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Sitting Duck.
The young cat didn't know where he was, nor could he see out of the sudden, and he long since forgot the smell of anything, so that wasn't a help either.
He tried squirming around, but blind and with no feeling for anything whatsoever, it was a hard job figuring out what was happening.
Duck, was, like the saying always said, a sitting duck, waiting to be robbed of its life.
And, then, suddenly, out of nowhere, to his surprise, things touched him, soft, warm, but itchy, skinny things, holding him down, touching him, picking him up and forcing his chest back on the cold surface.
Pain errupted between his hissing and yelling to be let go off, and he fought against the things, many at a time, too many to count but not enough to fully enclose the wild cat.
Duck screamed and thrashed, the pain grew rabidly. Fear for life or death, his own will to survive in this Katz forsaken world, he needed to escape!
He blinked open his eyes, suddenly his vision turning on, after he felt the things ripping on his head, and what he saw, he wished he never would have seen.
The things that touched and bruised his body, that held him down against his threshing and hissing, were humans.
Those... things, so unlike any animal, so unlike cats, dare to do this to him... after everything they have done already?
But he was powerless against humans, that he knew, and the pain grew even faster, and faster, and faster, and soon he was in so much pain that he couldn't fight anymore, couldn't try and save his own life anymore.
The last thing he felt was that the things put something over his mouth, biting into his lips, riping into the flesh, dampening and pressing against his whiskers, taking the last bit of sensors away from him.
He hated humans, and will never stop, they desverve every single bad thing or inconvince that happened to them.
Die. Just die, you humans, Duck couldn't help himself but to wish.
ˆoˆ
Duck hates his life.
He hates sitting here, like a sitting duck, waiting to be murdered, eaten, ripped apart.
The muzzle, he came to name the thing on his mouth, he hated that even more. But the thing, the things, he hated the most, dispised for everything they stood for, for everything they are, the humans.
Katz should have killed their god when Katz had the chance. Too late now anyways.
Duck stared through the cage that they put him in, stared and didn't stop, didn't even eat that disgusting stuff that they put in his cage, didn't drink that disgusting and unreal water that they put next to it.
He would gladly starve himself till Katz may take his soul and away from this cursed world.
He would wait.
He would wait for his opportunity, he was not going to be the sitting duck this time, this time he was going to be the murderer, the predator.
His green eyes stared and waited, and wouldn't stop.
Duck hates the sitting duck.
8}
His chance finally came, the door opened, the cage was open, and flung himself through the exit, running and running, until no evil hearted human could follow him, he found the way, faster then he ever had been, he ran and outside he was.
His breathing itched, but the air was clean, for the first time, finally! He was free form these humans.
He ran further down the narrow ways of the human place that he was captured in, tasting the freedom.
Duck slid down one of the trash containers that he jumped on top on, just because he could. With an soft thud he landed down on the stone, dark and moldy on every edge, he liked this.
Away from everything that these humans stood for, away from everything that these things did.
Dirt and grime, mold and leaks and everything unpure, unsteril. Everything that he stood for, everything that his god, Katz, stood for.
Exhausted from the run, the brown cat fell next to the wall of an huge building, curling in on himself, being disturbed by the ache in mouth, the ripping of his lips, the throbbing in his head.
He slept, and a nightmare visited his mind.
"NOO!!!!", Duck screamed! Not again, not again, this couldn't happen, they slamed against his head, they cut his fur in two, and three, and into shreds.
Naked and vulnerbal, to be eaten, stuffed with seasoning, into the heat, eaten, and cut and ripped.
They ate the sitting duck.
He jumped up, shaking and trembling from the nightmare, he ran and away from the spot that let him stay the night.
:ß
The sun shone bright above his head, its ray of warmth making the cat be cozy while he walked around the place.
The muzzle on his mouth was still there, but he came to understand how it worked. The thing had an larger opening just right where is mouth was so he still could decently drink if the puddle was deep enough.
He tried scratching and biting the thing off, but it didn't help any. Maybe he will just always have it on.
Good thoughts, Duck reminded himself, good thoughts.
He walked around, his head empty of ideas of where to go next. He didn't know where he was, the humans napped him from his home, but he didn't recognize this place at all.
The insects of this place were many, he noticed soon, ants and other things were swirling around everywhere. Alone from that, it was clear that the humans didn't care about this place. He wondered why.
The streets seemed fine, the roads black and tidy, the walkways just as usual, some of the weird white smoke things laying everywhere and trees standing here and there. It was normal, but the insects told otherwise.
A passerby threw an bottle after him, he jumped up and ran.
He was just looking around, why did they had to throw stuff after him, just why? Glass shattered loudly and he continued to run down the streets, following the walkways and streets.
Maybe he should just finally leave the humans for good, maybe he shouldn't keep dreaming. His humans were dead.
One last bottle shattered and splintered down and he jelped again, his hind leg errupting in pain as the shards flew straigth in his meat.
This time he cried and run and run even faster, he feared for his life. His humans were dead, and now they all hated him, he was the sitting duck after all, the one they could blame, the one they could eat and kill and rip appart.
He flew down some stairs that led to an river, a green grassy area was all around it and also no forsaken humans. He felt the blood dripping from his wounds as he desperatly searched for somewhere safe, just where ever he could find resque and be left alone from those things.
Duck walked, stumbled, trotted, limped and closely crawled along the riverside, he left the city, found more fields, and then also an forest appeared. The follower thanked his god as he finally found an good spot to rest.
He sleeped no better.
[ˆoˆ]
The insects were no less when he finally found the time to notice his surroundings. His leg was still limping and ached with every step, but Duck couldn't stop or the humans would find him and eat him, kill him.
He had put some leavs on the wounds that he could reach and had the fastened with some cobwebs Katz allowed him to find.
The muzzle didn't allowed him to kill his prey with an bite. Wow, he thought, just wow, thanks humans. The mice squirmed in his grip, he sliced the tiny thing open with his damp claws. Picking it wasn't an option, nor was eating it normally.
Duck sat by the small dead thing, his mind going hayware with hunger and the sudden realisation that he couldn't eat. Not because he didn't had food, but because of the muzzle.
His mind became numb, searching for an way out by not even trying.
...
...
...
Ducks body moved slowly, he cut a thin stripe off the mice and shoved his paw with the meat on it into his mouth, his teeth searching for the bit of food. He chewed, he ate, he cut off an bigger piece, repeated and ate. It was un-real, not meant to be, eating like an human would, taking bits and pieces and forcing it down the throat.
Duck nearly just vomitted out the mice again by the thought, but kept it in. He moved again, his leg aching and hurting and throwing him off, but the humans would find him, he couldn't let it happen.
The forest that the brown tom found only reached further and further, never ending. The trees grew taller and thicker the more Duck followed the river. Birds hummed and chirped in the tops, squirrels hushed over the tree branches and mice squirmed over leafs and roots, the forest was alive.
Duck noticed the insects again, many crawling on the ground and more swirling around in the air. He was confused at them, but chose not to question the creatures.
It was an nice forest.
His leg ached.
:X
Aslo, Ducks brother, he was pierced by the humans, impaled and ripped to shreds, it wasn't worth it. It never was worth it, was it? Fighting to live, just to be murdered again, and again, and again. To be ripped and shredded, eaten and again, and again, and again. Aslo didn't deserve it, neither did anyone else.
Duck missed his brother dearly, it had been too long, ages, years and months, again and again, Aslo died and the nightmare never vanished. Duck watched how his brother was murdered, killed and pierced and impaled by the humans that took care of them at that time.
He wished he didn't.
He prayed to Katz to erase the memory, the pictures, but even his god couldn't make work that wonder. Every time Duck started to think about his dead brother, he wished he didn't, the images never wandered away, never seemed to fade, always still fresh, always still wanting to kill him.
There was a dead body in front of Duck.
He had walked further along the river, more insects appearing, a smell hitting his nose, just like when Aslo died.
It was an dark brown tom. Rats were nibbing on his corpse, a crow squaking for the rodents to leave so they could take their own bite.
Duck was vomitting. The brown cat couldn't handle whatever that was, finding a dead cat was not what he had wanted to do. He ran, Duck ran, finally after standing there for way too long, for the rodents to notice him, for the crow to fly near him, for Aslos image to haunt one more time.
The muzzle felt heavy.
He ran, the river finally in sight and the cat sprinted along the side, following its trail left behind.
He missed his brother.
\=o=/
Duck still followed the river, still ate with his paws, still was thinking about everything he didn't want to think about when he noticed something interesting. He found a moor. The forest had thinned out long ago, and grassy fields were replacing the spare trees. But Duck had never seen an actual moor.
Well, he also smelled cats, and humans not too far off. He didn't liked it, but he was done with his walking, he was tired and the leg was still not healed up. Maybe he could finally find peace with these cats, live his life till Katz takes it.
The muzzled cat made his way still along the river, carefull of anyone that might be against his presens. Soon he saw it, loud and blaring, but still so beautifull, there was an waterfall that the river flowed into. Mesmerised by the beauty, he found the way down the cliffside and jumped on some rocks to watch the breathtaking view from beneath.
If that single view was the reason why he was alive, he would gladly die for it, for the power it gave, for the greatness it was, for the life it held. Colours danced on the falling water, the sun shone bright in it, causing all those colours to exsist, to see the world out of tainted glass. He stared at this sight, so long until footsteps were to be heard behind him, he may have had forgotten the cats that lived in this place.
"What are you doing here?", a brash voice asked, slightly drowned by the thunderous bash of the waterfall.
"Just being mesmereized by this sight.", Duck answered and turned around, his green eyes meeting a dark, nearly black, brown.
"Well, you are on RiverClan territory- ", the black cats eyes just wandered down to Ducks mouth, seeing the muzzle tucking and ripping into the intruders fleash, -"oh dear StarClan, what is that?"
"A muzzle, the humans put it on me.", Duck answered honestly, there was no reason to lie about it, but Katz, he was nervous talking with other cats.
"Humans? Do you mean the Twolegs, those things on well, two legs?", the cat in front of Duck asked, and made the brown tom realise that these others didn't use the same words as him. Well, he could explain what he meant after all, they seemed smart enough to understand what he meant with human.
"These things, yes. Cruel and forsaken.", Duck nodded. The black cats ear twitched, it must be surreal to see this thing on an actual cat, Duck mused about how strange he well was, or forced to be.
"Well, you seem like not an danger to us. I don't make this lightly, but would like rest and stay in RiverClan for a while, your leg does not seem like it would hold you much longer.", the "Clan" cat offered. Duck was actually surprised by the offer, he had never met anyone that freely gave away hospitality to such weird and strange cats as him.
"I would take that offer, my leg indeed does not feel well.", Duck answered, his head bowed down to show his gratitute.
And with that Voidstar, he would soon learn, gave Duck an actual place in RiverClan, the cats treated him fairly indifferent, like he wasn't really there and another mouth to feed, but it soon changed.
Voidstar never really asked him to leave, and before Duck could even realise the other cats were including him in conversation, talking to him and offering food.
They also asked if they could try to remove the muzzle, but it just never worked, they bound was too tight and they never got the right position. They just soon accepted his fate like how he had done that long ago.
Duck felt at home, for the first time since Aslo died.
Voidstar though was the most trustworthy of the Clan cats Duck found, and they were best friend, and Duck had to admit to himself, he was laughing along when the black offered to make him an real warrior.
Duck was now Duckbeak, in "honour" of the muzzle, they joked and laughed, and Duck.. no Duckbeak couldn't say he disagreed.
The other Clans, way too many cats for his liking, just decided to accept him as oen of their own, it was peace after all, and Duckbeak was not doing anything wrong.
He also learned about "StarClan", their god-like figure and thing they belived in. Duckbeak called scam, Katz was the true one, nobody really cared though.
They all laughed and joked.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
But peace couldn't last forever, nightmares, many and more cruesome than before hunted Duckbeak.
"Duckbeak, you alright?", Voidstar asked in sole den where his good friend lived, too scarce to be with others.
The brown tom was shaking and trembling, his eyes blown wide in fear. the illusion came in, the humans grabbed his skin and fur, and he thrashed and clawed, and Voidstar was choking on the ground.
What?
Had the sitting duck finally defended itself?
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.
Voidstar.
Not the humans, it was Voidstar.
The duck defended against the wrong thing, the wrong of its own.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.
What was wrong with him?
Blood pooled out of the leaders neck, there where Duckbeak had cut him, thinking it was an human that grabbed him, an human that would eat him, an human.
An human, not his best friend.
He ran, he fleed, he wasn't an sitting duck anymore, but he was traitor, a traitor of its own.
He would later on die due to humans, useless roadkill, useless duck.