harsh world, this world [elmfrost/c]

Ancestors bless her, They were not looking kindly upon her being this day. Perhaps an Orisha did not carry a message back. Ukuhlala Bobbi! the female thought, shaking her slender head firmly. Orisha are many and you are one. Do not be arrogant. Following you about all day...laughable! Besides, even if she was in a spot of mess the ancestors would not swoop down and grace her for...for this! Bobbi would have to deal with this humiliation. It was one thing for the human to demand her claws be sheathed, but another for her to wear a lead outside. Of course she wore a collar. There was no problem in the worn black leather 'round her long neck, her "information" - tags as Ian put it, tags! - and where she lived should another human come by and happen upon her. Bobbi did not like some of Ian's human ways but she'd loathe to admit she would miss him. Back to her humiliation shall we? Attached to her collar was a false silver clip, attached to that was said leash. Battered after the long run, sampled dirt and frolic alike, it still held. Confusing. The leash was usually off by now. She made sure to put distance between herself and the human's living quarters. Ian would wonder where she was but it was his fault! Nobody "walked" her and allowed those lazy, fat house cats to jeer. So it was obvious at the time. Run.

Bobbi stretched, feeling powerful muscles ripple under her thin coat. Narrowing her green eyes, she whipped her head around to glare at the strip of black cable. Damn it, she was a wild animal not some mutt! Her plan had several flaws associated with it. One: running away was fruitless. She would eventually have to go back home. Two: when she ran, she had no idea of the territory. Lost? Ha! She'd never admit it, but yes. Yes, yes, yes. She was lost. This was not her first time outside but on her own it was. Ian was always close by. Trust had been broken. She let him down. That was number three. He'd never let her outside ever again. At least not off-leash. That's what she wanted!

"Imibhedo! He cannot leave me inside forever" her head tilted to one side, a quizzed feature plastered on the face. Bobbi's thick accent rang through the meadow. She ran here, or rather stopped running, because it was familiar. Long grasses. Vast, flat slopes. Missed a few trees and a fat sun but who was to be picky? Sure, she could mention the terrain was too small. Easily one could see to the other side. Bobbi expected more. Mayhap she ran all the way back to Africa! Ah, be humble, Bobbi. The ancestors do not find miracles around every bend. She knew she was in a different country. Three years told her this.

But she found the weather sometimes was a bit like Africa. Sometimes. This was based on her limited knowledge of when she was young, locked in a cage with mother enduring the heat. Summer was close to what she felt. Back then she was weak and tiny, surrounded by siblings and their body heat. Was it like this or not? It could be an exaggeration, the mind playing tricks or her memory far gone. Yet summer was the best. Her pale spotted-and-striped pelt shone brightest in the sun. Her big ears caught the heat quicker. She was never cold and felt the sun's love. No. The land's love.

Bobbi let out a dry little chuckle, forgetting the woes of a leashed house cat in an unknown and dangerous territory for the moment. The female sat down, a pale and strange shape among the grasses. As tall as a small dog, she towered over the frolic. It tickled her chin when the breeze swayed. Irritatedly she swiped it away.

The house cat was not sure what to do next. Which way was home? She passed forest and a cement road, though direction was hazy. There could be no doubt she'd have to wait for Ian to find her, but what about food? Water? She lifted her head and sniffed, that puffy pink nose trying to work out the different scents. She picked up cat. Fresh. Many of them. It overlapped everything else.

Well, she'd sit and wait until somebody came here. Some other cat got lost surely.