CΩT (Part 22, Scene 2)

… but not really. This entry would basically be the end of CΩT / Omegacat (both titles are correct, if you’re wondering), but not only would it be a very long entry, I’m also not quite done with it. Lotta dialogue to get in order. As such, I’m going to hold it back, as I’m considering working this whole story into something publishable rather than a series of blog posts. So keep an eye out for that! I’ll of course post an update here if that happens. And maybe, just maybe, if you guys yell loudly enough in the comments, I might just post what I have once I’m done with it anyways. Maybe. Show me how invested in the story you are! Throw your desperation at me!! What will Cat find in the forest?

In any case, I won’t leave you empty handed. Here’s a short poem, inspired by a sight I saw whilst walking my mutt:

Prescription bottle

and packing peanuts

strewn about the undergrowth

what strange ritual

happened here?

( ©2017 Sean Dorsey )

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CΩT (Part 22, Scene 1)

I’m back in the woods, back between the towering, living trees, their outstretched arms a welcome departure from the stark shininess of the humans’ city. How could anyone prefer such sterility to the teeming life of the forest? Even as I think this, the feel of the woods I’m within is not as wild as those of my kitten-hood, no doubt a byproduct of their proximity to the human apartments. I guess I’ll just have to go a bit deeper. My body elongates as I pick up speed, zig-zagging through the trees and leaping over the undergrowth that attempts to impede my movement in vain. Startled birds scatter from their perches at my passing, but these tempting little morsels are unnecessary after my meal made of the delicious water-dweller, the strong taste of which is still upon my tongue. I pause once I’ve passed far enough into the wilderness for my liking and look around. Though I can sense activity, much of it is either subdued or far away. Nothing much happens during the day anyhow, so I decide to take a nap ’til nighttime. I pick a tree and scale it until I find a spot suitable for slumber. Locking my claws into the tree-skin, I close my eyes, wrap my tail ‘round myself, and it’s not long before I pass into sleep.

CΩT (Part 21)

Both Carly and her mother approach me and I sit down, looking up at their staring faces. Carly crouches down right in front of me eyes narrowed as she scrutinizes my feat of strength. I give a slow blink of endearment to her and continue to wait for them to pass judgment given their newly-discovered understanding of my unique abilities.

CΩT (Part 20)

At some point in the night Carly picks me up from my sleep spot and I see that we’ve stopped outside a much shorter building than the ones in the city. I hang limp for the time being (in all honesty, I’m still more than half asleep at this point). We move toward the front of the building, where there is a small light that shines through one of the windows. The door in the center of the front of the house opens and an older woman stands framed by the light from within.

CΩT (Part 19)

I arrive back at Chuck and I’s building but do not see her car, so I wait outside her door. A few other humans pass me by and go into their own spaces in the building, lights appearing through their windows once they close their entrance walls. I hide inside when they pass by, coming back out only when they’re gone. It is tempting to follow them, but going by Sophia’s reaction to my intrusion before, they might not take too friendly to an unknown cat. Maybe when they leave I can check some of their places out, see how they compare to Chuck’s.

CΩT (Part 18)

The human that enters is an older female, white haired and with somewhat wrinkled skin but standing as upright as any I’ve seen. She drops a lumpy-looking bag off to the side and then calls out. Sophia’s ears twitch but she does not move from her perch, instead talking back to her human.

“Over here, Gladys!” she says, and the human turns and sees her, bending slightly and beckoning with her hands, speaking words that will hopefully soon mean more to me than the babbling that they sound like. Sophia remains seated. “You have to come over to me today! Sorry.”

CΩT (Part 17)

Okay, maybe it was more like a thunderclap. Either way, almost as soon as the tool roars, I feel something hit me right in the forehead. There is a sensation that I don’t really recognize, and then a tiny metal disk falls to the floor in front of me. The eyes of the human whose tool roared are very wide now. I get the sneaking suspicion that that was supposed to kill me. It certainly caught me off guard– I’ll have to be more careful next time something is pointed at me. But more importantly, I am pissed. These guys were already pushing it with all the yelling and now this? There is another roar, but this time I’m ready, and I watch the little metal spike that is launched as it flies toward me, rotating as it comes.

CΩT (Part 16)

I catch up to the mad dog just as it breaches the line from shadowy corridor to sunlit sidewalk. The dog jumps at a young human and I kick off from the ground and hurtle toward it, hopefully fast enough for an interception.

CΩT (Part 15)

I hear a cry of ‘hey!’ behind me as I drop from the building, but it’s rapidly cut off by the air rushing around me as I go. On the way down, I have time to consider how far I can safely fall without injuring myself. Thinking back to when that damnable hawk picked me up and dropped me, it would seem pretty far. Higher than most of these buildings, aside from the few truly mountainous ones that seem to rise up almost into the clouds. So many questions raised just from a simple change in location! I need to travel more often.

CΩT (Part 14)

Back to our regular schedule of at least one post a month – here’s part 1 for those just joining. Into the new year we go!

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A few humans that pass by make noises at me as I emerge from the cavern below the road. I’m sure they think I’m dirty from being down there, and they’re not wrong. I will have to do some cleaning when I get the chance, especially if I’m going to go inside one of these buildings. From the way Chuck’s place was, I get the feeling some higher standards are in place. Speaking of higher, I look up at the buildings around me and concentrate a bit. Sounds of movement within become more distinguishable with time, but I cannot place all of them the way I could in the forest where I was familiar with the rustling of the leaves, the scuttering of insects, the soft and quick twitches of the birds – all of these gave me clear images of my surroundings. These buildings, on other hand, and in combination with the cars and humans… I’m going to need to do some research before I can pinpoint the sources of their sounds with any accuracy. In any case, I may as well start with the building in front of me. I set my sights on a ledge where the third row of windows are, build up balance by grinding my hind legs into the ground, and leap up, my jump taking me just a little higher than the outcrop and making for an easy landing. I look down at the humans at the sidewalk, two or three of which are stare at me with their mouths hanging open, but the majority continue their walks or talk into their hands. I stare back at those who noticed and whip my tail back and forth twice in acknowledgement of their attentiveness and then turn to start my window searching.