Shifting Ground Pt. 01 of 02

The first James realized something was wrong was when he heard the THUMP of the antelope body falling over. This was then followed by another THUMP, a couple second pause and then a final THUMP! When the smoke had cleared James saw what he was afraid of. There had been two more antelope behind the buck he had been aiming at!

Which is kind of how it felt to find a cat in the middle of Unit 9.

"Heard a roaring, and almost left everything behind to drive out of there!" He remembered to himself. "Heard things settle down and went to investigate. No sign of life, but that squeaky sigh caught my attention."

James rolled a little onto his side and gently put his hand on the cat, stroking her back. He felt the body stiffen and become as hard as wood for a moment. After the moment passed he felt the cats tongue give his hand a tentative lick before purring and relaxing.

At first he thought he had found a muddy lion cub. He had thought maybe it's mother got buried or maybe it was separated. It was when he looked into the animal's eyes that disabused that notion. The blank and alert look on most wild animals was not in the cat's eyes. There was some curiosity, but the eyes had been entirely too self aware. James continued thinking, remembering the shower, how it had reacted...no, if his suspicious thoughts were correct, he could not call the cat an "It" at all. He had an idea of what the kitten was, and his fingers began to grip the slightly loose skin at the base of the neck to get a firm hold! He was going to give whoever was walking around disguised as a cat the rudest awakening they had ever dreamed of!

"But what if I'm wrong?" he thought to himself. He had doubts, and if this was just some kind of exotic cat then if he shook it and tossed it in the shower and doused it with water...that would just be animal abuse! It's one thing to collect some extra deer shot on accident, its another to purposely...yeah. He nodded his head.

Besides, the Kitten wasn't harming anything he could see. So she hitched a ride in his truck, she wasn't being a problem at all. Maybe it was a little inappropriate to be in the same bed with him, but James decided to let this little drama play out until it ended. He had been heading home, lets see how far she takes it. Once home he could discard of the body if things went that badly. If things went well, maybe he could help her move on to somewhere else?

James finished rolling over onto his back and took his hand off of the small tawny body next to him. Either way things worked. It would be good to have her settled and moved on before the full moon. "Too dangerous to have her around...unless she really is a cat." He thought to himself before falling asleep.

Morning came along with the HONK of a truck horn. No, not a regular truck horn. A Semi-Truck horn!

Stacy came awake with all 4 sets of claws gripping what she thought was bedding which turned out to be James thigh. Which woke him up with a yell and kicking and shaking his leg which made Stacy's cat instinct clench even tighter which made James stand with another bellow of pain and look for the closest knife/hammer/crowbar to get whatever was causing him so much grief off! In preferably small pieces!

Stacy's brain finally settled on what was going on so she let go and dropped to the floor taking refuge underneath the trailer's bed right next to the storage boxes. She licked her paws clean while watching James. He cursed quite a few times and then chuckled as he looked at the claw marks.

"Dang kitten got me pretty good!" Halfway up his thigh were two spots where her forepaws had dug in, just below his knee you could see where the other two spots were. They were bleeding pretty freely, so Stacy knew she had really done a good or perhaps....bad job on James. She watched as he took a clay jug down from a cupboard and then poured what looked like water but smelled so astringent her nose wrinkled. She heard James grunt low and deep in his chest as he scrubbed the wounds.

"A little white lightning!" he grunted. Then took a quick sip from the jug and swallowed with a grimace. "A little bit will do you a world of good!" He pulled out some wide bandages and stuck them on the clawed areas of his leg. Then the jeans and shirt he wore yesterday, followed by some shoes.

"I am going to get breakfast kitten, be good!" James called as he walked out the door of the trailer. Stacy heard him lock it behind himself. She came out and jumped onto the bed and watching him limp away towards the restaurant. She growled a little, mainly because she was hungry, wanted coffee, and needed to use the bathroom! All of those things she could not do because she was still a cat! She couldn't do anything in the trailer that a cat would not be able to do.

"Think Stacy THINK!" she told her still fuzzy brain. A few minutes later she had shifted into human and cautiously left the trailer, heading over to the bathrooms. A few minutes later after a quick wash and teeth brushing she checked her reflection and walked out of the bathrooms. This time she cautiously looked to see if James was about. He must have gone into the restaurant out front, she remembered seeing a coffee vending machine in the shop at the back of the truck stop and headed in that direction. Which was just enough time to see James thank one of the store employees and with a tire under each arm turn to see her standing still in front of him with wide eyes.

He blinked in surprise and smiled disarmingly. "Hi!"

She raised up a hand still covered in the sleeve of her hooded sweatshirt and waved. Just as she was about to turn and keep walking he said, "Still as silent as ever. Mute...?"

Stacy gave him an annoyed look until she saw him set one tire down. Then even though she couldn't understand what the meaning was, she had seen enough sign language to know he was signing at her with his now free hand.

"No, I am not mute. I just, I don't know you." Stacy replied. James nodded his head in understanding.

"I get it. My names Donald, Donald Price. And...you are?" Stacy stared at him and felt her ire building. Why in the world did he keep using different names? She decided two could play that game and held her hand out to shake his.

"Jennifer Davenport. Pleased to meet you Mr. Price." James rolled his eyes. "Nope! Just Donald or Don. No Mr. Price here. Too respectable." He picked his two tires up. "Tell you what Jennifer, open up the back of my truck for me and I will buy you breakfast. Sound good?"

Stacy knew that this was probably a bad idea. "But he only knows me as a cat, this would be a good time to get to know him better..." Silencing the worries that were becoming louder in her own mind. She followed behind him and opened the back of the Scottsdale and watched as James slid his purchases under a tarp. Then he locked the canopy, gave Stacy a smile and said, "Alright, lets eat!"

While walking by the trailer he knocked on one of the windows and said loudly. "Be good! I will be back with yummies!"

James was surprised at his own actions. Not buying the tires, he knew he needed some pretty soon for winter. Nor was it that he traded a bunch of meat for the tires. He was used to trading goods or services for things instead of paying money for them. Probably one of the reasons why he had not been bothered by the IRS for his whole life. No, the thing that surprised him was how he had responded to this girl.

He remembered her from the night before, running into her after finishing his shower. He had only gotten a glimpse of her face, but it was the expression that caught him. For one, he was surprised at how scared she had appeared. She hadn't seemed to be scared of him, more that she didn't want to be around him. But also, she seemed to know him somehow.

Like when he had told her his name was Donald, she had started to frown and her eyes appeared to be angry with him. He wondered if he had met her before and she had known him by another name. James had always been good with faces, and he would swear to it on a stack of Bibles and Qurans that he had never seen this young woman before. Either way, he wanted to know her story.

James held the door for Stacy as he walked in first and asked for a booth. In short order they both had a cup of only slightly burned coffee with the promise of something full of grease and starch as soon s the cook was finished with it.

"So..." James began. Stacy had pushed both of her hands out of the sleeves of the hooded sweatshirt and was now warming her hands by wrapping them around the ceramic mug of tasty "bean juice" as her younger sister called it. She glanced up at James and then down at her coffee. She wasn't sure exactly what she felt at that moment. She knew she had put herself in a vulnerable position, one where her secret could get found out. She was in a town, would be easy enough to get lost amongst the people here, heck...maybe even find a job as a waitress or something like that to earn more cash before she moved on again. At the same time though....

"I left home, and am...I am just trying to see more of the world." Stacy offered. She figured if she told the truth, mostly, it would be harder to get caught in a lie. Also, she didn't really like the idea of lying. What she had done so far with this James person, or whoever he was, had already made her conscience a little heavy. She had basically become a stowaway for the past day and a half. Had spied on him, or at least, watched him privately without him knowing it.

She wrinkled her nose at that thought! Put in that perspective ir made her seem a little like a peeping tom pervert! James, seeing her wrinkle her nose decided this must be a sensitive subject. He sipped his coffee and after waiting to see if she would say anymore he asked, "If you don't mind telling me, why did you have to leave home to see the world? You make leaving home sound so permanent."

Stacy shrugged, "My whole family wanted me to marry someone, settle down, start my own litter already!" She took a breath, didn't want to snarl at James, or Donald , or however many names he used. She wanted to get to know this man before she moved on.

James just nodded, "Yeah, I get that. My family was the same way. I got over a dozen brothers and sisters, literally over a dozen. Hang on...." He held up his hands and started ticking off names on his fingers.

"Jerry, Josephine, Jacueline, Jack Allen, Jesse, Jessica, Jay, Jason, J.C., Jenson, Janet, Jason, Justin and little Johnny. Yeah, me and my brothers outnumbered the sisters by 2. They always let us know that because when we won a family competition it was unfair. If they won they let us know how bad we were to not beat the "girls" team!" His tone was tight but his smile was easy while remembering them.

"How come you're not with your family...Donald?" Stacy asked. She remembered the name he gave her, but she was actually curious about the large family. Not many humans in the western part of the world had families that large. Then something else occurred to her and she blurted out...

"Wait, your whole family has names starting with J, how come you're called Donald?" Stacy asked. James just gave his normal little half smile grin.

"Well, it is probably one of the reasons why I don't hang around with my family quite so much. You could say that I am the Black Sheep of the gang. I am just different than they are. I still care about them, its just better if we don't actually be in close proximity with each other." James took another sip of his coffee, and moved it to make room for their food. A plate of greasy hash browns, eggs and biscuits and gravy appeared before him along with a large order of ham.

The same exact meal was also placed in front of Stacy which made James smile. He figured that she finish as much as she could, then take the rest in a "To-Go" box. It's what he himself would have done in the situation. To his surprise as he tucked into his food, she did with almost the same alacrity! The table was silent save for the pleased murmurs of the two as they polished off their food. Stacy sat back and raised her arms over her head and stretched long and hard in satisfaction. She lowered her arms and saw that James was watching her with an odd expression on his face.

"What?" She asked. He just blinked a couple more times before glancing down at the plates that had been wiped clean with the last half of a biscuit before being consumed.

Stacy grinned, "I haven't had a full meal in a while, so I wanted to make sure I had all of the calories I needed!" She paused as a thought occurred to her which actually made her blush, "Umm, thank you for breakfast J...Donald." She stuttered a little as she almost messed up his name. It also made her wonder if she let anything else slip?

James shrugged and polished off the last of the coffee and left a tip for their waitress. He bought a small plastic bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies and handed it to his guest. "The way you were putting all that food away, take this to have for a snack later." He told her. She thanked him again and pulled up her hood to cover her face in the cool morning light after they stepped outside.

There was a moment of awkwardness as neither seemed to know what to do next. James wanted to know more about her, but felt he didn't have the right to ask anything more. Stacy had a ton of questions but didn't know how to ask them either.

"I...uh, thanks again for breakfast and the cookies." She said finally.

James nodded. "Not as good as the cookies I make, but still, homemade is better than store bought."

He looked down at his boots, surprised at the thoughts going through his mind. This Jennifer Davenport seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders, but she sucked at lying. Her body language while talking with him showed that at least her name wasn't real. How she used her words, her gestures, she had been trying to string him along while wheedling information out of him. The part that had surprised him was that he had wanted to help her if he could have. He already had one possible stowaway in his trailer, "Still not sure if I am crazy or not on that one."

His trailer, oh...food. Needed to feed Kitty.

"Take care of yourself Jennifer." He said finally and held out his hand to shake. She accepted it and almost whimpered as she felt his hand on hers.

There is a reason why handshakes are used as a form of greeting. Skin on skin contact is intimate, and also there is a "telling" aspect to it.

Sweaty hands could show nerves. A strong grip could mean determination. A caressing of fingers shows interest, perhaps?

The point is that Stacy had never touched James in human form and now she was and she felt...power! It was akin to when you see a massive tree in the forest. She had gone on a vacation with her immediate family when she was younger to visit her Father's Pack out in California. While there they had visited the massive Redwoods. The feeling of awe looking up at the majestic trees had stuck with her. She carried a preserved piece of bark on her keychain that she got at the gift shop to remind herself of the beauty that is out there.

Holding James' hand was similar, but not. Stacy couldn't explain it to herself. "This guy is human, just plain vanilla human! I smell it! I have met all kinds of creatures and people as a member of my Pack and this guy just feels..." her thoughts ran out as he took back his own hand giving her a questioning look.

"You okay Jennifer?" he asked, Stacy looked worried again. "I would give you a lift but I am heading back home and I am pretty sure you are not going to Louisiana." Was it just him or was she starting to blush? He tried not to grin because it would embaress her even more. It had been a long time since someone had found him attractive! Better to say goodbye to her now.

With that thought he let go of her hand, "Gotta grab a treat for my roommate. See you around Miss Davenport." He left Stacy at the door and walked over to the store side of the truck stop to see what a big kitten would want to snack on. The meat he had butchered had other purposes.

James settled on smoked salmon, bought a small tin of it and when he came out saw that his new acquaintance was no where to be seen. He got back to the trailer and heard the meowing through the screens on the open window. He opened up the door, "Come on! Get out and play a bit!" The big cat jumped out the door and looked around before doing it's morning ablutions.

Stacy came back and saw he was putting chunks of smoked salmon on a small plate for her. She sat waiting properly with her tail curled around her feet and wondered how she this would mix with her breakfast.

"At least he didn't buy any actual cat food!" she thought to herself. It was good and tasted just fine to her tongue. She looked up to find James watching her and she wove around his ankles before he called her to the truck cab. A short while after he warmed up the truck engine and they were back on the road.

The drive was quiet for the first hour or so. The wheels humming, the smells of Louisiana from that time of year, the sun rising up across the sky as the day passed.

"You know, Kitten...I always loved living here. In Louisiana." James said out of nowhere. Stacy turned her head to look at him. He glanced at her then continued watching the road. His hand came to rest on her side.

"It's farther south, along in the swamps and bayous that I enjoy living the most though. The people are mostly thought to be trash by those not living there, but I love them! I watched something called ummm...what the heck was it? Youtube I think it is called, like Television except anyone can make something and put it on there. Its an internet thing, which I don't know too much about. I still have a hard time with my electronic mail!"

Stacy was careful not to snort! He was only 37 years old, how could he not know more about this stuff?

"Anyway, they show that Louisiana is just full of rednecks in swamps and Mardi Gras beads which is so far from the truth. I have lived all over the world. Panama, Italy, Germany, The Marshall Islands, Spent several summers in Scotland with extended family, Norway, China, and three years in South Africa..."

He was slowly pulling the truck off of the street towards a paved but unkempt road with good sized potholes. He was quiet as he guided the truck and trailer about a mile down the street, curving the vehicle with practiced hands like a snake around bigger potholes that looked to be deep enough to make a temporary duck pond!

James finally pulled over and turned to look at Stacy. He carefully reached out and gently brushed her fur on top of her head. His fingers gentle as he stared at the cat. He stroked the ears and sighed. His suspicions had been confirmed and now was a time to perhaps teach a lesson if he was correct. Which he was 90% sure he was correct.

Stacy watched his right hand reach down beside his seat and then she heard something open. While bringing his hand back up she heard a noise that made her heart skip!

It was the click-Click of a revolver wheel turning as it's hammer was pulled back. She saw a very old revolver leveled at her head from two feet away and her cat's eyes widened in shock.

"...what I am trying to explain is, I have seen a lot in my life and done a lot. I suggest that you now be honest with me and tell me your real name kitten, or you are about to lose one of your nine lives. I got six shots and I am not afraid to use them!"

He then dropped a small plastic package that had some crumbs inside of it. Stacy groaned internally as she saw the wrap for the chocolate chip cookies.

...to be continued