A/N I don't own this story or characters; I only own Sophia.
NightWolf1159: Thanks :D Felidae's one of my favorite films as well. I think my favorite character is Bluebeard.
Guest: I believe Sphinx cats being "the ugliest cat breeds known to man" is something of opinion. Some think they're ugly, and some think they're beautiful. I personally think they look like cute little raisins. And someone must have liked them enough to specifically breed them into the cats being purposefully hairless. So hopefully if this story is decent, Sophia's breed won't deter anyone from reading it.
Sesshysgirl1997: I've been somewhat able to get back to writing this recently, so hopefully it'll get interesting enough :) Thanks :)
Bluebeard led Sophia through the neighborhood, telling her a small story or two every now and then. Sophia listened politely, looking around. The neighborhood was a nice-looking one, despite her welcoming present earlier that day. So this neighborhood has a small reputation for housing a murderer. She thought to herself. I guess I better watch my back carefully from now on. Unless I decide to leave in a few days.
Her thoughts were interrupted by loud rustling in the bushes. She froze in place, staring at the bush. She tapped Bluebeard's hind leg with a paw, and gestured at the bush. "Yeah, I heard it too." He nodded. "Get out here and show your face!" He yelled at the bush.
Loud, obnoxious laughter sounded, and a large cat emerged from the bushes. At least, Sophia thought it was a cat. This creature was as large as a dog, had massive paws, a large hump on its back, and a large, square chin. "Bluebeard, that has to be the ugliest rat I've ever seen! And you're keeping it alive?"
"Sophia ain't no rat, Kong," Bluebeard sniffed. "She's just a hairless cat."
Sophia raised an eyebrow at Bluebeard, though he either didn't notice, or just pretended not to. She turned to Kong, who continued to laugh, with a slightly curled lip. "Anyway, Toots, that's Kong," Bluebeard said. "One of the biggest assholes on the block. And his…'friends,' Herman and Herman."
Two scrawny, identical-looking cats joined Kong, sneering at Sophia. She cocked her head at Bluebeard, who shrugged his shoulders.
"A hairless cat, eh?" Kong asked, finally breaking out of his laugh spell. "Not quite the ugliest thing I've ever seen, I guess. She probably won't last long in this town anyway."
Bluebeard rolled his eyes as he and Sophia continued on. "Like I said, Kong's the biggest ass in town, both literally and figuratively. Just stay away from him, and he shouldn't hurt you."
That evening, Bluebeard and Sophia arrived at a tall, old house. In the attic, Sophia could see a blue light that seemed to be mildly flashing, and could hear other cats from the same level. She looked at Bluebeard with a questioning expression as they climbed inside and up the steps. "There's a sect that goes on in this place." He explained. "Especially after there's been a killing. They pray to this dead cat called Claudandus."
Sophia nodded as they entered the attic. Hundreds of cats were already sitting, including Kong and the Herman twins. There was a machine in the back of the room, with a large box to its left. Sitting on the box was a large Persian cat. "That's the sect's leader, Joker." Bluebeard whispered in the Sphinx's ear. "He always greets new members, so when he sees you, he'll want to meet you afterwards."
Sophia nodded as the Persian began shouting, "After only a slight punishment, he received great blessings! Because God had tested him and found him worthy of it! In the name of Brother Claudandus!" He pressed a lever on the box, making a large bolt of blue lightning strike between two bolts on the machine. Two random cats approached the machine, and to Sophia's shock, leapt into the electricity. Her own blue eyes widened at the pained shrieks. She shook in fright as they fell to the ground, twitching and still screeching in pain. She cowered down next to Bluebeard, toning out everything until the very end. She only sat up with Bluebeard nudged her in the side.
"A new member, I see." Joker said, approaching her and Bluebeard. "And who might you be, my dear?"
"This sister is Sophia." Bluebeard said. "She doesn't speak, but isn't deaf either."
Sophia nodded, bowing her head respectfully to the larger and older cat. "I see." Joker nodded. "And did you enjoy the service this evening, Sophia?"
In truth, Sophia had been very frightened when the cats basically committed suicide, leaping into the electricity on their own free will. But she didn't want to appear impolite—not to mention she was afraid of what Joker would do to her if she said no—so she nodded with a slight smile. "Your first time here?" He asked softly.
She nodded again. "I expect first timers to be frightened. Go home now. And may Brother Claudandus protect you from the murderer."
She bowed again before following Bluebeard. Once outside, she shuddered heavily, tail lashing. The one-eyed Manx laughed at her. "Ah, you'll get used to it Toots. So, you got a place to stay?"
She shook her head. "Come with me then." He led her into a dark alleyway, to three large crates covered by a tarp. Underneath was an old, holey cushion, and some smaller, rattier pillows. "It ain't much, but it's home." He suddenly glared at her. "I'm not gonna find some can openers lookin' for their lost kitty in the morning, am I?"
Sophia blinked in confusion. "Can openers, as in humans. You ain't got a can opener who's lookin' for you, do ya?" He asked again, sitting on one side of the cushion.
Snorting, Sophia shook her head, scratched the ground with her hind feet, threw her tail up at the door, and curled up on the cushion next to the older cat. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard him chuckling, "I think I'm gonna like you, Soph."
A/N Sorry I haven't been writing recently, even though my family and I got back from Vegas/California last Tuesday. I had to take some pills for a brief allergy reaction (I just had some hives from smelling roasting nuts for too long) and had just been recovering from the trip in general. And this chapter writing progress has been slower than a snail in the beginning because I had, and still kinda have, writer's block. So, this chapter isn't very long, or in my opinion good. But I really wanted to get back on track with writing; I'll also try and start writing for my Rise of the Guardians fanfic as well.
The hardest part to write was Sophia meeting Kong and the Hermans. I'm not sure how he's portrayed in the book, but Kong looked more like a dog mutant than a cat in the film. The Hermans looked more like cats than him, and they were scrawny, ugly-looking things. Not to mention he's just not a nice guy.
Joker's dialogue during the sect was taken from the German-to-English transcript of Felidae, which I do not own.
Updates will more than likely still be slow for both this story and my Rise of the Guardians fanfic. But I'll still try and write as much as I can.
