Username: irockwaffleking
Cat Name: Nkokó (means a demon or animal familiar)
Gender: gender fluid (bio male)
Rank: Oracle
Clan: Spirits of the MayombéAge: 50
Prompt:A cat had gone missing. No signs of a struggle no smell of fear just a half eaten mouse and their feather necklace left in a field. He was uncertain how to feel. There was no grief or hope without explanation for him. It was as if he went for a night time stroll and had just kept walking.
He had taken to walking at night himself. Being alone was a time so cherished he wasn’t sure what he would do if he had to stop. Walking was good for decision making. He was to name himself soon and he was uncertain. For now he went by Nzadi, his people’s word for river because he had always loved how the water ebbed and flowed. He had spent time since he was a kit swimming and kicking around in the great river that snaked around his clan.
However Nzadi this night was not drawn to the water as usual but instead to the forest.
As if he had went for a night time stroll and kept walking. He had done it once when younger. As a kit he had ran to the jungle’s edge and felt as if he should run forever. If his mother hadn’t grabbed him by the neck he might have. It wasn’t that there was anything he wanted to leave but something he wanted to meet.
Nzadi saw no harm in continuing into the jungle. He’d walk along the border where large trees and lush plants met the grassy clearing. He’d be walking not running this time. He’d be fine. The moonlight danced across the leaves in ripples like flowing water. He hadn’t thought about that day where he had wanted to keep running in a while. Why had he done it?
Swimming at night was the only thing that matched the feeling he had in that one moment. Feeling a pull with a hint of danger. But the danger was welcome. Everything was intensified and brightened as if he had been viewing the world as a fog the whole time. Maybe that was why he had enjoyed swimming. The feeling of being weightless in something much larger than yourself.
Nzadi hadn’t noticed but he was no longer on the edge of the jungle but much deeper. He knew he should turn back. Take a breath. The pull was too strong. He was no longer a kit. He could handle himself. The light this far into the jungle was scarce and the plants thick but Nzadi maneuvered with the ease of an animal that had taken this route for years. It felt like pushing through warm waters. He just kept walking. Would he find the cat that went missing? Were they both swimming through the foliage? The other cat must have known as well. He couldn’t even remember their name-everything a distant memory now- but he felt a kinship. They had known.
When Nzadi was younger he had been swimming before a storm. He has snuck out to this since it was considered dangerous but he didn’t care. As he got to the middle of the river he had suddenly been pulled under by water so ferocious he had no time to react. Under the water screams had been born dead, never living to make a sound. He had remembered the feeling of a tight chest before strong paws had pulled him up to
Breathe. He needed to breathe. All the sudden he felt choked and fearful. Something was near. Something unseeable and camouflaged. And although there was no water stopping him he could not scream. Paws sank into mud as he stood still choking on his own fear.
And then he felt it’s breath. Something close. In front. It was so cold. And then it glowed. A soft glow picked up as Nzadi remained frozen. A cat skull so clean it looked polished was now visible in the faint blue light. It’s mouth opened again to let out a thin wispy breath that traveled it ways into Nzadi’s agape mouth. It has been frozen in a silent scream.
And suddenly Nzadi was surrounded. So many cats. All eyes glowing. He looked around quickly and realized he could recognize one. It was the cat that had disappeared. What was it’s name? The cat turned slightly and revealed a large wound on its back. How did they get that wound? Hadn’t they just kept walking.
When the cat had disappeared it seemed Nzadi was the only one who noticed. Who had told him the cat has gone missing? Why had he not know them? Why was there no grieving family? Nothing. And why the large wound? How would they have gotten them? Did the cat even exist? Was he just a
Spirit. The cat had existed but long ago. He could remember the story now. A cat had been in a fight with a rabid animal and had died. He had been found too late, right next to his feathers and a half eaten mouse...
But why had he seen the cat? And why was it now staring him in the eyes.
The dead came closer and closer until it was just the two. And then it climbed inside Nzadi’s mouth.
Two beings in one skin. He could hear a faint whispering and then a voice.
can you hear me
yes
i’m sorry
for what?
for this. but we need you. you’re one of us. You need to tell my-And then Nzadi felt as if the spirit of the cat had been pulled out of him only for more and more try to get to him. Each were wailing a noise so high pitched it sounded like the wind in a storm. Each had something they needed. A relative to speak to, just five minutes to be alive again, to swim, to run.
The spirits started arguing amongst themselves. Why should the other get to go first? The one who had died most recently? Longest ago? Most tragic death.
Nzadi took his opportunity and ran. No longer did he maneuver through the jungle with skill but instead he crashed and ran. He could hear the whistling of the spirits behind him but he sprinted. He couldn’t breath he was beyond exhausted but he needed to continue. He couldn’t stop. Were they behind him? Was that a noise next to him? How far had he walked?! Was this the right direction?
And then he had burst out into the clearing. It felt like he had just emerged from the crashing dark waters. He didn’t slow however, he didn’t know if they would follow. For the first time Nzadi allowed himself to look back.
And there he saw them. Multiple cats he could not name with wounds of pale skin. They called for him. And that’s when he noticed the change. Some cats were missing parts they hadn’t been missing before....
He had them. The spirits had moved so quickly through him they had left pieces behind. Tails that were not his, an eye that he assumed came from the cat missing one across the way...
And the scars. Some of their wounds had transferred but displayed as glowing lines. He had escaped but forever would bear their mark. The rush of a raging river no longer seemed appealing. And he couldn’t quite shake the urge to just start walking and not stop.
