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Coriomeownus Snow did not deserve this fate. He was a pedigree Angora with pure, white, silky fur and beautiful bright blue eyes and yet here he was, trapped in a small, cold cage, surrounded from all sides by domestics. Quarantine, the peasants meowed. At least he had Tigris in one of the neighbouring cages, two siblings against a mass of peasants.
He could feel his hair rising at the thought of what was to come next – a group room, where he and Tigris would be expected to interact with the lower class, eat from the same bowls as them. No, this could not be allowed.
It was a shame the old human woman who fed him and Tigris had died. She first gave them food every few days when they still lived on the streets, then multiple times a day when his shows of affection finally broke through to her heart and they were relocated to the flat. It was a pleasantly dark place, with plenty of surfaces to lounge on and scratch, even if the litter box room smelled faintly of mold. Most importantly, it was theirs, with no wildlings threatening to fight them over scraps. Coriomeownus purred lightly at the memory.
Alas, here he was. And here he would stay, in his cramped little allocated space, for at least some more days according to the others. It was a boring existence, with only eating, drinking, sleeping, and grooming to entertain himself. And communicating with Tigris, of course. He wishes the two of them had at least been placed in a larger, shared space.
Time crawled. Sometimes, a human would come, feed them, maybe take away one of the domestics who had apparently served their sentence, maybe bring a new one to their shared prison.
It all changed when he was brought in. The moment the doors opened and the cage – a separate cage, unconnected to the wall – was carried in, everybody could smell it. A prey animal. Would they be allowed a hunt? Oh, excitement and play, the prospect awakened even the sleepiest of peasants. Sadly, the cage, covered with a soft cloth, was not opened for a free-for-all battle. He could only take in the delicious scent of fear.
The following day, the newcomer’s cage was left exposed. Inside was a rabbit about the size of Coriomeownus himself, with a dark brown coat. It looked like it might be decently pleasant to groom – just to assert his dominance over the bunny, of course. The beast’s size certainly put his dreams of killing and consuming him at bay.
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It was all very scary, being surrounded by predators’ gazes. Sejanus wished for the return of blanket over his container. Every time one of the cats shifted, his heart felt like it might just go into overdrive and kill him. He hid as best as he could in the wood pellets that covered the floor, but he couldn’t fully burrow into it despite his best attempts.
He didn’t know what to expect from the future. The human boy who had taken care of him had been yelled at multiple times by a human woman, which always made Sejanus nervous by the volume, and after one of those times, he ended up where he was. It hadn’t been an ideal situation either, with his food often late and the cage small. What he truly missed was the farm, where his Ma and Pa and all his cousins lived. They could go outside, they could munch on fresh grass, they could all cuddle in a big pile.
He didn’t even have anyone to communicate with. The predators around him made some noises familiar to him – the chirps, the purrs – but their intentions and intonations were all wrong, and he knew they didn’t actually understand him, just like he didn’t understand them.
Days passed and slowly, he got used to everything about the new place. Most of the cats have lost interest in him. There was only one predator whose gaze still mostly followed Sejanus’ movements, a white male with fur longer than his own. He looked very graceful, and his cage was right next to a very similar doe-cat. Perhaps they were family.
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They were getting out! Yes! Freedom at last. Coriomeownus wons as always, they were not going to the group room, they were getting adopted. He had instructed Tigris to be on her best behaviour when a little human girl came in the quarantine room, and even though Tigris didn’t quite follow his instructions to be playful and affectionate, they were still chosen. They would be getting a new domain, with plenty of room to run and jump and scratch and hunt those fake little mice.
They weren’t going to be separated.
The new place wasn’t a street, or a flat, no, it was a house. Brighter and more colourful than any of their previous dwellings. He and Tigris spent a few days growing accustomed to their kingdom, their caretakers, the little door in the big door that was just for them. Lord and Lady once more. Just like it should be.
Imagine his surprise when a door in the house that had previously always been closed was opened up – but not fully. Bars separated the room from the corridor, and they went higher than he was able to jump. Beyond the barrier was the mysterious rabbit from the shelter. He meowed loudly in annoyance to signal the little girl, or the many other young humans in the household, to let him meet his new underling. Unfortunately, they seemed not to understand his request. Fortunately, the bunny came to see him on his own.
Standing on opposite sides of the fence, Coriomeownus and the rabbit smelled each other. It was the beginning of something great.
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Sejanus couldn’t believe his luck. The beautiful cat from the previous place was here. It had taken so long for the little human girl to allow them in the same room, but now they could finally touch and play. The doe-cat was also with them, but she was more hesitant to touch him, though she did frequently lie down a few paces from him and nap. In his mind, he called her Daisy, after her colouring. Similarly, he dubbed the buck-cat Snowy.
And how wonderful Snowy was! Sejanus expected him to try to harm him in some way, but Snowy’s claws were never sharp, and he would often cuddle right next to Sejanus. The best thing was that he never presented himself as the dominant in the relationship, no, he always groomed Sejanus and never disputed their hierarchy. With an outside area to burrow in, a warm body to sleep with by his side, and a nice caretaker, his life was perfect. There was even a nice songbird in the house, who sang and sang and made the atmosphere that much more peaceful.
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“CC, what are Coryo and Sejanus doing?” asked Maude Ivory.
“Hmm? Oh. Oh. They’re just... showing each other how much they love each other!” Clark Carmine stumbled over his words. “Let’s leave them be for now, it’s time to let Lucy Gray stretch her wings a little, don’t you think?”
His foster sister was only eight, but he was ten and therefore knew exactly what the cat was doing to the bunny. However, it was not his job to tell her about the birds and the bees. The sight of a cat mounting a rabbit was certainly strange, but then so was a lot of nature. Lucy Gray, their foster mom, not their female Northern Cardinal, would definitely know more.