A Cat's Tale

She snuffled around the room, leaving the warm nest of soft moving ground, that bunched and nestled. She let out a series of cries as she walked, attempting again to summon the tall pale one who gave her food and milk and replaced her mother. Her scent was fading but still heavy in the room.. Other similar but sharply different scented people came often though.. All tall, all pale, and many of them with coats of odd fur like the pile of warm and soft ground. Sometimes the fur hung to the hard ground that made up the rest of the world, and when they moved it flickered and twirled like prey. Then she would feel in her bones what to do, and she would hunker down and throw her young body ungainfully at the prey, thumping with her rear claws in an attempt to gut it open while she held it with her foreclaws. They would make their own cries then "Dusk"...that seemed to be the call that meant her. "Cutitoutbadkittyoffmydress" a high call. Praise maybe? Then they would bat at her with their own white paws, and she would show what she had learned, wrapping and thumping and biting with growing skill, and they would make high, excited sounds, and scruff her to show the lesson was over. Some would put her down...some would nuzzle her. One bit back, to give pointers. Then they'd set her down and reward her with food. There was food now.. Dead flesh, tasty and not rotten. Internal organs and muscle, already destroyed into little bits by their amazing claws left for her. She ate and lapped water, then with boundless energy was out the door, whiskers ready, racing itching muscles and seeking prey and life and smells.

It was a noble thing to be a cat. Knowing how to take care of yourself. Never dependant on others. Those part-furries were to unreliable. A feline is meant to rule. Baster was stretched out across a soft bed. Billowy and cushiony, it suited him. Warm sunshine played tag with the shadows from the colorful leaves of the tree above him. His pristine white fur entertainingly dappled with the action. Almost inspiring him to join in, but later perhaps. Right now he was surveying his kingdom. There was no reason to hurry into anything. Not until he heard a shrieked threat of his lovely fur being torn from his sorry hide. Ears perked forward..back. Head turned around quickly to assess the threat. It took a split second for a Good King to know when retreat was the right thing to do. With a hissed threat of his own, Baster fairly leaped up from Meren's dress..resting beneath the clothesline...and made a hasty dash into the nearby woods. He would return.

Dusk had sped past the room which had once held the slobbering, odd smelling, alien monster called a Duke by the pale tall thing the others identified with a low pitched cry of "joe". She went past the room where slumbered god. Mighty, huge, and powerful but benevolent, alpha-god was with his pale giant pride daughter, much as the tall pale thing in the den with the soft floor was her pride-mother. She paused as she smelled the beta Male. Her cry of hello and launch into play fighting had been met with an invitation to race! She was slower and less agile, and tired quickly... but she tried hard, instinct thudding in her brain out here in the place of light and heat and many smells. She chased boundingly into the place were many posts of good places to scratch exsisted and made the warm bright light spots scatter and teemed with life. Chase, chase chase...tired...reserves spent... she paused and flopped over for a nap. Her whiskers reported movement and she snapped awake, hunkering down at the small crunchy Thing crawling along the base of the dark huge post. She waited...waiting...testing the air..no..it wouldn't fly away... dark little crunchy thing with little crunchy legs.. Wait...wait...muscles ached with tension stomach empty want food...wait..now! Pouncing flurry of batting paw on quick sharp now there! Hit! Turn over! Bite! Crunch.. Movement ending.. She paused..then like she had seen Beta-male do..like she had been taught by Alpha-god with his giant kills..she chewed and ate.

Baster had gotten up a good head of steam, running into the low foliage at a hot run. The self proclaimed King forgot to look twice and leap once so it was not his own skill that stopped him, but something soft and dark. The fluffy oaf smacked right into the now dining Dusk and rolled both of them into a mucky, wet pile of leaves.

Beta-male was a wise teacher! He had lured her into a food spot, then waited until she was eating to ambush her on a playfight! Dusk was stunned at first, but realzied other hungry pride or outsiders may try to challenge and take her food. Had she not fought litter brothers and litter sisters to gain the sweet and lifegiving milk in the very beginning? It had taught her well, and this new cunning reminder gave her new ideas as they landed in a dirty, soft spot which matted her fur and covered her with scents and things that clung to her. Not to disappoint however, even as new crunchy things scattered from the mighty hunters of the pride, she launched herself at Beta Male with a whirring cry of announced attack, the fur on her little tail out in a puff. Batting, clawing, trying to bite leg, or neck, or ear, She thanked Beta Male for the play by unleashing all her body knew of combat. What fun!

WhoaWhoaWhoa..what was up with this female? Man. Does she not know you don't attack the King? Sheesh. Wait. Hold on. Female? How had he let such a delightful detail slip his Royal attention? For the moment he let her claim the pounce. Encourage her to drop her defenses, then....yes. COUNTER-pounce. HE was victor now, and she was the spoils. So lovely, so soft, so..ok so dirty, but he was no bed of roses either. He offered to help her with some grooming. A tender lick of her ear. Another spot found, and that rough tongue smoothed back some puffed up fur. Could she not hear him purr? Surely she was impressed with his prowess? The finely toned physique. He was a fine specimen of Kingly cathood. She was His by right of Pounce.

If he failed to notice she was female, it was probably because her pride-new-mother pale thing had kept her well away in a room in a whole new place during the aching pain of heat. She had yowled, she had marked, but the tall pale one detroyed the markings with powerful sharp scents and petted her lowing "tooyoungbabygirl" and other soothing babble in that low nonsensical tone they all used. Now she heard the purring, and allowed aid with grooming though god was better at it with his huge tongue. It was nice, soothing, her breath and blood cooling in relaxation..then the fluffy white thing flickered past. Just a brief flick. Beta male did not have much pressure on her body, so when the white thing flicked past she bolted to it, chomping it as it wiggled...it tasted like beta male...his tail.. Brain still in predator overdrive, she bit and attacked.

Needle sharp teeth in his prized tail?? He yowled so loudly, the birds decided to move to another part of the woods. Well of course he let go of the silly female, Backed up and wrapped his abused tail safely around his paws. Humph. Perhaps she was not ..his type? She required more schooling in the proper way to ...to.. well ..anyway. He regained some dignity by smoothing the fur on his right paw. If ever a dismissive gesture was given, this was It. IF either feline knew they were being watched over by the Alpha-god-cat, they might be embarassed. That is if cats could be embarassed. Raj just remained out of sight, out of scent and chuckled.

She took this time to clean herself, her rough tongue darting daintily at the scents on her fur..she would need water after. She extended her back leg to clean it, over balanced and fell on her side. She looked confused a moment, gave a little cry of shock, then looked around before righting herself and cleaning elsewhere. The incident never happened.

Baster had suffered two indignities already this day. Earlier ones already forgotten. Perhaps he would grace the barns with his presence. Always a warm place to rest, a snack to be had, and if he was lucky ..really lucky...that gray tabby might be down there. He rose, smoothed down a errant patch of fur, and with head up, tail up even higher, left the still preening "child" behind.