From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/03/2007 20:39:47

He approached her in stalking cat mode, except his loud purring gave him away. He rubbed up against her legs leaving little trails of fur where he touched. You're here. You're really here.

	From: prickingthumbs	Date: 04/03/2007 21:52:34

For a moment, the purring drowned out the whispers. They'd grown quieter anyway and the cat at her feet drew Mabb's attention. A slight smile curving her lips, she stroked a hand along orange fur. "My, but you're an affectionate fellow." She lifted the cat into her arms without much warning, cradling it there so she could meet its gaze with a kind of unnerving knowledge. "You've been looking for me." It wasn't a question.

	From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/04/2007 08:39:46

"I'm glad you arrived," he responded, his ears perking at her touch, still purring under his words and the spell of her hands. "I planted your flowers. I notice some have already been picked." He was amazed at how very different she was in person, for they had never met in the flesh before now. She was almost twice herself and yet half. Hollow and full in a twisting paradox.

Puss smiled inwardly. She is certainly the best mistress I have yet answered in all my wanderings. That was merely by chance. A stray whisper of ancient magics and he knew what to do. Plant the flowers to guide my way. It was simple instruction and he could not refuse the request, not from someone such as Mabb.

	From: prickingthumbs	Date: 04/04/2007 13:25:40

"So you're the one," she murmured, a small smile curving her lips. She hadn't been seeking anyone in aprticular with her magic when she'd requested a guide. How interesting that it should find such a unique creature. "Tell me friend," Mabb continued, fingers still moving through orange fur as she started to walk again. "Is this place suitable for me? Am I likely to find a fitting bower here?" She needed someplace ancient, someplace dark, and someplace safe.

	From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/04/2007 20:32:37

"Very likely," he said eagerly. "Though there are already other bowers in these woods. This world is full of magic and there are many climes for you to pick from. The woods are only a sampling of the places for your taking."

	From: prickingthumbs	Date: 04/04/2007 22:46:01

"Hmm..." Mabb paused beneath a large willow, fingers scratching beneath Puss's jaw. "These woods will do well for now. I have unfinished business here that I've yet to complete." She became aware of a faint thread of magic then, an intriguing little wisp, and she let herself be tugged along by it, not entirely sure where it would lead. Skirting around a small patch of sunlight, she continued on, saying, "You've been an excellent servant, friend. Might I know your name?"

	From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/05/2007 07:41:15

"Most call me Puss de Carabas, or just Puss. What shall I call you?" he asked. He instantly liked her chosen words: servant and friend. They didn't seem contradictory to Puss. In fact, he often befriended those he served to the point where serving was never an issue, almost always a favor that he would never ask be repaid.

	From: prickingthumbs	Date: 04/05/2007 10:15:05

"Puss," Mabb repeated, voice vague as her attention was diverted more and more towards that thread of magic. It called to her, louder than the whispers, and she had to answer. "You may call me 'mistress', dear Puss. Or 'my lady'. Or Mabb should my mood allow it." In all honesty, she didn't care what the orange cat called her. In her presence, it would be doubtful he'd be addressing anyone but her.

	From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/06/2007 00:27:43

Puss noticed her distraction, but he did not sense magic in the way that she did. He could not feel the thread. "Of course my lady," he replied, his ears perked and eyes wide open.

	From: prickingthumbs	Date: 04/06/2007 07:26:09

Mabb made a little humming sound in acknowledgment, her affectionate scratches becoming more absent than intentional as she continued to be led by that seemingly stray magic. Why did it pull her so? It was different than the magic in the blossoms Puss had planted. And that reminded her..."Puss, those blooms were exactly what I needed," she remarked, her attention focused sharply on the cat once more. "Were they your own conjuration or did you come across them somewhere?"

	From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/06/2007 08:11:18

"This isn't my brand of magic," he said in good-nature. "They were a favor I asked of my other lady. She is of your ilk; perhaps you know her. I call her boss, but everyone else around here calls her Carabosse."

	From: prickingthumbs	Date: 04/06/2007 10:01:06

His other lady? Mabb was about to correct Puss's misconception that he could serve two ladies at once and ask just who this 'other lady' was, but the cat answered her query before she could voice it.

The temperature in the immediate area plummeted to freezing in a heartbeat, the grass beneath Mabb's feet and the brush surrounding her withering to black husks in seconds. And poor Puss suddenly found the previously fond touched replaced by a strong, talon-like grip. coldly dark eyes bore down on the feline. "You serve that witch?" Mabb's voice might have been soft, but it practically vibrated with barely leashed rage.

	From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/07/2007 02:16:05

His eyes narrowed. "I serve who I choose to serve and she has been more loyal than I," he answered. He didn't choose his words as carefully as his mistresses. He liked this one; he thought it a shame if her jealous and possessive nature might ruin it.

	From: prickingthumbs	Date: 04/07/2007 11:40:21

"Loyal?" She couldn't quite understand the word, not applied to Carabosse. Not to Carabosse. "Treacherous!," Mabb shrieked suddenly, fingers digging like icy daggers into Puss's body. "Deceiver! She took everything from me! Everything!" Mabb had always had a poor temper, but after her ordeal, it took even less to set it off. An unfortunate thing for Puss.

The orange cat was left no time to explain, to argue or defend his other mistress. A vicious cold swept through his body, freezing the blood in his veins, turning his heart to a small chunk of ice and his fur to crystals.

Mabb took no satisfaction in his death. He'd been merely a cog, an unfortunate and misguided pawn. The one she really wanted now was Carabosse, but the one sure lead to finding her was now dead in her hands. She cursed her rash actions and allowed the whispers to chastise her, redoubled now in their murmurings. Well, nothing to be done for it now. She stood with a sigh, tossing Puss aside in the brush. Her rage had burned itself away in favor of more clear thinking - for the moment. If she wanted to find Carabosse, she'd have to be observant and patient. It would take time but Mabb would find her. She'd find all who had betrayed her.

	From: carabas_cat	Date: 04/07/2007 11:49:03

It was some time before he started to thaw out. He couldn't simply reanimate while he was completely frozen. He hung outside of his body for a time, frowning at how things turned out. Obviously Carabosse was more involved in this than he thought and through chance circumstances he stood between them.

Isn't this a fine pickle, he thought. Before long his body was dripping and he figured now would be a good time to reenter it. He merged his consciousness with the flesh and shivered, rising and shaking the clumps of ice from his fur.

He rose, his ears perked while he looked about for any sign of the dangerous fae that had just killed him. Would not want to run into that one again, he thought sadly, all chances of an amicable relationship between them ruined. Not until I have someone who will give me blood enough for a change. That thought was a very dark one, the desire to alter his form hadn't come over him in a good many years. He found his way back to his other mistress, carefully winding around to that no one would find the trail to Carabosse.

He stood behind her patiently before clearing his throat. "Boss. We have a problem."