Post by anika on Aug 7, 2009 0:13:11 GMT -6
Basics[/u]
Rank: Kittypet
Gender: Tom
Age: 20 moons
Affiliation: Kittypets and farm cats[/ul]
Relations[/u]
Kin:
Mate: None[/ul]
Appearance
Personality
History
Max was the oldest of the litter of four, his parents being Apples and FB. His mother, Apples, lived in a cozy little twoleg nest on a farm while his father, FB, was a passing rogue who stayed at the farm for a time. The twolegs welcomes FB, happy to have another ratter in their barn, but the tom left shortly after the kits were born; they never even met him. Max knew he had two brothers and a sister, but he didn't know them very well, only referring to each other as "Brother" or Sister." They were sent off to different homes as soon as they were weaned, anyways.
For those who wish to know, the fates of Max's siblings are as follows:
Bugsy, one of Max's brothers, was bought by a small family. No one knows how he got the name, but it is rumored that it was because, on his first day at his new home, he was caught eating a bug.
As for Max's sister, she was bought by a wealthy family who admired her long silky fur and plumy tail. She was named Sapphire and became a very, very fat and spoiled cat.
Max's other brother, Duel, was sent off to another barn, but eventually was bought by the owners of the barn near twolegplace where Max now resides.
As for Max, after he was weaned, the twolegs decided to keep him over the other kits of the litter. This was because he shared his mother's black coat, and the twolegs thought that that must mark the sign that he would be a fine hunter like Apples. To further reinforce their hopes, the twolegs named Max Ratbane.
And Ratbane did indeed grow into a great ratter. Apples taught him how, and soon he was as good as his mother. He spent happy moons in that barn, just chatting with is mother or the other cat in the barn, an older tom named Tree. It was a good life there, quiet, safe, and happy.
Only a few moons later, when Ratbane was about ten moons old, Apples bore Tree's kits--three of them, to be exact. The twolegs knew both Apples and Tree were exceptionally good ratters, and were reluctant to give the kits up, for the time being, anywayas. However, the decision of the twolegs cost Ratbane dearly. Only a few days after the kits were weaned, about a moon and a half later, one of the particularly adventurous ones strayed out of the barn to explore. It just so happened that a stray dog, lost and hungry, was nearby. He was snuffling around in hopes of food around the twolegnest when he noticed the kit stumbling blindly along, finding it hard to see after being accustomed to the dim light of the barn. The dog knew it had found an easy meal. Luckily, Ratbane saw the dog, but there was no time to get the others, for they were all asleep in the safety of the barn. Tree had taught him a few basic fighting moves, in case something like this happened, but he had said that he couldn't possibly take on a dog alone, that he should always fetch him or Apples first. But there was no time now; Ratbane had to attack alone of he wanted to save the kit, so he did. The cries of battle awoke the other cats, but only after a while(they must have been deep sleepers, plus, sound is muffled in the barn), and by the time Tree came to help drive away the dog, Ratbane had been injured pretty badly.
The twolegs ran out of their nest just in time to see the dog fleeing, and went to congratulate their brave cats. Their excitement was short-lived however, when they saw the wounded Ratbane. Both grateful for Ratbane's bravery and distraught at his injuries, the twolegs whisked him off to the vet. Ratbane lived through his injuries, taking a few moons to recover. The only thing that kept Ratbane going was the thought that he would soon be back at the barn with Apples, Tree, and the kits, catching rats as he had always done, ending the day with friendly chatter. But a broken front leg failed to heal properly, and Ratbane had a permanent limp. He could never be a ratter again.
The twolegs were sad, but they knew there was no room in their farm for a cat who couldn't be a ratter. They put him up for adoption, but searched carefully for a good home. In the end, they gave him to an elderly couple in a twolegplace not far away, by another barn. The couple renamed Ratbane Max, and gave the cat a new life. The newly named Max forced himself to believe that this new life wouldn't be that bad, that it would be okay in the end, and in the end, life as a twolegplace was okay. His twolegs were kind to him, which might have helped; they understood that he was used to being able to roam about, so they left a window always open enough for him to slip through(the door had no cat flap). However, they generally left him to fend for himself, doing little more for him then providing food and water. But perhaps Max preferred it this way.
Max is happy with his new life, and made friends with the other kittypets in the area, occasionally romping down to the barn with some of the others. He likes his life the way it is now, though he misses living in a barn sometimes. Visiting one will have to be enough for him, though it doesn't seem like he minds too much.[/ul]
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