Submission (#6345) Approved

Lufei is afraid of many things; he sees this as part of a natural existence. In order to truly appreciate the good of life, one must experience the bad. And overcoming fears can be part of one’s journey of self discovery.

Although Lufei holds this philosophy near and dear to his heart, it’s still hard to put into practice.

Ever since his trip to Strynhalde, Lufei has felt more in tune with himself. Becoming part of the Court means to give up worldly afflictions, and communing with the Fae has always been a clear way to achieve that.

But in some regards, relying on the Fae to clear his inner demons feels like cheating. If he can’t regulate his emotions, how is Lufei supposed to help others with their own? Anyways, Lufei is ready to start working on his own fears.

The first one he wants to tackle is undoubtedly the easiest. Starting small and working up is the key to success in his mind, and it’s much less intimidating.

Lufei watches the animal in front of him warily. It’s his first obstacle to becoming the best version of himself, and he won’t let such a small creature stand in his way. It’s sitting on four legs, collar jingling playfully as it licks its paw. It’d been eating out of a playfully decorated bowl earlier, tail stuck high up in the air as it chowed down.

Lufei’s first adversary is a wicked demon of small proportions; with scary claws and sharp teeth, the animal was known to attack other prey and drop it on his doorstep in a show of superiority.

“Oh! So that’s where Mittens went,” his neighbor Rika says when she heads out her front door. “Have you been bothering little laddy Loo?”

The cat simply stretches its back, letting out a soft meow. It presses towards Lufei slowly, who startles and jumps back. The interaction makes Rika laugh quietly.

“I need to go grocery shopping, so keep guard, Mittens.” Rika glances over at Lufei. “And don’t feel like you have to put up with this pesky little feline, Loo.”

Normally Lufei would take that as his cue to get as far away from the cat as possible. Even now he’s tempted to do so, but his resolve from earlier hasn’t fully dissipated yet.

Now, he just shakes his head, saying, “I’ll make sure she doesn’t get into trouble, Rika.”

There’s a brief flash of surprise before it’s overtaken by humor on the Elnin’s face. Lufei feels like he should feel offended by that, but he’s mostly just tired from the interaction already. He waves her off as she leaves and turns back to the cat.

It’s perched on his front door stoop. Without breaking eye contact with the beady, green slits, Lufei bends down. There’s only a foot of distance between the two of them, but he feels like the animal will swipe it’s demon talons out at him any moment now.

Lufei steels his nerves; to get over this fear will be the first step in conquering greater adversity in his life. He reaches out with a shaking paw.

Nothing happens for a moment or so—the world keeps turning, the wind keeps flowing, his heart keeps pumping. His heart is pumping quite fast, in fact.

And then the cat moves forward, touching the tip of its nose to Lufei’s finger.

It’s nothing momentous; Lufei doesn’t even feel any different after the cat pulls its snout back after a round of good sniffing. It goes back in for a second round of casual scenting when the Faenin doesn’t pull away.

And then! It licks his fingers!! What a strange little gremlin demon, Lufei thinks. Mittens keeps licking at his fingers without pause, eventually alternating between giving little nibbling bites and pawing at the mat.

“Are you trying to consume my flesh,” Lufei asks the tuxedo cat. He knows it won’t answer, but he’d still like to know regardless. “Maybe you’re hungry?”

But the cat had just finished eating only minutes ago, so that doesn’t explain the animal’s obsession with eating Lufei’s fingers.

As his fear of the black cat starts fading, a newfound sense of excitement begins to take its place. Maybe he should pet it? That’s what he saw Rika doing most times she was around the cat; leaning down to rub its face against her manicured nails.

Wings fluttering, Lufei uses his other hand to rub against Mittens’ forehead. It begins purring immediately. What a strange sound! Although Elnin purr, it’s nothing like this guttural, feline sound.

What on Eyre had Lufei been so afraid of before? Sure, cats are terrible, foul little creatures with strange proportions and even stranger habits with dead animals, but—

Even Lufei could admit that Mittens’ purring made her quite… cute. And the way she continually batted at his paws for more affection, needy for attention, was admittedly endearing.

Who am I? Lufei wonders hopelessly, running a hand down the length of Mittens’ back. Who have I become? He despairs.

“Might as well follow this exercise in self improvement all the way through,” Lufei murmurs, reaching out to tug the cat into his arms. She simply accepts the change in position with another deep purr. “What a good little hell-demon.”

Tugging the door to his home back open, the Faenin wonders what sort of fear he should tackle next; though it can’t be as mentally rewarding as Mittens surely has been already. Lufei looks down at the cat in his arms and sighs, already thinking about getting a little hell demon of his own.