Chapter Text
Deep in the heart of the Tulgey Woods, the flowers giggled and chatted amongst themselves as the bread and butterflies fluttered about. The Cheshire Cat was hopping and floating across the lush boughs whilst he sang and hummed to himself. He let his eyes follow the rocking horseflies and a slight hunger began to grow in his belly. He eyed the flies for a long while until finally he couldn't take any more.
With a yowl, he pounced his way into the group of insects and opened his mouth wider than usual. With that, a struggle ensued with the cat attempting to bite at the horseflies and the horseflies avoiding the cat. The fat feline tried to no avail to swat at the pests as they kicked their tiny rockers. It was quite a brawl, but the flies managed to keep the Cheshire Cat distracted enough to let them flee. The last of the herd turned towards the cat and gave an angry whinny before flying off.
The Cheshire Cat emitted a low growl and then hissed at the air. He crossed his arms and pouted for a few seconds when he noticed that he was surrounded by hundreds, perhaps thousands of bread and butterflies. Seeing his opportunity at a bountiful feast, the cat set off to eat all the buttery bugs he could capture. Jumping about and consuming the delectable creatures wore him out so he decided to give it a rest.
With a partially filled stomach, the cat laid back on the grass and shut his eyes. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, his tummy grumbled loud enough to make him immediately jump upright.
"Oh..." he groaned, "I'm still hungry?"
As he stretched, the Cheshire Cat looked around to see if there were any more bread and butterflies to eat. Unfortunately, they have all moved on to a different garden. The cat lamented for a split second and then smiled. He was sure that some other source of nourishment would come along sooner or later.
He was correct to think that because right in the nick of time, a single bread and butterfly appeared before his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a bread and butterfly at all. It was a regular blue butterfly and a beautiful one at that.
I hope she doesn't mind if I have her for supper.
As the Cheshire Cat began to prowl towards his meal, the butterfly sat itself down on a tall blade of grass. He crouched down and readied himself to snag the critter.
He waited...
...and waited...
...and waited...
...until finally...
...he pounced.
Everything flew past the cat in a blur and his eyes focused on the impressive wingspan. In a flash, the butterfly was caught and the Cheshire Cat awaited his delicious snack. His eyes scanned the insect closely and discovered that "she" was a "he".
A mild misconception, the purple feline thought, He's still going to be my meal.
"Don't you dare!" the butterfly shouted.
The Cat furrowed his brow and brandished a wicked, toothy smile.
"Why should I?"
"Do you have any idea how bad butterflies are for a cat?"
"Oh, really?” the cat sarcastically remarked, “Please, do go on."
"Well, I'll tell you exac-i-taly what the problem is. Butterflies are filled with a horrid venom that while it doesn't kill you, it can cause a dreadful rash that could last for weeks."
"I see... and this wouldn't happen to be some sort of lie you made up in order to urge me to let you go, would it?"
"Of course not."
"Alright then. Off you go."
With that, Cheshire released his grip on the butterfly and let him float freely. The butterfly thought he was in the clear by coming up with that fib when suddenly, a familiar pair of paws pinned him down right on top of a mushroom.
"Did you really think I would fall for that?!" Cheshire cackled, "I have tricked dozens of people in my life! What kind of cat do you think I am?"
"Please," the butterfly begged, "I have just began this new life and I would rather not have it WASTED BY A FAT, BULBOUS, EXCUSE OF A LIVING CREATURE!!!"
The sudden mood change caught the Cat completely off guard but that would not stop him from getting what he wanted.
"Brace yourself, this will be painful. You know how we cats like to play with our food."
He bared his sharp fangs and began to open his mouth. The butterfly shook in fear for his life. He then remembered what he was lying on. Thinking quickly, he thought back to the advice he had given to a certain young girl.
One side will make you grow taller...
He looked to his right and wrapped his hand around the edge of the fungus.
...and the other side will...
With lightning reflexes, the butterfly grabbed a piece of mushroom from his left side and broke it off. He then threw it directly down the Cat's throat. Instantly, the Cheshire Cat reared back a gagged, letting the morsel slip down his gullet.
"Mmm... Rather pleasant, but it could use some pepper- oh!"
The effects of the mushroom kicked in and the Cat shrank down to the size of the butterfly.
"Who's been duped now?" the insect sneered.
"Oh please," the feline scoffed, "I'll get an even bigger meal now that I'm your size!"
"Oh no, you're not!"
Immediately, the butterfly shoved Cheshire onto a nearby tree where a thick puddle of sap was oozing out through the bark. The cat struggled trying to free himself but the gunk was too strong for him. At least, that’s what he made the butterfly believe. Little did he know that Cheshire had even more tricks up his proverbial sleeve. The blue critter's face stretched around perhaps the most smug grin Cheshire has seen. Not even he has made such a pretentious expression – not yet, anyways. He planned to change that. The act begins now.
His smile completely vanished and he stared at his former dinner with pleading eyes.
"Well," the butterfly chuckled condescendingly, "Ta."
He turned his winged back to lift off, when he was thrown back onto the ground. He strained his neck and eyes to catch a glimpse of the culprit. It was none other than that damned purple striped cat.
“H-how did you…?” was all he could manage.
Cheshire's smile went from the conceited display he so wanted to make to one that is almost terrifying.
“Like I said before,” he softly repeated as he raised his claws with not-so proverbial spirals in his eyes, “What kind of cat do you think I am?”
Thinking quickly, the butterfly grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it right into the feline's face. Cheshire let out a loud cat wail as he covered his eyes. The insect frantically kicked himself away from his captor and grabbed a nearby fallen thistle by the petals. Immediately he swung the spiny stem over the cat's head, leaving a series of small scratches oozing bright red.
The butterfly ran deeper into the patch of grass, dropping the weed. Cheshire stood up and stared ahead as he was finally rid of the particles. His face was masked with absolute madness and that same grin plastered on his face. His eyes widened as the blood trickled upwards and back into his disappearing wounds.
The blue bug flawlessly glided through the thick forest of grass blades. He was mentally thanking biology for making his people quicker upon metamorphosis. He hadn't a clue of what was up with that cat, but he knew he had to get away. He finally wound up in a less grassy area where he stopped to catch his breath. His head pounded from the constant activity and his breaths were shallow. Suddenly, his hearing caught the sound of rustling behind him. In a panic, he turned about face to find…
Nothing.
A heavy sigh escaped his lungs. He stared at that direction for a while as a pair of yellow, glowing eyes materialized just out of his view.
“Gotcha.” They whispered.
The butterfly spun around, now horrified. Cheshire's entire form faded in right before the insect's eyes.
“Now where were we?” purred the feline. He drew out his claws and pounced on top of his prey. The butterfly grabbed the cat's wrists and pushed as hard as he could. He shut his eyes and braced for the inevitable. Why didn’t he just stay home, he thought. He could have been lying there smoking from his hookah. He felt so angry at himself for his idiot decisions. He also felt angry at this fat mammal above him. Couldn’t he have stayed home or at least find food somewhere else? Then, it occurred to him: why was he complaining? Why was he accepting this cruel fate? He bared his teeth and pushed harder than before.
No.
This is not how I’m going, he thought.
Cheshire watched in masked confusion as the butterfly continued to fight back. That confusion turned to shock when he turned deep shades of maroon, purple and red. The butterfly opened his eyes to reveal burning yellow and red eyes. The peepers fascinated Cheshire so that he unknowingly retracted his claws and let his guard down. The insect’s grimace changed to a slight grin as he threw the cat aside. Cheshire quickly recovered as he shook his head. He gazed up at his opponent in awe.
He’s stronger than I thought, he noted, but there’s something else. There’s something about this one. He’s so…
That speculation was interrupted when he noticed his former meal flying away.
"Wait!" the cat cried but it was too late. The insect had gone and would most likely never return. Not wanting to pursue him in favor of letting him live, Cheshire plopped down on his bottom then his back.
Oh dear, he moped, I lost my appetite. At least I don't have to worry about that anymore.
With that, he shut his eyes and fell asleep.
~~
The Cheshire Cat woke up to find his stomach still rumbling. His nostrils then captured the smell of fish, sardines to be precise. He stood up and floated to where the aroma was emanating from. There was in fact, a sardine lying in the center of a leaf. Cautiously, the Cat sniffed at the fish and reluctantly took a bite out of the fin. After waiting a few seconds with no signs of poisoning, he proceeded to dig in. He savored every juicy meat and every little bone that melted in his mouth. He licked his chops and plopped down on his back. The Cat then rolled around and purred to celebrate his full belly and mentally thanked whoever had given him this feast.
“Did you enjoy your dinner?”
Cheshire lazily picked himself up and searched the clearing for the origin of that voice. Out of the shadows hovered the butterfly he had attempted to devour not so long ago.
"You brought me this?"
"Still better than eating me, is that right?"
"But why? I haven't done anything to deserve your kindness."
"That may be true but I will say, however, you are very clever. Almost as clever as me,” the butterfly paused for a moment, “Also... I felt sorry for you.”
"Oh." Cheshire softly responded, blushing.
There was a long, drawn out silence which was soon broken when the butterfly cleared his throat.
"I should leave now before you eat me."
"Oh, goodness, no! I am much too full for that! And... Even if I wasn't... I... Erm..."
"You... what?"
"Well... With all due respect... No... Mmm... You see..."
"Yeeeeess?"
".......... I'm afraid I can't hurt such a beautiful creature like you."
The bug's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?"
"You're not just beautiful, you're stunning, you're so ravishing, I-- I don't know what else to say. You're suave, intelligent, and you're such a quick thinker! I think... I think I've fallen in love with you."
The butterfly stood in front of his ex foe with an apathetic look on his face.
"Fascinating. You really think I'm going to be flattered by such sweet talk? You're not even full, are you? You're still hungry and you want me to be your next meal."
"It's true! I really think there could be potential between us!"
"A cat and a butterfly? Feh! We're natural enemies."
"B-but I..."
The butterfly simply ignored the cat with arms crossed and nose in the air. Cheshire watched in disbelief as the butterfly started to flap his wings and fly away. In a hurry, he jumped up, grabbed the butterfly by his shoulders and gently placed his lips on his own. This caused the insect to gracefully float down to the ground. When Cheshire pulled away, he saw that his new friend's face had become a deep shade of teal and his eyes were wide in shock. Wanting to bring him back to reality, the Cat cupped his paws on either side of the butterfly's face and brought him in for another kiss. Separating once again, the butterfly shook his head and his lips stretched into what appeared to be a smile. An actual, warm, heartfelt smile. He pressed his hand against his chest to feel his heart beating hard. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply before he stopped himself. He looked up at the ecstatic cat. He placed his hand on the other's furry shoulder and gently nudged him back.
“I'm sorry,” he spoke with the slightest hint of hesitation, “but the answer is no.”
He turned to leave when Cheshire grabbed his hand.
“Can you at least tell me your name?” he asked.
“You should know that insects are so abundant that their parents never name them,” the other retorted as he withdrew his hand, “You may call me Mr. Caterpillar. That is what a little girl called me.”
With that, he spread his wings and headed for home.
Cheshire nearly began to sob when he recalled the smile Caterpillar let loose and how he seemed to reconsider as he rejected him. That vision made Cheshire's face stretch with his iconic grin.
“Playing hard to get?” he mused, “I've always loved a good game.”
He disappeared into the tall grass with a chuckle.
So began what was possibly the oddest relationship in Wonderland.