Wednesday, May 11, 2005

How do you like the new look? (You may have to switch your window to "fullscreen" to get the desired effect.) The strays have a home now! Also, the site music has changed. We've gone from cheery and whimsical to ethereal and ambient. "Ambient Gemini" by McVaffe is the flavor of the month... or week... or whatever. As always, if you like what you hear, you can download and keep it. Just click the indicated link above the cast pic.

Now the big news. Just as I predicted, my lappy's back and running like it's fresh out of the box! Thank you Trinity! So let's get back to the story of the strays. You might want to read the last few chapters if you forgot where we left off.

Strays part 8 The Truth As my eyes slowly opened the next morning, my whole body jerked in realization. The divine light had faded and I remembered my worldly obligations. I fumbled for my watch that was lying on my jacket. It was 8:43 am. “Crap!” I frantically looked around. Felicia was sound asleep and Kanasuki was...... Kanasuki?! She was sleeping on the other end of the mattress! “What’s she doing here?” Apparently she had come over during the night. Why? I didn’t have time to ask myself questions. I grabbed my jacket and gingerly stepped over Kanasuki to get my shoes on the other side. As I put them on, I looked at my slumbering feline hosts. I hated to run off without saying ‘thank you’, but I didn’t want to disturb them. Plus my relationship with my fiancé was at stake. Besides, I was going to come back and see them again.... hopefully. I stood up and whispered, “Osakini. Arigato gozaimasu,” and hurried out the door. When I made it to the street, it was almost 9 o’clock. I remembered that Hamilton Street was about five miles from my neighborhood. I ran as if my shoe were a bomb and would go off if I stopped. I ran like the wind and made it back to Kennedy Street in about 50 minutes. It was 10 am when I reached the front door. I took a minute or two to catch my breath then slowly and quietly opened the door. I stuck my head inside and saw that there was no-one around. “Yokata. Looks like no-one’s awake yet.” I hung my jacket by the door, kicked off my shoes, and started walking towards the kitchen. After all that running I was ferociously parched. I was going to get a quick drink and slip back into bed before Aisha woke up. Just as I got to the middle of the foyer, I heard a voice from the top of the banister. “Oh, you’re already up.” I looked up and saw Aisha in her pale blue yukata. “Yeah,” I replied. “Just came in from a little jog.” Frak! Now I was going to have to mask my fatigue all day! I was just going to have some water, but now it looked like the menu had changed to coffee. As I sipped my mug, Ozz floated down next to me. “So, where were you last night?” he asked. “I uh... I was at a friend’s. Like I said.” “Who?” “Uh…… it’s a secret.” Ozz looked at me slyly. The suspicion was on. “Justin, come on. I’m your best friend. You can tell me. Besides, if there’s one thing I know, it’s how to keep a secret. Who am I going to tell?” He was right all the way around. I sighed, and began to tell Ozz my story. It was just between me and him and our brainwaves. I told him all about what really happened yesterday and last night. “So let me get this straight,” he said. “When you went to the shelter yesterday, you adopted that white cat you said you brought in. But when you got home, it ran away?” I nodded. “Like white-lightning,” I said. “ And last night, I went for a walk to clear my head.” “And you got jumped? And when you regained conciousness, you found yourself in an old abandonned subway station?” I continued to nod as he continued to cynically sum up my story. “And then you found out that your captor was the white cat. But she wasn’t really a cat, she was a nekomimi. And not just any nekomimi, but Felicia, the Darkstalker. And there were three other nekomimi’s there. A red-head, about ten years old, from Japan who’s curious about humans, a blonde from southern California who’s an aspiring actress, and a brunette from France who’s extremely rude.” “Which most likely stems from deep rooted trauma concerning repression and bigotry......” Ozz just stared at me. “Seriously,” he said, “where were you last night?” “Ozz, it’s the truth! I swear!” “Oh please. That sounds like one of those pathetic fan-fics writen by a lonely and perverted cat-girl fetishist.” “Ozz, come on!” “You don’t want to tell me the truth? That’s fine,” he said as he started to float away. “But I’m your best friend, Justin. There’s supposed to be a trust here.” “And there is a trust. I’m telling you the truth, Ozz. I swear. Scan me if you don’t believe it!” He looked back at me, almost revolted by this last resort. “I’ll be with Kida,” he said bitterly and left the kitchen. Crap! My best friend now thought I was a total jerk. I finished my coffee as I thought how this day could possibly get any worse. Then Gumdrop jumped up onto the table. “What’cha havin’?” he asked as he surveyed my mug and spoke as if overdue for ritalin. “Coffee? Is that coffee? I need coffee. Coffee coffee coffee. Good coffee. Strong coffee. Good strong coffee. Where’s my gun? Stop hitting me. Who’s hitting you? STOP IT! Do you have tubes?” All I could do was stare at the grey plushie in maximum confussion. “What are you talking about?” I said. “TUBES!!” he screamed. I wasn’t in the mood for Gumdrop’s spastic psycho jargon today. “Not now, Gummy,” I sighed. But he might as well have been cousins with the energizer bunny. “Out of all my muscles, my butt is one of them!” he yelled somewhat proudly. I got up and headed towards the living room. “Go play with Kida,” I said. He hopped down and saluted, “Yokai, sacho-sama!” and ran off. I plopped myself on the couch as he marched up the stairs singing “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.” On into the afternoon, I couldn’t stop thinking about the girls. I really wanted to see them again. The memories of last night kept replaying in my head: Felicia’s story, Summer’s seducing, Kanasuki’s curiosity, and Giselle’s..... well, just Giselle. I must’ve sat on the couch and stared into space for hours, because Aisha was starting to show some concern. “Justin, you’ve been really quiet today,” she said. “Are you alright?” “I’m fine,” I said. “Just thinking.” As I reminisced, I came back to the comment Felicia gave me. “You have very pretty eyes. You’ve never had a girl tell you that before?” As I thought about it, I realized..... no. No girl really had given me a compliment like that. But I’d charmed several girls. Maybe they just never felt the need to say it. Still. “Aisha?” I called. She looked over at me with a reflexive “nya”. I asked, “When you look at me.... what do you...... No, let me start over.” Aisha twitched her ears and curiously cocked her head to the side. “When we first met... was there anything about me that... stood out? Just curious.” Aisha was quiet for a second, then answered, “Well,... your height, I guess.” I nodded and gave an understanding “hmm” as I resumed staring at the ceiling. Then she went on, “And your eyes.” I looked back at her in surprise. “Huh? Really?” She nodded sincerely. “You have very warm and caring eyes.” I smiled not just because of my fiancé’s flattery, but also that it confirmed Felicia’s. “What about me?” she asked. “As long as we’re on the subject.” I thought back to the first time I saw a picture of Aisha. “Your hair,” I replied. “My hair?” she asked. “It’s so long and beautiful,” I said as I got up and started running my fingers through her silvery mane. “And so soft just like a kitten.” She smiled demurely as I went on praising her. “And your ears too.” I felt them twitch as I said this. “Nya? You like my ears?” she said a little self-consciously. “Yeah, I’ve always liked them. And your tail,” I said. “In fact, there isn’t a part of you I...” I thought I was saying too much so I stopped myself. But Aisha begged me to go on. “What? What were you gonna say?” I looked into her crystal-blue eyes and spoke softly as if intoxicated by her beauty. “In fact, there isn’t a part of you I don’t like. Every time I look at you... it’s like I’m looking at a feline Venus.” Aisha looked at me dreamily and whispered, “What do you mean?” I stepped back to take in a full view of her body. “I find no flaw in you,” I whispered. Aisha looked like she was about to cry. “That has to be the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” She hugged me, kissed my cheek softly, and started to purr. Then she looked me in the eye and smiled sweetly. “I always thought you had a very nice body,” she said. I blinked in disbelief. “What? You mean..... you don’t think I’m too........ chunky?” Aisha laughed a little. “What? This?” she asked as she poked my gut. “It’s a cute little tummy. Besides, more of you to love. And more room for your heart.” I smiled as I traced the curve of her face with my fingertips. “Your cheek.” She reached up and gently grasped my fingers. “Your hands.” I caressed her arm. “Your skin.” Her hand reached up and cupped the back of my head. “Your lips.” She gave me a quick kiss. Our hands continued to wander as we exchanged admiration. “Your neck.” “Your broad shoulders.” “Your... um....” “You can say it.” “Your breasts.” “Your arms.” “Your waist.” “Your chest.” “You’re mine.” “Nya?” I kissed Aisha passionately and dragged her onto the floor. “Ozz. Keep playing with Kida in her room. Whatever you do, don’t let her come downstairs!”

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