Episode 2– The Cat That Came in From the Cold
1170 Words
The smog over Imp City glowed a poisonous shade of pink, thick with smoke and neon haze. The streets never truly slept; even when the hour was obscene, clubs throbbed with bass, demons screamed from alleys, and the occasional explosion rattled cracked windows.
Daniel stood at the bus stop and ignored all of it. His hood shadowed his face, cloak drawn close to his body. He was a monster among monsters, and yet — he passed unnoticed. That was good.
His eyes drifted up to the battered billboard that loomed over the cracked sidewalk.
> “NOW HIRING: BODYGUARD! Gain Experience, Possible Pay! Apply Inside – Danger Guaranteed!”
A cartoonish doodle of an imp’s red face grinned from the advertisement, one eye a little bigger than the other, thumbs-up crooked.
Daniel’s ears twitched beneath his hood.
They won’t remember my face. But I remember theirs, his mind rumbled. Let’s see what they do… when the monster walks through the front door.
A sulfur wind rattled the busted frame of the bus stop. Daniel adjusted the strap that held the disguised armor under his casual clothes, then strode toward the glass doors of the crooked I.M.P building.
---
The Lobby
Loona hated mornings. She also hated afternoons, evenings, and the very concept of other living things existing near her. But mornings were extra bad.
She sat hunched behind the receptionist desk, gum popping in her mouth, scrolling her phone as if her thumbs could dig her a grave in social media. The glass doors creaked open.
Loona’s ears twitched.
She glanced up—then froze.
The figure in the doorway was huge. Seven feet at least, shoulders broad beneath a cloak. Rain dripped from the hem. A shadow so dense it seemed to suck the light out of the flickering neon behind him.
Her gum almost fell out of her mouth.
Tall. Muscled. Sharp jaw half-hidden beneath stubble. Hood low enough to hide his eyes, but not his ears. Cat ears. Not soft little fuzzy things, but tall and scarred, twitching with a predator’s focus.
“…H-Holy furball,” she muttered before she could stop herself.
The man stepped forward. His voice was low, gravelly, but calm.
“I saw the listing,” he said simply. “I’m looking for work.”
Loona swallowed hard, trying not to visibly wag her tail. She slammed her paw on the intercom.
“Y-Yeah, uh—take the stairs,” she stammered. “Blitz’ll see you. Top floor.”
She shoved her face back into her phone, pretending she wasn’t staring daggers at his retreating back.
“…hot mysterious death-staring vibe,” she muttered under her breath. “…fuck.”
---
The Office
Blitzo sat on his desk with a crayon labeled MARKETING BRAINSTORM clenched in one hand, scrawling over a napkin. The doodle of Stolas with a stick up his ass looked disturbingly detailed.
He looked up just as the massive stranger ducked through the doorway.
“Damn, you’re tall!” Blitzo blurted. “We hiring a bodyguard or a goddamn skyscraper?!”
The figure stopped, silent. The room seemed to shrink around him.
“Wanderer,” the man said finally.
Blitzo slapped the napkin down and hopped off the desk like an excited toddler on sugar.
“Ooooh! Broody mysterious type! Hell yeah, I like it! You’re hired! Welcome to the I Might Protect team—hey, that’s a pun, write that down, Moxxie!”
From the side desk, Moxxie groaned. “No.”
---
Enter Stolas
“Blitzyyyy~! You forgot your lunch again!”
The office door creaked open and Stolas poked his head in, arms full of papers, feathers rumpled. No flowing robes or glittering jewels anymore—just a crooked tie, button-up shirt, and glasses perched on his beak.
Since the trial, since the stripping of his title, he’d been reduced to… this. Secretary. Desk jockey. The once-proud Prince of the Ars Goetia now filed contracts, answered phones, and occasionally brought in donuts.
Blitzo winced. “Ugh, Stolas, don’t announce that in front of new meat—”
Daniel moved before anyone else could react.
The giant dropped to one knee, head bowed. His cloak brushed the floor.
“Sky Kitty,” Daniel rumbled in reverence.
The entire room froze.
“…Excuse me?” Stolas blinked, feathers puffing.
“You,” Daniel said, eyes still downcast. “You walked the stars once. You are a Sky Kitty. I am… a Land Kitty.”
Loona choked on her gum. Moxxie smacked his forehead. Blitz’s jaw hit the floor, then curled into a manic grin.
“Oh my f*****g Satan—yes. YES! Sky Kitty and Land Kitty! This is canon now. Stolas, you’re my big dumb owl secretary-s***h-kitty-cat, and this guy’s your weird furry worshipper!”
Stolas flushed bright red. “I—I don’t know how to feel about this!”
Daniel finally stood, towering over everyone once again. His face was calm, unreadable. But his ears twitched in Stolas’ direction.
Blitzo cackled, clapping his hands. “Ohhh, this is the best day of my life.”
---
The Initiation
Hiring Daniel meant, apparently, dragging him to the Wrath Ring mall for a makeover.
Millie squealed over jackets, Loona smirked too much, Blitz tried to push him toward stripper gear “for branding.” Daniel endured it all with the patience of a statue.
In the barber chair, the demon with six razors buzzing out of his wrists trimmed his stubble.
“We’re gonna clean ya up proper, sugar!” Millie chirped. “No offense, but ya look like a warlock squattin’ in a frat house.”
Loona leaned against the wall, trying to look disinterested while her eyes kept betraying her.
“You, uh… look kinda good cleaned up,” she muttered. “Like, hot mysterious daddy vibe.”
Daniel didn’t answer. He just stood when they shoved him toward the mirror in his final outfit: a long dark-blue coat, tailored black shirt, armored boots toned down to look like fashion.
The mirror reflected a stranger. Not the armored crusader of nights past, not the merciless shadow. Just… a man.
“They have no idea who I am,” he thought. “Good.”
Back at I.M.P – Night
Chaos never truly stopped at I.M.P. Blitzo yelled at Moxxie for misfiling paperwork. Millie laughed at every dumb joke. Loona scrolled t****k at her desk, sneaking glances at Daniel every few seconds.
And Stolas sat at his little secretary desk, typing slowly with clawed fingers, humming faintly to himself.
Daniel filed papers quietly at the side desk Blitz had cleared for him. His head lowered, expression unreadable, but his ears swiveled toward every sound.
He felt Stolas’ gaze now and then — curious, lingering. The Sky Kitty, once a star, now dimmed.
Daniel closed his eyes. I walked into their den once as their death. Now I walk among them… as their shield.
Rain streaked down the glass doors outside. The neon buzzed.
Tomorrow, the crusade would begin.
- Writer
