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 Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 12:49 pm
Things scared him, but not as much as sounds did. The crack of something underfoot sounded like a horrible crash. A two-legger's kit's wails could easily be percieved as unearthly screams. Sizzles from the kitchens and restaurants, amiable words exchanged between cats and humans alike as he passed, wingbeats form birds above him - it didn't matter what it was, it was all scary and new to him. Having been cooped up in some form of a house or cage for pretty much all of his short life, Elijah suddenly found himself thrust into a whole new world: and he wasn't sure if he liked it yet.
His first mission now, though, was more important than paying attention to all of that scariness. He needed to find his family! They had to be somewhere here, right? Maybe? Elijah kindled that hope inside of him regardless of all evidence to the contrary: he hadn't been born here for sure; in fact, his family was from America. But if he didn't believe that there was the slimmest chance that they were here too, then . . . then . . . The kit clenched his eyes shut to avoid tearing up, even though he felt his eyes grow moist.
Once he felt it was safe to continue, Elijah pressed himself close to the side where buildings collected and carefully shuffled his way forward. He was aware that he was given odd stares from time to time: how often did someone see a blind, winged, scarred up cat after all? On several occassions he heard sirens in the distance and freaked, running into the shaodws and hiding himself amongst garbage until the wails were far, far away. Each time he was sure it was the agency trying to find him again, to take him away and force him into another home. Not again! Never again! Paranoia fueled his steps no matter how many times he tripped.
And then . . . and then! There it was! His senses had been honed to high sensitivity, and there was no mistaking it: what he found was the trail of another toyger! The little one's heart skipped a beat in elation. "Momma!" he whispered to himself, following the scent as fast he possibly could. Momma!!
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 4:10 pm
Ara had been out around the human area as of late with her need to get further from the trees. It was getting into badger season and she kept smelling them all over the place. She just wanted to get away from it all and forget about her horrible...attack. Her hand trailed over the large scars over her chest and she looked around as she walked down the side walk.
She had been working on alot of new dances and was wondering if she should work on them in someplace public with strange cats around. She sat on a planter in front of an abandoned housing area and looked around. There were alot of other cats around, and since it was getting close to evening some of the humand had gone away. She nodded and looked around as she set her staff with in reach but stood infront of the house. She closed her eyes and listened to the music in her head and began to dance. She spun and dipped. She twirled and leaped as she opened her eyes to make sure she didn't run into any thing.
She was in the middle of a part of her dance when she heard a small voice calling out mommy. She stopped and caught her breath and looked around. A kitten was lost? She looked around and saw a scared up, winged toyger with a cross. She frowned and walked over. "Are you lost little one?" She asked as she walked closer to try and help the distressed looking kitten.
(Its not in this pic but it will be on her next growth but she has three long scratches down the front of her chest going from her right shoulder to under her left breast from being attacked by a badger. They have healed well but shes a little sensitive about them and how they make her look now)
Spicy Marmalade! Now that it's exploded into being, seize hold of this evening's chance.
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Tiger_Kisa699 Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 5:57 pm
Each time the cross hit the ground it made a soft clanging noise, continuing to drag him down, though never once did it occur to Elijah to simply drop it in his elation; the red ribbon was wrapped securely around his forelimb anyway. And to lose it was equivalent to losing that very limb as far as the very young kitten was concerned. Like a five-yeard old's security blanket, only . . . smaller, harder, shinier, and more meaningful. Though still that meaning eluded him.
Regardless, Elijah's ears pricked at the sound of the woman's voice, and somehow it didn't bother him that she didn't seem to recognize him at first. After all, how long had it been since they saw each other? Elijah himself barely remembered anything at all. It was only natural that their reunion would feel like two strangers finding each other. Her aura, when he attuned himself to it, felt like he was running a paw over the very surface of the water: smooth, soft, fluid . . .
He hastened, wanting to envelope himself in it. "Momma!" he cried again, slowing a bit before he thought they would crash. "M-Momma, it's me! Elijah! Are y-y-you okay?"
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Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 10:54 am
Ara looked over the little male as he called her momma...? Momma? She looked down at herself and frowned for a moment...Did she look old enough to be a mother? She wasn't sure but she didn't think so but she was planning on having kittens. She sat on the round and pulled him into her lap. "Shhhh child its ok. I don't think i'm your mother but i can help you look for her if you like? Are you injured?" she asked as she looked him over, noting the 'wings' on his back and his blind eye she felt bad for the poor boy. "My name is Aranyani, but call me Ara. Are you ok Elijah?" She asked softly as she touched the cross tied to his leg softly and pet the poor boys head.
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Tiger_Kisa699 Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 11:33 am
Not . . . not Momma? But he had been so sure! It was a woman and a toyger . . . but maybe it wasn't good to assume on just that. Still, he had been so sure! The kitten whined softly, quickly ducked his head away from her hand, and pulled the cross away and closer to him. No funny ideas! "No, no, no . . ." What question he was answering was not decided. Elijah suddenly returned from the hopeful thing he was into his usual frightened self, and his back arched a little. "I-I'm s-s-sorry . . . P-Please don't hurt me!" he wailed. "I-I thought . . . thought you . . ."
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Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 1:06 pm
Ara smiled softly as the little male and shhhed him. "Calm down little one. Its going to be ok. I do not want to hurt you. I'll help you! We'll find your mother and if we don't find her soon you can come stay with me and my fiance. Does that sound ok?" She said reaching out to pet his back softly. "I only want to help. I know what its like to be lost." she said with a smile as she looked at him. "Would that be ok? I'm more then happy to help you. I don't know very many other toygers. I know my brother and i've heard of a few others but i don't know them. But i'm sure we'll find her." She said with a smile. She wanted to keep the kitten and start her family with this one but he seemed to want his own mother more so she would help him find her as best as she could.
Spicy Marmalade! Now that it's exploded into being, seize hold of this evening's chance.
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Tiger_Kisa699 Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 1:37 pm
No, it wasn't going to be okay! Momma wasn't here! Momma wasn't anywhere! Maybe Momma never left America . . . Maybe he really was here all alone. He shivered and bit his lip, again ducking away from Ara's hand. He lost his balance this time and wobbled a bit, tail curling, ears still bent as he stared intently where her stomach was, thinking that was eye level. "Sh-she's not here," he said, disconsolate. "I-I've been looking f-for forever . . . Momma's not here!" Several tears welled over and spilled, and it felt like each heartbeat pushed his throat even more uncomfortably against the terrible collar - if you could call the dastardly looking thing by a name so mundane.
This Aranyani was very nice, but Elijah was too wrapped up in his own sorrow to even take her up on an offer, and he felt horrible to shut out these abnormally kind options. "Momma . . . M-Momma's in A-America," he explained with a sniffle, wiping at his face with the pack of a paw. "I-I was born there too. What's th-this place?"
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Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 4:45 pm
Ara smiled. "Please. Take a deep breath and then let it out slowly. It will be ok. This is Japan, and its a very long ways from America. I'm sorry your so far with out your mother. But it sounds like shes not here. Why don't you come home with me. I'll get you warm and cleaned up and get you some food. I have some fish and chicken at home. There might even be a little shrimp left if you like those." She said as she opened her arms. "I'll even carry you. You look tired and that cross looks hard to walk with." she said. Maybe she could talk him into letting her tie it to his back so it didn't hinder his running if he needed to run. "Everyone is really nice where i leave and i cant leave you here lost and alone." she said, her heart breaking just looking at the poor boy.
Spicy Marmalade! Now that it's exploded into being, seize hold of this evening's chance.
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Tiger_Kisa699 Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 5:21 pm
"But . . ." He couldn't just abandon his family like that. Wasn't that what it meant, to go with this nice woman? Like trading off? Oh God, he felt horrible just thinking about it. Maybe he was wrong, maybe they were also somewhere in Japan after all . . . But what if Japan was as big as America? He'd never find them then! Too many places, too many cities to look at, pounds, agencies, human homes even . . . or worse. But Elijah did as Miss Ara said and took a deep breath, still quivering slightly as he exhaled slowly and repeated several times - at least until his heart stopped frantically beating.
"I-I can walk," he asserted, forcing himself to stand up straighter. "He walked with a cross on his back too once, a-and he never complained. So I can too. Um . . . Wh-where does Miss Ara live?" the kitten asked timidly, wondering what other cats could live with her. Were there a lot? He wasn't very good with a lot of cats at once . . . Though the prospect of food was tempting. "Are you sure th-they won't mind me? I'm a f-f-f-" - oh, he hated to say the word, but Elijah believed it was true! - "freak."
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 12:48 am
Ara smiled at him and shook her head. "Your not a freak." she said. The word made her want to cry for him. She placed a hand on her chest, over her large scars and shook her head. "Don't ever say that darling. It took me a really long time, and my Morph, to realize that i'm not a freak for having these scars. They dont make me any less then i am. And if others cant accept me for them then i don't need to be friends with them. Your perfect. And where i live is kind of far away. So if you want to walk then just let me know if you get too tired. Would you like this tied to your back to make it easier?" she said pointing, but not touching the cross at his leg.
She smiled and got closer to him. "I don't want to replace your mother, but if you let me i can temporarily be her till we have a chance to search for her here. I'll take care of you and Morph will help too. There arnt many where we live, and the ones there are in class's most of the time too. I'll be gone for my class's and you can wander if you like but i'll stop in in between class to see you. Would you like that? To stay with me when were not looking around for your mother?" she asked with a smile. Her eyes were watery as she felt her heart go out towards this little boy who felt like she had. She wanted to scoop him back into her arms and never let him go!
Spicy Marmalade! Now that it's exploded into being, seize hold of this evening's chance.
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Tiger_Kisa699 Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 8:03 am
Maybe . . . maybe it was best. Momma wouldn't like it if he kept going on alone like this. What if he got hurt again on the street? It'd only be a matter of time before something happened, given his disabilities . . . He shuddered at the thought. Maybe he needed to go with Miss Ara, to stay alive for his family's sake. "O-Okay," Elijah said at length with a small nod, an awkward movement since he had to jut his head out to avoid pushing more against the skies of his collar. Miss Ara's aura was strange now, almost as if he were about to feel rain. Like crying . . . ? Eep, no crying, no crying!
The kitten paused again at the idea of putting the cross on his back, nervous to let go of it for even one moment. As he unwrapped the ribbon from his forelimb, Elijah grew more and more anxious, until at last the red ribbon was free completely. He nudged it closer to Miss Ara and lowered himself to the ground for her to tie it one, shifting his weight about until his "wings" had been spread and were now touching the ground. "Who's Morph?" he asked while waiting for the cross to be put on.
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 11:09 am
Ara blinked a few times to stop the tears as she picked up and cross and the ribbon and began tying it nicely to his back. "Morph is my fiance. That means i love him and one day we'll have kittens of our own."She said with a smile as she placed the cross in the middle and the ribbon wrapped around it a few times and then she wrapped the rest of it like a harness around his chest to keep it nice and still. She looked over it and wiggled it a little to test it wouldn't move too much.
"Ok hows that feel? Better?" she asked. She couldn't help eying his collar...it was the most evil thing she had seen besides badgers, those might as well have been the Devil himself. She frowned but didn't touch the thing. "We should get that off of you soon. I'm sure you'll feel much better." she said with a smile as she pet his head softly.
Spicy Marmalade! Now that it's exploded into being, seize hold of this evening's chance.
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Tiger_Kisa699 Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 11:24 am
This time, he allowed her a few pets, though the sensation was so odd that he withdrew purely to get his head straight. The kitten wiggled his limbs a bit, testing Ara's work, and nodded in satisfaction; they would hold, and it wasn't too uncomfortable. To think, he too would have a cross on his back! Except this was from someone he was now thinking of as a friend, rather than a nameless nobody that strapped it on for humiliation. For a moment, his limpid tail twitched with some energy.
"Hokies, I-I think I'm ready to go. Fee-an-say," Elijah repeated back. What a funny word! "Is he a toyger too?" If he was, at least if they did have kittens he wouldn't feel so out of place. It would almost be like having his family back!
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 11:28 am
Ara giggled at how he tried to say the word. It was pretty good and sounded so cute she just had to love the little guy. "Very good. And no hes not. Hes a mix breed cat but i love him any ways. The only other Toyger i know is my brother." she said with a smile as she stood up and pulled her long curls over one shoulder.
"Let me grab my staff and we'll be on our way. If you get tired let me know and i'll carry you ok." she said as she walked a few steps over, grabbed her bag and her staff and looked at him. "Its a bit of a walk so we'll go nice and slow." she said happily as she waited for him to get closer to her.
Spicy Marmalade! Now that it's exploded into being, seize hold of this evening's chance.
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Tiger_Kisa699 Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 11:35 am
Ah well . . . He had to have hoped either way. And Miss Ara had said that her brother was the only one she knew already, so he kicked himself for forgetting so quickly. In the wake of new prospects like having a family, food, a surrogate pair of parents . . . Wait, but what if Mister Morph didn't like him? It niggled at him as the kitten followed after the other toyger, this doubt of not being accepted. It was easily the biggest fear he could have, even moreso than of loud noises and more pain. That was something.
"I won't get t-tired," Elijah repeated as they walked. The slow pace was taken gratefully, however. His paws hurt after several hours of wandering that day, but he dared not breathe a word of it, staying close to Miss Ara and trying not to make too much of a scraping noise as his paws shuffled against the ground. He would take the time it took to reach her place to consider how he would introduce himself best to Mister Morph, and any others they might meet along the way.
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