Closed Cats and Chameleons [Ripp]

[Lem Free]

10th of Summer in the Year 215 AV


Dear Son,


It’s days like these, I can’t help but sit back as I write this letter to you, the early morning light trickling through the curtains as memories transport me back to the very beginning; the first time I laid eyes on you. You were swaddled, abandoned by your family on my doorstep, alone, with nowhere to turn and no one to look after you, the first tendrils of dawn caressing your tiny face.


There was a brief moment and for just a tick; I saw your life played out before my eyes. Hurt. Betrayed. Abandoned. Alone. Hopeless. Longing.


As these strings of emotion flooded my mind, I knew what awaited you. And so I determined to change that. To change fate. I took you in. I wanted to protect you from the hurt that abandonment would bring. Bring joy in a heart where betrayal would sit. Comfort where loneliness would linger; give fulfillment where a hole of longing would eat away at you.


As I reached down to pick you up, I knew there was something special about you. Uniqueness. I saw a boy that was going to be different than all the rest. And the world would look down on him for it. But those unique traits were what would change that same world.


I remember seeing you and instantly seeing the adventure that ran through your veins. You were born with it, the desire to try new things and live life to completion. Don’t be afraid to go for it. You have nothing to lose but lost time.


So I will end this letter of reflection with this. Know you are loved by me, your Father, and chase after adventure at every turn. Live without regret. Take that love I’ve poured into you and share it with others. Some of them need it more than you do. Never forget the power of uniqueness.


Love,
Your Papa


A lock of brown, curly hair flopped across a pair of intense eyes, momentarily obscuring the page from view. Lips puckered together and a gust of air burst from them, sending the hair back up into the air.


A boy, no more than fourteen years of age, sat propped upside down against a log just inside the Zastoska forest. Knees hugged the dead wood, feet kicking lazily in the air. He lay on the ground, journal held over his head, blocking the thin tendrils of early morning sun that threatened to blind him as he read the day’s letter from his Papa.


Finally finishing the last word, Lem rolled over and forward, knees sliding from the log to the ground and he kicked at it absent mindedly. He craned his neck, looking back towards the log over at the chameleon that sat on it.


“Ziggs! Did you hear what ‘Da said? We’re unique! That’s so cool!”


The light green lizard blinked.


“Well of course he meant you too, silly. You can change colors! Who else can do that? Seems pretty special to me.”


Lem grinned at his friend and rolled on his back again. Sticks and leaves stuck to the boy’s clothes as he squirmed across the ground happily. The morning was going perfectly. However, the guards at the gate had tried to put a damper on his day by telling him how dangerous the woods were. A few almost seemed tempted to not let him leave the city upon learning about his intentions. But he promised not to venture too far in and they finally let him go with a shake of their head.


Light filtered through the tops of the trees, sending shadows flickering across the ground in multi pattern designs. Lem laced his fingers together and rested them under his head, staring up at the massive trees above him.


The nature didn’t seem so bad or even that dangerous. He wondered what the fuss was about.

[Ripp]

It turns out there was something very funny about a Zith boy trying to leave the city in order to let his grumpy cat, who was currently attempting to claw Ripp’s face off, hunt. It turns out Flos was definitely not an indoor cat, and he was absolutely going to drive Ripp insane if he didn’t let him out once in a while. After bypassing the rather amused guards the half-blood ventured into the forest. When they were traveling the cat used to scare him to death running off into the surrounding wilderness for an hour or more on a hunt, but every time with out fail the sturdy old cat had come back with a dead mouce in his mouth, half of which he would usually try to offer his owner. Ripp didn’t really enjoy seeing half a bloody mouse carcass plonked down with a wet thud in front of him every day but he’d gotten used to that too. As pets go, Flos wasn’t the most difficult, but he also wasn’t the easiest.

Ripp didn’t want to go too far. He’d seen his fair share of wilderness on his way here and he’d quite had enough of it. He walked a little way still holding the wriggling furball in his arms, before letting the cat down. Flos scampered off, and Ripp followed him at a slower pace. He let his thoughts wonder a bit. It was fairly nice out here in the day time. The sun peaked through all the gaps in the trees causing golden specks of light. Ripp thought it might make a good design for a fabric, and he suddenly wish he had something to draw with and on. He mentally took in the smell, the sight and the sounds of nature and allowed his mind to rest for once.

He kept an eye on the cat as best he could but eventually he’d lose all sight of him. Ripp kept walking, lazily looking around. He spotted life all around. It was there if you really looked. A rabbit scampering behind a bush, a nest of baby birds learning to fly for the first time. Ripp was so focused on the little things that he forgot to pay much attention to where he was actually walking. He didn’t notice the little kid until he spoke out loud. At first Ripp thought he was talking to himself but it seemed he was chatting to the little green reptile sitting beside him instead. Unique, huh? You seem pretty normal to me. He thought to himself. What was a kid this young doing out here all alone anyway? Ripp felt the need to say something in case he was planning to run off further into the woods and get himself killed by something bigger than him. But as always, he didn’t really know what to say, or weather or not he should approach at all. It was often useless anyway, most people wouldn’t give him the time of day and probably had instructed their children to ignore him as well.

Then again, what kind of parents that cared about their child’s safety let their child wander out in the woods alone? This youth didn’t look capable, in fact he looked like he was off in his own little happy world, oblivious to the fact that nature could be dangerous. Ripp decided in the end to keep walking past him and find his own secluded place to sit. Trying no to disturb the boy Ripp trod lightly on by him. He could still hear Flos nearby if he focused. Actually it sounded like the cat was coming back in his direction. Already? That was quick… Flos’s head appeared from behind a bush. His eyes were fixed on something quite intensely. He looked like he was stalking something, but Ripp couldn’t work out what.

[Lem Free]

He had only just arrived in the woods, not a few bells prior but could already feel the restlessness crawling up the insides of his chest. Nothing felt more uncomfortable in his opinion. That more than anything was the motivating force that kept the boy always on the move. To sit still for too long would invite the feeling to rile up. And it was too unpleasant to allow to stay. But boredom kept him lying on the ground for a few ticks longer. A memory slowly surfaced in the young boy’s mind, sending his thoughts soaring through the air, miles away, back into a small cottage just outside the gated walls of Syliras.


He remembered always waking up to the early morning light and staggering out of bed to a quiet home. Wandering through the rooms, looking for signs of life even though he knew where the only other person living there would be. Lem could always rely on his guardian to silently tend to their small garden behind their cottage, humbly cultivating the green sprouts, hands covered in soil. The smell of fresh dirt and early morning dew always the first thing to greet the boy as he stepped outside to bid the man good morning.


The elderly man regularly tried getting his adopted son interested in the rewarding past time of stilling one’s thoughts and working the earth. But no matter how Lem tried, the restlessness always seemed to sneak its way into his chest, the feeling threatening to make him go crazy. He’d have to throw down the small gardening tools and jump around to get the unsettling feeling out of his body.


A rustling in the foliage around him, snapped the boy out of his reveries however.


His head jerked up and he propped his body up on his elbows. Dark brown eyes darted around his surroundings as he tried to figure out where the sound came from. He looked over at the chameleon.


“Ziiiiiiiiggs…was that you making all that ruckus?”


He tsked disapprovingly at his friend, whom until that moment had slowly began changing colors, skin now taking on a dark brown tone of the log he rested on. Unfazed by the shift, Lem turned his attention outwards, still scanning the forest, but unable to see much from his prone position. Rolling back over onto his stomach, he popped up from the ground, leaves and twigs clinging to his clothes and hair. Nonplus, the youth tossed the leather bound journal into his bag.


“Watch my bag, buddy. Lemme’ know if you see anything.”


The lizard blinked but otherwise didn’t respond.


Out of the corner of his eye, Lem saw a flicker of movement and he jerked his head over to follow it. Unable to get a good look at the shadow from between all the trees and brush, the boy jumped up onto the log, squinting. Figuring the only logical way to get the things attention was to shout at it, Lem inhaled deeply and opened his mouth.


But then he realized that might not be the greatest ideas, the faces of the guards looming up in his mind’s eye. He let the air in his lungs out in a whoosh and frowned, trying to process the best way to proceed.


He had always been told not to talk to strangers. But how could one make friends if not by talking to people you don’t know? Feeling as though he had justified his thoughts, Lem hopped down from the log and began as quietly as he could, creeping in the direction he had seem the form moving, peeking out behind each tree, trying to get closer.


Excitement bubbled up and shone through his eyes as he poked his head out from behind a large tree. He wondered who or what it was.