"...he is a cat."
The wolf spoke, growling a little when he said the species' name.
Cats were one of the animals he hated most. He thought the very concept of something having 9 lives was absurd.
But unlike the wolf's seriousness, when Davy Jones heard that, anger appeared in his blue eyes, and the tentacles that basically formed a beard on his face writhed, showing that he was very unhappy.
"You mock me?!" His crab claw closed with a loud snap. "A cat? You're trying to send me after a cat?" He growled irritably.
The sailors around still didn't fully understand what was happening, but when they saw their captain furious, they drew their weapons, ready to surround the wolf and finish him.
Death rolled his eyes, irritated by their reactions.
"If Death itself comes to tell you to hunt a cat, I think the least you should do, if you had even a bit of brain, is to not underestimate said cat," the wolf mocked, wondering if water had gotten into their brains from being submerged so many years.
The anger in Davy Jones' eyes eased, and what Death said was indeed logical.
"Fine, I'll kill the cat. But what's the issue with him — did he become immortal and irritate you?" Jones asked, wanting to understand better what he was dealing with.
"Immortal? No, he hasn't reached that point yet." The wolf shook his head, and a trace of amusement appeared on his face. "If it were only that, I wouldn't care so much. No, the most interesting thing about this cat is that I can feel he intends to triumph over me…" Death explained, his glowing red eyes shining with interest.
Death normally didn't like staying or talking in the presence of the living, but everyone on that ship was dead men, and he didn't mind talking a little.
Doubt appeared on Jones' face, and a 'brow' couldn't help but rise.
"Are there not many who try to overcome death and live forever?" Davy Jones asked, confused.
"Hu Hu Hu Hu…"
A low, heavy laugh echoed, with a growl mixed into it, showing both the wolf's amusement and ferocity.
"No, you misunderstood… it's not triumphing by becoming immortal or anything like that. No, it is literally wanting to cross swords with me and defeat me — not by living longer, not out of fear, but simply because he doesn't want to lose to anyone. Isn't it interesting?" The wolf's eyes gleamed. "He doesn't see me as a fearful concept, but as prey… Hu Hu Hu Hu…"
The wolf's laughter grew more ferocious, and increasingly mad.
For Death, who existed since the first life was born, this was the first time it had felt something like this. As a concept, he was very sensitive to people's thoughts about him. When someone had a strong intention directed at him, he could feel it.
As Puss grew, and his strength and skill rose too, he became increasingly fearless against death, and the wolf could feel it.
He could feel the challenge in the cat's gaze, who for some reason, defined him as someone to face — as prey, an opponent he had to fight and defeat to prove himself.
There had never been anyone like that before. It wasn't simple fearlessness of death, but something beyond.
And as the cat's strength only grew stronger, Death became more and more interested in him.
Jones was stunned to hear that.
Someone so crazy was indeed something never heard of before. In fact, it didn't sound sane to hunt Death just to fight it without a real goal.
Because of that, he began taking this absurd target that had caught the attention of the very antithesis of life more seriously.
The wolf looked at Jones' serious face, and a smile appeared on his muzzle.
He immediately turned, put the black hood back over his head, and began to leave.
"Remember what I said, Davy Jones. Kill him — even if it's only once. When the time comes, I'll lend you a hand. Do that... and I'll spare Calypso for messing with the passage of the souls of the sea." The wolf laughed as he departed.
The crew of the Flying Dutchman wanted to stop him, but a terrible aura began emanating from the wolf, which immediately crushed their senses, freezing them in place as the beast departed.
Davy Jones widened his eyes, his heart racing.
'Calypso…'
That cursed name, which he could never forget, which not even ripping his own heart out stopped him from loving.
If before he was only doing this for the sake of doing it, now he would not stop for anything until he killed the cat.
Looking at the wolf with a mixture of anger for threatening Calypso, but also helplessness before such a powerful being — one who didn't even care to sentence a literal goddess — he finally asked something important.
"What is his name?" His question sounded, making the beast stop.
Turning his head slightly to the side, a smile could be seen on his snout.
"His name is Puss in Boots..."
As his voice faded, he resumed walking until his figure was consumed by darkness, disappearing.
The last thing Jones and his men heard before he vanished was a sinister whistle that echoed in their souls.
"Whoooo-ooo-ooo-oooo-ooo..."
…
Very far away, in Far Far Away, Puss, unaware that he had become a target, was in front of the king and queen at the dinner table, feeling a headache.
Standing on his chair with his arms on the dining table, Puss licked at a glass of milk, a strange look in his eyes as he peeked upward. At the moment, his face was clearly visible, since his iconic hat was on the backrest of the chair — after all, it would be rude to dine in someone else's home without taking it off.
Looking forward, seeing King Harold chewing a chicken drumstick as if he were tearing apart an enemy while staring at him with a dark face, Puss quickly lowered his gaze back to his glass of milk.
The two were on opposite sides of the table's head, so each other's reaction was clearly visible to them both.
'Puss in Boots fears nothing… except irritated in-laws,' Puss thought, speeding up his licking.
Fiona and Aurora, on the other hand, had determined faces, and Queen Lillian wore a helpless expression, though not very reluctant.
Fiona looked at her parents, and lowered her utensil back to her plate.
"Father, Mother, I want to see the world, and I want to spend more time with Puss. If we only accompany him when he's not on adventures, knowing him, we'll only spend very little time with him each year. Aurora and I don't want to leave him. We want to stay with him. Vivianne feels the same, but she has children to raise and cannot go on adventures," Fiona spoke firmly, not touching her food.
Aurora beside her nodded frantically, though more timid and not as assertive as Fiona. Not that she hesitated to follow her beloved, but her shy nature made her react like that.
But if someone really tried to separate them, she would be more stubborn than anyone.
King Harold's face darkened at his daughter's words. He stabbed the fish on his plate with his fork, as if the poor thing had killed his mother. Yet his glare wasn't aimed at the fish, but at the cat.
Puss gave him a stiff smile, and couldn't help feeling helpless because of Fiona.
'Ugh! Woman, I suspect you are attacking me with your words too…'
He thought hopelessly, then scratched his neck, embarrassed to be about to steal the daughter the poor king had just gotten back less than a year ago. Not that he was doing it on purpose — but the two girls had stomped their feet and insisted he take them.
Puss didn't resist much, since both girls knew how to fight and defend themselves very well — and he had tested and trained their abilities beforehand. And he was also confident in his own strength and methods to protect them from any harm.
"Harold…" Queen Lillian called her husband, gaining the attention of the irritated man. "You must not stop the children's dreams. Your daughter already suffered too much trapped in a tower; do not make her feel that the very home she just regained is a prison," she said softly, with wisdom.
Harold's stormy face softened a bit, and his gaze went to his daughter, who was looking at him hopefully. Though a 'no' from her father wouldn't stop her, she would feel much better if he gave his blessing.
Harold hesitated when he saw his daughter's pleading look, but then his face hardened again, with his brows furrowed, as he turned to his wife.
"Lillian, how could that be possible? Fiona would never see her home as a prison. Here she is the princess, she can go anywhere in the castle, and do whatever she wants while under our sight, and we protect her. But look where that cat wants to take her — to fight pirates and immortal monsters from ghost legends? What kind of insanity is that?" Harold slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing his fork fiercely at Puss, as if he wanted to skewer him and eat his liver.
Puss's mouth twisted as he drank the milk.
'King, do you hear what you're saying? Not a prison, just a confined place under your supervision… And if you're arguing with your wife, look at her, not me…' Puss tried hard not to roll his eyes, and not to respond.
"Harold!" Lillian frowned at her husband. "Fiona is already grown enough to decide the life she wants to live and who she wants to love. We have no right to dictate that. She has already suffered too much, and it is time she reclaimed a part of the life she lost in that tower," Lillian stated, raising her voice slightly, without losing her grace and queenly bearing — but it was clear she was giving him an ultimatum… the problem was whether her husband noticed that.
Fiona beside her nodded firmly, grateful to her mother for supporting her.
"Father, Mother is right. It isn't Puss who wants to take us — we insisted on going with him. And we had to insist a lot for him to accept," she clarified, defending her beloved. "But Aurora and I want to see the world with him. For years, all I saw of the world was what the tower window allowed me to see, and believe me, it wasn't much."
Her words made her parents' hearts ache, but Fiona continued strong, explaining her motivations.
"Now Puss can take me to see the world my heart always longed to see. The vast endless sea, creatures I never even heard of, legends made flesh, cities, cultures, and different foods. I want to see all of it. And Aurora is no different from me."
She spoke determined and excited, turning to the cat, who slowly lowered his glass of milk, looking into her eyes.
"I want to see those things with Puss." She smiled, her blue eyes shining at him.
A smile grew at the corner of his mouth, and he answered with a firm nod.
They might not have even had their first kiss yet, but after many months together, their hearts were already united as one.
Meanwhile, Harold's mouth twisted seeing the loving look his daughter sent the scoundrel in question. It wasn't enough that he was stealing his daughter, he even had other women, and wanted to take them to dangerous places, which made Harold unwilling to show Puss a good face.
"Lillian, of all men in the world, our daughter had to choose a cat," he grumbled to his wife, trying to throw a jab at the poor feline.
Well, Puss's patience reached its limit at this point.
His slit pupils flashed with amusement as he stared at the king.
"King Harold, don't worry. A cat isn't so bad. I've heard of princesses marrying frogs, and becoming kings and queens."
And he finished with a smile, while winking at him and raising his glass of leche.
"I think a cat isn't the worst option."
Harold, who was only half listening, suddenly turned pale when his mind processed what he had said.