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blackbuffet's drabble request
Apr. 20th, 2006 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
secret_historyI don't know if I understood this one properly. He requested a cat story wherein the cat character was based on him. So, I tried to imagine him as a cat, and this is what came out of it.
"Dear Lord, that is one hell of a big cat!"
It was certainly not an understatement: the cat was huge, and its long thick fur served only to enhance the effect. Lying down as it was, it was difficult to gauge its exact size, but it dwarfed the large wicker chair in which it was sprawled, eyes closed, the tip of the tail twitching every so often which was the only indication that it might not be as soundly asleep as it seemed.
"It has to be at least twenty-five pounds. Do you think it's a Maine Coon?"
"Don't be stupid. Maine Coons aren't black."
"I thought they came in all colours."
"You thought wrong."
A woman pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the veranda. "BB, there you are!" she reached over to pet the cat. "Have you been out here all this time?"
John went up to the fence and leaned over it. "Excuse me, ma'am, but may I ask what kind of cat that is? I've never seen one so big!"
The woman looked up, startled, then smiled. "BB? I have no idea. He came to us as a kitten from the SPCA. He's just a street rat, aren't you?" this last was to the cat, which had turned over on its back in order to get its belly scratched.
John smiled in return. "What does BB stand for?"
"Well, at first it was short for 'Bébé,' since he was such a scrawny kitten, but hew grew so much that we changed it to BB. Now it means anything you can think of, but I like to think of him as Big Black. Sometimes I call him 'BBC' for fun. You know, like 'Big Black Cat.'"
The cat rose suddenly, and it was like seeing a sleeping giant awake. BB positively loomed on the veranda, gazing impassively at John with indifferent yellow-green eyes that seemed to suggest that he would have no qualms tearing out John's throat if he felt like it. There was nothing overtly hostile in the cat's manner, simply the assurance that it was large and strong and more than capable of taking on anything the world threw at it. It stretched slowly, arching its spine, making the woman seem puny standing next to it, and flexing claws that looked wickedly long and sharp against the wicker chair.
"Well, I have to go in now," the woman said. "It was nice meeting you. Come on, BB," she scooped the cat unceremoniously into her arms, holding it so that all four paws stuck up in the air, its tail drooping disconsolately over her arm.
"Good-bye."
John waited until they were inside, uncomfortably aware of BB's unsettling eyes watching him until they disappeared behind the door. He turned away abruptly, breaking the spell.
"Okay, let's go."
"Dear Lord, that is one hell of a big cat!"
It was certainly not an understatement: the cat was huge, and its long thick fur served only to enhance the effect. Lying down as it was, it was difficult to gauge its exact size, but it dwarfed the large wicker chair in which it was sprawled, eyes closed, the tip of the tail twitching every so often which was the only indication that it might not be as soundly asleep as it seemed.
"It has to be at least twenty-five pounds. Do you think it's a Maine Coon?"
"Don't be stupid. Maine Coons aren't black."
"I thought they came in all colours."
"You thought wrong."
A woman pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the veranda. "BB, there you are!" she reached over to pet the cat. "Have you been out here all this time?"
John went up to the fence and leaned over it. "Excuse me, ma'am, but may I ask what kind of cat that is? I've never seen one so big!"
The woman looked up, startled, then smiled. "BB? I have no idea. He came to us as a kitten from the SPCA. He's just a street rat, aren't you?" this last was to the cat, which had turned over on its back in order to get its belly scratched.
John smiled in return. "What does BB stand for?"
"Well, at first it was short for 'Bébé,' since he was such a scrawny kitten, but hew grew so much that we changed it to BB. Now it means anything you can think of, but I like to think of him as Big Black. Sometimes I call him 'BBC' for fun. You know, like 'Big Black Cat.'"
The cat rose suddenly, and it was like seeing a sleeping giant awake. BB positively loomed on the veranda, gazing impassively at John with indifferent yellow-green eyes that seemed to suggest that he would have no qualms tearing out John's throat if he felt like it. There was nothing overtly hostile in the cat's manner, simply the assurance that it was large and strong and more than capable of taking on anything the world threw at it. It stretched slowly, arching its spine, making the woman seem puny standing next to it, and flexing claws that looked wickedly long and sharp against the wicker chair.
"Well, I have to go in now," the woman said. "It was nice meeting you. Come on, BB," she scooped the cat unceremoniously into her arms, holding it so that all four paws stuck up in the air, its tail drooping disconsolately over her arm.
"Good-bye."
John waited until they were inside, uncomfortably aware of BB's unsettling eyes watching him until they disappeared behind the door. He turned away abruptly, breaking the spell.
"Okay, let's go."
