The Ginger Cat | Rise #1800 | DNP

[I Like Bees]

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓖𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻 𝓒𝓪𝓽




Username;; I Like Bees
Cat Name;; Gingerblossom || Gender;; Female
Age;; 19 Moons || Clan;; PetalClan
Rank;; Medicine Cat

Introduction || Part I || Part II || Extras

Entry for Rise #1800 || Fonts from here

[I Like Bees]

Introduction

It was a cold winter day when I first encountered the ginger cat. Tufts of fur such as myself may not be able to sense temperature, but I most certainly could take notice of the piles of crisp, white snow covering the ground.

It had been exactly three and a half days since my former host -- an old tom cat named Coal -- had rubbed me off onto the tree trunk. Losing my life-long companion didn't bother me much; he had never bothered to groom me properly, and I always seemed to end up covered in mud.

When I first caught sight of the ginger cat, I remember thinking that it was odd, a kittypet out walking at the edge of the forest in such cold weather. Shouldn't it be at home, keeping its dainty little paws warm by the fire? The noonday sun was doing little to melt the snow, which made it unlikely it was warming the outdoors any for the ginger kittypet.

As luck would have it, the ginger cat leapt up into my own tree, right on to the branch in front of me. Oddly, she took immediate note of me. Cats very rarely take notice of their own or others' lost fur, so this was a surprise.

The ginger cat smiled. "Nice to meet you, little tuft of fur. Do you mind if I sit here awhile?"

I didn't mind at all -- she seemed like a very pleasant cat -- but I didn't exactly have a way to communicate that. I don't think the ginger cat was actually looking for permission, though, as she sat down a moment after asking the question.

The she-cat sighed, her gaze turned towards the forest of snow-covered skeleton trees. "Aren't they beautiful?" she asked. I supposed they were; the early morning sun was glistening off of the snow at just the right angle to make everything glow brightly. I would have nodded in reply -- if I could.

"Sometimes, I wonder what life would be like. Out there, I mean." The ginger cat gestured to the woods with her tail. We sat on the branch together for quite some time, neither of us saying a work. Not that I could say a word, anyways.

Soon -- too soon -- the she-cat seemed to snap out of her trance. "Well," she meowed. "I should probably be going. My housefolk might get worried. Thanks for letting me sit here." The ginger cat smiled, then seemed to hesitate. "Would it be alright if I... came back? You seem like a good listener, and I could really use one of those."

I would have agree fervently if I could, but, as usual, I remained in place, boneless and unmoving. The she-cat smiled, almost as though she could sense my agreement. "Thanks," she mewed happily. She began moving towards the trunk of the tree, but hesitated again.

"If I'm going to come back to talk to you," she explained. "I should probably ask your name."

A name? I thought to myself. I had never considered giving myself a name, and old Coal certainly hadn't either. I was merely a stray tuft of lost fur, unimportant and insignificant. I wasn't something that was named.

"You don't have a name?" she asked. "I suppose I'll have to give you one then." The ginger cat sat back down, staring up into the sky in thought. I waited, and waited. Though it barely took more than a minute, the idea of being given a name seemed to slow time down until it barely moved at all.

"Soot." The she-cat nodded, smiling at her genius idea. "Because you look like a little smudge of soot on the bark."

I smiled back -- mentally, of course -- and the ginger cat climbed down the tree and left.

The ginger cat only visited me twice more, yet she became my best friend. Honestly, however... she really didn't have any competition. Tufts of fur don't get out much.

[I Like Bees]

Part I

It had been moons since I had encountered the ginger cat and been given a name. Soot. It was a wonderful name, very noble and dignified if you ask me.

It was now officially the beginning of spring: the season of kittens and flowers. Although I had seen many kittens -- both wild and kittypets -- frolicking in the grass around my tree, I hadn't yet caught sight of the ginger she-cat again. I missed her, which was an odd feeling. I had never missed something before; there had simply never been anything to miss.

I was just beginning to tune out the world -- the fur tuft equivalent of sleeping -- when I saw a flash of ginger. She was back! In moments, the she-cat had climbed up to my branch.

"Hello, Soot," she meowed. Hearing my new name aloud made it sound even more dignified than it did when said mentally. I mentally greeted her in return; she might not be able to hear me, but I felt... polite to do so.

The she-cat settled down on the branch, facing me with her head turned towards the forest. She sighed. "I would have come back sooner," she started, "but my Twolegs locked me inside." Her voice lowered to a growl as she muttered the last few words. I was shocked. Humans weren't supposed to trap their outdoor cats inside!

"They were worried about me being too cold during winter? Or something?" She rested her head on her paws, eyes looked up at me. "I don't understand why they couldn't simply trust me to protect myself. It was miserable inside. Too warm, too small, and my housefolk were never there.

"They weren't there, Soot! Five days out of every seven, they just weren't there! I don't know where the foolish humans ran off to, but I never had anyone to talk to or play with, like I did back in my old home." She paused to sigh again. "I missed being outside, with other cats, and the birds.. and you.

"I know I've only ever talked to you once, but you really are an amazing listener." I practically glowed with pride at that statement. Of course, I didn't actually glow. I don't think that even truly living things can do that.

"I tried pulling out my own fur and talking to it." The ginger cat paused to laugh slightly at the ridiculousness of that. "I think being locked inside drove me a little mad."

Suddenly, the ginger cat froze. She had been still before, but now the slight movements of her tail and ears had stopped. She peered over the edge of the branch, leaving me forgotten. A moment later, she was flying towards the ground. I heard a short scuffle, followed by the sound of claws on tree bark as she pulled herself back into the tree.

"Sorry; I really thought I'd catch that mouse. I've seen so many of them through the windows recently... I thought studying their behavior might let me figure out how to catch them. I guess not."

We sat there in silence for awhile, gazing out at the forest yet again. This time, however, the forest was slowly coming back to life, with green leaves sprouting from the previously bare branches of the trees. "I wish I lived in the forest. No housefolk, locking me inside. No crunchy, gross pebbles of food. The forest would be amazing."

I wanted to ask her why she didn't simply move to the forest. Surely there would be a group of cats out there to take her in.

"I think I'll run away. Not now, of course; my housefolk deserve one more chance, at least. If life doesn't improve, I don't want to stay with them any longer." I agreed fully, but had no way to communicate that to her. As usual, the ginger cat seemed to sense my thoughts.

"I'm glad you agree," she meowed, smiling slightly. The she-cat stood up, stretching. "I should probably go now. If I worry my housefolk too much, they might.. lock me in again."

The ginger cat meowed a quick goodbye, then took off towards home. I hoped desperately that I'd see her again soon.

[I Like Bees]

Part II

"Soot! Soot, you won't believe what happened!" I heard the ginger cat well before I caught sight of her. She was up the tree and sitting on my branch as quick as the wind. What is it? I thought.

"A dream! I had a dream! Not a normal dream, about chasing a mouse or something like that, but a real, detailed, important dream!" She continued talking about how different it had been from a regular dream, managing to say absolutely nothing with hundreds of words. When it got a bit much, I decided to test her ability to interpret my thoughts again. What happened in the dream?

The ginger she-cat took a moment to compose herself. When she had calmed down, she began. "The dream began in a field, filling to the brim with flowers of every shade of every color imaginable. It was a wonderful sight, and I was walking through the field, sniffing the blossoms and watching the bees buzz around.

"Suddenly, huge, dark storm clouds started rolling in. I panicked, and began running away from the storm. I ran across the field, over a range of hills, and across a forest, passing a bunch of landmarks I won't bother mentioning, until finally.. I ended up here. I climbed up this very tree, and there you were."

Do you think the dream was telling you something? I thought, more sure than ever that this she-cat somehow could actually understand me.

"Well, yes; I was actually just getting to that part. I said, 'Hello, Soot,' and you replied back with, 'Ginger.' Which is funny, because now that I'm thinking about it.. I've never actually told you my name."

If I were a human, and I had been drinking something right then, I would have spit it out in the ginger cat's face in absolute shock. The cat I had been calling "the ginger cat" was actually named Ginger?!

"Anyways," Ginger continued, either choosing to ignore my comment or unable to interpret thoughts I didn't direct towards her, "you started talking it this weird, deep voice. 'Ginger,' you said, 'follow the path you saw in your dream. Find the petals, and bring them healing.' Weird, right?"

Well, your dream certainly told you something. Very directly, too.

Ginger nodded. "What do you think? Should I listen to a dream?" She paused for a split second, barely giving me time to think. "What am I saying? It was just a dream; I shouldn't run off because of a dream."

I was sure exactly what to say to that, until a phrase I had heard said by Coal once popped into my head. Follow your heart, Ginger, I thought.

She spent a few moments thinking, staring off into the forest as she had every other visit. Finally, "I'm going." I mentally smiled.

"And you're coming with me."

That won't work; I'll just fall apart. The bark is the only thing keeping me together right now, I warned.

"I'll be right back," Ginger responded, taking off in the direction of her house. A short while later, she returned with an odd, flattened-log-shaped object. She scratched and bit at it, until eventually the top of it fell off. I mentally frowned. That thing had feelings too.

"Sorry," Ginger muttered, both to me and to the strange object. Carefully, she gripped the object in her mouth, tilted her head, and squeezed a strange, semi-clear liquid onto my lower half.

What on earth are you doing? I asked, mildly concerned.

"Gluing you together. I saw my housefolk do it when I broke my favorite mouse toy."

That made no sense at all. How was a sticky liquid going to -- oh. Stickiness. Are you sure it won't.. glue.. me to the tree?

"Positive," Ginger replied. "I'll just peel the glue off of the tree. You'll be fine."

We waited together on the tree, Ginger pacing back and forth, waiting impatiently for the glue to dry, while I remained stuck in my usual spot, worrying incessantly that I would be stuck to this tree forever. Halfway through the drying process, Ginger returned the glue to her house; it was the item's home, after all.

At long last, Ginger announced that the glue was dry. It took awhile, but she managed to peel the glue off of the tree, and I was free! Free to travel the world -- provided Ginger was willing to carry me there.

Ginger smiled down at me. "Alright; let's go find that field, Soot!" She gently picked me up in her mouth, then leapt out of the tree, charging towards the forest -- towards our destiny.

[I Like Bees]

Extras:

Notes:

- Soot is passed down from medicine cat to medicine cat for moons to come in PetalClan.
- All medicine cats are taught to pay attention to their surroundings and respect every aspect of their environment. The best of the best eventually are able to understand Soot as Gingerblossom did.
- Kittens who are able to understand Soot are very, very likely candidates for the role of medicine cat.


- Gingerblossom is taught various herbs and remedies by a StarClan cat who visits her in her dreams.
- Soot is usually kept in the medicine cat den so Gingerblossom doesn't accidentally lose him, but the two enjoy going on walks in the mornings and evenings. This confuses Gingerblossom's Clanmates immensely.
- Occasionally, Gingerblossom forgets that her Clanmates can't hear Soot, and includes him in conversations with other cats

i.e. Sorrelstar: "Hi, Gingerblossom; how's it going?" | Gingerblossom: "Great; Soot and I just got back from a walk. Tell Sorrelstar about the flower we saw, Soot."
- One of the kittens gets angry at Gingerblossom for hurting them while removing a bee stinger, and steals and hides Soot in retribution. Kitten is punished and the Clan is given a lecture about respecting Gingerblossom's unique habits.

[I Like Bees]

Honesty post; a final post so that any edits to the last post are shown.