- Mar 7, 2024
- 8
- 0
- 1
✮ ⋆ ˙ Life had been good for Ignition, at first.
He was born lucky, perhaps. His ears formed a perfect arc, a curl crafted by generations. Pedigree. Gifted to him by a mother he hardly knew, plucked from her nest in infancy. His first memory is not of her - her form is hazy at best, more marked by milk-scent than any face - but of the towering twoleg scooping him up, cooing wordless sounds. Ignition, he picked up eventually, was what his keeper called him. Iggy, when she was in a good mood.
Things were good for a long time. Pedigree attracts wealth, and wealth means luxury. He was pampered, coddled, living the life of the glamorous and gilded - with the the finest food and the plushest nests. Toys to keep him occupied, a balcony with a view. Plenty of attention; he was paraded to any who came to visit, more and more doting faces to give him attention. Small and perfect, kitten teeth harmless when they bit in play.
They did not stay harmless for long. Time turned and his body grew larger, his keeper grew colder. Iggy became Ignition became cat. Harsh and biting, like the very act of naming him was admonishment. His play became too harsh for her, his charm fading. She seemed to have less and less time for him as the moons whittled away. His perfect food became more and more scarce, forgotten more often than not. His attempts to remind her - torn fabric, yowled words - lead to being locked away. On the balcony, out of sight. That's how she wanted him in his final moons. No greeting guests, no sleeping upon her chest. His glamour had faded and he was nothing but a spoiled, demanding cat. A nuisance. He bit his keeper's fingers when she tried to play, and blood spattered his dark pelt.
He'd only made it truly away from his nest a few times, through the door his keeper came through. He learned not to after a swipe from a neighboring dog. He still remembers his keeper admonishing him, for that too. Remembers her laughing, weeks later as the panic began to creep in. She found something amusing in it. He hadn't understood until he'd seen, in his reflection, the strangeness of his injured eye. He still doesn't find it particularly funny.
He was restless. Trapped with a keeper who'd lost her love for him, even the amusement fading quick.
And still, she was all he had.
He should have seen it coming, really. Shoved into a cage by his snapping keeper, tossed in the belly of a monster. The rattling of its pace made him uneasy.
When he was let free, it was to an outside world he'd never seen before. Streets like those he glimpsed from the balcony, but different. He didn't recognize their twists and turns. He was merely dumped, unceremoniously, onto them.
And before he could regain his bearings, his keeper was gone. He turned wide eyes to the retreating form of the monster. She'd taken him places in it before, but she always brought him back. "Wait!" called Ignition, soundless bell shaking as he chased after her. The monster was gone before he could even get close.
His paws slowed to a stop, staring at the empty space. She may not have loved him, but she was all he knew. "...How shall I find you again?" he breathed, a question to empty air. You won't, taunted a silent voice in his ear. He was alone, in unfamiliar streets.
He was born lucky, perhaps. His ears formed a perfect arc, a curl crafted by generations. Pedigree. Gifted to him by a mother he hardly knew, plucked from her nest in infancy. His first memory is not of her - her form is hazy at best, more marked by milk-scent than any face - but of the towering twoleg scooping him up, cooing wordless sounds. Ignition, he picked up eventually, was what his keeper called him. Iggy, when she was in a good mood.
Things were good for a long time. Pedigree attracts wealth, and wealth means luxury. He was pampered, coddled, living the life of the glamorous and gilded - with the the finest food and the plushest nests. Toys to keep him occupied, a balcony with a view. Plenty of attention; he was paraded to any who came to visit, more and more doting faces to give him attention. Small and perfect, kitten teeth harmless when they bit in play.
They did not stay harmless for long. Time turned and his body grew larger, his keeper grew colder. Iggy became Ignition became cat. Harsh and biting, like the very act of naming him was admonishment. His play became too harsh for her, his charm fading. She seemed to have less and less time for him as the moons whittled away. His perfect food became more and more scarce, forgotten more often than not. His attempts to remind her - torn fabric, yowled words - lead to being locked away. On the balcony, out of sight. That's how she wanted him in his final moons. No greeting guests, no sleeping upon her chest. His glamour had faded and he was nothing but a spoiled, demanding cat. A nuisance. He bit his keeper's fingers when she tried to play, and blood spattered his dark pelt.
He'd only made it truly away from his nest a few times, through the door his keeper came through. He learned not to after a swipe from a neighboring dog. He still remembers his keeper admonishing him, for that too. Remembers her laughing, weeks later as the panic began to creep in. She found something amusing in it. He hadn't understood until he'd seen, in his reflection, the strangeness of his injured eye. He still doesn't find it particularly funny.
He was restless. Trapped with a keeper who'd lost her love for him, even the amusement fading quick.
And still, she was all he had.
He should have seen it coming, really. Shoved into a cage by his snapping keeper, tossed in the belly of a monster. The rattling of its pace made him uneasy.
When he was let free, it was to an outside world he'd never seen before. Streets like those he glimpsed from the balcony, but different. He didn't recognize their twists and turns. He was merely dumped, unceremoniously, onto them.
And before he could regain his bearings, his keeper was gone. He turned wide eyes to the retreating form of the monster. She'd taken him places in it before, but she always brought him back. "Wait!" called Ignition, soundless bell shaking as he chased after her. The monster was gone before he could even get close.
His paws slowed to a stop, staring at the empty space. She may not have loved him, but she was all he knew. "...How shall I find you again?" he breathed, a question to empty air. You won't, taunted a silent voice in his ear. He was alone, in unfamiliar streets.
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"SPEECH"
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IGNITION ✮ he / him, twolegplace rogue, thirteen moons.
⭃ a curly-eared tabby of swirling black and deep red-brown bearing a burgundy collar.
⭃ left eye is blind and permanently dilated.
⭃ charming and manipulative, willing to do anything to get ahead.
⭃ npc xx npc, former kittypet.
⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
⭃ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.