I'm back...wow, talk about scary. Anyhow, this is a really weird fanfic piece about Faithful/Pounce. I came up with it out of the blue and my muse wouldn't shut up until I wrote it down. I know it sucks, but forgive me!

Story: What is Freedom?

Author: Dark Unicorn Lurking © 2008

Characters: Faithful/Pounce

Summary: What he wanted to do and what he had to do were two very different things. Freedom was a fairy tale in his world. Faithful/Pounce reflects on his servitude to the great gods.

Disclaimer: Tammy's...all of it...except for the wierdness i call my "idea"


There was an increasing chasm between what he had to do and what he wanted to do

There was an increasing chasm between what he had to do and what he wanted to do. He wanted to live his mortal life out instead of sacrificing his life at the Goddess's whim—but he had to or be banished to Chaos. He wanted to remember what it was like to feel for a companion, even if just hate, rather than the cold emptiness he had come to know. He wanted to know the meaning of freedom, instead of being enslaved to the gods. But most of all, he wanted to see what it was like to live without an assigned destiny.

His true master was the Great Goddess, as beautiful as she was spiteful. She hid behind her veils as the Maiden in order to pretend to be caring to the mortals who would worship her vain ego. He hated her with a passion but he was bound to her in both blood and soul, something not even Mithros could break. He was a slave, not some divine hero that the humans believed he was. He did not deserve their worship—he deserved disgust, fear, and perhaps even pity.

He was a messenger, an avenger, a glimmer of hope. He was a wandering immortal, destined to roam the mortal world at intervals and influence it. His story cropped up whenever the "Cat" star constellation disappeared from the sky—something that should be obvious to the mortals he influenced but never was. He was Pounce, Faithful, Shadow, and so many other names. They never once noticed the chain-like star patterns that held that constellation in the sky.

The purple eyes were his giveaway, showing the true nature of his feline form. That form, as beautiful as it was to others, was a prison to him. He could not wander the night sky but was instead locked into one pathetic shape and deemed lowly enough to influence the mortals as the Goddess commanded.

But there were the times when his immortal heart of stone softened towards his chosen companion. It was funny, looking back. When he had been Pounce, he was the companion of the however many times great-grandmother of the husband of his other "master."

As Faithful, he had come closest to forsaking the Goddess's destiny for that life. He had been unwilling at first, snarling at the Great Gods but had conceded in the end, realizing he had no choice. But with Alanna he had learned the true meaning of freedom. He learned what it was like to never go back on your word, to make the decisions that could change history without knowing the consequences, and to be something or someone other than what the world thought you should be. He came close to sacrificing himself before the Goddess willed, just so he could be free—even Chaos was better than his slavery.

O yes, he learned a lot in his years roaming the mortal realm. But he could always feel the tug of the anchoring stars on his flesh and bones. He felt the cool night breeze ruffle his whiskers, the weight of destiny locked around his paws like chains of stars in the night sky. They locked him to his destiny, never able to break it.


A/N So... What do you think? My muse is dead, so once again, I apologize.