The Kitten, the Witches and the Bad Wardrobe - Willow & Tara Forever

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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico
PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 8:08 am 
Hello everyone, thanks for your comments :) And my apologies for taking longer than usual to update; as some of you have read, I've been working with a different kind of Kitten recently. But all is well, chapter four is done now and will be posted the moment I'm done replying. Excluding unforseen stuff like an exploding PC, or meteor strike, or what have you - not that I'm expecting any of those, but I like to qualify my statements.



Jixer: Yeah, I know assurances like that :) But Willow really does know her territory, she's not confident without reason. I'm not saying she knows *everything*, of course - it'd hardly be an adventure if there weren't surprises along the way.



Arwen: Yeah, I suppose Willow is a bit like Garfield. Only female, not so overweight, less irascible, cuter, and so on - but the air of confidence and the basic belief in the superiority of feline-kind is definitely there :) I guess Tara is then like Arlene, just without the cynicism, or the odd gap between her front teeth that makes a whistling noise :) (I don't hold out high hopes for the movie of Garfield - he dances in the trailer? Garfield doesn't *dance*, it's expending energy that he could be using eating or sleeping!)



Shy Temptress: Yep, Willow's a cool cat :) I'm hoping everyone will enjoy her and Tara interacting in their feline fashion.



BWR: Willow really does know the streets. But returning Miss Kitty is, unknown to Willow and Tara (but probably suspected by most readers) going to require more than just tracking her down.



Grimlock: I decided to do a more sassy, talkative (as opposed to inadvertently babbling) Willow - it seemed fitting for her role in the story. Tara doesn't have a lot of experience with the world outside her house and garden, but she's a smart cat. And humans aren't as complicated as we like to think :)



Lilmiss: I love fuzzy tails too :) Not that I go around scaring cats, but they're so cute.



Everbreeze: Probably not as long as Hellebore, no :) This one's going to go on a little way, but it'll essentially be a quick to-the-point story. After all, the whole reason I'm writing this, as opposed to the other ideas I've got, is to take a break from epic-length stories :)



Magrat: I love cat behaviour. I'm working in as much as I can, though I'm really just winging it, I haven't studied it (aside from having had a cat for 16 years, I imagine I picked up a thing or two :) ).



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 Post subject: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 4)
PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 8:10 am 
Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: G

Summary: Miss Kitty's a missing kitty, and it's Tara to the rescue.

Spoilers: None.

Copyright: Based on characters from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon, and inspired in a round-about way by 'Finding Nemo' by Pixar Studios. All original material is copyright 2004 Chris Cook.

Feedback: Please. Here, or to alia@netspace.net.au



--

Chapter Two

Human Nature

--



"A letter van," Willow said, when Tara had explained what happened to Miss Kitty. "Those bits of paper people send to each other, they call them letters, it's a way they have of talking without actually seeing each other. Beats me why they can't be bothered to meet face to face and sniff like civilised creatures... Anyway," she hastily added, seeing Tara's worried expression, "they don't go to the back of this place, nothing goes in or out of here except those little car things, definitely no vans. But, fear not, I know where they *do* go."



"You do?" Tara asked eagerly.



"Hey," Willow smiled, twitching her whiskers mischievously, "did I say I knew this town or didn't I? Come on, I'll show you. How are you at rooves?"



"Um, o-okay, I guess," Tara said hesitantly, swishing her tail in what she hoped was a casual manner. "Not that I go up onto the roof much... I climb my tree a lot, I'm good at that."



"You don't get out much, do you?" Willow said lightly. "Doesn't matter, come on, just follow me and you'll be fine. Once you're up there it's easy, there's like two dozen rooves here all in a row, you can just walk from one to the other without even going down to the ground. Okay, like this - bin," she turned and sprang, reaching the lid of the nearest bin easily, "wall," without pause she continued her ascent, pushing off the bin the moment she was atop it, "ledge." Her front paws reached the high ledge she had been sitting on a moment ago, and she pulled herself up easily. "Okay? Your turn."



Steeling herself, Tara sized up the series of jumps. 'It's easy,' she told herself, 'neither of those are higher than the jump up from the ground to the first branch of my tree, easier in fact, these have flat tops... this is easy. Just like my tree. Only everything smells different, and I've never been here before, and don't know what's going to happen...'



"Anytime," Willow offered casually, delicately washing a paw as she waited. Tara flattened her ears back at the jibe, and crouched, ready for a burst of speed.



'Hey, now,' she thought, 'I may not be Miss Know-Everything Street Cat and I may not be on my territory, but I'm not some helpless newborn, and I'm *not*' she leapt forward, 'going to look like one,' onto the bin, up the wall, 'in front of you, sweetie.' She reached the ledge, and sat on her haunches casually, giving Willow a level stare. Willow was regarding her with an odd expression.



"What?" Tara demanded, confidence putting some fire in her meow, for all that she was deliberately avoiding looking back down the wall at the jump she had made, "you never saw a house cat jump before?" Willow blinked in surprise, then ducked her head in a conciliatory gesture.



"You move prettily," she said, with a bashful little flick of her tail. "This way." She got up and trotted along the ledge, leaving Tara to follow, confused but pleased with herself.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"So you're a smart cat," Willow said as they walked from rooftop to rooftop, "you figured out how to cross roads like the people do, I was watching you before, and you've got plenty of courage coming out of your territory to find your Miss Kitty... how come you're with your people in the first place?"



"What do you mean?" Tara asked, ignoring her tail, which perked up of its own accord. She liked it when this odd, feisty cat complimented her.



"Why do you stay? Is it just until Miss Kitty's big enough to leave with you, or what?"



"Leave?" Tara frowned. "You mean leave home? Of course not, I love my people, why would I want to leave?"



"Why wouldn't you?" Willow countered. "Be your own mistress, live your own life... you don't like being a pet, do you?"



"What's wrong with being a pet?" Tara countered.



"People keep pets like toys, something cute they can play with now and then... I just thought you'd want more than that."



"It's not like that at all," Tara protested, "I don't *let* my people keep me - they don't lock me in or anything - I stay because I want to. They're my family."



"Family?" Willow echoed. "You know, I wouldn't have thought I'd hear something like that from a smart cat like you."



"Oh no?" Tara bit back. "Why not?"



"Well, it's kind of kittenish thinking, isn't it?" Willow said airily. "Not that there's anything wrong with kittens, but you know how they are, latch on to anything and think it's their family, even if it's a person. Don't get me wrong, I think Miss Kitty's lucky to have you - I bet she looks up to you like you're her mother, doesn't she?"



"Kind of," Tara admitted, with a little pride, "I'm her 'big sister'... not by birth, but, well, you know..."



"Yeah," Willow nodded. "But kittens grow out of it - learn to take care of themselves, stop needing people. I mean, house cats get used to having their meals handed to them and put up with people, but you don't strike me as that type, you're too good for that. Smart, I mean," she corrected herself, with a suspiciously bashful swing of her tail, "self-reliant if you wanted to be, you know..."



"I don't 'put up' with my people," Tara said firmly, "and I'm not just some kind of toy to them. They love me... and, I love them. It doesn't matter that I'm a cat and they're people, they're my family, and that's that." She gave Willow a challenging look, daring her to argue further.



"Okay," the ginger cat said after a pause, "sorry, it's not my business... this way."



Tara followed, wondering at her. She wished she knew what was going on between those perky ears.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"There it is," Willow said, motioning Tara to the edge of the roof, "that's where the letter vans come from."



They had crossed nearly a dozen streets' worth of rooves, descending into laneways to get from one block of buildings to another. Willow had known every ledge, every roof - Tara had been worried, after their disagreement, that Willow would lose interest in helping her along the way, but she seemed resolute. Now Tara joined her at the edge of their current roof, and looked down.



Across a broad street was a huge building, big enough to swallow up Tara's home without even noticing. It was tall, three stories, with square edges and a flat roof, a huge grey box with glittering flat windows in rows along its front. Down at the street level there was a section with a glass front, like the shops, and Tara spotted a sign bearing the letter van's pattern, and peering, saw it repeated several times, smaller, on various other parts of the building. No other buildings stood close to it on either side, and behind it was a broad river. A rumbling noise caught her attention, and she directed her gaze to one side, where a ramp led down underground.



"There it is!" she yelped in excitement, "that's the van!"



"Wait!" Willow warned her. "Hang on, are you sure? I know that one's purr, that's the one that goes along the streets sunward of here. That's not where you came from, it can't be the same one."



"There's more than one?" Tara asked, staring down at the van as it began to descend the ramp.



"I know for a fact there's at least ten," Willow said, "maybe more. This is on the edge of the territory I know, I haven't been in there for... oh, must be a year at least. Last time, they had a bunch of vans just sitting inside doing nothing, as well as the ones I recognised."



Tara stared, caught between Willow's advice, and her own instinct to race down, somehow cross the street, and reach the van before it vanished. Her heart leapt in her throat as she saw the wall at the end of the ramp raise, revealing a grey cavern beyond, under the building, but then, when the van turned to enter it, she saw that its person wasn't the one she knew - this one was a female.



"It's not the one," she agreed, her tail slumping, "you're right... it even sounds different, a bit... I guess I was too excited to notice. I'm sorry."



"Hey," Willow offered, sidling up to her, "no problem, I can understand you wanting your little sister back." She bent and touched her forehead to Tara's neck reassuringly, surprising her.



"O-okay," Tara said, not sure how to take Willow's affection, after thinking she was probably mad at her after their disagreement. "So, what do we do? The other vans come here too?"



"They do," Willow nodded, "the one that prowls your street is probably already in there. Now, I know a couple of ways in, but we'll have to be careful! There's lots of people in there during the day, and they don't want cats just wandering through their place. But I can get us in, then we find where they leave the vans, and find Miss Kitty."



"What if she's not with the van still?" Tara asked.



"We'll find her," Willow promised, "this is the keenest nose that ever graced a cat, it's never failed me. We'll get down there, I'll take a sniff to get my bearings," she lifted her nose in the air and inhaled theatrically, "and..." A puzzled expression crossed her features, and she paused.



"What?" Tara asked. "What's wrong?"



"I smell a rat," Willow declared darkly.



-----

Chris Cook

alia.customer.netspace.net.au/glass.htm

Through the Looking-glass: A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 4)
PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 10:57 am 
Would it boring if I said this was sweet again Chris? Liked this park a lot the interactio between them was cute and I like the fiesty Willow cat

Freddie is king



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 4)
PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 12:00 pm 
Hello Kittens-



Oh, we have our first conflict. Tara is a house cat, used to the people she owns. Willow is a street cat, more mature and used to being her own provider. Can these two find happiness? And what about (dramatic organ music) the rat?



Eagerly awaiting the next episode,



Jixer



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 4)
PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 3:34 pm 


I know it's redundant but CUTE!!!!!!!



I love it, I could just squeeze the fic...err, right you know what I mean.



It's fascinating how cat-like everything is, the thinking the acting, YOU MUST have been a cat in a past-life lol





more !!



~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow



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 Post subject: CUTE!
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 12:13 am 
I say this gets cuter every chapter. :love

Hmm, I'm guessing there's more to Willow's mistrust of people than you're letting on. :hmm Then again, it may be just my paranoia talking :grin

Would this rat be our often detested Amy by any chance? :eyebrow

Can't wait for the next update!



Dex



The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure pure reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! – Calvin







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 Post subject: Re: CUTE!
PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2004 8:40 am 
Heh.. Willow's teasing did help push Tara to make those first jumps, good :) Must be scary though, being that high for the first time. Fun how Tara compared it to 'her' tree.



Willow values her freedom appearantly and doesn't understand why Tara would'nt want to be free. Tara considers the humans that care for her to be part of her familly. I wonder what's Willow's familly, or who cares for Willow....



How come Willow is a 'free' cat anyway ?



And how is Miss Kitty doing ? Hopefully she won't run out of the van once it has stopped or something. On the other hand it's difficult to rescue her from a locked van :)



It's cute to read Willow and Tara refer to everything they observe in cat-like terms. Like a mail-van 'purrs' and ut 'prowls' the streets (probably in search of prey, also knows as 'letters':-)



P.S. Chris isn't this chapter FOUR ??



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

Edited by: Grimlock72 at: 8/1/04 1:42 pm


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 Post subject: Re: CUTE!
PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2004 9:14 am 
Oooh...



Rat...



Said it once, I'll say it again...I absolutely love your writing style. I mean come on...who can capture two cats without sounding completely odd...



Who else?



Love where this is going.



Sincerely,

:flower BWR

***

If homosexuals dont reproduce, why are there so many of them?-Jim David



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 Post subject: Re: CUTE!
PostPosted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 10:36 am 
Hello Kittens, and thanks for your comments. Despite being newly addicted to the Miss Kitty Fantastico game (if you haven't seen it, there's a post on Witches & Vixens about it, or a link from the Links page of Through the Looking-glass (see signature) - it's brilliant and cute as a button), a new chapter is ready.



Magrat: Thanks :) I never get bored of being told it's a sweet story (I know, narcissistic me...) It's a funny thing, interaction just seems to happen, even when I've barely planned it. As you can see, even in this chapter there's the clash of the two cats' opinions - I'd only planned that in the vaguest way, over the course of the whole story.



Jixer: Yup, they're two different types of cats. But just because Tara's a house cat doesn't mean she's less mature than Willow - we'll see more of than in later chapters, hopefully. She's less experienced than Willow, certainly, but that's not necessarily the same thing. Can they find happiness? Probably not a great deal of tension there :)



Arwen: I have no idea what I was in a past life, but having a cat since an early age (Alexander, the one the story is dedicated to) no doubt accounts for a lot of it :) I know what you mean about squeezing the fic, too :)



Snooper: Willow's mistrust of people... well, she's a street cat, independent and all, but I wouldn't be surprised if before long we find Tara getting to know Willow a lot better. As well as vice versa. As for whether the rat in question is Amy... no comment... in the special Government sense of the phrase 'no comment', meaning 'okay, you guessed it, but let's pretend it's still a surprise' :) I will say this, I didn't detest Amy the rat on the show. It was Amy the human I detested...



Grimlock: Yes, it's chapter four... :) Serves me right for posting at 2am. At least I got the chapter title right :) Fear not, there'll be a lot more development of Willow and Tara's respective views of the world, as well as how they came to be. As for rescuing Miss Kitty... well, as you'll see, a locked van will prove to be the least of their problems.



BWR: Thanks :) Not that I mind if I do sound completely odd, I'm pretty much resigned to it being my normal state of mind anyway :)



Chris Cook

alia.customer.netspace.net.au/glass.htm

Through the Looking-glass: A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 5)
PostPosted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 10:38 am 
Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: G

Summary: Miss Kitty's a missing kitty, and it's Tara to the rescue.

Spoilers: None.

Copyright: Based on characters from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon, and inspired in a round-about way by 'Finding Nemo' by Pixar Studios. All original material is copyright 2004 Chris Cook.

Feedback: Please. Here, or to alia@netspace.net.au



--

Chapter Five

Rats

--



Willow glared around, sniffing the air, and her gaze settled balefully on a pile of discarded wooden planks stacked in one corner of the roof.



"Amy!" she growled.



A nervous-looking rat peeked up from behind a plank, and gingerly edged its way towards Willow.



"Um, hi," the rat said tentatively. Tara blinked at the rat, then looked to Willow, confused.



"Amy," Willow growled, "what've I told you about following me around?"



"Me? Nonono, that's not it," Amy the rat protested quickly, "not following you Will, honest!"



"Oh, okay," Willow said, stalking closer to Amy, "so you just happened to be here, hiding, watching a rooftop when we came along?"



"Yeah! No," the rat admitted, "but Will, I saw you heading this way - just coincidence, me in the area, nothing more - and I was worried, that's all! Worried about you, and I thought I'd keep an eye on you, make sure you're okay, right? Friendly, see?"



"You're friends?" Tara asked Willow quietly.



"Let's not go that far," Willow replied sidelong. "We've known each other since I was a kitten and she was a ratling, so for old times' sake I restrain myself from *eating you*," she finished, glaring pointedly at Amy.



"Haha, nice one Will," Amy laughed nervously, glancing at Tara, "she's a joker she is, yeahyeah, no, she wouldn't eat me, I'm a friend from way back-"



"Who's been told not to hang around me when I'm on the prowl," Willow pointed out, "there's plenty of other cats in this town who don't have my enlightened views about not eating anything that talks, and I don't need the headaches of fishing your sorry tail out of trouble. Remember what happened with the Siamese?"



"Oh, Will was brilliant," Amy offered quickly, "there I was, big Siamese about to pounce, and she jumped down between us and stared him down while I reached a more advantageous position-"



"Ran for it," Willow translated, turning to Tara, "she's annoying, but I'm used to her being around. But," she added darkly, fixing her attention back on Amy, "what's this about keeping an eye on me? Since when do I need a rat watching my back? I'm not some helpless house cat." She'd said it before she realised, and offered an apologetic look to Tara.



"Yeahyeahyeah," Amy nodded vigorously, "you're tougher than any cat I've seen, I know Will, I know, but... well, I saw you headed this way, towards the big letter house, and... and that's not safe."



"I've been in there before Amy," Willow said patiently, "I know my way around."



"You haven't heard?" Amy asked, a worried frown creasing her furry brow.



"Heard what?"



"All the rats are talking about it."



"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a rat..."



"Um," Amy hesitated, giving a nervous grimace, "thing is... I haven't seen him, but this is what they say... they say, that's where Spike's gang is."



"Spike?" Willow asked.



"Big rat," Amy explained, "very big, all the rats are afraid of him, very strong gang. They say - this is just what I've heard - they say, they're not afraid of cats."



"Why not?" Tara asked sharply, making Amy cringe.



"Th-they say," she replied, "Spike's gang, they can take a cat on... and win. They say Spike's a cat-killer."



Tara's eyes grew wide with fear, and Amy twitched her nose at her.



"What's up?" she asked. "Will?"



"Her little sister's in that building," Willow said darkly.



"Not for long," Tara declared, turning and sprinting towards the edge of the roof facing the mail building, descending out of sight as she made the jump down to an awning below.



"Tara!" Willow called, to no avail. "Amy," she said quickly, "come on."



"Right Will," Amy nodded fervently, "whatever you say, where're we go- Will!" she called out, as Willow followed Tara.



"Come on!" Willow demanded, jumping the edge of the wall.



"Yeah right, but... ugh!" Amy twitched her tail in dismay, and scuttled after Willow.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Willow quickly followed Tara down to the street, via the building's awning and a convenient drain pipe that proved sturdy enough to scramble down. She worried Tara would try to go straight across the road, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the other cat turn and sprint to a crossing, prowling back and forth impatiently while the traffic passed as she waited for them the beeping box on the lamp-post to beep.



"Tara!" she called out as she approached, "wait up!"



"What for?" Tara demanded. "Miss Kitty's in there, and she's in danger! I'm going to help her." Willow was impressed by her determination - Tara was certainly a cat of no little courage, no matter where she came from.



"No argument," she said, "but, wouldn't it be better if we both went to look for her? Safety in numbers, and all?" Tara looked surprised, then twitched her nose nervously.



"You don't have to come," she said hesitantly, "you've shown me how to get here, like you said you would... if there's this dangerous rat in there-"



"Then you'll need an experienced street cat to help you get in and out safely, won't you?" Willow finished, just as the box beeped and the passing cars slowed to a halt. "You coming?"



"Yes," Tara nodded, swishing her tail happily as she followed Willow across the road, "thank you."



"You're welcome from me too," Amy grumbled as she scuttled along in the two cats' wake, glancing nervously at the waiting cars.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"This way," Willow meowed quietly as they approached the building.



"Not down there?" Tara asked, looking towards the ramp the van had vanished down. Willow shook her head and led Tara instead beneath a row of bushes lining a pathway alongside the building.



"Last time I was here," she explained, "the people had these strange things, like boxes with eyes on the front... I know, I know," she shrugged as Tara gave her an incredulous look, "believe me though, if you walk in front of one, the people know you're there. There's a couple down there, and no way to hide from them - I got spotted by one and had to spend half the day hiding under cars when a pair of the building's people came to shoo me out. They didn't get me, though," she added with a touch of pride.



"So, where're we going?" Tara asked.



"Away from here, for preference... just a thought," Amy finished meekly, as both Willow and Tara glared back at her.



"There's another way in," Willow explained, "through this big place where all the letters get moved around by big... moving platforms, and hoists and things. People send some big letters to each other, big boxes sometimes. There's a way in through there, down to the place where the vans rest before they go out again."



"No 'boxes with eyes'?" Tara asked, with her ears slanted mischievously forward.



"Hey, no teasing the experienced street cat," Willow shot back, though she did so with a grin. "No, no boxes with eyes... I think they're really to keep other people from getting in, and the way we're going, it's too small for a person anyway, so I guess no-one bothers watching it."



"Why would they want to stop people getting in?" Tara wondered.



"They probably steal each other's letters," Willow guessed with a noncommittal shrug.



"What... people steal from each other?" Tara asked, shocked.



"Yeah, pretty much all the time," Willow said, "it does seem to be a kind of preoccupation they have. Just between you and me, I don't think people have worked out the whole territory thing too well. A lot of them go around behaving like they're in open ground, even when they know they're in someone else's territory."



"That's terrible!" Tara exclaimed.



"Shh!" Amy hissed as a person walked nearby. "Keep your meow down!"



"Sorry... that's terrible," Tara whispered, "my people... no, I can't imagine them behaving like that. It must just be some people... bad people? Are there bad people?" Willow glanced at her in surprise, then nodded.



"Yeah," she said grimly, "there are."



"Where'd you find her Will?" Amy squeaked quietly. "She's not smart like you."



"She's smart," Willow snapped, "she's just... she hasn't lived out here like we have, that's all. Quiet now... the coast is clear, follow me."



Willow scuttled stealthily out of the bushes and around a corner, leading Tara beneath a stone step into a narrow opening, with Amy following nervously behind. A few steps inside the shaft there was a steel grille, slightly ajar, which Willow nudged open and slunk underneath, using the end of her tail to hold it up for Tara and Amy. The trio emerged in a corridor inside the building, one side of which was filled with boxes stacked to the ceiling.



"Okay," Willow said, glancing to the right, "that way, we don't go - lots of people that way during the day, that's where they do their business. This way," she turned to the left and began walking, "the letter sorting area - very few people, even in daytime. We can get down to-"



"Don't move, cat!"



Willow and Tara both crouched defensively, tail to tail, with Amy cringing behind them up against the wall, as half a dozen rats appeared from the gaps between the boxes.



Chris Cook

alia.customer.netspace.net.au/glass.htm

Through the Looking-glass: A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 5)
PostPosted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 11:18 am 
Lol!!



THIS IS HILARIOUS!



Amy the rat? Impressive! and so funny!! she reminded me so much of Scabbers (Ron's Rat, A.K.A Peter Pettigrew!!) with the way she behaves...



And Spike? with the-gang?? Lol!!! now that's :laugh





Can't wait for more!!



~Arwen



Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 5)
PostPosted: Fri Aug 06, 2004 2:43 am 
Hmm... seems the postal office needs some cats to keep the rats out :) For some reason I can't really see any rat as a threat to a cat, a kitten *maybe*...



I agree with Willow that Tara is indeed a smart cat, just one with a severe lack of knowledge :lol . She'll learn fast enough, esp. when dealing with rat gangs :smash .



This is shaping up to be one fine Disney movie, yep :)



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 5)
PostPosted: Fri Aug 06, 2004 8:48 am 
hehehehe....



Spike....THE KILLA RAT...



Willow&Tara....THE THRILLA CATS



Amy....



...

....



Anywho...



Great Chapter! Cant wait to see the Spike vs. Willow...thats gonna be great....



Sincerely,

:flower BWR

***

If homosexuals dont reproduce, why are there so many of them?-Jim David



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 5)
PostPosted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 10:15 am 
Chris this fic is to cute. I was lmao thinking about Spike the rat king and then that lead to the nutcracker song scary visuals. anyway enough of my oddness I love how you have them interacting its cute and how they so come from the different sides of the track can't wait to see where you take it

Arron



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 5)
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 12:07 am 
Hello Kittens-



Two cats, one pure of heart, one a streetwise survivor ( oh yeah, and a rat) on a quest. Of course there would be evil forces. Now, will the fur fly?



Thank you for this gem,



Jixer



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 5)
PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:31 am 
Hello Kittens, thank you for your feedback. This next chapter turned out a little longer than usual (considering the brief chapters that seem to be the rule for this story), it was a case of neither scene being long enough to be a chapter on its own, and I didn't want to try to pad either of them out. Besides, there's a sort of common thread running through them :)



(If anything looks odd in this post, it's because I'm working on coming to grips with EZcode and coded signatures... bear with me.)



Arwen: Yeah, I like Amy the Rat. She's not a hero, but she's an okay rat. I think Amy the Human gave her a bad name :) I've tried to give her a sort of skittish, nervous quality that I think is kind of rattish (not that I know rats well - aside from the old stuffed rats left over from the last time the university cleared its shelves, and the one that lives in Hyde Park that my mother named 'Carruthers').



Grimlock: Normally you'd be right, a rat would be worried about a cat, not vice versa. But these aren't ordinary rats, as you'll see in this coming chapter :)



BWR: Your wish is my command, there will be a Spike vs Willow scene... not just yet, however. And I'm not saying I haven't got a trick up my sleeve regardless :) But yeah, this is how things are shaping up, the noble cats versus the evil rats... and Amy just keeping her furry little head down and trying to stay out of trouble :)



Arron: You know, I never really thought of this as a 'different sides of the tracks' story, but you're right, it totally is. Just with cats :)



Jixer: Trust me, the fur will fly :) Eventually - I like taking my time. But whose fur, and how... It is a quest really, I am thinking of this as being a proper adventure, just in feline terms :)

Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass

A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico
PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:34 am 
Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: G

Summary: Miss Kitty's a missing kitty, and it's Tara to the rescue.

Spoilers: None.

Copyright: Based on characters from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon, and inspired in a round-about way by 'Finding Nemo' by Pixar Studios. All original material is copyright 2004 Chris Cook.

Feedback: Please. Here, or to alia@netspace.net.au



Note: Yay, I have a signature! No more pasting it into every post for me.



--

Chapter Six

Up and Down on the Food Chain

--



"What have we here?" said a high, squeaky voice from among the boxes. To Willow and Tara's amazement, a small mouse with patchy grey fur walked casually out from his hiding place, quite ignoring the band of fierce, large rats on either side of him.



"I thought all you miserable moggies knew better by now," the mouse said in a voice dripping condescension, "this is Spike's place. Cats don't come into Spike's place. Know why? Because cats that do, don't come out again." The mouse paused, and grinned, showing its small, sharp teeth. "Are you getting a vague glimpse of your immediate future?"



"Dalton?" Amy squeaked. "What on earth are you doing here- never mind," she hastily added, as the rats flexed their paws and glared at her, "not my business, never mind..."



"Well, well, well," the mouse, Dalton, smiled, "look what the cats dragged in. Long time no see, Amy. I thought you were much too craven of a coward to poke your whiskers anywhere near here. I thought you knew what'd happen if I ever got my paws on you."



"I don't see your paws anywhere near her, *mouse*," Willow hissed.



"You're not in a position to make threats, *cat*," Dalton sneered, twitching his pink nose disdainfully at Willow. "You ought to remember who you're talking to. This *mouse* isn't hiding in a skirting board sneaking bits of cheese any more. This mouse is Spike's trusted lieutenant... and that, you miserable feline, rearranges the food chain a bit."



"We'll see," Willow muttered darkly, letting her claws scrape a little on the concrete floor.



"Just because I'm a curious sort," Dalton went on, "before we haul your worthless flea-bitten carcasses in front of Spike, suppose you tell me what idiotic idea in your little kitty brains led you to come onto hostile territory?"



"We're-" Tara began.



"None of your business, Mickey," Willow interrupted, surreptitiously nudging Tara with a back leg. The mouse gave a humourless smile, showing his tiny fangs again, and looked thoughtfully from Willow to Tara.



"That's a house cat," he said, "her collar's in good condition, and she's been groomed by a human. Unlike you," he looked back at Willow, "with your tatty old collar... how long have you been a stray? Two years, three?" He peered at the tag on the old, faded collar around Willow's neck, then at Tara's newer tag.



"Willow," he declared, "and Tara... what a cute couple." Amy gasped in fright, Willow glared furiously, and Tara stared at the mouse in confusion.



"How'd he...?" she began.



"A housecat named Tara," Dalton went on, as if amusing himself, "yes... it all begins to make sense. You came here looking for someone, didn't you? A stupid, feisty little kitten? She said you'd come. Seemed to be under the impression that you'd perform some daring feat and rescue her... as if a housecat could do anything of the sort."



"What have you done to her?!" Tara demanded, taking a step forward. The rats tensed, baring their fangs, which were quite a bit longer and sharper than Dalton's.



"Oh, she's safe," the mouse said airily, "safer than you, at any rate... Spike won't let anyone take a bite out of his new mascot. You, on the other hand... well, having a kitten around the place has got my comrades here spoiling for a fight, and you three are practically wearing signs saying 'fair game'. In language even a rat can understand," he added with a condescending smile at the rats.



"The first rat that jumps," Willow hissed, baring her fangs, "these teeth will snap him like a twig!" The rats bristled at the threat, but checked momentarily.



"Big words, little kitty," Dalton mocked her in a sing-song squeak, "you're outnumbered ten to three. If you can count your housecat and that miserable little gutter rat in a fight."



"Willow," Amy hissed quietly, "let's go Willow, let's get out of here!"



"We're not leaving Miss Kitty," Willow hissed back, pre-empting Tara who was about to say likewise.



"She's safe!" Amy hissed. "Spike won't hurt her, she's a mascot! That means he'll keep her!"



"Well, much as I've enjoyed talking to you," Dalton went on, "I think the time has come for you to get the hell beaten out of you."



"I mean it!" Willow snarled. "The first rat that moves! You see these teeth? You think I won't do it?"



"What difference does it make?" Dalton sneered. "While you're biting one rat, the other nine will be biting *you*. How long do you think you'll last then?"



"Long enough to finish off the rat I bite!" Willow shot back. "Back off," she whispered to Tara and Amy, "slow, back to the outside."



"Get them!" Dalton squeaked.



"The first rat dies!" Willow snarled over him. "Which one, huh? You?" she glared at one of the rats at random. "Or you? Or you? Which rat here thinks it's okay to get his spine bitten clean through, so long as some other rats survive? You're all willing to die for the cause, are you?"



"Get them!" Dalton squeaked shrilly, hopping up and down at the rats, who snarled and clawed at the ground, but hesitated at actually making the first move.



"That's right," Willow hissed, "smart rats, you stay right there, and we're leaving now. That means no more cats on your territory, and you can all go on being smart rats. Back off!" she whispered urgently to Tara, who was glaring at the rats and refusing to retreat. Slowly, as if waging an internal struggle, she began to back up with Willow, while Amy cautiously but eagerly sought the shelter of the shaft leading out of the building.



"What are you waiting for?!" Dalton squeaked incredulously. "Are you *afraid*?"



That stung the rats, and several of them tensed to leap. Willow hissed loudly, baring her fangs for all to see.



"Stay down!" she warned. "Stay down and you all live through this... otherwise there'll be at least one of you dead on the floor in the space of a second. One in ten, any of you like those odds enough to die, just to get rid of a cat that's leaving anyway?"



"What's wrong with you?" Dalton squeaked. "It's not like you've never fought a cat before!"



"I don't see you first into the fray, mousey," Willow glared. "Looks to me... back into the shaft, go on..." Amy and Tara backed nervously out of the corridor, with Willow slowly following, keeping her eyes fixed on the rats. "Looks to me like these rats are smarter than to get themselves into a nasty fight just on the say-so of a little squeaky mouse."



"Yeah?!" The mouse jumped as if to attack Willow. He instantly scuttled back, but the sudden jolt had done its work, and the rats instinctively leapt forward, none of them paying any attention to him now that they were in motion.



"Run!" Willow yowled, scuttling backwards as fast as her paws could carry her. He bumped into Tara, holding the grille open for her, and turned to grab her with her front paws and shove her through to safety first, before scurrying through herself. She slammed the grille shut just as the first of the dark, furry shapes thudded against it. She raked her claws across the grille, causing the rats to recoil from it for an instant, then gave it a final tug to wedge it solidly shut and scampered out after Tara and Amy.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



In the building's cavernous mail sorting complex, a black rat with a streak of bleached white hair down his back looked down from his perch atop a stack of crates, as Dalton and his rats slunk morosely in from a doorway.



"What's all the noise?" he demanded. "What'd I tell you about making a noise like that? Too much commotion and you'll have people coming down here to see what all the fuss is. That's all we need... got ourselves a nice, cosy set-up here, and you go and ruin it by letting the humans know we're here."



"Sorry boss," Dalton said quickly, "only... well, thing is, there was someone in the corridor, and, you know how it is, got to put on a show of strength and all that."



"Someone?" the rat asked. "A rat from outside? Alright, haul 'em in and let's have a look at what's left of 'em."



"Actually boss," Dalton explained, cringing, "while yes, technically there was a rat... there were a couple of cats as well."



"Ah. I see," the rat nodded. "And no doubt you've got a really good explanation for why you're not hauling this cat's sorry carcass in here as we squeak."



"Two cats, boss," Dalton corrected.



"Don't correct me!" the rat hissed. "I hate that. You may have some smarts between your ears, but that does *not* mean you can go lording it over everyone else, got it? You just bloody well remember who's the little mouse..." he snarled, snowing his fangs meaningfully, "...and who's Spike."



"Yes boss, sorry boss," Dalton back-pedalled quickly. "I *told* the rats to get them, boss, only you know how it is, they're not all like you, they hesitated, and the cats got out..."



"Yeah," Spike sighed, "bloody wastes of fur... I'd do in the lot of you if there were any better rats in this sorry town!" he hissed loudly at the various rats milling around the sorting complex. They cringed, and as one did their best to go unnoticed as Spike's gaze swept across the room.



"Miserable bleedin' rodents," he muttered, before looking down at Dalton again. "Who were these cats?"



"Oh, no-one boss, no-one," Dalton assured him, "strays, looking for food, not even worth thinking about, really, nothing to even bother with. Chased them out, they're gone, end of story."



"Oh well," Spike muttered, "probably wouldn't have been much fun to fight anyway. Hey, li'l bit?" he said to the crate's other occupant. "Like to see Uncle Spike fight a cat?"



"You're a bad rat," Miss Kitty Fantastico meowed, trembling but brave.



"Yeah," Spike nodded, "I am that. But you know what, li'l bit? I'm top rat of this town, so I can be as bad as I want, and ain't no-one gonna stop me. Dalton!" he yelled.



"Yeah boss?" the mouse replied.



"Take us up to the mascot perch." Spike advanced on Miss Kitty and grabbed a hold of her collar, dragging her over to a heavy cargo hook on a chain resting on the corner of the crate.



"Hold on, li'l bit," he advised, "otherwise I'll just hook your collar on this, and you'll choke on your way up." Glaring, Miss Kitty held on tightly to the bulky pulley at the top of the hook.



Dalton, meanwhile, scurried up to a gantry overlooking the sorting complex and hopped up onto the control console, where a large, bored-looking rat was sleeping. He quickly kicked the rat awake, then looked out over the complex. Conveyer belts ran non-stop, moving letters back and forth, larger belts shifted boxes and crates, and metal arms slid in and out, diverting letters and packages into shafts once the writing on them had been read by the glittering red eyes of the machines bolted in place along the belts.



"That one," Dalton ordered, pointing to a button, "press, then turn that knob this way." The rat dutifully obeyed, leaning heavily on the button to push it, then grabbing hold of the knob and hauling it around until Dalton told him to stop.



Spike and Miss Kitty held on as the chain's slack was taken up and the hook rose into the air, swinging slightly from side to side.



"Interesting thing, li'l bit," Spike said, matter-of-factly, "most of us think that people run the world, but you know, they don't. Machines move their letters, tell them when to cross the street, drive them around, decide when to open doors for them, let them buy things... machines run people. It's true. And Dalton there, he's a smart mouse. He can read people's writing, and understand it. That means, I can run the machines. This whole place, every machine in it, I say the word and Dalton'll make it move how I want, where I want, when I want. I *own* this place. It's like the food chain, see? People, machines... me."



"Th-then," Miss Kitty said in a frightened meow, clinging tightly to the chain and trying not to look down at the dizzying drop beneath her, "h-how come th-the mouse isn't in charge?"



"Ah, good point," Spike nodded, "incisive mind, that's what I like to see in a mascot. Not *too* incisive, mind you. Now, the reason Dalton doesn't run things, and I do, that's to do with the food chain too, in a way. Call it the food chain of fighting. Any rat in this room, he can beat seven shades of hell out of Dalton without really trying. But Dalton's *mine*, and me... well, I can take on every rat in this room, all by myself. And they know it. Know why I can do that?"



"N-no?" Miss Kitty stammered.



"Cause I'm a bleedin' vicious killer," Spike said gleefully. "Come on, hop off."



Miss Kitty glanced down to see the hook lowering itself to the top of a towering stack of crates. At a snarl from Spike she jumped the short distance down to the crate top, and watched as the chain, with Spike aboard, came to rest atop the stack. In the distance, Dalton shouted more orders, and the top of the chain began to trundle across the roof, until it was some distance from the stack, the chain hanging between them as the hook remained precariously balanced where it was.



"Get the idea?" Spike asked. "I'll explain it to you, just to make sure - you never know what daft things kittens'll try, do you? This chain, it's loose. It'll support me, cause I'm a lean fighting rat, but you're a big fluffy kitten, and unless I'm mistaken, a bit heavier than I am. If you try to climb it up to the roof, the hook'll slide off the top of the crate, and drop you down to the floor, and once it stops swinging - assuming you don't fall off and break all your kitty bones - you'll be in reach of all those rats down there. They're not nice rats, li'l bit. I like to keep 'em well fed, but not *too* well fed, see? So they wouldn't mind at all if a helpless bite-sized kitten like you happened to drop into their laps, and me... well, let's just say that if my mascot thinks she can try to escape, then I figure whatever happens to her, she had it coming. Now, what're you going to do?"



"...stay h-here," Miss Kitty said, glowering at Spike.



"Good girl," the rat nodded. "Stay put, and you'll live. A while longer, at any rate." With that he turned and scuttled off, along the chain hanging over the huge drop, and eventually up into the rafters. Miss Kitty frowned after him, then curled up tightly so none of the rats would see her cry.



--

Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass

A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico
PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:45 am 
Quote:
Miss Kitty frowned after him, then curled up tightly so none of the rats would see her cry.


Awwwww.... how sad :cry



Hmm... miss Kitty got to her current location on a belt, figures she should be able to get out the same way. I doubt that belt is only used by Spike in the daytime, besides sorting offices are not THAT empty when work is being done... just miauw a lot... remember people LIKE cats and DISlike rats as a rule. Once humans come into the picture the rats are in a lot of trouble, as Spike rightly noted. Of course miss Kitty is young so she's mostly scared, lets go crush Spike with a heavy crate just for that...:smash I generally don't like people who think they're all high and mighty, I think I'll extend that line of thinking to rats... yeah I'm firmly with the not liking Spike here : -->>:



I vote for killing Dalton first, as he is somewhat the basis of Spike's authority. Besides that it will make Spike look stupid :) I suppose Willow didn't want to risk that approach with inexperienced Tara around so retreating was the correct solution. Those rats could indeed have wounded them, not likely fatally though... and if that's all Spike's gang is than it's a solvable problem. Small bites, one at a time... : -->>:



A bit more cat-minded help would also be welcome :) Sort of cat-version Initiative or such :lol .



Poor Miss Kitty, if she's ever rescued she'll never leave the house again :cry . This keeps reminding me of Disney movies by the way, must be the talking nice animals :)



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

Edited by: Grimlock72 at: 8/12/04 10:05 am


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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico
PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:49 am 
:sob Ahh, poor little Miss Kitty. :rage on Spike, Dalton and all the mean rats. I can hardly wait for Willow and Tara to give them a good smackdown.



-shuyaku

Oh God, Willow—you’re giving me the gift of Karen Carpenter. Just when I think I grasp the full extent of your love." - Tara

"Why do birds suddenly appear? It’s because, you are queer…" - Willow (Gods Served and Abandoned by AntigoneUnbound)



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico
PostPosted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 12:49 am 
Hello Kittens-



Right know I'm imagining a ton of things with chains and swinging and belts. And terriers too just for a certain rat. Eagerly awaiting the next exciting chapter!





Jixer



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico
PostPosted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 2:36 am 
For some reason I keep thinking 'Pinky and the Brain' when reading about ratty Spike and Dalton ...:)







I like Brain though :lol



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico
PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 10:59 am 
Hello Kittens :) A bit of a quiet week this time; no doubt a result of the fic being rated 'G' :) It's okay, all the sexy goodness is being saved for the story to follow this one (whichever one it is - there's two options at the moment, Farscape or another one) and the next Hellebore short story. But that's a few weeks off; right now we've got a kitten to rescue:



Grimlock: Thanks :) Yeah, poor Miss Kitty... it's a chain that got her to her prison perch, for lifting crates and stuff. There'll be a little clarification on her position in an upcoming chapter (naturally, so she can be rescued from it), but for now, she can't climb up it or it'll slip off her crate and dump her on the floor, where the rats are. Normally yes, there'd be people around a sorting room to be sympathetic to stranded (and adorable) felines, but I've taken a bit of poetic license and made this a fully-automated complex. So long as Spike and Dalton don't do anything to screw up the machinery no-one's going to notice them.



You're right, Dalton has a lot to do with Spike's success (particularly his mastery over his borrowed 'lair'), but Spike's no pushover on his own. Don't worry though, I promise they'll both get what's coming to them :) Willow and Tara will seek help, but not in the form of other cats - I'll let you see in good time :)



(You're right, Dalton is kind of like Brain, without the charisma.)



Shuyaku: Thanks :) Smackdown will be delivered, you have my word on it :)



Jixer: Thank you. No terriers unfortunately, but you're on the right branch of the animal kingdom :)

Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass

A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 7)
PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 11:01 am 
Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: G

Summary: Miss Kitty's a missing kitty, and it's Tara to the rescue.

Spoilers: None.

Copyright: Based on characters from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon, and inspired in a round-about way by 'Finding Nemo' by Pixar Studios. All original material is copyright 2004 Chris Cook.

Feedback: Please. Here, or to alia@netspace.net.au



Note: I just edited this to change the chapter title; I realised I wanted to use that 'best-laid plans' line later on (d'oh!), so this chapter is now officially named as below.



--

Chapter Seven

What The Heck Just Happened?

--



The two cats and Amy paused to catch their breath once they reached the shelter of the bushes. Tara scowled back at the mail building, while Willow turned and fixed Amy with a glare.



"Okay," she said, "talk."



"Will?" Amy squeaked nervously.



"You and that mouse know each other," Willow pointed out, "and you know what this 'mascot' business is about. I'll grant you that the whole 'don't go in there' routine you pulled before was justified, but I want some explanations, now. And don't leave anything out."



"I wouldn't, Will!" Amy protested. Willow glared levelly. "Okay, look," the rat complained, "it's not easy, okay? I'm a rat, see, sneaky is in the bones. It's what I *do*, it's how rats have stayed alive for as long as there's been rats. Going around admitting to everything you know, that's like saying you're tired of being a rat and ready to give it a try being someone else's dinner..."



"Amy!" snapped Willow, then she sighed and her expression softened. "Look... I know, okay? But this is serious, Tara's kitten is in there, and we almost got jumped just now. I know you like to keep what you know to yourself, but I have to ask this. You can trust me, Amy."



"Is there another way in?" Tara asked quietly.



"We're not going back in there just yet," Willow cautioned.



"We have to!" Tara insisted.



"Not yet," Willow implored her. "I don't know what you've heard about rats, but they *can* fight. Normally a rat runs from a cat, it's safer, but if you corner a rat, give it no other choice but to fight, it will, and they're nasty. They've got sharp teeth, they're quick as lightning, and they know where to bite so it'll kill."



"Even against a cat?" Tara asked, frowning.



"Against a street cat," Willow said, "she might get a nasty scratch, if the rat's good, or lucky. But you're not a street cat-" She laid her tail down, conciliatory, as Tara bristled. "No, wait, please... I'm not trying to put you down, okay? Believe me, I wouldn't, but it's the truth. Have you ever fought anything that wasn't made of string and had a bell attached?"



"...no," Tara admitted.



"It's okay," Willow meowed quietly, touching her head to Tara's, "don't be ashamed... but you see? You're a cat, so a rat would be scared of you, but if he *had* to fight, he could really hurt you. And that's one rat - a whole group, a smart cat scares them, makes them run off and scatter so she can get them one on one."



"Except..." Tara began.



"I know," Willow nodded, "these rats don't scare, and that makes them *dangerous*, Tara. I need you to understand that, otherwise you'll get hurt and I don't want that. I don't. Okay?"



"We have to save Miss Kitty," Tara said quietly.



"We will," Willow assured her, "I promise. Amy?" The rat looked up, having crouched low to the ground inconspicuously while the two cats were talking.



"Yeah Will?"



"First things first," Willow said, crouching to look her in the eye, "you said Miss Kitty's safe, because of this mascot thing. Is that true?"



"I wouldn't lie to you, Will," Amy protested, looking hurt.



"Sorry," Willow said, dipping her tail in acknowledgement. "How come she's safe? What's a mascot?"



"This Spike," Amy explained, "they say he sometimes keeps small cats captive, see? Sort of like, like showing off, so the other rats know what he can do. It's like a symbol, show's he's not afraid of cats."



"So he's not afraid of a kitten," Willow said darkly, "how brave of him."



"Yeah," Amy shrugged morosely, "but you know rats, to most rats a cat is a cat, no matter what. You run from cats. Not you, Will, you understand, but that's just me, on account of I know you and all. But other rats, no. If you hear Spike's keeping a cat, you - if you're a rat - you don't tend to think, well, is it a big nasty cat or a little harmless cat, or any of that. You think, he's got a cat, he must be a big rat. That's how it is with rats."



"So they won't hurt Miss Kitty?" Tara asked sceptically.



"No," Amy shook her head vehemently, "no, not..." she paused, and cringed a little, "not for a while..."



"Amy..." Willow growled dangerously.



"Spike... he had a mascot before, a little tom, they say... he got bored... and then, he... well, he didn't have a mascot anymore..." Willow grimaced, and Tara's tail fluffed up in fright.



"But they were going to kill you!" Amy added quickly. "I had to get you out of there, see? You-"



"So you decided it was okay to run away and leave Miss Kitty there," Willow glared, sitting up to her full height.



"You wouldn't have helped her kitten anyway," Amy said defiantly, holding the end of her tail in her forepaws nervously, "you wouldn't... you know that Will, not against those rats. And we've got time, see? This kitten, she's only been in there what, a day? Two?"



"She got lost this morning," Tara said forlornly.



"Right, see, I hadn't heard anything about Spike having a new mascot, so I *knew* she couldn't have been there long!" Amy insisted, twitching her nose. "And Spike won't get bored like he did before for a while, see? We've got time! We can... whatever you do, I don't know. Plan, and... and get more cats, or stuff..." She trailed off, and looked up nervously at Willow.



"I guess..." Willow said, after a long pause, "I guess you're right. You're *sure* Miss Kitty isn't in any danger yet?"



"Promise, Will, promise," Amy nodded quickly. Willow seemed to relax, and her tail swished over to touch Tara's, soothing her fears.



"Okay," Willow nodded, "we'll 'plan and stuff'... what about the mouse?"



"Dalton?" Amy squeaked. "I'm not sure... he doesn't like me, from way back."



"You know him," Willow supplied.



"I, kind of," Amy said, "kind of, we didn't get on... he kind of wanted to hang around me a bit, so's I'd keep the other mice away from him, but he was bad business, I could tell..."



"Uh-huh," Willow said without inflection.



"Will," Amy protested, "you know me, I don't try to make enemies, I've got enough just from being a rat without going around getting more... but trust me, this was one mouse I didn't want hanging around me. He was small and weak, but I tell you Will, he was nasty, if I'd hung around with him, and it'd gotten around that he had a rat looking out for him, he'd have been beating up on the other mice in no time."



"Yeah," Willow said, "yeah, I believe that."



"There's mice at home," Tara said, "not like him... just a few, but they know not to try to sneak into the house or the yard. They're happy being left alone."



"Most mice are," Willow nodded, then turned back to Amy, "but Dalton's different, isn't he? He's worth something to Spike, otherwise those other rats wouldn't let him treat them like that."



"I d-don't know for sure," Amy stammered, "but... back when I ran into him, he was different. He knew stuff, more than a mouse normally does - you know mice, they're not like rats, they don't much care why things are the way they are. Know where to find food, know where to sleep, know where's dangerous to go, that's all your average mouse really thinks about, but Dalton's different, he said... it sounds silly, but he said he was a human mouse. He said one day he'd be in charge of the world, like humans are."



Willow and Tara exchanged an amazed look.



"I know!" Amy protested. "But that's what he used to say... like, all that made people *people* is that they know stuff. He figured if he knew enough, he'd be like them... a-and... well, you saw him..." Willow thought a moment, then nodded.



"He read human," she said flatly, "and none of the rats dared speak up against him. Normally, I wouldn't say any rat would take orders from a mouse like that."



"No way Will," Amy agreed, "not even me. I may be a coward, but I'm still a *rat*."



"I've never heard of anyone who can read human," Tara piped up.



"Me neither," Willow said. "Until now, I'd have said it was impossible, just like people can't read scent like we can... but he read my collar tag, and yours," she glanced at Tara's collar, then smiled. "I guess they confirms it: people really *do* put our names on our tags. I've always wondered." She twitched her whiskers, then grew serious again.



"So Dalton's a very smart mouse, and he's worth enough to Spike that no-one else dares take a chunk out of him no matter how he behaves towards them." She paused, then flattened her ears in thought. "I don't know how just yet, but that might be useful. To get Miss Kitty back we have to take on Spike's gang. The more we know, the better our chances - that's one thing I think Dalton had right," she said to Amy, "the more you know, the better off you are."



"You've got a plan, Will?" Amy asked eagerly, then paused, and looked worried. "Do I have to do something dangerous?"



"No, but you do have to do something you won't like," Willow said with a slight grin. "Let's say, I'm starting to get a plan. But I need to know what we're up against. I need to know what's inside that place - how many rats, where they are, where they go, where they've got Miss Kitty."



"You don't want me to sneak in there?!" Amy squeaked in panic.



"No," Willow reassured her, "no, not you... what time is it?"



"Dark soon," Amy said, glancing at the sky. Tara looked on curiously, wondering what Willow had in mind.



"Okay," Willow nodded, "Tara, you're probably hungry, right?"



"I... yes," Tara said, "but I can wait-"



"We can't go storming in there just yet," Willow smiled, "so we might as well get something to eat. I know a place that'll do. Amy, I want you to go to the park, make sure you get there before dusk."



"Okay Will," Amy nodded quickly, "what do you- hey, wait... you don't want me to find *him*, do you?"



"Sorry," Willow smiled quirkily, "yeah."



"Aw, *Will*," Amy complained, "he scares the heck out of me!"



"Who?" Tara asked.



"A friend of mine," Willow explained, "Angel."



"A bat," Amy clarified, shivering at the word. "He drinks blood."



"He does not!" Willow frowned. "How many times do I have to tell you, 'vampire bat' is just a human expression. He eats... berries, and stuff."



"Yeah, 'stuff', as in 'rats'," Amy grumbled.



"Look, I know he likes the whole creature-of-the-night image, and the dark, mysterious brooding and all that, but he *will not eat you*. Okay? Find him, tell him what's going on, and tell him I'm calling in the favour he owes me. Tonight, I want him at one of those windows up there," she glanced at the top of the mail building, "watching everything those rats do in there. We'll meet back at the park at dawn, by the big oak with the low branches, and we'll figure out what our plan will be. Then we'll get Miss Kitty back. Okay?" she looked at Tara.



"Thank you," Tara meowed quietly.



Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass

A Willow and Tara for every world.

Edited by: Artemis at: 8/18/04 11:21 am


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 Post subject: Awww...
PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 11:23 am 
Awwww....*meow*



:kgeek



No matter what, I find this story really adorable!! Cats!! Awwww....:kitty



Love it!!! Please update soon!



photographer02



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 Post subject: Re: Awww...
PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 11:36 am 
So ok now I have to know was dalton a human that was turned into a mouse or is he just a really smart rodant. And LMAO angel as a bat heh thats cute i can't wait to see if any others will be joining and in what forms.

Arron

She walks in beauty, Like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright;Meet in her aspect,and her eyes. ~ by Byron~



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 Post subject: Re: Awww...
PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 2:52 pm 
Willow has a name-tag.... thats interesting....



Yeah I know, I pick up weird things but this sprung out at me. I for once agree with Amy, on Dalton that he's a back-stabbing meanie probably. Since neither Willow or Tara care about Spike 'owning' the mail sorting centre much besides getting Miss Kitty back, they might be able to grab Dalton and do an exchange.



I wonder if Amy is the only rat to be afraid of bats, heh. On the other hand it's likely best if he isn't spotted yet. To bad he's too small to airlift miss Kitty to safety :cry .



Heh, Tara's dinner will surely be something very different from what she's used to at home :) .



A fully automated sorting-hall, hmm... why does it have controls Dalton can read then ? :) Anyway it reminds me a bit of the door-chase scene from Monsters Inc. (have never seen Finding Nemo so can't compare to that one).



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine



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 Post subject: Re: Awww...
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 7:52 am 
Hello Kittens :) First things first, as I mentioned above, the official name of the previous chapter is now What The Heck Just Happened? - I've decided I want to use that 'best-laid plans' title elsewhere. I just wanted to clarify that for anyone who read it early, before I reconsidered the title and edited it. Secondly, it might be a couple of weeks before chapter nine is finished, I'm planning to do some work on the next Hellebore short story 'Day by Day', which'll be a little longer than the last one.



Photographer02: Meow :) Thanks. Yup, cats are adorable.



Arron: Thanks :) Dalton is just a mouse, there's no magic or occult stuff in this story, except for the usual Disney-magic that lets every kind of animal talk to every other kind. Dalton's just got an oddly human way of looking at things, so unlike his fellow mice - who, as they said, are not mental giants - Dalton figures out how things work, instead of just ignoring them. Angel the bat will show up, as will one or two others.



Grimlock: Thanks :) Yup, very interesting that Willow has a collar. Read on :) Grabbing Dalton and doing a Cold War-style prisoner exchange is an interesting idea. Once she's heard what Angel has to report, Willow will be considering various strategies. Unfortunately yes, an Angel-assisted airlift is out of the question, he's just not a big enough bat. Amy's fear of Angel isn't shared by all rats, but that's largely because she knows him, whereas other rats haven't had to listen to his 'dark broody tortured night creature' routine - it gets under your skin after a while :) As for the sorting room, while it's automated it does still have controls so that people can take over if need be - to make adjustments to the routine, or get things under control if the whole thing starts getting out of sync. I loved Monsters Inc, so don't be surprised if a similar kind of chaotic mayhem gets underway here :)

Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass

A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 8)
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 7:54 am 
Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: G

Summary: Miss Kitty's a missing kitty, and it's Tara to the rescue.

Spoilers: None.

Copyright: Based on characters from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon, and inspired in a round-about way by 'Finding Nemo' by Pixar Studios. All original material is copyright 2004 Chris Cook.

Feedback: Please. Here, or to alia@netspace.net.au



--

Chapter Eight

Lost and Found

--



"Here we are," Willow said, dropping nimbly down from a gutter onto a crate. She had led Tara across the rooftops towards the setting sun a fair distance, finally turning towards the river, taking advantage of a pedestrian bridge to cross the main road. Where the river broadened into a bay there were a cluster of wide one storey buildings with flat rooves, and Tara found her tail perking up of its own accord at the strong scent of dozens of varieties of fish.



"What is this place?" she wondered.



"Fish shop," Willow said, "a giant fish shop. These big boats go out and catch them from the deep water somehow, then bring them here and hundreds of people show up and take them home to eat. Or some of them eat it here... only they like to burn it before they eat it."



"I know," Tara said with a wry grin, "my people do that too... Only with what they eat, though, they know better than to give me burned fish."



"If you ask me, the whole human sense of taste is warped," Willow replied. "Anyway, there's always some left over at the end of each day, so if you know how... we'll just scoot under here," she added, flattening herself against the ground to crawl beneath a sliding door, "yeah, if you know how," she went on as Tara emerged behind her, "you can grab a bit before it disappears to wherever they take their left-overs. Quiet now."



She and Tara slunk stealthily among towers of crates, Willow pausing at each corner, peering around before twitching her tail to signal the all-clear for Tara to follow her.



"Here we go," she said finally, after they reached the other side of the crates. A series of trays were stacked vertically in a rack, most with pieces of fish scattered about them, but all reeking with the scent of them, clearly having carried much greater loads earlier in the day.



"We don't want to hang around too long," Willow advised, "people wander around now and then. Pick a decent piece of your favourite and we'll go somewhere safe to eat. Oh, and careful when we go back under that door, you don't want to get any dirt on your dinner." She sniffed around a few trays, finally finding a variety she liked and snapping up a piece. Tara picked up a familiar scent and followed it back to its source, nudging aside a couple of scraps to reach a fair-sized portion of fish.



With their fish securely held in their jaws, the two cats retreated from the building to a small patch of parkland nearby. Willow ducked under a vacant bench and pushed her way through some bushes to a tiny stream bed, setting her fish down on a smooth stone jutting up out of the water.



"I like this place," she said, "during the middle of the day the water runs through here. The people seem to like it, so they turn the stream on when they're around. It keeps the rocks nice and clean, good to eat off. Just don't nap here around midday, or you get a rude awakening... oh," she looked down, "um, if you want the rock... there's another one just over here I can use-" Tara shook her head and dropped her fish next to Willow's.



"I don't mind sharing," she offered. Willow's ears slanted forward happily as she sat back down, and her tail twitched merrily now and then once she'd tucked it neatly around her feet.



"This is nice," Tara said shyly after taking a few bites, "I'd expected... well, you know, living off the land..."



"Freshly-caught rat for dinner?" Willow finished for her. "Nah... there's some cats that live like that, usually the ones who refuse to have anything at all to do with people. Even if it's just relieving them of some bits of fish they don't have any use for," she added with a wink. "Besides, if I started eating rats, Amy'd never let me hear the end of it. Don't let that little meek rat act of hers fool you, she can lay on a guilt trip like nobody's business." Tara gave an amused little purr, then looked quizzically at Willow.



"How come..." she began, "I mean... when you say cats who don't want anything to do with people... I kind of got the impression you'd be one of them." Willow paused, then shrugged.



"Yeah, I can see why," she admitted. "Look, I don't hate people, as a whole. I mean, there's cats, people, rats, mice, birds... more-broody-than-thou bats," she added with a chuckle, "we're all here, and we do the best we can. For all their faults, people have as much right to be here as we do. So I try not to be any trouble, and mostly people are no trouble to me. I've watched the big fish shop, for example, I've seen them chase strays out in the morning when the fish is piled high, but they don't bother much about the leftover fish in the evening - so that's when I go there."



She took another bite of fish and chewed it thoughtfully.



"But," she added, swallowing, "when people think it's okay to own us, like we're... like we're just toys, that bothers me. If some human gets all upset about me taking a bit of fish, fine, I'll leave him and his fish alone. But if he thinks that giving me fish means that he's in charge of me, I don't... it's not worth it. I'd rather be on the street than owned, even if it did mean I had to chase my own food and maybe go hungry sometimes."



She reached for another piece of fish, then hesitated and looked at Tara, dipping her whiskers regretfully.



"Sorry," she said in a soft meow, "I shouldn't have gone on like that. I don't mean to offend you."



"I..." Tara began, then dipped her whiskers likewise, "it's alright. I'm not offended." Willow smiled gratefully.



"Can I ask you something?" Tara said abruptly.



"Sure," Willow said, surprised.



"Your collar," Tara began hesitantly, "I thought... only housecats had them...?" Willow gave her a level stare, then nodded sadly.



"Yeah," she agreed, "only housecats. So far as I know, anyway." She took a bite of fish, then glanced into Tara's curious gaze.



"I was owned," she admitted. "A long time ago."



"You ran away?" Tara asked gently. Willow shook her head.



"Not me," she explained. "I was a kitten, probably no bigger than your Miss Kitty. My people were a male and a female, living in a little apartment in a building across the other side of town, over the river. They both went out during the day, to do whatever it is people have to do - getting food, or running one of those shops, or whatever. They'd give me a meal in the morning, and leave a snack for me to have later... they'd come home, one or other of them would put dinner out for me. Give me a pat now and then, and I'd purr, or the female would sometimes put me in her lap, and stroke me while she was reading, or watching the television thingy. It was..." she sighed, "it was a decent life." Her tail lay motionless as she remembered, and her ears turned outward glumly.



"Then one day they went away," she continued. "I don't know where. Packed up all their things and put them in a truck. Gave me a pat, picked me up, put me down on the building's front step, and just drove off. I never saw them again. I was..." she paused and sniffed back a sob. "I was just a little kitten... never even been outside the building before. People would look at me now and then, and just walk past. I waited... two days, I waited for them to come back. But they didn't. I wanted to cry, but I thought I just had to wait a little longer, and they'd come back... so I didn't cry. I got hungry, and slept out in the cold waiting for them-" She broke off and turned away, hunching her shoulders and dipping her head down.



"I-I was cold, and hungry," she went on in a tiny voice, "and the second night, this little ratling came up to me and asked if I was okay. I didn't know what to say, I'd never met a rat before or anything, so I just said I was hungry, which was the first thing that popped into my head to say. And she scuttled off, and I curled up again and tried to keep warm while I was waiting, and I didn't think anything more of her. Then... later, she came back, and she was dragging this scrap of paper, and there was a bit of fish wrapped up in it... She'd dragged it all the way from where she found it, going backwards, pulling it with her teeth, and she was even smaller than I was."



"Amy?" Tara asked quietly. Willow nodded.



"She was just a little ratling," she said, "plus, her being a rat and me being a cat... she was afraid of me, you know? Afraid of a little kitten. She told me later... but she didn't leave me there. The people who owned me did. A rat brought me food, when my people," she said bitterly, "left a kitten out on the street."



Tara wanted to cry herself, but Willow's silence stopped her. On soft paws she moved closer, letting her tail touch Willow's as she sat next to her.



"My collar..." Willow went on after a moment, "I... it reminds me. After a while it was getting tight, as I was growing up, and Amy helped me undo it. Rat paws are good for that sort of thing. I could've just got rid of it... but I asked her to put it back on, just looser. So I don't forget. It's... what happened to me... it's part of who I am."



Tara gently touched her forehead to Willow's neck, then rubbed her nose up behind her ear. A sad little purr escaped Willow.



"You never cried?" Tara asked softly.



"I-I n-n... never..." Willow began to reply, then she slowly lay down at Tara's feet. She craned her neck back, eyes closed, and let out a quiet, mournful meow, crying softly into the night. Tara lay down with her, their furry sides pressed against each other, and rested her head on Willow's paws.



Finally Willow grew silent, and let her head drop down, her chin resting between Tara's ears. She slowly realised that Tara was purring, quietly and hesitantly - not purring in response to anything, but deliberately. The sound soothed her, and the vibrations touched her through the soft skin of her neck, resting against the back of Tara's head.



"Th-that's nice..." she whispered after a moment.



"One time," Tara said, "my person, Buffy... she'd been seeing a male for a while, a tom. And I think he decided not to see her anymore... at least, he never came to the house after that. I didn't know that at the time, I just came into her room one day and she was crying. You know, the way people do, when their eyes leak... she was so sad I could feel it, and I didn't know what to do. But I knew she liked my purr, she's always patting me and then resting her head on my side while I purr, so I jumped up on the bed next to her and lay up against her and purred. And it made her feel better. I-I... what your people did to you was... terrible... I just want you to feel better, somehow, even if it's only a bit..."



"I do," Willow said gratefully, "I really do... Your people are so lucky, you know... do they- they're good people, right?"



"Yes, they are," Tara replied, turning her head slightly to look at Willow, as she lay her head down beside her. "I understand why you feel the way you do about people, I do. I-I wish your people had been better... Buffy and Dawn, and Giles and Joyce, though, they aren't like that. They'd never do what your people did." She looked grief-stricken suddenly. "They must be so worried about Miss Kitty and me..."



"Shh," Willow soothed her, "it's not your fault Miss Kitty got stuck in that truck. A-and you're doing the best thing you can for your people. You're bringing her back to them, so... so they don't have to lose part of their family."



"What if," Tara meowed miserably, "what if they think we ran away? If th-they think... I left them, like your people left you? How could I leave them like that-"



"No," Willow said quickly, "I don't... Tara, listen. I know I don't know your people, and I've been all anti-people anyway, but... but I'm sure they wouldn't think that. I'm sure they... they know you love them. And you're going to come back to them, and bring Miss Kitty home to them, and you'll be a whole family again."



Tara purred nervously, and gave a weak little smile.



"I'll do my best," she said.



"Me too," Willow promised. She paused a moment, hesitating, then reached forward just enough to brush her nose against Tara's. "You'll be alright," she whispered. Tara blinked in surprise, but before she could respond Willow was getting up.



"Come on, let's finish dinner," she said, "save a few bites, it'll last until morning - we'll have a good breakfast so we're all ready to go rescue Miss Kitty. Okay?"



"Right," Tara smiled, getting back up and returning to her meal. Now and then, though, she'd steal glances at Willow, when she wasn't looking, and a little, thoughtful frown creased her furry brow.



-----



After dinner the two cats found a soft patch of ground, out of the wind and sheltered by leaves, and curled up to rest. Tara found sleep elusive, and after she had gotten up and padded down her chosen spot three times, Willow sidled up to her.



"You okay?" she asked.



"Fine," Tara said, with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "just, you know... unfamiliar ground. I miss the blankets in my basket," she admitted with a shy grin. "Actually... when it's time to sleep, Miss Kitty always hops into my basket and curls up next to me." She paused, and slowly lay down. "I miss her."



Willow watched her for a moment, then silently lay down with her, nestling against her. Almost automatically Tara rolled more onto her side, letting Willow curl up against her stomach, with her head pillowed on Tara's paws.



"Is that okay?" she asked. "I mean, just to, you know... so you'll feel better."



"Yes," Tara purred warmly, "thank you, Willow."



"'At's what I'm here for," she murmured, already sounding sleepy. Tara listened to her breathing, with its soft purr, for a while. Drowsiness came to her easier, and she closed her eyes. Quietly, so as not to wake Willow, she whispered: "I love you."

Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass

A Willow and Tara for every world.



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 8)
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:21 am 
Chris-



That was so sweet and so sad! My partner adopted a cat that had been found pregnant and stray in a bad part of Chicago. She loves people, though, so we think she had an owner at one time. It kills me to think that someone abandoned her, and reading what poor little Willow-kitten went through--:sob . At least now she has someone to love and love her back.



This is such a wonderful story--I can't wait to see what's next!



:peace -Cameron



What should I be but just what I am? - Edna St.Vincent Millay



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 Post subject: Re: FIC: Finding Miss Kitty Fantastico (chapter 8)
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:31 am 
I love how you're writing this. Willow's story was heartbreaking and while reading, I often seem to forget that you're writing about cats/kittens/etc. Thanks for the update.



Yvonne:peace



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