@warringpeace for Lokitty
Whitehaven, on the coast of Cumbria, was no stranger to bad weather. The storm raged, lightning zig-zagging across the black sky. Rain lashed against buildings and no one was outside unless they had to be. The small cottage on the outskirts of town had buckled down for the storm, the windows closed tight against the wind and rain, in the fireplace the flames danced. While there was but one human in the cottage, there were four cats, all laying in various states around the fireplace on the throw carpet.
The one in charge was a petite female with pitch black fur, Kalapana, who had claimed the squishy armchair. Stretched out directly in front of the flames and warming his tummy was a rather hefty light-colored ginger named Momo. Tiggy, another small female tabby, was curled up on a pouf. Finally, there was the majestic Thran, a silvery-white with shocking blue eyes, who was stretched out on the sofa.
Their human mom was curled up under a throw blanket on a loveseat in the sunroom. Her head was tilted back and she was staring up through the glass roof toward the sky. There was something about a thunderstorm that Hokulani Hewahewa-Crawford enjoyed. Perhaps it was the chaos of it all, the raw, natural energy. Snuggled under her blanket in leggings and an oversized sweater, she was quite comfortable.
At least until she felt it.
Hoku always had an affinity for animals, for all of nature, since she was a child. She could harness the elements, find the healing herbs in a forest without really looking, and “speak” to animals. She stood, bare feet moving to the front door of the house immediately, tossing open the door. Despite the awning, rain soaked her feet and up her legs immediately. The cats had felt it as well. Distress. The need for help. Desperation.
“Stay.” Then she’s out in the pounding rain, immediately soaked through to the bone. It was freezing, lightening whipping across the sky. She follows the feeling until she sees it. A cat, huddled under a bush in the far corner of her garden. With little regard for herself, her knees hit the mud the same time her mind reaches out to the animal’s.
Hoku frowned, pausing for a split second. The brainwaves of an animal were different from those of a human’s. This cat’s was closer to a human’s, yet not quite; it was also different than an animal’s. She had no more time to contemplate this oddity as the bush whipped around in the wind, branches scratching her hands and face. Despite the cat’s weak protests, she managed to gather it in her arms and hurried back into the cottage, the door slamming shut behind her without her touching it.
She shooed the other cats away as she set about examining the newest feline. He (and it was definitely a male) was much larger than she had first realized. The fur around his neck was much thinner than the rest of his body, and what she could see if his skin under the fur was badly bruised.
For just a moment, her eyes met the cat’s; his eyes were a vivid forest green holding shadows and secrets and unimaginable pain. More than that, there was an intelligence not seen in an animal normally. She gently stroked him. “Don’t worry, my darling. You’re safe now. I’ll take care of you.”
The tricky part was getting him clean as he was already soaking wet and cold, but she managed it somehow. She got him dry and set to work on healing his neck; it was slow going as healing took a large amount of energy and she did not want to make a mistake. Once she was satisfied that she did what she could for him, she got a basket and laid it out with a pillow and then a soft blanket. She swaddled him in the basket before setting it in front of the fireplace.
She ordered Kalapana to watch over their new friend and keep the others away for the time being. Then she was stripping, sopping wet clothing hitting the tiled bathroom floor as she hopped in the shower. As much as she wanted to linger in the steaming water, she didn’t. She dried and got dressed in an oversized tee shirt, a towel-turban wrapped around her hair on her head. She sat down beside the basket and readied herself for a long night.
