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The Tale of the Cat and the Raven.
On a night stroll, a black cat caught the attention of a large raven. A bird of prey who stood out among the sparrows and robins, a threatening beast that picked away at the flesh and carcass of the dead, as it filled his belly. Something looked particularly delicious about the cat, so he swooped down.
"Have you caught a mouse? Your paws are bloody." Asked the raven.
"I don't hunt and tell," Said the Cat.
"Then show me how you hunt," Responded the Raven.
"Only this once." And the Cat started to walk, and the Raven flew after her. Cats were usually docile and sweet, and he'd eaten the meat of many. This cat stood out among others, with dark eyes and sharp claws. A being of prey, just like him. The Raven decided he liked the Cat. The Cat decided she liked the Raven. Then, the Cat left, presumably to do catlike things.
This drove the Raven mad. He tried to make other birds act like the Cat. He tried to find a replacement. He tried to forget the Cat. The Cat lingered in his dreams, and he wanted the Cat. The Raven had a record of getting things he wanted, and he wanted it unbroken.
On the day the Cat finally returned, the Raven played along at first as if he was meeting an old friend. However, when the Cat turned to leave again at the end of the evening, he bit her tail with his beak and commanded her to stay.
"Why should I stay?" Inquired the cat.
"I cannot follow you." Pitifully, the Raven responded. "You feed my hunger. You haunt my mind. You cannot go, cruel Cat."
"Will you keep me entertained for as long as you live?" Asked the Cat, fickle as all cats were, they enjoyed play more than anything else in the world.
"I will. Will you keep me fed and stay in my nest?" The Raven also asked.
"You can cut open my stomach and eat the insides if it pleases you," The Cat spoke, "As long as I'm entertained forever." It seemed the Cat was magical, and could tolerate such a thing, from such a cruel Raven, as long as she purred with a sated mind in the end.
The determined Raven brought the Cat back to his nest, and forever after they loved one another as only monsters are capable of.
...
However, the story does not end. The slightly plump Cat one day told the Raven she must go home for a little while, as she had spent so long with him that the few she did keep around should know before she left for good. The Raven thought this reasonable, and while it made him irate, the Raven let the cat go and waited anxiously for her return.
In a far away place, after traveling a long time, the Cat gave birth to a little kitten with tiny wings. Making a deal with a Hound, the Cat made sure that the kitten would be raised well, despite being something so bizarre that the world wasn't quite ready for her, much less the Raven. Without another word, the Cat returned to the Raven to live as she had.
... haha. Why would the Cat keep the little half-breed? Listen, child. And don't speak a word to anyone of this, or the magic of the story will be lost forever.
Understood?
Very well.
The Cat would outlive the Raven by scores of years, and understanding this, the Cat knew eventually she would be without him. As long as a trace of him still existed, the Cat would be content to finally leave the nest someday.
The Cat knew the kitten would act like a bird, talk like a bird, and hunt like a bird. In her humor and her weakness, the only thing the Cat could settle on was a living legacy, even if the kitten never met the Raven. The Cat suspected the Raven would never, ever meet the kitten and was fine with that, thanks to how far she traveled just to separate them by distance.
Miracles don't happen, so something like that would be incredibly unlikely.
Wouldn't it?
On a night stroll, a black cat caught the attention of a large raven. A bird of prey who stood out among the sparrows and robins, a threatening beast that picked away at the flesh and carcass of the dead, as it filled his belly. Something looked particularly delicious about the cat, so he swooped down.
"Have you caught a mouse? Your paws are bloody." Asked the raven.
"I don't hunt and tell," Said the Cat.
"Then show me how you hunt," Responded the Raven.
"Only this once." And the Cat started to walk, and the Raven flew after her. Cats were usually docile and sweet, and he'd eaten the meat of many. This cat stood out among others, with dark eyes and sharp claws. A being of prey, just like him. The Raven decided he liked the Cat. The Cat decided she liked the Raven. Then, the Cat left, presumably to do catlike things.
This drove the Raven mad. He tried to make other birds act like the Cat. He tried to find a replacement. He tried to forget the Cat. The Cat lingered in his dreams, and he wanted the Cat. The Raven had a record of getting things he wanted, and he wanted it unbroken.
On the day the Cat finally returned, the Raven played along at first as if he was meeting an old friend. However, when the Cat turned to leave again at the end of the evening, he bit her tail with his beak and commanded her to stay.
"Why should I stay?" Inquired the cat.
"I cannot follow you." Pitifully, the Raven responded. "You feed my hunger. You haunt my mind. You cannot go, cruel Cat."
"Will you keep me entertained for as long as you live?" Asked the Cat, fickle as all cats were, they enjoyed play more than anything else in the world.
"I will. Will you keep me fed and stay in my nest?" The Raven also asked.
"You can cut open my stomach and eat the insides if it pleases you," The Cat spoke, "As long as I'm entertained forever." It seemed the Cat was magical, and could tolerate such a thing, from such a cruel Raven, as long as she purred with a sated mind in the end.
The determined Raven brought the Cat back to his nest, and forever after they loved one another as only monsters are capable of.
...
However, the story does not end. The slightly plump Cat one day told the Raven she must go home for a little while, as she had spent so long with him that the few she did keep around should know before she left for good. The Raven thought this reasonable, and while it made him irate, the Raven let the cat go and waited anxiously for her return.
In a far away place, after traveling a long time, the Cat gave birth to a little kitten with tiny wings. Making a deal with a Hound, the Cat made sure that the kitten would be raised well, despite being something so bizarre that the world wasn't quite ready for her, much less the Raven. Without another word, the Cat returned to the Raven to live as she had.
... haha. Why would the Cat keep the little half-breed? Listen, child. And don't speak a word to anyone of this, or the magic of the story will be lost forever.
Understood?
Very well.
The Cat would outlive the Raven by scores of years, and understanding this, the Cat knew eventually she would be without him. As long as a trace of him still existed, the Cat would be content to finally leave the nest someday.
The Cat knew the kitten would act like a bird, talk like a bird, and hunt like a bird. In her humor and her weakness, the only thing the Cat could settle on was a living legacy, even if the kitten never met the Raven. The Cat suspected the Raven would never, ever meet the kitten and was fine with that, thanks to how far she traveled just to separate them by distance.
Miracles don't happen, so something like that would be incredibly unlikely.
Wouldn't it?