Epilogue: XX??X ?XX Part #2
Aka: the lost bonus chapter
Long ago, before The Finale, before the Hungry Oasis was discovered, before the Goddess created the Kitsune, before the Order of True Silence, but definitely after The Prologue: A housecat awaited the return of her owners.
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Mrs. Floofers sat on her raised throne. Enjoying the spot of sunlight which she was perfectly positioned in. Awaiting the return of her house servants. They had been gone long enough and she required their attention.
The front door opened, and a middle-aged man entered. He kicked off his shoes then walked over to his cat and greeted it, “Aww, who’s the best fluffy kitty!?” he said in a certain tone some might find embarrassing. He scratched at Mrs. Floofers neck and behind her ears. She leaned into it, purring and enjoying the praise.
This distracted Mrs. Floofers from what she had wanted earlier. So she failed to take full advantage of the situation.
A few minutes later, the euphoria had worn off. She recalled her needs and jumped down from her throne to make demands of her servant.
Fortunately, he was near her serving platter. She made her displeasure known, and demanded a fine meal be served this instant.
“Awww, somebody’s hungry?” the human replied. “It’s not time for nom-noms yet, but I guess a quick treat is deserved since we left you alone all day.”
She was uncertain of his ramblings. She had never really needed to understand her servants. Yet now she was disappointed by his actions. He presented only a small offering of “treats”, that word she had understood having learned it quite quickly.
While she was annoyed by his failure, she still enjoyed the treats with great fervor. After she had finished, she was more annoyed that he had not taken the time to fill her serving platter with more substantial offerings.
She explored her domain, to punish the servant. She stopped when she found his shoes in the royal foyer. Ah, this could work as a simple punishment. She could defile his footwear to show her displeasure.
As she began batting the shoes around the room, a certain smell caught her nose. It reminded her of some ‘treats’ she had found outside and enjoyed chasing around. These small treats could move quickly, and their small size made them a challenge.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
She sniffed the sole of the shoe, finding the source. Then began licking it. It was surprisingly tasty, more savory than the standard fare available outside. She would have to encourage her servants to find more of these.
[You have gained the skill: Energy Drain]
[Your title Intelligent Pet has improved to: Awakened Beast]
She rolled over in pleasure from the praise of the blue boxes; they had always been the highlights of the week when they arrived. Informing her of how great she is.
As she looked over the details, she was surprised to find she understood more of their contents than usual. She disliked the details of the second box, it seemed to almost be insulting. However, she remembered how important her [Intelligent Pet] title had been, so any improvement could only be a good thing.
The other blue box seemed much more interesting. She had never earned a skill before. This one seemed quite powerful if she understood it correctly. She had never thought herself as needing more power, but she found it satisfying to imagine ruling over a larger Queendom.
Mrs. Floofers looked around her current domain. It was quite nice. Plenty of sun beams to lie in, plenty of raised thrones to monitor her domain from. It even had a small grassy courtyard around it, which she enjoyed a casual hunt in.
Even the duchies around her were very tolerable. No rivals gave her trouble when she was out on a hunt. She really couldn’t ask for a more comfortable domain.
She thought about when she was first brought to this domain. It had many smaller servants, in addition to her current ones. Those servants were unreliable. Some of the little gremlins preferred to test her patience and mercy regularly. She had always made sure to strike them with at least one claw to mark them with her displeasure.
Considering how devoted and reliable her two current servants were. She threw out the idea of managing more. It was not worth the risk of more unmanageable hellions occupying her domain.
She returned to her high throne, the one directly in sunlight at this time of day and fell asleep.
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A few weeks later. One of her servants announced that a new neighbor had moved in. With something called a ‘Dog’. Mrs. Floofers paid the news no mind. Almost more annoyed that she now understood more of her servant ramblings, they seemed to discuss so much in her presence, as though she were interested in their day-to-day peasant behavior.
That night, a horrific disturbance arrived just outside her domain. Some beast was shouting and screaming outside. A never-ending torrent of ‘Bark’ and ‘Woof’. Even her servants were disturbed, and complained loudly about the new neighbors, and their 'Dog'.
Well, Mrs. Floofers, thought to herself. Perhaps she did have a use for this [Energy Drain] skill after all. How fortunate.
End of Epilogue