Pussyfooting

[Zodiac]

It was perhaps the largest distortion the feline had ever encountered.

It stood out like the full moon on a clear night to her eyes. She sat and looked up at the aura of colors and energy dancing about the 'crack' that hung in the air above her. It was not a portal. Her instincts told her that much. If it was a portal, it was a one way type and what she could see of where it went was not too pleasant at all. Spirits groaning and floating about as if in torment, others wandering about as if searching for something, sometimes she saw spirits fighting other spirits as well, but the truly sad ones where the few that just hung in place as if they had given up totally.

A 'doorway' to a very sad place it was.

The cat was unable to pull her eyes away from it though. Despite its gloom and dread interior, the outer edges beckoned with a quality she could not resist gazing upon. Like the moon. No human could ever perceive the moon the way her kind could save perhaps for the wolves who sang such sweet songs to it in the night. Enchanter, blessing, danger and more all rolled up into one point of silver ripping through a shroud of darkness. The feline had also sensed the unique vibrations from it long before she has seen it. It was what had lured her to this spot. The general area was quite active. The 'alive-not alive' types were running about from place to place frantically searching for something. She avoided them, as always, for several blocks and followed the vibrations and when she first stepped into the abandoned building she saw the glow filling the air. The closer she approached, the more the glow and vibes filled the cat's senses till she found herself sitting on the floor looking up at this wonder in the air above her.

A wonder, yet a danger as well. Despite the enchanting colors and the soothing tones, she did not try to get closer to it. She could see what was on the other side and nothing motivated her to jump up and in to explore that strange broken landscape hiding on the other side. Her tail twitched and she meowed softly, as if hoping one of the spirits she saw within might answer her call.

Noise caught her ears now. Something had entered the building. She could hear footsteps moving about-searching frantically about the place. Were the 'alive-not alive' so blind that they could not see the glow filling the place as she could? She had sensed it blocks away while this one could not see it when it was mere feet from where they were? It was not till the 'alive-not alive' finally stepped underneath the disruption did they finally see it.

Then, they marveled for a few heartbeats. How limited were they that they could not see it until it was right in front of their faces? The 'alive-not alive' had not even noticed the feline crouching there watching them, their attention was too riveted on the crack in the air now. What would it do? What could it do?

The sounds of others approaching motivated the vampire into action. The 'alive-not alive' reached up with their hands and touched the energy dancing about. A connection was made and the cat backed up several steps and hissed as the power began to flow from the opening and into the 'alive-not alive'. The scant aura the vampire gave off seemed to glow brighter for a few moments until the energy faded, plunging the room into darkness again. It stood there as if adjusting to a change within and then laughed as it turned to leave the building. No trace of the distortion remained to be seen by her eyes. She watched the vampire leave in silence.

An hour later, she exited the building. The world outside had calmed down again so she walked boldly down the streets in the direction of home. The cat's instincts screaming something bad had just happened. The 'alive-not alive' saw it as a good thing but something else flowed from that distortion as the vampire stood there absorbing the energy from it. It was a tangible (to her senses) thing in the air, and it was growing stronger every night now. The mystery was beyond any concept of thought the cat might possess, but she knew enough to be sure and try to steer her 'person' away from the distortions now. She had failed her person once in keeping her from harm, she would not fail a second time. Yes, there was power here. Power her person could use, but what came with that power...

OOC: this was not based on any particular vampire, but the idea that several have admitted they had found and absorbed a fracture so consider it your own story told from a different view if you have absorbed one. Besides, you gonna tell me in all the running to find a fracture, your vampire noticed a cat? Doubtful.

[Zodiac]

In the seasons, there is invisible urges only felt by certain things. As if a switch had been thrown and suddenly things are set in motion for brief times, only to vanish again once the urges have been spent. All it takes is for one to sense the change and act and others will follow suit. It is the way of nature itself and nothing any mortal or vampire can do can stop it.

The smaller black cat tore through the room like a runaway rocket and collided with the orange one sleeping near the door. It jumped in surprise as it was rudely awakened and gave chase after the other. Both cats tangling up and knocking over the umbrella stand, sending parasols out onto the floor. The chase was on. Orange chased black into the kitchenette and with leaps the continued their game across the countertops. Items along the way knocked aside and over in the process. Animal experts had a name for this and nature had its own term one would imagine.

Most just called it 'Frazzing'.

The entire apartment was suddenly a battlefield as one chased the other in abandon. Wrestling and biting, not to the point of inuring the other, only to break loose and chase some more. Gone was the delicate, graceful motions these animals normally used in haughty abandon. They were now furry juggernauts crashing about their world and the surroundings were taking a beating in the process. The smaller black dove under the bed. The orange jumped up on top to try and ambush the smaller one when it emerged and froze in mid stride.

The alpha female was laying there sleeping. Normally both cats avoided her when she was like this, but the sight of her tail laying extended on the blankets was suddenly a tempting target for the orange one. It hunkered down and wiggled its hips while its eyes almost burned a hole into the length of flesh and fur laying in wait. The tail twitched a bit. A reflex action in sleep, nothing more, but it was suddenly a green light to the orange cat as it pounced on the tail and bit it. The larger female jumped up and howled as it found itself under attack. The smaller black cat exploded from under the bed, running full speed to the bathroom and the orange leapt after it. The alpha zeroed in on the chase and leapt from the bed. In several bounds she caught the orange in the bathroom and the pair crashed against the laundry hamper. The smaller cat ran for cover as the hamper tipped over and spilled clothes out onto the floor as black and orange went at it like a pair of professional wrestlers. The alpha caught up to its child quickly and gave it a taste as well. The three way war went back and forth as the damages to their surrounding began to build up.

*****

The sound of a key unlocking the door went unnoticed. The door opened and closed and the small woman blinked as the lights came on and revealed the carnage done to her home. Two black and one orange globs of fur were sleeping soundly in different spots of the room. The girl righted the umbrella stand and dropped her parasol into it.

"What the hell? Another earthquake? YOU GUYS!" her thoughts shouted at the three globs of fur. The smaller black one opened its eyes and rolled onto its back as it looked at the girl. The mystic sighed and sat her purse and keys down on the table. After replacing the other parasols in the stand, she looked over the mess again. She pulled a broom and dustpan from the side closet and began to clean up the aftermath.

[Zodiac]

It made no sense,

but then little the so called masters of the world did ever make sense to her.

She followed her person regardless as she played the game again. A curious game. Other people the feline recognized as 'friends' of her person all working their way up into a building. Why did this take so much effort, the cat could not fathom. Most buildings were quite easy to go up and down in, but these people kept finding ones that were troublesome to navigate, then insisted they go anyways.

It made no sense.

Whatever was master of these places did not want them there-it was obvious. Traps galore hiding within the shadows. With feline grace she slipped past then, only to see a human lumber right into them later. Even the 'former persons' were not safe. Ghost like forms suddenly tormented and now able to be seen by all as the device pulled them in. Blind as bats-the lot of them. If it was possible, she could tell them what her senses said about this place. The smells and tastes, the hints of auras, lingering heat of busy hands. Odds were, if the cat passed the makers of these places on the street, she would know them insofar as their scent and guide her person to them so that she could demand what she would of them.

The idea does fall apart, however, when she tries to speak. Gentle, loving hands lift her up to lean against her person's breast as the girl nuzzles and pets her lovingly. "Yes, yes, I know." was usually the reply. Her person could not help that her mind was far too primitive to understand the subtle hints, twists and inflections that came in the feline's vocal efforts. The cat would hang in her arms and accept her attempts at comfort as she fumed in impotence. Her person was more sensitive then most to her moods and ways, but lacked those final parts that would make life so much easier to deal with.

Like those bits of plastic all of them spent so much time trying to find among the ones who try to hinder them and defend these places. It gave off such a unique aroma to it that if they all stood in a line, the cat could easily ferret the one out who had one from the group. "This one! Get this one!" she'd meow, but with her luck the most that would happen is more sympathetic pets on the head.

So she watches them. Bullets piercing, blades ripping, traps tearing, working them all into frazzles as they labor upwards level by painful level. She herself simply slipping from shadow to shadow without a bit of fur being ruffled in the process. It is a race of sorts. Others play this game too and the entire lot of them are hellbent on being the first to the top. Do they share information to make it easier? Hardly. Some even do what they can to hinder others along the way as well. She supposed one day one group would turn on another and a small fight would break out among them. The prize forgotten.

And what exactly was 'the prize' in all of this? A pile of the cold bits of metal and paper they all enjoyed using to get things to drag home? The shiney stones were much more interesting. Not the ones in a treasure box, but the few she would find lying about occasionally. They had a quality, tone and scent to them so different than things held by people hands. Sometimes, if she lay still beside one for long enough she'd notice even more things about them, as if the bit of shiney rock was trying to speak as well. The difference between herself and rocks vs herself and the persons was she would try very hard to figure out the rocks. The persons could not even understand the complexity of a simple meow, let alone what the rock was whispering softly (or the fact she could hear it and tried to tell them about it).

Sometimes, in their home once her person fell asleep, she would go to the spot within where her person had locked away the different rocks she had managed to find. The cat would sprawl out on the lock box and focus away. Trying to gain a clue into what those rocks were whispering to each other. Oh yes, they spoke softly to one another. If she could only figure out how they 'meowed' and how to understand them.

Until then, the persons would continue to play the game. Which in ways was not a bad thing. Playing the game meant more rocks would come and join the pile. Adding another hint, another tone, another note, and hopefully in time...

'Meows' she could understand.