[Haven] Storm-Chasing

[Genuvah]

52nd of Ymiden 721

Cowle spent the day of the 51st settling in, setting up his camp in a haphazard way around the other tents present at Haven, and making some connections to various settlers. Interestingly enough, he found a very friendly cat present at the camp. The cat had a very fluffy coat and was small with a large head. A munchkin if Cowle ever saw one.

Being somewhat partial to cats, he smiled at it and turned his eyes aside as he tasted his salted fish that he kept as rations for the travel over to Haven. The cat, curiously approached as he ate, and sat there in front of him, almost expectantly. Cowle gave him a look, and then realized it was probably asking for one of two things. Food or attention. He opted for the former, as he didn't know this cat, and whether it belonged to one of the villagers.



Storm looked at the strange man-thing with orange hair and fuzzy face. It looked like a new servant, to heap adoration and treats upon his glorious self. Storm meowled in the most charming way at this orange furred man-thing, and rubbed up against his leg. Then Storm walked along a few feet away from the man-thing and sat. Watching. Waiting.



It seemed friendly enough, so Cowle bit off a piece of his dried and salted fish and bent forward to let the cat sniff the food, and see if it liked it. He held it in front of him, waiting for the cat to come near, to where he could smell the food.



Well, this one looked promising. Already he was prostrating himself and offering gifts. It was a good start. Storm strode forward with languid gait and gently took the piece of salty and spicy fish from the man-thing's hand. There, once Storm had it, he began chewing. Much to his surprise, the dried fish was very tasty! It made his mouth water for more.

Thus did Storm decide that this was to be his bodyguard and servant when his girl wasn't available.



Cowle thought nothing of it, as the cat took the food from his hand. But continued to eat more for himself. He looked around, trying to see if he could spot the animal's owner. It was obviously a well-groomed and well-fed animal, to the point that it must belong to someone. So he wondered when the owner would come along to greet him and apologize needlessly for their pet.

Instead, Cowle saw the other guards of the settlement approach. Two of them, the ones that had introduced themselves as Silk and Balder on meeting them yesterday. Cowle carefully shot up, and dropped the remainder of the salted fish on the ground, which the cat swiftly attacked with unnatural grace.

Silk and Balder seemed to share a glance between them, Cowle noticed, though he couldn't determine what was meant by it. Then they came over, Silk waving at him. "I see you met Storm."

[Genuvah]

Balder was the next to speak, "So, Elisabeth has a job for you. A very important one." Balder bent down to give Storm pets, and Silk joined him, giving Storm all the caresses. Storm allowed their touches with good grace, standing there to receive its due adoration. "This is Elisabeth's cat. And it gets into a spot of trouble now and again. Elisabeth is busy right now, but she usually spends every waking moment with this beastie."

Then Silk chimed in, "So you have the enviable task of watching the most precious thing in the world to Elisabeth. Lucky you."

Cowle blinked and looked from the cat to each of the guards. They weren't kidding... they didn't seem to have smiles on their faces. "Um... I, how..."

Silk stood up after she'd given Storm what she decided were enough caresses, and took a step toward Cowle to pat him on the shoulder sympathetically. "It's not as bad as all that. He's actually a very important cat, an old breed, dating back to before Scalvoris was Scalvoris. Before even Immortals. He's the last of his line, in fact, and is priceless."

Cowle tried to hide his nerves but ended up gulping involuntarily. He turned from Silk to Balder, and stammered, "But but, I don't know the first thing about caring for animals."

"Ahh, don't worry about it lad." Balder said, coming over to clap Cowle on the other shoulder. He laughed, as Storm viewed them dubbing his new servant as the knight that would protect him forever and ever until he died in service to Storm. "Cats take care of themselves, it'll be easy."

So saying, Storm got bored of this whole ceremony, and began walking slowly away, a sway in his step. Balder slapped Cowle on the back, and bellowed, "Best get after him then! You don't wanna upset Elisabeth! I heard she fed the last guard who couldn't keep up with Storm to the Ignis Clams!"

"Wh... Ignis Clams? What are those?" But then, he had no time, as Storm's pace began picking up, and he had to chase the cat on his way. As he walked away, falling into step behind Storm, he could've sworn he heard giggling and chuckling behind him. Yet when he turned to look over his head, Silk and Balder had perfectly serious faces, no sign of laughter on them.

Thus began his stewardship over Storm.



Storm led the way for his new servant. He had a very important task and duty for the orange man-thing. You see, Storm had a long-standing score to settle with certain settlers who hadn't paid him their proper due in either food nor caresses. They would feel his wrath, and he would see if this new servant could keep up long enough to be useful in this endeavor. Should he fail, Storm would forget about him, and move onto the next shiny person to arrive. Perhaps one day a worthy servant would appear if this one didn't work out.

[Genuvah]

Storm, the priceless cat that was Elisabeth's pride and joy, was leading Cowle on what seemed to be a wild goose chase. They walked or rather jogged through the tent setups of some of the settlers, and then through some of the more established cabins. This distracted Cowle for a moment, and he wondered if he might have a decent cabin for himself sooner or later. If need be, he'd try his hand at building it himself, and set his grandmother and self up with a nice home in this relatively quiet settlement. It'd be a lot nicer than on the outskirts of the Witchwood Graveyard.

He was so lost in his reverie, he failed to notice that the cat had given him the slip.



Storm decided that this man-thing servant wasn't going fast enough, and so decided not to do him the courtesy of slowing down, but just went about his business as he would. If the man-thing couldn't keep up, then his girl would have little use for him, after all.

Storm was about to lay down a savage clawing of the door of one of the people who hadn't petted him, when he caught scent of something on the wind. Fish! Fish on the beach! Excited at the prospect of a treasure hunt and food, Storm bolted at a right angle, making straight for the shore.

The orange man-thing was still barely keeping up, but that was hardly Storm's concern.



Cowle chased after Storm. Normally the cats he dealt with in the past were far more skittish and subdued even. This one seemed to know his worth and wasn't afraid of flaunting it. Even so, it made him quite a deal to keep up with, and Cowle could barely stay a few steps behind him as he reached the beach.


He scanned the shoreline, looking for signs of Storm. There were easily trackable paw-prints on the sand, which he then followed. Some half-eaten minnows on the shore that the cat had dragged out of the water. Then, as he came to a dip in elevation on the beach, closer to the water, he saw it.

A large clam-shell, almost the size of a cat itself. When he saw a tuft of fur poking out from the shell, he entirely lost his composure. "Storm! No!" Genuvah cried, and fell to the ground, pulling out a camp knife to try and pry the colossal ignis clam open. It took some worrying of the shell, but eventually, he did get it open. But when he did and killed the clam, he couldn't find Storm anywhere therein. Had the thing already digested him?! Cowle searched the thing's stomach, feeling for what would've been cat bones.

He dreaded walking back to the village and telling Elisabeth of his failure to guard Storm. But he'd lost pace with the cat, and the feline had paid for his own lack of vigilance.



Storm stood on the crest of the hill, over the beach, having exhausted itself from its play with the minnows, and also from its near shave with the Ignis Clam. Storm rolled around on the sweet grass, tilting its head to gaze at the orange man-thing that was so upset, crouching over an ignis clam on the beach. What was his problem? Not really Storm's concern, but he did wonder sometimes why humans reacted to such little nothings as they did. Maybe people were just insane. But not his girl. She was nice, she was perfect for Storm, and she belonged to him.

Slowly Storm drifted to sleep in the beach grass on the hillock, snoozing the afternoon away. It would return to home in its own time when it was time for a sun-down naptime and also a pre-dinner meal.

[Kasoria]

Review Rewards

Name: GENUVAH

Points awarded: 10

Knowledge:
Athletics: Chasing after a cat.
Detection: Checking the shoreline for signs of a cat's passage.
Discipline: Maintaining and focusing on the job at hand (guarding a cat)
Discipline: Following orders of your colleagues.
Discipline: Dealing with despair.
Fieldcraft: Tracking pawprints on the moist sand.

Loot: Enjoy your massive clam!

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriate to level

Notes:
Favorite line: "standing there to receive its due adoration"

My fur baby approves.

Never have I been so accurately inside the proud, vain, alien mind of a feline. Well... maybe in "Coraline". This was a nice tight story, and the switching between POVs was expertly done. One aloof and in control, another confused, bewildered, and all-too-human. Still, Storm was ultimately just another tool for Cowle's advancement, and advance he has. Passed the hazing, dude. On to the next round!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns in regards to this review, feel free to PM.