Post by Tawny Vokes on May 22, 2023 10:48:13 GMT -5
[nospaces]
[attr="class","littlecloud-text"]After parking her car in a residential lot and tossing everything into her tote bag, Tawny began walking the couple of blocks to her apartment building, arms wrapped around herself. It had been a long day at the office, with a largely sleepless night before that, and she was more than ready to take a shower, silence her phone, and fall face-first into bed and sleep until she was hungry enough to start a late dinner. [break][break]
She turned to cut through an alley, wondering guiltily if she should take the ferrets out on a walk first. Maybe carry them out to the nearest park so they could roll in the grass, snuffle about, and gnaw at dandelions while the weather was nice. They'd been cooped up too much lately as Tawny spent less time at home. But her new studio was almost cleaned-up enough that she could chance letting them run amok there while she worked away. Then she wouldn't feel so bad about sneaking away and leaving them behind.[break][break]
Her thoughts cut off as a cat darted directly into her path, making her jolt to a sudden stop. It finished approaching her with a long, demanding 'mrrow', then started a forceful wind against her ankles. "You trying to get me in trouble with the Missus at home?" She chuckled as she knelt to give the cat a gentle stroke, imagining Myrtle's pinned-back ears and accusing eyes as she smelled at her fingers and clothes. The cat threw itself on its back and swatted at her hand, latching hold to bring it close for an investigative sniff. Its solid black pelt was smooth and shiny, its body lean and healthy. He, or she, looked a far cry from some of the rougher alley cats that Tawny sometimes saw slinking about and she suspected this was one of the black cats that lived in an apartment across the street from her own. Plenty of times, she'd seen them come and go as they pleased through a second-story window while she drank coffee and sketched on her balcony.[break][break]
Her hand moved to the cat's leg and it suddenly made a disgruntled noise and leaped away, tail lashing as it looked at her warningly. Tawny raised her palms in apology. "Oh, my bad, was I moving too fast for you?" She quirked a brow, then turned her hand over to note the bit of blood at the tips of her fingers. She pressed them together, her brow falling as she realized it was fresh and warm. She outstretched her hand to the cat once more, tutting softly, and after a moment, it returned to nudge its face into her palm. "Sorry, sweetie," she soothed, cautiously avoiding touching its leg while she tried to give it a glance-over.[break][break]
Its haunch was slicked down with blood. Hoping the cat wouldn't flinch away or bolt, she slowly parted the fur to take a look. A puncture wound, maybe? She felt around the cat's other side, where one might expect another hole if a dog had got its jaws around it. Nothing. Hmm.[break][break]
Immediately, her mind returned to earlier that morning, when she'd left for work and cut through the same alley. She recalled the 'ting-ting' of a neighbor kid shooting at empty cans with his pellet rifle and glanced around, noting the number of sharp, metal pills scattered about the ground. Her lips tucked. Surely, the kid hadn't...? Actually, she didn't doubt it. She'd heard his mother shouting from a window above hers to stop shooting at balconies. And Tawny had found a dead bird on her table just yesterday, which probably wasn't a coincidence. [break][break]
She figured the best thing to do was to take the cat to the apartment across the street. Let its presumed owner handle the whole thing. But what if it wasn't their cat, after all? Or what if the cat, being injured and feeling a certain sort of way about it, decided not to go home? It was obvious it was well looked after but... what if the owner didn't feel it was that big of a deal? It didn't look very serious but... if the wound was allowed to heal over and the pellet was still inside, it would surely cause problems down the line. [break][break]
Tawny worried her bottom lip for only a brief moment, then decided she wouldn't leave it to chance. It would be cat-napping. She shrugged out of her cardigan, wrapped the kitty up so it would be less likely to claw out of her arms, then turned around to make her way back to her car.[break][break]
She drove the cat to the nearest clinic and, after examining its leg and giving it an x-ray, they'd indeed found a couple of metal pellets embedded in its haunch. But nothing had hit bone, nothing was severely torn, and all that was required was for the bits to be dug out. They didn't even need to put the poor thing under full-blown anesthetic but would just give it a mild sedative to keep it calm and still while they worked. However, they did want to keep the cat under observation for a few hours afterward, just to monitor that it'd had no adverse reaction to the sedative. [break][break]
Tawny left the cat there with her contact information. Then she'd stopped by at the apartment (and then the store beneath it) across the street from her building to see if she could locate the cat's owner. Unsuccessful, she'd gone home and taken a nap; her own cat nestled against her and kneading biscuits into the arm she had folded beneath her head and her curtains pulled slightly back so she could watch the apartment window across the way while she dozed off.[break][break]
When she awoke after a couple of hours, she did some chores. Played with the ferrets, went through her neglected mail, showered (consequentially left another voicemail for her landlord about her hot water), and then looked forlornly over the stock of her fridge, realizing she was long overdue for a grocery trip.[break][break]
The sky was just beginning to darken when she got the call to pick up the cat, right as the clinic was closing. They'd given her a cute cardboard carrier in the shape of a house to transport it in, and she peered through the holes at the bright eyes looking up at her. "I'm sorry, baby. Can we still be friends? Or do you hate me now?"[break][break]
When she got back to the apartments, she crossed the street again, deciding to try for the owner once more. She made her way to the stairwell at the back of the building, climbed up to the small corridor, and rapped her knuckles against the proper door. Then she shuffled a bit on her feet and wondered what the hell she was going to do if there was no answer. Just let the cat go? She couldn't really take it home — what if it wanted to make a snack of Lark and Finch? And Myrtle certainly would throw —[break][break]
The door opened, spilling light into the tiny corridor and across Tawny's face, which promptly split into an instinctive (only slightly nervous) smile. She couldn't fathom how solicitors and canvassers did what they did — knocking door to door, never certain who was going to answer and how they'd be received. Feeling a bit like a deer caught in headlights, her fingers tightened on the carrier. She lifted her brow, sucked in a breath, and launched right into it.[break][break]
"Oh, hey! Sorry... to just show up like this. I came by earlier but I don't think you were home. I ducked into the store downstairs to see if I could maybe leave a message for you. The girls at the counter said it was your store! I didn't know that, but uh," her brow twitched, mouth pursing for a quick moment. If she were a solicitor, certainly no one would buy a bible from her or ask to know more. Her pamphlets would be binned the moment she left, if the door wasn't closed in her face mid-spiel. "Well, you weren't in. I imagine they let you know, but I," she lifted the carrier, offering it forward. "Have your cat!" [break][break]
Her brow crinkled and she chuckled. "At least, I think it's your cat. I live across the street and I noticed there's a few that come in and out of your window." Realizing that she probably needed to explain why she had the cat, and why she'd felt it appropriate to take matters into her own hands the way that she had, she blew out a breath. "Someone shot them with a pellet gun. But it wasn't too serious! The vet said they'll be fine. They did very well and everyone was smitten with them. They said to just monitor the wound for the next couple of days... make sure they don't pick at them or that they get icky.... it was just three stitches and they'll dissolve, so..." [break][break]
"Sorry, that was... a lot." She sighed and slouched a bit, letting the tension leech from her shoulders. "I'm Tawny."
[break]
[newclass=.littlecloud-text b]color:#646a60;font-family:Open Sans!important;font-size:8pt!important;[/newclass][newclass=.littlecloud-text a]font-family:Open Sans!important;font-size:8pt!importnat;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]
I'VE BEEN CAUGHT IN THE WORDS
and i can never decide if i wanna be any particular person
[break]
[attr="class","littlecloud-text"]After parking her car in a residential lot and tossing everything into her tote bag, Tawny began walking the couple of blocks to her apartment building, arms wrapped around herself. It had been a long day at the office, with a largely sleepless night before that, and she was more than ready to take a shower, silence her phone, and fall face-first into bed and sleep until she was hungry enough to start a late dinner. [break][break]
She turned to cut through an alley, wondering guiltily if she should take the ferrets out on a walk first. Maybe carry them out to the nearest park so they could roll in the grass, snuffle about, and gnaw at dandelions while the weather was nice. They'd been cooped up too much lately as Tawny spent less time at home. But her new studio was almost cleaned-up enough that she could chance letting them run amok there while she worked away. Then she wouldn't feel so bad about sneaking away and leaving them behind.[break][break]
Her thoughts cut off as a cat darted directly into her path, making her jolt to a sudden stop. It finished approaching her with a long, demanding 'mrrow', then started a forceful wind against her ankles. "You trying to get me in trouble with the Missus at home?" She chuckled as she knelt to give the cat a gentle stroke, imagining Myrtle's pinned-back ears and accusing eyes as she smelled at her fingers and clothes. The cat threw itself on its back and swatted at her hand, latching hold to bring it close for an investigative sniff. Its solid black pelt was smooth and shiny, its body lean and healthy. He, or she, looked a far cry from some of the rougher alley cats that Tawny sometimes saw slinking about and she suspected this was one of the black cats that lived in an apartment across the street from her own. Plenty of times, she'd seen them come and go as they pleased through a second-story window while she drank coffee and sketched on her balcony.[break][break]
Her hand moved to the cat's leg and it suddenly made a disgruntled noise and leaped away, tail lashing as it looked at her warningly. Tawny raised her palms in apology. "Oh, my bad, was I moving too fast for you?" She quirked a brow, then turned her hand over to note the bit of blood at the tips of her fingers. She pressed them together, her brow falling as she realized it was fresh and warm. She outstretched her hand to the cat once more, tutting softly, and after a moment, it returned to nudge its face into her palm. "Sorry, sweetie," she soothed, cautiously avoiding touching its leg while she tried to give it a glance-over.[break][break]
Its haunch was slicked down with blood. Hoping the cat wouldn't flinch away or bolt, she slowly parted the fur to take a look. A puncture wound, maybe? She felt around the cat's other side, where one might expect another hole if a dog had got its jaws around it. Nothing. Hmm.[break][break]
Immediately, her mind returned to earlier that morning, when she'd left for work and cut through the same alley. She recalled the 'ting-ting' of a neighbor kid shooting at empty cans with his pellet rifle and glanced around, noting the number of sharp, metal pills scattered about the ground. Her lips tucked. Surely, the kid hadn't...? Actually, she didn't doubt it. She'd heard his mother shouting from a window above hers to stop shooting at balconies. And Tawny had found a dead bird on her table just yesterday, which probably wasn't a coincidence. [break][break]
She figured the best thing to do was to take the cat to the apartment across the street. Let its presumed owner handle the whole thing. But what if it wasn't their cat, after all? Or what if the cat, being injured and feeling a certain sort of way about it, decided not to go home? It was obvious it was well looked after but... what if the owner didn't feel it was that big of a deal? It didn't look very serious but... if the wound was allowed to heal over and the pellet was still inside, it would surely cause problems down the line. [break][break]
Tawny worried her bottom lip for only a brief moment, then decided she wouldn't leave it to chance. It would be cat-napping. She shrugged out of her cardigan, wrapped the kitty up so it would be less likely to claw out of her arms, then turned around to make her way back to her car.[break][break]
She drove the cat to the nearest clinic and, after examining its leg and giving it an x-ray, they'd indeed found a couple of metal pellets embedded in its haunch. But nothing had hit bone, nothing was severely torn, and all that was required was for the bits to be dug out. They didn't even need to put the poor thing under full-blown anesthetic but would just give it a mild sedative to keep it calm and still while they worked. However, they did want to keep the cat under observation for a few hours afterward, just to monitor that it'd had no adverse reaction to the sedative. [break][break]
Tawny left the cat there with her contact information. Then she'd stopped by at the apartment (and then the store beneath it) across the street from her building to see if she could locate the cat's owner. Unsuccessful, she'd gone home and taken a nap; her own cat nestled against her and kneading biscuits into the arm she had folded beneath her head and her curtains pulled slightly back so she could watch the apartment window across the way while she dozed off.[break][break]
When she awoke after a couple of hours, she did some chores. Played with the ferrets, went through her neglected mail, showered (consequentially left another voicemail for her landlord about her hot water), and then looked forlornly over the stock of her fridge, realizing she was long overdue for a grocery trip.[break][break]
The sky was just beginning to darken when she got the call to pick up the cat, right as the clinic was closing. They'd given her a cute cardboard carrier in the shape of a house to transport it in, and she peered through the holes at the bright eyes looking up at her. "I'm sorry, baby. Can we still be friends? Or do you hate me now?"[break][break]
When she got back to the apartments, she crossed the street again, deciding to try for the owner once more. She made her way to the stairwell at the back of the building, climbed up to the small corridor, and rapped her knuckles against the proper door. Then she shuffled a bit on her feet and wondered what the hell she was going to do if there was no answer. Just let the cat go? She couldn't really take it home — what if it wanted to make a snack of Lark and Finch? And Myrtle certainly would throw —[break][break]
The door opened, spilling light into the tiny corridor and across Tawny's face, which promptly split into an instinctive (only slightly nervous) smile. She couldn't fathom how solicitors and canvassers did what they did — knocking door to door, never certain who was going to answer and how they'd be received. Feeling a bit like a deer caught in headlights, her fingers tightened on the carrier. She lifted her brow, sucked in a breath, and launched right into it.[break][break]
"Oh, hey! Sorry... to just show up like this. I came by earlier but I don't think you were home. I ducked into the store downstairs to see if I could maybe leave a message for you. The girls at the counter said it was your store! I didn't know that, but uh," her brow twitched, mouth pursing for a quick moment. If she were a solicitor, certainly no one would buy a bible from her or ask to know more. Her pamphlets would be binned the moment she left, if the door wasn't closed in her face mid-spiel. "Well, you weren't in. I imagine they let you know, but I," she lifted the carrier, offering it forward. "Have your cat!" [break][break]
Her brow crinkled and she chuckled. "At least, I think it's your cat. I live across the street and I noticed there's a few that come in and out of your window." Realizing that she probably needed to explain why she had the cat, and why she'd felt it appropriate to take matters into her own hands the way that she had, she blew out a breath. "Someone shot them with a pellet gun. But it wasn't too serious! The vet said they'll be fine. They did very well and everyone was smitten with them. They said to just monitor the wound for the next couple of days... make sure they don't pick at them or that they get icky.... it was just three stitches and they'll dissolve, so..." [break][break]
"Sorry, that was... a lot." She sighed and slouched a bit, letting the tension leech from her shoulders. "I'm Tawny."
[break]
Tag: Evening Cadieux[break]
So, it's been close to a year since I first posted this plot hook in your plotter lmaoooo. But here's a (very rough) starter post finally! Sorry, I don't know why it became so heckin' long. I'll be chill next time, promise. ;v; If you think anything needs changed, or the set-up isn't quite right, just lemme know! Or if you're no longer feeling this idea at all, then that's totally okay, too! c:
So, it's been close to a year since I first posted this plot hook in your plotter lmaoooo. But here's a (very rough) starter post finally! Sorry, I don't know why it became so heckin' long. I'll be chill next time, promise. ;v; If you think anything needs changed, or the set-up isn't quite right, just lemme know! Or if you're no longer feeling this idea at all, then that's totally okay, too! c:
