Post by Teh Squishy on Mar 15, 2006 14:14:47 GMT -5
;D Liz, Jem, Sharon, i think you three will enjoy this the most.
It's a one-shot, and it's told from Alonzo's perspective.
~~~~~
There are many strange and unusual stories told about the cats of the Junkyard, but none so strange as my own.
Ah, perhaps I should introduce myself, dear Queen. My name is Alonzo, a beautiful black and white tom. Dear me, calm down! I’m not THAT black and white tom (he’s more of a kitten, anyway). What he did to you was really for the best. Things are different for you now, but you’ll learn to embrace them. I know I did.
Don’t be so surprised. Of COURSE you’re not the first human to be turned into a cat! That sort of thing has been happening since the Everlasting Cat first MADE cats and humans, though it’s not very common to find us. We just…keep it rather quiet, is all. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit you were once a filthy two-legger. The only reason I’m telling you that I was one is to calm you down.
Now, where to begin? Let’s see…. it was almost four years ago that I last stood on human legs, but our story doesn’t start there. No, It starts a year before that, the day I adopted my cat. I was a lonely university student, a LONG way from my home in Hampton, trying to get used to life in London. I was failing miserably. The noise was unbearable, the weather was ALWAYS raining, and I always managed to get myself horribly lost. I was feeling rather homesick, so I decided to get a pet (thankfully, my university allowed them in the dorms). There was a rather shady pet store in the middle of town, which I KNEW had cats, so I went there first.
That’s where I saw him. Yes, the silver tabby who greeted you earlier. I was his human. The moment I laid eyes on him, I KNEW he was the cat for me. There were others, of course, but he was…special. He came right up to me, nuzzled my hand, and looked me STRAIGHT in the eye as if to say, “I am the one”. Heh, we were MEANT to live together. I adopted him on the spot. Later on, I tried to figure out what to name him. I remember distinctly that he spoke to me that night. He told me to name him “Munkustrap”.
That, right there, should’ve been a red flag.
It is not often that a regular, run-of-the-mill human can understand felines, and when it happens, it’s a very dangerous position to be in if you’re a cat. We are very secretive animals. There are things we know that weren’t meant for human ears, such as the Heaviside layer. Oh, what’s that? You’ll have to find out for yourself. Anyway, that instance with his name was rationalized, in MY mind, as my own strange thoughts at a very late hour, so I didn’t pay it much heed. Time went by; our bond grew, till there wasn’t a moment we didn’t spend together when I was home. I came to refer to him as my “Furry brother”, and it was obvious by the love he showed me that he felt the same. I thought that we knew everything about each other…
That just shows you how stupid humans can be. Me? Understand my cat? The idea was laughable. I sure didn’t know why he wanted to go out every night, and stayed out until morning, or who that strange lion-mane cat was that he always hung around with. I would find out later that he was showing me to his brother, who had wanted to know who Munku was always talking about. Heh, apparently I was quite the spectacle in the Junkyard. I didn’t know any of this, of course, but even as a human I sensed that my cat had plans and a greater purpose.
Anyway, nothing really interesting happened until his sixth month living with me. I was almost asleep when I heard a heated conversation going on outside my window. Thinking it was the roomies below me, I got up to tell them to sod off.
It wasn’t them.
“I’m telling you Tugger, my human isn’t like the others”, my Munkustrap said (I was too shocked to do anything at this point).
The maned Tom, now known as Tugger, snorted. “He seems pretty normal to me. Munku, one instance of him hearing you doesn’t prove ANYTHING. If he were to hear you on a regular basis, then I would take it to Old Deuteronomy.”
Munku bristled. “There have been…. other things, Tugger”.
“Like what?”
I listened closely. “I’ve been with several humans, and I have never felt this before. We have a bond that’s… unusual, to say the least. I don’t know how to explain it… Tugger, he shouldn’t be a human. He’s too much like a cat.”
The Tugger-cat laughed. “Right…. I’ll believe it when I see—“ He stopped and sniffed the air. Slowly, he looked up.
Right at me.
“Munku…” he whispered. “Munku, your human is looking at us.” Munkustrap looked up, and jumped slightly.
“Do you think he can hear us?”, he asked nervously. “How much did he hear?”
“No telling”. Tugger jumped to my windowsill and looked me in the eye. “Human…”, he said, “Can you hear me?”
What did I do? What else COULD I do? I was far too shocked to do anything but tell the truth. I nodded. They looked at each other and darted off into the night. Now, the next day I tried to tell myself that it had only been a dream, but I couldn’t shake it from my brain. On top of that, Munkustrap started acting strangely towards me. He stopped meowing completely, and stayed out much longer than usual. He also seemed pensive, less active. I was getting worried.
Then, one night, he didn’t come home at all. I sent out posters, ran myself ragged trying to find him, the whole works. After a week, I had almost given up hope on finding my beloved cat again. I’d looked EVERYWHERE, or so I thought… I heard from a kindly old gentleman on the east side of the city that families of cats had been spotted in this very junkyard, so I set off to look here. Sure enough, I heard meowing up in the piles of garbage. Do you know how HARD it was to navigate through all this rubbish? …. Oh yes, of course you do. You did it not one hour ago. I went through that, tearing holes in my jeans and shirt, until I came to this very clearing.
There, perched on the large tire, was my Munkustrap.
I was overjoyed to see him, of course. I ran over and picked him up, promising to never let him out of my sight again. He nuzzled my ear, and whispered, “You’ll never have to”. Well, naturally I was so surprised that I dropped him. Only then did I notice all the other cats, just sitting there and SMILING at me. I didn’t know that cats COULD smile. Munku jumped onto the tire again, and looked at me with an unfathomable gleam in his green eyes. “Dear Alonzo”, he began, “You and I have shared the same home, the same bed, and at times, the same food, for nearly eight months. Your devotion and love to me is both noted and reciprocated, but our bond has gone far past normal Human/Cat relations usually go. You understand me. You can hear me, and you always have.” He walked forward. He seemed bigger than he had been. “Alonzo, it is not a common occurrence. Few humans ever understand their cats.” He smiled again and stood up. He WAS bigger! I stumbled back in surprise, but the other cats caught me by the arms. They were all bigger, some even taller than I was (or had I shrunk? I wasn’t sure).
“Wh-What’s happening?! What’s going on?!” I cried out, struggling against the paws that held me down.
Munkustrap frowned. “Why are you frightened?” He nuzzled me again, and whispered, “You always said that we were brothers…. Well now, we can be.”
I really don’t have to tell you what happened next, as it’s self-evident. It took me a while before I felt comfortable in my new body, but with Munkustrap’s help, I soon became an accepted member of the tribe. Hmm? Do I miss being human? …… Honestly, no. There isn’t a thing I can think of that I truly lament living without, though opposable thumbs DID come in handy once and a while. Family? I suppose they think I’m dead by now, and have gone on with their lives. Anyway, I’m sure the others will grow to love you, as you seem very nice. Also, don’t hold this against Mistoffelees; he was only trying to help. If you’ll excuse me, I need to tend to other business. Oh! Before I go, I never did catch your name…
Victoria? It’s a beautiful name, for a beautiful queen. You’ll fit right in.
~~~
It's a one-shot, and it's told from Alonzo's perspective.
~~~~~
There are many strange and unusual stories told about the cats of the Junkyard, but none so strange as my own.
Ah, perhaps I should introduce myself, dear Queen. My name is Alonzo, a beautiful black and white tom. Dear me, calm down! I’m not THAT black and white tom (he’s more of a kitten, anyway). What he did to you was really for the best. Things are different for you now, but you’ll learn to embrace them. I know I did.
Don’t be so surprised. Of COURSE you’re not the first human to be turned into a cat! That sort of thing has been happening since the Everlasting Cat first MADE cats and humans, though it’s not very common to find us. We just…keep it rather quiet, is all. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit you were once a filthy two-legger. The only reason I’m telling you that I was one is to calm you down.
Now, where to begin? Let’s see…. it was almost four years ago that I last stood on human legs, but our story doesn’t start there. No, It starts a year before that, the day I adopted my cat. I was a lonely university student, a LONG way from my home in Hampton, trying to get used to life in London. I was failing miserably. The noise was unbearable, the weather was ALWAYS raining, and I always managed to get myself horribly lost. I was feeling rather homesick, so I decided to get a pet (thankfully, my university allowed them in the dorms). There was a rather shady pet store in the middle of town, which I KNEW had cats, so I went there first.
That’s where I saw him. Yes, the silver tabby who greeted you earlier. I was his human. The moment I laid eyes on him, I KNEW he was the cat for me. There were others, of course, but he was…special. He came right up to me, nuzzled my hand, and looked me STRAIGHT in the eye as if to say, “I am the one”. Heh, we were MEANT to live together. I adopted him on the spot. Later on, I tried to figure out what to name him. I remember distinctly that he spoke to me that night. He told me to name him “Munkustrap”.
That, right there, should’ve been a red flag.
It is not often that a regular, run-of-the-mill human can understand felines, and when it happens, it’s a very dangerous position to be in if you’re a cat. We are very secretive animals. There are things we know that weren’t meant for human ears, such as the Heaviside layer. Oh, what’s that? You’ll have to find out for yourself. Anyway, that instance with his name was rationalized, in MY mind, as my own strange thoughts at a very late hour, so I didn’t pay it much heed. Time went by; our bond grew, till there wasn’t a moment we didn’t spend together when I was home. I came to refer to him as my “Furry brother”, and it was obvious by the love he showed me that he felt the same. I thought that we knew everything about each other…
That just shows you how stupid humans can be. Me? Understand my cat? The idea was laughable. I sure didn’t know why he wanted to go out every night, and stayed out until morning, or who that strange lion-mane cat was that he always hung around with. I would find out later that he was showing me to his brother, who had wanted to know who Munku was always talking about. Heh, apparently I was quite the spectacle in the Junkyard. I didn’t know any of this, of course, but even as a human I sensed that my cat had plans and a greater purpose.
Anyway, nothing really interesting happened until his sixth month living with me. I was almost asleep when I heard a heated conversation going on outside my window. Thinking it was the roomies below me, I got up to tell them to sod off.
It wasn’t them.
“I’m telling you Tugger, my human isn’t like the others”, my Munkustrap said (I was too shocked to do anything at this point).
The maned Tom, now known as Tugger, snorted. “He seems pretty normal to me. Munku, one instance of him hearing you doesn’t prove ANYTHING. If he were to hear you on a regular basis, then I would take it to Old Deuteronomy.”
Munku bristled. “There have been…. other things, Tugger”.
“Like what?”
I listened closely. “I’ve been with several humans, and I have never felt this before. We have a bond that’s… unusual, to say the least. I don’t know how to explain it… Tugger, he shouldn’t be a human. He’s too much like a cat.”
The Tugger-cat laughed. “Right…. I’ll believe it when I see—“ He stopped and sniffed the air. Slowly, he looked up.
Right at me.
“Munku…” he whispered. “Munku, your human is looking at us.” Munkustrap looked up, and jumped slightly.
“Do you think he can hear us?”, he asked nervously. “How much did he hear?”
“No telling”. Tugger jumped to my windowsill and looked me in the eye. “Human…”, he said, “Can you hear me?”
What did I do? What else COULD I do? I was far too shocked to do anything but tell the truth. I nodded. They looked at each other and darted off into the night. Now, the next day I tried to tell myself that it had only been a dream, but I couldn’t shake it from my brain. On top of that, Munkustrap started acting strangely towards me. He stopped meowing completely, and stayed out much longer than usual. He also seemed pensive, less active. I was getting worried.
Then, one night, he didn’t come home at all. I sent out posters, ran myself ragged trying to find him, the whole works. After a week, I had almost given up hope on finding my beloved cat again. I’d looked EVERYWHERE, or so I thought… I heard from a kindly old gentleman on the east side of the city that families of cats had been spotted in this very junkyard, so I set off to look here. Sure enough, I heard meowing up in the piles of garbage. Do you know how HARD it was to navigate through all this rubbish? …. Oh yes, of course you do. You did it not one hour ago. I went through that, tearing holes in my jeans and shirt, until I came to this very clearing.
There, perched on the large tire, was my Munkustrap.
I was overjoyed to see him, of course. I ran over and picked him up, promising to never let him out of my sight again. He nuzzled my ear, and whispered, “You’ll never have to”. Well, naturally I was so surprised that I dropped him. Only then did I notice all the other cats, just sitting there and SMILING at me. I didn’t know that cats COULD smile. Munku jumped onto the tire again, and looked at me with an unfathomable gleam in his green eyes. “Dear Alonzo”, he began, “You and I have shared the same home, the same bed, and at times, the same food, for nearly eight months. Your devotion and love to me is both noted and reciprocated, but our bond has gone far past normal Human/Cat relations usually go. You understand me. You can hear me, and you always have.” He walked forward. He seemed bigger than he had been. “Alonzo, it is not a common occurrence. Few humans ever understand their cats.” He smiled again and stood up. He WAS bigger! I stumbled back in surprise, but the other cats caught me by the arms. They were all bigger, some even taller than I was (or had I shrunk? I wasn’t sure).
“Wh-What’s happening?! What’s going on?!” I cried out, struggling against the paws that held me down.
Munkustrap frowned. “Why are you frightened?” He nuzzled me again, and whispered, “You always said that we were brothers…. Well now, we can be.”
I really don’t have to tell you what happened next, as it’s self-evident. It took me a while before I felt comfortable in my new body, but with Munkustrap’s help, I soon became an accepted member of the tribe. Hmm? Do I miss being human? …… Honestly, no. There isn’t a thing I can think of that I truly lament living without, though opposable thumbs DID come in handy once and a while. Family? I suppose they think I’m dead by now, and have gone on with their lives. Anyway, I’m sure the others will grow to love you, as you seem very nice. Also, don’t hold this against Mistoffelees; he was only trying to help. If you’ll excuse me, I need to tend to other business. Oh! Before I go, I never did catch your name…
Victoria? It’s a beautiful name, for a beautiful queen. You’ll fit right in.
~~~
(made by insaneboingo) (weaselwoman13 @lj for ava)