Cat's and Dog's

Why cats aren't Nomads

It had been three days, three painful, frosty, lesson filled days. I was long over the disgust of eating roadkill and mice. I had learned that humans really do look down on strays. I had learned how to find a place to sleep, and ways to keep warm despite the cold. But the hardest lesson I had learned was the most painful lesson. I had learned how to fight. I had learned that animals are vicious; and in the wild they will do anything to survive. The worst, though, were other cats. I was a male, but I was young. I was a threat to be dealt with, but I was a threat. After the first two fights, I stopped trying to avoid them. After the third, I learned how to actually fight, and I used my claws to deadly effect.

I was stronger than the other cats, despite being smaller, but they still annoyed me. And they hurt. Luckily, I healed fast. I had also discovered, on my second day, that dogs were annoying. I could stand them, I preferred them to other cats, but they were so loud and they smelled terrible. But they were sincere and obvious. If they liked you, every part of them agreed with the decision. They were simple to understand, so I enjoyed their company more than that of other cats. All the more after my first meeting with the shifters.

I had been traveling cross country to stay on a south east path, when I'd encountered a town. It was early in the morning, The Sun only an hour over the horizon, I decided to go through the small city, figuring it would save time. So, rather than walk three hours out of my way, I walked half an hour through the town. Or... I wish it had happened that way. People, as I've mentioned, don't like strays. I was muddy, smelly, and altogether unpleasant at this point. That probably was what pushed me to walk through the alleys. The streets were to noisy anyways. But the alleys were my worst mistake. There were shifters in the alley ways. I didn't know about until too late however. So my alley walking went down less like an unpleasant stroll, and more like this:

I walked through the alley, my stomach grumbling slightly as I sniffed the air. I had decided to draw the line at garbage, though. I could wait for an animal. The other alley cats, though, had different ideas. Two leapt down from their place on the dumpster as I passed, hissing at me. I returned the gesture, flashing my eyes as I hissed. I'd discovered the trick a while ago, and it helped me avoid most fights. No smart cat messed with another feline if their eyes glowed. Unfortunately for me, these cats didn't back off. Instead, they glanced at each other before turning glowing eyes on me. I did the only reasonable thing. I turned tail and ran.

By the time they had me cornered it was almost noon. I was hissing and spitting, my back arched and my eyes darting and slitted in fear. They watched me, not moving, barely flicking their tails. More had gathered and there were now twelve cats ganged up on me. A thirteenth rested on a dumpster, watching me as his tail flicked back and forth. I had an irrational hatred of him, panic growing in my chest as he watched me. I finally had enough presence of mind to wonder why they hadn't hurt me yet, when the one I hated, his fur a rich golden-brown color, leapt from the dumpster to the ground. Only, he changed before he hit the ground. One moment, he was a cat like me, The next he was human. I froze, my hissing cutting off. I watched him, terrified, as he approached.

He crouched, eyeing me with a sly grin on his face. "Who are you, little kitty? You shouldn't trespass." I was barely breathing, fear hitting me hard. Then I thought of Cassia. Immediately I calmed, anger replacing my fear. He was keeping me held up, and I needed to get moving. I'd kill them all if they kept me any longer, the injuries to myself be burned. He tilted his head as I peeled myself off of the wall and took a more aggressive stance, surprise flickering across his face before he gained a feral smile. "Are you mated little one? Have you chosen your second half?" He moved slowly closer, making me acutely aware of him and centering him as my focus. I yowled, a warning that he shouldn't get closer.

He barely hesitated, reaching out a hand to grab me; I knew what would happen if he got me, or... I had an assumption. Mates were either friends or partners. If this man thought I would pick him over cassia, he had another thing coming. When he got close enough, I launched at him, claws pulling me forward as they dug into his skin. He howled and yanked his arm back as I continued to use him as a launching pad. I flew through the air for a moment before landing in a dead run. I knew where I was, I had gotten almost instinctively good at knowing direction over the past two days and I turned, almost without thought, to the southeast. I managed to flee the city and three miles down the way before I had to slow down.