#diatri tales

[petri808]

Diatri’s Tales

Kind of an insider fun story thing.  How to describe this story...  Think Pet’s movie lol, talking animals.  Two cats find themselves stuck in a house together and they eventually run away to start a new adventure, meeting many friends along the way :) follow the link for Cat language definitions. @diabl0o co-author  @kuroshironekoserver contributors   4k+ words, will be a mini-series.

Chapter 1:  How It All Started

She looks at the ticking machine on the wall flashing 5:00 and stretches one more time, rocking backward until she feels her spine crack and muscles loosen.  Petri yawns giving the carpet a few good kneads… and sharpens her claws for good measure on the shag before circling into a ball.  It wouldn’t be long till the two-legged creatures, the ones that called themselves her owners would be back.  They usually came back around the darkness time.

It’s been a perfect life.  Many seasons have passed in the comfort of this home.  Home, is what they had called it the day they brought her here.  This is your new home Petri!  Whatever, she had thought back then, it’s warm, dry, with three meals a day, it was luxurious.  And the best part, no other animals.  Ugh, the days at that stupid, noisy pet shop surrounded by other cats and puppies and rodents and birds were a memory she happily forgot all about.  Thank goodness, she began to purr to herself, a pretty little white kitten had been too cute to pass up.

They were good owners to her.  She’d hated the name the pet shop had given her, but these creatures changed it to Petri.  It was cute enough, she guessed.  Played with her when she wanted it, left her alone when she wasn’t in the mood.  She gave them affection as she saw fit and that seemed to be enough to keep these creatures happy.  The treats could be a little more frequent but hey, a girl does need to watch her figure.

Soon enough Petri heard the familiar jangle of metal and popped open an eye.  ‘Perfect timing, I was just getting hungry.’  She rises to her feet slowly as the door opens ready to put on the act.  “Moow mow…” Petri pauses, what is that scent?

“Guess what Petri,” the female owner walks over and begins to pet her with a big smile plastered on its face.  “We have a surprise for you and we think you’re gonna love it!”

Based on the smell, Petri was already starting to think of what she could destroy of theirs.  How dare these creatures bring home a…

“It’s a new playmate!” the male creature places a black bundle of fur on the floor in front of her.  “His name is Bob and he’s just the most adorable kitty!”

Petri cocks her head slightly, Bob?  What a stupid sounding name.  “Moow moow mow!”              

“What’s that Petri?  You like Bob already?” the creature’s grin at each other, “see I told you she’d be fine with a kitten,” the female owner pokes the male in the arm.

She glares at the other cat.  “Mew!”  Oh, this is some bullshit!  But Bob, just sits there quietly with his head tilted slightly, the innocent little angel.  Petri narrows her eyes at it, this kitten had the cutesy act all figured out!

“I bet you guys are hungry,” the female owner starts walking towards the kitchen.  After grabbing a second bowl, it pours food into both bowls.  “Come on guys,” it motions to the two cats, “come eat.”  

Bob happily starts to walk over to the bowl, but Petri races there first.  “Hissss!”

“Petri be nice,” the female owner moves the bowls a little further away from each other.  “You each have your own bowl.”  It then picks Bob up and places him in front of the new bowl.  “There ya go little guy.”  As it pets Bob, he begins to purr and happily eat his food.  

This little punk!  ‘Fine!’  It’s obvious to Petri she’ll have to wait until these owners weren’t around to do something to him.  So, she walks cautiously over to her bowl and begins to eat, all the while still keeping Bob in her periphery.  

As soon as the owner walks away, she can see his ear tracking the sound of its footsteps, and when they hear a door open and close, Petri hisses low, “I so don’t want you here!”  

Bob stops eating and looks at her.  “Well hello to you too.  It’s not like I had a choice miss kitty.  And by the way, names Diablo not Bob.”

“Tch, well, Diablo, let’s get one thing straight, I’m the queen of this house,” she points a paw at him, “so don’t you be thinking about any funny business or messing with my things!”  

“But I’m just an innocent little pus pus,” he curls his ears down, widening his eyes into a cute, and well performed expression.

But Petri wasn’t buying it.  She narrows her eyes and flattens her ears, “that works with those two-legged creatures, but not with me.”

“Fine.” Diablo sits up, cocking his head to the side, his tail flicking back and forth in a mindless manner.  “So, you figured me all out have ya?” He cracks open his mouth in a grin like manner, letting a fang show through.  “I doubt that Princess.  Better get used to me, cause I’m here to stay.”

“We’ll see about that.”  Petri’s own tail flicks at a faster pace as her annoyance grows.  This cocky little kitten!  How dare he come in here and start telling her what’s the deal!  “It was nice and quiet without you, and I intend for it to stay that way.”  She rises to her feet, snobbing the other cat and raising her tail straight up to it, “just don’t get in my way Diablo,” then walks away in a hiss.

“Bitch.” he swears under his breath.

“I heard that!”

Oh he’d made sure she would hear him.  This Petri chick didn’t even know him and assumed he’d be a problem!  Well truthfully, he could be a hellcat, but hey, she didn’t know that yet!  Ugh!  Diablo walks over to the living room, leaping up to a window sill, and sits down, staring out over the city skyline.  This was a nice place, he had to admit, and those things that brought him here seem nice.  Guess he couldn’t blame Petri for being territorial.  “Mew…” he shouldn’t blame her.  Diablo lays down.  Maybe he should try playing nice.  It would suck to get sent back to the pound.  ‘I’ll turn on the charm,’ he grins to himself and closes his eyes, ‘That’ll win her to my side!’

She tracked him from behind the recliner, watching as he moved to the window sill.  “Mew!”  When she’d first been brought here, she’d been so nervous at the new surroundings, and yet this cat sure had a lot of confidence.  ‘Look at him, getting all comfortable already!’  Truthfully, Petri wished she could do the same.  Being the only cat in the house meant she hadn’t needed to deal with such anxieties, but now…  ugh!  Okay, so maybe she could have been nicer to him, it’s not like he did anything to upset her, except with his presence.  Her ears lower in shame, “Mooow…”  ‘I’ll apologize in the morning.’

“Petri!  Bob!  Breakfast!”  The call of the creatures coupled with the sounds of dry cat food clinking into their food bowls, rouses the two cats awake.  

Knowing the routine, Petri is the first to arrive, giving the creatures her customary rubs against their legs to send them on their way.  “Meow, Mow Mow, Prrr.”  

“Be good now Petri,” the female owner, gives her a couple of under chin scratches.  “And be nice to Bob, he’s here to keep you company.”

‘Yeah, yeah…’  “Nyaa.”  

The female gives her a few last scratches, “awww!”  Just then Diablo comes walking up, still yawning.  “Bob, come eat breakfast,” the female owner taps his bowl.          

He saunters up, gaining a customary pat on the head from the female, before rubbing along her leg as a morning hello, “Meow.”

Both cats sit and wait next to their bowls, watching as the owners grab their things and leave for the day, ears tracking the sounds of them leaving.  As soon as they could no longer hear footsteps, they both chime up at the same moment.  

“Hey, look…”

“I just wanted…”

Petri turns her head away, “look I just wanted to say sorry.  I was mean to you just for being here and that wasn’t nice.”

Oh ho!  She was apologizing!  Diablo muses to himself, this was going to be even easier than he’d expected!  “Prrr,” he slinks up, rubbing against her, “we started off wrong, let’s start over.”

At first she flinches at the contact, but eases up when he doesn’t relent and rubs against her a couple more times.  “Nyaa,” Petri dips her head, “I agree we should.”  

“Moow.”  Satisfied that he now had the upper hand, Diablo moves over to his dish to eat, with Petri following suit right after.  She must have been sheltered for most of her life, he wonders at the ease of changing her tune.  ‘Or something,’ he couldn’t yet tell.  She was on the smaller side, maybe the runt of the litter?  Those can start off life struggling, often pushed to the side.  These creatures saving her and bringing her here probably saved her life.  ‘Or I’m being melodramatic.’  But he doubted she’d tell him anything right now, so he tucks that question away for a future date.

As Petri watched the black ball of hyper energy chasing after the laser beam, she couldn’t help but chuckle.  Their owners were having a grand old time sending Diablo skittering across the carpet or even up a couple of walls, and he seemed happy to oblige.  He was rarely one to play along if it wasn’t his own decision, but the laser beam turned out to be his Achilles' heel.  They’d keep him going for so long, he’d pant, wide-mouthed and heavy for several minutes trying to calm his heart again.  But the best part was the catnip treats afterwards.  Petri suspected it was a sneaky ploy to keep the kitten from being too active overnight.  Wind him up, then zonk him out.  It was amusing as hell!   If only those two-legged creatures knew, Diablo wasn’t much of a night kitty like she had been at his age.

“How ya feelin’ Di?”  Petri stands over Diablo who was currently belly up, paws curled in the air, with constricted pupils and a loopy expression on his face.  Her face was upside down and counter to his; a bright but bemused look to her.  

He cocks his head to the side.  “Petri that you?  Why yous upside-down?”

She laughs and bops him on the nose with her paw, “silly, you’re the one upside-down!”  

“Nas not, whoa…” his eyes refocus, staring straight up at her.  “Prrr… this is so cool!”

“Weirdo, that cat nip sure does a number on ya.”  But as he continues to stare at her, she starts to feel a little uncomfortable.  “Why,” Petri takes a step away, “do you keep staring at me like that?”

After a brief pause, he nods his head for seemingly no reason as a seriously dangerous look crosses his face.  “Prrr...  I’m gonna take your soul.”

Petri blinks.  “That’s the catnip talking, Di just go to sleep,” she laughs.

“Mew.  Nay is truth.  I don’ lie.”

“Okay,” she chuckles nervously, “I believe you demon cat,” petting his head, “now just close your eyes and go to sleep.”

“Prrr…  Meow mow Petri.”

“Meow mow Diablo.”  

Once she was certain he’d finally fallen asleep, Petri curled up next to him.  Barely a month and this damn little cat really was working his way into her heart.  Maybe it wasn’t so bad having another cat here after all.  He did liven the place up.  With their owners gone most of the day on many days, she wasn’t alone as much.  She couldn’t lie that sometimes she misses the peace and quiet but, he was growing on her.  

She was almost asleep when a tail to the face and added weight roused her.  Diablo had rolled over to his side from his upside-down position, partially on top of her.  ‘Ugh,’ and just when she was starting to get comfortable!  She tries to push him off, but he just rolls right back like a dead weight, inflatable bopper doll.  Unable to move him, and too lazy to move away, she pins his tail and foot from moving, using them as a cushion.  ‘I’m gonna bite him if he complains tomorrow!’                

Things settled into a comfortable routine for the two cats.  Much of their days spent lounging about as typical felines will do.  When birds would come by the windows, they’d taunt them.  The occasional bug would die by one or both of their paws.  Sometimes Diablo would even get Petri to play with the toys with him, fighting over a particular soft, catnip infused mouse.  Their owners really should get more than one of these damn things!  Did they forget that there's two of them in the house now?  

He’d even grown bigger since arriving at the house, most likely to his adult size, almost able to place his head atop hers when standing beside each other.  Not the biggest cat she’d ever seen, but what he lacked in size, he definitely made up for in sheer muscle compared to her.  Diablo was much more active than she ever was and that had to add to his weight.  ‘Tch, that’s why he tends to win when we play.’  If he really wanted to win a toy, he’d simply get her pinned and steal it from her.  Most of the time Petri let him win anyways, too lazy to keep going.        

“Don’t you ever wonder what it would be like to live out there?” Diablo asked her one day as they both lay on the window sill.  It was a beautiful one at that, blue skies with scattered white clouds and a nice breeze coming through the screen.  On days like these, he dreamed of living on the outside, unattached to these two-legged creatures, in the wild, maybe even a forest or something.  He remembered seeing one behind the adoption place his owners found him at.  At least he assumed it was a forest according to the stuff he saw on the picture screen they sometimes watched, filled with lots of trees and other animals.  Water would be nice too.  He hated baths, but he loved water.

“I’ve never thought about it,” Petri responds.  “Being inside is all I’ve ever known.”  She looks at him, “why do you ask?”      

“Just being a curious pus pus,” was all he said before turning back to the window.  

Petri simply chalked it up as one of his incessant questions.  Sometimes Diablo would get into these moments, curious about anything and everything.  He was the first cat she’d ever seen watch the picture screen along with the two-legged creatures.  Well, then again, he was the only other cat outside of the pet store she’d ever met, but still, it seemed a bit odd to her.      

A couple of seasons come and go, the hot yucky season finally letting up into the cooler times where the colors of the leaves start to change.  She loved this time of year.  They were lucky in that the street next to the apartment was lined with trees that had such leaves, it was like watching magic!  Petri could sit there all day watching it happen.  Diablo seemed to enjoy the scenery as well, though lately he’d seemed a little more distracted than most days.  For her watching the outside world was just an amusement, but for him, it was as if he was daydreaming.  She wasn’t exactly sure what he was thinking, but assumed if he wanted to tell her, he felt like it.          

“Moow mow,” Diablo siddles up next to where Petri is sleeping along the couch’s headrest area, taking a seat below her, paws kneading the plush cushion to expend energy.  “Petriiiii!” He whines, “I’m bored.”

She cracks open one eye and sees him looking up at her with expectancy.  “That’s what the toys are for Di.”  Petri closes her eyes trying to ignore him.  Really?  He’s been here long enough to know that she hated being woken up in the early morning!  

“But Petriiii, I don’t wanna play with the toys.  I rather bug ya!”

Oh for the love of!  “Mew!”  

“Aww come on Petri don’t say no,” the whine intensifying from the black fur ball, “I’ve got a lot of energy but the toys are getting boring!”

“Not my fault you’re a morning cat!” she hisses back.  “The sun ain’t even up yet.”

“Mooow,” he cries, “it’s not just that.”  Diablo jumps up and sits in front of her.  “All we do here is eat, sleep, play, do it again.  I stare out the window and keeping thinking about what it might be like to live outside.  Even all the cool looking stuff on the picture thing the creatures sit in front of has all those cool looking stuff about animals.  There’s so much we don’t know about being stuck in here.”

His quiet tirade brings Petri to life.  She sits up, tilting her head curiously.  “So, what are you saying Di?  You don’t like it here anymore?”

“Mew.  Well, I don’t hate being here, it’s mostly cause I’m bored.”

“Mooow.  Y-you’d leave me here to be alone again?”  Petri cringes away.  She was so used to having him around now, that she almost couldn’t remember what it was like before, and what she did, brought out suppressed feelings of loneliness.  Her ears lower in sorrow.  “Mooow.”

“Aww,” Diablo gets up and brushes against her body, “prrr,” bumping his head under hers.  “Mooow mow, have I charmed you that much Petri, you’ll be sad if I go?”

“Tch,” she pushes him off a little flustered.  Even though he had done just as he was accusing, she didn’t need to admit it.  “I’ll just get lonely, that’s why I’ll be sad.  You made me realize it was boring being by myself in this place.”  

“Then come with me,” he retorts.  “You don’t have to stay stuck here.”

“Oh, and how are you gonna get out?”  

“See that screen,” Diablo points with his paw at one of the living room windows, “it’s loose, I can push it out.”

He really was serious!  “I don’t know…  How would we eat, where would we sleep?  There’s dogs and those big moving metal things out there, and…”

“Hey,” he moves in closer, placing a paw on her head, “we’ll be fine, we can totally do this Petri.”

“I need to think about it,” she moves away hesitantly, “I trust you, but I don’t know if I could handle it.”  Her nerves were already fraying at the seams from just the thought of being out of her comfort zone.  Here in the apartment, she knew every nook and cranny, every creature’s routine for better or for worse, but out there was a total unknown.    

Diablo sighs, “well, I’m leaving before the creatures wake up.”  After rising to his feet, he rubs against her one more time to tease.  “You think about it Petri, and if you ever decide to leave, maybe we’ll run into each other again.”  He jumps over to the window, hitting the screen hard, twice before finally popping out the edge.  “Mow mow!” he waves a paw, and heads out into the still dark morning hours.  

Petri quickly jumps over to the window, watching his fleeting shadow slowly fade into the darkness.  He was really gone, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the overwhelming sense of stillness that permeated the apartment began to creep into her bones.  ‘Is this how quiet it used to be?’ She wonders to herself.  Faint sounds of the outside world were all that broke the dead calm of a sleeping apartment.  Her ears curl down and she plants herself next to the window, replaying his words.  ‘Could we really do it?  Start over fresh in a new environment?’  Shivers run along her skin at the idea.  Diablo had a knack for making her leave her comfort zones, but this would be the biggest leap she’d made in her short life.  Was she willing to risk so much for a cat she’s only known for less than a year over owners that have sheltered her for much longer?  A big part of her wanted to jump at the opportunity to follow him.  He was her kind after all, and isn’t it better to stick with your own?  “Mooow!”  Petri didn’t know what to do.

By the time the first noises came from the creatures room to indicate they were waking up, Petri still hadn’t stirred from her roost.  She stayed put as they moved about the apartment in their normal routines, sounds and smells of the coffee maker bubbling, gathering of stuff they take with them when they leave, she could be blinded and still know exactly what was going on.  ‘Is this what he meant?’  The same old thing over and over…  She guessed it made sense why Diablo found this all so boring.  They were things she’d never really paid attention to, but in her defense, she could be a little airy.  

“Petri!  Bob!  Breakfast!” clinking of their food into the bowl, but she stays her post.  

A few minutes pass.

“Petri!  Bob!  It’s food time!”  Again she hears her owners call, and again she makes no effort to move.  “Hun, have you seen the cats?”  Petri hears the female creature ask the male who responded with a ‘no.’

A couple more minutes pass before she hears the sounds of movement behind her, as her owner starts searching the apartment.  “Petri, Bob, where are you guys?”  It’s not a very big apartment, so it doesn’t take long for the female creature to find Petri next to the window.  “Petri, there you…” it sees the open screen.  “Oh no!  Steve come quick!  I think Bob got out!”

“Mooow!”

“I know, I know Petri,” the female rubs Petri’s head, “you must be so sad that your friend ran away.”  Then the female pops the screen back into place and rushes away to find the male creature, leaving Petri alone again.  

“Mooow!”

Petri can hear the owners arguing.  

“I told you this was gonna be a problem Merida,” the male snaps at the female creature, “the pound said that black cat was a problem, but noooooo, you thought he was so cute, you just had to have him.”

“He’s been fine this whole time,” the female retorts.  “This is probably just an accident.”

“The accident, is adopting that stupid fur ball and bringing him home.  We already had one good cat who didn’t cause any problems and now look at her, she’s seems devastated that her friend is gone!”

“You know what Steve, I don’t have time for your I told you so’s!  I’ll be late for work if I don’t leave now, but we will look for him after work!”

“Keh!  You can look for him after work.  I’m not gonna waste my time.”

Petri couldn’t believe her ears!  This male creature was calling Diablo stupid!  How dare that thing call her friend stupid!  “Moow moow mow!”  Diablo wasn’t a bad cat, he was just tired of being cooped up in this apartment.  Ugh!  Suddenly, the walls seemed to shrink inward, making Petri feel even worse and confused.  On one hand the anxiety of following Diablo into the uncharted world outside licked at her psyche, but on the other, the overwhelming anger of knowing what an asshole of a creature her owner could be, made her stomach turn.  It was too late to turn back the hands of time, what’s done is done, and now Petri wondered if she’d ever feel the same if she stayed in this apartment.  She sure as hell wouldn’t be able to be friendly towards the male creature, but she would also break the females heart if she left too.  This was such a hard decision!  

She spent the next couple of days tossing the options back and forth, go, stay…  Merely sticking to a basic routine of eating and staring out of the window.  The female wasn’t coming home until later than usual, probably out looking for Diablo.  The male would come home at his usual time, but didn’t really pay her any attention, and frankly, Petri was starting to realize, it was always like that.  The female was the one who took care of them most of the time, not the male.  Had this whole life been a lie?!  This place was supposed to make her happy for the rest of her days but now, she was seeing it’s true colors.

Another night comes and goes, the early dawn set to approach in a few hours.  Petri jumps back to the same window.  These creature were still stupid enough to leave it open.  She tests the screen with her paw, noticing a give to it.  Maybe it was defective or damaged from Diablo pushing it out once before, but she was sure she could do the same.  With one deep breath, Petri pounds against the screen with her body, popping it out.

She did it!

With one last look of goodbye, Petri steps out onto the metal balcony and breathes in the night air, willing herself the determination she would need to face the world.  She had no idea where Diablo may have gone to.  Was he close or far away by now?  Petri turns her nose to the breeze the moment she hits the hard ground below, scenting for her friend.  It was faint, but she swore she could smell some of his scent around.  Either that or she was imagining it.  

“Diablo!”  Petri called out every few yards as she raced through the dead night.  “Diablo!”  

One block away, his scent grew stronger.  “Diablo!” Petri heads in that direction.  He had to be somewhere nearby!  Ignoring her surroundings, she tracks the scent until it leads her to a dead end alley.  Petri plops down to catch her breath.  Where was he?!  She hangs her head, well she shouldn’t have expected to find him so easily.  

Till she hears a familiar snicker behind her.  “Congratulations Petri, you’re free now.”  She turns her head and sees the black cat sauntering up, tail raised high.  “Are ya ready for our next adventure?”