Work Text:
The catacombs were the perfect place to be alone with your thoughts, especially ones that ran as loud and rampant as these.
Toralei sat with her back pressed against a cool wall, knocking her head against the stone over and over again, hoping the motion would clear the fog in her mind. These thoughts had shrouded her rational since she came back to Monster High after staying with the Wolf’s over break. Every time she managed to close her eyes, the darkness brought her back to late nights tucked beside Clawdeen- when nightmares kept her up, and the werewolf offered her bed as fortitude. Of mornings spent shoulder to shoulder on the couch, watching whatever cartoon was on, looking at Clawdeen out of the corner of her eye whenever she would laugh. No matter how hard she tried, the memories would not leave her mind. And so she came down to the catacombs and tried to rid herself of these unnatural feelings.
Steps abounded at the entrance, causing Toralei to shrink back farther into the shadows. Until the sweet familiar scent of coconut lotion followed suit, drawing her out from her hiding spot and back into the light, coming face to face with the very person invading all her thoughts.
“Toralei, hey!” Clawdeen bounced nervously between her feet.
”Hello.” Despite her racing heart pumping warmth to her cheeks, Toralei kept her voice low and cold. “You found my hiding spot.”
Clawdeen rubbed at the nape of her neck, “Sorry to intrude.”
She turned almost as if she were going to leave, but Toralei gripped her wrist before she could fully go. Realizing what she had done, she pulled her hand back and let off a low hiss, dragging her fingers down the length of her skirt.
“No point in leaving now, Wolf.” She nipped at one of her claws, trying her best to exude the confidence she definitely was not feeling at the moment. At least she clearly wasn’t the only one nervous- Clawdeen tugged at the curls framing her face, pulling hard enough that the snapping sound of hair echoed through the cavernous hallways. Toralei hesitantly reached out to slap her hands away, which earned another sheepish grin.
“I actually wanted to talk,” She swallowed, “uhm, about us.”
She raised a newly plucked brow, “Us?”
Another swallow, this one audible. “I mean, I want to hang out again. The were-ruler duties are becoming a lot, and you know so much more than I do. I just thought maybe you could help me?”
Toralei smothered a smile behind a very practiced sigh- not too loud, not too breathy- her mind began racing with what this opportunity could bring. Late nights in the library alone with Clawdeen, hands accidentally touching while reaching for the same book, snuggling close when the air became too static and cold. It was all too much.
“I suppose I could. I mean, it’s what’s best for all of werekind.” Clawdeen’s tail began to wag, which she quickly caught between her hands before the embarrassment could catch up to her.
“Thanks Tor, you’re the best!” Without thinking, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to Toralei’s cheek, skipping off in absentminded glee. The werecat stood stunned, holding her hand to her burning fur, and tried her best to keep her racing thoughts at bay.
And so, it all began with a kiss.
____________________________________________________________
Toralei walked the length of her room and back, ignoring the stares her cousins threw her way. She could hear their whispers growing more frenzied as her pace became quicker, her claws victim to her teeth.
“Toralei,” Meowlody began quietly. “What’s going on?”
”Seriously, you’re freaking us out.” Purrsephone spoke next, louder than her sister.
Toralei turned quickly, humming in thought to herself as she came to sit on the edge of her bed. She leaned in conspiratorially, her voice nothing more than a whisper.
“I think I’ve been cursed.”
The twins looked at each other, only one of them seeming genuinely shocked by the confession.
“Why would you think that?”
Memories of the catacombs came rushing back. The feeling of soft lips pressed against her fur, hands brushing against each other, of the emotions that surged within her at the sudden contact. All of it was abnormal, and could only mean one thing: Someone had put a spell on her, and she knew exactly who to blame.
”I’ve been having these feelings.”
Another gasp, though Toralei thought it sounded less sincere. She continued anyway.
”They’re wrong- Stripe’s don’t feel the way I do. They don’t have these- these thoughts!” Especially not for werewolves, she added in her mind.
Meowlody rested a hand on Toralei’s arm, her brows knit in a sympathetic confusion.
“It’s not that we don’t believe you, it’s just-“ She sighed heavily, mulling over the best way to say what was necessary. “Your mother raised you to suppress your emotions. How do we know that what you’re feeling isn’t completely normal?”
Toralei pulled her arm pack, a hiss building in her throat. “This isn’t about my mother! This is about me, and the witch that cast this spell!”
Meowlody and Purrsephone looked at each other in a way that made Toralei squirm- like she was crazy for telling the truth. All she needed was proof, and maybe a way to reverse the spell. And for that she needed to…
”I’ll figure this out myself.” Toralei said, stomping out the door and letting it slam behind her for emphasis. She knew exactly where to find Draculaura this time of day, as she spent her hours between classes at the Coffin bean with Frankie and Clawdeen. Her fur stood on end at the mention of her name in her mind. Clawdeen, Clawdeen, Clawdeen. Soon these agonizing thoughts would be all gone, her brain her own once again.
She sat a few chairs down from the group, honing her attuned ears to their conversation- a perk of being a werecreature.
”And she just never showed up?” Draculaura asked between sips of her drink, which earned an exasperated groan from Clawdeen. Toralei sat up a little higher at the sound, her heart racing beneath her heavy coat. Damn Clawdeen, and damn this stupid curse.
“I don’t understand, I thought we were really getting along.”
Frankie’s fingers zapped as they picked up their drink, “Maybe it was because of the kiss? You know how catty Toralei can get when confronted with mushy feelings.”
She sank further into her chair, though her ears stuck straight up waiting to hear Clawdeen’s response. What exactly had the kiss meant to her?
”Ugh, maybe? I just wish she would’ve told me she doesn’t feel the same way instead of ghosting me.”
”I could’ve told you she'd do that.” Draculaura said, and Toralei wished desperately that she could see the look on Clawdeen’s face. Instead, she simply heard a low whimper, a sound that broke every piece of resolve in her body. What made this curse such a bad thing, truly? In fact, ever since these feelings arose, Toralei felt more like herself than ever before. She couldn’t remember a time when happiness was her default emotion, except the moments spent alone with Clawdeen. And what would become of her once the curse was broken? Living a sad and lonely life, isolated from everything that made her heart race and stomach warm? Toralei didn’t think she could handle things going back to the way they were- agonizing over her grades and reputation, sneering instead of smiling, never feeling Clawdeen’s lips pressed against her fur ever again. Maybe this curse was a blessing in disguise.
Toralei pulled out her icoffin, shooting a quick message to Clawdeen
”Hey, want to meet up at my dorm in five? There’s a movie I want to watch with you.”
She stood quickly to get things ready in her dorm, there was a mess of clothes on the floor, and a notebook open to pages ranting about her incurable crush that she needed to hide. She waited for the sound of Clawdeen’s reaction before leaving, a loud “Yes!” and immediate gushing to her friends, all of which followed Toralei out the doors of the Coffin Bean, a smile on her lips the rest of the way to her room.