Honeyed Pasture FREE BABY

She's a cat.

She's a kitty-cat.

And she meow-meow-meow and she meow-meow-meow.

But for real though. She slunk on her belly through the grass, cowering under the shadows of circling birds of prey. She was used to there being a Larger cat around. The ones with the long noses and the stiff tails. Sometimes they were small, like her, but those ones seemed to grow very fast. She still liked them best, and she missed the ones she'd known in her first several months of life. She'd been trying to get back to them, in fact, but the Larger cat she followed now hadn't been very helpful.

And now it was Gone.

She cried for him again, loud and distressed:

"MAAAAAAAU-AAAAAU-AAAAA-OOOOOOW!"

Where was he? Where was she? The world was so big without the Larger cat's shadow to lock herself into.

Sumac decided this time to head to the coast through the Wilderness, skirting Dutch's glacier on his way through the flat, open tundra. His steps were uncharacteristically light, merriment sparkling in his golden eyes as he hummed a soft little tune to himself. One could only suppose love would do that to a man. His outstretched tail waved easily behind him, and he paused his little ditty to inhale a great breath of arctic air.

"MAAAAAAAU-AAAAAU-AAAAA-OOOOOOW!"

What the hell was that?!

'Mac threw his belly to the ground, hitting the proverbial deck as his widened eyes darted about, searching for some rabid, wolf-hungry monster to come baring down on him. He held his breath. One. Two. Three... Nothing happened. Slowly, cautiously, he lifted his head above the tall grasses, his ears and eyes scanning each direction for the source of the threat. 

Eventually, his innate curiosity got the better of him, and he carefully lifted himself into a crouched position. Slinking through the swaying blades, he sniffed here and there, catching a scent that was unfamiliar to him. Something... small? Odd. He continued, a little less wary now, as he headed in the direction he believed the sound came from.

It wasn't until he almost stepped on the creature that he discovered it, freezing and ripping his paw back as if he were about to step on a rattler.

"Oh! What - what's this? It's like a... miniature cougar..." he wondered aloud, gawping openly at the tiny feline in front of him.

She went quiet when she senses something nearby and crouched low in the grasses. It drew closer, but the cat had never been taught to run from danger. Only to get behind the Larger cat when she was scared. As such, she found herself frozen in her terror, unsure how to best protect herself. She'd never had to worry about such things before!

But, miracle of miracles, it was the Larger cat! He'd come back for her!

A river of praises and complaints and pleas came meow-meow-meow[i]-ing out of the cat's mouth. She rammed her head — [i]hard — against the Larger cat's front leg and rubbed her teeth against his ankle. Oh, she would be so good! She would never wander again!

She gazed up at the Larger cat in adoration.[/i][/i]

"I-er... What do I do?" 'Mac said aloud to himself as the diminutive feline gave him a thorough... scolding? And then proceeded to jam itself into his foreleg. He kept one paw in the air, his jaw hanging open in surprise as he stood, frozen on the spot. 

Was it... a baby cougar? It didn't seem like a baby. But what IF it was a baby cougar and the parent was nearby? No, no, it wasn't fat and round, like puppies were. A weasel? No, it smelled similar to what he'd first labeled it as - a cougar. 

What do I do with it?

He wasn't about to eat it - he was sure it wouldn't taste very good, anyway - but he couldn't well leave it here: it seemed distressed earlier. 

"Uhm... hello?" he said tentatively, placing his elevated paw back on the ground, "O-okay, I'm just gonna... keep going, I guess?"

Sumac was thoroughly befuddled. He had to admit, the creature was kind of cute. It had big ol' eyes and ears, and it made cute noises. But surely there wasn't anything he could do for it. Maybe it had a mini-cougar family to run back to. Now that's something I'd like to see... a family of tiny mountain lions! he thought to himself.

The Larger cat made deep trombone sounds like the adults on Charlie Brown. Raja responded with Noises in kind, singing the self-pitying song of her people. Oh, she was so hungry! Oh, she had not been paid any attention for so very long! How could the Larger cat have done this to her?

But she forgave him, of course! She showed him that by tripping him when he began to walk, winding between his long legs. Legs that had been lighter in color the last time she'd seen him.

He had smelled much different then, too.

But who could know the strange mysteries of the Larger cats? Not she, their humble servant!

She walked in his shadow, even when the sun was high. This was her gift to her returned master.

This thread is so real it's painful

"OOF!" 'Mac grunted as he tripped once, twice, thrice over his new companion, "Seriously? I don't think that's going to work."

He frowned as he came to a halt and glanced down at the "miniature cougar," perplexed as to his new situation. Why is it following me? he wondered.

Side-eyeing the little beastie, he slowly started walking again, only to notice that it persistently tailed him. Yes, it was adorable, but he wasn't quite sure how he felt about having acquired such an... adoring admirer. 

"Uhm, okay... so, I'm gonna go get up to speed so I can see my girl, and you... be good? Uhm. Nice to meet you?" Sumac barked over his shoulder before launching himself into a trot at traveling speed.

When the Larger cat spoke, Raja spoke back. High, plaintive meows, still somewhere between agreement and desperation. She did indeed follow, stopping when the Larger cat stopped, and then picking up the pace when he did as well. A trot was no trouble to keep up with at first, but soon enough, the cat was panting in exertion.

She trailed behind and had a short rest before bounding after Sumac once more. Short bursts of speed were much more manageable, though she did start crying again any time she perceived the Larger cat had gone too far from her.

But, one way or another, Raja kept him in her sights. She'd learned her lesson and would not be left behind a second time.

Sumac released a sigh of near-desperation. He was torn: obviously, the creature was not going to relent. He could simply take off and leave it, but that wasn't in his nature. It was obviously distraught and looking for company. Fate, it seemed, had determined that he should be responsible for the little thing - perhaps its way of preparing him for fatherhood. 

With another sigh, he turned around and reluctantly lumbered to meet the miniature cougar halfway in its efforts to catch up to him. He frowned.

"Just don't cause trouble, okay?"

Delicately, he bent down to pick the cat up by its scruff before trotting back off in the direction of the coast.

I'm good with a fade

The Larger cat finally heeded her calls, and returned to take Raja in his jaws. She had not been carried this way in a long time, and she wiggles briefly against his hold — but she was only eight pounds or so, so it was not much of a strain on either of them.

Raja's tail tip twitched in discomfort, but other than that, she was happy enough to take the ride.