Today was one of the few days that two humans didn't spend their time training, but rather have a normal day off. Anne suggested baseball, but with only two of them, three if counting Sprig, they decided to make a different game, involving cutting a watermelon thrown at them to see how close they'd get to cutting it down the middle. Whoever was closest would win the game.
Being the one who suggested the idea, and being the oldest, Shadow would go first, holding a shorter version of his katana with both hands.
"Throw as best you can, Sprig!" He called.
Sprig struggled but managed to push a watermelon up a small mound before picking it up and throwing it Shadow's way, the boy in black swinging his katana and cutting it in half, the two halves falling to the ground.
Anne picked up the two halves and put them together, "Wow! Looks like it's almost straight down the middle!"
"Think you can do better?" Shadow smirked.
"No problem!" Anne declared with a confident smile.
Chuckling, Shadow offered the katana, "Then by all means."
With confidence, Anne took the weapon as Sprig ran back over to the pitching mound, the Thai girl standing at the plate and readying herself, "Hey, batter, batter, batter, batter!"
Rolling another one up the mound, Sprig picked the melon up with all the strength he could muster in his little arms before throwing it, Anne swinging the sword, only to completely overswing and miss, the katana flying out of her hands.
"Ah, whiffed it." She said before gasping as the sword was flying towards the frog boy. "Sprig!"
"Huh?" Sprig looked up and yelped when he saw the sword flying his way, Shadow darting in and grabbing the frog boy and pulling him out of the way, the sword flying right past and into the woods, Sprig's hat splitting in two, revealing his orange hair.
"You kids wanna go again?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah-ah!" Anne and Sprig cheered, before Anne took notice of Sprig's hair. "Wait, you have hair?"
Soon enough, the three entered the forest in search of the sword, pushing aside several branches in their way.
"Hey, sorry about your hat, Sprig." Anne said before noticing the sword lodged in a tree. "Oh, there it is."
Shadow walked up and pulled the sword free, wiping it clean of dirt, before he heard an animal cry.
"Hey, you found-" Sprig began to say, before Shadow put a finger to his lips.
"Quiet. Do you hear that?"
They listened, the animal cry sounding off again in distress.
"Something's in trouble." Anne gasped. "And it sounds like a cat!"
The three ran through the woods, before arriving at a clearing with several mud puddles, seeing a small creature stuck in one of the mud puddles, struggling to get out, along with three giant wasps stabbing at the ground with their stingers.
"Oh my gosh!" Anne gasped in shock. "We have to save her!"
"I'll handle it!" Shadow commanded, readying his katana. "Anne, I'll grab their attention while you grab the little guy. Sprig, give me covering fire."
"Right behind you, chief!" Sprig declared, pulling out his slingshot.
The cloaked boy dashed forward before jumping, swinging his sword and cutting off the stinger of one of the wasps, the bug buzzing around a bit before falling dead to the ground.
Anne ran in and grabbed the small creature, pulling it out of the mud, "Gotcha!" Suddenly, the two remaining wasps stung at the ground near her. "Oop, gotta go."
She darted off, the two wasps giving chase, only to be hit in the head with rocks launched from Sprig's slingshot, disorienting them.
"Take that, buzz brains!" The frog boy boasted. "Go sting someone your own size!"
"Sprig, we have to go!" Shadow shouted, as he and Anne ran for the woods.
"Sprig out! Peace!" Sprig declared before jumping backwards into the brush.
The three kept running through the woods before coming to a stop, making sure they weren't being pursued.
"Hey Shadow, how come you didn't kill the other two wasps?" Sprig asked.
"Sorry, I didn't want to waste energy on small fry, if it can be helped." Shadow shrugged.
"You're safe now, little fella." Anne said, before taking a look at the small creature before suddenly screaming with glee, making Shadow look at the animal, turning out to be a black furred caterpillar with white spots on its back.
"What's wrong? Did you get stung?" Sprig said before suddenly raising the sword over his head. "We have to amputate!"
Shadow caught the blade before taking it, "Sprig, calm down."
"This caterpillar looks exactly like my cat Domino from back home." Anne said before pulling out her phone and showing a picture of her cat.
Shadow looked at the picture, comparing the cat in it to the caterpillar in Anne's arms, "I can certainly see the resemblance."
The caterpillar meowed before purring.
"I love my cat more than anything in the world." Anne declared. "She was irreplaceable. But now I found a replacement. Let's take her home with us!"
Shadow gave her a deadpanned expression, "Anne, that's a wild animal."
"Yeah, I don't think it's a good idea." Sprig said in agreement.
"Pshh. That's ridiculous." Anne said, waving off her friend's concerns as she snuggled the cat to her face. "My cat back home was a stray before I adopted her."
"Cats and caterpillars are two different creatures though." Shadow pointed out, trying to reason with her.
"And cat is in caterpillar." Anne retorted.
Shadow pinched the bridge of his nose, "For the love of… Do you even know the first thing about taking care of a caterpillar?"
"It's like taking care of a cat in my world." Anne declared. "All it takes is love and patience and... love."
"You said 'love' twice." Sprig pointed out.
"Please, Shadow?" Anne pleaded, making the puppy dog eyes. "I promise I'll be responsible."
Shadow softened at the sight of the face she was making, his heart aching at the sight. He had no doubt was going to hate that expression.
"The things I do to help someone." He sighed. "Fine, but she's your responsibility. I expect you to raise it right."
Anne suddenly jumped at him with a hug, "Oh, thank you thank you thank you!"
Shaking off the warm feeling from her hug, Shadow looked down at Sprig, "What do you think, little buddy?"
Sprig looked at the caterpillar before Anne held it up to him, the small creature licking his face.
"Sold!" The frog boy declared.
"It's settled." Anne declared, setting the caterpillar down and held the sword as though she was knighting someone, as a ray of sunlight shined on her new pet. "I hereby dub thee 'Domino 2'." She then handed the weapon back to Shadow. "Come on, girl. Let's go home."
The three made to walk, but stopped when they saw the caterpillar not following. In fact, Domino 2 just stood there before she fell over on her side.
"Uh, is it broken?" Sprig asked.
"Caterpillars don't really do much." Shadow said.
"Hold up. I've got an idea." Anne then pulled off her bag and rummaged through it before pulling out what looked like a small pink cat toy in the shape of a mouse. "This worked on Domino 1 without fail."
Hearing the rattling, Domino 2 looking up at the toy, instantly becoming mesmerized by it, and with a meow, got up and slowly started crawling towards Anne.
Sprig, on the other hand, also became mesmerized by it.
"That's it, girl. You can do it. Come on." Anne said as she walked, the caterpillar following behind.
"I want it. Give it to me." Sprig said in a possessed tone, reaching up for it as he followed behind.
Shadow, on the other hand, seemed to eye the little creature with suspicion.
'I hope I'm just imagining things,' He thought to himself. 'But I swear, I've seen this kind of caterpillar before.'
Soon enough, the three made it back to Shadow's hut, with Domino 2 in tow.
"Alright, remember what I said." Shadow stated with a stern look. "I expect you to take full responsibility of Domino 2, which means looking after her as well as cleaning up after her. Understand?"
"You got it, Teach!" Anne said with a salute.
"Should we be concerned about this?" The two humans looked at Sprig as he held his leg up, Domino 2 having her teeth clamped onto the limb and looked as though she was chewing on it.
"That is called 'play biting.' Isn't it cute?" Anne said as Shadow pulled the creature away.
"Anne, it looked as though she was tasting him." Shadow pointed out, the caterpillar licking her lips for emphasis, staring at the frog hungrily.
"That's ridiculous." Anne waved it off. "Trust me; I know cats."
Shadow gave her a deadpan look, "This is a caterpillar."
"Same thing."
Shadow only sighed at this before leading everyone inside, "Alright, here you are, Domino 2. Get adjusted well, because this will be your new home."
The caterpillar meowed as she crawled around, looking around her surroundings as it continued her exploration.
"It'll take time before she finishes adjusting." Shadow declared.
The caterpillar kept walking around before eventually settling on Anne's bed, recently made of course, walking in a circle before laying down.
"Aw, isn't she adorable?" Anne cooed.
"I'll admit, she is cute." Shadow admitted with a nod. "Now, I suggest you get some sleep, Anne. Training starts fresh in the morning."
"You've got it!" Anne saluted.
The next morning, Shadow woke up with a yawn, rubbing his face before making to lean up, only to feel his arm stuck to something, looking down to see cobwebs wrapped around his arm.
"What the?" He looked around to see the inside of his hut.
"What in the world?!" He gasped, quickly tearing his arm free from the cobweb before looking running over to Anne's bed, pulling the covers off, and there Anne was, sleeping soundly with Domino 2 also sleeping on her stomach.
"Anne, wake up!" Shadow said, gently shaking his friend.
"Huh?" Anne groaned before opening her eyes to see Shadow looking down at her with a worried expression.
"Anne, are you alright?" Shadow asked, his concern not leaving his face.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, totally." She said with a smile. "Domino 2 just had a bit of a rough first night indoors."
She then yawned and turned over, showing several scratches on the left side of her face.
"Gracious, Anne, you're all scratched up." Shadow grimaced at the side before grabbing a bottle. "Hold still."
Applying the liquid onto a piece of cloth, Shadow gently rubbed it over the scratched side of Anne's face, applying the liquid on the scratch marks.
"This should speed up the healing process." The boy said. "As well as make sure they don't get infected."
As he finished, his hand lingered, boy and girl gazing into each others eyes for a moment, both feeling their hearts pound before Shadow backed away, placing the bottle back on the table.
"Thanks." Anne said, her face turning red.
"No problem." Shadow said. "Though I wish you would have told me if you were having trouble."
"I didn't want to wake you up." Anne replied. "You looked tired and I didn't want to bother you."
This took Shadow by surprise and made him smile, "Well, I appreciate your consideration." He then cleared his throat. "Now, I hope you remember what I told you about cleaning up after your pet."
"Oh, this is nothing, No problem." Anne said as she held up the mouse toy over Domino 2, the caterpillar meowing as she reached up for the toy. "Isn't that right, Domino 2?"
Shadow looked at the caterpillar, Domino 2 looking back at him with those big green eyes as she stared at him, drooling a bit, as though she had hunger in her eyes.
"I'm sure this won't bite me in the ass later." Shadow said nervously, before the caterpillar sprayed a sheet of web all over his chest. "Hey!"
"That's just how she says 'I love you'." Anne said before kissing the caterpillar on the top of her head, Shadow looking back in annoyance.
The next few days were pretty normal. Shadow built a cat tree made of logs, branches and boxes for the caterpillar to hang out on. She seemed happy, popping out of one box and another, somehow, but when Anne looked to see where she'd pop out of next, she saw the caterpillar crawl outside, the Thai girl gasping and running after her before seeing Domino 2 crawl to Shadow's meat shack, where the boy was cutting up and prepping meat, before he took notice of the caterpillar rubbing against his leg, Anne quickly scooping up the little critter, giving an apologetic smile before Shadow gave a cut of meat to the critter, which Domino 2 seemed to enjoy.
The next day, after a tiring day of training, the two humans returned to the shack, both grimacing at the sight of a twitching, dead bug on Anne's bed, the caterpillar turning to them and meowing. Shadow seemed disgusted, while Anne thought it was cute, thinking it was a gift, Shadow still giving her the look that said 'clean this up, I don't want my hut smelling like dead bugs'.
The next day, when Polly was visiting, Domino 2 tried to eat the pollywog, using her web to lower herself over Polly while she was reading a book, mouth wide open, before Anne slipped in and pulled the caterpillar away before Polly could see.
The next day, after some intense training, the two humans went back inside the hut, Anne cringing but smile at Domino 2's second gift, this time a large pile of dead and mangled bugs on her bed.
Shadow was cooking dinner when he looked to see Anne spinning around while holding the caterpillar, laughing. He couldn't help but smile at this. Sure, Domino 2 was a troublemaker, but it was worth it to see Anne smile.
'Not to mention her smile is so cute.' He thought to himself, before his eyes widened in realization. 'Wait, did I just think that?'
He wasn't going to lie; he did find Anne cute, attractive even. But he quickly shoved those thoughts away, not wanting to take advantage of her situation because of his personal feelings before resuming cooking. Anne was happy and that's all that mattered.
The next day, Shadow and Anne were getting ready to go out for training, before taking a look at Domino 2, who was laying on Anne's bed, throwing a dead fly up before eating it.
"This seems to be working out better than I thought." Shadow admitted.
The caterpillar yawned before laying down, spinning some cobwebs around her lower body, closing her eyes as she began snoring softly.
"It's all worth it when you get to watch your adorable little boo take a nap." Anne sighed happily.
"I'll admit, she is pretty cute." Shadow nodded.
"Welcome, brother, to the church of cute." Anne said, wrapping an arm around her mentor.
"Is this cult related?" Shadow asked with a raised brow. "But enough. Let's get out there and get busy."
Nodding, Anne followed him to the door before stopping to take one more look at Domino 2, sighing happily.
"Sleep tight, my precious baby angel."
She then closed the door behind her, going after Shadow, not noticing how Domino 2's head was soon covered in webbing.
Down in the clearing, Anne and Shadow were exchanging sword swings, Anne seeming to get the better of Shadow, her onslaught forcing him to step back, before he did something unexpected; tossing the sword up in the air, he dodged several more of Anne's swings before catching the weapon with his right hand, now returning the favor with his own relentless onslaught, forcing Anne to step back and defend, before he tripped her up, the Thai girl falling to the ground.
"Whoa, that was sudden!" Anne said in surprise. "I was pushing you back, then all of a sudden, this!"
"Well, my right hand is my more dominant hand." Shadow chuckled before helping her up. "When we first started, I was holding back, as to not overwhelm you. Ease you into it, ya know?"
"Makes sense." Anne said before the two sat on a bench.
"A little somethin' for your troubles?"
The two humans look to see Hop Pop arrive with two apples. Smiling, they accepted the fruit.
"Much appreciated, HP." Anne said before biting into the apple.
"Don't call me HP." Hop Pop said before turning to Shadow. "And I left the kids outside your hut, and told them not to go in until you return."
"They didn't want to watch us train?" Anne asked.
Hop Pop only shrugged, before Anne saw a group of wasps flying overhead, "Look out!"
The wasps flew over them before beginning to pollinate the giant flowers.
"They…didn't come at us?" Anne said in confusion.
"Anne, just because some insects are big and scary lookin', doesn't mean they always wanna kill us." Hop Pop explained. "More often then not, they're just defending themselves or their homes; no different from us."
"You're absolutely right, Hop Pop." Shadow agreed with a nod.
Anne watched the wasps fly off, thinking, before turning to the older frog, "Hey, Hop Pop. Is there any reason a wasp would attack a caterpillar?"
Hop Pop put a hand to his chin, "There really shouldn't be, unless it was a coastal killapillar. They're dangerous amphibivores that start off cute and cuddly little caterpillar before transforming into a vicious monster."
Anne froze, looking at her mentor, who seemed to be thinking the same as her right now. Was Domino 2 really in danger? Or were the wasps protecting themselves from Domino 2?
"These killapillar's you speak of," Anne said. "They wouldn't happen to have black fur with white spots, would they?"
Thinking for a moment, Hop Pop answered, "No, they're usually all black."
Anne sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead, but Hop Pop wasn't finished, "when they're still younglings. They don't get the spots till they were about to go through metamorphosis into their killing form."
Anne gasped in horror, Shadow giving a stare of terror, which the old frog noticed, "Wait, why do you ask?"
Rather than answer, the two humans turned and ran, darting towards the hut, seeing Sprig and Polly sitting on a bench pushed up against the wall of the hut.
"Guys, you didn't go in, did you?" Anne asked, worry in her voice.
"No, why?" Sprig said, alarmed by the Thai girl's tone.
The two humans swung the door open and gasped at the sight of Domino 2's cocoon, split open upon Anne's bed where she was sleeping, the cocoon letting out a green mist that seemed to give off a horrible smell.
"What the heck is that?" Anne asked in shock, before frantically looking around for her pet. "Domino 2, where are you? Baby precious!"
"Shadow, you let her have a killapillar in here?!" Hop Pop demanded.
"I didn't see the harm in it!" Shadow replied. "I thought it was a regular caterpillar!"
Suddenly, there was a loud animal shriek, causing the three inside to stand closer together, Shadow with his sword at the ready.
Suddenly, a dark figure with red eyes swooped down, letting out a roar as the figure was revealed to be a cat-butterfly hybrid creature, with body and wings resembling that of a monarch butterfly and a white feline's head and legs.
The killamoth let out a screeching roar as it bared its claws, making Anne and Hop Pop scream. Upon a closer look, however, Anne realized who it was.
"Domino 2, is that you?" She asked, reaching out, only for Shadow to hold her back.
"Quiet, Anne!" The boy said quietly. "These creatures react violently to loud sound. Back away slowly and quietly.
The three backed away, hoping to reach the door…
"Hey, family! What's happening in here?!" Polly suddenly jumped in the doorway and yelled at the top of her lungs.
Domino 2 roared loudly, making the pollywog scream before flapping her wings, creating a violent gust of wind, sending objects flying everywhere.
"Everybody, get out! Hurry!" Shadow shouted.
The Plantars didn't need to be told twice, running out, Anne made to follow, but looked back at Domino 2.
"Domino 2? It's me; Anne." She said, the killamoth seeming to stop and lowered to the ground. "We bonded. I gave you treats. You gave me dead things." She then gently pressed her hand against Domino 2's head. "Don't you remember?"
Shadow watched in astonishment, thinking that it was actually working. Suddenly, Domino 2 bit down on Anne's arm, drawing blood, making the girl scream in pain before the creature threw her into one of the cupboards.
"Anne!" Shadow yelled in shock, the killamoth crawling out through the front door, the boy running to Annes side before checking her wound.
"That…wasn't play biting." She said in disbelief.
A scream of the Plantars gained their attention, the two looking out to see Domino 2 throwing the three up in the air over and over, toying with them.
"I would like to get off the ride now!" Polly screamed.
"She's gonna bite their heads off as soon as she's done toying with them." Shadow said.
"Toying with them." Anne repeated before she lit up with an idea. "Wait a second. I just thought of something!" She looked up at her teacher. "Can you keep her busy? Don't hurt her, just keep her attention!"
Shadow seemed unsure, but decided to trust her, "I'll do my best not to do her harm, but do hurry."
While Anne ran back inside, Shadow rushed over, jumping and catching the Plantars before landing with grace. Setting the Plantars at a safe distance, Shadow took a defensive stance as the killamoth approached.
"Domino 2, I assured Anne I wouldn't hurt you." The boy warned. "Please don't make me a liar."
Domino 2 roared, the boy bracing himself.
"Hey, Domino 2! Over here!"
Shadow saw Anne standing outside the hut, her arm covered in blood, and holding up the mouse toy and shaking it over her head. Hearing the rattling, Domino 2 turned her head, her eyes lighting up at the sight, growling as she turned to charge.
"Oh crud."
Anne turned and ran as fast as she could, trying to stay ahead, as the killamoth flew after her, Shadow speeding past the flying creature and easily catching up, catching Anne before she would fall over a cliff overlooking the forest. Both turned as Domino 2 landed, blocking any attempt to escape.
"Shadow, I'm so sorry for this." Anne said, tears in her eyes. "I thought I could change her, make her more like my cat. But I guess I was wrong."
"Anne, it's okay. I understand you miss your cat." Shadow said sympathetically, his eyes not leaving the creature. "Not a day goes by where I don't miss Cutter. But it's time to let Domino 2 go."
Nodding sadly, Anne took one more look at Domino 2, before crying out, "It's time to go!"
And with that, she threw the mouse toy off the cliff, Domino 2 diving after it, disappearing into the forest below. The two humans looked out to the forest below, Anne holding onto Shadow for support.
"Sayonara, Domino 2." Anne said sadly.
"I'm sorry it didn't work out in the end, Anne." Shadow said, gently rubbing her arm. "If you want, I can find that toy for you."
Anne only threw her arms around the boy, sobbing into his shoulder, the boy returning the hug, rubbing her back and whispering it was going to be okay.
"And look who's stuck cleaning up after the pet!" Hop Pop yelled as he pulled another piece of cobweb off of Polly. "Hop Pop, that's who!"
Just then, Shadow and Anne had returned, the boy still holding the Thai girl.
"Hey," Anne said in a melodic depressed tone.
"Anne, Shadow, you're okay!" Sprig said, happy to see his friends.
"Tell me that thing is gone!" Polly yelled, pointing her little flipper at them.
"Yes, it's gone." Shadow nodded, looking at Anne with a sad look.
"I'm so sorry, you guys." She said. "I had no right to put you all in danger, no matter how much I miss my cat. I hope you understand."
Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder and hugged her close, the girl returning the hug. Sprig shared the same sentiment, while Polly just looked at them blankly.
Hop Pop, on the other hand, didn't seem to be having any of it, "Understand?" He then threw his head up. "Understand?!"
The two humans braced themselves for a lecture, only for Hop Pop to look at them with big eyes with bottled tears.
"I miss Charlie Big Bottom with all my heart and soul!" He cried before finally bawling his eyes out, hugging onto the human's legs, Anne giving Shadow a confused look.
"A pet spider they had." He whispered, gently patting the old frog's head.
The next day, Shadow and Anne spent the majority of the day cleaning up the cobwebs and fixing up the furniture left behind from the Domino 2 incident yesterday. Shadow then pulled something out from under his bed and held it under his cloak, looking to see Anne sweeping up some of the cobwebs.
"You holding up okay, Anne?" The boy asked.
"Yeah, I'll be okay." She said, setting the broom down and sitting on her bed. "Well, just goes to show ya. You can't take some wild animal you found in the woods, have it live in your basement, and think everything's gonna be okay."
Shadow smiled before walking over and sitting next to her, "Well, sometimes it works out. I took you in, after all."
Anne looked at her side of the hut before smiling.
"You know, I'm surprised that you didn't kill her on the spot." Anne said. "Why didn't you?"
"I saw how happy that critter made you." Shadow explained. "It warmed my heart to see you smile, and I didn't want to make you sad by killing Domino 2."
Anne seemed surprised at this, but smiled at such consideration.
"Anyways, here." Shadow then pulled something from his cloak.
Looking at it, Anne saw with surprise that it was a well made doll of Domino 2 with button eyes.
"Sprig helped my with collecting the hairballs for the fur." Shadow explained, giving her the doll.
Anne looked at it blankly for a moment, Shadow's expression falling into a frown.
"You hate it, don't you?" He said before sighing. "It's ugly, isn't it? Here, I'll take it back-"
"I LOVE IT!" Anne cried before hugging the doll and Shadow.
Shadow was surprised, but reciprocated the hug nonetheless.
So long as Anne was happy, so was he.