Creased Leaves

@"A M E N O"

THERE WERE SO MANY MOVING THINGS HERE! But some of them were mean moving things, things with teeth and scary eyes and fur like dogs, and those were mean even if they probably couldn't hurt him anymore, mean and scary, and he didn't want to be near the mean and scary oh no no no .

So when Audrey saw a little hut ahead of him, all warm and comfortable-looking, he pushed in through the door without opening it and huddled against it, hoping that he had left the scary mean things behind and that they couldn't get in here.

Oooooh, this place was pretty cool! Audrey quickly forgot his fright and crept around the hut, poking his nose into things and sneezing and batting at plants to see how springy they were.

Then he found a fireplace, and it was game over. He immediately curled up in front of it, pulling at the edges of his vastly oversized hoodie for a pillow, and wrapped his tail around himself, a little package of cloth and velvety fur. His breath slowed, and then he was asleep, just like that.

@"A M E N O"

For a while, the movement and noise around the sleeping catboy went entirely unnoticed. Not forever, though. No, eventually the little noises worked their way into Audrey's dream, and his hands and feet and tail began to twitch as he 'stalked' the mysterious noises.

And then he woke up all at once, surprised out of sleep by his own dream, and sat up so fast that he actually drifted off the floor a few inches.

He blinked and scrubbed at his face with the back of a hand, yawning more than wide enough to show off his very feline mouth, and peered around.

@"A M E N O"

Audrey blinked at the faun and yawned some more before drifting over, walking like a cat for a few steps before he remembered his new shape and pretended to walk on two feet instead. It was all pretend. He did it anyway.

"Cookies?" His eyes lit up and his tail wriggled in anticipation. "I like cookies!"

@"A M E N O"

Audrey pounced on the proffered cookie with glee and open excitement, and then dove past his host (and through some furniture) to roll on the ground with it and chomp it into bits. "This is so goooooood!" Chomp chomp chomp, bat at the crumbs and make a complete mess.

Oooh that crumb was escaping! Audrey sprang to his feet and darted after it. He returned after a moment, striped hair askew and hoodie slipping off one shoulder because he'd stepped on the sleeve.

"Ohhhh there were mean nasty dog things outside, I don't like dogs they're mean," the kitten said, more petulant and angry than scared now that he'd had a nap and some nummy food. "But then I saw this place and there was a fire! I like warm. Warm is nice and snuggly."

@"A M E N O"

"Oooohhhhh you have a boyfriend? Is he nice like you? I bet he is. Especially if he made cookies. Good cookies!"

HIS MUSIC BOX WAS MISSING! Pleasure abruptly became panic as the catboy raced back and forth across the room, trying to find the little wind-up box. No no no no no he couldn't lose it nooooooooh there it was.

Audrey tucked it back into his hoodie pocket and fixed his hair with the back of a hand. There, that was much better.