Lucy was so very excited!
For the first time she and her brother were going to do an actual prowl around their territory. She always felt this instinct to look around; being the very curious cat-girl. Maybe in some ways it was good that Bernie was human and.. cautious. The two could get into so much trouble if they were both cat-girls!
Bernie put on his jacket as he looked back to Lucy. He made sure his sister was warm and comfortable for their walk around the block. He did know what feral cats did though and in truth the thought of his little sister getting into a fight worried him. It ‘did’ happen sometimes in the news but for the most part the cat-girls of this world were… sociable.
Lucy was smiling with her eyes shining in the moonlight. “Isn’t this great!” She asked as she held her brother’s arm.
Bernie gave a light smile. “Yeah.. you know this is quite nice.” He had never really been out himself at night like this. The moon hung in the air full and beautiful. The stars lit the sky in a dazzling display of patterns. The air itself felt fresh and crisp, not a single breath of smoke from a car.
This was the night…
Lucy started to walk taking the lead. She started to go down a small ally-way between the houses when Bernie stopped her.
“Hey- remember I said just around the block.” He reminded.
“Aw- I just.. need to um...” She scratched slightly against the brickwork- which sent Bernie into more acute distress.
“Please don’t- we’ll get into trouble-”
Once Lucy was satisfied with the markings she smiled and waltzed back to her brother. “Sorry I just couldn’t help it!” She giggled. “I won’t do any more weird stuff.” Her tail twitched a little behind her and… Bernie gave the cat-girl a light tap on her ears.
“Let’s just go around the street and come back.”
For the next ten minutes things went as Bernie expected. His sister would sometimes go ahead, sometimes look strangely at the parked cars and took in the smells of their surroundings. Sometimes she would take an interest in the strangest of things like a particular scent- though for Bernie it was all pretty much the same.
“I can tell which cars belong to which house,” Lucy suddenly said in awe. “I can smell the insides of the cars through the radiators and what it smells like through the doors of each house!” It was… actually quite interesting to learn this. The cat-girl seemed to want to impress Bernie.
Bernie gave a smile. “Heh, I wish I could.”
“Uh, you wouldn’t want to smell everything I can. Some humans are really stinky,” She said gesturing to one house and coughing. She quickly scampered to the other side of the street in disgust. Bernie glanced around and quickly followed her.
Bernie wondered something. “Uh, I don’t smell bad do I?”
“Of course not! You smell like… well… me. I can tell you’re family. Actually so could other cat-girls I’ll bet!” Lucy giggled.
Bernie laughed at that. He wondered if that would confuse- when suddenly Lucy stopped. She crouched on all four and started to hiss. The sound of his little sister hissing like this made Bernie startled. “What- what’s wrong?”
Lucy stared as she continued to stare. “Something- something is there. I can feel it.”
Bernie stared where she was looking. To him it was just an empty street. “Lucy- you’re acting weird now-”
“I can see it!” She stated emphatically. “It’s- it’s there!”
Bernie continued to look. There was nothing there though! The wind felt like it picked up a bit. “Come on let’s just cross back-” Then he saw it. A strange flicker of motion that didn’t feel like it was all there.
Lucy’s tail started to arch wildly. She stared with daggers in her eyes.
A grin hanged in the air.. white teeth as a cats. It looked like the grin of the Cheshire cat from Alice in wonderland? The creature was small.. a cat of black though. It had eyes of different colours, one green the other blue. “Why… hello there...” The cat stated as it seemed to hover in the very air. It was just floating! Like some kind of.. ghost? “A little young to be challenging other cats ain't we?”
Bernie gasped as he stood between the strange ghost and Lucy. “Look- we don’t want any trouble.”
The cat-ghost rolled her mismatched eyes. “Kindly tell your human to mind out of cat-business,” she said with her distinctly feminine tones. This was.. a cat girl? It wasn’t like any cat-girl before. It was more cat then anything else… despite the floating.
Lucy hissed. “That’s my cat-sister too!” she stated. “We ain’t afraid of you! Whatever you are!”
The cat ghost looked to Bernie and then to Lucy. “I’m only.. curious,” she said giving a little yawn. “You are a bit too young for the hunt though… and you have a… human companion?”
Lucy relaxed a little bit but Bernie was still on edge. This- this was crazy! He was seeing an actual ghost-cat! “What are you?” The young boy asked.
The cat gave a little twirl in the air. “Tasha.. is how you may address me. The current keeper of the Neko-Crown.”
The two gave blank stares.
“Not impressed?” Tasha asked curiously. “I watch cats on their first steps out in the wilderness.. I accompany them.. and if I am pleased I will give them a gift. I’m actually quite impressed by this one,” she said to Lucy. “You have tamed this human very well.”
“Huh? I’m her brother!” Bernie said.
“So ‘very’ well tamed,” Tasha nodded with a light giggle. “Tell you what.. you two finish your walk.. and tomorrow morning I will give each of you a gift.”
Bernie was not sure what this was. Some kind of strange.. spirit? Were they real? However he did worry about the idea of a gift. “Look… I mean you seem nice but.. I really don’t want a...”
“Silly human, you can’t control what gifts a cat brings...” she giggled. “Now if you will excuse me...”
There was another gentle breeze and Tasha disappeared into the shadows.
Tasha could feel her next destination. Those two were interesting… however she had a more serious encounter with the human called.. Leonard? “Why is this one so conflicted...” it was not really her way to change the viewpoints or will of others. Indeed for humans that was quite impossible. Though certainly Tasha could easily influence cats… and cat-girls if she wanted to. She rarely felt such an inclination.
She walked in the air, slipping into the moonlight and darkness weaving in and out of it. With the full moon she was at her strongest… manifesting physically as an actual cat. She slipped through a window as a ghostly apparition leaving only her paw-prints.
“Leonard...” Tasha whispered his name. The cat could smell him now.. and wondered to the sleeping boy’s room. The boy was tossing and turning… Well there was nothing for it. She would have to enter his dream.
The cat jumped inside his head.
Leonard was still struggling with his dreams. What could he do! He wasn’t ready to be a father. She shouldn’t be a mother! He was still lost in the very idea as his thoughts turned into red hazes of anger and self hate. Then all at once it started to get dark. The silhouette of the moon suddenly appeared looking absolutely large to him.
“The moon brings calm to your night...” a girl’s voice whispered.
Leonard sat down in the darkness. “I… I’m afraid.” He said.
“I know… I just can not understand why,” Tasha sat down next to him. Leonard seemed to watch the cat and take this as a normal dream… he ended up petting her. The feeling of his fingers on her… It pleased Tasha. “You know I should be mad at you. Making one of my children so upset… mm.. a little lower.”
Leonard scratched and rubbed at the neck of the cat. “This is a weird dream,” he said.
“Yeah, sure is,” Tasha gave a light content meow. “I’ve been trying to decide what to do with you. Though I realize it isn’t really my problem.” The cat started to stretch. “You humans can do pretty much anything you want…”
“You mean I should… just ‘let’ her do it?” Leonard asked.
“Don’t try looking for my sympathy kid,” The cat stated. “I’m not really that sort of being. I don’t punish people for doing ‘wrong’ either.” Tasha started to lick her paws. “I bring gifts to those who please me.. and I walk away from those who annoy me. That’s my deal.”
Leonard had no idea what this dream was about.. it felt really weird. “Do I annoy you?”
“A little, yes. Though you don’t offend me. You’re young and mortal.. and human. Honestly it’s hard enough to get on my good side with all that in the way,” she gave a little giggle. “Though you have provided the means to have another cat-girl in this world… and that I do like.” the cat started to get larger.. physically larger as if expanding her body into the size of a lion now.
Leonard gasped and pulled back a bit. This was a nightmare after all! Though.. he didn’t feel that fear he expected.
“So here’s my gift,” Tasha said. “You get to share in her experience… you will feel everything she will feel… whatever you decide to do eventually. Don’t worry you won’t ‘look’ any different...”
“I don’t understand- what do you mean?”
Tasha sighed. “If I have to spell it out, you are going to know what it feels like to be pregnant! I believe science call this a ‘sympathetic pregnancy’ but with a bit more magic involved- and you won’t look any different. I’ll be back later to check up on you. Time for you to wake up!”
