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Purrchance To Dream - Part 10
🕑 Added 2024-08-24 14:00:09 +0000 UTCThis concludes the end of Act 1! Thank you for joining us for this occasionally bumpy ride! There will now be something of a hiatus before Act 2 but we hope you agree it’s a satisfying place to pause (paws).
Companion prose written by my wonderful co-writer Calico! Enjoy!
***
“What the—“ Her voice sounds like it was once clipped RP, now broadened with London edges. “Is this a dream?”
“Er…” Crowley says, scanning around wildly, and plumps for, “yes?”
He fans his hands around the cat, trying to draw her attention to it.
“Yes,” he says again, nodding. “Dream! Gotta be. Gotta - gotta cure this cat. Or else!”
“Cure… this cat…” the vet repeats doubtfully, but despite herself she moves closer to the counter, frowning down at the still, fluffy creature, before looking back at Crowley. “Really?”
“Really,” Crowley assures her, darting out of the way and then darting back again. “Um, he’s - a he.”
She gives him a look. “Yes. That is… quite obvious.”
“Right. Well. Can you save him?”
Her look turns dubious, and for a moment Crowley feels hopeless. But then her hands start moving over the creature, as if on automatic, manipulating his joints and limbs much more confidently than Crowley would have felt would be safe.
“That’s right,” Crowley says, encouraged. “That’s it - that’s the job. What do you need? Beepy machine? Flashy light?”
The woman turns her head to look at him. She has immaculate eyebrows. “Some basic veterinary equipment would be nice,” she says tartly.
Crowley, in desperation, clicks his fingers again whilst thinking whatever you need and points at the cutlery drawer. “In there.”
The woman’s eyebrows arch higher, but she reaches to pull over the drawer without comment. Inside, between the serried ranks of unused wooden spoons and pristine cutlery, a plethora of hand-held pieces of equipment seem to satisfy her.
She twists her hair into a bun and secures it with some sort of small claw, puts on some thin blue gloves, then attends to the cat closely: poking here and lifting there, shining a torch in each eye in turn, eventually holding a stethoscope to the cat’s sides, gaze going distant as she listens in various places.
“Well?” Crowley demands, when he feels like this rigmarole has gone on long enough.
The vet pulls the stethoscope from her ears, and looks at him. “Your cat is fine.”
Crowley stares at her. Pushes his glasses up; she thinks it’s a dream anyway. Stares at the cat, then back at her, harder. “Fine?!”
“Fine.”
Crowley feels his mouth work. “But he’s all… floppy.”
“Oh, yes, well he’s playing dead,” she says, as if this is a normal bloody conversation to be having. To her credit, she’s taking the yellow eyes in her stride as well. Quite the processional. “Have you upset him or something? This one can definitely hold a grudge. But I promise you,” she says, her voice going gentle, and lays a hand on Crowley’s arm, “he is absolutely fine.”
Crowley blinks back a sudden, tearful rage. “But he, he can’t be fine, I hit him with my car—“
Her dark eyes widen. “You what?!”
“By mistake,” Crowley adds hastily, waving his hand and squeezing the bridge of his nose as the sting of tears glows behind his eyes, “but I thought I—I thought I—“
“Sir,” the vet says, still gentle but with a hint of something solid underneath. “It’s okay.”
“I—fuck,” Crowley bites off, turning his head away and dragging in a deep breath, then another, shuddering. He doesn’t know where it’s come from, all this heat in his head, all this raw feeling.
“It’s okay, sir, and, I need you to calm down,” she says, in that same measured voice that contains just a hint of promised escalation.
“Nnnng,” Crowley says, trying to catch his breath, or failing that, catch a thread of sanity, maybe? It’s just a cat!
“Mrrp.”
Crowley freezes, and his eyes fly open.
The cat is sitting up on the countertop, with his head cocked, one paw reaching forwards a little - almost plaintive.
He is absolutely fine.
“Oh, you little bastard,” Crowley breathes, rushing towards him, and without further ado the cat jumps up into Crowley’s arms.
Crowley gathers him close, smoothing his hand over the cat’s back, and the cat starts to purr softly, putting its paws on Crowley’s shoulders and nuzzling Crowley’s chin in return. Somehow, this creates in Crowley a feeling like the smell of hot buttered toast.
“Right,” the vet says, stacking the equipment back in the cutlery drawer as if it belongs there, then pulling off her gloves and scrunching them up. “Well, there you are. Glad you’ve made up. Lovely. But that is still going to have to be two hundred and eighty-five quid.”
Crowley arches his own eyebrows at her. Two can play at the eyebrow game. “Excuse me?”
She gives him a small nod. “Emergency call out fee,” she says, and lifts her arm, acknowledging her own pyjamas for the first time. “Decidedly out of hours.”
“Ah.”
“And pardon me for saying, but you don’t look the type to have insurance.”
“Nooo.”
“And we’re not even going to get into the fact that he’s not microchipped, he’s no collar, and I’ll bet my back teeth he’s not vaccinated either.”
“Hm,” Crowley says, pressing his lips together. “Shall we just make it five hundred?”
In his arms, the cat gives a loud, utterly contented purr.
***
Comments
Zoey
It's currently on hold because calico, who I'm collabing with to write this, is currently working on other projects :) But we plan on continuing it eventually!
Karina Costa
Are there more chapters on this story?
Caroline
Oh thank GOD 😭
Ashfae
Don't worry when this gets posted to A03 in a week I'll tell Calico directly. ;) Take care!
Z.Art
Thank you sm! I'll pass it on to calico ☺️
Z.Art
I don't doubt he would! He's not fond of vets it seems...
Z.Art
Yay! He's so happy :3
Ashfae
I absolutely love this vet. And HAH oh cat, you have him dead to rights, well played. Good luck with studying Zoey, you can do it! <3 Calico, the phrase "a feeling like the smell of hot buttered toast" is perfection!
Caity C.
The little purr lines!! I love it. So glad the Azi-coded-cat is okay!
barb c
"kitty" is devious lol. I'm glad hes ok. & I bet he'd jump off counter & hide if vet mentioned he needed to be neutered lol. good luck on ur thesis! 🥰
Z.Art
The prettiest kitty! Some of the crowley expressions in this chapter are my favorites in the entire comic so far, namely all the ones on page 60!
Venturous
Omg that cat is so beguiling! “Mrrp?” Big blue eyes, floofy tail…🥰 and distraught Crowley, good lord he has so many expressions.
Z.Art
The vet knows what she's doing! XD I've been waiting for so long to draw the cuddles and jumping into his arms! And thank you for the well wishes, I'll probably need them 💜
Z.Art
100% accurate!! XD
Capsicle37
Playing dead to be sassy/petty and causing the unneeded expenditure of an exorbitant amount of money is the most feline behavior I can imagine
Z.Art
💜💜💜
Missmousey
I loved that. So much. Thank you! Now go be really clever and brilliant in your thesis. We all will root and wait for you. 💖
Z.Art
I would never leave you hanging like that!!
Z.Art
He's been looking forward to this!!
Z.Art
Thank you so much! You will most likely hear from me in the meantime, but I'm very glad you like it and it feels like a satisfying resolution. ☺️
Heather
Yay I'm kind of glad the cliffhanger was resolved before your break!
Tris
Smug bastard cat. It's not beating my idea that Aziraphale was some how turned into a cat. Yay for finishing act one and you totally got your thesis!
xmusiclover
The cat looks so happy to be in Crowley’s arms awww
Marie
Zoey!!! Aww, you gave us sweets to tide us over while you're working on your thesis. ❤️ This is darling and actually funny. And so damn cat-like. Nailed all the good feels here. ❤️ Thank you! See you on the other side of your thesis!! If we don't hear from you prior, knock 'em dead in your defense. 🙌
Z.Art
🐾
Z.Art
Of course! I could never leave it unfinished!
Hazel
Oh my god, I love this vet 😂 Get your bag queen! And that MRRP and the purr 😂 And the affectionate calling him a bastard?? This was just PERFECT! Wishing you the best of luck in your paws!
Calico
That’s my favourite cat glare in the whole comic. ^^
Dragonfire42
Understand the paws! But also thank you for finishing this particular story arc!!
Z.Art
It only took 60 pages, but it was inevitable. Some might even say ineffable.
Z.Art
Thank you so much! I'm already missing working on this comic, so I can't wait to get back to you all! 💜💜💜
AMagnificentObsession
Nope, he’s definitely not vaccinated 😉
Sakascal
Aw, look how happy he (the cat) is in the last panel. One very satisfied cat, his ploy worked out well. Tricked the defiant demon into accepting and cuddling him. ;)
B
Perfect place to paws!!💜
Cait
This is the *perfect* place to pause/paws — a happy kitty with the kind of satisfied smile that comes from having finally gotten the demon to fall in line. Good luck with your thesis — I hope it goes well and we’ll all look forward to the page ramping back up after you’ve crossed the finish line triumphantly, rested, recovered, and celebrated your monumental achievement!
Z.Art
😂😂 he knows his worth!
fiddlegoblin
also I notice how when she says "your cat" he doesn't go "not my cat" like he would automatically have done on page 1
fiddlegoblin
vet: 285 please! cat and Crowley together: I beg your finest pardon? cat continues alone: I am worth MUCH more than that! ... Crowley: 500? cat: that's more like it!
Z.Art
Idk if he's responsible but he's a pet owner now for sure
Kaini
AWW YAY
Sara
Cheeky little bastard 😍😍😍
espresso_six_shots
This is such a sweet way to end the first act. I love the glare the cat gives the vet while he snuggles up to Crowley! 🥰
Bingo
HE'S OKAY! 🥹
Z.Art
It only took 60 pages to get there! 😂
Laura Smith
Omg when he jumps into Crowley’s arms and snuggles into him!! It’s too sweet! 💕
DB
Crowley becoming the responsible pet owner, I love it! And that cat is a bit of a bastard, hmmmm
squirrels
"he's playing dead" - just enough of a bastard (cat) to be worth knowing 😅 Love it 🥰
Z.Art
Actually no, I met that cat after I'd already finished the chapter xD I just thought it would be funny for the cat to hate the vet (as cats do) 😂
Chell
Ah what a lovely place to end act 1. Of course the cats an utter bastard like someone we know 😇 the stink eye the cat gives the vet is great 😂 was that a nod to the cat you actually found?
Laura Urciuoli
I love all of this❤️❤️❤️ It Is purrrfect
