Four faces looked down at mine.

"Meeeow?" As long as I had their attention, I may as well tell them I’m hungry.

They exchange glances. Someone scoops me up, and I find myself getting a close up view of their sleeve. Smells like the stuff they’re always drinking around here, tea as they call it.

"This is it then?" the voice speaking sounds worried. In the corners of my peripheral vision I can just make out the other three nodding. "Oh dear," the first voice says softly, "this is serious."

There was a pause in the conversation. I took the opportunity to climb up onto the arm of whoever was holding me. "Meeeow?" I ask them, only to be petted on the head for my efforts.

"But she seems so alert. Did you try the -"

A second voice interrupts. "Yes! We’ve tried everything we can think of Rabbit - but she just doesn’t get it."

A tired voice above me as the one holding me speaks, "This worries me as much as you Rabbit, but we must admit - what we have here is a normal kitten." The voice sighs and I’m handed to someone else, suddenly there are knitting needles in front of me.

"Meeeeoooow?" I really don’t understand what the fuss is, I hope it’s not more important than feeding me! I bat at the knitting needles in an attempt to gain attention, but they’re too fast.

The first voice sputters rather close to my ears, so I flattened them back. "Impossible! She wasn’t created to be a normal kitten! You can’t be what you’re not created to be!!! Those are the rules!"

The voice is so full with fear and tension and exasperation, I can feel it. Everyone seems to be looking at me. What did I do? I look around with wide eyes.

"But...what if...she has Rabbit?"

A talon reaches over and gently scritches behind my ears. "You know, it’d be awful cruel to try and make ‘er something she ain’t." I wince at the heavy accent.

"...the Parliament will have a fit..." I watch the owner of the first voice pace around until it starts to make me dizzy.

The tired voice speaks again. "Rabbit, I don’t know what to do. I can’t take CC’s place forever...do we have to create another cat? Try again?"

"I know Dora, I know. This was not meant to happen. There’s just got to be something we’ve missed. Got to be some way to make this work..."

The one who now holds me finally speaks, a soft lady’s voice that seems to bleat a little. "...Else we’re all doomed."

I received several significant stares. The silent tension begins to make my fur stand on end. Thankfully, the silence is quickly ended by sounds of someone entering the house, locking the doors, and running into the room. We all jumped a bit, but I’m grateful for the interruption.

"March! What did they say? How did they take it?"

The figure flops onto the couch. "I’m lucky to have gotten out alive! The entire place is in an uproar! Complete chaos!"

"Oh dear..."

"The Royal Courts all think I’m lying, this is some prank, and they’ve all put out warrants for my arrest! They want to behead me!!"

"Surely the Supreme Court would have had them withdraw the warrants until this was investigated right and proper, eh Mate...?"

"You’d think so Gryfon. But the Supreme Court was no help at all! If something’s outside their rules, they don’t know how to deal with it. They just panicked! And it gets worse! By the time I’d managed to get away from the Courtroom, the Parliament had also heard the story! The few who weren’t running around screaming about doom and despair, felt that the entire thing will go away if they simply passed laws to make it illegal. They made me illegal!!! Can you believe it?!"

The figure allowed itself to laugh, but it was the kind of laugh where you knew the figure wanted to scream. I was so scared I forgot I was hungry.

The figure leapt onto it’s feet and pointed a finger at me. "We have to say it was a joke. That’s all there is too it. Nothing ever really happened. Everything’s fine. And we get rid of the kitten. Hide it. Send it to another plane. Anything. We can’t keep it here, it doesn’t follow the rules!!"

"March, get a grip! You’re not thinking! Getting rid of the kitten won’t solve the big problem! If Dora doesn’t get someone else here to take over CC’s duties soon, we’ll loose touch with the other worlds. We’ll...we’ll...die. All of us!" The voice choked on the words.

The room was full of quiet stares again.

"Mew?" I asked in the most tiny voice I had.

"WE’RE ALL DOOMED!!!!!!!!!!" March fell to his knees, wailing and sobbing.

The knitting needles paused. "I think she’s hungry." I was tucked under an itchy, fuzzy arm. Hoofs clicked mutely against the rug, then solidly on the tiled kitchen floor, away from the wailing in the other room.

"Now wait a moment..." I was set on the floor. The hoofs clicked around in the kitchen, and then a bottle of milk was hovering by my nose. "There you go. Good kitty."

I didn’t want to upset anyone, so I held the bottle down with a paw and chewed on the end of it, remembering how hungry I had been. After all, I have to be consistent in training them to care for me. If I said ‘Mew’ and took the bottle before, I can’t risk confusing them, else I may never get fed!

But, the milk isn’t as good as usual, because I’m kind of confused and upset. What’s going on?

The bleating voice sighs and it’s fuzzy owner pets me. "It’s a terrible shame you’re just a kitty." The hoofs click away from me, and then onto the rug.

I drop the bottle. What was THAT supposed to mean??

Suddenly in my ear is a small voice.

"Hhhhhhhhhheeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee kitty, kitty, kitty....." a bug whirls around in front of me, then darts up, over by the window, then dives back, circling around my ears, singing the words.

I swat at it. Go away bug! I’m trying to figure stuff out!

"Herrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee kat-tah, kat-tah, kat-tah...." another bug joins the first, diving at me from the opposite direction.

I swat at both of them, but miss. Irritated now, I keep swatting at them and in the process manage to get up on the counter. Wow, how did I get up here? And how do I get down? Stupid bugs.

I pounce, a last ditch attempt to catch them. Laughing, both bugs dive through the now open window.

And..what is that?? I was grabbed by something that looked like a tree. But it couldn’t be a tree. Tree’s don’t move! I hiss and scratch at it, it doesn’t seem to care. It lifts me right off the counter and out the window!

Distressed I yell out. "MEEEEERRRRROWWW!"