Snippet #1792921

Swish - swish - swish -

The semi-striped tail swung itself back and forth and back and forth - a slow, repetitive motion that was almost hypnotizing in its regularity and timing.

The tail was attached to a sturdy tabby red body with semi-stocky legs, semi-short fur and rounded paws. On top of the body was a cat's head - also tabby in coloring - with the customary M on the forehead, a rounded face, large, circular eyes that glowed amber in the late afternoon light. Faint, white whiskers, almost invisible in the sunlight, twitched slightly whenever the cat was inclined to move her head to catch a scent.

Poppy - no last name - her previous owner had neglected to give her one - had been sitting on the welcome sign at the entrance to the town since lunch (which she had taken at around one in the afternoon, a tasty treat of raw rabbit). The sign was a bit thicker than normal - almost as if it had been made that way to accommodate her - and she had had no trouble either getting on the sign of staying up there once she had made it up - she was after all, a cat.

But, apparently, not a normal one, because on her hind feet, she was wearing two small, combat boots, pulled up to her knee, and tied in a tiny little knot around her neck was a pale cream sack, about two inches across. It was currently empty - a surprising phenomenal for this cat.

Normally, Poppy would have spent her afternoon hours hunting - looking for something tasteful and rare that she could turn into money - or in the madhouse, trying to convince the patients there that they didn't need any of the land they had - of course not, why would they? They were living in a madhouse after all, so it would be so much better not to put that land to waste and sign it off to Poppy - don't worry, she'd take good care of it for you - will you get it back? Of course, she'll add it into the contract after you sign. You won't have to worry about a thing.

But that wasn't for today.

No, today was different - today, Poppy had a weird feeling - a feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was a feeling that had started yesterday when she'd come back from her daily hunts. Something dangerous had been prowling the woods - not just yesterday, but she felt in her bones, also that day. Something very dangerous - something that she would prefer not to face deep in the woods - better to take it on here in town, where there were certain rules it had to abide by -

Because, of course, Poppy knew who the intruder in her territory was.

Adolfius.

A pathetic wolf who - contrary to what most of the townspeople believed - was not the actual Big Bad Wolf - no, he was his little brother - trying to fill in the role his brother had left conveniently vacant when he'd managed to get his head chopped off.

He had hunted in her territory before, but Poppy hadn't minded then - not today. Today was the day that she made her territory boundaries clear.

Oh - and here he comes.

As Adolfius approached, Poppy jumped lightly off the sign and landed gracefully back on the hard packed dirt. As she did so, she grew taller until she was a bit over five feet in the air, her fur condensing into strawberry-blond hair cut short around her ears. The cream sack dropped until it was tied in a belt around her waist, and her black boots shifted until they fit her new - human feet. Her skin warped and then turned tan, covered in a blue tank top and light blue shorts.

She stepped forward in the road - so that she was now in Adolfius' way and smiled at him.

"Hello, Adolfius. How have you been doing?"