A Day as a Cat

You are a cat, long and lean, weathered by the years you’ve spent living on the edge of these woods. You didn’t always live here. Once, you lived in a place that was always perfectly warm. Your companions were large and strange looking, but they presented you with food routinely and you liked the way they smelled and the feeling of their long, hairless paws stroking your fur, scratching your chin. You could have stayed in the warm, abundant place forever. But one day the door was open and the place beyond beckoned you forward. You have lived in this quiet, shifting place since. The sun is dipping below the horizon. What do you do? [[Take a nap]] [[Hunt]] [[Explore]]

You curl up to rest under the cover of a bush. Your eyes drift shut, but your ears continue to twitch, tracking the rustles and crackling that whisper by. CRACK! Your eyes shoot open. Something moved near you. What do you do? [[Relax and begin grooming yourself. It wasn't one of your fierce enemies and you're not hungry enough to waste the energy on the hunt.]] [[Pounce!]]

You smell the air and listen. [[You move on quietly]]. [[You wait, smelling the air]].

Your territory sits at the edge of a forest, near a loud path that enormous, loud, fast moving beasts travel. They travel quickly in single-file packs and never stray from their path. There are fewer of them at night. Though you are small enough that they wouldn’t bother to hunt you, they can still trample you. Too dangerous. You head further into the [[forest]].

You strike and your claws sink through the soft fur and into the flesh and sinew of a mouse. It squeals and squeaks frantically with fear and pain, twisting and squirming to get away. You rip in with teeth, biting through fur and flesh and splintering bone. It dies quickly after that. You enjoy your little meal, clean yourself, and lay back down to [[rest]].

You spend several hours grooming and napping, before your stomach rumbles. You stretch, well-rested and ready for a hunt. As you emerge from the bush that you made your resting place, a tantalizing scent reaches your nostrils. You follow the [[smell.]]

You scream and howl for freedom, thrashing violently as you search for an exit. There is none. You are trapped. A few seconds pass and you begin to run out of energy. Two humans emerge, like the ones that one housed and fed you. They crouch next to you, peering into your prison. “So cute,” they coo. You hiss in warning. “He’s spicy,” they crow. You crouch down. They reach out with a large, black material and cover the top of your prison. This will be the last time you see your forest kingdom. There is a smaller kingdom waiting for you. [[Go back to the beginning ->You are a cat]].

You wake up when the sun is beginning to rise, yawning widely and stretching. It is time for you to patrol your domain. You slink out of your bushy bed, ready to [[explore->Explore]].

Sometimes the forest whispers to you. Sometimes it roars. And sometimes it sings. What is it doing today? [[Whispering.]] [[Roaring.]] [[Singing.]]

Today, the forest whispers. The leaves rustle against each other overhead. The birds are quiet. You move slowly, ears twitching and listening. You don't hear any scurrying of prey. [[You continue on.]]

Today, the forest roars. You hunker down and wait for prey to come to you. You won't find it out there today. You find a quiet place to [[take a nap->Take a nap]].

Today, the forest sings. The birds chatter to one another high up in the trees where you can't reach. Squirrels chase each other too quickly for you to catch. [[You move on quietly]], searching for something distracted, something burrowing or foraging.

Suddenly the crows ahead begin screaming, all together, a cacophany of sound. You know what this means. Predator. Foe. What do you do? [[Run.]] [[Freeze.]]

You take off, as fast as you can. Behind you, the footsteps of a predator become louder as they get closer. You hear them breathing, a growl in their chest and blood on their breath. You try to run faster but your legs are shorter than your enemy's and your lungs are quickly becoming constricted. You slow down. They catch you. The rest is agony. Then darkness. [[Go back to the beginning ->You are a cat]]

You freeze. From behind, teeth sink into your neck and a powerful jaw begins to drag you viciously back and forth. The rest is agony. Then darkness. [[Go back to the beginning ->You are a cat]]

After a little while, something strange happens: You come across a little house, much like the one you used to live in. There is a crooked old woman, singing and talking to herself, bent over a bush and plucking the little red berries that live on it. What do you do? [[Approach her.]] [[Go back into the woods.]]

She is delighted to see you. "Hello, friend," she croaks. She holds out her hand for you to sniff, which you do curiously. She reaches into the pockets of her apron and pulls out a handful of little brown pebbles, which smell delicious. She offers them to you. What do you do? [[Go back into the woods.]] [[Accept her offering.]]

You head back into the depths of the woods. [[You continue on.]]

You sniff the pebbles in the palm and gesture with your head for her to drop them on the floor, which she does quickly. As you eat, she reaches out tentatively to stroke your fur. It sends little warm lightning bolts along your spine. It's been a long time since anyone has touched your fur like this. You begin to [[purr.]]

After that day, you continue to visit the old woman. She waits for you, always with food and always stroking your fur gently. You sit with her for longer and longer periods of time. You stop going back to your old territory and claim this new area as yours by scratching all the tree trunks and rubbing your body along her legs and marking all the bushes. You begin going inside her warm house and when the cold months arrive, you stay in their longer and longer. You both have old bones. This becomes your new kingdom. [[Go back to the beginning ->You are a cat]]

You continue sniffing the breeze. After a few minutes, a tantalizing scent reaches your nostrils. You follow the [[smell.]]

A short walk through the trees, to a pile of food, sitting and waiting just for you inside some strange silver bush made out of woven silver branches. This is unusual. You approach cautiously. But the smell is too tantalizing to turn down. You step forward and begin to eat. CLANK! [[A trap!]]