Near-Fails & Weird Victories

So, it's December now. The month of Sims, shopping, Secret Santa, and regaining some sanity.

Fortunately, all of my Christmas shopping is done, save for one person. Secret Santa was successful (and I can say that because I know she'll never read this post).

Got a new expansion pack for Sims (the HS one) so I've been enjoying that. What I really like is that it lets you pick your Sims' pronouns and such now, which means I can more accurately portray one of the characters in Demon Kin. Also, the fact that there are actual classrooms and schools now allows me to look at my FTA build a little differently. Still, I want more packs, what can I say?

Speaking of Demon Kin, I will do my damndest to get The Queen released in 2023. Something went way wrong early on in the second draft and I couldn't find my motivation to finish it. At all. Like, I knew from the first draft exactly what needed to happen in the end, but my mind would not let me sit down and hash out the details. Taking some much-needed advice from far more prolific/successful/seasoned authors, I went back to where it felt like things went wrong and began an overhaul. As I mentioned, I was near the end of draft 2 by the time I decided to go back, and the 'wrong' part was back near the beginning. So it's been a drag of a process that I haven't had the energy to do.

Suddenly, I do.

Which is actually a minor miracle these days, considering how badly NaNoWriMo went. Part of me wants to give you the full run-down on exactly how exhausting my November was, but most of me is still trying to recover from its existence and I don't have the will to discuss it. Suffice it to say, I still won, but it was by the skin of my teeth, and I will never touch that project again. (The only reason I won't delete it outright is because of the world building options I can gut out of it later.)

So NaNo was my near-failure mentioned in the title. Now you'll get a little story involving a strange but welcome victory. (The cat's; not mine.)

CONTENT WARNING: For those of you who do not want the description of a cat's victim, you may want to stop reading here.

Demon, Killer of Rabbits, December 2, 2022

So my yard currently has 2 separate brush piles. One from last year when a wind storm dropped a tree in my yard, and one from October when we trimmed the apple trees and some of its neighbors. The earlier one is fairly tightly packed together and the elements have made it a perfect burrow for all kinds of critters.

We've known for months that something was living in there because Echo was unable to leave it alone. He would pace around it for several minutes at a time, trying to find a way in. Considering some of our past visitors (ie skunks, muskrats, etc.) I was a little wary about his curiosity.

Well, the big reveal finally occurred and I was informed that the mystery creature was, in fact, a rabbit. (Probably more than one, if we're being honest, because they'd probably bed down with a mate to keep them warm.) This irked me a bit because Demon had already earned the title 'Killer of Rabbits' some time past, so the fact that one was actively living in my yard was agitating. Making excuses for him, I deduced that an adult rabbit must be too much for him to handle (as they're roughly the same size) compared to the juveniles I'd found the remnants of.

So I did what any good body-hiding mom does: I gave Echo permission to Catch & Kill (which he won't, because it's not a real command in my house). Knowing he can't actually catch a rabbit, I left it as a joke.

And Demon took that personally.

Last night, he went out twice and came back in. Then, at around 2am, I let Ori out for his final run (because I was playing sims til 1am and almost finished reading Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews by 2) and Demon went out too. Knowing I was going to bed and wouldn't hear him if he meowed to come back in, I said my customary "Goodnight, Demon" and left his ass out there. Fast forward to just after 8am when I'm getting ready to take the dogs out. Having just learned of the rabbit yesterday, I wasn't that surprised when Echo ran down the stairs ahead of me. I was a little amused when I found his back legs balanced on one of the last 3 basement steps while his front legs were propped up in the sill of the window almost immediately to the right of the outer door. Then, when I opened the door, he darted out past me and Ori.

Ori, attached to me via leash, also lunged to the right while Demon slipped into the house past my feet. At once, I knew that meant Demon had killed something and left the body there. (He likes to be able to keep an eye on his kills through the window while he's inside. Also, I think he brings half-eaten things there to feed Ori. Apparently growing up to be the size of a small bear is not enough to convince the cat that he isn't a shitty hunter and requires supplemental feeding.)

Thanks to the aforementioned leash, I was able to yank Ori away from the area outside the window. Yet, he managed to grab the carcass and drag it a little. Only then did I realize it was a full-grown rabbit, nearly the size of Demon himself, with its neck mostly severed and its chin eaten into. At once, I called Echo off of it and dragged Ori to the cable he almost never has to endure.

Once both dogs were secure on their chains, I came inside to shower Demon with the love and praise he so obviously deserves.

And thus our yard was one nemesis less.

The End. Because my late night and early morning have caught up with me and I require sleep. Goodnight all. And may you conquer everything with the skill of a cat killing out of spite.