Deja Vu

(ooc: July 20th, a few hours after Cats: The Epitome of Evil. Closed to Princess and the Frog characters for now, but I may open it up to others later.)

The whole way through the jungle and back to the Pridelands, Naveen had felt as though his heart was going to explode from his chest. He hadn't even stopped to see if Yzma had given chase or not. Once he was safely back in the Pridelands he finally allowed himself to relax. That had been one hell of an experience, and it had all stemmed from wanting to help someone he hadn't even known. One of these days, that desire to do good is probably going to get you killed. Naveen reprimanded himself.

Now the froggy Prince had himself a problem. He was a frog once more, and this time it wasn't by Facilier's doing. This time a kiss from a Princess probably wasn't going to help him out very much. So then, what was he to do? Hide out and hope that the transformation wore off? Seek out Mama Odie and ask her for any potential remedies to his problem? Whatever he did, Naveen knew he couldn't keep the fact that he was a frog again a secret for long. Sooner or later, Ray, Louis, and Tiana would have to come looking for him.

"Fraldy fraldonza... what am I to do?" Naveen wondered out loud. One hand went to his forehead and gently massaged it for a few moments. Boy, there was going to be a lot of explaining to do.

"Pfffffft! Pffffft! Pfffft!"

It was hard to blow a tune on his horn. Louis was depressed. Separated from Tik Tok, saddened because of the war and the death of the puppies he'd cared for had brought him to a low point. He lowered his trumpet and squinted, staring at a small animal who was there. Perhaps a new recruit? As he got closer the gator gasped.

"Naveen? That you, princey boy?"

Louis' presence was, actually, a relief to Naveen. He'd almost been afraid that it would be Tiana that would stumble upon him first. It didn't change what had happened, but at least he could start explaining what had happened to one friend. At length, he nodded a little to confirm that Louis was not mistaken. "Yes, it is me. It appears as if I have ended up in this state again. Rather by accident, I assure you. I did not mean for this to happen when I left camp for a bit." Naveen explained. He was just glad Facilier had had nothing to do with it. Had the shadow man been involved, Naveen probably wouldn't have made it back to camp at all. All the more reason to be thankful that it had been a cat that had transformed him.

"I thought I was doing a good thing, trying to save a young man from potentially being killed, and the next thing I know... well, I am back to this... this... frog Prince form." he sighed. Naveen couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the young-man-turned-llama after he had fled. Was he still stuck as a llama? Probably. It didn't seem likely that only one of them would get off the hook somehow. "So, here we are again. This time I do not know how I am going to change back."

Just then, Tiana entered the scene. She didn't see Naveen, on account of his new size. Her eyes were focused only on the gator. She noticed Louis' slumped posture, and deducted the obvious; he was down about something. She approached him with a caring smile on her face, and reached up to pat his scaly shoulder.
"Are you alright, Louis?" she asked quietly. Louis' eyes were fixed to the floor, but not in way of sadness - they were focused on something. She followed his line of sight, and noticed that he was looking at a frog. Why was it always frogs? But there was something familiar about this one...

Tiana let out a shriek of shock as she realised that she was staring at Naveen.

It certainly hadn't taken long for Tiana to arrive. Inwardly, Naveen was cursing this fact. Not because he was unhappy seeing her again, but because she had to see him in his present state. It was like their first meeting all over again! The sense of deja vu here is overwhelming! he thought. Naveen did visibly flinch at Tiana's reaction, mostly because he was a bit startled by the shriek, but didn't seem ultimately phased. Naveen had had a feeling that this would be what followed. "Tiana, it is okay! It is okay, I am all right! Just... covered in mucus again. This has been a very strange day." Naveen said. That really was putting it mildly. He'd gone into the jungle looking for some chance to have a little time to himself. Naveen certainly hadn't anticipated trying to save someone's life and ending up as a frog in the process.

"I can say this, though. If it makes you feel any better, I was trying to save someone when it happened. ...Why I thought this was a good idea I am not quite certain, but that is what happened." Naveen explained. He didn't know how he was going to explain the full extent of what had happened, but that was a good enough start. Wasn't it?

Tiana closed her eyes and rested her head momentarily in her right palm. “Ok…ok…” she muttered to herself under her breath, composing herself. She opened her eyes and looked down at her frog-husband again. “You saved someone, that’s good – but don’t tell me you were messing ‘round with the shadow man again?” Exasperation was seeping into her tone. “And would a kiss work again this time? To change you back?”

"No, no. This time it was not the shadow man." the confidence in Naveen's tone should have assured her of that much. He hadn't gone looking for Facilier, which did admittedly make Naveen feel a bit better, but had found trouble regardless of that fact. His explanation might have sounded just a bit stranger than his friends might have expected, though. Who would have thought that a cat would have access to magical powders of any kind, anyway? Naveen wanted to question where that little cat had even found her materials, but it was much too late for that. He had to explain what had happened.

"It was a cat that did this. She was making an attempt to kill this young man in the jungle with some... strange magic powder. I thought that I would be able to stop her, but the powder fell on myself and the young man anyway. So now I am back to being... well, this." Naveen explained. Almost as if anticipating some kind of disbelieving question or Tiana and Louis asking if he was being serious, Naveen nodded a little. "And I am being quite serious. That little cat was evil, I am telling you." he said. Unfortunately, his expression turned a bit melancholy when he finally prepared to address the last question Tiana had asked.

"Unfortunately, I do not know if a kiss will work this time. This is not the shadow man we are dealing with. I do not know how this... this cat magic works."

Louis titled his head to the side. Naveen was a frog again? He lowered his trumpet and shook his head. "This ain't makin' no sense here," Louis said nervously, "If the shadow man didn't do this...maybe that cat was the shadow man! Ya know in disguise! Kiss him Tiana! It's worth a try right?" Nervous gator was nervous.

What if he got turned into something unnatural?

"A cat?" Tiana asked. "Magic powder?" Under different circumstances, Tiana might not have believed Naveen. However, if there was one thing she had learned over the past few years of her life, in meeting Naveen, being a frog, and also in this war, it was that impossible things were sometimes possible. She heard the nerves in Louis' voice as he spoke, and nodded at his suggestion. "It is worth a try," she agreed, kneeling down and extending her hands to Naveen so he could hop into them. "I don't want you being a frog, and Louis is right - who's to say it wasn't the shadow man in disguise?"

"Cher! Louis! What's goin' on, y'all?"

Before Naveen even had a chance to try and reply to the suggestions of trying the kiss again, there was Ray flitting toward the group. Little firefly had missed the goings on that had occurred just a few minutes prior and was unaware of Naveen's current state. He could, however, see that there was something going on. Why else would his companions be standing together and apparently looking down at something? What he saw when he flitted closer, though, made him practically stop in mid-air. There, on the ground, was a very familiar looking frog. Ray had to rub his eyes a little to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. When he finally confirmed what he was seeing, he flitted closer.

"Capp'n? Dat you? What happened?" Ray asked. How was he a frog again? Why was Tiana not a frog? Ray silently wondered if Facilier had been involved, but he didn't want to ask. He wanted to hear what Naveen had to say for himself.

"Yes, yes, it is me." Naveen finally confirmed. It seemed the group was complete, minus the obvious lack of Mama Odie for the moment. Now they just had to figure out how they were going to deal with these shenanigans. He was a frog and uncertain of how to turn back into human form. However, Tiana and Louis did bring up a good point. What if the kiss would work? It certainly was not going to be harmful to attempt it. "And I suppose you do have a good idea there. It certainly would not hurt to try it. So, let us try this kiss, my Princess." Naveen said.

Please let this work. Please... I do not want to be a frog again.

No matter how much Naveen silently begged, he somehow had his doubts about whether it would work or not. Even if that little cat he had run into somehow was Facilier, she had used different magic than what Facilier had used. The chances of the same thing that had worked before working again were rather slim in Naveen's mind.

Tiana was silently pleading in her own head too as she picked up her frog-husband, and along similar lines. Please, please, please... She thought the same wishing words that she always had, except right now, there was no evening star. All the same, it didn't stop her wishing. She took a breath, then brought her lips to Naveen's and kissed him.

This has to work! Please, please, please...

Now it really did feel like the situation was an all too familiar one. There Naveen sat in his wife's hand with his lips puckering and him waiting for the kiss that would follow. Soon enough he felt her lips touch his, and he closed his eyes as if anticipating something to happen. For several moments he waited. There wasn't anything going on in the area immediately around him that gave him any sort of indication of something happening, but maybe when he opened up his eyes he would see himself as a human again. One chocolate brown eye opened, then the other, and he looked himself over at last.

No...

Skin was still covered with mucus and was that brilliant shade of green. It hadn't worked. He was still a frog. Disappointment was etched in his eyes and the sigh that followed couldn't have been any more of an indication that he was not happy right then. "Okay, that appears to have been a bust. But it was worth a shot." he said. Naveen was trying to stay positive, he really was, but it was difficult to do so. He'd been stupid and gotten himself turned into a frog again. This time, it appeared he might have to wait for an opportunity to change back.

Tiana sighed heavily at the frog/man that still sat in her hands. "Ok...so that didn't work," she said dejectedly. She set Naveen down carefully, her large brown eyes flooded with disappointment. "So...what now?" She looked around her friends for suggestions. "Ask Mama Odie? Or, I guess, our other option is finding this cat and somehow making her turn you back, Naveen."

"Ah think we'd be better off askin' Mama Odie fer help. It just dun sound like a good idea ta go lookin' fer an evil cat." Ray said. He was just as disappointed that the kiss hadn't worked, but going after the cat that had changed Naveen back into a frog didn't seem wise. What if they all ended up changing into different forms? It was bad enough having Naveen be a frog all over again, so the last thing Ray wanted then was for Tiana to turn into a frog as well. Besides, what would happen to him and Louis? Nothing good, that was for sure. Ray just thought it would be wiser to stay out of the evil cat's way for the time being.

"De question is where Mama Odie might be. Ah ain't seen her 'round here fer a bit." Ray said. Where his friend had gone was unknown to him for the moment. All he knew was that they needed to try and find her.