Chapter 60.4

Surprisingly, Tadhgán stepped forward without hesitation, something Amara was silently relieved about. Despite every fiber of her being screaming that this was simply a chance to cuddle with a cute kitty in a pile of blankets, she couldn’t shake some of Tadhgán’s earlier warning about denizens of The Wilds.After joining Ciara at the soft, cuddle throne she’d created within the pile, Tadhgán turned to sit down. He leaned back against the blankets behind him, kicking out his feet as he attempted to make himself comfortable. After a silent nod to indicate his readiness, Ciara responded by once again dropping to all fours before jumping into Tadhgán’s lap. Upon landing, she spun around in a slow, lazy circle as she tried to find the best place to lay down.

She paused. Another circle. Then a third. Then a fourth. A few seconds of gentle kneading around Tadhgán’s abdomen, then finally she curled up and laid down.

Mere seconds later, she jumped back up.

“Nope. Too stiff, too muscly, too unyielding in purpose.” Ciara’s words seemed unusually biting for a thing as silly as cuddling, and she hopped off Tadhgán with a thinly disguised scowl on her face. “Next!

Amara looked at Vee, and with a tiny series of micro-expressions, asked, “You or me?”

A quick nod, then a gentle squeeze of their hands, and Vee stepped forward. “I’m honored for a chance to spend time with you, Ciara.”

For a second, Amara swore she saw Ciara roll her eyes, but it happened so quickly she couldn’t be certain. Soon enough, Vee had made herself comfortable in the cuddle pile and invited Ciara to join in. This time, instead of hopping in Vee’s lap, Ciara stepped slightly higher to lay on her side atop Vee’s chest. It didn’t take her as long to find this spot, although she briefly adjusted herself several times after laying down.

In the end, just like before, she gave up rather quickly. “Better, a bit more novel, even, but no. Too fractured, too indecisive,” Ciara said, looking over at Amara.

As Vee stood up, she shared a look of confusion with Amara, but neither dared speak it aloud. Instead, Amara smiled at her girlfriend as they exchanged places. With a quick heel turn, Amara fell effortlessly into place amidst the cuddle pile, only shifting briefly to give her tail space to wrap around before resting in her lap. While she understood that it was in their best interest to be as un-cuddlable as Vee and Tadhgán apparently were, some small part of her pride desperately wanted the approval of this adorable little cat.

Ciara wasted no time hopping into place atop Amara’s lap. Up close, with an even better view of this adorable creature, she couldn’t help but internally gush at how cute she was. Her little whiskers twitched in curiosity as she circled around, and when she stepped a little higher on Amara’s chest, the patches of white fur that covered her feet brought an uncontrollable smile to Amara’s face.

When their feline host finally laid down, she did not curl into a ball or turn on her side. It was a very proper movement, one that kept her completely upright, and her pupils quickly dilated. “Oh. Oh. Isn’t this interesting. You’re so warm, like a little ball of burning coals, and there’s such passion in you!”

As much as she wanted to playfully gloat at Vee, Amara held her tongue. “Uh, thank you, Ciara. Was that all? Or…”

A soft paw reached over and gently rubbed Amara’s shoulder. “Oh, nononono, I must know more! We must experiment further!” Ciara spoke with previously unseen excitement as she jumped off Amara’s chest. One more jump brought her to the edge of the large bowl in the center of the room, at which point she stared at the massive, fluffy white pillow. She pointed off to her left and spoke with a stern hiss, “OUT!”

To Amara’s surprise, the item she’d previously thought was a furry pillow suddenly stirred to life. It leapt out of the bowl in a frenzied panic, revealing itself to be a hare-like creature that simply had an extraordinarily fluffy coat. It ran to the far wall, briefly turned to look at Amara, then spoke two simple words.

“Thank you!” The hare’s squeaky voice shook with emotion, its tiny chest pounding as it tried to catch its breath. Small tears pooled in its eyes, and by the time they had fallen to the fluffy moss floor, the creature had fled the clearing.

“Amara! Join me here!” Ciara said, turning back with an uncomfortably eager look in her eyes.

Nervous about what this creature might have meant, Amara nonetheless knew she had to fulfill her end of the bargain before the creature would let them pass. Nodding quickly, Amara climbed over the rim of the bowl and allowed herself to tumble into the nest contained within. Even more so than the pile of blankets, socks, and pillows she’d just left, this bowl was filled with a variety of items that Amara found irresistibly comfortable. She didn’t even fully understand half the things she now rested on, but it was as if she’d fallen headfirst into a world of comfort she’d never previously thought possible.

Naturally, Ciara joined her in the nest as soon as she’d settled in. The cat curled up in Amara’s lap, then quickly stretched out before wriggling her way higher. Soon, she’d draped herself over Amara’s chest, and her small, fluffy head was nuzzled into Amara’s neck.

“Ohhhhhhh, yes, that’s it. The warmth, the zeal. I can feel every fiber of your being; I can smell how perfectly you can mirror the desires of those around you…” As Ciara cuddled even closer, soft purring began to underline her every word. “More, I must have more! I feel wings, powerfully warm wings, hiding from me! Fear not of damaging my home, your flames will have no ill effects here!”

Ciara’s passion was starting to unnerve Amara, but she figured she might as well do as she was asked. A burst of hellfire soon erupted from her back, bringing forth massive, leathery wings that Amara gently wrapped around herself and Ciara.

Her purring grew even louder, and her own tail darted back to wrap around Amara’s. Getting the hint, Amara shifted her tail closer, ultimately using the tip to pet behind Ciara’s ears. That final piece seemed to pull the entire experience together, as every muscle in Ciara’s body suddenly went limp. She continued purring, her tiny, fluffy body humming and vibrating to an almost comical degree. Likely on the edge of passing out entirely, Ciara softly whispered, “Just… one nap…”

“How long do your naps last, Ciara?” Amara whispered back, worried about their mission.

“The last time… I went to sleep… was… was…” Ciara yawned, her mouth opening wider than seemed possible. “Was when the river swam the other way…” With those final words, Ciara’s purring shifted slightly in tone, and Amara knew for certain she was asleep.

“Um, Tadhgán?” Amara asked. “How frequently does the river change direction?”

She heard a brief rustle of moss as Tadhgán stepped closer. “If I remember correctly, my great grandad used to tell stories of the time the river switched paths. That was back when he was a tiny pup, mind you.”

“What?!” Vee gasped. “That might take generations, Tadhgán! We don’t have time for that!”

“I realize that…” he muttered. “Thinking about it, however, she didn’t technically say the nap had to be completed for our deal to be honored. Now that she’s asleep, we might be able to just walk away.”

“You’re absolutely sure?” Amara asked. “I’m not going to be cursed or whatever?”

“I’m beyond confident you’ll be fine, Amara,” Tadhgán said. “Besides, despite our proximity to the Courts, this isn’t the realm of a faerie.”

With Tadhgán’s reassurance, Amara took a deep breath before attempting to sit up. As she tried to move, however, she immediately noticed that her body wasn’t reacting the way she was used to. Her arms, legs, and tail seemed perfectly fine, but any attempt to move her body failed.

“Um, guys? I think we have a problem.”

Vee appeared at the edge of the bowl, looking down at Amara. “What is it, love?”

“I can’t move. It’s like Ciara has turned into some kind of, I don’t know, immoveable object. It’s not that she’s heavy, I can still breathe perfectly fine, but it’s literally impossible for me to shift her around.”

“Maybe it’s a magical thing?” Vee wondered, pushing Amara’s wings aside to get a better view. “Like, maybe since you’re the cuddle target, you’re compelled to not change things?” Leaning down into the bowl, Vee tried to scoop Ciara off Amara’s chest, only to face the same exact problem. “Okay, nope, she’s really stuck there.”

“Alright, well, I’ve got one last trick up my sleeve.” Amara craned her neck to look over at Vee and Tadhgán. “We know which wall is the exit, right? I’ll try to teleport out, then hopefully we can bounce before Ciara jumps on me or whatever.”

Before stepping towards the exit, Vee leaned over the rim of the bowl and kissed Amara on the cheek. “You’ve got this, love!” she whispered.

Amara closed her eyes, tapped into her inner hellfire, and allowed the flames to consume her. She fell through and beside the bowl of comfort, away from the cat pinning her down, and within the blink of an eye, appeared next to Vee and Tadhgán again. After confirming that Ciara had not somehow come with her, she allowed herself a sigh of relief as she grabbed Vee’s hand.

“No! MY CUDDLES!!” Ciara shouted, her head popping up from the bowl again.

“Time to go!” Tadhgán shouted, dashing through the wall of shrubs, vines, and bushes behind them. Amara quickly dismissed her wings, then her and Vee followed suit, all while the last screams and hisses of protest echoed behind them.

“THAT’S NOT FAIR! COME BACK!!”

Ciara’s cries faded into the background, quickly replaced by the rustling of leaves as the group raced to the other side of the boundary. The still, warm air of the cat’s domain vanished into memory as they finally emerged on the other side. Amara ran for another dozen feet before turning to look back, just to be safe, but thankfully Ciara didn’t seem interested in leaving her home.

With a wide smile, Vee jumped into Amara’s arms and gave her a kiss. Equally happy to be free, Amara spun her girlfriend around a few times before Tadhgán spoke up beside them.

“See, that’s why I hate cats. No wolf would ever do something like that.”

His words brought another smile to Amara’s face, and before long all three of them shared a bout of laughter. They’d successfully made it through, and it was time to continue their journey. The Wilds, however, were in no mood to be predictable, and their very next surprise presented itself the moment they turned around to stare down the path forward.