WEEKEND WRITE IN PROMPTS

Plan B and House

I don't relish creating covers for these prompt submissions, so I have decided to publish them as parts of the Weekend Write In prompts.  Here are the first.  I exceeded the suggested 500 words but not too bad since there are two prompts.

ptb

                                                                                    PLAN B

                                                                                    NOV 12

                                                                                    HOUSE

                                                                                    NOV 19

Me thinking, "Okay, here I am again. A day late and a dollar short on keeping up with the Weekend Write In prompts. Let's see what kind of shenanigans are going on now."

Human: Every time he thought of it he had to laugh, sometimes out loud. Tangle moving in with him and immediately making serious moves to become the alpha of the house. He was doing pretty well in his efforts. In dramatic fashion he displayed his distaste at the choice of food until there was a type of food more to his liking. He had even managed to sneak onto the foot of the bed, against the my wishes, enough times it was becoming expected. Life was good, Tangle was on the top of the world.

At least he was until a mangy cat came strutting through the fence into the back yard. Tangle charged full of fury and at the last second the cat exploded. Back arched, hair spiked like a blown up steel wool scrubbing pad, demon eyes, teeth and claws everywhere along with a screeching hiss that would scare a banshee. I had to laugh out loud again picturing Tangle flipping butt over head as he crashed, trying in vain to stop.

Then, to my astonishment, the cat licked Tangle on the snout a few times and followed him as he walked into the house through the doggie door.

Very quickly it was clear who the cat considered to be the alpha. A hiss here, touch of sharp claws there, and a little nip from teeth as pointed as sewing pins and Tangle's bed was now the cat's property. The cat had also made it clear what foods he did not like, only going through five or six brands before finding one he would finally eat.

Me thinking, "Nope. Don't really like where this is going. Kind of rehashing the old storyline. Time to find a Plan B."

Human: It was only a fairly short trip to the grocery store. Well, okay, since it was Way Mart I did browse through the fishing section for awhile. But, surely it could not have been long enough for what greeted me as I walked through the door as I returned.

Earlier, as the human walked out the door to leave going to Wal Mart: The cat sat with his front paws together next to his bowed back legs looking for all the world like the picture of peace and serenity. He heard the door shut but didn't blink or turn his head. He was staring fixedly at Tangle. Stupid dog had the nerve to actually curl up on his own bed and go to sleep, not to mention his irritating little snore. This would never do. The cat walked very elegantly over, looked another second, then gave the dog a whack on his snout with perhaps a bit more claw than intended.

The slap startled Tangle and the claws really hurt, this time drawing a little blood. Tangle had had enough. He bared his teeth, growled menacingly, and lunged for the cat intending to bite his head off.

As only cats can do, the cat bounced onto the sofa like a coiled spring released. His initial thought that would get him out of harms way was obviously wrong as Tangle's teeth clamped barely missing his hind quarters.

The cat leaped to the back of the sofa and knowing Tangle was right on his heels, then leaped for the adjacent pole lamp. He latched onto the shade and it might have held him except that Tangle crashed into it right behind him.

The two of them crashed to the floor with the lamp, bending the shade and breaking the multiple light bulbs. Scrambling to their feet they charged across the coffee table. An elegant crocheted doily snagged in the cats claw as he knocked over a tall vase of flowers spilling almost a quart of water. The two Lladro statuettes also shattered as they hit the floor.

Tangle bit the end of the doily rolling the cat over a few times as his claw finally tore loose. Tangle couldn't resist giving it a vicious shake but this gave the cat time to right himself and bolt away up over the recliner heading for the safety of the fireplace mantle.

Seeing the cat run away only fueled Tangle's anger. He had put up with that idiot cat more than enough. Right behind the cat he leaped into the seat of the recliner then launched himself after the feline, his back paw ripping the cushion.

The cat made it, with a little scrambling that shifted the cloth runner along the mantle. To his credit, Tangle almost made it as well. But, falling a bit short he only managed to bite the edge of the mantle cloth. The cloth, along with the cat, Tangle, three porcelain birds, a glass owl, and four votive candles fortunately unlit, crashed to the floor right on the fireplace utensils and a bucket of ashes from the last fire burned in the fireplace. The loud crash and the cloud of dust from the ashes looked like a bomb had exploded.

The cat sneezed, Tangle snorted to clear his nose and the chase resumed. Their path was easy to track after that as both had been heavily coated with dark ashes from the overturned bucket. The cat made a leap for the window curtain but had to let go as Tangle got his teeth into it bringing the whole thing down. Then onto the entertainment center dislodging a myriad of other knick knacks.

Finally getting good footing on a throw rug the cat whirled around and did his exploding move. His back arched, hair standing erect, eyes fierce, teeth and claws bared and a hiss of death. Unfortunately, Tangle was so close behind him that there was no stopping. They crashed together, rolled over each other amid fierce growls, high pitched hissing, along with a bit of fur flying and some bleeding. They both finally came to their feet and faced off against each other, still in full attack mode.

With neither of them giving in to the urge to lunge, the cat was the first settle by simply sitting as if nothing had gone on at all. After a few more growls, Tangle also sat. They looked at each other for a few seconds then the cat walked calmly over and licked Tangle's muzzle where his claw had drawn blood. Tangle let out a sigh and lay down. The cat continued to lick and began a soft purr.

When the human returned he opened the door, looked at the devastation. He closed the door, shook his head as if hoping he could clear it and make the images he saw go away. He then opened it again only to see that the images were actually real. He walked in and saw Tangle lying on his bed with the cat curled against his stomach. Both looked like well used chimney sweep brooms.

As he took in the broken objects, ripped cushion, blood spots on fabric, and the dirty trail of ash around the room he said, "okay, you two can have this one. I am moving to another house!"

Me thinking, "that should do it. Back on track."