Work Text:
Once upon a time, there were two cats, a black cat and an orange cat. These cats loved each other very much. They were happy. Human gave them good food and many good hugs. The sun warmed their backs as they lay next to each other on the porch. When it stormed they hid together under Human’s bed and lick each other’s fur in comfort. They were happy.
One day, many years after the two cats came home with Human for the very first time, Orange Cat wasn’t there to smooth Black Cat’s fur in the morning. He wasn’t there when Human set out the crunchy food or when Black Cat sat in the window, watching the mailman as had been their tradition for as long as they remembered. He was gone. Human was sad. Black Cat didn’t understand. Where had her best friend gone? She had to find him, but she was old now and not as spry she used to be. Her fur was thin and her bones hurt when she jumped too far. Her vision was cloudy and her eyes were gummy. She was old but she was determined.
That night, she left the house and started sniffing around. Her best friend Orange Cat had a smell she knew well. He went into the trees. The night was dark and her paws were cold, but she kept moving over the sticks and rocks littering the ground. Tall trees swayed in the gentle wind creaking and groaning. She held her head high and followed the smell.
After a few minutes, she came across a family of possums, five little babies holding onto their mother’s back.
“Hello, Mrs. Opussom.” Black Cat rasped.
“Oh my!” Exclaimed Mrs. Opossum, sharply stiffening up.
“I did not mean to frighten you. Have you seen Orange Cat?”
Mrs. Opossum relaxed and pointed her sharp nose away from the way she’d come.
“I saw him go that way.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Opossum.” Black cat tipped her head to the mother and continued her journey.
Black Cat walked until her paws were tired and her eyes were drooping. She kept on. She remembered times long, long ago when she and Orange Cat were small. They would play all day with nearly limitless energy. Now, before Orange Cat left, they spent more time napping together in the warm sun than playing with the toys The Human got them. Black Cat would trade those afternoon naps for all the world, they were the most precious moments to her. They were happy.
She kept on, but she was so tired. Her bones were aching, but the trail was getting stronger. The trees grew more dense and the undergrowth more gnarly. Orange Cat’s smell concentrated where roots dangled down from an overhang. The roots obscured Black Cat’s vision of her friend. She nudged her way past and into the small cove behind the roots. Orange Cat was lying on his side, sleeping Black Cat thought. She brushed her cheek over his and licked his fur. She lied down, pressing her warm fur against his cold back. Her eyes closed and her breath stilled.
Once upon a time, there were two cats, a black cat and an orange cat, and they loved each other very much. They played together in the fields and napped on each other in the sunshine and they were happy...