Felanthroid

by Zytharros

The Man-Cat Versus the Ferret

I woke to the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning. I wasn't startled. In fact, I felt... well, I felt interesting. Like two consciousnesses at the start of a Vulcan mind meld. It was a little headache, coupled with the distinct feeling of having two souls. Arm that with a sledgehammer and a few Photon torpedoes and suddenly I felt like a cocky cat-man. I had it all. I could not tell where Zytharros ended and Opal began. Well, even that's not totally true.

Okay, imagine if you will a peanut. The shell is my body. The nuts within are the brain. That weird fragile brown matter that covers the inside of the shell is the link between the two consciousnesses.

Yet not.

I... I'm lost, yet I've never been better. Cat. Man. The lines are blurred. It seems as if I'm both Zytharros and Opal all at once, yet still two distinct individals.

I never thought I would get a glimpse at the perspective of the Triune God from the other side. No wonder He never included a description in the Bible - I was having a difficult time at this game with just two of us, and I was certain I... and I were losing at describing the phenomenon happening within this cat shape. It... it was as magical as it was frightening. As maddening as it was satiating. At once, it was restless and peaceful.

Opal was under the same awe. Things we once considered our own were no more. She felt defeated and victorious. Satiated and hungry. Harmonious and chaotic. She was revelling in this new sensation just as I was.

It was violating and securing.

I just...

...

Our reverie was broken by a snort. With a jump, we realized someone was bringing the horses in. We approached the door and watched for a brief second.

Pain.

The world spun.

And I was out in the rain, spinning in a circle and preparing to fight to the death.

The ferret had found me, and he looked hungry.

Frick...

I looked at the hideousness of my opponent. It looked like a giant rat. Half its teeth were missing. The other half were yellowed and rotten. Random flecks of meat and plant matter speckled themselves throughout the orifice. The smell was of death, as if he had just completed a fresh kill an hour or two ago.

"Shit," I muttered.

Opal managed a dry chuckle as we circled. "My sentiments exactly."

The ferret's chin dripped thick with saliva, and an almost serpentine tongue washed flecks of food clear of the dentistry. We both confirmed there was nothing but death in his eyes when Opal glared hard into them. The ferret leapt for me. I rolled out of the way. Opal took control of a paw and struck. A snarl of pain erupted from the ferret sailing clear over us, and a spray of crimson life splattered all over our pristine fur. The large rodent landed on all fours, whirlex around and leapt again. I rolled and, with a quick glance, ensured my tail sailed straight for his brain pan. I tried righting myself when a tear of pain swept my legs from under my body and a set of overpowering teeth clamped onto and pierced my flanks. I hissed and tried to fight, but it was useless. The ferret pulled on my body while stepping on my tail. I howled as the pain electrocuted my spine. In seconds I was a flailing fury of claws and teeth again. Opal matched my ferocity. We scratched a good-sized gash in the side of the ferret's face, slashing an eye in half in the process. This caused the ferret to drop us and dart. He barrelled headlong into a pile of timbers used for fencing. He flipped twice and disappeared into the brambles at the back of the barn.

I lay there, breathing, bleeding and saying thanks to God and Opal for surviving. This had been my first near-death experience. I had almost died. I just... it... i-it...

"It's okay."

Opal?

"If you have to, let it out."

I sniffled. "No. I'll... I'm good."

Opal remained silent. The smell told me she didn't believe me. I didn't care. Let her. I just wanted to get somewhere warm and comfortable so I could get over... this. When we began moving, I barely registered the change. Somewhere in the distance, Opal exchanged words with someone in the barn. We then wound up lying down on a hay bale.

From there, it was a blur.

And after a temper tantrum, I fell into the blissful peace of sleep.

Thank God there were no nightmares of imminent ferret death that night.

Comments

[Dawn Darkling]

Well that was short. Not complaining, mind you.