- Jun 10, 2022
- 1
- 1
- 3
Puppy could make out her parents' words; not the sounds, but the meaning. It had never really been a barrier, big brown eyes sparkling with life as she'd try to imitate the barks even slightly. She learnt what the gestures and the expressions meant, the few things that they would repeat over and over until she understood (love, come here, eat, puppy). They were big enough to pick her up like a mouse, with teeth sharp enough to snap a stick in half. Puppy liked those things about them. And they liked her too.
With a wag of the tail, the small cat wiggled herself from where she had been sleeping. The dogs gave a soft smile, and she would nudge their paws in an effort to make them stand up. One of them reached towards her to pull her closer, but she managed to jump over it and look up at her mom. The twolegplace was not far, and the whole day was ahead of them. Maybe she would see a butterfly again, like the one that had landed on her nose a moon before. She had dreamt about it that night; perhaps that was a sign that the creature would be coming back.
A gentle maw picked her up by the scruff, to which Puppy purred in discomfort; she was getting big after all, and she could walk for herself. The thought vanished soon enough, and as the rays of the sun touched her eyes, her mother's tongue began swiping over her white fur until it was fluffed-up.
"I wonder what all is out there!" she turned to look at the dog, "isn't it beautiful?" Her mom seemed to have picked up on her gestures and glanced in the direction of the wilderness. Puppy was six moons old and constantly getting bigger; much, much bigger than they'd found her. She had no family other than this one, but she was satisfied. It was a sort of pack she belonged to, even if contentment didn't mean she never longed for anything more.
She turned when her mother spoke. 'Away... family... Puppy. Alone? Come back... find.' Puppy didn't think she understood, but her mother looked at her with a sad kind of love. The kitten tilted her head and looked back away from the town, this time staring for a little bit longer.
[ ... ]
It was time for her to leave, wasn't it? The thought hit her one evening while she was looking through the grass, trying to trace a line of ants back to their home. No matter how many blades she searched through, none of it was her own. And that was wonderful - her heart lit up at the thought of finding other cats to talk to, a world of her own. She'd never thought of such a potential journey before, only sticking to what she knew. Maybe that is what mom was trying to tell me.
She ran over and buried her face in her father's thick coat, to which he licked her behind the ear, drawing a light giggle out of her. It was going to be exciting, this adventure, and it was going to be hers. Through whatever stood in her way, memories would lead her past. Or something like that - Puppy didn't really know.
"Puppy is going to leave," she meowed quietly, and through the night she did; pale paws pressing down the undergrowth, head up and up in the clouds. She had a pep in her step, tail bopping from side to side, and brown eyes nothing short of curious.
"Hello, buttefly," she cheerfully greeted as a white one flew past.
( sick with puppy love )
