a little, “That makes sense.”

Loop didn’t say much during this interaction, simply observing the party as they interacted. They were still processing being near their Stardust’s party.

With Siffrin’s dramatic reveal done, and some idle chat later, Odile announced that it was well past her bedtime and that she was going to sleep, whether the rest followed her lead was up to them. Bonnie was on top of Odile's suggestion, having already fallen asleep, head resting on Mirabelle’s lap.

Loop returned to their cat form, citing the lack of room for an extra body in the already cramped sleeping quarters. Siffrin thought they also just liked being a cat, but saved that comment for another day.

Loop, of course, went to sleep next to Siffrin on their and Isabeau’s bed. Siffrin contemplated turning back in shapeshifting time looper solidarity, but was too afraid that they’d get stuck in their tiny little cat body again, and while that’s not the worst, they’d rather be human.

As soon as the party settled down and the lights were turned off, Siffrin pulled Loop-cat up close to them, hugging them as though they were a stuffed animal.

Loop almost said something, a witty retort stuck in their throat, but their body betrayed them and they started purring before anything could be said. Siffrin just let out a little giggle as they drifted off to sleep.

The following day moved by like a blur, everyone upon waking up had decided they needed to take a day to gather supplies for their trip back to Bambouche.

They all were running around all day, minus Siffrin, who was in craft exhaustion jail, and thus forbidden from helping gather supplies.

For them, the day consisted of eating at various spots around town as they accompanied their party

(They may have been in craft jail, but Siffrin was wise and knew craft jail was a suggestion. They were also wise enough to know not to say this aloud, lest their walking privileges be revoked. The Clocktower was boring and they didn’t want to be stuck there alone).

During dinner, though, Bonnie cooked, and Siffrin could’ve wept tears of joy. Truly no food in Dormont could compare to what Bonnie could make.

They cooked ravioli from scratch, which everyone praised them for. Everyone except Loop, who had been in human form to eat, and who, upon taking their first bite, started crying.

They hadn’t eaten anything in who knows how long, and they had forgotten how Bonnie’s food tasted.

Siffrin brushed it off by telling Bonnie that it was so good that it made Loop cry. The explanation satisfied the preteen cooking machine, though they still seemed a little worried. Then Siffrin gave Loop a tight hug, telling them through their phone-communication that they’d felt the same way eating after the loops.

Bonnie tried to pounce on the two, saying that they wanted to get in on the hug too, but Odile intercepted them, reminding them that Loop-cat didn’t like pets.

Loop thanked her, and they moved on.

The next day, it was finally time for them to leave Dormont, a fact Siffrin was trying to be a respectable amount of happy to do, in order not to insult Mirabelle.

The party woke up relatively early, or at least most of them did, with the ones that did wake up having to drag Siffrin out of bed.

Bonnie made breakfast, Loop not crying this time, and they all headed out.

Loop was in cat mode, riding on Siffrin’s shoulder, when they left the town that they’d been stuck in.

Both of them let out a sigh that neither of them knew that they’d been holding in.

The loops were actually over.

Siffrin got to stay with their party, and while Loop didn’t, they’d gotten one thing they wanted, which was to stay with their Stardust.

Loop commented offhandedly, “We won’t have to be alone again…”

Siffrin smiled softly, agreeing, “We’ll have each other and the party. While they’re not your party yet, they will be, and we’ll be happy again.”

Notes:

So guys, that's it. That's the end! I'm already working on a different fic, not for this fandom, but for Cookie Run Kingdom, if anyone's in that fandom.

Me and my editor finished this at 2:30am, so if it sounds a little crazy near the end, no it doesn't.

 

Unrelated to me or my fics, the fic titled Jambound for the Cookie Run Kingdom? You should totally read it.