In Place and in Mind

Interlude - The Cat

A cat was climbing a tree.

Up and up it went, chasing an unfortunate bird that was innocently chirping away, perched high in the branches. The leaves rustled as the Cat climbed higher and higher, the innocent bird having tricked the cat into climbing so high even the strongest tree could not hold its weight, for the branches were too thin and would snap so easily.

The tree branches screeched, and the Cat tumbled down, down, down too enamoured by the bird's soft chirping to notice the bending of the branches and ended sprawled on the ground.

Undeterred, the Cat righted itself, focusing on the cunning bird that had tricked it so. This time, however, the Cat did not get quite so close, as the bird had learned from its mistakes and flew away quickly. Heaving a great sigh, the Cat came to rest high in the branches, hidden from the world around it.

The world was quiet.

Soon, the Cat grew tired of its fruitless hunt, and scaled down the tree to its base. The sleek cat worked its way through the jungle of the garden, stilling at the steps that would lead up to a soft, warm room. The wind picked up, rustling its fur just so, and created the image of a mighty lion's mane. Standing there, the Cat looked as dangerous as its distant cousins, looking almost wise with the breeze gently brushing its fur.

And then slowly, and languidly, it started to scale the steps in front of it. It lifted its great paws, one at a time, to leap and bound up the large staircase, and came to rest in front of a great throne, with a great Man sat upon it.

This man was the Cat's Master, the one who has his loyalty. The Cat softly nudged at the Man's leg with its mighty foot. It sighed softly as its efforts were found to have no effect, leaning back on its hind legs, preparing to spring into the air and land on next to his Master on the great spacious throne. The Cat jumped, landing silently on the throne, and the beast tried again to rouse the Man, opening its jaws to give a great roar, a sound so powerful it made the trees shake, and petals fall from flowers, all creatures great and small retreating in shock and fear of this magnificent beast.

The Man slowly, oh so slowly, opened his eyes, gazing upon his loyal servant with cloudy eyes with no recognition to be found. He gave a great blink, and yawned a yawn to rival even the Cat's greatest roar. As he opened his eyes once more awareness dawned on him, and his mouth moved to form a wide grin, teeth shining in the last lights of the day.

"Hey Mr. Muffin." The Man blinked again, noticing his cat sitting at his side on the sofa. The cat mewed again, and the Man laughed, gathering his little beast in his arms. The cat gave a great struggle, but it was no use, for his Master was much larger and stronger than he, greater than he could ever hope to be. His Master soon released him, placing him gently by his side on the sofa.

Closing his eyes, his Master started to relax again, but the Cat had other plans. It was unbecoming of a Man of his age to still be having afternoon naps! That was for children, and his Master was never a child! So, Mr. Muffin took his great paw and struck at his Master's arm.

"Hey!" His Master squeaked, "Don't do that!" The cat looked regretful but swiped again once more just to be certain. This spurred his Master to give another undignified shriek, leaping from his seat on the Throne and pushing the Mr. Muffin off at the same time. "I said no!" His Master yelled, pointing a finger at him threateningly, his eyebrows drawn together tightly. "This is my new school jumper! You've already ruined the last one, silly cat!"

While the Man yelled, the cat simply stared at him unblinkingly, and then turned away, flicking his tail.

"Benji! Are you yelling at the cat again?" A voice called from inside the Warm Room, sounding itself comforting and warm. It was his Foodbringer. "Have you been out here this whole time? Mum wants you to help with the stew tonight, remember?" The voice was drawing closer, and the cat's ears perked as it turned to face its Foodbringer, its Mother. Foodbringer stepped outside, casting Master an unimpressed look. "Haven't you grown out of afternoon naps yet?"

Master scowled at her, and she moved to sit on the Throne where he had sat moments before. Mr. Muffin meowed at her in protest, but she simply grabbed him and hugged him close like Master had, giving warm kisses to his belly. Mr. Muffin supposed it was ok if she wanted to sit in Master's Throne just this once. "It was the first day back this term, give me a break," Master muttered to her, moving to stroke the cat's head once more. Foodbringer sighed, putting the cat down once more, and turning more to face her younger brother.

"Ben, I know you don't like school, but you really shouldn't be getting this tired for a primary schooler." Her words are soothing, and Master averts his gaze to look out at the garden. Her mouth forms a smirk as she continues, "Besides, what would Dom say if he found out you were still having naps like a little boy? And in your uniform still too." Benjamin glared at her statement, but quickly averted his eyes once more to look at the ground, mumbling an apology. Foodbringer's smirk widens in triumph, and she reaches over to ruffle his hair, laughing as he scowls and tries to fix it.

"Come on, you've been lazy enough today, go help mum make dinner." With this she stands and holds the door open, calling Mr. Muffin into the Warm Room after Master has entered, and shutting the door behind them. Today's hunting trip was over.