//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Capper Dapperpaws, king of Panthera // Story: Bad Luck Cat // by Dulcepanque //------------------------------// The window frame gleamed golden as sun rays entered through it and reflected on the ceramic floor and crystal chandeliers, all of which had been recently polished, and really made it seem as if the room could glow on its own. The room was big, and filled with all kinds of fancy, shiny and fragile things, most of these didn't have any actual utility, other than making the place look good. In the middle of it was a large, luxurious bed, and over it rested Capper, surrounded by three other cats. "It sure is nice being the king," he purred, relaxed. "Sure is!" replied a female cat. "I wish I could be a king!" exclaimed a male cat, accompanied by a dreamy sigh. "Although you'd be a pretty bad one," added the other cat, "as you could never be as good as Capper." The three of them nodded cheerfully in agreement. Capper could only purr satisfiedly at this whole situation. It truly was nice being the king... CRASH! A loud noise woke Capper up from his dream. Still a bit dizzy from his sudden awakening, he looked around trying to find what caused the noise. Under the bed, over the shelves, behind the curtains, all around the room. Nothing seemed out of place. The room looked almost the same as the one in Capper's dream, except for one thing. There was no one else in the room, aside from him. Well, him, and... He put on his dressing gown and a pair of fuzzy slippers and walked towards the window. It was broken. He turned around quickly and took another look, he could've sworn he saw something move at the corner of his eye. There, in a corner, sat a gray tabby cat. He stared at Capper, his eyes wide open, as if he had just seen a ghost. Capper stared back at him, looking fairly annoyed. "Lemme guess..." "It was an accident!" the young cat replied. "I'm calling the police." The cat yowled. "W-W-WAIT! I'm just a poor orphan child, you can't do this to me!" "You're not the first one to break into my house claiming to be some orphaned kitten, ya know. Plus, you might be short but I can still tell you're a full-grown cat." "Hey! Who ya calling short?!" he hissed. Capper pointed to a bell that hung next to the window. With only the ringing of it, the room would be filled with guards in just a matter of seconds. "NO, NO, NO!" he cried. "I can't go to cat jail, they're going to eat me alive!" Capper leaned over a shelf and yawned. "Cool story." "PLEASE!" He kneeled down before him. "I'll do anything you want!" "Anything, you say?" "Anything!" He rubbed his chin in silence for some seconds, thinking about it, then pointed at the broken window. "Get out of my house, and never come back." "...Really?" the cat tilted his head, incredulous. "You're just going to let me go... scot-free?" Capper nodded. "You're lucky I'm a benevolent king." "King?" Beat. "Just get out of here," Capper said hastily. The cat smiled and zoomed out of the window. "Thank you, Mr. Dapperpaws! You're the best!" Capper smirked proudly. I know, he thought to himself. Capper walked into his "Closet Room". It was a large, pellmell room that he filled with all the latest fashion of Panthera. Despite the fact that the room was chock-full of clothes and shoes and accessories, Capper had no problem finding his way through it. He examined through the hundreds of wardrobes and picked a burgundy coat and a pair of boots. They sparkled in glamour, just like everything else in the room. When he was done grooming — which usually took him about an hour or two — , he headed outside to run the errands for the day. Just as he stepped out of the house, thousands of glances turned his way. Everywhere Capper went, he was the one creatures talked about. As he left the neighborhood and walked into the market, everyone waved at him, but he didn't bother waving back. He just smiled with pride, completely ignoring the world that surrounded him. The sun shone brightly, not a cloud in the sky. There was this sense of happiness in the air that told him today was gonna be a great day. But that's just everyday life to you when you're an aristocat in one of the most luxurious kingdoms known to history. Certainly, he thought to himself, today can't get any better. BOOM! CRACKLE! Thunders and rumbles boomed from every direction. Murmurs and whispers began to run throughout the market. These couldn't be thunders they were hearing, right? The merchants grabbed their merchandise and ran to seek shelter so that it would not be soaked in the rain of an imminent storm. The rest of the cats just watched in bewilderment as Panthera's beautiful, clear skies turned dark as ashes. Meanwhile, Capper just kept on smiling, unaware of the growing commotion. Nothing could take him out of this eternal state of reverie, not even a thunderstorm. Not even the cries for help of his fellow pantherans. Not even the giant airship landing right in front of him, crashing in the side of the Castle of Panthera and reducing the majestic spires to mere debris. Actually, on second thought, maybe that could. But we'll get to that part later. Finally, after that much ungraceful landing, the entrance to the ship opened, and from between the giant clouds of dust that it lifted, appeared a small, dumpy creature. He carried a large box with a bright blue symbol on its surface, similar to a pair of horns. The same symbol was on the hull of the airship. A crowd formed around him. Everyone in Panthera knew there were other creatures out there that were different to them, but he was like nothing they'd ever seen. With his wide mouth and big nose, he was an unusual sight, to say the least. The creature put the box down and once it touched the floor, a giant mechanical megaphone emerged from it. The crowd backed up as he prepared to deliver his message. "Cats of Panthera!" he announced in a not-so-menacing voice. "Get ready to meet your new king...!" Capper puffed his chest remembering his dream from earlier that day. "...The Storm King!" Suddenly, Capper's thoughts shut down. "The Storm what now?!"