A Little Opera Goes A Long Way

. . .

Now she had to ask herself, What had she expected? She hadn't thought too far into the future - to guess at it only meant more disappointment when it didn't come true. For all the girl knew, her one find of another cat would be a broken down old elder, or a spiteful female who wanted nothing to do with her. But this... A handsome male, who was royalty among a noble breed? Well, it was easy to see why she believed it to be fantasy. But it wasn't any such thing. He proved it with by shifting forward to rub his head neath her own. From the first touch, Silverback felt the stray snowflakes on her fur melt away. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch, gentle nudging him as he ran his neck and then his shoulders by her. And best of all he stopped. He didn't pull away from her, he let her remain basking in his body heat, lulled by the cavernous reverberations of his purring. It was so natural, so real. The only word that the she-cat's mind could conjure to explain it was "home".

She heard his question perfectly. Pressed as she was - with her fluffy chest against his ribcage, the words seemed to echo through her. She returned a purr in answer. "Good enough to be one," she murmured, still leaning into him, eyes closed - totally trusting of this one so like her. It was real. And as for what happened, now that that was settled, the girl had a few ideas. "Spotted Prince, if I am a queen, it is not because of followers or heralded pedigree, or the agreement of others - it is merely because of the prowess I was created with and the fact that one such as I exists. If that is enough, will you let me show you around this little corner of my kingdom?" Silverback was aware of how things were supposed to work among cats. A female would claim a goodly size of land which she wandered in, and a male would choose several female territories and a little of his own which he called his. Her paws took her whereever the winds the picked, but she perfectly willing to bend those winds towards the male's will. At least for now.