"Myeeeew…"I"m usually not the kind of person who "regrets" things.
"Nyeew…"
"Nyaaa…"
But in "this" situation?
I wonder which brain cells weren"t active when I decided to reincarnate.
"Me- Myeeew…"
I suppose being suddenly thrust into limbo upon death would explain my lack of foresight, but it still hurt my pride to miss some pretty significant details.
Like "where" I could reincarnate in that world, or what race I could become. The benefits to each race, and more information about the world I would be sent to.
Because of my carelessness, I was now laying on a cold, stone ground, covered in my own waste. The air was rank, smelling like burned manure and a stinging must that was more than likely due to my own, or other"s, p.i.s.s. It has been like this since I came to, and it hasn"t changed over the few months of my existence.
The walls were enclosed in stone, with the only opening looking like the mouth of a cave held shut with iron bars that I would be able to squeeze through, if not for my inability to move.
If I had been a bit more careful, I could"ve avoided my current predicament.
"Nya!"
Perhaps, I wouldn"t be tormented by the incessant meowing of my siblings.
…
Yes, siblings.
Including myself, there were four of us in this litter of cats, or something akin to that, anyway. Our race was a strange mix of cat-human hybrid with our human looks being more dominant. The most notable things about us were the feline ears, tail, eyes, and slightly longer nails. From that description, you"d think we were ugly little things, but I"d say we were quite adorable according to earth standards.
"Nyeeeew…"
Their fur was an iron gray with an almost luminescent hue of blue stripes and bright green eyes; eyes that glowed hauntingly in the dark with vertically slit pupils, characteristic to the domestic felines back home. I was a bit startled when I was able to open my eyes and having that be my first visual experience in the new world.
That, and seeing my mother.
Speaking of which, she"d been gone for a while now.
The poor cat-woman couldn"t catch a break even after giving birth, let alone the few months that have pa.s.sed since then.
Not that I truly care, but, unfortunately, this infant body and my siblings were craving for food.
Milk.
Sustenance.
Anything, really, as long as it stopped the audible torture my kin were forcing onto me and stomach pangs I was experiencing.
I would be crying too if I didn"t possess the thought process of a 29 year-old. I"d feel pathetic mewling for milk, so I just waited in silence.
*CLANG*
"Ugh, disgusting! I don"t get paid enough for this s.h.i.t."
All of our attention turned towards the now opened prison bars. Before us was generic guard A who wore a dark, leather style armor. He pinched his nose, obviously perturbed by the stench of p.i.s.s and feces we laid in.
Newborns don"t really have the concept of "holding back" your bladder. Even if they did, there was nothing they could do to stop it; myself included, to my utter humiliation. We just weren"t physically capable yet, and quite frankly, there was no bathroom.
I suppose that would be too much of a luxury for our kind.
"d.a.m.n beasts…can"t believe you had quadruplets," he spoke, as a familiar figure approached the cell. "You"re lucky they"re important merchandise, otherwise you"d still be in the mines."
If we were so important, why were we still in this dump? I could smell this bigot"s racism through all the s.h.i.t and mold that plagued the cell.
When she first walked by the gate, I could see a certain despondence in her body language, something I"ve grown used to over time. Her shoulders sagged and her ears were drooped to the sides. Her lips were torn and dry from clear dehydration, and the bags under her eyes showed a fatigue I"d never seen even in my previous life.
…it"s a shame, really.
I have the feeling she would be beautiful under different circ.u.mstances, but perhaps that is a bit of bias on my part. I generally preferred cats over dogs, but not to an obsessive extent. They ran their own show, and I appreciated that trait of theirs.
Different from my siblings, and more like myself, she had a mix of pink and purple colored fur with eerie blue-green eyes. Ignoring the soot and muck on her face, gentle features could be seen. Her arms had scattered scars and burns, but the few unmarred sections of flesh seemed to glow a pale l.u.s.ter from the moonlight.
I suppose my siblings take more after our father, whoever that may be; I wish I had too. I doubt many people would take me seriously with cotton-candy fur.
Though that won"t be an issue in the end…
Because I will make them.
"…"
Her depressed demeanor continued, until she had us in her sights. It was faint, but a smile quirked onto her face for a moment before the guard noticed.
He shoved her into the cell, clearly annoyed by her faintly happy expression; forcing her to stumble and land in a puddle of urine.
…my apologies, ma.
"Don"t you f.u.c.kin" smile at me, slave! Once they don"t need you anymore, you better believe I"ll whip you into shape again."
"…"
I admired her tenacity a bit.
Even when she was face first in defecation, she still held a smile as she looked on at us, her children. A glimmer of hope and pride shone in her eyes as she picked herself back up to reach us.
I wonder how long that will last.
Her hope, that is.
It never usually does when the right cards are in play. It takes a calculated measure of their boundaries and breaking points that many find impossible to do.
That"s not the case for me, but…
I may be sick, but I do believe in obligation to a certain extent. I won"t treat her badly, considering I need her. I even feel a strange liking toward her.
Was it instincts? Possessiveness?
I wasn"t too sure, in all honesty. Having a mother and being a cat-child were new experiences for me, so I decided to go with the flow.
"Come, come to mama kitties." She said in her most gentle tone while wiping off the stool still on her body with a rag she"d always keep on hand.
She reached out to me first, cradling me to her chest as she slipped her worn tunic down until her breast was lightly revealed.
She pressed my head softly and buried my mouth onto her peak, caressing my ears as she invited me to suckle and sate my hunger. It was an enlightening experience, to be cared for by a parent.
I saw why many people loved their parents so much in that moment. I had done nothing for her, besides existing, yet the positive emotions she felt toward me were unconditional.
It makes me feel weird…so I bit her.
"Ah," She groaned, "Not so hard, Chess. Save some for you brothers and sister."
What an awful name she gave me: Chess. Very feminine, while I was clearly male. It didn"t help that the color tone of my fur was the same as hers.
And why did I have to care for my siblings? I felt nothing for them, in all honesty, outside of annoyance.
But, I guess trying to have a "family" this time around wouldn"t be a bad change of pace.
"Hah~, you"re a naughty one, aren"t you?"
Thought she sighed and shook her head, she didn"t seem annoyed in the least. If anything, she was more amused by my antics and smiled further.
It"s a good thing the guard decided to leave.
"Nyaaaaa…"
"Myaoooow…"
The meowing continued as they saw their elder brother receive what they desired. It was a bit obvious that she favored me a bit more than the others, though the reason was unclear.
I was always held first and held the tightest in her embrace.
"Alright now," she said, patting my back to get me to let go, as usual.
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"It"s the others" turn, kit."
I latched on for as long as possible, but the strength of an infant wasn"t enough as she pulled me away forcefully, albeit a bit painfully on her end.
She grimaced as her areola began to redden a bit with an indent of my canines present.
She pouted, "Don"t be so greedy, Chess. You"re the eldest, so I"ll need your help to care for your family, ok?"
Did she really think a child would understand her words?
I was a different case, sure, but she couldn"t have known that.
"Someday, little ones, we"ll be able to leave here. I"ll find a way to get you out of here."
I watched her as she began a monologue etched with sorrow, as she held my sister, Mable, for her feeding. An aura of melancholy began to surround her as she continued, "I don"t know how, but I"ll make it happen. You shouldn"t be kept in this cesspit."
As she fed her, I could see tears begin to form in corner of her eyes.
"You deserve better than this…this…" she spoke, voice trembling as she bit into her lip. Her eyes squinting as her brows furrowed into a "V" as she spat, "This MENAGERIE, all for those d.a.m.ned humans" cruel pleasure."
Menagerie…
That would explain our somewhat exotic looks. I don"t know too much about fantasy worlds, but our appearances did seem a tad bit majestic, if it were not for the grime, grease, and body waste that littered our bodies, and otherwise beautiful characteristics.
"I"ll end them…for you, my darlings."
Her tears began to spill off her cheeks and splash onto her daughter"s face.
Poor Mable began to cry at the cold sensation that continually smacked onto her.
"Shh -shhhh, I"m sorry, mama didn"t mean to make you sad, Mable. Mama just got carried away, that"s all."
…
Something told me "Mama" wasn"t all there in the sanity department.
As expected of my mother.
She laughed and made faces in an effort to slow the crying, which worked. Soon enough, Mable was meowing in content, impressed with our mother"s endeavors.
"That"s my girl. I know you"ll grow to be tough like mama," She cooed, "You"ll become strong and rip the intestines right out of those nasty humans, won"t you~. Won"t You~~."
Are these the kinds of things mothers say to their children?
I doubt that.
Something told me our family would be a weird one, to say the least.
I imagine her words would be rather adorable, if her expression wasn"t so demented. Then again, I have no idea of what kinds of things she experienced to reach such a low point.
Physical torture was obvious to see, but it takes more than that to damage the mind. I would know, as a seasoned veteran.
She must"ve experienced some hardcore trauma to her mental psyche to a horrific extent, judging by the way she was acting out.
*Thump*
I felt a flash of heat swell in my chest and linger in my head, but it pa.s.sed as quickly as it came.
It was…an obscure, kind of feeling. Something I never felt before.
Hm…
How curious.