Authors Note
I'm not actually sure where I'm going with this. I just felt like writing this because of the weather where I am (It's been snowing all day!). The next chapters are going to be about the individual cats and their experiences/adventures in the snow. I hope you like it and all feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading!
I do not own any of the characters!
It was snowing and had been for the past few days. Snow coated the rubbish heaped all around the junk yard and turned everyday objects into strange, towering, monstrous shapes that loomed high into the sky and threw bizarre shadows onto the ground. The world had become a sketchy grey and white haze, with little definition. Distances were harder to judge and the perspective seemed wrong in the subdued light that fell through the thick grey clouds. It was as if not only sound was muffled by the snow; light seemed to be absorbed by it, leaving a strangely two-dimensional seeming world in it's wake.
The surfaces had also become slippery and ice was causing the cats a real problem. It made it much harder to get anywhere, as in some places climbing was made nearly impossible and some of the narrower walkways were just to treacherous to risk using. Many of the cats found themselves slipping and falling, unable to control their paws on the sheet ice. It was dangerous to attempt even the smallest of jumps and many of the cats who had tried it had found themselves falling into the snow below. Luckily, no one had been seriously hurt, but it had made them cautious. Now they moved slowly and with care, judging every foothold carefully to see if it was indeed safe, as not everything was as it seemed beneath the blanket of snow. All too often a stable seeming foothold turned out to be nothing more that a pile of loose, powdery snow that gave way beneath the cats' paws and sent them slipping and sliding down the piles of rubbish, often causing a miniature avalanche in their wake. This as the cats had learned was very dangerous. Twice they had been forced to dig one of the kittens out of a snowdrift which had buried them as a result of a snow slide and once Admetus had only just made it out of the way in time, as snow cascaded down, taking rubbish with it, to crash onto the floor with surprising force.
As if this wasn't enough, the snow caused them even more problems. Rats and mice had become scarce, most of them not braving the cold and snow, but hiding in warm holes and tunnels indoors until winter had passed. For the cats with families this didn't cause too much of a problem. When they were hungry they could just return home, where a tasty meal was waiting for them. It was the cats without a human family that struggled. They were the ones most affected by the cold, lack of food and the terrible weather conditions. They were the ones that suffered most.
Not that it was all bad. Many of the cats, especially the younger ones, found the snow exciting. It made them feel intrepid and adventurous, not to mention being fun to play in. They spent endless hours playing hide-and-seek (which was made considerably harder by the fact they left footprints in the snow where ever they went) and wrestling in the snow. Their new favourite game was sneaking up on the older cats and pouncing on them from behind, as the snow made it a lot harder to hear them coming. They would then run off, slipping and sliding and laughing, only to start their game all over again, sneaking up on another unsuspecting victim..
Whichever way they looked at it, however, whether they enjoyed it or not, the snow had a huge effect on the lives of all the jellicle cats...
