Billie the Catling

Billie Softwise lay resting in the lower branches of a tree overlooking her family home, Flairflax, it was warm enough that she was only wearing shorts and a light vest. Her short fur, with patches of white among the predominate black, kept her warm enough. As she lounged on the branch she let her fingers trace around her young athletic body. Although she had started cycling several months ago her stomach was still flat. She traced circles around her six nipples, knowing that once she was bred her breasts would grow, changing the shape of her body. It would be worth the change to have children though.

Billie listened to the approach of her younger sister through the undergrowth below. The tight-knit community of Flairflax had always seemed safe and secure to Billie, considering the surrounding forests. The high walls surrounding the town had kept out most of the dangers of the world, and there were even a few electric lights in the meeting halls and manufacturies.

There was no way to keep out all of the dangers, though, as evidenced by the loss of her birthmates several years earlier. A plague had taken them, but they could just as easily have been killed by any number of other dangers. Even the tree that Billie was presently resting in could prove fatal in the autumn, once its' seeds were ready to fly away.

Billie's younger brother and sisters, like small Tabitha below, would remain behind with her mother and the rest of the elders of the Black Softwise clan while Billie went out to see the world. Tabbi was doing a fairly good job of circling around to the back side of the tree, and if Billie had been sleeping she might have missed the small sounds the younger Catling made. But Billie had spent many nights in the forests and mountains surrounding Flairflax, and she would not have survived if she wasn't constantly on her guard.

Although Billie had never been more than a days travel from home, she had a good feel for the world at large around her. Several days travel to the south and east is John's Town, one of the largest communities in the local area. John's Town is also the home of a school of ancient knowledge, although few from FlairFlax have ever traveled there.

Billie allows her chin to drop down so that it appears that she has fallen asleep. She then resists the urge to smile as she hears a giggle from her approaching sister. Tabbi will have time to get better about stalking before she begins hunting alone in the forest.

Nearer, but to the west, are Miltown and Georgie, two small communities of "Seekers", people dedicated to living off the land without the assistance of the technology that many say created the dangers that now plague the land. None of the Black Softwise clan, nor the other members of Flairflax, have ever understood the logic of that philosophy. Certainly some of the tools and weapons of the ancients are dangerous, but that is exactly what makes them so valuable and useful as defensive weapons against the dangers of the forests.

As Tabbi moves around behind the tree, Billie begins to move as well. She silently climbs down the tree using the claws on her fingers and toes to grip it, carefully keeping the tree between herself and her sister.

To the north and east is Fairfield Valley, perhaps even larger than John's Town, but like the Seeker communities also mostly devoid of the technology of the ancients. In the case of Fairfield, though, rumor has it that it is not really their choice. Most advanced technology just rots away shortly after entering the valley. They say that the inhabitants of the valley can control this behavior, but none here know for certain. A day or so beyond Fairfield Valley lies Lake Champaign, a huge body of water that takes most of a day to walk across, once the ice forms in the winter.

Billie circles around her favorite tree as her sister begins to climb, fairly noiselessly, up the back side. As Tabbi reaches the level where she believes Billie is resting, Billie springs into action, streaking across the ground and springing high into the tree.

"Tag! I got you!", Billie laughs out loud.

Tabbi reacts to the touch by jumping away from the tree, and extending her claws toward her attacker, "Hiss!!! What! Mousekrats. I can never sneak up on you." Billie helps to haul her younger sister back into the tree and begins to help groom the sticks and leaves from her still-on-end fur.

"Don't worry, if you want to take my place with Grandma Millie, she is looking for another hunting apprentice. You will learn the ways of the woods very well with her as your teacher! Mom said that you could take my place, if you wanted it."

Tabbi looks sad for a moment, "It's true, then, you are going away? Why can't you stay here with the rest of us? Why do you have to leave?"

"I want to explore beyond the local area. And check for ruins and other villages. And you know I need to leave Flairflax to find a mate." Billie explained to Tabbi.

"I'll miss you, big sister." Tabbi says a bit sadly. "You're sure about this Billie?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, lore about a new place makes great stories to tell our future younglings. And I want new stories even if I'm the one telling them." Billie says with a chuckle.

Tabbi and Billie spend the next hour lounging in the tree, telling stories and making plans. "I want to come back home and tell about it after all. And I should be back in just a few weeks." Billie said to Tabbi.

Billie walked Tabbi home and went on to her meeting with the village elders. The meeting was in the home of her grandmother Samantha, the ranking elder of the Softwise clan, although the other elders were also in attendance.

All the women in the room knew each other well, it always amazed Billie how well the various elders got along. Aunt Regina represented the various human families in the village, while the mutant families were represented by Aunt Jolene and Aunt Juliet. Only because Billie knew them, and their families, did Billie know how dangerous the two women actually were.

Aunt Juliet was from one of the psychic families, although that might also have been given away by the rough look of her hardened skin. Aunt Jolene was from one of the complicated families. The males of her family were huge monstrous brutes, taking the lack of intelligence normally seen in males to an extreme, while the females were naturally intelligent. The only redeeming feature of the males was their undying loyalty to the females of their families, and the fact that they could move heavy weights. That and the fact that their females had proven unable to produce children with any but their monstrous counterparts gave only these males a permanent place in the Flairflax community.

The various families of mutant animals were represented by Grandmother Samantha of the Softwise clan, and Aunt Lauren of the Graysting clan. Grandmother Samantha looked like the rest of the Softwise clan, with short black fur covering her entire body. Her feline ancestry was immediately obvious, as was her age, as a limited amount a gray fur showed around her muzzle. Aunt Lauren was also of feline descent, but a different bloodline. Her tail moved much more actively than Samantha and Billie's though, and the tip held a poisonous stinger that could just be seen peaking from beneath the fur on its' end.

"So, grandchild, you have decided it is time to go out on your own, to gather stories and hopefully bring back new seed?", asked Grandmother Samantha pleasantly.

Billie smiled at the comment. Her decision had been know to the elders for some time, and she had discussed her plans with many of the older women who had traveled the outside world over the years. The elders did not want one of their young going off alone, but they respected her decision to do so. "Yes, Grandmother. As you well know my plans are complete, I will leave tomorrow morning."

"Indeed. We have much to discuss, join us now." Grandmother motioned to a cushion, and Billie sat down. Billie was surprised, this was the first time since she was a child that she had been allowed to sit in front of the elders. Being able to sit was a sign of her growing independence and adult status, and Billie was pleased.

Billie spent the rest of the day discussing the outside world with her elders, and learned much that she had only guessed at previously.

"I'm going to Lake Champaign Valley, Grandmother, to explore as you know. What can you and the others tell me of the dangers on the way there?" Billie says respectfully.

Grandmother Samantha became very serious as she began speaking, "Grandmother Millie has taught you much more about the dangers of the wild parts of the outside world than I will ever know, of that I am certain. But she has not interacted with men nearly as much as the other elders and I have dealt with them. By far the most danger you will ever face will be when you enter communities controlled by others. Oh, certainly, on an individual basis men can be... interesting. But in groups they are not to be trusted. They make treaties and break them. If you make plans that depend on men you are doomed to fail, they will betray you for whatever petty reason they choose. They are the greatest danger you will ever face."

The other elders nod in agreement and shake their heads in regret. You know all of them have been hurt by men, even Aunt Jolene whose menfolk aren't really smart enough to plan to betray anyone.

Aunt Lauren Graysting looked to Grandmother Samantha for permission to speak. "My ancestors came from the plains on this side of the lake, and we still have cousins there, I am certain. I have never been there myself, of course. It is much to dangerous to travel away from our home." Considering how dangerous Aunt Lauren's sting could be, her fear of the outside world was difficult to accept.

"Do you know why everyone avoids most of the valley, Aunt Lauren?" Billie says respectfully.

"Not specifically, of course," replied aunt Lauren, "but I do know why my ancestors came up here into the mountains. It is safer here. It is harder for marauders to find us, and we live in a much more defensible location. There are large flatlands between our mountains and the lake, and it is easy for marauders to move around. Even Lake Champaign is dangerous because it is easy to cross, especially in snow-time, and so marauders have a much easier time. It is safer here, so we don't go there."

Grandmother says, "As for your plans to bring back new seed, there are things to consider. Your best chance is with a male of feline descent, of course. When choosing, though, try to avoid someone like us, or the Graystings. Since you are looking for new blood someone different would be better." Aunt Lauren nods in agreement.

"We don't know why it works, but humans can also spark children, so if you are desperate feel free to try some of them." The human aunts all nod in agreement.

"There has never been a successful breeding with any canine descendants, so if you meet any of them they probably aren't worth your time." Grandmother finished.

Aunt Lauren cuts in, "However, if you find yourself in heat, and there are only canines around it might be worth your effort to let two or three of them catch you. You will find that having them hold you down to take turns will help the heat to pass." Several of the aunts laugh, and you are surprised to see the skin around Grandmother Samantha's eyes get tight, and a little red. Had Grandmother let herself get caught in her younger years?

As Billie leaves the next morning, another traveler joins her. It is Katesh, the mailcarrier. The weathered woman has been traveling through Flairflax, and through the surrounding communities, for the past five years.

"Good Morn, Billie. When I arrived last night Grandmother Samantha told me that you would be starting toward Fairfield Valley this morning. I hope you don't mind if I travel with you for at least part of the way." Katesh appears to be a normal middle aged human woman, although she is strikingly fit. She is carrying a fairly large backpack, and several pouches around her belt. Her only visible weapons are a small belt knife and her walking staff, although you know that she has at least one other knife hidden in her right boot.

"It is an honor to travel with you Katesh." Billie does not change her long loping steps, and Katesh falls easily in stride with her.

"I've traveled this route many times, but would you care to lead, or follow? Grandmother Samantha suggested that I travel with you as an advisor on this trip. I would like to have you take the lead, and I will only assist if you ask."

"Come with me Katesh, I have much to learn about the world."