Despair
It was on a cold, snowy January evening when Faelis, a small brown house cat, made a decision that would soon turn her life completely upside down. Her tomcat, Flint, had recently become obsessed with this purple fox who had recently settled in the area and whom he had already met twice after a few appraising glances. “He has a really unusual fox den, I’ve never seen anything like it!” he mewed enthusiastically at dinner that evening—fish sandwiches with homemade remoulade—“And he’s so cuddly and totally relaxed,” he continued to gush as she hastily chewed her fish sandwich. “I’m glad you got to meet someone nice,” she replied, rather unemotionally. She hadn’t seen her cat so enthusiastic in a long time. The otherwise rather grumpy and melancholic black house cat was practically beaming with joy. “There must be more to it than just cuddling and an extravagant hideaway, otherwise he wouldn’t be so excited…” she thought, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. Her interest was piqued, her curiosity piqued, and she hoped for a pleasant acquaintance with certain perks, to offer some distraction from her problems and worries, of which there were quite a few. For some time now, she had felt somewhat neglected by her beloved cat, with whom she had shared her life for six years. She felt unattractive and no longer appreciated, even though she was perfectly healthy, slim, and the most enduring runner in the area, and at eight years old, she had just reached the prime of her life. But no matter what she did or how hard she tried, it never seemed to be enough for her cat. He always found something to grumble and complain about. And lately, he hadn’t been covering her nearly enough. “It’s boring, always the same thing,” he’d told her, but although it made her incredibly sad, she said nothing. Arguing with him was usually pointless, so she preferred to swallow her frustration. Then this young purple fox he raved about came along at just the right time. That night, when Flint was already deep in his snores, she crept out of the cat cave on her soft paws to search for this very fox. She didn’t like not telling him anything, but she could already imagine his reaction. “Do you always have to meet up with every acquaintance I have?” he’d said in a similar situation the last time, and had argued with her for hours—to no avail. She crossed the large clearing in front of her cave and headed straight for the opposite woods, where the young purple fox was supposedly to be found. She looked for a trace of the fox—a scent would be ideal.For her sense of smell was keen and well-trained. Some time later, just as she caught the faintest hint of a scent, a violent storm suddenly broke out, and it began to snow heavily – a blizzard was brewing. She decided to abandon her search and head home, as the storm was intensifying with each passing second and she had already covered a considerable distance. She began to look for the path she had come on, a feeling of unease creeping over her. For nothing looked as it had before; everything was shrouded in an ever-strengthening, unstoppable blizzard. She was bitterly cold, her long, silky-smooth fur was now completely soaked, and she had absolutely no idea where she had come from. Nothing but white snow as far as the eye could see. She huddled herself into a ball under a rocky overhang; the storm was somewhat weaker here, but she was still freezing, utterly famished and exhausted from all the walking, and was slowly losing all hope. “So this is the end? Pfft! Miserable, downright pathetic, and a complete disappointment, so it fits perfectly. Even at the end, life is playing its sadistic games with me. Apparently, I deserve no better…” she sobbed softly to herself when it suddenly began to get warmer, warmer and somehow…fluffy?! Extremely fluffy! She couldn’t see far because of the blizzard, but she recognized a purple shimmer in the chaotic snow. “Hey, you poor little thing, what are you doing out here all alone in such unpleasant weather? And you’re shivering and completely soaked! Let me warm you up a bit,” called a gentle voice as a pleasantly warm, purple tail wrapped itself around her. “That must be the fox! But it’s too late… my end is near…” she thought. Her strength waned as she caught sight of the purple fox’s worried gaze. “Help me… Please, I beg you, save me – I can…” she stammered with her last bit of strength before she lost consciousness.She was completely starved and exhausted from all the walking and was slowly losing all hope. “So this is the end? Pfft! Pathetic, downright miserable, and a complete disappointment, so it fits perfectly. Even at the end, life is playing its sadistic games with me. Apparently, I deserve no better…” she sobbed softly to herself when it suddenly started to get warmer, warmer and somehow…fluffy?! Extremely fluffy! She couldn’t see far because of the blizzard, but she recognized a purple shimmer in the chaotic snow. “Hey, you poor little thing, what are you doing out here all alone in such unpleasant weather? And you’re shivering and completely soaked! Let me warm you up a bit,” called a gentle voice as a pleasantly warm, purple tail wrapped itself around her. “That must be the fox! But it’s too late… my end is near…” she thought. Her strength waned as she caught sight of the purple fox’s worried gaze. “Help me… Please, I beg you, save me – I can…” she stammered with her last bit of strength before losing consciousness.She was completely starved and exhausted from all the walking and was slowly losing all hope. “So this is the end? Pfft! Pathetic, downright miserable, and a complete disappointment, so it fits perfectly. Even at the end, life is playing its sadistic games with me. Apparently, I deserve no better…” she sobbed softly to herself when it suddenly started to get warmer, warmer and somehow…fluffy?! Extremely fluffy! She couldn’t see far because of the blizzard, but she recognized a purple shimmer in the chaotic snow. “Hey, you poor little thing, what are you doing out here all alone in such unpleasant weather? And you’re shivering and completely soaked! Let me warm you up a bit,” called a gentle voice as a pleasantly warm, purple tail wrapped itself around her. “That must be the fox! But it’s too late… my end is near…” she thought. Her strength waned as she caught sight of the purple fox’s worried gaze. “Help me… Please, I beg you, save me – I can…” she stammered with her last bit of strength before losing consciousness.
Awakening
A soft rustling sound was the first thing Faelis heard as she slowly came to. She was no longer bitterly cold and soaking wet; no, she was comfortably warm, dry, and what was this… it felt fluffy?! She slowly opened her eyes and tried to get her bearings. Not far from her, a campfire blazed, the ground was covered with a layer of leaves, and somehow the ceiling and walls seemed to shimmer with vibrant colors – it all seemed so surreal, a complete contrast to her last memories. Then a noticeably relieved, squeaky, and somehow familiar voice called out, “Hey, you’re finally awake! You were terribly cold, and I wasn’t sure if—oh, never mind, you’re alive and awake! That’s the most important thing! Oh, I haven’t even introduced myself yet: I’m Lucy Purple, a purple fox, and you’re here in my den. Will you tell me your name, you poor, sweet kitten? And why were you wandering all alone through the deepest forest in this weather? That could have ended very badly; it’s a good thing I found you in time!” Her vision slowly became clearer and sharper, and she finally recognized what was so fluffy. The purple fox had wrapped his bushy tail around her. “Am I dreaming? Am I dead? Is this the sky?” flashed through her mind as she—her eyesight almost back to normal—looked into Lucy’s worried face. “II-I’m Faelis… a house cat and… I was looking for something… someone… when the blizzard suddenly took me completely by surprise. I must have been so focused on searching that I didn’t notice the signs and apparently got completely lost. With this snow, my already poor sense of direction is completely useless. One of my many wonderful skills…” she sobbed softly before bursting into tears, utterly distraught. Lucy stood up briefly, turned slightly from side to side, and then snuggled close to Faelis. “Hey, it’s okay, you’re here now and can stay as long as you want. You’re probably still a little disoriented and confused, after all, you were unconscious for almost six hours. But I think you were lucky and won’t suffer any lasting damage,” Lucy said and began gently stroking Faelis’s right front leg with her paw to comfort her. “This must be a dream… this can’t be real… this feels so good… I feel comfortable and safe, and this fox seems to have been genuinely concerned about me. Me, the useless and ugly kitten that nobody likes… Could it be…? No, never, impossible…” she thought as she felt more and more secure and drifted off to sleep, snuggled up in soft, lilac fur.
Getting to Know Each Other
She was already feeling much better when she awoke the next day – still snuggled up and wrapped in purple fluff – in fact, she was feeling fantastic. She was happy and content, but felt the urge to move that awakens her every morning. She slowly got up so as not to wake Lucy, who was still fast asleep. She stood in front of Lucy and whispered softly, “Thank you. Thank you for being you, dear fluffy little fox.” Then she quietly slipped out of the fox’s den. The storm had passed, and the first rays of sunshine shone on her nose. She smiled and slowly set off to begin her daily training, which consisted of many kilometers of jogging and some strength training exercises. This was how every morning was for her, no matter how cold or rainy it was; she always found a way to do her training. She simply needed it, and over the years it had made her the most enduring cat far and wide. But she didn’t care about that; her main concern was staying slim, because nothing frightened her more than discovering flabby layers of fat on herself someday. And eating less was out of the question; she loved all those treats far too much—the sweeter the better, the lighter the dough, the better. Faelis truly had a sweet tooth! After finishing her daily workout, she made her way back to the fox’s den. She had to thank the purple fluffball before returning to Flint, who was surely already waiting impatiently for her. At least, that’s what she hoped… Unfortunately, she could never be entirely certain, because his mood was often very changeable, and he could completely lose it over the smallest things. Nevertheless, she loved her tomcat more than anything, even if this love had recently been rather one-sided and not very reciprocated. In particular, she hadn’t been mated by him for quite some time and had been more or less in heat the whole time, which was really getting to her. Finally arriving at the fox’s den, she couldn’t believe her eyes, so surprised was she to find Lucy with breakfast prepared. There were pancakes spread with speculoos cream! “How can that fox be so outrageously cute and sweet? And then pancakes too!! I’m starting to understand why Flint is so enthusiastic,” she wondered. “There you are again! I was sure you’d come back, so I made you some pancakes too. Enjoy!” Lucy called out happily. “Ohhhh, thank you, that’s so sweet of you. I really do love pancakes!” she replied. “Well, no wonder, they’re almost as cute as you!” Lucy responded, a little embarrassed. The two of them munched their pancakes with relish, though Faelis seemed to be wolfing them down, as she was quite famished after the previous evening’s ordeal and her morning’s endurance training. She had already finished by the time Lucy reached her second pancake and took a closer look at the fox. Her eyes practically glittered as she gazed into his gentle face, just as the entire cave around her seemed to shimmer. “Hey? I have a question,” she said, interrupting Lucy as she was eating her third pancake. “Yes, sweetie?” Lucy replied, but when their eyes met, she froze. The air vibrated; there was something special, almost magical, in the way they looked at each other. “Um… why does your cave glitter so brightly? I’ve never seen anything like it before,” stammered the brown house cat, blushing visibly. “Would you like to hear the long or the short version?” Lucy asked, looking at her questioningly. “The long one, if it’s no trouble,” Faelis replied. Lucy took a deep breath and began to explain: “Well, it’s like this: These are homogeneous, anisotropic structures made up of various different molecules, called crystals. Sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, and others. Normally, however, they wouldn’t shine and sparkle like this on their own. That’s because there are particles of radioactive elements within their structure, which are…” From this point on, Faelis found it difficult to continue listening; she was far too distracted by Lucy’s gentle voice and the enthusiasm with which she spoke. Her heart beat faster and faster, and she was lost in the radiance that shone in Lucy’s eyes. She was falling head over heels in love with the bright, purple fox. She longed to cuddle up to Lucy again and feel that indescribable sense of security Lucy had given her the previous night. After a while, she couldn’t stand it any longer; the need to feel Lucy’s closeness was too great, and she rested her head on Lucy’s shoulder. Lucy began to gently stroke and scratch her with her paw, and you could practically feel her relief. Suddenly, all the nervousness and insecurity she had just felt simply vanished. She felt every muscle relax and was simply completely content. The two of them sat there for a while, and time flew by. It wasn’t long before the little kitten fell asleep in Lucy’s paws.