Chapter Text
There were very few ways that today could get worse.
Firstly, because the universe apparently hated Prompto, he'd woken up as a cat. Four fuzzy paws and a tail and all.
He had no idea how that happened, but fuck, it sure did. Magic probably? And Prompto had no idea what to do about it.
He'd sort of spent a few hours in his room just yelling as loudly as possible once it really sank in. Good thing his parents weren't home or they'd have some real weird questions.
Once the screaming didn't do anything but give him a headache, Prompto had to embark on the treacherous journey of opening his bathroom door to try and get some water from the sink. It took so fucking long to figure out how to jump and hook his paws around the round knob and get it to turn. He had to stop to lay down on the cold tile and take a breather halfway through.
By the time he was able to get the damn thing open, Prompto was by necessity pretty good at judging how to jump on things with four legs. Thus newly experienced, Prompto leapt up onto the counter, batted at the sink until it turned on in a trickle, and lapped up as much water as he could. Trying to figure out how to drink with his tongue was weird but he was so tired at this point he just shoved his whole muzzle under the water and got it done that way.
That led Prompto to the here and now, where he was laying on his side and trying to stretch the muscle aches out of his legs. He huffed and wiggled. That felt a little more than just the normal burst of exercise sore. And he knew exercise sore! He did running every morning and was on the track team. This felt different.
But whatever. His heart was finally done pounding and he wasn't panting anymore. He sat up with some difficulty and turned to look in the mirror. He'd seen his own white fuzzy paws and light orange very fluffy tail, but he ought to get a good look at himself.
He looked… sad. So fucking sad. What the hell?
Prompto angled his head this way and that. One of his ears - his left - was folded partly flat, the other sticking straight up like it should. He flicked them curiously. It didn't sound like it was messing with his hearing any. And it didn't hurt. Even tilted and moved back and forth when he tried to mess with it.
His eyes were still blue, so that was great. Super big and round. His fur was all long and sticking up in weird spots, like his cowlicks he spent a good thirty minutes to an hour combing down every day before school. He was partly white, partly a super faint orange. He batted at the mirror curiously. He didn't know cats very well, but he looked kind of young. Maybe a teenager as a cat too? They didn't call cats teenagers though did they??
Prompto heaved a heavy sigh. What was he going to do now? What were you supposed to do when you got magically turned into a cat?
Magic. Right! He knew people with magic! Maybe if he could get to Noctis he'd know what to do. At the very least he would be able to see a friendly face. Maybe it would help keep his anxiety from going through the roof. He kept feeling a weird rumbling build up in his chest.
Prompto jumped down from the counter, ankles twinging. He checked his alarm clock - it was the middle of the school day. High school was a thirty minute walk from his house, faster if he jogged, but Prompto had no idea how that translated to cat speed.
He'd have to just give it a try then. First step: getting out of the house.
That step was pretty easily fixed by fiddling with the lock on his bedroom window. His toes hurt by the time he got the jammed thing undone, but he managed to shove it up enough to squeeze through. Then, because he didn't want his house robbed, Prompto leaned on the sill until it closed. The shock of the resulting slam knocked him off the window entirely.
Prompto learned that cats do indeed always land on their feet because of that.
He also unfortunately landed belly first in a bush. Clambering his way out was embarrassingly difficult, especially with his fur getting caught in everything. When he finally waddled his way out of the mess he stopped and leaned back to lick at his fur.
Then he paused to consider what he was doing and had another freak out. Because holy shit he'd just reflexively went to lick himself. By the time he stopped shaking and was breathing steadily again, he'd decided to just pretend it didn't happen. Just ignore the twigs stuck in the tangled fur.
Get to school, find Noctis, everything would be fine. No need to panic!
Prompto started the long walk to the high school and quickly realized that it was very different from a cat's POV. He was so tiny. Even for a cat he was a bit small. He knew the way there by heart, so he wouldn't risk getting lost, but it was so weird to have to dodge people.
Even weirder when some people tried to lean down and make kissy noises at him. Prompto dashed past those people as fast as he could. He started hiding around obstacles just to stay out of reach.
He didn't know what time it was when he finally reached the school. Prompto just knew that he was hot and tired. The distance was a lot worse when your legs were so tiny.
It looked like school was still in session, so Prompto found a cool bush to wiggle under and laid down. Fuck it was hot. Start of the school year, end of summer. Long fur did not mix well with the heat.
He might have dozed a bit, except for the fact that everything stank and sounded too loud even in the relative peace of the school. Prompto didn't think he'd managed to get any sleep for the next week or at least until he got used to feline senses.
He sat under the bush waiting. The bell rang, but nobody came outside so he guessed it was final period? That was confirmed when it rang again five minutes later and he settled back in for another forty-five minutes of waiting.
Then the bell rang to announce the end of the day.
Prompto peeked his nose out from underneath the bushes, looking at the side doors where he knew Noctis always exited. He left school as early as possible unless Prompto was there; then he stayed until Ignis inevitably came to fetch him.
Sure enough, only a few minutes after the bell rang Noctis was pushing the door aside and looking through the crowd. He headed to the curb to look for Ignis’s car and Prompto took his chance.
Weaving through the sea of legs was a challenge, but Prompto managed it without getting kicked. The trip here was enough of a warmup it seemed!
“Noctis!” Prompto yelled, the name coming out as a plaintive mow as he approached.
“Huh?” Noctis looked down at him as he nearly barreled into his ankle.
Prompto barely stopped himself in time, looking up at his best friend. “Noct! Holy shit am I glad to see you!” He sniffed at Noctis’s pant leg, weirded out by the different smells.
He couldn't actually talk. He'd found that out earlier when he'd sat screaming for a few hours. But he didn't care whether or not anyone understood him.
“Well, hello there little guy.” Noctis’s face softened in a familiar way it always did when he saw stray cats.
He knelt down and held a hand out cautiously. Prompto sniffed it on instinct but followed the cursory sniff up with butting his head into his hand.
“Noct, bud, you gotta help me. I woke up-”
“Aren't you a friendly guy. Girl?” Noctis gently pet the top of his head and Prompto tried to stop himself from leaning into it. He failed. “So noisy, too. No collar… do you belong to someone? You're too friendly to be a stray.” His hand inched down Prompto’s back and he couldn't help himself from arching up into it with a startled purr. “Aww, cutie.”
Right. Prompto forgot how absolutely gaga Noctis went over cats. Getting him to look at him with anything but cutesy rose tinted goggles was going to take some work.
“Noctis, I know you can't un-”
“You're early, Highness.” Ignis’s voice interrupted him.
Damnit. Nobody cared about interrupting a cat. Prompto felt frustrated. It was rapidly brushed aside by more purring as Noctis started scratching his chin with his second hand and Prompto started to melt.
“Prompto wasn't here today.” Noctis shrugged moodily.
Oh that wouldn't do.
“I'm right here, buddy!” Prompto meowed and tried to look cute. A small little smile took over Noctis’s face instead.
“Ah.” Ignis’s shoes clicked as he walked up. “And your little friend here?”
“No idea. Just ran up to me yelling and being friendly.” Noctis took his face in his hands and scratched gently along both sides of his jaw and Prompto wanted to die like this.
“No faaaaair-” Prompto purred, chest rumbling. “I'm too touch-starved for this kind of shit, Noooct.” He couldn't help it!
To Prompto’s surprise, Ignis knelt down next to Noctis and held out a hand to him as well. Prompto looked at him a little surprised. When he didn't move away, Ignis pet his head gently. Prompto wanted to cry.
“Friendly indeed.” Ignis said, hand going down his neck as if to point out the lack of collar. “Regardless, if you have nothing else keeping you here, it is time to head back to your apartment.”
Noctis sighed heavily, dramatically. Prompto meowed. “Sorry buddy.” He stroked Prompto’s back a few more times and then stood up. Ignis followed him with a pat to his head. “I'm sure your owner is somewhere around, huh?”
“Wait.” Prompto’s head was a little dizzy from all the physical affection. “No, wait! Noct it's me!” He followed after Noctis, practically screaming his little head off. “Take me with you, at least-”
“Sorry buddy, you can't come with.” Noctis was frowning as he said it, looking concerned. He nudged Prompto away from the car with one foot.
Prompto tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and mowed pathetically. “Come on man! Do some magic bullshit and recognize me or something-!”
He didn't want to get run over by the car, so he sat moodily on the curb until Ignis’s car pulled away. His tail flicked in agitation.
Right. So Noctis didn't recognize him on sight. Obviously, duh, why would he? Except Prompto didn't have another plan. He could go to Noctis’s apartment maybe… except it was a good two hour walk on foot as a human. He didn't want to make that trip as a cat.
And how would he even get inside? Noct lived in one of those fancy buildings that needed you to be buzzed inside. There was security around. Would anyone let a cat wander around until he got someone to let him in?
Other students started trying to get close to Prompto and he startled. Hissing, he ran off towards the track field to hide under the bleachers and try to think.
While sitting under there and marinating in his misery, his stomach started to growl too. Right. He hadn't eaten all day. Not the first time, but he usually at least ate a snack before the walk to school. Prompto sighed.
Finding food as a cat sucked. He couldn't get into the school's dumpsters, since they were blocked off and kept closed to keep pests out. Most people did that with their garbage cans to keep pests out, actually, and Prompto wasn't sure what to do.
On the walk back home - because he had nowhere else to go and no ideas - Prompto found at least one alleyway with a busted trash can. He hated the smell. He didn't want to think about it, or think about what he was smelling, just that it was bad. But he crept in and managed to find a chicken bone he could nibble off of.
He kept gagging from the smell, but he needed to eat something. Going home meant only food that needed to be prepared like instant noodles and stuff in the freezer. Using a microwave might be beyond his abilities as a cat.
The trek the rest of the way home sucked. Then he had to jump up on the window and shove it up enough to get back inside, then back down. A quick trip through the still open bathroom door at least meant he still had drinkable water.
Prompto pretty much immediately passed out flopped on top of his pillow.