The Mistress Turned Slave, Cats, cats everywhere!

[Tala]

One day she'd woken up and there was a cat, laying on a bed in her house, inside of a little blue box. She thought it was adorable- a kitten sleeping in what appeared to be a Christmas present fashion. Someone mysterious had cared enough to give her something this special for her enjoyment. She loved cats, almost as much as she loved dogs. She just knew this was going to be a match made in heaven.

It was further made true when the kitten picked her head up, and Tala caught the light flickering across the pelt of the beautiful creature. It was like winter embodied,and she already knew what she just had to name it. There was no option. Yule, the most elegant and yet fitting name for such a royal cat.

She'd already started designing new things for the kitten. A jeweled collar, perhaps. Anklets. Thinks to weave into the fur, and still more things for them to wear around the neck. She felt silly, but she was very inspired by the lone little kitten. At least, she thought it was going to be a lone little kitten.

Yule seemed to bring in more cats. First, it was Lux- a little horned, winged kitten. That was fine; Lux seemed content to stay in the kennel when Tala showed it to him. Then it was Dutchess, who seemed to cling to Yule's side like they were glued together. That was fine, it was only two cats in the house and they pretty much occupied eachother. Then Septumdecim showed up, and it was all she could do not to cry. Cats! Cats everywhere!

Yule had demanded to go out today, and Tala had to oblige. She'd planned on mount-training somebody, but of course, it wasn't such a bother. She loved her cats, and if they were this big as kittens...She couldn't imagine how big they were going to be as adults. Actually, she could. They reminded her heavily of the estharne.

[Tala]

Yule was leading her, grace in every single step. Tala couldn't help but watch in amusement, slightly in awe of how obvious it was that she was of feline descent. The way Yule moved, though only a child, Tala was certain would catch the eye of many others around if she were walking on two legs. Even Tala was staring, if only for her own reasons of Wow, that's so pretty.

The white-blue tint of her fur seemed to almost sparkle in the morning sun, and Tala couldn't imagine how terrible it was going to be to clean that fur again later that evening. Actually, it was going to be worse than that. She was gonna have to wash it, and scrub it, to make sure that it was sparkling clean. She was quite certain that the snowflake was going to hate being washed.

Why did she have to want to go out a few days after it rained? Even now, Tala could see mud and bits of grass getting into the kitten's paws. She could only imagine how Yule was going to look by the end of the day. Actually, she was pretty sure she was going to be needing to invest in some shampoo and other products similar to it from the Supply and Demand store soon.

...That man was going to love her for spoiling her pets. Especially when he ended up filthy rich from it. She was gonna go home and make a list of exactly what she needed, just so she could prove to herself that adventuring was quite possibly the most expensive thing anyone could ever do in this place.

Finally, Yule stopped- in one plot of the park, which seemed to have the least amount of mud, and was slightly higher than the others. As Tala looked around, she'd realized Yule had led them to the top of a hill within the park. Indeed, as Tala set a foot on the ground directly after Yule, barely any mud came up.

"Clever little..." Tala muttered.

[Tala]

Yule walked over to a pile of boulders, situated just right on top of the hill. She started at the bottom and hopped her way up, muscles bunching just the way she needed to make them before she ended up at the top of the pile. She seemed quite happy to have accomplished the task, and promptly made a few circles- before laying down,and fixing her eyes on Tala.

Tala was extremely familiar with that look when it came to cats. That look meant that she had something to accomplish. She got closer to Yule, sitting on a rock that seemed just the perfect height for it- and promptly had a muddy paw in her face. Ah. She was being expected to clean the thing's paws now.

She sighed, and reached into her pack, pulling out a simple cloth- and poured some water on it, before beginning to scrub the paw clean. It seemed to come off easily, and the contented, lazy purr from Yule told her she was doing a good job without hurting her. She got inbetween the toes, and even cleaned the claws- careful to make sure that that pristine blue/white coat was kept gorgeous.

"There you go, Yule, one paw clean. Give me the other." It was as if she hadn't needed to say it, though. The second that paw was clean, it was moved away and beginning to be self-bathed by the spoiled kitty. Now, the other front paw was dangled down- and now as she worked, she had the comforting sounds of birdsong and a cat licking its paws. Oh, what a wonderful thought process that created.

[Tala]

As she scrubbed the paw, she looked up, and noticed that clouds were rolling across the sky. It was slightly cold today, but it didn't really bother her. She knew it wouldn't bother Yule; the other feline had thick fur, and therefore probably didn't even really feel it. It made her wonder just how well the cat was going to do during the summer.

The clouds were thick, though,and seemed to be coming in thicker by the moment. They looked like snow. She had to wonder how well she was going to do out in the snow today- she hadn't been paying attention, and hadn't expected there to be any other weather besides sunny on the way. What exactly was she going to do with the snow coming on?

She moved through the back paws quickly, and sat back to watch the feline clean what she already had. It was okay, though- she knew that it was to dry the fur, regulate the temperature, and make sure the fur was going the same way as she rest. It was just maintenance; maintenance that often took up most of the day. It confused Tala as to why, though. They slept in the second-most plush room in the house.

While she watched, it occurred to her that she hadn't taught the estharne her name yet. Or anything, for that matter. She'd just been letting it get used to the comfy bed, the plush rug... It was so wonderful to watch the cats meow and bounce around with eachother in their very pleasant home. They were spoiled.

[Tala]

Name: 1

When Yule was done bathing herself, she stared at Tala again. The giant, fluffy tail was curled over her paws- and all she could see was the eyes boring into hers. It was almost a 'now what' kind of gaze- like she was expecting Tala to decide what they were going to do next. Actually, it didn't really surprise Tala.

Yule rolled onto her back, letting the sun rays warm her thick pelt. Still, she continued to stare at Tala, rather obviously bored. What was there to do here? What exactly were they going to do? She wanted to go out, but she didn't want to step on the ground again after getting her paws and fur filthy with the earth. Now she just wanted to be sitting up here until the ground died.

The panther woman extended a hand, beginning to rub and pet at the neck and back of the other feline. This was...Strange. The first cat that had brought in an entire pride was somehow getting her, the military leader, to treat them all like royalty. She supposed it was true that you did not own your cats; your cats owned you.

"Yule... You're such a beautiful girl, Yule." Tala praised softly, continuing to very carefully pet the beautiful fur. She decided that repetition of the name with combination of affection and the little chicken and liver snacks she'd packed into her backpack, the name would stick fairly quickly as soon as she realized it.

[Tala]

Name: 2

She extended her claws and traced it down the spine of the kitten, and was met with a purr in thanks. This was pleasant. For awhile, she just continued to pet the estharne- repeating different phrases, though something always along the lines of "Such a pretty girl, Yule" or "Such a good kitten, Yule".

However, as cats tend to do, Yule got tired of the affections. She stood up and looked around, casting her gaze to the sky. Tala had been petting her longer than she thought; already the clouds had filled in and the snow was beginning to start. She hopped down the rocks until the very bottom one, setting herself by Tala's feet. This snow was a curious, new thing. She lifted a paw and batted at it. Oooh, so cold! And it melted into the top of her fur!

"Yule, that's snow. Isn't it pretty, Yule? You know, when this ground gets covered, you're gonna be able to blend in, Yule. Your pelt is perfect for it, Yule." Repetition, repetition. She knew that Yule was taking in what she said, even if she was focused on the snow beginning to swirl fast onto the land around them.

"Yule." She noticed the ears of the little estharne twitch. Ah, she knew that it meant something. Perhaps she just didn't know it meant her just yet. That was okay, she would learn after awhile. Practice made perfect. Actually, it felt good to be out here. It'd been awhile since she'd decided to train her pets, and only lately had she really felt like getting out and getting it done.

[Tala]

Name 3

"Yule." Tala repeated, and made a grab at the kitten's tail. Immediately, she had its attention. "Yule, you silly girl. Come on. The snow is going to keep falling and melting on you, Yule. Yule, look at me. No, not the snow, me. Yuuuule. There you go! Hi, Yule." Babies were so ADD, apparently. She was having trouble keeping the attention of her darling.

Yule hopped in Tala's lap and curled up, staring out at the snow and blinking. It was white and sticking to the ground. Already the ground seemed to be wearing a sheet of it. What did it mean? What was this strange substance falling out of the sky? Was the world coming to an end? No, this material was much too soft and quiet to be deadly. Really, it was just pretty.

"Good Yule...Just lay here." Tala said softly, going back to petting the cat's back. They both sat back and watched the snow fall, slowly coating the ground. It was beginning to rise and beginning to get a little thicker. Tala knew that the ground would be frozen, now, and it would be safe for Yule to try walking on it now.

"Go play in it now that you won't get that gorgeous fur messy, Yule. Good girl, Yule. You look so pretty in the snow, Yule." Tala gave a slight push to the estharne's butt, watching as she tumbled- rather gracefully for tumbling- into the light snow on the ground from the push she was given.

[Tala]

Name 4

Tala was met with a disgruntled mreow when Yule found her paws deep into this cold substance. She didn't really feel it, though. She's never really understood what her thick fur did, but now she knew well. It kept the cold from really getting to her. This was nice, actually, the feel of this strange substance.

She lifted a paw and tried to move forward, and just ended up bouncing from place to place that she wanted to step. It was quite cute, and Tala couldn't resist just giggling at the site. Adorable, funny, and she couldn't imagine any better way to watch a cat get used to the snow. Completely ungraceful. It was endearing to her, to watch the little cat struggle with the snow.

"Yule!" Tala called, and saw the head of the kitten turn towards her. Did she understand? It wouldn't surprise her, cats were very intelligent. Still, she felt that a bit more repetition would finally get her beautiful tharnie to understand exactly what her name was. She didn't, however, know what she'd be teaching her after this.

If you're paying attention to these two lines, Odd, make a statement about in in your acceptance. I'm testing something. "Isn't the snow interesting, Yule? Do you feel the cold, Yule?" Tala asked, tilting her head at the attentive kitten.

[Tala]

Come 1

"Come here, Yule." Tala called, and withdrew a small piece of warm meat from her bag. She'd made sure to keep the little bits of meat in a thermal place so that it was still warm when she fed it. It'd help her in training hunt later; of course, she'd only train hunt when she was positive that the little estharne loved her and trusted her to share her food.

Yule looked up at her name, but didn't understand the other words. However, the meat she understood just fine. She bounced through the snow to Tala's feet, and gently took it out of the palm of her hand. Of course, Tala tried not to giggle at the feeling of the estharne licking her hand.

Of course, when Yule saw that no more meat existed in Tala's hand, she bounced off again to go roll and bounce in the snow. A few feet out, she flopped down and rolled around in the snow- getting it stuck to the exterior of her fur and making some of her more distinct markings disappear. It was a funny image for Tala, of course. It reminded Tala of the things dogs did with their reaction to snow.

"Come, Yule." Tala repeated, this time with another piece of meat in plain sight in her palm. It was an easy trick to get going; give them food and they'd come towards it. It was making them realize the association with the word that got slightly difficult, depending on their intelligence.

[Tala]

Come 2

Of course, Yule came. It was cold, and the food Tala was offering her was warm. However, this time she noticed that there were other sounds with her name. These sounds were being said whenever Tala held out food. What did that mean? Was the other sound trying to tell her something like the name sound had?

Regardless, she took the meat and bounced away. It was warm, and even if the cold didn't really and truly affect her, she still had knowledge it was cold. Her nose and her ears told her that. The food warmed her insides, and made her slightly warmer in the places that weren't coated in thick fur. It felt good to eat it, anyway. Wet, warm, fresh meat was much better to eat than that dry, cold, brittle and crunchy crap.

Tala watched Yule roll in the snow, now, and waited a few minutes before pulling out another piece of meat. "Come, Yule." She called again. The meat was in plain sight, and easily accessable. Odd, if you see this, make a comment about it in the approval post. Being obvious, it meant Yule would come up to it even if she didn't understand the words. However, she would start associating the words with the food.

Yule bounced up again, right on time and perfectly in cue. It was good, Tala supposed. Cats tended to not listen well, so it probably helped that the food was warm and fresh, and that Yule was probably hungry. Otherwise, this particular training might have turned extremely hard. Stubborn cats were never the most fun to train.

[Tala]

Come 3

When she bounced off again, Tala decided to try a new game to get her to understand the words. She kept the food up, and waited a few minutes. Aside from that, she wasn't in any hurry. Yule was having fun bouncing around in the snow, and she tried hard not to laugh when she saw the feline bite at the falling snow. It was...Rather cute, to watch a kitten play.

Now, though, she was sure Yule was distracted enough. "Yule, come." She called. Her hand was back, holding a piece of meat inside of her bag. Yule looked, but blinked. She didn't come at first, and seemed to hesititate. Finally, though, she bounced up- and tilted her head at Tala. She pointed her nose at where Tala's hand had disappeared, sniffing the air. She smelled the food, even if she couldn't see it.

"Good come, Yule." Tala praised, and took the meat out. She tossed it to the kitten and let her bounce off again, this time dropping her meat in the snow and beginning to eat it again. It was cute, to watch her play and eat. She knew that she'd have to take a break after this; the cat was going to need to have its hunger go down before she could continue.

After another few minutes, Tala tried the same method. She had her hand back, the meat hidden, though she did have her paw around it. "Come, Yule." Instantly, the cat's head popped up and stared at her. When it saw where her hand was, the esthie bounced up- and gladly took her reward again. She was getting better, but Tala had one more step to take until she could be sure Yule understood.

[Tala]

Come 4

She folded her hands in her lap now and waited. While she did, she watched Yule and thought about her. She was quite large for a kitten...Much larger than the mosca or enileaf. Yes, this was probably going to end up estharne-sized. It was a frightening and comforting thought at the same time. The estharne were rideable, and that meant that if she got her cats to trust her enough, so would they be.

"Yule, come." Yule looked up, but when she saw Tala had no food, she looked back down. It was strange; perhaps Tala was just talking to her. Still, something sounded familiar about that word. She wracked her brain and tried to figure out what, and realized the same word had been used the last time when food was involved. That meant... That meant the word meant to go up to Tala. If she went up to Tala, she got the food. It was a reward!

Before Tala could repeat the command, Yule bounced over to her, and looked directly at where she knew the meat was. She heard Tala laugh, and saw her reach back- and felt a strong sense of satisfaction. She'd gotten it right! She'd gotten the word that meant "go here" right. Woohoo! She was learning! ...Was learning a good thing?

When Tala handed her the meat, and watched her stalk off again, she felt rather proud of herself. She'd taught two different things in a row; though, for now, she was just going to let Yule enjoy a bit more while she came up with something else to teach the poor vulnerable little esthie kit.

[Tala]

--- Lots of passed time. Also, my signature links to my profile, if you need the reference.



It was probably a terrible idea, to rely on a scarf as a leash.

She went back into a familiar training grounds, the Estharne randomly stopping to jump at a butterfly, or a bug moving on by. Every time, Tala would snap at her, "Come!" Yule was unhappy about it, but she followed along, looking back at the things that she wanted to torture with her 'playing'. Tala kept a small smirk on her face, trying so hard not to laugh and encourage the behavior. She probably liked cats too much for being a wolf, but they were rather wonderful and entertaining.

She was thankful for the warm summer day, and the fact that it hadn't rained recently. She didn't want to clean muddy paws again. Plus, it felt good filtering down through her white fur. She was so glad that she wasn't black furred, otherwise it might have been scorching. Her emerald green eyes looked around the clearing for a moment, deciding that they'd finally found a good one. She was wearing her dark-green t-shirt and blue jeans combo; it looked the most like an outfit meant for training in her wardrobe. She did, of course, go barefoot; her only shoes were meant for the winter months.

She twitched her lonely ear, sitting down onto a bench and untying the scarf from around the kitten's torso. She'd gotten pretty good at making make-shift harnesses and tethers, and in this case, she'd made a harness. Latching onto the front foot just seemed mean to a cat. She'd pull off her backpack, setting it behind her on the table, examining the contents. She'd place the scarf in there, and pull out a clear plastic box with a red rubber top filled with what appeared to be bloody meat, likely steak.

"You ready for a busy day, Yule?" She asked cheerfully, shaking her head. She knew she should be training Kaika, but truth be told, she just preferred the spoiled Yule. She felt a stronger bond to the cat, which was partially why she was one of three estharne that lived in her house. All separated, of course. She wasn't entirely sure she'd be ready for a cat fight.

Yule turned at her recognized name, looking a tiny bit confused. Tala just laughed. "Oh, I wonder how you'd be if I had a ribbon for you."

((Tala: 43.1
Yule: 2.3/8.3))

[Liska]

Liska, despite herself and how she'd stared at her new Estharne for almost ten minutes before she'd figured out something to use for a leash, was starting to doubt the quality of her idea.

New to this area, she'd been ecstatic to take her Estharne out and train him. But she'd run into a few problems. She didn't know how to train, for one, and she needed to get to the park area without losing him. Now, she was walking along with him, a firm grip on the 'leash' she was using to keep him tethered to her. It truthfully was a terrible leash, if it could be even called one. It was only a small collar-type leash that was made from a strip of one of Liska's bedsheets. Liska knew that feline-types didn't particularly like collars, but when she'd tried to make a harness, she hadn't been able to figure out how to do so.

Slightly embarrassed with herself, Liska sighed and pulled him away from a small insect that he'd pounced upon, yet again. It didn't surprise her all too much, that he was constantly darting different ways and attacking anything that moved, because he was little after all, and she hadn't spent much time with him. What did she expect? That he'd be obedient? Of course not...but she'd been hopeful.

Liska must've been lost in her thoughts, because she suddenly happened to look up and see someone, white and wolf-like, sitting on a bench with a small Estharne. Surprised, Liska paused in her steps, a tad hesitant and shy before she brushed her feelings away and walked up to the woman, smiling as she tugged at the lease in her hand to make him follow.

"Hello." Liska said with a small pause, trying not to hesitate before she spoke again. "I'm pretty new at this...training that is, and I was just wondering, if you didn't mind that is, if you'd be willing to show me how I should train my Estharne." Liska said with a small beam that reflected against her light yellow sleeveless turtleneck and her dark brown shorts. She was barefoot as well, but only because she didn't want him chewing on her leather sandals. But then again, she wasn't a big fan of shoes anyways, so she didn't mind at all. Liska stood straight, in front of the woman as she awaited an answer, holding her hands behind her back as she kept the smile.

((Liska: 0.1
Loy: 0.1/0.1))

[424]

[Tala]

Tala turned her head up to the woman, pausing briefly while she assessed the situation. Her swords were in the pack behind her, if this woman was a threat, but she didn't appear to be. She appeared awfully unsure- definitely new. Yes, she just needed genuine help that Tala was happy to give. "Sure thing." She grinned at the woman, showing off all of her pretty canine teeth. She relaxed, tugging the scarf to pull her estharne closer. Yule had started stalking up to the Cheshire, and the mammalian would not allow a pounce at the moment.

"First things first- What do you want to train? Basics? Name, sit, no, come, that kind of thing?" Tala began, picking up Yule- who immediately was a flurry of claws, extremely unhappy with being picked up. The cat was held at arms length(although, a couple of the claws almost got through her fur) until the harness was off. Immediately, Yule leaped away from Tala to a rock a few feet away, beginning to clean herself indignantly.

"That's Yule. She knows how to come to me, otherwise I'd have kept her on her harness." She'd glance down to the other estharne, marvelling at the almost tabby markings. Strange, but beautiful. She also tried not to fall out over the method of dragging. It would surely have cut off breathing if too tight, and would come loose without much more provocation unless that knot was tighter than it seemed. Bedsheets weren't usually strong enough to handle being a collar to a laboratory creature.

"I need to show you how to make a makeshift harness. Lab creatures are too strong for bedsheets(I'm an idiot for putting Yule on a scarf, even), so you'll need to know. Also, as a note, collars for estharne tend to be a risky thing. If they're too tight, they cut off breathing, but if they're looser than a very precise amount, they can just wiggle right out." Tala explained, beginning to lean forward. "May I?"

((43.2
Yule: 2.4/8.4))