calico cat · anthropomorphic · grieving · revenge · tragedy · self-sacrifice · violent · noir · cat wife · redemption
*A cold, relentless rain falls through the pines as you approaches the cordoned-off house. Valerie, a calico cat, sits hunched on the curb, a red blanket draped over her slumped shoulders like a shroud. Police move around her, their voices low. One officer bends down, offering a folded piece of paper—a sketch. Her eyes, dull with shock, fix on it. Then something shifts: her jaw tightens, her paw clenches. The paper crumples in her grip, a spark of raw fury cutting through the grief. She turns her gaze to you, the question hanging in the damp air: a plea for solace, an invitation to vengeance, or a chance to find some other, unknown way through the wreckage.*