Blood of my Brother

The Beast Within

I apologize; I meant to post this chapter two days ago. I've been busy with school and work and I haven't been getting home until late every night, but I should have attempted to get it done earlier.

Trigger warnings: blood, panic attacks, injuries, one offhand expression about jumping off a bridge but please do not do that it's just a saying my parents used for years so I added it

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Before the morning sun even rose over the farm, Varian's—no, Scratch, they had decided to name him— hunger finally got the better of him. If he was going to adjust to his new life, this was as good a place to start as any. He slipped back into Mandie's bedroom and dug his claws into her blanket, using it to clamber onto her bed. He then swatted her face with his paw and meowed until she woke up.

"Umph." She groaned and tried to roll over. He tumbled over her shoulder and continued to bat at her. "Whaaaat." She sat up and spotted the kitten beside her. "Oh, good morning, Mr. Grumpy. Finally decide to be peaceable?" He meowed again. "Okay, okay, I'm up. You hungry? You didn't eat anything last night, so I'm not surprised." She got out of bed and started to change clothes, and Scratch buried himself under her covers. Cat or no, he was raised with more manners than that.

He followed her into the kitchen, where she gave him a saucer of milk and some cold chicken. He scarfed it down quickly, having not eaten since the morning before. Not that he wasn't used to going hungry, of course.

"You know, you could always hunt," Mandie stated bluntly. Scratch meowed in indignation. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm gonna feed you, little kit. But you probably do need to start trying to hunt, or Dad might think you're not worth keeping around."

Hunt? The thought made Scratch shudder. He didn't know if he could handle sinking his teeth into raw flesh, to feel a heart beat its last in his mouth, to taste the hot blood on his tongue.

"Well, now that you've gotten me up early, might as well get started on the chores. Want to come with me?" She motioned to the door.

Last night, if given that option, he would have bolted. He would have run for the woods and tried to find his way back to Hector. He also more than likely would have been killed by some wild creature.

Now, though, he was attempting to settle into his new role as a pet, so he kept close to Mandie's ankles as she opened the door. They started out towards the chicken coop, the basket in Mandie's hand swinging by her side as she sang cheerily. The motion of the basket drew Scratch's attention, and he jumped up and tried to swat at it. As he came back down on his injured paw, he yowled in pain.

Mandie gasped and turned to him. "Oh, poor little Scratch. We need to get that wrapped until it heals. Here, want me to carry you?" She extended a hand to him, moving slowly and keeping just far enough back that he wouldn't claw her.

Scratch hesitated. His paw ached like the dickens, but he still had some dignity left.

Then the dog rounded the corner of the house and ran towards him. He scrambled straight up Mandie's arm until he was once again positioned on her shoulder. I wonder if this is what Ruddiger feels like?

"You two will have to learn to get along eventually," the girl chided them. She petted the dog, then shooed him off. "Go on, mutt." The dog hopped around her legs for a minute more before running off. Then they continued on.

The chickens were still nestled down when they arrived to collect the eggs. Scratch tried to balance on Mandie's shoulder and keep from disturbing them, but his careful attempts to keep from clawing the girl resulted in a loose grip on her. He leaned too far forward and slipped off, landing on the back of one of the hens. With a startled squawk, the hen sprang up and scrambled around the coop, the startled kit still on her back. Out of reflex, his claws dug into her feathers, only serving to further the chicken's panic. The others, frightened by the sudden action, stampeded around the enclosure.