#1 maine coon (brought in today

[draconiclore]

if you're going to spend hundreds of dollars on a breed cat, why on earth would you then proceed to let it outside

[todayisafridaynight]

💕 hope all goes as well as it can this weekend/today!! I'm vibin while Wrens at work lmao. Ty for being a goober with all of us 💖 teehee

fam's here it a real party now 😎

[pinksandwichpolice]

The Origins Of The Maine Coon

The Beginnings of the Maine Coon

The Maine Coon, often hailed as the "mild giant" of the cat globe, boasts an abundant and remarkable background that extends centuries. From modest starts to worldwide acclaim, the origins of this cherished type are soaked in mythology, legend, and the daring spirit of seafaring explorers. In this extensive testimonial, we will certainly explore the captivating background and beginnings of the Maine Coon, tracing its advancement from a sturdy ranch cat to a valued companion in families worldwide.

Quick Summary:

The history and beginnings of the Maine Coon are as varied and interesting as the breed itself. From legendary stories of Viking origins to the useful contributions of seafaring explorers, the Maine Coon has caught the hearts of pet cat lovers worldwide. This evaluation will certainly check out the various concepts surrounding its origins, shedding light on the enduring legacy of this stunning feline.

1. The Origins of the Maine Coon

The exact origins of the Maine Coon remain shrouded in secret, with various theories and opinions presented by historians and pet cat lovers alike. Nonetheless, one point is particular: the Maine Coon's origins can be mapped back to the tough landscapes of New England in the 19th century. It is believed that these early ancestors of the Maine Coon were most likely ranch cats brought over by European settlers, treasured for their hunting expertise and ability to manage vermin on the homestead.

Maine Coon available: The origins of the Maine Coon kittycat are shrouded in enigma, with numerous concepts put forth by historians and feline fanatics. It is thought that the type's origins can be traced back to the sturdy landscapes of New England in the 19th century.

2. Mythology and Legends Surrounding the Maine Coon's Origins

As with any storied type, the Maine Coon has its reasonable share of mythology and tales surrounding its beginnings. One preferred myth suggests that the Maine Coon is come down from domestic felines brought over by Viking travelers, that cruised to North America long before Columbus's trip. According to this tale, the rugged, tuft-eared felines of Maine are the outcome of crossbreeding between these Viking felines and indigenous wildcats, causing the distinct appearance and passionate personality of the modern Maine Coon.

for Sale Maine Coon Kittens: Folklore and tales border the beginnings of the Maine Coon kitty, with one preferred myth recommending Viking origins. According to this tale, the sturdy, tuft-eared cats of Maine are descended from domestic cats brought over by Viking travelers.

3. The Influence of Seafaring Explorers on the Maine Coon Breed

While the tales of Viking ancestry add an air of romance to the Maine Coon's beginnings, the type's real development owes much to the usefulness of life on the sturdy coastlines of New England. As seafaring explorers and traders plied the waters of the North Atlantic, they brought with them not just items and arrangements but likewise ships' felines to manage vermin onboard. It is believed that these seafaring pet cats, known for their hardiness and durability, interbred with neighborhood felines, generating the Maine Coon type as we know it today.

Maine Coon Kittens Sale: The development of the Maine Coon kitty owes much to the functionalities of life on the rugged coastlines of New England. Seafaring travelers and investors brought with them ships' felines to manage vermin onboard, which interbred with regional felines, generating the Maine Coon breed.

4. Acknowledgment and Popularity of the Maine Coon

Regardless of its simple beginnings as a tough farm feline, the Maine Coon quickly captured the attention of feline fanciers and lovers, that were attracted to its striking appearance and mild disposition. The breed obtained recognition in the late 19th century, with the facility of feline shows and the development of type criteria. By the mid-20th century, the Maine Coon had turned into one of the most popular types in America, admired for its dimension, intelligence, and affectionate nature.

Maine Coon available for sale Kittens: The Maine Coon kitty acquired recognition in the late 19th century, with the establishment of cat programs and the development of breed standards. By the mid-20th century, it had become one of one of the most prominent types in America, admired for its size, knowledge, and caring nature.

Final thought: The Enduring Legacy of the Maine Royaltyfelines Coon

The history and origins of the Maine Coon are as varied and fascinating as the type itself, encompassing stories of Viking travelers, tough farm life, and the adventurous spirit of seafaring travelers. From its simple beginnings to its international praise, the Maine Coon has actually captured the hearts of feline enthusiasts around the world with its striking look, gentle attitude, and affectionate nature. As we commemorate the sustaining tradition of this stunning feline, we recognize the leaders who helped shape its history and the plenty of generations of Maine Coons that have brought delight and companionship into households worldwide.

FAQ: Common Questions About the History and Origins of the Maine Coon

Q: Are Maine Coon kittens came down from Viking felines?

A: While there is no clear-cut proof of Viking ancestry, the myth of Viking felines has actually captured the imagination of many Maine Coon lovers.

Q: How did Maine Coon kittens develop from ranch cats to cherished pets?

A: The practical payments of seafaring explorers and traders played a considerable function in the evolution of the Maine Coon breed, adding to its unique look and gentle personality.

Q: When did Maine Coon kittens gain recognition as an unique type?

A: The Maine Coon gained acknowledgment in the late 19th century, with the facility of feline shows and the formulation of breed criteria that highlighted its unique features and top qualities.

[bellspurr]

Must-Know Tips for Locating Maine Coon Kittens Near Me

Are you on the hunt for a new feline friend to bring home? Look no further than the Maine Coon kittens, one of the most captivating and endearing cat breeds around. Known for their majestic appearance, playful personalities, and gentle demeanor, Maine Coon kittens have been stealing the hearts of cat lovers for centuries. If you're looking to adopt one of these enchanting feline companions, this article will guide you on how to find Maine Coon kittens near you.

The Maine Coon: A Brief Overview

The Maine Coon cats have a fascinating history, making them one of the oldest breeds naturally found in North America. While their exact origins remain a mystery, stories suggest they might have come from longhaired cats brought by European settlers, mingling with local domestic cats. Over time, these felines adapted to the rugged North American climates, giving rise to the strikingly resilient, large, and bushy-tailed Maine Coon breed we adore today.

Characteristics of Maine Coon Kittens

Maine Coon kittens are renowned for their impressive physical attributes and charming personalities. Here are some of the distinctive characteristics that make them stand out from other cat breeds:

1. Size and Appearance: Maine Coons are known for their large size and robust build. They are one of the largest domesticated cat breeds, with males weighing between 13 to 18 pounds, and females weighing slightly less. Their long, flowing fur and distinctive bushy tails are among their most remarkable features.

2. Friendly and Social: These gentle giants have a reputation for their friendly and sociable nature. Maine Coon kittens are affectionate, loving, and get along well with children and other pets, making them an excellent addition to families.

3. Intelligence and Playfulness: Maine Coons are highly intelligent cats that love interactive play and mental stimulation. They are quick learners and can be trained to perform tricks, making playtime enjoyable for both the kitten and the owner.

4. Vocal Communicators: Maine Coon kittens are known for their expressive voices and will often "talk" to their owners. They may chirp, trill, or meow to communicate their needs or simply to engage in a friendly conversation.

5. Low Maintenance Grooming: Despite their long fur, Maine Coons have a manageable grooming routine. Regular brushing helps prevent matting and reduces shedding, keeping their coat healthy and beautiful.

Finding Maine Coon Kittens Near You

When Locating Maine Coon kittens near me, it's essential to consider reputable sources to ensure you bring home a healthy and well-socialized kitten. Here are some steps to help you find your perfect Maine Coon companion:

1. Local Animal Shelters and Rescues: Start your search by checking local animal shelters and rescues. It's possible that a Maine Coon kitten or cat in need of a loving home might be waiting for you. Adopting from a shelter not only saves a life but also gives a deserving feline a chance at a happy future.

2. Breed-specific Rescues: There are organizations and groups dedicated to rescuing and rehoming specific breeds, including Maine Coons. Conduct an online search to find Maine Coon-specific rescues near you and inquire about available kittens.

3. Reputable Breeders: If you prefer getting a kitten from a breeder, ensure you choose a reputable one. Look for breeders who prioritize the health and well-being of their cats, provide a clean and nurturing environment, and allow you to visit their facilities to meet the kittens and parents in person.

4. Local Pet Classifieds and Websites: Keep an eye on local pet classifieds and websites where individuals may post about Maine Coon kittens they have available for adoption. When contacting these individuals, be sure to ask questions about the kitten's health, vaccination status, and living conditions.

5. Cat Shows and Events: Attend cat shows and events in your area, where you may have the opportunity to meet breeders or enthusiasts who can guide you in your search for Maine Coon kittens. These events can also be a great way to learn more about the breed and connect with fellow cat lovers.

6. Referrals and Recommendations: Reach out to your local veterinarians or fellow cat owners to inquire if they know of any Maine Coon breeders or kittens available for adoption. Personal recommendations can often lead to reliable and trustworthy sources.

Preparing for Your New Arrival

Once you've found your perfect Maine Coon kitten, it's time to prepare your home for their arrival. Here are some essential steps to ensure a smooth transition for your new feline companion:

1. Create a Safe Space: Designate a quiet and cozy space in your home where your Maine Coon kitten can feel safe and secure. Provide a comfortable bed, litter box, food, and water dishes in this area.

2. Kitten-Proofing: Just like puppies, kittens are curious and can get into mischief. Kitten-proof your home by removing any potential hazards or items they might chew on or swallow.

3. Kitten Supplies: Stock up on essential supplies such as high-quality kitten food, toys, a scratching post, grooming tools, and a comfortable carrier for trips to the veterinarian.

4. Vet Checkup: Schedule a vet checkup for your new kitten as soon as possible. This ensures they are in good health and up-to-date on vaccinations.

5. Introductions: If you have other pets at home, introduce them to the new kitten gradually and in a controlled environment. This will help them adjust and potentially form strong bonds with each other.

Conclusion

Welcoming a Maine Coon kitten into your home can be a heartwarming and rewarding experience. With their charming personalities and striking appearance, these gentle giants make exceptional companions for families and individuals alike. By considering adoption from shelters or reputable breeders, you can ensure that you provide a loving forever home for a Maine Coon kitten in need. So, start your search today and get ready to embark on a delightful journey filled with love, joy, and endless cuddles with your new furry friend!

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Thurs 4 Feb ‘21

Confirmation is here at last of Harry’s role in the film adaptation of My Policeman, brought to us by queer fave Greg Berlanti (and his husband). Harry will costar with Emma Corrin, who you may remember from the at the time inexplicable seeming Harry/Emma cross promo last August-- given the pains they took then to emphasize that the relationship was platonic, one assumes this film will go for a different promo tactic than the current one! They share a stylist though, so they’ll no doubt be beautifully coordinated. Harry will play Tom, which some people object to on the grounds that Harry is the wrong person to play the role of a closeted man which is certainly… one opinion. Aaaaand there’s plenty more of that discourse (and about him playing a policeman) to come over the coming months so I’ll just leave it there for now! Anyway and as for that current project, we got more DWD set pics today, featuring Harry in various costume outfits! There’s ones where his character looks bloodied, and ones where his character looks clean but absolutely terrifying, grown up frat boy from hell looks to give you CHILLS, plus some of Harry as Harry in a bright orange hoodie designed by his friend Kunichi Nomura.There was also {moustache spoilers} some weird facial hair on display. Okay then!

Project Defenseless has been launched to push Defenseless up in the streaming charts and push for radio play! The fan single project offers resources and organized pushes to get people streaming and promoting on all the platforms and reaching out to radio, and has fans making lots of very cool edits besides! “I see what you’re doing with defenseless! You are all incredible!” said Louis. That song is such a fitting choice for this kind of project! Its journey has been all about the fan response from back when Louis played it for us for the very first time in 2019 (it was the one everyone was screaming about from soundcheck clips for the few hours between that and hearing the songs for real even) and afterwards he told us about how although he’d always liked the song it clicked for him in a new way after getting the fan reaction, saying “something happened to it when I performed it live, and ever since then it really kind of got me,” and “the fans make everything sound amazing, they made it sound so good,” and “the fans for whatever reason really took to this song, so now it has a special place in me heart definitely”. Plus of course there was the long saga of fan stress when it seemed like it might not be on the album and rejoicing when Louis finally definitively confirmed that it would be, after what seemed like might have been a reversal on his part due to the outcry about it. And now she’s climbing all kinds of charts like a the star she is! The song shot up on itunes (#3 worldwide, #1 in 16 countries) just for starters and the project has only just got going. Louis commented on the stats-- “An album track off an album that’s a year old. You lot blow my fucking mind! Thank you so much!”

Louis also commented on a Jack Saunders (BBC indie music DJ) tweet and followed guitarist Johnny Took of the DMAs on twitter which is weird only in that he didn’t already.

There’s news about Zayn’s Zach Sang interview, and it’s not the most surprising news but it is very sad; Zach says “hi beautiful humans, this convo was scheduled for last week but we got a rain check from his team. this conversation can still happen, it ain’t over yet! we’ll keep ya in the loop. I listened to this album 7 times! we’re determined” Well... damn. However Zayn DID pop up with some spon-content but like… the WEIRDEST ad content?? It’s for Coors Light and, well I’ll let Zayn tell you about it! “They’re gonna see if they can put a commercial inside your dreams... which is kind of messed up.” HAHAHAHA I have nothing to add! What Zayn said!!! “So we’re gonna give that a go and uh see if it works,” he says, sounding appropriately skeptical, followed by “wish me luck”. Does this kind of sponcon count as malicious compliance? Technically he DID say the stuff he was supposed to- and he’s doing an instagram live for them Sat, supposedly. I can’t wait to see how that goes! Wish him luck! The latest installment of the NIL comic book video series is also out today, but just one this time instead of a pair. This week’s song is Connexion and the new comic shows us that the figure pursuing our hero is, drumroll-- himself! The call is coming from inside the house!

Unlike interview shy Zayn, however, Gigi is out there ready to overshare, as long as it’s to Vogue. She has plenty to say about giving birth to zaby Khai (newly revealed nickname: Khaiba) at home at the Pennsylvania farm. The article says that they decided to have the birth at home due to COVID placing restrictions on hospital births that would have prevented Bella and Zayn and Yolanda all being present, and after she and Zayn watched the documentary The Business of Being Born. “They placed a blow-up bath in their bedroom and sent their three cats and border collie away when the midwife expressed concern that the sphynx and Maine coon felines might puncture the tub with their claws,” the interviewer learns while horseback riding with Gigi. The article also says Zayn “caught the baby” but it isn’t a direct quote from Gigi and I’m thinking a bit of an exaggeration perhaps. Gigi had the baby at the Hadid family farm but she and Zayn have since relocated to live at his farm, which is nearby, where they say they will be raising the child, with Z’s mom Trisha coming to stay to help out for the first month, that Khai sleeps with them, and that Zayn said his experience of the whole thing reminded him of the birth in a lion documentary they’d watched. Neither mentioned it but it has been spotted that Gigi and Zayn each now have tattoos of the name, Khai, in Arabic.

Meanwhile, Niall surfaced only in golf guy mode- a Modest Golf announcement and a podcast appearance to promote the new Modest initiative to get young people into playing golf. He says they want to “get rid of that thing that’s been holding golf back for a long time, that it’s a boring sport…” and I know he means he’s trying to combat that idea but when I tell you I LAUGHED!

[talesofealdancynedom]

Morgan in invisibility robes, holding Icarus; This will be important latter, and beats a generic picture of a wagon.

Tale 21: What The Wagon Was For (chapter 1 - Old Junk 1/7 ) part 6. Stories of wizards

no warnings

A red plastic wagon; Something you might find at a toy store. Used to carry children, and their things, on family outings. Like maybe a zoo or park. Its primary colour scheme is nearly offensive, in it’s obvious and off-putting simple design; Possibly intended to spark joy.  It is worn, scratched from years of use, and a bit dirty form being left outside. The noble wagon is but neglected, old, wise, and beloved.

           A pale blue antique styled bike. White leather on the curved handles, to match the worn seat and accents. The bell that was once painted red, but does not ring as it should; Yet, this instrument is satisfactory in its performance. It is a good bike; a quinte dutiful bike. There is a latch for a basket, weaved of thin strips of pastel, and there were tassels on the handles, before you inherited it. It was once belonged to your mother.

           A winter Nordic crocheted hat; in speckled ivory, navy, and red. Made by your uncle. The pompoms at the ties and top, still in mint condition. It goes with the worn flannel navy trench; you think it looks cool. It actually makes you look impoverished. A cotton t-shirt, with argyle on it; A satisfying geometric pattern, that can convey numerous colours that would be atrocious together in any other circumstance. It was custom made, and you own many; just in different equally terrible colours. But mostly white, navy, blue, red and pink. These Garbs are not lone, for there are a pair of worn runners, that you will soon outgrow. Once white, but now beige. Once tidy, but now torn. Purple and red along the sole and sides, because a designer that year thought that was a good idea; it was the only colour scheme that didn’t offend you. You settle. Often. This outing attire is not complete without ripped worn jeans, that you shouldn’t wear; The knees are green and ripped, and the ankle hems torn off.

           Band-aids and gauze, on your face and wrists. Maybe you should buy some foundation. You don’t want people to notice. You want them to stop noticing. There are so many scars, scrapes, and bruises; You don’t know where, when, or who gave them too you. You spend a lot of your allowance on first aid. The rest is for books of fantastical tales.

“Morgan, I asked you to bring objects that spark joy to therapy. To explore positivity in your life. These are very odd and specific items, that probably tell interesting tales. But you’re a book worm, and those things are for adventures.” Leo Greenwood asked. He was both curious and desperate. This was his fifth meeting with Morgan, and all he knew was that the boy jittered from anxiety, didn’t speak, and was a mage. Leo couldn’t help this poor boy, if he didn’t know him. Leo was hoping his request would be catching Morgan with honey, and would make him open up. Leo knew Morgan was knowledgeable of magic, and practically a historical encyclopedia; But this private counseling room was not a class room. Leo didn’t want to hear about magic, he wanted to hear about Morgan; Something Morgan was obviously less encyclopedic about. That was why he was there. As accurate as Leo’s assumptions about the objects Morgan brought were, the conversation remained one-sided.

           Morgan sat twiddling his thumbs. Icarus, his golden eagle familiar, was perched on his shoulder. Icarus would talk for Morgan, but Leo forbade it, as he wanted Morgan to have the confidence to speak for himself. Leo’s familiar was Dolly, a Maine Coon cat. Familiars say something about inner nature. This suggested there was a regal, brave, and polite something underneath that cowering youth. Also, that there was a large, soft, tame someone inside Leo’s seemingly professional exterior.

“What about the wagon? We can start with one object.” Leo inquired. Morgan shrugged. The wagon and bike were leaning against the bulletin, next to the door. There was a motivation poster with inspirational vapid photography on it; And another with cartoon animals.

“You brought so many things; it makes me think you have a lot of meaningful things in your life, and thus a lot of love to go around. I hear from professor Fyrstan and Woodwick, that you are a passionate young man,” Leo pushed. Morgan stayed silent. “It is full of a variety of loot today. Is that important too?” Leo continued, trying a more upbeat tone. Morgan looked destroyed, but nodded a little. Progress. Leo smiled.

“This place is confidential right?” Morgan murmured. Leo adjusted his seat and leant in with excitement. The boy was indeed, not mute. For now.

“By law! This office is a safe place, Morgan.” Leo said sweetly. Then Morgan took a deep breath and looked off to the side, at the succulent terrarium. Leo’s smile faded. Morgan was so anxious all of the time, Leo had never seen him take a breath. More over, he was a seer, and when magic seers take a breath like that, it means a lot of information is coming your way.

“Each week, for years, I put the same things in the wagon.” Morgan said. That was an anticlimactic answer, For such a deep breath. Leo looked around, tapping his pen. He nodded for Morgan to carry on.

“Tucked neatly in the wagon, each week, are the following assortment of things:”

A worn brick red plastic container; full of thumbprint cookies

A large glitter encrusted brand name coffee tumbler; with mermaid logo.

An empty six-gallon jug

A 1L of half and half

A freezer bag full of homemade dog treats

One of the old tabletop games found in storage

A cassette player, and tape, filled with a playlist of catchy children’s songs

A therapy bullet journal

A six-meter garden hose

Large bronze bridle

Hathing fyords Celtician tea: rich black

Foxer’s box take out and all-day dinner double fish and chips with times two extra chips

Half a packet if cherry losings

Baby Blue’s perfectly pressed sugar cubes

A counterfeit alchemized rhinestone and silver men’s business watch

Thick hemp rope

The gossip page of The Weekly Passing’s newspaper

An opaque athletic water bottle filled with skim milk

The Pony Paradise Boutique hand crafted equine grooming brush

A 12” hard wood dowel

A bag of plastic party kazoos

“Goodness Morgan; What in the two veils are you doing each week, as a mage, with such an assortment of oddly specific, and very mundane, things?” Leo asked. He was completely stunned and perplexed. Morgan looked up and made eye contact with Leo for the first time. Then he shrugged, but this time with personality; suggesting the answer should have been obvious.

NEXT--->

[2seokfan]

Scarlet & Hazel | Ch. 2

pairings: hoseok x reader x yoongi

genre: fluff, very light angst, smut (future)

word count: 4.3k

chapters: ch.1, ch.2, ch.3, ch.4

summary: 

Just cause you’re living paycheck to paycheck in a tiny apartment even after graduating college doesn’t mean you’re not happy. So what if your best friend is working her dream job making close to six figures every year?  So what if she’s in a loving, committed relationship with her perfect boyfriend that you’re 99% sure is going to propose to her sometime next year? It doesn’t matter that your idea of a perfect relationship is a $9.99 bottle of wine on Friday nights while you binge watch Netflix specials.

Ok so maybe you’re a teensy bit miserable. Maybe you have no idea what you’re doing with your life. Maybe all you need to do is accidentally cross paths with two hybrids who will drastically change that.

Meet “Scarlet” and “Hazel��, two of the most gorgeous hybrid men you have ever laid eyes on. With their help, you learn that life is an adventure, a roller-coaster with ups and downs, and you were too preoccupied with yourself to climb out of your own predicament. And hey, you’re not much of a romantic, but with these two, you just might change your mind.

a/n: Ch. 2 is here yay!!! Also please note that Scarlet and Hazel are definitely Hoseok and Yoongi, only the reader doesn’t find out their real names in this chapter. And please don’t hesitate to give me feedback or constructive criticism whether through comments or messaging <3

tag list: @wilhelminalucinda @ghostkat23​ @ayoo-bangtan

Blonde lady retracts her hand from orange hair’s arm, one eyebrow twitching in irritation. 

“And who might you be?”

You’re standing in front of the boys so again, you can’t really see their faces, but you take this opportunity to speak while they’re still frozen in shock.

“I’m their owner! Who are YOU and why are you bothering my boys?” You try to sound tough but internally your mind is going haywire. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. What the FUCK am I doing??!!

“Oh really? Their ‘owner’ huh? How convenient of you to show up right now.” Uh oh. She sounds skeptical.

To your utter surprise, orange hair wraps an arm around your shoulders and gives you a quick back hug. This does nothing to help your nerves because you’re suddenly being bombarded by the delectable scent of honey and cinnamon. Jesus Christ why does he smell so good? Get it together Y/N!

“That’s right! She’s our owner. We’ve been waiting for you!”

You quickly recover from your sensory overload. If the boys are playing along, that must mean they do need your help.

“Are you now?” Blondie’s voice is venom at this point. “What are their names?”

Fuck.

“Uh…” You glance at her red nails. Damn they are even sharper up close. “His name is Scarlet,” you point your thumb backwards at orange hair. “And uh…” you glance at your latte, now cold, “and he’s Hazel!” You gesture somewhere behind you to your left, where you assume white and grey hair is standing.

Blondie’s frown deepens. She crosses her arms, temporarily sheathing her weaponous nails. Still slightly unconvinced but unable to prove otherwise, she retorts back. “Then why are your hybrids collarless? You know I could call Hybrid Services on them right here, right now!”

At this point her arctic fox has now completely given up on calming her down, opting to stand behind her owner with her head bowed down. You feel so sorry for the poor thing, having to deal with such a selfish owner. But unfortunately you have no time to dwell on that. You have to think fast. If blondie calls Hybrid Services it’s over for you and the boys because you have no proof of ownership.

“W-well why do you think we’re out shopping today?” You speak a little too fast so you take a deep breath and slow down, pretending you didn’t just think up this idea right now. “I’m planning on buying them new collars of course. Their old ones wore down so we decided to throw them away. I was with them all day today and nobody complained. The one time I leave them to go buy a cup of coffee and I come back to a lady yelling at them? Do you have nothing else to do with your life than to bother other people? How embarrassing!”

Blondie’s eyebrows shoot up so high they almost disappear into her untouched roots. Her face is now comical, identical to a pop-eyed goldfish.

“I-I…” Her cheeks are now the same color as her nails. “I was only trying to find a suitable mate for my hybrid. Surely as their owner you understand that…”

“But did they say ‘yes’?!” You interrupt her, not wanting to deal with any of her bullshit. You’ve got the upper hand at this point. You cock your head to the side and put your free hand on your hip. 

“No they didn’t but that’s why I was looking for their owner. It doesn’t matter what they think!” Wow what a class A bitch. You can’t believe she still thinks she has a chance.

You hear a low growl coming from white and grey behind you.

“Well I don’t work like that. I’ll never disregard the opinions of my hybrids and put them down like you do!” You’re fuming at this point, nerves completely gone. “I’m really sorry you think that way and I hope one day you see just how narrow-minded you are. But for now kindly fuck right off!” You finish by sending her one of your most vicious glares.

Game, set, and match.

Blondie blinks twice, frozen on the spot, and completely lost for words.

“Miss… let’s go.” Sylvia’s timid voice breaches the silence as she tugs on her owner’s sleeve.

Blondie quickly comes back to her senses. “Hmph!” She turns on her heel, nose in the air, and grabs her poor fox by the arm, yanking her along. 

Sylvia turns her head back and manages a quick “I’m sorry” before she is marched off. You give her a reassuring smile, letting her know that she has nothing to do with this entire situation.

As soon as they are out of sight, you let out a huge breath, unaware that you were holding it for so long. 

“Well that was…” You spin around, facing the hybrid boys for the first time, “Oh wow...” 

Because in front of you stand two of the most gorgeous men to have ever blessed your eyes with their presence.

Now you’re speechless.

‘Scarlet’, the orange haired hybrid, is standing right in front of you with both hands on his hips and a blinding wide smile on his face. His tousled orange locks are parted, showing the full length of his chiseled face. With a sharp, upturned nose and a jawline that could cut, he looks effortlessly handsome. Now that you have time to observe him up close, you notice that he’s a red fox hybrid, which explains why blondie wanted him for poor Sylvia.

‘Hazel’, the white and grey haired hybrid, is standing slightly behind ‘Scarlet’ with his arms crossed and a sleepy look on his face. If you could describe him in one sentence, it would be ‘I know I’m fluffy but don’t fuck with me’. You have this primal urge deep down to touch his hair and squish his cheeks but somehow your instincts are telling you that if you attempted to do this he would scratch both your eyes out. He looks to be some sort of extremely long-haired cat, you’re guessing a Maine Coon, but you’re not too sure.

Faced with such beauty, you suddenly become hyper conscious of yourself. Oh shit. You’re basically barefaced, with unfilled eyebrows and chapped, coffee-stained lips. You look down and take in the bleach stain on the left knee of your sweatpants, then you notice the cocoa powder from this morning’s tiramisu on your tank top. Wow the one day I run into hot guys and I had to look like a mess express.

Your eyes travel back to the boys. ‘Scarlet’ now looks slightly concerned, his wide smile slowly disappearing.

“Are you ok? You’ve been silent for awhile now…”

You’re brought back to earth, away from your mental pity party. There’s nothing you can do about your current state of being, so why wallow?

You quickly shake the thoughts out of your head. “Sorry I zone out a lot.” 

You then remember why you’re talking to the boys in the first place. “But anyways, are you guys ok?? I’m sorry to surprise you like that but I just couldn’t stand by and watch her harass you.”

‘Hazel’ speaks to you for the first time, his voice low and slightly scratchy in timbre. “We’re fine now,” then in a quieter tone, “thank you.”

“I’m glad I could help!” You offer him a small smile. 

Your mind drifts to blondie again and instantly your smile turns into a frown. “I just don’t understand what her problem is! Sure there’s a collar law but it’s barely enforced this day and age!”

Hybrid laws have drastically changed in the last ten years. Although there are tons of improvements needed, since hybrids are still under the jurisdiction of their owners, small laws like the collar law are extremely lax nowadays. Think about it like jaywalking in the city. Sure it’s technically illegal but if no one gets hurt then nobody cares if you do it, unless an officer is bored and has nothing else to do.

“Well we appreciate you stepping in before she could call Hybrid Services anyway. That really saved our tails! Thank you!” You can see ‘Scarlet’ is visibly relieved to be out of that sticky situation, a smile back on his handsome face.

“Yeah no problem!” You take a sip from your cold hazelnut latte, trying to distract yourself from staring at him. He’s radiant, and if you look any longer you swear you’ll combust.

“By the way,” ‘Scarlet’ is now looking at your coffee cup, “where’d you get your coffee? We’ve been meaning to grab a drink but we’re new in town so we don’t know where to look.”

“Oh this? It’s from my favorite coffee shop! You guys should really check it out.” Your eyes light up and an idea pops into your head. “Wait, are you guys free right now?”

“Well we were just walking around the city before granny interrupted us so yeah, we’re free.” ‘Hazel’ answers nonchalantly, then shrugs. “Whats up?”

“So…” You shift your weight from one foot to another, here goes nothing. “I was thinking I could treat you guys to coffee!” You’re surprised by your sudden courage. You’ve only just met them yet these boys are affecting you so much. If Karli were here she’d say you’re whipped.

“Hmm?”

“Say what?”

Both boys respond at the same time, blinking at you, surprise evident in their tone.

“What I mean is, I’d like to officially welcome you to town!” You’re hoping you don’t sound too creepy. Now that you think about it, a complete stranger treating two hybrids they just met to coffee can seem a little off-putting. “You guys don’t have to say yes though! I just… I didn’t like how blondie treated you and I wanted to make it up to you…” You’re trailing off now. Just shut up Y/N you’re talking too much again.

“I mean it’s not your fault though…” ‘Scarlet’ scratches the back of his head.

“Ok.”

You whip your head in ‘Hazel’’s direction, his answer surprising you. Maybe it’s his body language, or just his overall demeanor, but you didn’t expect him to accept your offer.

He looks ‘Scarlet’ in the eyes. “She did save our asses, and I’ve been craving an Americano.”

‘Scarlet’ nods once. “Ok! Lead the way, miss, um…”

“Y/N. You can just call me Y/N,” you blurt out, trying to ease the awkwardness, “Uh, cool! This way.”

The boys trail behind you as you lead them past the various designer stores, heading once again back to Cozy Coffeehouse. Being the self-conscious hoe that you are, you hope the barista doesn’t recognize you returning while still holding one of their drinks. You shield your face with your free hand, drawing a snort from ‘Scarlet’ as he finds the whole ordeal hilarious.

“Back again so soon?” The barista recognizes you instantly.

Ah fuck.

“Yep.” You smile sheepishly at him. “But this time it’s not for me.” You turn to the boys behind you. “What do you guys want?”

‘Hazel’ shuffles in front of you. “An iced Americano please. No cream, no sugar.” Wow, someone likes to have fun.

‘Scarlet’ is still staring at the drinks menu, tilting his head to the side and tapping his cheek with his index finger.

You point him in the direction of their small specials menu sitting near the register.

“Have you checked out their specials yet? They change it up every season!”

“Ooooh cherry blossom latte. I’ll take one of those!” He attempts to pull his wallet out of his back pocket.

“Oh no no no!” You tut, “It’s on me remember? I’m a working woman and I can afford two coffees. Now put that wallet away!”

After you’ve paid for the boys’ drinks you head to the corner where ‘Hazel’ has already plopped himself down onto one of the couches.

“Nice place.” He takes a sip of his Americano. “Nice coffee too.”

“Right?” You sit across from him.

‘Scarlet’ is still at the counter waiting for his drink, since the cherry blossom latte takes a notoriously long time to make.

“So what are you guys in town for?” You try to start conversation.

“Business.” He takes another sip. “But today we’re just shopping.”

“Oh ok.” He doesn’t leave you with much to respond to but you don’t blame him for being so guarded. There’s got to be a reason why they were wandering around town without a collar, much less an owner in sight, but it’s not your place to pry. You sit there in silence for a while.

“That took a long ass time but it’s so worth the wait!” ‘Scarlet’ skips back, happily slurping on his latte. “It’s so good! Try it hyung!” He shoves the drink in his buddy’s face.

‘Hazel’ leans over, taking a small sip of the latte, then proceeds to cough and sputter as ‘Scarlet’ hands him a napkin.

“Eugh what is that? It tastes like pure liquid sugar!” He coughs again into the napkin.

“Isn’t it good?” ‘Scarlet’’s tail wags happily before he sits down next to ‘Hazel’, who is now gulping his Americano, hoping to wash away the sickly sweet taste of that abomination of a latte.

You observe them quietly, their interactions making you giggle. They seem like polar opposites but somehow their personalities fit together like a puzzle.

As they settle down, ‘Scarlet’ sets his drink on the table and faces you.

“Thanks for the treat Y/N, we really appreciate it!” He always seems to have a small smile permanently etched onto his face. You realize that unlike some people who walk around with an RBF (resting bitch face), he seems to have a resting happy face. You never knew foxes to be so happy. The ones you’ve encountered at the clinic either seem to be extremely timid and introverted, or slightly arrogant and haughty. He was neither, an embodiment of pure sunshine.

“No problem!” You respond. “By the way, is ‘hyung’ your name?” you ask ‘Hazel’.

“Oh, no.” ‘Scarlet’ laughs at that. “We’re Korean, so in our language, ‘hyung’ is what we say to older males. It’s a form of respect to call them ‘brother’.”

“Oh!” You internally cringe at your ignorance. Oops. “Then what are your names, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I kinda like the names you gave us actually. You can keep calling us that.” Hazel answers, finally having gotten rid of the sugary aftertaste in his mouth. His expression is back to being unreadable.

“Mk.” Strange. They seem very open to you inviting them for coffee but they’re not keen on revealing much about themselves. You don’t push them for answers though, having no reason to garner any information out of them.

“So you said you’re a working woman. What do you do?” Like Hazel, Scarlet also seems eager to switch the topic of conversation away from them.

“Me? I work at a private hybrid clinic.” Unlike the boys, you have no secrets to keep, and you hope to build trust by being honest and open about yourself.

“That’s really cool! Are you a hybrid doctor?” He leans in slightly, giving you his full attention.

“Oh no.” you laugh, a little embarrassed about your shitty job. “I’m just the receptionist, so I get the wonderful pleasure of dealing with people like blondie every day. “ You roll your eyes, emphasizing just how much you can’t stand some of those self-entitled owners.

The boys seem genuinely interested about you and your career, with Scarlet finding ways to prompt you into speaking more about yourself. Hazel mostly sits back and listens, occasionally jutting in with one-liners. Before you know it, you’ve basically told them your whole life story. 

You don’t consider yourself a private person, but you’ve never been so vulnerable to strangers before.  You find it odd how comfortable you are around them, the only challenge being how hard it is to maintain eye contact, still finding them both ridiculously attractive.

They continue to sit with you, listening to you prattle on and on. Your conversation shifts to the topic of hybrid rights, which to no surprise, you find them equally as passionate about as you do. Scarlet is a very animated speaker, using tons of hand gestures and bouncing up and down on the couch, rattling poor Hazel, who’s just trying to finish the last of his Americano in peace. You discuss how the last decade has seen a drastic improvement in hybrid laws but you both agree that more has to be done. At one point Scarlet gets so excited he stands up, proceeding to then sit back down straight onto Hazel’s unsuspecting tail. A sharp MREOOW is heard, with the cat snatching his crooked tail away from the excited fox and placing it onto his own lap, where he can smooth the ruffled fur.

“Oops, sorry hyung.”

You’re laughing so hard there’s tears in your eyes. How can they be so hot but so goofy at the same time? The duality really popped out.

It’s only until you notice the sun setting through the window in the corner of your eyes do you finally realize just how long you’ve been sitting here, chatting with the boys. You could’ve sworn you’ve only been here for 20 minutes or so, but it’s actually been a couple hours??

The boys seem to notice the time just as you do.

“Wow I was having so much fun I lost track of time!” Scarlet exclaims as he checks the clock on his phone. “We really have to get back and pack.” He looks at you and sighs. “This is our last day here and we’ve got an early flight to catch tomorrow.”

Your heart sinks just a little, having gotten so attached to them in just a short amount of time, but you make sure to plaster on a smile.

“That’s ok. Thank you for spending the day with me! I’ve had a blast!” You’re especially sincere, glad you got to spend the day with some company instead of wandering around on your own.

As they are both standing up to leave, Hazel stares at you for a moment, face devoid of expression, drawing a small blush from your cheeks with how intense his gaze is. He seems to come to a decision because he leans into Scarlet’s ear and whispers something that you can’t make out. The fox’s eyes shoot up for a second, then he quickly nods.

“Um, Y/N?” Scarlet gives you the biggest puppy dog eyes, soft orange ears tilting down anxiously. “I know we’re leaving tomorrow but can we have your number? We’d love to have a friend in this city!” 

How can you say no to that face??

“Of course!” Your heart is beating a mile a minute, excited at having an opportunity to keep in touch with your new friends. You whip out your phone and give them your digits.

“Thank you again Y/N! We’ll be back. Promise!” Scarlet gives you one last blinding smile, waving his hand before turning to head out the door.

“Bye Y/N.” A small, sleepy smile also forms on Hazel’s face before he too, turns around and shuffles behind his companion.

You wave as you watch them exit the cafe, deciding that it’s also time for you to head home.

You barely remember the drive back, with the two hybrids occupying 99% of your thoughts. You park your car in your designated parking spot (the extra $50 per month well worth not having to find street parking every night in your shady neighborhood) and make your way up the stairs of your small complex. When you stand in front of the door to your apartment, you notice some light shining from the crack underneath, signifying that your roommate is back.

“Ayah! You’re home!” You call out to her the moment you shut the door behind you.

Your roommate Ayah is in the kitchen, music playing on her small portable speaker as she stirs some sort of sauce in a pot.

“Y/N hi! I made spaghetti so I hope you’re hungry!” She turns and faces you with a big grin, ladle in hand and an apron that says “Kiss the Cook” tied around her waist.

“Yum! You know I can’t turn down anything you make.” You’re glad she’s back, having been gone this time for over a week. You were getting awfully lonely at home.

As soon as she’s done cooking, you both settle down on the small dining table and dig into the pasta, catching up on what you’ve both been up to. You know Ayah works for the medical industry and has to travel a lot for her job but that’s about it. Her career is a little too complicated for a simpleton like you to understand. She’s aware of this so instead she just fills you in on where she’s been the past week.

“They sent me to the middle of nowhere this week I swear Y/N! It was miserable.” She lets out a long sigh. “But at least that’s over for now. Too bad I have to leave again on Monday.”

“Aww, so soon?” You pout. See? This is why you two never have a chance to get closer. Oh well, at least you’ll make the most out of your time together now.

“But, there’s a huge convention coming up so you know what that means?”

“What?”

“Vegas baby!!”

“Nice!” You almost spew out sauce trying to reply to her, which is kinda gross you admit. But you can’t help wolfing down your food since all you’ve had today was coffee and tiramisu. She hands you a paper towel and you gladly accept, wiping the marinara off your cheek.

As you’re finishing your pasta, Ayah’s tone becomes a little more serious.

“Hey Y/N. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the lease.” She starts to gather the empty plates, rinsing them then putting them in the dishwasher. Before you get the chance to voice your confusion at where this conversation is going, she continues.

“So you know how this year’s lease is ending in like four months right?”

“Mhm” you hum, now guzzling a glass of water to wash down the food.

“And I love having you as a roommate and stuff so it’s got nothing to do with you but…” She pauses for a moment, contemplating how to form the correct words. “Recently I’ve just been promoted.”

“That’s awesome I’m so happy for you!” And you genuinely are. But it does sting a little, knowing the people around you are doing so well in life and you’re still stuck in a job you don’t really enjoy.

She sits back down at the table. “Well, I’ve been thinking and, now that I’m going to get paid more, I kinda want to have a place of my own.” She looks a little nervous breaking the news to you. “And please know that this has nothing to do with you as a roommate, it’s just that I’m getting older now and I want to start living independently.”

Honestly? You sort of had a feeling this was coming. Ayah is pretty successful and it’s a miracle she’s decided to live with a roommate till now. She’s being perfectly reasonable, giving you a sufficient amount of time to decide on your future living conditions. It still hurts though, not gonna lie.

“It’s ok. I understand, I really do.” You reassure her. “Thanks for telling me this now so I have time to work out what to do.” Your voice is a lot quieter now that reality has kicked in.

“And I promise to either help you find a new roommate or a new place to live. I’m not gonna leave you hanging.” She determines.

“Thanks girl, I appreciate it.” You try to smile at her but it comes off a little weak.

Later on in the evening, after you’ve cleaned up and lied down on your bed, you let your thoughts roam free.

What a day, Y/N.

You can’t believe so much has happened in the span of around 12 hours. Although Ayah’s news about moving out when the lease ends did hurt a little, it was not surprising, and you find yourself thinking again about the two very beautiful hybrid men you ran into today. You come to a conclusion. Even though today didn’t end on a very happy note, you still believe that it was an overall very good day. And you even made two new friends!

Right on cue, your phone vibrates near your pillow. You grab it and check that an unknown number has texted you in a group chat.

You swipe to open the message.

Unknown: Hey Y/N it’s your favorite fox Scarlet!!! (this is followed by a string of emojis) Anyways we want to thank you again for today, we had so much fun!! (more emojis)

You: Hi Scarlet! :) I had fun too!

Scarlet: Also doesn’t this remind you of Hazel??

He sends a picture of a very fluffy but grumpy looking cat with the caption “Why am I here when I can be sleeping??”

You laugh out loud, trying to muffle the sound with your pillow.

You: LMAO im dEAD

Unknown: Hey shut up fox that does NOT look like me. Now let me sleep

Ah so that must be Hazel, ever the happy kitty.

Scarlet: It’s not even that late tho?! You sleep too much cat

Hazel: And what about it? Also hi Y/N please tell the fox to let us sleep, we have a flight to catch tmrw

You: Hi Hazel! And sorry for blowing up your phone sleepyhead

Scarlet: Ok ok fine! Night Y/N we’ll talk to you soon!!! (another shit ton of emojis)

You: Night boys have a safe flight tmrw!

You lie back down with a big smile on your face. That definitely improved your mood. You snuggle up under your blanket.

Right before you drift off to sleep, you remember that you forgot the one chore you promised to do today, which was to go grocery shopping.

FUck.

Oh well, you’ll do that tomorrow.

Previous | Next

[mintytrifecta]

I’d Spend Them With You

Also on A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22454086 Garfield has been around for a long time. He knows this, and he’s getting pretty tired of it. No matter how much he tries to have any semblance of a normal life cycle, it always comes back and bites him in the tail.

So now here he stands, inside of an old abandoned theatre filled to the brim with thousands of cats, debating on whether they, as cats should question Primal Self on why they have nine lives.

“I’m sorry Finn I just don’t see the point in this. Seems more trouble than it’s worth.’’

“The humans are people of knowledge just like us, they research and explore their universe and their lives I don’t see why we can’t do the same!” Finnigan McEily, lived eight lives, on his ninth. Spanning seven centuries, approximately 14 years old. He’s the head councilman in the Muncie region, followed by Garfield himself being the second. Of course, what Finn doesn’t know is that Garfield can take away his authority at any moment.

Not that he wants to do it anyway, too much work and stress, he’d much rather not do all of that thank you very much.

“Yeah well what will we do with that knowledge once we get it? We’ve lived near humans since before time was counted we know they like to stick their noses where they don’t belong, I’d rather not follow in their footsteps.”

“Great Bastet, how much more in denial can you get-”

“Finn I was there to see the worst of what humanity can offer. I’ve been on the receiving end of human curiosity and let me tell you it is not fun. We have no idea how to explore our lives, much less understand why we are the way we are. There really is no point in doing this.”

In another life, he might have said differently. He might have agreed and said they could benefit from this. But unfortunately, he’s lived too many and is quite certain this will only end in disaster.

“We are ancient and loved. We have seen civilisations rise and fall and we’re able to tell the tale. Yet the only thing we haven’t figured out is how. I, for one, think this could be beneficial to us as a society and a species.” That was Amelia Sternman, third head of the council. Lived eight lives, spanning five centuries, ten years old. She’s joyful, ignorant, poetic and wide-eyed and Garfield would love to do nothing more than to claw her tail into a clean shave. Damn maine coons…

If Garfield was in another life, in the garden, he probably would have been her best friend. Jovial, forever young, stupid, they could’ve been mistaken for siblings from different litters. Sure she can use big words but they ain’t making her any smarter. She has no idea what this means.

Garfield recalls a time where he would have jumped on this idea right away. He fed on knowledge in that life. He had to, he was a detective, after all.

Samuel Elias Spayed. Lived in the 1920s, just your run of the mill hard boiled detective doing his job. Died in a shootout with a gang in 1931. Overly curious, stuck his nose where it didn't belong and it ended up working out great for him.

But, he’s getting ahead of himself.

“Why can’t we just keep doing what we’ve always done and go on with our lives. Accept that yeah, this is a thing that just happens and be done with it? Man, how long is this meeting I want to go home already.”

He heard a wallop in the audience, agreeing with him. Good, he’s not the only one bored out of his mind.

Finn sighs and strikes down on the stage floor with his paw three times “Alright fine, meeting adjourned for this week, but we will keep discussing this matter next time. You’re free to go.”

Garfield jumps off the old rusted podium onto uncomfortable old wood,the stage creaks and groans with every step his fellow pets make.

As Garfield steps out of the Bijou he thinks of how impressive it used to be. Standing proud and intimidating, it's lights aglow. Try hard enough and he can still hear the music playing from the pit. Strain his eyes enough and he swears he can see the actors performing their final number.

A piece of this land, always here to be remembered, yet never to be fixed.

He always felt a sense of connection to the building. Who knows, maybe in a previous life he was a pet to one of the cast members.

Not every life gets remembered, not every person gets photographed. Hell, he can't even remember what he ate for breakfast that day.

Maybe it was the sense of community that always drew him back there, he thinks. Letting his feet take him wherever they please. Garfield always feels better with other people around, as much as he tries to deny it.

After living for so long loneliness creeps up on you and crushes you inside out. Being with someone gave him a distraction. A thought that maybe… he didn't have to go through it alone.

He remembers the watercolour streaks of stars in his first life. Ancient and hard times, yes. But beautiful nonetheless. The world was new and naive. The older he got, the more stars went out. Now they’re practically all gone.

So was he. Crushed to death with a tree. His teeth crushed and mouth left bleeding. It wasn't too bad a death, he didn't have to suffer for long.

He thinks of Finn handling things in today's meeting. The felines asked for a day's meeting just between themselves. Finn trying to handle everyone talking at once doing his best to stay on track. Garfield wanted to laugh at how apparent it was that Finn wanted to scream. The dogs eavesdropping didn’t make it any better.

While there has been evidence that dogs traverse lives, they didn't want to test the theory and the dogs never said anything. It's a win win in Garfield's book. They don't touch their business and they won't touch his.

Walking along the road, he hears music coming from the park across the street. There was a performance by a touring folk band, Garfield is sure he can see Jon and Liz in the audience. After enough tries Jon’s given up on dating her and they opted to stay close friends.

Romance… what an odd thing, Garfield thinks. Everyone strives for a deeper emotional connection yet Garfield can’t remember any life he’s been in where he looked for a partner except his current one.

Connection was never his forte, often times he found himself opting out of meaningful conversations and friendships when they got too personal. He doesn’t know why he’s doing it, but he dies inside every time he does.

Baast’s Honor, how he wishes he could talk to someone. But no. he can’t be vulnerable. His previous lives showed enough of that. Vulnerability led to loneliness, loneliness lead to abandonment and a much faster death.

Stuck in an uncomfortable liminality between intimacy and isolation, Garfield found himself in a numb state. Constantly grumpy and always eating to distract himself, he’s sure whatever deity out there responsible for cats is rolling in their grave in disgust and horror.

The band is stopping for a piano solo, Debussy. Arabesque number 1. The corners of his mouth twitch upwards. He remembers Sarah playing this song…

His favorite life. After his untimely death occurring to an accident on set in a previous life, this one was a great change of pace. No worries, just peaceful times living with Sarah. He was almost her second piano teacher. Lucky one of his previous lives was that of a court musician's pet. Lived in her home from when she was a child and lived to see her child.

He continues walking and thinks of his home. His first home in this life. A beat up old Italian restaurant in a beat up old part of the city. Forgotten by humans, adored by cats. His whole family lives there.

Almost.

His dad doesn't. He left before Garfield was even born. Not that it bothers him any, he's got Jon and that's good enough for him. Garfield hisses softly to himself.

He remembers eating lasagne for the first time. It was his first ever meal, eaten five minutes or so after he was born. His mother laughed at his already large appetite.

Unfortunately a few minutes later he was taken away by the owner, thrown into a cage with other whining and screaming animals. The cage taken into a shelter and Garfield placed inside another cage. Begging and pleading to be taken by a human. Garfield cowered in the corner, confused and frightened. Some of the older folks tried to explain the situation to him, but all he cared about in that moment was being back with his mom.

A few days later, a brunette entered the shelter and Garfield caught his eye.

It took him a while to warm up to Jon. He knew humans weren't harmful to him, especially not one like Jon but he couldn't help but not be nervous. His previous life left a bitter aftertaste of humans…

Garfield feels a shiver go down his spine. He hated thinking about it. Being a lab experiment was one thing, almost being killed in the jungle after turning into a dog was another. Both sucked.

It felt wrong to be a different creature. Everything that he knew from his previous lives suddenly meant nothing. This was new, uncomfortable ground that he wasn't ready to explore. Garfield cringed inwardly.

He feels terrible saying that. He used to love exploring. It was his whole purpose in multiple lives. As a pirate, a space thief, cowboy, hell one of his jobs was literally exo-planetary explorer! Of course, both instances in space led to him gaining an extra set of lives for some goddamn reason.

He doesn't know whether to be thankful for it or despise it.

His feet come to a stop. The smell of old wood and abandoned concrete hits his nose with familiar pleasure. His family's home.

His home.

He runs to the back and squeezes through a hole in the wall. He knows why his instincts brought him here, speeding to the kitchen, he finds his clowder.

Ranging from his half brother Raoul, to his aunt Rockelvia. They run up and greet him with excitement.

"Look at that, ol' tiger's back." Uncle Morty exclaims, wrapping his tail around Garfield’s back paw and headbutts him.

"Took you awhile to come visit us. What you getting tired of your family?" Aunt Em scolds him from the top of a cabinet. Her tail swishing back and forth in a lazy welcoming matter.

Garfield chuckles. "Quite the contrary. You know I'd visit more if it were allowed by the Council. Unfortunately they don't take too well to anyone born outside a vet, shop or a human's home."

He hears great grandfather Oslo scoff. "Darn pets. They're the ones who kicked us out, you know."

Garfield rolls his eyes and replies, "Yeah I know you only whine about it every time I come over. But that's not why I'm here, do you know where mom is?"

"Check the dining room, she likes to sleep near the tables."

Garfield nods and makes his way towards his mom. After Luigi's Palace closed down she along with the rest of the family were considered strays and forced to leave the community.

"Mom? You here?"

"Table six, sweetie."

With a smile (and a few falls) Garfield makes his way to the top of the booth. He runs to his mom and headbutts her playfully, saying hello.

"Why, it's good to see you too, Garfield. What's the reason for your sudden visit?" She speaks softly.

Garfield sits down next to her and begins to explain,

"The council wants to initiate conversation with Primal Self. Not only that but to experiment on it and find out why it happens. I don't know about you but the idea of doing it sounds ridiculous and unnecessary." He says with a pout.

Sonja looks at her son with a curious gaze before replying.

"Well, my mother told me that the reason it happens is because the animals of the world were jealous of us cats having so many lives so they asked their ancients to curse all cats to come with a trial. This trial shall be held on each fifth life and determine whether a cat deserved its other lives in peace, or if they had to work for it. The ancient spirit of cats listened to their pleas and in sympathy, obliged. Following every cat on their fifth life and bringing out their ancient instincts."

Garfield stared at her in confusion, he was around before time was even thought of. Surely he'd remember something this important.

"But that's just an old queen's tale. Nobody knows for sure. I can't offer you much help with this, but I can support you in your council. Even from afar."

Garfield smiles and cuddles with her for what seemed like a lifetime before getting up, proclaiming he needs to return home.

As the moon shone on him walking down the street, he thinks of how wonderful this world is; despite its messes. He knows it is.

After all, he's been around for a long, long time.

[theladylovingcrow]

Skin On Skin, Hearts Laid Bare (Sanny)

Ch.1 Autumnal Camping is the Perfect Oppurtunity for Snuggles

Warnings/Tags: camping, sharing a tent, sharing a sleeping bag, sharing a bed, cuddling, cuddling for warmth, flirting, a bit dialogue heavy like usual, no sex yet

Length: about 1650

Ch. 1 Summary: It's survival 101 - body heat is the best way to keep warm. And skin on skin is the best way to generate that body heat.

It is an unusually cold night on a camping trip: Sam and Danny need to heat up if they want to go to sleep and still have toes in the morning.

Author's Notes: Because I plan on each chapter being different, I will give each it's own section of tags/warnings/summaries/notes.

I absolutely love the sensation of skin on skin contact, not even in a sexual way - just as a primal, intimate, platonic form of human connection. It grounds me, and I'd like to think it grounds them too, though honestly I couldn't resist myself and I DID make this turn sexual. Oops (not)

Absolutely inspired by Luna65 and her lovely work, and everyone else who writes Greta Fiction. I love this community and all that it puts out

@satans-helper here dear, I hope you enjoy it if you haven't read already!

------------------

"Get your ass inside, Wagner, stop fucking around before you catch pneumonia, " Sam yelled, voice carrying harsh through the frigid, crackling air.

Danny huffed out a breath, a cloud of vapor dissipating from his mouth.

"Nearly done, Sam-a," he called, throwing his voice over his shoulder so it would carry towards the tent. "Just need to finish locking away the beer and fishing stuff."

"What, afraid the 'coons are gonna steal our tackle?" Sam snorted.

"No, but the neighbors might. Rowdy Rudy is here again."

"Oh god, not that asshole. When did he even arrive?"

"Right before you got in here," Danny said, finally crawling into the tent after finishing cleaning up and taking his boots off. "You probably didn't notice that monstrosity of a truck pull up in your drunken haze, but I sure did."

"Man, he's so annoying. Always sleazing around looking for alcohol to mooch, or for someone to listen to his god-awful stories."

Danny nodded in agreement. Rowdy Rudy was rude as hell, crude, lewd, smellier than a drunk skunk and always trying to butt into things in the hopes of getting some free drugs. And, he always seemed to come around about the same time as the boys went camping and disappear right before they noticed all of their missing stuff.

"Also, hey, I'm not completely drunk! I just wanted to stay warm. And get some of that Mullberry wine before Josh gets back and drinks it all," Sam added on, sipping from the bottle.

"Okay, but honestly, who brings *Mullberry wine* on a camping trip?" Danny asked, completely perplexed as to why Josh insisted on it. Wine was not a camping alcohol.

"I'm not sure, but I don't really care. This stuff is fucking delicious!"

"Okay, well don't drink it all or Joshie will be pissed at you. He seemed to want it for something."

"Like what?" Sam pondered, handing the bottle over so Danny could try it. "Is he trying to woo someone? Who? We're in the middle of the fucking woods!"

"Maybe he's trying to get it on with a tree, he seems to really love them!" Danny cracked.

Sam laughed.

"I don't know, but you're right, this is really good."

Sam nodded, taking a final swig of the now mostly empty bottle and setting it aside. Whoops. Well, Josh shouldn't have left it there.

"Hey, what do you think J and J are doing right now? Can't believe they'd wanna get away from us," Sam said, belching loudly.

"Well, Joshie is probably trying to photograph the local nightlife," Sam snorted, "and Jake's definitely getting drunk, if he didn't already drain his supply. I wonder how he'll like the hike back when he's got a killer hangover."

Sam unzipped one side of the sleeping bag and scooted over so that Danny could crawl inside. The other pulled it shut again, switching off the battery powered lantern and trying to get comfortable.

"I'm sure he brought enough to drowm a small circus, he won't run out. Where did they even go, again?" Sam asked.

"I've never been there myself, but there's supposed to be a cliff a few miles from here with an amazing view of the valley we passed on the drive up. I'm pretty sure that they took one of the trails starting on the other side of the river, maybe a quarter mile down from where we were today, up to the main road, and then fron there they hiked alongside it until they got to the base of the hill half of the cliff, then they could just climb up it. I heard Joshie talking about it before they left."

"We should have made them leave a map of where they were going. I know they're both experienced hikers, but I'd hate for them to get stuck or hurt somehow and have us take a long time to get there because we don't know where they are," Sam said.

They both got quiet, slightly worried.

"I think they'll be okay," Danny said after a minute. "Didn't they used to come up here for boyscouts?"

Sam nodded. Danny could barely see him in the inky darkness, he felt the movement and heard the rustling of the sleeping bag more than saw it.

"Then they know where they are, and Jake said it's not a particularly dangerous hike unless he gets so drunk he falls off the cliff. And you know Josh would never let that happen. We helped them pack their food back at the house, and all of their gear is sound; the only problem I can think of is the chill, but even then if they cuddle they should be fine for one night."

Sam shivered at the mention of the temperature and subtly wormed a bit closer to Danny to try and gain some body heat. Autumnal camping was fun as hell and incredibly beautiful out in the Michigan woods, but it was unusually cold for this time of year. Danny took notice and turned his body a bit closer to Sam as well, sharing some heat from the front though a bit of space remained in between them.

"Dude, what the fuck is up with the weather? I swear it's never gotten this cold this early. I wouldn't be surprised to wake up to some fucking snow tomorrow," Danny said. He tentatively reached out an arm and Sam eagerly got underneath it, snuggling right up to him.

"Climate change. And I hope it doesn't, we could get stuck on the roads, not to mention Jake and Josh would have to hike back in it. I don't think we have the snow tires on yet."

"What kind of Michigonian are you?"

"A stupid one."

Danny smiled, shaking his head and holding onto Sam tightly now. It seemed like, even with the full on cuddles and fleece lined sleeping bag, they couldn't get warm enough.

"Mother*fuck* it is cold. Wanna survival 101 it?" Danny asked.

"Now who's wooing who?" Sam cajoled, but he was *so* down for some skin on skin if it meant he could get warmer.

Danny unzipped the sleeping bag again and they sat up, shivering as their protective cacoon was removed. They both pulled off their hoodies, leaving Sam in a long sleeved thermal and Danny in his Marley tee. Wiggling around, Danny tried to get his jeans off but it was a serious struggle.

Sam bit his lip and giggled, fumbling under the covers for Danny's hips so he could help them get back in quicker.

Danny stiffened a bit when Sam's cold fingers found his midsection, sliding down until they reached the waistband of his jeans and popped the button.

"Why the hell are you wearing jeans in bed? You better not have gotten any dirt in here," Sam scolded.

He unzipped Danny, hands brushing over his package and pulling the denim off of his hips. They worked together to rid Danny of his pants, then Danny returned the favor with Sam's sweats. It was unneeded, but neither of them said anything about that.

"I was cold! And I didn't want to take them off to change," Danny responded after they had enclosed themselves in the bedding again.

"Well that was stupid. It wouldn't have taken more than half a minute, and you've taken them off now, anyways."

Sam wrapped his arms around Danny's waist and rubbed their legs together, relishing in the warm friction of skin and hair. His hands crept up the back of Danny's shirt, settling in the middle of his back where they could be heated up by skin on one side and fabric on the other.

Danny sighed, burying his cold nose in Sam's bed of hair. He worked one arm under Sam's neck to cradle his head and laid the other on his side, bunching it in the cotton of his shirt and rubbing it back and forth, trying to work some warmth into his freezing fingers.

"This is kinda nice, now," Sam whispered. His lips brushed Danny's throat, and his best friend could feel how soft they were, liberal and frequent applications of chapstick preventing cracking despite the weather.

"Yeah," he agreed, just as quiet.

It was starting to heat up in the sleeping bag, body heat finally taking control in their micro climate of polyester bedding and male pheromones. Sam was honestly in heaven, he hadn't been this warm and comfortable in months. And he was sleeping on the ground in 34 degree weather.

A wave of exhaustion washed over Danny, the long day finally catching up to him. He snuggled closer to Sam, pressing those bodies together until not even a blade of grass would have been able to come up between them.

He smirked tiredly when Sam purred like a cat, the reaction to his hand on Sam's side coming to rest underneath his short, gently stroking the skin there. It was soft and fiery warm, finally, Sam's ribs gentle hills across the landscape of his torso.

Outside the tent, somewhere off to the to the left, across the river, along the road and on top of a hill, the twins were in a similar position. Josh held his warm brother close while they shared Jake's whiskey, sleeping bags propped against a sturdy, incredibly broad tree.

In the morning, the twins would awake early to a most glorious sunset over the edge of the cliff. Danny and Sam would wake up entwined, warm and well rested. They'd be slow to rise out of their blankets, relishing in a few more minutes of quiet, intimate connection. No words were spoken; none needed; just the mental conversationa of an appreciation of nature, and the extreme luck that allowed them to be together exactly as they were designed to be.

All was at peace with the world. That is, until the boys decided to go fishing and all of their poles were missing, as was Rowdy Rudy's monster truck.

[iamoblivion]

Cats - InfoBarrel

There are a variety of compounds often found listed as ingredients in homeopathic and natural supplements for cats. In these years, many industries like healthcare, aerospace, pharmaceutical and aerodrome etc. In 1987, cats overtook dogs as the number 1 pet in America (about 50 million cats resided in 24 million homes in 1986) and bout 37% of American homes today have a minimum of one cat. It's the duty of each cat owner to keep their cats happy and also to pamper their cats often. The kittens came from the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls, Idaho. 3) You can select a name based on the personality of your cat. Just staple carpet on each step of the climber so that the kitten doesn't jump up and slide what did the cat say to the mouse off the smooth wood surface. The fact that you are trying to find information concerning the process means that you will be fully prepared for that big meeting. Please try again in a few minutes. I have met cat owners who tell their three-legged cat has no trouble balancing in the litter box. Some cats also lose protein in their urine and foamy urine can be a symbol of this. - Deep cleaning - I don't mean just the vacuum and also the curtains. But if they jumped down having a meow and tail up it means love me, servent. They are a lot like dogs inside the play area because they can fetch when you through toys and convey rid of it to you. They certainly are a lot like dogs within the play area because they can fetch whenever you through toys and bring them back to you. If you are the owner of this website:. 2) You can pick a name based on the appearance of your cat. Siamese cats are extremely affectionate and playful. The Maine Coon eventually developed into a rugged cat which in fact had water-resistant and a thick longhair coat. These are just three of the greater popular breeds of cats. Regurgitation is surely an involuntary action of your cat's stomach so he could not stop it happening even though he tried. Like their names suggest, they are brought on by problems using the thyroid gland. pethealthymeds.

[pinkicingshopp]

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8 1 ptr leveling exper a I Wise Woman Once Said Damn It I'm Getting A Maine Coon T-Shirt ce reduced fifth azerite armor ring added raid testing. So this is going to be a bit long but bear with me I had what I believe to be a pointless and incredibly frustrating experience with the assistant manager jamie at your auburn hills great lakes crossing location today I have been coming here for three years I frequent your orlando san marcos and new jersey locations as well at least once a year when we stop we usually spend 5 to 10 thousand dollars on your products the system is simple I go in park in a corner and bring bins to my corner sort them bag them move them to the front register and repeat today I brought a personal duffel bag as it holds about 8 to 12 of your bags worth of stuff I get told that i’m not allowed to use it because it’s policy not a big deal at all I say okay i’ll do that for the rest rather than rebag all of this i’ll just go up in line and pay for it and it can sit behind the counter seems pretty reasonable to me nope I got obstructed suggested that I might be stealing something and not allowed to pass stating if I don’t want to follow the system I can leave he then takes my entire duffel dumps it onto the floor and then rebags it into victoria secret bags then moves it to the front counter so it can be rang in I thought this was a little odd but hey he was doing all the work rebagging it so whatever i’m like dude i’m going to be spending about 8k today all I want to do is come in spend some money get out without any drama what’s the problem whoevers in charge should be thrilled with a sale like this we’re spending 8k keep in mind that I told him that I would do what he wanted and it wasnt’ a big deal and the response was to the effect of stop being lippy and just listen I told him what do you want from me I just agreed with you and said I would use your bags i’m not being lippy at all I know this because I said okay dude not a problem i’ll use your bags his response was maybe if you get to buy it i’m like what are you suggesting that an 8 000 order is something you guys don’t want he’s like yeah if you buy it i’m like dude we are spending 8k today why would I bag up a bunch of stuff and spend 2 3 hours picking our your fabulous product to not buy it anyway so I had 4 credit cards one card had 2 000 one had 3500 one had 2000 and one had 1000 because I am buying for multiple people I had 4 different cards all in my name I wanted one receipt for each card not a big deal to me right wrong again he cited some policy and said if the order is more than 750 items that they aren’t allowed to ring in under 750 items on any one receipt id like to point out that that amount is higher than your employees said they could take as a cash payment I asked him to please show me that I would understand better if I could just read it he was willing to do so he brought out the policy book and to my surprise what it actually said was words to the afffect of cash payments cannot be split up or over 750 items I forget the second half my immediate reply was so what’s the big deal im using credit not cash he snatched the policy book away from me at that point and said you know what you can just listen to me or I don’t have to let you buy anything it’s up to my discretion I then called your orlando outlet and your new jersey outlet and talked to the store managers and cited your policy I was given I asked them to confirm if that was accurate and both said if it was a policy it was news to them I then asked if they would let me buy my order using 4 cards and 4 receipts the woman at orlando said oh my gosh yes we do that every single day I asked if I went to her store if I would have any trouble with this in the future and was told no then she said you can always come down here if you’re in the area and i’ll be happy to take your order after that phone call I tried again here’s the video of that attempt I said listen I have 4 credit cards your register girl said you told her she can’t ring up an order under 750 items that’s 3500 if it’s 5 items not all of my cards have that much I have done multiple receipts every time I came here heck I can even supply them to show it he tells me that because I am order so many items that I can’t have less tan 750 items per receipt so I point around to everyone else and ask what about everyone else you aren’t forcing them to spend a minimum of 750 items what about the final charge i’ll have 750 items for two tickets but the leftover isn’t going to be 750 items you’re not going to let me buy them he shrugged his shoulders to say no at this point I haven’t yelled ive been a bit snarky and sarcastic because I know he’s just giving me a hard time two people ring in our order almost every time I am up there and we were there 3 times in the last 6 months spent a bunch each time so at 730 8pm or so we are done shopping assuming that two people could ring us up ended up being a fantasy he forced one employee only to ring us up later on he comes up when its now close to 9pm and says hey you mind if we ring you up on both registers I chuckle and say no I don’t but you do you don’t want to be breaking that 750 rule do you he glared at me and then sent the employee away and walked off after blinking a few times I laugh because after telling me over and over he couldn’t do it he just got caught trying to do what should have been done to begin with a short while later after 9 I find out that everyone is standing uip front except for the one girl and another associate because none of the rest of them are allowed to help her ring us up the only two people left in the store with about 700 more items to be rang in if that’s not enough since it was a holidy all of these employees are apparently being paid overtime to stand around and wait at a bit after 10 all but two girls leave and one girl is waiting to count cash while the other girl sits and keeps ringing stuff in we apologize profusely we expected two employees to ring us up like always and timed our visit to be out around 9 if this had happened instead of having one literally stand there and watch her for 1 hour and 47 minutes after close we would have all been out on time and no overtime or extra hours spent so finally at 10 47 pm our orders are done we thank the lovely girl lauren and jasmine who got stuck staying 2 hours past close because a manager made up some random policy and had to double down when I pointed out he really needed to follow that 750 rule when he was going to toss another girl on the register if this is policy fine it doesn’t seem to be no manager at your other outlets knew what he was talking about the orlando one insisted that the only restrictions are on cash payments and verified I was paying cash or credit it’s a pretty humiliating experience to get hassled trying to buy panties and bras by someone who’s on some type of power trip the only thing I said sideways to him was that I flat out didn’t believe his policy and that credit absolutely is not the same as cash I didnt call him any names scream at him or did anything to disrupt the store beyond what you see in the videos if this is not policy i’d like an apology from that manager in person or over the phone admitting he was mistaken I would hope that the next time I go there I am not hassled but if not I guess there’s always orlando or new jersey who seem to be quite friendly I also want to give recognition to jasmine and lauren lauren is the poor soul who got stuck ringing everything in alone because of the manager’s silly rule and not allowing anyone to help because it would be in violation of the 750 item rule jasmine was the cash counter who had to wait until we were out of the store to count cash even more interesting is that I had a former employee with me helping me buy and she said she never heard of this policy either but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t added since she left she was just as confused because the manager spent over 30 minutes trying to explain and defend this when that time certainly would have been more efficiently spent doing productive things instead of hassling someone who literally sits in a corner and speaks to no one while sorting through your products one bin at a time id love a call back about this or to find out what exactly is going on ive never been hassled like this before and it was a little frustrating and very trying to keep my cool joe rossetti alexandria gunn. Placed an order back in july and earned 30 in children’s place cash that couldn’t be spent until mid september ordered 60 in september so I could use the 3 coupons not only did you drop 2 items from my order saying they were no longer available you refused to reissue my 30 in coupons after you lost my package but I didn’t learn and I ordered from you again with a 30 off coupon I just received an email stating that yet another item in my new order is no longer available let’s see if the rest of my order will arrive p s I ordered from carter’s after I ordered from you and their order has already arrived get your act together children’s place See Other related products: I Wise Woman Once Said Damn It I'm Getting A Maine Coon T-Shirt

[chibinekochan]

Blue eyes Investigations

In this Au Jumin is a private investigator :

MC comes to bring a case and maybe something more.

For  @juminmcweek​​  day 1 Alternate Universe

~ 5,6 words

It is a long day at his office. Jumin had just finished one of these really draining cases. The man had accused his girlfriend of cheating, she did, they ever do.

It was boring and way to emotional for Jumin.

Sometimes he is wondering why he even works as a private investigator.

Sure he wanted to keep the family business running, succeeding his father, but these cases were nothing but draining lately.

Jumin is still deep in thought when he hears a careful knocking on his door.

“Come in, it’s open.”

Jumin sounds polite, he really hopes it is not another customer with a cheating spouse.

The door opens and a woman comes hesitant into the room.

“Excuse me that I am so late, but I really could use some help.”

“It’s still within my business hours so what is the issue miss ?”

“I do not even know if you will even help me, but I really tried it everywhere, so you are my last hope…”

“How about you sit down, and tell me the story first then I will decide.”

Jumin is not sure what to make of this young woman.

Coming this late and desperate in his office that was sure the first time that happened.

She nods and sits down.

“My name is MC and I work I mean worked as a cat sitter. You see Princess Dorothy was ever a good and well-behaved cat, she never as even outside in the garden, but this morning she was just suddenly gone. I swear I not left anything open, but she was gone. My boss fired me right away. I deserve it Dorothy was in my care after all.”

The woman bites her lip.

“I want to find her and bring her home. I looked everywhere but I have no idea where she went, and that is why I am here.”

MC Looks desperate to Jumin.

“So you were fired, and now you want to find the cat to get your work back.”

Jumin is really unhappy with that thought.

“No I deserve to be fired, Mr. Choi always trusted me with Dorothy. I have failed him... I really love her, I just know she is out there somewhere crying. It breaks my heart just thinking about it.” MC has tears in her eyes. She looks honest to Jumin.

“If you are worried about the payment, I have some savings just please find Princess Dorothy.”

MC is begging Jumin, and he feels her genuine worry.

He thinks on his own cat, and how he would feel if she would run away, unthinkable.

  “I will take the case, but you have to be absolutely honest to me. If you lie only once then I will drop the case right away.”

Jumin not wants to waste his time, and she still could hide something.

“Yeah of course Mr. Han. I have a picture of her with me. I took it right after grooming her this morning.”

MC is glad that Jumin takes the case, she gets her purse and takes her phone out.

She turns it on and shows Jumin the picture of a pretty Maine coon. The cat looks very healthy and happy.

Jumin takes the phone and takes a close look. He is impressed of the quality.

“She looks really pretty. My Elizabeth the 3rd is way more pretty, though.”

Seeing this cat reminds him of his cat.

“You have a cat too ?”

MC´s eyes light up.

Jumin sees MC's genuine interest. He will maybe regret this, but he decides to show MC a picture.

He has it on his desk anyways.

“Here she is.”

“You are right she is truly beautiful I can see that you love her a lot. I'm glad I came to you.”

MC smiles kindly while she looks at the picture.

“It is only natural.”

“Yeah but not everyone is like this sadly…”

MC sighs slightly.

“We should go and investigate the crime scene.”

Jumin sees the time, and he feels bad to wait any longer.

“Yeah we should I just hope that Mrs. Choi lets us in…”

MC has her head down.

“If she cares about princess Dorothy, then I'm sure she will.”

Jumin not has any doubts.

MC looks unsure but nods.

They make their way to the villa, were Mrs. Choi is living.

MC notices that the other staff is searching for something.

She rings and Ms. Choi opens the door.

When she sees MC, she looks very annoyed.

“I thought I told you to get lost MC.”

Her patience has already run out.

“I know but I really worry over Dorothy. It is almost dark and she must be scared.I hired Mr. Han to find her.”

MC hopes that Mrs. Choi understands her intentions.

Mrs. Choi now sees Jumin behind MC and her complete attitude changes.

“Oh I’m so sorry, where are my manners. I am Sara Choi but call me Sara.”

Her eyes are on Jumin like on prey.

“I’m Jumin Han, I would prefer it if you call me Mr. Han. I am here for work and nothing else.”

Jumin really dislikes her tone.

“That is really sad, maybe later than. If you find this cat, we can have some champagne to drink.”

Her smile looks sweet but it feels more unsettling to MC.

“I have to decline that offer, and I will find princess Dorothy.”

Jumin is absolutely serious, and he not feels any need to spend time with Mrs. Choi.

“That is really sad I was sure we could have fun Jumin.”

Mrs. Choi has no intention to give up.

“I wonder how your husband would feel about that.”

Jumin gives her an ice-cold stare.

“I'm sure he could not care less, he is dead.”

Mrs. Choi not seems to be sad.

“I am sorry to hear that.”

Jumin could see that Mrs. Choi not cares, but he still kept polite.

“You are welcome to come in, and help us to search for that cat.”

Mrs. Choi moves from the door.

“So your staff is already looking for her.”

“Yes of course. MC you can come in too, but only as long as Jumin is here.”

Mrs. Choi looks coldly at MC.

“Thank you, Mrs. Choi.”

They go inside the villa. Mrs. Choi gets a call and leaves Jumin and MC alone.

“Where should we start ?”

“Show me everything that you did this morning.”

“Okay, I woke up in my room and went right to greet Dorothy.”

“Then let us start there.”

MC nods, she leads Jumin to princess Dorothy´s room.

“Quite a nice room.”

“Mr. Choi put a lot of work into it. Dorothy is I mean was really important to him. I still cannot believe he is gone.”

MC looks sad when she looks at a picture of an older man with princess Dorothy on his lap.

“How long is he dead ?”

“It is a half year now…”

Jumin is now even more disgusted with Mrs. Choi’s reaction.

“I know Dorothy still misses him dearly. She is still waiting for him to come home.” MC looks at the spot where princess Dorothy usually sits to look outside.

“It must be hard for her... How long have you worked for Mr. Choi ?”

Jumin can also image the cats sad meowing. He tries to change the subject a bit.

“For 6 years. You see princess Dorothy was actually the cat of Mr. Choi’s first wife. It was hard for him when she died. Dorothy was a big help to him, but he also had to be away for business. At first, I was only feeding her, and playing with her. I was living really close by and Mrs. Choi was my teacher in elementary school. Dorothy knew me already. Later Mr. Choi hired me to cat sit whenever he was on a trip. He just wanted someone to really care about her.”

MC smiles upon the found memories.

“He really trusted you.”

Jumin understands why Mr. Choi hired MC, he could see that she was genuine.

“Yeah he really was a great man.”

“Why are you now living here though ?”

“Oh that happened after he met his new wife. Dorothy could not stand her she was only calm when I was around. Mr. Choi was such a kind man he promised me that I will have always work here. He even added that into his last will.”

MC looks sad now.

“He really thought a lot of you. I'm sorry I brought these sad memories up.”

“It is okay I'm glad that I can talk about him, should we continue now Mr. Han ?”

MC smiles kindly.

“Yeah and you can just call me Jumin.”

Jumin is not sure why he just offered this, but it felt strange that MC called him Mr. Han.

“Sure if that is okay with you. You can just say MC then.”

She smiles at Jumin, and it is not just a polite smile this time.

“So when you came to this room what happened after that ?”

Jumin looks quickly away from MC’s smile, and tries to get his focus back on the important matter. Finding princess Dorothy.

“Oh yeah, I came in said good morning to her and then I went to groom her. After that, she chooses her collar. They are all over here in this safe.”

MC goes over to a shack and opens the door. Jumin can see the sturdy safe inside.

“Dorothy ever had a really exclusive taste and Mr. Choi always bought her really pretty ones. Today she chooses the pink one as you can see in the picture. I took it right after she was done.”

“Do you take a picture of her every day ?”

“Yeah I started this for Mr. Choi, but now I just take them for myself.”

“You really love princess Dorothy.”

“I know that sounds strange, but she is a good friend to me.”

“I can relate to that, Elizabeth the 3rd is just as dear to me.”

MC smiles again and nods happily.

“I am glad that you understand me. Oh after the picture we both went downstairs to the kitchen. I guess we should head there now.”

“Lead the way MC.”

Jumin is glad that MC changes the subject, he really should not let his guard down on a case.

They go to the kitchen, and find the cook. He just finished cleaning up.

“MC are you back ? I was hoping Mrs. Choi would change her mind. I mean I didn't seen it happen either, but I just was not your fault.”

“I'm only back to find princess Dorothy. This is Jumin, I mean Mr. Han. I hired him to help me.”

“Would you mind telling me what happened when MC was here ?”

“Sure I don't mind. I was preparing breakfast like every morning and MC came in the kitchen with Princess Dorothy. She prepared the cat's breakfast, princess Dorothy doesn't touch it if I do it. When she was done, she put it on the usual spot. Over there by the window.”

The cook points over to the location. The food is still on a plate, untouched.

“Princess Dorothy is usually ever waiting there but this morning she wasn't. At first, we thought she just wandered of. Sometimes she gets distracted by a bird outside. MC went looking for her. I heard her then yelling from the next room that the terrace door is open. I went to look and it was true. MC then went looking outside. I had to work, so I could not help her.”

“Everything was normal except that the door was open ?”

“Yeah the only other strange thing was that Mrs. Choi was already up. She not stands up till it is almost lunchtime.”

“Do you think that she opened the terrace door ?”

“No, I think it was the maid, sometimes she does this. Princess Dorothy never goes even in the garden so it was never an issue.”

“That is true Mr. Choi told me that she fell in the pool when she was a kitten and ever since then she is scared to go out. I was just shortly looking outside before closing the door, and then I searched everywhere in the house.”

MC has a really sad expression on her face.

“Oh yeah, I heard that story too. I really not thought that Princess Dorothy went out either.”

“Maybe she got curious though, I should left the door open. I should made sure that she is at her usual spot. It’s my fault…”

“So far I am not convinced that it was your fault at all.”

“That is nice of you to say Jumin.”

“I think that you have done nothing wrong either, the Mrs. was looking for a reason to fire you anyways, and she was never found of the cat either. Actually it is strange that she has everyone searching for princess Dorothy.”

“So Mrs. Choi dislikes MC and princess Dorothy ?”

“I don't think that woman is capable of liking anyone. She wanted to get rid of the cat and MC, but because of Mr. Choi’s last will she has to keep the old staff.”

“I think that was quite rude.”

“Maybe MC, but the Mrs. is really a dragon. I would quit here too if it was not for the others, but at this rate we all will leave.”

The cook sighs.

“Mr. Choi would be so sad to see that.”

“Yeah I never understood why he married her…”

“Maybe he just saw something in her that we can't see.”

“You have a way to kind heart MC.”

Jumin has to agree to the cook.

“What are you doing here slacking off ?”

The room suddenly feels way colder when Mrs. Choi enters the kitchen.

“I was just helping with the case Mrs...”

“I was actually about to come to you anyways. I want to know what you did this morning.”

“Oh, so you are curious about me after all.”

Mrs. Choi's personality seems to come with a switch, Jumin finds this really annoying.

“Not really, I just have to know everything in order to find princess Dorothy.”

“It is always sad when men play hard to get, but well. I woke up and after getting ready I came to the kitchen to let the cook know what I want to eat. Then I went back to my room till MC came in to ask me if I have seen that thing... I mean cat. I was in distress after I heard that she was missing and got everyone to search for her. I fired MC right after breakfast. She failed as a cat sitter.”

Mrs. Choi not seems concerned with the cat. It’s strange that she wants to find the cat.

Jumin thinks it has something to do with the last will of Mr. Choi.

“I see thank you then. We should ask the rest of the staff too MC.”

“That was fast, do you want me to show you my room ?”

“Their is no need for that. Unless you say, the cat was in your room.”

“She was never in my room.”

“I thought so. Let's go MC.”

They leave the angry looking Mrs. Choi in the kitchen, and go to the maid.

She is an older lady.

“MC so good to see you have they found princess Dorothy ?”

“No sadly not, but that is why I brought him along. This is Jumin Han, he is a private investigator.”

“Ah and I thought you came to introduce me to your boyfriend.”

The lady smiles.

“Nonna, no he is not my boyfriend.”

MC gets really flustered.

“That's too bad, he looks nice.”

“I do not think now is the time to think about such things.”

Jumin feels a bit strange by the thought to be MC’s boyfriend.

Not bad, just strange.

“Anyways, what did you do this morning ?”

MC really not wants to talk about her love life right now.

“Just the usual, I was dusting in the living room. Then I went to cleaning the windows, actually it is my fault she could even get out. I opened the terrace door. I am so sorry MC.”

She woman looks sad.

“No, it was not your fault Dorothy never walked out before.”

“Yeah that is strange, maybe she got spooked.”

“Why are you thinking that Ms.?”

“No one called me Ms. in years, he is definitely a keeper MC.”

The woman's eyes sparkle for a bit and MC tries to ignore it.

Jumin feels the sudden need to clear his throat.

“Ah, young people are so shy these days, but back to Princess Dorothy. I heard a noise while I was getting window cleaner from the Supply room. It sounded like a chair fell over. I went to look, but I could not find anything that was fallen.”

“When was that ?”

“I'm not sure, but when I came back the terrace door was closed and I saw MC outside.”

“Is Princess Dorothy easily scared from noise ?”

“Not really, she is usually really calm, unless it comes to water or Mrs. Choi. Maybe a sudden noise would surprise her, but I do not think she would run in the garden from that.”

MC remembers Dorothy's reaction after a loud noise, she jumped, but she not even ran away.

“Yeah she would never do that, but maybe she hid somewhere. I'm sure once she is hungry she will come out.”

“I hope so, but what if she is locked in somewhere ? Or if she really ran outside...”

MC not even wants to image in what kind of issues Dorothy is right now.

“I will find her for sure.”

Jumin has no doubts.

“I get more worried now it is already dark... Dorothy must be really thirsty and hungry by now.”

“Maybe you should make her new food. I doubt the breakfast will lure her out. You should also eat something too MC.”

“You are right, but I can't think to eat anything when Dorothy has not eaten either.”

“I understand that you think that way MC, but I don't think that Princess Dorothy would be happy if you are starving because of her. You should really go and make her food there is a chance that she will come out.”

Jumin is more worried that MC has not eaten anything either, but he is touched by her sincere feeling towards the cat.

“Okay, if you think it's a good idea. I will make her favorite then. What will you do now Jumin ?”

“I will check the garden, and a few other things. I will come back to the kitchen when I'm done.”

“Oh, I almost forgot have you seen Mrs. Choi this morning ?”

“Not until the cat vanished, but I smelled her awful perfume in the living room.”

“Interesting, thank you.”

Jumin smiles politely.

MC goes in the Kitchen, and starts to prepare Dorothy's meal.

She keeps eyeing the door, but there is no sign of Dorothy.

MC puts the food at the usual spot.

She goes back and starts to make something for herself, just like Jumin suggested.

MC has the hope that maybe this will lure Dorothy out. She remembers how the cat often came to her when she was eating.

This time she doesn't.

MC barely gets a few bites down.

She just keeps thinking where Dorothy could be.

She is deep in thought when she hears a noise from the hallway.

It sounds like something moved.

MC knows that the change that is Dorothy is really low, but still she gets up.

The hallway is dark, but MC manages to see a shadow moving.

It looks too big a cat.

MC turns the light back on, but the Shadow is gone.

It is really strange to MC, she goes in the direction where she saw the Shadow moving.

The way leads to the supply room.

MC notices that the door isn't fully closed. It is really unusual, MC takes a peek into the room.

She can't see anyone.

Then suddenly MC feels a push, and before she can react the door behind her closed, and she can hear that the door gets locked.

MC knocks against the door, but it is useless. Nobody will hear her, the room is isolated.

MC can only hope someone will open the door soon.

She even forgot her phone in the kitchen. This day just keeps getting worse.

MC finds a stack of cleaning cloth and sits down. She sighs.

“I really hope that Dorothy is at least safe…”

She wonders what the poor thing is going through right now, she must meow really sad right now.

Suddenly MC can hear a familiar mew.

It is weak, but she would recognize that meow everywhere.

“Dorothy ! Where are you ?”

MC feels suddenly full of energy, she looks around.

Following the low meowing sounds.

She finds Dorothy in a cooking pot.

“There you are, I was so worried about you. Are you alright ?”

MC checks the cat carefully, but she seems alright despite the situation she just been in.

“Thank goodness I was so worried about you. I wonder how you got in there though.”

MC looks at Dorothy, who is looking at her with curious eyes.

She just seems to be happy to be out of that pot...

MC takes the cat carefully and sits back down with her, she pets her gently, slowly the cat calms down.

Soon she starts to breathe peacefully and purrs lightly.

“At least I found you, but how do we get out of this situation ? I hope someone needs something from here soon… Well at least there is food and water in here.”

MC tries to stay calm, as long Dorothy is safe everything will be okay.

It was a very long and exhausting day, and Dorothy's warmth manages to relax MC.

She finds herself snoozing off.

Till suddenly the door opens, this makes MC wake up right away. She jumps up, still having Dorothy in her arm, and grabs a broom stick.

She is ready to fight anyone.

“MC ?”

MC sees a confused Jumin in the door.

“AH, thank goodness it's you. I am so glad to see you !”

MC lets a relieved sigh out.

“I am glad to see you too, but what happened ?”

“I'm not really sure. I heard a sound in the hallway followed a shadow and then I got locked in here, but at least I found Dorothy.”

“I'm glad you found Princess Dorothy, but that was quite reckless.”

“I am sorry Jumin, how did you find me anyways ?”

“I was looking for you after you were not in the kitchen, you not even finished your meal yet, you both must be starving.”

“I really not meant to worry you, and you are right Dorothy needs to eat.”

“You should also eat.”

“Okay fine, but only if you eat something too. The job is done now after all.”

“I don't think so MC, but you are right we all need to eat.”

Jumin finds it interesting how calm MC is after all that happened, he is just glad that he insisted on checking everywhere.

They go to the kitchen, were Dorothy eats with great joy her meal, while MC makes something for Jumin.

Jumin goes to tell the maid that he found MC and the cat.

They eat together, with Dorothy in their field of view.

“How could you even find me Jumin ?”

“Well after you were gone I looked everywhere, Mrs. Choi thought you ran away. I had to insist on checking every room, the maid gave me a master key.”

“I would never run away like that…”

“That is exactly what I said too.”

“That was really nice of you.”

MC feels a light heat rising on her cheeks.

“I'm just really glad that you are alright. This could have ended really badly.”

“At least this way I found Dorothy, but why did she hid in this pot ?”

MC finds this really odd.

“I think we find that out very soon.”

“How so ?”

Just like she had waited for her great entrance Mrs. Choi shows up.

She is overly nicely dressed. MC finds it odd that she wears long gloves, but then again Mrs. Choi's dressing style was ever a bit odd.

“I came to see you. I guess the job is done now.”

She completely ignores MC and goes towards Jumin.

“MC found the cat, but I still don't know why Princess Dorothy ran away, or how she got in the supply room and in that cooking pot.”

“Does that even matter now ?”

“I think it does, if the case is not solved it could happen again.”

“Well then we find her again. I don't see the issue.”

“Dorothy could get hurt Mrs. Choi.”

MC can't believe how little she cares.

“Yeah but she didn't.”

“How do you know that ?”

Jumin has already a good idea what happened, but he wants Mrs. Choi to talk herself into a corner.

“She looks fine.”

“Why don't you check her to make sure ?”

“I'm sure you are aware that this cat doesn't like me.”

“Yeah that is no secret she never even would go near your room right ?”

Even now Dorothy keeps as far away as possible from Mrs. Choi.

“That is true, she not even goes near it. I think Dorothy really not likes her perfume.”

“I think that princess Dorothy just has a good eye for humans.”

“What are you implying with that ?”

Mrs. Choi seems a bit hit from this remark.

“Just that we all agree that princess Dorothy would never go to your room on her own.”

“Yeah that is for sure, but what are you saying Jumin ?”

“So you are allowed to call him by his name, but I'm not ?”

Mrs. Choi seems really offended.

“I offered it to MC, but back to princess Dorothy. You agree that she was never in your room ?”

“I said it before the cat never been in my room.”

“How you explain the cat hair in your room then ?”

“What cat hair that's… um maybe she was in my room without me knowing.”

“What when was that ?”

MC never heard of that.

“Good question, if we take into account that the maid cleaned your room just last evening.”

“She probably oversaw the hair.”

“There is never hair anywhere in this house once the maid is done. You ever make sure that's the case.”

MC not let's Mrs. Choi say anything bad about the maid.

“ I agree with you MC there is no hair anywhere.”

“Well maybe she just was in my room in the morning.”

“But you told me that you not left it after you were in the kitchen.”

MC is a bit confused.

“I was really shortly in the bathroom. I thought it didn't matter when you asked me.”

“Are you sure it was the bathroom and not the living room ?”

“Why would I confused these ?”

“Well because I know you been in the living room.”

“What how do you… I mean I was only shortly looking outside.”

“So you admit it.”

Jumin is thankful that the maid earlier told him this.

“There is nothing odd about it. I went there before I returned to my room.”

“Was that all you want to tell us ?”

“What are you implying ?”

“I'm implying that you keep information from us.”

“Like what ?”

“Like the fact that but you took Princess Dorothy to your Room.”

“What why would I do that ?”

“Yeah why indeed, maybe to get princess Dorothy's necklace.”

Jumin had waited for this question.

“Her necklace ?”

“You said it yourself that Princess Dorothy has an exclusive taste. Mr. Choi indeed bought her expensive accessories. The one that Princess Dorothy wears today is worth ten million.”

“What really I had no idea…”

“I noticed that it looks really expensive, I did some research and found out that this necklace is made with real diamonds.”

“Oh I see but why would Mrs. Choi need this much money ?”

“I was never this insulted in my entire life. It's simply ridiculous. I have more than enough money. Plus everything in here belongs to me anyways.”

“She has a point there Jumin.”

“I checked your finances, and they look really bad, you are so close to lose the Villa, and the necklaces belong to the cat shelter fundraising. Mr. Choi left it to them with the condition that Princess Dorothy can use them till she dies.”

“I had no idea… I just knew that she has to keep Dorothy and the staff.”

“It surprised me too, Mr. Choi really did everything to protect Princess Dorothy.”

“I have no idea where this information came from, but I never tried to take Dorothy's necklace.”

“Why don't you show us your arms then ?”

“I have no need to show you anything, even if what you said is true it was not a crime. You both are not longer welcome in this house.”

Mrs. Choi seems tired of this.

“Sadly it is not illegal to capture a cat and later hide her in a cooking pot, but locking a human in us.”

“So you think it was her who locked me away ?”

“I am certain of that.”

“Can you even prove that ?”

“Sadly not, but I can prove that you did some illegal business. I think the police should be here any second now.”

Jumin looks victorious.

Mrs. Choi's face turns white, she seems to panic. She not thinks long and runs towards the living room terrace door.

“I saw that coming don't worry MC they should capture her really fast. I am sorry I not had proof to get her for locking you in.”

“It is fine Jumin you did what you could. I am quite shocked to be honest. What is going to happen with Dorothy now.”

MC looks to Dorothy, she looks much more relaxed now were Mrs. Choi is gone.

“This will be no issue since she has you.”

“That is true, but I can't just take her.”

“I talked with Mr. Choi's lawyer and it's stated that princess Dorothy should be always with you, until you wish to stop taking care of her.”

“That will never happen.”

“I thought you would say that. In this case you can take her with you.”

“I not even have a place to stay or a job…”

“I think I can provide you with both of that. I happen to own a penthouse, you can stay for as long as you like, together with Princess Dorothy, and I was also thinking that you would do a great job as my assistant.”

“What really I could never take such an offer, you are really very kind.”

“Look MC you need a place to stay and I have plenty of room. I can also see that you are a hard worker I am sure you won't disappoint me.”

“Of course I will give 200%. I will also pay rent. I mean what do you say Dorothy ?”

Dorothy looks into MC’s eyes she seems to agree.

“Well that's set then.”

“Do you think she will get along with Elizabeth the 3rd ?”

“I'm sure they will bound fast. Princess Dorothy seems well-behaved.”

“You are right about that. I should get her things.”

“I will help you, and we should also get the rest of your things.”

MC nods.

Jumin never thought that this case would end up with MC staying at his penthouse, or that he would let another cat into his life. It not feels bad at all.

He finds the idea to life with MC oddly calming.

Quite strange how just this morning he never wanted anyone else in his life, and now here he was just a couple of hours later.

On the way to the car MC has still some mixed feelings, but she is happy that she found Dorothy.

Living with Jumin really not seems too bad. She will make sure to repay his kindness.

In the car MC looks at Jumin.

She smiles kindly, yeah it's definitely not bad to stay with him.

As the maid said, definitely a keeper.

~ I really hope you enjoyed it, sorry its a bit long for a one shot.

[frontiervolunteering]

Species At Risk In The  UK

There are ubiquitous, internationally reaching campaigns to raise awareness for animals near extinction, and rightly so. We need to do whatever we can for all endangered species around the world. We often hear about the Snow Leopard or the White Rhino, but do you know which animals are endangered in the United Kingdom?   Red Squirrels The decline of the United Kingdom’s native red squirrel has been a widespread campaign for the past two decades. We have known for a long time that their numbers are declining drastically, but we want to know its current standing in our ecosystem after conservation efforts.  Red squirrels were once a common auburn sight. They are the UK’s only native squirrel species but it has been on the brink of extinction since the introduction of the North American grey squirrels. In the 1870s, the grey squirrel was transported to Europe as a novelty. 

Flickr | Sergey Yeliseev

However, no one predicted how severely they would affect native red squirrels. Since their arrival, the North American squirrel has caused roughly a three million decrease in the red squirrel population! This has been due to squirrel parapox virus carried by the greys, who are immune to it. The red squirrel species were not so lucky and the virus wiped out a lot of the population. Another factor in this squirrel war for survival is food. Both types of squirrel eat green acorns, with the red rodents being unable to digest mature ones. Grey squirrels harvest all the acorns and ambush established food stores so that red squirrels lose out. 

Flickr | Heather Smithers

On top of all of this, general activities also inevitably impact red squirrel populations. Things such as road traffic incidents, loss of woodland and predators all exacerbate the situation for the native squirrel. Due to breeding and monitoring programmes, the numbers of red squirrels have improved in places such as Scotland and the Lake District. There are however still only 15,000 in England!

Hedgehogs Did you now that in 1950, there were 36 million hedgehogs in the UK? Can you guess how many we have today? Only approximately 1 million!  Climate change has a lot to answer for with this one, as does over development. Due to increasingly warmer winters as each year passes, hedgehogs do not hibernate for as long as they are supposed to. This means that since they awaken earlier, there is not enough food for them yet. Changes in the weather and length of seasons have affected animals worldwide, especially those that hibernate. 

Flickr | Konstantinos Mavroudis

Another issue that hedgehogs face is the loss of their habitat. Due to constant construction, particularly in UK cities, and the intensification of agricultural landscapes, there are fewer hedgerows which mean fewer nesting and habitation sites for hedgehogs. Due to fragmentation of habitat, hedgehogs sometimes have to walk up to a mile before finding any food or a mate.  In BBC Gardener’s survey conducted in 2016, out of the 2,600 people surveyed only 12% saw hedgehogs regularly. Over 50% did not see any hedgehogs at all which has been an increasing trend every year.  Hedgehogs are disappearing from our countryside as fast as tigers are disappearing worldwide!

Flickr | Justin Snow

Gardeners are encouraged to support the small mammals by creating hedgehog friendly spaces by leaving parts of the garden ‘wild’; leaving twigs and logs around will create the perfect shelter and since gardens cover ten million acres of the UK, it will make a huge difference to them. Other actions include checking before strimming, reducing the use of pesticides and the use of slug pellets. Scottish Wildcat Believe it or not these cats existed all across the UK but are now only left in Scotland. England and Wales had lost their entire wildcat population by 1880. These may look like Maine Coons, or a fluffier version of a Tabby cat, but they are in fact wild cats which domestic cats descend from. Interestingly, it is now domestic cats which act as the main threat to their wild relatives. Often, wild and domestic cats breed with each other which poses a genetic threat. The hybridization of wild and domestic cats means that the separate genetic identity of wildcats has eroded by mixing their gene pool with that of domestic cats. 

Flickr | IIP Photo Archive

According to The People’s Trust for Endangered Species the wildcat found its way to the Middle East from Europe. This gave rise to the steppe wildcat phenotype and then further migration occurred as those cats spread throughout Asia and Africa, again giving rise to new phenotypes. The North African wildcat was traded due to act as rodent control over 10,000 years ago; the first incident of domestication of the feline. Then, it interbred further creating what is closes to domestic cats today. Ironically, those cats were brought back to Europe due to their beauty only to breed with the native wildcats that created them, and eradicate their genepool. Organisations such as Save the Scottish Wildcat work “closely with the local community receiving considerable support from landowners, local businesses and the general public focusing on areas where pure wildcats appear to survive” and identifying pure wildcats.

Flickr | Hehaden

As usual, man-made factors contribute to the falling number of any animal, and wildcats are no exception. Loss of habitat is a recurring factor in species becoming endangered in the UK, due to reduced woodland and development on a vast amount of land, wildcats have had less and less living space. Additionally, although wildcat hunting is illegal, it still occurs. As a result, although The Scottish wildcat is a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, there are now only approximately 400 left in Scotland. 

Flickr | Hehaden

By Hanna-Johara Dokal - Online Journalism Intern

Frontier runs conservation, development, teaching and adventure travel projects in over 50 countries worldwide - so join us and explore the world!

[jmsa1287]

A Year in Review: The Best 25 Episodes of TV of 2017

With more and more new TV series hitting airways (and the Internet), the quality of shows continues to be impressive. Narrowing down a list of just the 10 best episodes of the year is no easy task. Putting together a small list like this feels more like an omission than a gathering of the cream of the crop.

In a diverse and strange year, showings from network comedies, prestige dramas and experimental explosions are all featured here. The following 25 episodes are truly exceptional - with the top three episodes proving to be groundbreaking and game-changing TV - and highlight what a magnificent year it was for TV in 2017.

25. “Yard Sale,” Baskets 

24. “Foisted!,” Curb Your Enthusiasm 

23. “New York I Love You,” Master of None

22. “The Sea Beneath 14th Street,” Neo Yokio 

21. “Graduation,” Better Things

20. “Kill Process,” Mr. Robot

19. “Thanksgiving,” Master of None 

18. “The Rickshank Rickdemption,” Rick and Morty 

17. “Hero or Hate Crime,” It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 

16. “Certified,” The Leftovers

15. “You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends?,” Feud: Bette and Joan

14. “Fun and Merriment,” Big Little Lies

13. “Episode 1,” The Young Pope

12. “Thank You and Goodnight,” The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel

11. “Somebody’s Dead,” Big Little Lies

10. “Got Milk?,” The Last Man on Earth

"The Last Man on Earth" doesn't get the credit it deserves. This apocalyptic comedy may air on network TV but it pushes the boundaries of storytelling in interesting ways; at least compared to "The Walking Dead." "Got Milk?" barely features the show's main cast and instead follows wealthy socialite Pamela Brinton (played by a hilarious Kristen Wiig in what may be her best post-"Bridesmaids" role) during the early days of a viral outbreak, which includes members of the Trump administration dropping like flies. It's a daring episode that gives context to "The Last Man on Earth" as well as a showcase for Wiig's talents. It also has a wild scene with Laura Dern eating dog food. 09. “Family,” The Girlfriend Experience

For its second season, "The Girlfriend Experience" played with format, telling two non-related stories over 14 half-hour episodes. The track set in D.C. follows Erica (Anna Friel), a finance director of a Republican super PAC, and Anna (Louisa Krause), an escort. Over the course of the story, the women form a surprising relationship, but it's with the episode "Family" that their budding romance explodes with chaotic emotion. The episode takes unexpected turns, exploring power dynamics that are enhanced and heightened with its clinical and icy-cold minimalism. With Lodge Kerrigan's fascinating direction, "Family" marks one of the most chilling and boldest episodes of TV this year.

08. “The Goodbye Tour,” Girls

"The Goodbye Tour" may be the penultimate episode to the final season of "Girls" but it functions as the finale with the muted "Latch" feeling more like a coda to the series. The episode finds its core four Hannah (Lena Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams), Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) finally appearing together in one scene. Tensions are high and feelings are hurt but perfectionist Marnie is determined to work things out between the foursome with a bathroom meeting. It's an emotional moment, confirming audiences' feelings: The girls are not actually friends anymore; over six seasons they've drifted a part and hurt each other and "The Goodbye Tour" is confirmation of this. Though they may not have animosity, this bittersweet ending, in which they may no longer be friends but can still dance to Robyn, is emotional as it is raw.

07. “And the Winner is…(The Oscars 1963)” Feud: Bette and Joan

In what might be Ryan Murphy's most skillfully directed episode of TV ever (and that's saying something considering he is one of the busiest people in TV), "And the Winner is...(The Oscars 1963)" is a dramatization of one of the most dramatic nights in Oscars history. There's so much at stake for Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon), who has been nominated for Best Actress for "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane," but thanks to dirty politics, Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) crushes her frenemy's dreams and accepts the award on behalf of an absent Anne Bancroft. This high-octane hour of TV also features a long tracking shot of Crawford backstage at the Oscars - one of the most heart-racing moments on TV this year.

06. “The Thief,” Master of None

Aziz Ansari stepped up his game for "Master of None" Season 2. Right off the bat, the first episode "The Thief" proved he wasn't messing around. Unfolding in black and white, (a surprising move for a show that built it's audience as a millennial sitcom) the comedy is a stunning homage to Italian cinema - specifically Vittorio De Sica's "The Bicycle Thieves." For a half-hour comedy, the episode is a sumptuous gift that puts Ansari in another league.

05. “The Book of Nora,” The Leftovers

The series finale of "The Leftovers" was mystical as it was moving. It's also a testament to Carrie Coon, one of TV's best working actors. Delivering a deeply riveting and emotional monologue, Coon's Nora, now much older, tells her long-lost love Kevin (Justin Theroux) about being teleported to her family in another dimension, possibly to a place where the departed vanished. Except - it's unclear if Nora is telling Kevin the truth, making the series finale to one of the best shows - ever - an open ended mystery that we will always let be.

04. “Part 17″ and “Part 18,” Twin Peaks: The Return

Over 25 years ago, "Twin Peaks" fans watched F.B.I. agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) become a prisoner in the Black Lodge as his evil doppelganger take his place in the real world. The Season 2 finale, which aired in 1991, turned out to be the series finale (thanks to a cancelation from ABC) and for over two decades, fans were left to grapple with one of the biggest cliffhangers to ever air. That changed, however, when co-creator/direct/writer/actor David Lynch came back to the world of "Twin Peaks" and got to end the series on his terms. "Part 17" and "Part 18" are a one-two punch of triumph and devastation. After 16 hours of the mindless Dougie Jones (MacLachlan), the real Dale Cooper finally returned in all his wholesome glory, ready to finally save Laura Palmer and defeat the evil BOB. After literally rewriting the past, Lynch pulls the rug out from viewer's expectations with "Part 18," ending "Twin Peaks" on a devastatingly tragic note: "What year is this?"

03. “Michael’s Gambit,” The Good Place

Who knew a major network could still air groundbreaking TV? The Season 1 finale of Michael Schur's existential comedy "The Good Place" is game-changing TV. Without spoiling anything, the episode totally flips the script, reframing what "The Good Place" is actually about and its characters' motivations. With a huge twist that was hiding in plain sight, the comedy became one of the most innovative and interesting shows of 2017, giving the middle finger to cliffhangers and network sitcoms.

02. “Finding Francis,” Nathan For You

"Nathan For You" is an uncomfortable show; one that forces viewers to confront their boundaries of humor. Creator and star Nathan Fielder's Season 4 finale "Finding Francis" is the comedian's boldest and biggest episode ever - a two-hour epic that follows Fielder and Bill Gates impersonator William Heath as they track down Heath's long lost high school sweetheart. To call the finale daring TV would be an understatement - not only does it ask viewers to question the boundaries of love but it also urges them to question reality. It's one of the most captivating things aired on TV in recent memory - so wild and bold that infamous documentarian Errol Morris felt the need to write about the episode for the New Yorker.

01. “Part 8,” Twin Peaks: The Return

There will never be another TV moment like "Part 8" of David Lynch and Mark Frost's masterpiece "Twin Peaks: The Return." It's the kind of TV moment that will have unprecedented reverberations in art for years to come. Profound and truly mind-blowing, "Part 8" transcended the boundaries of what TV can do and make you feel. Visceral, shocking and captivating, "Part 8" told a saga of good vs. evil; how man created evil and brought it into the world and that the battle between good and evil is an ongoing one. Sometimes bewildering and sometimes touching, "Part 8" is unlike anything that has ever aired on TV, coming from one of the greatest American filmmakers alive today.

[tokyoteddywolf]

Companions AU Chapter 2

(Ha it rhymes!) Have more of this, because I can’t seem to stop for the life of me- Chapter 1- https://tokyoteddywolf.tumblr.com/post/161222635468/how-about-cat-boy-shiro-shance —————————————- “Lance, give me one good reason why I’m not slaughtering you right now.” Pidge grumbled, arms folded over her chest as she leaned against the pristine white wall of the Hybrids Hospital, in the room where the Cat Hybrid Lance had found a while ago was getting examined.

Lance smiled sheepishly. “Umm, because I had no idea you’d pulled an all nighter again and called you down here anyways?” He asked nervously, sweating slightly under the Halfling’s intense predatory glare. Hunk raised his head from where he was examining the Maine Coon Hybrid’s ears.

“No arguing you two. Especially not at this time of day.” The big human scolded lightly, before turning his attention to the infected stump. “Hmm… sheesh Lance, you really brought me a tough case here. This needs surgery to remove the damaged flesh and bone, and fast. You said you found him in the alleyway next to your house?” Hunk questioned, Lance nodding confirmation.

“Yeah, around 4am or so.” Lance clarified, glancing at the clock on the wall and wincing. It was 11 on a Saturday morning, and he’d been awake the entire time, cleaning up the mess in the bathroom, calling Allura to give him a week off while explaining he’d taken in a stray Hybrid, calling Hunk for a Vet appointment for said Hybrid, calling Pidge in case the Hybrid was microchipped, and researching what Hybrids were able to eat. He was nearly dead on his feet at this point.

“He doesn’t really look feral to me. Though whoever owned him previously definitely abused him, poor thing.” Hunk sighed, rubbing the Hybrid’s ears. The Cat let out a quiet, broken purr and leaned into the touch, pleased.

“Hey, I’ll pay for the vet bill, Hunk. Just make him feel better. You should have seen how scared he was of me, at first. Then once I got him a bath and some food it was like I was suddenly God to him or something, he looked so happy. I thought he was going to cry when I showed him the guest bed.” Lance muttered, remembering the look on the Hybrids face as he allowed the Cat to sleep on the mattress. He’d grown attached to the black and white Hybrid overnight, and he was considering adopting the poor thing by this point.

The Hybrid in question mewed softly, tail tip twitching while he tilted his head slightly at Lance. Hunk smiled tightly, recognizing the symptoms of Hybrid abuse quite clearly from his best friend’s words. Pidge made a gentle, distressed chirp and extended a wing to brush against her human pal’s arm reassuringly.

“Well, once Hunk fixes him up, I’ll scan for a microchip and see what bastard owned him.” Pidge murmured, before eyeing Lance suspiciously. “Dude, you look tired as fuck. Did you get any sleep last night?” The Halfling Owl asked, poking the lanky human in the stomach.

Lance blinked blearily, lightly batting Pidge’s hand away sluggishly. “I dunno, I got home around like, one in the morning? And one to four is… uh…” he narrowed his eyes in concentration, muttering quietly in Spanish under his breath before perking up again. “About three hours or less?”

Pidge squawked in alarm and Hunk’s head whipped up. “Dude! You need to go home and get some more sleep, pronto! That’s not good for your health, buddy.” Hunk cried, startling the Hybrid into a low hiss. Hunk turned to the Hybrid and rubbed his ear soothingly, relaxing the Cat back into compliance.

“Listen, Lance, I’ll get this Cat some surgery for his arm and any internal problems he might have while you go home and get some sleep. I’m guessing you already called Allura to explain why you won’t be at work today?” Hunk asked, hands on his hips and raising an eyebrow.

Lance nodded. “Yeah, I have the week off. She said I have to bring my new companion by once he’s all better though, you know how much she loves Hybrids.” He cracked a weak smile at his best friend, Pidge snickering to the side.

“Alright. Well, let’s get the big guy here prepped for surgery. Lance, would you mind helping out? I need to put him under so he doesn’t freak out when you leave.” Hunk motioned Lance over, and Pidge popped up next to the Hybrid as he was gently laid down on the bed.

“Why Lance?” Pidge questioned curiously, eyes following the twitching tail as Hunk prepared a tranquilizer.

“Cats tend to trust those who’ve fed and cleaned them more than strangers, and I want to keep him calm while I put him under. I need to do it now, otherwise we risk the Hybrid panicking and possibly worsening his injuries. So I need all his focus on Lance while I tranquilize him.” Hunk explained, moving over to the Cat in question.

The Hybrid made a questioning chirp as Lance ran his fingers through the now fluffy white forelock.

“Hey, Kitty. Hunk’s gonna make you sleep for a little, but once you wake up I’ll be here and you’ll feel a whole lot better, okay?” Lance assured the Cat Hybrid, scratching lightly behind the soft triangle ears.

The Hybrid smiled slightly and purred, silver eyes trusting but flickering with panic and pain when Hunk inserted the needle.

The Cat made a startled yowl, jolting away from the Vet, curling towards Lance, but the syringe had already deplunged all the way and Lance watched quietly as the Cat fell into a motionless sleep, still stroking his head. Lance sighed and pulled away regretfully, allowing Hunk to rearrange the Cat on the bed.

“Good afternoon my lads! Dr. Garrett, I believe you paged me?” A cheerful, familiar redhead nurse popped into the room, twiddling his mustache and grinning at the room inhabitants.

Hunk looked up with a smile. “Ah, Coran, perfect timing. This Hybrid is to go in for surgery, if you don’t mind calling Dr. Ryner down?” The kindly Vet asked, the nurse nodding and dashing off to find the female surgeon.

“Hey Lance, we can’t just keep calling this guy ‘The Cat’ or 'The Hybrid’ all the time. Should we name him something to call him for now?” Pidge piped up, Lance startling out of his sleepy daze to look over at the kitty in question.

Lance hummed thoughtfully and ran his fingers through the white forelock one more time, thinking. Just then, a gentle Japanese pop song floated over the radio, and Lance was hit with an epiphany.

“How about Shiro?” He said, looking at his two friends. Pidge choked and Hunk sweated lightly in secondhand embarrassment, though for Lance or the Hybrid he didn’t really know.

“Shiro? Really, Lance? You’re calling him White in Japanese? I can’t believe how much of a weeb you are.” Pidge groaned, smacking her palm against her forehead. Hunk chuckled.

“Shiro will be fine for now, we'll just say it’s a nickname for something.” Hunk explained as he moved around the room, putting away the medical equipment he’d used to examine Shiro, as he was now called.

“I’ll think on it more when I get home, thinking is hard when I’m half asleep.” Lance muttered, swaying.

Pidge grabbed his arm to stop him from toppling over. “I’ll drive you home. It’s a wonder you got here in the first place, half asleep with an injured Hybrid. Keys, now.” The Halfling demanded, and Lance gratefully dropped his car keys into her hands.

He took one last glance at the peaceful look on Shiro’s face though.

Lance prayed for a successful surgery, for both their sakes. —————————————- Four chapters. Four chapters is when I deem it an official AU in for the long run. Don’t be afraid to send me asks about this AU! I love reading comments on my work, Anon or otherwise :3 so….. Chapter 3, anyone?

[joeygalon]

One year ago today, I brought this lil’ white fluff ball into my brood at the loft: Tobias “Toby” (for short) Galon TOBIAS - Greek/Hebrew name meaning “the goodness of God” TOBY - Choctaw Indian meaning “white” He was 10 weeks old, 2.5lbs at the time and now he’s 1 year, 2 months weighing 18lbs and still growing 😺 Main Coon & Ragdoll mix #fashioncat #couturecat #maincoonragdollmix #maincoon #ragdollcat #whitecat #toby #tobias #loftcat #loftpet #loftlife #joeygalonatelier #joeygalon #gowndesigner #fashiondesigner #costumedesigner #weddinggowndesigner #realitytvpersonality #fashiontvreporter #fashiontvcorrespondent #designer #artist #filamfashiondesigner #costumedesigner #customdesignedgowns (at Fashion District) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx4vkAQnjCP/?igshid=169nwc2ylyzdz