From: smccoy@dw3g.ess.harris.com (Scott McCoy)
Newsgroups: alt.romance.chat
Subject: CASTLE: Tz'u enters...(long)
Keywords: castle, tzu
Date: 4 Sep 92 22:00:22 GMT
Reply-To: smccoy@dw3g.ess.harris.com (Scott McCoy)
Organization: Harris Corporation Information Systems Division

As the lightning flickered and the storm began to gather strength, a
small figure appeared on a rock on a hill near the castle.  It was a
bedraggled and weary Cat, who looked to the castle and lay down to
rest for a few minutes.

The Cat was a Persian, with grey/silver fur, like the sheen of a well
used sword or armour.  He had the strangest green/grey eyes -- eyes
that appeared wise and kind, but reflected a deep echoing sadness.  The
Cat had travelled a great distance and was exhausted.  He had come
through the forest, avoiding predators and those who would do Evil.

His mind drifted back through the long years, when he had first entered
this world...

	At the top of the forest stands a circle of glorious oak trees,
	ancient beyond knowledge.  The oaks are all tall and straight
	and true, the kind Men like to use for the masts of their
	ships.  But no Man had ever found this place, nor if one did,
	would he even consider harming one of the peaceful giants.  It
	is a quiet magical place, where the sky seems to always be
	blue, and the clouds drift gently past.  There is a sense about
	the place of possibilities and serenity.

	In the center of the stand of trees, in the small grassy
	meadow, a shivering shimmer began to appear.  With a soft wet
	popping noise, a small Cat suddenly dropped into view.  The Cat
	stood very still for a minute, like a statue, then, slowly,
	ever so slowly, he began to look around.

	Gingerly, the Cat sat down, very puzzled.  He looked at
	himself, marvelling at the silverish fur and the compact body.
	He gazed at the meadow and the oaks and at the sky...

	Finally, the Cat gave an enormous sigh and with a sad shake of
	his head, called out:

	"GODDESS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME THIS TIME?!?!?!  GODDESS!
	GODDESS!!  BY ALL THAT IS SACRED: A CAT!?!?"

	A small throat-clearing noise sounded from behind the Cat.  He
	turned, knowing she would appear behind him.  Women!, he
	thought, but wisely kept the thought to himself.

	"You don't like the new body, Tz'u?" said the Goddess.

	"Why a Cat, Goddess?", he said sternly.  "I LIKED being Perin.
	I am...er...was a virtuous Knight, a leader of men, a doer of
	good, a fighter of evil, a lover of women..."

	"Tz'u, do shut up," said the Goddess interrupted gently. "As
	Perin, you had accomplished the task I set for you.  Now, it's
	time for a change.  In this land, you can find friends and
	maybe even love.  The task I set for you here is to find your
	Faith!  As Perin, you had no need for faith: you were too busy
	saving maidens and slaying dragons and such."

	Tz'u absorbed this.  "I suppose a quiet beach, a beautiful
	lady, and a few years off is out of the question?," he
	ventured.

	The Goddess just gave him that *look*.

	Such is the life of a pawn, Tz'u thought to himself,  I am
	really getting too old for this.

	"Very well, Goddess.  I accept the new task.  Tell me, if I am
	to search for my Faith:  what does it look like?"

	"I do not know," said the Goddess.

	"Oh, that's just *bloody* WONDERFUL!  If *I* don't know what it
	looks like, and *you* don't know what it looks like, then how
	will I know when I have found it?!?,"  Tz'u said peevishly.

	"When you find your faith, you will know," the Goddess replied
	with a twinkle.

	"Oh, that's just *grand*!  Zen twaddle from a Goddess!," Tz'u
	huffed.

	"Tz'u," said the Goddess, "be nice.  Head south.  Goodbye."

	"Goodbye, Goddess," Tz'u murmured, as the Goddess faded from
	sight.

	Tz'u sat in the clearing for a few more minutes.  Then, still
	shaking his head, he trotted off into the trees, heading
	south...

Coming out of his reverie, and giving a tired toss of his head to clear
some rain from his brow, Tz'u silently trotted down the slope to the
castle.  He quickly worked his way into the castle, avoiding the guards
and servants.  He noticed signs of a great battle, but he was too
exhausted to be curious.

The Cat came upon Brianna and cleared his throat.  Brianna looked up,
startled.

"Greetings, gentle lady", said Tz'u, sitting back on his haunches and
giving a sweeping little bow.  A small puddle began to form around him
as the rain dripped from his fur.  He repressed an urge to shake the
water off.

Brianna eyes widened at the sound of his voice.  Another talking Cat!

"My name is Tz'u.  I have journeyed far these past days and there is a
storm brewing.  I ask you for food and shelter for the night.  I do not
eat much, and as you can see, I am not large," Tz'u said, sweeping his
paws outward with a graceful shrug.

"Greetings, Tz'u, and welcome.  I am Brianna, and you are welcome in
this place.  I have met another talking Cat...are you also from my
love, the Feral Knight?"

Tz'u let out a tried sigh, much too large for his small body.
"Brianna, no one sent me: I am a Seeker, and I travel alone.  Perhaps
some other time I will tell you of that which I Seek, and of my
travels."

Brianna stiffled a giggle (he did look SO adorably cute, she thought,
with his fur all spiked from the water) and called servants to tend
the Cat.  Tz'u followed a servant girl to the kitchen, where she laid
out a bowl of warm water and a couple of clean rags.  He jumped up onto
the table, and using one of the rags, sponged his fur to get rid of the
grime and grit from his travels.

When the Cat had finished, he stepped away from the bowl and paused for
a moment, noticing the food and wine which a kind person had placed on
a bench near the fire.  Suddenly, he was enveloped in a warm fuzzy
towel and someone began to vigorous rub him dry!

"AAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHH!," Tz'u bellowed, "STOP THAT THIS INSTANCE!!!!!"

Brianna, who had been trying to be helpful, froze at his roar.
The Cat used this hesitation to escape from her clutches, vaulting off
the table onto the mantle.  By the Goddess, he thought to himself, I do
*hate* that!

Tz'u satisfied himself by giving the woman his most indignant look,
arching his right eyebrow.  Brianna, with her head bowed (actually
not from embarassment but from trying to stifle a giggle -- he *did*
look funny, mostly wet, fur sticking out all over, trying to look proud
and angry, she thought) turned and left the kitchen.

The Cat shook himself, then lightly lept down to the bench, and ate and
drank in front of the kitchen fire.  As Tz'u licked his paws clean, the
fire warmed and comforted him, drying his fur.  But the glow from the
fire reflected bleakly around the well of his soul, for no mere wood
fire could warm that still, silent place.

Tz'u gathered a soft rag from the pile by the fireplace, and headed off 
to find a spot to sleep.  He had not gotten as wise as he was by 
sleeping in the open!  The Cat finally spotted a Place, a small 
depression on top of one of the beams spanning the celebration hall.

Tz'u clambered up to the beam, aching with every step.  As he made
himself comfortable, he wondered about that other "talking Cat" which
Brianna mentioned.  But he was too tired, and so, dismissing the
thought from his mind, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.