The Abyss

by Dhylec

A simple guy is trying to fight his inner demons, and a unconventional pet may be his only salvation.

The Abyss - Prologue

Sometimes i stop and try to understand how i got to this point. Like now, freaking out in the middle of the snow looking at this goddam biotoy, vermin, animal, i don't really know what the fuck they are, trying to understand how the fuck it could get so bloated by being pregnant, stupid thing can barely fucking move! And it won't shut up, it keep screaming "babbehs coming, babbehs coming!" "Nu biggest-poopies in cowd!", "Go away big-munstah! GO AWAY!", "Hewp, speciaw fwiend, Hewp!". How the fuck can i help this thing if it screams, flail its head and tail around, screaming, shitting, pissing, and trying to bite me everytime i try to move it? should i really help it for starters?!

I know i will, i can see myself carrying this fucking ball of fur and fat to the cabin and helping it deliver the goddam babies even if i'm not a vet or anything like it, yeah, i will, not cause i wanna help it or cause i fell sorry, i will do it out of guilt, and for not being able to just say "fuck it! it's not my problem!"

I have some explanation to do, of course, but first introductions. My name is Vladmir, some call me Vlad, i am 29 years old, and don't like to talk about me too much, short version: i am a chubby reclusive dude with an unconditional love for card games and video games, the only things i like about myself are my full beard that i keep scissor trimmed, and my height, 6'2. But the most important thing about me is that i have a problem, sure we all do, but mine always fucks me up really good. I am a really patient guy, and people tell me i am too kind for my own good, but once i get over the edge, once rage takes control, there's no turning back for me until i get knocked out. I just blackout, you know? One sec i am begging god to don't let it happens again, trying to run away from whoever or whatever the fuck got me pissed off, for their sake and not mine, feeling my blood boiling and my mind slipping away, and next thing i know everything is going red and i can't remember a fuck single thing until i wake up somewhere.

So most of the time i am that guy sitting alone in the far corner of the restaurant, or that fucker that never look people in the eye while talking to them, or the lonely silent and kinda creepy guy that you just can't put your finger in what the fuck bothers you about him so much. For that i was the bullies main target at school, that was, until i blacked out and my family had to look for a new school, or city. I never slashed out at someone that didn't deserve it, at least i believe i didn't, but man… that is no excuse for being violent… well, at least that's what the doc keep telling me.

She's a nice little thing i tell ya; redhead, green eyes, freckles, pale skin, petite, sometimes i feel like i am getting analised and scolded by a bratty overconfident teenager, especially when we stand side by side, she must be 5.5 feet tall at best. I am sure i choose her as my therapist more by lust than for her resume, and boy do i regret it sometimes. I never made a move, there's no reason for it, it's all pretty professional between us and i don't see a woman so pretty as her lusting for a guy like me, but i fantasize, A LOT, and to tell the truth she's not really helping me; of course, I don't try to help myself, so i can't put ALL the blame on the doc. Sigh… you must be asking yourself "why the fuck you babbling all this?", well… i kinda need to get this out of my chest.

As i told ya, i can lose my cool sometimes, and the result is NEVER good. At school every time i lost it i would end up expelled, or at the hospital after having resisted the adults that tried to hold me down until someone knocked me senseless. My adolescence… man… let's just say i am lucky to be alive, REALLY lucky, if i had grown up in a bad neighborhood i'd be dead, no doubt about it. After i reached adulthood, or after hitting 18 and knowing that having one of my "blackouts" would result in me getting my ass in jail, i tried my best to find a solution for my "problem".

I tried everything i could think of: isolation, self punishment, self loathing, desperately searching for jobs with as little human contact as possible, cutting ties, religion, yoga, pot, becoming a hippie, for seven years i did my best to banish the blackouts for good, but it didn't work, yeah i could go by a longer time without having one, but i still had them.

So at the start of this year i reached my breaking point. My parents are already dead, and by being the only child, i got everything they left behind. It's not much, but at least i have a roof over my head and from time to time i can leave everything behind and be at peace on my dad's old cabin in the woods. I love the cabin, it makes me feel at peace, alone, forgotten… but not everything is a sea of roses. I work as a freelance programer, and money is not all that easy to come by, so it played a part on me having a blackout after getting mugged by some punks, and next thing i know, i was being charged for murder.

They had knifes, i had my blackout, and while i got some stitches, 125 counting all stabs and slashes around my body, they got their eyes and ears gouged out, broken limbs, missing chunks of flesh, faces ripped off... that was the worst blackout i ever had. Doc's tell me there's something wrong with me, not just with my body, but also my mind. You see, normal people have a fight or flight response and remain conscious, and in no way tap into their hysterical strength, but me? Every time a fight or flight response comes up, or if i get furious, i tap into my hysterical strength; and if the situation gets too stressful, i blackout. My lawyer convinced the jury i didn't mean to kill them, i was just defending myself and the knife wounds prove it, that my clear record show's i am not a violent or dangerous man, instead i am a sick one, i need help, as much as possible, and what i get is a court order for therapy sessions and a prescription for the strongest soothings they could give me without getting me into a coma. So that led me to the doc, and the doc led me to this situation.

I can still remember our last session before i got to the cabin.

"Have you pondered adopting a Fluffy?" - She asked me after twenty minutes of silence between us. I was never really comfortable talking about my problems with her, and in no way found my life interesting to share anything, so most of the time i'd just lay down on the diva, answer her questions, if she had any, and got the prescription.

"A what?"

"A Fluffy, surely you heard about them, everyone have one nowadays." - She said with a sweet smile across her face.

Yep i had heard about the little things, even saw some in the streets on my night strolls, but i never really paid any real attention to them. As far as i knew they were some biotoys or whatever made by Hasbio that backfired after PETA fucked up. They lived their lives, i lived mine, that was good enough for me. I had no idea why she was bringing the little things up, on our last session, three weeks ago, she gave me some pills and led me to a room on the back of the office, it is a nice room, all white with a big and comfortable reclinable chair in the middle of it. She told me to sit down, relax, close my eyes and say the first thing i could tink off while she said words to me, next thing i know i was waking up having gone over five hours of our scheduled time. I was afraid i messed up, but she smiled and said she would get in touch with me with the next session date, which was unusual cause we had to meet every week, but hey, she was the doc so fuck it, as long as my ass was out of jail i was happy. She called me two days later telling me we would met today, and now the first thing she talks about are Fluffys? I really didn't understand that woman.

"You really think that's a good idea doc?"

"What do you think?"

'I think i'd rather take you home instead of one of those freaky things' - I thought to myself looking at her eyes, focusing all my willpower to don't let my eyes wander to her breasts.

"Well… i had a cat once…" - I said looking at the ceiling, she was the only person i was able to maintain eye contact with for more than two or three seconds, but it bothered me to look at her eyes for too long. didn't wanna seem like a creep.

"Oh, you never told me that."

"Ya never asked…"

"Tell me about it, what was it's name?"

"We called her Kitty, cause my mother had a cat named Felix before we got her, so we thought it would be nice to name her Kitty, you know? Maybe she'd give old Felix some love even if we already got his balls away" - I said remembering that damn fat, old, and lazy cat my mother had. Smiling while remembering him trying to mount Kitty and giving up from being too tired.

"Did you like her?"

"Oh? Well… i think i did, i really do" - I said more to myself than to her - "But we never really got along, my mother was the provider, and she pampered the cats. Kitty learned pretty fast who was the one with the treats, and who wouldn't get pissed at her for doing something she shouldn't, like breaking something or ripping the sofa."

"And how did that made you feel?" - She asked me leaning in my direction, and i gave her a cold stare, we'd been doing that dance for far too long now.

"Ya know how i felt doc." - I said with a sigh - "My mother would pamper and love her cats, but that was not the deal with me, all i ever got was cold and harsh words and the blame for what happened with my dad."

"Yes i know how you feel about your mother, but i am asking you how you felt about Kitty, did you hate her for getting your mother love and attention? For being pampered?"

"No, i didn't hate her, she was just a cat, she had no control over things" - I said shaking my head - "Of course she was a little manipulative bitch, especially if she wanted to get a treat or more food, but aside from that she was a pretty nice cat, never hissed at me like old Felix used to do, and never pissed or shitted outside the litter box, she was a good cat that one… i just…"

"Go on…"

"Sigh… i… i don't know. When i got her i was sure she was going to be mine, you know? Like, i was the one that picked her on the shelter, i carried her on my arms so she wouldn't get scared inside the box they gave me, not that it helped very much cause she ended up scratching me after the neighbor's dog barked at us, but i was really trying to bond, i… i did my best for her, all the time! And because my mom would give her treats ALL the time, and not just when she was good, she'd always be around her. I felt… i felt betrayed, you know? Like… you do your best for someone, but if someone that spoils them come around they will just turn their backs at you. Maybe… maybe i was too strict, or too blunt, maybe… maybe i should have spoiled her like my mother did…"

"You believe spoiling her would have make her like you more?"

"Well it sure as hell worked for my mom, didn't it?" - I barked a little pissed off, it was always like that, question after question about what i felt, what i thought, i hated that, i hated looking at me like that.

"Did it?"

"Well, they would wake her up at four thirty in the morning everyday demanding food, so i think i got that going for me, with was nice." - I said chucking remembering my mother cursing every single day at that time and the smile that would find its way to my face - "And more than once they hissed at her for getting angry at them after they got into her way demanding attention. So yeah… i don't think it worked out very well for her."

"Hum…" - She said with a little smile on her face and taking some notes - "so?"

"So?"

"The Fluffy."

"Seriously doc? Like, really? You really think I am a good choice for one of those things?"

"Vlad" - She said making a little tingle of joy sparkle inside me; most professionals would never refer to their patients by nicknames, and i just loved that she wasn't one of them - "You KNOW part of your problem is from isolating yourself. Since what happened in your childhood you choose to shut off everyone and anything that tried to get close to you."

"YES, YES, I KNOW!" - She said interrupting me before i could protest - "You're going to say there's no way for your condition being born from that, but i am not talking about that, i am talking about the blackouts. You CHOOSE to run away from the responsibility of getting angry, of being someone you despise, you CHOOSE to lose control so you can't be blamed, sure, you can't be responsible for the biological part of your problem, BUT the psychological one is YOUR fault and you REFUSE to work around it."

"Wow Doc… a little love instead of the blame stick?" - I said sitting to be at eye level with her, sure that i would be pretty pissed if not for the meds i was taking.

"I am telling you the truth, Vlad, cause i care about you." - She sighed putting her notepad down on the table between us and looking me into the eyes - "You KNOW you avoid confrontations about yourself, you avoid human contact specifically because it will eventually make you look at yourself and take responsibility for your actions toward others, you've been running away from your problems for a long time now, and doing that won't help you at all, to tell you the truth, if you don't improve i will have to suggest to the judge you're not apt to live in society, i'd have to ask him to lock you away in a facility so you wouldn't hurt anyone ever again."

"Hey, hey, calm down! It's not like i'm a psychopath!" - I said crossing my arms in front of my chest, feeling pretty offended - "Yeah… things REALLY got out of hand last time, but i had no blackouts since them, and i never killed anyone before."

She started opening her mouth to say something and i interrupted her saying i was sorry.

"Ok, ok… i know it was not pretty all the other times, ok? I know! But… but… it's hard, you know? Being around people… having to… to pretend all the time… to deal with their bullshit, why can't people just leave me alone? I don't fucking bother anyone, i just stick to myself and go on my way, why the fuck can't the rest of the world do the same?"

"Because life is about interaction, Vlad, no man is an island. And that's why i am suggesting you get yourself a Fluffy" - She said getting the notepad and writing something - "A Fluffy will be perfect for you, you'll be able to talk to them, they will understand you, they will depend on you, they will love you, and you can be sure that eventually they will get under your skin, they don't mean to, but they will, they are like children: innocent, pure, naive, and pretty annoying sometimes."

"BUT…"

"No buts!" - She said on a stern tone - "A Fluffy will help you acclimate yourself to human interaction, and IF, and i repeat, IF you get a episode while raising a Fluffy… well, it would not be pretty, and to be honest a step back on your recovery, but it won't be the same as you hurting someone again."

"Can't i just get a dog or a cat them?"

She blinked and for a second looked at me as if i was stupid.

"No, no, no, Vlad. I'd never let any animal be around you while you're not in full control of yourself."

"But you just told me to get a Fluffy."

"A Fluffy is a biotoy, Vlad, a mistake, they are not animals" - She said in a cold voice.

"And no animal can interact with you like a Fluffy can" - the doc said with a little smile on her face - "they are the closest you can get of human interaction, to tell the truth, it will be like parenthood."

I remained in silence for a while, really not wanting to do that, BUT she WAS the only thing keeping me away from a life with straightjackets and medication all the time, so i sighed and agreed.

"I have no idea where…"

"Here" - She said showing me her notepad, and i could see a page for a fluffy shelter - "write this address down, and go there, they are the best shelter in town, all Fluffys are free of diseases or parasites, they are trained, well fed, and all eager to find a new owner. Tell Daniele i sended you, she'll help you choose the perfect Fluffy."

'Jesus fucking christ in a field of roses, she had all this planned didn't she?' - I thought, writing the address down on a piece of paper she gave me.

"Ok doc… i promise to do my best" - I said as she accompanied me to the door - "But if something goes wrong."

"Just take your meds, remember our sessions, and focus, Vlad, you can do it!" - She said smiling, and for one second i wished i could believe her - "See you in two weeks, and please, bring your Fluffy with you, ok?"

"Ok doc… as you wish…" - I mumble as i walked away, and sighed after she closed the door behind me.

Was i really going to do that? Was i really going to drive three hours just to cross town and adopt some fucking pet that i had NO intention on having?

Yep, you can bet your ass i was going to, i wanted to show the doc i could do it, and a part of me knew it was not so i could improve myself, it hoped that by doing that i would in some way impress her.

"Yeah, right, keep dreaming fat boy" - I said as i parked in front of a building that had a big board upfront with photos of happy Fluffys surrounding the name "Uncle Pete Big Happy Happy Fluffy Farm". Fucking thing looked as big as a walmart from the outside

'If it's so happy why do you have to say happy twice?' - i thought while debating if i would get out of the car or not. I ended up dragging my fat ass inside the building, looking around at posters of fluffy propaganda like "A Happy Fluffy is a Neutered Fluffy"; "Say NO to Fluffy abuse!"; "NO KILL POLICY IS THE ONLY POLICY"; "YES we accept Ferals".

'Ooookkkkkkk' - I thought, looking around feeling a little lost, the place was HUGE, there were big areas surrounded by smalls fences, all full of fluffys running around and playing; the little balls of fur seemed pretty happy, and would get on their back legs raising their front ones in the direction of everyone that got close to the fences. Some made a weird little dance, if you could call it that, others kept babbling something that was supposed to be a song, but i couldn't understand shit they were singing or saying. Funny thing was that the place was not divided by rooms, it was just a big area with pillars supporting the ceiling. It didn't smell bad, there was a soft manure smell on the air, but nothing really bad, i looked up and on the ceiling i could see a lot of vents, probably from air exhauster, and air ducts to keep the air circulating. There were a lot of employes, all using what i assumed was the uniform, a red and white blouse with the face of a smiling old dude using a straw hat, and on the back the "Uncle Pete Happy Happy Fluffy Farm" logo. I was feeling kinda oppressed by the crowd inside the place, and a part of me wanted to just go away before one of the employees noticed me, but i gave myself a "man up and just do it" and walked in the direction of the closest employee i could see.

He was a skinny dude, all smiles and laughs while talking to a older lady and two kids that had each a fluffy on their arms, i waited while he pointed to the back of the building and said something to them, and tried to get his attention as soon as they were gone.

"Hey there! How can i help you today big fella?!" - He said with a big smile while looking up so our eyes could met, and this time i was able to maintain eye contact for like… two seconds, yeah, it was a improvement!

"Er… i am looking for…" - I said trying to remember the name the Doc gave me, and pulled the paper from my jeans back pocket and unfolded it - "Daniele?"

"Oh! You must be her guest! Please, please, come with me. We just had a big feral herd delivered to us from one of the farms around town, i am pretty happy they didn't just kill the poor things, that would have been inhuman! So Daniele is helping the vets to look for the ones that could be sick or with any kind of parasite, we don't need any of that spreading now, do we?" - He said laughing while we walked, and i forced myself to laugh while feeling that everyone was looking at me. Fucking crowded place, why the hell did i think that would be a good idea?

There was a door in the right side of the building, and the dude opened it leading me inside, and what i saw was a big area full of cages with glass fronts, there were cages everywhere, and a lot of baby baths, some with people bathing fluffys; some screaming for their lives, others silent and seeing like they were enjoying themselves, or at least accepted they couldn't avoid the bath. The dude that accompanied me asked me to excuse him for a minute and approached an older woman that was holding a yellow and black fluffy on her arms while a man wearing a white coat with some brown stains was talking to her and applying a shot to the Fluffy back. They exchanged some words, and she smiled looked at the vet and said something to him, he nodded, looked at my direction, nodded again and left the room. She and the employee exchanged some words, smiled, and he came to talk to me.

"She will talk to you in a minute, feel free to look around while you wait."

"Oh.. thanks" - I said forcing myself to smile, and he was on his way.

I was really not in the mood for walking around, but just staying there, like a dumb lamppost, was no fun either, so i started looking inside the cages to see if anything caught my attention.

They all had Fluffys, some pretty litle ones, the little things would fit in the palm of one of my hands with no problem, some older and bigger, one or another had shit or piss, or both, inside the cage with them, and were crying and screaming "Mumma" or "Daddeh" and "Nu wike sowwy box!". I didn't knew what the fuck they were talking about, but it was obvious they weren't happy at all.

'This little shits don't look at all like the ones outside, they are dirty, some malnourished, the fuck is this place?' - I thought while walking around, and then found the worst part of my night so far.

I had heard about Fluffys suffering abuse. From what i heard it was still considered a grey area, some people considered it animal abuse, others didn't, and by law the Fluffys are classified as biotoys so you can pretty much walk free from killing one, as long as you dispose of the body, and some people, especially farmers, thought of the little fuckers as vermins, gotta agreed with them if all i heard about this things eating even shit to survive is true, so they defended that killing them was not abuse of cruelty, it was preserving their crops and getting rid of a plague; but most people didn't see abuse with good eyes, one thing was exterminating pests, other was torturing the stupid things. But i never thought the abuse could be too bad, i mean, come on, can people really be cruel to those things? Boy… was i naive. There were some pretty fucked up Fluffys on the cages i was looking at right now. Some without any of the legs, some without eyes, ears, with big patches of fur missing, scars all over their bodies, burn marks, Fluffys with half the face missing, with big chunks of meat twisted after it healed missing a part of it, some had bags on the side of their bodies collecting the feces, like they do to paralyzed people. They all had this dead stare, you know? Eyes full of fear and shame, none looked at me, they all looked away, had the eyes watered by tears, some were crying, a little "huuu,huuu" they just whimpered, some screamed and trembled as soon as i approached the cages, pissing or shitting themselves and making me back away as fast as possible.

"Dude… what the fuck…"

"That's the work of abusers" - Someone said beside me, and a looked surprised to my right side.

The older lady, Daniele, was standing by my side, looking inside one of the cages with sad eyes.

"They leave them at our doorstep because of our no kill policy" - She said still not looking at me - "It would be an act of kindness to kill some of this Fluffys" - She said forcing a sad smile - "But this is not our way, we believe that abusers are a rarity, they are a single drop in a sea of Fluffy lovers, so we keep the Fluffys, we nurture their health, we make their "heawt huwties" go away. Sometimes we find good loving owners, others we adopt them ourselves, and we always have room for them on our happy happy farm, no Fluffy will be neglected by us."

"Daniela Santiel" - She said extending her right hand in my direction, finally looking at my face - "I believe my granddaughter sent you to me."

"Your… OH, OH!" - I said slapping myself on the forehead while shaking her hand - "You mean the doc! Yeah, yeah, she told me to look for you."

"Heh, 'the doc' i kinda like that" - She said with a kind smile on her face - "Think i will start calling her like that when she have some time to visit the old farm."

"She asked me to give you a Fluffy, a SPECIAL Fluffy, you have any guesses about what you going to get tonight?"

'Oh man doc, what the hell you told this lady?' - I thought feeling desperation creeping around my mind.

"To tell you the truth i know almost nothing about Fluffys" - I said scratching my head - "You see… i never had one so i am pretty new to this…"

"Well, at least you know you're not giving any of this guys a new home" - She said laughing - "And no, not one of those either" - She said when i turned my head in the direction of the first cages i saw - "Those are all Ferals, some just arrived, they are not good for adoption yet, most have not been checked for fleas or lices, let alone neutered. Come with me, i will show you the best we have to offer" - She said walking in the direction of the door i came from with the dude from earlier, and motioning me to follow.

"Do you have any idea about how to take care of your Fluffy?" - She asked me while we walked.

"Well… is it like taking care of a dog or cat? Cause those are the only pets i ever had" - i said looking at two kids arguing about a pink Fluffy that looked from one to another at the verge of tears.

"You could say somethings are similar" - She said nodding - "but at the same time completely different."

"They require attention, love, care, discipline when needed, a special place, a safe room as we call it, rules, rules are ALWAYS important, you don't need a bratty Fluffy as a pet, believe me, no one likes them and we have so much returns after one or two months because of that that sometimes we believe that the owners are the only problem, and not the programing Hasbio did. Most important, they are NOT toys!" - She said looking serious at me - "Some people call them biotoys, that is a MISTAKE, they are alive, they fell, they laugh, they cry, they miss you, they LOVE you, they understand pain, they are self conscious, hell, we have Smarty Fluffys exactly because they see themselves as individuals, pretty much like us. Didn't Descartes once said "i think, therefore i am"? So, if a Fluffy can think, and believe me, THEY DO, so they aren't THAT different from us on the spectrum of life."

I was having seconds thoughts before she said all that, but now? Now i wanted to run away as fast as possible. But at the same time i was impressed to see how different her vision about the Fluffys, and the doc's, were.

"You CAN find a LOT of information about training, raising, feeding and living with your Fluffy on online forums, true" - She said while waving to a woman that passed us - "But we will give you an apostille covering the basics, knowledge is never too much."

"Aaaand here we are!" - She said opening a door that had two employee standing at each side of it, with 'only employees allowed' written on it. I tried to smile to them, but they didn't even looked my way.

'Don't see a reason for security guards on dam Fluffy Shelter' - I thought, and looked around while Daniele talked.

That room was small compared to all the others i was into, pretty much a 18 per 18 feet space, there were more cages with glass fronts on the wall to my right and a metal door, to my left there was a space surrounded by a fence, and inside i could see some Fluffys so fat they didnt even move, damn things even had their pots of water and food in front of them so they didn't have to move to feed themselves; the middle had a big carped, with a single Fluffy lying on the middle of it. She was white, from head to toe, had a horn and wings, and her mane and tail were like looking at a rainbow, pretty neat if you ask me, compared to all the blunt colored or simple patterned fluffys i saw outside. I looked at her while she raised her head blinking her blue eyes full of curiosity, and looked in the direction of the cages.

"You really have no knowledge of Fluffys, do you?" - Daniele asked me laughing.

"Nop!" - I said being as honest as possible - "Why you say that? Did i do something wrong?"

"Most Fluffy lovers would scream at the sight of a Princess Celestia Alicorn, some would even faint from joy, like that kid that visited me last month, took me a restraining order to keep him away" - she mumbled trailing off.

"So… she's especial in some way?" - I said looking at the Fluffy that had gone back to sleep.

"Let's say that the few lucky alicorns foals that my mares have, even the derped ones, are what keep this Shelter growing, and if things ever get ugly, Princess here is our salvation" - Daniele said grinning, and gave me a pat on the back - "I like you kid, your ignorance is a bliss, and extremely convenient."

'I may not know anything about this damn things, but don't try to mess with me, old rag' - I thought while forcing a smile.

"Come, your newborn awaits you" - She said walking to the metal door.

"Wait newborn? You DO understand i know NOTHING about this things, right? Like… all i know about them is that they like spaghetti and that they are fragile, like REALLY fragile, broken by all i heard. I THINK i can handle a adult one, but a newborn? Didn't the doc talk to you?"

"Righty oh, boy, she did!" - Daniele said stopping in front of the door, i hadn't noticed before but it had one of those card readers, like we see on hotels, and after fiddling with her pockets a little she pulled a black card from her back left pocket - "She asked me to give you a newborn, 'he have to feel the responsibility of having a life COMPLETELY depending on him' she said."

'OH JUST PUT ON A STRAPON AND FUCK ME ALREADY, DOC!' - I thought rubbing my forehead, the fuck was she thinking? Daniele passed the card on the reader, and it beeped, making click sound, she pushed the door open and i started following her trying to find a way out of that situation

"Look… i am thankful you'd go to such lengths for helping me and all, but…" - I said following Daniele, not paying as much attention to the corredor we were into as i'd like to.

"Of course you are, boy!"- She laughed stopping in front of another metal door, but this one had a little glass window - "why wouldn't you be?"

"Daniele, you're not listening to me, i can't…"

"Sure you can boy, sure you can!" - She said still ignoring me and unlocking the door, and that was starting to piss me off.

"Look lady…"

"You do know my granddaughter don't send just anyone to me, don't you?" - She said not looking at me - "If she sent you to me, and requested me to give one of my newborn foals to a complete wet behind the ears kiddo, it can only means she believes in you, and cares about you, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered."

'You KNOW the old lady is just messing with you, don't you?' - My mind said to me, but my will to complain and refuse was already crumbling.

'Come on man… don't do this to us, remember what happened last time?'

"Ok… but you better give a pretty damn good apostille" - i said with a sigh.

"The best my boy" - She said smiling, and opened the door.

The first thing i noticed was the stench, it was not a strong smell like the room filled with ferals, or the subtle manure smell from the main room, no, what was coming from inside the room in front of us was the stench of death. Putrid meat, old earth, shit and piss, it was not strong enough to make me gag, but it make me take a step back.

"It takes you awhile to get used to it, but don't worry kiddo, you don't have to raise your's like we do with our dear Goldie" - Daniele said looking at me and smiling, while encouraging me with one hand to enter the room.

I looked inside the room, it seemed to be as big as the one with the special Fluffy, but there was no Fluffy in the middle of that room, what i could see was the vet that was talking to Daniele earlier crouched with his back turned to us. Around him i could see a lot, and i do mean A LOT, of what looked to be Fluffy pelts, of all colours, all stained with dry blood, shit and bile, making a sick carpet that i had no idea why the fuck a Fluffy shelter would have inside one of its rooms. Daniele left the door and stood beside me, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"It's ok kiddo, there's no reason to be afraid, everything will be explained to you as soon as you enter the room." - She said in a soft voice, and the vet looked above his shoulder, noticing us, and stood up. In front of him, laying in the middle of the room, was something like i'd never seen before.

"The fuck is that?" - I said more to me than to anyone else, and Daniele slapped the back of my head.

"Language!" - She said looking at me for a split second, and focusing her attention at the thing - "That is a Puffy Griffy kiddo, Hasbio response to the Fluffys."

The thing was incredible, that i had to admit. She was the size of a house cat, looked a little bloated, but not in a fat vulnerable way like the Fluffys i saw. Her head was that of a owl, but with cat ears covered in feathers, there was a thick mane on her neck, a pair of wings protruded out of her shoulders and moved following the breathing, and sometimes she would stretch them as her whole body contracted, making her emit a little whimper of pain. Her body was like that of a lion, covered in fur and with big sharp claws coming out of all her four paws, completed by a tail that was moving very slowing from one side to another. Her whole body was of a golden color that reflected the light of the room, and if her paws and beak where not covered in blood, i was sure i would find her one of the prettiest animals i had ever seen.

"Is she ready?" - Daniele asked the vet, entering the room, and i followed her more motivated by my curiosity them by anything else.

"Yeah, she was a little pissed from me interrupting her meal, but as soon as i told her she would be rid of the foal she agreed to cooperate" - He said paying me no attention, and Daniele nodded, sitting beside the Puffy, and stroking its head.

"Hey there girl, how you doing?" - She said in a soft voice.

The Puffy opened it's eyes, her pupils were pretty dilated, giving me the impression her eyes where most black, but around them i could see a bright yellow.

"Daniele…" - It said in a groggy voice.

"Yes honey, it's me, we going to make everything better, ok?"

"No… no more moving eggs?" - She asked Daniele, and she nodded.

"Yes honey, after this you get no more moving eggs, isn't that what you want?"

"Yes… yes… no more moving eggs…" - The Puffy whispered before closing it's eyes.

"How much you gave her?" - Daniele asked the vet.

"Enough to calm her down and induce the labour." - He said while giving Daniele a pair of lab gloves, with she easily put on.

I looked around while they talked some medical gibberish i couldn't understand. The room was indeed as big as the previous one, but it had a "beast nest" feeling. In the middle there was that sick carpet made of Fluffys pelt, on the back right side i could see a pile of bones, Fluffy bones i believe, and on the back left side there was one of those cat water fountains. On the ceiling there was a air vent with a grate, some perches sustained by ropes, others protruding from the wall, and a big glass window on the wall of the back. On the left front side, that was to say, right by the left of the door, there was a big litter box, and all around the room i could see yarn balls of various colours, some squeaky toils in the form of rats, and a lot of plastic balls of various sizes and types. But one thing was bugging me, why did they leave that Puffy isolated? Didn't they had others like her? And why were they feeding her Fluffys? Heck man, this place was a shelter, i believed they would treat the Fluffys with the upmost care with all that love and no biotoys talk Daniele gave me earlier, and now she takes me to a room filled with Fluffys carcass and a beast that obviously feeds on Fluffys? And the window, why the...

"Come on girl, push!" - Daniele said, and my attention came back to her and the Puffy.

She was massaging the Puffy belly while the vet was fiddling with the Puffy vagina.

"I thought you said you gave her enough" - Daniele said looking worried at the vet.

"I did, but you gotta remember nothing is guaranteed."

"Spare me Steve, i have high hopes for Goldie here" - She said annoyed - "Come on girl, i need you to push as hard as possible."

The Puffy mumbled something and i could see her forcing, or at least trying to force, her litter out. It took some minutes of grunting, growing and forcing, but finally the vet smiled.

"We got an egg, there we go" - He said putting a white egg in front of the Puffy, and that seemed to give her strengths to keep going.

Two more eggs and i could notice something strange going on in Daniele's and the Vet face. The Puffy was seeing pretty happy with herself, aside from being exhausted and in pain, but Daniele and the Vet seemed disappointed, nervous even. I was going to ask if something was wrong when a strong growl from the Puffy made me shut up.

"IT MOVES! TAKE IT AWAY! TAKE IT AWAY!" - It screamed while trying to get away, and Daniele holded her in place with a strong grip.

"Easy girl, easy, it's almost over!" - Daniele said, and a big smile was plastered on her face, one that was just… wrong. Something in it invoked memories in my mind that i was fighting to keep away from a long time now, and i had to close my eyes and shake my head to get a hold of myself.

"MAKE IT STOP! WRONG! IT'S WRONG!" - The Puffy screamed, and god i was impressed with all the energy the thing still had, well, maybe it was coming from her fear, cause man, it was pretty obvious she was losing her shit.

"Come on Daniele i need you to push it too, she's fighting it. Instead of pushing she's contracting, this won't do!"

"Goddamn!" - Daniele barked and started massaging the Puffy, this time not being as gentle as before - "Come on Goldie! It's the last egg, i need you to push girl! PUSH!"

"NO! IT'S WRONG! WRONG!" - The Puffy screamed, clawing the pelts around her and hissing when Daniele holded her into place.

"OR YOU PUSH THIS GODDAMN FOAL OUT, OR I CUT YOU OPEN AND TAKE IT OUT MYSELF, YOUR CHOICE!" - Daniele roared, and in that moment i saw the same expression i always saw in my father's face. She was serious, dead serious, or the world would go her way, or shed destroy it, no middle term.

The Puffy looked at Daniele, to her eggs, and closed her eyes, this time making so much force that she roared and clawed the pelts until they ripped under her claws. The result was a big triumphant smile on the vet face, one that was imitated by Daniele as soon as she saw the little black thing he presented to her.

"It's a success, Daniele, you did it." - He said laughing, and she scooped the little thing with her hands, releasing the Puffy that hugged her eggs while crying, staying immobile in a ball position while Daniele and the Vet got up and walked to my side.

"Look kiddo, isn't she a cutie?" - Daniele asked me while massaging the back of the little thing she had in her hands. - "Fetch me a clean cloth, Steve."

To tell the truth i was a little disappointed at first. After seeing Goldie i was expecting to see her give birth to something just like her, a Gryffin jumping out of fantasy tales and into our world, but what Daniele had in her hands was, without a doubt, just a newborn kitten.

It had just a thin coating of black fur, granted it was so black that for a moment i thought even the thing skin was black, but aside from that? Nothing to be impressed. It was all plastered with vaginal fluids and still had a piece of umbilical cord coming out of its belly, eyes closed, the little cat ears, little paws with little black claws that wouldn't retract, and had that adorable blind and vulnerable attitude, it was moving, A LOT, probably the reason the Puffy freaked out so much, and kept opening it's little mouth as if trying to meow.

"Come on kiddo, ya can hold her, she's yours anyway." - Daniele said stretching the newborn in my direction, and i freaked out.

"Wha? WHAT? This?" - I said looking at the kitty and at her - "Weren't you going to get me a Fluffy?"

"Details, details" - Daniele said smiling - "I said i was getting you a SPECIAL foal, and that's exactly what this little girl is. Now come on, take her."

I contemplated arguing against it, but she gave me a stern look, and i just stretched my hands in her direction. She placed the kitty on my hands, and smiled while it squished around a little, still trying to make a sound. I closed my left hand a little, trying to make a improvised bed, and it just stood still in the palm of my had, such a cute little thing, i was impressed by how small it was compared to a normal kitty newborn, and started gently stroking it with my right index finger. She moved a little, and grabbed my finger with both her front paws, pulling it in the direction of her mouth and started sucking the tip of my finger with strength, making me smile while i felt a tingle of joy inside me.

"Ah, there we go, i know that smile" - Daniele said, and started walking leaving the room. I looked at the Puffy on the ground, worried that she was going to complain that i was taking her newborn away, but she was completely focused on the eggs. Maybe Puffys didn't like to give birth to foals? Beast me…

"Come on boy, i have many things to explain to you" - Daniele said while the vet handed her a white piece of cloth, and i left the room trying my best to don't move my hands and disturb the kitty.

"So, how you going to call her?" - Daniele asked me while showing me how to clean the kitty with the warm damp piece of cloth.

I looked at her, and back to the newborn. What the heck was i going to name her anyway? 'Coal'? Well… she WAS the blackest kitty i've ever seen so it wasn't such a bad name. But if i was going for something that made me think about her colour, maybe "Vantablack" would be better. Nah! Stupid ideas. I looked at her, thinking about her mother, how awesome it was to see a Gryffin alive, and smiled thinking about the rpg games i love so much.

"I'm gonna call her Bastet". - I said smiling, and Daniele just nodded.

"As good as any other name, i think" - She said - "Come along now boy, i have a lot to explain to you about raising this little lady."

I started following Daniele, eager to just get over with all the explanation she had, thinking how awesome it would be to get home already, take a shower, and be alone with Bast. For a strange reason i wanted to feed her, i was eager to hear the first sound she was going to make, and them it hitted me.

"Is she going to talk? Like, will she talk like the Fluffys and Goldie did?"

Daniele looked at me surprised, and started laughing.

"Oh boy you going to kill me! Of course she's going to talk! She's a Puffy for christ sake. Ya can be sure she will talk, and a lot more."

I felt a smile taking hold of my face, and my mind was racing thinking about how fucking incredible it would be to raise a cat that could talk, and if she was anything like Fluffies, she would understand me! I had arrived full of doubts, and now my heart and mind were full of joy and anticipation.

Sometimes… sometimes i think about what i would have felt had i know just how big and fucked up was the problem i was getting myself into.

Four hours later i was arriving home with a shitload of fluffy paraphernalia in the trunk and 250 dollars poorer. Daniele gave me the Puffy with no charge, "To help you and make my granddaughter happy" - she said, but she couldn't give me all i needed to "properly take care" of the Puffy. Thank god i could use my credit card for that. So there i was, parking in my garage and thinking to myself that i had to get new clients as fast as possible, and about how i was going to set up everything they gave me, smiling like an idiot while i looked at Bast sleeping on the bed Daniele sold me. She looked so small in the middle of the bed, but as they told me, she would grow fast, and getting a adult bed was better than spending extra for a foal one she'd outgrow in two or three weeks.

I got out of the car, an old Honda Accord that used to be my dad's, and opened the trunk, getting everything and taking it to the kitchen. I left everything on the counter and came back for Bast, i'd figure out which room to turn into a safe room and all the details latter, the only thing i had in mind right now was getting a shower, something to eat, and a shut eye after lurking in the web a little.

Got Bast, locked the car, and stopped at the kitchen just to get Bast's formula and the dropper, having to fiddle with all the items in the bags before i found them, the apostille had a whole "Safe Room" chapter, and Daniele insisted i did everything like it was covered, so it seemed like it would be a pain in the ass. I passed the living room, ignored my parents old bedroom, and entered my bedroom, putting Bast and the bed on top of my bed and sitting on my pc chair.

I looked at her, sleeping without a worry in the world, smiling at the sight of her full belly, little thing had a big appetite, but at the same time worried. Yeah the apostille could cover some things, and i wouldn't be able to just postpone reading the damn thing, but what would come after Bast was all grow up? Would she be as independent as Felix and Kitty used to be? Those two could pretty much look after themselves as long as the water and food bowls were full they didn't even look your way, from time to time they would come around, meow for a little attention, get some rubs and scratches from me, and be on their way. Was Bast going to be the same? A part of me wished she would, that would make my life a lot easier, and another part wished she wouldn't, i wanted to feel loved by the little thing, needed for all her life and not only for as long as she was vulnerable. Well… i could worry about that latter, i guessed, and focused on my needs. After a shower, and with a cold piece of pizza in my mouth, two more on the plate i was carrying along with a can of coke, i sitted on sat my pc chair and looked at Bast. She hadn't moved a single inch, only thing she'd do every now and then was let out and adorable yawn, and stretch out gently. She was cute beyond words. I got her bed, putting it by the side of my mouse, and started browsing the net for as much information on Fluffys and Puffys i could find.

Just like Daniele said i found a LOT of info about the little things, but what she failed to mention to me was the huge amount of twisted shit i'd also find. Man… abusers could be a minority, like Daniele preached, but they sure as hell knew how to leave an impression, and the forums with tales and images i found describing various Fluffys abuse wouldnt let me say otherwise. After sometime Bast was up, moving and trying to make a sound, and another full Dropper was able to calm her down, i was just going to let her drift back to the land of dreams again when i remembered one of Daniele warnings. I had to stimulate her to shit, i didn't see a fucking reason to do that but Daniele insisted it was important, and showed me it should be done after feeding her the first time. All i needed was to gently rub her genital area with a warm washcloth and her programing would do the rest. I went to the kitchen and fetched the litterbox, as the bag of litter, and set it up in the right corner of my bedroom, and after putting Bast inside the box and doing the stimulating she let out a little stream of pee, followed by a little firm turd, brown with a slight yellow cast. According to Daniele that was the right color, the healthy one, so i should be happy, i guess.

"I really hope you learn to use the litterbox as fast as possible" - I said with a sigh - "Really not in the mood to be doing this stimulation thing".

She grabbed my hand, wrapping her limbs around it as if trying to hug it in response, and i felt my heart melting. She was back in the bed and sleeping, and i was back to lurking, and before i could notice it was morning. Bast was up again, so it was the feeding/stimulation cycle before i laid on my bed, putting Bast bed on the floor as a safe precaution, if she woke up before me she'd just wander around the room, there was nothing to hurt her, and the carpet wouldn't let her get too cold or hurt, so everything was fine.

I woke up around 1pm, initially feeling a little groggy, but my mind raced as i looked at Bast bed and couldn't find her. I looked around a little to find her under my bed, cuddling with a sock that was forgotten there.

"I should have given you the little teddy bear, right?" - I said scooping her with my right hand and trying to cradle her while taking her to the kitchen to prepare more formula, and something for me to eat too. I had only one thing in mind for that day, to get her saferoom ready, and to read as much of the dam apostile as possible.

Fast forward ten days, everything was going pretty neat to tell the truth. It was pretty easy to take care of Bast, and by each day her appetite, as her body, where growing, i was seated in my room, playing some wow to don't fall too far behind my guildmates, when she woke up. Now she was able to emit little squeak meows, and i was getting pretty good in understanding the ones that meant she was hungry, and the ones that meant she felt lonely. The ones she was making meant food.

"You're lucky i'm not in a raid, girl" - I said with a chuckle, and got her bottle full of formula.

I liked to hold cup her in my left hand while feeding her, it was a good sensation, to see her wrapping her little limbs around the bottle and squeeze it while sucking as hard as she could. I was looking at her, not thinking in nothing in particular, when she slowly opened her eyes. They were gorgeous, a deep blue color that made me gasp as her pupils dilated, filling her eyes and making them seem completely black, after that they contracted so much that they almost disappeared, being just two small dots, and finally stretched, becoming vertically slit-shaped pupils.

"Dude… what the fuck?" - i thought looking at her eyes, but all the questions i had went away when she released the bottle and stretched her paws in my direction. The biggest smile i ever felt took control of my face, and i felt something new inside me, it was beyond the tingle of joy i'd feel every now and then, it was something different, funny even, i wanted to give everything to that little ball of fur, and protect her from anything that could harm her.

"You falling in love kid!" - My mind joked while i chucked, moving the fingers on my right hand to see her reaction to them as she still hadn't finished the bottle. Four days later i was at the doc's office.

"So, how's things going between you guys?" - The doc asked me while Bast explored her office, i was impressed by how fast she was growing, and it was cute to see her ever growing curiosity and strength. She still couldn't move with the grace of a feline, so it was funny to see her attempts to move before she should trip of just lay down.

"Great, we doing great." - I said still looking at Bast. A part of me was disappointed with that meeting, i was sure the Doc was going to freak out about Daniele not giving me a Fluffy, like the Doc asked, but she seemed ok with it, to tell the truth it was like she didn't even care with the exchange.

"You taking the meds?"

"Every day doc, two in the morning, two in the afternoon, and the black one before bed"

"Tell me about the Puffy, how is it going for you?"

I told her about how new all that was, and at the same time, how scary and good it felt. She seemed pleased with my answer, told me we were making progress, gave me the prescription, and said we'd see each other in two weeks. It was… strange, it was the first time since we started the sessions she didn't use all the time we had, and for some reason she seemed eager to ditch me.

"Good for me, i guess" - I said carrying Bast to the car on her makeshift carrier, just an old shoebox i found laying in the back of my closet - "What you say we celebrate Bast? How about some Pork Ribs with Barbecue Sauce for tonight?"

She looked at me, with those lovely blue eyes, and i was just dying for her to start talking. Six days later my wishes were granted.

I was feeding her, noticing that she wasn't sucking on the bottle with as much enthusiasm as before, so i was thinking if it was a good time to start introducing her to meat, or cat food like Daniele suggested, as long as i fed her meat it was ok. I took the bottle out of her mouth and she started purring, coming closer to me and clawing my chest while trying to rub her head on my chin, and i had to lower my head so she could do it, i loved doing that with her, it felt like we were bonding, at that point i thought i was prepared for anything cute she could throw at me, boy nothing prepared me for the "Da" "Da" she started making.

I looked at her, worried she had choked on the milk for saliva, and she seemed to concentrate for a second, and next time she open her mouth a "Daddy" in a faint voice comes out of it.

"Wha… what did you say?" - I whispered feeling the world go silent around me, and she repeated it stronger this time, seeming proud of herself for doing it.

I believe that "life" begins when we are aware of what we are doing, what happens before that, our toddles and first years of life, are just responses programed by instinct, it's not really you, is a code being made, and at the moment your memories begin, or to say, you recall your actions, is where life begins. That being said, in all my life i never could call my father "Daddy" or "Father", not even "Dad", the first time i did that he slapped me so hard on the face that i got a cut on the inside of my right cheek.

"Call me SIR you little piece of shit!" - He growled looking furious at me, and from that point forward that's how i called him, "sir". Hearing Bast call me daddy made something click inside me, i was enjoying her, even believed i loved her, but at that moment something changed.

I hugged her, trying my best to not squish or hurt her, and felt tears on my face.

"Yes, yes Best, i am your Daddy"

From there Bast seemed to hit a grow sprout, at least intellectually, everyday she would have a new word in her vocabulary, and soon she was making complete sentences. It was not more just "Daddy, food" or "Daddy, play", "Bast, hide!", no, she was talking, really talking, her favorite sentence was "Daddy, try to catch me!", indicating she was going to run around the house while i chased her, what sometimes resulted in she clawing and biting me when i was able to get her and subdue her, nothing serious just playtime. But her hunger for knowledge was impressing me. She'd ask me about everything, and i do mean everything. She wanted to know what was the sun, the moon, the stars, why the water came out of the sink, why we didn't eat the same food, why was she so small, what was my computer, what was the little men inside the computer that i controlled, what was the television, why i didn't need to use the litterbox like her, what was a movie, what was music, cutting short, everything she saw, she questioned. And the day i explained what were books? Oh boy, she loved it, and would beg me to read to her every night before going to sleep.

I never got to really use her safe room, i saw no reason for it, she was not stupid as a Fluffy, at least compared to what i learned from all the forums, and seemed as durable as a house cat, so she'd stay with me in the bedroom, or wander around the house, as much as she liked to. But one thing bothered me, she was not growing as fast as a Fluffy, but with each passing day her features would be changing not for one of a cat, but for those of a panther, that got me even more proud of her, but at the same time, a little worried. Just how much was she like a Puffy, or Fluffy, anyway? What had Daniele really given me?

The visits with the doc were also taking a strange route. With each visit she was more impressed, and interested, on Bast and her growing, than with me and how i was doing. It got to the point she started trying to get Bast to go over to her lap, with no success. Bast was in no way scared of her, but seemed just uninterested at the doc, i even took some filet mignon, Bast favorite, to the doc once and told her to offer it to Bast, sure the treat would persuade the little rascal. But again, she just stood immobile on my lap.

The doc would talk to her, but she didn't show the same enthusiasm, and eloquence, she'd display when we were alone. Most times she'd give short and simple answers sticking to "yes" or "no". Maybe she was shy, maybe she didn't like the doc, i dunno, i wasn't going to get mad at her for not liking someone. Closest i ever got to be mad at her was when she pulled the power cord on my pc in the middle of a raid, but she was sorry for that, the tears in her eyes and the stream of sobs and "sorry, sorry, sorry!" that came out of her mouth before i could even say anything, or notice that it was her fault, proved that to me.

And just like that, six months passed since i got Bast, she was at the size of a house cat now, and she became so beautiful it was the same as looking at a dream. A mini black panther wandering around the house, with deep blue eyes and a slender figure, it was breathtaking to see her laying on the floor taking a nap under the sun that came from the window, or to wake up and see her sleeping on my belly, curled up and purring. And man, all the research i did indicated that Puffys where a lot more smarter than Fluffys, some said that just Alicorn Fluffys, a rare breed, would come close to the intelligence of a Puffy, and yet they'd be lacking. But Bast? For me Bast was a in whole different level, it was sometimes scary to tell the truth.

She wouldn't learn things, she absorbed then. Everything i wanted to teach her, i'd have to just say, or demonstrate, just once, and she'd master it. Doing silly tricks, not sharpening her claws on the sofa, the days of the week, the passing of time, anything, anything i explained to her, she'd absorb. Once she was seeing a movie with me, and some of the characters started to talk in russian, she looked at me and asked "What's that sound they making, Daddy?"

"Thats russian honey" - i explained pausing the movie.

"Russian?"

"You see, english, the language we are speaking right now, is not the only language people use to communicate, there are a lot of different languages, for a lot of different people, from a lot of different parts of the world"

"Oh…" - She said looking at the screen in awe - "Can you speak russian, Daddy?"

"No, no honey" - I chucked - "Daddy learned some other languages, but russian was not one of them"

"What can you speak?"

"Well… obviously i can speak english, but i can also speak portuguese, spanish, and i even know a little japanese, but i am pretty rusty on the japanese believe me" - I said smiling, feeling pretty good with myself to see her eyes get widen and sparkle with excitement.

"Can you teach me? Please, Daddy? Please?!"

"Sure i can honey, sure…" - i said laughing, but believing she would just let it be with a promise that she'd soon forget, but she just got more excited.

"Now? Can i learn now?"

"Hum… i don't see a reason why not, what you wanna learn?"

"Spanish! I wanna learn spanish!" - She laid sitting and straightening her back, the position she always took when i was explaining something to her.

"Ok… spanish it is" - i said smiling, planning to tease her a little just to satisfy her curiosity so we could go back to the movie.

"Try to repeat what i am going to say"

"Hola! Mi nombre es Juan. Yo tengo un perro loco em mis pantalones!" - I said holding back a clucke, waiting for her to look lost or puzzled, but instead she stood silent for a moment, and next thing i know she was reaping everything i said with perfection.

My jaw dropped. That made no fucking sense, NO FUCKING SENSE AT ALL. It took me at least TWO MONTHS to start formulating sentences in spanish without stuttering, and in just some SECONDS she was able to say a full sentence, one i said just to mess with her.

"Holy Fuck…" - I whispered looking at her, and she looked at me tilting her head to the side.

"Did i fail?"

"NO! No…" - I said shaking my head and scratching her head "You got it right! You got everything right! Thats… thats fucking awesome!" - I said laughing, but i wasn't happy, nah, i was puzzled, and a little afraid to be honest.

"Daddy! Language!" - She said laughing, and i said i was sorry for cursing in front of her.

From that day forward Bast would ask me to teach her others languages every time i got some free time, or was in the mood. Only thing she wouldn't give up on was the reading before bedtime, and i believe that teaching her about other cultures, countries, and the world, was what made her notice that our house was just that, a house. There was a lot more to see outside, i wasn't just talking about the doc's office or our yard, there was a world out there, and soon she wanted to see more, to explore.

That was a problem. I trusted Bast, hell, i never trusted anyone to take care of themselves as i trusted her, but i didn't trust other people. She was more than a exotic Puffy, she was unique, and i wasn't going to lose her to a fucking son of a bitch that would snatch her away to sell her, or keep as a pet, or worst case scenario, wanted to kill or abuse her just for fun. No… if she wanted to explore, to see more of the world, i would go with her. I started taking her out, always keeping her inside my jacket with just her head exposed above my chest, or inside my hoodie. She loved the latter cause she would hug my head, hovering hers above mine as asking a seemingly never ending stream of questions.

First thing i did was show her our neighborhood, where it started and ended, how to get to our house from all possible point from it, reference points she needed to know where she was and how to go back to our house, and after i was satisfied with how she would name the streets we entered without me saying it, or would point a reference point without me asking to, even correcting me when i purposely make mistakes and asked her if i was wrong, i felt safe enough to let her wander alone.

It was impossible to keep her a secret when i was walking with her in the open, let alone after i was going up and down the streets almost everyday seemingly talking to myself, so Bast quickly became a sensation on my neighborhood. People would ask me what breed of cat she was, if it was legal to raise her, where i got her, if i would sell her, if they could hold her, if i was going to sell her litter, how much i wanted right that moment for her, for me it was hell, for Bast… sometimes i believed she was enjoying so much attention from so many different people, others it seemed like she hated it, but one thing's for certain, she wouldn't speak to anyone besides me. She would just stare in silence, biggest sound she made was a hiss when Mr. Johnsons, our neighbor, chihuahua barked at us. Different dog, same reaction, history likes to repeat itself it seems.

Once i was confident enough, i told Bast she could explore alone, but she would have to respect the rules i was going to set for her.

1 - She could never go beyond our neighborhood alone. I would take her to explore the city, in time, but she could never, NEVER, go beyond our neighborhood.

2 - She would never accept ANYTHING a stranger offered her. No meat, toy, treat, scratches, a friend, she would accept NOTHING! Just turn around and get away from that person as fast as possible.

3 - She could enter other's yards, but NEVER, NEVER, enter someone else's home or tool shed. I didn't care how much she wanted to explore, she should NEVER enter someone else's house.

4 - If someone ever told her to go away, or screamed at her, or god forbids it, tried to hurt her, she should RUN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE AND COME BACK HOME. And NEVER go back to that person yard.

5 - She needed to be home before dark, i didn't care how much she wanted to explore, or how far she got from home while exploring, SHE HAD to be home BEFORE dark, or i wouldn't let her explore alone anymore.

6 - She shouldn't mess with other people's property. Don't dig up flowers, don't break things, don't ruin their gardens. If she needed to use the bathroom she could do it in someone flower garden earth. Yes it was not the same as using her litter box, but she could do it, but she needed to be careful not to hurt the flowers.

Yeah, most of the rules broke the exploring idea of letting her go explore, and i was being a little, if not a lot, paranoid and overprotective, but she was not a pet, she was my little girl, my Best, the only good thing i loved in my life. I didn't want to, but i HAD to let her go; and at the same time i needed something to give me some comfort or make me feel in control. I asked her if she understood, she told me yes, i asked again, she told me yes in a firm voice, and i said that from that day forward she could go exploring without me.

The first time she went out i couldn't be at peace, i was anxious, i was nervous, i thought about going out and trying to find her, i was cursing and calling me stupid for letting someone so unique like her out in the open without me to protect her, i thought about going out and trying to stalk her making sure everything was ok, hell, i was going crazy, but i stayed home. I did my best to show her i could trust her, and i believe everything would be ok. And around four o'clock she was back, with suck a big smile on her face and eyes that i couldn't even believe it. She jumped on me, clawing her way to my chest rubbing her head on my face and thanked me, telling me in such enthusiasm all she did and see alone that i felt so much joy i was ready to burst.

Her exploring time became part of our routine, and life was going pretty good for the two of us, but it is as the saying go, there is always a calm before the storm.

First time it happened i was in shock. I needed to get some more cash, and fast, cause my programing gig was going to shit, but people didn't seen to be very comfortable with hiring me, taking in account my actions from the last blackout, and things were getting complicated. I got myself a job as a grocery packer on a supermarket not too far way from my home, so that would keep me and Bast away from really tight times, at least for now. That meant i spended most of the day away from her, and i believe played a part in what came after.

I got home, tired as fuck and just dying for a shower, some food, and some time with Bast, and before i could call out to her she was coming my way, running and giggling. I crouched laughing and she pounced at me, biting my shoulder and clawing my back while i laughed.

"Hey! Hey! Careful not to rip daddy's uniform, i need this!" - I said not really caring for that shitty uniform, but also not in the mood for getting scolded at work.

"Dad! Dad! I have a surprise!" - She said once i got her on the floor, and was shifting her height from one leg to another, anxious to show me whatever it was.

"Oh, a surprise? For me?"

"Yeah!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, dad!"

"Like, really? Really? Really? For your dad?" - I said teasing her, and watching her roll her eyes made me chuckle.

"Come on, daaaaaad!"

"Ok, ok, what is it?"

"Follow me!" - She said running toward my bedroom, and i followed her smiling and thinking about what she could have made to be so proud of, and as soon as i entered my room i felt the floor crumble under me.

It was Gunner, Mr. Johnsons dog, i could tell because of his head, and to tell the truth that was the only thing still in one piece. Bast was standing, all proud and anxious, beside the bloody mess that was the dog carcass. He's legs where clean off, with little meat and tendons still attached to the blood coated exposed bones. She ripped his belly open, eating most of the organs and viseras, his ribcage was also relatively intact, but i could see she choose to eat some of the bones there, being so small it should have not been a problem for her, one thing that bothered me was the fact that she ripped out his ears and gouged out his eyes and tongue, i could tell with the tongue cause she had also ripped off the lower part of his jaw. The claw marks around what was left of his head and pelt gave me the impression she had been playing with the carcass, or tormented the little fuck before killing him.

"...Ba...Bast…" - I stuttered still not believing what i was seeing.

"Yes?"

"Bast… is that… is that Gunner?"

"Uhum" - She said with a giggle

"Bastet… what the fuck did you do?" - I said, impressed by how weak my voice sounded, and she looked at me confused.

"I… i hunted… i am a hunter… he was prey… aren't… aren't you happy? Proud?" - She asked me coming close to me, and i had to control myself to don't push her away.

"Oh Bast why? Why did you kill Gunner? He's Mr. Johnson's pet… why Bast? I… i give you food, you have food, plenty of food, why did you kill him?" - I asked her while crouching, trying to understand what drove her to do that.

"He was inside our yard, shitting in the grass again" - She said looking over her shoulder to the carcass with a angry look on her face - "You said you wanted to kill him for doing that, so i killed him".

"Ooooohhhh man… is this my fault?" - I thought rubbing my forehead. Yeah, i had said that i wished to kill the little fucker, more than once when i found his shit on my front yard and Mr. Johnson ignored my complaints about it. But i was never really going to kill the stupid thing.

"Daddy… am… am i bad? Did i make a mistake? Did i make you angry or sad?" - She asked me while putting both her front paws on my chest, making me look her in the eyes while i tried to find an answer.

"No… no Bast… you didn't made me sad… but… but… you can't just go around killing peoples pets" - I said not really knowing what to think or how to react. I didn't want to make her feel bad for trying to surprise me, especially if she did that based on a wish she believed i had, but at the same time i couldn't have her going around killing peoples pets.

"Look" - I said picking her up and sitting on the bed, doing my best to don't step on the carcass or the blood that was being absorbed by the carpet. Jesus fuck i hoped it wouldn't let the room smelling, i'd probably have to cut that piece of carpet and throw it away - "People… people have pets, pets are people's friends, company, some people even see their pets as their children, so even if someone's pet annoys you, or Daddy, you can't kill that pet, you should never kill someone else pet".

"But he was shitting on the grass, you told me to never do that, and it's OUR yard, you told me to never mess with other people's yards, why he could do it?"

"He couldn't, Bast, but Gunner was a BAD pet, ok? And Mr. Johnson is a bad owner. It was Mr. Johnson's responsibility to not let Gunner mess with our yard. You see, you're special, Bast, and not only because you're Daddy's daughter, you're VERY special, you understand things, you learn things, you're my little special girl, my joy! Others don't understand things like you. Gunner didn't understand, he was stupid, that's why he broke the rules, but that doesn't mean you could kill him" - I said trying to put some sense in her mind, not knowing if i was making a good job.

"Am i a pet?"

"WHAT?! NO, no Bast, no, you're no pet!" - I said shaking my head. We never really got into the topic of what the two of us were, she always called me Daddy, and i always called her my Daughter, it was good enough for me - "You're my daughter, you're special, you're not a pet. That's why you can't kill pets, understand?"

"So i can't hunt pets… can i hunt other things? And how do i know what is or isn't a pet? They all look and smell like prey" - She said looking at the carcass.

"There" - I said pointing at Gunner's collar and id tag - "You see that? All pets use that. If something you see as prey have one of those, it's not prey, it's a pet, and you CAN'T kill it."

"Ok… i won't hunt a pet again…" - She said soft clawing my right leg, and we remained in silence for a while.

"Do you… hate me?" - She asked me without looking at me.

"No, Bast, i don't hate you, i love you" - I said rubbing my forehead on hers, and it seemed to cheer her up - "You just made a little mistake, but you won't do it again, right?"

"Right"

"Ok… i have to clean this up and get us…" - I started saying getting up, and stopped for a second.

"Bast, why the hell you eat him?"

"It tasted good" - She said with no shame at all.

"Yep, she IS a hunter after all" - I thought looking at Gunners carcass - "Just hope she doesn't kill someone's pet again, i don't need the neighborhood to kick us out or trying to hurt her".

I disposed of Gunner carcass, involving him in a old hag i found laying around and putting it inside a ziploc bag, throwing him in the trash, hoping that the garbage truck would pick him up as soon as possible.

I was definitely going to need to cut that piece of carpet, but what really worried me was the possibility of Bast killing another pet. I didn't know if our talk was enough to stop her from doing it again, a part of me knew she was going to kill something someday, heck, she was a panther, it was fucking obvious, so i think that just seeing her cute side all the time hadn't prepared me for that situation.

"Well… i have to praise her when she kills something she's allowed to kill, and scold her when she doesnt… shes never broken my rules until today so everything will be ok… i hope".

Your Dad is the most important thing in your life. There's no other truth you know.

You always, ALWAYS, try your best for your Dad.

You respect his rules, you learn things that make him smile, or laugh, you play with him all the time, you cuddle with him, play bite and play claw him, you want him to look at you, to praise you, to touch you, he's the most important thing in your life, you don't know what is it that makes him so, but he is.

But there is something that also brings you great joy, one thing that you believed he would understand, but seems like he doesn't.

Hunting. Why doesn't your Dad understand that you love it? You both have the same smell after all. He's not like the others, they smell weake, they smell like prey, at least most of them, some smell like danger, but you haven't found one that smells like your Dad, his smell is the best one in the world, even if it's faint.

So when you killed Gunner you were sure he was going to be overjoyed, but no, he was sad. He said you couldn't kill "Pets", why was he saying that? They were no "pets" they were just prey. Weak, scared, useless aside from being food, prey, nothing else.

But alas, you would respect your Dad wishes, like you always did, and he could hide it very well on his face, but his smell didn't lie, when he looked at Gunner carcass he was happy, he was overjoyed, but his words said the opposite. Confusing, but you made your best to try and understand.

You can kill anything that isn't a "Pet". As long as they don't have a collar and id tag you can kill them if you feel like it, and that's what you've been doing since that day.

You've bringed every kind of prey you could find to your Dad. Cats, rats, dogs, big insects, lizards, birds. You loved to hunt birds cause they could fly, one moment they were on the ground, the other they were on the sky, and you would pounce at them, aiming to get them on the air, you loved to get them on the air, it made you feel powerful, you overcame their wings, you're superior, you're a hunter, the BEST hunter. And it would make your Dad happy, proud, he'd even give you some Filet Mignon if you hunt something big.

Pray you sometimes wished you could hunt "pets", but that would make your Dad sad, and you loved the praise he'd give you every time you bring him a new kill. You were learning to make it shift, more precise, cleaner, but that was no fun, you only killed big dogs with precision.

People... people would complain if you got in a fight with your prey. They didn't like the sounds of battle, they didn't understand why you were hunting and having fun with your prey, why would they? They were not like your father, so you avoided them, you avoided playing too much and letting your prey make a big fuss.

Some would come to your Dad house and talk to him, scream sometimes, and when they screamed you felt your Dad's smell growing, you loved that, but at the same time it made you perplexed. Why was his smell growing when people screamed at him, he'd always scream back, always look at them just like you looked at prey, and they would notice it, they would go away, but still scream at the distance.

You ask if you did bad, but he always said that no, you respected the rules, you didn't kill a pet, so you didn't do bad, people just didn't understand, they were afraid of you, they were stupid.

You didn't want people to scream at your Dad, and you didn't want to kill every prey with swiftness, there was no fun in doing it that way, so that's why you found yourself a sanctuary.

Your Dad told you to never enter someone's house, but that house belonged to no one. It was abandoned, forgotten, it smelled like dust and blood, old blood. You didn't knew why it smelled like that, or why no one lived there, but it was perfect for you. You never saw people inside the houses around it during the day, so they probably were working, like your Dad, so during the day you could play with your new prey there. It could scream, run and trash around all it wanted, you could have as much fun as you desired, and no one would complain, no one would go after your Dad to scream at him.

You liked the prey meat. It was not as good as filet mignon, it was good in a different way. It was… invigorating, yeah, like the warriors on your Dad's book, the ones that eat their enemies heart to absorb their strength. By eating prey you felt like you were getting stronger, faster, deadlier. It was good, it made you happy, but something made you feel like it was lacking, for some reason you felt like there was something better out there, something special, like your Dad's medicine. He told you that it was special, it helped him, you asked if you could have some and he said no, that you should NEVER touch his medicine, it was for him, only for him. You also wanted something special, something that was only yours, maybe someday you'd find it. Maybe it was a different prey, and for that reason you'd hunt as much as possible.

And one day, one day you found it.

You arrived at your sanctuary, carrying a mouse in your mouth; that was a boring hunt. All prey that was not a pet was leaving, it was hard to find them, could you have hunted them all? Maybe… maybe you got so good that you hunted everything that was not a pet. You'd have to find more preys to hunt, different ones, you were sure you'd be able to find some if you expanded your hunting grounds, you've been dying to ask your Dad to go farther, to see more, maybe he'd agreed, the perimeter he allowed you to have was starting to get boring, you were sure he'd understand, but that was a thing to worry another time.

The days were getting colder and shorter, night was coming so fast you almost broke your Dad rules some times now, luckily he'd always arrive after it was completely dark so he never noticed it. You'd hate to break his rules and make him sad, so you had skin the rat as fast as possible and be on your way. She was a big one, probably had a litter on her belly, her pelt would make a nice addition to the ones you'd been collecting. As soon as you entered the house you notice the smell was different. You'd been working on making it smell like you, and now it smelled.. bad, it smelled wrong, it was the worst smell ever.

You dropped the mouse and started to look around, trying to find what was making such a terrible smell, and you started hearing voices.

"Mummah love babbehs, babbehs love moommah, mommah gives best milkyes and huggs, lots of love and best song"

"Speciaw fwend wike speciaw pwace? Spawn find warm safe pwace, bestest nestie fow speciaw fawend and babbehs! Spawn wuv speciaw fwend!"

"Bwue baww wuv speciaw fwend! Cooo! Cooo!"

The voices… they were wrong, irritating, they sounded so distorted you wanted to shut your ears if possible. And the smell, the closest you got to the voices the worst it got.

Only humans had voices, no prey ever had a voice. Had the humans found your sanctuary? Were they there to take it back? To send you away? And why were their voices so wrong? You didn't knew, but you were going to found out.

You walked in silence, as you always do, using the shadows of the house to your advantage, and inside one of the rooms, YOUR favorite room, the one you left the pelts you collected, you saw the intruders.

You never saw anything like them before. They were as big as you, but bigger, fatter would be the right word, or maybe harrier, they sure had a LOT of fur, and it was dirty, so dirty, you noticed they were the source of the terrible smell, both had a lot of dirty and shit on their fur, especially around the strange paws they had.

You saw other animals, in movies, on your Dad's books, games, but you had never seen something like those two. Just what were then? And why could they talk? Were they like you?

You watched them from afar for some time, one was blue, with a blue hair and tail, the other was black, with red tail and hair, they were laying in your pelts, close to each other, and they were smiling, yes, you could see it in their faces, it was a smile… odd… you never saw prey smile before.

"Speciaw fwend, soon mummah need nummies fuw miwkies, find nummies pwease" - The blue one said, and the black one got up, looking at the door.

You could let it leave, but you really didn't feel like it, your curiosity spoke louder, so you got out of the shadows and started walking in the direction of the door.

It saw you, you wanted it to so it was not hard, but you were not prepared for it to start screaming.

"NNNUUUUUUUUU! HISSY-MUNSTAH!" - The black one screamed while retreating and staying in front of the blue one

"Bwue Baww scawed! Hewp speciaw fwend!"

You stopped at the door, looking at them,. trying to understand how they could talk, what they were, and the most important, what they were saying. You made no sense of what they would say, and you learned other languages! You father teached you, why couldn't you understand that?

"HISSY-MUNSTAH NU HUWT SPECIAW FWED! SPECIAW FWEND SOON MUMMAH! SPAWN GIV' HISSY-MUNSTAH SOWWY-HOOFIES AND SOWWY-POOPIES!" - The black one screamed puffing its cheeks and fur while stomping his odd paws. You could also do that, but you didn't felt like it, instead you tried to talk to the things.

"I am not going to hurt you" - You said sitting and looking at them, their fear obvious.

They both stood in silence, looking at you with confusion on their faces and eyes

"Hissy-munstah speak?" - The blue one said, but the black one was still trying to protect her.

You concentrated, repassing all the words in your mind, and it clicked, it was not a different language, it was english. A very simple and dumb version of english, with some letters changed.

"Yes i can speak, how can you two also speak?"

"Hissy-munstah speak funny" - The blue one said giggling, and the black one seemed to calm down a little

"Hissy-munstah nu give owwies to Fwuffys?" - It asked you in a soft voice.

"I am not going to hurt you" - You repeated - "What are you? What is a Fluffy? Is that what you are?"

"Yes! Spawn is Fwuffy, gud Fwuffy, fund speciaw pwace fu speciaw fwend and belly babbehs" - The black one said looking proud.

"So you're both Fluffys?"

"Yes! Hissy-munstah Fwuffy tu?" - The blue one asked.

"No, i am no Fluffy. I am Bastet"

"Bas… Bastet?" - The one named Spawn said, yeah, the black one was Spawn, and the Blue one… she said Blue Ball didn't she? Before they saw you, yes, Blue Ball, the name suited her seen how fat she was.

"Right, i am Bastet, not a monster"

"Bastet fwend? Hewp Fluffys find nummies?" - Spawn asked getting closer to you, and you passed him avoiding touching the disgusting thing, you didn't want all that filthy he carried to soil you.

"Nummies?"

"Yes, nummies gud fu mummah, hewp make bestest miwkie fu babbehs" - Blue ball said swelling with pride and rubbing her large belly with both her front hooves, you could see those were hooves now, looking at them closer.

They made you remember a lot of animals at the same time, and it was hard to tell because of the putrid smell, but they smelled like a lot of animals at the same time too.

"Fluffys… funny things…" - You said circling them - "Are you pets?"

"Pets?"

"Do you have a owner, a human?"

"Huu, Bwue baww nu have a mommy u daddy" - Blue ball said sad, and you looked at Spawn.

"Spawn had daddy, but Daddy sai nu be Daddy fu Speciaw fwend. Spawn runway with Speciaw fwend, Spawn wuv speciawl fwend and tummy babbehs" - He said getting close to blue ball and hugging her, and both emitted that "cooo! cooo!" sound you heard earlier. It was a funny sight to see them hugging each other with their front hooves.

"I see" - You said getting back to the door, you had never hunted fluffys before, maybe it would be fun.

"Bastet hav daddy u mommy?" - Blue Ball asked you, and you felt that warmth you felt inside you every time you thought about your dad.

"Yes, yes i have. He's the best Daddy in the world" - You said unable to hide the pride in your voice, and Blue Ball seemed to envy you for that.

"Yew… yew be nyu daddeh fow Bwue Baww and Spawn, pwease?" - She said with pleading eyes, the petulance of that thing, to think you'd share YOUR FATHER with them.

They invade your sanctuary, they ruined your pelts with all their filthy, and now they DARE to ask you to share YOUR father? Yes… you were going to hunt those things, and you would have as much fun as possible. But first you had to make sure they were not going to escape, you need to know how they got inside.

"Maybe, maybe he can" - You said softly, making both be filled with joy, Spaw even started jumping in place babbling something about a new daddy for his special friend and babies.

"But first tell me, how did you enter my sanctuary?"

"Wa?" - Spawn asked you settling down.

"This house, it's my sanctuary, it's where i come to be alone, those pelts, they are my pelts" - You said pointing with your head to the pelts they ruined, and Blue looked mortified for a second - "So how did you enter?"

"Fluffy nu kuw dis Bastet homie" - Spaw said looking at the floor, but you knew that was a lie. He also knew, you leaved claw marks all around the house, you made the house smell like you, and now it smelled like them, more like Spaw to tell the truth. Now that you got used to their smell you could tell. He probably walked around the house rubbing his disgusting body on the walls to make your smell go away - "Spaw fund Fwuffy doow"

Fluffy door? Ow… he could only be referring to the little cat door the back door had, you never used the thing, you saw no use for it since you could easily jump on the windows, and no one ever invaded you sanctuary before so you never got rid of it.

"I see" - You said stretching your body. Spaw would have to go first, he was the male, he would try to protect Blue ball all the time, so he had to be eliminated first. And blue ball… she was pregnant, it would be easy, too easy to tell the truth, you would have to hold yourself a little before killing Spaw.

"Well, Spaw, you said you need a new daddy, right? And Blue Ball need food to make milk for your babies, yes?" - You asked him getting out of the room, and he confirmed with an enthusiastic nod of his head - "So come on, i will show you where to get food, and will show you to my Dad, he will help you"

The gullible fool started following you, leaving his companion behind after telling her he would be back with lots of nummies and a new daddy. Yeah right.

You walked with him until you reached the backdoor, irritated by how slowly he moved, but satisfied with the distance, you had all the house to use as a hunting ground, you just hoped he'd run faster then he moved.

"So, tell me Spaw, why did you lie?" - You asked him stopping in front of the cat door, denying him his only escape point.

"Wa? Fwuffy nu lie" - He said lowering his head.

"Of course you did, you said you didn't knew this was my house, but you knew, didn't you? You could smell it" - You said looking him in the eyes, those big dumb eyes he had, and he looked at the floor.

"Spawn… Spawn sowwy. Spawn need warm homie fow speciaw fwend and tummy babbehs, pwease nu hate Spawn"

"Oh… i don't hate you Spawn"

"Weawwy?!"

"Really. I don't hate you. i'm just going to kill you." - You said, and clawed his face before he could understand what was happening.

The scream, you were not prepared for that scream. Every time you played with your prey they would make as much sound as they could, but it was never so loud, so anguished, and it never gave you so much pleasure.

"SSSSSSSCCCCCCCRRRRRREEEEEAAAAAACCCCHHHHHHHH! SEE-PWACE HAV WOWSTEST OWWIES!" - He screamed starting to run, and you could see a big puddle of liquid shit and piss behind him. As he runned, if that silly thing could be called running, you could see more shit trailing behind him, and blood.

You felt your heart racing, something was different, the smell! His blood, his fear, his screams! It was intoxicating, it made you go berserk.

You were onto him in a matter of seconds, for one brief moment you contemplated clawing his behind, but you didn't want any of that liquid shit to hit you, so you attacked his side, clawing it with as much power as you could muster.

"NUUUUUUUUUUU NU HUWT FWUFFY! FWUFFY SOWWY!"

There was blood, some blood, most of what you clawed was fur, he seemed to be slimmer than you anticipated. You circled him, and attacked the other side, this time lunging closer to him, The screams, and the sweet perfume that was his blood make you giggle with pleasure

"NNNNNUUUUUUUU! NUUUUUUUUUUUU!" - He screamed shitting and pissing while running, disgusting beast.

"Speciaw fwend?" - You heard blue asking, and looked in the direction of the room. She was by the door, fear plastered on her face as what was happened sinked in. You looked at her, looked at spaw, and he was also looking, fear consuming him.

You crouched smiling, and he started running towards her.

"WUN SPECIAW FWEND! SAVE BABBEHS!" - He screamed, but he was slow, oh so slow, and before he even covered half the distance you were already upon the pregnant mare, you tackled her with your body, rolling away from her and pouncing, clawing her face and belly while she screamed

"NUUUUUUUUUUU! BIG OWWIES! NU HUWT SOON MOMMAH! NO HUWT BABBEHS!" - She screamed while letting out a blast of liquid shit and piss.

Their belly's was soft, easy to claw, and blood flowed abundant, that made you happy.

You got away from her, hissing loudly; she was for latter. You looked at Spaw, he was running towards you, his only eye with a glimpse of hate. Good, hurting his partner seemed to motivate the little shit to fight.

He tried to hit you with his head, it was easy to avoid, and you clawed his left front leg, laughing at his screams. He looked at you, his single eye full of tears and fear, and tried to say something, but you didn't give him time for that. Now was time for blood, for fun, not for words. You clawed his nose this time, and the scream filled you with joy.

"SSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRREEEEEEE! SNIFFY-PWACE HAV BIG OWWIES! NU WIKE!"

You jumped over him, taking advantage of his blind side, and toyed around with him a little, moving so he couldn't see you, making he spin around like a idiot, and you attacked again, clawing his right back leg, making him scream.

"Come on Spawn! FIGHT BACK!" - You screamed, and he just sobbed, screaming about ouchies and being sorry, and you hissed at him, making he and blue ball scream in terror. You liked that, and you hissed again, this time clawing his back, making the scream oh so much enjoyable.

"I TOLD YOU TO FIGHT BACK! EVEN RATS FIGHT BACK! SO FIGHT!" - You roared, crazy for him to make it more fun.

"FWUFFY SOWWY! FWUFFY NU WAN FIGHT! FWUFFY FU LWUV AND HUGGIES!" - He screamed trying to run away, but now he's running speed was almost as sad as his walking.

"Or you fight, or i kill Blu Ball" - You said passing him and going in the direction of the mare that was wobbling her fat body, still lying on her back, was that stupid thing so fat it couldn't even roll to its side and get up?

"NU! NU! IF MUNSTAH HUWT SPECIAW FWEND SPAWN GIF FOWEVAH SWEEPIES!" - He screamed with renewed motivation, forcing himself to pick up the pace, this time trying to bite you. He of course, missed. It was so easy to dodge him, you got used to besting cats and dogs, and yet those pítfull things filled you with so much joy while toying around with them.

"Oh noes, you missed!" - You giggled after dodging his second bite - "Guess i have to hurt blue ball"

One jump and you closed the distance between you and blu ball.

She looked at you mortified, putting her front hooves in front of her eyes after closing them. That made you laugh, what was she thinking?

"BWU BAWW HIDING! SPECIAW FWEND PWEASE MAKE MUNSTAH GU AWAY!"

Was she trying to hide in plain sight? In front of YOU?! The best hunter there is? Oh, that was hilarious, your Dad would laugh his socks off when you told him about this.

"Oh… seems like Blue Ball is hiding, dam!" - You said entertaining the stupid beast, and you looked at Spawn, running in your direction as fast as he could - "Guess its just the two of us Spaw"

You lunged toward him, hitting his face as hard as you could, but not just once, you unleashed a flurry of attacks, each one opening new cuts on his face and drawing more blood and screams. When you stopped he was stunned, and stumbled, falling to the floor while chirping. His face was just a bloody mess by now, but at least you had the decency of letting he keep his remaining eye.

"Come on Spaw, you have to protect your special friend" - You said while circling blue and looking at him - "You don't want me to find her, do you?"

"NUUU! SPECIAW FWEND! PWEASE SAVE BWUE BAWW! SAVE BABBEHS!" - She screamed while shaking her stupid back legs in the air, and the poor thing started getting up, his whole body shaking, but he tripped, sobbing and babbling about ouchies and begging his legs to work. This was starting to get boring.

You walked to Spawn, looking at his pitfall attempts to get up, you couldn't believe how weak those things were.

"Pwease, nu huwt Fwuffy. Fwuffys am fow wuv and huggies" - He said stretching it front hooves at you, his face covered in snot, tears and blood.

You didn't bother giving him an answer, he had no use for it. You bite him on the back of his neck, pulling him up with all your strength while he screamed something about "bad upsies" whatever that shit was, and slammed his back against the floor, leaving him defenseless.

"BIG OWWIES! WHY MEANIE MUNSTAH GIVE FLU…" - He started sobbing when you bitted his neck, letting your fangs go deep, it was hard, there was so much fur it almost made you choke, but you endured, applying more pressure until all he could muster was some satisfying gurgling squeaks. You could just let go of his throat and let he slowly die, but that would be no fun. You start ripping off the flesh, holding him in place with your paws, that got some more screams out of him, even if faint.

"CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP! Chir...chi...ch..." - He was babbling until the end.

You look at Blue Ball, sobbing and making a "Huuuuhuuuuu!" sound that's like music to you. And lick your lips and nose, feeling the how sweet those things blood was, while walking in her direction. The stupid mare was STILL laying on her back, and still keeping up that stupid "hiding" joke going.

"Speciaw Fwend? Speciaw Fwend make munstah gu away?" - She asked while you got close to her, and you stood by her side, looking at her bloated belly, oh… that was going to be a FEAST.

She takes her hooves away from her eyes and open them, screaming like a madman at the sight of Spawn opened throat, AGAIN shitting and pissing herself. making her tail a even bigger filthy mess than it already is. She finally looks at you and start screaming.

"NU! NU HUWT SOON MUMMAH! PWEASE MUNSTAH! PWEASE! BWUE BAWW SOON MUMMAH! PWEASE NU GIF FOWEVAH SWEEPIES! BABBEHS NEED MUMMAH FOW WUV, MIWKIES AND HUGGIES!"

You ignore her, putting both your paws on her bloated belly, kneading it as hard as you can, letting your claws scratch her and take a few pieces of fur away, she goes NUTS! Screaming and trying to move, begging and crying while making a new strand of shit fly out of her anus. You smile at her, satisfied it's working so well, and stop; walking to her front, letting her face directly in front of your belly while you place your paws above her tits.

"Pwease munshta, pwease no huwt miwkie-pwace, need for make bestest miwkies fow babbehs" - She sob in a weak voice while chirping, you just smile letting your claws outs and start clawing, front bottom to top, making bigger and deeper cuts as you repeat the process.

Her screams now are deafening, and she start screaming something about biggest poopies

"Great, more shit" - You think, but her desperation about that is above anything she displayed, and then you hear it, a "chirp" "chirp" sound that doesn't come from Blue Ball.

"HUUUUUUUUUUHUUUUUUUUU! BWUE BAWW BAD MOMMAH! WOWSTEST MOMMAH EVER! PWEASE BABBEHS, NU COME, PLEASE!" - Shes screaming while you look for the source of the sound, and you see something moving in the middle of the mess that became her tail while you opened her so you could feast.

For one second you thought that it was a rat, but when you got close it it Blue Ball screamed so much about you please leaving her baby alone, and started giving birth to another, that you just couldn't believe it. For a second you thought about eating the dam newborn in front of her, just to make she scream more, but it had landed on her shit, no way in hell you'd put something covered in shit in your mouth. So you looked at the one that was being delivered, that was a different history.

"Hey Blue Ball, your baby is coming!" - You said in a jovial tone, and she could just whimper and chirp in fear.

You bitted the half of the baby that was already out of her, pulling it out and letting into weakly squirm in your mouth, chirping loudly as you raised it so Blue Ball could see the destiny of her litter. She look at you and just froze.

"Pwease munstah, pwease *chirp* nu gif fowevah sweepies to cheepy babbeh, bwue baww ju..."

You bite down, making blood ooze out of your mouth as you crushed bones and teared the newborn flesh, making the half that was out of your mouth land on her opened belly. Blu Ball just lost it, she screamed, a long desperate scream, and you could see her eyes rolling back into her head, and then there was nothing more, no sobs, no screams, no plea, she started twitching and gurgling, tensing up her whole body and all of a sudden the thing died on you! She just gone ahead and died!

"Damn you Blue Ball!" - You thought swallowing half of the baby, and biting the other half - "It was starting to get fun!".

You hadn't noticed while munching on the previous part, but that thing was by far the best meat you ever had in your entire life! It was a shame they died so fast. Well, her belly was still pretty bloated, so there were probably some more babies inside it, you could still have some fun.

While you ripped Blue Ball flesh and gulped it with joy, you finally realized. You felt happy, as happy as when your Dad praised you or hugged you, the only thing that made you more happy than what you were feeling right now was the day your Dad kissed your forehead and said you were the most important thing in his life. You finally found it, the thing you were looking for. Something special!

You needed more, and you would find more, but for now you would feast, and after you'd tell your dad all about it, you were sure he would be happy and proud of you.

I believe that the turning point was the night i arrived home and found Bast waiting for me by the door. She'd never done that before.

"Daddy!" - She screamed as soon as i got out of the car, and came running towards me, jumping on my legs, clawing and biting me.

"Hey, hey! Take it easy!" - I said while laughing, trying not to step on her - "You really missed me, hum?"

"Yes! Yes!" - She said walking by my side, hitting my leg with her head, and got in front of me as i came up to the door - "No! NO, Dad! No!"

"What's the problem?" - I said looking at her with keys in hand.

"You have to close your eyes, i have a surprise for you"

That was new, she never asked me to close my eyes before. Since Gunner anything she killed she displayed without beating around the bush, it got me curious so i decided to indulge her.

"Ok, but i have to open the door first" - I said smiling.

"Right, but no peeking!"

I opened the kitchen door, and stepped inside, eyes closed and a big smile on my face while she said "Follow me".

"I can't see ya, kiddo" - I said with a chuckle, and she told me to just walk straight forward. Four steps and i hitted the counter while she giggled.

Took me two tries to get out of the kitchen without hitting anything else, and as i entered the living room the smell hitted me. It was horrible; a mix of shit, bile, blood and piss, so strong it made me gag.

"Bast, what the fuck?!" - I said opening my eyes while holding back the urge to vomit, and she was standing tall and proud beside a carcass utterly mangled in the middle of the living room.

What she did to Gunner was nothing compared to that. She ate Gunner, but this thing? This thing was just a toy. There were guts all over the place, pieces of him scattered around, chunks of flesh even on the walls. Bones, organs, blood, fur everywhere, i couldn't even tell what the fuck the thing was.

"Bast… what is that?" - I asked her approaching the thing, shivering with the thought of having to clean all that up and still having to praise her for killing the damn thing if it was not someone's pet.

"It's a Fluffy! He's name was Spaw!" - She said jovial - "Fluffies can SPEAK, Dad, they even SCREAM! It was AWESOME to hunt him!"

'Oh fuck…' - I thought looking at all her eyes full of happiness.

"He wasn't anyone's pet, was him?" - I asked her sure that she fucked up this time, the damn thing had a name, and it was not a simple one like the forums said ferals would call themselves if they ever came up with a name, no, that was someones pet, or it least it was at some time.

"No, he told me he run away to be with his special friend, and he had no collar or tag, so he was no pet" - She said proud with herself.

'Shhhiiiiittttttt' - I thought but did my best to smile, no use in scolding her for a mistake like that. From what i heard on forums Fluffys running away to have a litter was pretty common, and most people just brushed it off letting the dam things try to survive on their on. I believe i'd do the same; give a fucking animal a house, food, love and care, and in return he runs off so he can fuck or get fucked? Ha, a quick death is too good for a fucking ingrate like that.

"Well… aside from this mess" - I said looking at her pretending to be pissed - "You did really good!"

"Really, Dad?! Really?!" - She asked me running to me and jumping on my legs, trying to claw her way up my clothes so i could hug her.

"Yeah, yeah, you did REALLY good this time! My awesome huntress! The best among the best of the best!" - I said lifting her up and throwing her on the air while we both laughed, hugging her tight after getting tired of doing that.

"BUT" - I said holding her at eye level with me - "You can't make such a mess again, young lady. This is not like you, what you had in mind to do this?"

"It was fun" - She said booping my nose with her paws.

'I may have a little Sadist on the making' - I thought, grinning and shaking my head while laboing it as a stupid thought. No animal could develop such a human trait, especially not Bast. She was just exploring her feline instinct, that was all; i just had to teach her to be a little more carefull inside the house.

I made her help me clean up the mess that night, praising her for the hunt and for helping me, but trying to drill into her head that she should never make such a mess inside the house again.

From that day forward Bast seemed to get obsessed with Fluffys. She wanted to know more about them, why they could talk, how she could find more, were she could find more, why she hadn't seen them before, and she started bringing more and more dead Fluffys home. That got me worried. I knew none of my neighbors had Fluffys, aside from me everyone had a flower garden, it was the neighborhood pride, it's tradition if you wish to call it that. My mother used to be a part of it, but i would take no part on that silliness. So Fluffys were a nono around this parts, they meant problem, they'd eat the flowers without thinking twice and fuck up all the hard work everyone dedicated to their gardens, so were the fuck was Bast getting so many of those things? She'd bring at least three dead Fluffys home every week, something was off, but before i could realise what it was the worse happened.

It was a Sunday, i was home playing some WoW when Bast came storming into my room, screaming for me like i never saw she doing before.

"Bast?! What is it?" - I questioned her, blood pumping fast.

"He hurt me! He's trying to kill me!" - She sobbed while hiding under my bed.

"Wha? What you talking about Bast? Come out, lemme see you. Whos trying to kill you?" - I said crouching next to the bed, and she crawled out, looking at me with eyes full of tears and fear, at least one of her eyes.

There was a nasty cut above her left eye, and blood got inside it making her keep it closed, she was also limping from her right back leg, and when i tried touching it she growled in pain.

"Bast… who the fuck did this to you?" - I asked her feeling rage build up inside me, i didn't care if i had another one of my blackouts right now, someone hurted my kid and terrified her, someone was going to pay for that.

"I don't know, i was…" - She started saying, and i started hearing shouts coming from outside, followed by loud bangs on my door.

Bast gasped in fear and crawled under the bed again.

"Don't get out of the room, Bast" - I said getting up.

"No, Dad, do…"

"Don't. leave. the room." - I said trying not to shout at her, and she just sniffed in response.

I walked to my front door, feeling light headed, i knew the blackout was coming, but i had to fight it, i didn't want to, i wanted to cave in the face of the fucker that hurted Bast, but that would mean fucking everything up and going to jail, so i had to maintain some control, i had to at least remain consciousness.

"OPEN UP YOU SONS A BITCHES! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" - A man was screaming while banging on my door, and i stood in front of it, breathing as slowly as i could, trying to keep calm, but it was not helping.

"OPEN UP!"

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU DOING?!" - I screamed at the door while opening it, and a middle age man was standing on my door, eyes blazing with hate as he hyperventilated. He was shorter than me, but not much, and had a pretty good build, no sitting on his ass office job for this one.

"THAT MOTHER FUCKER MONSTER YOU HAVE KILLED MY DAUGHTER FLUFFY!" - He screamed at my face, and i pushed him hard while telling him to back off. He felt the power behind my push, his eyes told me so, it was always like that, the surprise that comes from so much power coming out of a simply push. I closed the door before me and took two long steps toward him.

There was indeed a girl in the front of my yard, holding a light blue colored Fluffy with a Rainbow Mane and Tail. The little thing would be pretty if its throat was not ripped open, with a lot of blood getting sucked by her fur and staining the little girl arms.

"DON'T PUSH ME!" - He screamed coming toward me, and i pushed him again, this time with more force. He stumbled, falling on his ass, and coughed, taking some time to stand in the middle of my yard. The neighbors were already gathering around and some were pulling their cell phones out, recording the circus that was forming instead of calling the cops.

"Who the fuck you think you are to hurt MY kid?" - I said looking him in the eyes and walking in his direction.

"What? WHAT? THAT FUCKING BEAST KILLED MY DAUGHTER PET! LOOK AT HER!" - He said pointing at his daughter and the dead Fluffy - "SHE WAS A FUCKING RAINBOW DASH! YOU HAD ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I PAYED FOR HER?! I WORK MY ASS OFF LIKE A GODDAMN SLAVE, AND THAT FUCKED UP THING YOU HAVE JUST COMES ALONG AND PISS ALL OVER ALL MY CASH!"

So this is what it was all about, money, of course. He didn't get so pissed off because of the Fluffy, or his daughter crying, nah, it was the money he spent that made him so angry. I felt bad for a second, i understood the guy, really did, but seeing Bast bleeding was inacceptable, if he had come to me complaining i would have payed every single penny without muttering a word against it, but now? Now we would solve this another way.

"So? It's a mother fucking Fluffy, big fucking deal, i'd pay for another one of this shits if you hadn't hurt Bast" - I said looking at him while clenching my fists - "But you HAD to hurt her, didn't you?"

"HURT? I AM GOING KILL THAT LITTLE SHIT! YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR MONEY UP YOUR ASS! I WANT THAT THING DEAD!" - He screamed coming towards me, i wanted blood, yeah, i really did, i didn't gave a shit about what would happen to me, but i couldn't lose Bast, i couldn't leave her alone, so i had to use the shitty way out of that situation.

"THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY AND YOU'RE TRESPASSING!" - I screamed holding my ground - "ACCORDING TO STATE LAW I CAN USE FORCE TO REMOVE YOU, OR DEADLY FORCE IF NEEDED, IF YOU REFUSE TO LEAVE ON YOUR OWN ACCORD".

The dice was cast, he could bite the bait and leave, or keep listening to his anger and we'd both see what would come out of it. A part of me really wishing he'd choose the latter.

He stopped face to face with me, scoffed while his daughter called out for him and started backing off, never giving me his back.

"This is not fuckig over" - He said after getting out of my yard - "That thing you have is a menace, A MONSTER, i will rip that fucking thing head off!"

He went away, and most of the neighbors followed. I knew they didn't like me, i also didn't like them, but now it seemed things were going to get worse.

"He's right kiddo, and you know it" - Mr. Johnson said on his yard, looking at me with despise in his eyes - "We tolerated that thing ya got there for far too long if ya ask me, about time someone put it down, ya know?"

"Fuck you old geezer" - I said getting inside my house.

"Fuck you too kiddo!" - He said giving me the finger - "If i ever found out that thing had something do to with Gunner desapearense ya can bet ya ass i will fuck you both REALLY good"

"OH WILL YOU?! YOU MOTHER FUCKING OLD FART! YOU CAN'T EVEN HOLD YOUR SHIT! THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU GOING TO DO?!" - I screamed at him, also giving him the finger, and entered my house.

I slammed my door and put both hands in my face. In the beggining i was just wispering "fuckfuckfuckfuck" but it soon became screams of pure rage while i trashed my house. Next thing i know the TV was going through one of the windows and i was focusing my attention on doing the same to the couch when i heard her.

"Da...Dad?"

She was looking at me from my bedroom door, cowering in fear and shaking while i approached her.

"You mad at me?"

"Bastet, why did you kill someone's pet? What was the rule?" - I asked here trying to don't sound too angry.

"I… i didn't knew, it had no collar, no tag, i thought it was prey" - She said sobbing, and i scooped her, cradling her on my arms.

"It's ok girl, it's ok, we all make mistakes, but this one… this one was serious, you can't go hunting anymore Bast" - I said serious, and she looked sad at me.

"Ok…"

"And no more exploring"

She looked like she was going to protest, but instead she sobbed and nodded in agreement.

"Now come on… i have to get you to a vet" - I said walking to the closet, looking for her carrier.

The trip to the vet was a silent one, Bast would just sniff sometimes, and what the vet told me got me a little calmer. She need some stitches on the forehead, but aside from that nothing really serious happened to her, he was even impressed a Puffy was so strong, and gave me some ointment to apply on her leg and some antibiotics just to be on the safe side. I asked him if he could give her something to relax, and for some extra cash the little lady slipped off to dreamland. I did that just cause i couldn't bear to see all the fear on her eyes, and was grateful for that decision as i arrived home.

I was out for like what? Three, four hours at best? And yet it was enough for someone to fuck up my house. They broke my front windows, sprayed "MURDERER" "MONSTER LOVER" "FREAK" all over the house, fucked up my garden with tire marks, setted fire on my mailbox, i could even see smoke rising from my backyard.

I sighed, entered my garage while Mr. Johnson was standing on his front yard smiling like it was the fucking fourth of july, and starting looking around the house with Bast carrier on hand to see the damage.

The fuckers broke all my windows, there were bricks all around my house, and some fucker used the window i busted with the tv to get inside the house. He fucked up the couch, ripping it open and pulling off the stuffing, not that i cared, and even pissed on the dam thing, but what really draw the line for me was my bedroom.

Motherfucker axed my computer. He fucking AXED my computer! Son of a bitch even left the axe behind! CAUSE IT WAS THE MOTHERFUCKING HANDAXE MY USELESS FUCKING FATHER HAD AND LEFT BEHIND IN THIS MOTHERFUCKING USELESS HOUSE! Son of a bitch left no piece intact… i fucking loved that computer. Bed Frame was useless, all hacked to pieces, and i couldn't find my mattress or clothes anywhere on the house. Bast safe room was also a complete mess, but there the invader (or invaders) really stepped out of his line to fuck everything up. It was utter chaos, i wouldn't be able to save anything. I went to my backyard and finally found my clothes and mattress, or at least what was left of them, all in a pile, still burning.

I sighed, seated looking at the burning pile, looked at Bast carrier, at Mr. Johnsons house, and just thought 'Fuck it". I was sick and tired of that place, and i didn't need Bast to be confined on the house, i sure as hell was not going to let her wander around after what that guy told me, and i was sure i wouldn't be able to go to work with peace of mind, so just fuck it, fuck everything and everyone.

I got back inside the house and went to the attic, at least the fuckers didn't go there, be it for lack of time or enthusiasm, and most of the things my parents left behind, as my old things, were pretty much intact. I hated all that crap, but it would had to do for what i had planned.

I gathered everything i could and believed would be useful and stuffed it inside my car. Made a few phone calls, waited for the cops to show up, for all that bullcrap that they would look into it and all else, looking at Mr. Johnson saying loud and clear that he didn't see nothing, but that i was a problematic neighbor so it was no surprise something like that happened, stayed the night at a hotel with Bast, and in the morning i was inside a supermarket getting some supplies with Bast inside my hoodie.

"Were we going Dad?" - She asked me for the millionth time that morning, not really understanding why we hadn't gone back home since she woke up.

"We going out on vacations honey, VERY LONG vacations" - I said putting some more cat food cans inside the cart.

My next stop was at a Fluffy Mart, where i got some new gear for Bast, nothing too fancy, just enough to keep her preoccupied while we were in the hotel waiting for everything to be settled.

I found a real estate office that was up to taking care of all the repairs the house needed before putting it up for rent and sending me a check for all their work. Signed the deal, got in touch with the doc letting her know what i was about to do and asking her to please make a new schedule for us with possible. After four days i was heading for my father's old cabin in the woods, cursing that fucking house and the winter that was coming with the promise of snow that would make my life pretty annoying inside that cabin that was last used just god know when.

It was a 16 hours car ride from my city to the cabin, and the closest town to the forest it was located into was 3 hours away, by car, so i was sure i was going to be alone and at peace. There was no internet connection, no piped water, and no electricity, it was going to be a blast! Only good thing about the damn place was that it was not in a national park, so i didn't have to deal with all the paperwork and rules that cabins owners on those parts had to, but there were somethings i could and couldn't do, but i didn't remember or knew they all. What got me most worried was the possibility of someone had found the place and starting living there. It was pretty much a 'no man's land' in the middle of the forest, especially cause i hadn't gone to the dam place for at least 10 years, so i knew i had a LOT of catch up to do.

Bast was having a blast! She was loving every single second of it. Since we left town she couldn't stay quiet, she'd jump from front seat to back one, putting her nose on the windows as if trying to merge with them and asking me about anything and everything her eyes could glimpse. And when we got into the forest? Man, her smile and enthusiasm was worth all that trouble.

I had to ask for directions on Eden, the town closest to the cabin. Most people didn't remember the cabin, or my dad, but the ones that did were able to tell me with perfection how to get to the place. People seemed to really like my dad around those parts, funny thing, dude was a fucking monster home but a saint in the streets.

Four hours after stopping at Eden i was parking in front of the cabin, thanking those folks for keeping the paths clean, otherwise i wouldn't have gotten that far.

The log cabin was as ugly as i could remember it, if not more with the tall grass around it and the marks that years of neglecting inflicted upon it. I looked to the far left, looking for the outhouse, noticing i'd have to make another from scratch cause the thing was just a pile of rubble now.

"Well… it least i will have a lot of things to do" - I said getting out of the car, been close followed by Bast that looked at all with eyes full of wonder.

The cabin was a simple one, a 25 x 25 square with two bedrooms, a kitchen/living room space, and a storage for food. There was no deck, only a covered shed in the back were my dad used to store the wood. I was hoping i wouldn't have to also rebuild that from scratch.

I got close to the front door, glad to see no one ripped out the wood planks dad used to seal the windows before the accident. The door lock still worked, for my surprise, but it really could use some oil. We stepped inside the cabin and aside from the stench of stale air, dust and mold, memories came rushing to me like a wild river, making me stand in silence and immobile for some time.

"DAD!" - I heard Bast screaming, and looked at her. Fear was obvious on her eyes, and pain was starting to come of the place she had her clans on my right leg.

"Wha?"

"You're scaring me! Are you ok? Is this a bad place?" - She asked me while i shook my head and tried to smile.

"No honey… i just… i remembered a lot of stuff. It's nothing to worry about, ok?"

She nodded, and our first day at the cabin started.

I had to take everything that was still inside out. Tables, my dad's recliner chair, the beds with their rotten mattress, the pots, ya'll get the drill, everything was out the house so i could start cleaning the inside to have a place to sleep.

I didn't get too much done aside from the bedroom me and Bast were going to use, and that night we had a dinner of canned beans and some pork sausage i cooked on a fire and a old frying pan, outside the house. Seeing Bast's eyes widen in wonder when she saw the stars made my heart be filled with warmth and love for the little girl.

My days became a routine of waking up, going to fetch water on a river that was 15 minutes by foot from the cabin, eat something, and get to work on the cabin. I had to make some trips to the town to get some materials i'd need. I got to know some people a little better, especially the guys from home depot that would instruct me in what to buy and how to perform the restoration the cabin needed, offering more than once to help me, but i always said that was something i had to do alone, "in dad's memory" i'd always say and they would smile and agreed.

After two weeks of doing this i was sure my new life was going to be pretty simple. I just had to figure out someway to make some cash until my house got rented, and the rest i think i could handle somehow. Bast was loving every second of it so i wasn't very worried, and as long as i kept my car running there was no chance of missing a visit to town so i could see the doc. I was feeling so good i didn't even took the meds everyday, life was going pretty good for me and little Bast.

Yeah… it sure would have been that way… if only i didn't fuck everything up…

I had the interior of the cabin in usable conditions when it happened. I'd still have to work a lot in it before focusing on the outside, but at least now me and Bast had a mattress to sleep in, clean sheets, and the fireplace was working, so the snow that was starting to fall was not a problem, it would be if we had a snowstorm, but last time i was in town people told me it was pretty rare so i didn't have to worry too much. One thing that was bothering me was the outhouse. The guys on the home depot teached me how to build one from scratch, even make a little handmade tutorial so i wouldn't mess up too much, there was even a kit for the dam thing! But the foundation was getting on my nerves, digging that fucking hole was being a bigger pain in the ass then i anticipated, and i was getting REALLY annoyed by having to shit in holes i'd make in the forest. Have you ever stopped to dig a mother fucking hole so you can shit while your ass is screaming at you to hurry up cause that canned curry was a gift from satan? It is NOT fun at all.

So i was working on the dam hole, determined to finish that thing today and finally start working on the details and frame, while Bast was running around. We had snow for the past three days and nights, nothing to be afraid off, and she was still in that childish wonder we all had with our first day of snow.

All i could hear was birds, the sound of the shovel hitting the earth, my gruntin, and in the background i'd sometimes hear Bast scream "Marco!" and i'd scream "Polo!" back at her, followed by her giggles.

She had complained of not being able to hunt in the woods, there were too many smells, and the animals were too smart, nothing like the city ones, she'd always say, so i knew that she was dying to kill something. I was thinking about how to keep her entertained, cause with winter coming there wouldn't be too many animals around, and she wouldn't be in the mood to move around thick snow, when i heard the screaming.

Loud, afraid, and painful. One like i've only heard on documentaries about animal life, one that made me drop the shovel and run screaming for Bast.

"BAST! BASTET! BAST, ANSWER ME!" - I screamed running without really knowing where i was going, and a second shriek gave me some purpose.

I was moving by instinct, not really knowing if i was going in the right direction, and kept calling for Bast.

"BASTET!"

"DAD!" - She screamed back, and i started running in the direction of her scream. As i got closer, some sounds became present. A little "HUUUHUUU!", Bastet giggles, and in the middle of a clearing i found them.

There was a Fluffy, probably a feral one, red fur with stripes of black and a blue mane and tail. Running around screaming and crying while Bast was giggling and clawing his sides. The poor thing was blind, Bast got both his eyes, probably the reason for the screams i heard earlier, and she was having fun tormenting it. She'd jump to one side, claw him, look at him running blindly and screaming, jump to another side, hiss at him, claw his nose, and torment the little frightened thing as much as possible.

"Oh Bast… really?" - I said catching my breath.

"Look, look, Dad! A Fluffy! A feral one! You said i could hunt ferals, right?" - She said happily while the Fluffy tried to run and tripped on a branch, falling and crying about "owwies" and "scawy dawk".

"Yeah i said you could hunt the feral ones, but how…"

"I asked him" - She said already knowing what i was going to say. Since the incident with the Pet Fluffy i've been talking a LOT to her about Fluffys, and she pretty much came up with a system to determine if she could or couldn't kill them. She asked if they had a Daddy or Mommy, if they said yes she'd go away, if they said no she'd ask if they ever had one, if yes, she'd go away, if no, she'd hunt.

'Poor fella' - I thought looking at the skinny Fluffy she was tormenting. The thing was almost just fur and bones, so it wouldn't have lived through the winter anyways, but to spend his last minutes alive being blind and tormented seemed a little cruel.

'Well, at least she will be happy for sometime' - My mind said looking at how happy she was.

"Hey Bast, don't take too long killing him, ok?" - I said getting ready to leave her to her fun, i was not really in the mood to see her torment the unlucky feral, but i stopped on my tracks when it started talking to me.

"NICE MISTAH? NICE MISTAH PWEASE HEWP FWUFFY!" - It screamed while Bast circled him, and she clawed his left ear, making him scream like a banshee while she told him to shut up.

I just shook my head and turned my back on them, and he spoke again.

"PWEASE NICE MISTAH! PWEASE MAKE MUNSTAH GU AWAY! FWUFFY HAVE SOON MOIMMAH SPECIAW FWEND! PLE…"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" - Bast roared, this time clawing him in the nose with so much strength she got a chunk of it out.

"Woah! woah! time out Bast!" - I said approaching them, and she looked at me annoyed.

"Don't you dare to give me the stink eye young lady" - I said with a stern expression, and she lowered her head saying she was sorry.

The Fluffy was just chirping, with so much blood coming out of its nose that every time he opened his mouth some of it would enter it, making him spit and cough whining about "boo-boo-juice".

"What did you say about a special friend?" - I asked him getting close to him, and he shrunk in fear.

"I am not going to hurt you, ok? I'm gonna help" - I said while scratching the back of its head, trying to comfort him. He tried to avoid me for some time, but broke into sobs and chirps in the end.

"Speciaw fwend soon mommah, need fwuffy tu find nummies and nyu warm homie" - He sobbed amidst chirps - "Bu fwuffy see-pwace and sniffy-pwace hav wowstest owwies! fwuffy nu to find nummies now!" - He sobbed, and i looked at Bast, who just shrugged her shoulders while looking with indifference to the Fluffy.

"Nice mistah, pwease gif see-pwace back, pwease! Fwuffy is gud fwuffy, fwuffy wuv speciaw fwiend! Pwease nice mistah!" - He begged trying to reach me with his front hooves, and i could see tears rolling from the mess that became his eyes and soaking his cheeks along with the blood.

'This one is done for' - i thought looking at him, no way in hell i was going to take care of a blind Fluffy, and i was sure that denying Bast the kill would just get her pissed off, i had to let her let out some steam.

"Ok, i will help you, ok?" - I said to the Fluffy, and he wagged his tail while trying to smile.

"Weawwy? Weawwy nice mista?"

"WHAT?! COME ON DAD!" - Bast screamed, and i shushed her with a look above my shoulder while the fluffy chirped in fear.

"Yes, really, just tell me where to find your special friend. I am going to get her, so i can give her a warm place, and food, and a place for your babies, i will even be you new daddy, wouldn't that be great?!" - I said stroking his back fur, trying to encourage and comfort him.

"Fwuffy never hav Daddy, Fwuffy wuv nice mistah" - It sobbed, and a part of me felt really bad for what i was doing.

"Just tell me where your special friend is and everything will be ok"

"Speciaw fwend in vewy big sweepi twee, biggest sweepi twee fwuffy find!" - He said with enthusiasm, and that pretty much meant the whole fucking forest for me.

"Can you give me more details? Is there anything near the big sleepy tree?"

"Sweepi tree have fowevah cowd wawa , fwuffy nu need to find wawa, just nummies"

So it was close to the river, that helped. I got up, still kinda annoyed with what came next, but i had to find the other fluffy, the pregnant mare was sure to die alone in the winter, and it was not my problem before Bast killed her stallion, but now i had to fix that mess.

"Bast, finish him off" - I said looking at her, and all her grumpiness disappeared.

"Wha? NNNUUUUU! WHY NICE MISTAH? WHY? NU GIF FLUFFY FOWEVAH SWEEPIES!"

As i walked away from them i looked around the clearing searching for the Fluffy tracks on the snow, and after some time i could find them, starting to follow them to see the direction they came from, and started walking in the direction of the river, keeping the direction the Fluffy came from to my right, hoping he really gave me at least a good sense of the direction of his nest.

Snow started falling after some time of walking, and i was getting pretty annoyed with my day so far, i just hoped i could find the dam mare as soon as possible. After two hours of walking around the forest and searching every dead tree i found on the way, i finally found the dam mare.