Chapter Text
Wilbur is crying.
Mere hours ago, little Wilbur was laying on his mother’s belly, together with his sibling and their Big Momma went to “work”, he thinks, he doesn’t understand why she was crying though? Something about not being allowed to keep more than one, one of what? The pieces of conversation he heard didn’t make any sense. A couple moments later, the man living with Big Momma decided to scoop him and his brother out of their cushions, and their mother, and placed them in a shoe box.
The box was so dark, Wilbur could still see, but it was so dark and small, even with the two adjacent crescent openings to the sides, he didn’t know what was going on. It was all rattling and shaking, he curled up next to his brother and had his eyes closed. The box had been put somewhere, that somewhere moved, but way more gentle than the walking Mr.Man-that-live-with-Big-Momma did.
He’s not sure when he dozed off, but the next thing he knew, his brother was gone. His brother, who was right beside him, first his Mum, now his brother is gone too? Where are they? What is going on? His surroundings provided no answers. Underneath him is a metal surface, thin metal bars sprouted from all sides of it connected on the top, rings of metal on the bars, holding them together he supposed, maybe if you took off the rings it would bloom out like the world’s ugliest spiky flower metal thing. In the corner there’s a ratty cloth, a symbolic blanket for Willbur in these trying times, he tried not to think of the thick pink quilt at home. Not home, he’s been kicked out hasn’t he?, well, picked and put in a shoe box and brought to another place - out to be exact.
He is sad now, he misses his Mum, and his Big Momma, even when he’s angry about how she let the man take him out, and throw him in this metal room. He misses his brother, the always sleeping baby, they can’t scratch at the big hanging cloths anymore. He wants to go home, get out of this cold place, with shitty blankets and no family, no warm belly to lay on. Wilbur cried and meowed and screeched, why did they take him, why didn’t they take him with his Mum and his brother. Wilbur fell asleep.
He’d half expected to wake up in a new place the next morning, half expected the entirety of yesterday was a dream. His head was on a scruffy cloth, dubbed blanket, when he’d opened his eyes. Same metal room, yet, different lighting, it was brighter now, a bad kind of bright, white light on the ceiling illuminates the place, he misses yet another thing, the warm sunlight he’d usually wake up to.
The whole day passed with a blur, apparently, this was a testing facility, whatever that means, he isn’t sure what they are doing but it left him feeling groggy and floaty all day, it also hurted, a lot.
– – –
One time, the people there left a window open, and turned their back on Wilbur as he was still feeling a bit out of it after whatever they’d done to him again. He. Ran.
A weird rush came over his head and he bounced right off the counter on the equipments near the window and out. Out of that place.
He stopped and hid under some cardboards in an alley when the sky started to drip, water droplets landed on him occasionally resulting in a full body shudder every time. Suddenly another cat joined him, it ran in, partially wet, and started shaking water off itself and onto him.
“Hey!”
The strange cat turned to look at Wilbur, he felt a chill down his spine, the cat had one eye, the other closed up with a nasty scar on top, one of its ear chipped. Wilbur was promptly reminded of his 8 months, barely an adolescent age, this was the scariest cat he’d ever seen, and he had met quite a few in the facility.
“Oh, sorry, sorry, the wet is just unbearable on fur you know?” The badass, scary looking cat replied with a casual tone. What. The. Fuck?
“Wha- why are you?” He sputtered out.
“It's raining outside man, let me stay in your little roof a second dude, pretty please?”
– – –
Fuck it, this dude is actually pretty chilled, literally too, while they were waiting for the rain to stop he laid next to Wilbur and was freezing cold, Wilbur scooted a bit to the side to leave some more dry space for him (out of pity). The strange cat introduced himself to be Quackity, he’s a full blown street cat, a stray, who held the title proudly and puffed his chest when WIlbur asked how he’d stayed out here for so long.
“It’s a natural thing, we cats were supposed to be born on the streets, and we live on the streets, stealing, scavenging and curling around any way we can to survive. You’ve been domesticated my friend, and that’s not a bad thing, it just means you don’t have any experiences on the outside and would probably die if I hadn’t found you. Aye, I’m kidding’ I’m kidding, you would’ve figured out what to do anyway, it would just take a bit of time and several added medals of honor on ya.” He winked- blinked(?) at himself and his array of old scars, as he talked.
Quackity then led Wilbur through the ways of being a stray, digging out trash bins and sometimes robbing the humans. Wilbur stayed on the streets and found his own ways, his own standing thanks to Quackity, he later had his own alley too, a small and dark one without a single light source, they still hang out here and then, he even made friends with another stray dog, Schlatt. The entire ordeal was terrifying, Schlatt had been a big big dog, with no collar and no owner to stop him if he’d decided to rip Wilbur and Quackity right then and there. But once again, like Quackity, he was all looks and no bite (literally), Schlatt was just another comrade, the head of an area of alleys several blocks over from Quackity’s Las Nevadas and Wilbur’s L’Manburg (they made fun of the name Wilbur picked for his street but he knows it’s a great name and he will stand his ground, it was better than Schlatt’s Big Guy by a mile anyway).
– – –
A year went by or so, Wilbur is now a fully grown cat, He, Quackity and Schlatt went to rob a diner to celebrate it. Wilbur now knew a lot of the surrounding strays population, he’d met all of Schlatt’s friends and Quackity’s “friends” too, he’s pretty sure somethings up with Karl and Sapnap they have matching metal rings on their legs, that’s more than feline comradeship that’s something more complicated and he is way too busy to find out now.
Now, what could a street cat with no ties be busy about you asked? Well you see, there’s this kind man visiting his alley every night, the man brings him canned tuna and other fishes he’d never had before so he’s not complaining about the offerings. But the thing is, Quackity said it looks like that human wanted to adopt him, bring him home and keep him. Quackity said there is no shame, if Wilbur wanted to go home with the man, it is an honor, a privilege, to be brought into a home again. And Wilbur had missed the loving humans, keyword: missed, he still remembers that night the traitorous humans had thrown him out, gave him to monsters with human skin that hurt him all the time. He doesn’t trust humans anymore.
But he’d missed it, the warm feeling, and he likes being around people, he loves his friends here on the streets, but he misses the feeling of sleeping soundly in a warm home. A month of the man visiting WIlbur every other day, he decided to follow the man home. And he was welcomed, The man later he learned his name is Phil, Phillip, it sounds posh like a dickhead,it sounds fitting.
Phil is a rich dude, and he is very laxed with Wilbur too. Every day after staying with Phil, Wilbur would go out to find his friends, they would hang out until the sky’s dimmed and Wilbur would run home to his human Dad. And life was good once again, maybe all the changes that come his way don't have to be all bad, they could be good, great even, like Phil.
– – –
This is the worst thing ever. Wilbur is currently lamenting on the floor covering his head with the rug to drown out the sounds of a screaming child. He’s going to lose his mind, he can’t do this anymore, the light in the distance, Wilbur is going to it, he’s approaching the light, Phil, Phil, PHIL WHY AREN’T YOU PULLING ME BACK FROM THE LIGHT YOU BASTARD I WAS HERE FIRST!!!
Betrayal, that’s all he’d ever known, even his street friends couldn't help him with this new dilemma. He’s already feeling like an 8 lives cat, every time that wailing continues he can envision his life as a health bar being chipped away, he’s only got 8 hearts left, Phil you gotta do something before it’s too late, Phil please.
Now, what the fuck happened?
You see, the peaceful friendship Phil had at home with his favorite cat wasn’t enough for Phil, the man went out later and later. One day, he brought home a lady, WIlbur’s eyes were full circles for the next whole week after that, Phil?? Where did you find this lady? Why is she here? Is she your wife now? what is going on Phil?
The initial shock was a bit of an overreaction in Wilbur’s part he admits, and Kristin turned out to be a really cool lady, she was funny and full of energy, she would play with Wilbur when Phil is too busy with work and calls and being a tired old man. He likes Kristin, and was happy when she moved into their home. Big Dad and Big Kristin (Mum), the family is complete, the fiances, yes, they finally announced it (thank god) are happy, and they also got adopted by two friends who lived several houses from Phil’s. Schlatt’s still a street hund, but there is a guy named Ted hanging out with him occasionally (Wilbur and Quackity had a bet on how long it would take for Ted to bring Schlatt home, WIlbur betted 3 months and Quackity betted 6). Life is good.
WIlbur is a three human years old cat now, he’s a grown big cat, and he should not be this intimidated by this lump of tiny human Phil and Krisin brought home. They apparently decided to pick up a street human, and adopted it, now Wilbur is a street cat himself, but he’s got manners alright, he would never scream and cry all night and bother everyone within the 50 mile radius of his home, he also wouldn’t vomit straight onto the bed sheets unprompted, seriously what is wrong with this small human.
The thing’s 7 months, 7 months! How is it still so incompetent, it can’t even crawl yet. Absolutely unacceptable, Wilbur thinks. He retold his thoughts to Quackity the next time they met up. Quackity actually laughed in his face.
“Wilbur, oh Wilbur, you once again reminded me how inexperienced you are with the human world, oh dear, Wilbur do you not know how humans age? They age slow, so slow, that baby is barely weeks old in our years Wil”
That dawned a realization on him, a weeks old baby? That’s a tiny kitten the size of a juvenile cat? Humans are weird ass creatures, they should be with the baby at all times then! A baby kitten needs cuddling and food and more cuddles, yet Phil and Kristin barely cuddle the baby (they do but it is NOT enough, no where near to cat’s standards they’re not), and leave him in the cradle alone the whole day?
Wilbur is taking this matter into his own paws; he will not stand nor lay for this type of beginners kitten care.
– – –
The next day, Phil wakes up to go to work, looking to give Tommy a look before heading out, only to find Wilbur somehow had snuck into Tommy’s cradle and is laying next to him. Phil smiled to himself, took a quick photo to show Krisin later and went out.