Poem: One Cat's Worth
Aug. 27th, 2018 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zeeth_kyrahThis piece was inspired by dialecticdreamer and their monthly "Feathering the Nest" prompt session. This month's prompt focus is "nonsexual intimacy". To quote from the post:
"There’s no theme beyond a wish to see people caring for each other instead of tearing each other down. It’s meant to be a finger in the eye of mainstream entertainment, especially.
It’s also wonderfully simple for both writer and readers: the readers reply to this post with ideas they’d like to see, I choose one for each reader, and then write, write, write!"
And to quote the inspiring comment bysiliconshaman, "How about a very contented sleepy kitten... who's a projective telempath? [or who's purrs are somehow soporific]. Now, put that where it might do the most good." followed by my own suggestion to make the cat a healer. I'll link to dialecticdreamer's story when it goes up on their journal (should I remember to do that), but in the meantime, here's mine, unrelated and simultaneously written.
---
One Cat's Worth
The family was busy today,
Busy enough to disturb Squeaky the cat
And her kittens upstairs.
She came out and meowed at them,
Like her mother the Siamese,
Expressing friendly displeasure with words in Cat.
The workmen in the kitchen
Mostly smiled and tried to remember,
Keep the cat inside please.
The kittens got out of their bedroom,
Because Momma Squeaky had opened the door
To find out what the noise was.
Four small creatures explored, mewed,
And played, but in little danger,
Other than the strangers making noise.
Squeaky gathered them together. Yet,
When a man yelled and moved to the
Dining room, one went to him.
The carpenter was bandaging a cut
On his index finger, where a splinter
Had torn him open. That apprentice!
The largest kitten, who loved to
Sit with people and beg for petting,
Stood and put his paws on the man's leg.
The human was shocked to feel a small wave of
Loving-kindness pressing on his mind
As the kitten tried to make the bad feeling fade.
The creature purred, and leaped into his lap.
The man smiled despite himself.
"You like me, huh?" he asked, and pet the cat.
Two minutes later, the boss
Stepped into the room to find
His employee sitting in a chair,
Snuggling a white kitten and resting.
When his wound was checked, they were shocked:
His hand had been healed completely.
The family's father, who was already used
To momma Squeaky's intelligence, her escape tricks,
And her overall friendliness, said,
"Yes, we think his mother's a soup,
And we know she's a good mother.
You have definitely experienced
One cat's worth of love."
---
Because Squeaky and Muse are directly mentioned in this poem, they get stat blocks (useable for Terremagne). Squeaky has four kittens, mentioned below. Her human family consists of one man (a primary school teacher), one woman (a writer with mild cerebral palsy), one daughter (age 14), and two sons (ages 17 and 8).
Squeaky
Squeaky is a mixed-breed short-haired cat, mother of four kittens, at least one of whom is a soup/super. She has a brown and white coat reminiscent of the Siamese coloring, and a friendly, chatty attitude toward humans and other animals. She has thumbs on her front paws and a short tail. Though dextrous most of the time, she can be a bit clumsy on narrow or slick surfaces.
Origin: She was born with strong potential, and got smarter over time due to exposure to smart, caring humans (the father of her human family is a teacher and the mother is a writer). Possible mad science was involved, as her great-grandmother was a rescue from a zetetic laboratory where animal experiments were performed.
Uniform: None, she's a cat. She goes nude except for a flea collar most of the time, but accepts a harness when traveling with her human family.
Qualities: Good (+2) Escape artist, Good (+2) Land navigation, Good (+2) Handsy cat, Average (0) Cat senses, Average (0) Situational awareness
Poor (-2) Clumsy body positioning
Powers: Good (+2) Super-intelligence (as smart as a smart human), Poor (-2) Gene Awakening (a form of Power Bestowal, she can awaken super-powers by sharing blood intentionally, which is why all her kittens are soups, but it sometimes gives a disadvantage along with or instead of an advantageous power)
Motivation: Hello! I'm a cat, just doing my cat business.
Squeaky's kittens are Muse (male, white coat with dark tips), Dusty (female, all-gray coat), Whisper (female, plain white coat and a shy voice), and Warrior (female, grayish coat with dark tips, loves to wrestle and hunt). Their father is an unremarkable tomcat with a gray coat and no special powers whatsoever, who mated with Squeaky when she got outside while in heat.
All her kittens have boosted intelligence, plus the following powers:
* Muse has telempathy and touch-range healing.
* Dusty (a "loveable derp", according the the family's daughter) does not appear to be a soup; she has mild deafness or a form of auditory processing disorder, according to the family vet, but she is actually very good at counting and arranging things.
* Whisper may be flickering as her voice is sometimes loud instead of soft (voice control is growing in, and she'll eventually be able to emulate various sounds including human speech).
* Warrior appears to have super claws (trimming them helps her not leave marks everywhere), and she may be flickering super-strength or super-leaping.
Muse
Muse is a mixed-breed short-haired male kitten with white fur, and dark spots on the end of his tail and the tips of his ears. Muse is a chatty and friendly kitten who already knows what he is for, but he is still a little too young to be adopted. Like his mother Squeaky, he has thumbs on his paws and is unusually smart, but has a cat's voice, not a human's. He is quite bold for a kitten, but still likes to sit quietly with the human mother of his family when the kittens are relaxing in the living room.
Origin: Born to his powers, he showed his true nature when given the chance to help an injured human.
Uniform: As a kitten, he goes nude. Later, he'll wear a decorated harness as a registered service animal and superhero.
Qualities: Good (+2) Everybody's friend, Good (+2) Handsy cat, Average (0) Bold as a sailor, Average (0) Cat senses
Poor (-2) Still growing up
Powers: Average (0) Super-intelligence (smart as a human of comparable age), Average (0) Telempathy, Good (+2) Healing (touch range)
Motivation: To help people good.
dialecticdreamer and their monthly "Feathering the Nest" prompt session. This month's prompt focus is "nonsexual intimacy". To quote from the post:"There’s no theme beyond a wish to see people caring for each other instead of tearing each other down. It’s meant to be a finger in the eye of mainstream entertainment, especially.
It’s also wonderfully simple for both writer and readers: the readers reply to this post with ideas they’d like to see, I choose one for each reader, and then write, write, write!"
And to quote the inspiring comment by
siliconshaman, "How about a very contented sleepy kitten... who's a projective telempath? [or who's purrs are somehow soporific]. Now, put that where it might do the most good." followed by my own suggestion to make the cat a healer. I'll link to dialecticdreamer's story when it goes up on their journal (should I remember to do that), but in the meantime, here's mine, unrelated and simultaneously written.---
One Cat's Worth
The family was busy today,
Busy enough to disturb Squeaky the cat
And her kittens upstairs.
She came out and meowed at them,
Like her mother the Siamese,
Expressing friendly displeasure with words in Cat.
The workmen in the kitchen
Mostly smiled and tried to remember,
Keep the cat inside please.
The kittens got out of their bedroom,
Because Momma Squeaky had opened the door
To find out what the noise was.
Four small creatures explored, mewed,
And played, but in little danger,
Other than the strangers making noise.
Squeaky gathered them together. Yet,
When a man yelled and moved to the
Dining room, one went to him.
The carpenter was bandaging a cut
On his index finger, where a splinter
Had torn him open. That apprentice!
The largest kitten, who loved to
Sit with people and beg for petting,
Stood and put his paws on the man's leg.
The human was shocked to feel a small wave of
Loving-kindness pressing on his mind
As the kitten tried to make the bad feeling fade.
The creature purred, and leaped into his lap.
The man smiled despite himself.
"You like me, huh?" he asked, and pet the cat.
Two minutes later, the boss
Stepped into the room to find
His employee sitting in a chair,
Snuggling a white kitten and resting.
When his wound was checked, they were shocked:
His hand had been healed completely.
The family's father, who was already used
To momma Squeaky's intelligence, her escape tricks,
And her overall friendliness, said,
"Yes, we think his mother's a soup,
And we know she's a good mother.
You have definitely experienced
One cat's worth of love."
---
Because Squeaky and Muse are directly mentioned in this poem, they get stat blocks (useable for Terremagne). Squeaky has four kittens, mentioned below. Her human family consists of one man (a primary school teacher), one woman (a writer with mild cerebral palsy), one daughter (age 14), and two sons (ages 17 and 8).
Squeaky
Squeaky is a mixed-breed short-haired cat, mother of four kittens, at least one of whom is a soup/super. She has a brown and white coat reminiscent of the Siamese coloring, and a friendly, chatty attitude toward humans and other animals. She has thumbs on her front paws and a short tail. Though dextrous most of the time, she can be a bit clumsy on narrow or slick surfaces.
Origin: She was born with strong potential, and got smarter over time due to exposure to smart, caring humans (the father of her human family is a teacher and the mother is a writer). Possible mad science was involved, as her great-grandmother was a rescue from a zetetic laboratory where animal experiments were performed.
Uniform: None, she's a cat. She goes nude except for a flea collar most of the time, but accepts a harness when traveling with her human family.
Qualities: Good (+2) Escape artist, Good (+2) Land navigation, Good (+2) Handsy cat, Average (0) Cat senses, Average (0) Situational awareness
Poor (-2) Clumsy body positioning
Powers: Good (+2) Super-intelligence (as smart as a smart human), Poor (-2) Gene Awakening (a form of Power Bestowal, she can awaken super-powers by sharing blood intentionally, which is why all her kittens are soups, but it sometimes gives a disadvantage along with or instead of an advantageous power)
Motivation: Hello! I'm a cat, just doing my cat business.
Squeaky's kittens are Muse (male, white coat with dark tips), Dusty (female, all-gray coat), Whisper (female, plain white coat and a shy voice), and Warrior (female, grayish coat with dark tips, loves to wrestle and hunt). Their father is an unremarkable tomcat with a gray coat and no special powers whatsoever, who mated with Squeaky when she got outside while in heat.
All her kittens have boosted intelligence, plus the following powers:
* Muse has telempathy and touch-range healing.
* Dusty (a "loveable derp", according the the family's daughter) does not appear to be a soup; she has mild deafness or a form of auditory processing disorder, according to the family vet, but she is actually very good at counting and arranging things.
* Whisper may be flickering as her voice is sometimes loud instead of soft (voice control is growing in, and she'll eventually be able to emulate various sounds including human speech).
* Warrior appears to have super claws (trimming them helps her not leave marks everywhere), and she may be flickering super-strength or super-leaping.
Muse
Muse is a mixed-breed short-haired male kitten with white fur, and dark spots on the end of his tail and the tips of his ears. Muse is a chatty and friendly kitten who already knows what he is for, but he is still a little too young to be adopted. Like his mother Squeaky, he has thumbs on his paws and is unusually smart, but has a cat's voice, not a human's. He is quite bold for a kitten, but still likes to sit quietly with the human mother of his family when the kittens are relaxing in the living room.
Origin: Born to his powers, he showed his true nature when given the chance to help an injured human.
Uniform: As a kitten, he goes nude. Later, he'll wear a decorated harness as a registered service animal and superhero.
Qualities: Good (+2) Everybody's friend, Good (+2) Handsy cat, Average (0) Bold as a sailor, Average (0) Cat senses
Poor (-2) Still growing up
Powers: Average (0) Super-intelligence (smart as a human of comparable age), Average (0) Telempathy, Good (+2) Healing (touch range)
Motivation: To help people good.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-28 09:37 am (UTC)