#cat creatures

for @lunathetunaaa @skeletal-spire-man-aka-overfit and @yourlocalavian

and the last one is meee!!!!

Cat centaur! I am not very good at drawing animals (in my opinion) so I did my best. I am trying to get better! There's a bunch of other art of cat centaurs that's really cool too! Definitely not my idea!

The pirates came ashore again.

They did every year.

Among the early months of harvest fall; Morgan McCrite and his crew of sea thieves descended upon the village to pillage the hard-earned goods that the settlers had spent months preparing; every soul held at bladed mercy as they had to watch their reserves be stripped from them at a time of most need; knowing, without a doubt, that their families, friends and even beloved pets would be going hungry once again...

All to fuel the already growing greed of monsters that only seek to destroy the hopes of all those that stand in their way, but that wasn’t even the worst of it, as Simone was going to find out one day when she was brought back to the village alongside all the other young girls her age after another of those fateful nights, an older woman named Maribeth being the one to guide them.

Her mere presence having become a staple in their small community that the word ‘nanny’ was far too mundane for the great efforts she went through to assure the safety of the young girls amongst the dark bayou..

Men were still picking up the shattered remains of tables and doorways by the time they all arrived back home, women were sitting with gaunt expressions that pierced the red horizon, some with their husband by their sides, while others sat alone or with companions...

“Mother!” Simone called out, spotting her sitting near the waters edge alongside one of her mother’s dear friends who Simone affectionately calls, ‘aunty Eleanor’ due to their closeness.

Both women turned towards her as she came running up to them, past the tattered remains of home as her mother reached out to her, her expression clearly weathered as was Eleanor’s, like neither of them had slept.. that was to be expected due to the extensive damage to their village, Simone had seen it before but now there was something else that wasn’t there all the other times she had seen them after these nights.

Her mothers eyes were sunken and sore, like she had been crying, her smile was forced and eyes started right through here like a shell-shocked solider that only went away in the brief moments when she picked up her daughter, to embrace her as she had the night before Simone had set out with Maribeth and the other girls.

Though, despite her daughters pressing questions, Margarette made no effort to answer them. She simply brushed a few strands of hair away from her daughters face and hushed her, “There’s no need to fear, dear. Everything is okay now.”

How crude of a lie that was... but how could she ever bring herself to tell her daughter such a disgusting truth?

Tell her daughter how she, Eleanor and the other women that all sat with glassy eyes and shattered souls were hand-picked by the crew of McCrite and forced to walk the stairs of the Maelstron...

She could still hear his voice now, “I’ve had a change of heart! I wish to let you all live as well as keep part of your harvest.” His voice loud and clear despite his whisky-ridden rasp, “But obviously, it will come with a price.”

“What more could you want from us!?” cried out one of the men of the village, “We have nothing else to offer but our harvest, is that not enough!?”

McCrite paused before lifting his cutlass towards the woman that held the man’s hands, “That’s your wife, isn't it?” the pirate grinned, “I'm sure one night with her, and all these beauties here could be enough to leave you alone for a year.”

“You sick devils.” the man advanced forward, but the flat end of a steely blade prevented him from going further, he steps back as to not see it behead him, and he, along with every other man and boy could only watch as one by one each woman accepted to deliver their naked bodies to the evil pirates that were threatening their life and their family.

Every year after that, they returned, and every year the women walked the Maelstron stairs to quench the carnal thirst of those sea thieves.

It’s moments like this that made Margarette glad she didn’t have a spouse of her own anymore, to see what she’d been forced to become... because she knew she would never have been able to look him in the eyes again after those nights in hell.

For Eleanor though? That doesn’t apply.

There was nothing she wouldn’t give to have her husband at her side, to support her as he always had. There was severe doubt that she would ever love another man the way she loved Alexander; and her dream of having a child?

Would be carried out in the way that she could have never foreseen when she was younger woman, she never could have guessed, in a million years, that this would be how she brings new life into this world...

She took a shaken breath and turned towards her friend, “Margarette.” she said to her, trying not to choke on her own words from the weight they possessed, “I'm expecting a baby.”

It took a moment for Margarette to properly digest the information given, and then a thought crosses my mind, “It’s not-” but she could barely finish the sentence, she cleared her throat, “Who... who had chosen you the last time?”

Eleanor turned to her, “Morgan McCrite.”

Silence followed.

Margarette turned to look into the fire, watching the embers rise before floating away, “You know, you don’t have to keep it.” she gritted her teeth, “You’re not the first person to be put in this position, Augustine knows a pepper and coffee tea that could-”

Eleanor shook her head, as if the thought had physically pained her, “No.” she interrupted, “I can’t do it, Margarette. I just can’t.”

Margarette frowned, “What future will this child have here?” and lay her hand atop Eleanor’s belly, “My the Cat protect it, If it is a girl. Do you want her to suffer as we suffer?”

Eleanor bowed her head, before raising it again, a newfound fire in her heart, “I'll find a way to protect it, whatever it takes.” she uttered, “Regardless of how it goes, I'll keep this baby.”

Margarette sighed and moved to lay a hand on her arm, “If that's what you want I promise I will help you.”

Eleanor's decision began to have its first consequences after the fifth month of pregnancy. She was increasingly weak and the pain had hindered her to the point of immobility.

There was nothing the settlers could do, except use some medicinal plants growing on the island and offer what support they could, though, it seemed that none had the desired effect. All Margarette could do to help was to ask, pray, for God Kfir to spare her and her child.

Sadly, Eleanor passed away on the birth day of her baby, but, she lived long enough to admire the face of her baby girl as well as to remind Margarette of her promise to her dearly departing friend as she passed the infant to her, “Please, take care of my Lena...” Eleanor pleaded, watching briefly as Margarette cradled her daughter like she wished she could’ve, and with that she managed one last smile before she closed her eyes as she fell into an eternal sleep.

...

It was only then, when Margarette sat at one of the lonesome tables below the clouded sky, did she realize that she could no longer keep these secrets from Simone any longer, the pain she had experienced, the pain that all of their family and friends had experienced, as she watched with a heavy heart as her daughter approach her and ask, “Mother, where’s aunty Eleanor?”

“Sleeping, darling.” she replied, a tear rolling down her face, “But she isn’t going to wake up again, I’m afraid, my dear.”

Margarette could feel her daughters face fall with the weight of her words and reached down to fumble with the Kfir necklace that hung around her neck, before she lifted it over her head and held it out for her to take, “Simone.” she started, “One day, you will experience a tragedy that will scar you like no other, and when that days comes, he will guide you.”

Simone took the necklace from her mothers hand, holding the jade figure with cupped palms before her mother reached towards her with her free hand, “Both of you.” she finished, cradling both of her baby’s close, crying out from within for the God Kfir to protect them, watch over them...

However, Simone found that she could not get down, and was in need of help. Lena thought the whole situation was funny at first, but that quickly came to a stop when Simone lost her footing and fell.

I hope these are okay

pleas

axolol