A Tiny Almond in a Big World

Fudge sighed, not sure about what to do. While looking at the vast lake, his paws barely touching the water, he could only think and think. He had a band, a nice band with some nice cats. Not all of them were nice, but enough of them were nice. They played at shows, several of them. He got fans, not many, but enough. And now the band was over (again, another band ending). They had some good years, but it wasn’t working. It never did. They all decided to go in different paths. Two of his bandmates decided to start another band. Fudge never liked them anyway, so it wasn’t a big loss. One of them, Lara, decided to start her solo career. Fudge was proud of her, but he could already tell that their promises of keeping in touch wouldn’t go very far. The other one got a cocoon to take care of, so he decided it was already time to settle down with his boyfriend and take care of his family. Fudge was sad to see such a good guitar player and singer retiring so soon, but whatever was best for him, at least he seemed happy. And their wedding had been truly beautiful. But still, Fudge was there not knowing what to do. Lara said it would be easy for him to go solo, she even offered to help him with it. Fudge was the main singer of the band anyway, and his duets with Lara were always loved by the fans. The unicorn and the fairy, that was how the fans called the duo. It would be easier to go solo, and he knew he could make a fruitful partnership with Lara (and fans would pay big money to see both of us together). Thinking back on his time at university, how he had always made sure no one knew about his horn, it almost seemed silly. Of course it could be dangerous, especially for a no one like he was. Fudge still remembered his early years, before being adopted by Ursula, and everything he went through. But at least now he felt free, he could be himself. No more hiding. And all the fans loved a unicorn singer. Fudge sighed again, his mind going to Ursula. “Mama….” he almost whispered. His mama was in Aldora, she had sent him a letter telling him about it, when she realized that Fudge wasn’t going back home. He felt guilty about it, but he needed to keep going on with his life. Even if it meant making his mama sad. During those days, when he was thinking about what to do when the band officially ended, his mind kept going to Aldora. It was a peaceful island, protect by fairies. No human could touch a mothcat there. Even if outside of Aldora there were laws protecting mothcats, there was still a whole illegal market involving kidnapping and selling mothcats with special traits (like a unicorn horn). His mama was in Aldora (and from mama’s letter, uncle Bronte was there too). Pass and Portia, both still in contact with him and very proud of his success, were in Aldora. The island did seem like a paradise. No humans there, only a whole and big community of mothcats. It could be nice. After Hibiscus’ (the most beautiful and amazing mothcat singer, I love her so much...) retirement, where she went to live in Aldora, apparently for the rest of her life, Aldora did seem to become a place for retired musicians. After another sigh, Fudge stood up. It wouldn’t hurt to at least visit the island. And anyway it was already past the time he paid a visit to his mama.

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Fudge looked at the paper in his paws. That should be Portia’s house, hopefully. He knocked at the door and waited. The house seemed way nicer than what he would expect of Portia, but then again, she was living with her sister at least for now, so a pretty and not completely awful and messy house should be one of her sisters doing instead of Portia’s. “I’m coming!” someone said from inside. Fudge didn’t recognize the voice, but it still felt like a familiar one. A purple a white cat opened the door. She was big and strong with a carnation marking on her wings. “I, uh. Is that Portia’s house?” “Yeah! You must be Almond, Portia’s little friend!” the cat said with enthusiasm, giving a him a bear hug. “I’m Cassie, Portia’s older sister! It’s very nice to meet you, Almond!” “Uh, you can call me Fudge, actually! But it’s nice to meet you too, you’re very, uh, friendly.” Fudge smiled, a bit uncomfortable. “Is Portia home?” “She’s not and I’m not sure when she’s coming home, sorry!” Cassie gave a polite smile, helping Fudge with his baggage: just two bags that Cassie lifted without any problem. “I know people usually get a bit confused with how I and Portia are sisters because she is always mad and pouting, but I swear she’s nice on the inside! You just need to get toknow her a bit!” “Yeah, she has showed me how nice she can be.” Fudge smiled, a wave of nostalgia filling his mind. “Thundercat!” a tired voice upstairs exclaimed, making Cassie wince. “It sounds like my wife needs a bit of help with our child.” Cassie gave a polite smile. “They can be a bit tiring at times, but they are the cutest kitten on town!” “Is your child called Thundercat?” Fudge asked a bit surprised. “Yes, they chose it themself, what a creative child!” Cassie polite smile got wider. “Feel at home, please, your room is at the end of this corridor.” “Thanks! I’ll just put my stuff at the room and go for a walk, don’t worry.” Fudge started to pick up his bags. “Thanks, Cassie, good luck with your child!” “Thank you, I will probably need it...” Cassie walked upstairs, sounding suddenly tired. “What did they do this time?”

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“Oh my Falena! Fudge, is that you?!” a small blue bird cat said, trying to calm down a teal and red kitten. Fudge took a moment to recognize her. “Pass?! Oh my god!” he said, approaching her fast. “Oh, god, you do really have a kitten?!” “Of course I do! What do you thought I meant when I wrote to you ‘I have kids now’?,” Pass asked with an amused smile. The little kitten seemed to calm down a little, curious about the newcomer. “I don’t know, Portia said she got a kid when she got her hermit crab.” Fudge shrugged. He could see Pass holding back a laugh. “That sounds just like her. But let me introduce you to Sunny.” Pass brought forward Sunny towards Fudge, and then continued in the softest voice possible, “This is Fudge, an old friend of your mother, why don’t you say hi to them, my little sun?” “Hewwo,” Sunny babbled, waving his paws. “Nice to meet you, kid,” Fudge answered with a smile. “Also I’m a he today.” “Thanks for letting me know.” Pass smiled and let a squirming Sunny go back to the ground. “So are you intending to stay here for long?” “I don’t know yet, I’m staying at Portia’s house until I decide what to do.” Fudge shrugged. “And how is Portia? We never actually kept in touch after school, you know.” Pass started walking, trying to follow after her son. Fudge of course was quick to follow along as well. “I don’t really know, I just got here and she wasn’t home when I went to leave my bags.” Fudge observed Sunny, until he stopped close to a rock and started to try to fit it on his mouth. “But her sister, Cassie, was very nice to me, and said she had no clue when Portia would come home. So I decided to go see the city a bit.” “Yeah, I-” Pass started to talk, being suddenly interrupted by a hairless cat. “Fudge! There you are!” Portia said, completely ignoring Pass. Fudge couldn’t help but roll his eyes, it already felt like they were all back at university. “Cassie said you went home, sorry I wasn’t there when you came but I totally forgot you were coming today so yeah, good thing Cassie was at home today.” “It’s fine,” Fudge reassured her. Soon he pointed to Pass. “Hey, Portia, you remember Pass, right?” “Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever,” Portia dismissed. “Do you want me to show you around or something?” “I don’t know yet, it may be nice to catch up a little with you and Pass?” Fudge tried, receiving a frown from Portia. “But first of all, did you guys hear that the famous and amazing singer Hibiscus is living in this city here?! Just imagine meeting her while going to the market or something, I think I would die if it happened to me! Did you guys ever see her?” “You mean that Hibiscus you have a crush on since forever?” Portia teased, showing a smile. “Ugh, don’t say that kind of stuff!” Fudge said exasperated, blushing. “I don’t have a crush on her, I just am a big fan and I really appreciate her work.” Pass burst laughing. “Are you for real, Fudge?!” “Of course! She’s amazing, Pass!” Fudge retorted, a bit wounded. “She’s a dork!” Pass exclaimed, still laughing. Fudge could only open and clos his mouth twice, not sure how to answer. “Are you calling Fudge’s idol a dork?” Portia raised one eyebrow. I don’t know if I feel admired or if I try to insult her. Tough choice. “Yeah! She’s my wife’s girlfriend and she’s such a dork!” Pass giggled a bit. “I can introduce you to her, if it’s such a big deal to you. But be aware that she is the most complete dork you could ever met.” “Are you kidding me?! She sounds too cool to know you!” Portia interjected, while Fudge still opened and closed his mouth not sure about what to say. “I will try to take it as compliment, I guess,” Pass answered, squinting her eyes. Soon she just casually took a piece of wood from Sunny’s mouth and went back to look at the duo. “Nevermind that! Pass!? How could you never ever mention it when we talked!” Fudge almost yelled. “Pass, you need to introduce us! Please, I love her so much, I need to meet her! She’s the most amazing singer I have ever heard about!” “Geez, calm down. She’s a dork and she will love to met you.” Pass rolled her eyes. “You can come have dinner with us tonight, if you want.” “Yes!” Fudged said excited, but soon frowning. But that would mean I wouldn’t see mama tonight... “Weren’t you going to have dinner with your mother or something tonight?” Portia chimed in, a bit too glad to bother Pass’ plans. “Well, it’s no problem, we can have dinner any day this week, just let me know.” Pass smiled, taking Sunny in her arms. “By the way, I told Hibbie I would take care of the kids while she made lunch, so I probably should get going.” “How many kids do you even have?” Portia asked, waiting a moment before continuing. “Do you have any kids with Hibiscus?” “My wife does: little Rose, but Rose is already big enough to take care of herself.” Pass offered a smile, while fighting Sunny over a rock he really wanted to eat. “We have three kids: Sunny, Snow and Rose. But today Snow’s little partner in crime and their sister are coming to have lunch with us, so that’s four kids to keep occupied. I mean, three kids and an angry teenager.” “God, that’s a lot of people,” Fudged murmured. “Yeah, and they all want lunch.” Pass sighed, finally getting the rock away from Sunny. “You know where I live, right? Just come over anytime and we can discuss which day to have dinner. And you can come too, Portia, if you want to, I mean.” “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Portia rolled her eyes. Why does she keep being so nice?! She is inviting me for dinner with a music star, how amazing is that? “Thank you so much for the invite, Pass, you’re the best!” Fudge gave Pass a quick hug and a gave Sunny a small pat on his pouting head. My rock, I want my rock! “Good lunch, we sure are coming for this dinner.” They waved goodbye to Pass, who quickly made her way home. The two waited until she wasn’t visible anymore. “So what are you gonna do now?” Portia asked. “I think it’s time to go talk to mama, I guess.” Fudge sighed.

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Fudge knocked on the door and waited. No one answered though. Fudge knocked again. Nothing. Fudge sighed and slowly (and very much reluctantly) he reached to anyone’s mind in the house. And he did find something: Please go away, I don’t want to talk to anyone please. Definitely it was his mama. Fudge sighed, but a smile was still in his face. “Mama? It’s me, Fudge! I’m back!” Fudge didn’t have to wait much before hearing heavy steps coming to the door. The door opened with a quick swing. Ursula stopped there, looking at Fudge. Fudge couldn’t do anything but look back at her. Ursula seemed to have gained some weight, she was always comfortable to hug and Fudge had the impression she would be even more comfortable now. Ursula looked like she had just got up from a nap, her usual straw hat missing. Did she even have that straw hat still? It was already old when I was a kid. “Almond….” Ursa whispered. And that set everything in motion. Fudge had missed her so much, and he could feel the tears starting to fell. “I’m so sorry-” Before Fudge could even finish talking, Ursula engulfed him in a warm hug. The only thing he could do was cry and hug her back. They stayed like that for a couple minutes, before Ursa broke the silence. “I wasn’t sure if I ever would see you again, dear heart.” “I’m sorry, mama, I’m so sorry. I should have visited. I just-” Fudge sobbed, waiting a moment before continuing. “I just needed some time, mama, I wanted to do things. I wanted to be myself.” “I know, darling, I know.” Ursa petted his soft head, still knowing exactly how to pet him without the horn being a problem. “I’m sorry I wasn’t better, I just wanted the best for you...” “It’s fine, you did your best,” Fudge whispered, trying not to sob again. “I love you, mama.” “I love you too, Fudge.” Ursa let Fudge go and he finally saw the tears that ran down her face. “Do you want to come in?” “Yeah.” Fudge accompanied Ursa inside her home. “Do, uh, do I still have a place in your house?” “Is it even a question?” Ursa smiled, sitting in the couch. “I have a whole room ready for you. In every house I moved in, I always left a room for you.” “Can I-” Fudge had to take a deep breath before continuing. “Can I move in with you?” “Of course, do you want to move in today?” Ursa smiled with Fudge’s nod. “Do you need help with it?” “Yeah, mama. I love you.” Fudge relaxed in the couch. It was good to have a family again. Maybe his vacation to Aldora could take a bit longer than the intended.

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“Portia, how do I look?!” Fudge asked, messing with every bit of their fur in front of their bedroom mirror. “I need to look perfect for Hibiscus….” “You look great.” Portia rolled her eyes. “You know what? If she’s a dork like Pass said, I’m sure you two will get along great! Because you’re the biggest dork on this town.” “Oh my god, Portia! She’s my idol! I love her so much, I would kill someone for her!” Fudge complained. “Would it be too rude to bring a CD for her to sign for me?” “For Falena, Fudge. I have no social skills, why are you asking this kind of things to me?” Portia sighed, rolling to a more comfortable position on Fudge’s bed. “Bring a CD and ask Pass before asking Hibiscus, what do you think?” “That could be a good idea.” Fudge admired themself on the mirror. “Would it be too rude to bring all the CDs I own of her?” “Yes, especially because you have like all her CDs.” Portia decided to stand up. “Just grab your damn CD and let’s go.” “Wait! I didn’t choose a bowtie yet!” Fudge moaned, look through their wardrobe. “Bowties are for nerds! Let’s just go, you dork!”