TORTURED
Part II

Meanwhile upstairs, a poor creature was undergoing horrendous torments.

"I wuv u, u wuv me, we a happy famiwy..." A girl of about five summers was sitting cross-legged on the floor. Next to her was a well-dressed doll in a doll-sized chair all prepared for a tea party, waiting patiently.

Unfortunately, the other guest was not being as cooperative.

The child broke off momentarily to stare at her victim who glared right back at her, ears flattened. Low rumbling, punctuated by occasional hisses filled the silence as the ginger tomcat did his best to squirm out of his fancy dress. She picked him up, one hand under each front leg and shook him. "Now you stop that Martha Marie Fitzgerald! Why are you such a cross kitty today? Miss MaryAnn's waiting for us to go to her tea party and here you are saying such naughty things that I dare not..." Her eyes widened, "Ooooooooooh, I know what the problem is, you're not wearing your make-up! No wonder you so grouchy, Mummy always gets grouchy when she not wearing hers." In two shakes the girl dropped the cat and disappeared down the hall, presumably to confiscate some of her mother's cosmetics.

The cat was immediately at the door, praying to Bast for all he was worth. Evidently she was listening, for when he slid his paw beneath the door and pulled, it opened. He tried to make a dash for the stairs, only to step on his hem at the worst possible moment. Thump thump whump thump echoed through the house as he rolled down the steps.

"Oh kitty......Hey, where'd you go?" He leaped up at the sound of her voice. Where to hide? No, she'd check under the couch first...the kitchen, yes that would work...if the pantry door wasn't shut...maybe...

Staggering and sliding, he disappeared through the half shut kitchen door.

...

Startled by the loud thumping, Cat shifted back into her usual form. It wouldn't do to be caught humanish in a human house-they got rather annoyed when strange humans invited themselves in. She might be in trouble even as a cat but she had greater faith in her ability to extricate herself from precarious situations in her natural shape. "Quick! Hide!" she hissed at imp.

"But..." he was going to argue but she had already disappeared. Grumbling, he finally squeezed between the cupboard and the wall just as the ginger tom came skidding through the doorway.

The orange cat made a beeline for the empty nook in the back corner under the bottom shelf in the pantry. Unfortunately, Cat was already there. A loud surprised squall rent the air as he tried to stop in time, knocking several jars over in the process. Cat swelled to three times her usual size. Hissing angrily, she swiped him across the nose.

It appeared there would be a catfight...except just then "Here kitty, kitty, kitty!" was heard and rapid footsteps heralded a certain someone's arrival downstairs.

The ginger tom flattened his ears but spoke hurriedly, "Listen, I don't have time for preliminary introductions right now. Can you please get out of my hiding spot? Or at least let me in too? She'll be here any second."

Cat glared at him suspiciously. "She?"

"The human girl! Why else do you think I'm dressed in human togs?" He shuddered and attempted a half hearted squirm out of them.

Cat blinked and examined him further. A snicker escaped her best attempt to keep a stony expression. She hadn't really paid attention to his getup at first. "Ahem, I don't believe purple suits your coat color that well...didn't she have anything in, say, pink?"

His eyes narrowed as he bit back a low growl. "Okay, you've had your fun. Now can you move out of my spot please?"

"Be my guest." She leaped past him in one fluid movement. Before she even hit ground, he had already filled the vacancy. Cat settled herself where she could see most of the kitchen, without being too noticeable. She wanted to get a good look at this human tormenter of catkind.

Just then, the kitchen door slammed open. "Now kitty, I know you're around here somewhere. Be a good kitty and come out now. Things will be much easier on you." Curious...she didn't look any different from the human children Cat had dealt with before. Usually if you gave one a good scratching, they'd let you go and start bawling instead. So why was he so scared of this one?

The girl stood just inside the door and surveyed the room before rushing across it to pounce on something just out of Cat's sight. "Oooh Mummy got me a new dolly!" She spun in several circles halting while holding the dolly out in front of her. It was Tla'gra'nadl-Da'Nesk.

"Hmmm, new dolly, you need some better clothes, these ones are just terribly filthy." With those final words, the human girl disappeared from the room, clutching imp tightly.

04/22/2003

Posted on 04/22/2003
Copyright © 2024 Rhyana Fisher