Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Family Bonds ❯ Interlude One: Damian's Story ( Chapter 17 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Ashling, Liam, Damian, Nixx, and Holly sit in the Phoenix’s back yard around a fire on old towels. Two tents stand erect about ten feet away from the fire with a bucket of water near each one.

“I have a story.” Damian says. “And it’ll be better than Nixx’s story about his dream of a city of gay people.”

Nixx grins.

“I want no interruptions while I’m telling my story, because I’ll lose my train of thought if someone does.” Damian tells them. “And it’s a true story and perfect for our upcoming favorite holiday- Halloween.” He pauses for a moment. “I was nine when I first moved here to Virginia and at that time I lived out on a gravel and dirt road off of Callaway Road somewhere. And it was past Holly’s house too. Anyway, there was this one place along our road that everyone avoided like the plague. It looked like an ordinary dirt driveway with a black iron gate that had two black cats made of stone on either side. And the sentry cats had these creepy green jeweled eyes that made it seem like they watched you. And there was always cats sitting around or on that gate that just sat there and watched people. I could never get the cats to come near me and they ran when I approached them. I even tried using treats to get them to come close to me. And then one day I was walking home from school and saw the three bullies in the neighborhood all huddled around something…”

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A nine-year-old Damian walks down a gravel road carrying his backpack and purple jacket. Up ahead he spots three older boys all crowded around something on the side of the road. The sound of a kitten mewing reaches his ears as he gets closer and he stops and narrows his eyes.

Without really thinking about it, Damian grabs a couple of the larger pieces of gravel from the road and throws them one by one at the boys, who swat them away and then start in on Damian. But then a bunch of cats, mostly black ones, come out of the woods and sit and stare at the boys they grow nervous and flee.

“That’s right, you better run!” Damian yells after them. (Ashling giggles, but refrains from commenting.) “Jerks.” He mutters before he walks over to the side of the room and carefully picks up the little black kitten on the side of the road.

The cats who scared off the guys remain where they are, carefully watching Damian to make sure he doesn’t do anything. Some of the cats have disappeared back through the gate.

“You poor thing.” Damian murmurs. “I’m going to take you home and make sure you’re alright since I don’t know where you live. Unless…” He spots a black color around the kittens neck and checks the small name tag on it. “Salem Winchester, 13 Blackwater Road…” He gulps and looks at the gated driveway across from him. “Y-you live there, kitty?”

The kitten mews.

“Oh man…”

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“So I took the kitten home.” Damian says. “I was too scared to even try to take the kitten to his owner and the cats who scared away the boys were still all staring at me and that creeped me out even more.

“Anyway, I kept the kitten for a few days to make sure it was okay and I had to work up my courage to take him to that house. Then I put the kitten in a basket with a toy and walked down the road to take the kitten back…”

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Damian walks down the road carrying a small basket with the kitten inside it playing with a toy mouse. “Okay, I just need to open the gate and walk down the driveway, ring the doorbell and give her back the kitten and then go home.” He says to himself. “But what if she invites me in? I don’t want to seem rude but I really don’t want to go in either. And what if-”

A chuckle cuts him off and Damian jerks his head over to the driveway that usually just has cats to see an elderly woman with long silver-white hair standing at the open black gate.

“Hello young man, I believe you have someone who belongs to me. Although technically he’s my younger brother’s.” She says kindly.

“Y-yeah.” Damian stutters, trying to make his feet move toward her to give her the basket. He doesn’t succeed.

The woman smiles in understanding. “It’s okay. Come with me, I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

Now Damian tries to make his feet stop moving and not follow her. Again he fails. And a part of him is curious. ‘How does she know?’

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“Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind since I couldn’t even control my own feet. But I didn’t say anything and just kept going. And it was weird, the cats followed us down the driveway and up onto the porch before they all ran off. All of them were black cats, dark colored tabby’s, and dark colored Abyssinian mixes.

“So we’re out the porch and she asks me to sit down and then she goes inside and all these cats come running out the door. There had to have been eight different breeds in that group. But anyway, I’m sitting in a wicker chair that’s by a table that matches and this large, fluffy, orange cat comes out of nowhere and jumps into my lap and lays down and takes a nap. So then I’m stuck there in the chair and can’t move. It’s about this time she comes back out with a tray of tea and cookies and she just chuckles when she sees the cat. The cat’s name was William, if you wanted to know.” He adds. “And then we started talking.”

Damian pauses to catch his breath and review mentally what he’s said so far. “Lets see.. I had to have stayed there for hours just talking to her and listening to her stories about the crazy things her cats have done and some stuff about her three brothers and I told her about my old adventures in Domino City. It was dark out by the time I got home that night. And for the next week I’d stop by to see her every day after school and stay until dusk. I didn’t learn very much about her during that time, but I learned a lot about her cats and knew all their names and could recognize each one of them. I’d take the time to describe what they look like and tell their names, but we’d be up all night if I did that.” He pauses for a moment. “Five of the cats she got from her uncle who shared my name and every cat except for three were rescued from shelters. The three not from shelters were purebreds she got from credited breeders.

“The last time I saw her she was acting weirder than usual. I will always remember the exact words she said to me…”

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“I have something I need to tell you and something I need to give you.” The woman says. “Listen carefully to what I say and remember it well.” She pauses a moment to make sure Damian is listening. “In less than a year’s time you will meet two special twins who are always together. Never let yourself drift away from them. One day they may save your life. Cherish all of your friends and keep in touch with each of them. Be wary of a hazel-eyed girl who may break your heart one day. Cats will never fail you. Gentle breezes…”

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“… and blessed be.” (1) Damian finishes. “That was what she said to me before she handing me a box a little bigger than a normal sized shoe-box for Ash’s boots. And inside that box… was more boxes. Those boxes had little notes attached to them, and most of them weren’t even for me.” He takes five boxes out of his pocket and reads out loud the note on each one as he hands them to their respective person. “Miss Ashling Leona Phoenix, Mister Liam Joseph Phoenix, Miss Holly Trinity Gull, Mister Nixxuss Gene Lexus, and Mister Damian Cerberus Mizu.”

One-by-one they all open their boxes and pull out what’s inside.

Ashling’s is a black velvet choker with a silver cat with a front paw raised to the right. Liam’s is a matching choker, except his cat is gold and it’s paw is raised to the left. Nixx’s is an armband in the shape of a black dragon that has blue eyes and Holly’s is a gold bracelet in the shape of a dragon with stone amethyst eyes. Damian’s is a pair of silver earrings made to look like cats claws.

“Cool!” Nixx exclaims.

Damian looks thoughtfully at the earrings he got. “After that day I never saw her or any of her cats again. When I was walking home from school the next day there wasn’t even a sign of a driveway or gate ever being there. There were no statues, there was no gate, no smoke curling above the trees, and there were no cats. It’s as if she simply… vanished.”

They’re all silent for a moment.

“Whoever she was, she somehow knew us well.” Nixx comments, trying on the armband.

Holly clips on her bracelet and holds it out to admire it. “Did you ever find out her name?” She asks curiously.

“Ophelia.” Damian says. “Ophelia Hathor Otogi.”

“That’s a pretty name.” Ashling whispers as Holly stands up.

“Maybe one day you’ll have a daughter and can name her that in honor of her.” Liam suggests.

Ashling shrugs. “Maybe.”

“THANK YOU MISS OPHELIA!!!” Holly loudly shouts to the skies.

F-A-M-I-L-Y--B-O-N-D-S--:--I-N-T-E-R-L-U-D-E-S--F-A-M -I-L-Y--B-O-N-D-S--:--I-N-T-E-R-L-U-D-E-S

(1) I wonder if anyone knows where I got this phrase. (Gentle breezes and blessed be.) Although I combined two common phrases.... I'll be surprised if anyone does.

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Shiro: Meh... just a quick break from the actual story line so I can do some catching up one chapters. There's actually going to be quite a few of these if I actually write the one's I've come up with so far. And I've got one for each holiday too... and some other holidays. I may have the Halloween Interlude posted tomorrow if I get it finished.

Gentle breezes! (And stay safe on Halloween, everyone!)