This is a series of (hopefully) 100 drabbles revolving around a list of the 100 most beautiful words in the English language (linked on profile). Written for the Fanfiction ImagiNation's "One Hundred Words" challenge.
Ailurophile - a cat lover
Katniss would never understand about that cat, and her sister's immediate protection of it. She couldn't fathom that someone could love such a stupid, ugly cat.
To Prim, the cat was more than just a dirty, old cat. To find a yellow cat in the mud during a torrential downpour was a sort of hope. Yellow was a hopeful color, she was sure of it.
Prim had always been hopeful, seeing the good in all of the pain and suffering of her world.
As much as she loved her sister, she didn't know if she'd forgive her if she'd drowned that cat.
She couldn't explain how much she loved that cat. To her, she loved Buttercup in the same way that she loved Katniss. Katniss and Buttercup had a lot in common, anyway, both stubborn and willing to fight to survive. It was a fierceness Prim knew she'd never have.
She figured that's why Katniss and Buttercup didn't get along, because they were one in the same, too stubborn to accept that they adored one another.
With Buttercup curled at her feet, Prim slept well. She could feel his pulse with her toes and the steady beating made her feel safe. The heartbeat was something steady and constant in her ever-changing world, focusing more on surviving than living.
Of course, she could've felt Katniss or her mother's pulses, but that would've seemed more odd.
While her sister was in the arena, Prim hid her sobs in Buttercup's fur and, as much as he hated water, he didn't seem to mind. That was the best thing about cats, she thought; unlike dogs they didn't try to be cheery in the worst of times. Cats had empathy.
Prim's last thought as the first bombs exploded was about her sister and mother and about how she wished that her death wouldn't hurt them as they knew it would.
Her second-to-last thought was who's going to feed the cat?