Scribbles and Drabbles

Notebook Drabble 9

Written: 2017

Background: This takes place in a travelling circus of supernaturals. They turn into blue feline creatures. No one outside of the circus knows the truth about how they come to be or how it works. Anyone who tried tends to disappear. They stay in a town for a couple of months and does some under the table work while performing before moving on, so the authorities don't get suspicious.

I was initially daydreaming about two other characters in this story but never wrote their story down. If you like the concept, one of the stories that I need to clean up uses similar ideas.

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It was early in the evening, not dark yet by far, but the long shadows marked the fact it was fast becoming dusk. Arther mused he might have left it slightly too late to escape his clan unnoticed as he tied down some barrels securely. Tomorrow they would be heading to their next venue.

Tonight was the summer solstice, one of two days in the year when magic ran free from the confines enforced on it by the humans. And so, one of two days when the clan could turn a human member into the beasts which most of the 'true' clan members were. It was a dangerous day if a person had no intention of sprouting blue fur and being trapped as a blue cat until they learned to shift.

Arther was 34. Tonight was the last time he would be a viable candidate. The last time he would have to sit in the tent with blood on his forehead, waiting in hope or horror to be chosen or reject by the elders. If he planned it right, it wouldn't be entering the tent at all.

He might have made a misstep already. The feline members were beginning to prowl the borders of their encampment, shooing humans back to the centre with jobs if they strayed too close. It was innocent enough to the younger, more innocent humans in their pride. Arther had been part of us too long to fall for that.

Their yellow eyes were studying every human too closely regardless of their age or connection to the pride. Predators marking their prey, ready to pounce if someone made a wrong move. Or in the case of one of the babes trip up, as a feline swept them up fast to comfort them. Tonight was not the night to leave camp. Arthur smiled at the sight of the feline calming the child but knew he wasn't going to let it stop him.

He was still going to try.

He was not stupid. The 'chosen' human was typically someone of some significance. A chose mate of a feline member, a child who had grown to the right age, or sometimes a person with great skill who have proven themselves worthy for the clan were all reasons to be picked. He was not the first, the elders hadn't chosen him when he was 18, and he had useful skills but no more than any other member of the circus.

Sometimes reasons were not so pure. Sometimes humans were changed as a punishment; for trying to expose them or trying to leave without permission. The elders thought being forced to remain was far worse a punishment than death.

As cruel as it was, Arthur was counting on these reasons. The two young men they had kidnapped were restless and desired to leave. One still had a loving family who had an idea about his fate and made no secrets of the fact he wanted to go home. The other was less reluctant to stay but was the mate of one of the pride's best hunters, so there were other reasons to pick him.