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edwardpinestar · 1 year

Note

Is it okay if I ask for a request for a print someone once asked you? Where in the Shepherd of Los Muertos AU where a rival God kidnaps Puss? And Death comes in, sickles slashing to find his cat chained up and gagged in the God’s grip?

Ooo, I like the request! I was never planning on writing something like this for SoLM, but now I suppose I shall! Hope you enjoy!

The last thing Puss remembered was being at a party. Well, to call it a party would be overly generous- it was more of a gala, with subdued music, quiet conversation in which was a nightmarish minefield of things that would offend to venture, and people dressed far too elaborately to do anything.

Puss himself had been dressed in a restrictive black gown, with a high neckline that tucked underneath his red fabric collar, a tight, corset bodice, with a silver sickle shaped brooch, encrusted with diamonds over the left breast. The sleeves had puffed out at the shoulder in a leg of mutton shape, and tapered tight to his arm at his elbow down, having three, black fabric covered, decorative buttons on the outside of his wrist on both arms. The gown had had several layers of tull petticoats, all black, and a hoop skirt to add extra volume, with the outer skirt, like the rest, being black silk, and the bottom hem having the repeating pattern of a wolf chasing a cat. He'd had a circlet on as well, a dreadful thing made of black twisting metal with blood red rubies.

He woke up somewhere very different to where he'd last been.

The tabby awoke groaning, his mouth as dry as sandpaper, and a headache pounding behind his stinging eyes. His arms were being uncomfortably forced over his head, and he could feel cold manacles aorund his wrists, while he was kneeling on cold ground, his knees aching in protest.

Puss smacked his lips, blearily blinking, and looking around. He was in a small cell, with metal bars in front of him, a single, burning sconce on the wall past those bars. It's flickery light barely reached Puss, leaving him in mostly darkness. The cat was now nude as well, he realised, though it was hardly as consequential as it could've been, if he were humanoid. All he wore was the red collar with a silver tag, and, he discovered with a flex of his left paw, his wedding and engagement ring. No doubt because those items could not be stripped from him.

He did not recongise the cell he was in- when Death had locked him in a similar situation before, he'd been in the usual room he was put in for punishment, but this room... it did not even feel as though it were in Limbo, the air missing the strange stillness distinctive of that realm. Besides, he generally had some kind of warning for punishments. The last thing he remembered was stepping away from the 'party' for a moment.

Puss had been kidnapped, he came to the conclusion of. Who would dare kidnap him, he did not know, but he could tell he had been.

And as if on cue, he heard the click of either heels, or hooves, on stone. His ears perked up, and for a brief moment Puss debated feigning unconciousness, before a heavy wooden door scrapped open, and he decided he'd rather ask questions.

Out into view, stepped a small, brown rabbit, wearing heeled sandals, a crisp white toga, and a gold, leaf crown atop her head. The Goddess of Spring, Puss recongised. He'd heard her be called Vers once or twice by her husband, the God of Fertility, but by the way she'd glared at him for that, it was probably best to stick with Spring.

Spring startled upon seeing him, her green eyes widening for a moment, before setting into something cold and hard. "Lesser Lord," she cooly greeted him by his title alone.

"Lady Spring," Puss returned, voice cracking part way through. He refused to feel embarrassed for it, however- it was her fault for letting him get so dehydrated. "I must say, I was not expecting you."

She half-shrugged, as though agreeing with him. "I was not expecting to be put in such a situation this became necessary," Spring replied. Puss raised an eyebrow, prompting her to speak. "I'm sure you understand, this is far from personal-"

"You hate me, Spring, let's not kid ourselves," Puss interrupted with a roll of his eyes. Spring glared at him, pulling a pair of golden gloves from a hidden pocket in her toga, and slowly pulling them on, one by one.

Spring sniffed haughtily, before going on to speak as if uninterrupted, "You husband has crossed me for the last time. I am sick of his... his constant agression! He's taken too many of my fairies for me to let be."

Puss sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Okay. And so why am I involved?" he asked, "I do not do any reaping." The tabby scoffed as Spring, under her breath, mumbled an insult about him 'being lazy'.

"I am using you to hurt him. I'm luring him in to them kill you in front of him," she replied firmly.

Puss waited a beat, expecting her to say something more, but when she didn't, he burst into cackling laughter. Spring's face morphed into one of offence, but Puss paid that no mind, much to engrossed in his own morbid mirth.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Spring demanded harshly, putting her paws on her hips and striking a more threatening pose.

"Are you stupid?" Puss asked her, looking at her with bemusment. Spring's offence turned into apocolyptic rage. "You must be."

Spring grabbed the bars, and threw open the previously seamless door so hard it banged against the stone wall. Puss flinched away at the lound sound, metal ringing in his ears. The rabbit strode into the cell, and Puss pulled himself up a bit, opening his mouth to say something biting, before he was cut off by Spring slapping him across the face, and then grabbing his chin roughly.

"How dare you speak to me like that, you impudent little half-mortal!" Spring yelled, snarling in his face as her claws dug into the soft underside of his chin. His face stung hot where she'd slapped him, and he knew he'd have a nasty bruise there for a while.

Not much appreciating that, he hissed, both as a cat does, and with words right after, "You are incredibly stupid if you think Death is going to leave you alive after this." While Puss was not generally one to threaten people with Death, he wasn't above it either. Then again, was it a threat, or a warning?

Spring scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He will not kill me," she told him smugly, "I am far too important. Lady Fate would have his disgusting dog head on a platter."

Puss acquiesced with a slight incline of his head, though Spring did not allow him to move far, and tightened her hold of his chin in response. "Did you forget what he did to Lighning?" Puss asked her in a deceptively light tone. By the widening of her eyes, she had, in fact, forgotten.

Death had cut off both of Lighning's hands, after the lower god had decided it would be funny to pretend to be Death and attempt to sleep with Puss. Puss had immediately cottoned on that something wasn't right, as Death had never been so genuinely sweet to him, but had somewhat played along out of curiousity. Death had walked in on it, after Lighning had convinced Puss to go to another room with him, and upon seeing Lightning holding Puss against the wall with his paw underneath the tabby's skirts, had attacked and nearly killed the other god.

It had, in all, been a surprisingly funny affair, in which Life had had to step in and drag Death off of Lightning, and Puss played the terrified and tricked husband. The bite of claim on his shoulder had burned for weeks after, as Death kept re-biting it, and was the only reason Puss regretted going along with it all.

Quite suddenly, Spring slapped Puss again, on the other side of his face, and shouted, "Shut up!" at him. Her eyes were a bit wild, and as Puss flexed his jaw, both sides of his face now stinging, she conjured a gold, silk piece of fabric.

Just as Puss opened his mouth to speak, Spring suddenly shoved the fabric into his maw, and deftly tied it tight at the nape of his neck. "Mggh?"

A low, long howl echoed through, interuppting their now onesided conversation, and both the half-mortal and god perked up at the sound, both of them with apprehension on their faces. Spring swore under her breath, and looked back down at him, expectantly. Puss just shrugged.

She released his chin, and scuttled away from him, brushing her paws against her toga as she ran to the cell door. Spring stopped in her tracks as the wooden door out of view scrapped open. For a tense moment, nothing came of it, both Spring and Puss watching the door, though Puss only able to see the general area of the door, with trepadation.

Cautiously, Spring took a few steps back.

And as if on cue, a sharp, mournful, dangerous whistle filled the air, echoing through the small cell, bouncing off the walls and drilling its way deep under goosebump covered flesh. Puss' fur stood on end, his eyes thin slits, as Spring stumbled back, making distance between herself and the door as fast as possible.

"L-Lord Death-!" she squeaked, panic clear on her face and in her voice. Puss couldn't help but feel a bit vindicated at her fear, though it was mostly overwhelmed by his own, as he watched the wolf step into view.

Death had his hood pulled fully up, shadowing his face, save for his long muzzle and glowing red eyes. His two sickles were held drawn at his side, and he twirled them as the song he whistle dwindled to a stop. The silence hung heavy and thick in the air, before being broken by the greater god, in a deep, angry, rumbling voice, saying, "You have something that belongs to me."

"Heh, do I?" Spring asked, her nervous panic growing more evident by the way she shifted from foot-to-foot as though about to run. It would be futile to try, however, and would likely just make it worse. Never a good idea to tempt a pursuit predator into chase, after all.

Death growled, pulling his lips back in a vicious snarl as he advanced. "Yes." Spring yelped, then darted to the side, only to scream in pain as Death lashed out with a sickle, slicing against her middle and chest, sending her toppling to the ground.

But Death paid the whimpering rabbit no more mind, swiftly closing the distance between himself and the cat, who shrunk back fearfully in teh face of him. "Oh, mi gatito," Death cooed, a far-cry from the deadly monster he'd been before, "Look at you..."

His paw brushed along Puss' cheek, the tabby wincing at the slight pressure on the bruise. Death looked at him with confusion, for a moment, before understanding, followed by pure rage, filled his eyes, and he whirled around with a snarl towards Spring...

Only to find her not there, a trail of golden blood leading out the door in her place instead. Death took a single step forward, before huffing, and sheathing his sickles at his waist with a flourish, before truning back to Puss. He grabbed the chains where they pegged to the wall, and roughly ripped them out, sending particules of stone down onto Puss' head. The cat flinched, squeezing his eyes shut to try and prevent any rubble from getting into them.

He meowed, the noise muffled by the gag, as he was suddenly picked up by the wolf, and cradled to his chest. "There we go amor~ Death crooned, eyes soft in the disgusting facsimile of love, one that made Puss' stomach turn with nausea as sickenly sweet fear wafted off him, no doubt like a drug to the god. "All safe and sound now~"

Puss would, in all honestly, prefer to going back to taking his chance with Spring over this.