Merlin

New character for use on Mushroom Grove. 'Nother kitty this time, eeeee. He's my deepest character on that site, because he's the oldest and been through so much. so yeah. whee. I've just typed out his longass history and description, so I'm going to leave you with that, like *basi does with her MG characters. feel free to skip if you're not interested.

I like Bengals. they pretty. :3

It all started the night that Taj - better known as Samaron's Fly By Night - the pedigree Bengal tom, slipped out of his owner's house and away. Too long being kept cooped up in the house had given Taj a deep desire to explore the streets at night like the other cats did, and after many nights of fruitless attempts he had finally managed to work the window latch open with his claw. While on his expedition, Taj had a chance encounter with Ellie, a little blue and white queen of questionable heritage. Ellie had been born a stray, but lately she had 'adopted' a particular family, visiting them on a regular basis for food, and it was they who had named her. She had never seen a cat quite like this stranger in his magnificent brown-and-gold spotted coat - and, by some twist of fate, she just happened to be in season.

They soon parted ways, of course, and never saw each other again. Taj returned to his home early that morning, his loving mistress none the wiser to his nightly expedition (although she couldn't for the life for her figure out why the window latch was undone and the window ajar when, obviously, Taj had been asleep in his basket all night. However, she left it at that and soon forgot about it). Ellie, on the other hand, came away from that night a changed cat. When she failed to appear at their back door for some time, Ellie's people got quite worried and almost gave her up for lost. But when one chilly morning she turned up right on the doorstep, with a distended belly and mewing pitifully, they understood.

Ellie had her kittens in the warmth and comfort of a home. There were three of them, all carrying the faint patterning of spots and streaks that their father had, and the humans took care of the little family in the weeks to come. Two of the litter, a seemingly inseparable white-and-honey-gold pair, enjoyed tackling, chasing and wrestling each other, bouncing off walls and bothering their mother. The odd cat out, a blue-grey colour with distinct spots, seemed more content to sleep and bumble around by himself. The human family, enchanted by these new additions to their household, named the 'twins' Tease and Heckle, and the blue kitten Merlin. They also took the opportunity to arrange to get Ellie spayed, so she wouldn't get into any more trouble.

It was later on, when the kittens were old enough to leave the house, that disaster struck. On one of their nightly expeditions through the streets, Ellie and the kittens ran into a group of humans, with a large dog on the end of a chain that barked and lunged at them as they passed. To Ellie's horror, the humans laughed a horrible laugh, and released the chain. The cats dashed down the nearest alley at lightning speed, the dog hot on their heels. Tease and Heckle, agile and quick as they had become through play, managed to get through the fence and away, but Merlin lagged behind. His mother turned back for him, attempting to snatch him up in her jaws and run with him, but the dog was upon them, and grabbed for the kitten with a deep growl. His teeth raked Merlin across the back as Ellie flew into the dog's face, hissing and clawing. Hurt and terrified, Merlin crawled into a cardboard box where he lay, shivering. The dog had taken several scratches across the face, but he had managed to get his teeth into Ellie somehow. The queen clung to her enemy with the claws on all four feet, until the pounding of feet was heard and the humans appeared on the scene. One of them shouted, snatched up a metal pipe lying on the ground, and hit Ellie with it until she hung limp and bleeding from the dog's jaws. The last thing Merlin remembered hearing was their horrible laughter as they walked away, and he gazed glassily at the body of his mother.

Merlin never found out what became of Tease and Heckle. He supposed they must have been alright; they had each other. He no longer had anybody at all. For days he wandered alone by himself, not eating, taking shelter wherever he could find it and however shoddy it might be. The cut on his back, as he didn't bother to clean it, grew infected. Eventually someone found him, collapsed and delirious in a hedge, and they took him in. This 'someone' was a dog named Sally, and the old woman she lived with. Both of them together cared for Merlin and nursed him back to health. Though wary and fearful at first, they soon gained his trust, and he grew fond of them and grateful to them. One day, however, they came downstairs to find Merlin's bed empty, and the window open.

Since that time Merlin has wandered from town to town. He has learned by trial and error to catch his own food, and to hide in the shadows and be stealthy. Wherever he goes, he still visits people, and will often hop from house to house. He loves company and meeting new people, and talking and sharing stories and experiences. However, he makes sure he never gets too attached to anywhere or anyone, and after several months living in a certain place he always moves on. This time, Merlin's travels have taken him to the little town of Mushroom Grove...