Rek's Story

The sun was climbing the sky by the time the keepers were making their rounds for feeding time. The enclosed space, although large, was simply not big enough, Rek feeling tight and restless as he paced alongside the fence. Because of this anxiety, the Terra Cat didn't know what he wanted, whether to run or eat or fight. All three? Sleep had been hard to come by in his captured state, everything, all the smells of humanity and other Terra Cats and elk, too close around him. He was practically blinded by the overwhelming presence of everything.

What was he even doing here? Why had life changed so drastically? It was those annoying humans fault. He'd been enjoying his life, running through the forests of the Fowler Mountain ranges, free to do as he pleased. And occasionally he'd treated himself with elk from the nearby fields. What was so bad about that? They were just standing there in herds, kept in enclosures of their own; why didn't he deserve to hunt them if he wanted? Not long after he started hunting the elk did Rek get captured by the humans and stuck in this awful, small, smelly place.

His mind too fogged by sensory overload to think of a way to escape, Rek instead paced close to the part of the fenced enclosure where the gate was. This was where the food came from. And the fence itself was made of thick logs with wire nets strung between the rails and standing 8 feet tall. The netting kept the Cats from climbing because their claws would get stuck and tangled in it.

At the door now, Rek paced with a low rumble in his throat, yellow eyes watching the approach of his feeder. It was someone different today, a female by the smell of her, yet someone Rek had never seen before. Not that it mattered, the food in her hands the much more important thing about her.

That's it. Feed me, stupid human, Rek said with a mental smirk. Maybe if you get close enough, I can drag you through. Heh.

That was new and different! Usually when the humans made their mouth noises, Rek couldn't make sense of what they meant. This on the other hand, came through like a stream of water, his mind filled with the sound of her voice and understanding quickly following. Then he didn't like the things she was saying.

What? That's really dumb and you're dumb for saying it, Rek said temperamentally. You should apologize to me and perform your function. Which is, to put food in my mouth and then go away, silly human.

Rek sniffed at the meat held close to his slot and he began to softly paw through it, his black claws stretching just the littlest bit, trying desperately to disobey her and reach the meal on his own. Frustrated, Rek huffed a heavy breath, stepping back to spin impatiently before the door.

What is your problem? he asked irritably. What do you want? Why are you talking to me? I only talk to Cats. Don't you have any humans you can talk to and annoy? Why do you have to bother me?

Nowell just smiled like an idiot when Rek spoke to her once more. She honestly couldn’t believe he was talking to her. Deep down she had a ball of excitement ready to burst. Nowell had bonded, a bit late, but it happened. She wasn’t just an ordinary human. Her father would be so proud. Her smile slowly faded. She thought of how he may not believe her. She wasn’t sure she could prove she was bonded to Rek. The cat likely wouldn’t corporate with her. Nowell rolled her eyes Rek. Again, he was biting the hand that fed him. This cat was something special.

Her dark brown eyes stayed on the cat as he tried to reach for the leg. Rek was stubborn. An amused smile graced her lips. Nowell knew from the start this cat would be an issue. The cat was now more of an issue since they bonded. He was not polite. She placed the meat back into the bucket. Slowly she squatted down a bit to be eye level with the slot. She made sure to keep far enough so he couldn’t harm her.

“I do not have to apologize to you for any reason. Perform my function? I do not need to perform it. No one will even care if I leave you unfed. Hell, a party likely would be thrown if you died,” she paused to take a deep breath. This cat was pushing her buttons. She didn’t like being mean to him and that bother her.

“Rek, we are talking as we bonded. I am surprised it happened as I am passed the age for bonding. If your words didn’t enter my mind, we wouldn’t have a problem. I thought Terra Cats were suppose to be smart, I told you what I wanted already. Though, to remind you, I want an apology, but it doesn’t seem like you are going to apologize. I guess you do not want this fresh elk,” she said as she slowly stood up straight. Nowell picked the buckets up and walked a few feet away from the pen. When she stopped, her gaze returned to Rek.

“Oh, and now you only talk to cats and me. I have plenty of other humans to talk to, but I am pretty I don’t annoy them. I will stop bothering you for today. I will just go and take care of more appreciative cats. I know the prefect group of cubs that’ll enjoy this elk,” she said, her tone a bit hushed. She was in view of other humans now. Nowell wasn’t too eager to tell anyone she bonded. Would they even believe her? Probably not.