Username;; Ladyskittels
Cat Name;; Timbersoul
Gender;; Tom
Age;; 46 moons
Clan;; Glacial Blizzard ClanRank;; Member
Prompt;; (759 / 750 words)
"Please help me...." A far away voice whispered in the head of the cinnamon tom that had been previously keeping a watchful eye over a promising-looking meal. He recognized it, but at the same time it was different than those he had heard before. It was definitely not a voice from anyone nearby; at least no one
living.
"I beg of you," the voice pleaded, seeming more desperate than before. "Please help me."
Timbersoul sighed and decided to ignore his rumbling stomach for now. It was definitely the voice of a spirit, although whether this spirit was recently passed or had just recently had something urgent come up with a living loved one, he was unsure. The desperation that radiated from the voice was the same as many of those troubled spirits he had heard before; he was born with a natural gift.
A peculiar gift, a gift that isolated the tom from many cats. Timbersoul possessed the gift to communicate with spirits and help them ease their troubles so they could finally rest in peace. Like so many times before, this spirit beckoned him to their aid, as a gift as peculiar as his was quite rare and not many spirits were able to find someone who could help them, let alone see or hear them.
The cinnamon colored tom began the long journey of the spirit voice guiding him that ended with a gruesome scene; a large pile of burned remains of a twoleg homestead. As the tom drew nearer to the rubble, he was sure he saw the remains of whichever spirit had been contacting him, next to the burned remains of several candles and other twoleg items that were undecipherable among the soot and ash.
"I'm here," Timbersoul said aloud, his voice calm and soothing. "Can you tell me who you are?"
At first nothing happened but a few moments later, the voice came again, a bit stronger than before. "You can hear me?" It asked in the tom's head once again.
"Yes," he replied. "Please, tell me what happened to you so I can help." The tom closed his eyes and lowered his head to show he meant no harm.
"My name is Patrice. This used to be my home, before the fire came and took it all from us. There were the five of us that lived here, myself, my mate Pita, and the twolegs. There were three until their daughter didn't come home one night. The two others were very sad after that; were never the same."
Timbersoul opened his eyes to find the ghostly outline of a black and white shorthaired female cat standing opposite him. She appeared to be watching him intently, as if she were just as fascinated with him as he was of her and her story. "What happened after that?" He asked, wanting to hear more.
Patrice circled a spot next to her remains before she sat. "Pita and I learned of what happened to her days later. She had died in a car accident coming home one night. It broke her mother and father; they were never the same after the news of her death came back. They tried so hard to come to terms with it, and eventually were able to move on enough to resume a life that resembled how it was before. Days came and went without incident until that day..." Her voice trailed off again as she turned her attention toward the bones on the floor.
"What happened on that day?" Timbersoul asked in a soft voice as he joined her in looking at her own remains. "I know it's hard to talk about, but you need to tell me.... I can help you."
He took a breath as Patrice's piercing green eyes turned on him suddenly. Not wanting to make her angry, he looked down again. "That was the last day of my life; the day they brought home that weird-looking piece of wood and when the candle tipped over. Flames were everywhere; soon the whole house was in flames. I couldn't get out, although everyone else was able to. I feel my mate's pain everyday. I need him to know that I'm okay, even though I'm gone I'm still waiting to be with him."
With that, the tom placed some of Patrice's remains in a small pouch he found in the rubble and wore them around his neck, promising her he would find her mate. She still travels with him, unable to find peace until her mate is found.