Hosszu Personal Story

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(text-style:"bold")+(text-size:4)[Meow Memoir] [[enter]] ] (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")+(text-size:.8)[[Credits]]

[[The First Bug Patrol|bugpatrol]] [[An Angry Parent|maddad]] [[Further Strife|movefight]] [[A Strange commotion|beginmove]]

[[A Leaking Face|cryinggirl]] [[A New Man|boyfriend]] [[An Empty Home|move]] [[A Long Nap|oldman]]

hidden notes for personal use ~~-might need to add another "outside" section to the floor plan~~ -images: floorplan, cat tree, kitten color (just one instance of this i think. i dont know how id impliment the original plan into this new navigation)

Feeling cold is new to you. Frigid air hitting your damp skin is not something that is familiar to you. What is familiar is darkness. The intimacy in the lack of light or color. In fact, you don’t know any different. There are a million new smells as you inhale for the first time. One of the smells is overwhelmingly comforting. You feel compelled to inch closer until you are shielded from the cold air. Wrapped in the warm embrace of the pleasant smell brings you great contentment and [[you know this is right.|birth2]] (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ <audio class="player" controls preload="none"> <source src="mewing.mp3" type="audio/mp3"> </audio>]

It is not until you feel the creature set your box down, and you see her open up the box’s door, that your fear begins to subside. You are still incredibly nervous, but at least you aren’t being taken from location to location anymore. You cautiously venture out of the box, trying to observe your surroundings and possibly plan an escape. You realize you are no longer in the bright room with all the other creatures of your own kind. In fact, there are no smells in this place other than you and the naked creatures. You are not in a closed room either. This room is big and open and has lots of things to climb on. You look around, realizing the creature that brought you here is watching you. Next to her are her two young ones. They are being loud and jumping around while they look at you. Strangely enough, it almost seems like she is telling them to not mess with you. She does not attempt to pick you up again either. This is a good thing you think to yourself. Perhaps she will not notice when you sneakily plan your [[escape|escapewin]]. You spend a lot of time sniffing this new place. You go under things and over things, around things and inside things. You are not sure what to call anything in this new environment. [[You have not ever seen a room this big.|newfamily]]

You spend a couple days hiding from the other creatures until curiosity gets the better of you. You still have not found an escape route and these creatures have been leaving you food so you figure you might as well attempt to be friendly back. Not too friendly though. You still need to [[escape|escapewin]] and find your brother. Approaching one of the younger creatures proves difficult because he does not seem to know how to control his excitement. He waves his paws around wildly and you are nervous he might swing at you with one of them. The larger creature notices this and reminds him to be gentle. You slowly get closer and are surprised by how nicely he pats the top of your head. You give him the satisfaction of a couple more seconds of touch before running off again. He can’t get too comfortable with you, otherwise he might be sad when you leave. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You decide to plot your escape route.|escapefail]] =|= [[You decide to explore more of this new place. |birth17]] |==| ]

You decide to plot your escape route. This new place is very big. There are many spots you have yet to explore. Easiest, you figure, should be the entry and exit points of what has proven itself to be the creature’s home. Not yours though. You still have to find Mom. You bound over to the giant swinging doorway in the front of the home. This is the door you were brought through when you arrived here. The mother creature, who seems to be the ruler of the home, often goes in and out through this door. Usually she carries with her a large plastic bag that smells of garbage, or sometimes even smaller plastic bags that smell of food. Occasionally, she will have so many little bags that she has her young ones assist her in carrying them inside. You aren’t sure why she chooses to transport food and garbage in this manner, it seems very ineffective. Surely if she used her mouth like you do, she could carry in more? Regardless, you figure that with her hands full, she won’t be able to stop you when you can manage to dart between her legs on the way out. Surely this would be your escape, your reconciliation with nature, and the beginning of your journey home to Mom and your siblings. By this point in the day you are sure that the dad creature would be getting home soon. He is very routinely, and only goes out the door twice. Once in the morning when he leaves, and once in the evening when he returns. Before he returns, the mother creature always leaves with the garbage. The creatures have a very established routine, and often you can hear them yelling when the dad creature returns. They are very loud, and you don’t know what could possibly get them this excited. You wait patiently on the stairs by the door for one of them to open it. It won’t matter who gets to the door first, both are too stupid to outsmart you. As if on cue you watch the mother creature rounds the corner from the other room holding her stinky white plastic bag. You feign innocence and pretend to groom your fur as you wait for her to unlock the door. It only takes a few seconds but that is all you need. She opens the door and you sprint between her feet. This is it! Finally! Free from these stupid stinky creatures. You jump over her foot and your paws hit the cold concrete outside. You feel elated, your adrenaline running high. You go to jump off the porch step but are abruptly met with a large foot pushing you back. You hit it hard, and barely realize what is happening before the dad creature scoops you up and brings you inside. You hiss in anger; how dare he stop your plans? You take note of this: only attempt escape when dad creature is gone. The mom creature may be stupid enough, but the dad creature now knows your plans. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You sulk around a bit before deciding that all that adrenaline made you hungry. You go to find your food bowl.|protector]] =|= [[You decide to explore more of this new place|birth17]] |==| ]

It has been several weeks since you were brought to this home. You’ve made many attempts to escape but none have proven successful. It hasn’t all been bad though, as much as you hate to admit it, these creatures have been nothing but nice to you, and the young ones seem to really enjoy touching your fur. Occasionally you’ll even wake up from a nap on the couch to find one sitting next to you. The food is good too, you have not had to worry about finding a meal since your arrival here. As desperately as you want to escape, you’re starting to worry that you’re growing fond of these creatures. The same ones that ripped you away from your family. Do they even remember you? Do they know where you are? Maybe they could come find you. Maybe they have been searching for you this entire time. You suspect not. None of your siblings are strong enough to fight back against the naked creatures that stole you, and you doubt your scent was strong enough to leave a trail for them. You let out a sigh, feeling defeated. Until now, you haven’t even entertained the thought that this might be your new forever [[home|newhome]]. You aren’t sure if you could consider these naked creatures your family. They are very different and very stupid. They don’t even know how to hunt. In fact, the other day, you saw a giant bug that they hadn’t even attempted to kill. They just let it sit there on the wall. They are lucky that you noticed it and were able to kill it with a swipe of your paw. Do they expect you to ''protect'' the family? Perhaps that is why you were stolen. You perk up a bit from your sulking. It was very rude of them to take you from your family, but you suppose if they needed a ''(b4r:"none","none","dashed")+(b4r-colour:white)[protector]'' like you then they’d have no other choice. You wander over to the couch and jump up onto the arm. Sitting on the side is the young boy. You climb into his lap and lay down on his leg. It is not his fault his parents are stupid, and you suppose if you can’t save your siblings, you can at least ''protect'' the creature’s young ones. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Memories|memories]] =|= [[Junior Memories|junior]] ]

Many moons have passed since you were first introduced to this family. You have lost count of the number of days and weeks it has been. Slowly but surely you have warmed up to the persistent young creature’s pets and holding. Although you are still not a fan of being handled too much, you let him every now and then. The young girl is much nicer. She does not force you to sit next to her or pick you up and wave you around like the boy does. You’ve begun to take a fondness to her, and you’ll occasionally approach her for attention yourself. You also enjoy that her room does not stink, and she grooms herself regularly. You’ve also learned a few terms from eavesdropping on the creatures. For starters, you’re pretty sure they refer to themselves as “humans” and you as a “cat.” They also have given each other names. You know now that the dad creature has “work” and the young ones “school.” The creatures- or… humans… are very odd beings. There are still many things that confuse you. You don’t beat yourself up about it too much though, there are many more important things to do. Such as [[protecting|protector]] the family from the occasional moth that has managed to sneak its way inside. You aren’t sure who is leaving the door open for this to happen, but when you find out you’re going to give them a big swipe of your paw. You also still have not given up your escape attempts. You’re getting better, but still not successful enough. The closest you have come was making it out the door and down the grass before the mom human raced up behind you and grabbed you with one of her paws. You are upset at her for this, but soon enough you know you’ll be too big for her to grab with one hand. They are very good about keeping you fed, and you find yourself getting stronger and bigger every week. Today is no exception. You finish your breakfast and let out a big yawn. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You’ve decided that today you will try your escape again.|escapewin]] =|= [[You’ve decided that today will begin with a bug patrol.|bugpatrol]] |==| ]

You’ve decided that today you will try your escape again. You’re much stronger than before, and you’re feeling particularly confident. This time, you hide behind the window curtains, carefully watching the front door. It is almost time for the young ones to leave and the boy in particular has a history of not shutting the door all the way. You watch the young ones go about their routine, eating breakfast, scrambling to grab their bags, the mom yelling. All of this is typical and none of it surprises you. Eventually they leave, the boy running late as usual. The mom is rushing him out the door, but you notice him drop his book on the way out. Once he realizes, he rushes back in and you see your chance. In his hurry he has left the door open while he leans down to grab his book. Taking your chance, you sprint out the small gap he left. You have learned from past mistakes; you don’t stop running until you are far enough down the street that you know you won’t be caught. You can hear the boy and mom yelling, but you know they’re already in a hurry and won’t bother to try to run after you. You dart into a bush and hide there until you can see their car driving away in the distance. You pant, trying to catch your breath. You can’t believe you’ve finally done it! You’re free! You have the [[entire world|outside]] at your paws. You hesitantly leave the safety of the bush, inhaling deeply. Several scents linger in the air, and you have trouble discerning what is what. You can smell a lot of cars and plants and other animals. It is almost too much, and you aren’t even sure where to start. You aren’t sure if you remember why you wanted out in the first place. There is definitely no longer a scent trail to follow back to your family, and you don’t know where you’d even begin to look for them. You feel your heart sink as you realize you’re out of options. You’ll truly never see them again. You had already come to terms with this when you were inside, but now that you’ve made it out you realize how hopeless it is. You sniff around some more, desperate for any familiar scent to hold on to when you are suddenly whipped back into reality when a large car speeds by just inches from your nose. You had not realized how close to the road you had gotten, and you can feel the hairs rising from your back as adrenaline pumps through your bloodstream. You’re suddenly hyperaware of all the potential dangers out here. In the sky you can see a large bird, definitely large enough to pick you up with its sharp talons. You can also hear [[dog]]s barking off in the distance, with jaws that you know are bigger than your head. You have seen them from the window, when you were safely inside. You barely realize what is happening as your instincts take over, but you can feel your paws hitting the ground as you begin to sprint. You take shelter underneath the porch of one of your neighboring houses. You try to catch your breath. You can still hear the [[dog]]s off in the distance, but you know that here you are at least safe from any large birds. You groom your fur, trying to smooth it down as you attempt to calm yourself down. You hadn’t realized how many dangers lurked in the [[outside]]. Even though you're brave and strong, you’re still much smaller than other predators. As your breath slows and your nerves die down, you start to realize how frigid it is. Your paws have gone numb against the cold earth, and your attempts to smooth your fur were useless when it’s just going to puff up again to try to preserve the little warmth you have. As if that wasn’t enough, your ears swivel at the small scuttering noise behind you. Whipping your body around as fast as you can, you see another creature much larger than you. It is a white-gray color, with pink ears, nose, and a long pink hairless tail. Its snout is long, and its teeth are pointy. You see it sniffing around the dirt a couple feet away. You don’t hesitate to crawl out the way you came and sprint back towards the direction of your home. The creature didn’t seem to care much about you, but you weren’t about to take any chances. You don’t stop to check the street as you sprint, and you yowl in fear as another car barely misses running over your tail. Finally reaching your home, you curl up into a ball by the door of the home. You are shivering, cold and terrified. It was a mistake to come out here. Now, not only are your mom and siblings gone, your human family is gone too. What if they never find you? What if you die out here, alone and cold? Or worse, eaten by a hungry [[dog]]?! You tuck your nose into your tail, trying to keep warm. Your eyes remain wide open and your ears alert for trouble. You stay here for what feels like hours. In reality, it’s only a few minutes. Your sorrows are interrupted when you see a familiar car pulling into the driveway. You realize it’s the mom creature returning home after dropping off her young ones. As she approaches the door you meow loudly at her. She’s here! Home! Finally! You yell at her about your terrifying adventure. You tell her how rude she was to not warn you of the dangers that lie [[outside]]. She ignores you, and instead picks you up. She tucks you into her arm and carries you [[outside]]. Grateful for the warmth, you curl up into her embrace. After a minute or so of this, she sets you down on the couch and locks the door. This time you aren’t even mad that the door is shut. In fact, you're very happy to know that the [[dog]]s can't get you from here. You yawn, exhausted from all your running. Your eyes feel heavy. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You decide a nap is in order.|nap]] =|= [[You shake it off. Now is not the time to nap, you need to begin the bug patrol. After today’s adventures, the family’s safety is more important than ever.|bugpatrol]] |==| ]

You’ve decided that today will begin with a bug patrol. You need to make sure those ants from yesterday haven’t come back while you were away. They're very pesky things and come in large groups. The last time you saw them was in the kitchen when the youngest one dropped his cracker. You aren’t fond of the crackers he eats. They taste bland and are a strange bright color. You much prefer your kibble. The ants, on the other hand, are very fond of his crackers. It does not take long for one of them to find food that has fallen and alert the rest of their ant friends. You sniff around the kitchen floor. The mom creature has already cleaned up their mess from that morning. It seems to be cracker free. You sniff around some more; you smell different types of cleaners. They hurt your nose. You're pretty sure that the mom did her job sufficiently. You don’t smell any traces of wayward crumbs. That does not guarantee an ant-free [[kitchen]] though. You know they're out there somewhere. You find your way underneath the table and just like you suspected, there’s an insect all by its lonesome. Although… you aren’t sure that this is an ant. This creature is much larger and has wings. You crouch down, your eyes widening. You slowly sneak up on it and jump. You miss it by mere centimeters. At the very last second the bug flees away. You whip around in its direction. The bug is not able to get out from under the table fast enough and you manage to swipe it with your paw. The bug is stunned for a moment and falls to the ground. You pounce again and this time you're successful at landing on it, swiftly killing it with your quick timing. To the best of your ability, you frown at the sight of bug guts on your paw. You flick them off and carry on with your day, proud of your abilities. This house will never know the wrath of evil insects! You are the [[protector]] of this family. This very stupid family who does not grow fur like you and does not know how to hunt or kill. You sniff around the rest of the kitchen some more. Deciding that the kitchen is totally bug free, you wander off to another room. This next room is bigger in size. It has many soft places to sit and sleep, and a large illuminated square that the creatures like to stare at in the evenings. It shows other creatures talking to each other sometimes. You aren’t sure what kind of magic enables it to do this, but your suspect you wouldn’t understand it anyway. Your bug patrol takes quite some time. You must make sure that every corner of the room is safe, and no furniture is left unexplored. The creatures don’t understand the lengths you go to [[protect|protector]] them. They occasionally close their doors before leaving, which makes it impossible for you to patrol their rooms. You try to get the door open with your paw, but it is latched good. You sigh. When a giant moth attacks their face, it won’t be your fault that their door was closed! You finish up your patrol and leap down the stairs just in time for the dad creature to get home. He huffs upon arrival and shuts the door quite aggressively. You aren’t sure why he is being so loud. Perhaps someone pet his fur wrong. You follow him into the kitchen where the mom creature is sitting at the table. The young ones are upstairs in their rooms for the time being, so you sit on one of the chairs and watch the two older ones while you groom your fur. Your patrol was long and tiring, and you're happy to see they're blissfully unaware of the dangers surrounding them. It is quite difficult, you note, to groom yourself when dad creature is being so [[loud|maddad]]. He is yelling at the mom creature and slamming his keys down. If you could scoff you would. He acts just like the young creatures when he is this way. You could not imagine what would get him this riled up. The mom creature does not seem to know either and she is starting to get equally as loud. You yawn and jump down from your chair. You're too tired and you’ve done too much work today to entertain their nonsense. You climb upstairs to find the young ones. For once they're the quieter ones in the house. You paw at the door of the young girl creature, meowing. She opens the door to let you in and you make your way to her bed. You jump up onto it and curl up into a ball. Your eyes are heavy, and you feel yourself nodding off. [[You decide a nap is in order.|nap]]

You decide a nap is in order. You're very tired. After a long day of activities, you feel you deserve the rest. You don’t open your eyes again until much later. You aren’t sure what time it is, but you are pretty sure that the sun is now rising, and not setting. You lazily get up from your resting spot and make your way into the kitchen. You sniff around. Nobody seems to be home. You assume they must have just left for school. You find your food bowl which conveniently has already been filled for you. You take your time finishing your breakfast since nobody is here to interrupt you. Finishing up, you decide to sit in the window and watch the neighborhood. There are many birds out this early in the morning. They dig in the dirt searching for a meal. You suppose you're lucky to not have to work for your meals. Even if the birds look particularly tasty. You watch as the occasional car speeds by until one of them pulls into the driveway. This one must be the mom creature. She returns from dropping off her young ones and attends to her daily tasks. You stretch your arms out, [[content in your daily routine.|cryinggirl]]

Your days is not super eventful. You mostly spend it being lazy and sleeping. You enjoy your free time before the young ones come home to bother you. Your peace and quiet is short lived because soon enough you find them bursting through the door. The youngest one comes in first. He runs over to you and picks you up. You try to squirm away, but he has a tight grip. You meow loudly in protest, but you're ignored. You flatten your ears, how dare he! You wait for him to finish his (annoying) greeting and run away when he puts you down. A safe distance away, you groom your fur back down to where it was before. A while later you notice the young girl come through the door. She closes it slowly and immediately goes upstairs to her room. You notice her face is red and there is some liquid dripping from her nose and eyes. You follow her upstairs curiously. She slumps onto the bed, not even bothering to take the bag off her back. You follow her, jumping up onto the bed. You sniff at her face, why is it leaking? She sniffles and pulls you into a hug. You're annoyed at first but figure she does not normally bug you like this, so you let it slide. You let her hug you for a few minutes. She is still sniffling, and you get the sense that she must be upset. Perhaps she is upset because her face is leaking. You lick at her cheek, trying to clean up the mess. Maybe that will cheer her up. She is somewhat surprised by this gesture. Perhaps nobody has ever offered to clean her leaky face. Or maybe she is surprised because her tongue is not scratchy like yours. She has no fur on her to groom, so she has probably never felt a tongue quite like yours. You finish cleaning her up and she seems to have calmed down. Her face is still red but there are no more tears coming from her eyes. You still aren’t sure what caused this, but you know that as her [[protector]] it is your job to make sure she is doing well. Having laid together for a few minutes, she finally gathers the strength to sit up and take off her bag. She sets it on the ground and goes to remove the feet coverings that the creatures often wear. You think you’ve heard them refer to such as “shoes”. Their language is very confusing. She is covered in your fur now from hugging you so tight, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She wipes her eyes once more and pets the top of your head. You catch yourself purring. How embarrassing! You were only doing your job, it’s not like you enjoyed being squeezed so tight. Whatever! You have more important things to do, like the bug patrol, which has not been completed for the day. But by now it is dinner time, for both you and her. You [[meow]] to let her know it’s time to go downstairs. She follows you as you jump down off the bed and lead the way. Downstairs you can smell the aroma of cooked meats. You sit by your food bowl, expectantly waiting. As usual, the mother creature serves the young ones first, then the dad, then yourself. She serves herself last. You think this is because the dad creature has a temper, but you aren’t sure. Regardless, there is food in your bowl, so you are happy. You wish it were the same meat that the young ones got, but it nevertheless is food. For now, your belly is full, and all is well. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Memories|memories]] =|= [[Prime Memories|prime]] |==| ]

All things considered; you think you’ve settled into this home quite well. It took you a bit to come to terms with the fact that you now live with these creatures, the humans, but they’ve been quite nice to you. You’ve taken to your role as [[protector]] greatly, and you’ve done an amazing job as such. Since moving in the kitchen has remained bug free. Your first attempt at [[escape|escapewin]] was long ago, and you have not attempted since. Managing to get outside was unexpected, but what was more unexpected was how dangerous the world was. You're pretty sure that by now you're big enough that a bird couldn’t swipe you away, but you still don’t want to risk it. Even so, the [[dog]] that lives down the street could still fit you inside his mouth at your adult size. You’ve decided it just isn’t worth it to try again. You're much needed at home anyway. The young ones are getting older and you're finding that you enjoy being pet and picked up more than you thought you did. Your afternoons are spent lazily on the couch with the rest of the family. They still enjoy watching the large illuminated square, which is great for you. You may not know what is happening on the screen, but you do know that you can sit with the family and enjoy your fur being pet. You’ve also found that during the hotter months, the kids don’t leave for school. On one paw, this is very annoying. Your routine is thrown off, and the youngest wants to follow you around all day. This is not great for the bug patrol. He scares them off, which does not make for an amazing second-in-command. On the other paw, you are much more entertained. This morning in particular was eventful. Your day started off like any other. You usually end up sleeping in the young girl’s room. She does not move around much in her slumber, so you're able to get a thorough night’s rest. This morning you wake up before her. You can hear the soft snores coming from her and the rising sun illuminates the wall behind her. You let out a big yawn. You can hear noises coming from downstairs, and your little belly has started to rumble a bit. You slowly get up, stretching as you do so, and jump down from the bed. The door to the young boy’s room is wide open, proving he woke up long before you. This is typical of him; he often goes to bed early and rises with the sun. It seems the mom creature is also up, but the deep snores coming from her room suggest the dad is still deep in slumber. This is probably a good thing. The days where he does not leave in the morning and return in the afternoon often result in a much pleasant temper. You have certainly not grown fond of his yelling. You still aren’t sure what causes it, but you notice that everyone’s moods are a little sour after one of his outbursts. Making your way downstairs, you can hear an interaction between the mom creature and the young male. You can tell by the tone of their voices that they both are in pleasant moods today. You make your way to the [[kitchen]] where they both reside. It looks like they’ve been up for a bit, there are already numerous small plastic bags on the counter. They smell of food and various cleaning supplies. You jump up onto the counter with them to investigate, but the mom creature isn’t too fond of that. She lets out a startled yelp and immediately grabs you and sets you back on the ground. You flick your tail in annoyance. Nobody ever lets you up onto the counter. You have to wait until they’ve left the room to finish your [[bug patrol|bugpatrol]] on the counterspace. That’s a problem for later though. Right now, you're much more invested in the commotion happening between the two creatures and the bags. You watch the two interact as the young one searches through the bags. He seems very excited to pull out what looks like a long stick. He undoes the packaging with a wide smile on his face. Before you know it, he is picking you up and taking you to the living room. He sets you down on the ground and holds the stick in his hand. You can see attached to it is a thin string. At the end of the string are some colorful feathers. You aren’t sure what this contraption is for, but it doesn’t take long for you to find out. Suddenly the feathers come alive, as he whips the stick back and forth. Your eyes widen as you watch the feathers. Up they float, and back down. Side to side, and back and forth. Your tail wags in concentration as you intently watch them. They move just like the birds [[outside]], and you feel an intense urge to catch them as you would a bite of prey. You wiggle your hind legs back and forth as you plan your trajectory. In a split second you go from your paws firmly planted on the floor to all four flying through the air. You twist your body as it follows the feather, grabbing it in your paws, and landing back down on the floor. You roll over, biting and kicking it. You whip it around violently until you believe it to be sufficiently dead. You keep it underneath your paws just in case though. You're panting, trying to catch your breath after all that hard work. You look up at the young boy. He is wiggling the stick around still, but the feathers don’t move as they are trapped beneath the grasp of your paws. He eventually manages to pull them out from under you and you both start the interaction over again. You take turns, him waving the stick around, you catching the feathers and killing them with your lightning fast reflexes. This goes on for several minutes until you plop yourself onto the ground, exhausted. He tries to entice you with more, but your little legs can only do so much jumping. Sensing your fatigue, he puts the stick away and returns back his mother in the [[kitchen]]. You are left lying on the floor feeling quite content with yourself. You don’t know of any other being, big or small, who could have caught those feathers like you do. This just proves that [[you're the best ''protector'' these creatures could’ve asked for.|newkitten]]

Days and weeks go by. You don’t bother to count them anymore. You’ve seen many moons and taken many naps. At times you forget that the creatures and you are much different at all. Then other times you are slapped in the face with reality when they do something stupid. Today you were left home alone. You have already done the [[bug patrol|bugpatrol]] and are now sitting on the couch while you watch the cars drive by and the squirrels digging in the front yard. There are not many cars today, just the occasional few. The squirrels ignore them and continue digging little holes in the ground. You can't tell if they're trying to bury the nuts in their mouths or searching for more to stuff inside them. You’ve been nodding off all afternoon and finally the tiredness gets to you. You don’t notice you’ve been napping until you’re woken up by the front door whipping open. You yawn and watch all the creatures shuffle inside. The mom is carrying a big plastic box in her hands. It is light in color and has a few holes on the side. On the top was a handle that the creature used to hold it. In the front of the box was a metal door. The door had holes as well, but it was too dark inside for you to be able to tell what was inside. She sets it down in the living room, right in front of the couch you're sitting on. The smell radiating from the box is odd, one you’ve never smelt before. Yet somehow also familiar. You reach your head towards the box to get a better sniff when you are startled back by what seems to be movement. Your ears swivel, you hear scuffling sounds. You are just as alarmed as you are curious. You creep towards the box, sniffing some more. Peering inside the holes along the side, you spot something small. As you get closer you realize the little creature inside has two tiny pointy ears and a tail that sticks straight up. Just like you, but much smaller. You leap back up and hiss at the new creature. How dare they! Another [[protector]]?! What was wrong with the one they have? Did you not do your job sufficiently? This is your home! Are they replacing you? Throwing you out on the streets? Just to become lunch to the neighbor’s [[dog]]! Your hair stands on end as you watch the mom creature open the door of the box. The tiny thing that waddles out is gray and white, with a pink nose and tiny paws. You growl in its direction. It takes notice of you and bounces towards you. You hiss, telling it to stay where it’s at. It rolls over onto its back, with its belly up and paws in the air. You sniff at it again. You decide this one is a girl, about a couple moons old. She has no idea that you pose a threat to her, nor that she poses a threat to your job. She is clueless. And stupid. You bat a paw at her, hissing again. You keep your claws in, you don’t want to hurt her, just to make sure she knows you're in charge here. You aren’t a monster. She’s just a baby. However, this baby could turn into a big cat who could take your place. Your swipes do nothing. Like an idiot, she thinks you are playing. You take note that none of the naked creatures are trying to remedy the situation. They don’t care that your entire livelihood is on the line, and they don’t care that you're capable of beating up this new replacement. This is sick. Do they enjoy watching your despair?! You leap away, out of the kitten’s reach. You run past them and up the stairs, away from everyone. You curl up in a circle at the top of the stairs. Your ears flatten as you sulk, [[watching them from above.|kitten2]]

You decide to go downstairs and misbehave for attention. Surely that will get a reaction from the creatures. Perhaps they just have short memories and forgot about you? You jump up from your spot. Luckily the door is open, and you race downstairs. As you suspected, the two young ones are sitting on the floor of the living room playing with the [[kitten.|newkitten]] You watch them, your tail flicking angrily. You slowly walk up to one of the couches next to them. You reach your arms out and sink your claws into the arm of the couch. You take the opportunity to get a good stretch in before you sharpen your claws on the unsuspecting furniture. You see strings of fabric rip out as you claw it up. Before you know it, the mom creature is yelling and scooping you up with her hands. She angrily pulls you away from the couch and points one of her long paw fingers at you. You glare at her. This would never have been an issue if she had not tried to replace you. She takes you to another room and sets you down far away from any furniture you might be able to scratch. Just to piss her off more, you sink your claws into the carpet and rip it up instead. She whips her head around to see you, yelling again. This time though you are too fast and you sprint away before she can grab you. You run past her and back up the stairs from where you came. You watch her from the top of the stairs. She is examining the couch arm you ripped up and lets out a big sigh. You flick your tail, annoyed at her. She deserved it anyway. You miss the young ones. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You decide to tell the kitten to leave and go somewhere else.|goelsewhere]] =|= [[You decide to just go to bed for the night. It’s not like anyone will miss you anyway.|maddad]] |==| ]

You decide to tell the [[kitten.|newkitten]] to leave and go somewhere else. You're tired of everyone acting like this kitten is the queen of the house. You return back to where the [[kitten.|newkitten]] is playing. You puff out your chest, hoping to appear even bigger than you are. You aren’t sure if the [[kitten.|newkitten]] notices. She is very small, and very stupid. You hiss at her to remind her you're in charge. She looks at you with not a thought in her large eyes. It doesn’t take long for her to go back to what she’s playing with. Which… what is she playing with? You push her aside to get a better look. Taken aback, she rolls onto her side and waves her paws around at you. You think she’s trying to play, but again, she’s stupid. You look down and to your surprise, this entire time she has been playing with a rubber band. It is blue in color and about half the size of her. You cup your paw around it and swipe at it. It flings off your paw several feet away from you. You jump over the [[kitten.|newkitten]] and pounce on the rubber band. You roll over, grabbing the rubber band again. You bite at it a few times and send it flying again. This time it lands on the [[kitten.|newkitten]]’s face. She is stunned for a bit, before kicking it off her face. She uses her entire tiny body to leap into the air and land on top of the rubber band. Soon enough you find yourself batting around the rubber band for her to play with. Occasionally you'll even attack it yourself. It has begun quite the fun game and you quickly tire. You aren’t sure how this much energy can be contained in such a tiny body, but the [[kitten.|newkitten]] keeps playing long after you’ve decided you're done. You have to say, the [[kitten.|newkitten]] is dumb enough that it makes winning easy. You suppose this is a good thing. She must understand that you're in charge. If she never wins then it will never become a problem. You leave her to her rubber band. Exhausted after a long play session, you find a spot to curl up in so you can catch your breath. As usual, the top of the stairs proves the best place to do this. You watch the [[kitten.|newkitten]] play with the rubber band from afar. The young ones eventually also wander into the [[living room|livingroom]] to play with her. Not that you'd want to right now, but you wish they'd play with you. You wouldn’t even mind the young boy picking you up or waving you around. You’d even let him rub your fur the wrong way. You feel as though it has been forever since you had to groom your fur back to its natural direction. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You decide to go downstairs and misbehave for attention.|scratchcouch]] =|= [[You decide to just go to bed. It’s not like anyone will miss you anyway.|maddad]] |==| ]

You decide to just go to bed. It’s not like anyone will miss you anyway. The dad creature is about to return anyway, and the sun is beginning to set earlier as the cold months approach. You close your eyes and manage to get in a short nap before the commotion downstairs wakes you up. You were correct in estimating that the dad would be home soon. You can hear the car door slam all the way from inside. You can already tell he is in a bad mood. The door opens aggressively, and it slammed shut again. You watch him set his things down before walking into the kitchen where everyone else is currently hanging out. It does not take long for the shouting to start. You creep downstairs hoping to get a better view of what is going on. This isn’t the first time this has happened, as you’ve noted before. There have only been a few times where you’ve felt real fear of the dad. For the most part he is quiet and doesn’t say much. Except for when he is not. One of the worst times involved a plate being thrown across the room. Luckily it did not hit you or the mom creature. It crashed into the wall and broke into several pieces. The mom creature eventually cleaned it up, but you were wary of sharp pieces in the carpet for about a week after. Another particularly bad time with the dad creature resulted in the large screen in the living room getting smashed in. You did not like that incident either. The large screen was no longer a screen after that. The glass had a large crack across the front and the you spent the rest of the afternoon comforting the young ones. You still aren’t, and never are, sure of what causes any of this. You don’t think it’s because of you. At least you really hope not. You try your best to not cause any trouble when he is home. You never scratch the couch in front of him and you tread lightly but quickly when walking in his path. The mom creature is always equally loud back, but she has never thrown or hurt anything. You aren’t sure why they live in the same house if they hate each other so much. Maybe there are no other houses that will take loud angry creatures. You certainly enjoy your quiet mornings. This would be the first loud evening with the [[kitten.|newkitten]]. You walked up behind her and sat next to her. The two of you watched the interaction. You didn’t have any meows to explain to her what was going on, but you wrapped your tail around her body to let her know you were there. She may have stolen your place in the family, but she was too stupid to know how to navigate the loud evenings. You decided you would also become her [[protector]]. At least until she got older. She does look just like your brother from back when you were small like her. It does not take long for the young ones to feel the tense energy in the air and they rush to their respective rooms upstairs. You usher the [[kitten|newkitten]] to follow them. You don’t think she needs to witness this until she possesses the brain power to comprehend any of it. You push her into the young boy’s room. If she was going to live here and take up space, the least she could do was do her job as comforter of young beings. She was here to cuddle and be cute, and right now the young boy needed it. You left her to it and went to check on the girl. You find her curled up on her bed. Her face is red and [[leaking|cryinggirl]] again. Over time you’ve come to find she does this a lot. You think for various reasons, but you aren’t positive. This time you can tell she is hurting. She must not enjoy the loud evenings either. You can't figure out where the pain is coming from. The dad creature did not hit or throw anything at her. He has never laid a paw on her or the boy. He would not dare; he knows you would scratch up his face if he did. Nevertheless, her face is [[leaking|cryinggirl]] a lot, and it is getting all over her bed. You curl up next to her chest and she clutches you tightly. By now your fur is wet from her face but you figure that’s a problem you'll solve later. She remains like this for a long while, until eventually she has exhausted herself to sleep. Only when you hear her snoring do you sit up and clean your fur off. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Memories|memories]] =|= [[Mature Memories|mature]] |==| ]

By now you have witnessed many more seasons. The [[kitten|newkitten]] is no longer a [[kitten|newkitten]] (Though you refuse to call her anything else than The [[kitten|newkitten]]. She is too stupid to be anything other than this). She is still young, but much larger than she once was. She still remains much more active than you. You still love to play with the feather stick, but she can continue on for much longer than you can. You’ve even begun to put on a little bit of weight. The young ones are much older now too and spend more time at school during the cold seasons. The young girl is especially busy these days. She is now the same size as the mom creature. She spends a lot of her free time in her room during this season. With her size she has also gotten bolder. Often you find her getting loud back at the dad creature on tense evenings. You suspect this is why she stays mostly upstairs. She also spends a lot of time in her bed. Either sleeping, or just lying there and staring at the ceiling. You're not sure about this either. Perhaps there’s a bug up there that she can't catch? You’ve tried to climb on her furniture to get a better look, but you sometimes will accidentally knock things off and she doesn’t like when you do this. You’ve noticed her room also isn’t as clean as she used to keep it. Since she eats her dinner upstairs, you often find used dishes piled up on her desk. The smell still is not as bad as the youngest brother though. She will often open up her window to get some fresh air. This has been your life for several moons now. You blame part of your weight gain on spending more time in her bed trying to cheer her up. This morning you are woken up to a surprise. Today she has gotten up early to clear her dishes from the room. She even gets out the dreaded machine that you hate so much. She uses it on the floor to pick up any crumbs or dirt in the carpet. You suspect it just helps her clean, but its loud and scares you. You always hide when she brings it out. This time was no different. By the time the machine is turned off and you’ve managed to set aside your nerves enough to return to her room, you find that it is cleaner than you’ve ever seen it. The bed is neatly made, there are none of her furs on the ground, and the air smells like fresh fruit. You don’t see any fruit though, it must be one of the magic scent misters that she has. Once she is finished, she sits on the edge of the bed, kicking her leg. She seems nervous. On the back of her door hangs a glass frame. You learned long ago that it reflects back whatever you see, and there is not a familiar looking creature staring back at you. She uses this frame to look at herself. She turns around to inspect the way she looks. You watch as she pulls at her clothes uncomfortably, and pokes at her squishy stomach with a frown. You aren’t sure why she doesn’t like it. Her stomach is very comfy to lay on and keeps the both of you warm. She lets out a big sigh and checks her small rectangle screen once more. She then leaves the room and runs down the stairs. You expect her to head to the kitchen or living room but to your surprise she heads towards the door. You watch from the top of the stairs as she opens it. Behind the door stands a tall male creature. He is larger than the dad creature. His hair is long, but he ties it back. The young girl welcomes the new stranger into her home. You watch in confusion as he greets the rest of her family. After a couple minutes of talking they head into the kitchen. You follow out of curiosity but stay far enough behind that you're out of harms way. To your surprise, he acts normally. There are no strange movements from him, and he eats dinner at the table with the rest of them. You aren’t sure why they are at the table tonight. For the past couple seasons nobody has sat at the table. It has become more of a storage area than anything else. You watch them finish up. They gather in the [[living room|livingroom]] once more for what feels like hours to you. Finally finished, the young girl takes the stranger back upstairs into her room. You predict their path and make it to the room before they do. Why is he here! You meow at her. She seems excited to see you and picks you up. She holds you in her arms and you can’t help but purr at the gesture. She points you out to the stranger and offers you for him to hold. No! Why would she give you away?! You squirm away from him and hide under the bed where neither of them can reach you. They both laugh it off, but this is no laughing matter. They tried to replace you with the [[kitten|newkitten]], surely she can't be giving you away too? They both spend quite some time in her room talking about various things. It does not take long for boredom to wash over you. You stretch as you leave your spot from under the bed. You go to leave but… the door is closed! How rude! You sit at it and [[meow]] loudly. She does not immediately get up to let you out. This is not okay. You [[meow]] again. She sighs and gets up to let you out. To your surprise, she also closes the door behind you. No?! This is not what you wanted! Sure, you left, but you planned on coming back very soon. You [[meow]] again loudly to let her know that you will be right back. She opens the door again and gestures wildly. Did she expect you to want the door shut? When have you ever enjoyed the door being shut? You two go back and forth for a bit before she gets annoyed and stops letting you back in. You meow for several minutes but nobody comes to your aid. Defeated, you venture off to sleep on the couch. What a disappointment! Unfortunately, this was not the last time you saw the stranger. Soon enough he was no longer a stranger. He came over weekly to socialize with the young girl. You are very upset that he has taken away your cuddle time. You’ve been with this girl for many years and it takes one boy to ruin all of it. You suppose it’s not his fault though. He is unaware that you are the sole [[protector]] of this family. That includes the young ones and now the [[kitten|newkitten]]. You guess as long as he does not hurt anyone or become loud, [[then he may stay.|dog]]

You are not sure what day or time it is, nor do you care. This is the worst day of your life. The mom creature came home with a box. Again. You don’t even bother to sniff it out, you can smell its stench from here. This is the same stink as the thing down the street. The mom creature has the audacity to bring a dog into the house! What is going on?! Your life surely is ruined. For now, he is small and stupid. Soon enough however, he will grow into a massive beast with jaws the size of your head. The [[kitten|newkitten]] does not seem to mind. She has already approached the box and begun sniffing all over. The baby dog inside is yapping and bouncing around. His tail wags madly and he paws at the box door. The mom creature lets him out and it doesn’t take long for the two to start playing with each other. The dog’s style of play is much different from hers though. She does not seem to be sure of what is going on. They eventually just end up chasing each other across the room. They do this for quite a while until the [[kitten|newkitten]] leads this new stupid stinky dog past you. Once he realizes you're there too, he jumps in excitement. He is probably hoping for a new friend. He will not be making one out of you. You hiss loudly at him, your fur on end. When he does not get the hint, you don’t hesitate to swipe him with your paw. Despite being a dumb baby, you are not taking any chances this time. Your claws stay out, scratching him on the ear. He yelps and runs back to the mom creature who scolds you. She tries to grab you and remove you from the room but you're much quicker than her. You don’t need to be told to leave. You did not want to be near this dumb mutt anyway. Why don’t any of them understand that you're enough? [[They don’t need new creatures!|movefight]]

You have felt tension in the air for the past few weeks. You aren’t sure what the reason is, but everyone in the house seems to be on edge. The mother creature has also been doing a lot of cleaning. She does this when she is stressed but it seems more frequent as of late. You have never seen the house this clean and organized. The girl has also been keeping her room clean, but you aren’t sure if it is due to reasons similar to the mother, or because she keeps having the strange boy over. By now he is not really a stranger to you. He is familiar. The girl is very fond of the [[Familiar Man|boyfriend]]. He comes over often, and they go out together a few days a week. You are thankful for a clean house, but you’ve begun to worry. Alongside the clean house, you’ve noticed that the mother creature has started to pack some things up in boxes. She has done this before with just a few household items, but this time it is much more. It has been about a week or so of this frantic cleaning, and by now there are boxes stacked to the ceiling. They are filled with items from the living room. She even packed away your favorite [[toy|newtoy]]! This evening, after you finish your dinner, you find the mother creature sitting on the floor packing up another box. You trot over to her to investigate. Her face is red, similar to when the girl’s face was [[leaking|cryinggirl]]. You can tell a lot is on her mind today. It is the weekend, so most of the family is home. The rest of the family has also begun to put some of their items into boxes, perhaps her anxiety has rubbed off on the rest of them? But why would they need boxes? These creatures are always confusing you. You try to cheer her up by swatting at the cardboard flaps, but she dismisses you and tells you to go away. Whatever! You were just trying to be helpful. You watch her from afar. She is almost done packing away one of the boxes when you hear heavy feet coming down the stairs. In walks the father creature. He does not seem too upset at first, but as you watch the two interact you realize they are both on edge. It doesn’t take long for the two of them to get [loud] again. You hear another set of feet coming down the stairs and now the girl has entered the room. She hears the commotion from the two older ones and starts yelling back. You flatten your ears at the noise as the three of them yell at each other. You hear the word [[“divorce”|divorce]] thrown around frequently, but you’ve heard that word before and nothing has changed because of it. You aren’t sure what it means but perhaps it pertains to the [loud] outbursts. The [[loud|maddad]] moments have gotten more frequent as the boxes have piled higher. You aren’t a fan of the new change. The [[kitten|newkitten]] isn’t either. She sits closer to you when she is anxious. You find that her anxiety is heightened as of late. Not that you care about the stinky mutt, but the [[dog]] does not seem fond of the situation either. To your surprise he has not grown much bigger than you. He has grown to be about your size, perhaps a bit wider (fatter). His jaws are certainly not the size of your face, but they are larger than yours. You two have gotten into a few fights, but nothing serious. Just to remind him who was here first. He likes to hide under the mother creature’s bed during the [[loud|maddad]] outbursts. You don’t bother to comfort him. Maybe the [[loud|maddad]]ness will scare him off and he will finally leave! Regardless, [[you hope it stops soon.|beginmove]]

You are abruptly awoken by the girl picking you up off her bed. You yawn, how rude of her! You watch as she strips her bed of all the sheets and throws them off to the side. Usually when she does this, she will take the opportunity to wash the sheets as well but today she just leaves them thrown onto the floor. It has been a few weeks since the boxes started to pile up in the [[living room|livingroom]]. Now the boxes have extended into other rooms as well, including the girl’s. Her room is practically empty now. You can hear everyone talking downstairs so you go to investigate. To your surprise, the [[familiar man|boyfriend]] is also here. You pause, amazed at the sight before you. The entire [[living room|livingroom]] is empty. Boxes are piled to the ceiling and half the furniture is gone. You pace around the room anxiously. You [[meow]] loudly to let them know you're confused. Where is everything? Why are these boxes here? Why did they invite the [[familiar man|boyfriend]] over? The mom creature eventually notices you and the [[kitten|newkitten]] who has since joined you. She picks both of you up and puts you in the bathroom before shutting the door. What the hell? Why did she put you in here? You [[meow]] louder. Hello?? Did she forget to leave the door open? What is going on? You're very confused now, and a bit aggravated that she would forget like that. Oh well, surely the girl will hear you. Eventually, after a few hours of [[meow]]ing, you grow tired. You realize at some point that the mother creature did not forget. Inside the bathroom was also your food bowl and your litter box. This was intentional. Why would she do that? Was she replacing you again? Was she mad at you for [[scratching|scratchcouch]] the couch? You promise you'll never do it again! You promise!! What about the [[kitten|newkitten]]?? She didn’t do anything wrong. Perhaps she played too rough. Perhaps they all decided they liked the [[dog]] better. Several hours now have gone by. You’ve spent them laying on the cold tile floor and listening to the commotion outside. You can hear loud noises and talking. The [[kitten|newkitten]] has tried to play with your tail a few times but you're too sad to move. You can't believe your family would have done something like this. Are they going to abandon you inside this little bathroom? You can't even think about it, you're devastated. You have given up yowling. If they can hear you they are just ignoring you. You feel sorry for ignoring the [[kitten|newkitten]] but she seems to have been able to entertain herself just fine. She has made a mess of the litterbox. Litter has been thrown everywhere, and she has found the leaking bathtub faucet to be a great toy. You sigh. You wish you had her confidence; you wish you knew for certain that this morning would not have been your final morning with the girl. [[You miss your humans.|move]]

It feels like it has been years since they put you in the bathroom. Really it has only been hours, but for you that is a long time. At some point you joined the [[kitten|newkitten]] in making a mess of the bathroom. You figure if they're going to be so mean as to lock you up in here, then they can at least be bothered to clean up your mess. Whatever. You almost can't believe it when the door finally opens. Standing there is the girl. Oh! Girl! You're finally back! You [[meow]] loudly. Doesn’t she know how awful it has been in here all day? You don’t hesitate to sprint out the door. The sight you are greeted with is not pleasant, however. The entire house is empty. There are no longer boxes. There is no longer anything. Your cat tree is gone, the girl’s bed is gone, the couch is gone. There’s nothing left. Your meows echo in the empty rooms. You circle around the girl’s feet. Where is everything? What will you two sleep on tonight? Where is the rest of the family? You take a quick lap around the house, upstairs and downstairs. There is truly nothing left. When you come downstairs you realize the only ones here still are you, the [[kitten|newkitten]], the girl, and the [[familiar man|boyfriend]]. They talk for a bit while you explore. Eventually the girl comes over and picks you up. In her other hand is a box. This box is hard plastic, not cardboard like the ones the mother creature had. This box that the girl has is similar to the one that brought home the [[kitten|newkitten]] and the [[dog]]. You try to squirm away. Was she bringing home another animal?? No… you didn’t smell anything like that. You're pretty sure the box is empty this time. Then she does the unthinkable. She, along with help from the [[familiar man|boyfriend]], try to shove you into the box. No! Are they giving you away?! After all you’ve done to [[protect|protector]] the family? You yowl sadly. Please! You [[meow]]. You don’t want to be given away! Or thrown out to the streets! You like your family! You'll even be nice to the [[dog]] if it means you get to stay with the girl! You push your feet against the opening of the box, desperate to get away. It is a struggle, but you use all your strength and manage to free yourself from the girl’s grip. You sprint in the opposite direction but there is no furniture to hide under. You cower in the corner of the room, terrified. You and the girl go back and forth. She tries a few more times to get you into the box but she is unsuccessful. Eventually she gives up and tries with the [[kitten|newkitten]]. She does not have much luck with this either. You see her put her head in her hands. You can smell that her face is [[leaking|cryinggirl]] again. Why is she sad? She’s the one who wants to give you away? She is sad she can't get rid of you?! The [[familiar man|boyfriend]] hugs her. You stay hiding in the corner. After a few minutes of talking back and forth with the [[man|boyfriend]], she grabs something else. In her hands she has a fabric contraption, with a long string at the end. You have seen the mother creature attach it to the [[dog]] before taking him [[outside]]. Is the girl going to take you [[outside]]? You don’t want to! You want to stay here! You want her to bring back all the furniture and the rest of the family. She wraps you in the contraption and holds it tight to your skin before picking you up. You try to escape but she has a secure grip on you. Your little heart races with fear. Why wasn’t she bringing the [[kitten|newkitten]]? Why was she getting rid of you?! The [[man|boyfriend]] follows her out the door. The sky is dark and the air is cold. You remember the last time you tried to [[escape|escapewin]]. Your fur stands on end. Surely she wouldn’t leave you out here? It doesn’t take you long for you to realize what direction she is headed. As she approaches the car door you feel your ears go back and your claws extend. The car?! Doesn’t she know how dangerous these are? You're both going to get ran over! You wiggle underneath her arms, desperate to get away. You’ve never felt your heart beat this fast. You feel your whole world crashing down on you. You have no more home, no family, and now you're going to be crushed inside a car. You [[meow]] as loud as you can, desperate for someone to hear you. Perhaps your own mother will hear your yowls and finally come to save you. Nobody arrives to help. Nobody stops the girl as she opens the door and sits down in the front seat of the car. You tuck your head into her arm, terrified. Your claws grip into her shirt harder as you hear the car engine start. Your eyes are wide open, watching your surroundings intently. You feel the car begin to move and you prepare for the worst. The ride is only a few minutes long but it feels like hours. From inside the car you can see others on the road. The sky may be dark but the car’s lights are bright and they hurt your eyes. You tremble and breathe heavily, waiting for the pain of your final moments. To your surprise they never come. You feel the car come to a stop and the engine turns off. You look around and realize you have no idea where you are. The girl is still holding onto you as tight as she can. She picks you up and walks you to another building. You would try to get away except you know that if you [[escape|escapewin]] now, you'll be lost forever. You have no idea where your home is. She opens the door and walks inside. There are many new smells, an overwhelming number of them. She walks into a room and shuts the door before setting you on a bed. You sniff the sheets. They smell just like her. You realize that this is the room she has taken all of her belongings to. Everything she owns is in this room. Why did she take it to a new home? This is not your house! It is much smaller, so why is all the furniture here? You crawl under the bed to hide from her. At least these scents were familiar to you. You did NOT want to be taken to the car again. Several minutes go by and eventually you see the [[kitten|newkitten]] set down on the floor in front of the bed. You feel relief wash over you. They didn’t forget her! You still don’t like that the family tried to replace you, but you would feel awful knowing that they left her in that old empty house. Hours go by and at some point, you realize the girl is not going to take you back home. She sleeps in her bed that night. In this new small house. You reluctantly decide to sleep at her feet. You don’t feel very confident. You don’t feel like a [[protector]]. But you have to be. There is nobody else capable of such a job. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Memories|memories]] =|= [[Senior Memories|senior]] ]

It has been many many moons since you were brought to this new home. You don’t know why the family decided to move here and bring all their possessions with them. You aren’t sure if you like this new place better than the last. It is much smaller, and theres no yard [[outside]] for you to [[escape|escapewin]] to. Not that you wanted to, but sometimes you wonder if the [[outside]] of this place is any better than the last. However, your family is here. The mother creature, father creature, the young ones, the [[kitten|newkitten]], and even the stupid stinky [[dog]]. You would have been fine leaving the [[dog]] at the old house. Since this house is smaller, you tend to hang out in the [[living room|livingroom]] more often. You can see the [[kitchen]] and everyones rooms from the couch that you nap on. You nap a lot these days. You find that you no longer have lots of energy to run around the house and play. The girl is also much busier with her schoolwork now. She is gone most of the day, but always returns to hug and kiss you. She pets you a lot and loves to hold you in her arms. You don’t sleep in her bed much anymore; it has gotten difficult to jump that high. Plus you figure you can be a better [[protector]] by being able to see the whole house from one angle. [[You're incredibly tired.|oldman]]

You can feel your years catching up to you. You and the [[kitten|newkitten]] are both much older. She is not as old as you and can still play around with all the [[toys|newtoy]], but she definitely does not have the energy she used to. You can tell the naked creatures are starting to notice your decline in energy. They give you a lot more attention than they have in the past. You nap a lot. There are some days where you wake up to the sun rising, you nap, and suddenly the sun is setting again. You aren’t ever too sure what time of day it is. You're always so tired. You're well aware of life and death. You know one of these days you will go to take a nap and you won’t wake up. You hope the [[kitten|newkitten]] is able to care for the girl and boy. You’ve trained her well. She does a good job of comforting them. You're thankful for this life, though it must come to an end. Luckily for you, there still remains eight to explore. You hope the girl doesn’t miss you too much. You love her a lot. You hope you’ve been a good ''protector''. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Memories|memories]] ]

Your first few days are spent soaking up as much nutrients as possible. The pleasant smell nurtures you to the best of her ability. She cleans your face and provides you warmth. Very soon you dry up and begin to notice a change in what was once permanent darkness. Faint light begins to shine through, and you notice shapes in the light. You realize that the pleasant smell is much larger than you. She moves with grace and much more ease than you. The days continue and the shapes get brighter. Surrounding you are much smaller creatures that resemble the pleasant smell. She nurtures them as well. As you begin to see in more clarity you grow fond of the motherly being and her children. You recognize them as your family. Some are different colors and have different patterns. All have pointy little ears and a tail that sticks straight up. You look down and realize you look just like the other small (text-colour:#df116a)[(cycling-link: "brown","orange","gray")] creatures. [[There are just so many|birth3]]

You do not notice how quickly you grow. Soon you find yourself leaping over the box where you sleep. You and your siblings take turns climbing on each other as well as anything you find you can dig your claws into. You alternate tackling each other to the floor, finding great joy in fighting to become today’s victor. The pleasant smell, who you now recognize as the mother of your siblings and you occasionally reminds you not to stray too far from the box with a quick swipe of her paw. After the sky darkens and your legs grow tired of endless play, she tucks you into the warmth of her belly fur. She rewards your hard work and play with dinner and a kiss in between your ears. Your eyes grow heavy and soon you are comforted by the familiar darkness you once knew. For now, [[you know nothing else.|birth4]]

''Written by Brynna Hosszu with Twine'' Audio: Mewing kittens sourced from: (text-colour:#df116a)[daviddryden] on freesound.org<a href="https://freesound.org/people/daviddryden/sounds/706449/"> https://freesound.org/people/daviddryden/sounds/706449/</a> [[Back to Title|title]]

You do not realize until later that your mother’s kiss given to you this morning would be her last. It is not until you find yourself being taken along with your sibling that you realize this separation may be permanent. The large, strange, and naked creatures that have stolen you seem to at least have the decency to keep you with your siblings. Crowded together in cold hard box, some of your siblings fearfully hide in the corner. It would be a lie to say you are not nervous, but you are brave. You swear that you will ''protect'' them on behalf of your mother. If she were here there would be no doubt that you would all be safe. Besides your siblings, every smell you have encountered today is new. You cannot see much outside the box that encloses you all, but you resist sleep on behalf of your siblings. [[They deserve a ''protector''.|birth5]]

After quite some time the large naked creature opens your box and you find yourself blinded by bright lights and strange smells. You recognize some of the smells as creatures of your own kind. None of them belong to your family though. None of them are your mother. Some of your siblings choose to hide in the box, afraid of this new outside world. You consider staying with them, to keep them safe. Ultimately your curiosity gets the better of you and you decide that in order to ''protect'' your siblings you must be familiar with the dangers that lie ahead. The world outside your box is very large. The room has bright white lights and smells unnatural. You notice one of the large naked creatures wears a covering over his mouth and nose, and also on his paws. You think this is very odd of him. The large naked creatures are seldom rational anyway though. They don’t even have tails. Your eyes widen as you realize the creature is looking directly at you. His long arms reach towards you and soon you are flying through the air as he picks you up. You hiss loudly at him, telling him to put you down. Immediately! He is dumb and does not listen. He is looking at you all over, rotating you in the air and examining your limbs. Perhaps he cannot hear you, his ears are not pointy like yours. You hiss louder but nothing comes of it. He must be ignoring you. Once he seems satisfied you are placed back in your box. Your siblings get the same treatment. One by one each of you are examined by the large naked creature. You are too small to prevent him from messing with your siblings but thankfully he does not harm them. When he is finished, he closes your box back up and you all are carried into another room. This time you can smell many more creatures of your kind. You try your best to peer outside the box and you realize where the smells are coming from. There are many of your kind in this room, all dwelling inside boxes similar to this one. Some look just like your mother, some are the color of your other siblings. Most are much older and bigger than you. Your observations are cut short as the large naked creature opens your box once more and reaches inside. He places you and one other sibling inside a different empty box and closes it. You cannot see it, but you smell that to the left and right of you are more boxes with more creatures. You nervously wait for the naked creature to return but he does not. You suspect this might be your new home. [[Feeling defeated, you and your one remaining brother curl up together to go to sleep.|birth6]]

You are startled awake by another naked creature. This time she is shorter, with longer hair. She wears the same face and paw coverings. You decide to forgive her for rudely awaking when you realize she is giving you a bowl of what smells like delicious food. Your brother runs to the bowl first, hardly giving her time to close your box again. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Your stomach growls and you follow suit.|birth7]] =|= [[You decide to let him eat first, you can wait.|birth8]] |==| ]

Your stomach growls and you follow suit. You push your brother over slightly so you both can share this new meal. You cautiously approach the remaining food, sniffing it to make sure it is truly safe. It smells so good that you can’t help but take a bite. That bite turns into several more, and soon the bowl is empty. It is not as tasty as your mother’s food, but it [[fills you up much quicker.|birth9]]

You decide to let him eat first, you can wait. You hang out towards the back of the box just in case the naked creature comes back. You watch your brother eat his fill. When he is finished, he yawns sleepily and crawls back to his side of the box. You cautiously approach the remaining food, sniffing it to make sure it is truly safe. It smells so good that you can’t help but take a bite. That bite turns into several more, and soon the bowl is empty. It is not as tasty as your mother’s food, but it [[fills you up much quicker.|birth9]]

You spend the rest of your morning sleeping and playing with your brother. Neither of you really know what is going on but you have each other and that is all that matters. At some point you begin to notice more and more naked creatures passing by your box. At first it was just the ones with the covered faces. Then as more begin to trickle in, you realize there are many different kinds of naked creatures. Some are old, some are small, some are big, or young, or loud, or quiet. Some bring their young ones, and some keep to themselves. Most of them stop by your box though and peek inside. You are not quite sure what to think at this point. None of them have harmed you other than being annoying, but you still are not certain that these beings are safe. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You decide to stay near the back of the box, out of harms reach.|birth10]] =|= [[You decide to get closer to the door of the box, watching the creatures pass by.|birth11]] |==| ]

You decide to stay near the back of the box, out of harms reach. Your brother, however, is braver today. He sits near the door of the box and watches. A few of the younger naked creatures stop as they pass by and try to put their paws in the holes of the box door. You watch your brother swipe at their paws, reminding the young ones to keep to themselves. Really, it looks fun. Their paws are small, move around a lot, and remind you of the bugs you used to catch back when you still lived with your mother. Curiosity pushes your legs forward despite the potential dangers. [[You decide to get closer.|birth11]]

You decide to get closer to the door of the box, watching the creatures pass by. With your brother sitting next to you, you feel better about being so close to the outside world. Eventually another naked creature passes by. This one is older, and respectfully keeps his paws to himself. He seems to have kind eyes. He motions for his partner to come over and you watch as another creature follows him. She brings with her two young creatures. The younger ones are much louder, but the mother creature makes sure that they keep their paws away from your box. She seems kind. Eventually they keep walking and you two are left alone again. [[All this commotion has you tired.|birth12]]

The next several days are the same as the last. Several of the creatures pass by you every day. Some stop to play, some ignore you. Eventually you learn to tune them out and carry on about your business. Occasionally you’ll get bored and take a couple of swipes at them through the door of your box. Every night is the same though. Eventually the creatures grow tired of playing with you and they all leave for the night. The lights in the room turn off and you go to sleep. Nights turn into days turn into weeks and eventually you have lost count of how long it has been since you had seen your mother and the rest of your siblings. You figure, at least you have your brother. [[Until you don’t.|birth13]]

For a long time, you considered the day you lost your mother to be the longest day of your life. Today proves to be equally as exhausting. You are unaware of the upcoming change, as the day starts out the same as any other. Around midday, after you have finished with your lunch, one of the naked creatures stops by. You recognize this as one of the first ones to examine you upon your arrival. You feel your heart race as he reaches in and grabs you. You squeak and try to get away, back to your brother. Your entire existence, although only spanning a few weeks, has been spent with at least one of your family members. You try your hardest to get away, but this creature is much bigger than you, and there is not much you can do to stop him. He gives you the same examination that you got when you first arrived here, and then he sets you into another smaller box all by yourself. You are able to watch as he hands you off to someone else. This creature smells different and does not have the same facial coverings as the one who examined you. You vaguely recognize this as one of the ones who passed by your box a week ago, but you are not sure. Time seems to pass by agonizingly slow as you are carried around in your box. Eventually you are brought [[outside]]. You recognize the smell of fresh grass and dirt. These smells do not last long at all. You do not see much at this point, as you are curled in the corner of your box out of fear. [[You are confused and lost and scared.|newhome]]

You decide to explore more of this new place. You have decided that this place must be home to the creatures that brought you here. Not yours though. You still have to find Mom. The creature’s home is much bigger than any other place you have been in. The home has two levels, the top one only accessible by climbing the stairs to the side of the door. You decide to explore up there. Perhaps a window will be open, and you’ll be able to [[escape|escapewin]] down a tree. You climb up the stairs, which is not an easy task considering the size of your little body. You are only a few weeks old, so you are still pretty small even if you don’t like to admit it. Soon enough you manage to climb to the top. This portion of the home smells a lot like the creatures. You can tell just by the smells who spends the most time in what room. You start with the room to your left. This one is large and smells mostly of the mom and dad creatures. In the center of the wall is a large rectangular box shape. Using your claws, you jump and climb up to the top of it. You realize it is very soft, and of everything in the room smells most of the creatures. You decide this is where they must sleep. On their bed is several furs, you suspect to keep them warm at night since they are naked. The furs are similar material to the ones they wear on their body, although much larger and softer. On top of this large bed you can see much more of the room. Several items are left out, and there is a pile of used furs, the ones they wear on their body. You wonder just how many they have. You only have one fur, and it grows from your body. If the creatures were smart, they would just groom their furs with their tongue like you. Or better yet, they would grow it themselves. Like you. You hop down from the bed, gracefully landing on your paws. You sniff around the room a bit more before growing bored and deciding to check out the other rooms. In total there are three that you can see. The one down the hall from the mom and dad creature’s room has its door closed. You paw at it to see if you can get it to open, but it is latched shut. You move on to the next room. This one smells like one of the young creatures. The one that you so selflessly let pet you. His room is much messier than the other. There are many used furs thrown on the floor and you can smell garbage coming from a can in the corner of the room. To the side is another bed, although this one is much smaller than the last one you saw. It is also much smellier. This creature clearly did not bathe as often as the others. You don’t spend as much time here; the smell is a bit much for you. You have one final room you haven’t explored. This room is across from the young boy’s. The door is partially closed, you’re able to push it open with your paw. This room is much cleaner than the last. You can smell that this one belongs to the other young creature. This creature is older than the male, and she does not stink as much, perhaps because you see that the window is open. You jump up to the windowsill and take a deep inhale of the outside scents. The screen prevents you from climbing out, otherwise this would make a great escape path. Luckily for you, neither of the creatures are here to bug you. Like the dad creature, they leave in the morning and return in the afternoon, although much earlier than the dad. You sniff around her room but don’t find anything significant. Feeling satisfied with your explorations of the upper level, you return back down the stairs. For now, only the mother creature is home. Thankfully though, she has taken charge of the food. [[You decide to go find your food bowl.|protector]]

The [[kitten|newkitten]] does not leave anytime soon. You wait very patiently for the creatures to pick her up and take her somewhere, but that time does not come. You don’t pay her much attention. The young ones are much more fascinated with her than they are of you. You don’t understand why they would do such a thing of you. You feel very sad and unloved. It has been three days since anyone waved the stick around for you to play with. The [[kitten|newkitten]] though, seems to always be playing with something. The creatures even brought home more new [[toys|newtoy]], and they haven’t even offered it to you once. For these reasons you have opted to mostly stay in the young girl’s room. You don’t see much of a point in going downstairs just to watch your family play with your replacement. You haven’t even done the [[bug patrol|bugpatrol]] since the [[kitten|newkitten]] came home. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[You decide to go downstairs and misbehave for attention.|scratchcouch]] =|= [[You decide to tell the kitten to leave and go somewhere else.|goelsewhere]] |==| ]

[[Birth|birth]] [[Being Taken Home|birth13]] [[The First Attempt at Escape|escapefail]] [[The Second (Successful) Attempt at Escape|escapewin]]

The word “divorce” is frequently thrown around during the [[loud|maddad]] outbursts. Sometimes it is the mother creature who yells it, and sometimes it is the father creature. You can't tell all of what they are saying, but occasionally the father creature will get mad and leave for a few days before coming back. He always comes back. There have been a few times where the mother creature has left after a big argument and taken the younger ones with her. She also always comes back. For some reason the two adults have never separated longer than a few days. You have never seen them hug or embrace. They sit on opposite ends of the couch during the evenings. The father creature used to sleep in the same room as the mother creature, but for the past few years he has become a permanent resident of the couch. He keeps to himself, and when everyone else has gone to bed he will curl up with a blanket and fall asleep in the [[living room|livingroom]]. When he is not gone for the day, and he is not being loud, he is in another room staring at another bright screen. This one is similar to the screen in the [[living room|livingroom]] but it is much smaller and it is attached to a set of buttons that he uses to control the screen. He spends a lot of time in this room. He almost never leaves it except for work and to sleep. He doesn’t have much of a relationship with the mother creature or the little ones anymore. You remember he used to be more involved. The family used to go on outings together. Not much anymore. You haven’t been home alone in years. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Back to title|title]] =|= [[Back to Memories|memories]] ]

The creatures do not have normal meows. They talk very loudly with distinct sounds. They do not chirp or purr or meow like you do. You have learned a few terms from them. They call themselves humans, the mother creature being mom and the father creature being dad. It seems mother was too long for them to say? They are very lazy creatures. They wear clothes and shoes to cover themselves because they do not grow fur like you do. It is all too much, you think. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Back to title|title]] =|= [[Back to Memories|memories]] ]

The creatures with the facial coverings are scary. You have learned later that the humans refer to them as "veterinarians" and "doctors". They help to keep you safe and healthy, but you still do not like to visit them. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

The mother creature cares too much. She tries her hardest to keep the peace in the house, but she can't control fate. She can't control the [[father creature|dad]] and she can't control the emotions of other people. That does not stop her from trying though. She will push an argument in attempt to reconcile but that does not get her to her goal. She is very clean. She cleans the house every morning. Because of this, nobody else bothers. When she leaves for a few days the house will get messy and when she returns she has to clean it up. She holds a lot of resentment in her heart because of this. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

The father creature is never a normal volume. He is always quiet or very [[loud.|maddad]] He does not have many friends. He is lonely. He knows he is not liked when he is [[loud.|maddad]] He is sad. He is stuck in his own ways. For some reason, he doesn't try to change. Maybe he can't. He has ruined his relationship with his partner and children. The [[young girl|girl]] feels bad for him. The [[young boy|boy]] resents him. The father creature resents himself. Nobody tries to change. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

The young girl hides herself. She hides herself in clothes and she hides herself from others. She does not want anyone to know her too personally for fear that they will think poorly of her. Because of this she is often ignored. Except for a few close friends, most don't even know her name. She is scared. She is terrified of the opinions of others. She hates the way she looks and deep down she attributes her self worth to her self image. She is always tired. She feels connected to the [[father creature|dad]] in a way that the others aren't. She feels bad for him. She knows everything about him. She knows him better than the [[mother creature|mom]] does. She wishes she could fix things but she is just too tired. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

The young boy keeps to himself while home. He has a few close friends he can be loud and joyful with, but at home he is disconnected. Him and the [[ kitten|bailynn]] are good friends. Due to his disconnect, he is always in his room, which is very messy. He is not very good at keeping his things clean and organized. He leaves a mess in the kitchen for the [[mother creature|mom]] to clean up. He hates the [[father creature's|dad]] very [[loud|maddad]] evenings. He holds resentment for both of them. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

The pleasant smell was your first smell. She makes you feel loved and comfortable. She is very warm. You miss her. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

Your siblings were the second smell. There were many of them with different colors. You miss them all. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

The kitten is very playful. She gets along with everyone quite well. She does not like her belly to be touched, and will swat at anyone who tries. She is not mean though, and keeps her claws in. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]

You hate the dog. He is stinky. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[ =|= [[Start Over|title]] =|= [[Back to Creatures|creatures]] ]