Jólakötturinn:

He hated guard duty.

After the two failed attempts to catch the girl, who he had just discovered to be a Human, Jóla received a thorough scolding from Grýla. That stung because the witch was basically a second mother to him.

Well, to him and his brother, but he really didn't want to think about that ungrateful furball. Not now, not ever.

Well, he didn't matter. Jóla screwed up, got pissed on, and fled from the Human. And now, he was being punished.

However, that might be an over-exaggeration. The Cat preferred darker, cozier spaces, but the open field had perks. The gentle breeze ruffled his black fur. There was a wide enough space for him to jump, run, and roll as much as he could.

Yeah, Jóla could think of worse fates.

The Cat was blissfully resting a few meters before the lair, curled into a ball. Thankfully, the sun was still sending its first rays, so it wasn't a bother for the feline.

He also had the benefit of living with a family of noisy Ogres, so he could hear their steps from miles away and pretend that he was awake the whole time when they checked on him.

However, Jólakötturinn was not in the sleeping mood, weirdly enough. Maybe it was the humiliation the girl made him go through, or Grýla's scolding had stuck with him more than he realized.

The sky was extra beautiful today. The previously dark color that painted it was slowly replaced by tones of orange, and the stars faded away.

The Cat now regretted not being outside more often. Hey, there was even some funny light dot on the ground.

Hmmm... A light dot...?

It was so small, almost negligible, especially compared to him. However, it glimmered so brightly amidst the poorly lit grass. It practically called his name...

What if he... gave it a little nudge?

Jóla was about to gently press the mote of light with his right paw, but when he touched the ground, the dot moved to a distant spot on his left in a split second!

How was it doing that? Was it alive? A Monoke, perhaps? He wouldn't get any answers if he couldn't catch the sneaky light.

Maybe it was only a matter of speed. He heard somewhere that light was naturally pretty fast. Probably not as fast as he, though.

Jólakötturinn crouched and prepared himself for an ambush. His powerful hind legs catapulted him towards the alluring dot!

The impact even made a tiny crack in the ground, but... no dot. Damn it!

The Cat rotated his head in search of that light again. However, he ultimately found nothing on the ground.

On the ground...

Jóla's left eye twitched after being hit by something. He jumped back a bit, assuming it was the seemingly living light playing tricks on him.

When the Cat gazed at the dark woods around the field, he saw something glimmering amidst the trees. It must be it.

Jóla hesitated. Following something unknown through the darkness was not a very good idea. Who knows what would happen if he followed the light?

Bah! What was he so afraid of?! He was Jólakötturinn, by Tizohi's antlers! Everyone in these woods feared him! He was the apex predator of the Ganvi Woods (if you don't count the adult Ogres).

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The thing was, there was nobody in these woods that could pose a threat to him. So he was going catch that light, damn it!

The Cat steeled his resolve and posture and ran towards the woods! The shimmering light became brighter with each passing moment. He could almost grasp it!

There it was, sticking on a tree trunk.

He didn't hesitate and jumped on the tree, smashing the dot with his paws! This impulsive act made the sturdy plant tilt, and a few of its roots became unburied.

Jóla took his paws off the dot, and... it wasn't there anymore.

What?

Cats are exceptional at seeing in the dark, but not even that perk helped him find his prey. So what? Could it turn invisible, too?!

Before his frustration could escalate, something hit his right shoulder. Jóla immediately turned his attention to whatever did this to him, assuming it was the light again.

He had found a light, alright. However, it wasn't the same one. A faint green light came from a tiny object, as small as the dot he was chasing.

The Cat gently hovered his paw over the object. He rolled it for a few seconds as a form of entertainment. He got bored really fast.

But there was a question that plagued his mind. What did it smell like?

Jólakötturinn lowered his head and started sniffing the curious object. A grave mistake.

Because the moment the Cat went to answer his own question, a strong smell came from the spherical object all at once. It hit Jóla's nostrils like a charging bull.

His itching nose was soon replaced by another feeling. Numbness.

The world around the Cat revolved more and more by the second. He decided to lie down to mitigate the effects of the weird object. However, that only made the Monoke more lethargic.

After a few seconds, his senses became... heightened. Jóla felt like he could feel, hear, and smell each speck of dust, each bit of moss stuck on the trees and rocks.

Before he realized it, the Cat wasn't resisting anymore. He decided to remain limp on the ground.

Actually, Jóla recognized both the smell and the effects. Someone had catnipped him.

Who would do such a thing? That question remained at the back of the black Cat's mind.

However, he was too high to care.

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Stella:

"Did you just make the Cat high?"

Stella and the Knight had just exited the denser part of the Ganvi Woods, finally arriving at the open field surrounding the Ogres' lair.

A massive rock with a gigantic entrance. A fittingly intimidating lair for those freaks.

The Human had to admit, the hero's tactic was neat, if not a tad silly. The Historical Projector™ also had a laser pointer feature, which easily fooled the Cat and made him vulnerable to the Knight's Pacifier Bomb™.

The name sucked ass. No further comment.

The Knight scoffed at the girl's question. "That's such a crude way of saying!" He then stopped walking to give a short lecture to the girl. "My apparatus contained a special gas which had a chemical compound that puts feline Monoke like him in a deeply relaxed state." He made over-exaggerated gestures and body language to get his point across.

Stella only stared at him with a deadpan expression. "So you made him high."

The Knight sighed, and his shoulders slumped. "Fine. It's not inaccurate."

The girl smiled at this small victory and then turned her head toward the dense woods they crawled out of. "Are you sure this is the right call? Won't you get in trouble for that little stunt?"

The hero waved his hand. "You don't need to worry about me. Besides, I only gave the Cat a good time! Totally legal!"

Then he passed his hand through the back of his helmet. "Also, I need to be sure you're fine here while I fetch Lien."

Stella felt a little twinge of betrayal in her heart. That bastard wouldn't do this to her, would he?

"Dude, what the hell?! You told me that I was gonna rescue Lien with you!" The girl lashed out.

The Knight held his hands in a placating gesture. "I told you that you were going to follow me. Look, we don't know what these Ogres will do to you if they know you're with me!"

Stella was at a loss for words. She clenched her fists and teeth and tried to shake away the overwhelming urge to at least kick that guy's knees.

It was a difficult task. However, after a minute, Stella managed to slowly dissolve her frustration with deep breaths.

In. Out. In. Out. In...

That was it. The Human unclenched her fists and softened her scowl.

"Where am I going to hide? In the bushes?" Stella's voice still contained that underlying aggression.

The Knight pulled his holographic keyboard again, and after pressing a few buttons, a screen with some numbers appeared. It was hard to read from Stella's perspective, but judging by the ever-changing numbers, it was a timer.

"We still have plenty of time until the effect of the Pacifier Bomb™ wears off." He turned off the keyboard. "So you only need to wait at the entrance. Is that okay with you?"

"No." Stella huffed. "But I guess it's our only way to getting Lien back. So..." She took a deep breath. "Let's go with your plan."

The hero flashed a thumbs up. "Alright! I knew I could count on my first and favorite sidekick!"

Stella scoffed at this attempt to cheer her up. You can't win them all.

"Let's get this over with."