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"Kitty!"

The Growth from Infant to Toddler

The lovely pink shades of roses danced before Ranis’s eyes. The delicate flowers reminded him of a watercolor picture that hung in Keirro’s bathroom. The illusionary quietly sat next to Keirro on the ground while she trimmed away at the roses; the pink petals fell before the infant like a gentle rain.

It was a beautiful to be outside. The infant adored the outdoors and nothing could make it better than being with the one person Ranis cared about. Ranis looked up at Keirro with a smile on his face. He really was a cute little rugrat, when he didn't act like a feral brat.

Keirro smiled down at the infant. It was so rare to see Ranis look so content and peaceful. The doctor continued to peacefully snip away at the rose bush while keeping a careful eye on the infant. She had worries on her mind, mostly involving her patients, but she felt that she could deal with them soon enough.

The little infant started to smell something he recognized: the neighbor’s cat. Ah, so they meet again. Ranis could pick up that the cat was quite nearby. Likewise, the cat was fully aware of the infant.
The two had met on a day like this not too long ago. Regretfully, it ended up with Ranis and the cat both in bad shape. Ranis never liked the cat, but he wasn’t going to bother with it for now. He would give it a warning, something that was bound to startle the cat. Now, what was it that adults called cats?

“Kitty!” the infant spat. Both the cat and Keirro jumped and stared at Ranis; unlike the Cat, Keirro did not flee or hide. She simply dropped her trimmers and knelt next to the infant.
“Oh my gosh, did you really talk? Say kitty!” cried Keirro. Holy cow, she hadn’t expected this for at least a year. She didn't think about the possibility of an infant talking so soon. She only thought about a bridge that was building between her and the illusionary.

“Kitty!” cried Ranis, taking joy in the attention he was getting from his guardian.
Keirro hugged the child. Ranis felt pride in making his guardian proud of him. All he really wanted was her affection and time and now he was starting to get more and more of both. The two were finally bonding into the role of guardian and Illusionary. The infant laughed even though he could feel his body starting to change.
He was too busy to notice that he was now slightly chubbier and rounder. He hadn’t realized that his legs would soon be strong enough to walk. His animal features were becoming more refined, but that wasn’t important to him at the moment.

“Kitty! You can say Kitty!” she said as she picked up the toddler, it would be much later that day until either of them would realize that Ranis was finally a toddler.

Sacred Ground

The meeting with Asmadai

Journal,

Gary's involvement with the toddler has proven beneficial. I'm not sure where he takes the child, but it is starting to work miracles. Ranis is exhibiting more docile behaviour and his verbal skills are slowly improving.
He exhibits signs of tenderness towards my garden. His savage behaviour is starting to give wayto something more laid back.

I was never too good with children, I suppose I need to start asking for advice rather than just give it. I have been looking at this the wrong way. Gary keeps suggesting that I should take modeling classes and do a few runway gigs to help pay the bills, since my degree is only stressing me out.

I'll consider all things in time. My prority is taming the beast that dwells within the walls of my house.

Free Bird

It was a hot lazy afternoon day as Keirro worked meticulously to keep her garden in full bloom. The woman slaved over growing watermelons, tangled ivy, and withering gardenias.

Ranis, content to stay out of the blistering sun's rays, had found shelter under the shade of Keirro's back porch. The toddler purred as the warm weather made him drowsy and lazy. He was quite content to curl up in a hammock and drift off.

As the boy closed his eyes, images of a wonderland danced before him. He could faintly hear the sounds of exotic birds fill the air with their poetry. The forest around him glowed with an otherworldly luminescence. The leaves shined a golden hue and contrasted perfectly with the chocolate brown coloring of treebark. The ground was covered with the golden leaves , reflecting the same glow as the treetops.

Ranis pressed on through the woods. He reached a clearing by a glassy lake. The sky above reflected the rays of twilight, drenching everything in orange, purple and pink. The grass in the clearing look like shards of thin cut emeralds.

As Ranis took in the paradise, he saw a cloaked figure ahead of him, welcoming him. There was somthing comforting to Ranis about the figure and he an up to the figure in puppy-like joy.

The figure knelt and embraced the toddler.

"You have a while to go." The voice sounded sad and wise. Ranis grunted in confusion. Where was e going?

"Don't worry, I'll be watching you. I wanted to show you this place." responded the figure as it stood. It turned to the lake and sighed. Ranis blinked but did not question the words of the figure. Instead, he laid on the grass and took in its honey-like scent.

It was such a quick dream. Yet it lasted, it seemed to go on for hours. When Ranis woke up, he could only remember the trees and the lake. He felt quite confused when he opened his eyes and saw Keirro working in her garden. The place seemed so real and yet ethereal.

After Ranis accepted his return to reality, he quickly dozed off again, but this time the dream was about steak.

Journal

Praise God! Ranis went camping with Silver! I can't express the joy I feel! The toddler seems to be mellowing out. However, he is now simply quiet rather than aggressive. This could be a sign of pent frustration rather than a change of behavior. If only I could get him to stop bringing in wounded animals! I'm tried of picking up dead mice from my door step!

He prefers to be messy and he obviously loves the great outdoors. He shows a great curiousity of the enviroment around him and loves to learn how to help me care for my flowers and keep the pests out. He is perfectly content with sitting outside for hours on end while I sunbathe. He has a sandbox that has become a hevean for him and has helped him express creativity.

His first day of school apparently was interesting and I expect a report from a teacher soon.

I Dream of a Hunt

For several months, the young feline known as Ranis had learning more about the world around him. His ideas were changing, he was getting bigger, and though he remained mostly stand offish, his vocabulary had expanded. He had taken to a skin cape that Gary had bought for him as a present and Ranis had already started to mimic ancient hunting practices of indians he observed on the television.

In his imagination, the backyard was his world. Keirro's lush garden was an ancient jungle, the grass represented the planes, the muddy spot by the water hose was a swamp and the patches of dry earth were deserts in his eyes. Ranis watched from within the garden shed for any signs of something to practice his growing hunting skills on.

The backyard was quiet, not even birds dared to land in the yard with Ranis on the prowl. Ranis thought about how happy Father Asmadai would be if Ranis brought him a live bird to keep. Father might reward him with a delicious chocolate chip cookie! Ranis purred at the thought of a free sweet.

However, Silver would probably like something fresh, not moving, and big. Nothing like that ever showed up in Keirro yard, except for the stray rabbit that dashed just out of Ranis's reach. A lizard would be way too small.

Ayame would be the hardest to hunt for. Ranis had developed a friendship with the girl and was glad to have someone with a good set of brains to help him get back at schoolyard bullies. If Ayame was anything like Keirro, a flower would more than suffice, provided it came from anywhere NOT in his guardian's garden.

Ranis's growth from toddler to child ment that he had to learn to care about others. HE had to learn that Keirro could not care for him alone. He wanted his guardian entirely to himself, to keep her happy, safe and worry-free. But he couldn't do that. He wasn't sure way, but he knew that he couldn't fulfill all of Keirro's needs. He also had needs that Keirro couldn't fill. He needed a father figure, and he secretly hoped that Silver would be able to step up and take the job.

His attention was caught by a flash of green resting on side of the fence, next to the fish pond. Ranis slowly creeped up to the lizard until it was within reach of his grasp. Then, the anole spotted Ranis.

The tension was mounting. The predator and prey both locked eyes, but neither of them moved. Both knew that they only had seconds to decide when to move and how. Ranis knew that these lizards bit, and they bit hard . He would have to grab it by the head to avoid the animal's teeth.

Ranis finally made a move. He tried as fast as he could to snatch the lizard, but the anole unexpectedly jumped off the branch towards the child, causing the boy to frantically search his wardrobe for the reptile.
The last Ranis saw of the little beast, it scurried into a crack in the fence, just out of Ranis's reach.

The boy growled and returned to his post in the shed. If there was another thing he learned, it was when to quite.