"What are you all gawking at me for?" Blaze asked.
"Apologies, my lord. We didn’t mean to stare at... it," Marrow said, looking at the thing between his legs in awe.
It wasn’t just her. Every single zombie was awestruck or confused after seeing their master. Well, technically, they were staring at the beast stuck between his legs.
The undead cheetah purred while Blaze rode on its back. It was an odd sight indeed. Especially since the cheetah had been stripped completely.
Its fur, its network of electric pulses, and even its horn. Blaze had taken all of it. But he didn’t take everything.
Its claws and sharp teeth were all intact, so the beast wasn’t as helpless as one would think. On top of it, now that it was a zombie, it wouldn’t get tired at all. Which meant that catching it was next to impossible now.
Blaze took away the cheetah’s gift of evolution and gave it endless stamina in return.
As for its fur, Blaze had draped it over his shoulder like a shawl. The rest of the organs were kept in jars full of formaldehyde.
"Why are you all acting like you’ve seen a ghost?" Blaze smirked, patting the cheetah’s shoulder. "It’s a docile creature. It won’t harm anyone unless—"
"That’s not the point, my lord," Marrow interrupted Blaze, nodding towards Fester.
The zombies were taken aback by the sight because Blaze was riding the cheetah.
Fester was already miffed with him riding ants. Now that it had seen him riding another beast, the little guy felt like he didn’t matter anymore.
Without expressing its thought, Fester disappeared into a hole.
The spire compelled the rat to obey the command, but it refused to dig its head up. It was its way of rebelling.
Blaze jumped off the cheetah’s back, walking towards the hole Fester had dug up.
"Come on, little guy... look at me, will you?" he asked, quickly turning to the spire. "It’s not a command."
Still, Fester didn’t move. Honestly, Blaze was a bit taken aback. Partly because the undead were developing feelings as an after-effect of evolution, which was strange to him.
Second, because the zombies noticed something, he didn’t. He knew he was a dudhead, but he didn’t think his horde would have more compassion than he did.
Not that I ever had compassion, but that’s not the point here.
Blaze shook his head and waved his hand. Marrow nodded and took everyone away, leaving only him, Fester, and the cheetah there.
They sat in silence, watching the distant rain.
At times, Blaze would poke Fester to get a reaction, only to get his hand whipped away by its tail instead. Well, he kept at it and eventually...
Fester let its head out to screech. That was the plan, but the moment it brought the head out, Blaze grabbed it by the neck and placed Fester on his lap, sideways, of course. After all, the little guy wasn’t little anymore.
Fester struggled, putting all of its might to break free. That’s when things went out of control. The spikes on its back stabbed deep into Blaze’s torso.
The rat froze. Its tiny eyes widened in disbelief.
Fester jumped off Blaze’s lap and ran to check on him.
"Relax," Blaze said, flicking Fester’s head. "It’s just a scratch."
However, Fester didn’t believe him. It sniffed the Blaze’s rotten blood and began circling him like a panicked puppy. It moved closer and brushed its nose against Blaze’s to comfort him.
Blaze couldn’t stop himself and laughed at the absurdity of the situation. What started with him comforting Fester turned into the rat comforting him.
Fester saw him laughing and thought he was howling in pain. It immediately rushed away, only to drag Marrow back with it. The little guy then turned to Blaze and pointed at his wound.
"You want me to heal Master?" she asked.
Fester nodded and pushed her ahead, urging her to get it done.
Instead, Marrow looked at Blaze as if asking for guidance. The latter didn’t want to break Fester’s heart again, so he nodded.
Fester’s worry wasn’t unfounded. At least, that’s what Marrow told it to keep up the act.
In reality, if Marrow had waited a second longer, Blaze’s regeneration would have completely healed him.
Only after checking that he was completely healed, did Fester return to sulking.
Blaze glanced at the cheetah, then at Fester. A strange plan brewed in his mind.
"Since Fester doesn’t want to talk," he said. "I should probably give the name to the cheetah, right?"
Fester’s ears perked up, but the rat didn’t turn around.
"Of course, my lord," Marrow joined in. "It will be a waste not to name it."
"Hm... from this day on, the cheetah will be Fes—"
Fester turned and jumped into Blaze’s lap. This time, it was careful not to cause any harm to anyone.
"Oh, now you’re sorry?" Blaze asked, crossing his arms. "Too bad, I already made up my mind."
"From now on," Blaze said, turning towards the cheetah and ignoring Fester’s protest. "You’ll be called Cheetah."
Fester howled before turning towards Blaze as if saying, Wait a minute.
"See? You’re the only beast that has a name," Blaze said, patting Fester, "because you’re the closest to me and nothing will change that."
"Closest...?" Marrow whined.
"Don’t start now," Blaze said, rolling his eyes.
Fester chimed in, waving his tail at her as if telling her to stay in her lane.
Further away, Cheetah purred, satisfied with the outcome. Perhaps, it was the most mature one in Blaze’s horde.
But then it stepped closer and did something unexpected. It licked Fester and stepped away, like it knew its place.
The four of them sat there amid distant howls, enjoying the rotten rain. They were like a strange family sharing a moment of peace before going back to hunting and plotting for conquests.