Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #17 August 2015 | Page 5

Still angry at the exchange, T’Furr paced
around in the Safety Portal. It was only a few feet
wide, and had no particular texture. The floor felt
like dull metal, but was actually more like a dense
forcefield. T’Furr remained in the Portal for almost an
hour. While useful, the Portals were not stable, and he
chose to leave before being dumped unceremoniously
on the ground. A short time later, he heard the sound
of a can opening – and he realized that he had become
quite hungry.

his consciousness.
Next, the human began to stroke him under the
chin. Inch by reluctant inch he moved closer to her.
His life’s training told him to run, to flee, not to let
anyone touch him so easily.
But it was too late. The emotions of his small
kitty body overwhelmed him. With a cross look on his
face, he started to purr.

Trotting to the kitchen, T’Furr saw several
bowls of food. He went to one and began to eat. Bobo
hissed at him, trying to take the food for himself.
T’Furr’s kitty brain impulses overloaded his
emotions. He hissed back, raising a paw and
batting it at Bobo. The human came in right then
and saw only T’Furr’s retaliation.

Oh, the indignity.

“Oh! Mean kitty!” she exclaimed.
“You eat over here.” She picked up his dish
and moved it a few feet away. T’Furr walked
to the food, his tail twitching. No one would
order around an adult feline in such an insulting
manner on his homeworld – at least not without
risking a fight. Mrrowl ate a few feet away,
showing his amusement at T’Furr’s situation
with several twitches of his whiskers.
After the meal, T’Furr went back to the
couch and began cleaning himself. Tongue on
paw, then stroke the head. Lick back and sides
as much as possible, clean the rest with the
paws. While he much preferred the warm mist
bath of his homeworld, the local custom was
at least efficient. He hardly noticed when the
human sat beside him.
“Do you want to be a good kitty? Yes
you do!” she said, stroking his fur. T’Furr
reacted with a start. No cat allowed himself to
be touched so casually on his homeworld.
“Who’s a happy kitty? Who’s a happy
kitty!” she said, scratching behind his ear.
Involuntarily, he moved his head toward her
hand. His kitty emotions began to overwhelm

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